Part 1

A DOCTOR ENJOYS SHERLOCK HOLMES

“Nor must you find fault with me if I often give you what I have borrowed from my various reading, in the very words of the authors themselves” (Macrobius--trans. by Boswell).

Boswell: _The Hypochondriack_, No. XXI

A DOCTOR ENJOYS SHERLOCK HOLMES

Edward J. Van Liere

VANTAGE PRESS NEW YORK WASHINGTON HOLLYWOOD

FIRST EDITION

_All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form._

Copyright, 1959, by Edward J. Van Liere, M.D.

Published by Vantage Press, Inc. 120 West 31st Street, New York 1, N. Y.

Manufactured in the United States of America

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 59-14293

To my grandsons: Edward Van Liere Batchelder and Terry Lewis Batchelder.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am indebted to several people for helpful criticism in the writing of these essays. My medical colleagues, Dr. Gordon R. McKinney, and Dr. David W. Northup, read a number of the essays and made many helpful suggestions. Professor Armand E. Singer of the Romance Language Department of West Virginia University critically reviewed all the manuscripts, and his scholarly erudition is indeed appreciated. The sympathetic assistance of my wife is also gratefully acknowledged. On occasion, she took me gently by the hand, and led me away from many a pitfall. The kind people who aided me must not be taken to task for errors of commission. I alone am responsible for these.

It is a pleasure to thank my capable and efficient secretaries, Mrs. Mildred Fisher and Mrs. Ann Beavers, for typing the manuscripts.

Several of these essays have appeared in the following journals:

_The West Virginia Medical Journal_ _Harvard Medical Alumni Journal_ _The Physiologist_ _The Baker Street Journal_ _The Quarterly of the Phi Beta Pi Medical Fraternity_ _The Student Journal of the American Medical Association_

Permission has been kindly granted to reproduce these essays here.

CONTENTS

Doctor Watson and the Weather 11 The Anatomical Sherlock Holmes 19 “Brain Fever” and Sherlock Holmes 25 Curare and Sherlock Holmes 31 Sherlock Holmes and the Portuguese Man-of-War 35 Doctor Watson and Nervous Maladies 41 Dogs and Sherlock Holmes 48 The Botanical Doctor Watson 54 The Surgical Doctor Watson 62 Sherlock Holmes, the Chemist 69 Doctor Watson’s Universal Specific 77 Doctor Watson, Endocrinologist 83 Genetics and Sherlock Holmes 88 The Zoological Doctor Watson 96 Doctor Watson, Cardiologist 102 The Physiologic Doctor Watson 108 Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, Perennial Athletes 117 The Therapeutic Doctor Watson 127 Doctor Watson, General Practitioner 135

To undertake the writing of a large book is like entering on a long and difficult journey, in the course of which much fatigue and uneasiness must be undergone, while at the same time one is uncertain of reaching the end of it: whereas writing a short essay is like taking a pleasant airing that enlivens and invigorates by the exercise which it yields, while the design is gratified in its completion.

Boswell: _The Hypochondriack_, No. I

DOCTOR WATSON AND THE WEATHER

“It had been a close and rainy day in October.”

_The Resident Patient_

To me one of the most delightful touches in the tales of Sherlock Holmes is the frequent mention of the state of the weather. As far as I know, no one has emphasized the numerous references to the weather by Dr. Watson. Especially in the opening of the short stories can these be found, but they are not confined there, for they appear throughout the longer tales as well. Many instances can be cited to illustrate Dr. Watson’s allusions to the state of the weather. Let us freshen our memory by reviewing some of these.

Numerous references to the rains and winds of autumn may be found, such as, “... the weather had taken a sudden turn to rain, with autumnal winds” (_The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor_). And, in a similar vein, “Outside the wind still screamed and the rain splashed and pattered against the windows. This strange, wild story seemed to have come to us from amid the mad elements--blown in upon us like a sheet of seaweed in a gale” (_The Five Orange Pips_). And in _The Problem of Thor Bridge_, we find that, as Dr. Watson was dressing one morning, he observed how the leaves were being whisked away from the plane tree (we would call it a sycamore) which graced their back yard.

