a “The Adventure of the Cardboard Box” was part of the second series of twelve stories published in 1892 by the Strand. However, Conan Doyle prevented it from being included in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, the book that in 1893 collected the stories from that series. The story was finally collected in His Last Bow, originally published in 1917.
b Long, heavy Afghan musket.
c Medical assistant whose duties include bandaging, or “dressing,” wounds.
d Popular name for St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in central London.
e Slang for navy tobacco.
f From An Essay on Man (1733-1734; epistle 2, line 2), by English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744).
g One-handed fencing stick fitted with a hand guard.
h “Lieder Ohne Worte” (Songs without Words) of German composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847).
j From the Bible, Ecclesiastes 1:9: “There is no new thing under the sun” (King James Version).
k Watch chain with thick links, named for Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband.
l Made from dark tobacco grown near Trichinopoly in the Madras district of India.
m Cavalry of ancient Parthia were famed for shooting arrows as they retreated.
n Gold coin worth half a pound.
o Fourpence worth of gin with hot water and lemon.
p What little thing indeed! Frédéric Chopin wrote nothing for solo violin.
q Of international law; literally, of law among peoples (Latin).
r The head of Charles I, king of England, was struck off in 1649.
s The Union line sailed steamers to South Africa.
t A fool can always find a bigger fool to admire him (French); from L’Art Poétique (1674; canto 1), by Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux (1636-1711).
u Slang for “bootblack,” the servant who shined the boots of hotel guests.
v Outside acceptable bounds; eccentric, bizarre (French).
w Heber C. Kemball, in one of his sermons, alludes to his hundred wives under this endearing epithet.
x Slang for “coachmen” or “cabdrivers.”
y “The people hiss at me, but I applaud myself alone at home when I gaze on the coins in my strongbox” (Latin); from Satires, book 1, satire 1, lines 65-66, by the Roman poet Horace (65-8 B.C.).
z Strong, red wine from Burgundy.
aa Euclid, a Greek mathematician who lived around 300 B.C., developed a system of deduction based on definitions and propositions. For the purpose here, there’s nothing special about Euclid’s fifth proposition; any would make the point.
ab A strong cheroot, open at both ends.
ac Type of tobacco in which the ribs of the leaves are cut with the fiber.
ae See text beginning on page 147 for a description of the islands and their inhabitants.
af Indian title of respect for Europeans, much like “sir” or “master.”
ag Hindu term for “servant.”
ah “Bad taste leads to crime” (French); an aphorism of the French writer Stendhal (1783-1842).
aj Fastened with a latch.
ak No such place. The name is a conflation of Senegal and Gambia, and indicates a region in western Africa, comprising areas around the Senegal and Gambia Rivers.
al Sardonic (disdainfully humorous) grin (Latin).
am “There are no fools more bothersome than those with wit” (French); no. 451 of Reflexions ou sentences et maximes morales (Reflections; or, Sentences and Moral Maxims, 1665) of François, duc de La Rochefoucauld.
an “Of course, we know that men despise what they don’t comprehend” (German); from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust, part 1, lines 1205-1206 (1808).
ao Crossbreed between collie and greyhound used by poachers.
aq Charles Blondin (1824-1897), French acrobat known for crossing Niagara Falls on a tightrope.
ar Type of bullet used in British army rifles.
as Long, light rowboat used to transport passengers on waterways.
at Owners or managers of commercial wharfs.
au Slang for “three shillings and a sixpence.”
av Personal advertisement column in a newspaper.
aw Short, double-breasted overcoat worn by sailors.
ax Attributed to William Gladstone, prime minister of England four times between 1868 and 1894.
ba Hemp chewed as a narcotic.
bb European or Eurasian in India.
bc Anglo-Indian slang for “jail.”
bd “It’s a shame that Nature made you only one man; there was material enough for a worthy man and a rogue” (German); from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Xenien (1796).
be Since 1918 part of what is now the Czech Republic, it was for centuries a sovereign nation.
bf Locked stand in which decanters of liquor and wine are displayed.
bg Apparatus for carbonating water.
bh Small coin worth two shillings and sixpence, about 1/8 of a pound.
bi James Boswell (1740-1795), biographer of Samuel Johnson.
bj Refers to a standard photograph size: 3 7/8“ by 5 1/2”.
bk Jewel; here used figuratively.
bl Invented by Charles Chubb, the first lock to employ tumblers in its internal design; still in use today.
