As a matter of fact he had missed her; but
her quick-witted friend seized the gory handkerchief, and, waving it in
the air, persuaded the villain that the shot had taken deadly effect,
and that he must flee for his life. Even in those days, such an
unblushing piece of trickery was found more comic than impressive. It
was a case of preparation "giving itself away."
A somewhat later play, _The Mummy and the Humming Bird_, by Mr. Isaac
Henderson, contains a good example of over-elaborate preparation. The
Earl of Lumley, lost in his chemical studies with a more than Newtonian
absorption, suffers his young wife to form a sentimental friendship with
a scoundrel of an Italian novelist, Signor D'Orelli. Remaining at home
one evening, when Lady Lumley and a party of friends, including
D'Orelli, have gone off to dine at a restaurant, the Earl chances to
look out of the window, and observes an organ-grinder making doleful
music in the snow. His heart is touched, and he invites the music-monger
to join him in his study and share his informal dinner.
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