The evidence as to Holmes’ college career rests upon two short passages, occurring in the adventures of The Gloria Scott and The Musgrave Ritual respectively. Brief as they are, these passages contain more than one apparent contradiction, and present a curious and interesting series of problems to the critic.

The passage in The Gloria Scott is as follows:

“(Victor Trevor) was the only friend I made during the two years I was at college. I was never a very sociable fellow, Watson, always rather fond of moping in my rooms and working out my own little methods of thought, so that I never mixed much with the men of my year. Bar fencing and boxing, I had few athletic tastes, and then my line of study was quite distinct from that of the other fellows, so that we had no points of contact at all. Trevor was the only man I knew, and that only through the accident of his bull-terrier freezing on to my ankle one morning as I went down to chapel” (p. 375).

The passage in The Musgrave Ritual also purports to be Holmes’ ipse dixit . It runs:

“When I first came up to London I had rooms in Montague Street . . . and there I waited, filling in my too abundant leisure time by studying all those branches of science which might make me more efficient. Now and again cases came in my way, principally through the introduction of old fellow students, for during my last years at the university there was a good deal of talk there about myself and my methods. The third of these cases[1] was that of the Musgrave Ritual. . . . Reginald Musgrave had been in the same college as myself, and I had some slight acquaintance with him. . . . In appearance he was a man of an exceedingly aristocratic type. . . . He was indeed a scion of one of the very oldest families in the kingdom. . . . Now and again we drifted into talk, and I can remember that more than once he expressed a keen interest in my methods. . . . For four years I had seen nothing of him, until one morning he walked into my room in Montague Street.”

Tantalisingly meagre though they are, these two passages are of the utmost importance, since they are almost all that we have to go upon in establishing, not merely the educative and formative influences which presided over our greatest detective’s youth, but also the actual date of his birth. It will, therefore, not be wasted labour if we examine them with particular attention, in the hope of answering these questions, viz:

(A) Which was Holmes’ university?

(B) How long did his academic career last?

(C) When did he matriculate?

(D) In what year was he born?

(E) What subject or subjects did he study?

(F) Which was his college?

(G) What did he do immediately after leaving college?

(A) Considering first that simple dichotomy which forms so complete and satisfying a disjunction of the academic universe, we have to ask ourselves: Was Holmes at ( a ) Oxford or Cambridge or ( b ) one of the others? Here, at least, we can speak with some measure of certainty. There is no doubt whatever that he passed a portion at any rate of his time at one of the older universities. It is not for one moment conceivable that Reginald Musgrave (whom Holmes could never even look at without connecting him with grey archways and mullioned windows) could, in the ’seventies, have been connected with any provincial place of learning. On this point, all the commentators are agreed.

Blakeney, however, in his thoughtful little work, Sherlock Holmes: Fact or Fiction? makes the interesting suggestion that, after two years at Cambridge, Holmes “preferred to gravitate to London,” which thus “has claims to Holmes’s student days.” He bases this suggestion on the following facts: (1) that Holmes was “only two years at college,” (2) that at the time of the Gloria Scott case he already had rooms in Town, (3) that during the (Cambridge) Long Vacation he was doing chemical research in London, (4) that as late as 1881 he was utilising the laboratories at Bart’s, (5) that London was better suited to his “desultory studies” than one of the older universities, and (6) that Holmes speaks of “coming up” to London at some time before the affair of the Musgrave Ritual.

