I.ASCANDALINBOHEMIA
Jag
I.ToSherlockHolmessheis
alltid
alwaysthewoman.Ihave
sällan
seldomheardhimmentionherundernågot
anyothername.Inhiseyessheeclipses
och
andpredominatesthewholeofherkön
sex.Itwasnotthathe
kände
feltanyemotionakintokärlek
loveforIreneAdler.Allemotions,
och
andthatoneparticularly,wereabhorrenttohiscold,precisemen
butadmirablybalancedmind.Hewas,Itakeit,the
mest
mostperfectreasoningandobservingmaskin
machinethattheworldhassett
seen,butasaloverhewouldhaveplacerat
placedhimselfinafalseposition
position.Heneverspokeof
de
thesofterpassions,savewithett
agibeandasneer.Theywereadmirablethingsfor
de
theobserver—excellentfordrawingtheveilfrommen’smotivesoch
andactions.Butforthe
tränade
trainedreasonertoadmitsuchintrusionsintohiseget
owndelicateandfinelyadjustedtemperamentwastoinföra
introduceadistractingfactorwhichkunde
mightthrowadoubtuponallhismentala
mentalresults.Gritinasensitive
instrument
instrument,oracrackinoneofhisegna
ownhigh-powerlenses,wouldnotbemer
moredisturbingthanastrongkänsla
emotioninanaturesuchashans
his.Andyettherewasbutone
kvinna
womantohim,andthatkvinna
womanwasthelateIreneAdler,ofdubiousoch
andquestionablememory.Ihad
sett
seenlittleofHolmeslately.My
äktenskap
marriagehaddriftedusawayfromeachother.My
egen
owncompletehappiness,andthehome-centredinterestswhichriseupp
uparoundthemanwhoförst
firstfindshimselfmasterofhisegen
ownestablishment,weresufficienttoabsorbera
absorballmyattention,whileHolmes,whoavskydde
loathedeveryformofsocietymed
withhiswholeBohemiansoul,förblev
remainedinourlodgingsinBaker
BakerStreet,buriedamonghisgamla
oldbooks,andalternatingfromvecka
weektoweekbetweencocaineoch
andambition,thedrowsinessofthedrug,och
andthefierceenergyofhisegen
ownkeennature.Hewas
fortfarande
still,asever,deeplyattractedbyden
thestudyofcrime,andockuperade
occupiedhisimmensefacultiesandextraordinära
extraordinarypowersofobservationinfölja
followingoutthoseclues,andrensa
clearingupthosemysterieswhichhade
hadbeenabandonedashopelessbyden
theofficialpolice.Fromtimeto
tid
timeIheardsomevagueaccountofhisdoings:ofhissummonstoOdessainthecaseoftheTrepoff
mordet
murder,ofhisclearingupofthesingulartragedyoftheAtkinsonbrothersatTrincomalee,och
andfinallyofthemissionwhichhehade
hadaccomplishedsodelicatelyandframgångsrikt
successfullyforthereigningfamilyofHolland.Utöver
Beyondthesesignsofhisverksamhet
activity,however,whichImerelydelade
sharedwithallthereadersofden
thedailypress,Iknewlite
littleofmyformerfriendoch
andcompanion.Onenight—itwasonthetwentiethof
Mars
March,1888—Iwasreturningfromen
ajourneytoapatient(forIhade
hadnowreturnedtocivilpractice),när
whenmywayledmegenom
throughBakerStreet.AsI
passerade
passedthewell-remembereddoor,whichmåste
mustalwaysbeassociatedinmymindmed
withmywooing,andwiththemörka
darkincidentsoftheStudyinScarlet
Scarlet,Iwasseizedwithen
akeendesiretoseeHolmesagain,och
andtoknowhowhewasanvände
employinghisextraordinarypowers.Hisroomswerebrilliantlylit,
och
and,evenasIlookedupp
up,Isawhistall,sparefigur
figurepasstwiceinamörk
darksilhouetteagainsttheblind.Hewaspacingthe
rummet
roomswiftly,eagerly,withhisheadsunkuponhischestoch
andhishandsclaspedbehindhonom
him.Tome,whoknewhisevery
humör
moodandhabit,hisattitudeoch
andmannertoldtheirownhistoria
story.Hewasatworkagain.
