Hardy's great novel. As it stands on the printed page, this scene is
a superb piece of drama. Its greatness has been obscured in the English
theatre by the general unskilfulness of the dramatic version presented.
One magnificent scene does not make a play. In America, on the other
hand, the fine acting of Mrs. Fiske secured popularity for a version
which was, perhaps, rather better than that which we saw in England.
I have said that dramatic peripeties are not infrequent in real life;
and their scene, as is natural, is often laid in the law courts. It is
unnecessary to recall the awful "reversal of fortune" that overtook one
of the most brilliant of modern dramatists. About the same period,
another drama of the English courts ended in a startling and terrible
peripety. A young lady was staying as a guest with a half-pay officer
and his wife. A valuable pearl belonging to the hostess disappeared; and
the hostess accused her guest of having stolen it. The young lady, who
had meanwhile married, brought an action for slander against her quondam
friend.
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