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"I'll fill a vacant peg, then." The Adventure of the Crooked Man. Published in The Strand Magazine. Sidney Paget, 1893
Sources 1 2
This week on Letters from Watson, Holmes turns up on Watson's doorstep at midnight and pretends it's for work.
And the Snake was OK, Crooked Man edition.
Mr and Mrs Wood were perhaps the oddest newly-weds that Sir Gordon Pickering-Leigh had ever encountered, but he expected no less from folk who were sent his way by Mr Sherlock Holmes.
She was a mature society beauty with regal poise, he was perpetually hunched over due to some great injury, yet Mr Wood’s new bride looked at him as though he were an Adonis. He in turn looked upon her as though she were Aphrodite. A couple half their age in the first throws of romance could not have exchanged more shy smiles.Their hands remained firmly clasped together, even as they sat on Pickering-Leigh’s settee and accepted tea from his butler.
“It’s a cobra, you see,” Mr Wood had explained, handing over a slightly dirty wicker basket. Pickering-Leigh took a cursory glance inside at his new acquisition and sighed.
“Defanged?”
“Yes, that’s the way with these things. I used her as part of my act, you see. I’d set her loose and my mongoose would catch her.”
It took considerable effort for Pickering-Leigh not to let the anger show on his face. Had never known poverty or hunger, and so he felt he should not judge too harshly those who resorted to using the pain of animals to put bread in their mouths. He still felt for their suffering. Many snakes got infections. Some had their mouths sewn shut, or were purposefully starved or dehydrated. Deprived of their fangs, many would cease to eat and die within a few months. Fortunately this one seemed lively and well cared for. It still had a glossy, golden sheen as it peeked up at him and flicked out its tongue to taste the air. Clearly Mr Wood had done his best for it, despite the circumstances.
“Do you still have the mongoose, Mr Wood?”
“Yes,” he chucked, “I couldn’t be parted with old Teddy. The both of us are enjoying our retirement. I let him out in our little walled garden most days, and I think he wonders if he’s found his way to paradise. Perhaps he has.”
Pickering-Lee nodded, closing the lid of of the snake’s basket. He could not help every animal that had been similarly used, but he could help this one to share in its master’s fortune and enjoy a little happiness in the twilight of its life.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
The Crooked Man
This one is from Memoirs - we have two more from that collection left to go after this.
Oddly enough I was actually reading this story at around the same time that Watson is reading!
Aldershot was - and still is - a major "garrison town" located 31 miles SW of Charing Cross. Around 20% of the British Army were based there in 1914.
Holmes says "Elementary!"
Aldershot is accessible by direct train from Waterloo - today electric trains serve it from there in just over an hour.
The Crimea of course refers to the Crimean War of 1853-56; the one of the Light Brigade, Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole. It was the first major war to make use of railways, telegraphy and photography.
The Mutiny refers to the common British name for the uprising in India in 1857-58 against the East India Company. Klinger devotes an entire chapter to it. The trigger, although resentments had been around for a while, was rumours that the grease in cartridges for the Lee Enfield rifle requiring the paper to opened using the mouth contained beef tallow and pork lard, offensive to Hindus and Muslims respectively.
When a group of mostly Muslim soldiers refused to accept the cartridges, were court-martialled and were sentenced to hard labour in the city of Meerut, an uprising broke out and spread across much of India. Support for it was by no means universal.
It took over a year for the British to defeat the insurgents in a war that saw many atrocities, the local population suffering the worst. Exaggerated reports of Indian war crimes in the British press fuelled a complete lack of sympathy in British soldiers and public alike.
The conflict ended with the capture or death of the rebel leaders, an amnesty for those who had not murdered Europeans and the end of the East India Company's rule with the Crown taking over, followed by some reforms to involve Indians more in administration.
Roman Catholicism had become tolerated by this point with nearly all legal restrictions removed, although discrimination remained, especially in Ireland.
Brain fever turns up again!
A florin was a two shilling coin.
This is the only short story appearance of a Baker Street Irregular.
Cantonments were military garrisons.
Colour Sergeant is an NCO rank in the infantry regiments of the British Army - while not in actual use at the time, it was commonly used to refer to the quartermaster sergeant i.e. the sergeant in charge of the company supplies. It is the equivalent to Staff Sergeant in other units.
The story of Uriah and Bathsheba can be found in 2 Samuel Chapters 11 and 12. It's a common one for artist because it contains naked lady.
Me: Why I don't remember "The adventure of the crooked man"? "Crooked" in what sense? "Torcido"? "Deshonesto"? "Chueco"? But "chueco" has other uses too...
(looks for the copy in Spanish of the story)
La aventura del hombre encorvado
Me: a
Nina: my boyfriend's to tall for me to kiss him on the lips, what should I do?
Kaz: punch him in the stomach. Then when he doubles over, kiss him
Jesper: tackle him
Wylan: dump him
Inej: kick him in the shins
Matthias: NO TO ALL OF THOSE JUST ASK ME TO LEAN DOWN
“You look surprised, and no wonder! Relieved, too, I fancy! Hum! You still smoke the Arcadia mixture of your bachelor days then! There's no mistaking that fluffy ash upon your coat. It's easy to tell that you have been accustomed to wear a uniform, Watson. You'll never pass as a pure-bred civilian as long as you keep that habit of carrying your handkerchief in your sleeve. Could you put me up tonight?”
“With pleasure.”
— ‘The Crooked Man’