Chapter 30 Summary and Analysis

Smiling Harry Syphilis?

That's what the housekeeper, Mrs. Holroyd, writes in a telephone message to James Herriot as he maintains the veterinary practice of Stewart Brannan in Hensfield. Gingerly he approaches the gruff, cigarette smoking, ash dropping domestic for clarification. She insists she has spelled "syphilis" correctly, and he agrees. "It's just the smiling and the Harry..." he protests. "Well, that's what t'feller said. Repeated it three times. Couldn't make no mistake," she answers.

When Herriot arrives at Mr. Johnson's farm, he leads the vet directly to his pigsty. "It's me pig, guvnor," Johnson says. "Covered wi' big red spots. Reckon it's Swine Erysipelas." In another message, the irascible housekeeper mentions an ailing Bulldog that belongs to a Mr. Piummarov. "Was he a Russian gentleman?" Herriot inquires. "Dunno, luv, never asked 'im," she answers. This puzzle is solved when the dog...