波希米亚丑闻1

To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name. In his eyes she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex. It was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler. All emotions, and that one particularly, were abhorrent to his cold, precise but admirably balanced mind. He was, I take it, the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen, but as a lover he would have placed himself in a false position. He never spoke of the softer passions, save with a gibe and a sneer. They were admirable things for the observer—excellent for drawing the veil from men's motives and actions. But for the trained reasoner to admit such intrusions into his own delicate and finely adjusted temperament was to introduce a distracting factor which might throw a doubt upon all his mental results. Grit in a sensitive instrument, or a crack in one of his own high—power lenses, would not be more disturbing than a strong motion in a nature such as his. And yet there was but one woman to him, and that woman was the late Irene Adler, of dubious and questionable memory. I had seen little of Holmes lately. My marriage had drifted us away from each other.

舍洛克·福尔摩斯总是称她为 “那位女人” 。我很少听见他提起她时用过别的称呼。在他眼里，她才貌出众，令其他女人都黯然失色。这倒不是说他对艾琳·阿德勒有什么类似爱情的情感。一切情感，尤其是爱情，与他冷静、严谨，又令人佩服、充满理性的头脑都格格不入。我认为，他是世上用来推理和观察的最完美的机器，但要是用来做情人，他却会把自己放在错误的位置上。他从不谈什么柔情，除非是嘲笑、讥讽它。对观察家来说，这些品质极好——是揭开人们动机和行为的面纱再好不过的东西。但对于这样一个训练有素的推理家来说，让这样的情感干扰自己那细致、严谨的性格，就会分散自己的精力，使他所有的智力成果遭到质疑。灵敏的仪器中有沙砾，或者他的高倍放大镜出现裂缝，都不会比他的性格产生强烈波动更令人烦恼。不过，有且只有一个女人还在他模糊得成问题的记忆里。那个女人就是刚去世的艾琳·阿德勒。我最近很少和福尔摩斯见面。我结婚以后，和他渐渐疏远了。

My own complete happiness, and the home—centered interests which rise up around the man who first finds himself master of his own establishment, were sufficient to absorb all my attention,

我那完满的幸福和第一次感到自己是一家之主而产生的家庭乐趣，吸引了我所有的注意力。

while Holmes, who loathed every form of society with his whole Bohemian soul, remained in our lodgings in Baker Street, buried among his old books, and alternating from week to week between cocaine and ambition, the drowsiness of the drug, and the fierce energy of his own keen nature.

但福尔摩斯却坚持波西米亚人的奔放不羁，厌恶社会上一切的惯例形式，仍然住在我们在贝克街的那所房子里，埋头阅读他的旧书。他这个星期服食可卡因，下个星期又雄心勃勃，就这样交替处在因食用药物引起的瞌睡状态和他那天生精力旺盛、充满干劲的状态中。

