SUSS
Curare
02/08/09 16:55 Filed in: Additional Information
“If the child were pricked with one of those arrows dipped in curare or some other devilish drug, it would mean death if the venom were not sucked out.” (Sherlock Holmes)
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Eleanor of Castile
02/08/09 16:53 Filed in: Additional Information
“Was there not a queen in English history who sucked such a wound to draw poison from it?” (Sherlock Holmes)
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Spinal menningitis
02/08/09 16:51 Filed in: Additional Information
“That’s what puzzled the vet. A sort of paralysis. Spinal meningitis, he thought.” (Robert Ferguson)
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Spaniel
02/08/09 16:47 Filed in: Additional Information
A spaniel had lain in a basket in the corner.
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- Wikipedia (Spaniel)
- English Springer Spaniel
- Wikipedia (English Springer Spaniel)
Yeoman farmer
02/08/09 16:46 Filed in: Additional Information
The half-panelled walls may well have belonged to the original yeoman farmer of the seventeenth century.
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Rebus
02/08/09 16:44 Filed in: Additional Information
The rebus of a cheese and a man after the original builder.
- A puzzle in which words are represented by combinations of pictures and individual letters; for instance, apex might be represented by a picture of an ape followed by a letter X.
- Historically an ornamental device associated with a person to whose name it punningly alludes.
Tudor chimneys and Horsham slabs
02/08/09 16:41 Filed in: Additional Information
It was a large, straggling building, very old in the centre, very new at the wings with towering Tudor chimneys and a lichen-spotted, high-pitched roof of Horsham slabs.
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Blackheath and Richmond
02/08/09 16:39 Filed in: Additional Information
Old Deer Park
02/08/09 16:37 Filed in: Additional Information
“You don’t look quite the man you did when I threw you over the ropes into the crowd at the Old Deer Park." (Robert Ferguson)
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Rugby/rugby three-quarter
02/08/09 16:34 Filed in: Additional Information
“I believe your friend Watson played Rugby for Blackheath when I was three-quarter for Richmond.” (Robert Ferguson)
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Nitrates
02/08/09 16:33 Filed in: Additional Information
This gentleman married some five years ago a Peruvian lady the daughter of a Peruvian merchant, whom he had met in connection with the importation of nitrates.
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Elizabeth Báthory
02/08/09 16:30 Filed in: Additional Information
“A living person might have the habit. I have read, for example, of the old sucking the blood of the young in order to retain their youth.” (Dr Watson)
“You are right, Watson. It mentions the legend in one of these references.” (Sherlock Holmes)
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“You are right, Watson. It mentions the legend in one of these references.” (Sherlock Holmes)
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Vampirism
02/08/09 16:27 Filed in: Additional Information
Other listings in the Index
02/08/09 16:26 Filed in: Additional Information
Vittoria, the circus belle. Vanderbilt and the Yeggman. Vipers. Vigor, the Hammersmith wonder.
Grimm's Fairy Tale
02/08/09 16:23 Filed in: Additional Information
“We seem to have been switched on to a Grimms’ fairy tale.” (Sherlock Holmes)
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Sherlock Holmes - Character Illustrations
02/08/09 16:17 Filed in: Character Illustrations
Holmes had read carefully a note which the last post had brought him. Then, with the dry chuckle which was his nearest approach to a laugh, he tossed it over to me. Read More...
Sherlock Holmes - Sayings
02/08/09 16:15 Filed in: Sayings
“It is simpler to deal direct,” said Holmes. Read More...
Angry red pucker
02/08/09 16:13 Filed in: Artifacts and Curiosities
“Fancy anyone having the heart to hurt him,” he muttered as he glanced down at the small, angry red pucker upon the cherub throat.” (Robert Ferguson)
The dog
02/08/09 16:12 Filed in: Artifacts and Curiosities
“And the dog! If one were to use such a poison, would one not try it first in order to see that it had not lost its power? I did not foresee the dog, but at least I understand him and he fitted into my reconstruction.” (Sherlock Holmes)
South American utensils and weapons
02/08/09 15:23 Filed in: Artifacts and Curiosities
A fine collection of South American utensils and weapons, which had been brought, no doubt, by the Peruvian lady upstairs.
