Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes: Volume V

By David B. Beckwith

The great-great-grandson of Dr. John H. Watson, James Innes Watson, continues to make available cases from the many manuscripts that he inherited. These are the stories, that for whatever reason, Dr. Watson never published during his life. This collection features two short stories, one is from the earliest days of the collaboration of Watson with Holmes about an attempt upon the life of Queen Victoria, the other short story is an intriguing tale of the lost Tenth Symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven. The final very long story details the attempts by Prof. Moriarty’s two brothers to avenge his death at the Reichenbach Falls, it involves three cases that were designed to incriminate Sherlock Holmes, to bring his family name in disrepute, and to have Holmes and Watson imprisoned.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Feb 22, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664103788

David B. Beckwith

David B. Beckwith was born in what is now Cumbria in the U.K. His family emigrated to Western Australia in 1969. David lives on a 2.1 hectare block of native bush land in a rural region bordering the city of Perth, the capital of Western Australia where in his retirement from the computer industry, he and his wife enjoy an envious lifestyle with their chickens and the resident fauna: wild rabbits, spiders (venomous), snakes (venomous), lizards, quenda (bandicoots), and brightly coloured parrots and vivid blue wrens. This is his fifth book of Holmes’s tales. Visit: david.beckwith.net.au & holmes-chronicles.com

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Copyright © 2021 by David B. Beckwith.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

A version of the story The Finding of Geoffrey Hobson previously appeared in Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson: The Early Adventures II edited by David Marcum, 2019 Belanger Books, LLC.

Cover Artwork by the author.

Rev. date: 02/18/2021

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CONTENTS

Preface

Introduction

Errata

1. The Finding of Geoffrey Hobson

2. The Lost Symphony

3. The Final Solution

For

Antoinette

In memory of

Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle

PREFACE

As with Volumes I, II, III, and IV of these books, this fifth volume contains stories that Doctor John Hamish Watson never published, there are numerous reasons why this happened. In this volume, the reason why these stories were never previously published is yet again their unsuitability as deemed at the time by Watson. It appears that Watson’s literary agent, Conan Doyle, may not have ever been offered these tales for possible publication, since there are only Watson’s annotations on the manuscripts, and completed manuscripts they are indeed, there was little editing required on my part. As usual, I have inserted footnotes to explain or clarify any matters that are now possibly needed for readers separated by more than a hundred years from the events.

In Volume II, I published as an Appendix the chronology of Holmes and Watson from the birth of their parents up to 1990 when James Innes Watson’s son Alexander Sherlock was born. It is due to James Watson, the great-great-grandson of Dr. Watson, that this fifth volume is now available. However, the time-chart is not rigid, and as new facts become known, or when James submits more manuscripts of his forebear to me for publication, the details may be updated. The latest version of the chronology can be found at this web-site:

www.david.beckwith.net.au

I thank my friends Christopher and Dominic for their constructive help and assistance, and for proofreading the short texts, and special thanks to my wife Antoinette who proofread The Final Solution and endured our isolation of COVID-19 when the story was being written.

INTRODUCTION

James Innes Watson, great-great-grandson of Dr. John Hamish Watson.

Somewhere in the vaults of the bank of Cox & Co., at Charing Cross, there is a travel-worn and battered tin dispatch-box with my name, John H. Watson, M.D., Late Indian Army, painted upon the lid. It is crammed with papers, nearly all of which are records of cases to illustrate the curious problems which Mr. Sherlock Holmes had at various times to examine.

This is not entirely accurate. One dispatch-box could not contain all the material that my forebear had amassed: my forebear chronicled cases for a period of twenty-five years. There are notes about cases that were never solved (or were simply without any special interest), and cases that were solved but were never published. Accompanying the dispatch box were several other metal boxes.

The state and quality of the cases is varied. Some are fully drafted accounts, some are precise notes from which a story can be reconstructed, and finally some are a mere collection of pages from various Notebooks.

