STRANGE SCENES AT A THEATRE.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume XXI, Issue 3267, 20 May 1895, Page 4

STRANGE SCENES AT A THEATRE.

A spring tide which flooded Trieste recsntly was rnoreformidabJe than any sin.-c 1875. At eight o'clock the sea bogan to rise, and flooded the quay. Driven on by the strong sirocco the waves then covered the neighbouring parts of the city, and the squares round the Town Hall, the Theatre, and the Red Bridge were lakes. In less than half an hour the water rose to a depth of two feet and a half. The streets which connect the squares were can; ■ •=, which reached to the Southern ie, minus. Later the water rose to the Corso, which is situated much higher, and invaded the old town and the square between the Government House and Lloyd's building. Ihe police station and the Communal Theatre stood like islands in a lake. Every cellar was, of course, full of water ; and cafes and such shops as were still open were flooded. At the Communal Theatre ' Manon ' was being performed, and was near the end when the water burst into the parterre. In the cloakroom the servants stood up to their knees in waier. A bridge was built of boards and carts, and over this the audience reached a higher street. All the street porters who came to the theatre could earn money by carrying ladies home or on to dry land. Many men took off shoes and stocking's, anil paddled through the water. Others were wheeled home in barrows. There way no danger from beginning to end, so the affair was regarded in a comic light, and spectators fought for the windows at the cafes that look on to the square in front of the theatre. At eleven it began to sink, and in two hours only the Jow-lying parts were still flooded. ; mnmwmmmmwmmmmm^mmmmmmmmmmmm