Posted by John Richardson on May 14, 1999 at 00:07:52 from pedgate.stclc.com:
In Reply to: Re: Then, it happened... posted by Robert Hill on May 13, 1999 at 11:16:05:
Thanks for posting the original, Robert.
I didn't mean that the reference was rude, nor did I use the word! Infact it have never occurred to me until now to link the punctuation mark with the large intestine.
My point was the one I went on to make: that he intrudes with first person narrative - something Ransome never does anywhere else in the cannon (spelling?). The fact that the comparison is rather schoolmasterly and pedantic is a relatively minor point.
I've always wondered whether others find this as glaring a lapse as I do (I leave it out if I'm reading it aloud to others). Robert clearly doesn't, but what about others?
Oh yes, and could someone post the original context? I still can't remember what he was actually comparing to the wretched : !