A Conversation with Mr. Wiggins
The Baker Street Interviews Hosted by Herbert Greenhough Smith
Smith: Welcome to the Baker Street Interviews, a new series inspired by The Strand Magazine's Sherlock Holmes Seminars which were held at the British Museum. My name is Herbert Greenhough Smith, and I have had the distinct pleasure of sitting down with the very men and women who lived the Sherlock Holmes adventures you have enjoyed. These are the voices behind the cases — the clients, the confidants, and the witnesses — each with a story to tell that Dr. Watson's faithful accounts only began to capture. Today's interview is with a young man who worked tirelessly for Sherlock Holmes. Mr. Wiggins, thank you for agreeing to this interview.
Wiggins: Afternoon. Bit strange, this talking into a... what'd you call it?
Smith: A microphone. And we're delighted to have you here. Now, you were quite young when you first met Sherlock Holmes during the "Study in Scarlet" case, weren't you?
Wiggins: Aye, just a lad of ten or eleven. Street smart, though - had to be in those days. Me and the other boys, we knew every inch of London. Every alley, every corner.
Smith: And how exactly did you come to work for Mr. Holmes?
Wiggins: Well now, that's a tale. I was trying to earn a few pennies near Baker Street - running errands, that sort of thing. Mr. Holmes spotted me organizing some of the other street boys to help an old woman find her lost dog. Must've impressed him, my way of deploying the lads. Next thing I know, he's calling me over, looking me up and down with those sharp eyes of his.
Smith: What did he say to you?
Wiggins: First thing he does is tell me where I'd been that morning and what I'd had for breakfast! Just from looking at my clothes and hands, mind you. Then he asks if I'd like steady work. Said he needed a sharp set of eyes and ears around London - places where grown men in fancy coats would stick out like sore thumbs.
Smith: And that's how the Baker Street Irregulars formed?
Wiggins: More or less. I rounded up the cleverest lads I knew. Trustworthy sorts - or as trustworthy as you'd find among street urchins. Mr. Holmes said we'd be his "eyes and ears" - his "Baker Street Irregulars," he called us.
Smith: During "A Study in Scarlet," Holmes was hunting for a cab driver. What do you remember about your part in that search?
Wiggins: That Jefferson Hope fellow, yes. Tricky business, that. Mr. Holmes gave us a description - tall man, ruddy face, coachman's outfit. Had to find which cab company he worked for, where he took his fares. London had hundreds of cabs then - like finding a particular rat in a sewer.
Smith: How did you go about such a search?
Wiggins: Divided up the city among the lads. Each took different cab yards, different neighborhoods. I stationed boys at major crossings, hotels, train stations. We'd spot cabs, note the drivers. Some of us would take short rides to chat with drivers, casual-like, gathering information.
Smith: That sounds like quite the operation for a group of children.
Wiggins: Children, yes, but London children. We could slip in and out of places without notice. People talk freely around kids - think we're not listening or won't understand. And Mr. Holmes paid fair - shilling a day, plus expenses, and extra for results.
Smith: When you finally located Jefferson Hope, what happened?
Wiggins: I remember running to Baker Street, nearly out of breath. Mr. Holmes was explaining something to Dr. Watson when I burst in. The moment I gave the news, something changed in Mr. Holmes - like a hound catching a scent. He had me bring a cab - not Hope's, of course - and then had me summon the police.
Smith: Were you there for the arrest?
Wiggins: I was. Mr. Holmes made it quite the performance. Invited Hope up to Baker Street under pretense of a fare. Had me and some of the lads watching the exits, though I don't know what he thought we'd do if a grown man decided to run. When Inspector Gregson and Lestrade sprung the trap... well, it was something to see.
Smith: What was your impression of Jefferson Hope?
Wiggins: Didn't seem like a murderer to my young eyes. Looked like any other cabman - bit weathered, strong hands. But there was something in his eyes when they caught him - not fear, exactly. More like... relief? Like a weight was lifted. Only understood years later, after Dr. Watson published the full story, that the man had been carrying his revenge for years.
Smith: Did Holmes explain the case to you afterward?
Wiggins: Mr. Holmes didn't explain much to anyone unless it suited him! But he did gather us Irregulars a few days later and told us we'd done good work. Said our eyes had seen what hundreds of police constables had missed. Made us feel ten feet tall, he did.
