Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1885-08-20
A QUEER CLIENT.
A Practical Common. Sense Man Suddenly De
yel0ping Amazing Freaks.


yeloping Amazing Freaks.
Among the brilliant army of coun-
sci which Col. Rogers, whose unsettled
mental condition recently got him into
trouble with Staten island hotel
keeper, had called to his relief, was
Ira ID. Warren. The colonel fancied
that great many people were earn
estly engaged in doing HIM serious
injury, and had intrusted a variety OF
litigation to Mr.. Warren. Clark Bell,
Roscoe Conkling, Lucas l.. Van Allen,
and others. In regard to this remark
able case of dementia, Mr.. Warren,
said:
1.-The case of Col. Rogers is nothing
to the extraordinary insanity that be-
fell client of mine some years ago.
He came of fine family, and was
well known about town. He was quite
as much my friend as my client.
knew him and all his family intimate
~. His affairs had been in my hands
nearly twenty years, and during all
that while knew him as one of the
most practical, common-sense men |
had ever met. Indeed. he was the
embodiment of vigorous and robust
manhood
Zone day he came into my Office and
told me he had contracted to purchase
ten houses. / thought | knew his
financial condition almost to dollar,
and L was surprised at the announce
ment, for l did not see how in the
world he could carry it out He spoke
very decisively, however, and as he
did not seem disposed to confide his
plan to me l assumed that he had got
hold of some money somehow or other,
and knew what he was about. He
wanted me to search the titles of the
property that he intended to buy, and
added that the men would be in my
office at noon the next day to sign the
agreement of purchase. Sure enough,
at noon, they were on hand, and &C
cording to his instructions drew up
the papers for both of the contracting
parties TO sign. Then to my infinite
establishment. he said he was going to
pay $4,000 down on the bargain.
"'This is absurd / said 1T will
take me a week TO look up those titles,
and these people are strangers to us.
What if the titles are not good?'
80 never mind that he answered,
indifferently; they're all right. Be-
sides, have plenty of money, lots of
it, oceans, more than know what to
do with. Pay up, pay up
II knew that this was all nonsense,
but | supposed that he had his reasons
for wishing to impress the men with
his presumed wealth, so l sand no
more but reluctantly gave them his
check. A day or so afterward he re-
returned and said brskly, Warren, do
you want to make fortune?
"'How?' | asked.
"T'll let you into it, he said. L
have arranged to buy all the lots in
Central park from Fifth avenue TO
Eighth avenue up to Seventieth street,
and I'm going To erect a building on
them thirty stories high
IL looked intently at him as he
made this bewildering proposition
His face was rs straight and as seri-
GUS as if he were considering to buy
a simple building lot in Harlem. /
was forced to believe that he was Sc
rious, and. consequently, that his
mind was disturbed. So | answered
that | thought we'll OF his plan, and
would see what money could raise to
carry it out. But just now / added,
I'm little short. ana should like to
borrow a few thousands of you. How
much have you on hand?'
=" Half a million, he answered as
coolly as could be. L knew we'll
enough what he had, and asked for
$4,000. This. ! knew, would not
leave him more than 800 in cash. He
gave me his check and left the office,
and within five minutes | had it certi-
fed and secure. | then wrote his
wife, and her reply was convincing
that he was clearly insane, his mania
being that he was immensely rich. A
day or two la.er he came into my Of
flee in company with another man
whom ] recognized as picture-deal-
er. Then, for the first time, [ saw
symptoms of insanity in his face. His
eyes were wild and bloodshot, and his
features contorted, as if in rage. |
Immediately concluded that we were
to have n live time over that $4,000,
and quickly rose 10 my feet to prepare
for it,
He walked rapidly up to me,
grasped my hand, pulling me toward
him, whispered Old man, lend me
$500 till tomorrow
II wasn't prepared tor that, and
hardly knew what to say, but reach
ing into my safe took out an old check
book, long since disused, and point
ing to a stub that showed a balance
in bank of less than 500, | answered:
Does that look as if couldP
Ono he replied, 1T don t, and
wheeling around, he darted out of the
Office as suddenly as he had come in.
1.-The picture-seller remained, and 1
asked HIM what all this meant. He
answered that my client had bought a
cart-load of chromos of him to be sent
to his friends. told him he haa bet
ter keep his chromos. In week my
client became violently insane, and we
removed him TO Dr. Barstow's asylum
in Flushing, where he died only few
weeks later. We found that he had
been buying jewelry, diamonds, pic
lures, bronzes, houses, and any vari-
ETY. of things, all of which we re-
turned upon slight compromises. My
action in obtaining that Sc check
saved his family from poverty But
what remarkable case of sudden and
lnexplicable insanityvn-New York
Tribune.
All Angel Rat-Catcher.