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1The Lord St. Simon marriage, and its curious termination, have long ceased to be a subject of interest in those exalted
2circles in which the unfortunate bridegroom moves. Fresh scandals have eclipsed it, and their more piquant details have
3drawn the gossips away from this four-year-old drama. As I have reason to believe, however, that the full facts have
4never been revealed to the general public, and as my friend Sherlock Holmes had a considerable share in clearing the
5matter up, I feel that no memoir of him would be complete without some little sketch of this remarkable episode. It was
6a few weeks before my own marriage, during the days when I was still sharing rooms with Holmes in Baker Street, that he
7came home from an afternoon stroll to find a letter on the table waiting for him. I had remained indoors all day, for
8the weather had taken a sudden turn to rain, with high autumnal winds, and the jezail bullet which I had brought back in
9one of my limbs as a relic of my Afghan campaign throbbed with dull persistence. With my body in one easy-chair and my
10legs upon another, I had surrounded myself with a cloud of newspapers until at last, saturated with the news of the day,
11I tossed them all aside and lay listless, watching the huge crest and monogram upon the envelope upon the table and
12wondering lazily who my friend's noble correspondent could be. "Here is a very fashionable epistle," I remarked as he
13entered. "Your morning letters, if I remember right, were from a fish-monger and a tide-waiter." "Yes, my correspondence
14has certainly the charm of variety," he answered, smiling, "and the humbler are usually the more interesting. This looks
15like one of those unwelcome social summonses which call upon a man either to be bored or to lie." He broke the seal and
16glanced over the contents. "Oh, come, it may prove to be something of interest, after all." "Not social, then?" "No,
17distinctly professional." "And from a noble client?" "One of the highest in England." "My dear fellow, I congratulate
18you." "I assure you, Watson, without affectation, that the status of my client is a matter of less moment to me than the
19interest of his case. It is just possible, however, that that also may not be wanting in this new investigation. You
20have been reading the papers diligently of late, have you not?" "It looks like it," said I ruefully, pointing to a huge
21bundle in the corner. "I have had nothing else to do." "It is fortunate, for you will perhaps be able to post me up. I
22read nothing except the criminal news and the agony column. The latter is always instructive. But if you have followed
23recent events so closely you must have read about Lord St. Simon and his wedding?" "Oh, yes, with the deepest interest."
24"That is well. The letter which I hold in my hand is from Lord St. Simon. I will read it to you, and in return you must
25turn over these papers and let me have whatever bears upon the matter. This is what he says: "'MY DEAR MR. SHERLOCK
26HOLMES,--Lord Backwater tells me that I may place implicit reliance upon your judgment and discretion. I have
27determined, therefore, to call upon you and to consult you in reference to the very painful event which has occurred in
28connection with my wedding. Mr. Lestrade, of Scotland Yard, is acting already in the matter, but he assures me that he
29sees no objection to your co-operation, and that he even thinks that it might be of some assistance. I will call at four
30o'clock in the afternoon, and, should you have any other engagement at that time, I hope that you will postpone it, as
31this matter is of paramount importance. Yours faithfully, "'ROBERT ST. SIMON.' "It is dated from Grosvenor Mansions,
32written with a quill pen, and the noble lord has had the misfortune to get a smear of ink upon the outer side of his
33right little finger," remarked Holmes as he folded up the epistle. "He says four o'clock. It is three now. He will be
34here in an hour." "Then I have just time, with your assistance, to get clear upon the subject. Turn over those papers
35and arrange the extracts in their order of time, while I take a glance as to who our client is." He picked a red-covered
36volume from a line of books of reference beside the mantelpiece. "Here he is," said he, sitting down and flattening it
37out upon his knee. "'Lord Robert Walsingham de Vere St. Simon, second son of the Duke of Balmoral.' Hum! 'Arms: Azure,
38three caltrops in chief over a fess sable. Born in 1846.' He's forty-one years of age, which is mature for marriage. Was
39Under-Secretary for the colonies in a late administration. The Duke, his father, was at one time Secretary for Foreign
40Affairs. They inherit Plantagenet blood by direct descent, and Tudor on the distaff side. Ha! Well, there is nothing
41very instructive in all this. I think that I must turn to you Watson, for something more solid." "I have very little
42difficulty in finding what I want," said I, "for the facts are quite recent, and the matter struck me as remarkable. I
43feared to refer them to you, however, as I knew that you had an inquiry on hand and that you disliked the intrusion of
44other matters." "Oh, you mean the little problem of the Grosvenor Square furniture van. That is quite cleared up
45now--though, indeed, it was obvious from the first. Pray give me the results of your newspaper selections." "Here is the
46first notice which I can find. It is in the personal column of the Morning Post, and dates, as you see, some weeks back:
47'A marriage has been arranged,' it says, 'and will, if rumour is correct, very shortly take place, between Lord Robert
48St. Simon, second son of the Duke of Balmoral, and Miss Hatty Doran, the only daughter of Aloysius Doran. Esq., of San
49Francisco, Cal., U.S.A.' That is all." "Terse and to the point," remarked Holmes, stretching his long, thin legs towards
50the fire. "There was a paragraph amplifying this in one of the society papers of the same week. Ah, here it is: 'There
51will soon be a call for protection in the marriage market, for the present free-trade principle appears to tell heavily
52against our home product. One by one the management of the noble houses of Great Britain is passing into the hands of
53our fair cousins from across the Atlantic. An important addition has been made during the last week to the list of the
54prizes which have been borne away by these charming invaders. Lord St. Simon, who has shown himself for over twenty
55years proof against the little god's arrows, has now definitely announced his approaching marriage with Miss Hatty
56Doran, the fascinating daughter of a California millionaire. Miss Doran, whose graceful figure and striking face
57attracted much attention at the Westbury House festivities, is an only child, and it is currently reported that her
58dowry will run to considerably over the six figures, with expectancies for the future. As it is an open secret that the
59Duke of Balmoral has been compelled to sell his pictures within the last few years, and as Lord St. Simon has no
60property of his own save the small estate of Birchmoor, it is obvious that the Californian heiress is not the only
61gainer by an alliance which will enable her to make the easy and common transition from a Republican lady to a British
62peeress.'" "Anything else?" asked Holmes, yawning. "Oh, yes; plenty. Then there is another note in the Morning Post to
63say that the marriage would be an absolutely quiet one, that it would be at St. George's, Hanover Square, that only half
64a dozen intimate friends would be invited, and that the party would return to the furnished house at Lancaster Gate
65which has been taken by Mr. Aloysius Doran. Two days later--that is, on Wednesday last--there is a curt announcement
66that the wedding had taken place, and that the honeymoon would be passed at Lord Backwater's place, near Petersfield.
67Those are all the notices which appeared before the disappearance of the bride." "Before the what?" asked Holmes with a
68start. "The vanishing of the lady." "When did she vanish, then?" "At the wedding breakfast." "Indeed. This is more
69interesting than it promised to be; quite dramatic, in fact." "Yes; it struck me as being a little out of the common."
70"They often vanish before the ceremony, and occasionally during the honeymoon; but I cannot call to mind anything quite
71so prompt as this. Pray let me have the details." "I warn you that they are very incomplete." "Perhaps we may make them
72less so."
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