I.ASCANDALINBOHEMIA
I.
ToSherlockHolmessheis
sempre
alwaysthewoman.Ihaveseldom
sentito
heardhimmentionherunderanyaltro
othername.Inhiseyessheeclipses
e
andpredominatesthewholeofhersesso
sex.Itwasnotthathe
sentisse
feltanyemotionakintoloveforIreneAdler.Tutte
Allemotions,andthatoneparticularly,wereabhorrenttohiscold,precisema
butadmirablybalancedmind.Hewas,Itakeit,the
più
mostperfectreasoningandobservingmachineche
thattheworldhasseen,ma
butasaloverhewouldabbia
haveplacedhimselfinafalseposition.Henever
parlava
spokeofthesofterpassions,savewithuna
agibeandasneer.Theywereadmirablethingsfor
il
theobserver—excellentfordrawingtheveilfrommen’smotivese
andactions.Butforthetrainedreasonertoadmitsuchintrusionsintohisowndelicate
e
andfinelyadjustedtemperamentwastointroduceun
adistractingfactorwhichmightthrowun
adoubtuponallhismentalresults.Gritinasensitiveinstrument,
o
oracrackinoneofhisownhigh-powerlenses,sarebbero
wouldnotbemoredisturbingthanastrongemotioninanaturesuchashis.E
Andyettherewasbutuna
onewomantohim,andthatdonna
womanwasthelateIreneAdler,ofdubiouse
andquestionablememory.Ihad
visto
seenlittleofHolmeslately.Mymarriage
aveva
haddriftedusawayfromeachother.My
proprio
owncompletehappiness,andthehome-centredinterestswhichriseupattorno
aroundthemanwhofirstfindshimselfpadrone
masterofhisownestablishment,weresufficienttoabsorballmyattention,mentre
whileHolmes,wholoathedeveryformofsocietywithhiswholeBohemiansoul,remainedinourlodgingsinBakerStreet,buriedamonghisoldbooks,e
andalternatingfromweektosettimana
weekbetweencocaineandambition,thedrowsinessofthedrug,e
andthefierceenergyofhisproprio
ownkeennature.Hewas
ancora
still,asever,deeplyattractedbyle
thestudyofcrime,andoccupiedhisimmensefacultiese
andextraordinarypowersofobservationinseguire
followingoutthoseclues,andclearingupthosemysteriesche
whichhadbeenabandonedashopelessbyle
theofficialpolice.FromtimetotimeI
sentivo
heardsomevagueaccountofhisdoings:ofhissummonstoOdessain
la
thecaseoftheTrepoffmurder,ofhisclearingupofla
thesingulartragedyoftheAtkinsonbrothersatTrincomalee,e
andfinallyofthemissionche
whichhehadaccomplishedsodelicatelye
andsuccessfullyforthereigningfamiglia
familyofHolland.Beyondthesesignsofhisactivity,however,
che
whichImerelysharedwithtutti
allthereadersofthedailypress,Isapevo
knewlittleofmyformeramico
friendandcompanion.Onenight—itwasonthetwentiethofMarch,1888—Iwasreturningfromajourneytoapatient(forIhad
ora
nowreturnedtocivilpractice),quando
whenmywayledmeattraverso
throughBakerStreet.AsIpassedthewell-remembered
porta
door,whichmustalwaysbeassociatedinmymente
mindwithmywooing,andwiththedarkincidentsoftheStudyinScarlet,Iwasseizedwithun
akeendesiretoseeHolmesdi nuovo
again,andtoknowhowhewasemployinghisextraordinarypowers.Hisroomswerebrilliantly
illuminate
lit,and,evenasIlookedup,Ivisto
sawhistall,sparefigurepasstwiceinuna
adarksilhouetteagainsttheblind.Hewaspacingtheroomswiftly,eagerly,
di
withhisheadsunkuponhischeste
andhishandsclaspedbehindhim.To
me
me,whoknewhiseverymoode
andhabit,hisattitudeandmannerraccontavano
toldtheirownstory.Hewasat
lavoro
workagain.Hehadrisenoutofhisdrug-createddreamsandwas
caldo
hotuponthescentofsomenuovo
newproblem.Irangthebellandwasshownupto
la
thechamberwhichhadformerlybeeninparte
partmyown.Hismannerwasnoteffusive.