“A South American household. My instinct felt the presence of those weapons upon the wall before my eyes ever saw them.” (Sherlock Holmes)
“A South American household. My instinct felt the presence of those weapons upon the wall before my eyes ever saw them.” (Sherlock Holmes)
Index Volume 'V'
02/08/09 15:21 Filed in: Artifacts and Curiosities
I leaned back and took down the great index volume to which he referred. Holmes balanced it on his knee, and his eyes moved slowly and lovingly over the record of old cases, mixed with the accumulated information of a lifetime.
Letter from Sherlock Holmes to Morrison, Morrison, and Dodd
02/08/09 15:20 Filed in: Letters, telegrams, notices etc.
BAKER STREET,
Nov. 21st.
Re Vampires
SIR:
Referring to your letter of the 19th, I beg to state that I have looked into the inquiry of your client, Mr. Robert Ferguson, of Ferguson and Muirhead, tea brokers, of Mincing Lane, and that the matter has been brought to a satisfactory conclusion. With thanks for your recommendation, I am, sir,
Faithfully yours,
SHERLOCK HOLMES.
Re Vampires
SIR:
Referring to your letter of the 19th, I beg to state that I have looked into the inquiry of your client, Mr. Robert Ferguson, of Ferguson and Muirhead, tea brokers, of Mincing Lane, and that the matter has been brought to a satisfactory conclusion. With thanks for your recommendation, I am, sir,
Faithfully yours,
SHERLOCK HOLMES.
Note from Sherlock Holmes to Ferguson's wife
02/08/09 15:19 Filed in: Letters, telegrams, notices etc.
He scribbled a few lines upon a sheet of paper.“You at least have the entrée, Watson. Will you have the goodness to give the lady this note?” (Sherlock Holmes)
Telegram from Sherlock Holmes to Robert Ferguson
02/08/09 15:17 Filed in: Letters, telegrams, notices etc.
“Take a wire down, like a good fellow. ‘Will examine your case with pleasure.’ ” (Sherlock Holmes)
Letter from Robert Ferguson to Sherlock Holmes
02/08/09 15:15 Filed in: Letters, telegrams, notices etc.
DEAR MR HOLMES [it said]:
I have been recommended to you by my lawyers, but indeed the matter is so extraordinarily delicate that it is most difficult to discuss. It concerns a friend for whom I am acting. This gentleman married some five years ago a Peruvian lady the daughter of a Peruvian merchant, whom he had met in connection with the importation of nitrates. The lady was very beautiful, but the fact of her foreign birth and of her alien religion always caused a separation of interests and of feelings between husband and wife, so that after a time his love may have cooled towards her and he may have come to regard their union as a mistake. He felt there were sides of her character which he could never explore or understand. This was the more painful as she was as loving a wife as a man could have — to all appearance absolutely devoted.
Now for the point which I will make more plain when we meet. Indeed, this note is merely to give you a general idea of the situation and to ascertain whether you would care to interest yourself in the matter. The lady began to show some curious traits quite alien to her ordinarily sweet and gentle disposition. The gentleman had been married twice and he had one son by the first wife. This boy was now fifteen, a very charming and affectionate youth, though unhappily injured through an accident in childhood. Twice the wife was caught in the act of assaulting this poor lad in the most unprovoked way. Once she struck him with a stick and left a great weal on his arm.
This was a small matter, however, compared with her conduct to her own child, a dear boy just under one year of age. On one occasion about a month ago this child had been left by its nurse for a few minutes. A loud cry from the baby, as of pain, called the nurse back. As she ran into the room she saw her employer, the lady, leaning over the baby and apparently biting his neck. There was a small wound in the neck from which a stream of blood had escaped. The nurse was so horrified that she wished to call the husband, but the lady implored her not to do so and actually gave her five pounds as a price for her silence. No explanation was ever given, and for the moment the matter was passed over.