As in previously published volumes of "The Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes" I have selected from the first set of cases: accounts that were drafted and ready for publication after only minor editing on my part. In this collection, I have selected three texts, two of which are short stories, and the last is a very long account, it is so long it exceeds the length of any other chronicle made by John H. Watson. I explain why they were never published previously, or I give speculations as to why not.

*

The case of the Finding of Geoffrey Hobson is an old tale, dating from one year after Watson met Holmes, and they commenced to share rooms at 221B Baker Street.

The text itself offers no explanation as to why it was never published, and neither can I find any overwhelming reason to explain this fact. Perhaps Conan Doyle thought it unpatriotic to write of a man deranged sufficiently to be involved in the last ever attempt made to assassinate Queen Victoria, but there is no indication that Conan Doyle ever read the manuscript. Perhaps Watson partly shared this view and did not wish to make public the details of a madman and his accomplice, but we will now simply never know.

*

The case of the "Lost Symphony" dates from the middle of the second decade of the collaboration of Holmes and Watson. It deals with a poor Austrian who finds that his grandfather was the amanuensis of the great Ludwig van Beethoven, and this amanuensis supposedly wrote a tenth symphony in the name of the great composer.

Again, there is no internal evidence why the story was not published, and no annotations made to the manuscript to indicate a reason. Perhaps the Victorian mores were offended by the entire concept, but now this is not so fanciful perhaps, sufficient Beethoven fragments exist for a Compact Disk to have been released: Symphony No. 10 in E flat, 1st movement, London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Wyn Morris (1996).

*

The case of "The Final Solution" is a long complex story, involving Holmes and Watson solving 3 cases, that were all brought about by the brothers of Professor Moriarty, in an attempt to frame, disgrace, and convict Holmes, with Watson as his accomplice. I have chosen to follow the manuscript as much as possible: a subtitle of "or The Revenge of the Brothers Moriarty" had been struck through to be deleted, as it is here.

Internal evidence shows that Conan Doyle may have objected to references of what he had already published on behalf of Watson, references that he would have found necessary to remove or significantly alter. Watson also bares his breast regarding the inaccuracies in the published tale of "The Final Problem". The details of the case illustrates the incompetence of the Metropolitan Police, or at the very least their gullability. The story also has an ending that would have offended Victorian morals, or at least their outward perception thereof: homosexuality, and the keeping of a young woman for sexual pleasure. The reader should be aware that in the previous year, 1895, Oscar Wilde was convicted for gross indecency (sodomy, unproven), and Wilde was the same age as Holmes and Watson.

This story is by far the longest, and the most complex in its details of all the manuscripts of my forebear that I have fully examined. Internal evidence suggests that Holmes was probably against the publication of the account, certainly at least while the three Inspectors of Scotland Yard remained were active in their employment.

ERRATA

In my previous book Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes Volume IV there is an error that I discovered when I wrote the Tide Waiter, and that was the dating of Noble Bachelor. Correcting this date was not taken into account when I then wrote Delicate Affair’, and this error was compounded by my not realising that more details of that case were in the Canon, and I was contradicting them.

My story of the Delicate Affair of the Reigning Family of Holland of 22 – 24 April 1887 is not the case referred to in Scandal in Bohemia (18 Mar 1890), this is a second case of a similar name that occurred sometime between January and March of 1890 and this is the same case referred to in Case of Identity (18 Apr 1888), in this case Holmes’s reward is different and Watson did not accompany him. To correct this error on my part, my story is now named The Delicate Mission for the Reigning Family of Holland in my Chronology, although the published name will have to await a reprint to have this error corrected. The other story, The Delicate Affair of the Reigning Family of Holland remains a case that is mentioned in the Canon, but is untold. This story is referenced in Scandal in Bohemia and Case of Identity in which this conversation between Watson and Holmes occurs:

And the ring? I asked, glancing at a remarkable brilliant which sparkled upon his finger.

It was from the reigning family of Holland, though the matter in which I served them was of such delicacy that I cannot confide it even to you, who have been good enough to chronicle one or two of my little problems.

