Chapter 3

For Heaven’s sake don’t get started on
a new problem when your nerves are all in shreds” (_The Reigate
Puzzle_). Watson’s admonition proved of no avail. The next morning,
while at breakfast, they were informed that a dastardly murder had
been committed at the home of a nearby neighbor. Inspector Forrester,
knowing that Sherlock Holmes was in the vicinity, asked for his help.
Holmes answered the call, and after a rather painful experience, solved
the mystery brilliantly in the course of a few hours.

The neat solution of this case, together with the concomitant
excitement which it afforded, apparently caused Holmes to recover
quickly from his “blackest depression,” for that afternoon he remarked
to his faithful friend, “Watson, I think our quiet rest in the country
has been a distinct success, and I shall certainly return much
invigorated to Baker Street tomorrow” (_The Reigate Puzzle_). This
episode demonstrates the man’s superb constitution. Most people would
have required several weeks, or even months, to recover their normal
health following a severe nervous breakdown. But not Holmes.

In several instances, the characters described by Dr. Watson showed
clear-cut signs of hysteria. When the well-known banker Alexander
Holden found that the “Beryl Coronet,” which had been intrusted to his
care, had been mutilated and three of its jewels stolen, he became
greatly agitated and called on Sherlock Holmes:

For a while he could not get his words out, but swayed his body and
plucked at his hair like one who has been driven to the extreme limits
of his reason. Then suddenly springing to his feet, he beat his head
against the wall with such force that we both rushed upon him and tore
him away to the centre of the room.

_The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet_

This highly respected citizen must have been an emotionally unstable
person. One wonders how he could have been a successful banker, with
such a sensitive nervous system. The poor man must have lain awake
many a weary night worrying about his investments. We do not know
his subsequent history, but I suspect that he eventually developed
hypertension or suffered from gastric ulcers.

When Rachel Howells was questioned by the master of the house about the
disappearance of her perfidious lover Brunton, she showed pronounced
signs of hysteria:

She looked at me with so strange an expression that I began to suspect
that her brain was affected.... She fell back against the wall with
shriek after shriek of laughter, while I, horrified at this sudden
hysterical attack, rushed to the bell to summon help. The girl was
taken to her room still screaming and sobbing....

_The Musgrave Ritual_

There was a real reason for the girl’s behavior; she had been directly
responsible for her lover’s horrible death. It is small wonder that she
suffered a violent hysterical attack.

Once Dr. Watson was asked to see the wife of his boyhood friend Robert
Ferguson. It was a tragic situation. She had been observed on several
occasions sucking blood from her infant son. The sympathetic doctor
stated that she appeared only half conscious, and had a frightened
expression. Her pulse and temperature were both high, but he felt
that this was due to her highly emotional state (_The Adventure of
the Sussex Vampire_). Mrs. Ferguson was probably suffering from
hysteria. The attack cleared up promptly when Sherlock Holmes sat down
at the patient’s bedside and, in the presence of her husband, analyzed
the situation, explaining why it was necessary for Mrs. Ferguson to
suck the baby’s wounds. They had been made by arrows dipped in curare.
The baby’s insanely jealous half-brother had committed this atrocious
deed. Truly, a shocking episode!

In _The Greek Interpreter_, reference is made to a man who showed
symptoms of St. Vitus’ dance. Mr. Melas described his unpleasant
companion: “... his lips and eyelids were continually twitching like a
man with St. Vitus’ dance. I could not help thinking that his strange,
catchy little laugh was also a symptom of some nervous malady.”

The term “St. Vitus’ dance” is seldom used nowadays; it is presently
called “acute chorea.” This condition is characterized by irregular
involuntary contractions of the muscles and is associated with a
variable amount of psychic disturbance. The name (St. Vitus’ dance)
has been handed down from the Middle Ages. Epidemics characterized
by excitement, gesticulations, and dancing brought about mainly by
religious fervor were in those days not uncommon. Whenever these
symptoms became excessive, the people in the Rhenish province
frequently made pilgrimages to the Chapel of St. Vitus in Zebern.

Another reference to twitching muscles may be cited. Sherlock Holmes
called on Mr. Sidney Johnson, senior clerk and draughtsman, in an
office from which extremely important secret papers had disappeared.
Watson writes that the clerk had haggard cheeks, and that his hands
were twitching from the nervous strain he had undergone (_The Adventure
of the Bruce-Partington Plans_).