bm “Guinea” is slang for an English pound note.
bn Used to test for leaks in pipes.
bo Sir John Hare (1844-1921), noted English actor and stage manager.
bp She appears in “A Case of Identity” (p. 225), written before this story but published later.
bq “Everything unknown passes for something magnificent” (Latin); from The Life of Cnaeus Julius Agricola, by the Roman historian Tacitus (c.56-120 A.D.).
bs A coster is a street vendor of fruits or vegetables.
bt Cheap wood, made of fir or pine.
bu Writing paper; so called because its watermark is in the shape of a jester’s cap and bells.
bv Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908), Spanish violinist and composer.
bw Traditional sign of a pawnbroker.
bx The murder and the treasure are references to The Sign of Four.
by The stranger is referring to a card game, either bridge or whist.
bz Lantern with a panel for blocking the light.
ca Party of four; literally, a square party (French).
cb Slang for “handcuffs.”
cc “The man is nothing; the work everything” (French).
cd Gem cut so as to have many facets and thus great brilliance.
ce Love affair; literally, affair of the heart (French).
cg There, that’s all (French).
ch Courts in English counties that met periodically to try pending civil and criminal cases.
cj Small book of poems by Petrarch (1304-1374), Italian poet known for his sonnets.
ck The reference is to a series of cheap popular novels with yellow covers.
cl The reference is to Shakespeare’s As You Like It (act 2, scene 7, line 28; New York: Signet Classic, 1998): “And thereby hangs a tale.”
cm English novelist (1828-1909).
co We shall see (French).
cp Holmes wrongly attributes this phrase to seventeenth-century English cleric Richar Baxter; it was actually coined by a sixteenth-century clergyman, John Bradford.
cq William Clark Russell (1844-1911) wrote dozens of such stories.
cr Baron Georges Léopold Cuvier (1769-1832), French naturalist, founder of comparative anatomy and paleontology.
cs Division of Scotland Yard assigned to Whitechapel, site of Jack the Ripper’s crimes in 1888, the year after the one in which this story is set.
ct It appeared in Confessions of an English Opium Eater, by Thomas De Quincey (1785-1859).
cu As Watson’s first name is John and his middle initial H, one wonders why his wife refers to him as James.
cv Small store that sold ready-made clothes to sailors.
cx Soft, muslin-like silk (French).
cy Piece of light hand luggage, named after William Gladstone, prime minister of England four times between 1868 and 1894.
cz Here, as everywhere else “the City” is capitalized, it refers not to London itself, but the financial district in the East End.
da A carbuncle is a garnet, which is usually red; a blue one has never been found.
db Felt hat with a low crown, similar to a derby.
dc Tam-o’-shanter cap, which features a tight-fitting headband, a flat circular crown, and a central pompom.
dd Scattered limbs (Latin).
de Daily, printed on pink paper, that listed odds for sporting events.
df Waterloo railway station, the largest in London.
dg As baboons are native only to Africa and the Arabian peninsula, how this one got to India is anybody’s guess.
dh Actually a Webley’s No. 2, .320 caliber pistol that used Eley bullets.
di Reference to the Bible, Ecclesiastes 10:8, “He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him” (KJV).
dj Highly absorbent sedimentary clay used to remove oil and grease during the fulling process (the shrinking and thickening of woolen cloth).
dk Customs official who waits for ships to come in on the tide.
dl Description of the family’s coat of arms.
dm Name of a dynasty of English kings, from Henry II (ruled 1154-1189) through Richard II (1377-1399). Conan Doyle’s mother, Mary, traced her descent from this family.
dn Name of the royal family that ruled England from 1485 to 1603, including Henry VII (ruled 1485-1509), Henry VIII (1509-1547), and Elizabeth I (1558-1603).
dp Professional dancer (French); here, a chorus girl.
dq A small covering worn over a shoe and extending from the ankle to the instep; a spat.
dr From the Journal (1906) of Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862).
ds Conflict between France and Prussia, from 1870 through early 1871.
dt Several Holmes scholars argue persuasively that this is Prince Albert, the queen’s consort.
du Slang for “racetrack.”
dv Coin worth a quarter penny (that is, a fourthing).
dw Blackjack; short, thick, lead-loaded club.
dx Literally, celebrated causes (French); issues arousing great public notice and debate.
dy The title of Conan Doyle’s autobiographical novel was The Stark Munro Letters.
dz Holding a gun or knife makes a pretty persuasive “metallic argument.”