Itseldomwas;
ma
buthewasglad,Ithink,toseeme.Withhardlya
parola
wordspoken,butwithakindlyeye,hewavedmetoanarmchair,threwacrosshiscaso
caseofcigars,andindicatedaspiritcaso
caseandagasogeneinla
thecorner.Thenhestoodbeforethe
fuoco
fireandlookedmeoverinhissingularintrospectivefashion.“Wedlocksuitsyou,”heremarked.
“Ithink,Watson,
che
thatyouhaveputonsevene
andahalfpoundssinceIsawyou.”“Seven!”
I
risposto
answered.“Indeed,Ishouldhavethought
un
alittlemore.Justatriflemore,Ifancy,Watson.
E
Andinpracticeagain,Iobserve.Youdidnot
detto
tellmethatyouintendedtogointoharness.”“Then,
come
howdoyouknow?”“I
visto
seeit,Ideduceit.Come
HowdoIknowthatyouhai
havebeengettingyourselfverywetlately,e
andthatyouhaveamostclumsye
andcarelessservantgirl?”“My
caro
dearHolmes,”saidI,“thisistoomuch.Youwouldcertainly
avessi
havebeenburned,hadyouvissuto
livedafewcenturiesago.Itis
vero
truethatIhadacampagna
countrywalkonThursdayandcamecasa
homeinadreadfulmess,ma
butasIhavechangedmyclothesIcan’timaginehowyoudeduceit.AstoMaryJane,sheisincorrigible,
e
andmywifehasgivenhernotice,ma
butthere,again,Ifailtovedere
seehowyouworkitout.”Hechuckledtohimself
e
andrubbedhislong,nervoushandsinsieme
together.“Itissimplicityitself,”
disse
saidhe;“myeyestellme
che
thatontheinsideofyourleftshoe,proprio
justwherethefirelightstrikesit,theleatherisscoredbysei
sixalmostparallelcuts.Obviouslythey
ha
havebeencausedbysomeoneche
whohasverycarelesslyscrapedroundtheedgesofthesoleinordertoremovecrustedmudfromit.Hence,you
vedi
see,mydoubledeductionthatyouavessi
hadbeenoutinvileweather,e
andthatyouhadaparticularlymalignantboot-slittingspecimenofla
theLondonslavey.Astoyourpractice,
se
ifagentlemanwalksintomyroomssmellingofiodoform,withanero
blackmarkofnitrateofsilveruponhisdestro
rightforefinger,andabulgeonthedestro
rightsideofhistop-hattomostrare
showwherehehassecretedhisstethoscope,Idevo
mustbedull,indeed,ifIdonotpronouncehimtobeanactivememberofthemedicalprofession.”Icouldnothelplaughingat
il
theeasewithwhichheexplainedhisprocessofdeduction.“WhenI
sento
hearyougiveyourreasons,”Iremarked,“thecosa
thingalwaysappearstometobesoridiculouslysimpleche
thatIcouldeasilydoitmyself,anche se
thoughateachsuccessiveinstanceofyourreasoningIambaffleduntilyouexplainyourprocess.AndyetI
credo
believethatmyeyesareasgoodasyours.”“Quiteso,”he
rispose
answered,lightingacigarette,andthrowinghimselfgiù
downintoanarmchair.“You
vedi
see,butyoudonotobserve.La
Thedistinctionisclear.Forexample,you
avete
havefrequentlyseenthestepsche
whichleadupfromthehalltoquesta
thisroom.”“Frequently.”
“Howoften?”
“Well,somehundredsoftimes.”
“Thenhowmanyarethere?”
“Howmany?
Idon’tknow.”
“Quiteso!
Youhavenotobserved.
