The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-07-18

as she prOmon0OeQ up Suo
down Fifth ave. ought to be
very happy little birdie these days, for
Bess "Toodles" Ryan is in position
whereby she il able to get the. little war
bier the most expensive delicacies that q
birdie can enjoy.
And the birdie, as he fills himself
with such epicureaL trifles as brides can
enjoy. must thank not only his mistress
but her former friend. erstwh1le lover
and miEht-have-been husband, Mr.. Har-
~ Mansfield, proprietor Of the fashion
able Ferncroft inn. near Boston, VINO was
kind en- ough to give "Toodles present
of $50, 900 after she had failed IN her
breach Of promise action against him for
$4,000.
OF course It was not out Of the good
ness Of his heart and through the
promptings Of a necessarily generous ma
ture that Mr.. Mansfield settled cool
$4,000 upon "Toodles." beautiful &C
tress that she is. and recently Fashion
IN '.Experience." At the trial of her
first suit "Toodles' told many stories OF
high society life at the Ferncroft inn.
stories of hugs and kisses. OF much
drinking and Of much remorse on the
following morning.
And then, when she lost her suit, she
proclaimed to the world that she would
become the Nemesis of Mansfield, the
avenging and furious fury who would
pursue him through all the years OF his
life, simply as a matter of principle ana
justice-not to herself but to other
women. And, II she could not secure
her revenge for the injuries done by
him to her feelings to the extent OF
$4,000, then she swore. In the name
of suffering womanhood, that she would
secure other revenge for womanhood
which in the end would amount to sew
eral times $4,000. Then came the
$4,000 settlement.
Of a man for failure to marry her Is the
vay Miss Ryan looks at the $4,000
61ure. And, in asking that trihine
amount for the prodigious amount OF
harm she claims was done to her heart
and feelings she feels extremely modest
and unassuming.
and l would have had that amount
awarded to me at the first trial" she
pouts. "if one old New England pessi-
mist OF a Juror, who had inflicted his
eeotistic personality upon poor wom-
an for years and then became enraged
because she had exacted some financial
consideration from him. I would have
that amount given me. I say. II this
lone Juror had not held out and caused
a disagreement. All the other jurors
sympathized with me from the very
first"
'Toodles," It seems, was the pet name
which Mansfield used to whisper into
Bess Ryan's ear. During the trial the
fudge had to ask one Of the theaters to
stop a song dedicated to Miss Ryan
called Has Anybody Here Seen Too
dles?" 1t came to be the most popular
feature Of the show, and the judge was
afraid it might influence the jury.
But it wasn't at all necessary for the
fudge to do that" says Miss Ryan.
From the very first every one OF tho
Jurors sympathized with me, and song
more or less would not have -nade any
difference to them. And as for the New
England pessmist 1t would not have in
fiuenced him, either, for he has heart
insensible to song or to anything else
The reason she has kept after Mr..
Mansfield, she says. is simply that she
feels It is a matter Of principle and JUS
tice to woman. She gave up everything,
even. her part in Experience" for eight
weeks to be present at the trial. No
matter how juries might have treated
her. or how trials might have gone, she
had sworn to be an avenging fury who
would have pursued Mansfield as long as
they both continued living.
Bess Ryan made her own appraisal OF
the damage which she says Mansfield
caused her She considered the devo-
ton. the shock to her pride and nervous
system, the burden he placed upon her
patience and the personal services she
had rendered him. She considered them
all carefully. balanced one against the
other and came to this neat arithmetical
conclusion:
Devotion from heart and
MIND ....... 1o'VVV
tenn .......... 5000
Burden on loving patience. 1850
Shock to womanly- pride $500. $4,000
Endless personal services re-
quired oS,ooV
Total $3.50, 900
1t is to be seen that the whole thing
was very carefully laid out by Miss
Ryan. She took a great deal Of pains In
making a thorough search Of her in
ward self to find out Just where and how
she was damaged. She worked from a
purely psychological basis, and nothing
but psychological considerations indu-
enced her conclusions.
Miss Ryan laid the claim before tho
jurymen that when she first met Mans
field she was an innocent, unsophisticat-
ed young thing, who had a perfectly nat