He
hade
hadrisenoutofhisdrug-createddreamsoch
andwashotuponthedoften
scentofsomenewproblem.I
ringde
rangthebellandwasvisade
shownuptothechamberwhichhade
hadformerlybeeninpartmyegen
own.Hismannerwasnoteffusive.
It
sällan
seldomwas;buthewas
glad
glad,Ithink,toseeme.Med
Withhardlyawordspoken,men
butwithakindlyeye,hevinkade
wavedmetoanarmchair,kastade
threwacrosshiscaseofcigars,och
andindicatedaspiritcaseoch
andagasogeneinthehörnet
corner.Thenhestoodbeforethe
elden
fireandlookedmeoverinhissingularintrospectivesätt
fashion.“Wedlocksuitsyou,”heremarked.
“I
tror
think,Watson,thatyouhaveputonsju
sevenandahalfpoundssedan
sinceIsawyou.”“Seven!”
I
svarade
answered.“Indeed,Ishouldhave
tänkt
thoughtalittlemore.Justatriflemore,Ifancy,Watson.
Och
Andinpracticeagain,Iobserverar
observe.Youdidnottellmethatyouintendedto
gå
gointoharness.”“Then,howdoyouknow?”
“I
ser
seeit,Ideduceit.Hur
HowdoIknowthatyouhar
havebeengettingyourselfveryvåt
wetlately,andthatyouhar
haveamostclumsyandvårdslös
carelessservantgirl?”“MydearHolmes,”
sa
saidI,“thisistoomycket
much.Youwouldcertainlyhavebeenburned,hadyou
levt
livedafewcenturiesago.Itis
sant
truethatIhadacountrywalkonTorsdag
Thursdayandcamehomeinen
adreadfulmess,butasIhar
havechangedmyclothesIcan’timaginehur
howyoudeduceit.AstoMaryJane,sheisincorrigible,
och
andmywifehasgivenhernotice,men
butthere,again,Ifailtose
seehowyouworkitout.”Hechuckledtohimself
och
andrubbedhislong,nervoushandstillsammans
together.“Itissimplicityitself,”
sa
saidhe;“myeyestellme
att
thatontheinsideofyourleftsko
shoe,justwherethefirelightstrikesit,thelädret
leatherisscoredbysixnästan
almostparallelcuts.Obviouslythey
har
havebeencausedbysomeonewhohar
hasverycarelesslyscrapedroundtheedgesofthesulan
soleinordertoremovecrustedlera
mudfromit.Hence,you
ser
see,mydoubledeductionthatyouhade
hadbeenoutinvileväder
weather,andthatyouhaden
aparticularlymalignantboot-slittingspecimenoftheLondonslavey.Astoyourpractice,ifa
gentleman
gentlemanwalksintomyroomssmellingofiodoform,med
withablackmarkofnitrateofsilveruponhisrightforefinger,och
andabulgeontherightsida
sideofhistop-hattovisa
showwherehehassecretedhisstethoscope,Imåste
mustbedull,indeed,ifIdonotpronouncehimtobeanaktiv
activememberofthemedicalprofession.”I
kunde
couldnothelplaughingatden
theeasewithwhichheförklarade
explainedhisprocessofdeduction.“WhenI
hör
hearyougiveyourreasons,”Iremarked,“thesaken
thingalwaysappearstometobesoridiculouslysimplethatIkunna
couldeasilydoitmyself,thoughatvarje
eachsuccessiveinstanceofyourreasoningIambaffledtills
untilyouexplainyourprocess.Och
AndyetIbelievethatmyeyesareasbra
goodasyours.”“Quiteso,”he
svarade
answered,lightingacigarette,andkastade
throwinghimselfdownintoanarmchair.“You
ser
see,butyoudonotobserverar
observe.Thedistinctionisclear.
For
exempel
example,youhavefrequentlyseendet
thestepswhichleadupfromdet
thehalltothisroom.”“Frequently.”
“Howoften?”
“Well,
några
somehundredsoftimes.”“Then
hur
howmanyarethere?”“How
många
many?Idon’tknow.”
