Memories and Adventures

by Arthur Conan Doyle

The final result upon scientific thought is unthinkable, save that the sources of all force would be traced rather to spiritual than to material causes.

In religion one can perhaps see a little more clearly. Theology and dogma would disappear.

People would realize that such questions as the number of persons in God, or the process of Christ’s birth, have no bearing at all upon the development of man’s spirit, which is the sole object of life.

All religions would be equal, for all alike produce gentle, unselfish souls who are God’s elect. Christian, Jew, Buddhist, and Mohammedan would shed their distinctive doctrines, follow their own high teachers on a common path of morality, and forget all that antagonism which has made religion a curse rather than a blessing to the world.

We shall be in close touch with other-world forces, and knowledge will supersede that faith which has in the past planted a dozen different signposts to point in as many different directions.

Such will be the future, so far as I can dimly see it, and all this will spring from the seed which now we tend and water amid the cold blasts of a hostile world.

Do not let it be thought that I claim any special leadership in this movement. I do what I can, but many others have done what they could—many humble workers who have endured loss and insult, but who will come to be recognized as the modern Apostles. For my part, I can only claim that I have been an instrument so fashioned that I have had some particular advantages in getting this teaching across to the people.

That is the work which will occupy, either by voice or pen, the remainder of my life. What immediate shape it will take I cannot say. Human plans are vain things, and it is better for the tool to lie passive until the great hand moves it once more.