This theory, attractive as it is at first sight, will not, I think, hold water. Let us take Blakeney’s points in order. Point (1) raises at once the great question of the discrepancy between Holmes’ own two statements—namely, that whereas in the Gloria Scott account he declares that he was only two years at college, in the Musgrave Ritual account he speaks of his “last years” at the university. Blakeney’s theory is apparently designed to reconcile these two conflicting statements, but, as we shall see, it does not do this and, in failing to do so, loses much of its reason for existence. Point (2) implies that Holmes’ affiliation to London University began in the October of the same year that saw the adventure of the Gloria Scott (for if it does not mean this, it has no bearing on the matter). We shall find that to assume this involves us in some serious chronological difficulties. For the moment, however, it is enough to say that there is nothing to prevent a Cambridge undergraduate from taking rooms in London in order to pursue a course of reading in the long vacation, and that Holmes’ narrative implies, on the whole, that at the end of his vacation he intended to return to the university from which he had come. This observation contains in itself the reply to Point (3). Point (4) seems to have little bearing on the question, since permission to use the laboratories could be obtained by a qualified research student from another university. Point (5) has some force, and it is by no means impossible that Holmes undertook some kind of post-graduate course in London in 1876 or 1877, but not (I think) at the early date which Blakeney suggests. Point (6) contains in itself its own best refutation. Blakeney admits that Holmes “came up” to London “seemingly after leaving the ’Varsity” and “settled down to a career,” and he adds: “this surely indicates that hitherto he had dwelt mainly elsewhere.” Now this means that Holmes’ coming to London and his settling down to a career were synchronous, and that therefore they took place in the Gloria Scott year, which Blakeney himself places “not less than four years previous to The Musgrave Ritual ” and more probably five years earlier. His own date (p. 47) is 1874, and this agrees with H. W. Bell’s calculation that The Musgrave Ritual is to be placed in September, 1878. We thus find that Holmes (being at the same time in statu pupillari ) “waited” in Montague Street for work to come his way, and filled in his “too abundant leisure time” with studies, for four years , during which time he handled only two cases.[2] To this lengthy period he afterwards refers as “all those months of inaction.” This is meiosis indeed! Twelve months, even eighteen months, might be so referred to, but surely, if he had really waited four solid years, he would have said so. No; we cannot possibly admit this hypothesis; Holmes cannot have come to London before 1876 at the earliest, and thus the theory of an undergraduate course in London falls to the ground, the phrase “came up” to London acquires only a metropolitan, not an academic significance, and the problem of the length of Holmes’ university career remains unsolved.

And the problem is a very real one. It is not only that Holmes’ own reported statements are ambiguous. There is also an awkward chronological difficulty, which will be better appreciated when we come to deal with a later part of the problem.

Setting, therefore, the question of Holmes’ residence in London aside for the moment, we must consider the rival claims of Oxford and Cambridge. It is, I think, evident from the text that the friendship with Victor Trevor was made at one of the older universities, and not in London: the bulldog, the attendance at chapel and the reference to athletics as a major interest of university life all point to this conclusion; moreover, Mr. Trevor, “now in late life a J.P. and a landed proprietor,” would doubtless wish to secure for his son just those social and educational advantages which he himself had missed and which, in those days, Oxford and Cambridge were alone considered to bestow.

It also appears likely that the friendship with Trevor preceded the acquaintanceship with Musgrave, since, in the one connection, Holmes is shown almost entirely friendless, whereas, in the other, he has so far imposed his personality on his surroundings as to occasion talk among the men about his methods.

The crucial point of the Gloria Scott paragraph is now clearly seen to be the bulldog. Father Knox has pointed out, with the unanswerable cogency which belongs to inside knowledge, that the animal would not have been allowed inside the college gates. Blakeney replies that this objection is not insuperable, since Holmes was probably living “out” at the time, and may have been bitten in the town. Now, if the university had been Oxford, and if Holmes had resided there for two years only, or if in any case the acquaintance with Trevor is to be placed in the first two years of Holmes’ residence there, then this situation would have been altogether impossible. At Oxford, freshmen are at once allotted rooms in college; they reside there for two years, and only move out into lodgings in the town at the beginning of their third year of residence. At Oxford, therefore, the biting of Holmes while on his way to chapel through the streets of the town could not possibly have occurred before his third year—unless, indeed, we are to suppose that the word “morning” is a slip of Watson’s, and that Holmes was so piously minded as to attend voluntary evening chapels, which from his habits of mind and thought appears unlikely.

At Cambridge, however, the system is different.[3] There, the freshman is usually accommodated with lodgings in the town during his first year and even (if the college lists are full) during his second year also. It is at once obvious that this system makes it very much more difficult for a man of solitary habits and reserved disposition to make friends among the men of his own year than the Oxford system. It would therefore be quite in accordance with probability that Holmes should have remained friendless during his first two years at Cambridge, and it seems possible that what he actually said to Watson was something like this: “He was the only friend I made in my first two years at Cambridge, when I was living out of college.” Watson, either misunderstanding this at the time, or noting with hasty abbreviation, “Only friend—2 yrs. out college,” and subsequently misreading “out” as “at,” may have introduced here the complication which has proved so puzzling to commentators. The possibility that “at” is a mistake for “in”—referring to a friendless two years spent in residence inside the college—is tempting, but must, I think, be discounted. It is the first two years that would be friendless, not the last two; and a first two years within the college walls would imply residence at Oxford: a hypothesis which we have already been obliged to set aside on account of the bulldog episode.

