No. 6 The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual by Arthur Conan Doyle
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the Musgrave ritual

by Arthur Conan Doyle

an anomaly which often struck me in_the character of_my friend Sherlock Holmes was_that, although in_his methods of thought he was_the neatest and most methodical of mankind, and although also he affected a certain quiet primness of dress, he_was none the less in_his personal habits one_of_the_most untidy men that ever drove a fellow- lodger to distraction . not that I_am in_the least conventional in_that respect myself . the rough- and- tumble work in Afghanistan, coming on_the top of a natural Bohemianism of disposition, has_made me rather more lax than befits a medical man who keeps his cigars in_the coal- scuttle, his tobacco in_the toe end of aPersian slipper, and_his unanswered correspondence transfixed by a jack- knife into_the very centre of_his wooden mantelpiece, then I begin to_give myself virtuous airs . I_have always held, too, that pistol practice should_be distinctly an open- air pastime; and when Holmes, in one of_his queer humours, would sit in an arm- chair with_his hair- trigger and a hundred boxer cartridges, and proceed to adorn the opposite wall with a patriotic V .R . done in bullet-pocks, I_felt strongly that neither the atmosphere nor the appearance of_our room was improved by_it .

our chambers were always full of chemicals and of criminal relics which had a way of wandering into unlikely positions, and of turning up in_the butter- dish or in even less desirable places . but his papers were my great crux . he had a horror of destroying documents, especially those which were connected with_his past cases, and yet it_was only once in every year or two that he_would muster energy to docket and arrange them; for, as I_have mentioned somewhere in_these incoherent memoirs, the outbursts of passionate energy when he performed the remarkable feats with_which his name is associated were followed by reactions of lethargy during which he_would lie about with_his violin and_his books, hardly moving save fro the sofa to_the table . thus month after month his papers accumulated, until every corner of_the room was stacked with bundles of manuscript which were on no account to_be burned, and which could_not_be put away save by their owner . one winter's night, as_we sat together by_the fire, I ventured to suggest to him that, as he had finished pasting extracts into his common- place book, he might employ the next two hours in making our room a little more habitable . he_could_not deny the justice of_my request, so with a rather rueful face went off to_his bedroom, from_which he returned presently pulling a large tin box behind him . this he placed in_the middle of_the floor and, squatting down upon a stool in front of it, he threw back the lid .I could_see that_it_was already a third full of bundles of paper tied up with red tape into separate packages .

" there_are cases enough here, Watson," said he, looking at me with mischievous eyes ." i_think that if you_knew all that I had in_this box you_would ask me to pull some out instead of putting others in ."

" these are the records of your early work, then ? " I asked ." I_have often wished that I had notes of_those cases ."

" yes, my boy, these were all done prematurely before my biographer had come to glorify me ." he lifted bundle after bundle in a tender, caressing sort of way ." they_are_not all successes, Watson," said he ." but there_are some pretty little problems among them . here's the record of_the Tarleton murders, and_the case of Vamberry, the wine merchant, and_the adventure of_the old Russian woman, and_the singular affair of_the aluminium crutch, as_well as a full account of Ricoletti of_the club- foot, and_his abominable wife . and here--ah, now, this really is something a little recherch ."

he dived his arm down to_the bottom of_the chest, and brought up a small wooden box with asliding lid, such as children's toys are kept in . from within he produced a crumpled piece of paper, and old- fashioned brass key, a Peg of wood with a ball of string attached to_it, and three rusty old disks of metal .

" well, my boy, what do_you make of_this lot ? " he asked, smiling at my expression .

" it_is a curious collection ."

" very curious, and_the story that hangs round it_will strike you as being more curious still ."

" these relics have a history then ? "

" so_much so that_they_are history ."

" what do_you_mean by_that ? "

Sherlock Holmes picked them up one by one, and laid them along the edge of_the table . then he reseated himself in_his chair and looked them over with a gleam of satisfaction in_his eyes .

