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1、A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA 1891SHERLOCK HOLMESTHE SCANDAL IN BOHEMIAby Sir Arthur Conan Doyle1To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman. I have seldom heardhim mention her under any other name. In his eyes she eclipses andpredominates the whole of her sex. It was not that he felt any emotionakin to love
2、for Irene Adler. All emotions, and that one particularly,were abhorrent to his cold, precise but admirably balanced mind. Hewas, I take it, the most perfect reasoning and observing machinethat the world has seen, but as a lover he would have placed himselfin a false position. He never spoke of the s
3、ofter passions, savewith a gibe and a sneer. They were admirable things for theobserver- excellent for drawing the veil from mens motives andactions. But for the trained reasoner to admit such intrusions intohis own delicate and finely adjusted temperament was to introduce adistracting factor which
4、might throw a doubt upon all his mentalresults. Grit in a sensitive instrument, or a crack in one of hisown high-power lenses, would not be more disturbing than a strongemotion in a nature such as his. And yet there was but one woman tohim, and that woman was the late Irene Adler, of dubious andques
5、tionable memory.I had seen little of Holmes lately. My marriage had drifted usaway from each other. My own complete happiness, and thehome-centred interests which rise up around the man who first findshimself master of his own establishment, were sufficient to absorb allmy attention, while Holmes, w
6、ho loathed every form of society with hiswhole Bohemian soul, remained in our lodgings in Baker Street,buried among his old books, and alternating from week to weekbetween cocaine and ambition, the drowsiness of the drug, and thefierce energy of his own keen nature. He was still, as ever, deeplyattr
7、acted by the study of crime, and occupied his immense facultiesand extraordinary powers of observation in following out thoseclues, and clearing up those mysteries which had been abandoned ashopeless by the official police. From time to time I heard somevague account of his doings: of his summons to
8、 Odessa in the case ofthe Trepoff murder, of his clearing up of the singular tragedy ofthe Atkinson brothers at Trincomalee, and finally of the mission whichhe had accomplished so delicately and successfully for the reigningfamily of Holland. Beyond these signs of his activity, however,which I merel
9、y shared with all the readers of the daily press, Iknew little of my former friend and companion.One night- it was on the twentieth of March, 1888- I was returningfrom a journey to a patient (for I had now returned to civilpractice), when my way led me through Baker Street. As I passed thewell-remem
10、bered door, which must always be associated in my mindwith my wooing, and with the dark incidents of the Study in Scarlet, Iwas seized with a keen desire to see Holmes again, and to know howhe was employing his extraordinary powers. His rooms werebrilliantly lit, and, even as I looked up, I saw his
11、tall, sparefigure pass twice in a dark silhouette against the blind. He waspacing the room swiftly, eagerly, with his head sunk upon his chestand his hands clasped behind him. To me, who knew his every mood andhabit, his attitude and manner told their own story. He was at workagain. He had risen out
12、 of his drug-created dreams and was hot uponthe scent of some new problem. I rang the bell and was shown up to thechamber which had formerly been in part my own.His manner was not effusive. It seldom was; but he was glad, Ithink, to see me. With hardly a word spoken, but with a kindly eye, hewaved m
13、e to an armchair, threw across his case of cigars, andindicated a spirit case and a gasogene in the corner. Then he stoodbefore the fire and looked me over in his singular introspectivefashion.Wedlock suits you, he remarked. I think, Watson, that you haveput on seven and a half pounds since I saw yo
14、u.Seven! I answered.Indeed, I should have thought a little more. just a trifle more,I fancy, Watson. And in practice again, I observe. You did not tell methat you intended to go into harness.Then, how do you know?I see it, I deduce it. How do I know that you have been gettingyourself very wet lately
15、, and that you have a most clumsy and carelessservant girl?My dear Holmes, said I, this is too much. You would certainlyhave been burned, had you lived a few centuries ago. It is true that Ihad a country walk on Thursday and came home in a dreadful mess, butas I have changed my clothes I cant imagin
16、e how you deduce it. Asto Mary Jane, she is incorrigible, and my wife has given her notice;but there, again, I fail to see how you work it out.He chuckled to himself and rubbed his long, nervous hands together.It is simplicity itself, said he; my eyes tell me that on theinside of your left shoe, jus
