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10 The Noble Bachelor from The Adventures of Sherloc · Sherlock Holmes

0:02
Speaker 1: The noble bachelor the Lord Saint Simon. Marriage and its
0:07
Speaker 1: curious termination have long since ceased to be a subject
0:11
Speaker 1: of interest in those exalted circles in which the unfortunate
0:15
Speaker 1: bridegroom moves. Fresh scandals have eclipsed it, and their more
0:21
Speaker 1: piquant details have drawn the gossips away from this four
0:24
Speaker 1: year old drama. As I have reason to believe, however,
0:28
Speaker 1: that the full facts have never been revealed to the
0:31
Speaker 1: general public, and as my friend Sherlock Holmes had a
0:34
Speaker 1: considerable share in clearing the matter up, I feel that
0:38
Speaker 1: no memoir of him would be complete without some little
0:41
Speaker 1: sketch of this remarkable episode. It was a few weeks
0:45
Speaker 1: before my own marriage, during the days when I was
0:48
Speaker 1: still sharing rooms with homes in Baker Street, that he
0:52
Speaker 1: came home from an afternoon's stroll to find a letter
0:55
Speaker 1: on the table waiting for him. I had remained indoors
0:59
Speaker 1: all day, for the weather had taken a sudden turn
1:02
Speaker 1: to rain with high autumnal winds, and the Jazal bullet,
1:07
Speaker 1: which I had brought back in one of my limbs
1:09
Speaker 1: as a relic of my Afghan campaign, throbbed with dull
1:13
Speaker 1: persistency with my body in one easy chair and my
1:17
Speaker 1: legs upon another. I had surrounded myself with a cloud
1:21
Speaker 1: of newspapers, until at last saturated with the news of
1:25
Speaker 1: the day, I tossed them all aside and lay listless,
1:29
Speaker 1: watching the huge crest and monogram upon the envelope upon
1:33
Speaker 1: the table, and wondering lazily who my friend's noble correspondent
1:38
Speaker 1: could be. Here is a very fashionable epistle, I remarked,
1:43
Speaker 1: as he entered. Your morning's letters, if I remember right,
1:47
Speaker 1: were from a fishmonger and a tide waiter. Yes, my
1:51
Speaker 1: correspondents have certainly the charm of variety, he answered, smiling,
1:56
Speaker 1: and the humbler are usually the more interesting. This looks
2:00
Speaker 1: like one of those unwelcome social summonses which call upon
2:03
Speaker 1: a man either to be bored or to lie. He
2:07
Speaker 1: broke the seal and glanced over the contents. Oh, come,
2:11
Speaker 1: it may prove to be something of interest after all.
2:14
Speaker 1: Not social, then, no, distinctly professional, and from a noble client,
2:19
Speaker 1: one of the highest in England. My dear fellow, I
2:22
Speaker 1: congratulate you. I assure you, Watson, without affectation, that the
2:26
Speaker 1: status of my client is a matter of less moment
2:30
Speaker 1: to me than the interest of his case. It is
2:33
Speaker 1: just possible, however, that that also may not be wanting
2:37
Speaker 1: in this new investigation. You have been reading the papers
2:41
Speaker 1: diligently of late, have you not? It looks like it,
2:44
Speaker 1: said I, ruefully, pointing to a huge bundle in the corner.
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Speaker 1: I've had nothing else to do. It is fortunate for
2:51
Speaker 1: you will perhaps be able to post me up. I
2:55
Speaker 1: read nothing except the criminal news and the Agony column.
2:59
Speaker 1: The latter is always instructive. But if you have followed
3:03
Speaker 1: recent events so closely, you must have read about Lord
3:06
Speaker 1: Saint Simon and his wedding. Oh, yes, with the deepest interest.
3:11
Speaker 1: That is well. The letter which I hold in my
3:14
Speaker 1: hand is from Lord Saint Simon. I will read it
3:17
Speaker 1: to you, and in return you must turn over these
3:19
Speaker 1: papers and let me have whatever bears upon the matter.
3:23
Speaker 1: This is what he said, My dear mister Sherlock Holmes,
3:28
Speaker 1: Lord Backwater tells me that I may place implicit reliance
3:31
Speaker 1: upon your judgment and discretion. I have determined therefore to
3:35
Speaker 1: call upon you and to consult you in reference to
3:38
Speaker 1: the very painful event which has occurred in connection with
3:41
Speaker 1: my wedding. Mister Lestrade of Scotland. Yard is acting already
3:47
Speaker 1: in the matter. But he assures me that he sees
3:49
Speaker 1: no objection to your co operation, and that he even
3:53
Speaker 1: thinks that it might be of some assistance. I will
3:56
Speaker 1: call at four o'clock in the afternoon, and should you
3:58
Speaker 1: have any other engagement that time, I hope you will
4:01
Speaker 1: postpone it, as this is a matter of paramount importance,
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Speaker 1: Yours faithfully, Robert Saint Simon. It is dated from Grosvenor Mansions,
4:11
Speaker 1: written with a quill pen, and the noble lord has
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Speaker 1: had the misfortune to get a smear of ink upon
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Speaker 1: the outer side of his right little finger, remarked Holmes,
4:20
Speaker 1: as he folded up the epistle. He says, four o'clock
4:24
Speaker 1: it is three now you will be here in an hour.
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Speaker 1: Then I have just time, with your assistance, to get
4:31
Speaker 1: clear upon the subject. Turn over those papers and arrange
4:35
Speaker 1: the extracts in their order of time, while I take
4:38
Speaker 1: a glance as to who our client is. He picked
4:42
Speaker 1: a red covered volume from a line of books of
4:44
Speaker 1: reference beside the mantelpiece. Here he is, said, he sitting
4:49
Speaker 1: down and flattening it out upon his knee. Robert Walsingham,
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Speaker 1: de Vere Saint Simon, second son of the Duke of Balmoral,
4:59
Speaker 1: hmm arms Azure three caltrops in chief over a fesse
5:04
Speaker 1: Sable born in eighteen forty six is forty one years
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Speaker 1: of age, which is mature for marriage. Was Under Secretary
5:13
Speaker 1: for the Colonies in a late administration the Duke. His
5:17
Speaker 1: father was at one time Secretary of Foreign Affairs. They
5:21
Speaker 1: inherit Plantagenet blood by direct descent, and Tudor on the
5:26
Speaker 1: distaff side. Ha. Well, there is nothing very instructive in
5:30
Speaker 1: all this. I think I must turn to you, Watson,
5:33
Speaker 1: for something more solid. I have very little difficulty in
5:37
Speaker 1: finding what I want, said I, for the facts are
5:40
Speaker 1: quite recent, and the matter struck me as remarkable. I
5:44
Speaker 1: feared to refer them to you, however, as I knew
5:47
Speaker 1: that you had an inquiry on hand, and that you
5:49
Speaker 1: disliked the intrusion of other matters. Oh, you mean the
5:53
Speaker 1: little problem of the Grosvenor Square furniture van. That is
5:57
Speaker 1: quite cleared up now, though indeed it was obvious from
6:01
Speaker 1: the first Pray, give me the results of your newspaper selections.
6:06
Speaker 1: Here is the first notice which I can find. It
6:09
Speaker 1: is in the personal column of the morning post and dates.
