Public Ledger

Mrs. Benton, who now appears as a witness in the Stokes case, is a person of very disagreeable notoriety, her occupation for a long time having been that of a female lobbyist in Washington--of all characters the least admirable. Of late she has lived in New York, but it is said that she still pulls wires which move Congress and the Departments with astonishing force. The Seal Lock Company, of which so much has been heard of late, is one of the affairs conducted by Mrs. Benton. She is a woman of much business capacity, and has acquired a large property. Commodore Vanderbilt is said to have taken her in tow at one time, and to have given her "points" by which she made some good "turns" in Wall street, but after an unlucky speculation contrary to the Commodore's advice, she abandoned Wall street speculation and returned to her proper business of managing public affairs.