In the tales, other references may be found to shattered nerves and
states of nervous exhaustion. In describing the condition of her
father, Alice Turner tells Sherlock Holmes: “... Dr. Willow says
that he is a wreck and that his nervous system is shattered” (_The
Boscombe Valley Mystery_). The real reason for his pitiful state,
which his daughter did not know, was that he had recently murdered an
old acquaintance.

When Don Murillo, Tiger of San Pedro, tried to kidnap Miss Burnett, she
broke away from him, and with the help of a friend got into a cab. Here
Holmes saw her, and observed that she was in a state of collapse from
nervous exhaustion (_The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge_). This brave
lady had been locked in a room for a number of days with insufficient
food, and had undergone other traumatic experiences. It is no wonder
that Holmes found her in such a pitiful state.

After Sir Henry Baskerville had narrowly escaped death on the moor from
the savage hound, he suffered a nervous collapse, “... the shock of
the night’s adventure had shattered his nerves.” Sir Henry assuredly
was not a weak man, but the victim of a concatenation of unfortunate
circumstances. The family history of the hound, Sir Henry’s love for a
married woman, his isolation and loneliness, and the somber landscape
of the bleak moor doubtless all preyed on his mind. When the hound
actually sprang upon him, his nervous system finally reached the
breaking point. Stronger men than he would have quailed.

Mr. Marlow Bates, the manager of the estates of the wealthy “Gold King”
Mr. Gibson (whose wife had been found dead), called on Sherlock Holmes.
Watson describes him as a small, thin, fidgety man, who appeared to be
on the brink of a serious nervous breakdown. Although in great fear of
his vicious employer, Bates detested him so heartily that he hurried
to Baker Street and told Holmes that Gibson was an “infernal villain.”
In view of the circumstances, this was indeed a grave accusation. The
reader will recall that the “Gold King” had not murdered his wife; she
had died by her own hand (_The Problem of Thor Bridge_).

The eyes often show a characteristic expression under emotional strain.
Referring to Colonel Valentine Walther, whose brother had suddenly
died, Watson observes that he had wild eyes and presented a worried
and disheveled appearance (_The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington
Plans_). It was discovered that it was the colonel who had stolen
an extremely important state document. His older brother, Sir James,
suspected Valentine’s guilt. The shock was too much for the older
man and caused his death; there was a question as to whether he took
his own life. Be that as it may, his younger brother was responsible
for the tragedy. We are not surprised to learn that the eyes of the
colonel had a wild expression.

People under great emotional strain often break out in a cold sweat.
Nearly everyone has, at one time or another, experienced this
phenomenon. It is caused by violent stimulation of the sympathetic
nervous system. When John Openshaw’s uncle Elias received a letter
containing five orange pips, a great change came over him. At times he
acted like a madman. His nephew told Holmes, “At such times I have seen
his face, even on a cold day, glisten with moisture, as though it were
new raised from a basin” (_The Five Orange Pips_).

A cold sweat is more apt to manifest itself on the forehead, but it
is not necessarily limited to the face, for any portion, or all,
of the body may be involved. The cold, clammy sweat produced under
conditions of intense mental stress is different, of course, from the
normal healthy sweat brought about by a warm environment or by physical
exertion, or by both. The physiologic explanation of a cold sweat is
that it is a condition brought about by pain or fear as a reaction
anticipatory of the strenuous muscle movements that may ensue.

Victor Trevor’s father was also the recipient of a letter which led to
tragedy:

My father read it, clapped both hands to his head and began running
round the room in little circles like a man who has been driven out of
his senses.... I saw that he had a stroke.

_The “Gloria Scott”_

Apparently, this individual became so agitated, and his blood pressure
rose so high, that he was stricken with a fatal cerebral hemorrhage.
It is well known that emotions may produce a pronounced rise in blood
pressure even in healthy people.

Most of the nervous maladies described by Dr. Watson were in the
nature of acute episodes, and more or less transient in character. The
individuals he depicted were high-strung, nervous people, overwhelmed
by the traumatic experiences to which they had been subjected. Some
of these were unable to suppress their emotions and either became
hysterical or suffered a nervous collapse.

