A STUDY IN LOVE AND INSANITY.

CHARACTERS.

Mr. Valdingam.
Henry Van Hyde, M. D.
Susan Valdingam.
Rose.
Richard, a servant.

Time: Present.

Place: Mr. Valdingam’s country place near New York.

Scene: Library in Mr. Valdingam’s house. At the right of the stage, there is a large window opening upon a veranda and garden; moonlight effect. At the left there is an exit to other parts of the house.

Mr. Valdingam (who is pacing the room restlessly):

Dr. Van Hyde is extremely inconsiderate—extremely inconsiderate. He promised to be here at six-thirty sharp. A physician should keep his word at all hazards. (He goes to his desk at right and rings a bell.)

(Enter Richard from LEFT.)

Richard: You rang, sir?

Mr. Valdingam (testily): When does the next train leave for New York?

Richard: In a half hour, sir.

Mr. Valdingam: Good. If Dr. Van Hyde does not arrive within that time, you will take the train and fetch him. Do you understand?

Richard: Yes, sir.

Mr. Valdingam: Meanwhile, tell my sister that I want to speak with her. (Exit Richard, L.) Now I’ll surprise that excellent woman; excellent, that is to say, if she possessed an ounce of brains. If she could have her way, Rose would soon be in a lunatic asylum.

(Enter Susan, L.)

Susan (curtly): You have something to say to me?

Mr. Valdingam (sharply): Get ready a supper for two—for two—do you hear?

Susan: For two?

Mr. Valdingam: And you can serve it in this room.

Susan: You are expecting a friend?

Mr. Valdingam: Yes, a friend; or, rather a physician—a physician ... for Rose.

Susan (aside): The same old delusion (To Mr. Valdingam.) But, brother, Rose is quite well.

Mr. Valdingam: Well! You say well!... It’s none of your business, however. Do as I bid.

Susan (aside): It’s useless to argue with him. (To Mr. Valdingam.) When do you expect your—friend?

Mr. Valdingam: By the train that was due several minutes ago. Late, as usual.

(Enter Richard, L.)

Richard: The doctor has just arrived, sir.

Mr. Valdingam: Good. Bring the lamps, and then show the doctor in.

Susan (aside): That doctor may be useful, after all.

(Exeunt Richard and Susan.)

Mr. Valdingam (exultingly): Ha! I’ve gained my point, in spite of them. Rose shall be saved.

(Enter, L., Richard, with two lighted lamps. After placing them, he retires, leaving Dr. Van Hyde in the background.)

Dr. Van Hyde: This is Mr. Valdingam?

Mr. Valdingam: And this Dr. Van Hyde? How delighted I am to meet you at last! But it is disgraceful that you should have been so long delayed. I shall see to it that the officers of the road are severely censured.

Dr. Van Hyde: Pray do not worry over such a trifle.

Mr. Valdingam: That is very nicely said, sir.... As I informed you by letter, the case which you are about to treat is a very serious one—a very complicated one. It may even baffle you.... But before I add anything, permit me to see my sister for an instant. She is preparing a little supper for us, and, if you don’t object, we shall eat it here, tÊte-À-tÊte.

Dr. Van Hyde: With the greatest pleasure, Mr. Valdingam.

Mr. Valdingam: Then kindly make yourself at home. The house is yours while you are in it. (Exit Mr. Valdingam, L.)

Dr. Van Hyde (throwing himself into an easychair): A comfortable place, certainly. That fellow, Valdingam, however, is an odd chap. Restless and excitable, I take it; but very agreeable, otherwise. I wonder what sort of a little creature the patient is, by the way. A stupid thing, I suppose.... (After a moment of reflection.) Strange!—I wonder if I am losing my own mind. For three days I’ve been in a state which is positively abnormal. I am haunted by a face, and I can’t rid my memory of it. And what a face! Who could forget it after having once looked upon it? I am in love with it. I am still more in love with its owner. That smile, like a glimpse of paradise! That mouth, like a dissected strawberry! That blush, like the stolen red of a rose! Oh, shall I ever see her again?

(Enter Mr. Valdingam, L.)

Mr. Valdingam: You must be hungry, Dr. Van Hyde, and I fear that I can offer you little to appease a healthy appetite—a bowl of broth, a tender bit of broiled chicken, and some of the finest Burgundy in the world to wash it down. We homely folk of the country stick to the ancient fashions, you know,—a noonday lunch, and all that.

