CHAPTERI.MR.SHERLOCKHOLMES.
Intheyear1878ItookmydegreeofDoctorofMedicineoftheUniversityofLondon,
és
andproceededtoNetleytogothroughthecourseprescribedforsurgeonsinthearmy.Havingcompletedmystudies
ott
there,IwasdulyattachedtotheFifthNorthumberlandFusiliersasAssistantSurgeon.TheregimentwasstationedinIndiaatthetime,
és
andbeforeIcouldjoinit,themásodik
secondAfghanwarhadbrokenout.OnlandingatBombay,Ilearned
hogy
thatmycorpshadadvancedthroughthepasses,és
andwasalreadydeepintheenemy’scountry.Ifollowed,however,with
sok
manyotherofficerswhowereinthesamesituationasmyself,és
andsucceededinreachingCandaharinsafety,ahol
whereIfoundmyregiment,és
andatonceentereduponmyúj
newduties.Thecampaignbroughthonours
és
andpromotiontomany,butformeithadnothingde
butmisfortuneanddisaster.Iwasremovedfrommybrigade
és
andattachedtotheBerkshires,withwhomIservedatthefatalbattleofMaiwand.Ott
ThereIwasstruckontheshoulderbyegy
aJezailbullet,whichshatteredtheboneés
andgrazedthesubclavianartery.Ishould
volna
havefallenintothehandsofthemurderousGhazishaditnotbeenforthedevotionés
andcourageshownbyMurray,myorderly,aki
whothrewmeacrossapack-horse,és
andsucceededinbringingmesafelytotheBritishlines.Wornwithpain,
és
andweakfromtheprolongedhardshipswhichIhadundergone,Iwasremoved,withegy
agreattrainofwoundedsufferers,tothebasehospitalatPeshawar.Itt
HereIrallied,andhadmár
alreadyimprovedsofarastobeképes
abletowalkaboutthewards,és
andeventobaskakicsit
littleupontheverandah,whenIwasstruckdownbyentericfever,thatcurseofourIndianpossessions.Formonthsmylifewasdespairedof,
és
andwhenatlastIcametomyselfés
andbecameconvalescent,Iwassoweakés
andemaciatedthatamedicalboarddeterminedthatnotegy
adayshouldbelostinsendingmebacktoEngland.Iwasdispatched,accordingly,inthetroopship“Orontes,”
és
andlandedamonthlateronPortsmouthjetty,withmyhealthirretrievablyruined,de
butwithpermissionfromapaternalgovernmenttospendthekövetkező
nextninemonthsinattemptingtoimproveit.IhadneitherkithnorkininEngland,
és
andwasthereforeasfreeasair—orasszabad
freeasanincomeofelevenshillingsés
andsixpenceadaywillpermitaember
mantobe.Undersuchcircumstances,InaturallygravitatedtoLondon,that
nagy
greatcesspoolintowhichalltheloungersés
andidlersoftheEmpireareirresistiblydrained.Ott
ThereIstayedforsometimeategy
aprivatehotelintheStrand,leadingegy
acomfortless,meaninglessexistence,andspendingsuchmoneyasIhad,considerablymorefreelythanIought.Soalarmingdidthestateofmyfinances
vált
become,thatIsoonrealizedthatIkell
musteitherleavethemetropolisés
andrusticatesomewhereinthecountry,orthatIkell
mustmakeacompletealterationinmystyleofliving.Choosingthelatteralternative,Ibeganby
hogy
makingupmymindtoleavethehotel,és
andtotakeupmyquartersinsomelesspretentiousés
andlessexpensivedomicile.Onthevery
napon
daythatIhadcometothisconclusion,IwasstandingattheCriterionBar,amikor
whensomeonetappedmeontheshoulder,és
andturningroundIrecognizedfiatal
youngStamford,whohadbeenadresserundermeatBarts.Thesightof
egy
afriendlyfaceinthenagy
greatwildernessofLondonisegy
apleasantthingindeedtoegy
alonelyman.InolddaysStamford
volt
hadneverbeenaparticularcronyofmine,de
butnowIhailedhimwithenthusiasm,és
andhe,inhisturn,appearedtobedelightedtolát
seeme.Intheexuberanceofmyjoy,IaskedhimtolunchwithmeattheHolborn,
és
andwestartedofftogetherinegy
ahansom.“Whateverhaveyoubeen
csináltál
doingwithyourself,Watson?”he
kérdezte
askedinundisguisedwonder,aswerattledthroughthecrowdedLondonstreets.“Youareasthinas
egy
alathandasbrownasegy
anut.”Igavehim
egy
ashortsketchofmyadventures,és
andhadhardlyconcludeditbythetimethatwereachedourdestination.“Poordevil!”
he
mondta
said,commiseratingly,afterhehadlistenedtomymisfortunes.“Whatareyouuptonow?”
