a "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box" was part of the second series of twelve stories published in 1892 by the Strand Strand. However, Conan Doyle prevented it from being included in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, the book that in 1893 collected the stories from that series. The story was finally collected in His Last Bow His Last Bow, originally published in 1917.
b Long, heavy Afghan musket.
c Medical a.s.sistant whose duties include bandaging, or "dressing," wounds.
d Popular name for St. Bartholomew"s Hospital in central London.
e Slang for navy tobacco.
f From An Essay on Man An Essay on Man (1733-1734; epistle 2, line 2), by English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744). (1733-1734; epistle 2, line 2), by English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744).
g One-handed fencing stick fitted with a hand guard.
h "Lieder Ohne Worte" (Songs without Words) of German composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847).
i The London subway.
j From the Bible, Ecclesiastes 1:9: "There is no new thing under the sun" (King James Version).
k Watch chain with thick links, named for Prince Albert, Queen Victoria"s husband.
l Made from dark tobacco grown near Trichinopoly in the Madras district of India.
m Cavalry of ancient Parthia were famed for shooting arrows as they retreated.
n Gold coin worth half a pound.
o Fourpence worth of gin with hot water and lemon.
p What little thing indeed! Frederic Chopin wrote nothing for solo violin.
q Of international law; literally, of law among peoples (Latin).
r The head of Charles I, king of England, was struck off in 1649.
s The Union line sailed steamers to South Africa.
t A fool can always find a bigger fool to admire him (French); from L"Art Poetique L"Art Poetique (1674; canto 1), by Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux (1636-1711). (1674; canto 1), by Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux (1636-1711).
u Slang for "bootblack," the servant who shined the boots of hotel guests.
v Outside acceptable bounds; eccentric, bizarre (French).
w Heber C. Kemball, in one of his sermons, alludes to his hundred wives under this endearing epithet.
x Slang for "coachmen" or "cabdrivers."
y "The people hiss at me, but I applaud myself alone at home when I gaze on the coins in my strongbox" (Latin); from Satires Satires, book 1, satire 1, lines 65-66, by the Roman poet Horace (65-8 B.C.).
z Strong, red wine from Burgundy.
aa Euclid, a Greek mathematician who lived around 300 B.C., developed a system of deduction based on definitions and propositions. For the purpose here, there"s nothing special about Euclid"s fifth proposition; any would make the point.
ab A strong cheroot, open at both ends.
ac Type of tobacco in which the ribs of the leaves are cut with the fiber.
ad Slate-roof workers.
ae See text beginning on page 147 for a description of the islands and their inhabitants.
af Indian t.i.tle of respect for Europeans, much like "sir" or "master."
ag Hindu term for "servant."
ah "Bad taste leads to crime" (French); an aphorism of the French writer Stendhal (1783-1842).
ai Chronic invalid.
aj Fastened with a latch.
ak No such place. The name is a conflation of Senegal and Gambia, and indicates a region in western Africa, comprising areas around the Senegal and Gambia Rivers.
al Sardonic (disdainfully humorous) grin (Latin).
am "There are no fools more bothersome than those with wit" (French); no. 451 of Reflexions ou sentences et maximes morales Reflexions ou sentences et maximes morales (Reflections; or, Sentences and Moral Maxims, 1665) of Francois, duc de La Rochefoucauld. (Reflections; or, Sentences and Moral Maxims, 1665) of Francois, duc de La Rochefoucauld.
an "Of course, we know that men despise what they don"t comprehend" (German); from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe"s Faust Faust, part 1, lines 1205-1206 (1808).
ao Crossbreed between collie and greyhound used by poachers.
ap Lantern.
aq Charles Blondin (1824-1897), French acrobat known for crossing Niagara Falls on a tightrope.
ar Type of bullet used in British army rifles.
as Long, light rowboat used to transport pa.s.sengers on waterways.
at Owners or managers of commercial wharfs.
au Slang for "three shillings and a sixpence."
av Personal advertis.e.m.e.nt column in a newspaper.
aw Short, double-breasted overcoat worn by sailors.
ax Attributed to William Gladstone, prime minister of England four times between 1868 and 1894.
ay Whiskey and soda.
az Ravine.
ba Hemp chewed as a narcotic.
bb European or Eurasian in India.
bc Anglo-Indian slang for "jail."
bd "It"s a shame that Nature made you only one one man; there was material enough for a worthy man and a rogue" (German); from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe"s man; there was material enough for a worthy man and a rogue" (German); from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe"s Xenien Xenien (1796). (1796).
be Since 1918 part of what is now the Czech Republic, it was for centuries a sovereign nation.
bf Locked stand in which decanters of liquor and wine are displayed.
bg Apparatus for carbonating water.
bh Small coin worth two shillings and sixpence, about 1/8 of a pound.
bi James Boswell (1740-1795), biographer of Samuel Johnson.
bj Refers to a standard photograph size: 3 7/8" by 5 1/2".
bk Jewel; here used figuratively.
bl Invented by Charles Chubb, the first lock to employ tumblers in its internal design; still in use today.
bm "Guinea" is slang for an English pound note.
bn Used to test for leaks in pipes.
bo Sir John Hare (1844-1921), noted English actor and stage manager.
bp She appears in "A Case of Ident.i.ty" (p. 225), written before this story but published later.
bq "Everything unknown pa.s.ses for something magnificent" (Latin); from The Life of Cnaeus Julius Agricola The Life of Cnaeus Julius Agricola, by the Roman historian Tacitus (c.56-120 A.D.).
br Position or job.
bs A coster is a street vendor of fruits or vegetables.
bt Cheap wood, made of fir or pine.
bu Writing paper; so called because its watermark is in the shape of a jester"s cap and bells.
bv Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908), Spanish violinist and composer.
bw Traditional sign of a p.a.w.nbroker.
bx The murder and the treasure are references to The Sign of Four The Sign of Four.
by The stranger is referring to a card game, either bridge or whist.
bz Lantern with a panel for blocking the light.
ca Party of four; literally, a square party (French).
cb Slang for "handcuffs."
cc "The man is nothing; the work everything" (French).
cd Gem cut so as to have many facets and thus great brilliance.
ce Love affair; literally, affair of the heart (French).
cf Throat inflammation.
cg There, that"s all (French).
ch Courts in English counties that met periodically to try pending civil and criminal cases.
ci Specialty.
cj Small book of poems by Petrarch (1304-1374), Italian poet known for his sonnets.
ck The reference is to a series of cheap popular novels with yellow covers.
cl The reference is to Shakespeare"s As You Like It As You Like It (act 2, scene 7, line 28; New York: Signet Cla.s.sic, 1998): "And thereby hangs a tale." (act 2, scene 7, line 28; New York: Signet Cla.s.sic, 1998): "And thereby hangs a tale."
cm English novelist (1828-1909).
cn Raincoat.
co We shall see (French).
cp Holmes wrongly attributes this phrase to seventeenth-century English cleric Richar Baxter; it was actually coined by a sixteenth-century clergyman, John Bradford.
cq William Clark Russell (1844-1911) wrote dozens of such stories.
cr Baron Georges Leopold Cuvier (1769-1832), French naturalist, founder of comparative anatomy and paleontology.
cs Division of Scotland Yard a.s.signed to Whitechapel, site of Jack the Ripper"s crimes in 1888, the year after the one in which this story is set.
ct It appeared in Confessions of an English Opium Eater Confessions of an English Opium Eater, by Thomas De Quincey (1785-1859).
cu As Watson"s first name is John and his middle initial H, one wonders why his wife refers to him as James.