_Virtuous Matron._ "N--no. I'll sit through one more act, and see if it
gets any worse."

_Fast Young Man._ "They're all padded, you know. You can't feel sure
about one of 'em. There were gals in the _Crook_ who used to pad their's
from here to here"--(_adds explanatory pantomime._)

_Travelled Man, who has been to Paris._ "These girls can't dance, I
assure you. Now, at the Chatelet they do these things differently."

_Admiring Friend to Travelled Man._ "What spectacles did you see at the
Chatelet?"

_Travelled Man,_ (who was in Paris only two days, and never saw even the
outside of the theatre.) "It was--let me see--Oh! _Moses in Egypt_ was
the name of the piece. It was gorgeous; full of Egyptian scenery, and
Egyptian dancing girls and things."

_Admiring Friend, (with aggravating persistence.)_ "Do you mean
Rossini's _Moses_?"

_Travelled Man, (quite desperate.)_ "Of course! He's the rival of
OFFENBACH, you know. But come, let's go and take something."

(_They go, the faith of the Admiring Friend in the Travelled Man's
veracity being, however, perceptibly shaken._)

Three more acts follow. ULRIC makes a dozen wishes, all of which are
gratified, and all of which have the inevitable effect of transporting