He was still, as ever, deeply attracted by the study of crime, and occupied his immense faculties and extraordinary powers of observation in following out those clues, and clearing up those mysteries which had been abandoned as hopeless by the official police. From time to time I heard some vague account of his doings: of his summons to Odessa in the case of the Trepoff murder, of his clearing up of the singular tragedy of the Atkinson brothers at Trincomalee, and finally of the mission which he had accomplished so delicately and successfully for the reigning family of Holland. Beyond these signs of his activity, however, which I merely shared with all the readers of the daily press, I knew little of my former friend and companion. One night—it was on the twentieth of March, 1888—I was returning from a journey to a patient (for I had now returned to civil practice), when my way led me through Baker Street. As I passed the well—remembered door, which must always be associated in my mind with my wooing, and with the dark incidents of the Study in Scarlet, I was seized with a keen desire to see Holmes again, and to know how he was employing his extraordinary powers. His rooms were brilliantly lit, and, even as I looked up, I saw his tall, spare figure pass twice in a dark silhouette against the blind. He was pacing the room swiftly, eagerly, with his head sunk upon his chest and his hands clasped behind him. To me, who knew his every mood and habit, his attitude and manner told their own story. He was at work again. He had risen out of his drug—created dreams and was hot upon the scent of some new problem. I rang the bell and was shown up to the chamber which had formerly been in part my own. His manner was not effusive. It seldom was; but he was glad, I think, to see me. With hardly a word spoken, but with a kindly eye, he waved me to an armchair, threw across his case of cigars, and indicated a spirit case and a gasogene in the corner. Then he stood before the fire and looked me over in his singular introspective fashion. "Wedlock suits you, " he remarked. "I think, Watson, that you have put on seven and a half pounds since I saw you. " "Seven! " I answered. "Indeed, I should have thought a little more. Just a trifle more, I fancy, Watson. And in practice again, I observe. You did not tell me that you intended to go into harness. " "Then, how do you know? '" I see it, I deduce it. How do I know that you have been getting yourself very wet lately, and that you have a most clumsy and careless servant girl? My dear Holmes, said I, this is too much. You would certainly have been burned, had you lived a few centuries ago. It is true that I had a country walk on Thursday and came home in a dreadful mess, but as I have changed my clothes I can't imagine how you deduce it. As to Mary Jane, she is incorrigible, and my wife has given her notice; but there, again, I fail to see how you work it out. He chuckled to himself and rubbed his long, nervous hands together. It is simplicity itself, said he; my eyes tell me that on the inside of your left shoe, just where the firelight strikes it, the leather is scored by six almost parallel cuts. Obviously they have been caused by someone who has very carelessly scraped round the edges of the sole in order to remove crusted mud from it. Hence, you see, my double deduction that you had been out in vile weather, and that you had a particularly malignant boot—slitting specimen of the London slavey. As to your practice, if a gentleman walks into my rooms smelling of iodoform, with a black mark of nitrate of silver upon his right forefinger, and a bulge on the right side of his top—hat to show where he has secreted his stethoscope, I must be dull, indeed, if I do not pronounce him to be an active member of the medical profession. I could not help laughing at the ease with which he explained his process of deduction. When I hear you give your reasons, I remarked, the thing always appears to me to be so ridiculously simple that I could easily do it myself, though at each successive instance of your reasoning I am baffled until you explain your process. And yet I believe that my eyes are as good as yours. Quite so, he answered, lighting a cigarette, and throwing himself down into an armchair. You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear. For example, you have frequently seen the steps which lead up from the hall to this room.

"Frequently. " "How often? " "Well, some hundreds of times. " "Then how many are there? " "How many? I don't know. " "Quite so! You have not observed. And yet you have seen. That is just my point. Now, I know that there are seventeen steps, because I have both seen and observed. By the way, since you are interested in these little problems, and since you are good enough to chronicle one or two of my trifling experiences, you may be interested in this. " He threw over a sheet of thick, pink—tinted note—paper which had been lying open upon the table. "It came by the last post, " said he. "Read it aloud. " The note was undated, and without either signature or address. "There will call upon you to—night, at a quarter to eight o'clock [it said], a gentleman who desires to consult you upon a matter of the very deepest moment. Your recent services to one of the royal houses of Europe have shown that you are one who may safely be trusted with matters which are of an importance which can hardly be exaggerated. This account of you we have from all quarters received. Be in your chamber then at that hour, and do not take it amiss if your visitor wear a mask. " This is indeed a mystery, "I remarked. " What do you imagine that it means? "" I have no data yet. It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts. But the note itself. What do you deduce from it? "I carefully examined the writing, and the paper upon which it was written. " The man who wrote it was presumably well to do, "I remarked, endeavouring to imitate my companion's processes. " Such paper could not be bought under half a crown a packet. It is peculiarly strong and stiff. "" Peculiar—that is the very word, "said Holmes. " It is not an English paper at all. Hold it up to the light. "I did so, and saw a large" E "with a small" g ", a" P "and a large" G "with a small" t "woven into the texture of the paper. " What do you make of that? "asked Holmes. " The name of the maker, no doubt; or his monogram, rather. "" Not at all. The 'G' with the small't 'stands for' Gesellschaft, 'which is the German for' Company. 'It is a customary contraction like our' Co. 'P, ' of course, stands for 'Papier. ' Now for the 'Eg. ' Let us glance at our Continental Gazetteer. "He took down a heavy brown volume from his shelves. " Eglow, Eglonitz—here we are, Egria. It is in a German—speaking country—in Bohemia, not far from Carlsbad. Remarkable as being the scene of the death of Wallenstein, and for its numerous glass—factories and paper—mills. 'Ha, ha, my boy, what do you make of that? His eyes sparkled, and he sent up a great blue triumphant cloud from his cigarette. The paper was made in Bohemia, I said. Precisely. And the man who wrote the note is a German. Do you note the peculiar construction of the sentence—' This account of you we have from all quarters received. 'A Frenchman or Russian could not have written that. It is the German who is so uncourteous to his verbs. It only remains, therefore, to discover what is wanted by this German who writes upon Bohemian paper and prefers wearing a mask to showing his face. And here he comes, if I am not mistaken, to resolve all our doubts. As he spoke there was the sharp sound of horses' hoofs and grating wheels against the curb, followed by a sharp pull at the bell. Holmes whistled. A pair, by the sound, said he. Yes, he continued, glancing out of the window. A nice little brougham and a pair of beauties. A hundred and fifty guineas apiece. There's money in this case, Watson, if there is nothing else. I think that I had better go, Holmes. Not a bit, Doctor. Stay where you are. I am lost without my Boswell. And this promises to be interesting. It would be a pity to miss it.

