Los Angeles herald., 1892-03-09
HOW WING LEARNED.

Dainty Flora. Just Home from School,
Tried to Teach the willing CooIie.
Our charming, dainty little Flora had
Just retured from her eastern finishing
school" and had fetched great many
ideas of elegance in her wise little head
"Mamma, why do you not have Wing
attend the door instead of the house
maid?" she said. II think it much nicer
to have q man when we can just as well. ("
Because he cannot be taught" said
mamma. "Jessie does it very nicely"
"Why, am sure | can teach him, +"
said the all important.
Every well-you may" said wise man.
ma, quietly. Wing was Immediately put
into training. The whole matter was first
explained to him; then Miss Flora took
a card at haphazard from the hall table,
went outside and rang the bell. Wing
opened the door just little crack and
peeked cautiously out. N. B. This is
the way they all do. He was instructed
to open it farther. Being Miss Flora,
and not stranger, he complied and
opened 1t as far as she indicated, taking
his bearings by the pattern of the hall
carpet just how far this was. Then she
presented the card, told him how to
show her into the drawing room. This
performance was gone through several
times; the door was opened each time
just exactly SO far, as was indicated the
first time. She was shown into the
drawing room exactly in the same place.
and after politely saluting the impro-
vised guest, Wing returned with the card.
Little Lady Flora was delighted with
her success, and thought some naughty.
disrespectful things about old fogyism
and the like. Wing was complimented
and told that in the evening some gen.
tlemen would call and he must do ex-
actly as he had been shown. Wing was
in earnest; he meant to do it or die, and
put the card carefully up his sleeve. The
fateful evening came. The doorbell
rang. Fair Flora flew to the head of
the stairs and listened. Wing came
stealing carefully through the hall to
the door and opened it little crack.
"What you want" he said to the party
outside. "You got um ticket? You no
come in you no got um ticket" he said
firmly.
There was little smothered sound of
something outside the door.
Wing, waiting, held it just two inches
open. In couple Of seconds, which
seemed an hour to the little listening
party crouching at the head of the stairs,
two bits of white pasteboard were hand
ed in from the outer darkness.
Wing held them up moment, then
said:
"You wait-l see um," and shut the
door in their faces. He rushed hastily
to the gaslight, drew the "lesson" card
from some hidden depths of his raiment,
compared the two new ones carefully
with it, flew back and reopened the door.
"You no got um light ticket; you no
come In here" he said, proud of having
done exactly the right thing and Of
his having detected the bogus imita-
tion counterfeit passport to the pres
ence of the all beautiful, when to his
astonishment she flew past him like
swift winged bird and opened that
door with sort Of wild eyed despair
and invited those pretenders with the
forged 'tickets" to enter her sacred
presencel The matter was too deep for
him; he retired disgusted to his kitchen,
not to be again recalled.
Jessie now waits ut the door.-Mil-
waukee Sentinel