hand, while he wore across the upper part of his face, extending down past the cheek-bones, a black vizard mask, which he had apparently adjusted that very moment, for his hand was still raised to it as he entered. From the lower part of his face he appeared to be a man of strong character, with a thick, hanging lip, and a long straight chin, suggestive of resolution pushed to the length of obstinacy.“You had my note?” he asked with a deep harsh voice and a strongly marked German accent.
Victim:None
Crime Scene:Briony Lodge, drawing-room. The furniture was scattered about in every direction, with dismantled shelves and open drawers. Holmes rushed at the bell-pull, tore back a small sliding shutter.
Criminal:Irene Adler (“the woman”) Irene Norton, nee Adler.“I found her biography sandwiched in between that of a Hebrew Rabbi and that of a staff-commander who had written a monograph upon the deep sea fishing.”Born in New Jersey in the year 1858. Contralto, La Scala, Prima donna Imperial Opera of Warsaw, Retired from the operatic stage, living in London.“She has the face of the most beautiful of women, and the mind of the most resolute of men.”“I only caught a glimpse of her at that moment, but she was a lovely woman, with a face that a man might die for.”“What a woman—oh, what a woman!” cried the King of Bohemia, when we had all three read this epistle. “Did I not tell you how quick and resolute she was? Would she not have made an admirable queen? Is it a pity she was not on my level?”“From what I have seen of the lady she seems indeed to be on a very different level to your Majesty.”
Punishment:None.
Official Police:None.
Characters:Count Von Kramm, a Bohemian nobleman, alias used by King.Mr. Godfrey Norton, Miss Adler’s husband of the Inner Temple, and a lawyer.John, Irene Adler’s coachman.
Others Mentioned:Mrs. Turner. Holmes’ landlady. (Only story with her.)Mary Jane, Watson’s housekeeper.Clotilde Lothman von Saxe-Meningen, 2nd daughter of the King of Scandinavia, and king’s wife-to-be.
Locations:Baker Street.Briony Lodge, Serpentine Ave. St. John’s Wood, Miss Adler’s home.St. Monica in the Edgeware road. Church Irene Adler and Godfrey Norton married.
Locations Mentioned:Hotel Langham, where the King was staying under the alias Count Von Kramm.Chambers in the Temple Godfrey. Norton’s home.Gross & Hankey’s in Regent St., where Norton went before the wedding.Charring-cross train Station, where Irene Norton nee Adler left on 5:15 a.m. train with her new husband.Egria, in Bohemia not far from Carlsbad.Prague.USA, Trenton, New Jersey. Irene Adler’s birthplace.
Evidence & Clues:Holmes and Watson’s Analysis of the Note“But the note itself. What do you deduce from it?”I carefully examined the writing, and the paper upon which it was written. “Such paper could not be bought under half-a-crown a packet. It is peculiarly strong and stiff.”“Peculiar—that is the very word,” said Holmes. “It is not an English 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 large G with a small t woven into the texture of the paper.“What do you make of that?” asked Holmes.“The name of the marker, no doubt; or his monogram, rather.”“Not at all. The G with the small t stands for ‘Gesellschaft,’ which is the German for ‘Company.’ It is a customary contraction like our ‘Co.’ P, of course, stands for ‘paper.’ Now for the Eg. Let us glance at our Continental Gazetteer.” He took down a heavy brown volume from his shelves. “Eglow, Eglonitz—here we are, Egria. It is in a German-speaking country—in Bohemia, not far from Carlsbad. ‘Remarkable as being the scene of the death of Wallenstein, and for numerous glass factories and paper mills.’ Ha, ha, my boy, what do you think of that?” His eyes sparked, and he sent up a great blue triumphant cloud from his cigarette.“The paper was made in Bohemia,” I said.“Precisely. And the man who wrote the note is a German. Do you note the peculiar construction of the sentence—‘This account of you we have from all quarters received.’ A Frenchman or Russian could not have written that. It is the German who is so uncourteous to his verbs. It only remains, therefore, to discover what is wanted by this German who writes upon Bohemian paper and prefers wearing a mask to showing his face. And here he comes, if I am not mistaken, to resolve all our doubts.”