upon the table. It came by the last post, said he. Read it aloud.
The note was undated, and without either signature or address.
There will call upon you to-night, at a quarter to eight o clock, it
said, a gentleman who desires to consult you upon a matter of the very
deepest moment. Your recent services to one of the royal houses of
Europe have shown that you are one who may safely be trusted with
matters which are of an importance which can hardly be exaggerated.
This account of you we have from all quarters received. Be in your
chamber then at that hour, and do not take it amiss if your visitor
wear a mask.
This is indeed a mystery, I remarked. What do you imagine that it
means?
I have no data yet. It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has
data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of
theories to suit facts. But the note itself. What do you deduce from
it?
I carefully examined the writing, and the paper upon which it was
written.
The man who wrote it was presumably well to do, I remarked,
endeavouring to imitate my companion s processes. Such paper could not
be bought under half a crown a packet. It is peculiarly strong and
stiff.
Peculiar that is the very word, said Holmes. It is not an English
paper at all. Hold it up to the light.
I did so, and saw a large E with a small g, a P, and a large G
with a small t woven into the texture of the paper.
What do you make of that? asked Holmes.
The name of the maker, no doubt; or his monogram, rather.
Not at all. The G with the small t stands for Gesellschaft,
5