Dr. Van Hyde: I like your ancient fashions, as you call them, Mr. Valdingam. (Enter Richard, who sets a small table for two and serves supper.)

Mr. Valdingam: Then let us sit down without ceremony.

Dr. Van Hyde: Your Burgundy is indeed delicious, Mr. Valdingam.

Mr. Valdingam: I flatter myself that it is. It dissolves the cobwebs from one’s brains, so to speak. It is the elixir of happiness; and alas! I am not a happy man, Dr. Van Hyde.... (To Richard.) Leave us alone, Richard. (Exit Richard.)

Dr. Van Hyde: Perhaps you exaggerate your misfortunes, my dear sir.

Mr. Valdingam: Far from it—far from it.... Imagine a father, a doting father, like myself, whose only child is on the verge of insanity.

Dr. Van Hyde: It is a pitiful case, truly.

Mr. Valdingam: It is pitiful, and it is strange; strange because my daughter Rose is, to all outward appearances, as sane as you or I.

Dr. Van Hyde: But there are symptoms—

Mr. Valdingam: Symptoms which my keen sight discovered long ago. (Mysteriously.) My daughter is morally irresponsible in her social relations with men.

Dr. Van Hyde: You astonish me!

Mr. Valdingam: Prepare yourself for still greater astonishment. Accustomed though you are to dealings with the insane, I venture to say that Rose will deceive you at first as she has deceived others.... However, you are now on your guard. If you will permit me to do so, I will indicate to you the line of inquiry which you may adopt in your preliminary examination of my daughter.

(As this conversation progresses the door at L. is opened slightly, and Susan is seen to be listening. Later she closes the door softly and disappears.)

Dr. Van Hyde: With pleasure, sir.

Mr. Valdingam: Here is the point, then. My daughter appears to fall in love with every young man that strikes her fancy.

Dr. Van Hyde: Really—

Mr. Valdingam: She may even fall in love with you.

Dr. Van Hyde: Extraordinary!

Mr. Valdingam: Your course, therefore, will be to draw from her some decisive manifestation of this abnormal amativeness. You will not be slow to discover how deep-rooted the disease is.... By the way, would you object to meeting my daughter this evening? I shall not allow you to return to New York to-night, you know.

Dr. Van Hyde: I am wholly at your service.

Mr. Valdingam (ringing for Richard): So much the better. (Enter Richard, who removes the dining table.) Now, if you will join me in a cigar and a stroll in the garden, we can talk more at our ease on this painful subject. (They light their cigars and pass out into the garden. Enter from L. at the same time Susan, followed by Rose.)

Susan: Well, what do you think of that?

Rose (laughingly): I am very sorry for poor Dr. Van Hyde. Suppose I should be attacked with a tender passion for him, after all.

Susan: Don’t be ridiculous, Rose. Between you and me, however, it seems to me that this mad-doctor here, who is said to be so very clever, might be turned to some good purpose. I begin to think that your father needs looking after.

Rose: Oh, papa is harmless. At any rate, wait awhile. At present, you must remember, I am Dr. Van Hyde’s patient.

Susan: Nonsense!

Rose: I intend that he shall practise on me, certainly, especially if, as you assert, he is young and handsome. Or, let us say, I will experiment on him.

Susan: You are out of your senses.

Rose: Not a bit. Has not Dr. Van Hyde come all the way up here to see me, to examine me? Shall I disappoint this luminary of the medical profession?... Never!... Now, Aunt Susan, you must let me have my own way this time. No harm shall come of it, I promise you. And who knows? Perhaps I may be able to give Dr. Van Hyde points for his next clinic.

Susan: Well, do as you please. But I fear the worst. More than one sane creature has been clapped into a lunatic asylum by some fool of a doctor.

Rose: Tell me something more about this Dr. Van Hyde.

Susan: I’ve told you all I know ... young, handsome, and, I doubt not, a gentleman; very pleasant mannered, so far as I could see.

Rose (musingly): Young, handsome, pleasant mannered. Not the traditional doctor, evidently; just such a doctor as I might naturally fall in love with.

Susan: Rose, you amaze me!

