Chapter I: Front Matter

MEMORIES AND ADVENTURES

_Nelson Evans, Los Angeles._
_Taken in America, 1923._]

MEMORIES AND
ADVENTURES

BY
SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS

BOSTON
LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY
1924

_Copyright, 1924_,
BY ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE

_All rights reserved_

Published September, 1924

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I EARLY RECOLLECTIONS 1

Extraction--“H.B.”--Four Remarkable Brothers
--My Mother’s Family Tree--An Unrecognized
Genius--My First Knockout--Thackeray--The
Fenians--Early Reading--My First Story.

II UNDER THE JESUITS 8

The Preparatory School--The Mistakes of Education
--Spartan Schooling--Corporal Punishment--
Well-known School Fellows--Gloomy Forecasts--
Poetry--London Matriculation--German School--A
Happy Year--The Jesuits--Strange Arrival in Paris.

III RECOLLECTIONS OF A STUDENT 17

Edinburgh University--A Sad Disappointment--
Original of Professor Challenger--Of Sherlock
Holmes--Deductions--Sheffield--Ruyton--Birmingham
--Literary Aspirations--First Accepted Story--
My Father’s Death--Mental Position--Spiritual
Yearnings--An Awkward Business.

IV WHALING IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN 29

The _Hope_--John Gray--Boxing--The Terrible
Mate--Our Criminal--First Sight of a Woman--A
Hurricane--Dangers of the Fishing--Three
Dips in the Arctic--The Idlers’ Boat--Whale
Taking--Glamour of the Arctic--Effect of Voyage.

V THE VOYAGE TO WEST AFRICA 42

The _Mayumba_--Fearful Weather--An Escape
--Hanno’s Voyage--Atlantis--A Land of Death--
Blackwater Fever--Missionaries--Strange
Fish--Danger of Luxury--A Foolish Swim--The
Ship on Fire--England Once More.

VI MY FIRST EXPERIENCES IN PRACTICE 52

A Strange Character--His Honeymoon--His Bristol
Practice--Telegram from Plymouth--Six
Amusing Weeks--A Deep Plot--My Southsea Venture
--Furnishing on the Cheap--The Plot Explodes.

VII MY START AT SOUTHSEA 59

A Strange Life--Arrival of My Brother--I Buy Up
a Shop--Cheap Servants--Queer Patients--Dangers
of Medical Practice--Income Tax Joke--My
Marriage--Tragedy in My House--A New Phase.

VIII MY FIRST LITERARY SUCCESS 67

New Outlook--James Payn--Genesis of Holmes--“A
Study in Scarlet”--“Micah Clarke”--Disappointments
--Andrew Lang--Cornhill Dinner--Oscar Wilde--
His Criticism of Himself--“The White Company.”

IX PULLING UP THE ANCHOR 77

Psychic Studies--Experiments in Telepathy--My
First Séances--A Curious Test--General Drayson
--Opinion on Theosophy--A. P. Sinnett--W. T.
Stead--Journey to Berlin--Koch’s Treatment
--Brutality of Bergmann--Malcolm Morris--
Literary Society--Political Work--Arthur
Balfour--Our Departure.

X THE GREAT BREAK 88

Vienna--A Specialist in Wimpole Street--The
Great Decision--Norwood--“The Refugees”
--Reported Death of Holmes.

XI SIDELIGHTS ON SHERLOCK HOLMES 96

“The Speckled Band”--Barrie’s Parody on Holmes
--Holmes on the Films--Methods of Construction
--Problems--Curious Letters--Some Personal
Cases--Strange Happenings.

XII NORWOOD AND SWITZERLAND 111

Psychic Research Society--Psychic Leanings
--Literary Circles in London--Young Writers
--Henry Irving--A Great Blow--Davos--“Brigadier
Gerard”--Major Pond--American Lecturing
in 1894--First Lecture--Anti-British
Wave--Answer to Prayer.

XIII EGYPT IN 1896 121

Life in Egypt--Accident--The Men Who Made
Egypt--Up the Nile--The Salt Lakes--Adventure
in the Desert--The Coptic Monastery--Colonel
Lewis--A Surprise.

XIV ON THE EDGE OF A STORM 130

The Storm Centre--To the Frontier--Assouan
--Excited Officers--With the Press Men--A
Long Camel Ride--Night Marches--Halfa--Gwynne
of the “Morning Post”--Anley--A Sudden
Voyage--Apricots and Rousseau.

XV AN INTERLUDE OF PEACE 140

Hindhead--“A Duet”--A Haunted House--A
Curious Society--Preternatural Powers--The
Little Doctor--The Shadow of Africa.

XVI THE START FOR SOUTH AFRICA 148

The Black Week--Volunteering--The Langman
Hospital--The Voyage--Bloemfontein--Sir
Claude de Crespigny--The Epidemic--Advance
to the Water Works.

