The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume I - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle [466]
17 (p. 169) great mutiny: Also known as the Indian Mutiny and the Sepoy Mutiny or the Sepoy Rebellion, it was an uprising, in 1857 and 1858, against British rule in India. Indian soldiers, known as sepoys, who were employed by the British East India Company, massacred the Europeans at Meerut, then joined with other Indian forces as the rebellion spread, but were eventually suppressed by British troops.
18 (p. 176) After Wilson took Delhi . . . Nana Sahib made himself scarce over the frontier: Brigadier-General Archdale Wilson (1801-1874) assumed command of the Bengal Artillery after initial British losses, and did much to turn the tide in the English favor. Sir Colin Campbell (1792-1863) became commander-in-chief in India shortly after the mutiny began. Nana Sahib, adopted son of an Indian prince, was one of the Indian leaders of the mutiny.
19 (p. 190) Wallenstein: Bohemian statesman and general Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein, duke of Friedland (1583-1634), commanded the armies of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II during the beginning of the Thirty Years War (1618-1648). He was assassinated after his alienation from the Emperor.
20 (p. 226) Duchess of Devonshire fashion: Georgiana Spencer Cavendish (1757-1806), ancestor of Princess Diana and wife of William, fifth duke of Devonshire, was not only the leader of London’s high society, but one of the most popular figures in the history of English social life.
21 (p. 238) Hafiz: This (or Hafez) is the pen name for Mohammad Shams od-Din Hafez, a fourteenth-century Persian poet who was known for passionate poems spiritualizing his ideal woman, much as Dante did for Beatrice. The name Hafez, which means “keeper,” is given to one who has memorized the Koran, which he did at an early age. Scholars have not been able, however, to trace Holmes’s quotation to Hafez.
22 (p. 260) Jackson’s army . . . Hood . . . Lee: Thomas Jonathan (“Stone-wall”) Jackson (1824-1863), John Bell Hood (1831-1879), and Robert E. Lee (1807-1870) were generals in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War.
23 (p. 271) Gravesend: Although a ship leaving London would necessarily pass Gravesend, the mention of its name here is an ironic comment on the fate of the Lone Star.
24 (p. 309) Regency: The period between 1811 and 1820, when the prince of Wales, later George IV, was appointed regent to rule England because of the insanity of his father, George III.
25 (p. 321) Palmer and Pritchard: The reference is to two notorious doctors: William Palmer (1824-1856) was hanged for poisoning one of his friends, while Edward Pritchard (1825-1865) was hanged for poisoning his wife and mother-in-law.
26 (p. 482) Queen Anne house: Houses designed by Italian architect Andrea Palladio (1508-1580) became fashionable during the reign of Anne Stuart (1665-1714), queen of England from 1702 to 1714.
27 (p. 517) Vernet, the French artist: There was indeed a French artist of that name: Émile Jean Horace Vernet (1789-1863) was a painter known for battle scenes.
28 (p. 518) the Diogenes Club: Diogenes (412-322 B.C.), was a Greek Cynic philosopher who exhibited contempt for riches and honors, and proclaimed self-sufficiency for the individual. He was said to carry a lamp around Athens during the daytime, insisting he was searching for an honest man. The joke here is that while clubs were formed as places where men could share similar interests with other men of their class, this club makes every man an island unto himself.
29 (p. 547) Bertillon . . . measurements: Alphonse Bertillon (1853-1914), while working for the Paris police as chief of identifications in 1880, invented a system for identifying people through records of body measurements and markings. His system was later superseded by fingerprinting, but for a decade it was the most sophisticated form of identification.
30 (p. 579) Bertillon: See note directly above.
31 (p. 581) Clarendon: Edward Hyde (1609-1674), first earl of Clarendon and a Royalist statesman and historian, served as chief minister and lord chancellor, and wrote History