The Footprints at the Gate
What Dr Mortimer saw beside the body of Sir Charles Baskerville sent him hastily to London, to consult Sherlock Holmes.
1902
What Dr Mortimer saw beside the body of Sir Charles Baskerville sent him hastily to London, to consult Sherlock Holmes.
1902
The legend of the Baskerville hound, a ghostly dog haunting every generation of that respectable Devonshire family, was not the kind of thing a man of science like Dr Mortimer took seriously. Yet after Sir Charles Baskerville was found dead, something made him rush up to London to consult Sherlock Holmes.
“FINALLY I carefully examined the body, which had not been touched until my arrival. Sir Charles lay on his face, his arms out, his fingers dug into the ground, and his features convulsed with some strong emotion to such an extent that I could hardly have sworn to his identity.
“There was certainly no physical injury of any kind. But one false statement was made by Barrymore* at the inquest. He said that there were no traces upon the ground round the body. He did not observe any. But I did — some little distance off, but fresh and clear.”
“Footprints?”
“Footprints.”
“A man’s or a woman’s?”
Dr. Mortimer looked strangely at us for an instant, and his voice sank almost to a whisper as he answered.
“Mr. Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic hound.”
Barrymore was Sir Charles’s butler.
1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?
2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?
3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?
Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Why did Dr Mortimer find it difficult to recognise Sir Charles?
Because his face was twisted by fear.
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Dr Mortimer examined Sir Charles’s body. He said there was no sign of physical injury.
See if you can include one or more of these words in your answer.
IFind. IIPost mortem. IIIReveal.