17、t where the firelight strikes it, theleather is scored by six almost parallel cuts. Obviously they havebeen caused by someone who has very carelessly scraped round the edgesof the sole in order to remove crusted mud from it. Hence, you see, mydouble deduction that you had been out in vile weather, a
18、nd that youhad a particularly malignant boot-slitting specimen of the Londonslavey. As to your practice, if a gentleman walks into my roomssmelling of iodoform, with a black mark of nitrate of silver uponhis right forefinger, and a bulge on the right side of his top-hatto show where he has secreted
19、his stethoscope, I must be dull, indeed,if I do not pronounce him to be an active member of the medicalprofession.I could not help laughing at the ease with which he explained hisprocess of deduction. When I hear you give your reasons, I remarked,the thing always appears to me to be so ridiculously
20、simple that Icould easily do it myself, though at each successive instance ofyour reasoning I am baffled until you explain your process And yet Ibelieve that my eyes are as good as yours.Quite so, he answered, lighting a cigarette, and throwinghimself down into an armchair. You see, but you do not o
21、bserve. Thedistinction is clear. For example, you have frequently seen thesteps which lead up from the hall to this room.Frequently.How often?Well, some hundreds of times.Then how many are there?How many? I dont know.Quite so! You have not observed. And yet you have seen. That isjust my point. Now,
22、I know that there are seventeen steps, because Ihave both seen and observed. By the way, since you are interested inthese little problems, and since you are good enough to chronicleone or two of my trifling experiences, you may be interested in this.He threw over a sheet of thick, pink-tinted note-p
23、aper which hadbeen lying open upon the table. It came by the last post, said he.Read it aloud.The note was undated, and without either signature or address.There will call upon you to-night, at a quarter to eight oclockit said, a gentleman who desires to consult you upon a matter of thevery deepest
24、moment. Your recent services to one of the royal housesof Europe have shown that you are one who may safely be trusted withmatters which are of an importance which can hardly be exaggerated.This account of you we have from all quarters received. Be in yourchamber then at that hour, and do not take i
25、t amiss if your visitorwear a mask.This is indeed a mystery, I remarked. What do you imagine that itmeans?I have no data yet. It is a capital mistake to theorize beforeone has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories,instead of theories to suit facts. But the note itself. What do
26、youdeduce from it?I carefully examined the writing, and the paper upon which it waswritten.The man who wrote it was presumably well to do, I remarked,endeavouring to imitate my companions processes. Such paper couldnot be bought under half a crown a packet. It is peculiarly strong andstiff.Peculiar-
27、 that is the very word, said Holmes. It is not anEnglish paper at all. Hold it up to the light.I did so, and saw a large E with a small g, a P, and a largeG with a small t woven into the texture of the paper.What do you make of that? asked Holmes.The name of the maker, no doubt; or his monogram, rat
28、her.Not at all. The G with the small t stands for Gesellschaft,which is the German for Company. It is a customary contractionlike our Co. P, of course, stands forPapier. Now for theEg. Let us glance at our Continental Gazetteer. He took down aheavy brown volume from his shelves. Eglow, Eglonitz- her
29、e we are,Egria. It is in a German-speaking country- in Bohemia, not far fromCarlsbad. Remarkable as being the scene of the death ofWallenstein, and for its numerous glass-factories and paper-mills.Ha, ha, my boy, what do you make of that? His eyes sparkled, and hesent up a great blue triumphant clou
30、d from his cigarette.The paper was made in Bohemia, I said.Precisely. And the man who wrote the note is a German. Do younote the peculiar construction of the sentence- This account of youwe have from all quarters received. A Frenchman or Russian couldnot have written that. It is the German who is so
31、 uncourteous to hisverbs. It only remains, therefore, to discover what is wanted bythis German who writes upon Bohemian paper and prefers wearing amask to showing his face. And here he comes, if I am not mistaken,to resolve all our doubts.As he spoke there was the sharp sound of horses hoofs and gra
32、tingwheels against the curb, followed by a sharp pull at the bell.Holmes whistled.A pair, by the sound, said he. Yes, he continued, glancing outof the window. A nice little brougham and a pair of beauties. Ahundred and fifty guineas apiece. Theres money in this case,Watson, if there is nothing else.