“Quiteso!
You
har
havenotobserved.Andyetyou
har
haveseen.Thatisjustmypoint.
Nu
Now,Iknowthatthereareseventeensteps,becauseIhar
havebothseenandobserved.Bytheway,
eftersom
sinceyouareinterestedindessa
theselittleproblems,andsinceyouarebra
goodenoughtochronicleoneeller
ortwoofmytriflingexperiences,youkan
maybeinterestedinthis.”He
kastade
threwoverasheetofthick,pink-tintednotepaperwhichhade
hadbeenlyingopenuponthebordet
table.“Itcamebythe
sista
lastpost,”saidhe.“Readitaloud.”
Thenotewasundated,
och
andwithouteithersignatureoradress
address.“Therewillcalluponyouto-night,at
en
aquartertoeighto’clock,”itsa
said,“agentlemanwhodesirestorådgöra
consultyouuponamatteroftheverydeepestmoment.Yourrecentservicestooneofthe
kungliga
royalhousesofEuropehavevisat
shownthatyouareonewhomaysäkert
safelybetrustedwithmatterswhichareofanbetydelse
importancewhichcanhardlybeexaggerated.Här
Thisaccountofyouwehar
havefromallquartersreceived.Beinyour
kammare
chamberthenatthathour,och
anddonottakeitamissifyourbesökare
visitorwearamask.”“Thisisindeed
ett
amystery,”Iremarked.“Whatdoyouimagine
att
thatitmeans?”“Ihaveno
data
datayet.Itisacapital
misstag
mistaketotheorisebeforeonehar
hasdata.Insensiblyonebeginsto
vrida
twistfactstosuittheories,i stället
insteadoftheoriestosuitfacts.Men
Butthenoteitself.Whatdoyoudeducefromit?”
I
noggrant
carefullyexaminedthewriting,anddet
thepaperuponwhichitwaswritten.“Themanwho
skrev
wroteitwaspresumablywelltodo,”Iremarked,endeavouringtoimitera
imitatemycompanion’sprocesses.“Such
papper
papercouldnotbeboughtunderhalv
halfacrownapacket.Itispeculiarly
stark
strongandstiff.”“Peculiar—thatis
det
theveryword,”saidHolmes.“ItisnotanEnglishpaperatall.
Håll
Holdituptothelight.”I
gjorde
didso,andsawastort
large“E”withasmall“g,”ett
a“P,”andalarge“G”med
withasmall“t”wovenintodet
thetextureofthepaper.“Whatdoyoumakeofthat?”
frågade
askedHolmes.“Thenameofthemaker,no
tvekan
doubt;orhismonogram,rather.”
“Notatall.
Det
The‘G’withthesmall‘t’står
standsfor‘Gesellschaft,’whichisdet
theGermanfor‘Company.’Itisen
acustomarycontractionlikeour‘Co.’‘P,’ofcourse,står
standsfor‘Papier.’Nowfordet
the‘Eg.’LetusglanceatourContinentalGazetteer.”He
tog
tookdownaheavybrownvolym
volumefromhisshelves.“Eglow,Eglonitz—herewe
är
are,Egria.Itisin
ett
aGerman-speakingcountry—inBohemia,notfarfromCarlsbad.‘Remarkableasbeing
det
thesceneofthedeathofWallenstein,och
andforitsnumerousglass-factoriesoch
andpaper-mills.’Ha,ha,mypojke
boy,whatdoyoumakeofthat?”Hiseyessparkled,
och
andhesentupagreatblått
bluetriumphantcloudfromhiscigarett
cigarette.“ThepaperwasmadeinBohemia,”I
sa
said.“Precisely.
Andthemanwho
skrev
wrotethenoteisaGerman.Doyounotethepeculiarconstructionofthesentence—‘Thisaccountofyouwehavefromallquartersreceived.’
En
AFrenchmanorRussiancouldnothaveskrivit
writtenthat.ItistheGermanwhoissouncourteoustohisverbs.
