Looking back there are certain of Holmes’ disguises which I remember in particular.  Clergymen as a breed were high on the list.  They were relatively easy to achieve, and had the advantage of being reusable on many occasions, with a slight tweak depending on which denomination Holmes felt most drawn to that day.  Other characters too live long in my memory.  However, there was one disguise which was not used by Holmes, but instead used upon him.

My first encounter with the ‘Revd Holmes’ was as an amiable and simple-minded Nonconformist clergyman.  Holmes had chosen his outfit with great care, as befitting one who would be making claims upon a lady.  The broad brimmed black hat had been purchased especially for the occasion, although it had undergone sufficient rigours since the purchase it no longer looked new, but one such as would be worn by a genteel clergyman whose worldly wealth was almost all given to the poor.  The baggy trousers, although generous in their cut still somehow served to give a positive impression of Holmes’ physique. 

Of course Holmes as a venerable Italian priest will always stick in my mind, but more for what was to come than for the disguise itself.  He has since played the same part, giving me time to appreciate the work which had gone into the disguise.  He had clearly had the hat and cassock prepared in advance and salted away in anticipation of his need.  The cassock was a genuine second-hand Catholic garment, although not from Italy.  I understand it had been given to him by an elderly priest in return for Holmes’ assistance for some of the priest’s parishioners.

Captain Basil was a well-known mariner, often to be seen in his seafaring garb, his pea jacket buttoned up to his throat and his face practically obscured by his long grey-side whiskers.  Often the first indication I had a case would be of a maritime nature was the arrival or departure of this sailor from our rooms.  We were fortunate however the harpoon Holmes used in the case of Peter Carey did not make a repeat appearance.  One can only imagine what use our landlady might have made of it.  The smell of Basil’s wet coat was quite bad enough.

Holmes never deemed himself above wearing workmen’s clothes when he needed them.  Had I been an impressionable housemaid I might have considered becoming engaged to Escott the plumber, with his goatee beard, his clay pipe and his swagger.  For it was not just the clothes Holmes donned, but the attitude of the regular wearer of such garments.  He was an astute observer of all men, whatever their social class, and could blend in anywhere unobserved.  And this meant should Milverton have caught a glimpse of Holmes in the vicinity of the house he would have taken him for a plumber.

I was not privileged to see the old woman who followed Count Silvius, although I recognised the baggy parasol which Billy showed me.  It was not difficult, however, to imagine how Holmes had looked, for I had seen him assume a similar character before.  In fact I had myself purchased the dress from the daughter of a patient, knowing the dress’ owner no longer had need of it and the money would provide food for the remaining household.  The daughter had not asked why I wished to buy it, being only too grateful for the coins she received in exchange.

One further disguise remains in my mind, that of a slim youth in an Ulster, who bade Holmes ‘good night’ one evening many years ago.  Holmes was proud of his ability to disguise himself, yet this was as good as any.  Had the youth not spoken we would have never known our actions had been observed.  Holmes recognised the voice, yet was unable to place it; hardly surprising when there was no-one who even slightly resembled Irene Norton in the vicinity.  It was a reminder to Holmes that he might not be the only one to have assumed a disguise.