The events related in _The Hound of the Baskervilles_ took place in the autumn of the year, and several interesting allusions to this season may be found: “I walked over to the black window, and I looked through a blurred pane at the driving clouds and at the tossing outline of the wind-swept trees. It was a wild night....” Another reference, “A dull and foggy day with a drizzle of rain. The house is banked in with rolling clouds....” Also, “All day today the rain poured down, rustling on the ivy and dripping from the eaves....” And in another instance, “Rain squalls drifted across ... and the heavy, slate-coloured clouds hung low over the landscape, trailing in gray wreaths down the sides of the fantastic hills.” And lastly, an especially interesting allusion may be cited:

We hurried through the dark shrubbery, amid the dull moaning of the autumn wind and the rustle of the falling leaves. The night air was heavy with the smell of damp and decay. Now and again the moon peeped out for an instant, but clouds were driving over the face of the sky, and just as we came out on the moor a thin rain began to fall.

The paragraph just quoted pictures a rather wet autumn night, but not an especially bad one. In _The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez_, an extremely wild and stormy night toward the end of November is depicted. Dr. Watson describes vividly how the wind howled down Baker Street, and how the rain beat vigorously against the windows. Another reference may be cited which depicts gloomy autumn days: “It had been a close and rainy day in October....” (_The Resident Patient_).

It would appear, then, that many of Sherlock Holmes’ adventures took place during the fall of the year. It must be inferred that the dark and stormy days of autumn depressed the great detective, for we find him saying to Dr. Watson, “Draw your chair up and hand me my violin, for the only problem we still have to solve is how to while away these bleak autumnal evenings” (_The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor_).

From the instances just enumerated, it would seem that Dr. Watson was fond of picturing a background of wind, rain, and storm for many of his stories. He also described the well-known fogs of London with telling effect. In _The Adventure of the Copper Beeches_, Dr. Watson writes, “A thick fog rolled down the lines of dun-coloured houses, and the opposing windows loomed like dark, shapeless blurs through the heavy yellow wreaths.” And again, “It was a September evening and not yet 7 o’clock, but the day had been a dreary one, and a dense drizzly fog lay low upon the great city” (_The Sign of the Four_). In the same story, we find Holmes saying, “See how the yellow fog swirls down the street and drifts across the dun-coloured houses.” _In The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans_, Dr. Watson tells how, during the month of November of 1895, such a heavy fog descended on London that it was impossible to see the houses on the opposite side of Baker Street.

In addition to wind, rain, storm, and fog, Dr. Watson makes reference as well to sharp winter weather. In _The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle_, it will be remembered that Dr. Watson visited Sherlock Holmes two days following Christmas to give his friend the season’s greetings. Watson writes, “I seated myself in his arm chair and warmed my hands before his crackling fire, for a sharp frost had set in, and the windows were thick with ice crystals.” When he and Holmes set out to obtain information about the goose which had swallowed the blue carbuncle, Watson tells us: “It was a bitter night, so we drew on our ulsters and wrapped cravats about our throats. Outside, the stars were shining coldly in a cloudless sky, and breath of the passers-by blew out into smoke like so many pistol shots. Our footfalls rang out crisply and loudly....”

In _The Adventure of the Abbey Grange_, Watson describes an adventure which took place on a bitterly cold morning during the winter of ’97. On another occasion, Watson tells how he and Holmes went for a walk on a cold and frosty winter evening (_The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton_). A description of a beautiful winter day may be found in _The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet_: “It was a bright, crisp February morning, and the snow of the day before still lay deep upon the ground, shimmering brightly in the wintry sun.”