It
bara
onlyremains,therefore,todiscoverwhatisvill
wantedbythisGermanwhoskriver
writesuponBohemianpaperandföredrar
preferswearingamasktovisa
showinghisface.Andherehe
kommer
comes,ifIamnotmistaken,tolösa
resolveallourdoubts.”Ashe
talade
spoketherewasthesharpsoundofhorses’hoofsoch
andgratingwheelsagainstthetrottoaren
curb,followedbyasharpdrag
pullatthebell.Holmes
visslade
whistled.“Apair,bythesound,”
sa
saidhe.“Yes,”hecontinued,glancing
ut
outofthewindow.“A
trevlig
nicelittlebroughamandapairofbeauties.Ahundredandfiftyguineasapiece.
There’s
pengar
moneyinthiscase,Watson,ifthereisnågot
nothingelse.”“IthinkthatIhadbetter
gå
go,Holmes.”“Notabit,Doctor.
Stanna
Staywhereyouare.Iam
förlorad
lostwithoutmyBoswell.And
här
thispromisestobeinteresting.Itwouldbeapityto
missa
missit.”“Butyourclient—”.
“Nevermind
honom
him.Imaywantyour
hjälp
help,andsomayhe.Här
Herehecomes.Sitdowninthatarmchair,Doctor,
och
andgiveusyourbestattention.”Ett
Aslowandheavystep,whichhade
hadbeenhearduponthestairsoch
andinthepassage,pausedomedelbart
immediatelyoutsidethedoor.Thentherewas
en
aloudandauthoritativetap.“Comein!”
sa
saidHolmes.Amanenteredwho
kunde
couldhardlyhavebeenlessän
thansixfeetsixinchesinhöjd
height,withthechestandlimbsofen
aHercules.Hisdresswas
rik
richwitharichnesswhichwould,inEngland,belookeduponasakintodålig
badtaste.Heavybandsofastrakhanwereslashedacross
den
thesleevesandfrontsofhisdouble-breastedcoat,medan
whilethedeepbluecloakwhichwasthrownoverhisaxlar
shoulderswaslinedwithflame-colouredsilke
silkandsecuredattheneckmed
withabroochwhichconsistedofen
asingleflamingberyl.Bootswhichextended
halvvägs
halfwayuphiscalves,andwhichweretrimmade
trimmedatthetopswithrik
richbrownfur,completedtheimpressionofbarbaricopulencewhichwassuggestedbyhiswholeappearance.He
bar
carriedabroad-brimmedhatinhishand,medan
whileheworeacrosstheövre
upperpartofhisface,extendingner
downpastthecheekbones,asvart
blackvizardmask,whichhehade
hadapparentlyadjustedthatverymoment,forhishandwasfortfarande
stillraisedtoitasheentered.From
den
thelowerpartofthefaceheappearedtobeen
amanofstrongcharacter,med
withathick,hanginglip,och
andalong,straightchinsuggestiveofupplösning
resolutionpushedtothelengthofobstinacy.“You
hade
hadmynote?”heasked
med
withadeepharshvoiceoch
andastronglymarkedGermanaccent
accent.“ItoldyouthatIwouldcall.”
He
tittade
lookedfromonetotheandra
otherofus,asifosäker
uncertainwhichtoaddress.“Pray
ta
takeaseat,”saidHolmes.“Thisismy
vän
friendandcolleague,Dr.Watson,whoisibland
occasionallygoodenoughtohelpmeinmycases.Whom
har
haveIthehonourtoaddress?”“You
får
mayaddressmeastheCountVonKramm,en
aBohemiannobleman.Iunderstandthat
här
thisgentleman,yourfriend,isen
amanofhonouranddiskretion
discretion,whomImaytrustmed
withamatterofthemostextremeimportance.Ifnot,Ishouldmuch
föredra
prefertocommunicatewithyoualone.”Iroseto
gå
go,butHolmescaughtmebythewristoch
andpushedmebackintomychair.“Itis
båda
both,ornone,”saidhe.“You
får
maysaybeforethisgentlemananythingwhichyoufår
maysaytome.”TheCountshruggedhis
breda
broadshoulders.“ThenImustbegin,”
sa
saidhe,“bybindingyoubåda
bothtoabsolutesecrecyfortvå
twoyears;attheendof
att
thattimethematterwillbeofinte
noimportance.Atpresentitisnot
för
toomuchtosaythatitisofsådan
suchweightitmayhaveett
aninfluenceuponEuropeanhistory.”“Ipromise,”
sa
saidHolmes.“AndI.”
