Speaker 1: This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
Speaker 1: the public domain. From more information or to volunteer, please
Speaker 1: visit LibriVox dot org. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by
Speaker 1: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The adventure of the noble bachelor
Speaker 1: the Lord Saint Simon marriage and its curious termination have
Speaker 1: long ceased to be a subject of interest in those
Speaker 1: exalted circles in which the unfortunate bridegroom moves. Fresh scandals
Speaker 1: have eclipsed it, and their more piquant details have drawn
Speaker 1: the gossips away from this four year old drama. As
Speaker 1: I have reason to believe, however, that the full facts
Speaker 1: have never been revealed to the general public, and as
Speaker 1: my friend Sherlock Holmes had a considerable share in clearing
Speaker 1: the matter up, I feel that no memoir of him
Speaker 1: would be complete without some little sketch of this remarkable episode.
Speaker 1: It was a few weeks before my own marriage, during
Speaker 1: the days when I was still sharing rooms with homes
Speaker 1: in Baker Street, that he came home from an afternoon
Speaker 1: stroll to find a letter on the table waiting for him.
Speaker 1: I had remained indoors all day for the weather had
Speaker 1: taken a sudden turn to rain with high autumnal winds,
Speaker 1: and the Jazail bullet, which I had brought back in
Speaker 1: one of my limbs as a relic of my Afghan campaign,
Speaker 1: throbbed with dull persistence. With my body in one easy
Speaker 1: chair and my legs upon another, I had surrounded myself
Speaker 1: with a cloud of newspapers, until at last saturated with
Speaker 1: the news of the day, I tossed them all aside
Speaker 1: and lay listless, watching the huge crest and monogram upon
Speaker 1: the envelope upon the table, and wondering lazily whom my
Speaker 1: friend's noble correspondent could be. Here is a very fashionable epistle,
Speaker 1: I remarked, as he entered. Your morning letters, if I
Speaker 1: remember right, were from a fishmonger and a tide waiter. Yes,
Speaker 1: my car respondence has certainly the charm of variety, he answered, smiling,
Speaker 1: and the humbler are usually more interesting. This looks like
Speaker 1: one of those unwelcome social summonses which call upon a
Speaker 1: man either to be bored or to lie. He broke
Speaker 1: the seal and glanced over the contents. Oh, come, it
Speaker 1: may prove to be something of interest after all. Not
Speaker 1: social then no distinctly professional and from a noble client,
Speaker 1: one of the highest in England. My dear fellow, I
Speaker 1: congratulate you. I assure you, Watson, without affectation, that the
Speaker 1: status of my client is a matter of less moment
Speaker 1: to me than the interest of his case. It is
Speaker 1: just possible, however, that that also may not be wanting
Speaker 1: in this new investigation. You have been reading the papers
Speaker 1: diligently of late, have you not? It looks like it,
Speaker 1: said I ruefully, pointing to a huge bundle in the corner.
Speaker 1: I have had nothing else to do. It is fortunate
Speaker 1: for you will perhaps be able to post me up.
Speaker 1: I read nothing except the criminal news and the Agony column.
Speaker 1: The latter is always instructive. But if you have followed
Speaker 1: recent events so closely, you must have read about Lord
Speaker 1: Saint Simon and his wedding. Oh yes, with the deepest interest.
Speaker 1: That is well. The letter which I hold in my
Speaker 1: hand is from Lord Saint Simon. I will read it
Speaker 1: to you, and in return you must turn over these
Speaker 1: papers and let me have whatever bears upon the matter.
Speaker 1: This is what he says, my dear mister Sherlock Holmes,
Speaker 1: Lord Backwater tells me that I may place implicit reliance
Speaker 1: upon your judgment and discretion. I have determined therefore to
Speaker 1: call upon you and to consult you in reference to
Speaker 1: the very painful event which has occurred in connection with
Speaker 1: my wedding. Mister Lestrade of Scotland Yard is acting already
Speaker 1: in the matter, but he assures me that he sees
Speaker 1: no objection to your co operation, and that he even
Speaker 1: thinks that it might be of some assistance. I will
Speaker 1: call at four o'clock in the afternoon, and should you
Speaker 1: have any other engagement at that time, I hope that
Speaker 1: you will postpone it, as this is a matter of
Speaker 1: paramount importance, yours faithfully, Saint Simon. It is dated from
Speaker 1: Grosvenor Mansions, written with a quill pen, and the noble
Speaker 1: lord has had the misfortune to get a smear of
Speaker 1: ink upon the outer side of his right little finger,
Speaker 1: remarked Holmes as he folded up the epistle. He says,
Speaker 1: four o'clock it is three now. He will be here
Speaker 1: in an hour. Then I have just time, with your assistance,
Speaker 1: to get clear upon the subject. Turn over those papers
Speaker 1: and arrange the extracts in their order of time, while
Speaker 1: I take a glance as to who our client is.
Speaker 1: He picked a red covered volume from a line of
Speaker 1: books of reference beside the mantelpiece. Here he is, said
Speaker 1: he sitting down and flattening it out upon his knee.
Speaker 1: Lord Robert Bolsingham, the vere Saint Simon, second son of
Speaker 1: the Duke of Balmoral m arms Azure three cowtrops in
Speaker 1: chief over a fest Sable. Born in eighteen forty six,
Speaker 1: he's forty one years of age, which is mature for marriage.
Speaker 1: Was under Secretary for the Colonies in a late administration
Speaker 1: the Duke. His father was at one time Secretary for
Speaker 1: Foreign Affairs. They inherit Plantagenet blood by direct descent and
Speaker 1: tutor on the distaff side. Ha. Well, there is nothing
Speaker 1: very instructive in all this. I think that I must
Speaker 1: turn to you, Watson, for something more solid. I have
Speaker 1: very little difficulty in finding what I want, said I.
Speaker 1: For the facts are quite recent, and the matter struck
Speaker 1: me as remarkable. I feared to refer them to you, however,
Speaker 1: as I knew that you had an inquiry on hand,
Speaker 1: and that you disliked the intrusion of other matters. Oh,
Speaker 1: you mean the little problem of the Grosvenor Square, furniture van.
Speaker 1: That is quite cleared up now, though indeed it was
Speaker 1: obvious from the first Pray give me the results of
Speaker 1: your newspaper selections. Here is the first notice which I
Speaker 1: can find. It is in the personal column of the
Speaker 1: Morning Post and dates as you see some weeks back.
