the resident patient
TRANSCRIPT
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T he Me m oir s o f S he r loc k Ho lm e s
T h e R e s id e n t P a t ie n t
In glan cing over th e somewh at incoher ent series of Memoirs with
which I h ave endeavour ed to illust ra te a few of th e ment al peculiar ities
of my friend Mr . Sher lock H olmes, I h ave been st ru ck by th e difficult y
which I h ave experienced in picking out examples wh ich sha ll in every
way an swer m y purpose. For in th ose cases in wh ich H olmes ha s
perform ed some tour de force of ana lytical r easoning, an d h as
demonst ra ted t he value of his peculiar met hods of investigation, th e
facts t hem selves ha ve often been so slight or so comm onplace th at Icould n ot feel just ified in laying th em before t he pu blic. On th e oth er
ha nd, it h as frequent ly ha ppened tha t h e ha s been concern ed in some
resear ch where t he facts ha ve been of th e most r emar kable and
dra ma tic cha ra cter, but where t he sha re which h e has h imself ta ken in
determ ining th eir causes ha s been less pronounced tha n I, as h is
biograp her , could wish. The sm all ma tt er wh ich I h ave chr onicled under
th e hea ding of "A Stu dy in Scar let," an d th at oth er lat er one conn ected
with th e loss of th e Gloria Scott , ma y serve a s exam ples of this Scylla
an d Char ybdis which a re forever t hr eatening th e historian. It m ay beth at in th e business of which I am now about to write th e part which m y
friend pla yed is n ot sufficiently accent ua ted; an d yet t he wh ole tr ain of
circum sta nces is so rem ar ka ble th at I can not bring myself to omit it
ent irely from th is series.
It ha d been a close, rain y day in October. Our blinds were h alf-
dra wn, an d Holmes lay cur led upon t he sofa, rea ding and r e-rea ding a
letter which h e ha d received by th e mornin g post . For m yself, my term
of service in India ha d tr ained me t o sta nd h eat better t ha n cold, an d a
th ermometer of ninety was no hardsh ip. But t he paper wa sun interesting. Par liam ent ha d risen. Everybody was out of town, and I
yearn ed for t he glades of th e New Forest or t he sh ingle of Sout hsea . A
depleted ban k accoun t h ad caused me to postp one m y holiday, and a s to
my compan ion, neither th e coun tr y nor t he sea presented t he slightest
a t tr act ion t o him . He loved to lie in t he ver y cent re of five millions of
people, with his filam ents str etching out an d ru nn ing through th em,
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r esponsive to every litt le ru mour or su spicion of un solved cr ime.
Appreciat ion of na tu re foun d n o place am ong his m an y gifts, a nd h is
only cha nge was wh en h e tu rn ed his min d from t he evildoer of th e town
to tr ack down h is broth er of th e coun tr y.
Findin g tha t H olmes was t oo absorbed for conversa tion, I ha dtossed aside th e barr en pa per, an d, lean ing back in my cha ir I fell into a
brown st udy. Sudden ly my companion's voice broke in upon m y
thoughts.
"You a re right , Watson," sa id he. "It does seem a very preposterous
way of sett ling a disput e."
"Most preposterous!" I exclaimed, and then, suddenly realizing how
he h ad echoed th e inmost th ought of my soul, I sat u p in my cha ir an d
star ed at him in blank a mazement.
"Wha t is t his, Holmes?" I cried. "This is beyond a nyt hin g which Icould have imagined."
He lau ghed hear tily at my perplexity.
"You r emem ber," said h e, "th at some litt le time a go, when I r ead
you t he pa ssa ge in one of Poe's sket ches , in wh ich a close r easoner
follows th e un spoken t hough t s of his compan ion, you wer e inclined t o
tr eat t he ma tt er as a mere tour de force of th e aut hor. On my remar king
th at I was const an tly in t he h abit of doing the sa me t hing you expressed
incredulity."
"Oh, n o!"
"Per ha ps not with your tongue, my dear Wat son, but certa inly with
your eyebrows. So when I saw you t hr ow down your paper an d ent er
upon a t ra in of th ought , I was very ha ppy to ha ve the opport un ity of
rea ding it off, and event ua lly of brea king into it, as a proof th at I ha d
been in ra pport with you."
But I was s till far from sa tisfied. "In t he exam ple which you r ead t o
me," sa id I, "th e rea soner drew h is conclusions from t he a ctions of the
ma n wh om h e observed. If I rem ember r ight , he stu mbled over a hea p of
stones, looked up a t th e sta rs, an d so on. But I ha ve been seat ed quietly
in my chair, an d wha t clues can I ha ve given you?"
"You d o your self an injustice. The feat ur es a re given t o ma n a s t he
mea ns by which h e sha ll express his emotions, an d your s ar e fait hful
servants."
"Do you m ean to say th at you r ead m y tra in of th ought s from my
features?"
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"Your feat ur es, an d especially your eyes. Per ha ps you can not
your self recall h ow your rever ie commen ced?"
"No, I cann ot."
"Then I will tell you. After t hr owing down your pa per , which wa s
th e action which drew my at ten tion to you, you sa t for h alf a m inut ewith a vacan t expression. Then your eyes fixed th emselves upon your
newly fra med pictu re of Genera l Gordon, an d I saw by the a ltera tion in
your face that a t ra in of th ought ha d been st ar ted. But it did not lead
very far . Your eyes tu rn ed across to the u nframed portr ait of Hen ry
War d Beecher , which st an ds u pon th e t op of your books. You th en
glanced up a t t he wa ll, an d of cour se your m ean ing was obvious . You
were th inking tha t if the port ra it were fra med it would just cover t ha t
bar e space an d corr espond with Gordon's pictu re over t her e."
