The Wopples family were true Bohemians, and had not yet lost their
way to the pleasant city. They accepted good and bad fortune with
wonderful equanimity, and if their pockets were empty one day, there
was always a possibility of their being full the next. When this was
the case they generally celebrated the event by a little supper, and
as their present season in Ballarat bid fair to be a successful one,
Mr Theodore Wopples determined to have a convivial evening after the
performance was over.

That the Wopples family were favourites with the Ballarat folk was
amply seen by the crowded house which assembled to see 'The Cruet
Stand'. The audience were very impatient for the curtain to rise, as
they did not appreciate the overture, which consisted of airs from
'La Mascotte', adapted for the violin and piano by Mr Handel
Wopples, who was the musical genius of the family, and sat in the
conductor's seat, playing the violin and conducting the orchestra of
one, which on this occasion was Miss Jemima Wopples, who presided at
the piano. The Wopples family consisted of twelve star artistes,
beginning with Mr Theodore Wopples, aged fifty, and ending with
Master Sheridan Wopples, aged ten, who did the servants' characters,
delivered letters, formed the background in tableaux, and made
himself generally useful. As the cast of the comedy was only eight,
two of the family acted as the orchestra, and the remaining two took
money at the door. When their duties in this respect were over for
the night, they went into the pit to lead the applause.

At last the orchestra finished, and the curtain drew up, displaying
an ancient house belonging to a decayed family. The young Squire,
present head of the decayed family (Mr Cibber Wopples), is fighting