Apropos to the question raised by Mr. Sridhar C., I
would like to point out that though Stamford has a
very important place in the canon for his having had
introduced Dr. Watson to Holmes, surprisingly little
is known about him. He does not appear anywhere else
other that in the first chapter of "A Study in
Scarlet". From the description of Watson we come to
know that he is a young man and had previously worked
under the English surgeon as a dresser. The doctor,
aware of the status differences, has had never been
that friendly with the former dresser until he meets
him at the Criterion Bar, London, and from the nature
of conversation that follows between him and his
acquaintance, we may assume that Stamford is in the
habit of taking liberties. It is, however, significant
that he knows Holmes too well, and in context of the
fact that the detective did not keep acquaintances
with people who were not aristocrats or men of repute
or importance, it may be conjectured that he is an
important person. May be he is a police informer or an
assistant to Holmes or his brother Mycroft 9only until
Watson arrives). He is also very free and frank when
he speaks to the snobbish investigator, and therefore
his societal position evokes a careful pondering.

Pinaki Roy,
Lecturer,
Department of English,
Balurghat College





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