"You h ave followed m e wonder fu lly!" I excla imed. "So far I could ha rdly have gone a st ra y. But now your th ought s
went back to Beecher , an d you looked h ar d a cross as if you were
st udying the char acter in h is feat ur es. Then your eyes ceased t o pucker,
but you cont inu ed to look across, an d your face was t hough tful. You
were r ecalling the in cidents of Beecher 's car eer. I was well awa re t ha t
you could n ot do this with out th inking of th e m ission which he
un dert ook on beha lf of th e North at th e tim e of th e Civil War , for I
rem ember you expressing your pass iona te indignat ion a t t he way in
which he wa s received by the more t ur bulen t of our people. You felt sost rongly about it t ha t I k new you could not t hink of Beecher without
th inking of th at also. When a moment lat er I sa w your eyes wander
away from the pictu re, I suspected t ha t your mind ha d now tu rn ed to
th e Civil War , and when I observed th at your lips set , your eyes
spa rk led, an d your ha nds clinched, I was positive tha t you were indeed
th inking of th e gallan tr y which wa s shown by both sides in t ha t
despera te st ru ggle. But th en, again , your face grew sa dder; you sh ook
your hea d. You were dwelling upon t he sa dness a nd h orr or a nd u seless
wast e of life. Your ha nd s tole toward s your own old woun d, an d a smile
quivered on your lips, which showed me t ha t th e r idiculous side of this
met hod of settling inter na tiona l quest ions ha d forced itself upon your
mind. At th is point I agreed with you t ha t it was pr eposterous, and wa s
glad t o find t ha t a ll my deductions h ad been corr ect.
"Absolut ely!" said I. "And now tha t you ha ve explained it, I confess
th at I am a s am azed as before."
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"It wa s very super ficial, my
dear Watson, I assur e you. I
should not ha ve int ruded it
upon your at tent ion ha d you
not sh own some incredu lity t heoth er day. But t he evening has
brought a breeze with it. What
do you sa y to a ra mble th rough
London?"
I was wear y of our litt le
sitt ing-room an d gladly
acquiesced. For t hr ee hours we
str olled about togeth er,
wat ching th e ever-cha ngingka leidoscope of life a s it ebbs
an d flows thr ough F leet Str eet
and th e Strand. His
cha ra cteristic talk, with its
keen observan ce of deta il and
subt le power of inferen ce, held
me amu sed an d ent hr alled. It
was t en o'clock before we
reached Baker St reet a gain. A brougha m wa s waiting at our door.
"Hu m! A doctor's -- gener a l pra ct itioner, I perceive," sa id Holmes.
"Not been long in pract ice, but ha s a good dea l to do. Come to consult
us , I fan cy! Lucky we cam e back!"
I was sufficiently conversa nt with H olmes's met hods to be able to
follow his reasoning, and to see that th e na tu re a nd st at e of th e various
medical instr um ents in t he wicker ba sket which hu ng in t he lam p-light
inside the brougham h ad given him t he dat a for h is swift dedu ction.
The light in our window above showed tha t t his lat e visit was indeed
int ended for u s. With some curiosity as t o wha t could ha ve sent a
brother medico to us at such a n hour, I followed Holmes into our
sanctum.
A pale, taper -faced man with sa ndy whisker s rose up from a cha ir
by the fire a s we entered. His age ma y not h ave been m ore t ha n t hr ee or
four an d th irty, but his ha ggar d expression a nd u nh ealthy hu e told of a
life which h ad sa pped his st ren gth an d robbed him of his yout h. His
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ma nn er was n ervous a nd sh y, like th at of a sensitive gentleman , and
th e thin wh ite han d which h e laid on t he ma nt elpiece as h e rose was
th at of an ar tist ra th er th an of a su rgeon. His dress was quiet an d
sombre -- a bla ck frock-coa t, da rk tr ousers , an d a t ouch of colour about
his n eckt ie. "Good-evenin g, Doctor," said H olmes cheer ily. "I a m glad t o see th at
you h ave only been waitin g a very few minu tes."
"You spoke to my coachm an, t hen ?"
"No, it was t he can dle on t he side-ta ble th at told me. Pr ay resu me
your seat an d let me k now how I can serve you."
"My name is Dr. Per cy Trevelyan ," sa id our visitor, "an d I live a t
403 Brook Str eet."
"Are you n ot t he a ut hor of a monograph upon obscur e ner vous
lesions?" I a sked . His pale cheeks flushed with pleasu re a t h earing th at his work wa s
kn own t o me.
"I so seldom h ear of th e work th at I th ought it was qu ite dead," sa id
he. "My publisher s gave me a m ost discour aging accoun t of its sa le. You
ar e your self, I presum e, a m edical ma n."
"A ret ired ar my su rgeon."
"My own h obby has always been n ervous disease. I should wish to
ma ke it an absolute specialty, but of cour se a ma n m ust ta ke what he
can get a t first . This, however, is beside th e quest ion, Mr. Sh erlock Holmes, an d I quite a ppr eciate h ow valuable your time is. The fact is
th at a very singular tr ain of events ha s occur red recent ly at my house
in Brook St reet, an d to-night th ey cam e to such a head th at I felt it was
quite impossible for me t o wait an oth er hour before a sking for your
advice and a ssista nce."
Sh erlock H olmes sat down an d lit his pipe. "You a re very welcome
to both ," said h e. "Pr ay let m e ha ve a deta iled accoun t of wha t t he
circum st an ces ar e which h ave distu rbed you."
