Sherlock
Holmes and 'The Kiss of Death'
Copyright 2005 Peter C. Shumway
Preface : Author's Note
During the Luxembourg Campaign of the First World War my great grandfather Benjamin Charles Shumway awoke one morning to find himself laid-up in a Belgium Army hospital located in the war-torn city of Verdun. He had taken a bullet in his left shoulder and had also suffered a violent blow to the right side of his head. For a time his vision was severely blurred and the ringing in his head did not cease for almost a full year. It was during his bedridden days at Verdun that he became acquainted with Dr. John Watson.
Watson, although retired from his medical practice, had volunteered to assist a colleague by the name of Dr. Henning with treating the influx of wounded soldiers. One evening just as the doctors were finishing their duties, the damaged roof of the east wing of the hospital collapsed around them. Henning escaped injury; however, Watson sustained a concussion and a broken collarbone. An ironic fate cast the doctor in the role of patient. It was a role in which Watson did not wish to perform.
After three days he had become so impatient with the nurse that she asked my great grandfather in confidence if he would engage the injured doctor in conversation to distract him from his surroundings. My great grandfather proved to be an eager listener since he had never read any of Watson's recounts of his adventures with Sherlock Holmes. Watson was happy to entertain a fresh audience and recalled several cases of the great detective in detail. In later years my great grandfather read Watson's complete writings and was surprised to find that the doctor had never put on paper the most horrifying Sherlock Holmes' adventure of all.
My great grandfather retold the case of the venom murders in detail to my father when my father was a young man. A few years ago, my father passed the amazing story on to me, which I dubbed “Sherlock Holmes and 'The Kiss of Death'”. At the risk of introducing inaccuracies by retelling the story again I feel compelled to record the adventure once and for all and to set the matter as precisely as possible in print. It is however a British tale twice retold by American narrators. The version of the story as I put forth here lacks the authenticity of Watson's own words however the main elements and essential facts of the case are withstanding.
P. C. Shumway