Ellsworth American., 1920-06-02
MRS. LAURENCE
TRIES HER
HAND.
BY KATE TUCKER.

The bugbear Of Doctor Laurence's
life as general practitioner In the small
town OF Crawford was cases that are
generally known as nervous" He
was courageous and versatile, as most
small-town doctors have to be. He
would go his rounds fourteen hours
OUT or the twenty-four during epidem-
les; would go with steady nerve
through operations that would have
tried more celebrated surgeon; he
would listen patiently to the queries
or young mothers over their infants
teething ditficultles-all that sort of
thing. But when a patient said
nerves" Doctor Laurence wished to
give up.
Mrs. Laurence, however, had been
reading up on modern methods of
treating nervous disorders In the doc
tors medical journals and In the
popular magazines. Psychopathy was
her latest hobby. and somehow, In spite
OF the five little Laurences. Mrs.
Laurence always had time for some
hobby.
u really feel" she told the doctor
one evening while the mothers help
er, Vera, was patiently putting the
younger two Laurenees to bed and the
| older two were dancing an Indian war
dance as preliminary to putting them
| selves to bed, ~ really think that I
| would have n positive talent for psy-
chic healing. You know reputable doc
tors are taking II up now. There Is a
wonderful future for II. | don't see
why you don't go In for that sort of
| thing. All the best doctors are doing
| II. Take Robert Ludwell, for instance.
Ills case is purely psychopathic-per.
/ fectly absurd for you TO look at the
! ease In any other way. What you
want to do is TO get down deep at the
! root of the matter He doesn't sleep
| rnd he's losing weight. not because he
| has overworked on that book OF his.
as you tell him. but because of some
fear image that turks in his mind. II
Is your duty to probe down till you
find it, and then, through the force of
( your mentality over his, to dlspel that
fear image"
$50 you said" commented Doctor
Laurence, and then-"perfect bosh,
perfect bosh." He paced back and
forth before the living room open fire.
Il wish could do something for Rob
I ert, however"
There was suddenly an unusual
note of pleading in Mrs. Laurence's
voice. "Will you let me try7" she
said. and apparently Doctor Laurence
agreed. although II he did agree 1t
was surely not because he had any
interest In his wife's theory OF psy-
chic healing.
The first step in Mrs. Laurence's
campaign to cure Robert Ludwell
took place the next evening. when
the doctor asked him to spend the
evening at his house, without. of
course, suggesting to him that Mrs.
Laurence was going to administer her
first treatment in psychic healing.
There was considerable confusion.
Vera, the mothers helper, had been
away on her very rare afternoon off.
4At WINS ltAhoti " bt put " btu
by anyone else and their rebellion
gave the cue to the older child to
fall downstairs, with considerable In
jury to his tired feelings, but no
great brulsing. So dinner was late
and the confusion still was discern
ible when Robert arrived.
There were intermittent walls from
the nursery, slammlng of dishes In
the kitchen and gImpses Of the rather
fiush-faced, distracted Vera as she pur-
sued the Older children through the liv-
Ing room in her effort to pack them off
to bed. But Mrs. Laurence was not
one 10 be much ruffled by such mild
domestic confusion, and eventually she
managed 10 sit beside Mr.. Ludwell
alone before the fireplace and make
the first probing.
She discovered one thing He had
horror Of boarding houses. He
disllked boarding house coffee. He
likewise had a horror OF any sort of
confusion. He lntlmated when Mrs.
Laurence asked him point-blank why
he had never married that possibly it
was because he was a recluse by ma.
ture. He had to have quiet for his
writing.
SO Mrs Laurence decided to invite
Mr.. Ludwell TO leave his boarding
house and spend a month at the Lau-
renee establishment. There he would
have no more boarding house coffee.
there would be no more confusion, she
was sure.
She was surprised when he ac-
cepted her and the doctors invita-
tion. She hadn't expected he would
come so willingly. And the doctor
was even more surprised.
ale SAYS he wants to be away from
eonfusionf" gasped the doctor.
81 am sure you don't think there
is ever any confusion here" said Mrs.
Laurence, "and the coffee is certainly
better than the kind one gets in