and a great talent for the career which he had chosen to pursue. They also revealed a man of surprises, the greatest of which was his announcement that he had undertaken the study of acting, theatrical makeup, and costuming because, as he put it, “I have need of these skills in my work.” He wrote of a decision to go on the stage for a time as a member of a troupe of Shakespearean players under Mr Michael Sasanoff. “I have quite a flair for this acting business,” he wrote. Subsequently, he added that the Sasanoff troupe would be touring America and that he would be appearing in New York beginning in January 1880. “I trust you will come to see me,” he said. Still later, in a note from a hotel in Union Square, Manhattan, he wrote, “Your latest letter indicates you will pass through New York on your way West after your graduation. I hope you will come to see my Malvolio in Twelfth Night. I am arranging for a pair of tickets for you for the evening performance, Friday, July 2. by the way, my stage name is William Escott, a private joke which I will explain when, at last, we meet. Holmes.”
An evening at the theatre was something that I infrequently appreciated, but I looked forward to the production of Twelfth Night with the anticipation of seeing Mr Holmes as a performer prior to meeting him, at last, in person. My eagerness was increased when I decided to make a test of Mr Holmes’s abilities as a detective by the device of inviting a young acquaintance of mine to attend the theatre with me.
I chose as my companion Mr Wilson Hargreave, himself a detective with the New York Police Department.
Just as I gave Holmes no clue that my companion would be a detective, neither did I let Hargreave know the real identity or the real profession of the man we were to greet backstage.
It would be, I expected, a delightful evening of discovery for all.
