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Then when the family arrived Mr Wopples, who was really a gentleman and well-educated, called on all the principal people of the town and so impressed them with the high class character of the entertainment that he never failed to secure their patronage.
Kitty's voice was clear and sweet as a lark's, and her execution something wonderful, so Mr Wopples christened her the Australian Nightingale, and caused her to be so advertised in the papers.
'No, she answered, determinedly; 'I was tired of my father and his religion; I'm on the stage now, and I mean to stick to it. 'Kitty! Kitty! said Madame, sadly, 'you little know the temptations 'Oh! yes, I do, interrupted Kitty, impatiently; 'I've been nearly two years on the stage, and I have not seen any great wickedness besides, I'm always with Mrs Wopples.
He furnished these richly, and having invested his money in good securities, prepared to enjoy himself. Kitty, meanwhile, had become a great favourite with the Wopples family, and they made a wonderful pet of her. Of course, being in Rome, she did as the Romans did, and went on the stage as Miss Kathleen Wopples, being endowed with the family name for dramatic reasons.
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.
Why he called her his flutterer no one ever knew, unless it was because her ribbons were incessantly fluttering; but, had he called her his shadow, the name would have been more appropriate. Mrs Wopples fluttered down to the ground in a bow, and then fluttered up again. 'Gentlemen, she said, in a thin, clear voice, 'you are welcome. Did you enjoy the performance?
This charming youth, who was small, dried-up and wonderfully sharp, volunteered to guide them to his father's dressing-room, and on knocking at the door Mr Wopples' voice boomed out 'Come in, in such an unexpected manner that it made them all jump. On entering the room they found Mr Wopples, dressed in a light tweed suit, and just putting on his coat.
Mr Villiers nodded, and became absorbed in his programme; so, seeing he was disinclined for more conversation, the young gentleman turned his attention to the 'Wopples Waltz', which was now being played fast and furiously by the indefatigable orchestra of two. Bartholomew Jarper generally called Barty by his friends was a bank clerk, and had come up to Ballarat on a visit.
Kitty would have refused, for she was afraid Madame Midas would perhaps send her back to her father, but the appealing looks of Fanny Wopples, who had never ridden in a carriage in her life, and was dying to do so, decided her to accept. So they stepped into the carriage, and Mrs Villiers told the coachman to drive home.
The family were now on tour among the small towns of Victoria, and seemed to be well-known, as each member got a reception when he or she appeared on the stage. Mr Theodore Wopples used to send his agent ahead to engage the theatre or more often a hall bill the town, and publish sensational little notices in the local papers.
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