"One or t wo of th em a re so trivial," said Dr . Trevelyan "th at rea lly I
am almost a sha med to ment ion t hem. But t he ma tt er is so inexplicable,
an d th e recent t ur n which it h as t aken is so elabora te, tha t I sh all lay it
all before you, an d you sh all judge wha t is essen tia l and wha t is n ot.
"I a m compelled, to begin wit h, t o say somet hin g of my own college
car eer. I am a London Un iversity man , you kn ow, an d I am sur e tha t
you will not th ink th at I a m u nduly singing my own pra ises if I say t ha t
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my st uden t car eer was considered by my pr ofessors t o be a very
promising one. After I ha d gradua ted I cont inued to devote m yself to
resea rch, occup ying a m inor position in King's College Hospita l, and I
was fort un at e enough t o excite cons iderable inter est by my resea rch
int o the pa th ology of cat alepsy, an d fina lly to win th e Bru ce Pin kert onprize an d meda l by the m onogra ph on n ervous lesions to which your
friend h as just a lluded. I should not go too far if I were t o say tha t t her e
was a general impression a t t ha t t ime tha t a distinguished car eer lay
before me.
"But th e one gr eat st um bling-block lay in m y wan t of capit al. As
you will readily un derst an d, a specialist wh o aim s h igh is compelled to
sta rt in one of a dozen st reets in th e Cavendish Squa re qua rt er, all of
which ent ail enormous ren ts a nd fur nish ing expenses. Besides th is
prelimina ry out lay, he m ust be prepar ed to keep himself for some years,an d to hire a presenta ble car riage and horse. To do th is was quite
beyond my power, a nd I could only hope t ha t by economy I might in t en
year s' time save enough to enable me t o put up m y plat e. Suddenly,
however, an un expected incident opened u p quite a new pr ospect t o me.
"This was a visit from a gent leman of th e na me of Blessington, who
was a complete stra nger to
me. He cam e up into my room
one m orn ing, an d plunged
into business in an inst an t.
" 'You a re t he sa me P ercy
Trevelyan who ha s ha d so
distinguished a career an d
won a great prize lately?' said
he.
"I bowed.
" 'Answer m e fra nk ly,' he
cont inu ed, 'for you will find it
to your int eres t to do so. You
ha ve all the cleverness wh ich
ma kes a successful ma n.
Ha ve you t he t act?'
"I could n ot help smiling
at the a bruptness of the
question.
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" 'l tru st t ha t I h ave my shar e,' I said.
" 'Any bad h abits? Not dr awn towards d rink , eh?'
" 'Rea lly, sir!' I cried.
" 'Quite r ight ! Tha t's a ll right ! But I was bound t o ask . With a ll
th ese qua lities, why ar e you n ot in pr actice?' "I sh ru gged my sh oulders.
" 'Come, come!' said h e in h is bus t ling way. 'It's t he old story. More
in your bra ins t ha n in your pocket, eh? Wha t would you sa y if I were t o
st ar t you in Brook Str eet?'
"I star ed at him in astonishment.
" 'Oh, it's for my sak e, not for your s,' he cried. 'I'll be perfectly frank
with you, a nd if it su its you it will suit m e very well. I ha ve a few
th ousa nds t o invest, d'ye see, and I t hink I'll sink t hem in you.'
" 'But why?' I gasped. " 'Well, it 's just like a ny oth er sp eculat ion, an d sa fer t ha n m ost .'
" 'Wha t a m I t o do, then ?'
" 'I 'll tell you. I'll take t he h ouse, fur nish it , pay th e ma ids, and r un
th e whole place. All you h ave t o do is just to wear out your cha ir in t he
consult ing-room. I'll let you have pocket -money and ever yth ing. Then
you h an d over t o me t hr ee quart ers of what you ea rn , and you keep th e
oth er qu ar ter for yourself.'
"This was t he st ra nge proposa l, Mr. Holmes, with which t he m an
Blessington a pproached me. I won't wear y you with th e accoun t of howwe barga ined an d negotia ted. It ended in my moving int o th e house
next Lady Day, and st ar ting in-pra ctice on very mu ch t he sa me
conditions as h e ha d suggested. He came h imself to live with me in t he
cha ra cter of a r esident pa tient. His hear t was weak, it appear s, and he
needed const an t m edical su pervision. He tu rn ed th e two best r ooms of
the firs t floor in to a sit tin g-room a nd bedr oom for h imself. He wa s a
ma n of singular ha bits, shun ning compa ny an d very seldom going out .
His life was irr egular, but in one r espect h e was r egularit y itself. Every
evening, at th e sam e hour, he walked int o th e consu lting-room,
examin ed t he books, pu t down five an d t hr ee-pence for every guinea
th at I ha d ear ned, an d car ried th e rest off to the st rong-box in h is own
room.
"I ma y say with confidence th at he n ever h ad occasion to regret his
specula tion. F rom t he first it wa s a success. A few good cases a nd th e
reput at ion wh ich I ha d won in th e hospital brought me r apidly to the
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front, and dur ing th e last few years I h ave made him a rich m an .
"So mu ch, Mr. Holmes, for m y past hist ory a nd my r elations with
Mr. Blessington. It only rema ins for m e now to tell you wh at ha s
occur red t o bring me h ere t onight .
"Some weeks a go Mr. Blessington came down t o me in, as it seem edto me, a st at e of considera ble agitat ion. H e spoke of some bu rglar y
which, he sa id, ha d been committ ed in th e West E nd, an d he a ppeared,
I rem ember, to be quite u nn ecessar ily excited about it , declarin g tha t a
day sh ould not pa ss before we sh ould a dd st ronger bolts t o our windows
an d doors. For a week he cont inu ed to be in a peculiar st at e of
rest lessness, peering cont inua lly out of th e windows, an d ceasin g to
ta ke th e short walk which h ad u sua lly been th e prelude to his dinn er.
