“... with the aid of ammonia and brandy, I had the satisfaction of
seeing him open his eyes.”
_The Greek Interpreter_
The therapeutic agent most frequently used by Dr. Watson was brandy.
Mention is made of this stimulant in a number of the tales. Let us
examine the conditions in which Dr. Watson’s favorite remedy was used.
In _The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle_, Sherlock Holmes had
accused the pathetic Ryder of stealing the valuable carbuncle. The poor
wretch turned pale, and Holmes remarked to Watson, “Give him a drink
of brandy.” In describing this incident, Watson writes, “For a moment
he had staggered and nearly fallen, but the brandy brought a tinge of
colour into his cheeks....”
We find, in _The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge_, that when the
eminently respectable Mr. Scott Eccles was relating his strange
experience to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Inspector Gregson of
Scotland Yard came in unannounced and informed Eccles that Mr. Garcia,
his host of the preceding night, had been found murdered. Dr. Watson
writes that their client turned deathly pale. Holmes quickly suggested
to Watson that he give Eccles a brandy and soda. This evidently helped
the poor fellow; he gulped it down, and his face soon resumed its
normal color.
Dr. Watson, in the story of _The Greek Interpreter_, took credit for
saving the life of Mr. Melas, who was found locked in a room filled
with a poisonous gas. Holmes and Watson rushed into the room and
dragged out the victim. Dr. Watson writes that, “... with the aid of
ammonia and brandy, I had the satisfaction of seeing him open his eyes.”
In _The Naval Treaty_, Holmes found the highly important document
which his client Mr. Percy Phelps thought had been lost through his own
negligence. The great detective invited him to have breakfast with him
and Watson; and when Phelps took the lid off the dish which was served
him, and saw the precious papers lying there, he became hysterical with
joy: “Then he fell back into an armchair so limp and exhausted with his
own emotions that we had to pour brandy down his throat to keep him
from fainting.”
We learn, in _The Adventure of the Priory School_, that when Thorney
Huxtable, M.A., Ph.D., made his dramatic entrance and collapsed upon
Holmes’ bearskin hearthrug, both the detective and the medical man
extended helping hands. Holmes hurriedly placed a cushion under his
head, and Watson got ready to give him a drink of brandy. However,
the pompous fellow fell to the floor in a faint. When he regained
consciousness, he asked for some milk and a biscuit. This revived him,
and he then told his story. We do not know whether he was an abstainer
or not.
Brandy evidently enjoyed a reputation as an effective stimulant even
among laymen. In perusing the tales, we find in one instance that it
was given by a tutor to his servant who had suffered a mental shock;
and in another, a constable intended to give it to a beautiful young
woman who, he thought, had fainted. Dr. Watson relates, in _The
Adventure of the Three Students_, how Mr. Soames, tutor and lecturer
at one of the great British universities, administered brandy to his
servant, Bannister. The highly nervous tutor thought his man had
disturbed the examination papers on his desk; and when Bannister saw
that the papers had been disturbed, he appeared as if he were about to
faint. Soames immediately gave him a drink of brandy; but, in spite
of the stimulant, Bannister appeared to be in a state of collapse, and
threw himself into a nearby chair. We shall never know whether or not
it was an actual collapse, the brandy failing to help, for later it
came out that the servant was desirous of concealing something on the
seat of the chair. We may safely assume, however, that in any event
Bannister welcomed the proffered drink.
We learn from the pen of Dr. Watson, also, how Lady Hilda duped
Constable McPherson and obtained the precious blue envelope which
contained high state secrets (_The Adventure of the Second Stain_). The
crestfallen constable told Holmes that, when Lady Hilda had seen the
stain on the carpet, she apparently fell down in a faint. The constable
rushed outside to a nearby corner to procure some brandy, but when
he returned, the noble lady had disappeared. We wonder whether the
constable treated himself to the drink which he had procured for her.
In two other instances--one related by Sherlock Holmes and the other
by Dr. Watson--brandy was administered with a lavish hand indeed, and
the inference may be drawn that the subjects probably drank about
all they could decently manage. In _The Adventure of the Lion’s
Mane_, Ian Murdock, who had come into contact with the jellyfish
_Cyanea capillata_, staggered into the room, on the verge of a
collapse, crying for brandy. Holmes, in writing this tale, tells how
he administered a half-tumbler of the stuff. The treatment appeared
to be of some help, but the patient was still in great pain. Holmes
gave him several more large drinks. Finally, Murdock’s head fell upon
the cushion in a state of unconsciousness. It was well that he did not
attempt to get up and walk. I doubt whether he could have stood up.
