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The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone, one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 12 stories in the cycle collected as The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes. It is notable for being the one of only two Arthur Conan Doyle Holmes stories, aside from a couple of humorous vignettes, to be written in third person. The other is His Last Bow. "The Mazarin Stone" was written this way because it was adapted from a stage play, The Crown Diamond, in which Watson hardly appeared. Its adaptation from the theatre also explains why the action in this story is confined to one room.
SynopsisSpoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Watson arrives at 221B Baker Street to find Holmes in bed at seven in the evening while Billy the page explains that Holmes has been hot on the trail of a missing jewel, a Crown diamond no less, worth about £100,000. He has been disguised as a jobless workman, and even as an old woman while pursuing the thief across London. He has also not been eating, believing that hunger sharpens his wits. The Prime Minister and the Home Secretary have been to see Holmes, along with Lord Cantlemere, who is apparently no great fan of Sherlock Holmes and no believer in his deductive powers. He is opposed to engaging Holmes to recover the precious gem. Also in the room is a wax dummy, a remarkable effigy of Sherlock Holmes, seated in a chair near the window. Holmes soon emerges from his bedroom and explains that the dummy is a decoy designed to fool a would-be gunman, much as was done in The Adventure of the Empty House, to which Watson alludes. Holmes, it would seem, is fully expecting an attempt on his life that very evening, and he even has Watson write down the murderer's name and address, just in case the attempt is successful: the murderer — and also the jewel thief — is Count Negretto Sylvius of 136 Moorside Gardens, NW (not a real address). Moments later, Billy comes in with none other than Count Negretto Sylvius's card. He has arrived. Holmes has hardly expected this. The Count has also brought his dimwitted henchman with him, Sam Merton, a boxer, who can be seen out the window.
Holmes is not in the room when Count Negretto Sylvius enters. The Count sees the effigy and, mistaking it for Holmes himself, is about to stave its head in with his cane just as Holmes, having entered the room, speaks. The Count's intentions are clear enough, and they are just as Holmes feared. There ensues an exchange in which Count Negretto Sylvius demands to know why Sherlock Holmes's agents have been following him. Holmes explains first that it was actually he in disguise, not delegated agents, and then likens his crimefighting activities to the Count's own lion-hunting activities in Algeria — the danger is exhilarating, and it rids the country of a pest. Holmes then proceeds to make his own purpose plain and tells the Count that he wants to know where the Mazarin Stone is. Holmes even boasts that the Count will tell him. At first, the Count denies that he even knows, but Holmes tricks him into revealing that he does know. He also outlines all the evidence that he has against the Count for this theft, and numerous other crimes. Both men are armed. The Count is sitting on his revolver, and Holmes fingers one in his dressing gown pocket. Holmes skilfully gets Count Negretto Sylvius to agree to call Sam Merton up to the room. Until now he has been keeping watch outside. Holmes tells the two thugs to consider their positions: they could go to gaol for 20 years if Holmes does not find the Mazarin Stone, or else they could reveal its hiding place and be allowed to go free. Meanwhile, Holmes withdraws once more to his bedroom with his violin and soon the strains of the Barcarolle from the Tales of Hoffmann are emanating from Holmes's room. Thus left to themselves, the two thieves discuss Holmes's most magnanimous offer, and are disturbed only by a soft noise apparently coming from somewhere out in the street. During the course of their discussion as to what their next move ought to be, Count Negretto Sylvius reveals to his unbrainy confederate that the Mazarin Stone is on his person, in a secret pocket. He takes it out to show him. Bringing it over near the window, where the dummy has been sitting, to get a better look at it, the two wrongdoers are astonished when the waxen figure suddenly turns round, snatches the diamond away from them, and points a revolver at them. It is Holmes. He has reached the alcove in the bow window through a second door that leads behind the curtain. Sam Merton still cannot figure out why he can still hear the violin playing. Holmes explains that it is a gramophone. It is also clear now that the soft noise was made when Holmes removed the dummy. Shortly thereafter, Watson arrives at 221B with the police in tow. Count Negretto Sylvius and Sam Merton are arrested. Soon afterwards, the sceptical Lord Cantlemere shows up at Holmes's rooms, and Holmes plays a practical joke on him by slipping the Mazarin Stone into his overcoat pocket, humorously suggesting that Lord Cantlemere is the fence. Lord Cantlemere does not appreciate Holmes's sense of humour, but he is forced to admit that he has been wrong about Sherlock Holmes's abilities. TriviaThis story was heavily rewritten for Granada Television's Sherlock Holmes series. It was merged with another story, The Adventure of the Three Garridebs. The most noticable change being that Holmes does not feature except in the prologue (actor Jeremy Brett was away due to illness). It is Mycroft Holmes (Charles Gray) who takes up the case of the stolen diamond, while Watson is retained to look into the Garrideb mystery. Wikisource links
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