The stage-direction runs thus--
The afternoon sun strikes his figure. At his appearance a shout goes
up--long, steady, enthusiastic cheering; and, after a moment, the
big regimental band begins playing, very slowly, "My Country, 'tis
of Thee." ... All the people in the room are smiling and applauding
enthusiastically; and--as Phil in vain raises his hand for silence,
and the band crashes through the National Anthem, and the roar of
voices still rises from below--
THE CURTAIN FALLS.
One does not know whether to praise Mr. Sheldon for having adroitly
avoided an anticlimax, or to reproach him with having unblushingly
shirked a difficulty. To my sense, the play has somewhat the air of a
hexameter line with the spondee cut off.[5] One _does_ want to see the
peripety through. But if the audience is content to imagine the sequel,
Mr. Sheldon's craftsmanship is justified, and there is no more to be
said. M. Brieux experienced some difficulty in bringing his early play,
_Blanchette_, to a satisfactory close.
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