" these," said he, " are all that I_have left to remind me of_the adventure of_the Musgrave ritual ."

I had heard him mention the case more than once, though I had never been able to gather the details ." i_should_be so glad," said I, " if_you_would give_me an account of it ."

" and leave the litter as_it_is ? " he cried, mischievously ." your tidiness won't bear much strain after all, Watson . but i_should_be glad that you_should add this_case to your annals, for there_are points in_it which make it quite unique in_the criminal records of_this or, I believe, of any_other country .a collection of_my trifling achievements would certainly be incomplete which contained no account of_this very singular business .

" you_may remember how the affair of_the Gloria Scott, and my conversation with_the unhappy man whose fate i_told you of, first turned my attention in_the direction of_the profession which_has become my life's work . you_see me now when my name has become known far and wide, and when I_am generally recognised both by_the public and by_the official force as being a final court of appeal in doubtful cases . even when_you knew me first, at_the_time of_the affair which you_have commemorated in 'A study in scarlet,' I had already established a considerable, though not a very lucrative, connection . you_can hardly realise, then, how difficult I_found it at first, and how long I had to wait before I succeeded in making any headway .

" when I first came up_to London I had rooms in Montague street, just round the corner from_the British museum, and there I waited, filling in my too abundant leisure time by studying all those branches of science which might make me more efficient . now and again cases came in my way, principally through_the introduction of old fellow-students, for during my last years at_the university there_was a good_deal of talk there about myself and my methods . the third of_these cases was_that of_the Musgrave ritual, and it_is to_the interest which_was aroused by_that singular chain of events, and_the large issues which proved to_be at stake, that I trace my first stride towards to position which I now hold .

" Reginald Musgrave had_been in_the same college as myself, and I had some slight acquaintance with_him . he_was not generally popular among_the undergraduates, though it always seemed to_me that what_was set down as pride was really an attempt to_cover extreme natural diffidence . in appearance he_was a man of exceedingly aristocratic type, thin, high-nosed, and large- eyed, with languid and yet courtly manners . he_was indeed a scion of one_of_the very oldest families in_the kingdom, though his branch was a cadet one which had separated from_the northern Musgraves some_time in_the sixteenth century, and had established itself in western Sussex, where the manor house of Hurlstone is perhaps the oldest inhabited building in_the county . something of_his birth place seemed to cling to_the man, and I never looked at his pale, keen face or the poise of_his head without associating him with grey archways and mullioned windows and all the venerable wreckage of a feudal keep . once_or_twice we drifted into talk, and I_can remember that more than once he expressed a keen interest in my methods of observation and inference .

" for four years I had seen nothing of him until one morning he walked into my room in Montague street . he had changed little, was dressed like a young man of fashion-- he_was always a bit of a dandy-- and preserved the same quiet, suave manner which had formerly distinguished him .

"' how has all gone with_you Musgrave ? " I asked, after we had cordially shaken hands .

"' you probably heard of_my poor father's death,' said he; ' he_was carried off about two years_ago . since then I_have of_course had the Hurlstone estates to manage, and as I_am member for_my district as_well, my life has_been a busy one . but I understand, Holmes, that you_are turning to practical ends those powers with_which you used to amaze us ? "

"' yes,' said I, ' I_have taken to living by my wits .'

"' I_am delighted to hear it, for your advice at present would_be exceedingly valuable to_me . we_have_had some very strange doings at Hurlstone, and_the police have_been_able to throw no light upon_the matter . it_is really the most extraordinary and inexplicable business .'

" you_can imagine with what eagerness I listened to him, Watson, for_the very chance for_which I had_been panting during all those months of inaction seemed to_have come within my reach . in my inmost heart I believed that I_could succeed where others failed, and now I had the opportunity to test myself .

"' pray, let me have the details,' I cried .

" Reginald Musgrave sat down opposite to_me, and lit the cigarette which I had pushed towards him .