6:12
Speaker 1: As you see some weeks back. A marriage has been arranged,
6:16
Speaker 1: it says, and will, if rumor is correct, very shortly
6:20
Speaker 1: take place between Roberts and Simon, second son of the
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Speaker 1: Duke of Balmoral, and Miss Hattie Doran, the only daughter
6:29
Speaker 1: of Aloysius Doran, Esquire of San Francisco. Cal U s
6:33
Speaker 1: A that is all terse and to the point, remarked Holmes,
6:39
Speaker 1: stretching his long thin legs towards the fire. There was
6:44
Speaker 1: a paragraph amplifying this in one of these society papers
6:47
Speaker 1: of the same week. Ah Here it is there will
6:51
Speaker 1: soon be a call for protection in the marriage market,
6:54
Speaker 1: for the present free trade principle appears to tell heavily
6:58
Speaker 1: against our home product. One by one, the management of
7:02
Speaker 1: the noble houses of Great Britain is passing into the
7:05
Speaker 1: hands of our fair cousins from across the Atlantic. An
7:09
Speaker 1: important addition has been made during the last week to
7:13
Speaker 1: the list of prizes which have been borne away by
7:15
Speaker 1: these charming invaders. Lord Saint Simon, who has shown himself
7:20
Speaker 1: for over twenty years proof against the little God's arrows,
7:24
Speaker 1: has now definitely announced his approaching marriage with Miss Hattie Doran.
7:29
Speaker 1: The fascinating daughter of a Californian millionaire. Miss Doran, whose
7:34
Speaker 1: graceful figure and striking face attracted much attention at the
7:38
Speaker 1: Westbury House festivities, is an only child and it is
7:43
Speaker 1: currently reported that her diary will run to considerably over
7:46
Speaker 1: the six figures, with expectancies for the future. As it
7:51
Speaker 1: is an open secret that the Duke of Balmoral has
7:53
Speaker 1: been compelled to sell pictures within the last few years,
7:57
Speaker 1: and as Lord Saint Simon has no property of his
7:59
Speaker 1: own save the small estate of Birchmoor, it is obvious
8:03
Speaker 1: that the Californian heiress is not the only gainer by
8:07
Speaker 1: an alliance which will enable her to make the easy
8:10
Speaker 1: and common transition from a Republican lady to a British title.
8:16
Speaker 1: H anything else, asked Holmes, yawning, Oh, yes, plenty. Then
8:22
Speaker 1: there is another note in the Morning Post to say
8:24
Speaker 1: that the marriage would be an absolutely quiet one, that
8:27
Speaker 1: it would be at Saint George's Hanover Square, that only
8:30
Speaker 1: half a dozen intimate friends would be invited, and that
8:34
Speaker 1: the party would return to the furnished house at Lancaster Gate,
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Speaker 1: which has been taken by mister Aloysius Doren. Two days later,
8:43
Speaker 1: that is, on Wednesday last there is a curt announcement
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Speaker 1: that the wedding had taken place and that the honeymoon
8:50
Speaker 1: would be passed at Lord Backwater's place near Petersfield. Those
8:54
Speaker 1: are all the notices which appear before the disappearance of
8:57
Speaker 1: the bride, before the What asked Holmes with a start,
9:01
Speaker 1: the vanishing of the lady? When did she vanish? Then
9:05
Speaker 1: at the wedding breakfast? Indeed, this is more interesting than
9:09
Speaker 1: it promised to be, quite dramatic. In fact, yes, it
9:13
Speaker 1: struck me as being a little out of the common.
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Speaker 1: They often vanish before the ceremony and occasionally during the honeymoon.
9:21
Speaker 1: But I cannot call to mind anything quite so prompt
9:23
Speaker 1: as this pray. Let me have the details. I warn
9:28
Speaker 1: you that they are very incomplete. Perhaps we may make
9:31
Speaker 1: them less. So, such as they are, they are set
9:34
Speaker 1: forth in a single article of a morning newspaper of yesterday,
9:38
Speaker 1: which I will read you. It is headed singular occurrence
9:42
Speaker 1: at a fashionable wedding. The family of Lord Robertson Simon
9:47
Speaker 1: has been thrown into the greatest consternation by the strange
9:50
Speaker 1: and painful episodes which have taken place in connection with
9:53
Speaker 1: his wedding. The ceremony, as shortly announced in the papers
9:57
Speaker 1: of yesterday, occurred on the previous morning. But it is
10:01
Speaker 1: only now that it has been possible to confirm the
10:04
Speaker 1: strange rumors which have been so persistently floating about. In
10:08
Speaker 1: spite of the attempts of the friends to hush the
10:10
Speaker 1: matter up. So much public attention has now been drawn
10:13
Speaker 1: to it that no good purpose can be served by
10:16
Speaker 1: affecting to disregard what is a common subject for conversation.
10:21
Speaker 1: The ceremony, which was performed at Saint George's Hanover Square,
10:25
Speaker 1: was a very quiet one, no one being present save
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Speaker 1: the father of the bride, Mister Aloysius Doran, the Duchess
10:32
Speaker 1: of Balmoral, Lord Backwater, Lord Eustace, and Lady Clara, Saint Simon,
10:37
Speaker 1: the younger brother and sister of the bridegroom, and Lady
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Speaker 1: Alicia Whittington. The whole party proceeded afterwards to the house
10:45
Speaker 1: of mister Aloysius Doran at Lancaster Gate, where breakfast had
10:49
Speaker 1: been prepared. It appears that some little trouble had been
10:53
Speaker 1: caused by a woman, whose name has not been ascertained,
10:57
Speaker 1: who endeavored to force her way into the house after
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Speaker 1: the bridal party, alleging that she had some claim upon
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Speaker 1: Lord Saint Simon. It was only after a painful and
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Speaker 1: prolonged scene that she was ejected by the butler and
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Speaker 1: the footman. The bride, who had fortunately entered the house
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Speaker 1: before this unpleasant interruption, had sat down to breakfast with
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Speaker 1: the rest, when she complained of a sudden indisposition and
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Speaker 1: retired to her room, her prolonged absence having caused some comment.
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Speaker 1: Her father followed her, but learned from her maid that
11:31
Speaker 1: she had only come up to her chamber for an
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Speaker 1: instant caught up an ulster and bonnet, and hurried down
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Speaker 1: to the passage. One of the footmen declared that he
11:40
Speaker 1: had seen a lady leave the house thus apparelled, but
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Speaker 1: had refused to credit that it was his mistress, believing
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Speaker 1: her to be with the company. On ascertaining that his
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Speaker 1: daughter had disappeared, mister Aloysius Doran, in conjunction with the bridegroom,
11:55
Speaker 1: instantly put themselves into communication with the police, and very
12:00
Speaker 1: energetic inquiries are being made which will probably result in
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Speaker 1: a speedy clearing up of this very singular business. Up
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Speaker 1: to a late hour last night, however, nothing had transpired
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Speaker 1: as to the whereabouts of the missing lady. There are
12:15
Speaker 1: rumors of foul play in the matter, and it is
12:17
Speaker 1: said that the police have caused the arrest of the
12:19
Speaker 1: woman who had caused the original disturbance, in the belief
12:23
Speaker 1: that from jealousy or some other motive, she may have
12:26
Speaker 1: been concerned in the strange disappearance of the bride. And
12:30
Speaker 1: is that all only one little item in another of
12:34
Speaker 1: the morning papers, But it is a suggestive one, and
12:38
Speaker 1: it is that Miss Flora Millar, the lady who had
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Speaker 1: caused the disturbance, has actually been arrested. It appears that
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Speaker 1: she was formerly a danceurge at the Allegro, and that
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Speaker 1: she had known the bridegroom for some years. There are
12:54
Speaker 1: no further particulars, and the whole case is in your
12:58
Speaker 1: hands now so far as it has been set forth
13:01
Speaker 1: in the public press. And an exceedingly interesting case it
13:05
Speaker 1: appears to be. I would not have missed it for worlds.