The Finding of Geoffrey Hobson

It was a mild Spring morning, March the 7th 1882, Holmes and I had finished breakfast and had taken up our accustomed chairs to read the newspapers, have a smoke, and finish our tea. It was 10 months since I had obtained my employment with Dr. Bogard, and I had settled into a steady routine during the last 6 months. Our consulting rooms in York Terrace were open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Saturday. Dr. Bogard was an early riser and always took the early shift, starting after Adelaide our principal receptionist (and sometime nurse) had opened the doors at half past seven. Bogard worked until noon, that was when I commenced work along with Caroline our second receptionist. Bogard would take his luncheon for one hour, Adelaide and Caroline conferring about what needed to ordered and other matters of the practice until Adelaide departed at one o’clock. Dr. Bogard would return and share duties with me until three, and thereafter I was in charge! These arrangements were working well. I had time for a leisurely morning every day.

The newspapers were all still full of articles about the attempted assassination of her Majesty on the previous Thursday at Windsor Railway Station, and other associated articles about madmen, asylums, mental institutions, the Police (in general), the Royal Household Police, and what the government should be undertaking about such matters.

Today, the London Daily Metropolitan was no different, but being a more sensational rag Holmes found great interest in what he called its ‘Agony Columns’. Today the newspaper attracted the reader’s attention by a headline that read: ‘Assassination Plot Was Deadly’. Only yesterday the newspapers had asserted that either the bullet used was a blank, or that the gun involved was a non-functional replica. So I read on.

Holmes! said I, You must read this article, here… and I folded the page to put the article to the top, and passed the newspaper to my friend. I will quote the article here:

ASSASSINATION PLOT WAS DEADLY

Today the Daily Metropolitan can reveal new facts relating to the assassination plot of last Thursday. The Queen was not injured in the latest attempt made upon her life by Roderick Maclean, and Her Majesty is in excellent spirits.

It may now authoritatively be stated that Maclean is no doubt insane. He had been confined at the Wells Lunatic Asylum until he was discharged last September. From that Asylum he was committed to the care of the Somerset Asylum as an out-patient, with conditions to report daily in person. The Daily Metropolitan has obtained his address in Weston-super-Mare.

He fired a single shot at Her Majesty, but his aim was averted by schoolboys Gordon Wilson and his chum Charles Robinson. Wilson is the son of the Australian Wool Magnate Sir Samuel Wilson. The boys Wilson and Robinson are students at Eton.

It was reported incorrectly until now, that the fired bullet was a blank, or that the gun used was a mock weapon.

The Daily Metropolitan can today reveal that the Police have re-enacted the scene and discovered a deadly bullet missed the Royal Carriage and ricocheted off a railway lorry outside the Windsor railway station. Aligning the probable location of Maclean and the lorry, it could be seen that our Gracious Queen was seated almost directly in line. The assassination attempt was certainly a deadly one!

Bravo to British schoolboys! It is reported that the pair of boys jostled Maclean as he was about to fire, and that one boy hit him about the legs with an umbrella.

Maclean had tried to fling away his weapon before he was arrested, but the weapon was secured and is with the Police, and it can be categorically stated that reports that the weapon was a replica, or even a toy, as asserted by several tabloids are completely false. The weapon recovered is a fully functioning revolver containing two remaining live rounds.

The apparent insanity of Maclean was reported to Detective Sergeant Fraser of the Royal Household Police, and he has conveyed this information to Her Majesty.

The Home Secretary, Sir William Harcourt, who was present when the assassination attempt occurred, expressed his horror to bystanders. He has confirmed that this was the eighth attempt upon the life of Her Majesty.

A spokesman from Scotland Yard, has confirmed that Maclean is suffering from constant headaches, and has quoted him as stating I believe that all the people of England are against me, I felt I must injure someone because they are all conspiring to deceive me.

When asked where and how did he obtain the revolver, Maclean had replied From Geoffrey Hobson, my only friend in the world, he got it for me. He was with me at Windsor Station, we planned this together.