Rose: But I am not going to fall in love with him.... (After a pause, and mischievously.) Indeed, I have some one else in my thought at this moment.

Susan: What do you mean?

Rose: Don’t blame me if I am a little human. Have you never met a man, Aunt Susan, who pleased you as no other man had ever pleased you before?

Susan: Perhaps I have; but it was mighty long ago.

Rose: Call me foolish if you will; I, too, have met such a man.

Susan: You! Where?

Rose: You won’t be cross if I confide in you? Besides, it’s not likely that I shall meet my Romeo again?—for he was a Romeo, Aunt Susan.

Susan: There are no Romeos nowadays.

Rose: Oh, yes, there are—in trousers. Now, let me tell you my experience with him. It was not a bit romantic. Last Monday, as you remember, I was shopping in New York. To-day is Friday. (With mock gravity.) An eternity from then till now.... Well, as I was rushing through a quiet side street, in haste to catch a car, suddenly I slipped and fell. My parasol went in one direction, my fan in another, my purse in still another, and three parcels I was carrying in three others. To make matters worse, I had sprained my ankle slightly, and was ready to cry with pain and mortification. Imagine the situation, Aunt Susan. There I sat in a heap on the pavement, surrounded by my possessions.

Susan (grimly): I hope you didn’t sit there long?

Rose: How unsympathetic you are!... No, I did not sit there long. For a second I was paralyzed. Afterward, as I prepared to rise with proper dignity, I heard a man’s voice—a particularly agreeable man’s voice—close at my side. It said: “Permit me to assist you, madam.” Before I could reply, the owner of the voice lifted me to my feet. Oh, he did his part gallantly! I was, of course, too confused to thank him at once. But he did not stop for thanks. He simply picked up my purse, my parasol, and my parcels, and after placing them in my hands, and inquiring very gently whether I was hurt, lifted his hat courteously and passed on. Only for a single—a single instant, Aunt Susan, our eyes met.

Susan: What then, pray?

Rose: Nothing. I limped to the car. That’s all.

Susan: And this stranger is your Romeo! Rose, you are a goose. Put him out of your head.

Rose: How can I put him out when he persists in staying in? There, now you have my story.

Susan (starting at the sound of footsteps): Hush! I think your father and the doctor are coming back.

(Susan busies herself with one of the lamps at L., and Rose takes up a book and pretends to read. Her face is turned away from the right entrance. Enter Mr. Valdingam and Dr. Van Hyde.)

Mr. Valdingam: Doctor, I rely upon you now with the utmost confidence. What a knowledge is yours! How vast, how intricate a subject is this of insanity! I marvel that you should have learned so much in so few years. I’ll wager that you have not passed your thirty-fifth birthday.

Dr. Van Hyde: You have made a nearly correct guess, Mr. Mr Valdingam. I am in my thirty-sixth year. But I have enjoyed unusual experience.

(At the sound of Dr. Van Hyde’s voice, Rose half-rises, then hides her face with her book.)

Rose (aside): Good gracious! I have heard that voice before. (She glances over the edge of the book toward the two men.) It is he. (She slips out of her chair, and joins Susan. The backs of the two women are turned to the men, who are conversing sotto voce.) Aunt Susan!

Susan (starting): What’s the matter?

Rose: It is he.

Susan: He? Who’s he?

Rose: The same.

Susan: Who’s the same?

Rose: The doctor.

Susan: What of the doctor?

Rose: The doctor is—Romeo!

Susan (dropping the book which Rose had passed to her): Lord!

(At the sound of the book falling, Mr. Valdingam turns and perceives the two women. Then he catches Dr. Van Hyde by the arm.)

Mr. Valdingam (to the doctor): She is here. Prepare yourself.

Dr. Van Hyde (glancing at the backs of the women): Your daughter?

Mr. Valdingam: Yes, my daughter. A splendid opportunity for you, doctor. I will see to it that you are left alone with her. Talk to her. Watch her closely. Discover all you can. But first, I will introduce you to her. (He goes over to L., while Dr. Van Hyde stays quietly at R. He approaches his daughter.) Rose!

Rose (turning toward Mr. Valdingam): Yes, papa.

Mr. Valdingam: May I introduce to you a dear, a very old friend of mine.

Rose (aside): A very old friend! (To Mr. Valdingam.) Certainly, papa.

