July 19, 1889: Holmes returned the missing letter to Trelawney Hope’s dispatch box. (SECO)
July 19, 1898: First Dancing Men appeared. (DANC)
On July 18th…
July 18, 1889: Lady Hilda retrieved the missing letter from beneath Eduardo Lucas’s floor. (SECO)
On July 17th…
July 17, 1889: An inquest into the death of Eduardo Lucas was held. (SECO)
July 17, 1888: Silver Blaze won the Wessex Cup. (SILV)
July 17, 1888: Holmes told Colonel Ross that Silver Blaze had killed John Straker. (SILV)
On July 16th…
July 16, 1889: Trelawney Hope and Lord Bellinger ask Holmes for help. (SECO)
On July 15th…
July 15, 1889: Eduardo Lucas was stabbed to death by his wife Mme. Fournaye. (SECO)
3rd Annual Treasure Hunt Warm Up Question
Hello! It is now only 17 days until the 3rd Annual JHWS Treasure Hunt posts. I thought a warm up question might be in order: In the course of their adventures together, when and where did Holmes introduce the good Dr Watson by the doctor’s full first and last name?
Vincent Starrett
“But there can be no grave for Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson… Shall they not always live in Baker Street? Are they not there this moment, as one writes? Outside, the hansoms rattle through the rain, and Moriarty plans his latest devilry. Within, the sea-coal flames upon the hearth and Holmes and Watson take their well-won case… So they still live for all that love them well; in a romantic chamber of the heart, in a nostalgic country of the mind, where it is always 1895.”
― Vincent Starrett, The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes
Weekly Forum: #28
The Baker Street Babes recently released “Always 1895: Translating Starrett’s 221B” on their website for free. It’s a e-book of the Vincent Starrett sonnet “221B” translated into song and numerous different languages. You can download it on THIS page.
Every month, at the end of the meeting, everyone in my local scion society listens to a recitation of Vincent Starrett’s “221B.” How does the sonnet resonate for you? Why does it have such a lasting impact on generations of Sherlockians?
221B
by Vincent Starrett
Here dwell together still two men of note
Who never lived and so can never die:
How very near they seem, yet how remote
That age before the world went all awry.
But still the game’s afoot for those with ears
Attuned to catch the distant view-halloo:
England is England yet, for all our fears–
Only those things the heart believes are true.
A yellow fog swirls past the window-pane
As night descends upon this fabled street:
A lonely hansom splashes through the rain,
The ghostly gas lamps fail at twenty feet.
Here, though the world explode, these two survive,
And it is always eighteen ninety-five.
On July 13th…
July 13, 1888: Holmes called upon Madam Lesurier. (SILV)
Deadline for The Watsonian
Just as a remind to everyone (and myself!), the deadline for the October Fall issue of The Watsonian is July 15, which is this coming Wednesday.
CORRECTION: It seems that the deadline is August 1st, as originally set by our dear Buttons earlier this year. The website will be updated to reflect that change. Hopefully, this will give some of you more time and opportunity to submit your work for The Watsonian.
Submissions should be up-to-date Word documents and sent via email attachment to: publisher@johnhwatsonsociety.com
On July 12th…
July 12, 1895: Holmes captured Patrick Cairns. (BLAC)
On July 11th…
July 11, 1895: John Hopley Neligen was apprehended at Peter Carey’s cabin. (BLAC)
July 11, 1895: Holmes sent a telegram using the name of Captain Basil. (BLAC)
July 11, 1903: Prof. Presbury was attacked a second time by his wolf hound, Rory. (CREE)
On July 10th…
July 10, 1895: Holmes visited the scene of Peter Carey’s murder. (BLAC)
July 10, 1888: At about 2 AM, Silver Blaze killed John Straker. (SILV) Another one of my favorite stories in the Canon. I never had heard of a horse as a weapon and innocent of murder by reason of self-defense. At age 12, I did not care about racing laws, rules, and such. Now as an adult? I still don’t care about them. It’s a great story.
July 10, 1889: A letter from a foreign potentate was received in the foreign office. (SECO)
Sherlock: A First Look at the Sherlock Special
As a special event at San Diego Comic Con today, PBS gave fans a sneak peek at the upcoming BBC Sherlock Christmas special:
What are your first impressions of this take on Holmes and Watson? (Personally, I fear that Dr Watson’s mustache is going to steal every scene. It’s epic.)
On July 9th…
July 9, 1895: John Hopley Neligan attempted to break into Peter Carey’s cabin. (BLAC)
July 9, 1895: Holmes received a wire from Inspector Hopkins. (BLAC)
John Northern Hilliard
NOTE: Click image to view in full size.
Weekly Forum 2015: #27
What scene do you believe was Dr Watson’s finest moment in the Canon?
Ballade of Baker Street
NOTE: Click image to view in full size.
Sonnet on Baker Street
Christopher Morley on Sherlock Holmes; also in Profile by Gaslight
Quick, Watson, quick! (he says) the game’s afoot:
Perhaps it’s only Scandal in Bohemia,
Or maybe Speckled Band, or Devil’s Root,
Or famous sleuth who’s dying of Anaemia–
The Dancing Men, Chicago’s smartest crooks
Have given us the code: we’ll fool that party: —
These are not merely episodes in books,
But the Crusade of Holmes and Moriarty.
So bring the fiddle and the dressing gown,
And Mrs. Hudson, and brave Scotland Yard,
And Watson by the jezail bullet lamed–
We rattle in a hansom back to Town.
If this is fancy, history’s debarred:
If this is fiction, let fact be ashamed.
On July 3rd…
July 3, 1895: At 2 AM, Patrick Cairns killed Peter Carey with a harpoon. (BLAC)
Another one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s fantastic word pictures. Quoting from the Canon:
And there in the middle of it was the man himself, his face twisted like a lost soul in torment, and his great brindled beard stuck upwards in his agony. Right through his broad breast a steel harpoon had been driven, and it had sunk deep into the wood of the wall behind him. He was pinned like a beetle on a card. Of course, he was quite dead, and had been so from the instant that he uttered that last yell of agony.
What a description!! His word pictures like that made me at 12 years old on the plains of Kansas move to Baker Street for the rest of my life.