I.

To Sherlock Holmes she is always THE woman. I have seldom heard

him mention her under any other name. In his eyes she eclipses

and predominates the whole of her sex. It was not that he felt

any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler. All emotions, and that

one particularly, were abhorrent to his cold, precise but

admirably balanced mind. He was, I take it, the most perfect

reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen, but as a

lover he would have placed himself in a false position. He never

spoke of the softer passions, save with a gibe and a sneer. They

were admirable things for the observer--excellent for drawing the

veil from men's motives and actions. But for the trained teasoner

to admit such intrusions into his own delicate and finely

adjusted temperament was to introduce a distracting factor which

might throw a doubt upon all his mental results. Grit in a

sensitive instrument, or a crack in one of his own high-power

lenses, would not be more disturbing than a strong emotion in a

nature such as his. And yet there was but one woman to him, and

that woman was the late Irene Adler, of dubious and questionable

memory.

I had seen little of Holmes lately. My marriage had drifted us

away from each other. My own complete happiness, and the

home-centred interests which rise up around the man who first

finds himself master of his own establishment, were sufficient to

absorb all my attention, while Holmes, who loathed every form of

society with his whole Bohemian soul, remained in our lodgings in

Baker Street, buried among his old books, and alternating from

week to week between cocaine and ambition, the drowsiness of the

drug, and the fierce energy of his own keen nature. He was still,

as ever, deeply attracted by the study of crime, and occupied his

immense faculties and extraordinary powers of observation in

following out those clews, and clearing up those mysteries which

had been abandoned as hopeless by the official police. From time

to time I heard some vague account of his doings: of his summons

to Odessa in the case of the Trepoff murder, of his clearing up

of the singular tragedy of the Atkinson brothers at Trincomalee,

and finally of the mission which he had accomplished so

delicately and successfully for the reigning family of Holland.

Beyond these signs of his activity, however, which I merely

shared with all the readers of the daily press, I knew little of

my former friend and companion.

One night--it was on the twentieth of March, 1888--I was

returning from a journey to a patient (for I had now returned to

civil practice), when my way led me through Baker Street. As I

passed the well-remembered door, which must always be associated

in my mind with my wooing, and with the dark incidents of the

Study in Scarlet, I was seized with a keen desire to see Holmes

again, and to know how he was employing his extraordinary powers.

His rooms were brilliantly lit, and, even as I looked up, I saw

his tall, spare figure pass twice in a dark silhouette against

the blind. He was pacing the room swiftly, eagerly, with his head

sunk upon his chest and his hands clasped behind him. To me, who

knew his every mood and habit, his attitude and manner told their

own story. He was at work again. He had risen out of his

drug-created dreams and was hot upon the scent of some new

problem. I rang the bell and was shown up to the chamber which

had formerly been in part my own.

His manner was not effusive. It seldom was; but he was glad, I

think, to see me. With hardly a word spoken, but with a kindly

eye, he waved me to an armchair, threw across his case of cigars,

and indicated a spirit case and a gasogene in the corner. Then he

stood before the fire and looked me over in his singular

introspective fashion.

"Wedlock suits you," he remarked. "I think, Watson, that you have

put on seven and a half pounds since I saw you."

"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 me that 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 getting

yourself very wet lately, and that you have a most clumsy and

careless servant girl?"

"My dear Holmes," said I, "this is too much. You would certainly

have been burned, had you lived a few centuries ago. It is true

that I had a country walk on Thursday and came home in a dreadful

mess, but as I have changed my clothes I can't imagine how you

deduce it. As to 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 the

inside of your left shoe, just where the firelight strikes it,

the leather is scored by six almost parallel cuts. Obviously they

have been caused by someone who has very carelessly scraped round

the edges of the sole in order to remove crusted mud from it.

Hence, you see, my double deduction that you had been out in vile

weather, and that you had a particularly malignant boot-slitting

specimen of the London slavey. As to your practice, if a

gentleman walks into my rooms smelling of iodoform, with a black

mark of nitrate of silver upon his right forefinger, and a bulge

on the right side of his top-hat to show where he has secreted

his stethoscope, I must be dull, indeed, if I do not pronounce

him to be an active member of the medical profession."

