The Midwinter Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes: Three Adventures & The Grand Gift of Sherlock (32 page)

[245]
Paddington Hospital (more properly St. Mary’s) was founded in 1845. It is most famous for being the locale where Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin.

[246]
Strangely enough, Holmes makes no mention of these markings on the body of the convict Seldon, who escaped from the prison of Princetown in
The Hound of The Baskervilles
.

[247]
Holmes also manipulated the press in
The Adventure of the Illustrious Client
.

[248]
Simpson’s Grand Cigar Tavern, now known simply as Simpson’s on the Strand, was one of Holmes’ favorite restaurants. It is where he chose to eat after starving himself in
The Adventure of the Dying Detective
. He and Watson also dined there in
The Adventure of the Illustrious Client
.

[249]
Holmes was an eccentric chemist and could be found practicing his hobby in numerous cases.

[250]
Christmas crackers are a traditional part of Christmas celebrations in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth countries. They consist of cardboard tubes wrapped in a brightly decorated twist of paper, resembling an oversized sweet-wrapper and usually containing a small trinket. A cracker is pulled by two people, with their arms crossed, until it splits unevenly. The split is accompanied by a mild bang or snapping sound produced by the effect of friction upon a shock-sensitive card strip chemically-impregnated with the unstable silver fulminate. Tradition holds that Tom Smith of London invented crackers in 1847 and named them after the ‘Cossaques’ (i.e. Cossacks) of Russia. Over time the name morphed into the ‘cracker,’ by which they are still called today.

[251]
It sounds like Holmes may have invented the ‘bang-snap.’ I have been unable to trace the historical origin of these novelty noisemakers, so perhaps Holmes’ claim is valid?

[252]
The crackers also usually contain a paper crown, which is an echo of a tradition that goes back to Roman times, and the Saturnalia celebrations. The King of the Saturnalia, or
Saturnalicius princeps
, ruled as master of ceremonies for the proceedings and was the precursor for the medieval Lord of Misrule at the Feast of Fools. His capricious commands, such as “Sing naked” or “Throw him into cold water,” had to be obeyed by the other guests at the
convivium
.

[253]
This is similar to what Holmes’ says in Chapter I of
The Valley of Fear
.

[254]
The Canon is replete with examples where Holmes chides Watson for theorizing prematurely only to do so himself.

[255]
Holmes had an affinity for the number seven: he had 7 separate explanations for the curious case of Miss Violet Hunter (
The Adventure of the Copper Beeches
), 7 schemes for getting a glimpse of a telegram (
The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter
) and 7 clues from Percy Phelps (
The Naval Treaty
). In none of these instances does Holmes ever elaborate upon their exact nature.

[256]
From Shakespeare’s
King Henry V
(Epilogue).

[257]
The Evening Star is simply the appearance of the planet Venus in the evening. However, the Greeks decided to make him a separate deity called Hesperus, the son of Eos, and half-brother of Phosphorus, the Morning Star. The Romans called him Vesper.

[258]
‘The Wreck of the Hesperus’ is a narrative poem by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), first published in
Ballads and Other Poems
in 1842. It is a story that presents the tragic consequences of a sea captain's pride. The Canon of Sherlock Holmes was littered with references to shipwrecks, including that of the ‘Sophy Anderson’ & ‘Lone Star’ (
The Five Orange Pips
), the ‘Norah Creina’ (
The Adventure of the Resident Patient
), and the eponymous ‘Gloria Scott.’

[259]
Baedeker’s Great Britain was the main travel guide to the United Kingdom from its inception in 1887 (with earlier London-only editions). The four villages include the hamlet of Star, in the civil parish of Shipham, Somerset, England; the village of Star, Fife, Scotland; the hamlet of Star, Pembrokeshire, Wales; and Star, a small settlement near the village of Gaerwen, Wales.

[260]
The Star
was a London evening newspaper founded in 1888 and which finally ceased publication in 1960.

[261]
The ‘First State’ is Delaware, on the basis of it being the first to ratify the Constitution of the United States on 7 December, 1787.

[262]
Here we can safely assume that Holmes is obliquely referring to his terrible failure to prevent the murder of John Oppenshaw at the hands of the K.K.K. members travelling aboard the barque ‘Lone Star’ (
The Five Orange Pips
).

[263]
Perhaps not officially invented by Henry VII, he nonetheless perfected the use of the Star Chamber tribunal in the Palace of Westminster. The ceiling of the chamber in which the court convened was painted with a representation of the night sky and stars, supposedly so that the accused could gaze upon it and contemplate their small place in the universe. The ceiling has survived until the modern day can still be seen at Leasowe Castle. Court sessions were held in secret and over time it evolved into a political weapon, a symbol of the misuse and abuse of power by the English monarchy and courts. It was formally abolished in 1641.

[264]
Holmes is plainly referring to Moriarty’s book
The Dynamics of an Asteroid
, mentioned in Chapter I of
The Valley of Fear
.

[265]
There was a vivid astronomical event, possibly a comet or nova, recorded by Chinese and Korean stargazers in about March to April of the year 5 BCE. This object was observed for over seventy days with no movement recorded. Ancient writers described comets as "hanging over" specific cities, just as the Star of Bethlehem was said to have stood over the town of Bethlehem. Holmes certitude is a bit of bluster, as other theories exist for the historical basis of this particular ‘Star.’

[266]
Sol Invictus (‘Unconquered Sun’) was a solar deity of the late Roman period. His ‘birthday’ on 25 December was celebrated as a festival that followed closely on the heels of Saturnalia.

