Sterne's humour was inferior to Swift's, narrower and smaller;
it was a sparkling wine, but light-bodied, and often bad in colour. His
pleasantry had no depth or general bearing. He appealed to the senses,
referred entirely to some particular and trivial coincidence, and often
put amatory weaknesses under contribution to give it force. The current
of his thoughts glided naturally and imperceptibly into poetry and
humour, but his subject matter was not intellectual, though he sometimes
showed fine emotional feeling.
Under the head of acoustic humour we may place that abruptness of style
which he managed so adroitly, and that dramatic punctuation, which he
may be said to have invented, and of which no one ever else made so much
use. No doubt he was an accomplished speaker; and we know that he had a
good ear for music.
There is something in Sterne which reminds us of a conjurer exhibiting
tricks on the stage; in one place indeed, he speaks of his cap and
bells, and no doubt many would have thought them more suitable to him
than a cap and gown. He was a versatile man; fond of light and artistic
pursuits, occupying, as he tells us, his leisure time with books,
painting, fiddling, and shooting. In his nature there was much emotion
and exuberance of mind, being that of an accomplished rather than of a
thoughtful man; and we can believe when he avers that he "said a
thousand things he never dreamed of.
Pages:
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127