13:10
Speaker 1: But there is a ring at the bell, Watson, and
13:12
Speaker 1: as the clock makes it a few minutes after four,
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Speaker 1: I have no doubt that this will prove to be
13:17
Speaker 1: our noble client. Do not dream of going Watson, for
13:21
Speaker 1: I very much prefer having a witness, if only as
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Speaker 1: a check to my own memory. Lord Robertson Simon announced
13:29
Speaker 1: our page boy, throwing open the door, a gentleman entered,
13:33
Speaker 1: with a pleasant cultured face, high nosed and pale, with
13:37
Speaker 1: something perhaps of petulance about the mouth, and with the steady,
13:41
Speaker 1: well opened eye of a man whose pleasant lot it
13:44
Speaker 1: had ever been to command and to be obeyed. His
13:48
Speaker 1: manner was brisk, and yet his general appearance gave an
13:52
Speaker 1: undue impression of age, for he had a slight forward
13:55
Speaker 1: stoop and a little bend of the knees as he walked.
13:59
Speaker 1: His hair, too, as he swept off his curly brimmed hat,
14:03
Speaker 1: was grizzled round the edges and thin upon the top.
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Speaker 1: As to his dress, it was careful to the verge
14:10
Speaker 1: of foppishness, with high collar, black frock coat, white waistcoat,
14:14
Speaker 1: yellow gloves, patent leather shoes, and light colored gaiters. He
14:19
Speaker 1: advanced slowly into the room, turning his head from left
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Speaker 1: to right, and swinging in his right hand the cord
14:26
Speaker 1: which held his golden eyeglasses. Good day, Lord Saint Simon,
14:31
Speaker 1: said Holmes, rising and bowing, pray, take the basket chair.
14:35
Speaker 1: This is my friend and colleague, Dr Watson. Draw up
14:39
Speaker 1: a little to the fire, and we shall talk this
14:42
Speaker 1: matter over, A most painful matter to me, as you
14:45
Speaker 1: can most readily imagine, mister Holmes, I have been cut
14:48
Speaker 1: to the quick. I understand you have already managed several
14:52
Speaker 1: delicate cases of this sort, sir, though I presume that
14:55
Speaker 1: they were hardly from the same class of society. No
14:59
Speaker 1: I am descend. I beg pardon. My last client of
15:03
Speaker 1: the sort was a king. Oh really, I had no
15:07
Speaker 1: idea and which king? The King of Scandinavia? What had
15:13
Speaker 1: he lost his wife? You can understand, said Holmes suavely,
15:18
Speaker 1: that I extend to the affairs of my other clients
15:20
Speaker 1: the same secrecy which I promised to you in yours.
15:24
Speaker 1: Of course, Very right, very right, I'm sure I beg pardon.
15:28
Speaker 1: As to my own case, I am ready to give
15:30
Speaker 1: you any information which may assist you in forming an opinion.
15:34
Speaker 1: Thank you. I have already learned all that is in
15:38
Speaker 1: the public, Prince, nothing more. I presume that I may
15:42
Speaker 1: take it as correct this article, for example, as to
15:45
Speaker 1: the disappearance of the bride, Lord Saint Simon glanced over it. Yes,
15:50
Speaker 1: it is correct as far as it goes, but it
15:53
Speaker 1: needs a great deal of supplementing before any one could
15:56
Speaker 1: offer an opinion. I think that I may arrive at
15:59
Speaker 1: my facts most directly by questioning you pray? Do so?
16:04
Speaker 1: When did you first meet miss Hattie Dorn in San
16:08
Speaker 1: Francisco a year ago? You were traveling in the States?
16:12
Speaker 1: Yeares did you become engaged? Then? No? But you were
16:17
Speaker 1: on a friendly footing. I was amused by her society,
16:21
Speaker 1: and she could see that I was amused. Her father
16:24
Speaker 1: is very rich. He has said to be the richest
16:27
Speaker 1: man on the Pacific Slope. And how did he make
16:31
Speaker 1: his money in mining? He had nothing a few years ago.
16:35
Speaker 1: Then he struck gold, invested it and came up by
16:39
Speaker 1: leaps and bounds. Now, what is your own impression as
16:43
Speaker 1: to the young ladies your wife's character? The nobleman swung
16:49
Speaker 1: his glasses a little faster and stared down into the fire.
16:54
Speaker 1: Do you see, mister Holmes said he. My wife was
16:58
Speaker 1: twenty before her father became a During that time she
17:02
Speaker 1: ran free in a mining camp and wandered through woods
17:07
Speaker 1: or mountains, So that her education has come from nature
17:11
Speaker 1: rather than from the schoolmaster. That is what we call
17:15
Speaker 1: in England, a tomboy with a strong nature, wild and free,
17:20
Speaker 1: unfettered by any sort of traditions. She is impetuous, volcanic.
17:25
Speaker 1: I was about to say, she is swift in making
17:29
Speaker 1: up her mind and fearless in carrying out her resolutions.
17:34
Speaker 1: On the other hand, I would not have given her
17:37
Speaker 1: the name which I have the honor to bear, had
17:41
Speaker 1: I not thought her to be at bottom a noble woman.
17:44
Speaker 1: I believe she is capable of heroic self sacrifice, and
17:48
Speaker 1: that anything dishonorable would be repugnant to her. Have you
17:53
Speaker 1: her photograph? I brought this with me. He opened a
17:57
Speaker 1: locket and showed us the full face of a very
18:00
Speaker 1: lovely woman. It was not a photograph but an ivory miniature,
18:05
Speaker 1: and the artist had brought out the full effect of
18:07
Speaker 1: the lustrous black hair, the dark eyes, and the exquisite mouth.
18:12
Speaker 1: Holmes gazed long and earnestly at it. Then he closed
18:16
Speaker 1: the locket and handed it back to Lord Saint Simon.
18:21
Speaker 1: The young lady came to London then, and you renewed
18:24
Speaker 1: your acquaintance years. Her father brought her over for this
18:28
Speaker 1: last London season. I met her several times, became engaged
18:33
Speaker 1: to her, and have now married her. She brought, I understand,
18:38
Speaker 1: a considerable dowry, a fair dowry, not more than is
18:42
Speaker 1: usual in my family. And this, of course remains to you,
18:46
Speaker 1: since the marriage is a fatal comple I really have
18:50
Speaker 1: made no inquiries on the subject, very naturally not. Did
18:54
Speaker 1: you see miss Doran on the day before the wedding? Years?
