WOMAN’S WORLD.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 March 1922, Page 10

WOMAN’S WORLD.

A PITIFUL STORY. IST’S DUAL LIFE. Melbourne, March 7. Tn the Practice‘Court, before Mr. Justice Cussen, yesterday, was unfolded the remarkable story of the dual life of Leslie Rnwdon Coombs, alias Leslie John Allison, who* so thoroughly deceived two women—before reunning off with a third —that when, as Leslie John. Allison, he went through a bigamous marriage, his wife wrote to the s&cond 'happy bride” congratulating her upon her union with “Mr. Allison,” and wishing her a full measure of success and happiness. Then came the awakening, but not before irreparable damage had been done. The second “Mrs. Coombs” (“Mrs, Allison”), after passing through a long period of nervous prostration, left Melbourne for Sydney, in the effort to efface the memory of her misfortune. The story -was remarkable, inasmuch as it showed that whilst Coombs was “.shamefully neglecting” his own wife, he was able to woo, with all the deceptive ardour and light-heart of a young (over. Frances Ellen Skinner, and to win the approval of Mrs. Skinner, a plea-sant-featured white-haired old lady, in the sunshine of whose smiles and little home in Camberwell he passed many hours; on one occasion living under the maternal roof for some days. The couple spent happy hours in the garden together, the woman taking several photographs of her future “husband.” which produced in Court. Then they became engaged. “I must have been mad,” he wrote later. Mad or sane, he went on, and on March 3, 1920, surrounded by the usual gathering of felicitating relatives, and presents and bouquets, he accompanied the bride at the altar of St. Phillip’s Church, Abbotsford. and at the command of the Rev. L. L. Wenzel repeated the words of the marriage oath. Then, amid the usual departing jollity and congratulations, he publicly drove his bride off in a motor car to Mornipgton, where for four days the “Allisons” honeymooned—she happily and without misgiving; he, apparently, with growing apprehension. At all events, after four days he came to his bride and informed her that he had been appointed Inspector of Soldier Settlement for the State of Victoria, and would have to leave that very day to inspect his field of operations at Bendigo. The next day the bride of four days received a telegram advising her to go home, as he (“Allison”) was too busy to return. She went home. That was the last she heard of “Allison.”

A little depressed and anxious, the bride returned home and amongst the congratulatory letters awaiting her return was one from Mrs. Coombs. It was a nice letter. Feeling the need of sympathy in her isolation, but still not remotely suspecting the truth, she resolved to visit Mrs. Coombs at Auburn. On arrival there she found that Mrs. Coombs had left. The landlady spoke very nicely of her, but said she had been treated shamefully by her husband. It was the landlady’s description of Mr. Coombs that awakened the first, sharp suspicion in petitioner about “Mr. Allison.” She went to the Closer Settlement Board and found that no person by the name of Allison had been appointed an inspector. Suspicion deepening, she placed the matter in the hands of a firm of private detectives, and the last she heard was that a photograph of her supposed husband had been identified by one George Leslie Desmond as •that of the man who had recently cleared from Melbourne for Adelaide in

company with his (Desmond’s) wife. Sick at heart and approaching a serious nervous illness, she prosecuted the matter no further, and subsequently illhealth. and lack of -funds pevented her approaching the Court earlier for a declaration of nullity of marriage. She heard subsequently that Coombs, alias Allison, was somewhee in Western Australia.

