On May 21st, 2008, seventeen members of the Greek Interpreters and guests met at Hershey's Steak and Seafood restaurant in East Lansing for our Spring meeting. This attendance matches the number of steps leading up to 221B. The story on which the evening's quiz and discussion focussed was "The Naval Treaty". This story had not been studied for at least ten years, so it was received with fresh eyes. The meeting opened with the customary Canonical Toasts to Mrs. Hudson, Mycroft Holmes, second Mrs. Watson and The Woman. Following the dinner, a resolution of the quiz was carried out by Bill Reusch (the chemist). This quiz and many earlier quizzes may be viewed in our archives.
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A spirited discussion of The Naval Treaty ensued following the quiz. The meaning of Holme's remarkable soliloquy while examining a rose, as well as the nature of the rose occupied much of the conversation. On the latter issue, it was concluded that the moss-rose held by Holmes was not Portulaca grandiflora.
Many members thought this was one of the better short stories, so the various ranking studies were questioned. Interestingly, The Naval Treaty was ranked 13th and 14th respectively by American and British polls; whereas it came in only 36th in Canada.
Leslie Klinger's suggestion that the Harrison's (brother and sister) were actually German agents, and that the contents of the treaty became known to the Germans was favorably received by many. This well-argued interpretation may be found at http://webpages.charter.net/lklinger/Navanote.htm.
The March 2008 issue of Friends of the Sherlock Holmes Collections of the University of Minnesota Libraries carries a column called Ò50 Years AgoÓ which features a history of Page Heldenbrand written by Julie McKuras. Part of this article may be seen by Clicking Here
The meeting concluded with the reading of Vincent Starrett's "221B" poem, followed by our singing of The Anthem.
