IVAN STILL LOVED HER

NZ Truth, Issue 1179, 5 July 1928, Page 7

IVAN STILL LOVED HER

Though Fourteen -Year-Old Wife Turned. Hirri Down (From "N.Z. Truth's" South Auckland Representative.) Flippant Cupid plays tricks v)iih us all and makes fools of most. of us.

FOR instance, Ivan Slakich, of Frankton Junction, is believed- still to labor under love's spell, though it has played such havoc with his reasoning that it has led him into the police court twice within as many months. Ivan, as his name would imply, coiftes from the land of Croates or Slavs and is a married man. He is married, however, m name only, for his wife departed from his hearth some time ago and refuses absolutely to do his cooking and darning any longer. Mrs. Slakich is quite young. Although now only eighteen, she has been married for four years. Ivan placed a band of gold on the third finger of her left hand when she was but a child of fourteen, but her parents stipulated that the pair must not enjoy a complete state of connubial bliss until the expiration of at least three years. A month after she returned to her father's house as Mrs. Ivan Slakich, however, the :. child- wife became a child-mother. 1 , . Things were not too happy with the couple. Ivan Slakich bepame before long Ivan Slacker, for he neglected to provide proper maintenance for his family. '"'„''«■*■ His wife obtained an order against

him about twelve months after the birth of Jthe -child. Ivan, however, •was by this time chewing- badly on

the '-bit;' especially . as his girl- wife did not exhibit any particular love for him. Rumor hath it that Cupid's dart is still embedded m Ivan's heart, although the shaft has been completely broken off. - As he could not bring himself to part with a weekly dole while enjoying none of the pleasures of married life, his wife again proceeded against him, but he suffered .'the discomforts of 'lif c m gaol rather than overcome his stub-boi-h determination not. to shell out. Suddenly young Mrs. Slakich disappeared from ken. It was. then that I van presumably discovered the arrow-hfi-'cl still causing some little irritation within his breast, for he set to- work to truck his girl-wife down. v He came upon her m that salubrious district of milk and water, Inglewood, where he found her enjoying the society of two men m a motor-car. Ivan demanded to know — m hia broken English — what the men were doing with his wife m the car. The man at the wheel said" he was driving the girl to her place of residence. Naturally, Ivan's dramatic appearance on the scene had a somewhat disturbing effect on his wife, who admitted, according to the police, that she had been living under her maiden name. It w>s stated that she threatened—

Ivan The Terrible

if her husband persisted m his attentions — to end her life by drowning. Ivan tried to cajole her and asked her to return to him, but she replied: "Slakich, you , do you think I would come back to you?" Her husband then picked up her suitcase, and, . strapping it to the rear of his motor-cycle, rode away into the night. The .girl was not, however, to be intimidated into returning m this way. Instead,, she promptly laid an Information against her husband for stealing her suitcase and contents. •• ' She was by no means a satisfactory witness when the case came before the court, and Magistrate Luxford had to warn her several times that her refusal to answer certain questions, and her general • demeanor, might lead to a charge of contempt of court. 'In discharging Slakich, his worship said the case was a somewhat absurd one. He advised Ivan to have nothing more to do with his wife. In the meantime, Mrs. Slakich shifted her quarters repeatedly, but wherever his little lamb went, Ivan was sure to follow. . When, finally, she secured employment at the Whatawhata Hotel, he went there and, counselled • the- licensee to -dismiss- her. During one of these unpleasant

scenes, wnich were how becoming very familiar, Ivan is said to have used language that was not altogether

gCJ.III dllc-iliy. It was also alleged that he threatened to shoot his wife and the licensee, too. As a : result he was charged at Hamilton with using insulting language and threatening behavior. Senior-sergeant Sweeney said Slakich made' Tthings very unpleasant for his wife wherever she went, following her about iand impeding her progress. In the box, defendant said he had been working for his wife for nea-rly five, years and she refused to live with him. He pleaded guilty to threatening and disorderly behavior, but denied the insulting language. He. also produced a formidable-look-ing iron bar with which he . said his wife had threatened to chastise him. Senior-sergeant Sweeney: Did' you ask the licensee of the Whatawhata Hotel to dismiss your wife?— Yes. Why? — Because she is not a fit woman for the job. v In fining defendant £5 and costs altogether, Magistrate Platts told Ivan that if he came before him again he would have to bind him over. In the opinion of his wife, Slakich seems to have descended from the position of Ivan the great to Ivan the terrible.