Fr om h is man ner it st ru ck me th at he was in mort al dread of someth ing
or somebody, but wh en I qu estioned h im upon t he point he becam e sooffensive tha t I was compelled to drop th e subject. Gra dua lly, as tim e
passed, his fear s appea red t o die awa y, an d he ren ewed his form er
ha bits, when a fresh event reduced him t o th e pitiable sta te of
prostr at ion in which h e now lies.
"What ha ppened was t his. Two days a go I received the lett er wh ich
I now read t o you. Neither a ddress nor dat e is att ached to it.
"A Russian nobleman wh o is now resident in Englan d [it
ru ns], would be glad t o avail himself of the pr ofessional
assistan ce of Dr. Percy Trevelyan. H e ha s been for some
years a victim to cataleptic attacks, on which, as is well
known, Dr. Trevelyan is an a ut hority. He proposes to call at
about a quar ter-past six to-morrow evening, if Dr. Trevelyan
will make it convenient to be at h ome.
"This lett er in ter ested me deeply, becau se t he chief difficulty in th e
st udy of cat alepsy is th e ra ren ess of th e disease. You m ay believe, th en,
th at I was in m y consu lting-room when , at th e appoint ed hour, the pa ge
showed in t he pat ient .
"He was an elderly man, th in, demur e, and comm onplace -- by no
mea ns th e conception one form s of a Russian noblema n. I was mu chmore str uck by th e appea ra nce of his compa nion. This was a ta ll youn g
ma n, sur prisingly ha ndsome, with a dar k, fierce face, an d th e limbs an d
chest of a H ercules. He ha d his han d under th e oth er's ar m a s th ey
enter ed, and helped him t o a cha ir with a tendern ess which one would
ha rdly have expected from h is appear an ce.
" 'You will excuse m y comin g in, Doctor,' sa id he t o me, spea king
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En glish with a slight
lisp. 'This is m y fat her ,
an d his health is a
ma tt er of th e most
overwhelmingimport an ce to me.'
"I was t ouched by
this filial anxiety. 'You
would, perha ps, car e to
remain during the
consultation?' said I.
" 'Not for the
world,' he cried with a
gestur e of horr or. 'It ismore pain ful t o me
th an I can express. If I
were to see my fat her
in one of th ese drea dful
seizures I a m
convinced t ha t I should never su rvive it. My own n ervous system is an
exceptiona lly sensitive one. With your per mission, I will rema in in th e
waiting-room wh ile you go int o my fat her 's case.'
"To th is, of cour se, I assen ted, an d th e youn g man with drew. Thepat ient an d I t hen plunged int o a discussion of his case, of which I t ook
exhau st ive notes. He was n ot
rem ar ka ble for in telligence, and his
an swers were frequent ly obscur e,
which I at tr ibuted to his limited
acqua inta nce with our lan guage.
Sudd enly, however, as I sa t wr iting,
he ceased t o give any an swer at all
to my inquiries, an d on m y tur ning
towards h im I was sh ocked t o see
th at he was sitting bolt upright in
his cha ir, sta ring at m e with a
per fectly blank a nd r igid face. He
was a gain in t he grip of his
mysterious ma lady.
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"My first feeling, as I h ave just sa id, was one of pity and horr or. My
second, I fear , was r at her one of professiona l sat isfaction. I m ade notes
of my pat ient's pulse an d tem pera tu re, test ed th e rigidity of his
mu scles. an d examined his reflexes. Ther e was nothing ma rk edly
abn orm al in a ny of th ese conditions, which h ar monized with my form erexperiences. I had obta ined good resu lts in su ch cases by th e inha lat ion
of nitr ite of am yl, an d th e present seemed an adm irable opport un ity of
test ing its virt ues. The bott le was downst airs in m y laborat ory, so,
leaving my patient seated in h is cha ir, I ran down t o get it. There wa s
some litt le delay in finding it -- five min ut es, let us say -- and th en I
retu rn ed. Ima gine my am azement to find the r oom empt y and t he
pat ient gone.
"Of cour se, my first act wa s t o run int o the wa iting-room. Th e son
ha d gone a lso. The ha ll door ha d been closed, but n ot shu t. My page whoadm its pat ient s is a n ew boy and by no mean s quick. He waits
downsta irs and r uns u p to show pat ient s out when I ring the
consu lting-room bell. He ha d hea rd n oth ing, an d th e affair r ema ined a
complete myst ery. Mr. Blessington came in from h is walk sh ort ly
after war ds, but I did not say an ythin g to him u pon t he su bject, for, to
tell th e tr ut h, I ha ve got in th e way of lat e of holding as litt le
comm un icat ion with h im a s possible.
"Well, I never t hought t ha t I sh ould see an ythin g more of th e
Russian a nd h is son, so you can ima gine m y ama zement when, at th every same h our th is evening, th ey both cam e marching int o my
consu lting-room, just as th ey ha d done before.
" 'I feel tha t I owe you a great ma ny apologies for my a bru pt
depar tu re yesterda y, Doctor,' said my pat ient.
" 'I confess tha t I wa s very much sur prised at it, ' said I.
" 'Well, th e fact is,' he r ema rk ed, 'th at when I r ecover from t hese
at ta cks m y mind is always very clouded a s to all tha t h as gone before. I
woke up in a str an ge room, as it seemed to me, and m ade m y way out
into th e str eet in a sort of dazed way when you were a bsent .'