“Lookingforlodgings,”Ianswered.
“Tryingtosolvetheproblemastowhetheritis
lehetséges
possibletogetcomfortableroomsatareasonableprice.”“That’s
egy
astrangething,”remarkedmycompanion;“youare
a
thesecondmanto-daythatvagy
hasusedthatexpressiontome.”“And
ki
whowasthefirst?”Iasked.
“Afellow
aki
whoisworkingatthechemicallaboratoryupatthekórház
hospital.Hewasbemoaninghimselfthis
reggel
morningbecausehecouldnotgetsomeonetomenjen
gohalveswithhiminnéhány
someniceroomswhichhevolt
hadfound,andwhichweretúl
toomuchforhispurse.”“ByJove!”
Icried,“ifhe
tényleg
reallywantssomeonetosharetheroomsés
andtheexpense,Iamtheveryférfi
manforhim.Ishouldpreferhaving
egy
apartnertobeingalone.”Fiatal
YoungStamfordlookedratherstrangelyatmeoverhiswine-glass.“Youdon’tknowSherlockHolmesyet,”he
mondta
said;“perhapsyouwouldnotcareforhimasaconstantcompanion.”
“Why,whatisthereagainsthim?”
“Oh,Ididn’t
mondtam
saytherewasanythingagainsthim.Heisa
kicsit
littlequeerinhisideas—anenthusiastinegyes
somebranchesofscience.AsfarasI
tudom
knowheisadecentfellowenough.”“Amedicalstudent,Isuppose?”
mondtam
saidI.“No—Ihavenoideawhatheintendstogoinfor.
I
hiszem
believeheiswellupinanatomy,és
andheisafirst-classchemist;de
but,asfarasItudom
know,hehasnevertakenoutanysystematicmedicalclasses.Hisstudiesareverydesultory
és
andeccentric,buthehasamassedalotofout-of-thewayknowledgeami
whichwouldastonishhisprofessors.”“Didyou
sosem
neveraskhimwhathewasmegy
goinginfor?”Iasked.
“No;
heisnota
ember
manthatitiseasytodrawout,bár
thoughhecanbecommunicativeenoughamikor
whenthefancyseizeshim.”“Ishouldliketo
találkozni
meethim,”Isaid.“IfIamtolodgewithanyone,I
kell
shouldpreferamanofstudiousés
andquiethabits.Iamnotstrong
elég
enoughyettostandmuchnoiseorexcitement.I
volt
hadenoughofbothinAfghanistantolastmefortheremainderofmynaturalexistence.HowcouldImeetthisfriendofyours?”
“Heissuretobeatthelaboratory,”returnedmycompanion.
“Heeitheravoidstheplaceforweeks,orelsehe
dolgozik
workstherefrommorningtonight.Ha
Ifyoulike,weshalldriveroundegyütt
togetherafterluncheon.”“Certainly,”Ianswered,
és
andtheconversationdriftedawayintomás
otherchannels.Aswemadeourwaytothehospital
miután
afterleavingtheHolborn,Stamfordgavemeanéhány
fewmoreparticularsaboutthegentlemanwhomIproposedtotakeasafellow-lodger.“Youmustn’tblameme
ha
ifyoudon’tgetonwithhim,”hemondta
said;“Iknownothingmoreofhim
mint
thanIhavelearnedfromtalálkoztam
meetinghimoccasionallyinthelaboratory.Youproposed
ezt
thisarrangement,soyoumustnotholdmeresponsible.”“Ifwedon’tgetonit
lesz
willbeeasytopartcompany,”Ianswered.“Itseemstome,Stamford,”Iadded,looking
keményen
hardatmycompanion,“thatyouvan
havesomereasonforwashingyourhandsofthematter.Isthisfellow’stempersoformidable,
vagy
orwhatisit?Don’tbemealy-mouthedaboutit.”
“Itisnot
könnyű
easytoexpresstheinexpressible,”heansweredwithalaugh.“Holmesis
egy
alittletooscientificformytastes—itapproachestocold-bloodedness.I
tudom
couldimaginehisgivingafriendalittlepinchofthelatestvegetablealkaloid,notoutofmalevolence,youérted
understand,butsimplyoutofaspiritofinquiryinordertolegyen
haveanaccurateideaoftheeffects.Todohimjustice,I
hiszem
thinkthathewouldtakeithimselfwiththesamereadiness.Heappearstohaveapassionfordefinite
és
andexactknowledge.”“Veryrighttoo.”
“Yes,
de
butitmaybepushedtoexcess.Ha
Whenitcomestobeatingthesubjectsinthedissecting-roomswithastick,itiscertainlytakingratherabizarreshape.”“Beating
az
thesubjects!”“Yes,toverify
milyen
howfarbruisesmaybeproducedután
afterdeath.Isawhimatitwithmy
saját
owneyes.”“Andyetyou
mondja
sayheisnotamedicalstudent?”“No.