Speaker 1: A marriage has been arranged, it says, and will, if
Speaker 1: rumor is correct, very shortly take place between Lord Robert
Speaker 1: Saint Simon, second son of the Duke of Balmarle, and
Speaker 1: Miss Hattie Duran, the only daughter of Aloysius Duran, Esquire
Speaker 1: of San Francisco, California. U s A. That is all
Speaker 1: terse and to the point, remarked Holmes, stretching his long
Speaker 1: thin legs towards the fire. There was a paragraph amplifying
Speaker 1: this in one of the society papers of the same week. Ah,
Speaker 1: here it is. There will soon be a call for
Speaker 1: protection in the marriage market, for the present free trade
Speaker 1: principle appears to tell heavily against our home product. One
Speaker 1: by one, the management of the noble houses of Great
Speaker 1: Britain is passing into the hands of our fair cousins
Speaker 1: from across the Atlantic. An important addition has been made
Speaker 1: during the last week to the list of the prizes
Speaker 1: which have been borne away by these charming invaders. Lord
Speaker 1: Saint Simon, who has shown himself for over twenty years
Speaker 1: proof against the Little God's arrows, has now definitely announced
Speaker 1: his approaching marriage with Miss Hattie Duran, the fascinating daughter
Speaker 1: of a California millionaire, mister Rand, whose graceful figure and
Speaker 1: striking face attracted much attention at the Westbury House festivities.
Speaker 1: Is an only child and it is currently reported that
Speaker 1: her dowry will run to considerably over the six figures,
Speaker 1: with expectancies for the future. As it is an open
Speaker 1: secret that the Duke of Balmoral has been compelled to
Speaker 1: sell his pictures within the last few years, and as
Speaker 1: Lord Saint Simon has no property of his own save
Speaker 1: the small estate of Birchmoor, it is obvious that the
Speaker 1: Californian heiress is not the only gainer by an alliance
Speaker 1: which will enable her to make the easy and common
Speaker 1: transition from a Republican lady to a British peeress. Anything else,
Speaker 1: asked Holmes, yawning, Oh, yes, plenty. Then there is another
Speaker 1: note in the Morning Post to say that the marriage
Speaker 1: would be an absolutely quiet one, that it would be
Speaker 1: at Saint George's Hanover Square, that only a half a
Speaker 1: dozen intimate friends would be invited, and that the party
Speaker 1: would return to the furnished house at Lancaster Gate, which
Speaker 1: has been taken by mister Aloysius Duran. Two days later,
Speaker 1: that is, on Wednesday last, there is a curt announcement
Speaker 1: that the wedding had taken place and that the honeymoon
Speaker 1: would be passed at Lord Blackwater's place near Petersfield. Those
Speaker 1: are all the notices which appeared before the disappearance of
Speaker 1: the bride, before the What asked Holmes with a start,
Speaker 1: the vanishing of the lady? When did she vanish? Then
Speaker 1: at the wedding breakfast? Indeed, this is more interesting than
Speaker 1: it promised to be, quite dramatic in fact, yes, it
Speaker 1: struck me as being a little out of the common.
Speaker 1: They often vanished before the ceremony and occasionally during the honeymoon.
Speaker 1: But I cannot call to mind anything quite so prompt
Speaker 1: as this pray. Let me have the details. I warn
Speaker 1: you that they are very incomplete. Perhaps we may make
Speaker 1: them less. So. Such as they are, they are set
Speaker 1: forth in a single article of a Morning paper of yesterday,
Speaker 1: which I will read to you. It is headed singular
Speaker 1: occurrence at a fashionable wedding. The family of Lord Robert
Speaker 1: Saint Simon has been thrown into the greatest consternation by
Speaker 1: the strange and painful episodes which have taken place in
Speaker 1: connection with his wedding. The ceremony, as shortly announced in
Speaker 1: the papers of yesterday, occurred on the previous morning. But
Speaker 1: it is only now that it has been possible to
Speaker 1: confirm the strange rumors which have been so persistently floating about.
Speaker 1: In spite of the attempts of the friends to hush
Speaker 1: the matter up. So much public attention has now been
Speaker 1: drawn to it that no good purpose can be served
Speaker 1: by affecting to disregard what is a common subject for conversation.
Speaker 1: The ceremony, which was performed at Saint George's Hanover Square
Speaker 1: was a very quiet one, no one being present save
Speaker 1: the father of the bride, Mister Aloysius Duran, the Duchess
Speaker 1: of Balmoral, Lord Backwater, Lord Eustace and Lady Clara, Saint Simon,
Speaker 1: the younger brother and sister of the bridegroom, and Lady
Speaker 1: Alicia Whittington, the whole party proceeded afterwards to the house
Speaker 1: of mister Aloysius Duran at Lancaster Gate, where breakfast had
Speaker 1: been prepared. It appears that some little trouble was caused
Speaker 1: by a woman, whose name has not been ascertained, who
Speaker 1: endeavored to force her way into the house after the
Speaker 1: bridal party, alleging that she had some claim upon Lord
Speaker 1: Saint Simon. It was only after a painful and prolonged
Speaker 1: scene that she was ejected by the butler and the footman.
Speaker 1: The bride, who had fortunately entered the house before this
Speaker 1: unpleasant interruption, had sat down to breakfast with the rest,
Speaker 1: when she complained of a sudden indisposition and retired to
Speaker 1: her room, her prolonged absence having caused some comment. Her
Speaker 1: father followed her, but learned from her maid that she
Speaker 1: had only come up to her chamber for an instant
Speaker 1: caught up an ulster and bonnet, and hurried down to
Speaker 1: the passage. One of the footmen declared that he had
Speaker 1: seen a lady leave the house thus apparelled, but had
Speaker 1: refused to credit that it was his mistress, believing her
Speaker 1: to be with the company. On ascertaining that his daughter
Speaker 1: had disappeared. Mister Aloisius Duran, in conjunction with the bridegroom,
Speaker 1: instantly put themselves in communication with the police, and very
Speaker 1: energetic inquiries are being made which will probably result in
Speaker 1: a speedy clearing up of this very singular business. Up
Speaker 1: to a late hour last night, however, nothing had transpired
Speaker 1: as to the whereabouts of the missing lady. There are
Speaker 1: rumors of foul play in the matter, and it is
Speaker 1: said that the police have caused the arrest of the
Speaker 1: woman who had caused the original disturbance, in the belief
Speaker 1: that from jealousy or some other motive, she may have
Speaker 1: been concerned in the strange disappearance of the bride. And
Speaker 1: is that all only one little item in another of
Speaker 1: the morning papers, But it is a suggestive one, and
Speaker 1: it is that Miss Flora Millar, the lady who had
Speaker 1: caused the disturbance, has actually been arrested. It appears that
Speaker 1: she was formerly a danseuse at the Allegro, and that
Speaker 1: she has known the bridegroom for some years. There are
Speaker 1: no further particulars, and the whole case is in your
Speaker 1: hands now so far as it has been set forth
Speaker 1: in the public press. And an exceedingly interesting case. It
Speaker 1: appears to be. I would not have missed it for worlds.
