FURTHER PROGRESS IN SPECIALISATION
STEPHEN LEACOCK
SHORT QUESTION
Q: “Dr. Follicle will see you now.” ---Who is Dr. Follicle? Who will he see?
Ans: Dr. Follicle is a distinguished hairologist. He carries the degrees of Cap. D. from Havard, Doc. Chev. From Paris and an Honorary Shampoo of half a dozen societies.
He will see the patient coming to him for treatment.
Q: “In the old days of, say, twenty years ago, when a man got sick he went to a doctor.” ---- What was the primitive method of treating a patient?
Or
How would a doctor treat a patient in the old days?
Ans: In the old days when a man got sick he would go to a doctor. The doctor would diagnose the disease, give him medicine and advise bed rest. The patient would either get better or not.
Q: “All that is excellent- couldn’t be better.”--- What is excellent and why?
Or
What is the modern method of treatment of a disease?
Ans: The modern method of specialization in the field of treatment is excellent. Now when a patient goes to a doctor, the doctor makes a diagnosis and sends him to specialists. The patient is then treated by specialists according to his disease.
Q: “The patient entered the inner sanctum of Dr. Follicle.” – Who is Dr. Follicle? What is his inner sanctum? In which is he a specialist?
Ans: Dr. Follicle is a distinguished capillary expert.
Like a physician he also has a chamber which is his ‘inner sanctum’.
He is a specialist in hairology.
Q: “The great expert smiled.” –Why did the great expert smile?
Ans: There are two probable reasons of the expert’s smile. Firstly, the reluctant patient had surrendered to his advice and agreed to shave without delay. Secondly, he smiled at the patient’s foolishness.
Q: “What about the fee?” ---Who put this question and to whom? How did the person spoken to react?
Ans: The patient in ‘Further Progress in Specialisation’ put this question to Dr. Follicle.
Dr. Follicle set aside the question with dignity and informed that it would be finally settled in due course by appropriate department.
Q: “Could it be postponed for a day or so more?” ---Who asked this question and to whom? Why did he ask this question?
Ans: The patient who came to Dr. Follicle for the treatment of his facial hair asked this question.
He asked this question because he wanted to complete the works of his office.
Q: “He shook his head.” --- Who shook his head and when?
Ans: Dr. Follicle shook his head.
After examining the patient and asking him several questions and checking his face he shook his head.
Q: “The patient sighed.” ---Why did the patient do so?
Ans: The doctor turned down the patient’s proposal to delay the shaving operation. He also refused to take any responsibility of delaying the shaving. So the patient sighed in dejection.