18:58
Speaker 1: Was she in good spirits? Never better? She kept talking
19:03
Speaker 1: of what we should do in our future lives. Indeed,
19:06
Speaker 1: that is very interesting. And on the morning of the
19:09
Speaker 1: wedding she was as bright as possible, at least until
19:14
Speaker 1: after the ceremony. And did you observe any change in
19:18
Speaker 1: her then? Well, to tell the truth, I saw then
19:22
Speaker 1: the first signs that I had ever seen that her
19:25
Speaker 1: temper was just a little sharp. The incident, however, was
19:29
Speaker 1: too trivial to relate, and can have no possible bearing
19:33
Speaker 1: upon the case. Pray, let us have it for all that. Oh,
19:37
Speaker 1: it is childish. She dropped her bouquet as we went
19:40
Speaker 1: towards the vestry. She was passing the front pew at
19:44
Speaker 1: the time, and it fell over into the pew. There
19:47
Speaker 1: was a moment's delay, but the gentleman in the pew
19:50
Speaker 1: handed it up to her again, and it did not
19:52
Speaker 1: appear to be the worse for the fall. Yet, when
19:55
Speaker 1: I spoke to her of the matter, she answered me abruptly,
19:59
Speaker 1: and in the carriage d on our way home, she
20:01
Speaker 1: seemed absurdly agitated over this trifling cause. Indeed, you say
20:06
Speaker 1: that there was a gentleman in the pew, some of
20:09
Speaker 1: the general public were present, then, oh, yes, it is
20:13
Speaker 1: impossible to exclude them when the church is open. This
20:17
Speaker 1: gentleman was not one of your wife's friends. No, no,
20:21
Speaker 1: I call him a gentleman by courtesy. But he was
20:24
Speaker 1: quite a common looking person. I hardly noticed his appearance.
20:28
Speaker 1: But really, I think that we are wandering rather far
20:30
Speaker 1: from the point. Lady Saint Simon then returned from the
20:35
Speaker 1: wedding in a less cheerful frame of mind than she
20:38
Speaker 1: had gone to it. What did she do on re
20:41
Speaker 1: entering her father's house? I saw her in conversation with
20:45
Speaker 1: her maid. And who is her maid? Alice is her name.
20:50
Speaker 1: She is an American and came from California with her
20:54
Speaker 1: a confidential servant. A little too much so it seemed
20:58
Speaker 1: to me that her mistress allowed her to take great liberties. Still,
21:03
Speaker 1: of course, in America they look upon these things in
21:06
Speaker 1: a different way. How long did she speak to this Alice? Oh,
21:11
Speaker 1: a few minutes. I had something else to think of.
21:15
Speaker 1: You did not overhear what they said, ladies. And Simon
21:19
Speaker 1: said something about jumping a claim. She was accustomed to
21:23
Speaker 1: you slang of the kind. I have no idea what
21:27
Speaker 1: she meant. American slang is very expressive sometimes. And what
21:31
Speaker 1: did your wife do when she had finished speaking to
21:33
Speaker 1: her maid? She walked into the breakfast room on your arm.
21:39
Speaker 1: No alone. She was very independent in little matters like that.
21:44
Speaker 1: Then after we had sat down for ten minutes or so,
21:47
Speaker 1: she rose, hurriedly, muttered some words of apology, and left
21:51
Speaker 1: the room. She never came back. But this made Alice,
21:56
Speaker 1: as I understand, deposes that she went to her room,
22:00
Speaker 1: covered her bride's dress with a long ulster, put on
22:03
Speaker 1: a bonnet, and went out quite so. And she was
22:07
Speaker 1: afterwards seen walking into Hyde Park in company with Flora Miller,
22:12
Speaker 1: a woman who is now in custody, and who had
22:15
Speaker 1: already made a disturbance at mister Doran's house that morning. Ah, yes,
22:20
Speaker 1: I should like a few particulars as to this young
22:22
Speaker 1: lady and your relations to her. Lord Saint Simon shrugged
22:27
Speaker 1: his shoulders and raised his eyebrows. We have been on
22:30
Speaker 1: friendly footing for some years, I may say, on a
22:34
Speaker 1: very friendly footing. She used to be at the Allegro.
22:39
Speaker 1: I have not treated her ungenerously, and she has no
22:42
Speaker 1: just cause of complaint against me. But you know what
22:45
Speaker 1: women are, mister Holmes. Flora was a dear little thing,
22:48
Speaker 1: but exceedingly hot headed and devotedly attached to me. She
22:54
Speaker 1: wrote me dreadful letters when she heard that I was
22:56
Speaker 1: to be married, and to tell the truth, the reason
22:59
Speaker 1: why I had the marriage celebrated so quietly was that
23:03
Speaker 1: I feared lest there might be a scandal in the church.
23:07
Speaker 1: She came to mister Doran's door just after we returned,
23:11
Speaker 1: and she endeavored to push her way in, uttering very
23:13
Speaker 1: abusive expressions towards my wife, and even threatening her. But
23:18
Speaker 1: I had foreseen the possibility of something of the sort,
23:22
Speaker 1: and I had given instructions to the servants, who soon
23:25
Speaker 1: pushed her out again. She was quiet when she saw
23:28
Speaker 1: that there was no good in making a rial. Did
23:32
Speaker 1: your wife hear all this? No? Thank goodness, She did not,
23:36
Speaker 1: And was she seen walking with this very woman afterwards? Yes,
23:41
Speaker 1: that is what mister Lestrade of Scotland Yard looks upon
23:44
Speaker 1: hers so serious. It is thought that Flora decoyed my
23:48
Speaker 1: wife out and laid some terrible trap for her. Well,
23:53
Speaker 1: it is a possible supposition. You think so too, I
23:57
Speaker 1: did not say a probable one. But you do not
24:00
Speaker 1: yourself look upon this as likely. I do not think
24:04
Speaker 1: Flora would hurt a fly. Still, jealousy is a strange
24:08
Speaker 1: transformer of characters. Pray, what is your own theory as
24:12
Speaker 1: to what took place? Well, really, I came to seek
24:15
Speaker 1: a theory, not a propound one. I have given you
24:17
Speaker 1: all the facts since you asked me. However, I may
24:21
Speaker 1: say that it has occurred to me as possible that
24:24
Speaker 1: the excitement of this affair, the consciousness that she had
24:27
Speaker 1: made so immense a social stride, had the effect of
24:30
Speaker 1: causing some little nervous disturbance in my wife, In short,
24:35
Speaker 1: that she became suddenly deranged. Well, really, when I consider
24:40
Speaker 1: that she has turned her back, I will not say
24:43
Speaker 1: upon me, but upon so much that many have aspired
24:47
Speaker 1: to without success, I can hardly explain it in any
24:50
Speaker 1: other fashion. Well, certainly that is also a conceivable hypothesis,
24:56
Speaker 1: said Holmes, smiling. And now, Lord Saint Simon, I I
25:00
Speaker 1: think that I have nearly all my data. May I
25:03
Speaker 1: ask whether you were seated at the breakfast table so
25:06
Speaker 1: that you could see out of the window. We could
25:08
Speaker 1: see the other side of the road and the park.
