again. Comic to the lookers-on, that is; for the majority of the
Committee made no attempt to conceal the fact that they were
wildly angry with me; and I, though my public experience and
skill in acting enabled me to maintain an appearance of
imperturbable good-humor, was equally furious. The friction began
as follows.

The precedents for the conduct of the Committee were to be found
in the proceedings of the Committee of 1892. That Committee, no
doubt recognizing the absurdity of calling on distinguished
artists to give their views before it, and then refusing to allow
them to state their views except in nervous replies to such
questions as it might suit members to put to them, allowed Sir
Henry Irving and Sir John Hare to prepare and read written
statements, and formally invited them to read them to the
Committee before being questioned. I accordingly prepared such a
statement. For the greater convenience of the Committee, I
offered to have this statement printed at my own expense, and to
supply the members with copies. The offer was accepted; and the
copies supplied. I also offered to provide the Committee with
copies of those plays of mine which had been refused a licence by
the Lord Chamberlain. That offer also was accepted; and the books
duly supplied.


AN ANTI-SHAVIAN PANIC

As far as I can guess, the next thing that happened was that some
timid or unawakened member of the Committee read my statement and
was frightened or scandalized out of his wits by it. At all