Discovering Sherlock Holmes - A Community Reading Project From Stanford University

"…a neat little landau…"
A landau is a private carriage, larger and more luxurious than the public hansom cab.

"Come, man, come, only three minutes, or it won't be legal."
No one is quite sure what all the rush was about here. Perhaps Conan Doyle harbored some misconception about marriage laws.

"When Mrs. Turner has brought in the tray I will make it clear to you."
Holmes and Watson's landlady is named Mrs. Hudson in The Sign of Four and elsewhere in the stories. Mrs. Turner never appears again. Perhaps she was just visiting.

Éan amiable and simple-minded Nonconformist clergyman.
Holmes chooses as his disguise a minister not associated with the Anglican Church. It was against the law to impersonate a Church of England minister.

Charing Cross Station can be found
in the lower right of this map,
on the Strand near Trafalgar Square

Ésuch as Mr. John Hare alone could have equaled.
A prominent Victorian stage actor who went on to make at least two silent films.

"A married woman grabs at her baby; an unmarried one reaches for her jewel-box."
This conceit has become a commonplace of the detective story: if you manufacture an emergency, you will find out where the valuables are hidden.

"I've heard that voice before," said Holmes, staring down the dimly lit street. "Now, I wonder who the deuce that could have been."
Holmes rarely fails to observe what is right before his eyes. Here, his misogyny blinds him to the fact that the "slim youth" rushing by might not be what he seems.

"She left this morning with her husband by the 5:15 train from Charing Cross for the Continent."
Irene has left for "the Continent," meaning Europe.

"Did I not tell you how quick and resolute she was? Would she not have made an admirable queen? Is it not a pity that she was not on my level?"
"From what I have seen of the lady, she seems, indeed, to be on a very different level to your Majesty," said Holmes coldly.
Holmes's admiration for people is based on ability, not social station. His insult to the King apparently goes unnoticed.