Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-06-02
CLARA BELLIES CHAT.
The HaIlucinatiOn of a Lady Who
Thinks She is Amelie RiveS.
HER CALL UPON MR.. CLEVELAND.
Large Income Enjoyed by 9 Fashionable
Faith Cure PriesteSs.
BADNESS A METROPOLITAN DISEASE
rooEnrspoNDrxcf OF THE D1sPArcH.1

. CORRESPONDENCE OF TEK DIsPATcHsl
NEW YORK, June 1.-Minna Perry
walks unnoticed in Broadway, except in
the way of admiration, tor she is pretty
young woman, and wears fashionable
clothes. But she is lunatic, all the same,
and is always accompanied by robust
middle-aged woman who combines the
duties Of a chaperon and a nurse. Miss
Perry is from England, and belongs to
family with money enough to indulge her
faneies, and evensome Of her vagaries. She
is a munomaniac with only one delusion at
time, and usually of harmless and quiet
kind.
Just now she believes that she is Amelie
RiYes, and an accute sufferer from the gen.
eral condemnation of her books. In her
visit to this country she is not only accom-
panied by the woman mentioned, but@by
male relative. Several days ago she went
to the Office of Grover Cleveland. She told
the clerk who encountered her that her busl-
ness could only be made known to Mr..
Cleveland himself. She was shown into the
ex-President's presence, Then she quietly
Informed him that she was Amelie Rives,
that the literary critics of the newspapers
had assailed the morality of her works, and
that she desired to bring lawsuits for dam
ages. DESTROYS of eminent counsel she had
selected man who had been President OF
the great American Republic. she was
willing to pay any fee that he might de-
mand, and she wished, if possible to COM
msnd his time and labor entirely for year.
1t happened that Mr.. Cleveland had met
Mrs. Rives-Chanler, and therefore compre-
hended that his visitor was awry In her
mind before that fact was evolved from her
talk. He saws that he assured her of his
deep interest in her case, but declined to
take it up, pleading that he was entirely
engrossed in prior suits. Miss Perry is still
seeking lawyer.
A PROFITABLE DOCTRINE.
The faith curists are getting into Fifth
avenue. At least I know where one troop
of them meet throughout each day in the
luxurious rooms of an apartment house not
far from Twenty-third street. The doctress
who is at the head of this branch of the
order is q woman of about 80, with sharp,
black eyes, gray hair and an ability to
talk with unceasing fueney. She has a
very large patronage of prosperous looking
patients, most of these being middle-aged
women, but there is a fair sprinkling of
meek looking men. The doctress' income.
must be formidable, for her price is 81 q
visit and her rooms are filed with con-
stantly changing crowd for fully six hours
Of the day.
The talk is made general, the audience
listening to the expositions by the doctress
and asking questions whenever they are
moved to. The discussion always consists
Of the efficacy of faith as cure for all phys
ical ailments the argument being that per-
tectly clean and trustful spirituality will
drive any disease from the body. 1 CHANGED
to meet q young man who had become an
attendant of these faith seances. He had
the unmistakable evidences of consumption
in his face, and it seemed as though if there
was any cure in the world for him, it could
only be secured by going to some salutary
region where pure air and quiet lite might
possibly reach the terrible disease in his
49,
Jut he quietly informed me that after
trying Colorado and the Adirondacks with
out obtaining any benefit he had discovered
this faith cure, and that after having been
under its Offices two weeks he felt positive
that he should ultimately be restored to
health. With the impress of death upon
his features he spoke with this simple trust.
no WONDER THEY ARE CURED.
Most of the women who visit the faith
doctress are stout, robust creatures with all
ments that are purely imaginary. 1t is easy
enough for their feelings to be greatly i'm
proved by faith meeting. because they are
merely laboring along under a load of
hypochondriacal fancies But l do not know
how to account for the middle-aged man
who took from his pocket at a meeting last
week twenty dollar bill, and before the
whole room full of patients handed 1t to the
doctress with the assurance that since coming
to her that day he had been transformed,
and would she accept that slight token of
his inexpressible gratitude.
There was a murmur of applause from the
audience, and before the seance was over
many others had made gratuitous contribu-
tions to the good fortune of the doctress. 1
am not sure that q woman can keep up O
practice of this sort for any length of time,
as il would appear to be a somewhat precari-
GUS method of livelihood. But while the
fever is on she certainly draws more money
in day than many a regular practieing
physician can earn in a month. This par
ticular doctress wears pair of solitaire dia-
mond earrings that cannot be worth less
than s., ,000 Some of her patients haven't
as much money as that in the world.
POINTS ON ETIQUETTE.
One Of the best things the Four Hundred
have got hold of in long while is story
about beautiful little girl in the West, who
has been going, about here with great sue
cess for q few weeks. Being by far the
loveliest creature in sight wherever she
\ moved, her eecentrieityof dress or of man.
ner has not detracted from her popular
triumph, and 1 imagine she has had more
frst-rate proposals than any homegrown
bud of the season. The story told of her is
true one. A playful young man had given
to her. by her own request, some informa-
tion concerning the latest points in social
metropolitan etiquette,a matter upon which
she frankly confessed practical ignorance.
The young man, in mentioning certain
manners observed at the table, laid particu-
lar stress on the statement that everyone of
refinement here invariably used fork in
stead of spoon for eating. Of course she
had heard OF eating ice-cream with a fork,
but when the young man assured her that
the latest indication of good manners was
the eating of soup with a fork
she was slightly staggered, and
gaBed ct her informant with wild-eyed
wonder. That evening she attended din
uer party. When the soup was brought she
locked doubtfully around the table. The
Young man who had told her about the use
of the fork nodded reassuringly at her and
began dipping up his soup with his own
fork to show her that it was entirely correct.
She accordingly tried IS copy him, but the