[267]
Watson is plainly referring to Mr. Fezziwig from Charles Dickens’
A Christmas Carol
, to whom Ebenezer Scrooge was first apprenticed.

[268]
Greensleeves is a traditional English folk song dating as far back as 1580. Alternative lyrics from c.1686 associated the tune with Christmas texts, becoming the familiar refrain “On Christmas Day in the morning.” 

[269]
This appears similar to how Holmes would compensate Watson’s patience with his exasperating melancholy violin solos, with a sudden burst of his “favorite airs,” the exact identity of which remains uncertain (Chapter II,
A Study in Scarlet
).

[270]
The Christmas tree first gained popularity in British and American society thanks to the husband of Queen Victoria, the German-born Prince Albert. He installed a decorated Christmas tree (‘Tannenbaum’) at Windsor Castle in 1841, and woodcuts of the Royal Family’s tree appeared in London magazines in 1848. Such illustrations, published in America a year later, created the fashionable impression of the Christmas tree in upper class homes.

[271]
Holmes is quoting Sir John Falstaff from Shakespeare’s
The Merry Wives of Windsor
(Act V, Scene V): “Let the sky rain potatoes! Let it thunder to the tune of 'Greensleeves'!”

[272]
Covent Garden Market was the location of Mr. Breckenridge’s stall in
The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
.

[273]
The Haymarket played a significant role in
The Adventure of the Retired Colourman
.

[274]
Charles Augustus Milverton also lived in Hampstead.

[275]
A baronet is a title of hereditary rank, but not officially at the level of the nobility of the realm. The status was introduced by James I in 1611 as a method to raise funds for the Royal Treasury. Other baronets in the Canon include Sir Eustace Brackenstall (
The Adventure of the Abbey Grange
), Sir Robert Norburton (
The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place
), and the eponymous Sir Henry Baskerville.

[276]
Holmes is likely referring to the tree’s origin as part of the celebration of Yule, in which the tree was sacred to the thunder god Thor.

[277]
Colonel Moran was also a member of the Tankerville Club (
The Adventure of the Empty House
), and Holmes saved Major Prendergast from an unrecorded scandal there (
The Five Orange Pips
).

[278]
This may be the earliest recorded use of this motto, which Holmes espoused in the late cases transcribed as
The Problem of Thor Bridge
and
The Adventure of the Creeping Man
.

[279]
Dr. Percy Trevelyan, of 403 Brook Street, was the author of a monograph upon obscure nervous lesions. He employed Holmes on behalf of his lodger Mr. Blessington (
The Adventure of the Resident Patient
).

[280]
Miss Irene Adler resided at the Briony Lodge in the region of London known as St. John’s Wood (logically named after its one-time owners, the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, aka the Knights Hospitallers) in
A Scandal in Bohemia
. Although reported to lie on Serpentine Avenue, no such street exists, and Watson was presumably hiding the identity of Garden Road through a bit of word association (‘the serpent in the garden’). Why he failed to do so here is uncertain. On a side note, Garden Road intersects Abbey Road very near an intersection of later fame.

[281]
A burr, or burl in American English, is a rounded outgrowth in which the grain of the tree has grown in a deformed manner as a result of some form of stress, such as an injury, virus or fungus. Burrs yield a very peculiar and highly figured wood, prized for its beauty and rarity. It is sought after by furniture makers, artists, and wood sculptors.

[282]
Leadenhall Market is a covered market in central London that stands on grounds that date back to the location of a market in Roman times. The current ornate structure was built in 1881.

[283]
Albion Grove is an archaic name for Keats Grove (also called John Street), renamed c. 1915 in honor of the Romantic poet who lived there from 1818-1820, some of his most productive years.

[284]
The church of St. Clement Danes lies in the middle of the Strand across from the Royal Courts of Justice (opened 1882). It was built by Sir Christopher Wren in 1682 on the site of an earlier 9th Century church that was built on the edge of the Danish village of Aldwych, which abutted the City of London during the era when the Danelaw held sway over Essex, the East Midlands and Yorkshire.

[285]
Holmes may be referring to several things here. There is his interest in beekeeping (
His Last Bow
), in Buddhism (see below), and in a variety of topics about the medieval period which he mentions throughout the various adventures.

[286]
Holmes mentions his brain-attic in Chapter II of
A Study in Scarlet
and
The Five Orange Pip
.

[287]
He can only be referring to ‘The Origins of Tree Worship’ from
The Adventure of the Empty House
.

[288]
Holmes in-depth knowledge of the Buddhism of Ceylon was displayed in Chapter X of
The Sign of Four
.

[289]
Watson is referring, of course, to the thrilling events of
The Sign of the Four
.

[290]
The Glastonbury Thorn, named after it’s locale in Somerset, England, is a small Common Hawthorn tree regarded as sacred because of the legend that it sprouted miraculously from the staff of Joseph of Arimathea, the man in whose prepared tomb Jesus was buried. The tree displays a rare phenomenon for its species, blooming not once but twice per year, with the second bloom occurring around the time of Christmas.

[291]
Farnham was also the locale of Chiltern Grange, the home of Mr. Carruthers (
The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist
).

[292]
In typical Holmes fashion, he tosses off the name of two cases which have never been recorded. Mother Ludlum’s cave is a real place near Waverley Abbey. How exactly this cave with its sacred spring acquired its unusual name is not clear, though the ‘Lud’ in question is likely the Celtic god of healing who became identified as the king who founded London as ‘Caer Lud.’

[293]
Pall Mall is a street in the Westminster area of London, named after a type of 17th Century ball game that was played in the area. It is thick with gentlemen’s clubs and within close proximity to the mass of government buildings that line Whitehall.