James Moriarty, despite being a villain, holds a special place in the hearts of many Holmes enthusiasts. This poem by the late Alan Olding was read at the Memorial Funeral Breakfast of the Sherlock Holmes Society of Australia, May 4, 1991, to mark the 100th anniversary of the death of Professor Moriarty, and subsequently published in News from the Diggings, June 1991.

Somewhere in the Great Hereafter,
His tall, lank figure clothed in black,
Stands the world's most evil grafter,
Soaking wet, from Reichenbach.

Holmes it was went forth to meet him,
On that narrow Alpine ledge;
Used baritsu to defeat him,
Hurled him o'er the fatal edge.

Into the dreadful cauldron steaming,
Lined with crags and wet with slime,
Down went Moriarty, screaming,
Die! Napoleon of crime.

Air of London may be sweeter,
Cleansed of Moriarty's blot.
Lock up your valuables, Saint Peter,
Or bad old Jim might steal the lot.

Somewhere in the Great Hereafter,
His tall lank figure clothed in black,
Stands the world's most evil grafter,
Soaking wet, from Reichenbach.