Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1892-09-01
QUAINT CLARA NORRIS.
The Eccentric Eamesalke OF o
Famous American Actress
Peculiar Circurlsssnccs which MARKED
Her Arrival st Ia.hin<ton-How she
Won uannfbaI Hsm1in's Friendship
Her Preseat O~ccrp&tiea-

l~E%fN1i HA@AllEtEu LFklFF-A
Everybody who has visited the cap
itol building within the last thirty years
1as seen Clara Morris To sec her once
IS tn remember her for all time: for
Ter eccentric drr<s and quaint manner
ismS leave an impression not easily
erased from the mind Of Any y Of the
multitude Of sight-secr who Pass
through Washington
of her first appearance at the capitol.
Capt Bassett. the venerable attache OF
the senate. has this 20 say; Clara Nor
ris came nero froa New Orleans one
dag in Is6s. when the senate was in
session She took a seat in the ladies
gallery. and had my attention called
to her rather forvibly. She was not
fairly seated in the gallery before she
unfolded a large American flag and be
gan waving il in honor. as she said. Of
Henry Clay. was sitting in my Usual
seat To the left Of the vice president.
when Hannibal Eiumlin. then vice pres
idcnt - the United States. turned to
IRE and said; Captain. what Is the mat
ter with that woman? Will you please
60 and see?'
Il started at once for the gallery and
net her coming down she marble steps
! asked her for an explanation Of her
strange conduct, and she said she waved
the flag in honor OF Henry Clay. and
asked me by what authority ! ques-
toned her. I told her | came from the
vice president: and she then asked an
audience with the PRECEDING officer.
returned to the senate chamber and
told MIR. HamlIn what she had said. al
though ! had no idea that he would
leave his desk to see this vcry peculiar
person However. he was very good
naturcd about il, and calling n Of the
senators to take his place in the chair
for n few minutes, went out into his
room to see her. All of what happened
there | do rot know, but do know that
he was presented with the flag by Clara
Morris and accepted il in tho same spirit
in which il was offered. lie kept the
flag and carried il home with him, and
often afterwards told me that he put
that flag out over his house on every
public occasion. His widow still retains
il as an historical relic"
of the past of this peculiar woman.
who made her appearance in Washing
tor in such a dramatic manner little is
known; and her anteccdents are
shrouded in mystery. IL is known that
she is of French extraction. and that
she came To- this city from New Orleans
during TIE civil war, drawing public at
tcntion to herself in the manner above
I.w-.k.N - 49, = III 49,. -
of her prior to the year 1862. Tier life
in Washington since that time forms an
interesting narrative.
Not long after her advent here. she
secured through the friendship and in
fiuenee of Hannibal Hanlin a little r.
cess in a corridor running parallel with
the main entrance tn the senate cham
Der With a c~omplacency and self
assurance which has marked her ever
since. she introduced herself to the son
ate carpenter and induced him to make
her a small pine table from some of his
spare boards This she placed in the
recess, and upon il laid out a stock OF
articles calculated TO tempt the unvarv
visitor into purchasing. She had lit;le
inexpensive trinkets. guide books of
Washington. pictures of the capitol and
other public buildings. and different
sorts of figures modelled out of mace
rated United States paper money. Very
soon Clara Morris. az she called herself
and came To be called, became . famil-
lar figure around the capitol. From the
first, business At her little stand was
active and constantly on the increase.
In time. as her sales grew larger. she
added to her stock in trade and finally