(She advances toward center of stage. Susan glares at Mr. Valdingam, but does not come forward.)

Mr. Valdingam (to Dr. Van Hyde): Doctor!

Dr. Van Hyde (advancing toward Rose): At your service, Mr. Valdingam.

Mr. Valdingam: May I introduce—

(At this instant, Dr. Van Hyde obtains a full view of Rose, who regards him demurely. He stumbles back in amazement.)

Dr. Van Hyde: This—this—is your daughter?

Mr. Valdingam: You appear surprised? (Aside.) I knew it. I knew it.

Dr. Van Hyde: Not surprised—but—

Mr. Valdingam: I understand thoroughly. (Aside to the doctor.) Didn’t I tell you so? (To Rose.) Rose, this is my friend, Dr. Van Hyde. For certain reasons, my child, he is anxious to have a little chat with you.

Rose (innocently): With me, papa?

Mr. Valdingam: That is to say.... Well, no matter, I will explain later. (Turning to Susan.) Susan! (Susan advances toward center very stiffly.) Dr. Van Hyde, this is my sister, Miss Valdingam.

(Dr. Van Hyde bows to Susan in an embarrassed manner.)

Susan: Glad to know you, sir.

(She retires to L., accompanied by Rose. Mr. Valdingam rejoins Dr. Van Hyde at R.)

Mr. Valdingam (to Dr. Van Hyde): Did I not manage that skilfully?

Dr. Van Hyde (dryly): Most skilfully.

Mr. Valdingam: The rest is simple enough. Remain where you are, and I will retire with Susan. Then you will have the field to yourself. Do you agree with me?

Dr. Van Hyde: Perfectly.

(Mr. Valdingam goes over to L., consults in an undertone with Susan, and then exeunt Mr. Valdingam and Susan at L. Dr. Van Hyde and Rose are thus left alone. Their backs are turned to each other.)

Rose (aside): He recognized me.

Dr. Van Hyde (aside): I wonder if she recognized me.

Rose (aside): What shall I do—play the mad woman?

Dr. Van Hyde (aside): This, then, is the end of my dream. I have fallen in love with a lunatic.

Rose (aside): I suppose, to carry out papa’s wishes, that I ought to make love to him.

Dr. Van Hyde (aside): How did she come to be alone in the city last Monday? She must have escaped somehow. She is guarded with too little caution.

Rose (aside): Why doesn’t he speak?

Dr. Van Hyde (aside): She is more enchanting than ever. How can so sweet a creature be condemned to such misery? (He turns and confronts Rose.) Miss Valdingam!

Rose (without moving): Yes?

Dr. Van Hyde (more softly): Miss Valdingam!

Rose (turning slowly, and half looking at him): Dr. Van Hyde!

Dr. Van Hyde: Will you not sit down?

Rose: Thank you, I will. (She seats herself at L.)

Dr. Van Hyde (still standing, and speaking gravely): Now—

Rose (carelessly): Oh, you may as well take a chair yourself.

Dr. Van Hyde (seating himself at L.): With your permission.

Rose: Well?

Dr. Van Hyde: I was saying—

Rose: Were you? I didn’t hear it.

Dr. Van Hyde: I was, rather, about to say—

Rose (laughing): This is very odd, is it not?

Dr. Van Hyde: What, may I ask, is odd?

Rose: This tÊte-À-tÊte.

Dr. Van Hyde: Professionally speaking—

Rose: As a rule, you know, it takes two old friends to make a tÊte-À-tÊte. Now, it must be admitted that we are not old friends, are we?

Dr. van Hyde: I trust that we shall be very good friends soon.

Rose: Oh, my father has recommended you, and I may accept you on that basis. Are you from New York?

Dr. Van Hyde: Yes.

Rose: And you are a physician?

Dr. Van Hyde: I practice a little.

Rose: I suppose papa is to be one of your patients. He has not been strong. How is he, doctor?

Dr. Van Hyde (aside): She is very insistent.

Rose: Why don’t you answer me? Is there some serious complication?

Dr. Van Hyde (hurriedly): Nothing serious, I assure you.... In fact, I have had no conversation with Mr. Valdingam about his health.

Rose: Then what about?... Oh, I forgot. You are very old friends.

