deliberately setting out for a drama independent of the stage, a drama
involving only the intimate circle of studio or library, I feel that an
entire new range of experiences is opened up to literature itself. Nothing
is more thrilling than direct, self-revealing speech; and, once the proper
tone has been set, even abstract subjects, as we all know, have the power
to absorb. Thus I entertain the hope that others will take up the method
of this book, the method of natural, intimate, heart-to-heart dialogue
carried on in a suitable setting, and with attendant action as briefly
indicated; for the discovery awaits each one that speech, independent of
the tradition of the stage, has the power of rendering old themes new and
vital, as well as suggesting new themes and situations. Indeed, it is in
the confidence that others will follow with "read-aloud" plays far more
interesting and valuable than the few offered here that I am writing this
introduction, and not merely to call attention to a novelty in my own
work.

HORACE HOLLEY.
New York City.




HER HAPPINESS


_Darkness. A door opens swiftly. Light from outside shows a woman
entering. She is covered by a large cape, but the gleam of hair and brow
indicates beauty. She closes the door behind her. Darkness._