The Citizen A La Sterne

Introduction

Togatus. “Citizen A La Sterne.” The Gownsman 2, 3 (1829): 20-21.

This piece is mysterious due to the fact that its author is unknown; the piece is simply signed “Togatus” which is a term commonly used to refer to a Roman citizen. Signing the piece in this vague fashion is common for this journal; some pieces are signed only with letters of the Greek alphabet, others are signed with colloquial phrases like “A Freshman at Queens.” These signatures help attune the reader to the general tone of the journal: young, sarcastic, light-hearted, and fun.

This particular piece stands out above others because of the puzzling subject matter; the first line simply reads, “I took a fat citizen, and having first shut him up in his little sitting-room, I proceeded to take his picture." The piece uses unconventional punctuation and a casual tone to engage the reader, all the while entertaining him or her with descriptions that seem more typical of modern authors in their grotesque and blunt nature. The sort of candid sarcasm and sharp honesty found in this piece is consistent throughout the rest of the journal.

Transcription

THE CITIZEN – A LA STERNE

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I took a fat citizen, and having first shut him up in his little sitting-room, I proceeded to take his picture. --I beheld his body gorged with long gratification and confinement to the house, and I felt what kind of sickness of the stomach it is that arises from having eaten too much. – On looking nearer, I beheld him bloated and feverish. – In sixty years the country breeze had not once fanned his blood: and he had seen the sun and moon but indistinctly in all that time. – He was seated, or rather buried in a large arm-chair, which stood in front of the fire place, and which might have served either for a chair or a bed. – A bundle of promissory notes lay on the table, scrawled all over, the fruits of the dark and dismal days and nights he had spent there. – He had one of these small slips of paper in his hand, and with a pen he was etching his own signature and the day of the month, to add it to the heap. – As I darkened the little light he had, he lifted up an eye, swimming in fat, towards the door, bent his head forward earnestly to listen, and then went on with his work of delight. – I heard the rubbing of his hands, when he had with difficultly, turned his body round to place the note on the bundle – he gave a sight of joy. – I saw the ectasy that entered into his soul – I had burst into a laugh – I could not contain myself at the picture which my fancy had drawn.

Togatus.

Notes

Edited by: Stevens, Mallory: section 1, Winter 2013

From: Volume 2, Issue 3 (The Gownsman)