Yet birth, and lust, and illness, and death are changeless things, and when one of these harsh facts springs out upon a man at some sudden turn of the path of life, it dashes off for the moment his mask of civilization and gives a glimpse of the stranger and stronger face below.

The weak man becomes strong when he has nothing, for then only can he feel the wild, mad thrill of despair.

I think you want a little unofficial help. Three undetected murders in one year won't do, Lestrade. But you handled the Molesey Mystery with less than your usual - that's to say, you handled it fairly well.

Our ideas must be as broad as Nature if they are to interpret Nature.

That which is clearly known hath less terror than that which is but hinted at and guessed.

My uncle, Mr. Stephen Maple, had been at the same time the most successful and the least respectable of our family, so that we hardly knew whether to take credit for his wealth or to feel ashamed of his position.

It is, of course, a trifle, but there is nothing so important as trifles.