Andyetyouhave
visto
seen.Thatisjustmy
punto
point.Now,Iknowthat
ci
thereareseventeensteps,becauseIho
havebothseenandobserved.Bytheway,sinceyouareinterestedintheselittleproblems,
e
andsinceyouaregoodabbastanza
enoughtochronicleoneordue
twoofmytriflingexperiences,youmaybeinterestedinthis.”Hethrew
su
overasheetofthick,pink-tintednotepaperche
whichhadbeenlyingopenuponthetable.“Itcamebythelastpost,”
detto
saidhe.“Readitaloud.”
Il
Thenotewasundated,andsenza
withouteithersignatureoraddress.“Therewill
chiamerà
calluponyouto-night,ataquartertoeighto’clock,”itdisse
said,“agentlemanwhodesirestoconsultyouuponaquestione
matteroftheverydeepestmomento
moment.Yourrecentservicestooneof
i
theroyalhousesofEuropehanno
haveshownthatyouareonewhomaysafelybefidare
trustedwithmatterswhichareofanimportancewhichcanhardlybeexaggerated.Questo
Thisaccountofyouwehavefromtutte
allquartersreceived.Beinyourchamberthenatthathour,
e
anddonottakeitamissse
ifyourvisitorwearamask.”“Thisisindeed
un
amystery,”Iremarked.“Whatdoyouimagine
che
thatitmeans?”“Ihave
non
nodatayet.Itisacapitalmistaketotheorisebeforeone
avere
hasdata.Insensiblyonebeginstotwistfactstosuittheories,insteadoftheoriestosuitfacts.
Ma
Butthenoteitself.Whatdoyoudeducefromit?”
Icarefullyexaminedthe
scritto
writing,andthepaperuponcui
whichitwaswritten.“Theman
che
whowroteitwaspresumablywelltodo,”Iremarked,endeavouringtoimitatemycompanion’sprocesses.“Suchpapercouldnotbeboughtunderhalfacrownapacket.
Itispeculiarlystrong
e
andstiff.”“Peculiar—thatistheveryword,”
disse
saidHolmes.“Itisnot
un
anEnglishpaperatall.Holdituptothelight.”
I
fatto
didso,andsawalarge“E”withuna
asmall“g,”a“P,”e
andalarge“G”withuna
asmall“t”wovenintothetextureofthepaper.“Whatdoyoumakeofthat?”
chiesto
askedHolmes.“Thenameof
il
themaker,nodoubt;orhismonogram,rather.”
“Notatall.
The‘G’withthesmall‘t’
sta
standsfor‘Gesellschaft,’whichistheGermanfor‘Company.’Itisacustomarycontractioncome
likeour‘Co.’‘P,’ofcourse,sta
standsfor‘Papier.’Nowforthe‘Eg.’LetusglanceatourContinentalGazetteer.”Hetook
giù
downaheavybrownvolumefromhisshelves.“Eglow,Eglonitz—hereweare,Egria.
Itisin
un
aGerman-speakingcountry—inBohemia,notlontano
farfromCarlsbad.‘Remarkableasbeingthesceneofthe
morte
deathofWallenstein,andforitsnumerousglass-factoriese
andpaper-mills.’Ha,ha,myragazzo
boy,whatdoyoumakeofthat?”Hiseyessparkled,
e
andhesentupagrande
greatbluetriumphantcloudfromhiscigarette.“Thepaperwas
fatto
madeinBohemia,”Isaid.“Precisely.
E
Andthemanwhowroteil
thenoteisaGerman.Doyounotethepeculiarconstructionofthesentence—‘Thisaccountofyouwe
avrebbero
havefromallquartersreceived.’Un
AFrenchmanorRussiancouldnotavrebbero
havewrittenthat.ItistheGerman
che
whoissouncourteoustohisverbs.It
solo
onlyremains,therefore,todiscoverwhatiswantedbyquesto
thisGermanwhowritesuponBohemianpapere
andpreferswearingamasktomostrare
showinghisface.Andherehecomes,
se
ifIamnotmistaken,toresolvetutti
allourdoubts.”Ashe
parlava
spoketherewasthesharpsuono
soundofhorses’hoofsandgratingwheelscontro
againstthecurb,followedbyun
asharppullatthebell.Holmeswhistled.
