Now I am certainly not singular in playing the fool
without one."
There is much in the style of the "Doctor," which reminds us of Sterne.
He was evidently a favourite author with Southey, who speaking of his
Sermons says, "You often see him tottering on the verge of laughter, and
ready to throw his periwig in the face of the audience." Perhaps from
him he acquired his love for tricks of form and typographical surprises.
He introduces what he calls interchapters. "Leap chapters they cannot
properly be called, and if we were to call them 'Ha-has' as being
chapters, which the reader may skip if he likes, the name would appear
rather strange than significant."
He sometimes introduces a chapter without any heading in the following
way--
"Sir," says the Compositor to the Corrector of the Press "there is
no heading for the copy for this chapter. What must I do?"
"Leave a space for it," the Corrector replies. "It is a strange
sort of book, but I dare say the author has a reason for everything
he says or does, and most likely you will find out his meaning as
you set up."
Chapter lxxxviii begins--"While I was writing that last chapter a flea
appeared upon the page before me, as there once did to St. Dominic." He
proceeds to say that his flea was a flea of flea-flesh, but that St.
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