' MIRABILE
DICTU, he found out all about her, and knowing, as you do, what a
maelstrom of humanity London is, you must admit my friend was clever.
It appears, however, that the task I set him was easier than he
expected, for the so-called Mrs. Whyte was rather a notorious
individual in her own way. She was a burlesque actress at the Frivolity
Theatre in London, and, being a very handsome woman, had been
photographed innumerable times. Consequently, when she very foolishly
went with Whyte to choose a berth on board the boat, she was recognised
by the clerks in the office as Rosanna Moore, better known as Musette
of the Frivolity. Why she ran away with Whyte I cannot tell
you. With reference to men understanding women, I refer you to Balzac's
remark anent the same. Perhaps Musette got weary of St. John's Wood and
champagne suppers, and longed for the purer air of her native land. Ah!
you open your eyes at this latter statement--you are surprised--no,
on second thoughts you are not, because she told you herself that she
was a native of Sydney, and had gone home in 1858, after a triumphant
career of acting in Melbourne. And why did she leave the applauding
Melbourne public and the flesh-pots of Egypt? You know this also. She
ran away with a rich young squatter, with more money than morals, who
happened to be in Melbourne at the time. She seems to have had a
weakness for running away. But why she chose Whyte to go with this time
puzzles me.
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