But even if we allow the expression to have been correctly reported, it is quite within the bounds of possibility that the contradiction between Holmes’ statement here and his further statement in The Musgrave Ritual is only apparent. We shall consider this point more carefully when we come to examine the question of Holmes’ academic studies. The really important matter is that Holmes was more friendless during the period of his acquaintance with Trevor than during his “last years,” and that this friendless period coincided with his residence outside the college; this state of things necessarily indicates that he was at Cambridge and not at Oxford.

(B) We now come to the important question of the length of Holmes’ residence at Cambridge. The theory that he was only there for two years, adopted by Blakeney on the strength of the Gloria Scott passage, seems to be contradicted by the expression “my last years at the University” in The Musgrave Ritual . We must now see whether these two statements can be reconciled.

Now, from various considerations,[4] it appears practically certain that the date 1878 for the adventure of The Musgrave Ritual is correct. At this period, Holmes had seen nothing of Reginald Musgrave for four years, i.e. since 1874. Since their acquaintance was but slight, it is improbable that they had met since leaving the University; therefore both Holmes and Musgrave were still at Cambridge in 1874. When and at what age did Musgrave go down? Certainly not later than 1876, for he himself states that since his father’s death in that year he had been managing his own estates, which he could scarcely have done had he still been an undergraduate. In addition to this, he is “member for his district.” Bearing this in mind, we shall be inclined to assign the earliest possible date and the latest probable age for his leaving college. If he had gone up to Cambridge in the usual way at about eighteen, remained for the usual period of three years and visited Holmes four years later, he would be at most twenty-five or twenty-six at the date of the Musgrave Ritual , and it seems unlikely that he would be a Member of Parliament at a much earlier age than that. We will therefore suppose that he went down not later than June, 1874.

We must now consider to what extent his college career overlapped that of Sherlock Holmes. From the description given of him (his aristocratic appearance, dandified dress, grave, quiet manner and so forth), we shall not be disposed to conclude that he was the kind of person who would have “drifted into talk” with a freshman of his own college, still less have “sucked up” (as the expression goes) to senior men in his own first year. The same thing may be said of Holmes himself. “Distrust the fresher who goes about with third-year men” is a commonplace of university philosophy. It appears highly probable that between these two students there was not more than a year or so either way: and in fact, Holmes’ own remarks in the Gloria Scott story (p. 375) rather imply that if he could not mix much with the men of his own year he would not and did not mix with any others. For these reasons, I find it impossible to accept Bell’s suggestion that Holmes went up in 1873, while Musgrave went down in 1874. It seems more likely that at this time both were senior men, Holmes in his third year and Musgrave in his third or fourth.

It is implied that Musgrave visited Holmes in consequence of the “talk” at the University about his detective methods. This talk took place during Holmes’ “last years,” and, had he not gone up till 1873, would have to be dated forward to 1875 or 1876, that is, one or two years after Holmes’ last meeting with Musgrave. Although it is possible that Musgrave had heard about them from men who left college later than himself, it seems more likely that he had personally taken part in these discussions; this statement therefore affords additional proof that Musgrave and Holmes were contemporaries.

(C, D). We thus find ourselves obliged to put back Holmes’ matriculation to October 1871,[5] in order to make him a third-year man in June 1874. Since he cannot well have been less than eighteen at the former date, this gives us either 1853 or late 1852 as the year of his birth, at latest. That it cannot have been very much earlier is suggested by the fact that in August, 1914, he is described as being sixty years of age (p. 1,076). This calculation agrees sufficiently well with that of Blakeney ( op. cit. , p. 3), who offers 1852-3, with a slight preference for 1852;[6] Bell’s date of 1854 ( op. cit. , p. xx) is probably a trifle too late. We may adopt 1853 as a via media .