Mrs. Skinner, mother of petitioner, affirmed that she was at the ceremony of marriage between her daughter Frances and “this man.” The photographs produced, she said, were “undoubtedly those of' the man.” Mr. Justice Cussen to Mr. Pearce, who (instructed by Messrs. Cleverdon and Fay) appeared for petitioner: You say in this petition that the parties were lawfully married, and later on you say that they were not lawfully married. Mr. Pearce: They went through the form of marriage. Then what do you ask me to do ? We ask for a declaration of nullity. Mr. Justice Cussen: Very well; a declaration of nullity is granted, with costs. Petitioner left the- Court trembling, soothed by whispering words of encouragement from the aged mother. Coombs is still at large. KINDNESS REWARDED. FILM ACTRESS GETS £30,000. How a girl’s kind heart won her a large fortune has just been disclosed by the reading of a will in New York. Twelve years ago. says the New York Times, Miss Shotwell, now a New York film actress, was walking in New York at election time’ when she stopped to listen to a soap-box orator at a street corner. Standing at her elbow was a little, rather poorly dressed woman. After a few minutes the two women began to talk. Eventually, as both were going in the same direction, they walked off together. Before they parted, Miss Shotwell, who was feeling that she needed cheering up, and liking the other woman’s company, invited her to luncheon at the Waldorf-Astoria.

The meeting was the beginning o-f a close friendship, which has lasted ever since. The two women spent a great deal of time in each other’s company, and although her friend never mentioned her affairs Miss Shotwell gathered that she was very poor. Miss Shotwell, therefore always insisted on paying the cost of their excursions. All the information the other woman vouchsafed about herself was that her name was Mary Pierson and that she was a school-teacher.

Later she- fell ill. Miss Shotwell then visited her for the first time, and found her living in a shabby lodging-house. The sick woman refused financial help, but Miss Shotwell insisted on paying the nurse, and did everything possible for her. Recently Miss Pierson died, and with her last words told Miss Shotwell that she had left her everything. “Everything” turned out to be cash securities to the value of nearly £30,000. In her will Miss Pierson said that her few relatives were always trying to ingratiate themselves with her with a view to figuring in her will, and that

she had left her fortune “to the only woman who had ever done her a disinterested kindness.” SHOT FOR NOT KISSING. One of her guests broke up the party of Miss Gussie Prager, aged 24, by shooting her in the face because she refused to kiss him. According to the story which the injured woman told to the police, says a Central News wire from New York, she invited the man, whom she knew by the name of “Harry,” to a party at her house, at which there were other women and two other men. She' was followed into one of the rooms by “Harry,” who asked her for a- kiss. She refused, and he then drew a revolver and shot her in the cheek. After this “Harty” put on his hat, and overcoat and left the house. OFFAL KING’S WEDDING. Despite the general poverty of pre-sent-day Turks, Stambul was the scene recently of an old-style Croesus-like wedding, on which £lO,OOO was spent. The bridegroom, an Albanian Turk, made a big fortune after the armistice by selling offal. He hired 43 houses for the wedding guests, who axe being entertained sumptuously for a. week. A hundred motor cars and 300 open carriages followed the bride’s closed and curtained carriage to a largo school building, which ho had rented and decorated for extravagant festivities. Each table provided for 300 guests and was loaded with Turkish delicacies. The wedding presents, it is said, were worth £6,000. FAMILY OF 16 TOO NOISY. Sixteen children, eight belonging to Ignatz ‘Rambowski, of Detroit, and eight to his wife, Mary, a widow whom he married last July; caused such an earsplitting turmoil in their home that they have had to separate. Mrs. Rambowski told Judge Richer the story in applying -for temporary aliinony. She was granted £1 a week to assist in bringing up the children, over the protests of the husband’s attorney, who characterised the allotment as “exorbitant.” The Court refused to rescind the ruling. All the' children are under sixteen. The wife’s children, being mainly husky boys, won most of the battles alleged to have been staged in the home, it was testified. SILK STOCKINGS LEAD TO COURT SCENE. For the second time in twelve months Judge Huffaker has reprimanded a•. woman witness in his court for what he considered was too lavish a display of silk-clad limbs. According to a Central News wire from Knoxville, Tenn., the witness, in the opinion of the judge, drew her skirt too high, and then crossed her legs within the view of the judge and jury. When she was reprimanded she tried to reply, but was silenced by the judge, and left the court weeping. The judge declared that no woman could come into his court and insult a man’s sense of modesty. “Short dresses,” he said, “are no doubt to blame in a large measure for the lack of modesty prevailing in these times.” JUST TO KILL TIME. A woman charged on remand at Old Street Police Court told Mr. Clarke Hall, the magistrate, she was a Roman Catholic, but had lately attended a Protestant Church. Mr. Clarke Hall: If you are a true Roman Catholic it is a sin to attend a heretical service. When you were at Holloway you did not tell the officials you were a Roman Catholic. Defendant: Oh, yes, I am a Roman Catholic, but why I called myself a Protestant was to pass the time away. (Laughter.) Mr. Clarke Hill, bound the woman over on condition that she remained with the Salvation Army for three months. INEVITABLY POSTPONED. The editor of an obscure newspaper in a remote part of South California found himself unable to insert his usual column of Births, Marriages, and Deaths. Thinking that some apology Aras needed for such an untoward circumstance he published the following in bold , black type—“We regret that, owing to pressure upon our space; several births, marriages, and deaths have been inevitably postponed.” DREW BRIDE IN LOTTERY. Disappointed with his prize in a matrimonial lottery, a Vienna chemist sought a divorce on the ground that, during the ceremony in the church, he did not utter the word “Yes.” He only took the bride to the altar because she threatened suicide unless he did so. The pastor who performede the ceremony, and also the witnesses, told the Court that they did not hear the bridegroom say “Yes,” but the former added, “He must, however, have murmured something, because if he had remained completely silent or said ‘No,’ when asked his consent, the ceremony would have been broken oft*. In any case the couple exchanged rings, joined hands, and received my blessing.” Divorce was refused by the Court on the grounds that the law does not demand utterance of the word “Yes,” and that the exchange of rings, etc., left no doubt that the assent was seriously intended. The bridegroom took the case to the Court of Appeal, who upheld the decision. SOME USEFUL HINTS. . Tissue paper is excellent for polishing glass. Ginger taken after meals will assist digestion. Kerosene will remove tar or dirt from the hands. When rolling pastry, roll in ipne direction , only. Pass flour for cakes through a sieve and warm before -using* Suefc chopped fine and /floured will keep -fresh for several weeks. Hard-boiled eggs will peel easily if dropped into cold water. Wash and dry currants and sultanas as soon as you buy them. Stand eggs in an upright position with the small end downwards. When curtain ring pins become rusty lx>il them in equal parts of vinegar and water. Rinse in cold water, and dry. •When making cakes, if a tablespoonful df vinegar is used instead of an egg, the same result will be achieved at less expense.