"But your client—" "Never mind him. I may want your help, and so may he. Here he comes. Sit down in that armchair, Doctor, and give us your best attention. " A slow and heavy step, which had been heard upon the stairs and in the passage, paused immediately outside the door. Then there was aloud and authoritative tap. "Come in! " said Holmes. A man entered who could hardly have been less than six feet six inches in height, with the chest and limbs of a Hercules. His dress was rich with a richness which would, in England, he looked upon as akin to bad taste. Heavy bands of astrakhan were slashed across the sleeves and fronts of his double—breasted coat, while the deep blue cloak which was thrown over his shoulders was lined with flame—coloured silk and secured at the neck with a brooch which consisted of a single flaming beryl. Boots which extended halfway up his calves, and which were trimmed at the tops with rich brown fur, completed the impression of barbaric opulence which was suggested by his whole appearance. He carried a broad—brimmed hat in his hand, while he wore across the upper part of his face, extending down past the cheekbones, a black vizard mask, which he had apparently adjusted that very moment, for his hand was still raised to it as he entered. From the lower part of the face he appeared to be a man of strong character, with a thick, hanging lip, and a long, straight chin suggestive of resolution pushed to the length of obstinacy. "You had my note? " he asked with a deep harsh voice and a strongly marked German accent. "I told you that I would call. " He looked from one to the other of us, as if uncertain which to address. "Pray take a seat, " said Holmes. "This is my friend and colleague, Dr. Watson, who is occasionally good enough to help me in my cases. Whom have I the honour to address? " "You may address me as the Count Von Kramm, a Bohemian nobleman. I understand that this gentleman, your friend, is a man of honour and discretion, whom I may A trust with a matter of the most extreme importance. If not, I should much prefer to communicate with you alone. " I rose to go, but Holmes caught me by the wrist and pushed me back into my chair. "It is both, or none, " said he. "You may say before this gentleman anything which you may say to me. " The Count shrugged his broad shoulders. "Then I must begin, " said he, "by binding you both to absolute secrecy for two years; at the end of that time the matter will be of no importance. At present it is not too much to say that it is of such weight it may have an influence upon European history. " "I promise, " said Holmes. "And I. " "You will excuse this mask, " continued our strange visitor. "The august person who employs me wishes his agent to be unknown to you, and I may confess at once that the title by which I have just called myself is not exactly my own. " "I was aware of it, " said Holmes drily. "The circumstances are of great delicacy, and every precaution has to be taken to quench what might grow to be an immense scandal and seriously compromise one of the reigning families of Europe. To speak plainly, the matter implicates the great House of Ormstein, hereditary kings of Bohemia. " "I was also aware of that, " murmured Holmes, settling himself down in his armchair and closing his eyes. Our visitor glanced with some apparent surprise at the languid, lounging figure of the man who had been no doubt depicted to him as the most incisive reasoner and most energetic agent in Europe. Holmes slowly reopened his eyes and looked impatiently at his gigantic client. "If your Majesty would condescend to state your case, " he remarked, "I should be better able to advise you. " The man sprang from his chair and paced up and down the room in uncontrollable agitation. Then, with a gesture of desperation, he tore the mask from his face and hurled it upon the ground. "You are right, " he cried; "I am the King. Why should I attempt to conceal it? " "Why, indeed? " murmured Holmes. "Your Majesty had not spoken before I was aware that I was addressing Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein, Grand Duke of Cassel—Felstein, and hereditary King of Bohemia. " "But you can understand, " said our strange visitor, sitting down once more and passing his hand over his high white forehead, "you can understand that I am not accustomed to doing such business in my own person. Yet the matter was so delicate that I could not confide it to an agent without putting myself in his power. I have come incognito from Prague for the purpose of consulting you. " "Then, pray consult, " said Holmes, shutting his eyes once more. "The facts are briefly these: Some five years ago, during a lengthy visit to Warsaw, I made the acquaintance of the well—known adventuress, Irene Adler. The name is no doubt familiar to you. "