I could not help laughing at the ease with which he explained his

process of deduction. "When I hear you give your reasons," I

remarked, "the thing always appears to me to be so ridiculously

simple that I could easily do it myself, though at each

successive instance of your reasoning I am baffled until you

explain your process. And yet I believe that my eyes are as good

as yours."

"Quite so," he answered, lighting a cigarette, and throwing

himself down into an armchair. "You see, but you do not observe.

The distinction is clear. For example, you have frequently seen

the steps 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 don't know."

"Quite so! You have not observed. And yet you have seen. That is

just my point. Now, I know that there are seventeen steps,

because I have both seen and observed. By-the-way, since you are

interested in these little problems, and since you are good

enough to chronicle one or two of my trifling experiences, you

may be interested in this." He threw over a sheet of thick,

pink-tinted note-paper which had been 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

o'clock," it said, "a gentleman who desires to consult you upon a

matter of the very deepest moment. Your recent services to one of

the royal houses of Europe have shown that you are one who may

safely be trusted with matters which are of an importance which

can hardly be exaggerated. This account of you we have from all

quarters received. Be in your chamber then at that hour, and do

not take it amiss if your visitor wear a mask.

"This is indeed a mystery," I remarked. "What do you imagine that

it means?"

"I have no data yet. It is a capital mistake to theorize before

one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit

theories, instead of theories to suit facts. But the note itself.

What do you deduce from it?"

I carefully examined the writing, and the paper upon which it was

written.

"The man who wrote it was presumably well to do," I remarked,

endeavoring to imitate my companion's processes. "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 maker, 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

'Papier.' 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 its numerous

glass-factories and paper-mills.' Ha, ha, my boy, what do you

make of that?" His eyes sparkled, 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."

As he spoke there was the sharp sound of horses' hoofs and

grating wheels against the curb, followed by a sharp pull at the

bell. Holmes whistled.

"A pair, by the sound," said he. "Yes," he continued, glancing

out of the window. "A nice little brougham and a pair of

beauties. A hundred and fifty guineas apiece. There's money in

this case, Watson, if there is nothing else."

"I think that I had better go, Holmes."

"Not a bit, Doctor. Stay where you are. I am lost without my

Boswell. And this promises to be interesting. It would be a pity

to miss 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 your best

attention."

A slow and heavy step, which had been heard upon the stairs and

in the passage, paused immediately outside the door. Then there

was a loud and authoritative tap.

"Come in!" said Holmes.

A man entered who could hardly have been less than six feet six

inches in height, with the chest and limbs of a Hercules. His

dress was rich with a richness which would, in England, be looked

upon as akin to bad taste. Heavy bands of astrakhan were slashed

across the sleeves and fronts of his double-breasted coat, while

the deep blue cloak which was thrown over his shoulders was lined

with flame-colored silk and secured at the neck with a brooch

which consisted of a single flaming beryl. Boots which extended

halfway up his calves, and which were trimmed at the tops with

rich brown fur, completed the impression of barbaric opulence

which was suggested by his whole appearance. He carried a

broad-brimmed hat in his hand, while he wore across the upper

part of his face, extending down past the cheekbones, 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 the 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. "I told you that I would call." He

looked from one to the other of us, as if uncertain which to

address.

"Pray 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 honor to address?"

"You may address me as the Count Von Kramm, a Bohemian nobleman.

I understand that this gentleman, your friend, is a man of honor

and discretion, whom I may trust with a matter of the most

extreme importance. If not, I should much prefer to communicate

with you alone."

I rose to go, but Holmes caught me by the wrist and pushed me

back into my chair. "It is both, or none," said he. "You may say

before this gentleman anything which you may say to me."

The Count shrugged his broad shoulders. "Then I must begin," said

he, "by binding you both to absolute secrecy for two years; at

the end of that time the matter will be of no importance. At

present it is not too much to say that it is of such weight it

may have an influence upon European history."

"I promise," said Holmes.

"And I."

"You will excuse this mask," continued our strange visitor. "The

august 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 called myself is not exactly my own."

"I was aware of it," said Holmes drily.

"The circumstances are of great delicacy, and every precaution

has to be taken to quench what might grow to be an immense

scandal and seriously compromise one of the reigning families of

Europe. To speak plainly, the matter implicates the great House

of Ormstein, hereditary kings of Bohemia."