INDEX

“Admirable Crichton, The,” Barrie, [247]
“Adventure of the Priory School, The,” [102]
“Adventure of the Second Stain, The,” [102]
“Adventure of the Tired Captain, The,” [102]
Aeroplane, the author’s one experience in an, [283]
Algonquin Park, Canada, [300-301]
Allen, Grant, and his unfinished “Hilda Wade”, [254-255];
his agnosticism and his last days, [255];
as a popular scientist, [256]
“All the Year Round,” contributions to, [67]
“Amazing Marriage, The,” Meredith, [244]
Amery, Lionel, [208]
Ancestry, [1-4]
Antoine, General, [367], [368]
Arctic, seven months in the, on a whaler, [29-41]
Armistice Day, [386]
Armour, suggestions during World War for use of, for troops, [332-333]
Asquith, [241]
Athletics, work in the interest of, [229-231]
Australian sector of the front, a visit to the, [375-386]
“Backwater of Life,” Payn, [256]
Balfour, Arthur James, first meeting with, [238-239];
his home at Whittinghame, [239-241];
abhorrence of cowardice, [240];
interest in psychic matters, [241]
Ball, Mr., experiments in thought transference with, [78]
Balloon ascension, delights of a, [282-283]
Bampton, Lord, conflicting characteristics of, [260]
Barrett, William, and telepathy, [78]
Barrie, Sir James M., parody on Sherlock Holmes, [97-100];
a visit with, at Kirriemuir, [246-247];
dramatic work, [247];
his “The Admirable Crichton”, [247];
an unfortunate dramatic venture with, [248-249]
Barrington, Sir Eric, [186]
Baseball, opinion of the game of, [287-288]
Bell, Professor Joseph, [20-21];
Sherlock Holmes based on, [69]
Bergmann, Doctor, and the demonstration of the Koch cure, [82], [83]
Berlin, demonstration of the Koch cure in, [82-84]
“Beyond the City,” [93]
Billiards, the supposed analogy between golf and, [271];
ascertaining one’s “decimal” in, [272];
experiences with the game, [272-273]
Birkenhead, Lord, [231]
“Blackwoods,” contributions to, [68]
Blavatsky, Madame, [81]
Boer War, the shadow of the, [147];
first reverses of the, [148];
organizing the Langman Hospital for the, [149-154];
press correspondents in the, [156];
days with the army in the, [160-173];
dum-dum bullets in the, [159], [183]
Books, favourite, in boyhood, [7]
Boxing, keen relish for the manly art of, [265];
some experiences in, [265-266];
from the national point of view, [266-267];
champions of old and of to-day compared, [267];
its influence in France, [268]
Boyhood days, [5-7]
“Boy’s Own Paper, The,” contributions to, [67]
“Brigadier Gerard” stories, [115], [121];
dramatization of, [227-228]
“British Campaign in France and Flanders, The,” [326-327]
British Olympic Committee, [229]
British front in the World War, on the, [335-352]
Brown, Professor Crum, [19]
Buller, Sir Redvers H., [174]
Burnham, Lord, [238], [239]
“Bush Villa,” Southsea, [75], [87]
Business, unfortunate and fortunate ventures in, [234-235]
Butler, General, dinner at head-quarters of the Third Corps with, [379]
Cambridge, Duke of, [152], [153]
Canada, a trip through, in 1914, [287], [292-303]
Capetown, South Africa, [154]
“Captain of the Polestar,” [67]
Carnic Alps, the warfare in the, [356-357]
Cassidy, Father, the kindly principal at Hodder, [8]
“Cause and Conduct of the War in South Africa, The,” inception of the idea of writing, [184];
financing the scheme, [185-188];
the several translations of, [188-192];
beneficial effect of publication of, [192];
disposition of surplus earnings of, [192-194]; [204]
Caux, Switzerland, [120]
“Chambers’ Journal” accepts author’s first story, [24]
Channel Tunnel, [311], [312];
feasibility and value of a, [314-317]
Childers, Erskine, [208]
Christian faith, author’s changing views of the, [26-27]
Churchill, Winston, [317], [332], [335]
Civilian Reserve, formation of the, [323];
disbandment, [324]
Classics, early distaste and later fondness for the, [9]
Clemenceau, Georges, [360-361]
Collins, Wilkie, [256]
Conan, Michael, author’s granduncle and godfather, [15], [16]
Conan, Miss. See Doyle, Mrs. John
Conan Doyle, the steam trawler, in the World War, [331]
Congo Association, work for the amelioration of conditions in the Belgian Congo, [228-229]
Constantinople, a visit to, [222]
“Cornhill,” contributions to, [67], [68], [75]; [89]
Coronation Oath, protest against form of, [220-221]
Corporal punishment in school days, [5], [10]
Cricket, early recollections of, [273];
getting into first-class, [273-275];
two unusual experiences at, [275-276];
some memorable matches, [276-277];
with J. M. Barrie’s team, [278-279];
creditable records in bowling, [279]
“Crime of the Congo, The,” [229]
Cromer, Lord, impressions of, [123]
Crowborough, removal to, [215]
Crowborough Company, Sixth Royal Sussex Volunteer Regiment, [324-329]
Cullingworth, Doctor, friendship with, at Edinburgh University, [52];
strange character of, [52-54];
author’s association with, [54-58]
“Curious Experience of the Patterson Family in the Island of Uffa,” [102]
