The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1883-05-03
THE TIOKET-BUYER.
How Long 1t Takes a Young Lady to
Pick Gut the Seats She Wants

1t is very amusing to watch some peo-
pie buy opera tickets. The other day
about four hundred people filled the
Academy OF Music lobby in Milwaukee,
and crowded tie steps and sidewalk in
front of the building, eagerly elbowino
and pushing their way toward the ticket
window, where the treasurer was deal
ing out the little bits of paste-board.
An elegantly dressed, refined appear
ing, and very pretty young lady, who
lives in palatial home in the Seventh
ward, worked her way to the tic Let win
dow, and, spreading out the diagram,
with one hand on each side to make sure
of it, asked the ticket-seller the price OF
reserved seats.
1.-The general admission down stairs
is so cents replied the seller, ''re-
served seats Is cents. Up stairs 25
cents admission and reserved seats so
cents"
"What is the opera for this after
noonP" asked the young lady, as she
carefully scrutinized the badly disfgur-
ed diagram, so many Of the seats having
been marked off in advance.
Iolanthe, ma'am."
''Oh, I'm so sorry; L thought it was
Martha" she remarked, and then con-
tinued;
''Well, [ want four seats, anyhow
They must all be together Let me see
l guess l will take four in this row, u
pointing to section of the dress circle
where every seat was marked off.
"Those seats are sold"
SIS that so? | am so sorry. We want
ed to sit along there. Where are some
good seats, please?"
By actual time the young lady had
clutched the diagram for eight minutes
at this point. The crowd was swelling
and the people were fast becoming very
impatient. The treasurer said:
Here are three very good seats to-
gether and one right back of them, that
will make YOU four"
That won't do. We must sit in the
same row, and 1 don't want seats way
down in the parquette.
Then she took the diagram out of the
window and holding it up before hel
ran her eyes over and over it for two
minutes. The red, red blood began
rushing toward the sellers face as he
heard people clamoring for tickets. But
he uttered not word.
Finally, after asking ten more ques-
tions of about the same nature as those
mentioned, she pointed to four seats and
said she would take them, handing him
a S5 bill. In an instant he returned
four tickets and S1.25 in change.
This isn't right she said, taking up
the money, ''those seats l wanted are
only 80 cents, amt they?'
"Everything, madam, down stairs, |
have told you seventeen times, is IS
cents" was the somewhat short reply,
and getting the diagram out of the
young lady's hands, he passed it ove1
her shoulders to some ladies who had
been patiently waiting, and the fair
opera ticket purchaser reluctantly pass
ed from in front of the window. She
stood there for full fifteen minutes, and
that is awful long time when three or
four hundred people are waiting to be
served. There were other instances Just
as amusing. The most of the young la
dies who bought tickets carried hand
bags, in the depths of which were three
or four small purses containing their
money. 1t would take from one to five
minutes for everyone of them to find the
right purse before they could pay fol
their tickets. EUening Wis-
cO7lSin.