"I was also aware of that," murmured Holmes, settling himself

down in 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

as the most incisive reasoner and most energetic agent in Europe.

Holmes slowly reopened his eyes and looked impatiently at his

gigantic client.

"If your Majesty would condescend to state your case," he

remarked, "I should be better able to advise you."

The man sprang from his chair and paced up and down the room in

uncontrollable agitation. Then, with a gesture of desperation, he

tore the mask from his face 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 spoken

before I was aware that I was addressing Wilhelm Gottsreich

Sigismond von Ormstein, Grand Duke of Cassel-Felstein, and

hereditary King of Bohemia."

"But you can understand," said our strange visitor, sitting down

once more and passing his hand over his high white forehead, "you

can understand that I am not accustomed to doing such business in

my own person. Yet the matter was so delicate that I could not

confide it to an agent without putting myself in his power. I

have come incognito from 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

lengthy visit to Warsaw, I made the acquaintance of the wellknown

adventuress, Irene Adler. The name is no doubt farmiliar to you."

"Kindly look her up in my index, Doctor," murmured Holmes without

opening his eyes. For many years he had adopted a system of

docketing all paragraphs concerning men and things, so that it

was difficult to name a subject or a person on which he could not

at once furnish information. In this case 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

fishes.

"Let me see!" said Holmes. "Hum! Born in New Jersey in the year

1858. Contralto--hum! La Scala, hum! Prima donna Imperial Opera

of Warsaw--yes! Retired from operatic stage--ha! Living in

London--quite so! 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 how--"

"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 note-paper."

"Stolen."

"My own seal."

"Imitated."

"My photograph."

"Bought."

"We were both in the photograph."

"Oh, dear! That is very bad! Your Majesty has indeed committed an

indiscretion."

"I was mad--insane."

"You have compromised yourself seriously."

"I was only Crown Prince then. I was young. I am but thirty now."

"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 has been no result."

"No sign of it?"

"Absolutely none."

Holmes laughed. "It is quite a pretty little problem," said he.

"But a very serious one to me," returned the King reproachfully.

"Very, indeed. And what does she propose to do with the

photograph?"

"To ruin me."

"But how?"

"I am about to be married."

"So I have heard."

"To Clotilde Lothman von Saxe-Meningen, second daughter of the

King of Scandinavia. You may know the stnct principles of her

family. She is herself the very soul of delicacy. A shadow of a

doubt as to my conduct would bring the matter to an end."

"And Irene Adler?"

"Threatens to send them the photograph. And she will do it. I

know that she will do it. You do not know her, but she has a soul

of steel. She has the face of the most beautiful of women, and

the mind of the most resolute of men. Rather than I should marry

another woman, there are no lengths to which she would not

go--none."

"You are sure that she has not sent it yet?"

"I am sure."

"And why?"

"Because she has said that she would send it on the day when the

betrothal was publicly proclaimed. That will be next Monday."

"Oh, then we have three days yet," said Holmes with a yawn. "That

is very fortunate, as I have one or two matters of importance to

look into just at present. Your Majesty will, of course, stay in

London for the present?"

"Certainly. You will find me at the Langham under the name of the

Count Von Kramm."

"Then I shall drop you a line to let you know how we progress."

"Pray do so. I shall be all anxiety."

"Then, as to money?"

"You have carte blanche."

"Absolutely?"

"I tell you that I would give one of the provinces of my kingdom

to have that photograph."

"And for present expenses?"

The King took a heavy chamois leather bag from under his cloak

and laid it on the table.

"There are three hundred pounds in gold and seven hundred in

notes," he said.

Holmes scribbled a receipt upon a sheet of his note-book and

handed it to him.

"And Mademoiselle's address?" he asked.

"Is Briony Lodge, Serpentine Avenue, St. John's Wood."

Holmes took a note of it. "One other question," said he. "Was the

photograph a cabinet?"

"It was."

"Then, good-night, your Majesty, and I trust that we shall soon

have some good news for you. And good-night, Watson," he added,

as the wheels of the royal brougham rolled down the street. "If

you wlll be good enough to call to-morrow afternoon at three

o'clock I should like to chat this little matter over with you."