The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1883-09-27

/ lily itAlts II ~ - tlAAAt N'AiNA iitNhAs
Certainly, Mrs. Mayfield, the officer
would reply; 81 quite forgot to send it,
I'm very sorry you. had the trouble of
coming for it,"
Mrs Maviicld had no stated periods
/ at which she collected her rent, some
times calling twice in fortnight. at
others letting it accumulate for months.
/ Nor had she any fixed rental valua-
tion-a quarter. dime. or even a
nickel would suffice. Indeed, the
old lady must have regarded the
sum paid more rs an acknowledgment
of ownership than anything. so little re.
lat;on did il bear to the value of her
property. She ignored altogether the
formaitv of receipts, justly deemng,
no doubt, that the ;ity might safely rely
ON her sense of honor not To demand the
same rent over again.
Before leaving she would so round the
/ room on tour Of inspection To satisfy
| herself that the premises were being
kept in tenantablc repair. and would
gravclv suggest any little alteration mar
rangcmcntS that would occur to her as
being likely to impair the value of the
realty. These WISE precautions taken
against the neccSs ty of Il suit for dilapi-
. udllOIlS Ut inc ClO~t III lllt ltlitllNN, SlN
would pocket her rent and depart.
Then, again, there is Praying Patsey.
He comes occasionally, just as the
Judges are out taking their MONDAY
recess, and. >tationing himself in the
doorway of the courtroom, muttcrs a
short PRAYER. Whether it he ritual or
cXtcmporc, and who may be the
special objects of his petitions bench,
bar, SutorS or Witnesses are alike
matters of mystery, inasmuch rs his ut
terancCS are so rapid and mutfled rs to
be totally unintelliglblc. His act of de
votion accomplished, he swiftly moves
toward another part of the court there
again to perform his SClf-impoSed duty.
lie is strictly impartial, comforting the
benefits of his microscopy offering on
every room in the building. not omit
ting even the Comptroller office and
the Bureau for the Collection of Ar
rears. What ideas he may have re-
specting the necessity or value of his
services no one knows, for he speaks to
no one. He is convinced, no doubt,
that his presence and prayers are abSo-
lutely essential to the welfare, if not,
indeed, the existence of the building
and its inmates. One thing, ut least, Is
certain. If he does no good, he does
no harm, and his lunacy might easily
assume a more Objectionable form.
Yet an other demented 0nicUS curIr
is a man who has once or twice made
his appearance, claiming the credit of
and compensation for the invention of
the submarine telegraph, the elabora-
ton of the entire postal system
of the United States, and the establish
ment of Civil-Service reform. Consid-
ering the important character of these
achievements, and their great national
value, this public ben"tactor is very
moderate in his demands. He usually
presents his claim in handwriting very
unlike what one would expect as coming
from such a gifted individual 1t begins:
Il claim an order from the Supreme
Court for one hundred thousand dol
lars" 1t then specifies the valuable
services just mentioned, as being the
! items on which the claim is based, and
concludes with statement that. being
in immediate need, p small inStallment
on account will lie very acceptable. He
is cOnSiderate enough to intimate that
| if it be not convenient to give immedi
ate attention To his demand he will call
again. 1t goes without saying, that he
always is told to call again.
/ Latterly, too, the courthouse has
been honorcd by the visits of a middle
aged woman with Celtic face, a
determined expression, and strong
accent. She has suffered depreciation
of character at the hands of
some person or persons unknown,
through which she has been "dcprivcd
of the means Of earning Il livelihood. y
| She announces her intention of attend
ING the sessions of the courts until one
or other of the Judges removes this dis
ability. 1t is to be hoped that sooner
or later some way will be found to ac-
complish this good lady's wishes, for
! she is an unfortunate soul and has the
staying power of Coleridge's "Ancient
Mariner"
Perhaps the most unintelligible rep
resentative of the genus is an Israelitc
who haunts the corridors and favors all
Corners with long and rambling
chronological disquisition on two kinds
of Jews whom he calls Reuben Jews
and Susan Jews, for which latter class.
it may be said, he entertains the most
supreme contempt. He kindly vOlun-
| lCCIo Vic lHIDl HldtloH thdu SUSAN
is not only in Jerusalem. but in
New York and all over the world.
1t is possible he may be right.
Susan is a tolerably ubiquitous person
age. When questioned as to the ident
ty of the particular Susan to whom he
has reference, he waves his hand i'm
patiently and informs his questioner
that he can find out all about it in the
Book of Esther. He generally closes
his discourse with the following puZ-
zling conundrum:
"Can they take away mine property
on a siX-days' summons, without name,
without date and without amount"
Naturally, the person questioned
usually comforts our friend with
prompt and decided answer in the neg
ative, but is met Immediately by the
perfectly crushing query:
Then why don't they pay me my
rent?"
Why, indeed? Perhaps, though, it is
that they haven't got the money.
All these lesser lights, however, pale
before Mr.. Heintzlemann. They lack
the element of permanence. Their visits
are intermittent, and they soon tire.
Not so, he. Their orbits are erratic,
uncertain, cometary. He alone is dur
nal and eternal. Jurors, suitOrs and
witnesses come and go; lawyers are adj
mitted, practice and depart for new
tields:.of usefulness; Judges are elected,