course any other story of mystery and puzzle is also literature,
provided it is as good as "The Gold Bug,"--or I will say, since
that standard has never since been quite attained, provided it is a
half or a tenth as good. It is goldsmith's work; it is Chinese
carving; it is Daedalian; it is fine. It is the product of the
ingenuity lobe of the human brain working and expatiating in
freedom. It is art; not spiritual or transcendental art, but solid
art, to be felt and experienced. You may examine it at your
leisure, it will be always ready for you; you need not fast or
watch your arms overnight in order to understand it. Look at the
nice setting of the mortises; mark how the cover fits; how smooth
is the working of that spring drawer. Observe that this bit of
carving, which seemed mere ornament, is really a vital part of the
mechanism. Note, moreover, how balanced and symmetrical the whole
design is, with what economy and foresight every part is fashioned.
It is not only an ingenious structure, it is a handsome bit of
furniture, and will materially improve the looks of the empty
chambers, or disorderly or ungainly chambers that you carry under
your crown. Or if it happen that these apartments are noble in
decoration and proportions, then this captivating little object
will find a suitable place in some spare nook or other, and will
rest or entertain eyes too long focused on the severely sublime and
beautiful. I need not, however, rely upon abstract argument to
support my contention. Many of the best writers of all time have
used their skill in the inverted form of story telling, as a glance
at our table of contents will show; and many of their tales depend
for their effect as much on character and atmosphere as on the play
and complication of events.

The statement that a good detective or riddle story is good in art