Dr. Van Hyde: Very old friends. (Aside.) There is a strange gleam in her eyes. Poor thing! Poor thing!

Rose: It is singular that he had never spoken of you before to-night.... (After a pause of reflection.) Do you know, I feel that you called to see me, as well as papa. Am I right?

Dr. Van Hyde: Partly right, Miss Valdingam.... And I am very glad to have met you at last. I have heard so much about you.

Rose: Still, you had never seen me until this evening?

Dr. Van Hyde (taken by surprise): Oh, I had.... (Aside.) What a silly business I am making of this! She looks so perfectly sane and charming that I am tempted to forget my mission. (To Rose.) It seemed to me almost, I mean, that I had met you—I don’t know where.

Rose (aside): This is delicious. I must punish him. (Advancing toward him with an air of anger.) Sir, I perceive that you wish to mislead me. Your presence here has a professional object. Do not deny it.

Dr. Van Hyde: I—I—do not deny it.

Rose (tragically): Connected with myself?

Dr. Van Hyde (aside): Suspicious of a stranger! Restless under medical observation! These are symptoms!... I must try to divert her thoughts.

Rose: I repeat, sir—connected with myself?

Dr. Van Hyde: Pray, Miss Valdingam, do not excite yourself.

Rose: Conceal nothing! I am wretched, annoyed, persecuted. I am under a wicked surveillance. Do you imagine that I’m blind? I understand their plot. (Pointing to door at L.) And you, too, are in the plot. But I shall prove to you—at once, at once—that I am as rational as they, as you. (In a quieter tone.) Now, have you any questions to ask me?

Dr. Van Hyde (somewhat confused): Do not take the matter so seriously, Miss Valdingam. Even a rational person—not excepting myself—may have theories, hallucinations, dreams—

Rose (wildly): Dreams! I have astonishing dreams, doctor. They come to me when I am awake, when I seem to be awake. Strange noises then rattle in my brain, and I grow dizzy. In any other person, these dreams might be ideas.... At other times, the world of my fancy is crowded with men, myriads of men.

Dr. Van Hyde (aside): Her father was not mistaken.

Rose: Yes, young men; graceful men; men who flatter and adore me!... Totally unlike the men I see when I escape to New York.

Dr. Van Hyde: Ah, she escapes!

Rose: Then, too, I have visions of matrimony. I feel a wild desire to propose to every man I meet. Have you ever proposed, doctor?

Dr. Van Hyde: Never.

Rose: Why don’t you? You can not have lacked opportunity.

Dr. Van Hyde: I fear that I have.

Rose: You are young, rich, good-looking, and successful.

Dr. Van Hyde (aside): Heavens!

Rose: You should marry.

Dr. Van Hyde: I have not the time—

Rose: There is no time like the present.... We are alone.

Dr. Van Hyde (nervously): Alone?

Rose: Yes; papa and Aunt Susan were discreet enough to retire. Do not be afraid.

Dr. Van Hyde: Afraid of what?

Rose: Of proposing to me. If you are, I will propose to you.

Dr. Van Hyde (aside): I must humor her. But it is distressing to do so. (To Rose.) You would marry me?

Rose: Oh, yes!

Dr. Van Hyde: You like me well enough for that?

Rose: I liked you at first sight.

Dr. Van Hyde: But you have barely an acquaintance with me.

Rose: So much the better. If my acquaintance with you were more intimate, I might not be willing to marry you.

Dr. Van Hyde: You can’t love me, however; and what is marriage without love?

Rose: Why can’t I love you?

Dr. Van Hyde: Love, my dear child, love is the tenderest passion of our nature. It is the flower of life. It is the affinity of souls. It is—

Rose (passionately): It is—it is.

Dr. Van Hyde (aside): If I could only believe that she might learn to love me—that she had not loved forty other men—that she was not a monster in the guise of a siren! Yet I will do my duty, cruel as it is to me. (To Rose.) But your father?

Rose: Papa has never objected to my loving anybody.

Dr. Van Hyde: Then you have loved somebody else?

Rose: Yes, indeed. Eighteen.

Dr. Van Hyde: Eighteen!

Rose: Eighteen lost opportunities. You are the nineteenth. If you refuse to take me, I shall have to look out for my twentieth. Perhaps you can introduce me to one of your friends.