Mention is made too of the weather in the spring. On several occasions, references are made to the cold and stormy weather of the early part of this season: “It was a cold morning of the early spring, and we sat after breakfast on either side of a cheery fire in the old room at Baker Street” (_The Adventure of the Copper Beeches_). _The Adventure of the Speckled Band_ took place in the spring of ’83. Watson writes: “It was a wild night. The wind was howling outside, and the rain was beating and splashing against the window.” In _The Adventure of the Wisteria Lodge_, the good doctor writes that it was a cold, dark, windy March evening, and a fine rain was falling. And in _His Last Bow_, Watson writes that he had recorded in his notebook that, in the latter part of March in the year 1892, it was a bleak and windy day.

Milder spring weather also claimed Dr. Watson’s attention: “It was an ideal spring day, a light blue sky, flecked with little fleecy clouds drifting across from west to east. The sun was shining very brightly, and yet there was an exhilarating nip in the air, which set an edge to a man’s energy” (_The Adventure of the Copper Beeches_). In a similar vein, “It was a perfect day, with a bright sun and a few fleecy clouds in the heavens” (_The Adventure of the Speckled Band_). In _The Adventure of the Three Garridebs_, a lovely spring evening is mentioned, and Watson writes that the slanting rays of the setting sun made even a little prosaic street look golden.

For some reason or other, less frequent mention is made of summer weather. There are, however, several interesting references to this enjoyable season. In the story of _The Greek Interpreter_, Dr. Watson writes, “It was after tea on a summer evening....” And similarly, in _The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone_, our attention is called to the fact that it was the evening of a lovely summer’s day. It would be expected that somewhere in the stories an allusion would be made to the torrid days of August: “It was a blazing hot day in August. Baker Street was like an oven, and the glare of the sunlight upon the yellow brickwork of the house across the street was painful to the eye” (_The Adventure of the Cardboard Box_). An especially poignant reference to a hot summer night may be found in the story _His Last Bow_. Dr. Watson gives a vivid description of a hot night on the second of August. He mentions that there was an awesome hush and a feeling of expectancy in the sultry and stagnant air. The August to which reference is made was that of 1914--the beginning of World War I. In that holocaust, Great Britain lost the flower of her youth. She has not yet recovered from that mortal blow.

People living in the Victorian era, just like many of us today, were interested in barometric pressure. In _The Boscombe Valley Mystery_, an interesting reference to barometric readings may be found. Sherlock Holmes remarks to Lestrade of Scotland Yard: “How is the glass? Twenty-nine, I see. No wind, and not a cloud in the sky.” Somewhat later in the day, he mentions to Dr. Watson: “The glass still keeps very high.... It is of importance that it should not rain before we are able to go over the ground.” Fortunately, in this instance good weather prevailed, for Watson writes, “There was no rain, as Holmes had foretold, and the morning broke bright and cloudless.”

One might well ask why Dr. Watson emphasizes the state of the weather so often? Several reasons come to mind: To make the setting of his stories more realistic; to take up space in the manuscript; to use the subject of the weather as an excuse for some fine writing; to reveal Watson’s little-suspected love of nature; or perhaps still other reasons. Let us examine some of these.

It is well known that writers often have dirty weather prevailing when foul deeds are to be committed. Dr. Watson, however, does not abuse this privilege in his writings, although he does occasionally take advantage of unusual atmospheric conditions to make the story more exciting. A good example of this is to be found in the novel _The Hound of the Baskervilles_.

One recalls that Sherlock Holmes laid a trap to catch the villain, Stapleton. A part of the plan made it necessary for the hero, Sir Henry, to walk across the dismal moor alone after dark. Holmes had calculated that Stapleton would let loose his spectral hound that particular night. It was carefully arranged, of course, so that Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, and Lestrade would kill the hound before any harm befell Sir Henry, and then catch Stapleton redhanded. All went according to plan until a dense fog started to rise from the adjacent Grimpen Mire. The low visibility produced by the unexpected fog almost upset Holmes’ well-laid plans and nearly caused the death of Sir Henry, because his friends could not see the hound until it was dangerously close to him.

