This scene is worthy of study as an excellent type of what may be called
the judicial peripety, the crushing cross-examination, in which it is
possible to combine the tension of the detective story with no small
psychological subtlety. In Mr. Jones's scene, the psychology is obvious
enough; but it is an admirable example of nice adjustment without any
obtrusive ingenuity. The whole drama, in short, up to the last act is,
in the exact sense of the word, a well-made play--complex yet clear,
ingenious yet natural. In the comparative weakness of the last act we
have a common characteristic of latter-day drama, which will have to be
discussed in due course.
In this case we have a peripety of external fortune. For a
clearly-marked moral peripety we may turn to the great scene between
Vivie and her mother in the second act of _Mrs. Warren's Profession._
Whatever may be thought of the matter of this scene, its movement is
excellent. After a short, sharp opening, which reveals to Mrs.
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