Excerpt from Two Old Comedies: The Belle's Stratagem and the WonderOne of the best of the representative olcl comedies - not as literature, but as a play to be acted - is The Wonder, written by Mrs. Centlivre in the distant days of Queen Anne and a signal denotement of the vital practical merit of that piece is the fact that although it was produced one hundred and eighty years ago it is not discarded yet. In The Wonder the scheme is one of entanglement and cross-purposes. Donna Violante is dearly loved by Don Felix, and she dearly loves him in return. A serious passion, therefore, is the basis of the structure and the impulse of the movement. Furthermore, that passion is environed from the outset with serious difficulty. Donna Violante has been destined by her father, Don Pedro, for a convent - and Don Pedro is an imperious, irascible, and formidable old gentleman, whose purpose will not easily be defeated. Don Felix, accordingly, can only win his mistress by baf¿ing her vigilant and expeditious sire. That situation is still further complicated from the fact that Don Felix has seriously wounded an antagonist in a duel has been obliged to ¿y from justice, in the city of Lisbon, and has re turned to that city in secrecy, but must not show himself for fear of arrest. Donna Violante, meantime, has given shelter to her fugitive friend, Donna Isabella, the sister of Don Felix, whose father, Don Lopez, would force her to a hateful marriage with a rich dotard. Donna Isabella, leaping from her window, has fallen into the arms of Colonel Britton - a most ardent military gentleman from England - and Colonel Britton, con veying her into the nearest accessible house, has brought her into the dwelling of Donna Violante, and about that dwelling Colonel Britton proceeds to haunt. The secret to be preserved is the secret of Donna Isabella's identity. That secret is faithfully kept by Donna Violante, even at the peril of her reputation and her happiness, and under the stress of serious trials and the wonder is that a woman should keep a secret at all! The peculiar felicity of the comedy is that of invention. Through scene after scene the jealousy of the fiery Don Felix is piqued by the subterfuges to which Donna Violante is unavoidably compelled, and also by suspicious complications resultant on the amorous enterprise of the restless and roving Colonel Britton. The clandestine mischief of Lissara'o, servant to Don Felix, and of Flora, servant to Donna Violante.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.