The Bomb by Edgar Saltus (1890)
The narrator is summoned at a Fifth Avenue club by his old schoolmate Converse, who urgently seeks help preventing Margaret Dayce from marrying Bundy. Margaret has rejected Converse after seeing a moving picture of him embracing a woman, unaware that the woman was his sister Sarah. Bundy, who knows Sarah, deliberately exploited Margaret’s jealousy and has brought her from Philadelphia to obtain a marriage license. The narrator searches the Waldorf while Converse goes to the St. Regis. At the Waldorf he finds Bundy with Margaret, who is uneasy despite her beauty and costly dress, and a supposed clergyman, Doctor Manlius. Bundy asks the man to perform the ceremony, and Margaret produces a prayer book, saying that she has read both the marriage and burial services and prefers the latter. Before the narrator can reveal the truth about Sarah, Converse telephones. By the time the narrator returns, Bundy, Margaret, and Manlius have disappeared to a sitting room. The clerk cannot get an answer from them, and the narrator fears the marriage has already occurred. Converse arrives, furious that the narrator has not delivered the “bomb” of truth. Soon, however, Bundy, Margaret, and Manlius reappear in the palm room. Converse confronts them. Bundy declares that Margaret is now Mrs. Bundy, but Converse tells Margaret that the woman in the moving picture was his sister and that Bundy knew it. Margaret, seeing Bundy anew, realizes she has been deceived. Bundy insists that she is married to him, but Converse recognizes Manlius as Raritan, another former schoolmate, now sought by police for forgery. Converse remembers seeing Raritan bald in a Fifth Avenue bus. He tears away the clergyman’s wig and false beard, exposing Raritan’s disguise and proving that he is no clergyman. The supposed marriage is therefore invalid. Margaret asks that Raritan be released and that Bundy be taken away with him. She removes her ring and offers it back to Bundy; it falls to the floor as he leaves in humiliation. Weeping, Margaret accepts Converse’s comfort. Converse proposes caviar and champagne, followed by a license of their own, while the narrator offers the toast: “Sic transit gloria Bundy!”
By Edgar Saltus · First published 1890 · Genre: Romantic Comedy, Farce, Romance · 4,089 words
First lines
A servant, entering the library of a Fifth Avenue club, approached me and said: "Mr. Converse telephones he will be here to see you in five minutes. Yes, sir."
"At this hour! " I exclaimed.
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The Bomb is listed on Textopian as a short story by Edgar Saltus, dated 1890 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Edgar Saltus
- Date: 1890 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Romantic Comedy, Farce, Romance, Literary Fiction, Novel of Manners
- Length: 4,089 words
- Structure: 1 section, 118 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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- Work identity for The Bomb by Edgar Saltus
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Genres
- Romantic Comedy — The narrative centers on Converse's romantic pursuit of Margaret, treated with comedic tone. Mistaken identity and misunderstanding lead to farcical complications, resolved when truth is revealed and Margaret recognizes her true feelings. The work follows romantic comedy conventions: romantic obstacle overcome through revelation and comic mechanism.
- Farce — The plot employs classic farcical elements: mistaken identity (the disguised Raritan), rapid-fire complications, physical comedy (wig-tearing reveal), escalating misunderstandings, and resolution through exposure of deception. The pacing is farcical, with frantic action and mechanical plot reversals.
- Romance — The central narrative arc is romantic: Converse's pursuit of Margaret despite rivalry, the obstacle of her marriage to Bundy, and the resolution where Margaret chooses Converse. The emotional core is the romantic connection between Converse and Margaret.
- Literary Fiction — The work exhibits sophisticated narrative prose with literary references (Sicilian poets), philosophical asides ('It is human to lose in death those for whom we care. It is inhuman to lose them in life'), witty dialogue, and a cultivated narrative voice that prioritizes style and psychological observation alongside plot.
Tags
anarchism · political violence · terrorism · revolution · social unrest · philosophical · moral ambiguity · romance · psychological thriller · historical fiction · idealism · activism