TCDE-Team at 12:23, 21 December 2021

2021-12-21T12:23:36Z

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''Sherlock the Indestructible'' is an article published in [[The Sketch]] on 6 july 1927.

== Sherlock the Indestructible ==
[[File:the-sketch-1927-07-06-p39-sherlock-the-indestructible.jpg|thumb|200px|right|[[The Sketch]] (6 july 1927, p. 39)]]

[[Sherlock Holmes|Sherlock]], friend of youth, [[Sherlock Holmes|Sherlock]] the beguiler of tedium, dread Indestructible. of evildoers, sire of all sleuths, lord of Pure Reason — oh, [[Sherlock Holmes|Sherlock]], how art thou translated!

Of your obstinate vitality far be it from me to complain: when you returned from the very grave, we only cried in jubilation, O Moriarty, where is thy victory, O Moran, where is thy sting? We rejoiced to have you back among us, and we cannot but feel a sense of personal loss when your creator announces, in "[[The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes]]," that Watson must now for ever hold his peace. Let the case-book be inexhaustible, even if it means further resurrections from the dead or from the contemplative life of the bee-farmer. All the same, [[Sherlock Holmes|Sherlock]], thou art translated, and the more we delve into back numbers of the case-book, the more translated dost thou seem.

Your intellect, your chronicler assures us, is unimpaired, your self-confidence undiminished. "I am a brain, Watson. The rest of me is a mere appendix." (This language — need it be said? — is metaphorical, not anatomical.) "My mind is like a crowded box-room, with packets of all sorts stowed away therein." But what is Brain without Deduction? And what are your Deductions, [[Sherlock Holmes|Sherlock]]?" But surely, "you observe to a pseudo-American, Mr. John Garrideb, "you have been in England some time?"

"Why do you say that, Mr. Holmes?" I seemed to read sudden suspicion in those expres-sive eyes.

"Your whole outfit is English." Mr. Garrideb forced a laugh. "I 've read of your tricks, Mr. Holmes, but I never thought I would be the subject of them. Where do you read that?"

"The shoulder cut of your coat, the toes of your boots — could anyone doubt it?"

Too easy, [[Sherlock Holmes|Sherlock]]. Watson himself could have done it. You should be aiming higher than that.

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* [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle:Complete Works|Back to Complete Works]]
* [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle|Back to Conan Doyle]]

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TCDE-Team at 12:23, 21 December 2021