" 'And I,' said t he son, 'seeing m y fat her pas s t he door of the
waiting-room, na tu ra lly th ought th at th e consu ltat ion ha d come t o an
end. It was n ot u nt il we had r eached home tha t I began t o realize th e
tr ue st at e of affairs .'
" 'Well,' said I, lau ghing, 'th ere is n o har m done except th at you
puzzled me t err ibly; so if you, sir, would kin dly step int o the wa iting-
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room I sh all be happy to cont inue our consu lta tion wh ich was br ought
to so abru pt a n en ding.'
"For ha lf an hour or so I discussed th e old gent leman 's sympt oms
with him, a nd th en, ha ving pr escribed for him, I s aw h im go off upon
th e ar m of his son. "I have told you
that Mr. Blessington
genera lly chose t his
hour of the da y for h is
exercise. He cam e in
shortly afterwa rds
and pa ssed upstairs.
An instant later I
heard him runningdown, and h e burst
int o my consu lting-
room like a ma n who
is mad with pan ic.
" 'Who ha s been in
my r oom?' he cried.
" 'No one,' sa id I.
" 'It 's a lie!' he
yelled. 'Come u p andlook!'
"I pa ssed over t he gr ossness of his lan guage, as h e seemed h alf out
of his mind with fear. When I went upst airs with him h e pointed t o
several footpr ints u pon t he light car pet.
" 'Do you mea n to say t hose ar e min e?' he cried.
"They were cert ain ly very much lar ger th an an y which h e could
ha ve made, and were evident ly quite fresh. It r ained ha rd t his
after noon, as you k now, an d my pa tient s were t he only people who
called. It mu st ha ve been th e case, then, tha t t he ma n in th e waiting-
room h ad, for some un kn own r eason, while I was busy with t he other ,
ascended t o th e room of my resident pat ient. Nothing ha d been touched
or t aken , but th ere were the footprint s to prove th at th e int ru sion was
an un doubted fact.
"Mr. Blessington seemed more excited over th e ma tt er t ha n I should
ha ve thought possible, though of cour se it wa s enough t o distu rb
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an ybody's peace of mind. H e actua lly sat crying in an ar mcha ir, an d I
could ha rdly get h im to speak coher ent ly. It was h is suggestion th at I
should come round to you, a nd of cour se I a t once saw t he pr opriety of
it, for certa inly th e incident is a very singular one, th ough h e appea rs t o
comp letely overr a te it s imp ort ance. If you would only come ba ck withme in m y brough am , you would at least be able to sooth e him, th ough I
can ha rdly hope th at you will be able to explain th is rema rk able
occurrence."
Sher lock Holmes h ad listened t o th is long na rr at ive with an
intent ness which sh owed me tha t h is int erest was keenly ar oused. His
face was a s impa ssive as ever, but his lids had dr ooped more hea vily
over his eyes, an d his sm oke ha d cur led up more t hickly from h is pipe to
emphas ize each cur ious ep isode in the doctor's t a le. As our visitor
concluded, Holmes spr an g up with out a word, ha nded me m y ha t,picked h is own from t he t able, an d followed Dr. Trevelyan t o the door.
With in a quar ter of an hour we ha d been dropped at th e door of th e
physician 's residen ce in Brook St reet , one of those sombre, flat -faced
houses which one as sociat es with a West En d pra ctice. A sma ll page
adm itted u s, and we began a t once to ascend t he broad, well-car peted
stair .
But a singular
interr upt ion brought
us t o a st an dstill. Thelight a t t he top was
sudden ly whisked out ,
an d from the dark ness
cam e a reedy,
qua vering voice.
"I h ave a pist ol," it
cried. "I give you my
word th at I'll fire if
you come a ny n ear er."
"This r ea lly grows
out ra geous, Mr.
Blessingt on," cried Dr .
Trevelyan .
"Oh, th en it is
you, Doctor." said t he
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voice with a great hea ve of relief. "But th ose oth er gent lemen. ar e th ey
wha t they pret end to be ?" We were conscious of a long scru tin y out of
the darkn ess.
"Yes, yes, it's a ll right ," sa id the voice a t last . "You can come u p, an d
I am sorr y if my pr ecau tions ha ve ann oyed you." He r elit th e sta ir gas as h e spoke, and we saw before us a singular -
looking man, whose app eara nce, a s well a s his voice, test ified to his
jan gled nerves. He was very fat , but ha d a pparen tly at some t ime been
mu ch fatt er, so th at th e skin h un g about his face in loose pouches, like
the cheeks of a bloodhoun d. He was of a s ickly colour , an d his t hin ,
sandy ha ir seemed t o bristle up with th e inten sity of his emotion. In h is
ha nd h e held a pistol, but h e th ru st it into his pocket a s we advanced.
"Good-evenin g, Mr. Holmes," sa id he. "I am sur e I am very mu ch
obliged t o you for comin g roun d. No one ever n eeded your advice moreth an I do. I suppose tha t Dr . Trevelyan h as t old you of th is most
un warr an ta ble intr usion into my rooms."
"Quit e so," sa id Holmes. "Who are th ese two men, Mr. Blessington,
an d why do th ey wish to molest you?"
"Well, well," sa id th e r esident pa tient in a ner vous fash ion, "of
course it is har d to say th at . You can ha rdly expect me t o an swer th at ,
Mr. Holmes."
"Do you mea n th at you don't k now?"
"Come in h ere, if you please. Just ha ve the k indness to step inhere."
He led t he wa y into his bedroom, which wa s lar ge and comfort ably
furnished.
