Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial. (Wilmington, Del.) 1878-1928, 1922-08-21

to his identity3"
"Only as much 40 we can deduce."
From his hate
Precisely"
"But you are joking. What can you
gather from this old battered felt7"
Here Is my lens You know my
methods. What can you gather your
self as to the individuality OF the man
who has worn this article?"
i took the tattered object in my
hands and turned II over rather rue
fully. 1t was n very ordinary black hat
of the usual round shape, hard. and
much the worse for wear. The lining
had been OF red silk, but was good
deal discolored. There was no makers
name: but. as Holmes had remarked,
the initials II. b." were scrawled upon
one aide. II was pierced In the brim
for hat-securer. but the elastic WAS
missing. For the rest. II was cracked,
exceedingly dusty, and spotted in sew
eral places, although there seemed to
have been some attempt to hide the
discolored patches by smearing them
with ink.
81 can see nothing" said I. handing
1t back TO my friend.
ION the contrary. Watson, you can
see everything. You fail, however, to
reason from what you see. You are too
timid In drawing your differences"
Then, pray tell me what 1t is that
you can infer from this hat?"
lie picked 1t UP and gazed at It In
/ iha naRrtlfar intrn1naltixsx fa Loo,
which was characteristic OF himA 1T
/ Is perhaps less suggestive than it
might have been" he remarked, "and
yet there are a few others which rep
resent at least n strong balance OF
probability. That the man was highly
! intellectual in OF course Obvious upon
the face OF IL, and also that he was
fairly well-to-do within the last three
years. although he has now fallen
upon evil days. He had foresight. but
has less now than formerly, pointing
tn moral retrouression, which, when
taken with the decline OF his fortunes.
seems 10 indicate some evil influence.
probably drink. at work upon Him.
| This may account also for the obvious
fact that his wife has ceased TO love
him"
My dear Holiness"
He has. however. retained some de-
gree Of self-respect," he continued. dis
regarding my remonstrance. He is a
man who leads a sedentary life. goes
out little, is out OF training entirely.
is middle-nged. has grizzled hair which
he has had cut within the last few
days. and which he anoints with lime
cream. These are the more patent
facts which are to be deduced from
his hat. Also, blythe way, that II is
extremely improbable that he has gas
aid on in his house
You are certainly joking, Holmes"
Not in the least. Is 1t possible that
even now. when l give you these re-
suits. YOU are unable TO see how they
are attained?"
Il have no doubt that I am very
stupid; but l must confess that / am
unable TO follow you. For example.
how did you deduce that this man was
| intellectual"
For answer Holmes clapped the ha,
| upon his head. 1t came right over the
/ forehead and settled upon the bridge
OF his nose. 1T is question OF
cubic capacity" said he: "a man with
81 large brain must have something
in It,"
The decline OF his fortunes. then?'
This hat is three years old. These
Hat brims curled al the edge came in
then. Ii is hat of the very best
quality. Look at the band OF ribbed
silk and -ha axcaiIa,- ii,,rr u -ht<
man could AFFORD 70 buy 80 expensive a
hat three years ago. and has had nc
hat since. then he has assurcdly gone
down In the world
We'll. that is clear enough, certainly
But. how about the foresight and the
moral retrogression?"
Sherlock Holmes laughed. Here il
the foresight" said he, putting his fin.
ger upon the little disk and loop of the
hat-securer. They are never sold upor
hats. II this man ordered one, II is q
sign OF certain amount OF foresight
since he went out of his way 10 take
THE precaution against the wind Blu
since We see that he has broken tn,
elastic, and has not troubled toreplacs
II, IL is obvious that he ha. less fore.
sight now than formerly, which is &
distinct proof of weakening nature
On the other hand. ne has endeavoret
TO conceal some Of these stains upor
the felt by daubing them with ink
which is sign that he has not entirel,
lost his eelf-respect."
Your reasoning is certainly plaus
ible."
The further points, that he is mid
dle-aged, that his hair is grizzled, tina
Ii has been recently cut. and that h,
uses lime-cream. are all TO be gathere,
from close examination of the lower
part Of the lining. The lens disclose!
a large plumber OF hair-ends. clean Gu
by the scissors OF the barber. They al
appear TO be adhesive. and there Is
distinct odor of lime-cream. This dust
you will observe, is not the gritty, gra,
I AfaSf Of 1,.t ~.