Can the good doctor be accused of writing about the weather simply to make the manuscripts longer? I think not. In the first place, there is no evidence (certainly not in his early career) that the money he received for his stories bore any relation to their length. Further, and more important, a man with Watson’s imagination did not have to rely upon such a mundane topic as the weather to lengthen his stories. We can dismiss this argument promptly by stating that he was not guilty of padding his manuscripts in this manner.

Did he use the weather as an occasional excuse for fine writing? Probably not, although some of the paragraphs in which he describes the state of the weather, if examples of fine writing, are certainly examples of vivid writing as well. Several instances could be given, but one will suffice:

It was in the latter days of September, and the equinoctial gales had set in with exceptional violence. All day the wind had screamed and the rain had beaten against the windows, so that even here in the heart of great, handmade London we were forced to raise our minds for the instant from the routine of life, and to recognize the presence of those great elemental forces which shriek at mankind through the bars of civilization, like untamed beasts in a cage. As evening drew in, the storm grew higher and louder, and the wind cried and sobbed like a child in the chimney.

_The Five Orange Pips_

What other reasons could be given for Watson’s frequent allusions to the weather? There are, of course, the dapper gentleman and the Scotchman, who are conscious of the state of the weather since they deplore--for different reasons, to be sure--losing the press in their trousers by being caught in the rain. To the Londoner, however, who seems obliviously unaware of the somewhat disheveled state of his attire, such an explanation could scarcely apply. On the other hand, one cogent reason does come to mind. It must always be remembered that Watson was both a physician _and_ an author. Now the state of the weather is of perpetual interest to a general practitioner of medicine, and this is what Dr. Watson pretended to be. It is true that the physician who practices in the city probably is not as weather-minded as his colleague in the country. Dr. Watson lived in the great city of London, but often made his professional calls on foot and doubtless trudged through storm and rain: “When your round is a short one you walk, and when it is a long one you use a hansom” (_The Crooked Man_). He mentions that after his marriage he dropped in at 221B Baker Street from time to time when walking in that vicinity.

In point of fact, the kind of weather is of no little importance to a person who is called out at any time of day or night, as almost any physician will testify. This may be one of the important reasons why Watson makes such frequent mention of the weather in his stories.

All may not agree with me that such descriptions of the state of the weather add greatly to the interest of Watson’s writings. This is a matter of opinion; for doubtless there are many men who have little interest in the weather under any circumstances. Earl Derr Biggers, the creator of Charlie Chan, had one of his less liked characters remark that he was not interested in the weather, since he was not a cabbage. Be that as it may, I have always pitied those individuals who pay absolutely no attention to the weather; they are missing a great deal in life.

There are people who see beauty and interest only in a beautiful day. The poet probably was right when he sang, “What is so rare as a day in June?” But would anyone deny that there is beauty in a snowstorm or a sleetstorm, and is not a cloudburst or a thunderstorm an awesome spectacle, and can not even a duststorm be a striking phenomenon? Now nature, I grant, can overdo this matter of storms, and too much dust in the atmosphere or a week of rainy, sullen weather leave much to be desired.

To those of us who have been thrilled by the saga of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, and who have found enjoyment and relaxation in reading about these famous characters, I would like to make one further suggestion: Let us think of Dr. Watson not only as a practitioner of medicine, or only just as an amateur detective and confidant of Sherlock Holmes, but also as a man interested in many things--a lover of nature and one who could see charm in all her moods.

THE ANATOMICAL SHERLOCK HOLMES

“I believe he is well up in anatomy....”