XVII DAYS WITH THE ARMY 160

Pole-Carew--Tucker--Snipers--The Looted Farm--
Taking of Brandfort--Artillery Engagement--
Advance of the Guards--The Wounded Scout--The
Dead Australian--Return.

XVIII FINAL EXPERIENCES IN SOUTH AFRICA 174

Military Jealousies--Football--Cracked Ribs--
A Mutiny--De Wet--A Historian under Difficulties
--Pretoria--Lord Roberts--With the Boers--
Memorable Operation--Altercation.

XIX AN APPEAL TO THE WORLD’S OPINION 184

Misrepresentation--A Sudden Resolve--Reginald
Smith--A Week’s Hard Work--“The Cause
and Conduct of the War”--Translations--German
Letter--Complete Success--Surplus.

XX MY POLITICAL ADVENTURES 195

Central Edinburgh--A Knock-out--The Border
Burghs--Tariff Reform--Heckling--Interpolations
--Defeat--Reflections.

XXI THE YEARS BETWEEN THE WARS 204

“History of the War”--Sir Oliver Lodge--
Military Arguments--“Sir Nigel”--The Edalji
Case--Crowborough--The Oscar Slater Case.

XXII THE YEARS BETWEEN THE WARS 222

Constantinople--The Night of Power--A Strange
Creature--Dorando--Dramatic Adventures--The
Congo Agitation--Olympic Games--Divorce
Reform--Psychic Experience--Speculation.

XXIII SOME NOTABLE PEOPLE 236

President Roosevelt--Lord Balfour--Mr. Asquith
--Lord Haldane--George Meredith--Rudyard
Kipling--James Barrie--Henry Irving--Bernard
Shaw--R. L. S.--Grant Allen--James
Payn--Henry Thompson--Royalty.

XXIV SOME RECOLLECTIONS OF SPORT 262

Racing--Shooting--A Fish Story--Boxing--Past
and Present--Carpentier and France--The Reno
Fight--Football--Golf with the Sirdar--Billiards
--Cricket--W. G. Grace--Queer Experiences
--Tragic Matches--Humiliation--Success
in Holland--Barrie’s Team--A Precedent--Motor
Accidents--Prince Henry Tour--Aviation--The
Balloon and the Aeroplane--Ski--Over
a Precipice--Rifle Shooting.

XXV TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS IN 1914 287

Baseball--Parkman--Ticonderoga--Prairie Towns
--Procession of Ceres--Relics of the Past--A
Moose--Prospects for Emigrants--Jasper Park--
The Great Divide--Algonquin Park.

XXVI THE EVE OF WAR 304

The Prologue of Armageddon--The “Prince Henry”
Race--Bernhardi--“England and the Next
War”--“Danger”--General Sir H. Wilson--The
Channel Tunnel--Naval Defects--Rubber
Collars--Mines--Willie Redmond.

XXVII A REMEMBRANCE OF THE DARK YEARS 323

Nightmares of the Morning--The Civilian Reserve
--The Volunteers--Domestic Life in War Time--
German Prisoners--Cipher to Our Prisoners--Sir
John French--Empress Eugenie--Miracle
Town--Armour--Our Tragedy.

XXVIII EXPERIENCES ON THE BRITISH FRONT 335

Lord Newton--How I Got Out--Sir W. Robertson--The
Destroyer--First Experience of Trenches--Ceremony
at Bethune--Mother--The Ypres
Salient--Ypres--The Hull Territorial--General
Sir Douglas Haig--Artillery Duel--Kingsley--Major
Wood--Paris.

XXIX EXPERIENCES ON THE ITALIAN FRONT 353

The Polite Front--Udine--Under Fire--Carnic
Alps--Italia Irredenta--Trentino--The Voice
of the Holy Roman Empire.

XXX EXPERIENCES ON THE FRENCH FRONT 360

A Dreadful Reception--Robert Donald--Clemenceau
--Soissons Cathedral--The Commandant’s
Cane--The Extreme Outpost--Adonis--General
Henneque--Cyrano in the Argonne--Tir
Rapide--French Canadian--Wound Stripes.

XXXI BREAKING THE HINDENBURG LINE 373

Lloyd George--My Second Excursion--The Farthest
German Point--Sir Joseph Cook--Night
before the Day of Judgment--The Final Battle--
On a Tank--Horrible Sight--Speech to Australians
--The Magic Carpet.

XXXII THE PSYCHIC QUEST 387

ILLUSTRATIONS

ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE _Frontispiece_

PAGE

MY MOTHER AT 17 12

STEAM-WHALER _Hope_ 36

STAFF OF THE LANGMAN HOSPITAL 156

LADY CONAN DOYLE 222

THE FAMILY IN THE WILDS OF CANADA 298

KINGSLEY CONAN DOYLE 350

ON THE FRENCH FRONT 364