The Tragic Comedians

Alvan was dead. The shot of his adversary, accidentally well-directed, had struck him mortally. He died on the morning of the third day after the duel. There had been no hope that he could survive, and his agonies made a speedy dissolution desirable by those most wishing him to live.

Passion plot ends as accidental well-aimed shot — grand pretender felled by youngster for shallow girl — so plot scores 93.

Clotilde was of the order of the erring who should by rights have a short sermon to preface an exposure of them, administering the whip to her own sex and to ours, lest we scorn too much to take an interest in her. The exposure she had done for herself, and she has not had the art to frame her apology.

Cast framed as erring order needing whip-sermon — Clotilde typed before Marko softens her — so cast scores 92.

He slept. Near upon morning he roused with his tender fit strong on him, but speechless in the waking as it had been dreamless in sleep. It was a happy load on his breast, a life about to be born, and he thought that a wife beside him would give it language.

Pre-duel tender dilation into wife-poetry — pace stalls on desire before shot — so pace scores 88.

An unresisted lady-killer is probably less aware that he roams the pastures in pursuit of a coquette, than is the diligent Arachne that her web is for the devouring lion.

Hunt inverted in one proverb sentence — Tragic Comedians diction announced — so prose scores 93.

Silent was that house of many chambers. That mass of humanity profusely mixed of good and evil, of generous ire and mutinous, of the passion for the future of mankind and personal ambition.

Death-house as silent many chambers of mixed humanity — political-passion world emptied — so world scores 87.

At an early age Clotilde von Rudiger was dissatisfied with her conquests, though they were already numerous in her seventeenth year, for she began precociously, having at her dawn a lively fancy, a womanly person, and singular attractions of colour, eyes, and style.

Dissatisfied conqueror at seventeen — coquette hooked as hunger before Alvan appears — so hook scores 94.

Count Walburg and his companion brought a letter from Clotilde—no reply; a letter renouncing him. Briefly, in cold words befitting the act, she stated that the past must be dead between them; for the future she belonged to her parents; she had left the city. … Alvan held out the deadly paper when he had read the contents; he smote a forefinger on it and crumpled it in his hand. That was the dumb oration of a man shocked by the outrage upon passionate feeling to the state of brute.

Letter as deadly paper and dumb oration — passion study as document-trauma form — so innov scores 95.

After a few months she buried him. From that day, or it may be, on her marriage day, her heart was Alvan's. Years later she wrote her version of the story, not sparing herself so much as she supposed. Providence and her parents were not forgiven. But as we are in her debt for some instruction, she may now be suffered to go.

Marriage, burial, heart-return, then narrator dismisses her — ending as study closure, not consolation — so ending scores 94.