_A Study in Scarlet_

A number of references to the anatomy laboratory and to portions of the cadaver may be found in the tales. Shortly after Watson’s return from India, he met his old friend Stamford at the Criterion bar in London. This was a memorable occasion, for it was Stamford who introduced Watson to Sherlock Holmes. When Stamford was telling Watson something about Holmes, he said, “I believe he is well up in anatomy....” Stamford made it clear, however, that Holmes was not a medical student, but did have pronounced scientific interests. He emphasized the fact that Holmes had a cold scientific approach to problems which deeply interested him and that he had been seen “beating the subjects in the dissecting room with a stick....” When Watson evinced some surprise at this unbecoming behavior, Stamford explained, “to verify how bruises may be produced after death” (_A Study in Scarlet_).

At first glance, Holmes’ activity seems to be inexcusable and betokens a deplorable disrespect for the dead. His researches must not be regarded in this light, however, for it may be of distinct medicolegal interest to ascertain whether the bruises on a body were produced before or after death. This problem has been studied extensively, and information concerning it may be found in books dealing with medicolegal matters. Holmes’ early interest and study in this field are quite understandable, for at that time he was laying the foundation for his brilliant career as a specialist in the study of crime.

When Watson first started rooming with Holmes he found that the latter “Sometimes ... spent his day ... in the dissecting rooms....” (_A Study in Scarlet_). In one instance, reference is made to the preservation of bodies in the anatomy laboratory: “Bodies in the dissecting rooms are injected with preservative fluids.” The agents employed in the embalming fluid are given: “carbolic, or rectified spirits would be the preservative....” (_The Adventure of the Cardboard Box_).

Osteology must have appealed to Holmes, since bones are frequently mentioned. Once when Holmes was trying to analyze a difficult case, he made allusion to Cuvier, the famous anatomist and anthropologist: “Cuvier could correctly describe a whole animal by the contemplation of a single bone....” (_The Five Orange Pips_). In _A Study in Scarlet_, a description of the alkali plains of our great West is given; these pointed but gruesome sentences may be found:

Here and there are scattered white objects which glisten in the sun and stand out against the dull deposit of alkali. Approach and examine them. They are bones: some large and coarse, others smaller and more delicate. The former have belonged to oxen and the latter to men.

In another instance, Holmes was consulted about a “charred fragment of bone” which had been recovered from a heating furnace in a private dwelling. He showed it to Watson, who without hesitation stated that it was the upper condyle of a human femur (_The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place_).

One early spring afternoon, Holmes and Watson upon returning from a walk found that a visitor had left his pipe on the table. Holmes picked it up and examined it carefully. Watson writes, “He held it up and tapped on it with his long, thin forefinger, as a professor might who was lecturing on a bone” (_The Yellow Face_). This is an apt allusion, for many medical students will remember the occasion when an instructor in anatomy held a bone in his hand, pointed out areas where muscles had been attached, and commented on other characteristic features. One is reminded of the story of the poet-physician Oliver Wendell Holmes, who was professor of anatomy at Harvard for many years. Once when lecturing on the sphenoid bone (a bone of the skull having an exceedingly complicated architecture), he is reputed to have said something like this: “Gentlemen, I have in my hand the sphenoid bone. Gentlemen, I say d---- the sphenoid bone!” Any medical student who has studied this bone will wholeheartedly agree with the remark.

Mention is made also of fossil bones. When Holmes and Watson visited the house of Nathan Garrideb, they noticed a large cupboard full of them. Holmes was invited to take a seat, but his host found it necessary to clear the chair of bones. Obviously, Garrideb was a most enthusiastic collector (_The Adventure of the Three Garridebs_).

Sherlock Holmes presumably enjoyed anthropology, for several references to this science may be found in the tales. In _The Hound of the Baskervilles_, when Dr. Mortimer first met Sherlock Holmes, the doctor rather facetiously said to him:

“I hardly expected so dolichocephalic a skull or such well-marked supra-orbital development. Would you have any objection to my running my finger along your parietal fissure? A cast of your skull, sir, until the original is available, would be an ornament to any anthropological museum. It is not my intention to be fulsome, but I confess that I covet your skull.”