It transpires that Geoffrey Hobson is a nurse at the Somerset Lunatic Asylum, where he had contact with Maclean. Scotland Yard are now seeking this man.

Fascinating! said Holmes, Illogical, and obviously insane. They will no doubt find Maclean ‘not guilty, but insane’. I see the Metropolitan is maintaining its usual standard of reporting. We shall have to wait for the final outcome.

We resumed our reading, smoking, and drinking the tea that was growing cold. Some minutes later we heard the creak of the seventh step of the stair.

That will be Mrs. Hudson coming to collect the breakfast things. I remarked.

Then a second creak was heard.

No! I believe we have a visitor! I exclaimed.

There came at knock at the sitting room door, Mrs. Hudson entered.

Mr. Holmes, Dr. Watson, you have a visitor, a policeman.

Show him in Mrs. Hudson. said Holmes.

We both stood to welcome our guest, as a thin man of average height entered, he had straight dark hair, grey eyes, and sporting a thin moustache. His hat and coat were damp.

I am Sherlock Holmes.

And I John Watson, Doctor.

And I am Detective Sergeant Gareth Russell of Scotland Yard.

Pleased to meet you Detective Sergeant, before we start, may we offer you some tea or coffee? responded Holmes.

That would be muchly appreciated Mr. Holmes, it’s quite nippy outside this morning, a cuppa tea please. answered Russell. I noted his Cockney accent.

Then please take a seat Detective Sergeant. Mrs. Hudson another pot of tea, and more milk, and a cup for the Detective Sergeant if you please. said Holmes.

Mrs. Hudson loaded her tray with most of the breakfast things and departed. Russell looked around, his eyes lingering over Holmes’s chemistry table with its apparatus. Then he gazed at the folded Metropolitan on Holmes’s side table, obviously reading the title of its prominent leading article.

Now Detective Sergeant, how can we be of assistance to the Metropolitan Police? asked Holmes.

I am hoping that you can help us. Your activities ’ave been noticed by the Police for the last couple of years, but more so in the last twelve months. Your methods differ to those of the regular Police investigations, and this could be the approach that we need. answered the Policeman.

I got my notebook and pencil ready. I was pleased with myself as I thought on the words ‘last twelve months’, that meant the period since I had met Holmes and commenced collaborating with him. I had taken to jotting down the key points of our cases, you never know, one day I might publish the accounts of our adventures. Detective Sergeant Russell continued:

I see from the folded newspaper on your table, that you are taking an interest in this latest assassination attempt on Her Majesty, that is why I am here.

But you already have the man Maclean! exclaimed Holmes.

Indeed yes, we do. The Force ’as been working ’ard since last Thursday, and over the weekend we gained the information about the man Geoffrey ’Obson. We don’t know ’ow the Daily Metropolitan got hold of the story, but it is partly in today’s edition, there. said Russell pointing to the newspaper.

Spill the beans then Detective Sergeant! Tell of Geoffrey Hobson. First let me light my pipe. said Holmes.

I witnessed the surprised look on the Detective Sergeant’s face when Holmes reached for the Persian slipper and proceeded to fill his pipe, and then with a spill from the fire he lit it.

My manners! A cigarette Detective Sergeant? and Holmes offered the maroon and gold box of Sullivan’s to the Policeman.

I don’t indulge Mr. Holmes, but thank you. responded Russell. I wanted a smoke, but I knew I could not smoke and take notes simultaneously.

This Maclean is a right nutter, and wot wiv Sunday being a full Moon, I’m thinking that there’s truth in wot they says about madmen and being affected by the Moon. I personally ’ave met the man, and I’ve read the transcripts. said Russell.

Then the Detective Sergeant recounted what the Police had learned from Maclean.