The extraordinary internal chronology of the adventure of The Gloria Scott prevents us from placing any great reliance upon it for the actual dating of Holmes’ career. The dates given by Holmes[7] are clearly impossible. We are, therefore, again thrown back upon the external indications given in the introduction to that story and to The Musgrave Ritual . If we are correct in concluding that the “two years” mentioned in The Gloria Scott refer to Holmes’ first two years at college, we must suppose that his acquaintance with Victor Trevor was formed between October, 1871, and June, 1873. The visit to Trevor’s home took place in the first month of the Long Vacation, so that we have the choice between July, 1872, and July, 1873. There is but little to guide us, since Holmes does not say in what year of his residence the bulldog attacked him, nor how long it was before his friendship with Trevor ripened sufficiently to permit of an invitation. The fact that Holmes was engaged during the Vacation in chemical researches in London, together with the reticence placed by Trevor upon his advice and assistance, make the later date perhaps preferable. Bell gives 1875, but this is too late, based as his calculation is on the assumption that Holmes did not matriculate till 1873; he thinks, however, that the Long Vacation at the end of Holmes’ second year is the likeliest; this brings it to 1873, the date selected by Blakeney.

(E) Some further light on the subject may be gained by a consideration of Holmes’ probable course of studies at the University.

We know little of Holmes’ parentage and early history. That he was of gentle birth is clear, and that his financial position was somewhat straitened is proved by the fact that at the time of his first meeting with Watson in 1881 he was unable to afford the full rent of the rooms in Baker Street. We may therefore conclude that his father was not a rich man, and it is quite possible that he came up to Cambridge with a scholarship at one of the smaller and less expensive colleges. If he was a Scholar, he would naturally be expected to aim at an Honours Degree, and, indeed, it would be surprising if a man of his exceptional ability were to content himself with a Pass.

At that date, the Triposes open to him were: Moral Sciences; Natural Sciences; Law and History; Theology; Mathematics; and Classics. Classics and Theology we may eliminate at once; nothing could be further from his line of thought. Nor can his occasional allusions to the ancient philosophers be taken to show that he had worked for his Tripos in the Moral Sciences. They suggest rather a desultory acquaintance than any profound study, while (as Father Knox has pointed out)[8] a certain looseness in his terminology suggests that, although possessing a powerful logical faculty, he was not altogether perfectly familiar with the processes of formal Logic.[9]

Mathematics may be excluded with equal certainty—not so much on account of the bent of his mind, which seems admirably adapted to the study, but because of his statement that his “line of study was quite distinct from that of the other fellows.” At that period, as subsequently, the Mathematical Tripos at Cambridge was the largest and most famous of all. In 1874 the students taking Honours in Mathematics numbered 111 as against 71 in the next largest Tripos (Classics), and it would be absurd to suppose that Holmes would not have found mathematical fellow students in any one of the seventeen Cambridge colleges.

We are thus restricted to a choice between ( a ) Law and History, ( b ) Natural Sciences.

Law would, no doubt, have had considerable attractions for him. The old Law and History Tripos, abolished after 1874, comprised one paper each on Roman Law, Criminal Law, International Law, Legal “Problems,” Jurisprudence and Real Property, and one on set books. The Law side was thus much stronger than the History side, which consisted only of one paper on Political History of Europe, and two on English History. It might be natural to ask: Could a student of history have been so ignorant of the period succeeding the Crimean War as to accept the ludicrous errors of date incident to Old Trevor’s account of his mis-spent youth? The answer is, that it is perfectly possible. Owing to the singular academic theory that no historical event is of the slightest importance until it has well-nigh passed from living memory, the periods covered by the 1874 Tripos syllabus are confined to the years 1814-30 for Political History of Europe, and those between the Norman Conquest and the death of King John for English History, while the Special Period of English History is 1647-88. There is no general paper on either English or European History; so that it is more than likely that a man taking this Tripos would remain in abysmal ignorance of every historical event subsequent to 1830. The Law and History Tripos was not a very popular one, numbering thirty-four candidates in 1874, so that we cannot altogether exclude it from consideration.

