Ghost

One thing leads to another. Whether or not she was beloved of President Harding and bore him a girl child, as set forth in The President's Daughter, to which her name was signed (TIME, Nov. 14), Mistress Nan Britton was named as the cause of a suit for separation filed last week by a Mrs. Patricia Wightman of Saybrook, Conn. Mrs. Wightman complained that her husband, Richard Wightman, a promoter, had insisted on keeping Nan Britton in their home for two months while he composed The President's Daughter from her notes and reminiscences. She acted as typist and secretary, he as literary "ghost." Mrs. Wightman, disgusted, left the house. Now she was suing because, while giving her only $20 per week, Richard Wightman was allegedly "living in luxury" at the Shelton Hotel, Manhattan, still constantly seeing The President's Daughter's mother and sharing with her the royalties on the book's sale (90,000 copies have been sold at $5 the copy). "I feel that I have a right to oppose my husband's association with a woman of the admitted character of Nan Britton," said Mrs. Wightman.

It looked as though the suit might cost Nan Britton something as well as Ghost Wightman. A current advertisement for The President's Daughter was saying:

"I, Nan Britton, author of The President's Daughter, hereby challenge Representative John N. Tillman of Arkansas, to prove the correctness of his belief stated in his speech in Congress, that a MAN wrote my book. If he is successful I will give Mr. Tillman my personal check for $1,000 and also another check for $4,000 for any worthy charity in which Mr. Tillman is personally interested."