In the court scene she surpassed herself.

She was, in very truth, the Florentine judge, stern, stately, impassive.

Her voice dropped into the solemnity of the all-important line, "'The court pronounces the defendant--'" She paused for a breathless moment, the better to bring out the tragic import of the last word.
"DEAD," piped up Sara Ray in her shrill, plaintive little voice.
The effect, to use a hackneyed but convenient phrase, can better be imagined than described.

Instead of the sigh of relieved tension that should have swept over the audience at the conclusion of the line, a burst of laughter greeted it.

The Story Girl's performance was completely spoiled.