The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-12-26
SHE LIVES ON THE SEA.
An Old Lady Who is a Bette Noir to
an Atlantic Steamship Company.


An Old Lady Who is a Bette Noir to
an Atlantic Steamship Company.
From the Neto York Advertiser.
There are quite number Of New York
men who think nothing of crossing the
ocean five or six times year, some merely
for pleasure and others in the course Of their
business. One of the iaEter. an art dealer
remarked as he stepped on board LIVER
pool liner: 'See that old woman theres
She's curious duck. Nearly every time l
have taken this line she has bsen among the
passengers. l think she must be diamond
expert or q smuggler Of something or other. !"
The woman referred to YVES seated on a
small leather cabin trunk placidly waiting.
Whether she was going on board or not no
one could guess from her manner. There
was no furry about her, and she watched
the preparations for departure with an in
different, languid eye. There was nothing
striking about her dress. The gown was
black silk or alpaca, the rest of the attire
was dark and Iadylike in style. Her hair
was white and she had a pleasant, con-
tented, refined face.
Half an hour OF so later a younger woman,
also dressed in dark clothes, well designed
and well made, came Stripping up behind the
first one. ibid you think was going TO be
latefn she asked, with smile. mo" re-
piled the elder; ''buJ preferred to sit here
and watch the passengers pass on. We have
twenty minutes yet, but might as well 60
aboard" She called porter, who shouldered
the little leather trunk and followed them
across the gnng-plank with 1t.
Evidently she was an experienced trav-
eler, for what woman Is there who would
not be nervous about catching teamer
with only a margin of twenty minutes9
That she was smuggler, regularly coming
and going as such, was out OF the question.
The very frequency of her trips must have
excited suspicion. One of the revenue in
spectors, when questioned, said: why,
we've seen her for years. She comes on one
steamer and goes back by the next. She's
no smuggler; she's perfect little lady"
An official OF the company, who probably
knew all about her, was very reticent. In
an uptown club a ships officer on leave re-
marked: 80. can tell you all about the old
lady. She has crossed with me several
times. There's no mystery about it at all. IL
was this way: Twenty years ago the COM
pany wanted to extend its premises at Liv-
erpool. and resolved TO buy a piece of land
belonging to maiden lady of uncertain age
She sold the land at a very low price, aud
as q set-off requested that clause should be
put in the agreement to the effect that dur
ing her whole life she and a companion
should at any time travel free in the COM
pany's vessels.
son the day after the agreement was
signed she sold her furniture, let her house
and went on board the first outward bound
vessel belonging to the company without
troubling herself about the destination.
"Since then the lady has always lived on
one ship or another, accompanied by some
lady traveller, for whom she advertises
She is reckoned TO have made over $4,000
by the transaction, and the company has
offered her at least that sum for her priyi-
lege, but cannot get quit of her at any
price"