As a rule, we do not think of the English people as giving way to
their feelings, but as governing them strictly. It is the Latins who
are supposed to manifest hysterical reactions. However, it would
take extraordinarily strong men, regardless of their nationality,
to maintain normal mental equilibrium under some of the situations
described in the spine-tingling tales; even the stolid Britishers
cracked under the mental strain. The nervous system of man can
withstand just so much and no more. It is given to but few to possess
nerves of steel, and even such rare individuals finally reach a
breaking point. Man is not a machine, but a human being.

If Dr. Watson were writing his adventurous stories today, he probably
would stress the fact that long-continued nervous strain is likely
to produce ulcers of the stomach or of the duodenum. The modern view
is that mental worry may lead to hypertension and to diseases of the
arteries, especially those which supply the heart muscles, namely, the
coronaries--although it is true, as previously mentioned, that most
of the characters depicted in the tales suffered mental strain for a
substantial length of time.

It is noteworthy that both Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson maintained a
nice mental balance even during periods of tremendous excitement and
danger. A striking characteristic about both was their extraordinary
fearlessness and mental poise. Although people around them often
manifested signs of abject fear, or were given to hysterical outbursts,
our heroes never faltered, but maintained a calm demeanor and
dispatched neatly and efficiently the task before them.

DOGS AND SHERLOCK HOLMES

“It was a giant dog, as large as a calf, tawny tinted, with hanging
jowl, black muzzle, and huge projecting bones.”

_The Adventure of the Copper Beeches_

To those interested in animals, it is gratifying to know that two of
the most popular heroes of detective fiction--Sherlock Holmes and
Dr. Watson--both loved dogs. They did not like them in a sickly,
sentimental sense, but rather with a genuine, masculine affection.
They regarded them as dogs, not as human beings, and emphasized and
respected their canine personalities. I am sure every self-respecting
dog would want to be so regarded.

Frequent mention of dogs is found in the tales. In point of fact, the
grisly, spectral hound portrayed in _The Hound of the Baskervilles_
has become a byword not only among readers of detective fiction but
also with people in general. Various kinds of dogs are portrayed: large
dogs, small dogs, good ones and bad ones. In one instance, a lovable,
curly-haired spaniel is depicted; in another, a plodding bloodhound;
and in still another, a fiendish dog.

One Sunday evening, in early September, in the year 1903, Sherlock
Holmes summarily sent for Dr. Watson. The friendly doctor, not wishing
to disappoint his friend, set out for Baker Street, and entered the
old apartment, which for a number of years had also been his home.
Holmes waved him to a chair, and after a considerable period of silence
remarked that he was seriously considering writing a monograph on
the use of dogs in the work of a detective (_The Adventure of the
Creeping Man_).

Dr. Watson did not think much of the idea, and pointed out that this
field had been pretty thoroughly explored. Holmes would not agree.
He explained that he wished to approach the subject from a somewhat
different angle than had previously been done. He argued that a dog
reflected a family’s life. If the household were a happy one, the dog
would be friendly and frisky; conversely, if the family were gloomy,
the dog would appear sad. He insisted further that dangerous and
unpleasant dogs are owned by dangerous and unpleasant people.

Holmes bolstered his argument by giving as an illustration the case on
which he was presently working. He believed that the changed behavior
of a wolfhound toward his master might turn out to be an important clue
in solving the mystery. This eventually proved to be true, as will
be described later. Although we may congratulate Holmes on his keen
analysis, and on his pungent manner of presenting the argument, there
surely must be many exceptions which come to the minds of us all. We
have witnessed nice people who harbor vicious dogs, and the opposite as
well. We will not quibble, but agree for the main part that Holmes was
probably right.

Hounds are frequently mentioned. In _The Sign of the Four_, Watson,
describing Holmes in action, writes: “So swift, silent, and furtive
were his movements, like those of a trained bloodhound picking out a
scent.” Again, in _A Study in Scarlet_, we see: “As I watched him I
was irresistibly reminded of a pure-blooded, well-trained foxhound,
as it dashes backward and forward through the covert, whining in its
eagerness, until it comes across the lost scent.” In _The Red-Haired
League_, Jones of Scotland Yard, speaking to his colleague Wilson,
comments: “Our friend Holmes here is a wonderful man for starting a
chase. All he wants is an old dog to help him in the running down.”
Other habits of hounds may be found in _The Adventure of the Devil’s
Foot_ and _The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans_. Numerically,
hounds are mentioned more frequently in the tales than any other
kind of dog, and in several instances hounds actually track down the
criminal.

