CHAPTERI.MR.SHERLOCKHOLMES.
Intheyear1878ItookmydegreeofDoctorofMedicineoftheUniversityofLondon,
e
andproceededtoNetleytogothroughthecorso
courseprescribedforsurgeonsinthearmy.Havingcompletedmystudiesthere,Iwasdulyattachedto
i
theFifthNorthumberlandFusiliersasAssistantSurgeon.TheregimentwasstationedinIndiaatthetime,
e
andbeforeIcouldjoinit,theseconda
secondAfghanwarhadbrokenout.OnlandingatBombay,Ilearned
che
thatmycorpshadadvancedattraverso
throughthepasses,andwasgià
alreadydeepintheenemy’spaese
country.Ifollowed,however,with
molti
manyotherofficerswhowereinthesamesituationasmyself,e
andsucceededinreachingCandaharinsafety,dove
whereIfoundmyregiment,e
andatonceentereduponmynewduties.Thecampaign
portato
broughthonoursandpromotiontomolti
many,butformeithadnothingma
butmisfortuneanddisaster.Iwasremovedfrommybrigade
e
andattachedtotheBerkshires,withwhomIservedati
thefatalbattleofMaiwand.ThereIwasstruckontheshoulderby
un
aJezailbullet,whichshatteredthebonee
andgrazedthesubclavianartery.Ishould
ha
havefallenintothehandsofthemurderousGhazisha
haditnotbeenforthedevotione
andcourageshownbyMurray,myorderly,che
whothrewmeacrossapack-horse,e
andsucceededinbringingmesafelytotheBritishlines.Wornwithpain,
e
andweakfromtheprolongedhardshipsche
whichIhadundergone,Iwasremoved,withun
agreattrainofwoundedsufferers,tothebasehospitalatPeshawar.Qui
HereIrallied,andhadgià
alreadyimprovedsofarastobeabletocamminare
walkaboutthewards,andeventobaskun
alittleupontheverandah,quando
whenIwasstruckdownbyentericfever,thatcurseofourIndianpossessions.Formonthsmy
vita
lifewasdespairedof,andquando
whenatlastIcametomyselfe
andbecameconvalescent,Iwassoweake
andemaciatedthatamedicalboarddeterminedche
thatnotadayshouldbeperso
lostinsendingmebacktoEngland.Iwasdispatched,accordingly,inthetroopship“Orontes,”
e
andlandedamonthlateronPortsmouthjetty,withmyhealthirretrievablyruined,ma
butwithpermissionfromapaternalgovernmenttospendthenextninemonthsinattemptingtoimproveit.I
avevo
hadneitherkithnorkininEngland,e
andwasthereforeasfreeasair—oraslibero
freeasanincomeofelevenshillingse
andsixpenceadaywillpermitauomo
mantobe.Undersuchcircumstances,InaturallygravitatedtoLondon,that
grande
greatcesspoolintowhichalli
theloungersandidlersofi
theEmpireareirresistiblydrained.ThereIstayedfor
qualche
sometimeataprivatehotelini
theStrand,leadingacomfortless,meaninglessexistence,e
andspendingsuchmoneyasIavevo
had,considerablymorefreelythanIought.Soalarming
fare
didthestateofmyfinancesbecome,che
thatIsoonrealizedthatIdovevo
musteitherleavethemetropolise
andrusticatesomewhereinthecampagna
country,orthatImustmakeun
acompletealterationinmystyleofliving.Choosing
i
thelatteralternative,Ibeganbymakingupmymindtolasciare
leavethehotel,andtoprendere
takeupmyquartersinqualche
somelesspretentiousandlessexpensivedomicile.On
il
theverydaythatIhadcometoquesta
thisconclusion,Iwasstandingatil
theCriterionBar,whensomeonetappedmeonil
theshoulder,andturningroundIrecognizedgiovane
youngStamford,whohadbeenadressersotto
undermeatBarts.Thesightofafriendly
viso
faceinthegreatwildernessofLondonisapleasantcosa
thingindeedtoalonelyuomo
man.InolddaysStamfordhadneverbeen
un
aparticularcronyofmine,ma
butnowIhailedhimwithenthusiasm,e
andhe,inhisturn,appearedtobedelightedtoseeme.Intheexuberanceofmyjoy,I
chiesto
askedhimtolunchwithmeattheHolborn,e
andwestartedofftogetherinun
ahansom.“Whateverhaveyoubeen
fatto
doingwithyourself,Watson?”he
chiese
askedinundisguisedwonder,aswerattledthroughle
thecrowdedLondonstreets.“Youareasthinas
una
alathandasbrownasuna
anut.”Igavehim
un
ashortsketchofmyadventures,e
andhadhardlyconcludeditbythetimethatwereachedourdestination.“Poordevil!”
he
disse
said,commiseratingly,afterhehadascoltato
listenedtomymisfortunes.“Whatareyouuptonow?”