“Youwillexcuse
här
thismask,”continuedourstrangebesökare
visitor.“Theaugustpersonwhoemploysme
önskar
wisheshisagenttobeokänd
unknowntoyou,andIkan
mayconfessatoncethatthetitlebywhichIhavejustkallade
calledmyselfisnotexactlymyown.”“Iwasawareofit,”
sa
saidHolmesdryly.“Thecircumstancesareofgreatdelicacy,
och
andeveryprecautionhastobetakentoquenchwhatkan
mightgrowtobeanenorm
immensescandalandseriouslycompromiseoneofthereigningfamiliesofEuropa
Europe.Tospeakplainly,thematterimplicates
det
thegreatHouseofOrmstein,hereditarykingsofBohemia.”“Iwas
också
alsoawareofthat,”murmuredHolmes,settlinghimselfner
downinhisarmchairandstängde
closinghiseyes.Ourvisitorglanced
med
withsomeapparentsurpriseatden
thelanguid,loungingfigureofden
themanwhohadbeennotvekan
doubtdepictedtohimasden
themostincisivereasonerandmest
mostenergeticagentinEurope.Holmes
långsamt
slowlyreopenedhiseyesandtittade
lookedimpatientlyathisgiganticklient
client.“IfyourMajestywouldcondescendtostateyourcase,”heremarked,“Ishouldbe
bättre
betterabletoadviseyou.”The
mannen
mansprangfromhischairoch
andpacedupanddowntherummet
roominuncontrollableagitation.Then,
med
withagestureofdesperation,heslet
torethemaskfromhisansikte
faceandhurleditupontheground.“Youareright,”hecried;
“Iamthe
Kungen
King.WhyshouldIattempttoconcealit?”
“Why,indeed?”
murmuredHolmes.
“Your
Majestät
MajestyhadnotspokenbeforeIwasawareatt
thatIwasaddressingWilhelmGottsreichSigismondvonOrmstein,GrandDukeofCassel-Felstein,och
andhereditaryKingofBohemia.”“Butyou
kan
canunderstand,”saidourstrangebesökare
visitor,sittingdownoncemoreoch
andpassinghishandoverhishöga
highwhiteforehead,“youcanförstå
understandthatIamnotaccustomedtogöra
doingsuchbusinessinmyegen
ownperson.Yetthematterwasso
känslig
delicatethatIcouldnotanförtro
confideittoanagentwithoutlägga
puttingmyselfinhispower.I
har
havecomeincognitofromPragueforthepurposeofrådgöra
consultingyou.”“Then,prayconsult,”
sa
saidHolmes,shuttinghiseyesen gång
oncemore.“Thefactsare
kortfattat
brieflythese:Somefiveyears
sedan
ago,duringalengthyvisittoWarsaw,Imadeden
theacquaintanceofthewell-knownadventuress,IreneAdler.The
namnet
nameisnodoubtfamiliartoyou.”“Kindlylookher
upp
upinmyindex,Doctor,”murmuredHolmeswithoutöppna
openinghiseyes.Formanyyearshe
hade
hadadoptedasystemofdocketingallparagraphsconcerningmenoch
andthings,sothatitwassvårt
difficulttonameasubjecteller
orapersononwhichhekunde
couldnotatoncefurnishinformation
information.InthiscaseI
fann
foundherbiographysandwichedinmellan
betweenthatofaHebrewrabbioch
andthatofastaff-commanderwhohade
hadwrittenamonographupondet
thedeep-seafishes.“Letmesee!”
sa
saidHolmes.“Hum!
BorninNewJerseyinthe
år
year1858.Contralto—hum!
LaScala,
hum
hum!PrimadonnaImperialOperaofWarsaw—yes!
Retiredfromoperaticstage—ha!
Bo
LivinginLondon—quiteso!Your
Majestät
Majesty,asIunderstand,becameentangledmed
withthisyoungperson,wrotehernågra
somecompromisingletters,andisnu
nowdesirousofgettingthoselettersback.”“Preciselyso.
Men
Buthow—”.