It will be recalled that in _The Sign of the Four_ the dependable old
hound Tobey follows a creosote scent. In _The Adventure of the Missing
Three-Quarter_, faithful old Pompey follows a carriage which had had
aniseed squirted upon the wheel by Holmes. On this occasion, Holmes
remarks to Watson that a draghound would follow aniseed indefinitely.
Holmes takes almost a human interest in Pompey. The detective formally
introduces the dog to Dr. Watson and speaks highly of the draghound’s
tracking ability. However, he did not trust all dogs, for we find him
saying to Watson that some dogs bite the hand that feeds them (_The
Adventure of the Three Gables_).

Two especially fiendish dogs are portrayed in the tales: Carlo the
mastiff, in _The Adventure of the Copper Beeches_; and the spectral
hound, in _The Hound of the Baskervilles_. In the former, the
despicable Rucastle, the master of Carlo, said: “We feed him once a
day, and not too much then, so that he is always as keen as mustard....
God help the trespasser whom he lays his fangs upon!” Miss Violet
Hunter, the heroine of the story, saw this beast one night: “It was a
giant dog, as large as a calf, tawny tinted, with hanging jowl, black
muzzle, and huge projecting bones.” Watson vividly describes the attack
Carlo finally made on his master:

There was the huge famished brute, its black muzzle buried in
Rucastle’s throat, while he writhed and screamed upon the ground.
Running up, I blew its brains out, and it fell over with its keen
white teeth still meeting in the creases of his neck.

In _The Hound of the Baskervilles_, we find a hound which would
frighten the Evil One himself. Evidently, this huge beast was a
mongrel: “It was not a pure bloodhound and it was not a pure mastiff;
but it appeared to be a combination of the two--gaunt, savage, and as
large as a small lioness.” Watson paints this animated picture:

A hound it was, an enormous coal-black hound, but not such a hound as
mortal eyes have ever seen. Fire burst from its open mouth, its eyes
glowed with a smouldering glare, its muzzle and hackles and dewlap
were outlined in flickering flame.

While this hound was worrying the throat of Sir Henry Baskerville,
Holmes emptied five barrels of his revolver into the creature’s flank.
“With a last howl of agony and a vicious snap in the air, it rolled
upon its back, four feet pawing furiously, and then fell limp upon its
side.”

Other breeds are not ignored. Holmes, who had considerable
professional jealousy, would not admit that Jones of Scotland Yard
had the imagination a detective should have, or that he had a keen
intellect, but does pay him this fine compliment: “He is as brave as
a bulldog....” (_The Red-Haired League_.) A reference is made to rat
terriers in _The Adventure of the Crooked Man_. Spaniels also are
mentioned on at least two occasions. Dr. Mortimer, in the story of _The
Hound of the Baskervilles_, owns a curly-haired spaniel of which he
is extremely fond. Unfortunately, this lovable dog comes to grief on
the moor. In _The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place_, a spaniel plays
an important part in solving the mystery. The so-called “Shoscombe
spaniels” were famous throughout England, and, according to Holmes,
were frequently mentioned at dog shows. He successfully uses one of
these, a pet spaniel, to establish the fact that the person in the
carriage is not the dog’s mistress. Holmes was satisfied that the
spaniel was right, and insisted that dogs do not make mistakes in such
cases.

Another instance can be cited where the behavior of a dog helped
Sherlock Holmes solve a perplexing problem. In talking to Watson, he
laid great stress on the fact that Professor Presbury’s heretofore
friendly wolfhound Roy had turned on his master and tried to attack
him. This extraordinary episode played an important part in the final
solution of the mystery (_The Adventure of the Creeping Man_).
The facts in the case were these: Professor Presbury, a distinguished
physiologist, had fallen madly in love with a very young girl, and,
in an effort to regain his lost youth, had periodically been taking
hypodermic injections of serum obtained from langurs. According to
the story, the monkey serum produced apelike qualities in Professor
Presbury. Following the injections, the professor would deliberately
and maliciously tease his wolfhound until one night the hound slipped
his collar and viciously attacked his master. He buried his muzzle in
his master’s throat; and if timely aid had not come, Presbury would
have been killed. As Holmes remarked to Watson, the hound thought he
was attacking the monkey and not the professor.