“Lookingforlodgings,”I
risposi
answered.“Tryingtosolvethe
problema
problemastowhetheritispossibile
possibletogetcomfortableroomsatun
areasonableprice.”“That’sastrangething,”remarkedmycompanion;
“youare
il
thesecondmanto-daythathasusato
usedthatexpressiontome.”“And
chi
whowasthefirst?”I
chiesto
asked.“Afellowwhois
lavora
workingatthechemicallaboratoryupatthehospital.Hewasbemoaninghimself
questa
thismorningbecausehecouldnotgetqualcuno
someonetogohalveswithhiminsomeniceroomsche
whichhehadfound,andche
whichweretoomuchforhispurse.”“ByJove!”
Icried,“ifhe
davvero
reallywantssomeonetosharele
theroomsandtheexpense,Iamle
theverymanforhim.Ishouldprefer
avere
havingapartnertobeingalone.”Giovane
YoungStamfordlookedratherstrangelyatmesopra
overhiswine-glass.“Youdon’tknowSherlockHolmesyet,”he
disse
said;“perhapsyouwouldnotcareforhimasaconstantcompanion.”
“Why,whatisthere
contro
againsthim?”“Oh,Ididn’t
detto
saytherewasanythingagainstlui
him.Heisalittlequeerinhisideas—anenthusiastin
alcuni
somebranchesofscience.AsfarasI
so
knowheisadecentfellowenough.”“Amedicalstudent,Isuppose?”
detto
saidI.“No—Ihaveno
idea
ideawhatheintendstogoinfor.I
credo
believeheiswellupinanatomy,e
andheisafirst-classchemist;ma
but,asfarasIso
know,hehasnevertakenoutanysystematicmedicalclasses.Hisstudiesareverydesultoryandeccentric,
ma
buthehasamassedalotofout-of-thewayknowledgeche
whichwouldastonishhisprofessors.”“Didyounever
chiesto
askhimwhathewasandando
goinginfor?”Iasked.
“No;
heisnot
un
amanthatitisfacile
easytodrawout,thoughhecanbecommunicativeabbastanza
enoughwhenthefancyseizeshim.”“Ishouldliketomeethim,”I
dissi
said.“IfIamtolodgewith
qualcuno
anyone,Ishouldpreferauomo
manofstudiousandquiethabits.Iamnotstrong
abbastanza
enoughyettostandmuchnoiseo
orexcitement.Ihadenoughof
entrambi
bothinAfghanistantolastmeforil
theremainderofmynaturalexistence.Come
HowcouldImeetthisamico
friendofyours?”“Heis
sicuro
suretobeatthelaboratory,”returnedmycompanion.“Heeitheravoids
il
theplaceforweeks,orelsehelavora
workstherefrommorningtonight.Se
Ifyoulike,weshalldriveroundinsieme
togetherafterluncheon.”“Certainly,”I
risposi
answered,andtheconversationdriftedawayintoaltri
otherchannels.Aswemadeourwaytothehospital
dopo
afterleavingtheHolborn,Stamforddiede
gavemeafewmoreparticularsaboutthegentlemanwhomIproposedtoprendere
takeasafellow-lodger.“Youmustn’tblameme
se
ifyoudon’tgetonwithhim,”hedisse
said;“IknownothingmoreofhimthanI
ho
havelearnedfrommeetinghimoccasionallyinthelaboratory.Youproposed
questo
thisarrangement,soyoumustnotholdmeresponsible.”“Ifwedon’tgetonit
sarà
willbeeasytopartcompany,”Irisposi
answered.“Itseemstome,Stamford,”Iadded,
guardando
lookinghardatmycompanion,“thatyouabbia
havesomereasonforwashingyourhandsofthematter.Is
questo
thisfellow’stempersoformidable,o
orwhatisit?Don’tbemealy-mouthedaboutit.”
“Itisnot
facile
easytoexpresstheinexpressible,”herispose
answeredwithalaugh.“Holmesis
un
alittletooscientificformytastes—itapproachestocold-bloodedness.Icouldimaginehis
dia
givingafriendalittlepinchofthelatestvegetablealkaloid,notoutofmalevolence,youcapite
understand,butsimplyoutofaspiritofinquiryinordertoavere
haveanaccurateideaoftheeffects.Todohimjustice,I
penso
thinkthathewouldtakeithimselfwiththesamereadiness.Heappearsto
avere
haveapassionfordefiniteandexactknowledge.”“Veryrighttoo.”
“Yes,
ma
butitmaybepushedtoexcess.Quando
Whenitcomestobeatingi
thesubjectsinthedissecting-roomswithastick,itiscertainlytakingratherabizarreshape.”“Beating
i
thesubjects!”“Yes,toverifyhowfarbruisesmaybeproduced
dopo
afterdeath.Isawhimatitwithmyowneyes.”
