A Stilton Catechized Upon a Table

Every critic should be required to present his credentials. Mine culminate in this: that I was once the witness to a full-dress performance of the Critical Act: not a Pateresque extravaganza nor an epigram fired from the hip, but an expert paradogmatic demonstration, no phase omitted. It was performed on November 19, 1956, at his Club in London, by a Man of Letters who will not mind remaining anonymous.

When we had dealt with the jugged hare (which was perhaps neither