The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-07-16
THEY Havoc QUEER IDEAS
SOME OF THE CRANKs WHO IN
FEST The PUB &c OFFICES.
Looking for Imaginary Fortunes ard
Searching for Documents Which
Never Existed Strange Hellucina-

Searching for Documents Which
Never Strange Helucina
tions.
From, the Brooklyn Eagle.
For years past a middle-aged, pale-faced
woman has frequented the court house and
! bored every one with whom she has come IL
contact. Her voice is sharp. her dress old
| aud shabby and her face indicative Of grief
| or anxiety. The woman is known as hrs.
Smith, aud by several other names.
Her figure is so familiar, made more so by
a piebald shawl, that she can be recognized
from one end Of the corridor TO the other.
The judges of the different courts
avoid her, and if any one of
them happens Ia see her in the dis
tauce he disappears into the most convent
ent room and does not reappear until quite
assured that there is no probability of en-
counterng her Mrs Smith msy be COM
pared to Rip Van Wrinkles spouse in this
respect: her tongue has wonderful powers
of endurance. She never tires of pouring
her tale of woe into the ears Of any person
whom she chances to meet. The tale is long
and mumbling and hinges on robbery
which she declares occurred some years back.
A last will and testament has a part In { 9
story. By the terms Of it, according to
Mrs Smith, she was left a legacy Of thous-
ands of dollars. Ii is not an easy matter TO
determine the precise amount, as the lady IS
figures fluc uate on different occasions. In
telling her story she generally pitches her
voice in a high key, throws her arms out
and shakes her head, The few remaining
feathers in her fadded hat shaking them
selves, too. She is always seeking
to have her alleged wrongs res
dressed and for that purpose wanders
from building to building, from office to
office. Mrs. Smith invariably introduces
her subject by saying that she is related to
some noble families In England, an assertion
which is never contrGdicted. When this
unfortunate lady first began to frequent the
various departments no great attention was
paid to her, bu5 ultimately the clerks aud
others reached the conclusion that some
strategy was absolutely necessary to TEN
porarily rid themselves of her
presence. The district attorneys
Office was sher favorite stamp
ing ground, and she was seen there every
day, rain or shine. One Of the attaches hit
upon the idea OF sending her 10 Judah Voor-
hees. the chief clerk of the surrogates
court. Mr.. Voorhees,, by loag experience,
has become accustomed to strange people
possessed Of strange notions. and therefore,
he was not greatly surprised when the wish
tor proclaimed her mission as one of justice,
and between many embarrassing Interrupt
tions, contrived to speak her piece
II can't help YOU in the least" was the
old clerks decision after the story was told.
He advised her. in fstherly toneJ. to return
TO the district attorneys office, which she
did. From there she went to the supreme
court, then Co the county court, next to the
mayor, back to the supreme conrt, and sent
in fact, t. every official, big or little.
| have had two experiences with Mrs.
Smith. With an unsteady hand she placed
note in N inc. While | was reading it 81 Q
talked at a rate which would put t. fl gho
the best stenographer. The note was from
q clerk in the supreme court and directed
me to inquire into the claims of said Mrs
Smith. About a month later | was in one
OF the courts listening to an argument be-
tween two lawyers. Mrs. Smith had seen
Inc entering. Suddenly her sharp voice
rang out:
You helped to put my son in JAIL" she
exclaimed vigorously as she waved her cot
ton umbrella. The gavel of Justice Bartlett
descended with considerable force upon the
bench; the little attorney who had been
pointing out the merits Of his case mechan-
ically dropped into his seat, having been
taken by surprise, and the solemn clerk Of
the court let fall his gold pen. The biggest
man in that building, Officer William
Dillon, led Mrs. Smith out while was the
involuntary cynosure of hundred eyes.
Who Mrs Smith Is, where she comes from,
how she lives and whether thera is any real
substance in her story are problems which
no one has so far had the hardwood tC
solve. she still makes her rounds, but not
as regularly as Of yore.
Mrs Lefferts. Such is the genuine or as
sumed name of q cOlored woman who per-
ambulated the halls of the public buildings,
like Mrs. Smith. She is short and stout
with a skin not quite as black as ebony.
Mrs. Lefferts continually wears glasses wei
down on short, fiat nose. 1t has never
been perfectly clear why she adorns that or
gan with these aids to sight, for tho specta
Giles do not seem to be of any use to her, as
she looks over them and not through them
If she can read it is likely that nobody
knows 1t but herself. The great difference
between the two woman is thai
whereas Mrs. Smith is an exceed
ing fast talker, Mrs. Lefferts car
justly claim to be an exceedingly
slow one. The former is verbose and cir
cumlocutory; the latter Is brief and to the
point. Mrs. Lefferts has, it is said, caused
more than one lawyer to regret that she i:
a monomaniac. To put it in few words
the idea has become firmly implanted in he
mind that she Is the widow of George
l.efferts, and that Mr.. Lefferts gave her the
Bedford farm. together with few houses
The only missing link, she says, il
the will, which was lost stoleI
or consumed by fire. This much may b.
put TO her oredit-she tells a plausible
| story, and has impressed four or five coun-
| sellers with its apparent truthfulness. Some
of these lawyers have actually gone to the
surrogate's court and asked to seq the LET
ferts will. The woman has beseiged ever
lawyers Office around the hall, and is still
cover it, she says, poverty would take it
winged flight through the back doc
and wealth come in through the
| parlor window. One fine day abou
two years ago Mrs. Lefferts put in he
usual appearance at the surrogate's court
| Mr.. voorhees, was at that hour up to hi
shoulders in work. as he expressed it, anC
he was not in a mood to discuss the chance.
| of recovering q chimerical will Mrs
Lefferts beamed upon ell present. not ex
Guiding some young men, who were laugh
ing heartily at some joke Of their own.
| Good morning, surrogate said th
colored dame, looking straight at the gra,
haired clerk over her glasses. She Away
calls him surrogate.
TOO busy now,n answered Mr.. Voor
bees, as he scratched his name on formid-
| able sheet of paper. "Come around to
morrow, eunty and I'll talk to YOU"
No greater affront could have been offere
TO Mrs. Lefferts. Her eyes flashed fire. Sh
clutched at the railing that separated he
from the clerk ard she stamped her feet o.
| the floor with rage. A fastened inkstan
was lying on a desk and her quick eve oh
served it. She tried to sieze it, but alas,
would not move. Her intention was to haV