"Kindly look her up in my index, Doctor, " murmured Holmes without opening his eyes. For many years he had adopted a system of docketing all paragraphs concerning men and things, so that it was difficult to name a subject or a person on which he could not at once furnish information. In this case I found her biography sandwiched in between that of a Hebrew rabbi and that of a staff—commander who had written a monograph upon the deep—sea fishes. "Let me see! " said Holmes. "Hum! Born in New Jersey in the year 1858. Contralto—hum! La Scala, hum! Prima donna Imperial Opera of Warsaw—yes! Retired from operatic stage—ha! Living in London—quite so! Your Majesty, as I understand, became entangled with this young person, wrote her some compromising letters, and is now desirous of getting those letters back. " "Precisely so. But how—" "Was there a secret marriage? " "None. " "No legal papers or certificates? " "None. " "Then I fail to follow your Majesty. If this young person should produce her letters for blackmailing or other purposes, how is she to prove their authenticity? " "There is the writing. " "Pooh, pooh! Forgery. "

"My private note—paper. " "Stolen. " "My own seal. " "Imitated. " "My photograph. " "Bought. " "We were both in the photograph. "

"Oh dear! That is very bad! Your Majesty has indeed committed an indiscretion. " "I was mad—insane. " "You have compromised yourself seriously. "

"I was only Crown Prince then. I was young. I am but thirty now. " "It must be recovered. " "We have tried and failed. " "Your Majesty must pay. It must be bought. " "She will not sell. " "Stolen, then. " "Five attempts have been made. Twice burglars in my pay ransacked her house. Once we diverted her luggage when she travelled. Twice she has been waylaid. There has been no result. " "No sign of it? " "Absolutely none. " Holmes laughed. "It is quite a pretty little problem, " said he. "But a very serious one to me, " returned the King reproachfully. "Very, indeed. And what does she propose to do with the photograph? " "To ruin me. " "But how? " "I am about to be married. " "So I have heard. " "To Clotilde Lothman von Saxe—Meningen, second daughter of the King of Scandinavia. You may know the strict principles of her family. She is herself the very soul of delicacy. A shadow of a doubt as to my conduct would bring the matter to an end. " "And Irene Adler? " "Threatens to send them the photograph. And she will do it. I know that she will do it. You do not know her, but she has a soul of steel. She has the face of the most beautiful of women, and the mind of the most resolute of men. Rather than I should marry another woman, there are no lengths to which she would not go—none. " "You are sure that she has not sent it yet? " "I am sure. " "And why? " "Because she has said that she would send it on the day when the betrothal was publicly proclaimed. That will be next Monday. " "Oh, then we have three days yet, " said Holmes with a yawn. "That is very fortunate, as I have one or two matters of importance to look into just at present. Your Majesty will, of course, stay in London for the present? " "Certainly. You will find me at the Langham under the name of the Count Von Kramm. " Then I shall drop you a line to let you know how we progress. "" Pray do so. I shall be all anxiety. "" Then, as to money? "" You have carte blanche. "" Absolutely? "" I tell you that I would give one of the provinces of my kingdom to have that photograph. "" And for present expenses? "The King took a heavy chamois leather bag from under his cloak and laid it on the table. " There are three hundred pounds in gold and seven hundred in notes, "he said. Holmes scribbled a receipt upon a sheet of his note—book and handed it to him. " And Mademoiselle's address? "he asked. " Is Briony Lodge, Serpentine Avenue, St. John's Wood. "Holmes took a note of it. " One other question, "said he. " Was the photograph a cabinet? "" It was. "" Then, good—night, your Majesty, and I trust that we shall soon have some good news for you. And good—night, Watson, "he added, as the wheels of the royal brougham rolled down the street. " If you will be good enough to call tomorrow afternoon at three o'clock I should like to chat this little matter over with you. "