Speaker 1: But there is a ring at the bell, Watson, and
Speaker 1: as the clock makes it a few minutes after four,
Speaker 1: I have no doubt that this will prove to be
Speaker 1: our noble client. Do not dream of going, Watson, for
Speaker 1: I very much prefer having a witness, if only as
Speaker 1: a check to my own memory. Lord Robert Saint Simon
Speaker 1: announced our page boy, throwing open the door. A gentleman entered,
Speaker 1: with a pleasant cultured face, high nosed and pale, with
Speaker 1: something perhaps of petulance about the mouth, and with the steady,
Speaker 1: well opened eye of a man whose pleasant lot it
Speaker 1: had ever been to command and to be obeyed. His
Speaker 1: manner was brisk, and yet his general appearance gave an
Speaker 1: undue impression of age, for he had a slight forward
Speaker 1: stoop and a little bend of the knees as he walked.
Speaker 1: His hair, too, as he swept off his very curly
Speaker 1: brimmed hat, was grizzled round the edges and thin upon
Speaker 1: the top. As to his dress, it was careful to
Speaker 1: the verge of foppishness, with high collar, black frock coat,
Speaker 1: white waistcoat, yellow gloves, patent leather shoes, and light colored gaiters.
Speaker 1: He advanced slowly into the room, turning his head from
Speaker 1: left to right, and swinging in his right hand the
Speaker 1: cord which held his golden eye glasses. Good day, Lord
Speaker 1: Saint Simon, said Holmes, rising and bowing. Pray, take the
Speaker 1: basket chair. This is my friend and colleague, doctor Watson.
Speaker 1: Draw up a little to the fire, and we will
Speaker 1: talk this matter over. A most painful matter to me,
Speaker 1: as you can most readily imagine, mister Holmes, I have
Speaker 1: been cut to the quick. I understand that you have
Speaker 1: already managed several delicate cases of this sort, sir, though
Speaker 1: I presume that they were hardly from the same class
Speaker 1: of society. No, I am descending. I beg pardon. My
Speaker 1: last client of the sort was a king. Oh really,
Speaker 1: I had no idea, and which king? But the King
Speaker 1: of Scandinavia. What had he lost his wife? You can understand,
Speaker 1: said Holmes suavely, that I extend to the affairs of
Speaker 1: my other clients the same secrecy which I promised you
Speaker 1: in yours. Of course, very right, very right, I am sure.
Speaker 1: I beg pardon as to my own case, I am
Speaker 1: ready to give you any information which may assist you
Speaker 1: in forming an opinion. Thank you. I have already learned
Speaker 1: all that is in the public, Prince, nothing more. I
Speaker 1: presume that I may take it as correct. This article,
Speaker 1: for example, as to the disappearance of the bride. Lord
Speaker 1: Saint Simon glanced over it. Yes, it is correct as
Speaker 1: far as it goes, but it needs a great deal
Speaker 1: of supplementing before any one could offer an opinion. I
Speaker 1: think that I may arrive at my facts most directly
Speaker 1: by questioning you. Pray do so? When did you first
Speaker 1: meet miss Hattie Durant in San Francisco a year ago?
Speaker 1: You were traveling in the States. Yes, did you become
Speaker 1: engaged then? No? But you were on a friendly footing.
Speaker 1: I was amused by her society, and she could see
Speaker 1: that I was amused. Her father is very rich. He
Speaker 1: is said to be the richest man on the Pacific Slope.
Speaker 1: And how did he make his money in mining? He
Speaker 1: had nothing a few years ago that he struck gold,
Speaker 1: invested it and came up by leaps and bounds. Now,
Speaker 1: what is your own impression as to the young ladies
Speaker 1: your wife's character? The nobleman swung his glasses a little
Speaker 1: faster and stared down into the fire. You see, mister
Speaker 1: Holmes said he. My wife was twenty before her father
Speaker 1: became a rich man. During that time she ran free
Speaker 1: in a mining camp and wandered through woods or mountains,
Speaker 1: so that her education has come from nature rather than
Speaker 1: from the schoolmaster. She is what we call in England
Speaker 1: a tomboy with a strong nature, wild and free, unfettered
Speaker 1: by any sort of traditions. She is impetuous, volcanic. I
Speaker 1: was about to say, she is swift in making up
Speaker 1: her mind and fearless in carrying out her resolutions. On
Speaker 1: the other hand, I would not have given her the
Speaker 1: name which I have the honor to bear. He gave
Speaker 1: a little stately cough, had I not thought her to
Speaker 1: be at bottom a noble woman. I believe that she
Speaker 1: is capable of heroic self sacrifice, and that anything dishonorable
Speaker 1: would be repugnant to her. Have you her photograph? I
Speaker 1: brought this with me. He opened a locket and showed
Speaker 1: us the full face of a very lovely woman. It
Speaker 1: was not a photograph but an ivory miniature, and the
Speaker 1: artist had brought out the full effect of the lustrous
Speaker 1: black hair, the large dark eyes, and the exquisite mouth.
Speaker 1: Holmes long and earnestly at it. Then he closed the
Speaker 1: locket and handed it back to Lord Saint Simon. The
Speaker 1: young lady came to London then, and you renewed your acquaintance. Yes,
Speaker 1: her father brought her over for this last London season.
Speaker 1: I met her several times, became engaged to her, and
Speaker 1: have now married her. She brought I understand, a considerable dowry,
Speaker 1: a fair dowry, not more than as usual in my family.
