when the Doctor left the hospital to start up his own practice in the
country, which he would have been unlikely to do if he was a member of
the hospital staff or well-established in a London practice. *
Therfore he was probably only a senior student, who left the hospital five
years ago, according to the date on the stick, and, far from being middle-aged,
must be under thirty, & the possessor of a favourite dog, larger than a
terrier but smaller than a mastiff. Holmes was so irritatingly pleased with
himself that I reached at once for my "Medical Dictionary", to prove him
wrong. It proved him right, instead, about the hospital, at least. He then
drove home his victory by describing the man as "amiable", because he had
received a testimonial from his friends; "unambitious", because he had
abandoned a London career for the country; and "absent-minded",
because he had left his stick & not his visiting card.