Curzon, Lady, establishing a precedent in etiquette with, [259]
“Daily Telegraph, The,” article on the Koch cure in, [84]
“Danger,” article in “The Strand Magazine,” [310]
Davos, Switzerland, [115], [119], [120]
“Desert Dream, A,” [124]
“Dicky Doyle’s Diary,” [2]
Divorce laws, work for reform in the, [231-232]
Doctor, determination to become a, [17]
“Doings of Raffles Haw, The,” [88]
Donald, Robert, of the “Daily Chronicle,” [360-361]
Dorando and the great Marathon Race of 1908, [223-225]
“Dorian Grey,” Wilde, [73], [74]
Doyle, Annette, author’s sister, [5], [17];
death of, [91]
Doyle, Arthur Conan, birth, [1];
ancestry, [1-4];
boyhood days, [5-7];
the preparatory school at Hodder, [8];
the Jesuit public school at Stonyhurst, [8-12];
school-mates, [11];
first evidence of a literary streak, [11-12];
a year at school in Austria, [12-14];
feeling toward the Jesuits, [14-15];
first visit to Paris, [15-16];
adopts medicine as a profession, [17];
enters Edinburgh University Medical School, [18];
college life, [18-21];
outside work in spare time, [21-24];
first story accepted by “Chambers’,” [24];
his father’s characteristics, [24-25];
his spiritual unfolding and the Catholic Church, [25-27];
a whaling voyage in the Arctic Ocean, [29-41];
the ship’s company on the Hope, [30-32];
hunting seals, [33-36];
physical development, [41];
ship’s surgeon on the Mayumba to West Africa, [42-51];
experiences on the West Coast, [45-50];
fire at sea, [50-51];
professional association with an eccentric character, [52-58];
in practice at Southsea, [59-61];
joined by his brother Innes, [61-62];
comedy and tragedy in practice, [62-64];
marriage, [64-66];
developing literary interests, [67-68];
genesis of “Sherlock Holmes,” [69-70];
“Micah Clarke,” [71];
James Payn, Oscar Wilde and others, [72-74];
“The White Company,” [74-75];
first ventures in psychic studies, [77-81];
birth of daughter Mary, [81];
the Koch tuberculosis cure, [81-84];
and W. T. Stead, [82];
advice from Malcolm Morris, [84-85];
first public speaking, [85-86];
leaving Portsmouth, [87];
a winter in Vienna, [88-89];
as an eye specialist in London, [89-90];
contributions to the magazines, [90];
virulent influenza, [90-91];
literature for a livelihood, [91];
“The Refugees,” [92-93];
and the death of Sherlock Holmes, [93-94];
sidelights on Sherlock Holmes, [96-110];
ventures in the drama, [96-97];
collaboration with Sir James Barrie, [97];
and Barrie’s parody on Holmes, [97-100];
fact and fiction regarding Sherlock Holmes, [100-110];
birth of his son Kingsley, [111];
joins the Psychical Research Society, [111];
and the literary life of London, [111-113];
“A Straggler of ’15” and Henry Irving, [113-114];
serious illness of Mrs. Doyle, [114-115];
to Davos, Switzerland, [115];
beginning of the “Brigadier Gerard” stories, [115];
lecturing tour in the United States, [116-119];
a strenuous winter, [117-118];
anti-British feeling in the States, [118];
back to Davos and Caux, [119-120];
locating in Hindhead, [121];
to Egypt in winter of 1896, [121];
some notable men in Egypt, [122-124];
a trip to the Salt Lakes, [125-128];
the war against the Mahdi, [130];
to the front as correspondent pro-tem., [130-138];
incidents of the trip, [131-137];
dinner with Kitchener, [137];
return from the frontier, [138];
the house in Hindhead, [140];
literary work, [140-141];
religious unrest, [141-142];
psychic experiences, [142-143];
and the little Doctor, [144-146];
the shadow of South Africa, [146-147];
the Boer War of 1899, [148];
early reverses, [148];
and the Langman Hospital service, [149-150];
experiments with rifle fire, [150-152];
and the Duke of Cambridge, [152-153];
in South Africa, [153-154];
inoculation for enteric fever, [154];
Boer prisoners, [155];
locating the hospital in Bloemfontein, [155-157];
outbreak of enteric fever, [157-159];
dum-dum bullets, [159];
days at the front with the army, [159-170];
return to the hospital, [170-173];
temporary illness, [174-175];
quelling a mutiny in the unit, [175-176];
to Pretoria and Johannesburg, [176-180];
interview with Lord Roberts, [178];
an unusual surgical operation, [181];
return to England, [182-183];
misrepresentation concerning England and the Boer War, [184];
an appeal to World Opinion, [184-194];
and “The Cause and Conduct of the War in South Africa,” [187-188];
translations and distribution of the pamphlet, [188-192];
success of the undertaking, [192-194];
experiences in politics, [195-203];
writes “The Great Boer War,” [204];
and the accolade of Knighthood, [205];
interest in rifle clubs, [207-208];
on the use of cavalry in war, [208];
completion of “Sir Nigel,” [209];
death of Mrs. Doyle, [209];
and the Edalji Case, [209-215];
second marriage, [215];
removal to Crowborough, [215];
and the Oscar Slater Case, [216-220];
protests the form of the Coronation Oath, [220-221];
visits Egypt, Constantinople and Greece, [222-223];