Heaven
tudja
knowswhattheobjectsofhisstudiesare.De
Buthereweare,andyoukell
mustformyourownimpressionsabouthim.”Ashespoke,weturneddown
egy
anarrowlaneandpassedthroughegy
asmallside-door,whichopenedintoegy
awingofthegreatkórház
hospital.Itwasfamiliargroundtome,
és
andIneedednoguidingasweascendedthebleakstonestaircaseés
andmadeourwaydownthehosszú
longcorridorwithitsvistaofwhitewashedwallés
anddun-coloureddoors.Nearthefurtherend
egy
alowarchedpassagebranchedawayfromités
andledtothechemicallaboratory.Ez
Thiswasaloftychamber,linedandlitteredwithcountlessbottles.Broad,lowtableswerescatteredabout,whichbristledwithretorts,test-tubes,
és
andlittleBunsenlamps,withtheirblueflickeringflames.Therewas
csak
onlyonestudentintheroom,aki
whowasbendingoveradistanttableabsorbedinhiswork.Atthe
hang
soundofourstepsheglancedroundés
andsprangtohisfeetwithegy
acryofpleasure.“I’vefoundit!
I’vefoundit,”heshoutedtomycompanion,
futott
runningtowardsuswithatest-tubeinhishand.“Ihavefound
egy
are-agentwhichisprecipitatedbyhæmoglobin,és
andbynothingelse.”Hadhediscoveredagoldmine,greaterdelightcouldnot
volna
haveshoneuponhisfeatures.“Dr.
Watson,Mr.SherlockHolmes,”
mondta
saidStamford,introducingus.“Howareyou?”
he
mondta
saidcordially,grippingmyhandwithegy
astrengthforwhichIshouldhardlyvolna
havegivenhimcredit.“You
voltál
havebeeninAfghanistan,Iperceive.”“Howonearthdidyou
tudtad
knowthat?”Iaskedinastonishment.
“Nevermind,”
mondta
saidhe,chucklingtohimself.“The
kérdés
questionnowisabouthæmoglobin.Nodoubtyou
látja
seethesignificanceofthisdiscoveryofmine?”“Itisinteresting,chemically,nodoubt,”Ianswered,“butpractically——”.
“Why,
ember
man,itisthemostpracticalmedico-legaldiscoveryforyears.Don’tyou
látod
seethatitgivesusaninfallibletestforbloodstains.Gyere
Comeoverherenow!”Heseizedmebythecoat-sleeveinhiseagerness,
és
anddrewmeovertothetableatwhichhehadbeendolgozott
working.“Letushavesomefreshblood,”he
mondta
said,diggingalongbodkinintohisfinger,és
anddrawingofftheresultingdropofbloodinegy
achemicalpipette.“Now,Iadd
ezt
thissmallquantityofbloodtoegy
alitreofwater.Youperceive
hogy
thattheresultingmixturehasaz
theappearanceofpurewater.Theproportionof
vér
bloodcannotbemorethanoneinamillion.Ihave
nem
nodoubt,however,thatweshallbeabletoobtaina
thecharacteristicreaction.”Ashespoke,hethrewinto
az
thevesselafewwhitecrystals,andthenaddedsomedropsofatransparentfluid.Inaninstantthecontentsassumedadullmahoganycolour,
és
andabrownishdustwasprecipitatedtothebottomoftheglassjar.“Ha!
ha!”
hecried,clappinghishands,
és
andlookingasdelightedasegy
achildwithanewtoy.“Whatdoyou
gondolsz
thinkofthat?”“Itseemstobe
egy
averydelicatetest,”Iremarked.“Beautiful!
gyönyörű
beautiful!TheoldGuiacumtestwas
nagyon
veryclumsyanduncertain.Soisthemicroscopicexaminationforbloodcorpuscles.
A
Thelatterisvaluelessifa
thestainsareafewhoursold.Now,thisappearstoactaswellwhether
a
thebloodisoldorúj
new.Hadthistestbeeninvented,therearehundredsofmen
most
nowwalkingtheearthwhowouldlongagohavepaidthepenaltyoftheircrimes.”“Indeed!”
Imurmured.
“Criminalcasesarecontinuallyhinginguponthatone
ponton
point.Amanissuspectedof
egy
acrimemonthsperhapsafterithasbeencommitted.Hislinen
vagy
orclothesareexamined,andbrownishstainsdiscovereduponthem.Aretheybloodstains,
vagy
ormudstains,orruststains,vagy
orfruitstains,orwhatareazok
they?Thatisaquestionwhichhaspuzzled
sok
manyanexpert,andwhy?Mert
Becausetherewasnoreliabletest.Most
NowwehavetheSherlockHolmes’test,és
andtherewillnolongerbeanydifficulty.”Hiseyesfairlyglitteredashespoke,
és
andheputhishandoverhisheartés
andbowedasiftosomeapplaudingcrowdconjuredupbyhisimagination.“Youaretobecongratulated,”Iremarked,considerablysurprisedathisenthusiasm.
