Doyle, Arthur Conan -- Story (1890-02), “The Sign of the Four,” ch. 1, Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine, Vol. 45 (US) / 1 (UK)

Dave — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 19:47:28 +0000

“Which is it to-day,” I asked, “morphine or cocaine?”
He raised his eyes languidly from the old black-letter volume which he had opened. “It is cocaine,” he said, “a seven-per-cent solution. Would you care to try it?”

Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930) British writer and physician
Story (1890-02), “The Sign of the Four,” ch. 1, Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine, Vol. 45 (US) / 1 (UK)
(Source)

Watson and Holmes.

The original publication, and Doyle's manuscript (along with many other iterations across media) use "The Sign of the Four" as the title, while others (including the first book publications) use "The Sign of Four." The five-word form is used most commonly in the story, but the four-word form does show up. (More info.)

Published in novel form as The Sign of Four (1890-10).

Verne, Jules -- “To Morphine [A la morphine]” (1866)

Dave — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 15:20:35 +0000

Ah, pierce me one hundred times with your needles fine
And I will thank you one hundred times, Saint Morphine,
You who Aesculapius has made a God.

[Ah! Perce-moi cent fois de ton aiguille fine
Et je te bénirai cent fois, Sainte Morphine,
Dont Esculape eût fait une divinité.]

Jules Verne (1828–1905) French novelist, poet, playwright
“To Morphine [A la morphine]” (1866)
(Source)

A sonnet written while recovering from a leg injured in an attack by his nephew.

Alt. trans.: "Ah! Needle me a hundred times, and, yes, / A hundred times, Saint Morphine, I will bless / You, whom Asclepius would have deified." [Skinner (2011)]

(A number of sources give the name in the last line as "Aeseulapus," but this is almost certainly a mistyping of the Latin form of Asclepius that has been copied without consideration.)

WIST Quotations

Doyle, Arthur Conan -- Story (1890-02), “The Sign of the Four,” ch. 1, Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine, Vol. 45 (US) / 1 (UK)

Verne, Jules -- “To Morphine [A la morphine]” (1866)