和往常一样，他仍然对研究犯罪行为很着迷，运用自己卓越的才能和非凡的观察力追踪线索，解开那些警察认为没希望破解而放弃的谜团。我时不时听到有关他活动的大概情况：比如关于他给召唤到敖德萨，处理特雷波夫谋杀案；关于侦破亭可马里离奇的阿特金森兄弟惨案；还有最后关于他微妙而成功地完成了荷兰皇家给他的使命等等。这些情况，我和其他读者一样，仅仅是从日常读报中得知的。然而，除此以外，关于我的旧朋友和伙伴的情况，我知道得很少。一天晚上——那是1888年3月20日——我正在出诊回来的途中（因为此时，我又重新开业行医了），刚好路过贝克街。那所房子的大门，我还记忆犹新。在我的脑海里，它总是和我的追求，和 “血字的研究” 一案中的神秘事件相联系。当我经过大门时，突然生起想见见福尔摩斯的强烈愿望，我想知道，他正在用他非凡的能力干什么。他的房间灯火明亮。我抬头望去，只见他那高挑、瘦削的黑色侧影两次掠过窗帘。他在屋里快速而又急切地走来走去，头低垂到胸前，两手紧握在背后。我熟知他的各种情绪和习惯，所以，对我来说，他的姿态和举止本身就透露出是怎么一回事——他又在工作了。他已经从服药后的睡梦中醒来，正为探索某个新问题的线索而热血沸腾。我按了门铃，然后被领进了我以前的那间屋子。他的态度不是很热情。他很少表现得热情，但我认为，他看到我还是高兴的。他几乎一言不发，但目光亲切，指着一张扶手椅，让我坐下，接着把他的雪茄烟盒扔过来，又指了指放在角落里的酒精瓶和煤气炉。然后，他站在壁炉前，用他那非凡的内省神态审视着我。 “结婚很适合你，” 他说， “沃森，我想，打咱俩上次见面以后，你又重了七磅半。”

“七磅！” 我回答说。 “真的？我还以为是七磅多呢。我想是七磅多一点儿，沃森。据我的观察，你又开始给人看病了吧。可是你以前并没告诉我，你打算行医的呀。”

“那你是怎么知道的呢？”

“这是我看出来、推断出来的。我还知道你最近一直淋雨，而且有一个很笨拙、又粗心的女仆呢。”

“我亲爱的福尔摩斯，” 我说， “你实在太厉害了。要是活在几个世纪以前，你肯定会被用火刑烧死的。没错，星期四那天，我到乡下走了一趟，回家时被雨淋得一塌糊涂。可是，我已经换衣服了呀，真想不到你是怎样推理出来的。至于玛丽·简，她真是无可救药，我的妻子已经警告过她了。但是，我还是不明白你是怎么推断出来的。” 他自己轻声地笑了起来，搓着那双细长而有力的手。 “这件事本来就很简单，” 他说， “我的双眼告诉我，穿在你左脚上的鞋里边，也就是炉火刚好照到的地方，那上边有六道几乎平行的裂缝。很明显，这些裂缝是由于有人为了去掉鞋跟的泥疙瘩，粗心大意地顺着鞋跟刮泥造成的。所以，你看，我就这样得出了双重推断：你曾在恶劣的天气外出，还有，你这皮靴上边离谱的裂缝是那位伦敦女仆干的。至于你行医嘛，如果一位先生走进我的屋子里，身上带有碘的气味，右手食指上有一个硝酸银的黑斑点，而且他的大礼帽右侧鼓起一块，表明曾在那儿藏过听诊器，我要是不说他是医药界的一名积极分子，那我就真的是太愚笨了。” 听到他轻松地把推理过程解释了一遍，我不禁笑了起来。 “听你讲这些推理时，” 我说， “事情总显得那么简单，简单到令人发笑，甚至连我自己也能够推理出来，但每次在你解释推理的过程之前，我对你推理的每一个递进的步骤总是感到迷惑不解。但我认为自己的眼力可是和你的一样好呀。”