But when we come to the Natural Sciences Tripos,[11] the probability becomes so very much stronger that it almost amounts to a violent presumption of fact. This is, a priori , the Tripos which we should expect Holmes to take, having regard to his habit of mind and his known attainments. The scope of the Tripos was exceedingly wide, covering (1) Chemistry, (2) Mineralogy, including Crystallography, (3) Geology and Palæontology, (4) Botany, including Vegetable Anatomy and Physiology, (5) Comparative Anatomy and Physiology. Students were not, of course, expected to familiarise themselves with the whole of this monstrous syllabus; it was sufficient to show intimate knowledge of two, or even one, of the subjects in order to obtain Honours, while the scope of each subject was to some extent restricted by the syllabus. The twelve general papers set for the Tripos were framed to contain, each, one or more questions on each of the five subjects, so that on each and every day of the Examination a student seeking Honours might devote himself to those branches of study with which he was best acquainted. From what we know of Holmes’ interests, we should consider it likely that he would select Subjects 1 and 5. These subjects, moreover, carried the highest number of marks, being rated at 2,000 marks apiece; whereas only 1,200 marks were allotted to Geology, Botany and Mineralogy respectively.[10] 

When we come to look at the numbers of students taking the Natural Sciences Tripos, probability becomes almost certainty. In 1874, only seventeen students faced this gargantuan set of examination papers (comprising in all 168 questions, exclusive of the practical papers in Anatomy and Physiology, and Physics, Chemistry and Mineralogy), and these students were divided among six colleges only, eight being from St. John’s, four from Trinity, two from Caius and one each from Clare, Sidney Sussex and Pembroke. An undergraduate from any other college who took this Tripos might well observe that his “line of study was distinct from that of the other fellows.”

The examination for the Natural Sciences Tripos was at that time held in the Michaelmas Term and might be taken by any student who had already passed the Previous, not earlier than his eighth and not later than his tenth term after entering college, supposing that he had kept his statutory terms of residence. If, therefore, Holmes had matriculated in the Lent or Easter Term of 1871, he would have become eligible to take his Tripos in the Michaelmas Term of 1873. Since, however, we know that Holmes and Musgrave were together in 1874, it seems more reasonable to suppose that Holmes came up in the usual course at Michaelmas, 1871, and proceeded to his Tripos in his tenth term, viz. Michaelmas, 1874. Alternatively, it is possible that he came up in Lent or Easter, 1872,[12] and took his Tripos at Michaelmas, 1874, in his eighth term. In the latter case, his acquaintance with Victor Trevor would still date from 1872 or 1873, the affair of the Gloria Scott (1873) occurring when he had been four or five terms in residence. If we accept this hypothesis, we are able to reconcile the conflicting statements of the Gloria Scott and Musgrave Ritual , by reckoning eight terms (spread over the three years 1872, 1873, 1874) in the one case as “roughly” two years, and in the other as “roughly” three years. This would also enable us to accept Bell’s birth-year of 1854. See, further, the conclusion reached in ( b ) below.

We are now in a position to attempt a more precise chronology of Holmes’ academic career. Possible alternative dates are inserted within brackets:

1853 (late 1852 or early 1854) Birth of Sherlock Holmes.

1871, October (1872, January or April) Holmes goes up to Cambridge.

1872 (1873) Holmes, while still living “out,” makes the acquaintance of Victor Trevor.

1873 (1872) early July Holmes visits the Trevors.

1873 (1872), late September or early October Death of Old Trevor; conclusion of the Gloria Scott adventure. Trevor goes down.

1873 (1872), October Holmes moves into rooms in College and becomes acquainted with Reginald Musgrave. (See below ( a ).)

1874, December (March) [13] Musgrave takes his Tripos and goes down.

1874, November-December Holmes takes his Tripos, either going down immediately or remaining up to complete a second course of studies. (See below ( b ).)

1875-6 Holmes engages in other studies. (See below (G).)

1876 Holmes takes up residence in London in Montague Street.

1878, September The Musgrave Ritual.

( a ) It is not perfectly clear whether or not Victor Trevor belonged to the same college as Holmes.[14] It is probable that he was a man of Holmes’ own year or of the year immediately above him. In the latter case, Trevor would, in the ordinary course of events, be going down in 1873, and, if they both belonged to the same college, Holmes may have succeeded to Trevor’s rooms. If, on the other hand, Trevor still had another year at the University, we may ask ourselves whether it was his account of Holmes’ “methods” that started “talk” among the undergraduates. Attractive as this theory is, it seems improbable that either Holmes or Trevor would have entered into public discussion of events so painful as those attending the decease of Trevor senior. It seems more likely that Trevor went down after his father’s death, and that the “methods” were demonstrated in some other, and more trivial, connection.

