The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 3 Research on Scarlet Characters (2)
To be honest, Holmes is not a difficult person to get along with.He was quiet and his habits were regular.He seldom goes to bed after ten every night.In the morning, he always finished his breakfast and went out before I got up.Sometimes he spent whole days in the laboratory or dissecting room.Occasionally he went on foot to great distances, which seemed to be the slum districts of the City of London.When he works with joy, no one can match his exuberant energy.But from time to time he also had the opposite force, which made him lie on the sofa in the living room all day, from morning to night, hardly saying a word or moving a muscle.Whenever this happens, I always see a blank look in his eyes.If he hadn't been strict and restrained in his daily life, I would have suspected that he had the habit of taking narcotics.

As the weeks passed, my curiosity about his interests and purpose in life grew.His appearance and appearance are enough to attract attention at first glance.He was over six feet tall, with an unusually slender body, which gave him a slender appearance; his eyes were sharp (except when he was dazed); his slender, aquiline nose gave his features an alert and decisive appearance; his jaw was square and prominent. , indicating that he is a very persevering person.Although his hands were stained with ink and chemicals, his movements were extremely skillful and meticulous.This is the result I observed while he was fiddling with those delicate and fragile laboratory instruments.

If I admit that the man Holmes greatly arouses my curiosity, and that I try to overcome his reticence to talk about himself, the reader will perhaps think me an incurably troubled man?But before you jump to such conclusions, please consider this: My life is so empty, and in such a life situation, there are so few things to attract my attention.My health does not allow me to go outside unless the weather is particularly sunny; and I have few friends to visit to break up my monotonous routine.Under these circumstances, I naturally took a great interest in my companion's little secret, and spent the greater part of my time trying to uncover it.

He is not studying medicine.In response to one of my questions, he himself confirmed that Stanford was correct on this point.He neither looked like he was studying all disciplines for a science degree, nor did he look like he was taking any other route that would enable him to enter academia.However, his enthusiasm for some aspects of research work is surprising.In some outlandish fields of knowledge, he was surprisingly knowledgeable.Therefore, he often speaks surprisingly.It is safe to say that no one would have labored as hard as he did to acquire such exact knowledge if it were not for some purpose.For those who do not choose books, the knowledge they acquire is hardly very superb.No one would bother to go to so much detail in so many details unless it was for some good reason.

And his poor knowledge is as startling as his rich knowledge.He knew next to nothing about modern literature, philosophy and politics.When I quoted Thomas Carlyle, he asked me in a foolish way who Carlyle was and what he had done.What surprised me the most was that I stumbled across his complete ignorance of the Copernican theory and the formation of the solar system.It is beyond my belief that in the nineteenth century an educated man should not have known the fact that the earth goes round the sun.

Seeing my astonishment, he smiled and said, "You seem surprised, don't you? Even if I understand these things, I will try my best to forget them."

"Forget them?!" I couldn't help shouting.

He explained: "You know, I think the human brain is like a small empty attic, and some furniture should be selectively packed in it. Only a fool would put all kinds of things in his head. In this way, the knowledge that is useful to him is squeezed out. Or, at most, it is mixed with many other things, so it is difficult to access it. Therefore, a person who can work, He had to be very careful indeed in choosing what to put into his little attic mind, bringing in nothing but useful tools for the job, and which had everything and everything. It makes sense. If you think that the walls of this small attic are elastic and can expand and contract at will, you are wrong. Believe me, one day, when you add new knowledge, you will forget what you were familiar with before .So the most important thing is not to let some useless knowledge crowd out useful knowledge.”

I argued, "But that's a problem with the solar system!"

He interrupted me impatiently and said, "What does it matter to me? You say we go around the sun, but even if we go around the moon, it doesn't matter to me or to my work." What is the effect?"

When I could hardly resist asking him what his work was, I could tell from his expression that the question might be arousing his displeasure.So I chose to think over our short conversation, and try to draw some inferential clues from it.He said that he was unwilling to pursue knowledge that had nothing to do with what he was studying, so all the knowledge he had was of course useful to him.I mentally listed all the subjects that he knew very well, and wrote them down with a pencil.After reading it, I couldn't help laughing.It turned out to be like this:

Sherlock Holmes' Scope of Knowledge:

1. Literary knowledge - none.

2. Philosophical knowledge - none.

3. Knowledge of astronomy - none.

4. Political science knowledge - superficial.

5. Botanical knowledge--not comprehensive, but very detailed about acanthus and opium.He had a general knowledge of poisons and nothing of practical horticulture.

