“What would ye think of offering up prayer?” [STUD]
Sherlock Holmes was not what you'd call a religious man. Nor even spiritual, for that matter. He was driven by logic.
Remember in "The Sussex Vampire," he said "The world is big enough for us. No ghosts need apply."
We could assume that he would place the Holy Ghost into that category as well.
However, he acknowledges that there is a higher power than any human can ascertain, and his famous "moss rose" soliloquy in "The Naval Treaty" is often cited as evidence of that:
"Our highest assurance of the goodness of Providence seems to me to rest in the flowers."
And Sherlock Holmes was at least familiar with the Bible (from his school days, no doubt), as he was able to dig up the reference to David and Bathsheba in "The Creeping Man":
"My biblical knowledge is a trifle rusty, I fear, but you will find the story in the first or second of Samuel."
While he wasn't likely to say prayers — even when on the brink of the Reichenbach Falls — Christopher Morley, founder of the Baker Street Irregulars, wrote one that transcends all religious beliefs. A prayer that we can all enjoy this holiday season, or year-round.
Sherlock Holmes's Prayer
by Christopher Morley
[1] Grant me, O spirit of Reason, matter for Deduction, Intuition, and Analysis; plenty of three-pipe problems, that I may avoid the cowardice of seven percent cocaine, or at least substitute something a little special in white wines.
[2] Grant me newspapers, telegrams, and the grind of carriage wheels against the kerb; the meditative breakfast at morning; the unexpected client in the night-time. And, occasionally, the alerting word grotesque.
[3] Strengthen me not to astonish the good Watson merely for theatrical pleasure; yet always to be impatient of Unmitigated Bleat; and of Guessing, which rots the logical faculty.
[4] If in hours of dullness neither the Turkish bath nor mediaeval charters, nor my scrapbooks nor my fiddle avail to soothe, turn my attention to the infallible reactions of chemistry—or to that rational and edifying insect the Bee.
[5] Remind me that there is a season of forgiveness for misfortune; but never for the incredible imbecility of bunglers(from LeCoq to Lestrade).
[6] In all the joys of action let me not forget the intellectual achievements of lethargy; to wit, Mycroft; and, slightly less to wit, Moriarty.
[7] Burden me not with unrelated facts, but encourage the habit of synthetic observation, collating the distinctions between the various. As the hand of the lithotyper is to that of the cork-cutter, so are the types of the Morning Mercury to those of the Yorkshire Post.
[8] Remember, O spirit, to Segregate the Queen. Viz., the fair sex is Watson’s department. For me, the Mind is All. But one confession in remembrance: the pistol-shot initials on the sitting-room wall were not what Watson thought. In the name of that Gracious Lady my favorite letters were the last two. I was writing not VR but IA. The Baker Street Underground shook my aim.
[9] Hold fast the doctrine: When all impossibles are eliminated, what remains, however improbable, must be the Truth.
[10] Then, O spirit, be the Game Afoot!
And here we arrive back at Baker Street Elementary, one last time in 2021...
Baker Street Elementary follows the original adventures of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, as they and their friends work through the issues of elementary school in Victorian London. An archive of all previous episodes can be viewed at www.bakerstreetelementary.org.
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