Arthur Conan Doyle - A Study in Scarlet

Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, DL (22 May 1859 7 July 1930)was a Scottish author most noted for his stories about thedetective Sherlock Holmes, which are generally considered a majorinnovation in the field of crime fiction, and the adventures ofProfessor Challenger. He was a prolific writer whose other worksinclude science fiction stories, historical novels, plays andromances, poetry, and non-fiction. Conan was originally a givenname, but Doyle used it as part of his surname in his later years.Source: Wikipedia

In the year 1878 I took my degree of Doctor of Medicine of theUniversity of London, and proceeded to Netley to go through thecourse prescribed for surgeons in the army. Having completed mystudies there, I was duly attached to the Fifth NorthumberlandFusiliers as Assistant Surgeon. The regiment was stationed in Indiaat the time, and before I could join it, the second Afghan war hadbroken out. On landing at Bombay, I learned that my corps hadadvanced through the passes, and was already deep in the enemy'scountry. I followed, however, with many other officers who were inthe same situation as myself, and succeeded in reaching Candahar insafety, where I found my regiment, and at once entered upon my newduties.

The campaign brought honours and promotion to many, but for meit had nothing but misfortune and disaster. I was removed from mybrigade and attached to the Berkshires, with whom I served at thefatal battle of Maiwand. There I was struck on the shoulder by aJezail bullet, which shattered the bone and grazed the subclavianartery. I should have fallen into the hands of the murderous Ghazishad it not been for the devotion and courage shown by Murray, myorderly, who threw me across a pack-horse, and succeeded inbringing me safely to the British lines.

Worn with pain, and weak from the prolonged hardships which Ihad undergone, I was removed, with a great train of woundedsufferers, to the base hospital at Peshawar. Here I rallied, andhad already improved so far as to be able to walk about the wards,and even to bask a little upon the verandah, when I was struck downby enteric fever, that curse of our Indian possessions. For monthsmy life was despaired of, and when at last I came to myself andbecame convalescent, I was so weak and emaciated that a medicalboard determined that not a day should be lost in sending me backto England. I was dispatched, accordingly, in the troopship"Orontes," and landed a month later on Portsmouth jetty, with myhealth irretrievably ruined, but with permission from a paternalgovernment to spend the next nine months in attempting to improveit.

I had neither kith nor kin in England, and was therefore as freeas air or as free as an income of eleven shillings and sixpence aday will permit a man to be. Under such circumstances, I naturallygravitated to London, that great cesspool into which all theloungers and idlers of the Empire are irresistibly drained. There Istayed for some time at a private hotel in the Strand, leading acomfortless, meaningless existence, and spending such money as Ihad, considerably more freely than I ought. So alarming did thestate of my finances become, that I soon realized that I musteither leave the metropolis and rusticate somewhere in the country,or that I must make a complete alteration in my style of living.Choosing the latter alternative, I began by making up my mind toleave the hotel, and to take up my quarters in some lesspretentious and less expensive domicile.

On the very day that I had come to this conclusion, I wasstanding at the Criterion Bar, when some one tapped me on theshoulder, and turning round I recognized young Stamford, who hadbeen a dresser under me at Barts. The sight of a friendly face inthe great wilderness of London is a pleasant thing indeed to alonely man. In old days Stamford had never been a particular cronyof mine, but now I hailed him with enthusiasm, and he, in his turn,appeared to be delighted to see me. In the exuberance of my joy, Iasked him to lunch with me at the Holborn, and we started offtogether in a hansom.

"Whatever have you been doing with yourself, Watson?" he askedin undisguised wonder, as we rattled through the crowded Londonstreets. "You are as thin as a lath and as brown as a nut."

I gave him a short sketch of my adventures, and had hardlyconcluded it by the time that we reached our destination.

"Poor devil!" he said, commiseratingly, after he had listened tomy misfortunes. "What are you up to now?"

"Looking for lodgings," I answered. "Trying to solve the problemas to whether it is possible to get comfortable rooms at areasonable price."

"That's a strange thing," remarked my companion; "you are thesecond man to-day that has used that expression to me."

"And who was the first?" I asked.

"A fellow who is working at the chemical laboratory up at thehospital. He was bemoaning himself this morning because he couldnot get someone to go halves with him in some nice rooms which hehad found, and which were too much for his purse."

"By Jove!" I cried, "if he really wants someone to share therooms and the expense, I am the very man for him. I should preferhaving a partner to being alone."

Young Stamford looked rather strangely at me over hiswine-glass. "You don't know Sherlock Holmes yet," he said; "perhapsyou would not care for him as a constant companion."

"Why, what is there against him?"

"Oh, I didn't say there was anything against him. He is a littlequeer in his ideas an enthusiast in some branches of science. Asfar as I know he is a decent fellow enough."

"A medical student, I suppose?" said I.

"No I have no idea what he intends to go in for. I believe heis well up in anatomy, and he is a first-class chemist; but, as faras I know, he has never taken out any systematic medical classes.His studies are very desultory and eccentric, but he has amassed alot of out-of-the way knowledge which would astonish hisprofessors."

"Did you never ask him what he was going in for?" I asked.

"No; he is not a man that it is easy to draw out, though he canbe communicative enough when the fancy seizes him."

"I should like to meet him," I said. "If I am to lodge withanyone, I should prefer a man of studious and quiet habits. I amnot strong enough yet to stand much noise or excitement. I hadenough of both in Afghanistan to last me for the remainder of mynatural existence. How could I meet this friend of yours?"