In the second example, Victor Hatherly, a hydraulic engineer, had
suffered a terrifying experience (_The Adventure of the Engineer’s
Thumb_). In his effort to escape being crushed to death by the
powerful hydraulic press, he had torn off his thumb. When he presented
himself in Dr. Watson’s surgery and began to tell of his ghastly
experience, he became hysterical. Dr. Watson, who had given him a drink
of water previously, rose to the occasion: “I dashed some brandy into
the water, and the colour began to come back to his bloodless cheeks.”
He then proceeded to bandage the area where the thumb had been. This
must have been a most painful operation indeed, and it is hoped that
Dr. Watson did not spare the brandy. There is reason to believe that
he did not. Since the engineer wished to report the incident, Watson
took him to consult with Sherlock Holmes. The latter listened to the
engineer’s story, “... placed a pillow beneath his head, and laid
a glass of brandy and water within his reach.” Dr. Watson did not
indicate whether the patient was able to go home under his own power.
Let us turn now to the longer tales of Sherlock Holmes. In _The Sign
of the Four_, when Jonathan Small was telling his story to Holmes
and his colleagues, the astute detective remarked to him: “... you had
best take a pull out of my flask, for you are very wet.” And a little
later: “He stopped and held out his manacled hands for the whiskey and
water which Holmes had brewed for him.”
In _The Hound of the Baskervilles_, the reader will recall that the
Baronet, Sir Henry, was attacked by the spectral hound and miraculously
escaped death. Dr. Watson writes: “Lestrade thrust his brandy flask
between the Baronet’s teeth, and two frightened eyes were looking up at
us.” And, when Holmes asked him whether he was strong enough to stand,
the Baronet replied: “Give me another mouthful of that brandy and I
shall be ready for anything.” Brandy was given also to the beautiful
Mrs. Stapleton, the villain’s wife, when she was found in her house in
a pitifully exhausted state.
Dr. Watson himself had need of brandy as a stimulant at least once in
his lifetime. He, like everyone else, believed that Sherlock Holmes had
died with Professor Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls. We cannot blame
the doctor for fainting when, three years later, he saw Holmes in the
flesh standing on the opposite side of the study table. Watson claims
that this was the only time in his life he had ever fainted. When he
regained consciousness, he found that Holmes had undone his collar
and had administered brandy to him (_The Adventure of the Empty
House_).
Brandy and whiskey are, of course, used medicinally today, but probably
not as frequently as several decades ago. Some scientists argue
that alcohol does not cause a physiologic stimulation but rather a
depression. Pharmacologically, this is true, for it is now accepted
that the talkativeness and hilarity so often produced by alcohol do not
indicate a true stimulation of the nervous system but a removal of the
inhibition which the higher centers normally exert.
On the other hand, it is still held by many physicians, and some
pharmacologists as well, that brandy and whiskey are useful therapeutic
agents in emergencies. Dr. Torald Sollman, dean of American
pharmacologists, feels that alcohol is a quick-acting stimulant, and
has a definite place in treating conditions such as syncope, exhaustion
and certain forms of shock. He attributes its effect to reflex
stimulation, which accounts for its brief action.[4] He suggests that
a dose of 25 cc. (somewhat less than an ounce) of whiskey or brandy be
given, and that it be repeated every ten or fifteen minutes.
Dr. Watson, throughout his stirring adventures with Sherlock Holmes,
was called upon to meet many emergencies. He was presumably justified
in resorting to frequent administrations of brandy. He had ample
opportunity for observing the effects of his medication, and apparently
was well satisfied with his results, for he continued to employ brandy
as a stimulant throughout the years. One practical justification for
doing so was that it seemingly always was available. There is every
reason to believe that Dr. Watson carried a flask of brandy, as did
Sherlock Holmes. Even Lestrade, the dependable Scotland Yard detective,
was not found wanting when the occasion demanded, as we have seen in
the story of _The Hound of the Baskervilles_. Apparently, it was
the practice of the day.
In conclusion, we may rest assured that Dr. Watson was firmly convinced
that his favorite remedy, brandy, as he employed it, helped alleviate
the suffering of his unfortunate fellow men. We may accept, also,
that he administered it only in an emergency, and when he was morally
certain that there was a real indication for its use--in short, he
observed faithfully the ethics of his noble profession.