Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of the world-famous detective, Sherlock

Holmes, was not above telling tales about himself in which he was the

laughing-stock. Here is one of those stories.

 

As he tells it, he was waiting at a taxi-stand outside the railway station in

Paris. When a taxi pulled up, he put his suitcase in it and got in himself. As

he was about to tell the taxi-driver where he wanted to go, the driver asked

him: "Where can I take you, Mr. Doyle?"

 

Doyle was flabbergasted. He asked the driver whether he recognized him. The

driver said: "No Sir, I have never seen you before." The puzzled Doyle asked

him what made him think that he was Conan Doyle.

 

The driver replied: "This morning's paper had a story about you being on

vacation in Marseilles. This is the taxi-stand where people who return from

Marseilles always come to. Your skin colour tells me you have been on vacation.

The ink-spot on your right index finger suggests to me that you are a writer.

Your clothing is very English, and not French. Adding up all those pieces of

information, I deduce that you are Sir Arthur Conan Doyle."

 

Doyle said: "This is truly amazing. You are a real-life counter-part to my

fictional creation, Sherlock Holmes."

 

"There is one other thing," the driver said."What is that?"

 

"Your name is on the front of your suitcase."