Wicked Ah Hee

A Story Of Chinese Help

There were four in the family besides Jackie—to be sure Jackie was a host in himself, but he belonged to the juvenile fraternity, and so didn’t count.

Then there was the servant-girl— Seraphina—a most remarkable misnomer, for she was not a seraph by any means; besides these two, who didn’t count, there were Mr. and Mrs. Gallup, and Mrs. Gallup’s sister Fanny, and Fanny’s husband, Taddy—Taddy Loftis.

Fanny was a good woman with a sharp temper; Taddy was a cipher; Almira Gallup always spoke of him as “Fanny’s husband,” or “Taddy, poor fellow!” He wasn’t to blame for being a cipher, you know—I suppose he was born so.

Seraphina “couldn’t abide” him, and he couldn’t abide Seraphina; he didn’t mind being ruled by his wife, or his wife’s sister, or even his wife’s sister’s husband, but to be “sassed” by a servant-girl was more than mortal man could endure.

They had many tiffs; in fact, they usually had about one a day, but the last one, which led to Seraphina’s discharge, happened in this way:

Taddy came down with a very long face, Fanny’s temper being rather sharper than usual that morning, and stalked through the kitchen without a word, although he knew that the seraph made quite a point of being bidden “good-morning.”

After hunting fruitlessly through the wash-house, he returned.

“I’d like to know where that blacking-brush is!” he remarked, sourly.

“Thin, indade, ye’d betther hunt and foind out,” returned the seraph; “and is it me ye’d be after expectin’ to go out and hunt it up?”

“Who was that man who was here last evening?” pursued Taddy.

“It was me cousin, and what’s that ter you.”

Seraphina discontinued pancake frying, placed her arms akimbo, and stood looking at Taddy as if ready for anything.

“Did he black his boots while he was here?” asked Mr. Loftis.… Read More