Mystery · The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes · Arthur Conan Doyle · 1891 · 6:01

A Scandal in Bohemia

A masked giant climbs the stairs of 221B with a German accent and a secret that could shake the thrones of Europe — and Holmes has already guessed who he is. (Abridged.)

Dr. Watson (narrator)Sherlock HolmesThe King of Bohemia

To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name. And yet there was but one woman to him, and that woman was the late Irene Adler, of dubious and questionable memory.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. I rang the bell and was shown up to the chamber which had formerly been in part my own.He threw over a sheet of thick, pink-tinted notepaper which had been lying open upon the table.Sherlock HolmesIt came by the last post,said he.Sherlock HolmesRead 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. 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?Sherlock Holmes落ち着いてI have no data yet. It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.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.Sherlock HolmesA pair, by the sound,said he.Sherlock HolmesThere’s money in this case, Watson, if there is nothing else.I think that I had better go, Holmes.Sherlock HolmesNot a bit, Doctor. Stay where you are. I am lost without my Boswell.A slow and heavy step, which had been heard upon the stairs and in the passage, paused immediately outside the door. Then there was a loud and authoritative tap.Sherlock HolmesCome 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. 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.The King of BohemiaYou had my note?he asked with a deep harsh voice and a strongly marked German accent.The King of BohemiaI told you that I would call.He looked from one to the other of us, as if uncertain which to address.Sherlock HolmesPray take a seat,said Holmes.Sherlock HolmesWhom have I the honour to address?The King of BohemiaYou may address me as the Count Von Kramm, a Bohemian nobleman.The King of BohemiaYou will excuse this mask,continued our strange visitor.The King of BohemiaThe 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.Sherlock Holmes落ち着いてI was aware of it,said Holmes dryly.Sherlock HolmesいらだちIf your Majesty would condescend to state your case,he remarked,Sherlock HolmesI 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.The King of Bohemia叫ぶYou are right,he cried;The King of BohemiaI am the King. Why should I attempt to conceal it?Sherlock HolmesWhy, indeed?murmured Holmes.Sherlock HolmesYour 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.The King of BohemiaThe 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.Sherlock HolmesYour Majesty, as I understand, became entangled with this young person, wrote her some compromising letters, and is now desirous of getting those letters back.The King of BohemiaPrecisely so. But how—Sherlock HolmesWas there a secret marriage?The King of BohemiaNone.Sherlock HolmesNo legal papers or certificates?The King of BohemiaNone.Sherlock HolmesThen 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?The King of BohemiaThere is the writing.Sherlock HolmesPooh, pooh! Forgery.The King of BohemiaMy private note-paper.Sherlock HolmesStolen.The King of BohemiaMy own seal.Sherlock HolmesImitated.The King of BohemiaMy photograph.Sherlock HolmesBought.The King of BohemiaWe were both in the photograph.Sherlock Holmes驚きOh, dear! That is very bad! Your Majesty has indeed committed an indiscretion.The King of Bohemia落胆I was mad—insane.Sherlock HolmesYour Majesty must pay. It must be bought.The King of BohemiaShe will not sell.Sherlock HolmesStolen, then.The King of BohemiaFive 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.Holmes laughed.Sherlock Holmes含み笑いIt is quite a pretty little problem,said he.The King of BohemiaBut a very serious one to me,returned the King reproachfully.Sherlock HolmesVery, indeed. And what does she propose to do with the photograph?The King of BohemiaTo ruin me.Sherlock HolmesBut how?The King of BohemiaI am about to be married.Sherlock HolmesSo I have heard.The King of BohemiaTo Clotilde Lothman von Saxe-Meningen, second daughter of the King of Scandinavia. A shadow of a doubt as to my conduct would bring the matter to an end.Sherlock HolmesAnd Irene Adler?The King of Bohemiaおびえ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.Sherlock HolmesThen, as to money?The King of BohemiaYou have carte blanche.Sherlock HolmesAbsolutely?The King of Bohemia真剣にI tell you that I would give one of the provinces of my kingdom to have that photograph.Sherlock HolmesThen, 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.

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