The Big Book of Sherlock Holmes Stories Read Online Free Page A

their pre-eminence in the manufacture of violins. It is one of those small outlying problems to which I am sometimes tempted to direct my attention.”

How Watson Learned the Trick
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
    ONE OF THE most remarkable English artifacts of the early part of the twentieth century was a dolls’ house designed and built for Queen Mary, the wife of George V. Created as a gift to Queen Mary from the people, it was produced to serve as a historical document on how a royal family might have lived during that period in England.
    In addition to furniture and other household items built on a scale of 1:12 (one inch to one foot), resulting in a structure more than three feet tall, it contains curious items that actually work, such as a shotgun that can be cocked, loaded, and fired; toilets that flush; and electric lights that illuminate with the flick of a switch. The garage holds six automobiles, including a Daimler and a Rolls-Royce. Perhaps most impressively, it has seven hundred and fifty original works of art.
    Remarkably, it has a substantial library of tiny books, each written specifically for the dolls’ house. Among the authors who contributed to the project were Rudyard Kipling (who wrote seven poems and illustrated the book himself), James M. Barrie, Aldous Huxley, John Buchan, M. R. James (who wrote a ghost story, “The Haunted Dolls’ House”), Thomas Hardy, W. Somerset Maugham, and Arthur Conan Doyle, who produced this charming parody of Holmes and Watson.
    The house is on display at Windsor Castle.
    “How Watson Learned the Trick” was originally published in
The Book of the Queen’s Dolls’ House
, two volumes edited by A. C. Benson, Sir Lawrence Weaver, and E. V. Lucas (London, Methuen, 1924); it was limited to fifteen hundred copies.

HOW WATSON LEARNED THE TRICK
Arthur Conan Doyle
    WATSON HAD BEEN watching his companion intently ever since he had sat down to the breakfast table. Holmes happened to look up and catch his eye.
    “Well, Watson, what are you thinking about?” he asked.
    “About you.”
    “Me?”
    “Yes, Holmes. I was thinking how superficial are these tricks of yours, and how wonderful it is that the public should continue to show interest in them.”
    “I quite agree,” said Holmes. “In fact, I have a recollection that I have myself made a similar remark.”
    “Your methods,” said Watson severely, “are really easily acquired.”
    “No doubt,” Holmes answered with a smile. “Perhaps you will yourself give an example of this method of reasoning.”
    “With pleasure,” said Watson. “I am able to say that you were greatly preoccupied when you got up this morning.”
    “Excellent!” said Holmes. “How could you possibly know that?”
    “Because you are usually a very tidy man and yet you have forgotten to shave.”
    “Dear me! How very clever!” said Holmes. “I had no idea, Watson, that you were so apt a pupil. Has your eagle eye detected anything more?”
    “Yes, Holmes. You have a client named Barlow, and you have not been successful with his case.”
    “Dear me, how could you know that?”
    “I saw the name outside his envelope. When you opened it you gave a groan and thrust it into your pocket with a frown on your face.”
    “Admirable! You are indeed observant. Any other points?”
    “I fear, Holmes, that you have taken to financial speculation.”
    “How
could
you tell that, Watson?”
    “You opened the paper, turned to the financial page, and gave a loud exclamation of interest.”
    “Well, that is very clever of you, Watson. Any more?”
    “Yes, Holmes, you have put on your black coat, instead of your dressing gown, which proves that you are expecting some important visitor at once.”
    “Anything more?”
    “I have no doubt that I could find other points, Holmes, but I only give you these few, in order to show you that there are other people in the world who can be as clever as you.”
    “And some not so clever,” said Holmes. “I admit