( b ) Having reached this point, our next step is obviously to examine the published lists of Cambridge Honours men for the period under review, to see how far they support our contentions. Unhappily, the name of Sherlock Holmes does not appear in the Cambridge History of Triposes for 1874, or for any other year; and we are forced to conclude, either that some accident prevented him from actually sitting for his Tripos or that the lists were compiled with a lack of accuracy very far from consonant with the dignity of an academic body. When we turn, however, to the Book of Matriculations and Degrees , we find that a T. S. Holmes, who matriculated at Sidney Sussex in the Michaelmas Term of 1871, was admitted to the Degree of Bachelor of Arts in the Michaelmas Term of 1875. It is true that the Christian names are given as “Thomas Scott,” but the “Scott” may be an error, due possibly to transcription from the Tripos Class list, where the habit of translating Christian names, where possible, into Latin occasionally gives rise to confusion.[15] The date 1875 obviously refers to the actual date of taking the degree and not to the date of taking the Tripos, the thirteenth term after Matriculation being too late for the latter activity. If this entry refers to Sherlock Holmes, he must have allowed a year to elapse between taking the examination and presenting himself for the degree—a course which is not unusual.

(F) It is tempting to identify Holmes with the Sidney Sussex man who obtained a First Class in Natural Sciences in 1874. Unfortunately, the name differs, so that we have here either another error of nomenclature or a regrettable omission.

In this connection, we may examine the claims of Sidney Sussex to be Holmes’ college. It is one of the smaller colleges, having only fifty undergraduates on its books in 1874, the only colleges with a smaller membership at that date being Magdalene (49), St. Catherine’s (46), St. Peter’s (45), Downing (40) and Queens’ (37). Its room-rents were moderate, ranging from £7 to £16 p.a., as compared, on the one hand, with Clare (£3 to £15) and on the other, with Caius (£12 10 s. to £25). It possessed a Laboratory, and offered, in addition to its Foundation Scholarships, twelve Junior Scholarships, on the Taylor Foundation, of £40 p.a., several of which were given in Natural Sciences. It also offered a Special Course in Natural Sciences, and in connection with this, an Annual Examination was held in Chemistry, Electricity and General Physics, carrying with it a prize to the value of £20, which was awarded each year if any candidate attained a high enough standard to merit it. It thus appears that, of all the Cambridge colleges, Sidney Sussex perhaps offered the greatest number of advantages to a man in Holmes’ position, and, in default of more exact information, we may tentatively place him there. Even if Holmes is not actually to be identified with the Sidney Sussex man mentioned in the 1874 Tripos list, the fact that there was one other student in his year and college reading for the same Tripos does not necessarily conflict with his statement that his line of study was distinct from that of the other fellows; the “other fellow” may have specialised in Botany or Mineralogy, and may, in addition, have been a disagreeable or rumbustious person with whom Holmes would not care to associate. Apart from the special facilities in Nat: Sci:, the chief interests of the College appear to have been mathematical, while a large number of its scholars and exhibitioners were drawn from the sons of the clergy and from certain specified schools. These men would undoubtedly have interests in common, from which Holmes might find himself excluded.

(G) The last question that remains to be decided is: What did Holmes do between taking his Tripos in November-December, 1874, and coming up to London in 1876? It is barely possible that he remained for another year at Cambridge to complete a second course of study—possibly in medicine. The fact (if it is a fact) that he did not take his B.A. till 1875 rather suggests, however, that he was elsewhere, and it seems exceedingly probable that he spent some time abroad. We know that he was able to quote German ( Sign of Four , pp. 192, 271) and that at sundry periods in his career he undertook investigations in France ( French Government Case , etc.) and Italy ( The Vatican Cameos , etc.) and conducted negotiations with various foreign agents; and it seems impossible that he should have transacted all this delicate and important business with the aid of interpreters. The suggestion that he learnt to speak modern languages with the requisite fluency either at his public school or at the University will not hold water for a moment. In all probability he passed the year 1875 studying chemistry and languages at a German university, with vacation trips to France and Italy, returning to England in December to take his B.A. and then proceeding (perhaps after a short holiday at home) to London to wait for clients in Montague Street.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cambridge History of Triposes, 1854-88 ; Cambridge Book of Matriculations and Degrees, 1850-1900 ; The Students’ Guide to the University of Cambridge , 1866 and 1874 edns.