Let me first say, Mr. ’Olmes, that wot the newspaper ’ave written, is not entirely correct. Her Majesty and the Princess Beatrice had left the Windsor Railway Station and boarded the Royal Carriage. As the carriage started to move, Maclean drew his weapon. It is unclear to all involved whether he fired before or after being jostled. Two Eton schoolboys, Wilson and Robinson, did the jostling, Wilson hitting him with his humbrella. Maclean was overpowered by Superintendent Hayes of the Windsor Police, and a local photographer James Burnside. The weapon was of German manufacture, a six chamber revolver firing ball cartridges, two were still in the gun. Fourteen more cartridges were found on Maclean’s person.

Russell paused and took a drink of his tea before continuing.

The next day, that is Friday, Maclean appeared before the Windsor Magistrates, where he was charged with attempted regicide and treason, and committed to the Reading Police lock-up pending a trial. The Police Surgeon had declared him sane. Maclean has since been transferred to the Central Metropolitan Lock-up following initial interrogations which raised doubts about his sanity.

We now believe the man is mad, and wonder how the Windsor Police Surgeon could have thought otherwise. I have seen the man, sometimes ’e is coherent, and at others ’e simply raves. The exact motive for ’is actions is difficult to come to terms wiv. ’E is devoutly and passionately in favour of Her Majesty and all that she represents, but then ’e wants ’is revenge on her. It transpires that ’e is something of a poet, and ’e sent a poem to the Queen, ’e says it was an impassioned ode to her greatness as Queen and Empress and as Britannia incarnate. Why Her Majesty should deign to reply I know not, for it appears the poem was received as being deeply offensive, and yet Her Majesty did reply to Maclean’s letter, and ’er reply did not please Maclean.

In a more lucid pronouncement Maclean stated this. Russell took out his notebook and flipped through pages until he found the reference.

I found ’er reply an affront to my poetic sensibilities, and I resolved to be avenged.

The Detective Sergeant shut his notebook, and then continued.

It was more often the case, that Maclean ranted about the state of Britain, and that ’ow all of England was conspiring against ’im, and ’ow ’e would be revenged. For a Scotsman, ’tis surprising that ’e equates Britain wiv England, he will say Britannia the Great, and then in the next breath ’e’ll say wot all England is against ’im. We ’ave learned that ’e ’as a sister in Scotland, but as yet, we know not where. In other outbursts ’e states ’e is all alone wiv no family.

Here Russell paused. He drank some tea, Holmes refilled and relit his pipe, keeping his tobacco in a Persian slipper had a tendency to make the leaf dry and burn quickly. I lit a Sullivan hoping to be able to enjoy it and still take notes at the same time. Then Russell continued.

That brings me to point of my visit today, that is Geoffrey Hobson. Maclean started by asking ‘Where is Geoffrey, he should be here with me?’ Eventually, we obtained the man’s second name and that it was ’e who obtained the gun and cartridges for Maclean. Amongst Maclean’s rants, ’e frequently both admonishes the general populace as being ‘against him’ and ‘out to get him’, but also that Hobson is ’is one and only friend.

"Maclean admitted that ’e and Hobson had travelled together from Weston-super-Mare, and it was in London that Hobson ’ad acquired the gun and ball cartridges. ’E was most adamant that ’e would not reveal where in London they ’ad stayed.

We tried to get a description of the man Hobson from Maclean, the best we obtained was that ’e is of less than average height, ’as fair hair, and is clean-shaven, ’e rarely wears a hat. In the process of interviewing many of the witnesses of the attempted assassination, the Police ascertained that a man matching this description was seen hurriedly pushing his way through the crowded entrance to Windsor station. The next train to depart was bound back to London. In the long laborious interviews with Maclean since Saturday we ascertained that Hobson was, or is, a nurse at the Somerset Asylum in Weston-super-Mare where Maclean was required to report on a daily basis. It was Hobson who obtained the revolver and ammunition for Maclean, and Hobson ’ad clearly accompanied Maclean to Windsor.

Yesterday this description of Hobson was confirmed by the Somerset Asylum. Additional information is that ’is eyes are steel grey, ’is hair so pale ’tis almost white, he is thirty years old, his height is five feet five, and he speaks with an educated accent. He smokes a lot of Marlborough cigarettes made by Philip Morris.