25:12
Speaker 1: Quite so, then, I do not think that I need
25:14
Speaker 1: detain you any longer. I shall communicate with you should
25:19
Speaker 1: you be fortunate enough to solve this problem, said our client, rising,
25:24
Speaker 1: I have solved it. Eh, what was that? Where then
25:29
Speaker 1: is my wife? That is a detail which I shall
25:32
Speaker 1: speedily supply. Lord Saint Simon shook his head. I am
25:37
Speaker 1: afraid that it will take wiser heads than yours or mine,
25:40
Speaker 1: he remarked, and bowing in a stately old fashioned manner,
25:44
Speaker 1: he departed. It is very good of Lord Saint Simon
25:48
Speaker 1: to honor my head by putting it on a level
25:51
Speaker 1: with his own, said Sherlock Holmes, laughing. I think that
25:55
Speaker 1: I shall have a whiskey and soda and a cigar.
25:57
Speaker 1: After all this cross questioning. I had formed my conclusions
26:02
Speaker 1: as to the case before the client came into the room.
26:05
Speaker 1: My dear Holmes, I have notes of several similar cases,
26:09
Speaker 1: though none, as I remarked before, were quite as prompt.
26:14
Speaker 1: My whole examination served to turn my conjecture into certainty.
26:19
Speaker 1: Circumstantial evidence is occasionally very convincing, as when you find
26:23
Speaker 1: a trout in the milk, to quote the Rose example.
26:28
Speaker 1: But I have heard all that you have heard, without, however,
26:31
Speaker 1: the knowledge of pre existing cases, which serves me so well.
26:36
Speaker 1: There was a parallel instance in Aberdeen some years back,
26:39
Speaker 1: and something on very much the same lines at Munich
26:42
Speaker 1: the year after the Franco Prussian War. It is one
26:45
Speaker 1: of these cases. But hello, here is Lestrade, Good afternoon, Lestrade.
26:50
Speaker 1: You will find an extra tumbler upon the sideboard, and
26:53
Speaker 1: there are cigars in the box. The official detective was
26:57
Speaker 1: attired in a pea jacket and cravat, which gave him
27:01
Speaker 1: a decidedly nautical appearance, and he carried a black canvas
27:05
Speaker 1: bag in his hand. With a short greeting, he seated
27:09
Speaker 1: himself and lit the cigar which had been offered to him.
27:13
Speaker 1: What's up, then asked Holmes, with a twinkle in his eye.
27:17
Speaker 1: You look dissatisfied, and I feel dissatisfied. It is the
27:22
Speaker 1: infernal Saint Simon marriage case. I can make neither head
27:25
Speaker 1: nor tail of the business. Really, you surprise me, who
27:29
Speaker 1: ever heard of such a mixed affair? Every clue seems
27:32
Speaker 1: to slip through my fingers. I have been at work
27:35
Speaker 1: upon it all day, and very wet. It seems to
27:38
Speaker 1: have made you, said Holmes, laying his hand upon the
27:42
Speaker 1: arm of the pea jacket. Yes, I have been dragging
27:45
Speaker 1: the serpentine. In Heaven's name, what for in search of
27:50
Speaker 1: the body of lady Saint Simon Sherlock. Holmes leaned back
27:54
Speaker 1: in his chair and laughed heartily. Have you dragged the
27:57
Speaker 1: basin of the Trafalgar Square fountain? He asked? Why? What
28:03
Speaker 1: do you mean? Because you have just as good a
28:06
Speaker 1: chance of finding this lady in the one as in
28:08
Speaker 1: the other. Lestrade shot an angry glance at my companion.
28:14
Speaker 1: I suppose you know all about it, he snarled. Well,
28:18
Speaker 1: I have only just heard the facts, but my mind
28:21
Speaker 1: is made up. Oh indeed, then you think that the
28:25
Speaker 1: serpentine plays no part in the matter, I think it
28:28
Speaker 1: very unlikely. Then perhaps you will kindly explain how it
28:32
Speaker 1: is that we found this in it. He opened his
28:35
Speaker 1: bag as he spoke, and tumbled on to the floor,
28:38
Speaker 1: a wedding dress of watered silk, a pair of white
28:41
Speaker 1: satin shoes, and a bride's wreath and veil, all discolored
28:45
Speaker 1: and soaked in water. There said he, putting a new
28:49
Speaker 1: wedding ring upon the top of the pile. There is
28:52
Speaker 1: a little nut for you to crack, Master Holmes. Oh, indeed,
28:57
Speaker 1: said my friend, blowing blue rings into the air. You
29:01
Speaker 1: dragged them from the serpentine. No, they were found floating
29:05
Speaker 1: near the margin by a park keeper. They were identified
29:09
Speaker 1: as her clothes, and it seemed to me that if
29:11
Speaker 1: the clothes were there, the body would not be far off.
29:15
Speaker 1: By the same brilliant reasoning, every man's body is to
29:19
Speaker 1: be found in the neighborhood of his wardrobe. And pray,
29:23
Speaker 1: what did you hope to arrive at through this? At
29:26
Speaker 1: some evidence implicating Flora Miller in the disappearance. I'm afraid
29:31
Speaker 1: you will find it difficult, are you indeed? Now, cried
29:35
Speaker 1: Lestrade with some bitterness. I'm afraid, Holmes, that you are
29:38
Speaker 1: not very practical with your deductions and your inferences. You
29:42
Speaker 1: have made two blunders in as many minutes. This dress
29:45
Speaker 1: does implicate Miss Flora Miller, and how in the dress
29:51
Speaker 1: is a pocket. In the pocket is a card case.
29:54
Speaker 1: In the card case is a note. And here is
29:56
Speaker 1: the very note. He slapped it down upon the table
30:00
Speaker 1: in front of him. Listen to this. You will see
30:03
Speaker 1: me when all is ready, come at once. F h M. Now,
30:08
Speaker 1: my theory all along has been that Lady Saint Simon
30:12
Speaker 1: was decoyed away by Flora Millar, and that she, with confederates,
30:16
Speaker 1: no doubt, was responsible for her disappearance. Here, signed with
30:20
Speaker 1: her initials, is the very note, which was no doubt
30:23
Speaker 1: quietly slipped into her hand at the door, and which
30:26
Speaker 1: lured her within their reach. Very good, Lestrade, said Holmes, laughing,
30:32
Speaker 1: you really are very fine. Indeed, let me see it.
30:36
Speaker 1: He took up the paper in a listless way, but
30:38
Speaker 1: his attention instantly became riveted, and he gave a little
30:42
Speaker 1: cry of satisfaction. This is indeed important, said he. Ah,
30:47
Speaker 1: you find it so extremely so I congratulate you warmly.
30:52
Speaker 1: Lestrade rose in his triumph and bent his head to look. Why,
30:56
Speaker 1: he shrieked, you're looking on the wrong side. On the contrary,
31:00
Speaker 1: this is the right side, the right side. You're mad.
31:03
Speaker 1: Here is the note written in pencil. Over here and
31:06
Speaker 1: over here is what appears to be a fragment of
31:08
Speaker 1: a hotel bill, which interests me deeply. There's nothing in it.
31:13
Speaker 1: I looked at it before, said Lestrade. October fourth room's
31:17
Speaker 1: eight shillings, breakfast two shillings and six cocktail one shilling,
31:21
Speaker 1: Lunch two shillings and sixpence, glass of sherry eightpence. I'll
31:25
Speaker 1: see nothing in that. Very likely not. It is most
31:28
Speaker 1: important all the same as to the note. It is
31:31
Speaker 1: important also, or at least the initials are so. I
31:35
Speaker 1: congratulate you again. I've wasted time enough, said Lestrade, rising.