“TherewasthecaseofVonBischoffatFrankfortlastyear.
Hewouldcertainly
volna
havebeenhunghadthistestbeeninexistence.Then
ott
therewasMasonofBradford,és
andthenotoriousMuller,andLefevreofMontpellier,és
andSamsonofNewOrleans.Icouldnameascoreofcasesinwhichitwould
volna
havebeendecisive.”“Youseemtobeawalkingcalendarofcrime,”
mondta
saidStamfordwithalaugh.“Youmightstart
egy
apaperonthoselines.Callitthe‘PoliceNewsofthePast.’”.
“Veryinterestingreadingitmightbemade,too,”remarkedSherlockHolmes,sticking
egy
asmallpieceofplasterovertheprickonhisfinger.“I
kell
havetobecareful,”hecontinued,turningtomewithasmile,“forIdabblewithpoisonsagooddeal.”Heheldouthis
kezét
handashespoke,andInoticedhogy
thatitwasallmottledoverwithsimilarpiecesofplaster,és
anddiscolouredwithstrongacids.“We
jöttünk
camehereonbusiness,”saidStamford,sittingdownonamagas
highthree-leggedstool,andpushinganotheroneinmydirectionwithhisfoot.“My
barátom
friendherewantstotakediggings,és
andasyouwerecomplainingthatyoucouldgetnem
noonetogohalvesa
withyou,IthoughtthatIhadjobb
betterbringyoutogether.”SherlockHolmesseemeddelightedattheideaofsharinghisroomswith
velem
me.“IhavemyeyeonasuiteinBakerStreet,”he
mondta
said,“whichwouldsuitusdowntotheground.Youdon’tmind
az
thesmellofstrongtobacco,Ihope?”“I
mindig
alwayssmoke‘ship’s’myself,”Ianswered.“That’s
jó
goodenough.Igenerallyhavechemicalsabout,
és
andoccasionallydoexperiments.Wouldthatannoyyou?”
“Bynomeans.”
“Letmesee—whataremy
többi
othershortcomings.Igetinthedumpsattimes,
és
anddon’topenmymouthfordaysonend.YoumustnotthinkIamsulky
amikor
whenIdothat.Justletmealone,
és
andI’llsoonberight.What
kell
haveyoutoconfessnow?It’sjustas
is
wellfortwofellowstoknowaz
theworstofoneanothermielőtt
beforetheybegintolivetogether.”Ilaughedat
ezen
thiscross-examination.“Ikeepabullpup,”I
mondtam
said,“andIobjecttorowsmert
becausemynervesareshaken,és
andIgetupatallsortsofungodlyhours,és
andIamextremelylazy.Ihave
másik
anothersetofviceswhenI’mjól
well,butthosearetheprincipalonesatpresent.”“Doyouincludeviolin-playinginyourcategoryofrows?”
he
kérdezte
asked,anxiously.“Itdependsontheplayer,”Ianswered.
“Awell-playedviolinisatreatforthegods—abadly-playedone——”.
“Oh,that’sallright,”hecried,with
egy
amerrylaugh.“Ithinkwemayconsider
a
thethingassettled—thatis,ha
iftheroomsareagreeabletoyou.”“Whenshallwe
látjuk
seethem?”“Callforme
ide
hereatnoonto-morrow,andwe’llgoegyütt
togetherandsettleeverything,”heanswered.“Allright—noonexactly,”
mondtam
saidI,shakinghishand.Welefthim
dolgozzon
workingamonghischemicals,andwewalkedegyütt
togethertowardsmyhotel.“Bytheway,”Iaskedsuddenly,stopping
és
andturninguponStamford,“howthedeucedidhetudta
knowthatIhadcomefromAfghanistan?”Mycompanionsmiledanenigmaticalsmile.
“That’s
csak
justhislittlepeculiarity,”hemondta
said.“Agoodmanypeoplehave
akarta
wantedtoknowhowhefindsthingsout.”“Oh!
egy
amysteryisit?”Icried,rubbingmyhands.
“Thisis
nagyon
verypiquant.Iammuchobligedtoyoufor
hogy
bringingustogether.‘Theproperstudyofmankindisman,’youknow.”
“Youmuststudyhim,then,”Stamfordsaid,ashebademegood-bye.
“You’ll
találni
findhimaknottyproblem,though.I’llwagerhelearns
többet
moreaboutyouthanyouabouthim.Good-bye.”
CHAPTERII.THESCIENCEOFDEDUCTION.