Smith: What stands out most to you about that first case with Holmes?
Wiggins: The way his mind worked. I'd report the smallest detail - a conversation overheard, a peculiar habit of a cabman - and he'd connect it to something else entirely. Like he was assembling a puzzle where only he could see the picture. Made me look at the world differently after that, it did.
Smith: How long did you continue to work with Holmes after that case?
Wiggins: Off and on for years. As we got older, some of the original Irregulars moved on to proper jobs or... less savory pursuits. I stayed longest, right through the Baskerville case and beyond. Eventually grew too tall to be inconspicuous, I suppose. Mr. Holmes helped me find legitimate work when the time came.
Smith: Did you keep in touch with him?
Wiggins: In his way, yes. Mr. Holmes wasn't one for social calls, but he'd check in on me now and then. After he retired to Sussex, I got a package once - a book on beekeeping with a note saying, "Education never ends, Wiggins." Typical Holmes, that.
Smith: Looking back now, how do you think "A Study in Scarlet" changed your life?
Wiggins: Saved it, I expect. I was heading nowhere fast before Mr. Holmes. Most street lads ended up in gangs or prison or worse. He showed me there was power in observation, in using your wits. Paid for some schooling later on, though he'd deny it if asked directly. But more than that, he showed me that where you start doesn't determine where you finish. Jefferson Hope taught me that too, in his way - though perhaps not the lesson he intended.
Smith: What do you mean?
Wiggins: Hope spent decades consumed by revenge. Mr. Holmes spent his life pursuing justice. Seem similar from the outside, but worlds apart in truth. One path destroys, the other builds. I chose to build.
Smith: That's a profound observation, Mr. Wiggins.
Wiggins: When you start with nothing, you notice what people build with their lives. It matters.
Smith: One final question - what would you want people to remember about the real Sherlock Holmes, beyond what Dr. Watson wrote?
Wiggins: That beneath all that brilliant machinery in his head was a heart. He'd scoff to hear me say it, but it's true. A man who truly didn't care wouldn't have stopped to notice a grubby street urchin organizing other boys. Wouldn't have paid fair wages when he could have exploited us. Wouldn't have taught us to observe, to think. The world sees the detective. The Irregulars - we saw the man.
Smith: Mr. Wiggins, thank you for sharing these remarkable insights with us today.
Wiggins: My pleasure. Strange to think people still care about these old cases after all these years.
Smith: Oh, I think people will be discussing Sherlock Holmes for many years to come.
Wiggins: He'd like that. Always did have a streak of vanity, Mr. Holmes did.
Wiggins: Afternoon. Bit strange, this talking into a... what'd you call it?
Smith: A microphone. And we're delighted to have you here. Now, you were quite young when you first met Sherlock Holmes during the "Study in Scarlet" case, weren't you?
Wiggins: Aye, just a lad of ten or eleven. Street smart, though - had to be in those days. Me and the other boys, we knew every inch of London. Every alley, every corner.
Smith: And how exactly did you come to work for Mr. Holmes?
Wiggins: Well now, that's a tale. I was trying to earn a few pennies near Baker Street - running errands, that sort of thing. Mr. Holmes spotted me organizing some of the other street boys to help an old woman find her lost dog. Must've impressed him, my way of deploying the lads. Next thing I know, he's calling me over, looking me up and down with those sharp eyes of his.
Smith: What did he say to you?
Wiggins: First thing he does is tell me where I'd been that morning and what I'd had for breakfast! Just from looking at my clothes and hands, mind you. Then he asks if I'd like steady work. Said he needed a sharp set of eyes and ears around London - places where grown men in fancy coats would stick out like sore thumbs.
Smith: And that's how the Baker Street Irregulars formed?
Wiggins: More or less. I rounded up the cleverest lads I knew. Trustworthy sorts - or as trustworthy as you'd find among street urchins. Mr. Holmes said we'd be his "eyes and ears" - his "Baker Street Irregulars," he called us.
Smith: During "A Study in Scarlet," Holmes was hunting for a cab driver. What do you remember about your part in that search?
Wiggins: That Jefferson Hope fellow, yes. Tricky business, that. Mr. Holmes gave us a description - tall man, ruddy face, coachman's outfit. Had to find which cab company he worked for, where he took his fares. London had hundreds of cabs then - like finding a particular rat in a sewer.
Smith: How did you go about such a search?
