Kept Her Head.

Otago Witness, Issue 2205, 4 June 1896, Page 52

Kept Her Head.

Clothes, since Eva s?t rh- fashion, have been bo tremendously important in human affairs that one may well believe consideration of them consumes mora of the world's time than any other one subject. They make pc >ple do the oddest things, too. There is one lady whose presence of mind -and drees — waß once the means of saving a great many lives. It happened in a little country town, in a hall, where an amateur company was giving a performance. There was a smell of smoke, and somebody cried " Fire '. " There was an instant panic. The lady in question was at the piano. She half rose to go, but, dropping back to her seat, began to play a very lively piece as loud as she could, calling out to everybody that there was no danger. The sight of her sitting calmly there brought the other people to their senses, and the panic was checked. A friend asked her about it the other day. " However did you manage to keep so cool ? she inquired. "My dear," said she, "I thought of the stairs we shonld have to go down. I saw that I should ba dragged with the crowd Then suddenly I happened to remember that I was wearing a brand-now dress. I simply — well, I began to play to save the dress, and I saved it."