Dr. Van Hyde: Suppose—suppose—I consent to marry you; that is to say, suppose you consent to marry me. How can I be sure that you won’t fall in love with your twentieth—as you call him—to-morrow.

Rose: You can’t be sure. Love has wings like a bird. Its natural action is flight. How can one help loving?

Dr. Van Hyde (tenderly): I should not wish to share your love with another man.

Rose: I don’t understand you.

Dr. Van Hyde (aside): This is the most remarkable case in my experience. The girl is clean daft on one subject. And yet, somehow, I am half inclined to take her at her word. I might succeed in curing her of her mania; I might transform her, create a new woman in this unhappy spirit; I can not abandon her to a wretched fate. (To Rose.) You say you do not understand me?

Rose: I can’t understand why I should not be allowed to love whomever I please.

Dr. Van Hyde: The law declares that you must love but one husband.

Rose: As I could only have one husband at a time, I might still love some one who was not my husband.

Dr. Van Hyde (crossing to R. and seating himself next to Rose): Don’t you think you could love one man, whose devotion to you would be tireless, whose life would be your life, whose thought would be always for your welfare and happiness; don’t you think you could love this man, and this man alone?

Rose (moving away from him): I never thought of that.

Dr. Van Hyde (moving toward her again): Try, try, my dear child, to see things with my eyes.

Rose: I have a pair of my own, thank you.

Dr. Van Hyde (losing himself in his passion): Listen to me. I do love you, and I want you to love me—but not as you love other men. I am anxious to be your friend, your very best friend. I want you to look to me as you would look to no one else. I want—

Rose (changing her manner and laughing): You play your part admirably, Dr. Van Hyde.

Dr. Van Hyde (in astonishment): Play my part!

Rose: You have just asked me to love you?

Dr. Van Hyde: Yes.

Rose: To accept you as my very best friend?

Dr. Van Hyde: Yes.

Rose: Then I wish to tell you, sir, that you have been trifling with me. Your love-making is purely professional. It is a kind of medicine.

Dr. Van Hyde (aside): This is a hopeless case.

Rose: Furthermore, I have convicted you of falsehood. You never met my father until to-night. You did meet me last Monday afternoon, in New York, at 2:25 p. m.

Dr. Van Hyde: Miss Valdingam!

Rose (courtesying to him): Permit me to thank you, dear doctor, for your kindness in picking up my parcels, my parasol, my purse, and myself. I did not have a chance to thank you while you were performing that unpleasant duty.

Dr. Van Hyde: Then you remember?

Rose: How could I forget so fascinating an adventure, although, to be sure, we crazy women are apt to have defective memories.

Dr. Van Hyde (aside): Have I been a fool? (To Rose.) I may as well confess that, when I saw you for the first time here to-night, I recognized you. But I did not suppose that you recognized me.

Rose: Which proves that you are not so wise a doctor as you ought to be.

Dr. Van Hyde: Really, Miss Valdingam—

Rose: Really, Dr. Van Hyde—

Dr. Van Hyde: I—I do not know what to say.

Rose: I repeat—you have played your part admirably.

Dr. Van Hyde: How can you accuse me of playing a part?

Rose: Sweet duplicity! Did you not come here to minister to my mind’s disease?

Dr. Van Hyde: To meet you—to learn to know you.

Rose: Of course. Meanwhile, by way of illustrating my mania, you made love to me.

Dr. Van Hyde: That is—

Rose: That is—you played a part. And you were so successful that, a few minutes ago, you thought I had fallen in love with you.

Dr. Van Hyde: You embarrass me, Miss Valdingam.

Rose: A doctor should never be embarrassed. He should keep a cool head. His nerves should be steady; his hand determined. Now, let us be entirely frank. You wanted to diagnose me—to analyze me—perhaps to hypnotize me. Have I been a good subject?

Dr. Van Hyde (awkwardly): An admirable subject.

Rose: And, honestly, what do you think of my mania now?

Dr. Van Hyde (still more bewildered): It is a very gentle mania.

Rose: A very gentle mania? Nothing worse than that?

Dr. Van Hyde: Nothing worse; I am convinced.