Speaker 1: And this, of course remains to you, since the marriage
Speaker 1: is a fee accompli. I really have made no inquiries
Speaker 1: on the subject, very naturally. Not. Did you see mister
Speaker 1: rand on the day before the wedding? Yes, was she
Speaker 1: in good spirits, never better. She kept talking of what
Speaker 1: we should do in our future lives. Indeed, that is
Speaker 1: very interesting. And on the morning of the wedding she
Speaker 1: was as bright as possible, at least until after the ceremony.
Speaker 1: And did you observe any change in her then? Well,
Speaker 1: to tell the truth, I saw then the first signs
Speaker 1: that I had ever seen that her temper was just
Speaker 1: a little sharp. The incident however, was too trivial to relate,
Speaker 1: and can have no possible bearing upon the case. Pray,
Speaker 1: let us have it for all that, Oh, it is childish.
Speaker 1: She dropped her bouquet as we went towards the vestry.
Speaker 1: She was passing the front pew at the time, and
Speaker 1: it fell over into the pew. There was a moment's delay,
Speaker 1: but the gentleman in the pew handed it up to
Speaker 1: her again, and it did not appear to be the
Speaker 1: worse for the fall. Yet, when I spoke to her
Speaker 1: of the matter, she answered me abruptly, and in the
Speaker 1: carriage on our way home, she seemed absurdly agitated over
Speaker 1: this trifling cause. Indeed, you say that there was a
Speaker 1: gentleman in the pew, some of the general public were present, then, oh, yes,
Speaker 1: it is impossible to exclude them when the church is open.
Speaker 1: This gentleman was not one of your wife's friends. No, no,
Speaker 1: I call him a gentleman by courtesy. But he was
Speaker 1: quite a common looking person. I hardly noticed his appearance.
Speaker 1: But really, I think that we are wandering rather far
Speaker 1: from the point. Lady Saint Simon then returned from the
Speaker 1: wedding in a less cheerful frame of mind than she
Speaker 1: had gone to it. What did she do on re
Speaker 1: entering her father's house. I saw her in conversation with
Speaker 1: her maid. And who is her maid? Alice is her name.
Speaker 1: She is an American and came from California with her
Speaker 1: a confidential servant. A little too much, so it seemed
Speaker 1: to me that her mistress allowed her to take great liberties. Still,
Speaker 1: of course, in America they look upon these things in
Speaker 1: a different way. How long did she speak to this Alice? Oh,
Speaker 1: a few minutes. I had something else to think of.
Speaker 1: You did not overhear what they said. Lady Saint Simon
Speaker 1: said something about jumping a claim. She was accustomed to
Speaker 1: use slang of that kind. I have no idea what
Speaker 1: she meant. American slang is very expressive sometimes. And what
Speaker 1: did your wife do when she finished speaking to her maid.
Speaker 1: She walked into the breakfast room on your arm. No alone.
Speaker 1: She was very independent in little matters like that. Then,
Speaker 1: after we had sat down for ten minutes or so,
Speaker 1: she rose, hurriedly, muttered some words of apology, and left
Speaker 1: the room. She never came back. But this made Alice,
Speaker 1: as I understand the poses that she went to her
Speaker 1: room covered her bride's dress with a long ulster, put
Speaker 1: on a bonnet, and went out quite so. And she
Speaker 1: was afterwards seen walking into Hyde Park in company with
Speaker 1: Flora Millar, a woman who is now in custody, and
Speaker 1: who had already made a disturbance at mister Durand's house
Speaker 1: that morning. Ah, yes, I should like a few particulars
Speaker 1: as to this young lady and your relations to her.
Speaker 1: Lord Saint Simon shrugged his shoulders and raised his eyebrows.
Speaker 1: We have been on her friendly footing for some years,
Speaker 1: I may say, on a very friendly footing. She used
Speaker 1: to be at the Allegro. I have not treated her ungenerously,
Speaker 1: and she had no just cause of complaint against me,
Speaker 1: But you know what women are, mister Holmes. Flora was
Speaker 1: a dear little thing, but exceedingly hot headed and devotedly
Speaker 1: attached to me. She wrote me dreadful letters when she
Speaker 1: heard that I was about to be married, and to
Speaker 1: tell the truth, the reason why I had the marriage
Speaker 1: celebrated so quietly was that I feared lest there might
Speaker 1: be a scandal in the church. She came to mister
Speaker 1: Durand's door just after we returned, and she endeavored to
Speaker 1: push her way in, uttering very abusive expressions towards my wife,
Speaker 1: and even threatening her. But I had foreseen the possibility
Speaker 1: of something of the sort, and I had two police
Speaker 1: fellows there in private clothes, who soon pushed her out again.
Speaker 1: She was quiet when she saw that there was no
Speaker 1: good in making a row. Did your wife hear all this? No,
Speaker 1: thank goodness, she did not, and she was seen walking
Speaker 1: with this very woman afterwards. Yes, that is what mister
Speaker 1: Lestrade of Scotland Yard looks upon as so serious. It
Speaker 1: is taught that Flora decoyed my wife out and laid
Speaker 1: some terrible trap for her. Well, it is a possible supposition.
Speaker 1: You think so too, I did not say a probable one,
Speaker 1: But you do not yourself look upon this as likely.
Speaker 1: I do not think Flora would her to fly. Still,
Speaker 1: jealousy is a strange transformer of characters. Pray, what is
Speaker 1: your own theory as to what took place? Well? Really,
Speaker 1: I came to seek a theory, not a propound one.
Speaker 1: I have given you all the facts since you ask me. However,
Speaker 1: I may say that it has occurred to me as
Speaker 1: possible that the excitement of this affair the consciousness that
Speaker 1: she had made so immense a social stride, had the
Speaker 1: effect of causing some little nervous disturbance in my wife,
Speaker 1: In short, that she had become suddenly deranged. Well, really,
Speaker 1: when I consider that she has turned her back, I
Speaker 1: will not say upon me, but upon so much that
Speaker 1: many have aspired you without success, I can hardly explain
Speaker 1: it in any other fashion. Well, certainly that is also
Speaker 1: a conceivable hypothesis, said Holmes, smiling. And now, Lord Saint Simon,
Speaker 1: I think that I have nearly all my data. May
Speaker 1: I ask whether you were seated at the breakfast table
Speaker 1: so that you could see out of the window. We
Speaker 1: could see the other side of the road and the park.
