An illustration of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson that appeared in a stamp printed in Alderney, circa 2009.
Photo:Olga Popova/Shutterstock.com
The Ardlamont murder was an open and shut case.
Estate workers saw Monson and Scott running out of the woods carrying guns.
They were cleaning the weapons when the estate butler asked what had become of Mr. Hambrough.
Monson replied that he had shot himself in the head by accident while climbing a fence.
At first, the death appeared to be a tragic accident.
The nominees for both were Monsons wife.
Monson was arrested and charged with murder.
Meanwhile, his accomplice Edward disappeared from the face of the earth.
At trial, witnesses were produced, alibis were invented.
In the end, the jury decided that there was not enough evidence, and Monson was set free.
One of his students was Arthur Conan Doyle.
Conan Doyle met Bell in 1877 at the University of Edinburgh Medical School.
His voice was high and discordant.
Occasionally the results were very dramatic, though there were times when he blundered.
““Aye, sir.
““Not long discharged?
““No, sir.
““A Highland regiment?
““Aye, sir.
““A non-com.
““Aye, sir.
““Stationed at Barbados?
““Aye, sir.”
They do not in the army, but he would have learned civilian ways had he been long discharged.
He has an air of authority and he is obviously Scottish.
As to Barbados, his complaint is elephantiasis, which is West Indian and not British.
Doyle was eventually coaxed into resurrecting the character eight years later.
As the publicity of Sherlock Holmes soared, so did that of Joseph Bell.
Bell was soon asked by Edinburghs police force to assist them solve crimes.
In 1888, the Scotland Yard consulted him during its hunt for Jack the Ripper.
Bell never associated himself with Sherlock Holmes.
Aside from the great mind, there was little in common between Bell and the fictional detective.
Bell was not the incredibly untidy man that Holmes was.
He was not addicted to cocaine, and he did not play the violin.
Bell gave all credit to Doyle.
You are yourself Sherlock Holmes and well you know it, Bell once wrote to Doyle.