6. Geological knowledge--practical, but limited.But he can distinguish different soil qualities at a glance.He had shown me, on returning from his walk, the spots of mud which had been splashed on his trousers, and, by their color and firmness, had shown where in London it had been splashed.

7. Chemical knowledge - profound.

8. Knowledge of anatomy-accurate, but fragmented.

9. Thriller literature - very extensive, he seems to know all the horrors that have occurred in the past century.

10. I play the violin very well.

11. Good at using sticks and swords.

12. He has a sufficient and practical knowledge of English law.

I listed these and was disappointed after reading them.I threw the note into the fire and said to myself, "If I put all these skills together to find a trade that needs them, I still can't figure out what this old man is doing." If so, then I might as well give up this idea immediately."

I remember mentioning earlier that he could play the violin.He played the violin very well, but like his other talents, there was something eccentric about him.I know he can play some tunes, and some difficult ones.At my request, he once played for me some of Mendelssohn's short songs and some of his favorite pieces.But when he was alone, he seldom played any decent or familiar music.At dusk, he sat in an armchair, closed his eyes, and fiddled with the violin lying flat on his lap.Sometimes the sound of the piano is high-pitched and melancholy, and sometimes weird and cheerful.It seems that these piano sounds indirectly reflected some of his thoughts at that time, but whether these tunes inspired his thoughts, or just a whim, I can't judge.I hate those harsh performances; fortunately, he often plays several of my favorite pieces one after another after these pieces, which is a small compensation for my previous patience, otherwise I would really fly into a rage.

For the first week or two, no one came to visit us.I used to think that my partner was just like me, a lonely friendless person.However, I soon discovered that he had many friends, and from very different classes of society.One of them had a yellow complexion, a rat-like head, and a pair of black eyes.Holmes introduced that his name was Lestrade.This man comes three or four times a week.A fashionable young girl came to us one morning and sat there for more than half an hour before leaving.In the afternoon of the same day, another gray-haired, ragged guest who looked like a Jewish peddler came.He seemed extremely nervous, followed by a scruffy old woman.Another time, a grizzled gentleman called on my partner.And on another occasion, a man in a cotton velvet uniform who worked in a train waiter came to him.Whenever these strange guests appeared, Sherlock Holmes always asked me to let him use the sitting-room, and I was obliged to retire to my bedroom.He often apologized to me for the inconvenience this caused me.He said: "I have to use this living room as a work place, and these people are my customers." In fact, this time, it was a good opportunity to ask him a straightforward question, but for the sake of caution, I still did not force it. He confides in me.I thought then that there must be some great reason why he did not mention his profession.Unexpectedly, he took the initiative to tell me not long after, which surprised me a little.

I remember very well that it was March [-]th, and I got up earlier than usual, and I found that Holmes had not finished his breakfast.The landlady always knew I was a late riser, so my breakfast wasn't on the table, and I didn't even have a cup of coffee.Feeling very angry, I rang the bell at once, and told the landlady succinctly that I was going to have breakfast.Then I took a magazine from the table and leafed through it, while my companion munched on his bread without saying a word.There was an article in a magazine with the headline underlined in pencil, and that was the one I saw first, of course.

The title of the article seems to be exaggerated, it is called "Life Treasure Book".This article tries to show that an observant person will gain a lot if he carefully and systematically observes the things he comes into contact with.I find the article contradictory, with its shrewdness and originality, but also its absurdity.In theory, it is rigorous and compact; but in terms of conclusion, I think it is a bit far-fetched and exaggerated.The author said that from the momentary expression of a person, every movement of his muscles and every movement of his eyes, it is possible to infer his true thoughts.For a man who regularly studies others by observation and analysis, deception has no place.The conclusions drawn by this man are as accurate as Euclid's theorems.And these conclusions, in the eyes of some laymen, are indeed surprising.Before others have figured out the details of the analysis by which this person came to these conclusions, others will regard this person as a divine man who has no prophecy.

