The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1911-11-08
HOLMES, The
ORIGINAL, DEAD
Or. Bell Was Prototype Of Co.
nan DOyle'S Detective.
NOTED SCOTTISH SURGEON.

Also Instructor of the Author, Who
Was Greatly Impressed by Tutors
Clear Scientific Thinkins-Employed
Deduetive Methods.
DR., Joseph Bell, the distinguished
Scottish surgeon who died recently.
was reputed to be the original of
the detective character Of Sherlock
Holmes. He was seventy-four years
old, and his life hobby was the study
Of mysterious crimes.
DR.. Bell was one of Sir A. Conan
Doyle's instructors at the University
of Edinburgh, where the novelist was
educated in the early eighties. He
had a singular genius for noting de-
tails and of forming a chain of circum-
stantfal evidence from them, which
gave Conan Doyle his first suggestion
of his now famous character.
theory which Dr. Bell constantly
advanced was that any really good
doctor ought to be able to tell before
a patient fairly sat down just about
what was the matter with him or her.
With women especially he could fire.
quently tell what they were going to
complain about before they had ut
tered sound. He constantly impress
ed on his students-Conan DOYLE
among them-the vast importance of
seeming trifes.
The great majority. of people of in
cidents and Of cases." he once told his
class, resemble each other in the
main and larger features. Most men
have apiece a head, two arms,
mouth. a nose and certain number of
teeth. But it is the droop of an eye
lid or what not which differentiates
men,"
DR.. Bells Reasonsing.
DR.. Bell would illustrate to his class
his mode Of procedure by giving one
or two instances to prove the success
full application of his theory. These
instances were strongly suggestive of
the methods which Sherlock Holmes
was later described as employing.
Once" he said, "a man walked into
the room where | was instructing stu
dents, and his case seemed to be a very
simple one. | was talking about what
was wrong with him. of course, gen.
tlemen,' l happened to say, he has
been soldier in a highland regiment |
and probably bandsman.' 1 pointed |
out the swagger in his walk suggestive |
of the piper. while his shortness told |
me that if he had been a soldier he |
had probably been a bandsman. In |
fact, he had the whole appearance of !
a man in one of the highland regi- |
ments. The man turned out to be |
nothing but shoemaker and had nev-
er been in the army in his life. This |
was rather f1oorer; but, being abso-
lutely certain was right and seeing
something was up, did a pretty cool
thing
81 told two of the strongest clerks
or dressers to remove the man to a
side room and detain him till 1 came.
next had him stripped, and under the
left breast Instantly detected little
blue 'D' branded on his skin. He was
a deserter. That was the way they
used to mark them in the Crimean
days and later, although it is not per-
mitted now. The reason of his eva
sion was at once clear.
Doyle a Good Student.
Conan Doyle" DR.. Bell continued,
was one of the best students l ever
had. He was exceedingly interested al
ways in everything connected with
diagnosis and was never tired of try
ing to discover all these little details
one looks for. recolleet that he was
once much amused when a patient
walked in and sat down. Good morn
ing. Pat, l said, for it was impossible
not to see that the patient was an
lr1shman. Good morning, your honor
he answered. Did you like your walk
over the links today as you came in
from the south side of the town? l
asked. Yes said Pat. Did your honor
see me| Well, Conan Doyle could not
zee how I knew that, absurdly simple
rs 1T was. On a showery day, such as
It had been, the reddish ebay at the 1
bare parts Of the links adheres to the
boot, and a tiny part is bound to re-
main. There is no such clay anywhere
Else around the town for miles. This ,,
md one or two similar instances ex-
'ited Doyle's keenest interest and set !
lim experimenting himself, with very
brilliant results, as you know" 6
One day. in the presence of his class,
Dr.. Bell said TO a patient who had {
,ome to the Edinburgh Royal infirmary
or treatment.
Gentlemen, we have here a man
Who is either a cork cutter or a slater.
4 yop Will only use your eyes for a !
moment you will be able to define a
light hardening-a regular callous,
one side of his forefin- !
'er and thickening on the outside of S
lis thumb, a sure sign that he follows |
he one occupation or the other +
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