"You see th at ," sa id he, point ing to a big black box a t t he en d of his
bed. "I ha ve never been a very rich ma n, Mr. Holmes -- never m ad e but
one in vestmen t in m y life, as Dr . Trevelyan would t ell you. But I don't
believe in ban kers . I would never t ru st a ban ker , Mr. Holmes. Between
our selves, wha t little I have is in t ha t box, so you can u nder st an d wha t
it m ean s t o me wh en u nk nown people force th emselves into my rooms."
Holmes looked a t Blessington in h is quest ioning way an d sh ook h is
head.
"I can not possibly ad vise you if you tr y to deceive me," said h e.
"But I h ave t old you everything."
Holmes t ur ned on h is heel with a gestur e of disgust. "Good-night ,
Dr. Tr evelyan ," sa id he.
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"And no advice for me?" cried Blessingt on in a brea king voice.
"My advice to you, sir, is to speak th e tr ut h."
A minut e later we were in t he st reet a nd wa lking for h ome. We ha d
crossed Oxford Str eet a nd were h alfway down H ar ley Str eet before I
could get a word from m y companion. "Sorry to brin g you out on su ch a fool's err and , Watson," he sa id at
last . "It is an inter esting case, too, at th e bott om of it."
"I can ma ke litt le of it," I confessed.
"Well, it is quite evident th at th ere a re t wo men -- more perh aps ,
but at least t wo -- who are det erm ined for some rea son t o get at th is
fellow Blessington. I ha ve no doubt in my m ind t ha t both on t he first
an d on t he second occasion th at youn g man penet ra ted t o Blessington's
room, while his confedera te, by an ingenious device, kept th e doctor
from inter fering." "And the catalepsy?"
"A fra udu lent imita tion, Watson, though I should har dly da re t o
hint as mu ch t o our specialist. It is a very easy compla int t o imita te. I
ha ve done it m yself."
"And t hen ?"
"By th e pu rest cha nce Blessington was out on each occas ion. Th eir
rea son for choosing so unu sua l an hour for a consu lta tion was obviously
to insur e th at th ere should be no oth er pa tient in th e waiting-room. It
just ha ppened, however, th at th is hour coincided with Blessington'sconst itut iona l, which seem s to show tha t t hey were not very well
acquaint ed with h is daily rout ine. Of cour se, if th ey had been mer ely
after plunder t hey would at least ha ve made some a tt empt t o search for
it. Besides, I can read in a ma n's eye when it is his own sk in th at he is
frigh ten ed for . It is inconceivable that this fellow could h ave made two
such vindictive enemies a s t hese a ppear to be with out kn owing of it. I
hold it, ther efore, to be cert ain t ha t h e does know who th ese men a re,
an d th at for r easons of his own h e suppr esses it. It is just possible th at
to-morr ow ma y find h im in a more comm un ica tive mood. "
"Is t her e n ot one alt ern at ive," I su ggested, "grotesqu ely impr obable,
no doubt , but s t ill just conceivable? Might th e whole st ory of the
ca talept ic Russian and h is son be a concoct ion of Dr. Trevelyan 's, who
ha s, for h is own pu rposes, been in Blessington's rooms?"
I saw in th e gas-light th at Holmes wore an am used smile at th is
brillian t depart ure of mine.
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"My dear fellow," sa id he, "it was one of th e firs t solut ions which
occur red to me, but I was soon able to corr obora te th e doctor's ta le. This
youn g man ha s left pr ints u pon t he st air-car pet which m ade it quite
super fluous for m e to ask t o see th ose which h e ha d ma de in th e room.
When I t ell you t ha t h is shoes were squ ar e-toed inst ead of being pointedlike Blessington's, an d were quite an inch an d a th ird longer th an th e
doctor's, you will acknowledge tha t th ere can be no doubt as to his
individua lity. But we ma y sleep on it n ow, for I sh all be sur prised if we
do not hea r someth ing fur th er from Brook Str eet in th e morning."
Sher lock Holmes's pr ophecy was soon fulfilled, and in a dra ma tic
fashion. At ha lf-pas t seven next morning, in th e first dim glimm er of
daylight , I foun d h im st an ding by my bedside in h is dressing-gown.
"Ther e's a brougham waiting for u s, Wat son," said h e.
"What 's the ma tt er, th en?"
"The Br ook St reet business."
"Any fresh news?"
"Tra gic, but am biguous," sa id he, pu lling up th e blind. "Look at th is
-- a sheet from a notebook, with 'For God's sa ke come a t once. P. T.,'
scra wled upon it in pencil. Our friend, th e doctor, was h ar d put to it
when he wr ote th is. Come a long, my dea r fellow, for it's an ur gent call."
In a qua rt er of an hour or so we were back at th e physician's house.
He came r un ning out to meet u s with a face of horror.
"Oh, such a bu siness!" he cried with his h an ds t o his t emples.
"What th en?"
"Blessington h as comm itt ed su icide!"
Holmes wh istled.
"Yes, he ha nged h imself dur ing th e night ."
We had ent ered, and th e doctor ha d preceded us into wha t wa s
evidently his waiting-room.
"I r eally ha rd ly know what I a m doing," he cried. "The police ar e
already upsta irs. It h as sh aken me most dreadfully."
"When did you find it out ?"
"He h as a cup of tea ta ken in t o him ea rly every morning. When th e
ma id entered, about seven, th ere t he u nfort un at e fellow was h an ging in
th e middle of th e room. He ha d t ied his cord to th e hook on which t he
hea vy lam p used t o ha ng, and he h ad jum ped off from t he t op of th e
very box tha t h e showed us yester day."
