David’s
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(group member since Jan 11, 2016)
David’s
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from the David Ruffle's Sherlock Holmes group group.
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CALLING ALL SHERLOCK HOLMES WRITERS. As some of you may know I am an author of Sherlock Holmes pastiches. A few years ago I compiled and edited Tales From The Stranger's Room in two with mostly work from unpublished writers. I am now looking to create a new volume. The two volumes featured short pieces, quirky pieces and poetry etc. If you wish to take part feel free to contact me here or email me at Ruffleholmes@aol.com Thanks all!!!!!
The great majority of it is a conversation between Holmes and his visitor although the only dialogue we 'hear' is that from Holmes.
Beyond Watson is a new anthology of Sherlock Holmes stories set to be released in June. The twist is, as you may have guessed, Watson is not involved in these stories. I was fortunate enough to be invited to contribute a piece to the collection, 'The Tarleton Affair'. For the latest news, hit the link: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
Chapter Two...Chapter Two
The Venice I’d encountered in picture-books, periodicals, journals and the like was not quite the Venice I encountered that day after coming out of the station and finding myself face to face with the Grand Canal. The air was damp and the city clothed in a thick fog which was almost impenetrable. The little I could see still managed to give me a sense of awe, much like the Sistine chapel ceiling had.
Holmes clapped me on the shoulder. ‘Do not despair, Watson. The fog will lift sooner rather than later and the serene city will reveal itself to you.’
‘Well, gentlemen I will leave you to the tender mercies of Venice. I trust the city will repay you well.’
‘Thank you, Cardinal Roselli. We wish you success with your conference and hope that Cardinal Tosca is not too hard on you. Goodbye and thank you for your company and please pass on our best wishes to the Holy Father on your return to Rome.’
Several urchins approached us, jostling each other in their haste to carry our bags to our destination which was in any case as yet unknown. Our repeated ‘non’ appeared not to dampen their enthusiasm for the task and I had to prise curled fingers from my valise’s handle on several occasions until a coin sent spinning from Holmes’s hand scattered them.
‘On the whole, Watson, they are good boys who after all are only trying to earn a crust. There are some though who would gladly take your bag, but the ultimate destination of your bags would be very different from the one specified.’
‘Do the police not interfere and arrest the culprits?’
‘Arrest one and another will take his place. It is the way of the world here. The polizia locale have been known to turn a blind eye. Every so often to appease the city mayor there will be a roundup of suspects and a few token punishments handed out, but nothing really changes. I have a mind to search out lodgings on the Via Garibaldi, it is a little quieter there.’
‘Whatever you say, Holmes, you are familiar with the city after all.’
‘I have to warn you, Watson, that it is quite a fair step from here and it may be even longer if I cannot recall the shortcuts of eleven years ago.’
I followed Holmes through narrow alleys, down narrow streets, across bridges. I was convinced at times that we had doubled back on ourselves for some streets and alleys seemed familiar to me although the thick fog which hung in the air may have had something to do with my confusion. The mist had just begun to dissipate when we eventually entered a large square, much bigger than those five or six we had traversed.
‘Do you recognise it?’ asked Holmes.
‘This must be St Mark’s Square, Holmes. I recognise the basilica from photographs I have seen.’
‘Quite so. Another ten minutes and we will be at our destination. Best foot forward. Don’t dawdle, Watson, there will be time enough for sight-seeing.’
We walked along a wide promenade next to the lagoon where gondolas moored in rows bobbed up and down, the hulls splashing the surface. There was no slackening of pace from Holmes, but mercifully after three more energy sapping bridges he announced we had arrived at Via Garibaldi. It was to be another fifteen minutes before we had secured accommodation for ourselves at a small pensione which lay beyond a small fruit market. The rates were most favourable and the suite of rooms we took were the best they had to offer. They were certainly cramped quarters, but Holmes assured me they were fairly standard for hotels and lodgings in the city unless we desired luxury in the very finest hotels, usually located in the oldest and most beautiful palazzos. The manager was a Signor Grimaldi, who taking pity on his foot-sore guests, instructed his wife to prepare a local delicacy for us. The dish she favoured us with was fegato alla veneziana, a meal of liver with potato and polenta. By the time we had finished our repast the hour was quite late so we retired to our suite.
‘Have you any idea as to where you would like to visit in Venice?’ Holmes asked.
‘I am content to be guided by you although having said that, I am quite keen to explore the basilica and the Doges’ palace.’
‘Two excellent choices, Watson. Shall we allot ourselves four days in the city?’
‘If you think it ample, by all means.’
‘It should be sufficient certainly and besides I know you are eager to rendezvous with the good Mrs Watson in Lyme Regis. How is she? Well and truly recovered from the ordeal she suffered at the hands of Stapleton?’
