New-York tribune., 1922-03-19
.sPerfect Venus
kills Herself at
sS,licide Party
stros,on Divorcec, 23, Jcsts
r. With Visitors i'll Rooms,
!. Then Drinks From Phial
- She Had Just Shown Them
- Student Friends Conc
.u.xard Wharton. Of Harvard.
and NJ. I. T. Attendant
Disappear After Tragedy
so.esoT Dispatch 10 The TrsSuns


rnsTON. March 1S.--The police are
e..,,stisating the suicide OF Pauline
y,,cinia Clark, twcnty-thrcc years old.
.ree known as the Perfect Venus"
..va swallowed poison about :, o'clock
.gsarsday morning at what the snthori-
IN. helic, was presrrsngcd suicide
e. -.r,v in rer rooms She called IN half
aosen friends for the evening, talked
f,,iallv AID drank with them, showed
~, Of them pair Of mysterious
rs;,,s aue then swallowed the contents
=, Que Of shc rcceptaclcs without warn
r~ sho collapsed and died before
r.d,csl aid could rcach her, although
,svs Of the "suicide party did not be-
eom. public until to-day. She had been
.r,,ancholy for some time and is De
: lIeyed to have been in financial diff
calt:cs-
Two young students were In the
rson, with Miss Clark when She
drank the poison, and both Of them
ave disappeared suddenly.
They are Bayard Wharton. of Har-
Yard. son Of MIR. and Mrs. Henry Whar-
ION. of Philadelphia, and Otto Haldor
larsen, of Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, whose home is in Norway.
Wharton left his room in the Harvard
aoimi.ories to-day, and it was said at
the university that he had gone to his
here in Philadelphia. larsen has been
missing since yesterday.
Other Names Are Brought In
The names of other college students
b,-c
ing dragged into the affair as the po-
7 lice continued their investigations into
I the dramatic death OF the young
woman.
f, 1t is nor yet established whether the
! others in the party were also in the
room with Miss Clark when she drank
she poison or the one adjoining Whar-
tor has been rapidly forging to the
sront in athletics at Harvard, partcu-
larly on the tr~ck lie is q crac3;
quarter-miie runner. and he mad an
excellent chance Of making the regular
=. track team His father is wealthy
philadelp phia banker.
Il is reported that Miss Clark and
ycung Wharton We're engaged to marry
ard that they had planned to hold the
wedding ceremony within a few days.
I, Confirmation OF this report has not
been obtairabie.
II IS known, however. that Miss Clark
had been extremely friendly with Lar
: sen during recent weeks, and that he
was the one who. after the girl had
tcppled over, rushed out TO get 3
physician. After attempts to revive
her had failed. It is declared lie gath
cred up several whisky bottles and car
ried them away.
1t is thought the party included seg-
eral young men and women whose
names have not been divulged.
Former Wife of Navy Officer
= Nhen only eighteen, Miss CLARK,
then known as Virginia Herrick, vas
arrested for the theft OF clothing. Her
line was paid by Harvard student
named James Davis, 10 whom she was
reported engaged. Shc became model
io- sculptors. A year later she married
William D. Thomas, navy Lieutenant
commander. after a rapid courtship.
4 YEAR ago she got 4 divorce
FOR the last year. IL is said, her life
vss . round of gayety, and She mum
oered many students sud business men
among her friends. She drove a costly
car and dressed cleborately. For a
zine she had apartments at an eX-
pensive place on Bay State Road but
moved 10 NewbuIy Street after com
plants had been made against late
parties said 20 have been held in her
rooms