“Andyetyou
dici
sayheisnotamedicalstudent?”“No.
Heaven
sa
knowswhattheobjectsofhisstudiessono
are.Buthereweare,
e
andyoumustformyourownimpressionssu
abouthim.”Ashespoke,we
girammo
turneddownanarrowlanee
andpassedthroughasmallside-door,che
whichopenedintoawingofthegrande
greathospital.Itwasfamiliargroundto
me
me,andIneedednoguidingasweascendedthebleakstonestaircasee
andmadeourwaydownthelungo
longcorridorwithitsvistaofwhitewashedwalle
anddun-coloureddoors.Nearthefurtherend
un
alowarchedpassagebranchedawayfromite
andledtothechemicallaboratory.Questa
Thiswasaloftychamber,linede
andlitteredwithcountlessbottles.Broad,lowtableswerescatteredabout,
che
whichbristledwithretorts,test-tubes,e
andlittleBunsenlamps,withtheirblueflickeringflames.Therewas
solo
onlyonestudentintheroom,che
whowasbendingoveradistanttableabsorbedinhislavoro
work.Atthesoundofourstepsheglancedround
e
andsprangtohisfeetwithun
acryofpleasure.“I’vefoundit!
I’vefoundit,”heshoutedtomycompanion,runningtowardsuswith
una
atest-tubeinhishand.“I
ho
havefoundare-agentwhichisprecipitatedbyhæmoglobin,e
andbynothingelse.”Hadhediscoveredagold
miniera
mine,greaterdelightcouldnothaveshoneuponhisfeatures.“Dr.
Watson,Mr.SherlockHolmes,”
detto
saidStamford,introducingus.“Howareyou?”
he
disse
saidcordially,grippingmyhandwithuna
astrengthforwhichIdovuto
shouldhardlyhavegivenhimcredit.“YouhavebeeninAfghanistan,Iperceive.”
“Howonearthdidyou
saputo
knowthat?”Iaskedinastonishment.
“Nevermind,”
disse
saidhe,chucklingtohimself.“The
domanda
questionnowisabouthæmoglobin.Nodoubtyousee
il
thesignificanceofthisdiscoveryofmine?”“Itisinteresting,chemically,nodoubt,”I
risposi
answered,“butpractically——”.“Why,man,itisthemostpracticalmedico-legaldiscoveryforyears.
Don’tyousee
che
thatitgivesusaninfallibletestforsangue
bloodstains.Comeoverherenow!”
Heseizedmebythecoat-sleeveinhiseagerness,
e
anddrewmeovertothetableatcui
whichhehadbeenworking.“Letushavesomefreshblood,”he
disse
said,diggingalongbodkinintohisfinger,e
anddrawingofftheresultingdropofsangue
bloodinachemicalpipette.“Now,Iadd
questa
thissmallquantityofbloodtoun
alitreofwater.Youperceive
che
thattheresultingmixturehasla
theappearanceofpurewater.La
Theproportionofbloodcannotbemorethanoneinamilione
million.Ihavenodoubt,however,
che
thatweshallbeabletoobtainla
thecharacteristicreaction.”Ashe
parlava
spoke,hethrewintothevesselun
afewwhitecrystals,andthenaddedsomedropsofun
atransparentfluid.Inaninstant
il
thecontentsassumedadullmahoganycolour,e
andabrownishdustwasprecipitatedtoil
thebottomoftheglassjar.“Ha!
ha!”
hecried,clappinghishands,
e
andlookingasdelightedasun
achildwithanewtoy.“Whatdoyouthinkofthat?”
“Itseemstobe
un
averydelicatetest,”Iremarked.“Beautiful!
beautiful!
Il
TheoldGuiacumtestwasveryclumsye
anduncertain.Soisthemicroscopicexaminationforbloodcorpuscles.
Le
Thelatterisvaluelessifle
thestainsareafewhoursold.Ora
Now,thisappearstoactasbene
wellwhetherthebloodisvecchio
oldornew.Hadthistestbeeninvented,
ci
therearehundredsofmenora
nowwalkingtheearthwhowouldlongagoavrebbero
havepaidthepenaltyoftheircrimes.”“Indeed!”
Imurmured.
“Criminalcasesarecontinuallyhinginguponthatone
punto
point.Amanissuspectedof
un
acrimemonthsperhapsafterithasbeencommitted.Hislinen
o
orclothesareexamined,andbrownishstainsdiscovereduponloro
them.Aretheybloodstains,
o
ormudstains,orruststains,o
orfruitstains,orwhatarethey?Thatisa
domanda
questionwhichhaspuzzledmanyanexpert,e
andwhy?Becausetherewas
non
noreliabletest.Nowwe
abbiamo
havetheSherlockHolmes’test,e
andtherewillnolongerbeanydifficulty.”Hiseyesfairlyglitteredashe
parlava
spoke,andheputhismano
handoverhisheartandbowedasse
iftosomeapplaudingcrowdconjuredupbyhisimagination.“Youaretobecongratulated,”Iremarked,considerablysurprisedathisenthusiasm.
