The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-02-09
INvALIDs WHO RENT BRAINS.
Bright Persons Hired to Play With
the Sick the Games They Like.
From the New York Journal.

From the New York Journal
Rich invalids of New York have adopted
the plan of hiring people to play chess.
cribbage, checkers and all sorts of games
with them. This arrangement is a two-fold
benefit for it employs a small army of peo-
pie and enables the invalids to avoid i'm
posing upon their friends.
There are in New York several hundred
young men and women of brains, but with
poorly filled pocket books, who earn
livelihood by amusing wealthy persons in
various ways. Their employers are inva-
lids, and their constant plant is ennui.
They are ready to pay a fortune to man
who will amuse them. And there are peo-
pie who have talent for amusing others.
These are the ones who are now reaping
a harvest, while enjoying themselves al
so, after a fashion.
There is in New York now young wo-
man of southern birth who was left an
orphan when she was two weeks old. She
has made her living 'by her wits" as ii
were, ever since reaching a sufficiently
mature age. This winter-in fact, this
month-she is being entertained at a fash
ionable home where her duty is to be a
capital dinner companion. When she was
invited to this establishment nothing was
said about her entertaining, but she knew
and her hostess knew that She was expect
ed to make herself generally agreeable.
The first day at the country house she
discovered the particular reason why she
had been invited. There was an elderly
man, very rich and a semi-invalid whose
Z
liked to tell stories himself and he liked
to listen to them. TRY to like his stories.
We are so MORALLY tired of them,' whis-
pered the hostess to her young guest with
in five minutes after they had entered the
drawing room. For two mortal weeks
that girl has listened to tales that, how
ever revamped, will not lose their musti-
ness. Her own little stories are told
many times a day, with variations, but
the dear old rheumatic invalid is so busy
with his own pains and his own stories
that he does not hear a word she says
But he knows she is chattering. and that
is enough for him. This is one example
of professional entertaining.
The hardest worked of the professional
entertainers are the card players. These
long-suffering people must play a good
game of cards-but not too good. They
much. They must entertain the player as
he plays-but not distract; and they must
never, never get tired!
Wealthy invalidS move heaven and earth
to be amused. There is a woman who has
a thousand ills a minute Nothing but
threatening to set fire to her couch gets
her out of bed mornings. This woman
pays a girl very nice sum to be her
companion mornings. But all the girl
does is sit by her bedside and chatter
Sometimes she knits and makes the in
valid hold her yarn. Several times when
the hypochondriac pains were unusually
depressing, she has tied knots in the Wors-
ted, and the invalid in her eagerness to
unite them and get the ball round has
forgotten to groan for half an hour The
young woman is in league with a young
actress; and when her own powers of
amusing fall short, she is going to bring
her friend around, presumably to ask adj
vice upon costumes for a stage drawing
ROOM but really to recite. The invalid
pays well for her companionShip