d the note aloud. It ran as follows:--

"Wanted, a woman of good address, attired like a lady. She has a
remarkably thick nose, with eyes which are set close upon either side
of it. She has a puckered forehead, a peering expression, and probably
rounded shoulders. There are indications that she has had recourse to an
optician at least twice during the last few months. As her glasses are
of remarkable strength and as opticians are not very numerous, there
should be no difficulty in tracing her."

Holmes smiled at the astonishment of Hopkins, which must have been
reflected upon my features.

"Surely my deductions are simplicity itself," said he. "It would be
difficult to name any articles which afford a finer field for inference
than a pair of glasses, especially so remarkable a pair as these. That
they belong to a woman I infer from their delicacy, and also, of course,
from the last words of the dying man. As to her being a person of
refinement and well dressed, they are, as you perceive, handsomely
mounted in solid gold, and it is inconceivable that anyone who wore such
glasses could be slatternly in other respects. You will find that the
clips are too wide for your nose, showing that the lady's nose was very
broad at the base. This sort of nose is usually a short and coarse one,
but there are a sufficient number of exceptions to prevent me from being
dogmatic or from insisting upon this point in my description. My own
face is a narrow one, and yet I find that I cannot get my eyes into the
centre, or near the centre, of these glasses. Therefore the lady's eyes
are set very near to the sides of the nose. You will perceive, Watson,
that the glasses are concave and of unusual strength. A lady whose
vision has been so extremely contracted all her life is sure to have the
physical characteristics of such vision, which are seen in the forehead,
the eyelids, and the shoulders."

"Yes," I said, "I can follow each of your arguments. I confess, however,
that I am unable to understand how you arrive at the double visit to the
optician."

Holmes took the glasses in his hand.

"You will perceive," he said, "that the clips are lined with tiny
bands of cork to soften the pressure upon the nose. One of these is
discoloured and worn to some slight extent, but the other is new.
Evidently one has fallen off and been replaced. I should judge that the
older of them has not been there more than a few months. They
exactly correspond, s