When Holmes addresses Watson this way after Watson returns from his club, the detective gives some great insight into his method. Where do you think that I have been?' Holmes, p.

'The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes. Amusingly, one can claim that Watson is essential towards allowing Holmes the illusion of self-sufficiency (in other words, Holmes without Watson could not get as far), but the quote in any case gives some indication into how Watson - and Doyle - understand genius. It also reflects the self-sufficiency that Holmes employs throughout the mystery, using others only when he needs them. By suggesting that Holmes uses a method that Watson cannot replicate, Watson paints Holmes as not only a genius but as a hero. Here, Watson implicitly defends Holmes's distance, suggesting that genius needs solitude. Though he is the detective's partner, Watson is often left out of the man's problem-solving. Here, Watson provides one of his clearest understandings of Holmes's method. 'I knew that seclusion and solitude were very necessary for my friend in those hours of intense mental concentration during which he weighed every particle of evidence, constructed alternative theories, balanced one against the other, and made up his mind as to which points were essential and which immaterial.' Watson, p. It also reveals the human tendency to accept occult explanations when others do not easily present themselves. The contrast between the manuscript's professed authority and the actual explanation shows how knowledge had changed in the 18th century. For Holmes, the fact that the legend is 'written down' does not at all make it 'clearly known.' Instead, this professed authority is just an example of the type of assumption that hinders true investigation. It reflects an attitude that accepts superstition as fact. Though it does provide a basis to explain Sir Charles's death, it is important to remember that the manuscript is 150 years old, even at the time of the novel's events.

The manuscript seems to provide the best explanation for the mysterious events which occur in the novel - if one allows a religious world view. This quotation is from the 1742 manuscript that details the legend of the hound, and it gives the document an air of authority. 'If I have set it down it is because that which is clearly known hath less terror than that which is but hinted at and guessed at.' The Baskerville manuscript, p.

Of the baskervilles