Speaker 1: Quite so, then, I do not think that I need
Speaker 1: to detain you longer. I shall communicate with you should
Speaker 1: you be fortunate enough to solve this problem, said our client, rising,
Speaker 1: I have solved it. Eh, What was that? I say
Speaker 1: that I have solved it? Where then is my wife?
Speaker 1: That is a detail that I shall speedily supply. Lord
Speaker 1: Saint Simon shook his head. I am afraid that it
Speaker 1: will take wiser heads than yours or mine, he remarked,
Speaker 1: and bowing in a stately old fashioned manner he departed.
Speaker 1: It is very good of Lord Saint Simon to honor
Speaker 1: my head by putting it on a level with his own,
Speaker 1: said Sherlock Holmes, laughing. I think that I shall have
Speaker 1: a whisky and soda and a cigar after all this
Speaker 1: cross questioning. I had formed my conclusion as to the
Speaker 1: case before our client came into the room. My dear Holmes,
Speaker 1: I have notes of several similar cases, though none, as
Speaker 1: I remarked before, which were quite as prompt. My whole
Speaker 1: examination served to turn my conjecture into a certainty. Circumstantial
Speaker 1: evidence is occasionally very convincing, as when you find a
Speaker 1: trout in the milk, to quote Sir Rose example. But
Speaker 1: I have heard all that you have heard, without, however,
Speaker 1: the knowledge of pre existing cases, which serves me so well.
Speaker 1: There was a parallel instance in Aberdeen some years back,
Speaker 1: and something on very much the same lines at Munich
Speaker 1: the year after the Franco Prussian War. It is one
Speaker 1: of these cases. But hullo, here is lestrade, good afternoon, Lestrade.
Speaker 1: You will find an extra tumbler upon the sideboard, and
Speaker 1: there are cigars in the box. The official detective was
Speaker 1: attired in a pea jacket and cravat, which gave him
Speaker 1: a decidedly nautical appearance, and he carried a black canvas
Speaker 1: bag in his hand. With a short greeting, he seated
Speaker 1: himself and lit the cigar which had been offered to him.
Speaker 1: What's up, then, asked Holmes, with a twinkle in his eye.
Speaker 1: You look dissatisfied, and I feel dissatisfied. It is this
Speaker 1: infernal Saint Simon marriage case. I can make neither head
Speaker 1: nor tail of the business. Really, you surprise me. Who
Speaker 1: ever heard of such a mixed affair? Every clue seems
Speaker 1: to slip through my fingers. I've been at work upon
Speaker 1: it all day, and very wet. It seems to have
Speaker 1: made you, said Holmes, laying his hand upon the arm
Speaker 1: of the pea jacket. Yes, I've been dragging the serpentine
Speaker 1: in Heaven's name, what for in search of the body
Speaker 1: of lady Saint Simon Sherlock. Holmes leaned back in his
Speaker 1: chair and laughed heartily. Have you dragged the basin of
Speaker 1: Trafago's square fountain? He asked, why? What do you mean?
Speaker 1: Because you have just as good a chance of finding
Speaker 1: this lady in the one as in the other lestrade
Speaker 1: shot an angry glance at my companion. I suppose you
Speaker 1: know all about it, he snarled. Well, I have only
Speaker 1: just heard the facts, but my mind is made up.
Speaker 1: Oh indeed, then you think that the serpentine plays no
Speaker 1: part in the matter. I think it very unlikely. Then
Speaker 1: perhaps you will kindly explain how it is that we
Speaker 1: found this in it. He opened his bag as he spoke,
Speaker 1: and tumbled onto the floor a wedding dress of watered silk,
Speaker 1: a pair of white satin shoes, and a bride's wreath
Speaker 1: and veil, all discolored and soaked in water. There, said he,
Speaker 1: putting a new wedding ring upon the top of the pile.
Speaker 1: There is a little nut for you to crack, Master Holmes.
Speaker 1: Oh indeed, said my friend, blowing blue rings into the air.
Speaker 1: You drag them from the serpentine. No, they were found
Speaker 1: floating near the margin by a park keeper. They have
Speaker 1: been identified as her clothes, and it seemed to me
Speaker 1: that if the clothes were there, the body would not
Speaker 1: be far off. By the same brilliant reasoning, every man's
Speaker 1: body is to be found in the neighborhood of his wardrobe,
Speaker 1: and pray what did you hope to arrive at through
Speaker 1: this at some evidence implicating Flora Millar in the disappearance.
Speaker 1: I am afraid that you will find it difficult, are
Speaker 1: you indeed? Now, cried Lestrade with some bitterness. I am afraid, Holmes,
Speaker 1: that you are not very practical with your deductions and
Speaker 1: your inferences. You have made two blunders in as many minutes.
Speaker 1: This dress does implicate miss Flora Millar. And how in
Speaker 1: the dress is a pocket. In the pocket is a
Speaker 1: card case. In the card case is a note. And
Speaker 1: here is the very note. He slapped it down upon
Speaker 1: the table in front of him. Listen to this. You
Speaker 1: will see me when all is ready, come at once.
Speaker 1: F h M. Now, my theory all along has been
Speaker 1: that Lady Saint Simon was decoyed away by Flora Millar,
Speaker 1: and that she, with confederates, no doubt, was responsible for
Speaker 1: her disappearance. Here, signed with her initials, is the very
Speaker 1: note which was no doubt quietly slipped into her hand
Speaker 1: at the door, and which lured her within their reach.
Speaker 1: Very good, Lestrade, said Holmes, laughing, you really are very fine. Indeed,
Speaker 1: let me see it. He took up the paper in
Speaker 1: a listless way. But his attention instantly became riveted, and
Speaker 1: he gave a little cry of satisfaction. This is indeed important,
Speaker 1: said he ha. You find it so extremely so I
Speaker 1: congratulate you warmly. Lestrade rose in his triumph and bent
Speaker 1: his head to look. Why, he shrieked, you're looking at
Speaker 1: the wrong side. On the contrary, this is the right side,
Speaker 1: the right side. You're mad. Here is the note written
Speaker 1: in pencil. Over here, and over here is what appears
Speaker 1: to be the fragment of a hotel bill, which interests
Speaker 1: me deeply. There's nothing in it. I looked at it before,
Speaker 1: said Lestrade. October fourth, rooms eight shillings, breakfast two shillings sixpence,
Speaker 1: cocktail one shilling, Lunch two shillings sixpence, glass, sherry eightpence.
