A VERY SAD TALE.

Dunstan Times, Issue 587, 18 July 1873, Page 3

A VERY SAD TALE.

—o—(A ustralasian Slxtcher.) A very sad tale, but one in which a useful moral lies if properly applied, comes to us from the late Italian opera season. At the door of a well known house, in a fashionable quarter of our city, there stood a gentleman and three ladies clad in evening costume, and bound for the opera. The carriage had to wait while a slight discussion took place. The matron of the party is insisting that the fair young girl, her charge, must have a wrap to shield her from the night air when she leaves the, warm house. The young lady remonstrates, she does not wish to keep them waiting ; she does not wish to go to the cloak room ; she has nothing else with her. The matron is determined, however'; she has left a wrap out expressly for her on the foot of her bed, and the young lady friend can avoid the cloak room by carrying xt under her opera shawl. The girl obeys, goes up stairs iu the dark'and gets the wrap, brings it down under her shawl, enters the carriage with tho light step of youth, and is whirled away with her friends to hear Moses sing down tlic Egyptian magicians, and see him lead his countrymen across the present route of tho P. and 0. Company’s boats. According to directions, the wrap was thrown over the back of her scat and forgotten. Forgotten for a short three hours, but to be remembered for a lifetime by her and her companions ! Why did not the waters of the licit Sea swallow -it up with Pharoah and his host? Why did not tho too, too solid floor of the dross circle melt, so as to drop her an 1 her confusion into the yawning gulph beneath ? The opera is over, the ladies rise, and the gentleman springs to ass'st thorn with their cloaks, when horror ! anguish ! destruction ! he holds up a pair of unmentionable wraps, that ladies arc not in the habit of wearing with their evening dress. The despair of that party on their sad return home it boots not to tell. Tho owner of the “wraps ” was sitting up waiting for his wife and friends. They told him tho terrible talc, with voices broken with emotion, and hysterical gasps that almost resembled laughter, when, to their renewed astonishment, tho master of tho house jumped up, ami with tho deepest concern cried, “What! Mine? Goodness gracious, there was 2 )l. iu the right pocket! All is well that ends well. The wrap was j searched, the money found, and my moral is that young ladies should be very careful how they ga in the dark for any article to a gentleman’s bedroom.