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Dr. John Watson
Jabez Wilson is an average pawnbroker, and the innocent victim of the story. He hires Sherlock Holmes and his assistant, Dr. John Watson, to solve a peculiar mystery tied to a strange organization called the Red-Headed League. Because Wilson’s house is next to the bank, criminal mastermind John Clay targets him as an access point. This proves fairly easy as Wilson is quite slow-witted and trusting, and doesn’t suspect anything odd going on in his house. John Clay poses as an assistant to Wilson, under the guise of Vincent Spaulding. Wilson describes Spaulding as an intelligent young man with a passion for photography, not realizing that the time Clay spends in the cellar is spent not developing photographs, but digging a secret tunnel to the bank. Wilson is also a target because of his need for money, which means that he is easy to lure out of the house with the promise of a well-paid job. His greed is not malicious however, it is just a result of his struggling business.
Jabez Wilson Quotes in The Red-Headed League
The The Red-Headed League quotes below are all either spoken by Jabez Wilson or refer to Jabez Wilson. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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The Red-Headed League
Quotes
I took a good look at the man and endeavoured, after the fashion of my companion, to read the indications which might be presented by his dress or appearance. I did not gain very much, however, by my inspection. Our visitor bore every mark of being an average commonplace British tradesman, obese, pompous, and slow. He wore rather baggy gray shepherd's check trousers, a not over-clean black frock-coat, unbuttoned in the front, and a drab waistcoat with a heavy brassy Albert chain, and a square pierced bit of metal dangling down as an ornament. […] there was nothing remarkable about the man save his blazing red head.
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“Well, I never!” said he. “I thought at first that you had done something clever, but I see that there was nothing in it, after all.”
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“I should not wish a smarter assistant, Mr. Holmes; and I know very well that he could better himself and earn twice what I am able to give him.”
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“But we have to be careful, for we have twice been deceived by wigs and once by paint.”
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Jabez Wilson Quotes in The Red-Headed League
The The Red-Headed League quotes below are all either spoken by Jabez Wilson or refer to Jabez Wilson. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
The Red-Headed League
Quotes
I took a good look at the man and endeavoured, after the fashion of my companion, to read the indications which might be presented by his dress or appearance. I did not gain very much, however, by my inspection. Our visitor bore every mark of being an average commonplace British tradesman, obese, pompous, and slow. He wore rather baggy gray shepherd's check trousers, a not over-clean black frock-coat, unbuttoned in the front, and a drab waistcoat with a heavy brassy Albert chain, and a square pierced bit of metal dangling down as an ornament. […] there was nothing remarkable about the man save his blazing red head.
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“Well, I never!” said he. “I thought at first that you had done something clever, but I see that there was nothing in it, after all.”
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“I should not wish a smarter assistant, Mr. Holmes; and I know very well that he could better himself and earn twice what I am able to give him.”
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“But we have to be careful, for we have twice been deceived by wigs and once by paint.”
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