“The facts are briefly these: Some five years ago, during a lengthy visit to Warsaw (when he was 25 and only the Crown Prince) I made the acquaintance of the well-known adventuress Irene Adler.”“Your Majesty, as I understand, became entangled with this young person, wrote her some compromising letters, and is now desirous of getting those letters back.”“Precisely so. But now—”“Was there a secret marriage?”“None.”“No legal papers or certificates?”“None.”“Then I fail to follow Your Majesty. If this young person should produce her letters for blackmailing or other purposes, how is she to prove their authenticity?”“There is the writing.”“Pooh, pooh! Forgery.”“My private notepaper.”“Stolen.”“My own seal.”“Imitated.”“My photograph.”“Bought.”“We are both in the photograph.”“Oh dear! That is very bad! Your Majesty has indeed committed an indiscretion.”“You have compromised yourself seriously.”“It must be recovered.”“We have tried and failed.”“Your Majesty must pay. It must be bought.”“She will not sell.”“Stolen, then?”“Five attempts have been made. Twice burglars in my pay ransacked her house. Once we diverted her luggage when she travelled. Twice she has been waylaid. There have been no results.”“And what does she propose to do with the photograph?”“To ruin me.”“But how?”“I am about to be married.”“Threatens to send them the photograph. And she will do it.”“She lives quietly, sings at concerts, drives out at five every day, and returns at seven sharp for dinner.”“Now it was clear to me that our lady of to-day had nothing in the house more precious to her than what we are in quest of.”“She responded beautifully. The photograph is in a recess behind a sliding panel just above the right-bell pull.”
Motive:Revenge
Timeline:Five years earlier at 25, the King, a Crown Prince, had an affair with Irene Adler.Day 1, Friday March 208:00 p.m., the King calls at Baker Street.Day 2, Saturday March 218:00 a.m., Holmes leaves Baker Street, for Briony Lodge.11:35 a.m., Holmes gets a cab at Briony Lodge for a twenty-minute ride to the Church of St. Monica.11:58 a.m., Irene Adler marries Godfrey Norton at St. Monica in the Edgeware road.11:58 a.m., Holmes stands in as witness “come, man, come only three minutes,3:00 p.m., Holmes asks Watson to meet him in Baker Street. “If you will be good enough to call to-morrow afternoon, at three o’clock. I should like to chat this little matter over with you.”4:00 p.m., (close upon) Holmes returns to Baker Street, disguised as a drunken groom.5:00 p.m., Irene Adler to meet Godfrey in the park.6:15 p.m., Holmes & Watson leave Baker Street, for Briony Lodge.6:50 p.m., Holmes & Watson arrive at Serpentine-avenue, Briony Lodge when Irene Adler returns from her carriage ride.7:00 p.m., Holmes in the disguise of a clergyman tricks Irene Adler to reveal the location of the photo.7:10 p.m., Holmes rejoins Watson outside near the street corner.Day 3, Sunday March 22The day when the betrothal is to be proclaimed, Irene Adler threatens to send the photograph to the King’s future wife.5:15 a.m., train at Charing Cross, Irene Adler & Godfrey leave for the Continent.8:00 a.m., Holmes, Watson, & the King are at Briony Lodge, thinking they would arrive before Irene Adler is up, to get the photo. She is already gone, but left a note for Holmes in place of the photo.
Story Conclusion:“My mistress told me that you were likely to call. She left this morning with her husband, by the 5:15 train from Charing Cross, for the Continent.”“What!” Sherlock Holmes staggered back, white with chagrin and surprise. “Do you mean that she has left England?”“Never to return.”“And the papers?” asked the King hoarsely. “All is lost.”“We shall see.” He pushed past the servant and rushed into the drawing-room, followed by the King and myself. The furniture was scattered about in every direction, with dismantled shelves and open drawers, as if the lady had hurriedly ransacked them before her flight. Holmes rushed at the bell-pull, tore back a small sliding shutter, and, plunging in his hand, pulled out a photograph and a letter. The photograph was of Irene Adler herself in evening dress, the letter was subscribed to “Sherlock Holmes, Esq. To be left till called for.” My friend tore it open, and we all three read it together. It was dated at midnight of the preceding night