“Apair,bythesound,”
disse
saidhe.“Yes,”hecontinued,glancing
fuori
outofthewindow.“Anice
piccolo
littlebroughamandapairofbeauties.Ahundredandfiftyguineasapiece.
There’s
soldi
moneyinthiscase,Watson,se
ifthereisnothingelse.”“Ithink
che
thatIhadbettergo,Holmes.”“Notabit,
Dottore
Doctor.Staywhereyouare.
Iamlost
senza
withoutmyBoswell.Andthis
promette
promisestobeinteresting.It
sarebbe
wouldbeapitytomissit.”“Butyourclient—”.
“Nevermind
lui
him.Imaywantyour
aiuto
help,andsomayhe.Herehecomes.
Sieda
Sitdowninthatarmchair,Dottore
Doctor,andgiveusyourmigliore
bestattention.”Aslowandheavystep,
che
whichhadbeenhearduponthestairse
andinthepassage,pausedimmediatelyfuori
outsidethedoor.Thentherewas
un
aloudandauthoritativetap.“Comein!”
detto
saidHolmes.Amanenteredwhocouldhardlyhavebeenlessthan
sei
sixfeetsixinchesinheight,withil
thechestandlimbsofun
aHercules.Hisdresswasrichwith
una
arichnesswhichwould,inEngland,belookeduponasakintocattivo
badtaste.Heavybandsofastrakhanwereslashedacross
il
thesleevesandfrontsofhisdouble-breastedcoat,mentre
whilethedeepbluecloakche
whichwasthrownoverhisshoulderswaslinedwithflame-colouredsilke
andsecuredattheneckwithabroochche
whichconsistedofasingleflamingberyl.Boots
che
whichextendedhalfwayuphiscalves,e
andwhichweretrimmedatil
thetopswithrichbrownfur,completedil
theimpressionofbarbaricopulenceche
whichwassuggestedbyhiswholeappearance.Hecarriedabroad-brimmedhatinhis
mano
hand,whileheworeacrosstheupperparte
partofhisface,extendingdownpastthecheekbones,anero
blackvizardmask,whichheaveva
hadapparentlyadjustedthatverymomento
moment,forhishandwasancora
stillraisedtoitasheentered.Fromthelower
parte
partofthefaceheappearedtobeun
amanofstrongcharacter,withun
athick,hanginglip,andun
along,straightchinsuggestiveofresolutionpushedtothelengthofobstinacy.“You
avevi
hadmynote?”heaskedwithadeepharshvoice
e
andastronglymarkedGermanaccent.“I
detto
toldyouthatIwouldcall.”He
guardato
lookedfromonetotheotherofus,asse
ifuncertainwhichtoaddress.“Praytakeaseat,”
disse
saidHolmes.“Thisismy
amico
friendandcolleague,Dr.Watson,che
whoisoccasionallygoodenoughtohelpmeinmycases.Whom
ho
haveIthehonourtoaddress?”“YoumayaddressmeastheCountVonKramm,
un
aBohemiannobleman.Iunderstand
che
thatthisgentleman,yourfriend,isauomo
manofhonouranddiscretion,whomImaytrustwithaquestione
matterofthemostextremeimportance.Ifnot,Ishouldmuchprefertocommunicatewithyoualone.”
Iroseto
andare
go,butHolmescaughtmebyil
thewristandpushedmebackintomychair.“Itis
entrambe
both,ornone,”saidhe.“Youmay
dire
saybeforethisgentlemananythingche
whichyoumaysaytome.”TheCountshruggedhisbroadshoulders.
“ThenI
devo
mustbegin,”saidhe,“bybindingyouentrambi
bothtoabsolutesecrecyfordue
twoyears;attheendofthattime
la
thematterwillbeofnon
noimportance.Atpresentitisnottoomuchto
dire
saythatitisoftale
suchweightitmayhaveun
aninfluenceuponEuropeanhistory.”“Ipromise,”
disse
saidHolmes.“AndI.”