"' you_must know,' said he, ' that though I_am a bachelor, I_have to_keep up a considerable staff of servants at Hurlstone, for_it is arambling old place, and takes a good_deal of looking after .I preserve, too, and in_the pheasant months I usually have a house- party, so_that it would_not do to_be short- handed . altogether there_are eight maids, the cook, the butler, two footmen, and a boy . the garden and_the stables of_course have a separate staff .

"' of_these servants the one who had_been longest in_our service was Brunton the butler . he_was a young school- master out of place when he_was first taken up by my father, but he_was a man of great energy and character, and he soon became quite invaluable in_the household . he_was a well- grown, handsome man, with a splendid forehead, and though he has_been with_us for twenty years he_cannot_be more than forty now . with_his personal advantages and_his extraordinary gifts-- for he_can speak several languages and play nearly every musical instrument-- it_is wonderful that he should_have_been satisfied so_long in_such a position, but I suppose that he_was comfortable, and lacked energy to_make any change . the butler of Hurlstone is always a thing that_is remembered by all who visit us .

"' but this paragon has one fault . he_is a bit of aDon Juan, and you_can imagine that for a man like him it_is_not a very difficult part to play in a quiet country district . when he_was married it_was all right, but since he has_been a widower we_have_had no end of trouble with_him .a few_months_ago we were in hopes that he_was about to settle down again for he became engaged to Rachel Howells, our second house- maid; but he has thrown her over since then and taken up with Janet Tregellis, the daughter of_the head game- keeper . Rachel-- who_is a very_good girl, but of an excitable Welsh temperament-- had a sharp touch of brain- fever, and goes about_the house now-- or did until yesterday-- like a black- eyed shadow of her former self . that was our first drama at Hurlstone; but a second one came to drive it from_our minds, and it_was prefaced by_the disgrace and dismissal of butler Brunton .

"' this_was how it came about . I_have said that_the man was intelligent, and this very intelligence has caused his ruin, for_it seems to_have led to an insatiable curiosity about things which did_not in_the least concern him .I had no idea of_the lengths to_which this_would carry him, until the merest accident opened my eyes to_it .

"' I_have said that_the house is arambling one . one day last week-- on Thursday night, to_be more exact-- I_found that I_could_not sleep, having foolishly taken a cup of strong caf noir after my dinner . after struggling against it until two in_the morning, I_felt that_it_was quite hopeless, so I rose and lit the candle with_the intention of continuing a novel which i_was reading . the book, however, had_been left in_the billiard- room, so I pulled on my dressing- gown and started off to_get it .

"' in_order to reach the billiard- room I had to descend a flight of stairs and then to cross the head of a passage which led to_the library and_the gun- room . you_can imagine my surprise when, as I looked down this corridor, I_saw a glimmer of light coming from_the open door of_the library .I had myself extinguished the lamp and closed the door before coming to bed . naturally my first thought was of burglars . the corridors at Hurlstone have their walls largely decorated with trophies of old weapons . from one_of_these I picked a battle-axe, and then, leaving my candle behind me, I crept on tiptoe down the passage and peeped in at_the open door .

"'Brunton, the butler, was in_the library . he_was sitting, fully dressed, in an easy- chair, with a slip of paper which looked lake a map upon his knee, and_his forehead sunk forward upon his hand in deep thought .I stood dumb with astonishment, watching him from_the darkness .a small taper on_the edge of_the table shed a feeble light which sufficed to show me that he_was fully dressed . suddenly, as I looked, he rose from_his chair, and walking over to a bureau at_the side, he unlocked it and drew out one_of_the drawers . from_this he_took a paper, and returning to_his seat he flattened it out beside the taper on_the edge of_the table, and began to study it with minute attention . my indignation at_this calm examination of_our family documents overcame me so_far that i_took a step forward, and Brunton, looking up, saw me standing in_the doorway . he sprang to_his feet, his face turned livid with fear, and

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