An absence of antecedents and of relatives is sometimes an aid rather than an impediment to social advancement . . .

The approach to the offices of Girdlestone and Co. was not a very dignified one, nor would the uninitiated who traversed it form any conception of the commercial prosperity of the firm in question.

They say that genius is an infinite capacity for taking pains," he remarked with a smile. "It's a very bad definition, but it does apply to detective work.

What a creature he was! Never have I felt such a horse between my knees. His great haunches gathered under him with every stride, and he shot forward ever faster and faster, stretched like a greyhound, while the windbeat in my face and whistled past my ears.

Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.

There are always some lunatics about. It would be a dull world without them.

I never guess. It is a shocking habit destructive to the logical faculty.