“Youwillexcuse
questa
thismask,”continuedourstrangevisitor.“Theaugustpersonwhoemploysme
desidera
wisheshisagenttobeunknowntoyou,e
andImayconfessatoncethatil
thetitlebywhichIhaveappena
justcalledmyselfisnotesattamente
exactlymyown.”“Iwasawareofit,”
disse
saidHolmesdryly.“Thecircumstancesareof
grande
greatdelicacy,andeveryprecautionhastobetakentoquenchwhatpotrebbe
mightgrowtobeanimmensescandale
andseriouslycompromiseoneofle
thereigningfamiliesofEurope.To
parlare
speakplainly,thematterimplicatesla
thegreatHouseofOrmstein,hereditarykingsofBohemia.”“Iwasalsoawareofthat,”murmuredHolmes,settlinghimselfdowninhisarmchair
e
andclosinghiseyes.Ourvisitorglancedwithsomeapparentsurpriseatthelanguid,loungingfigureoftheman
che
whohadbeennodoubtdepictedtohimasthepiù
mostincisivereasonerandmostenergeticagentinEurope.Holmesslowlyreopenedhiseyes
e
andlookedimpatientlyathisgiganticclient.“IfyourMajesty
vuole
wouldcondescendtostateyourcase,”heremarked,“Ishouldbemeglio
betterabletoadviseyou.”La
Themansprangfromhischaire
andpacedupanddownla
theroominuncontrollableagitation.Then,with
un
agestureofdesperation,hetorethemaskfromhisviso
faceandhurleditupontheground.“Youareright,”hecried;
“Iam
il
theKing.WhyshouldIattempttoconcealit?”
“Why,indeed?”
murmuredHolmes.
“YourMajesty
aveva
hadnotspokenbeforeIwasawareche
thatIwasaddressingWilhelmGottsreichSigismondvonOrmstein,GrandDukeofCassel-Felstein,e
andhereditaryKingofBohemia.”“Butyoucanunderstand,”
disse
saidourstrangevisitor,sittingdownvolta
oncemoreandpassinghismano
handoverhishighwhiteforehead,“youcancapire
understandthatIamnotaccustomedtofare
doingsuchbusinessinmyownperson.Yetthe
questione
matterwassodelicatethatIcouldnotconfideittoun
anagentwithoutputtingmyselfinhispower.Ihave
venuto
comeincognitofromPragueforthepurposeofconsultingyou.”“Then,prayconsult,”
detto
saidHolmes,shuttinghiseyesvolta
oncemore.“Thefactsarebrieflythese:
Some
cinque
fiveyearsago,duringalengthyvisittoWarsaw,Ifa
madetheacquaintanceofthewell-knownadventuress,IreneAdler.Il
Thenameisnodoubtfamiliartoyou.”“Kindly
cerchi
lookherupinmyindex,Doctor,”murmuredHolmessenza
withoutopeninghiseyes.For
molti
manyyearshehadadoptedasystemofdocketingtutti
allparagraphsconcerningmenandthings,sothatitwasdifficulttonameasubjecto
orapersononwhichhecouldnotatoncefurnishinformation.In
questo
thiscaseIfoundherbiographysandwichedintra
betweenthatofaHebrewrabbie
andthatofastaff-commanderwhohadscritto
writtenamonographuponthedeep-seafishes.“Letmesee!”
detto
saidHolmes.“Hum!
BorninNewJerseyintheyear1858.
Contralto—hum!
LaScala,hum!
PrimadonnaImperialOperaofWarsaw—yes!
Retiredfromoperaticstage—ha!
Vivere
LivinginLondon—quiteso!YourMajesty,asI
capito
understand,becameentangledwiththisgiovane
youngperson,wrotehersomecompromisingletters,e
andisnowdesirousofgettingthoselettersback.”“Preciselyso.
Ma
Buthow—”.