Arthur Conan Doyle

Things must be done decently and in order.

"I should say that there is no more dangerous man in Europe." "I have had several opponents to whom that flattering term has been applied."

It was worth a wound; it was worth many wounds; to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask. The clear, hard eyes were dimmed for a moment, and the firm lips were shaking. For the one and only time I caught a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain. All my years of humble but single-minded service culminated in that moment of revelation.

When one tries to rise above Nature one is liable to fall below it. The highest type of man may revert to the animal if he leaves the straight road of destiny.

I am an omnivorous reader with a strangely retentive memory for trifles.

I have my plans. The first thing is to exaggerate my injuries. They'll come to you for news. Put it on thick, Watson. Lucky if I live the week out — concussion — delirium — what you like! You can't overdo it.

"This agency stands flat-footed upon the ground, and there it must remain. The world is big enough for us. No ghosts need apply."

Come at once if convenient — if inconvenient come all the same.

I am not the law, but I represent justice so far as my feeble powers go.

"Matilda Briggs was not the name of a young woman, Watson," said Holmes in a reminiscent voice. "It was a ship which is associated with the giant rat of Sumatra, a story for which the world is not yet prepared."

It may be some fussy, self-important fool; it may be a matter of life or death.

"Am dining at Goldini's Restaurant, Gloucester Road, Kensington. Please come at once and join me there. Bring with you a jemmy, a dark lantern, a chisel, and a revolver. S. H."

It was a nice equipment for a respectable citizen to carry through the dim, fog-draped streets.