“Therewas
il
thecaseofVonBischoffatFrankfortscorso
lastyear.Hewouldcertainlyhavebeenhunghad
questo
thistestbeeninexistence.ThentherewasMasonofBradford,
e
andthenotoriousMuller,andLefevreofMontpellier,e
andSamsonofNewOrleans.Icouldname
una
ascoreofcasesincui
whichitwouldhavebeendecisive.”“Youseemtobe
un
awalkingcalendarofcrime,”disse
saidStamfordwithalaugh.“You
potresti
mightstartapaperonthoselines.Callitthe‘PoliceNewsofthePast.’”.
“Veryinterestingreadingitmightbemade,too,”remarkedSherlockHolmes,stickinga
piccolo
smallpieceofplasterovertheprickonhisfinger.“Ihavetobecareful,”hecontinued,turningtomewith
un
asmile,“forIdabblewithpoisonsun
agooddeal.”Heheldouthis
mano
handashespoke,andInoticedche
thatitwasallmottledoverwithsimilarpiecesofplaster,e
anddiscolouredwithstrongacids.“We
venuti
camehereonbusiness,”saidStamford,seduto
sittingdownonahighthree-leggedstool,e
andpushinganotheroneinmydirectionwithhisfoot.“My
amico
friendherewantstotakediggings,e
andasyouwerecomplainingche
thatyoucouldgetnoonetogohalveswithyou,Ipensato
thoughtthatIhadbetterportassi
bringyoutogether.”SherlockHolmesseemeddelightedat
la
theideaofsharinghisroomswithme
me.“Ihavemyeyeon
una
asuiteinBakerStreet,”hedetto
said,“whichwouldsuitusdowntotheground.Youdon’tmindthesmellofstrongtobacco,Ihope?”
“I
sempre
alwayssmoke‘ship’s’myself,”Irisposi
answered.“That’sgoodenough.
Igenerally
ho
havechemicalsabout,andoccasionallyfaccio
doexperiments.Wouldthatannoyyou?”
“By
non
nomeans.”“Letmesee—whataremyothershortcomings.
Igetin
la
thedumpsattimes,anddon’tapro
openmymouthfordaysonend.You
dovete
mustnotthinkIamsulkyquando
whenIdothat.Justletmealone,
e
andI’llsoonberight.What
hai
haveyoutoconfessnow?It’sjustas
bene
wellfortwofellowstoknowil
theworstofoneanotherbeforetheybegintovivere
livetogether.”Ilaughedat
questo
thiscross-examination.“Ikeepabullpup,”I
dissi
said,“andIobjecttorowsperché
becausemynervesareshaken,e
andIgetupatallsortsofungodlyhours,e
andIamextremelylazy.I
ho
haveanothersetofvicesquando
whenI’mwell,butthosearei
theprincipalonesatpresent.”“Doyouincludeviolin-playinginyourcategoryofrows?”
he
chiese
asked,anxiously.“Itdependsontheplayer,”I
risposi
answered.“Awell-playedviolinisatreatforthegods—abadly-playedone——”.
“Oh,that’s
tutto
allright,”hecried,withuna
amerrylaugh.“Ithinkwemayconsiderthe
cosa
thingassettled—thatis,iftheroomsareagreeabletoyou.”“Whenshallwe
vedremo
seethem?”“Callforme
qui
hereatnoonto-morrow,andwe’llandremo
gotogetherandsettleeverything,”herispose
answered.“Allright—noonexactly,”saidI,shakinghis
mano
hand.Welefthimworkingamonghischemicals,
e
andwewalkedtogethertowardsmyhotel.“Bytheway,”I
chiesi
askedsuddenly,stoppingandturninguponStamford,“howthedeucefaceva
didheknowthatIhadvenuto
comefromAfghanistan?”Mycompanionsmiled
un
anenigmaticalsmile.“That’sjusthislittlepeculiarity,”he
disse
said.“Agoodmanypeople
hanno
havewantedtoknowhowhefindsthingsout.”“Oh!
un
amysteryisit?”Icried,rubbingmyhands.
“Thisisverypiquant.
Iammuchobligedtoyouforbringingustogether.
‘Theproperstudyofmankindisman,’youknow.”
“Youmuststudyhim,then,”Stamford
disse
said,ashebademegood-bye.“You’ll
troverai
findhimaknottyproblem,though.I’llwagerhelearnsmoreaboutyouthanyouabouthim.
Good-bye.”
CHAPTERII.
La
THESCIENCEOFDEDUCTION.