the resident patient

8/9/2019 The Resident Patient

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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,



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?"



"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."



"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



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



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.



" '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



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



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.



"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-



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



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



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.



"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.



"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."



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



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."



"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



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.



"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.

the resident patient

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