The Song My Paddle Sings

"The Countryside"

Passage from the novel, "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes"

By eleven o’clock the next day we were well upon our way to the old English capital. Holmes had been buried in the morning papers all the way down, but after we had passed the Hampshire border he threw them down and began to admire the scenery. It was an ideal spring day, a light blue sky, flecked with little fleecy white clouds drifting across from west to east. The sun was shining very brightly, and yet there was an exhilarating nip in the air, which set an edge to a man’s energy....

“Are they not fresh and beautiful?” I cried...

But Holmes shook his head gravely.

“Do you know, Watson,” said he, “that it is one of the curses of a mind with a turn like mine that I must look at everything with reference to my own special subject. You look at these scattered houses, and you are impressed by their beauty. I look at them, and the only thought which comes to me is a feeling of their isolation and of the impunity with which crime may be committed there.”

“Good heavens!” I cried. “Who would associate crime with these dear old homesteads?”

“They always fill me with a certain horror. It is my belief, Watson, founded upon my experience, that the lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside.”

“You horrify me!”

“But the reason is very obvious. The pressure of public opinion can do in the town what the law cannot accomplish. There is no lane so vile that the scream of a tortured child, or the thud of a drunkard’s blow, does not beget sympathy and indignation among the neighbors... But look at these lonely houses, each in its own fields, filled for the most part with poor ignorant folk who know little of the law. Think of the deeds of hellish cruelty, the hidden wickedness which may go on, year in, year out, in such places, and none the wiser."

Reading Comprehension Questions

1) Which of the following is the setting for the scene in the above passage?

a. an urban center

b. a rural landscape

c. a dense woodland

d. a metropolitan hub

2) In the above passage, Sherlock Holmes speaks about "one of the curses of a mind with a turn like mine." What is the "curse" he is speaking about?

a. he does not have the intelligence to make good decisions

b. he is too trusting of people who may have bad intentions

c. he can see danger in places others would overlook

d. he does not know the difference between right and wrong

3) Which of the following best describes the mood of Sherlock Holmes in the above passage?

a. cynical

b. hopeful

c. positive

d. irritated

4) In the above passage, Sherlock Holmes states that "the lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside.” In what way does he explain this reasoning?

a. it is more dangerous in the country because people can commit crimes without anyone knowing

b. it is more dangerous in the country because people are fighting against nature

c. it is more dangerous in the city because it is overcrowded with people

d. it is more dangerous in the city because criminals know that the law will protect them

5) Who is the narrator of the above passage?

a. Sherlock Holmes

b. Watson

c. an unnamed character

d. someone who is not in the story

6) Based on the above passage, Sherlock Holmes appears to believe that which of the following is true?

a. people are usually good until they are not corrupted by society

b. people become dangerous when they are crowded into a large city

c. people lose their "killer instinct" when they get close to nature

d. people will do terrible things if they know they can get away with it

Answer Key