There was one little sallow rat-faced, dark-eyed fellow, who was introduced to me as Mr. Lestrade, and who came three or four times in a single week. One morning a young girl called，fashionably dressed, and stayed for half an hour or more. The same afternoon brought a gray-headed, seedy visitor, looking like a Jew peddler, who appeared to me to be much excited, and who was closely followed by a slip-shod elderly woman.

【我的疑问】

① 我开始认为，brought类似于came，there brought，there came，有一个访客到来，但是brought并没有“到来”的含义，只有“带来”的含义，所以还是不太明白brought在这里是什么含义，brought前面省略了什么成分？

② appeared to me to be，这里为什么可以接两个to ?

第一个问题：The same afternoon brought a gray-headed, seedy visitor，这是“无生命主语” 修辞格的运用。即：无生命的主语The same afternoon，被赋予了“人”的行为：brought （带来）。

根据修辞格要求，符合汉语习惯的翻译应为：

The same afternoon brought a gray-headed, seedy visitor.

当天下午来了一位头发花白、衣衫褴褛的客人。

关于“无生命主语” 修辞格，详情见：

http://ask.yygrammar.com/q-32848.html

第二个问题：who appeared to me to be much excited, ...

网友对下面这个句子应该不陌生吧：

He appeared to be much excited.—— 他看起来非常兴奋。

我们进一步充实句子意思，加上“在我看来” （to me）这个成分。加在哪里好呢？

1. 加在句首：

To me, he appeared to be much excited. （好）

2. 加在句中：

He appeared to me to be much excited.（好）

3. 加在句末：

He appeared to be much excited to me.（不好）

to me 是修饰appeared 的，第3句离得太远了。