The Press., 1895-04-25

and and-yes why, Dr. Watson is the very man. Your correspondent says two friends. He and I have worked together before''
 But would he come?" she asked, with something appealing in her voice and ex- precision.
 II should be most proud and happy, " l said fervently. If can be of any serv. ice"
 You are both very kind," she answer Led. s.I have led retired life and have no ffrends whom could appeal to- If am here at 6, it will do, suppose?" You must not be later,' said Holmes. "There is one other point, however. Is this handwriting the same as that upon the l pearl box addresses?"
 II have them here, she answered, pro, | ducing half dozen pieces of paper You arc certainly a model client. You have the correct intuition Let us sec now" He spread out the papers upon the table and gave little darting glances from one to the other. They are disguised hands except the letter, ,' he said present. 1 ly, but there can be no question as to | the authorship. See how the irrepressible | Greek will break out, and see the twirl of the final S. Theya are undoubtedly by the same person. should not like to sug- | gest false hopes, Miss Morstan, but is | there any resemblance between this hand and that of your fatherP"
 Nothing could be more unlike.'' II expected to hear you say so We shall look out for you then at G. Pray al low me to keep the papers l may look into the matter before then. It is only half past B. Au revoir, then.' "Au revoir, ," said our visitor, and with a hrf fOh Ei 7lV Sr1o Lo other of us she replaced her pearl box in her bosom and hurried away. Standing at the window, | watched her walking briskly down the street until the gray turban and white feather were but a speck in tho somber crowd.
 "What very attractive womanp' ex claimed, turning to my companion
 He had lit his pipe again and was lean ing back, with dropping eyelids. ''Is shef' he said languidly II did not observe" You really are an automaton a calcu lating machine" cried. There is some thing positively inhuman in you at times. ''
 He smiled gently, 1t is of the first importance, he said not to allow your judgment to be biased by personal quail ties. A client is to me a mere unit, a factor in problem. The emotional quali ties are antagOnistic to clear reasoning. assure you that the most winning woman l ever knew was hanged for poisoning three little children for their insurance money, and the most repellent man of my | acquaintance is a philanthropist who has l spent nearly quarter of a million upon the London poor"
 In this case, however, II never make exceptions. An excep- tion disproves the rule. Have you ever had occasion to study character in hand writing? What do you make of this feI low s scribblc:'
 It is legihle and regular, answered
 "A man of business habits and some force of character.
 Holmes shook his head Loo at b's long letters, he said They ha dly rise above the common herd That d might be an a and that an C. Men of character always diffcrentiate their long letters however illcgibly they may write. There is vacillation in his ks and self esteem in his capitals. am going out now have some few references to make. Let me recommend this book, one of the most re markable ever penncd. It is Winwood Reade's 'Martyrdom of Man. I shall be back in an hour. "
 sat in the window with the volume in my hand, but my thoughts were far from the daring sE9culations of the writer My | mind ran upon our late visitor-her smiles, the deep rich tones of her voice, the strange mystery which overhung her life If she were l7 at the time of her fathers disappearance, she must be 27 now "a sweet age, when youth has lost it's self consciousness and become little sobercd by experience. So l sat and unused until such dangerous thoughts came into my head that l hurried away to my desk and mi hn icn upon pathology What was l, an army surgeon with weak leg and a weaker banking account, that l should dare to think of such things? She was unit, 8 factor-nothing more If my future were black, it was better surely to face it like a man than to attempt to brighten it by mere will l-o' -the-wisps of the imagination [Continued next weekly