Rose: You reassure me. But let me tell you, in return, that I have reason to be grateful to you, Dr. Van Hyde. It may be that I am matrimonially mad. Many persons are. Nearly all girls are. But at least I feel certain that I shall never be confined in an asylum. You would not let them send me to an asylum, would you?

Dr. Van Hyde: No! No!

Rose: Then we can afford to be good friends.

Dr. Van Hyde: The best of friends.

Rose: We need not talk of love again?

Dr. Van Hyde (hesitatingly): No.

Rose: Because, you see, though you are a man, you are also my doctor; and a patient could not fall in love with her doctor, could she?

Dr. Van Hyde: Well, it’s not usual.

Rose: Then, let me ask you a question. Do you think my malady—it is a terrible malady, I suppose—can be cured?

Dr. Van Hyde: I am sure it can be.

Rose: Ah! you give me hope.

Dr. Van Hyde: But you must follow my instructions carefully. These I will explain to you later. In the first place, however, you should try to exercise a certain amount of will power. When you meet a person—that is, a man—

Rose: I should hate and despise him.

Dr. Van Hyde: Oh, not so bad as that. You should avoid him.

Rose: Avoid him, I see.

Dr. Van Hyde: Then you could hardly fall in love with him.

Rose: Nor marry him.

Dr. Van Hyde: Of course you need amusement.

Rose: Of course.

Dr. Van Hyde: Get as much of it as you can.

Rose (aside): I’m getting it.

Dr. Van Hyde: Meanwhile, I will have a talk with your father.

Rose: Papa will do anything for me.

Dr. Van Hyde: Then we have little to fear.... Now (he turns to upper L.) I know you must be tired. This long talk has fatigued you. I will call Mr. Valdingam. (He is about to open the door.)

Rose (suddenly): One moment, please.

Dr. Van Hyde (turning to her): Yes?

Rose: Pardon me, I am not in the least fatigued. I have—something more to say.

Dr. Van Hyde: Indeed?

Rose: Before you see papa again.... Please sit down. (He seats himself at R. She stands leaning against table at L.) We have had quite an important little chat, after all, have we not?

Dr. Van Hyde (gravely): I think it has been important.

Rose: For me?

Dr. Van Hyde: For you, I hope.

Rose: And during this conversation, have I had—any lucid intervals?

Dr. Van Hyde: Well, candidly, and though I am what is called a specialist in brain diseases, I should regard your mind as perfectly normal and healthy, except—

Rose: Except on the subject of matrimony.

Dr. Van Hyde: Ye-s.

Rose: Now, suppose I should assure you that I am not in the least bit insane. Would that be characteristic of insanity?

Dr. Van Hyde: Few persons with a mania suspect their affliction.

Rose: I understand. But suppose—suppose—you had been deceived?

Dr. Van Hyde (jumping to his feet): Is it possible?

Rose: Physicians are deceived sometimes, are they not?

Dr. Van Hyde (seating himself): They are only human.

Rose (slyly): And you are very human.

Dr. Van Hyde (confusedly): I confess it—to-night.

Rose: That is why, then, you have been so easily deceived—to-night?

Dr. Van Hyde (jumping to his feet again): You mean?—

Rose: That you have actually been deceived. I have no mania—not even a mania to wed all the young men I meet. (Laughing merrily.) But, of course, you won’t believe me. My denial is only a symptom of my dementia.

Dr. Van Hyde: What can I think? Your father told me—

Rose: Yes, poor papa told you a great many things. You took it for granted that what he said was said with reason.

Dr. Van Hyde (moving toward her eagerly): And I have been—

Rose: As patient as a saint with the mad-cap teasing of a foolish girl, and gently considerate of an old man’s whims.

Dr. Van Hyde (joyfully): Can it be true? Oh, Miss Valdingam, I begin to look upon myself as the most ridiculous as well as the happiest of men.

Rose: But I could not resist teasing you. And still, in spite of this confession, I have one mania—only one.

Dr. Van Hyde: A gentle mania?

Rose: Very gentle, as you have said. It is love—

Dr. Van Hyde (advancing): Love!

Rose (mischievously): For my father.

Dr. Van Hyde (disappointedly): Oh!

Rose: He is a good, kind father. Since my mother’s death I have been his closest companion. Oh, doctor, I am so happy that you have come to our house. It is my father who needs your help, your sympathy. You will give both, I know.

