for _vraisemblance_ protected her from many absurdities, though not from
all. For instance, when Idalia to preserve herself from the
importunities of Ferdinand employs the same threat of stabbing herself
that Clarissa Harlowe in similar circumstances holds over Lovelace, the
Italian heroine very naturally tries first to stab her seducer. But
realism vanishes when Idalia begins her romantic flight from place to
place and from lover to lover. The incidents of romance crowd fast
around her. When in man's clothes she is loved by a woman who takes her
for what she seems, and by the woman's husband who knows her for what
she is, the reader cannot help recalling a similar Gordian love-knot in
Sidney's "Arcadia." Perhaps the only convincing detail in the latter
part of the book is the heroine's miserable end. But although the
sentiments of the characters are reported in concealed blank verse that
smacks of theatrical rant, though the absurd Oriental digressions, the
disguises, the frequent poisonings, and fortunate accidents all detract
from the naturalness and plausibility of the tale, yet one cannot deny
the piece occasional merits, which if smothered in extravagances, are
hopeful signs of a coming change. The very excess of strained and
unnatural incidents indicates that the popular palate was becoming
cloyed; for a time the writers of fiction attempted to stimulate it by
spicing the dish, but when the limit of mordancy was reached, a new diet
became imperative.

Though in no sense a soothing draught for the overstrained sensibilities
of romance readers, "The Fatal Secret: or, Constancy in Distress" (1724)
nevertheless represents a valuable part of Mrs. Haywood's contribution
to the technique of the novel. Few of her works indicate more clearly
her power to display the operations of passion dominating a young and
innocent heart.