31:40
Speaker 1: I believe in hard work and not in sitting by
31:43
Speaker 1: the fire spinning fine theories. Good day, mister Holmes, and
31:46
Speaker 1: we shall see which gets to the bottom of the matter. First,
31:50
Speaker 1: he gathered up the garments, thrust them into the bag,
31:52
Speaker 1: and made for the door. Just one hint for you, Lestrade,
31:57
Speaker 1: drawled Holmes before his rival Vanish. I will tell you
32:01
Speaker 1: the solution of the matter. Lady, Saint Simon is a myth.
32:06
Speaker 1: There is not, and there never has been any such person.
32:11
Speaker 1: Lestrade looked sadly at my companion. Then he turned to me,
32:14
Speaker 1: tapped his forehead three times, shook his head solemnly, and
32:18
Speaker 1: hurried away. He had hardly shut the door behind him
32:21
Speaker 1: when Holmes rose and put on his overcoat. There is
32:25
Speaker 1: something in what the fellow says about outdoor work. He remarked,
32:28
Speaker 1: So I think, Watson, that I must leave you to
32:30
Speaker 1: your papers for a little. It was after five o'clock
32:34
Speaker 1: when Sherlock Holmes left me, but I had no time
32:37
Speaker 1: to be lonely, for within an hour there arrived at
32:40
Speaker 1: confectioner's man with a very large flat box. This he
32:45
Speaker 1: unpacked with the help of a youth whom he had
32:47
Speaker 1: brought with him, and presently, to my very great astonishment,
32:50
Speaker 1: a quite epicurean little cold supper began to be laid
32:54
Speaker 1: out upon our humble lodging house, Mahogany. There were a
32:58
Speaker 1: couple of brace of cold wood, a pheasant, a patee
33:01
Speaker 1: de foi gras pie, with a group of ancient and
33:04
Speaker 1: cobwebby bottles. Having laid out all these luxuries, my two
33:09
Speaker 1: visitors vanished away, like the Genii of the Arabian Nights,
33:13
Speaker 1: with no explanation save that the things had been paid
33:16
Speaker 1: for and were ordered to this address. Just before nine o'clock.
33:21
Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes stepped briskly into the room. His features were
33:25
Speaker 1: gravely set, but there was a light in his eye
33:28
Speaker 1: which made me think that he had not been disappointed
33:31
Speaker 1: in his conclusions. They have laid the supper, then, he said,
33:35
Speaker 1: rubbing his hands. You seem to expect company. They have
33:39
Speaker 1: laid for five Yes, I fancy we may have some
33:42
Speaker 1: company dropping in, said he. I'm surprised that Lord Saint
33:46
Speaker 1: Simon has not already arrived. Ha, I fancy I hear
33:50
Speaker 1: his step now upon the stairs. It was indeed, our
33:53
Speaker 1: visitor of the morning who came bustling in, dangling his
33:57
Speaker 1: glasses more vigorously than ever, and with a very perturbed
34:01
Speaker 1: expression upon his aristocratic features. My messenger reached you, then
34:06
Speaker 1: asked Holmes. Yes, and I must confess that the content
34:10
Speaker 1: startled me beyond measure. Have your good authority for what
34:14
Speaker 1: you say the best possible. Lord Saint Simon sank into
34:19
Speaker 1: a chair and passed his hand over his forehead. What
34:22
Speaker 1: will the Duke say, he murmured, when he hears that
34:26
Speaker 1: one of the family has been subjected to such a humiliation.
34:30
Speaker 1: It is the purest accident. I cannot allow that there
34:34
Speaker 1: is any humiliation. Ah, you look on these things from
34:39
Speaker 1: another standpoint. I fail to see that anyone is to blame.
34:44
Speaker 1: I can hardly see how the lady could have acted otherwise,
34:47
Speaker 1: though her abrupt method of doing it was undoubtedly to
34:50
Speaker 1: be regretted. Having no mother, she had no one to
34:53
Speaker 1: advise her at such a crisis. It was a slight, Sir,
34:58
Speaker 1: a public slight, said Lord Saint Simon, tapping his fingers
35:02
Speaker 1: upon the table. You must make allowance for this poor girl,
35:05
Speaker 1: placed in so unprecedented a position. I will make no alliance.
35:10
Speaker 1: I am very angry, indeed, and I have been shamefully used.
35:15
Speaker 1: I think I heard a ring, said Holmes. Yes, there
35:18
Speaker 1: are steps on the landing. If I cannot persuade you
35:21
Speaker 1: to take a lenient view of the matter, Lord Saint Simon,
35:24
Speaker 1: I have brought an advocate here who may be more successful.
35:28
Speaker 1: He opened the door and ushered in a lady and gentleman.
35:32
Speaker 1: Lord Saint Simon said, he allow me to introduce you
35:36
Speaker 1: to mister and missus Francis hay Moulton. The lady, I
35:40
Speaker 1: think you have already met. At the sight of these newcomers,
35:44
Speaker 1: our client had sprung from his seat, and stood very erect,
35:49
Speaker 1: with his eyes cast down and his hand thrust into
35:52
Speaker 1: the breast of his frock coat, a picture of offended dignity.
35:57
Speaker 1: The lady had taken a quick step forward and had
35:59
Speaker 1: held out her hand to him, but he still refused
36:02
Speaker 1: to raise his eyes. It was as well for his resolution, perhaps,
36:07
Speaker 1: for her pleading face was one which it was hard
36:09
Speaker 1: to resist. You're angry, Robert said she. Well, I guess
36:14
Speaker 1: you have every cause to be Pray. Make no apology
36:17
Speaker 1: to me, said Lord Saint Simon bitterly. Oh yes, I
36:22
Speaker 1: know that I treated you real bad, and that I
36:24
Speaker 1: should have spoken to you before I went, But I
36:26
Speaker 1: was kind of rattled, and from the time when I
36:29
Speaker 1: saw Frank here again, I just didn't know what I
36:32
Speaker 1: was doing or saying. I only wonder that I didn't
36:34
Speaker 1: fall down and do a faint right there before the altar. Perhaps,
36:39
Speaker 1: missus Moulton, you would like my friend and me to
36:41
Speaker 1: leave the room while you explain this matter, if I
36:45
Speaker 1: may give an opinion, remarked the strange gentleman. We've had
36:49
Speaker 1: just a little too much secrecy over this business already.
36:53
Speaker 1: For my part, I should, like all Europe and America
36:55
Speaker 1: to hear the rights of it. He was a small, wiry,
36:59
Speaker 1: sunburned man with a sharp face and alert manner. Then
37:03
Speaker 1: I'll tell our story right away, said the lady. Frank
37:07
Speaker 1: Here and I met in eighty one in Macchuire's camp
37:10
Speaker 1: near the Rockies, where Pa was working a claim. We
37:14
Speaker 1: were engaged to each other, Frank and I. But then
37:17
Speaker 1: one day Father struck a rich pocket and made a pile,
37:21
Speaker 1: while poor Frank Here had a claim that petered out
37:23
Speaker 1: and came to nothing. The richer par grew the poorer
37:27
Speaker 1: was Frank. So at last Pa wouldn't hear of our
37:30
Speaker 1: engagement lasting any longer, and he took me away to Frisco.