ea Standing place (Latin); one’s legal standing in a court case.
eb Legendary British racehorse whose line continues today.
ec Walking stick made from the stem of a dwarf palm.
ed Type of matches, named after the Roman goddess of fire.
ee Soft smoking tobacco packed into cakes.
ef Source of the expression “The dog that didn’t bark.”
eg Large, four-horse coach with seats inside and on top.
eh A strange comment, since in that story (see p. 461), written before but published after this one, Holmes makes no error.
ei Soft felt hat with a wide brim.
ej Built for the Great Exhibition of 1851; it was a landmark for decades until it was destroyed by fire in 1936.
ek Nervous disorder marked by uncontrollable arm and leg movements.
em London Post Office abbreviation for “Eastern Central.”
en Derogatory way of saying he looked Jewish.
ep Was it Oxford, Cambridge, or the University of London? Debate will never end.
er Two-year term on a tramp steamer with a top speed of 8 knots an hour.
et Slang for “the money.”
eu From bottom to top; a main-truck is the top of the mast.
ew Region of Nepal near the base of the Himalayas.
ex Victoria Regina, Latin for “Queen Victoria.”
ey Searched for, sought (French); exquisite, rare; refined.
ez Younger branch of the family; that is, one that did not inherit the family’s wealth.
fa Stronghold or dungeon in a castle.
fb Strong black coffee without milk or cream.
fd Royalist during the English Civil War (1642-1651).
fe Alexander Pope’s highly acclaimed translations of Homer’s Iliad (1720) and Odyssey (1725-1726).
ff Burglarize two houses.
fg Reference to Shakespeare’s Hamlet (act 2, scene 2, line 208; New York: Signet Classic, 1998): “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t.”
fh September 11, 1709, the date the last great battle of the War of the Spanish Succession was fought in Malplaquet, France.
fi Seabird whose appearance was thought to be an omen of trouble.
fj This most famous of all of Holmes’s lines occurs only this once.
fk See endnote on p. 699.
fl Term for a regiment of foot soldiers, as opposed to cavalry.
fm General James George Smith Neill (1810-1857), killed during the Sepoy Mutiny.
fn Reference to the Bible, II Samuel 11-12, which details David’s crime against Uriah.
fo March 25; commemorates the Annunciation, the Archangel Gabriel’s announcement to the Virgin Mary that she would be the mother of Christ.
fp Reappearance of a genetic trait after it skips one or more generations.
fq Military engineer, especially one involved in digging trenches.
fr Variant of “chivvy”: to chase or harass.
fs Closed laboratory vessel, often with a long outlet tube, in which substances are distilled or decomposed.
ft Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.
fu Lamp that burns alcohol rather than oil.
fx French Protestant sect of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
fy The oldest British regiment; it helped restore the Monarchy in 1660.
fz Home to the prime minister (No. 10) and the chancellor of the Exchequer (No. 11).
ga Native American, as opposed to a resident of India.
gb Old sporting term meaning to knock or bring down.
gc Reference to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (act 5, scene 1, lines 15-17; New York: Signet Classic, 1998): “the poet’s pen / . . . gives to airy nothing / A local habitation and a name.”
gd Literally, masterstroke (French); stroke of genius.
gg A paraphrase of Plato’s final salute to Socrates in the Phaedo.
gh Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons.
gi Having a skull longer than it is wide.
gj September 29 church festival in honor of the Archangel Michael.
gk Difficulty in breathing.
gl Two-wheeled, one-horse carriage.
gm One who shoes horses, or who treats them medically.
gn Committee that administers the affairs of that parish only.
go Fencing term indicating a hit. Holmes alludes to Hamlet, act 5, scene 2, line 282; Signet.
gq Gold coin worth half an English pound.
gr Short-legged, stocky workhorses.
gs One who grazes cattle.
gt Moths and butterflies.
gu Reference to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (act 1, scene 1, line 134; Signet): “The course of true love never did run smooth.”
gv In other words, consideration for her kept me from boxing his ears.
gx Card game for two people; similar to euchre.
gy Line of activity, especially a questionable one.
gz Person who distributes alms for a great house.
ha Small metal cup or saucepan.
hb The phrase meant to woo a prospective spouse—not the physical intimacy it connotes today.
hc Rephrasing of the Bible, Matthew 6:34, “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (KJV).
hd Uncommunicative; holding cards close to the vest.
he 1836 opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864), German composer who achieved his greatest success with operas written in French.