It left, however, a terrible impression upon the nurse’s mind, and from that time she began to watch her mistress closely and to keep a closer guard upon the baby, whom she tenderly loved. It seemed to her that even as she watched the mother, so the mother watched her, and that every time she was compelled to leave the baby alone the mother was waiting to get at it. Day and night the nurse covered the child, and day and night the silent, watchful mother seemed to be lying in wait as a wolf waits for a lamb. It must read most incredible to you, and yet I beg you to take it seriously, for a child’s life and a man‘s sanity may depend upon it.
At last there came one dreadful day when the facts could no longer be concealed from the husband. The nurse’s nerve had given way; she could stand the strain no longer, and she made a clean breast of it all to the man. To him it seemed as wild a tale as it may now seem to you. He knew his wife to be a loving wife, and, save for the assaults upon her stepson, a loving mother. Why, then, should she wound her own dear little baby? He told the nurse that she was dreaming, that her suspicions were those of a lunatic, and that such libels upon her mistress were not to be tolerated. While they were talking a sudden cry of pain was heard. Nurse and master rushed together to the nursery.
Imagine his feelings, Mr. Holmes, as he saw his wife rise from a kneeling position beside the cot and saw blood upon the child’s exposed neck and upon the sheet. With a cry of horror, he turned his wife’s face to the light and saw blood all round her lips. It was she — she beyond all question — who had drunk the poor baby’s blood.
So the matter stands. She is now confined to her room. There has been no explanation. The husband is half demented. He knows, and I know, little of vampirism beyond the name. We had thought it was some wild tale of foreign parts. And yet here in the very heart of the English Sussex — well, all this can be discussed with you in the morning. Will you see me? Will you use your great powers in aiding a distracted man? If so, kindly wire to Ferguson, Cheeseman’s, Lamberley, and I will be at your rooms by ten o’clock.
Yours faithfully,
ROBERT FERGUSON.
P. S. I believe your friend Watson played Rugby for Blackheath when I was three-quarter for Richmond. It is the only personal introduction which I can give.
I have been recommended to you by my lawyers, but indeed the matter is so extraordinarily delicate that it is most difficult to discuss. It concerns a friend for whom I am acting. This gentleman married some five years ago a Peruvian lady the daughter of a Peruvian merchant, whom he had met in connection with the importation of nitrates. The lady was very beautiful, but the fact of her foreign birth and of her alien religion always caused a separation of interests and of feelings between husband and wife, so that after a time his love may have cooled towards her and he may have come to regard their union as a mistake. He felt there were sides of her character which he could never explore or understand. This was the more painful as she was as loving a wife as a man could have — to all appearance absolutely devoted.
Now for the point which I will make more plain when we meet. Indeed, this note is merely to give you a general idea of the situation and to ascertain whether you would care to interest yourself in the matter. The lady began to show some curious traits quite alien to her ordinarily sweet and gentle disposition. The gentleman had been married twice and he had one son by the first wife. This boy was now fifteen, a very charming and affectionate youth, though unhappily injured through an accident in childhood. Twice the wife was caught in the act of assaulting this poor lad in the most unprovoked way. Once she struck him with a stick and left a great weal on his arm.
This was a small matter, however, compared with her conduct to her own child, a dear boy just under one year of age. On one occasion about a month ago this child had been left by its nurse for a few minutes. A loud cry from the baby, as of pain, called the nurse back. As she ran into the room she saw her employer, the lady, leaning over the baby and apparently biting his neck. There was a small wound in the neck from which a stream of blood had escaped. The nurse was so horrified that she wished to call the husband, but the lady implored her not to do so and actually gave her five pounds as a price for her silence. No explanation was ever given, and for the moment the matter was passed over.