Speaker 1: I see nothing in that. Very likely not. It is
Speaker 1: most important all the same as to the note, it
Speaker 1: is important also, or at least the initials are. So.
Speaker 1: I congratulate you again. I've wasted time enough, said Lestrade rising.
Speaker 1: I believe in hard work, and not in sitting by
Speaker 1: the fire spinning fine theories. Good day, mister Holmes, and
Speaker 1: we shall see which gets to the bottom of the matter. First,
Speaker 1: he gathered up the garments, thrust them into the bag,
Speaker 1: and made for the door. Just one hint to you, Lestrade,
Speaker 1: drawled Holmes, before his rival vanished. I will tell you
Speaker 1: the true solution of the matter, Lady, Saint Simon is
Speaker 1: a myth. There is not, and there never has been
Speaker 1: any such person. Lestrade looked sadly at my companion. Then
Speaker 1: he turned to me, tapped his forehead three times, shook
Speaker 1: his head solemnly, and hurried away. He had hardly shut
Speaker 1: the door behind him when Holmes rose to put on
Speaker 1: his overcoat. There is something in what the fellow says
Speaker 1: about out door work, he remarked. So I think, Watson,
Speaker 1: that I must leave you to your papers for a little.
Speaker 1: It was after five o'clock when Sherlock Holmes left me,
Speaker 1: but I had no time to be lonely, for within
Speaker 1: an hour there arrived a confectioner's man with a very
Speaker 1: large flat box. This he unpacked with the help of
Speaker 1: a youth, whom he had brought with him, and presently,
Speaker 1: to my very great astonishment, a quite epicurean little cold
Speaker 1: supper began to be laid out upon our humble lodging house. Mahogany.
Speaker 1: There were a couple of brace of cold woodcock, a pheasant,
Speaker 1: a pte defago, a pie with a group of ancient
Speaker 1: and cobwebby bottles. Having laid out all these luxuries, my
Speaker 1: two visitors vanished away like the genie of the Arabian Nights,
Speaker 1: with no explanation save that the things had been paid
Speaker 1: for and were ordered to this address. Just before nine o'clock,
Speaker 1: Sherlockomb stepped briskly into the room. His features were gravely set,
Speaker 1: but there was a light in his eye which made
Speaker 1: me think that he had not been disappointed in his conclusions.
Speaker 1: They have laid the supper, then he said, rubbing his hands.
Speaker 1: You seem to expect company. They have laid for five Yes,
Speaker 1: I fancy we may have some company dropping in, said he.
Speaker 1: I am surprised that Lord Saint Simon has not already arrived.
Speaker 1: Ha I fancy that I hear his step now upon
Speaker 1: the stairs. It was indeed, our visitor of the afternoon
Speaker 1: who came bustling in, dangling his glasses more vigorously than ever,
Speaker 1: and with a very perturbed expression upon his aristocratic features.
Speaker 1: My messenger reached you, then asked Holmes. Yes, and I
Speaker 1: confess that the content startled me beyond measure. Have you
Speaker 1: good authority for what you say? The best possible, Lord
Speaker 1: Saint Simon sank into a chair and passed his hand
Speaker 1: over his forehead. What will the Duke say, he murmured,
Speaker 1: when he hears that one of the family has been
Speaker 1: subjected to such humiliation? It is the purest accident. I
Speaker 1: cannot allow that there is any humiliation. Ah, you look
Speaker 1: on these things from another standpoint. I fail to see
Speaker 1: that any one is to blame. I can hardly see
Speaker 1: how the lady could have acted otherwise, though her abrupt
Speaker 1: man as that of doing it was undoubtedly to be regretted.
Speaker 1: Having no mother, she had no one to advise her
Speaker 1: at such a crisis. It was a slight, Sir, a
Speaker 1: public slight, said Lord Saint Simon, tapping his fingers upon
Speaker 1: the table. You must make allowance for this poor girl
Speaker 1: placed in so unpresented that a position. I will make
Speaker 1: no allowance. I am very angry, indeed, and I have
Speaker 1: been shamefully used. I think that I heard a ring,
Speaker 1: said Holmes. Yes, there are steps on the landing. If
Speaker 1: I cannot persuade you to take a lenient view of
Speaker 1: the matter, Lord Saint Simon, I have brought an advocate
Speaker 1: here who may be more successful. He opened the door
Speaker 1: and ushered in a lady and gentleman. Lord Saint Simon said,
Speaker 1: he allow me to introduce you to mister and missus
Speaker 1: Francis hay Moulton. The lady, I think you have already met.
Speaker 1: At the sight of these newcomers, our client sprung from
Speaker 1: his seat and stood very erect, with his eyes cast
Speaker 1: down and his hand thrust into the breast of his
Speaker 1: frock coat, a picture of offended dignity. The lady had
Speaker 1: taken a quick step forward and held out her hand
Speaker 1: to him, but he still refused to raise his eyes.
Speaker 1: It was as well for his resolution, perhaps, for her
Speaker 1: pleading face was one which it was hard to resist.
Speaker 1: You're angry, Robert said she. Well, I guess you have
Speaker 1: every cause to be pray. Make no apology to me,
Speaker 1: said Lord Saint Simon bitterly. Oh. Yes, I know that
Speaker 1: I have treated you real bad, and that I should
Speaker 1: have spoken to you before I went, But I was
Speaker 1: kind of rattled, and from the time when I saw
Speaker 1: Frank here again, I just didn't know what I was
Speaker 1: doing or saying, I only wonder I didn't fall down
Speaker 1: and do a faint right there before the altar. Perhaps,
Speaker 1: missus Moulton, you would like my friend and me to
Speaker 1: leave the room while you explained this matter, if I
Speaker 1: may give an opinion, remarked the strange gentleman. We've had
Speaker 1: just a little too much secrecy over this business already.