37:34
Speaker 1: Frank wouldn't throw up his hand, though, so he followed
37:37
Speaker 1: me there and he saw me without Pa knowing anything
37:39
Speaker 1: about it. It would only have made him mad to know,
37:43
Speaker 1: so we just fixed it all up for ourselves. Frank
37:46
Speaker 1: said that he would go and make his pile too,
37:48
Speaker 1: and never come back to claim me until he had
37:51
Speaker 1: as much as parr. So then I promised to wait
37:54
Speaker 1: for him to the end of time, and pledged myself
37:56
Speaker 1: not to marry anyone else while he lived. Why shouldn't
38:00
Speaker 1: we be married right away, then said he, and then
38:03
Speaker 1: I will feel sure of you, and I won't claim
38:05
Speaker 1: to be your husband until I come back. Well, we
38:08
Speaker 1: talked it over and he had fixed it all up
38:11
Speaker 1: so nicely, with clergyman already in waiting, that we just
38:15
Speaker 1: did it right there. And then Frank went off to
38:17
Speaker 1: seek his fortune, and I went back to PA. The
38:21
Speaker 1: next that I heard of Frank was that he was
38:23
Speaker 1: in Montana, and then he went prospecting into Arizona, and
38:27
Speaker 1: then I heard of him from New Mexico. After that
38:31
Speaker 1: came a long newspaper story about how a miner's camp
38:34
Speaker 1: had been attacked by Apache Indians. There was my Frank's
38:38
Speaker 1: name among the killed. I fainted dead away. I was
38:42
Speaker 1: very sick for months. After PA thought I had a
38:46
Speaker 1: decline and took me to half the doctors in Frisco.
38:50
Speaker 1: Not a word of news came for a year or more,
38:53
Speaker 1: so I never doubted that Frank was really dead. Then
38:56
Speaker 1: Lord Saint Simon came to Frisco and we came to
38:59
Speaker 1: London and a marriage was arranged, and PA was very pleased.
39:04
Speaker 1: But I felt all the time that no man on
39:06
Speaker 1: this earth would ever take the place in my heart
39:09
Speaker 1: that had been given to my poor Frank. Still, if
39:13
Speaker 1: I had married Lord Saint Simon, of course i'd have
39:16
Speaker 1: done my duty by him. We can't command our love,
39:20
Speaker 1: but we can our actions. I went to the altar
39:23
Speaker 1: with him with the intention that I would make him
39:26
Speaker 1: just as good a wife as it was in me
39:28
Speaker 1: to be. But you may imagine what I felt when
39:32
Speaker 1: just as I came to the altar rails, I glanced
39:34
Speaker 1: back and saw Frank standing looking at me out of
39:38
Speaker 1: the first pew. I thought it was his ghost at first,
39:43
Speaker 1: but when I looked again there he was still, with
39:46
Speaker 1: a kind of question in his eyes, as if to
39:48
Speaker 1: ask me whether I were glad or sorry to see him.
39:51
Speaker 1: I wonder I didn't drop. I know that everything was
39:54
Speaker 1: turning round, and the words of the clergyman were just
39:57
Speaker 1: like the buzz of a bee in my ear. I
40:00
Speaker 1: didn't know what to do. Should I stop the service
40:03
Speaker 1: and make a scene in the church. I glanced at
40:06
Speaker 1: him again, and he seemed to know what I was thinking,
40:10
Speaker 1: for he raised his fingers to his lips to tell
40:12
Speaker 1: me to be still. Then I saw him scribble on
40:15
Speaker 1: a piece of paper, and I knew he was writing
40:17
Speaker 1: me a note as I passed his pew on the
40:20
Speaker 1: way out, I dropped my bouquet over to him, and
40:23
Speaker 1: he slipped the note into my hand. When he returned
40:26
Speaker 1: me the flowers, it was only a line asking me
40:29
Speaker 1: to join him when he made the sign to me
40:31
Speaker 1: to do so. Of course, I never doubted for a
40:34
Speaker 1: moment that my first duty now was to him, and
40:38
Speaker 1: I determined to do just whatever he might direct. When
40:42
Speaker 1: I got back, I told my maid, who had known
40:45
Speaker 1: him in California and had always been his friend. I
40:49
Speaker 1: ordered her to say nothing, but to get a few
40:51
Speaker 1: things packed and my ulster ready. I know I ought
40:55
Speaker 1: to have spoken to Lord Saint Simon, but it was dreadful,
40:58
Speaker 1: hard before his mother and all those great people. I
41:02
Speaker 1: just made up my mind to run away and explain afterwards.
41:06
Speaker 1: I hadn't been at the table ten minutes before I
41:08
Speaker 1: saw Frank out of the window at the other side
41:10
Speaker 1: of the road. He beckoned to me and then began
41:14
Speaker 1: walking in the park. I slipped out, put on my
41:17
Speaker 1: things and followed him. Some woman came talking something or
41:21
Speaker 1: other about Lord Saint Simon to me, seemed to me
41:25
Speaker 1: from the little I heard, as if he had a
41:27
Speaker 1: little secret of his own before marriage also, but I
41:31
Speaker 1: managed to get away from her and soon overtook Frank.
41:35
Speaker 1: We got into a cab together and away we drove
41:38
Speaker 1: to some lodgings he had taken in Gordon Square, and
41:42
Speaker 1: that was my true wedding. After all those years of waiting.
41:47
Speaker 1: Frank had been a prisoner among the Apaches, had escaped,
41:50
Speaker 1: came out of Frisco, found that I had given him
41:53
Speaker 1: up for dead, and had gone to England, followed me
41:56
Speaker 1: there and had come upon me at last on the
41:59
Speaker 1: very morning of my second wedding. I saw it in
42:03
Speaker 1: a paper, explained the American. It gave the name and
42:06
Speaker 1: the church, but not where the lady lived. Then we
42:10
Speaker 1: had a talk as to what we should do, and
42:13
Speaker 1: Frank was off for openness. But I was so ashamed
42:17
Speaker 1: of it all that I felt as if I would
42:18
Speaker 1: like to vanish away and never see any of them again,
42:22
Speaker 1: just sending a line to Pa, perhaps to show him
42:25
Speaker 1: that I was alive. It was awful to me to
42:28
Speaker 1: think of all those lords and ladies sitting round that
42:30
Speaker 1: breakfast table and waiting for me to come back. So
42:34
Speaker 1: Frank took my wedding clothes and things and made a
42:37
Speaker 1: bundle of them so that I should not be traced,
42:41
Speaker 1: and dropped them away somewhere where no one should find them.