Since Holmes was a detective, and not a professional biologist, he
seldom found it necessary to use dogs for experimental purposes. Once,
however, he did not hesitate to try out the effects of a poison drug,
curare, on an old dog which was _in extremis_. It will be recalled
that this poison caused instant death (_A Study in Scarlet_). While
not a biological scientist--as we understand the word today--Holmes
nevertheless was scientifically minded, and it is certain that had the
need arisen to obtain evidence which would have helped mankind he would
not have hesitated to experiment on a normal, healthy dog. He was a
practical man, in the fullest sense of the word, and had, as Watson
said, “... an admirably balanced mind” (_A Scandal in Bohemia_).

It is true that both Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson grieved when Dr.
Mortimer’s pet curly-haired spaniel met its fate on the moor, and they
both loved Tobey, the faithful old bloodhound who had aided them in
_The Sign of the Four_. However, they did not hesitate to shoot
five bullets into the flank of the hound of the Baskervilles when he
was at the throat of Sir Henry, or to blow out the brains of Carlo the
mastiff when he sank his teeth into the fat neck of the villainous
Rucastle. Holmes and Watson were not sentimentalists, but virile,
vigorous men of action--the type of men dogs like.

Finally, Dr. Watson pays a tribute to dogs in general in _The
Adventure of the Lion’s Mane_. In this story, after McPherson died
from his encounter with the Lion’s Mane (_Cyanea capillata_),
his pet Airedale eventually met a similar fate. According to Sherlock
Holmes himself, the terrier did not eat for a week following his
master’s death, and finally followed the trail of his dead master. He
was found dead on the edge of the same pool where his master had lost
his life. It is true that the terrier did not have the opportunity
of saving his master’s life--but no doubt he would have, had it been
possible. The story portrays vividly the bond of companionship between
a man and his dog, for in this instance the dog apparently gave his
life searching for his master. Dr. Watson pays tribute to such devotion
in the words of Sherlock Holmes: “That the dog should die was after
the beautiful, faithful nature of dogs.” This is a tribute that can
be endorsed by all, but especially by biologists, who are so deeply
indebted to the dog for the aid it has given in the search for means to
alleviate the pain and suffering of mankind. I am certain that every
biologist who professes to be a Christian gentleman would say “Amen”
to Dr. Watson’s beautiful tribute to an animal which would die so that
mankind might live.

THE BOTANICAL DOCTOR WATSON

“... there stood a patriarch among oaks, one of the most magnificent
trees that I have ever seen.”

_The Musgrave Ritual_

Many delightful references to plant life may be found in the tales.
These allusions enrich the stories and add greatly to their charm and
interest. Love for inviting landscapes, for trees, for flowers, and
for shrubs appears to be innate in human beings. This would be a drab
world indeed without a variegated and a beautiful plant life. One need
not be a botanist to appreciate the beauty and fragrance of a rose or
a violet. They are different in design, but lovely in their own ways.
It is not meet that we attempt to analyze their beauty; let us merely
enjoy it. If an extravagant phrase be permitted, let us not subject the
beauty of the orchid to the flame of the analytic blowpipe or attempt
to measure the fragrance of the June rose with an olfactometer.

After Dr. Watson had lived with Sherlock Holmes a few weeks, he became
intensely interested in this quiet but unusual man. One day he sat
down and made an attempt to analyze and evaluate Holmes’ conversance
in several fields. While Dr. Watson felt that Holmes’ understanding of
anatomy was good, his knowledge of botany was “variable.” The worthy
doctor writes: “Knowledge of Botany--Variable. Well up in belladonna,
opium, and poisons generally. Knows nothing of practical gardening” (_A
Study in Scarlet_). Thus, it appears that Holmes was more interested
in medicinal plants, and especially those from which poisons could be
extracted. This does not surprise us, because of his interest in crime
detection; we know, too, of his researches in the chemistry of the
alkaloids.

We must keep in mind that Watson wrote of Sherlock Holmes:
“Appreciation of nature found no place among his many gifts” (_The
Adventure of the Cardboard Box_). A man uninterested in nature is
not apt to take especial notice or appreciate the beauty of flowers or
vegetation. We are indebted, therefore, largely to Dr. Watson for the
many pleasing references to plant life and landscapes.

