"And Now A Few Words From . . ."

Despite the wealth of people, places, events, and narrative tidbits that exist within the pages of the Canon, there is always a danger of sticking too close to familiar ground. Take, for example, the realm of the epigram. In the Holmesian context, the epigram is most closely associated with the familiar "Sherlockismus," the best known example of which is:

"Is there any point to which you would wish to draw my attention?"

"To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time."

"The dog did nothing in the night-time."

"That is the curious incident."

Certainly, Holmes is the speaker of more epigrams than anyone else in the Canon. And why not -- he is the speaker of more dialogue than anyone else in the Canon. But careful study reveals many neglected examples of epigrammatic monologue or dialogue equally worthy of note.

To start with, Holmes himself figures in several exchanges of dialogue which, although not quite examples of the Sherlockismus (or are they?), have a certain je ne sais quoi. As an example, there is this this conversation with Watson in TWIS:

HOLMES: But I think I have the key of the affair now.

WATSON: And where is it?

HOLMES: In the bathroom.

A truly enterprising devotee would manufacture framed samplers of that excerpt to be hung on the doors of Sherlockian necessary rooms around the world. But enough of letting Holmes have the last word. Many of the people who appear only briefly in the Canon have equally memorable things to say, and ofte Holmes is on the receiving end. In PRIO, we find a splendid Reuben Hayes-ismus:

HOLMES: I suppose you haven't such a thing as a carriage in your stables.

HAYES: No, I have not.

HOLMES: I can hardly put my foot on the ground.

HAYES: Don't put it on the ground.

HOLMES: But I can't walk.

HAYES: Well, then, hop.

Without a doubt, it would be an opportunity wasted if no one founded a scion society called "The Insolence of Reuben Hayes," adopting that passage as the Reuben Ritual. Few can match the estimable Mr. Hayes, but there is a hint of his attitude in a statement made by Henry Baker in BLUE

HOLMES: By the way, would it bore you to tell me where you got the other one from?

BAKER: Certainly, sir.

But then, what is a man without honesty?

Finally, the subject of pithy pronouncements cannot be abandoned without considering the stalwart band of investigators, the Scotland Yarders. Members of Lestrade's Lads, a scion society in Ohio, would probably prefer this example of Yard-ismus, recorded as having been spoken by their namesake in NORW:

HOLMES: What do you make of that?

LESTRADE: Well, what do you make of it?

But for the most dramatic example, the credit must go to Lestrade's colleague, Stanley Hopkins, in BLAC:

Stanley Hopkins swore between his teeth, and struck his thigh with his clenched hand. "What a fool I have been!" he cried.

That says it rather nicely, does it not?

(Printed in Plugs & Dottles, April 1984)