Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-11-05
OUR NEW YORK LETTER.

The police central Office in this city, o.
well as courts and newspaper Offices, ap-
pear to have each their special monoma-
MAC. As is in many other cases, the de-
luded person Is woman, and like the 9th
ers, she is poor, harmless creature who
excites pity Notwithstanding the absurdiiy
Of her disordered iancies, and the sincerity
and earnestness with which she narrates
her imagined wrongs. She believes her
self 10 be under the espionage Of 1900 de-
tectives, who follow her 10 the interest Of
the German Consul, who she thinks has Sc
eret officers in police headquarters and deep
designs against Der peace aud comfort.
She tells this with e rational air and quiet
manner until she perceiYes that she is not
credited and then grows noisy. Some years
ago a man with a similar mania infested the
station houses and newspaper Offices. He
imagined he was pursued, not by detectives
but by doctors. who wanted his body for
dissection; and he would narrate to anyone
who would listen, long tales Of the methods
they pursued to capture him. As proof Of
the truth Of whot he would relate he would
produce an old copy Of the London Times,
in which was a report filling half a column
Of the trial Of a physician Of London on
the charge Of conspiracy against him. or
course the report only disclosed that he
was insane, but this the poor fellow could
not recognize. He disappeared several
years ago. His natural successor seems to
be the unfortunate creature who appeared
at headquarters recently.
Another unfortunate. familiar in the
newspaper offices, is an old man who claims
to know where Stewards body rests, but
who says that the executors refuse TO take
possession Of 1t not to escape paying the
reward, he will tell you with great earn
estness but because one Of them wants the
grand mousoleum which Mrs. Stewart built
at Garden City reserved for himself. He
tells this story with such plausibility Of
manner, and incident and detail, too, that
one hardly suspects his insanity until he
reaches this astounding climax when his
manner changes instantly to ferccness.
The little Miss Elite Of the Court House
and City Hall is a woman Of forty-five and
fifty, and evidently very poor. She visits
the public buildings once every month and
makes formal demand Of the various Of
ficials for her rent. or the use Of the build
ngs. Her mania is that she is the owner
Of the public property Of New York. In
her demands for her money she interrupts
| proceedingsin the courts and offices, but she
| is never violent and is easily induced to go
away. She accepts anything in the form
| or shape Of a check as payment, but il re-
| fused this tender she threatens a writ 81
| ejectment,
A very remarkable mania is that possess
ing lady Of middle age Of this city, who
is evidently one Of culture and good cir
cumstances. She first developed this ma
mia, in 1873, shortly after the publication
of the cipher dispatches in the Tribune.
She appeared one day in that Office and
stated that she had an important communi.
cation to make, but would do so only on
the promise that il it were used she should
first correct and approve the report. She
then stated that she had instituted three
important suits, each for million Of dol.
lars; one against Gen. Grant, another
against the police commissioners, and the
third against the Western Union Telegraph
Company. This startling statement natur
ally aroused attention, and when she add
ed that the suits involved and exposed thI
sending of the Republican eiphers during
the campaign of 1866, she was urged t
tell the story in its fullest details. Sh,
then told who she was, where she lived
her connections and her wrongs. Just be
fore the election in 1866, while she was alb
sent in the country, the police commission
ers, under orders from President Grant
had sent officers to her house, taken pos
session Of it, and protected the agents q
the Western Union Telegraph compan,
while they were putting large number o
telegraph wires into the walls and ceiling
of the house. They were so carefully con
cealed that when the mistress Of the hous
returned she did not for long time dis
cover them. She did so then only becaus
I of the effect on her health. When asket
how il effected her, she stated that she pos
sessed the only electrical voice in tn
country, which, for the purpose Of sending
their cipher dispatches without fear OF e2
posure, the Republicans used as they woult
E use an electric battery. OF course thi
wild story revealed the mania which pos
sessed her, but nothing else in manner 0
language indicated it. Informed that
would be impossible to use the informato
she retired in quiet aud ladylike manner
r In all these instances the victim was at
. solutely harmless, and generally patier
Q and sad of manner Each would hay
| made an interesting study, and possibl
these mere outlines of their peeuliaritie
e may prove of general interest.
Nov. 2. 1890