Doctor
Holmes could not conceal his amusement at all this.
When breakfast was finished, Doctor Holmes said: "Do you know that I am
a full-fledged carpenter? No? Well, I am. Come into my carpenter-shop."
And he led the way into a front-basement room where was a complete
carpenter's outfit.
"You know I am a doctor," he explained, "and this shop is my medicine. I
believe that every man must have a hobby that is as different from his
regular work as it is possible to be. It is not good for a man to work
all the time at one thing. So this is my hobby. This is my change. I
like to putter away at these things. Every day I try to come down here
for an hour or so. It rests me because it gives my mind a complete
change. For, whether you believe it or not," he added with his
inimitable chuckle, "to make a poem and to make a chair are two very
different things."
"Now," he continued, "if you think you can learn something from me,
learn that and remember it when you are a man. Don't keep always at your
business, whatever it may be. It makes no difference how much you like
it. The more you like it, the more dangerous it is. When you grow up you
will understand what I mean by an 'outlet'--a hobby, that is--in your
life, and it must be so different from your regular work that it will
take your thoughts into an entirely different direction. We doctors call
it a safety-valve, and it is. I would much rather," concluded the poet,
"you would forget all that I have ever written than that you should
forget what I tell you about having a safety-valve.
Pages:
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64