The book improved in tempo as it was written; there were fewer sermons and more adventures. But the prose style was unfortunate. Joseph’s sentences were loose-jointed, like an earthworm hacked into segments that crawl away alive and whole. Innumerable repetitions bogging down the narrative were chiefly responsible for Mark Twain’s ejaculation that the book was “chloroform in print.” The phrase “and it came to pass” appeared at least two thousand times.
