But there is a man who will never return from his evil ways. How many
acts are there in a tragedy? Five, I believe:

ACT I.--_Young man starting from home. Parents and sisters weeping to
have him go. Wagon passing over the hills. Farewell kiss thrown back.
Ring the bell and let the curtain drop_.

ACT II.--_Marriage altar. Bright lights. Full organ. White
veil trailing through the aisle. Prayer and congratulation, and
exclamations of "How well she looks!" Ring the bell, and let the
curtain drop_.

ACT III.--_Midnight. Woman waiting for staggering steps. Old garments
stuck into the broken window-pane. Many marks of hardship on the face.
Biting of the nails of bloodless fingers. Neglect, cruelty, disgrace.
Ring the bell, and let the curtain drop_.

ACT IV.--_Three graves in a very dark place. Grave of child who died
from lack of medicine. Grave of wife who died of a broken heart. Grave
of husband and father who died of dissipation. Plenty of weeds, but no
flowers. O what a blasted heath with three graves! Ring the bell, and
let the curtain drop_.

ACT V.--_A destroyed soul's eternity. No light; no music; no hope!
Despair coiling around the heart with unutterable anguish. Blackness
of darkness forever_.

Woe! Woe! Woe! I cannot bear longer to look. I close my eyes at this
last act of the tragedy. Quick! Quick! Ring the bell and let the