Cambridge had opened its doors to Catholics in 1871 but the “Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith” felt it would be a “mortal sin” for Catholics to attend, because of the influences of liberalism and scepticism prevalent in the teaching at both Oxford and Cambridge. Wealthier Catholics, wishing their sons (sadly, both universities only admitted males) to obtain the intellectual and social benefits of an Oxbridge education, objected loudly. The ban was lifted in 1895, but only provided a Catholic chaplaincy was established. The one in Cambridge was founded in 1896, well after the time of this story, and is called Fisher House. When you were only eleven your mother gave it to me for safekeeping with the direction to give it to you on your twenty-first birthday. She was in perfect health when she entrusted it to me, and so I wondered why.

Often these were of older vintage, passed down through generations. The diamonds were cut differently then; here is an example of a "mine cut", which gives a distinctly different appearance than the modern standard, the round "brilliant". While Beretta is one of the oldest gun-making firms in the world, Madame Borelli’s pistol in this scene could not have been one. The company began manufacturing its first semi-automatic pistol thirty years later, in 1915, similar to the one pictured below: A fictional college at Cambridge. There is no record of a St. Cedd’s at Cambridge; therefore, Watson must have covered up Leo Vitale's actual college. However… St. Cedd’s was a name used by Douglas Adams in both his Dr. Who episodes and his "Dirk Gently" series, so perhaps there is an older tradition, unknown to us at present, that caused Dr. Watson to hide Leo’s real college by using this name. Adams supposedly based St. Cedd on his own college at Cambridge, St. John’s, pictured here. St. John’s and Trinity are traditionally rivals, since Henry VIII (founder of Trinity) had the St. John founder (Saint John Fisher) executed. It is said that the older courts in Trinity have no “J” staircases for this reason. Watson, as a doctor, well knew the dangers of opium-laced medicines particularly on such a sensitive nervous system as that possessed by his friend. That Holmes was attempting to calm his hyperactive state with repeated doses of baby soother was highly dangerous. Particularly if he was combining it with cocaine.

North and South

Again, reverse the breathing, performing the contraction with the exhalation and relaxing it with the inhalation. The men’s tennis shoes sported by Dillie in this chapter would have looked like one of these and would have been noticeably different from typical women’s shoes. So Borelli — a successful stage musician who thinks he’s God’s gift to the stage — decides to kill his rival, frame his wife, and FAKE HIS OWN DEATH? Huh? Why would he do that? It seems far more likely that the whole endeavor was set up by his wife, yet Holmes buys her flimsy story without question. THEN, once he realizes later that Dario did not run off with the Opera singer, thus confirming the wife did in fact kill Dario — along with at least two other people — his reaction is essentially, “Women: can’t live with ‘em, pass the beer nuts.” Like, this woman is a serial killer! But, hey, not my problem?

But sadly, Holmes seemed to have forsaken my company of late. I had seen little of him for three weeks. I longed for a distraction from the misery of this weather. Not only had he not invited me on his recent escapades, but he had dismissed my questions with a petulant wave of his hand.Yoga practices are sometimes designed to accomplish the unexpected. Instead of soothing the flow of energy, they intensify it. Instead of cooling the body, they bring heat and vigor. Instead of allowing energy to flow along habitual pathways, they restrict normal channels and force it to find less familiar routes. I am an old woman now and consumption will soon take me. In clearing my affairs, I came upon something in my attic last week that was meant for you. It is enclosed. When Holmes examines Dillie’s dressing table, he notes that personal grooming items are missing. Both men and women regularly used pomade to keep stray hairs neatly in place. Victorian ladies used it to tame and shape small curls around the face. Many people made their own (or presumably had servants to do so.) Some pomades were lard-based, others vaseline-based, but some used beeswax. Most were scented delicately with rosewater, citrus, or lavender.