The Topeka state journal., 1919-11-24
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC j. HASKIN, Director.
Washington, d. C.
WHAT is PATIENCE WORTH?

WHAT IS PATIENCE WORTH?
| New York, Nov. 21.-New York is
! just recovering from the surprise of a
| visit from Patience Worth, the invisi-
i Bile but loquacious English girl, who
is supposed to have lived here and
been killed by Indians $50 years ago.
Usually, Patience hovers convenient
! ly over the home OF Mr.. and Mrs.
/ James Curran in st. Louis, frequently
/ descending upon Mrs. Curran with
bursts of epigrams and poetry. But
| when Mrs. Curran came on to New
| Yorok, Patience came with her. Here,
| in spite of the narrowing memories
that her early adventure with the In
dians must have had for her. she spent
a most productive ten days, obliging
large audience with from nine to four
teen poems every afternoon and talk
ing off altogether $4,000 words of
| verse. In addition to this, she offered
a number of valuable suggestions for
the screening of one of her books,
which she dictated to Mrs. Curran a
couple of years ago.
The meetings in which Patience
manifested her skill for producing a
! apid- fire diverse, were held in the
apartment of Mr.. and Mrs. Herman
Behr. who are great admirers of her
genius. The public was invited, and
] the public, including many writers,
artists. and actors, came in great num-
bers, crowding the Behr drawing room
beyond its capacity for chairs, part of
IT standing patiently for two hours
while Mrs. Curran communicated with
Patience on the ouija board.
At the last meeting nearly three
hundred people were admitted to the
room, Mrs. Behr declaring Hospitality
that she did not care how many came
so long as they did not stand on her
chairs. While no one had quite the
temerity to do that. several found
comfortable resting place and an cx-
cellent view of the proceedings on
the top of a grand piano.
Promptly at f. O'Clock, the meeting
was called to order. and every one
stopped telling what he had heard
about Patience Worth and stared cur
iouSly as an MISUNDERSTANDING woman
In light grey dress. with rather SOM
Der eyes. untidy hair and dropping
jade earrings. pushed her way thru the
crowd and took her place before a
small table in front of the large CEN
trail fireplace, where a cheerful log
fire burned.
she has the mediums eyes," said a
woman somewhere in the audience,
and every one leaned forward e:lpec-
family.
Mrs. Curran, however. made no at
tempt tos create a Spooky impression.
She began by saying that people had
been unkind enough to call her a
fraud and assert that her publishers
were using Patience Worth as
money-making proposition. whereas
she was not a fraud and Patience was
not at all Hspunerative. In six years.
she declareS. the royalties on her
books had amounted to only $1,000.
Then she went on to confide that she
had adopted a baby girl when she was
only twelve days old and three pounds
big, and that the money made from
Patience's poetry was being used to
educate this founding.
"Will you please come forward
noW?" She motioned to a young Wom-
an with blond hair. who emerged from
a corner and took a seat at the OPP
posite side of the table, placing her
hand in contact with Mrs. Curran'S on
the ouija board. AT the same time,
man with a clever, interesting face,
adorned with tortoise-sheH glasses,
who soon turned out to be Mr.. Cur
ran, sat down ? at an adjoining table
and produced a pen and note-paper
for recording Mistress Worth's poetry.
"I hear a lot of hoof-beats." de-
clared Mrs Curran, as soon as she
started moving her hand over the
board. Her voice was calm and nat
hear It,"
Almost Immediately, Patience evil
IDENTIFY started to talk, because Mrs.
Curran began rapidly debating
poem, half spelling, half saying it. The
verse had to do with noble deeds and
the joy of self-sacrifice. When Mr..
Curran finished reporting 1t. he read
it to the audience, from which it drew
murmurS of fervent admiration.
Isn't it 1oveiy?" asked Mrs. Cur
ran. Patience is doing good work
today"
Il just want to say" said the lady
who had supplied the other necessary
| hand for the ouija board, that those
r11fc &c
I sat here. I had the idea that
should like to do something ennobling
for the world, even at the price of a
great sacrifice
She retired to the front Of the audi
ence, and another lady came forward
to supply Patience with inspiration,
while the hostess rose and demanded
| to know if Mr.. Ibanez was present.
Mr.. Ibanez was not so Mrs Curran
again proceeded to get in touch with
Patience. This time the poem spoke
romantically of Communion with the
beloved" and the newcomer at the
lsouija board, who was dressed in
mourning. testified to the fact that
Patience had also managed to read her
thoughts-that she had come to the
| table concentrating on the thought
of communion with her husband after
death.
The next ouija board assistant was
young man in a gray suit, with
plump and practical countenance. who
| was rather self-concious about his
role. Patience. however, Immediately
became extremely coy and metaphori-
| cal. If this gentleman had had such
/ thoughts in his mind when he sat
down at the table. he evidently de-
cided not to acknowledge them.
| Once more, an intense inquiry was
made concerning the presence of Mr.
| IbaneZ, and then the hostess wanted
| to know If Mr.. Bodansky, conductor
| of the Metropolitan Opera House or
| chestra. was there. Both gentlemen.
she said, had been promised sittings
! at the ouija board. but apparently
| they had decided not to take advant-
age OF them
This fact is mentioned because some
! of the audience thOught Ii rather sie-