Scene 36 · Notes

Notes　Scene 36: Looking at the Writing

Next scene: 37 The Enclosed Message ›Read this scene again (from the start)

Notes on this scene

Holmes distinguishes the naturally dried black ink of the name from the blotted gray address. He infers that the writer paused to obtain an unfamiliar address before completing the envelope. Turning to the enclosure, he learns that it contains St. Clair's signet ring and that Mrs. St. Clair recognizes the hurried handwriting as one form of her husband's script.

Japanese in this scene

どこにも深ふかい黒くろは残のこらなかったでしょう: The interrogative どこ plus も and a negative means 'nowhere.' でしょう presents Holmes's counterfactual conclusion politely.
住所じゅうしょをよく知しらなかったということにほかなりません: 〜にほかならない means 'can mean nothing other than.' Holmes treats the pause as evidence of unfamiliarity with the address.
自然しぜんに乾かわいています: 自然に contrasts ink left to dry on its own with ink dried using blotting paper.
残のこりは灰色はいいろがかっていて: The noun plus がかる means tinged with a color. The grayish remainder supports Holmes's blotting-paper inference.

Full text: original English and Japanese translation

"The name, you see, is in perfectly black ink, which has dried itself. The rest is of the greyish colour, which shows that blotting-paper has been used. If it had been written straight off, and then blotted, none would be of a deep black shade. This man has written the name, and there has then been a pause before he wrote the address, which can only mean that he was not familiar with it. It is, of course, a trifle, but there is nothing so important as trifles. Let us now see the letter. Ha! there has been an enclosure here!"

「お名前の部分は真っ黒なインクで、自然に乾いています。残りは灰色がかっていて、吸い取り紙を使ったことが分かります。続けて全部書いてから吸い取ったなら、どこにも深い黒は残らなかったでしょう。この人は名前を書き、それから一度間を置いて住所を書いた。それは住所をよく知らなかったということにほかなりません。もちろん些細なことですが、些細なことほど大切なものはありません。さて、手紙を見ましょう。おや、ここには同封物がありましたね」

"Yes, there was a ring. His signet-ring."

「ええ、指輪が。主人の印章指輪です」

"And you are sure that this is your husband's hand?"

「そして、これがご主人の筆跡なのは確かですか」

"One of his hands."

「主人の筆跡の一つです」

"One?"

「一つですって」

"His hand when he wrote hurriedly. It is very unlike his usual writing, and yet I know it well."

「急いで書くときの字です。普段の字とはずいぶん違いますが、私にはよく分かるのです」

Japanese words in this scene (with English meanings; ☆ saves a word)

印章（いんしょう） — seal; signethard
お — Honorific or polite prefix before a word.
真っ黒（まっくろ） — pitch black
インク — ink
自然（しぜん） — natural; spontaneous; nature
乾く（かわく） — to become dry; to dry out
残り（のこり） — remainder; remnant; the rest; what is left
がかる — to appear ...; to look like ...; to seem ...; to have a trace of

Next scene: The Enclosed Message

Mrs. St. Clair says the envelope also contained Neville's own ring and that she recognizes the hurried note as his handwriting. Holmes carefully separates the message itself from evidence supplied by the envelope. Each important detail may be entirely genuine without proving that Neville personally posted the letter that day.

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