Wiggins: Divided up the city among the lads. Each took different cab yards, different neighborhoods. I stationed boys at major crossings, hotels, train stations. We'd spot cabs, note the drivers. Some of us would take short rides to chat with drivers, casual-like, gathering information.
Smith: That sounds like quite the operation for a group of children.
Wiggins: Children, yes, but London children. We could slip in and out of places without notice. People talk freely around kids - think we're not listening or won't understand. And Mr. Holmes paid fair - shilling a day, plus expenses, and extra for results.
Smith: When you finally located Jefferson Hope, what happened?
Wiggins: I remember running to Baker Street, nearly out of breath. Mr. Holmes was explaining something to Dr. Watson when I burst in. The moment I gave the news, something changed in Mr. Holmes - like a hound catching a scent. He had me bring a cab - not Hope's, of course - and then had me summon the police.
Smith: Were you there for the arrest?
Wiggins: I was. Mr. Holmes made it quite the performance. Invited Hope up to Baker Street under pretense of a fare. Had me and some of the lads watching the exits, though I don't know what he thought we'd do if a grown man decided to run. When Inspector Gregson and Lestrade sprung the trap... well, it was something to see.
Smith: What was your impression of Jefferson Hope?
Wiggins: Didn't seem like a murderer to my young eyes. Looked like any other cabman - bit weathered, strong hands. But there was something in his eyes when they caught him - not fear, exactly. More like... relief? Like a weight was lifted. Only understood years later, after Dr. Watson published the full story, that the man had been carrying his revenge for years.
Smith: Did Holmes explain the case to you afterward?
Wiggins: Mr. Holmes didn't explain much to anyone unless it suited him! But he did gather us Irregulars a few days later and told us we'd done good work. Said our eyes had seen what hundreds of police constables had missed. Made us feel ten feet tall, he did.
Smith: What stands out most to you about that first case with Holmes?
Wiggins: The way his mind worked. I'd report the smallest detail - a conversation overheard, a peculiar habit of a cabman - and he'd connect it to something else entirely. Like he was assembling a puzzle where only he could see the picture. Made me look at the world differently after that, it did.
Smith: How long did you continue to work with Holmes after that case?
Wiggins: Off and on for years. As we got older, some of the original Irregulars moved on to proper jobs or... less savory pursuits. I stayed longest, right through the Baskerville case and beyond. Eventually grew too tall to be inconspicuous, I suppose. Mr. Holmes helped me find legitimate work when the time came.
Smith: Did you keep in touch with him?
Wiggins: In his way, yes. Mr. Holmes wasn't one for social calls, but he'd check in on me now and then. After he retired to Sussex, I got a package once - a book on beekeeping with a note saying, "Education never ends, Wiggins." Typical Holmes, that.
Smith: Looking back now, how do you think "A Study in Scarlet" changed your life?
Wiggins: Saved it, I expect. I was heading nowhere fast before Mr. Holmes. Most street lads ended up in gangs or prison or worse. He showed me there was power in observation, in using your wits. Paid for some schooling later on, though he'd deny it if asked directly. But more than that, he showed me that where you start doesn't determine where you finish. Jefferson Hope taught me that too, in his way - though perhaps not the lesson he intended.
Smith: What do you mean?
Wiggins: Hope spent decades consumed by revenge. Mr. Holmes spent his life pursuing justice. Seem similar from the outside, but worlds apart in truth. One path destroys, the other builds. I chose to build.
Smith: That's a profound observation, Mr. Wiggins.
Wiggins: When you start with nothing, you notice what people build with their lives. It matters.
Smith: One final question - what would you want people to remember about the real Sherlock Holmes, beyond what Dr. Watson wrote?
Wiggins: That beneath all that brilliant machinery in his head was a heart. He'd scoff to hear me say it, but it's true. A man who truly didn't care wouldn't have stopped to notice a grubby street urchin organizing other boys. Wouldn't have paid fair wages when he could have exploited us. Wouldn't have taught us to observe, to think. The world sees the detective. The Irregulars - we saw the man.
Smith: Mr. Wiggins, thank you for sharing these remarkable insights with us today.
Wiggins: My pleasure. Strange to think people still care about these old cases after all these years.
Smith: Oh, I think people will be discussing Sherlock Holmes for many years to come.
Wiggins: He'd like that. Always did have a streak of vanity, Mr. Holmes did.