42:45
Speaker 1: It is likely that we should have gone on to
42:47
Speaker 1: Paris tomorrow, only that this good gentleman, mister Holmes came
42:52
Speaker 1: round to us this evening, though how he found us
42:55
Speaker 1: is more than I can think. And he showed us
42:58
Speaker 1: very clearly and kindly that I was wrong, and that
43:00
Speaker 1: Frank was right, and that we should put ourselves in
43:03
Speaker 1: the wrong if we were so secret. Then he offered
43:07
Speaker 1: to give us a chance of talking to Lord Saint
43:09
Speaker 1: Simon alone, and so we came right away round to
43:12
Speaker 1: his rooms at once. Now, Robert, you have heard all,
43:17
Speaker 1: and I am very sorry if I have given you pain,
43:20
Speaker 1: and I hope that you do not think very meanly
43:23
Speaker 1: of me. Lord Saint Simon had by no means relaxed
43:27
Speaker 1: his rigid attitude, but had listened with a frowning brow
43:31
Speaker 1: and a compressed lip to this long narrative. Excuse me,
43:35
Speaker 1: he said, but it is not my custom to discuss
43:38
Speaker 1: my most intimate personal affairs in this public manner. Then
43:43
Speaker 1: you won't forgive me, You won't shake hands before I go. Oh, certainly,
43:48
Speaker 1: if it would give you any pleasure. He put out
43:51
Speaker 1: his hand and coldly grasped that which she extended to him.
43:56
Speaker 1: I had hoped, suggested Holmes, that you would have joined
43:59
Speaker 1: us in a friendly supper. I think that there you
44:02
Speaker 1: ask a little too much, responded his lordship. I may
44:06
Speaker 1: be forced to acquiesce in these recent developments, but I
44:10
Speaker 1: can hardly be expected to make merry over them. I
44:13
Speaker 1: think that, with your permission, I will now wish you
44:15
Speaker 1: all a very good night. He included us all in
44:19
Speaker 1: a sweeping bow and stalked out of the room. Then
44:23
Speaker 1: I trust that you at least will honor me with
44:25
Speaker 1: your company, said Sherlock Holmes. It is always a joy
44:29
Speaker 1: to me to meet an American, mister Moulton, for I
44:33
Speaker 1: am one of those who believe that the folly of
44:35
Speaker 1: a monarch and the blundering of a minister in far
44:38
Speaker 1: gone years will not prevent our children from being some
44:41
Speaker 1: day citizens of the same world wide country under a
44:45
Speaker 1: flag which shall be a quartering of the Union jack
44:48
Speaker 1: with the stars and stripes. The case has been an
44:54
Speaker 1: interesting one, remarked Holmes when our visitors had left, Because
44:59
Speaker 1: it sirs to show very clearly how simple the explanation
45:02
Speaker 1: may be of an affair which, at first sight seems
45:05
Speaker 1: to be almost inexplicable. Nothing could be more inexplicable, nothing
45:11
Speaker 1: could be more natural than the sequence of events as
45:14
Speaker 1: narrated by this lady, and nothing stranger than the result
45:18
Speaker 1: when viewed, for instance, by mister Lestrade of Scotland Yard.
45:24
Speaker 1: You were not yourself at fault, then, From the first
45:27
Speaker 1: two facts were very obvious to me, the one that
45:31
Speaker 1: the lady had been quite willing to undergo the wedding ceremony,
45:35
Speaker 1: the other that she had repented of it within a
45:37
Speaker 1: few minutes of returning home. Obviously something had occurred during
45:42
Speaker 1: the morning, then, to cause her to change her mind.
45:45
Speaker 1: What could that something be. She could not have spoken
45:49
Speaker 1: to anyone when she was out, for she had been
45:51
Speaker 1: in the company of the bridegroom. Had she seen someone, then,
45:55
Speaker 1: If she had, it must be someone from America, because
46:00
Speaker 1: she had spent so short a time in this country
46:02
Speaker 1: that she could hardly have allowed anyone to acquire so
46:05
Speaker 1: deep an influence over her that the mere sight of
46:08
Speaker 1: him would induce her to change her plans so completely.
46:12
Speaker 1: You see, we have already arrived by a process of
46:15
Speaker 1: exclusion at the idea that she might have seen an American.
46:20
Speaker 1: Then who could this American be, and why should he
46:22
Speaker 1: possess so much influence over her? It might be a lover,
46:27
Speaker 1: it might be a husband. Her young womanhood had I
46:31
Speaker 1: knew been spent in rough scenes and under strange conditions.
46:36
Speaker 1: So far had I got before I ever heard Lord
46:38
Speaker 1: Saint Simon's narrative when he told us of a man
46:42
Speaker 1: in a pew, of the change in the bride's manner,
46:45
Speaker 1: of so transparent a device of obtaining a note as
46:48
Speaker 1: the dropping of a bouquet, of her resort to her
46:51
Speaker 1: confidential maid, and of her very significant allusion to claim jumping,
46:57
Speaker 1: which in minor's parlance means taking possess of that which
47:01
Speaker 1: another person has a prior claim to. The whole situation
47:05
Speaker 1: became absolutely clear. She had gone off with a man,
47:09
Speaker 1: and the man was either a lover or was a
47:11
Speaker 1: previous husband, the chances being in favor of the latter.
47:17
Speaker 1: And how in the world did you find them? It
47:20
Speaker 1: might have been difficult, but friend Lestrade held information in
47:24
Speaker 1: his hands, the value of which he did not himself know.
47:28
Speaker 1: The initials were, of course of the highest importance, but
47:31
Speaker 1: more valuable. Still was it to know that within a
47:34
Speaker 1: week he had settled his bill at one of the
47:36
Speaker 1: most select London hotels. How did you deduce these select
47:42
Speaker 1: by these select prices? Eight shillings for a bed and
47:46
Speaker 1: eightpence for a glass of sherry? Pointed to one of
47:50
Speaker 1: the most expensive hotels. There are not many in London
47:54
Speaker 1: which charge at that rate. In the second one, which
47:57
Speaker 1: I visited, in Northumberland Avenue, I earned by an inspection
48:01
Speaker 1: of the book, that Francis H. Moulton, an American gentleman,
48:04
Speaker 1: had left only the day before, And on looking over
48:08
Speaker 1: the entries against him, I came upon the very items
48:11
Speaker 1: which I had seen in the duplicate bill. His letters
48:15
Speaker 1: were to be forwarded to two hundred and twenty six
48:17
Speaker 1: Gordon Square. So thither I traveled, and being fortunate enough
48:22
Speaker 1: to find the loving couple at home, I ventured to
48:25
Speaker 1: give them some paternal advice, and to point out to
48:28
Speaker 1: them that it would be better in every way that
48:30
Speaker 1: they should make their position a little clearer, both to
48:33
Speaker 1: the general public and to Lord Saint Simon. In particular,
48:38
Speaker 1: I invited them to meet him here, and as you see,
48:41
Speaker 1: I made him keep the appointment, But with no very
48:44
Speaker 1: good results. I remarked his conduct was certainly not very gracious.
48:50
Speaker 1: Ah Watson, said Holmes, smiling. Perhaps you would not be
48:54
Speaker 1: very gracious either, if, after all the trouble of wooing
48:58
Speaker 1: and wedding, found yourself deprived in an instant of wife
49:02
Speaker 1: and of fortune. I think that we may judge Lord
49:06
Speaker 1: Saint Simon very mercifully, and thank our stars that we
49:10
Speaker 1: are never likely to find ourselves in the same position.
49:14
Speaker 1: Draw your chair up and hand me my violin. For
49:18
Speaker 1: the only problem which we have still to solve is
49:21
Speaker 1: how to while away these bleak autumnal evenings.