33、I think that I had better go, Holmes.Not a bit, Doctor. Stay where you are. I am lost without myBoswell. And this promises to be interesting. It would be a pity tomiss it.But your client-Never mind him. I may want your help, and so may he. Here he comes.Sit down in that armchair, Doctor, and give us
34、 your best attention.A slow and heavy step, which had been heard upon the stairs and inthe passage, paused immediately outside the door. Then there was aloud and authoritative tap.Come in! said Holmes.A man entered who could hardly have been less than six feet sixinches in height, with the chest and
35、 limbs of a Hercules. His dresswas rich with a richness which would, in England, he looked upon asakin to bad taste. Heavy bands of astrakhan were slashed across thesleeves and fronts of his double-breasted coat, while the deep bluecloak which was thrown over his shoulders was lined withflame-colour
36、ed silk and secured at the neck with a brooch whichconsisted of a single flaming beryl. Boots which extended halfway uphis calves, and which were trimmed at the tops with rich brown fur,completed the impression of barbaric opulence which was suggested byhis whole appearance. He carried a broad-brimm
37、ed hat in his hand,while he wore across the upper part of his face, extending down pastthe cheekbones, a black vizard mask, which he had apparentlyadjusted that very moment, for his hand was still raised to it as heentered. From the lower part of the face he appeared to be a man ofstrong character,
38、with a thick, hanging lip, and a long, straight chinsuggestive of resolution pushed to the length of obstinacy.You had my note? he asked with a deep harsh voice and a stronglymarked German accent. I told you that I would call. He looked fromone to the other of us, as if uncertain which to address.Pr
39、ay take a seat, said Holmes. This is my friend and colleague,Dr. Watson, who is occasionally good enough to help me in my cases.Whom have I the honour to address?You may address me as the Count Von Kramm, a Bohemian nobleman. Iunderstand that this gentleman, your friend, is a man of honour anddiscre
40、tion, whom I may trust with a matter of the most extremeimportance. If not, I should much prefer to communicate with youalone.I rose to go, but Holmes caught me by the wrist and pushed me backinto my chair. It is both, or none, said he. You may say beforethis gentleman anything which you may say to
41、me.The Count shrugged his broad shoulders. Then I must begin, saidhe, by binding you both to absolute secrecy for two years; at the endof that time the matter will be of no importance. At present it is nottoo much to say that it is of such weight it may have an influenceupon European history.I promi
42、se, said Holmes.And I.You will excuse this mask, continued our strange visitor. Theaugust person who employs me wishes his agent to be unknown to you,and I may confess at once that the title by which I have just calledmyself is not exactly my own.I was aware of it, said Holmes drily.The circumstance
43、s are of great delicacy, and every precaution hasto be taken to quench what might grow to be an immense scandal andseriously compromise one of the reigning families of Europe. Tospeak plainly, the matter implicates the great House of Ormstein,hereditary kings of Bohemia.I was also aware of that, mur
44、mured Holmes, settling himself downin his armchair and closing his eyes.Our visitor glanced with some apparent surprise at the languid,lounging figure of the man who had been no doubt depicted to him asthe most incisive reasoner and most energetic agent in Europe.Holmes slowly reopened his eyes and
45、looked impatiently at his giganticclient.If your Majesty would condescend to state your case, heremarked, I should be better able to advise you.The man sprang from his chair and paced up and down the room inuncontrollable agitation. Then, with a gesture of desperation, he torethe mask from his face
46、and hurled it upon the ground. You are right,he cried; I am the King. Why should I attempt to conceal it?Why, indeed? murmured Holmes. Your Majesty had not spokenbefore I was aware that I was addressing Wilhelm GottsreichSigismond von Ormstein, Grand Duke of Cassel-Felstein, andhereditary King of Bo
47、hemia.But you can understand, said our strange visitor, sitting downonce more and passing his hand over his high white forehead, youcan understand that I am not accustomed to doing such business in myown person. Yet the matter was so delicate that I could not confide itto an agent without putting myself in his power. I have come incognitofrom Prague for the purpose of consulting you.Then, pray consult, said Holmes, shutting his eyes once more.The facts are briefly these: Some five years ago, during a
