“as if by magic” [REDC]
One of the great effects of Sherlock Holmes's talents was his ability to surprise and amaze those around him.
As Robert Ferguson's wife noted at the conclusion of "The Sussex Vampire":
“When this gentleman, who seems to have powers of magic, wrote that he knew all, I was glad.”
At times it was his ability to infer from clues or to seemingly read people's minds; at others it was his use of sleight of hand to accomplish his results.
When he asked Miss Holder if the greengrocer had a wooden leg, she responded,
“Why, you are like a magician.” ("The Beryl Coronet")
Watson was no stranger to being taken aback, whether it was the famous "mind-reading" scene in "The Cardboard Box" or Holmes having eyes in the back of his head in The Hound of the Baskervilles when he was merely using a well-polished coffee pot in front of him.
In terms of his sleight of hand, we were introduced to his facility with his fingers in the very first story, A Study in Scarlet, when Holmes slipped the handcuffs on an unsuspecting Jefferson Hope in such a way that everyone was surprised:
“At that instant there was a sharp click, the jangling of metal, and Sherlock Holmes sprang to his feet again.. The whole thing occurred in a moment—so quickly that I had no time to realize it. I have a vivid recollection of that instant, of Holmes’ triumphant expression and the ring of his voice, of the cabman’s dazed, savage face, as he glared at the glittering handcuffs, which had appeared as if by magic upon his wrists.”
At the conclusion of "The Second Stain," the missing letter finds its way from Mrs. Trelawney Hope's possession back into the despatch-box. The Premier was amazed, exclaiming:
“But this is inconceivable—impossible. Mr. Holmes, you are a wizard, a sorcerer! How did you know it was there?”
When asked by the Premier how the letter came to be in the box, Sherlock Holmes responded like any good magician, by not giving away how he did it:
“We also have our diplomatic secrets.”
If Holmes had attempted these practices in earlier eras, he might not have been admired and marveled at, but under deep suspicion, as Watson told him in "A Scandal in Bohemia":
“My dear Holmes this is too much. You would certainly have been burned, had you lived a few centuries ago.”
How fortunate we are that he lived in Victorian times. And to think that it all started at Baker Street Elementary...
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 the Baker Street Elementary website.
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