We find allusions to a botanist and to the study of botany in _The
Valley of Fear_ and in _The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge_. In the first
story, Watson likens Holmes to a botanist rapt in his admiration for
a beautiful flower; and in the latter story, Watson points out that
many instructive days can be spent in the study of botany and suggests
the use of an elementary text on the subject, a spud, and a proper box
to hold the specimens. The amateur botanist will surely appreciate
these suggestions. Such a person will find pleasure no matter where he
strays--in the forest, the plains, the mountains, or the desert. He
will never be bored.

Dr. Watson obviously loved the vegetation of early spring, for he
writes: “... the first faint shoots of green were breaking out upon the
elm, and the sticky spearheads of the chestnuts were just beginning to
burst into their fivefold leaves” (_The Adventure of the Yellow Face_).
Also, we read, “The trees and wayside hedges were just throwing out
their first green shoots.” (_The Adventure of the Speckled Band_).

The observant doctor was not unmindful of the autumn foliage. In _The
Hound of the Baskervilles_, he calls our attention to the melancholy
aspect of the countryside in the fall of the year, and speaks of the
yellow leaves lying on the ground, some still fluttering down from the
trees. In _The Problem of Thor Bridge_, he notes that the plane tree
in the backyard was losing its remaining leaves on a stormy October
morning. (We would call a plane tree a sycamore.) Some people claim
they become somewhat melancholic in the autumn and dislike to see the
leaves falling, the grass turning brown, and other signs associated
with the fall of the year. I am not one of these. There is much to be
said for distinct changes in seasons. The changes occurring in the
autumn are necessary so that the wonderful season of spring may be
thoroughly appreciated and enjoyed.

Several types of landscapes are pictured. In _A Study in Scarlet_,
the arid land in our great West is described:

As far as the eye can reach stretches the great flat plainland, all
dusted over with patches of alkali, and intersected by clumps of the
dwarfish chaparral bushes.

The purist might object to the term “chaparral bushes,” because
chaparral, being a nonspecific term, refers to any stunted type of
vegetation found growing on dry soil in our West. It might have been
more proper simply to have said “clumps of chaparral.” In the same
story, a prosperous, peaceful countryside landscape is depicted:
“All looked so peaceful and happy, the rustling trees and the broad
silent stretch of grainland....” In _The Adventure of the Solitary
Cyclist_, a landscape of flowering gorse is described, and attention
is called to its golden color on the heather-covered fields.

Dr. Watson obviously was impressed with landscapes of gold and bronze,
especially those which contained faded ferns, for we find him using the
description several times, for example:

The sun was beginning to sink ... and the long, sloping plain in front
of us was tinged with gold, deepening into rich, ruddy browns where
the faded ferns and brambles caught the evening light.

_Silver Blaze_

Similarly, in the same story: “... the low curves of the moor,
bronze-coloured from the fading ferns, stretched away to the sky
line....” Besides these landscapes, several references to some of
the famous forests of England are made in _The Adventure of Black
Peter_ and _The Naval Treaty_.

As might be anticipated, numerous allusions are made to trees. Dr.
Watson presents a pleasing picture: “Just beyond it is a nice little
grove of Scotch firs, and I used to be very fond of strolling down
there, for trees are always a neighborly kind of thing” (_The Yellow
Face_). The word “neighborly” strikes a sympathetic note. All of
us have experienced this feeling at one time or another. Walking in a
pleasant woodland, one can quietly commune with nature. The singular
thing is that on such occasions the creative mind is often stimulated.
New ideas and new concepts apparently rise from the subconscious to the
higher brain centers. Numerous examples could be given of this truly
remarkable phenomenon.

Dr. Watson must have had a lively interest in oak trees, for he alludes
to them on several occasions. He speaks of “ancient” oaks and “mighty”
oaks, terms surely applicable to the famous English oak trees (_The
Valley of Fear_ and _The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist_).

The prize oak, presumably, is the one described in _The Musgrave
Ritual_. Sherlock Holmes related the story to Dr. Watson one winter
night: “... there stood a patriarch among oaks, one of the most
magnificent trees that I have ever seen.” He went on to quote his
host, Reginald Musgrave: “It was there at the Norman Conquest in all
probability.... It has a girth of twenty-three feet.” Truly, it was a
mighty oak and worthy of comment.