I have
got JOSEPH out of the way by stratagem, decoyed his wife--my early
love--to a lonely hut, where my minions wait to seize her. Now to
abduct the child, destroy the certificate of vaccination which alone
stands between me and a Peerage, set fire to the home of my ancestors,
accuse JOSEPH of all my crimes, and take my seat in the House of
Lords as the Earl of Addelegg! Ha-ha--a good night's work! a good--"
_Joseph_ (_from back_). "Not so. I have heard all. I will _not_ have
it. You _shall_ not!" (_&c., &c._) _Villain._ "You would thwart my
schemes?" _Joseph_ (_firmly_). "I would. My wife and child shall
_not_--" (_&c., &c._) _Villain_ (_slowly_). "And the oath you swore
to my Mother, your dying Aunt, would you break that?" _Joseph_
(_overcome_). "My oath! my Aunt! Ah, no, I cannot, I _must_ not break
it. JASPER SHOPPUN, I am powerless--you must do your evil will!" (_He
sinks on a settee: Triumph of Villain, tableau, and Curtain._)
_Author._ I wouldn't have _believed_ that a modern audience would
treat heroic conduct like that as if it was _laughable_.
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