Speaker 1: For my part, I should like all Europe and America
Speaker 1: to hear the rights of it. He was a small,
Speaker 1: wiry sunburn man, clean shaven, with a sharp face and
Speaker 1: alert manner. Then I'll tell our story right away, said
Speaker 1: the lady. Frank Here and I met in eighty four
Speaker 1: in mc guire's camp near the Rockies, where Pile was
Speaker 1: working a claim. We were engaged to each other, Frank
Speaker 1: and I. But then one day father struck a rich
Speaker 1: pocket and made a pile while poor Frank there had
Speaker 1: a claim that petered out and came to nothing. The
Speaker 1: richer Pa grew the poorer was Frank. So at last
Speaker 1: Paw wouldn't hear of our engagement lasting any longer, and
Speaker 1: he took me away to Frisco. Frank wouldn't throw up
Speaker 1: his hand, though, so he followed me there and he
Speaker 1: saw me without PA knowing anything about it. It would
Speaker 1: have only made him mad to know, so we just
Speaker 1: fixed it all up for ourselves. Frank said that he
Speaker 1: would go and make his pile too, and never come
Speaker 1: back to claim me until he had as much as paw.
Speaker 1: So then I promised to wait for him to the
Speaker 1: end of time, and pledged myself not to marry any
Speaker 1: one else while he lived. Why shouldn't we be married
Speaker 1: right away, then said he, and then I will feel
Speaker 1: shit you and I won't claim to be your husband
Speaker 1: till I come back. Well, we talked it over, and
Speaker 1: he had fixed it all up so nicely, with a
Speaker 1: clergyman already in waiting that we just did it right there,
Speaker 1: and then Frank went off to seek his fortune, and
Speaker 1: I went back to PA. The next I heard of
Speaker 1: Frank was that he was in Montana, and then he
Speaker 1: went prospecting in Arizona, and then I heard of him
Speaker 1: from New Mexico. After that came a long newspaper story
Speaker 1: about how a miner's camp had been attacked by Apache Indians,
Speaker 1: and there was my Frank's name among the killed. I
Speaker 1: fainted dead away, and I was very sick for months
Speaker 1: after PA thought I had a decline, and took me
Speaker 1: to have the doctor's in Frisco. Not a word of
Speaker 1: news came for a year, and more so that I
Speaker 1: never doubted that Frank was really dead. Then Lord Saint
Speaker 1: Simon came to Frisco and we came to London, and
Speaker 1: a marriage was arranged, and PA was very pleased. But
Speaker 1: I felt all the time that no man on this
Speaker 1: earth would ever take the place in my heart that
Speaker 1: had been given to my poor Frank. Still, if I
Speaker 1: had married Lord Saint Simon, of course i'd have done
Speaker 1: my duty by him. We can't command our love, but
Speaker 1: we can our actions. I went to the altar with
Speaker 1: him with the intention to make him just as good
Speaker 1: a wife as it was in me to be. But
Speaker 1: you may imagine what I felt when, just as I
Speaker 1: came to the altar rails, I glanced back and saw
Speaker 1: Frank standing and looking at me out of the first pew.
Speaker 1: I thought it was his ghost at first, but when
Speaker 1: I looked again, there he was still, with a kind
Speaker 1: of question in his eyes, as if to ask me
Speaker 1: whether I were glad or sorry to see him. I
Speaker 1: wonder I didn't drop. I know that everything was turning round,
Speaker 1: and the words of the clergyman were just like the
Speaker 1: buzz of a bee in my ear. I didn't know
Speaker 1: what to do. Should I stop the service and make
Speaker 1: a scene in the church. I glanced at him again,
Speaker 1: and he seemed to know what I was thinking, for
Speaker 1: he raised his finger to his lips to tell me
Speaker 1: to be still. Then I saw him scribble on a
Speaker 1: piece of paper, and I knew that he was writing
Speaker 1: me a note. As I passed his pew on the
Speaker 1: way out, I dropped my bouquet over to him, and
Speaker 1: he slipped a note into my hand. When he returned
Speaker 1: me the flowers, it was only a line asking me
Speaker 1: to join him. When he made the sign to me
Speaker 1: to do so. Of course, I never doubted for a
Speaker 1: moment that my first duty was now to him, and
Speaker 1: I determined to do just whatever he might direct. When
Speaker 1: I got back, I told my maid, who had known
Speaker 1: him in California and had always been his friend. I
Speaker 1: ordered her to say nothing but to get a few
Speaker 1: things packed and my ulster ready. I know I ought
Speaker 1: to have spoken to Lord Saint Simon, but it was dreadful,
Speaker 1: hard before his mother and all those great people. I
Speaker 1: just made up my mind to run away and explain afterwards.
Speaker 1: I hadn't been at the table ten minutes before I
Speaker 1: saw Frank out of the window at the other side
Speaker 1: of the road. He beckoned to me and then began
Speaker 1: walking into the park. I slipped out, put on my
Speaker 1: things and followed him. Some woman came talking something or
Speaker 1: other about Lord Saint Simon to me seemed to me
Speaker 1: from the little I heard, as if he had a
Speaker 1: little secret of his own before marriage also. But I
Speaker 1: managed to get away from her and soon overtook Frank.
Speaker 1: We got into a cab together and away we drove
Speaker 1: to some lodgings he had taken in Gordon Square. And
Speaker 1: that was my true wedding. After all those years of waiting.
Speaker 1: Frank had been a prisoner among the Apaches, had escaped,
Speaker 1: come to Fisco, found that I had given him up
Speaker 1: for dead, and had gone to England, followed me there
Speaker 1: and had come upon me at last on the very
Speaker 1: morning of my second wedding. I saw it in a paper,
Speaker 1: explained the American. It gave the name and the church,
Speaker 1: but not where the lady lived. Then we had a
Speaker 1: talk as to what we should do, and Frank was
Speaker 1: all for openness. But I was so ashamed of it
Speaker 1: all that I felt as if I should like to
Speaker 1: vanish away and never see any of them again, just
Speaker 1: sending a line to Pa, perhaps to show him that
Speaker 1: I was alive. It was awful to me to think
Speaker 1: of all those lords and ladies sitting round that breakfast
Speaker 1: table and waiting for me to come back. So Frank
Speaker 1: took my wedding clothes and things and made a bundle
Speaker 1: of them so that I should not be traced, and
Speaker 1: dropped them away somewhere where no one could find them.