‘She is a strong, resilient woman, Holmes. That is not to say there won’t be scars, but she does not dwell upon the episode nor indeed speak of it.’
‘She always struck me as a most dependable woman, calm, but with the ability to act swiftly and decisively in a crisis. She complements you perfectly, my dear fellow. What did you make of Pope Leo?’
‘He is a most devout man, upright and single-minded. I fear he has not long left on this earth, I am actually surprised he has the energy he displayed to us for death certainly has him in its sights.’
‘One supposes, Watson that his faith keeps him going. He still feels he still has work to do.’
‘Faith is a great motivational force. It can truly work wonders even in our modern age. Perhaps mankind needs some form of faith more than ever before in a world where war becomes ever more commonplace.’
‘To some extent you are right. Men of faith are natural leaders in times of crisis. They are looked up to and admired. It is a double-edged sword of course for throughout history men of faith have been a force for evil. One man’s twisted ideology can create a movement that can wreak havoc in the name of faith or a sometimes unspecified god. Such men usually have no trouble in persuading others to follow them on their crusades for they are usually possessed of an unusual amount of charisma which makes it difficult to oppose their will. You are not a regular church-goer, Watson, but do you own up these days to having a faith or belief in a god?’
‘As a child I was compelled to attend church regularly, but as I grew older my parents gave me a certain amount of latitude and free choice in the matter. Church attendance at that time ceased altogether apart from odd occasions in my life when I felt a need of spiritual comfort. Belief? Faith? I believe in a higher force, but do not seek to give it a name. What are your own feelings?’
‘We have spoken of it before of course, but in general I put my faith in science. Faith may move mountains, but it is science we would look to for an explanation. So much of what we know about the world, science has shown us. The mystery of life is no longer a mystery.’
‘Yet you would not attempt to argue that science has provided us with all the answers. There are still mysteries surrounding us, perhaps even some we will never find a solution to.’
‘I agree wholeheartedly with you, Watson. Some things will forever be beyond our ken, maybe it is better that way; man arose from our environment and can never be expected to dominate it fully or be its master. As to my belief system I can honestly say I am unsure as to a creator or designer. The logician in me says it makes little sense to believe in a superhuman, all-powerful deity particularly when we look at the misery in the world. Would not a loving god try and rectify the conditions we live under?’
‘The accepted principle in operation tells of the free choice mankind has been given to decide for itself how life should be lived. Until such time as there may be a reckoning.’
‘The principle, then, appears to be one of ‘give a man enough rope and he will hang himself’ not particularly loving you would agree. All the same, I would not deny others their beliefs and faith. One has to plough one’s own furrow in life.’
‘I would imagine conversations like this to have taken place over the centuries. Whatever else we may think about religion, it has certainly been a driving force.’
‘Indeed, Watson, but let’s not forget how divisive organised religion has been and forever will be. It’s just another form of the tribalism of ancient civilisations writ large. If we accept the premise of man being a natural aggressor while also accepting the notion of a creator then surely there is only one direction in which to apportion blame.’
‘You are forgetting free will, Holmes.’
‘Nay, Watson. I stated that man is a natural aggressor and I firmly believe that no one can in all honestly gainsay that. You see the distinction?’
‘Yes. Perhaps this is one of the mysteries that will never be solved, the greatest of them all; where did we come from? Where do we go?’
‘You are correct for everything follows from that and those two questions will remain as being fundamental to our lives. Venice will answer different questions for us; on art, on beauty and the ability of man to create a famed city in this watery wilderness. It is a city like no other on earth.’
‘It seems barely conceivable that the city continues to stand when every sense tells you it should sink into the lagoon.’
‘There is every evidence that the city is doing precisely that and the ways and means of preventing it will occupy the finest minds for many years to come, but with absolutely no guarantee of success. Nature, as she often does, may triumph in the end.’
‘It’s hard to imagine that all this may be lost one day.’
‘It has often been the fate of great cities, to crumble into the dust. Not just cities, but whole civilisations have been lost.’
‘Tempus fugit, Holmes.’
‘Quite so, Watson. Well, I think I will turn in. Goodnight.’
I sat up a while longer, smoking a last pipe whilst contemplating and looking forward to my first full day in Venice.
The reality was somewhat different than I imagined.
The Holmes/Lynme Regis trilogy best to go in order as with the Twist/Lynme trilogy. The rest.....get stuck in!!
That's great, Pamela.
The Gondolier and the Russian Countess all done. A Holmes and Watson adventure set in Venice with the odd Tintoretto or two and the odd amorous woman or two!
Expected publication date 16th February!
Thanks Malikah.