Dr. Van Hyde: It is your father, then—

Rose: Who is partially insane. He has been in this condition for years. His chief delusion is that I am insane.

Dr. Van Hyde: What a fool I have been!

Rose: Do not blame yourself. Have I not done what I could to convince you that papa had told you the truth.... Can you forgive me?

Dr. Van Hyde: Forgive you! Can you forgive me?

Rose: Let us forgive each other, then. (Walking to the window at R. and looking out.)

Dr. Van Hyde (following her): Miss Valdingam—I—

Rose (turning and regarding him archly): Be careful, sir! Perhaps you are even now mistaken. Remember how cunning we maniacs are!

Dr. Van Hyde (aside): I am more than ever in love with her. How beautiful she is. Sane or insane, it would be a blessing to possess her. (To Rose, nervously.) Miss Valdingam, may I ask you a question?

Rose (gently): Yes.

Dr. Van Hyde: You remember that when—when—I thought you were not quite—

Rose: Balanced.

Dr. Van Hyde: I had the hardihood—well—to speak to you of love.

Rose: Certainly. You spoke professionally.

Dr. Van Hyde: I did not speak professionally.

Rose (looking out of the window): Oh, indeed?

Dr. Van Hyde: I spoke with sincerity—from my heart.

Rose (with mock dignity): Sir!

Dr. Van Hyde: I must tell you the truth. Since that day—

Rose (smiling): Monday at 2:25 p. m.

Dr. Van Hyde: Don’t laugh at me. I was in earnest a few moments ago—I am in earnest now.... I love you!

Rose (with agitation): You love me!

Dr. Van Hyde: With all my soul. (He seizes her hand and kisses it.)

Rose (drawing her hand away quickly): Hush! Some one is coming.

Mr. Valdingam (from behind the door): Can we come in, doctor?

Rose (in a whisper to the doctor): Pretend that you do not know the truth, that you are able to cure me.

Dr. Van Hyde (in a whisper): That I have taken the case?

Rose: Yes.

Dr. Van Hyde: For life?

Rose: We shall see. But speak to him.

Dr. Van Hyde (turning to L.): Is that you, Mr. Valdingam? Please come in. (Enter Mr. Valdingam and Susan.)

Mr. Valdingam (eagerly and secretly, to Dr. Van Hyde): Well?

Dr. Van Hyde (gravely): I am glad to be able to assure you, Mr. Valdingam, that my preliminary examination of your daughter has been entirely satisfactory.

Mr. Valdingam: Sir, I am overwhelmed with delight.

Dr. Van Hyde: While your daughter is, without doubt, suffering from certain delusions—

Mr. Valdingam (turning to Susan): Do you hear that, sister?

Dr. Van Hyde: Her trouble is not far enough advanced to occasion anxiety.

Mr. Valdingam: Heaven be praised!

Dr. Van Hyde: In fact, I promise you that within one month her mind will be as clear and vigorous as your own.

Mr. Valdingam (grasping the doctor’s hands): Sir, I regard you as our benefactor.

Dr. Van Hyde: But you must be very patient and kind; and, with your permission, I will take charge of her. My plan is to visit her, here at your house, twice, or perhaps three or four times a week. You will notice an improvement in her condition very soon.

Mr. Valdingam: Have your way, doctor. So long as my child is saved to me, that is everything. (Turning to Rose.) Rose, my pet, I hear that the doctor and you have become fast friends already. (Rose joins them at L. C., and Mr. Valdingam kisses and fondles her.)

Rose: Oh, yes, papa, Dr. Van Hyde and I are now very good friends.

Mr. Valdingam: That’s right—that’s right. Put your trust in him, my child. He has your interest at heart.

(Mr. Valdingam turns gleefully to Susan, and the two converse.)

Dr. Van Hyde (to Rose): You hear? He places you in my care.

Rose: I share his confidence.

Dr. Van Hyde: And—may I not hope to be—your nineteenth?

Rose: There has not yet been—a first.

Dr. Van Hyde: Shall we unite then in a study of agreeable possibilities?

Rose (archly): Won’t you walk with me in the garden? See how bright and beautiful the night is!... Come. Perhaps I may find you—a rose.

(Rose and Dr. Van Hyde exeunt at L. as the curtain falls.)

George Edgar Montgomery.