The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1896-08-14
THE LOST LABEL.
A Monumental Performance of Fors,


Monumental Performance of Forget
ting-spoiled the Opera for Him.
The most monumental performance
of the Man Know in the forgetting OF
faces and names was an exhibition he
made of himself at the Maliban theateI
in Venice few years ago, says Har-
per's Magazine. He thought he would
like to hear an Italian opera on an
Italian stage and he purchased, at the
little ticket office in the square Of st.
Mark, places for himself and his wife,
costing 80 cents each; and admission
of a quarter of a dollar for the two.
The opera house was crowded and II
was late when they sailed up to the
door. They had not been able to secure
the aisle seats they wanted; and, In no
very amiable frame of mind, they were
forced to push their way to the center
OF one of the front rows of stalls. After
they were settled the Man l Know dis
covered that on the other side of his
wife was one of the Stanley brothers,
who was then a resident Of the conti-
nent, and had much to say to him,
finally changing seats with his COM
panion to- that purpose. She asked to
be introduced to Stanley, told Stanley
how. we'll she knew and how much she
liked his sister, when the curtain rose
and all conversation ceased. In the
middle of the act the Man l Know
turned suddenly to his wife and whis-
pered: "My dear, that man is not STAN
ley and have not the slightest notion
who he isr' During the next intermis-
sion Stanley said rather savagely to
the Man I Know that they had mis-
taken his name, and he seemed to think
that there was no excuse for his for
getfulness. The Man Know explained
as best he could that his eyesight was
failings that he had to wear two pairs
Of glasses and that even thus armed
he. could not see straight. But, OF
course, he recognized his friend now,
and with flash of inspiration he called
him Mr.. Thorpe. Thorpe was reintro-
duced in due and proper form and the
lady helped matters materially by IN
dorsing her husbands statement as to
his growing blindness, making the Man
I Know feel as comfortable as possible
by adding that her husband was an
idiot anyway. In the middle of the next
act the husband turned to her once
more and said, my dear, he isn't
Thorpep Without remark she left her
place, he TO- blowing meekly with his
overcoat and umbrella and without so
much as another glance at Stanley
Thorpe. They sat down in some vacant
chairs at the extreme back of the audi
torium; she was too angry to speak
and he too mortified to think, but try
ing to make out In his humiliation and
confusion who Thorpe-Stanley could
really be. At the close of the perform
ance he remembered that he had left
his hat under Stanley-Thorpe's seat
and he waited until Thorpe-Stanley
disappeared before he found courage
to 60 Tor it. And 1t was not there. He
grcped iilindly about in the dark with
bot pairs Of spectacles on. But 10,
there was no hat! 1t was raining out
side; there was no felze on their bark
and there was nothing left for the Man
Know to do but go home with his
head bare.
AS they were crossing the Giudecca
canal one of the gondoliers asked, with
a suppressed grin, WAS that the sig
nor's hat?" WAS what the signor's
hat?" Why, the hat with the demol-
ishcd crown, which had been kicked up
and down the middle aisle, all through
the lobby and finally out into the
water. And that is how Stan ey-T Thorpe
got oven with the Man l Know. To
this day the Man I Know has not the
most remote notion who Thorpe-Stan-
ley was.
Some persons are born that way!