Page:A political romance (IA politicalromance00sterrich).pdf/24

 of the Exchequer and Prerogative Courts; its being ripped up for a petticoat and a jerkin means that Dr. Topham made out a new patent for the office, in which he inserted the name of his own son as his successor, and then brought it to Archbishop Gilbert for his approval and signature. The hot scene at the parsonage the next morning is the conference held at Bishopthorpe on November 7, 1758. It is probable that Sterne, a most active member of the York Chapter, was present on that occasion, and so witnessed Dr. Topham's utter rout and angry departure.

The Key which Sterne appended to the Romance belongs to a kind of humor common in the eighteenth century, a late survival of which may be seen in the Pickwick Club. Specifically, it was developed from Swift's "Grand Committee" that sat upon the meaning of "A Tale of a Tub." Sterne's "Political Club," however, is much more than an imitation of Swift. For years Sterne spent many evenings, when in York, at a convivial club that met at Sunton's Coffee-House in Coney Street. Here were discussed the questions of the day, national and local, It was also a gossip-shop for rumor, scandal, and salacious stories and jests. The "Political Club," which devoted an entire session to the Romance, was, I take it, a burlesque of the transactions of Sterne's own club.