It left, however, a terrible impression upon the nurse’s mind, and from that time she began to watch her mistress closely and to keep a closer guard upon the baby, whom she tenderly loved. It seemed to her that even as she watched the mother, so the mother watched her, and that every time she was compelled to leave the baby alone the mother was waiting to get at it. Day and night the nurse covered the child, and day and night the silent, watchful mother seemed to be lying in wait as a wolf waits for a lamb. It must read most incredible to you, and yet I beg you to take it seriously, for a child’s life and a man‘s sanity may depend upon it.
At last there came one dreadful day when the facts could no longer be concealed from the husband. The nurse’s nerve had given way; she could stand the strain no longer, and she made a clean breast of it all to the man. To him it seemed as wild a tale as it may now seem to you. He knew his wife to be a loving wife, and, save for the assaults upon her stepson, a loving mother. Why, then, should she wound her own dear little baby? He told the nurse that she was dreaming, that her suspicions were those of a lunatic, and that such libels upon her mistress were not to be tolerated. While they were talking a sudden cry of pain was heard. Nurse and master rushed together to the nursery.
Imagine his feelings, Mr. Holmes, as he saw his wife rise from a kneeling position beside the cot and saw blood upon the child’s exposed neck and upon the sheet. With a cry of horror, he turned his wife’s face to the light and saw blood all round her lips. It was she — she beyond all question — who had drunk the poor baby’s blood.
So the matter stands. She is now confined to her room. There has been no explanation. The husband is half demented. He knows, and I know, little of vampirism beyond the name. We had thought it was some wild tale of foreign parts. And yet here in the very heart of the English Sussex — well, all this can be discussed with you in the morning. Will you see me? Will you use your great powers in aiding a distracted man? If so, kindly wire to Ferguson, Cheeseman’s, Lamberley, and I will be at your rooms by ten o’clock.
Yours faithfully,
ROBERT FERGUSON.
P. S. I believe your friend Watson played Rugby for Blackheath when I was three-quarter for Richmond. It is the only personal introduction which I can give.
Letter from Morrison, Morrison, and Dodd to Sherlock Holmes
02/08/09 15:13 Filed in: Letters, telegrams, notices etc.
46, OLD JEWRY,
Nov. 19th.
Re Vampires
SIR:
Our client, Mr. Robert Ferguson, of Ferguson and Muirhead, tea brokers, of Mincing Lane, has made some inquiry from us in a communication of even date concerning vampires. As our firm specializes entirely upon the assessment of machinery the matter hardly comes within our purview, and we have therefore recommended Mr. Ferguson to call upon you and lay the matter before you. We have not forgotten your successful action in the case of Matilda Briggs.
We are, sir,
Faithfully yours,
MORRISON, MORRISON, AND DODD.
per E. J. C.
Re Vampires
SIR:
Our client, Mr. Robert Ferguson, of Ferguson and Muirhead, tea brokers, of Mincing Lane, has made some inquiry from us in a communication of even date concerning vampires. As our firm specializes entirely upon the assessment of machinery the matter hardly comes within our purview, and we have therefore recommended Mr. Ferguson to call upon you and lay the matter before you. We have not forgotten your successful action in the case of Matilda Briggs.
We are, sir,
Faithfully yours,
MORRISON, MORRISON, AND DODD.
per E. J. C.
Venomous lizard or gila
02/08/09 15:11 Filed in: Untold Cases
Remarkable case, that!
- A venomous lizard native to the southwestern U.S. and Mexico.
The Case of Matilda Briggs
02/08/09 15:07 Filed in: Untold Cases
“Matilda Briggs was not the name of a young woman, Watson,” said Holmes in a reminiscent voice. “It was a ship which is associated with the giant rat of Sumatra, a story for which the world is not yet prepared." (Sherlock Holmes)
The Adventure of the 'Gloria Scott'
02/08/09 15:03 Filed in: Canon Cross References
“Voyage of the Gloria Scott,” he read. “That was a bad business. I have some recollection that you made a record of it, Watson, though I was unable to congratulate you upon the result.” (Sherlock Holmes)
Chequers, Lamberley, Sussex
02/08/09 14:53 Filed in: Locations
“Of course, we would stay at the inn.” (Sherlock Holmes)
Having left our bags at the Chequers, Lamberley.
