I _am_ a
single man; you ain't, bear in mind.
LETCHMERE: (_imperturbably_): Very true.
This one little touch is a masterpiece of craftsmanship. It would have
been the most natural thing in the world for either the sister or the
brother-in-law, concerned about their own matrimonial difficulties, to
let fall some passing allusion to Letchmere's separation from his wife;
but the author carefully avoided this, carefully allowed us to make our
first acquaintance with Letty in ignorance of the irony of her position,
and then allowed the truth to slip out just in time to let us feel the
whole force of that irony during the last scene of the act and the
greater part of the second act. A finer instance of the delicate grading
of tension it would be difficult to cite.
One thing is certain; namely, that if a secret is to be kept at all, it
must be worth the keeping; if a riddle is propounded, its answer must be
pleasing and ingenious, or the audience will resent having been led to
cudgel its brains for nothing.
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