the Marathon Race of 1908, [223-225];
and the evil administration of the Belgian Congo, [228];
work in the interest of athletics in England, [229-231];
and reform of the Divorce Laws, [231-232];
continued interest in psychic matters, [232];
ventures in speculation, [233-235];
acquaintance with some notable people, [236-261];
impressions of Theodore Roosevelt, [236-238];
and Arthur James Balfour, [238-241];
Asquith and Lord Haldane, [241-242];
visit with George Meredith, [242-245];
acquaintance with Kipling, [245-246];
friendship with Sir James M. Barrie, [246-249];
and Sir Henry Irving, [249-250];
on George Bernard Shaw, [250-251];
long acquaintance with H. G. Wells, [251-252];
and his brother-in-law, William Hornung, [252];
correspondence with Stevenson, [253-254];
and Grant Allen, [255-256];
appreciation of James Payn, [256-257];
dinners with Sir Henry Thompson, [258];
settling a question of etiquette, [259];
impressions of Sir Henry Hawkins, [260-261];
and Sir Francis Jeune, [261];
recollections of sport, [262-286];
views on flat-racing and steeplechasing, [262-263];
on hunting for pleasure, [263-264];
a liking for fishing, [264-265];
on the noble sport of boxing, [265-268];
and the Jeffries-Johnson fight, [268-269];
love for Rugby football, [269-270];
and the game of golf, [270-271];
the lure of billiards, [271-273];
recollections of cricket, [273-279];
some motoring experiences, [280-282];
ski-ing in Switzerland, [283-285];
a trip to the Canadian Rockies in 1914, [287-300];
in New York, [287-289];
through the land of Parkman, [289-292];
on the wonders of Western Canada, [292-298];
in Jasper and Algonquin Parks, [298-301];
on the destiny of Canada, [301-302];
disbelief in the German menace, [304-305];
participates in the Prince Henry Competition, [305-308];
effect of Bernhardi’s writings on, [308];
“England and the Next War” by, [308-310];
interviewed by General Henry Wilson, [310-313];
meditations on methods of attack and defence, [313-314];
urges building of Channel Tunnel, [314-317];
on the lack of foresight in the Admiralty, [317-319];
suggests life-saving devices for the Navy, [319-321];
a letter from William Redmond, [321];
organizing the Volunteers, [323-324];
in the Sixth Royal Sussex Volunteer Regiment, [324-326];
on the writing of “The British Campaign in France and Flanders,” [326-327];
conditions in England during the World War, [327-328];
communications with British prisoners, [329-330];
luncheon with the Empress Eugenie, [331-332];
suggests individual armour for troops, [332-333];
heavy losses of his kith and kin in the War, [333-334];
to the British front in 1916, [335-352];
crossing to France with General Robertson, [337-338];
a trip through the trenches, [339-341];
a medal presentation in Bethune, [341-342];
in an observation post, [342-343];
a meeting with his brother Innes, [343];
the Ypres Salient at night, [344];
the destruction and desolation in Ypres, [345-346];
on the Sharpenburg, [346-347];
luncheon with Sir Douglas Haig, [347-349];
an artillery duel at close quarters, [349-350];
meets his son Kingsley at Mailly, [350];
two days in Paris, [351-352];
a mission to the Italian front, [353-359];
attempts to reach Monfalcone, [354-356];
in the Carnic Alps, [356-357];
a day in the Trentino, [357-358];
a spiritual intimation of the victory on the Piave, [358-359];
effect of the death of Kitchener, [360];
an interview with Clemenceau, [360-361];
on the French front, [361-371]
in Soissons, [362];
through the French trenches, [362-365];
in the front line, [367];
the saviours of France, [371];
breakfast and an interesting talk with Lloyd George, [373-375];
a visit to the Australian front, [375-385];
a second meeting with his brother Innes, [378-379];
breaking the Hindenburg Line, [380-383];
in London on Armistice Day, [386];
the psychic quest, [387-399];
public expositions of his psychic belief, [388-390];
belief in the universality of the spiritual knowledge, [390-392];
tangible evidence for his faith, [392-393];
on the mistakes of science in investigations, [395-396];
personal assurance in his spiritual belief, [397-398];
as to the future, [398-399]
Doyle, Mrs. Arthur Conan (née Hawkins), [64];
marriage, [65]; [85], [87];
development of a serious malady, [114];
to Switzerland in search of health, [115], [119];
a winter in Egypt, [121], [122], [130];
in Naples, [152]; [204];
death of, [209]
Doyle, Mrs. Arthur Conan (née Leckie), marriage, [215];
Sultan confers Order of Chevekat on, [222];
home for Belgian refugees during the World War, [328];
psychic interests and activities of, [388]
Doyle, Monsignor Barry, [2-3]
Doyle, Charles, author’s father, born in London, [2];
enters Government Office of Works, Edinburgh, [2];
marriage, [4];
talent as an artist, [4-5]; [17], [24];
characteristics of, [25];
death of, [25];
his religious faith, [25]
Doyle, Mrs. Charles, author’s mother, [3];
marriage, [4];