NOTE ON REGINALD MUSGRAVE

To the observations already made about this young man, we may add the following:

Although of the highest social position, there is no mention of his ever having been at a public school, and he states that he learnt trigonometry with his “old tutor.” The trigonometry would be required for his “Little-Go” if he aspired to Honours in any Tripos, and was no doubt studied for this purpose, so that he probably went straight to College from a course of private tuition at home. This exclusiveness would account sufficiently for his choice of a small college, where he could work hard and be free from the social pressure of public-school coteries. The choice of Oliver Cromwell’s college is perhaps curious in a man of such Royalist tendencies, but this objection is of minor importance.

Since he was destined for a political career, he very possibly read the Law and History Tripos. In this case, he would go up in October, 1871, and take his Tripos at the same time as Holmes, viz. December, 1874. This fits the other data very well. In October, 1878, Holmes would not have seen him for three years and ten months—roughly “four years.” The theory receives some support from Musgrave’s acquaintance with seventeenth-century spelling and his interest in the period of the Great Rebellion, which was, as we have seen, the Special Period for the Law and History Tripos, 1874.

On the other hand, these interests may be referred to his family traditions, and his Tripos may have been Classical or Mathematical. The examinations for these were held in the Lent Term and could be taken not earlier than the ninth term of residence. In that case, Musgrave probably matriculated some time between October, 1870, and April, 1871, and would thus be about one year senior to Holmes, going down in March, 1874, nine months before him.



[1] It is not clear whether Holmes means actually “my third case” or, more specifically, “the third case obtained by means of these introductions.” The former interpretation has found greater favour with the critics, but the latter is at least possible, and offers more elbow-room to the student of Holmes chronology. See below, p. .

[2] But see note, p. . In any case, it is evident that the cases were few and far between.

[3] “The Student’s first business on arriving at Cambridge will be to procure himself rooms. The Tutor will inform him whether any sets of rooms within the College itself are vacant, and if not, which of the licensed houses in the town can admit him. . . . At some of the Colleges room is made within the walls for the freshmen, by expelling the questionists, i.e. undergraduates of the fourth year, into lodgings; but in the majority the freshmen are served last as being the last arrived, and in many cases have to wait more than one term for admittance. . . . Nor . . . does the student in lodgings taste the genuine flavour of College-life; besides, he will generally be at a greater distance from Chapel, Hall, and the Lecture-rooms” ( Student’s Guide to Cambridge , 1874).

[4] Admirably set forth by H. W. Bell, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson , p. 12.

[5] See below, pp. sqq.

[6] But see below, p. .

[7] As contained in Old Trevor’s MS. and apparently accepted by Holmes.

[8] Essays in Satire , p. 169.

[9] The Moral Sciences Tripos comprised three papers each in Moral and Political Philosophy, Mental Philosophy, Logic, and Political Economy.

[10] Geology and Palæontology may be definitely excluded from Holmes’ studies. It would be difficult to take a Tripos in these subjects without being aware that the earth went round the sun ( Study in Scarlet , p. 16).

[11] As also for Law and History.

[12] This practice of coming up in the middle of the Academic year, though unusual, and discouraged by the University authorities, was occasionally adopted from motives of economy.

[13] See below: Note on Reginald Musgrave.

[14] If so, he must have been cutting Chapel on the morning of his fateful meeting with Holmes, since the bulldog could not have formed part of the congregation.

[15] As when Mr. G. (Giles) Brown appears as Mr. E. (Egidius) Brown, and the like.1853 (late 1852 or early 1854)Birth of Sherlock Holmes.1871, October (1872, January or April)Holmes goes up to Cambridge.1872 (1873)Holmes, while still living “out,” makes the acquaintance of Victor Trevor.1873 (1872) early JulyHolmes visits the Trevors.1873 (1872), late September or early OctoberDeath of Old Trevor; conclusion of the Gloria Scott adventure. Trevor goes down.1873 (1872), OctoberHolmes moves into rooms in College and becomes acquainted with Reginald Musgrave. (See below ( a ).)1874, December (March) Musgrave takes his Tripos and goes down.1874, November-DecemberHolmes takes his Tripos, either going down immediately or remaining up to complete a second course of studies. (See below ( b ).)1875-6Holmes engages in other studies. (See below (G).)1876Holmes takes up residence in London in Montague Street.1878, SeptemberThe Musgrave Ritual.