The Sermon On The Mound

      Somewhere in the ether, Peter Cook is finding this story very amusing indeed.  

      It's an interesting fact, by the way, that services of such, or at least comparable, length used to be quite common. It's a neat little tidbit to share with undergraduates, most of whom are inclined to think themselves sufferers of extended oration like no others in human history. Then I tell them about John Donne, and the disappearance of colour from their collective faces is always, always, always its own reward. Tee hee. And yes, I am evil.   Sue me.