《福尔摩斯探案集·蓝宝石案》第1节
I had called upon my friend Sherlock Holmes upon the second morning after Christmas, with the intention of wishing him the compliments of the season. He was lounging upon the sofa in a purple dressing-gown, a pipe-rack within his reach upon the right, and a pile of crumpled morning papers, evidently newly studied, near at hand. Beside the couch was a wooden chair, and on the angle of the back hung a very seedy and disreputable hard-felt hat, much the worse for wear, and cracked in several places. A lens and a forceps lying upon the seat of the chair suggested that the hat had been suspended in this manner for the purpose of examination. “You are engaged,” said I; “perhaps I interrupt you.” “Not at all. I am glad to have a friend with whom I can discuss my results. The matter is a perfectly trivial one”—he jerked his thumb in the direction of the old hat—“but there are points in connection with it which are not entirely devoid of interest and even of instruction.” I seated myself in his armchair and warmed my hands before his crackling fire, for a sharp frost had set in, and the windows were thick with the ice crystals. “I suppose,” I remarked, “that, homely as it looks, this thing has some deadly story linked on to it—that it is the clue which will guide you in the solution of some mystery and the punishment of some crime.”
注释摘要
圣诞节的第二天早晨，华生登门拜访福尔摩斯。这是维多利亚时代一项重要的社交礼仪——节后的拜访意在延续圣诞的温情，互致新年的祝福。华生开篇明义，把自己的来访定位在礼节与友谊之间，这是一个体面中产阶级理应履行的社交义务；读者从这里便知道，他并非为了某个案件而来，而是一次没有预设的探访。 福尔摩斯的样子是一幅典型的贝克街起居室静物画。他穿着紫色睡袍懒洋洋地靠在沙发…