Genre:

Essay, Drollery

Subjects:

Reading, Medical Practitioners, Display, Amusement, Mesmerism

    Reflecting on the increasing popularity of public readings of novels and other works, anticipates a time when 'some eminent physician' will read 'his own prescription aloud to a crowded audience, who will afterwards witness with delight the comfortable spectacle of the doctor swallowing his own draughts'. Criticises contemporary performers of 'Readings' for their inability 'to mesmerise' their audiences 'into a sympathetic state'.