第84章 Chapter VIII.

Dr. Slop was within an ace of being an exception to all this argumentation: for happening to have his green baize bag upon his knees, when he began to parody my uncle Toby--'twas as good as the best mantle in the world to him: for which purpose, when he foresaw the sentence would end in his new-invented forceps, he thrust his hand into the bag in order to have them ready to clap in, when your reverences took so much notice of the. . ., which had he managed--my uncle Toby had certainly been overthrown: the sentence and the argument in that case jumping closely in one point, so like the two lines which form the salient angle of a ravelin,--Dr. Slop would never have given them up;--and my uncle Toby would as soon have thought of flying, as taking them by force: but Dr. Slop fumbled so vilely in pulling them out, it took off the whole effect, and what was a ten times worse evil (for they seldom come alone in this life) in pulling out his forceps, his forceps unfortunately drew out the squirt along with it.

When a proposition can be taken in two senses--'tis a law in disputation, That the respondent may reply to which of the two he pleases, or finds most convenient for him.--This threw the advantage of the argument quite on my uncle Toby's side.--'Good God!' cried my uncle Toby, 'are children brought into the world with a squirt?'