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Holmes st ood for a moment in deep th ought .
"With your perm ission," said h e a t last , "I sh ould like to go upst air s
an d look into the m at ter."
We both ascended, followed by t he doctor.
It wa s a dreadful sight which m et us as we ent ered th e bedroomdoor. I ha ve spoken of the impr ession of flabbiness wh ich th is ma n
Blessington conveyed. As h e da ngled from t he hook it was exaggera ted
an d intensified un til he was scar ce hu ma n in his appear an ce. The n eck
was dr awn out like a plucked chicken's, making th e rest of him seem
th e more obese and u nn at ur al by the cont ra st. He was clad only in h is
long night -dress, an d his swollen a nk les and u ngain ly feet pr otr uded
st ar kly from benea th it. Beside him st ood a sma rt -looking police-
inspector, who was ta king n otes in a pocket book
"Ah, Mr. Holmes," sa id he h ear tily as m y friend en ter ed, "I a mdelighted to see you."
"Good-morning, Lanner," answered
Holmes, "you won't t hink m e an int ru der,
I am sur e. Ha ve you h ear d of th e events
which led up t o th is affair ?"
"Yes, I h ear d someth ing of them ."
"Ha ve you form ed a ny opinion?"
"As far as I can see, th e ma n h as been
driven out of his senses by fright . The bedha s been well slept in , you see. Ther e's his
impr ession, deep enough . It 's about five in
th e morn ing, you kn ow, th at suicides ar e
most comm on. Tha t would be about his
tim e for h an ging himself. It seems to ha ve
been a very delibera te a ffair."
"I should say tha t h e has been dead
about t hr ee hours, judging by th e rigidity
of the m uscles," sa id I.
"Noticed an yth ing peculiar about t he
room?" asked Holmes.
"Found a screw-driver a nd some
screws on t he wash-han d sta nd. Seems t o
ha ve smoked hea vily during t he n ight ,
too. Here a re four cigar -ends t ha t I picked
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out of the firepla ce."
"Hu m!" sa id Holmes, "have you got his cigar -holder?"
"No, I ha ve seen n one."
"His ciga r-case, th en?"
"Yes, it was in his coa t-pocket." Holmes opened it a nd smelled th e single cigar which it cont ained.
"Oh, this is a Ha vana , an d th ese oth ers a re cigars of th e peculiar
sort which a re import ed by th e Dut ch from t heir E ast Indian colonies.
They are u sua lly wrapped in str aw, you k now, and a re t hinner for t heir
length th an an y oth er bra nd." He picked up t he four ends an d exam ined
th em with h is pocket -lens.
"Two of these h ave been smoked from a holder an d t wo without,"
said h e. "Two ha ve been cut by a n ot very sh ar p kn ife, and t wo ha ve had
the en ds bitt en off by a set of excellent t eeth . This is no su icide, Mr.Lan ner . It is a very deeply plann ed and cold-blooded mu rder ."
"Im possible!" cried the inspector.
"And why?"
"Why should an yone m ur der a ma n in so clumsy a fash ion a s by
hanging him?"
"Tha t is wh at we have to find out ."
"How could they get in?"
"Through the front door."
"It wa s bar red in t he m orn ing."
"Then it was bar red after th em."
"How do you kn ow?"
"I saw t heir t ra ces. Excuse me a m omen t, an d I ma y be able to give
you some fur th er inform at ion a bout it."
He went over to the door, an d tu rn ing the lock he exam ined it in his
met hodical way. Then he t ook out t he key, which wa s on t he inside. and
inspected t ha t also. The bed, th e car pet, th e cha irs, the m an telpiece, the
dead body, an d th e rope were each in t ur n examined, unt il at last h e
professed himself sa tisfied, an d with m y aid an d th at of th e inspector
cut down t he wret ched object a nd laid it reverent ly un der a sh eet.
"How about th is rope?" he a sked.
"It is cut off th is," sa id Dr. Tr evelyan, dr awin g a la rge coil from
un der t he bed. "He was morbidly ner vous of fire, and a lways kept t his
beside him, so th at he might escape by the window in case th e sta irs
were burning."
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"Tha t m ust ha ve saved th em t rouble," said Holmes t hought fully.
"Yes, the a ctu al facts a re very plain, an d I sh all be surp rised if by the
aftern oon I can not give you t he r easons for th em a s well. I will ta ke t his
photogra ph of Blessington, which I see u pon t he m an telpiece, as it m ay
help me in m y inqu iries." "But you h ave told us noth ing!" cried t he doctor.
"Oh, th ere can be no doubt as to th e sequence of events," said
Holmes. "Ther e were th ree of th em in it: the youn g man , the old ma n,
an d a t hird, t o whose ident ity I ha ve no clue. The first two, I need
ha rdly rema rk, are th e same who ma squeraded as th e Russian coun t
and h is son, so we can give a very full descript ion of th em. They were
adm itted by a confederat e inside t he h ouse. If I might offer you a word
of advice. Inspector, it would be t o arr est th e page. who, as I
un derst an d, ha s only recently come int o your service, Doctor." "The young imp can not be foun d," said Dr . Trevelyan; "th e ma id an d
th e cook h ave just been sea rching for h im."
Holmes sh ru gged his shoulders.
"He ha s played a n ot u nimport an t pa rt in this dra ma ," said he. "The
th ree men ha ving ascended the st airs, which t hey did on t iptoe, the
elder ma n first, the youn ger m an second, and t he un known m an in the
rea r --"
"My dear Holmes!" I ejacula ted.
"Oh, th ere could be no quest ion a s t o the su perimposing of th efootm ar ks. I had t he advant age of learn ing which was wh ich last night .