The author said: "A logician does not need to see or hear about the Atlantic Ocean or Niagara Falls, he can deduce from a drop of water that it may exist. In fact, life is a huge chain, as long as you see one of them The situation of the whole chain can be deduced. The ability of inference and analysis, like other skills, can only be mastered after long-term and patient study. Some people may not be able to reach the peak level even though they have spent their entire lives. Scholars, before embarking on the extremely difficult spiritual and psychological problems, can start by mastering the more obvious problems. For example, when they meet a person, they can recognize the past and occupation of the person at a glance. Such Trying may seem naive and boring, but it can sharpen one's observation ability, and can use one's own experience to teach others where to start observing and what to observe. A person's fingernails, sleeves , the knees of boots and trousers, the calluses between thumb and forefinger, facial expressions, shirt cuffs, etc., any of the above points can clearly reveal his occupation. If these circumstances are connected, it is not enough to make the case The investigators suddenly realized that it was almost unimaginable."

When I read this, I couldn't help throwing the magazine on the table and exclaiming: "What a load of nonsense! I have never seen such a boring article in my life."

"Which article?" asked Holmes.

"Well, that's the article." I said as I sat down to breakfast, pointing at the article with my little spoon, "I think you've read it, because you marked it down. I admit the article It's beautifully written, but I can't help but get annoyed after reading it. Apparently it's a set of fallacies dreamed up by a well-fed idler sitting in his study. The article is not at all realistic. I I'd rather put him in a third-class compartment on the underground train and let him tell the professions of his fellow passengers. I'd like to make a bet with him, a thousand to one."

"Then you lose," said Holmes quietly. "I wrote the article."

"It's you?"

"Yes, I have special talents in both observation and reasoning. The theories I mentioned in this article may seem ridiculous to you, but they are actually very practical, so practical that I even rely on them Earned my share of cheese and bread."

"How do you live on it?" I couldn't help asking.

"Well, I have my own profession, and I think I'm the only one in the world who does it. I'm a consulting detective. Perhaps you can understand the profession. In the City of London there are many official detectives and private detectives. Detective. These people come to me when they are in trouble, and I try to put them on the right track. They give me all the evidence they can gather, and generally, with my knowledge of criminal history, I can put their Mistakes corrected. Crimes all have their resemblance. It would be strange if you knew the details of a thousand cases and couldn't solve the thousand and one. Lestrade De is a well-known detective. He recently lost his way in a forgery case, and that's why he came to me."

"What about the others?" I continued.

"Most of them were guided by private detectives. They all encountered some troublesome problems and needed others to guide them. I listened carefully to the facts they narrated, and they listened to my opinions. In this way, the expenses will be included in my It's in the pocket."

I said, "Do you mean to say that while others know all the details, they can't solve the problem, but you can explain some difficult problems without leaving your home?"

"Exactly. Because I have such an ability to use intuition to analyze things. Sometimes I will encounter a more complicated case, so I have to go around and investigate it myself. You know, I have many special If you apply this knowledge to the case, the problem can be easily solved. Although you made fun of the deduction methods mentioned in the article just now, they are invaluable to me in actual work. Observation is second nature to me. I told you when we first met that you were from Afghanistan, and you seemed surprised."

"No doubt someone must have told you," I argued.

"Nothing like that. I knew you were from Afghanistan when I saw you. A series of thoughts passed through my mind at once, out of long-established habit, so that I didn't notice it when I came to my conclusion. The steps taken to reach the conclusion. However, there are certain steps in reaching this conclusion. In your case, I reasoned like this: 'This gentleman has the demeanor of a medical worker, but he is full of He is obviously a military doctor, then. He has just come back from the tropics, for he has a dark complexion. But it is not his original color, as can be seen from the black and white skin on his wrists. His face is haggard, and it is clear It clearly shows that he has just recovered from a long illness and has gone through a lot of hardships. His left arm was injured before, so it is still a little stiff when he moves it. Let me ask, a British military doctor has gone through hardships in the tropics and suffered injuries to his arm. Where else? Only in Afghanistan, of course.' This series of analysis lasted less than a second, so I confirmed that you are from Afghanistan. You were still surprised at the time."

I smiled and said, "It's quite simple from your explanation. You remind me of Dupont, the detective character in Edgar Allan Poe's works. I really can't think of anything other than fiction. There really is such a character in the world.”

Holmes stood up, lit his pipe, and said: "You must think that comparing me with Dupont is a compliment. But I think Dupont is a very small fellow. He is usually silent for a quarter of an hour, and then It was too contrived, too superficial, to speak out of his friend's mind suddenly. It is true that, though he had a gift for analysis, he was by no means the extraordinary man that Poe imagined him to be."

I asked, "Have you read Guberio? How would you rate the character Le Gauc? Is he a detective?"

(End of this chapter)