“Oh, that was through an accident. He had a nasty fall from a horse, and, being a rather nervous man, the shock was very severe. For some time after he was a complete wreck. But the failure of his eyesight was the actual cause of his retirement. It seems that the fall damaged his eyes in some way; in fact he practically lost the sight of one⁠—the right⁠—from that moment; and, as that had been his good eye, the accident left his vision very much impaired. So that he was at first given sick leave and then allowed to retire on a pension.”

Thorndyke noted these particulars and then said:

“Your uncle has been more than once referred to as a man of studious habits. Does that mean that he pursued any particular branch of learning?”