They ascended, then , to Mr. Blessington's r oom, the door of which th ey
foun d t o be locked. With th e help of a wire, however, th ey forced roun d
th e key. Even without th e lens you will perceive, by th e scrat ches on
th is war d, where t he pressur e was applied.
"On ent ering th e room t heir first proceeding must ha ve been t o gag
Mr. Blessington. He m ay ha ve been a sleep, or h e ma y have been so
par alyzed with terr or as to have been un able to cry out. These walls a re
th ick, an d it is conceivable tha t h is shriek, if he h ad t ime to utt er one,
was unheard.
"Ha ving secur ed him, it is evident to me t ha t a consu lta tion of some
sort was h eld. Pr obably it wa s somet hin g in t he n at ur e of a judicial
proceeding. It m ust ha ve last ed for some time, for it was th en th at th ese
cigar s were smoked. The older ma n sa t in t ha t wicker cha ir; it was h e
who used th e cigar -holder. The youn ger ma n sa t over yonder ; he
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kn ocked h is ash off against th e chest of drawer s. The t hird follow paced
up a nd down. Blessington, I th ink, sat upr ight in th e bed, but of th at I
can not be absolut ely cert ain.
"Well, it ended by th eir ta king Blessington and h an ging him . The
ma tt er was so prear ra nged that it is my belief th at th ey brought withthem some sort of block or pulley which m ight se rve as a ga llows. Tha t
screw-driver and t hose screws wer e, as I conceive, for fixing it up.
Seeing the hook, however, th ey na tu ra lly saved them selves th e tr ouble.
Ha ving finished th eir work t hey ma de off, and t he door wa s bar red
behind th em by their confederat e."
We had a ll listened with th e deepest interest to this sketch of th e
night 's doings, which Holmes ha d dedu ced from signs so subt le an d
minut e tha t, even when h e had pointed th em out t o us, we could
scar cely follow him in h is rea sonings. The insp ector h ur ried awa y on th cinsta nt to make inquiries about th e page. while Holmes and I r etur ned
to Baker St reet for br eakfast.
"I'll be back by th ree," sa id he when we ha d finished our m eal.
"Both th e inspector an d th e doctor will meet m e here a t t ha t h our, a nd I
hope by th at tim e to have cleared u p an y litt le obscur ity which t he case
ma y still present."
Our visitors arr ived at t he appoint ed time, but it was a qua rt er to
four before m y friend pu t in a n a ppear an ce. Fr om h is express ion a s he
ent ered, however, I could see th at all ha d gone well with h im.
"Any news , In spector?"
"We ha ve got the boy, sir."
"Excellent , and I ha ve got
the m en."
"You have got them !" we
cried, all thr ee.
"Well, at leas t I h ave got
their identity. This so-called
Blessington is, as I expected,
well known at headqua rt ers, an d
so are his assa ilan ts. Their
na mes ar e Biddle, Ha ywar d, and
Moffat."
"The Wort hingdon ban k
gang," cried the inspector.
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"Pr ecisely," sa id H olmes.
"Then Blessington mu st ha ve been Su tt on."
"Exa ct ly," said H olmes.
"Why, th at m ak es it as clear as cryst al," sa id th e inspector. But
Trevelyan an d I looked at each oth er in bewilderm ent . "You mu st sur ely remember th e great Wort hingdon bank business,"
sa id Holmes . "Five men were in it -- th ese four an d a fifth ca lled
Cart wright . Tobin, th e car etak er, was mu rdered, and th e th ieves got
awa y with seven th ousa nd poun ds. This was in 1875. They were all five
ar rest ed, but t he evidence aga inst t hem wa s by no mean s conclusive.
This Blessington or Su tt on, who was t he worst of th e gang, tur ned
inform er. On his evidence Car twright wa s ha nged and t he oth er t hr ee
got fifteen years apiece. When th ey got out th e oth er da y, which wa s
some year s before t heir full term , th ey set t hem selves, as you per ceive,to hun t down t he t ra itor a nd t o avenge the death of th eir comr ade upon
him. Twice th ey tried to get a t h im and failed; a t hird time you see, it
cam e off. Is th ere a nyt hing furt her which I can explain, Dr. Trevelyan ?"
"I th ink you h ave ma de it all rem ar ka bly clear," said t he doctor. "No
doubt t he day on which h e was so pertu rbed was th e day when he h ad
seen of th eir release in th e newspaper s."
"Quite so. His ta lk about a burglary was th e merest blind."
"But why could h e not t ell you th is?"
"Well, my dear s ir, kn owing th e vindict ive char acter of his oldas sociat es, he wa s t rying to hide h is own ident ity from everybody as
long a s h e could. His secret was a sha meful one a nd h e could n ot bring
himself to divulge it. However, wret ch as he wa s, he wa s st ill living
un der t he sh ield of British law, an d I ha ve no doubt , Inspector, th at you
will see tha t, th ough t ha t shield may fail to gua rd, t he sword of justice
is still ther e to avenge."
Such were th e singular circums ta nces in conn ection with t he
Resident P at ient an d th e Brook Str eet Doctor. Fr om t ha t n ight nothing
ha s been seen of th e th ree mu rderers by the police, and it is surm ised at
Scotland Yar d th at th ey were among th e passen gers of th e ill-fat ed
steam er Norah Creina , which was lost some years a go with all han ds
upon t he P ort uguese coast , some leagues t o th e north of Oport o. The
proceedings against th e page broke down for wan t of evidence, an d t he
Brook St reet Mystery, as it wa s called, ha s never u nt il now been fully
dealt with in a ny public print.