Speaker 1: It is likely that we should have gone on to
Speaker 1: Paris tomorrow, only that this good gentleman, mister Holmes came
Speaker 1: round to us this evening, though how he found us
Speaker 1: is more than I can think. And he showed us
Speaker 1: very clearly and kindly that I was wrong, and that
Speaker 1: Frank was right, and that we should be put in
Speaker 1: ourselves in the wrong if we were so secret. Then
Speaker 1: he offered to give us a chance of talking to
Speaker 1: Lord Saint Simon alone, and so we came right away
Speaker 1: around to his rooms at once. Now, Robert, you have
Speaker 1: heard it all, and I am very sorry if I
Speaker 1: have given you pain, and I hope that you do
Speaker 1: not think very meanly of me. Lord Saint Simon had
Speaker 1: by no means relaxed his rigid attitude, but had listened
Speaker 1: with a frowning brow and a compressed lip to this
Speaker 1: long narrative. Excuse me, he said, but it is not
Speaker 1: my custom to discuss my most intimate personal affairs in
Speaker 1: this public manner. Then you won't forgive me. You won't
Speaker 1: shake hands before I go? Oh, certainly, if it would
Speaker 1: give you any pleasure, He put out his hand and
Speaker 1: coldly grasped that which she extended to him. I had
Speaker 1: hoped suggested that you would have joined us in a
Speaker 1: friendly supper. I think that there you ask a little
Speaker 1: too much, responded his lordship. I may be forced to
Speaker 1: acquiesce in these recent developments, but I can hardly be
Speaker 1: expected to make merry over them. I think that, with
Speaker 1: your permission, I will now wish you all a very
Speaker 1: good night. He included us all in a sweeping bow
Speaker 1: and stalked out of the room. Then I trust that
Speaker 1: you at least will honor me with your company, said
Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes. It is always a joy to meet an American,
Speaker 1: mister Moulton, for I am one of those who believe
Speaker 1: that the folly of a monarch and the blundering of
Speaker 1: a minister in far gone years will not prevent our
Speaker 1: children from being some day citizens of the same world
Speaker 1: wide country under a flag which shall be a quartering
Speaker 1: of the Union Jack with the stars and stripes. The
Speaker 1: case has been an interesting one, remarked Holmes when our
Speaker 1: visitors had left us, because it serves to show very
Speaker 1: clearly how simple the explanation may be of an affair which,
Speaker 1: at first sight seems to be almost inexplicable. Nothing could
Speaker 1: be more natural than the sequence of events as narrated
Speaker 1: by this lady, and nothing stranger than the result, when viewed,
Speaker 1: for instance, by mister Lestrade of Scotland Yard. You were
Speaker 1: not yourself at fault at all. Then, From the first
Speaker 1: two facts were very obvious to me, the one that
Speaker 1: the lady had been quite willing to undergo the wedding ceremony,
Speaker 1: the other that she had repented of it within a
Speaker 1: few minutes of returning home. Obviously something had occurred during
Speaker 1: the morning, then, to cause her to change her mind.
Speaker 1: What could that something be? She could not have spoken
Speaker 1: to any one when she was out, for she had
Speaker 1: been in the company of the bridegroom. Had she seen
Speaker 1: some one, then if she had, it must be some
Speaker 1: one from America, because she had spent so short a
Speaker 1: time in this country that she could hardly have allowed
Speaker 1: any one to acquire so deep an influence over her
Speaker 1: that the mere sight of him would induce her to
Speaker 1: change her plans so completely. You see, we have already
Speaker 1: arrived by a process of exclusion. Had the idea that
Speaker 1: she might have seen an American, then who could this
Speaker 1: American be, and why should he possess so much influence
Speaker 1: over her? It might be a lover, It might be
Speaker 1: a husband. Her young womanhood had I knew been spent
Speaker 1: in rough scenes and under strange conditions, So far I
Speaker 1: had got before I ever heard Lord Saint Simon's narrative
Speaker 1: when he told us of a man in a pew,
Speaker 1: of the change in the bride's manner, of so transparent
Speaker 1: a device for obtaining a note as the dropping of
Speaker 1: a bouquet of her resort to her confidential maid, and
Speaker 1: of her very significant allusion to claim jumping, which in
Speaker 1: Miner's parlance means taking possession of that which another person
Speaker 1: has a prior claim too. The whole situation became absolutely clear.
Speaker 1: She had gone off with a man, and the man
Speaker 1: was either a lover or was a previous husband, the
Speaker 1: chances being in favor of the latter. And how in
Speaker 1: the world did you find them? It might have been difficult,
Speaker 1: but friend Lestrade held information in his hands, the value
Speaker 1: of which he did not himself. No, the initials were,
Speaker 1: of course of the highest importance. But more valuable still
Speaker 1: was it to know that within a week he had
Speaker 1: settled his bill at one of the most select London hotels.
Speaker 1: How did you deduce the select by the select prices?
Speaker 1: Eight shillings for a bed and eightpence for a glass
Speaker 1: of sherry pointed to one of the most expensive hotels.
Speaker 1: There are not many in London which charge at that rate.
Speaker 1: In the second one, which I visited, in Northumberton Avenue,
Speaker 1: I learned by an inspection of the book, that Francis h. Multon,
Speaker 1: an American gentleman, had left only the day before, And
Speaker 1: on looking over the entries against him, I came upon
Speaker 1: the very items which I had seen in the duplicate bill.
Speaker 1: His letters were to be forwarded to two twenty six
Speaker 1: Gordon Square, So thither I traveled, and being fortunate enough
Speaker 1: to find the loving couple at home, I ventured to
Speaker 1: give them some parental advice, and to point out to
Speaker 1: them that it would be better in every way that
Speaker 1: they should make their position a little clearer, both to
Speaker 1: the general public and to Lord Saint Simon. In particular.
Speaker 1: I invited them to meet him here, and as you see,
Speaker 1: I made him keep the appointment, but with no very
Speaker 1: good result. I remarked, his conduct was certainly not very gracious.
Speaker 1: Ah Watson, said Holmes, smiling. Perhaps you would not be
Speaker 1: very gracious either, if, after all the trouble of wooing
Speaker 1: and wedding, you found yourself deprived in an instant of
Speaker 1: a wife and of fortune. I think that we may
Speaker 1: judge Lord Saint Simon very mercifully, and thank our stars
Speaker 1: that we are never likely to find ourselves in the
Speaker 1: same position. Draw up your chair and hand me my violin.
Speaker 1: For the only problem we have still to solve is
Speaker 1: how to while away these bleak, automal evenings. End of
Speaker 1: chapter ten, The Adventures of the Noble Bachelor