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The Inquisition – The Stockbroker’s Clerk (Answers)

The Inquisition – The Stockbroker’s Clerk (Answers)

“Now we have the Sherlock Holmes test …”

–  A Scandal in Bohemia (SCAN)

So, how well do you know your Canon and The Adventure of the Stockbroker’s Clerk. Let’s see the answers (in bold) to this month’s Inquisition.

1. From whom did Watson purchase his “formerly excellent” practice? – “old Mr. Farquhar”
2. Why did that fellow have to give it up? – “his age, and an affliction of the nature of St. Vitus’s dance from which he suffered”

3. For how long had Watson been devoting himself to it, to the exclusion of interaction with Holmes? – three months
4. In what month of the year does this case occur? – June
5. What is Watson reading when Holmes comes to call? – the British Medical Journal
6. What indicates to Holmes that his friend has had a cold? – Watson’s scorched slippers
7. From what does Holmes draw a conclusion about Watson’s practice? – the wear on his front steps (three inches deeper than his neighbor’s = a better practice)
8. What Canonical case is mentioned by name in Holmes & Watson’s conversation? – The Sign of Four
9. From what class of people, evidently approved of by Watson, does Hall Pycroft hail? – Cockney
10. Name one of the two legitimate firms that hired Pycroft. – Coxon & Woodhouse’s or Mawson & Williams’s
11. How much was he offered to work for the Franco-Midland Hardware Co.? – 500 pounds a year
12. In what countries did Arthur Pinner say his firm had branches? – France (134), Belgium (1, in Brussels), and Italy (1, in San Remo) 
13. What task does Pycroft do for harry Pinner during his first week in Birmingham? – He “mark[s] off all the hardware sellers, with their addresses,” in the directory of Paris
14. What clue finally drives Pycroft to consult Holmes about his Franco-Midland gig? – the gold-stuffed tooth (which led him to deduce that the Pinner brothers were one man)
15. What was Pinner’s real name? – Beddington
16. What liquid restorative did Watson employ in his first aid to the hanged man? – cold water (poured over the face)
17. What role do Harris and Price play in the events? – They are Holmes and Watson’s aliases when Pycroft takes them to meet Pinner.
18. What role do Tuson and Pollack play in the events? – They are the London policemen who arrest the fake Pycroft.
19. What was stolen from the safe? – “nearly a hundred thousand pounds’ worth of American railway bonds, with a large amount of scrip in mines and other companies”
20. To what does Holmes attribute the suicide attempt? – brotherly affection

How well did you do on this quiz?

Karen Wilson has the investiture of “A Faithful Scotchwoman” with us and the Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes. She was the Tantalus (Quizmaster) of Watson’s Tin Box for 5 years and for the last three years she has helped develop the “killer quiz” on all 60 stories for that group’s annual Mycroft. Karen has been the organizer of the annual Scintillation of Scions conference and is resting after this year’s virtual event that took place on June 12-13, 2020.

Data! Data! Data! – The Stockbroker’s Clerk

Data! Data! Data! – The Stockbroker’s Clerk

“‘Data! Data! Data!‘ he cried impatiently. ‘I can’t make bricks without clay.’” – The Adventures of The Copper Beeches (COPP) This column is composed of material (Data!) developed for a short course called Appreciating Sherlock Holmes that I taught twice a year in the Community Education Life Enrichment Program for a local community college.  It is composed of… Continue Reading

The 17 Steps: The Stockbroker’s Clerk

The 17 Steps: The Stockbroker’s Clerk

Seventeen thoughts for further ponderance of the case at hand – The Stockbroker’s Clerk (STOC) IN THE PRIME OF HIS WATSONHOOD “I had confidence,” Dr. Watson tells us, “in my own youth and energy and was convinced that in a very few years the concern would be as flourishing as ever.” After all Watson’s earlier talk… Continue Reading

A Sherlockian Visits the Currency Exchange (1986)

A Sherlockian Visits the Currency Exchange (1986)

“Sold his soul to the devil in exchange for money” – The Adeventure of Wisteria Lodge (WIST) Seven hundred and fifty pounds, Dr. Grimesby Roylott had as the annual income of his late wife’s estate. The reader of The Speckled Band is supposed to understand that £750 is a lot of money, but that £250, which… Continue Reading

Video: Sherlock Holmes & Numismatics – 1991 ANA Convention Presentation

Video: Sherlock Holmes & Numismatics – 1991 ANA Convention Presentation

“… and had delivered his usual brilliant lecture to a crowded class.” – The Adventure of The Creeping Man (CREE) During the American Numismatic Association’s (ANA) 100th Anniversary Convention (aka The World’s Fair of Money, the first ANA convention to use this marketing theme) in August, 1991, the then Vice President of the ANA, Edward C. Rochette,… Continue Reading