"I don’t know why the company does not advertise them as a woman’s cigarette.¹" I interjected.

Pray continue Detective Sergeant. urged Holmes.

I ’ave no more details to give Mr. ’Olmes. We know that Hobson left Windsor bound for London on last Thursday, after that we know nothing. concluded Russell.

Did those in Somerset report the man’s financial situation? asked Holmes.

’E appears to have some savings, but his salary as a nurse is not large. was the reply.

You have not yet asked, but I presume you wish us to find this man? stated Holmes.

In a nutshell, yes. Your name was raised, and the powers-that-be thought this problem to be right up your street, so to speak. answered Russell.

Is he armed? queried Holmes.

Difficult to say Mr. Holmes. Maclean could not be persuaded to say yea or nay, but it was Hobson who obtained the revolver and cartridges for Maclean. Thus, Maclean’s reluctance to speak of the matter tend to weigh on the side of ‘yes’. said the Policeman.

I accept the case, Detective Sergeant, if I need to contact you I shall send a telegram to Scotland Yard. Then if you have nothing more to add, we shall bid you a Good Day! said Holmes rising to his feet.

If you need assistance, Mr. ’Olmes, you just ’ave to ask. Goodbye! said Russell, and with that he departed.

What do you think Watson? asked Holmes.

I have no idea where to begin Holmes. London is a very large city. One man in some four milllions is a difficult task. I replied. I looked at my watch, I have a couple of hours before work, if there is anything I can help with… I said.

Holmes rang the bell for Mrs. Hudson, and when she arrived, he said:

Mrs. Hudson, find all the newspapers that are still in the house, those dated from Friday the third, if you please.

Our landlady departed, shaking her head.

There may be some clue to add to our knowledge, something we overlooked because it was then not relevant to us. A long shot I know, but one never knows. stated Holmes.

We found no new clue before it was time for a quick early lunch, and then I set off to work in York Terrace. As I was leaving, I asked:

What will you do now Holmes?

I have the beginning of a plan. I will set that in motion, then I shall renew my acquaintance with some people who deal in illicit guns. I shall see tonight. Goodbye, Watson! he replied.

*

That evening Holmes had no success to report, he had visited four armaments suppliers and gained no information, save the names and addresses of four more suppliers. His contacts had been reluctant to help him, but when he had explained his business, they had become true patriots. The criminal classes may be partial to preying on the aristocracy, but any harm to Her Majesty was a different matter.

"I have also decided to start the formation of what I shall refer to henceforth as the Baker Street Irregulars. I approached the young street urchin Wiggins that is always hanging about Baker Street, I used him and some of his associates before², a boy about twelve years old, he begs, runs errands, pesters the organ grinders, no doubt is a petty thief, generally a street-wise youngster who should erstwhile be in school. His name is Harry Wiggins, I have asked him to report here tomorrow morning with five others of his street companions. I have promised him, and his colleagues sixpence per day to seek out Geoffrey Hobson. I did not know what recompense to offer, as I intend to use them on a semi-regular basis, and he seemed to accept a tanner as sufficient. If they do not discover Hobson’s whereabouts in three days, then I shall consider increasing the amount."

Next morning, at half past eight, Mrs. Hudson came to our sitting room.

Mr. Holmes, there are six dirty and scruffy children below. The tallest says his name is Harry Wiggins and that you are expecting them! Some of them do not even have any shoes on! And in this weather, I’m sure it will snow soon. What is the world coming to? said the good lady.

I am indeed expecting them! Kindly show them up Mrs. Hudson, they will behave themselves, or they will not get paid! replied Holmes.

Moments later, six street urchins were admitted to our presence.

Please stay Mrs. Hudson, I wish you to be able to recognise these persons when they come to 221B again. Now then Wiggins and company. Attention! Line up, you Wiggins at the right. Then I want your names, and your age please. commanded Holmes.

"Harry Wiggins, I’m