Having left our bags at the Chequers, Lamberley.
Victoria Station, London
02/08/09 14:40 Filed in: Locations
"There is an excellent train at two from Victoria if you could come.” (Robert Ferguson)
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Peru
02/08/09 14:37 Filed in: Locations
This gentleman married some five years ago a Peruvian lady the daughter of a Peruvian merchant.
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Cheeseman's, Lamberley, Sussex
02/08/09 14:35 Filed in: Locations
Home of Robert Ferguson. Read More...
46 Old Jewry, London
02/08/09 14:32 Filed in: Locations
Maidservant
02/08/09 14:30 Filed in: Incidental Characters
A smart maid, the only modern thing which we had seen in the house, had brought in some tea.
Carlo the Spaniel
02/08/09 14:26 Filed in: Incidental Characters
A spaniel had lain in a basket in the corner. It came slowly forward towards its master, walking with difficulty. Its hind legs moved irregularly and its tail was on the ground. It licked Ferguson’s hand.
Michael the stablehand
02/08/09 14:25 Filed in: Incidental Characters
One stablehand, Michael, who sleeps in the house.
Ferguson baby
02/08/09 14:24 Filed in: Incidental Characters
A very beautiful child, dark-eyed, golden-haired, a wonderful mixture of the Saxon and the Latin.
Morrison, Morrison, and Dodd
02/08/09 14:19 Filed in: Incidental Characters
Lawyers to Robert Ferguson.
Jacky Ferguson
02/08/09 14:16 Filed in: Main Characters
15 year old son of Robert Ferguson. Read More...
Wife of Robert Ferguson
02/08/09 14:14 Filed in: Main Characters
Peruvian wife of Robert Ferguson. Read More...
Robert Ferguson
02/08/09 13:55 Filed in: Main Characters
Mr. Robert Ferguson, of Ferguson and Muirhead, tea brokers, of Mincing Lane. Read More...
Other Rugby players
27/10/08 15:00 Filed in: Additional Information
“There’s Moorhouse, first reserve, but he is trained as a half, and he always edges right in on to the scrum instead of keeping out on the touchline. He’s a fine place-kick, it’s true but then he has no judgment, and he can’t sprint for nuts. Why, Morton or Johnson, the Oxford fliers, could romp round him. Stevenson is fast enough, but he couldn’t drop from the twentyfive line, and a three-quarter who can’t either punt or drop isn’t worth a place for pace alone.” (Cyril Overton)
Victoria Station, London
18/08/08 16:11 Filed in: Locations
Victoria Station, London
26/07/08 15:00 Filed in: Locations
Colonel Ross, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson arrived back at this station following their day at the races.
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Carlo the Mastiff
21/07/08 22:56 Filed in: Incidental Characters
It was a giant dog, as large as a calf, tawny tinted, with hanging jowl, black muzzle, and huge projecting bones belonging to Mr Rucastle.
221b Baker Street, London
13/07/08 15:58 Filed in: Locations
Home of Sherlock Holmes and at times Dr John Watson.
They (the rooms) consisted of a couple of comfortable bedrooms and a single large airy sitting-room, cheerfully furnished, and illuminated by two broad windows.
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They (the rooms) consisted of a couple of comfortable bedrooms and a single large airy sitting-room, cheerfully furnished, and illuminated by two broad windows.
See also:
- 221b Baker Street
- Wikipedia
- Victorian London Map (1)
- Victorian London Map (2)
- Layout of 221b Baker Street
Gloria Scott
01/07/08 17:08 Filed in: Canon Cross References
The “Gloria Scott” - another story from the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
Sherlock Holmes
30/06/08 14:14 Filed in: Main Characters
“Well, I have a trade of my own. I suppose I am the only one in the world. I’m a consulting detective, if you can understand what that is. Here in London we have lots of government detectives and lots of private ones. When these fellows are at fault, they come to me, and I manage to put them on the right scent." (Sherlock Holmes) (Study in Scarlet)
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