The dullest scissors can be sharpened by snipping gently at the neck of a glass bottle, as if you were trying to cut it off.

When making suet dumplings, prick them well before putting them in the pan. If this is done, they will not stick to the bottom. Cornflour added to the salt in the salt-cellar will prevent it from hardening. Half a teaspoonful to two tablespoonfuls of salt is sufficient. A mustard-plaster made with the white of an egg will not leave a blister. The white skin that lines the shell of an egg is - a useful application for a boil. If, when cleaning baby’s shoes with pipeclay, a little milk is used instead of Water, the white will not rub off on your clothes when you have to carry him. White marks on tables caused by hot dishes may be removed by the application of methylated spirits. Afterwards polish with a soft rag dipped in kerosene. To make neglected leather straps pliable again, soak them for an hour in warm soapy water. Hang them up to dry, and afterwards polish with brown boot polish. Patterned silks need washing in water that is only?just warm if they are to retain their colors. They should be ironed on the wrong side, as this brings up the design. Do not wash plates or cutlery that have been used for tinned or dried fish in hot water, as it fixes the smell and taste. Let them soak for a time in cold water, and the taste or odor will disappear. Turn colored garments inside out before hanging them out to dry, keep them in the shade if you can, and take them down as soon as they are dry. If you neglect these pre'eautions, the colors are likely to fade. If you want to prevent brass from tarnishing, apply a thin coat of lacquer, which can be obtained ready mixed at a paint shop. Or rub once a week with a piece of flannel moistened with vaseline or any light oil such as is used for sewing machines. To remove mildew from linen make a paste of one teaspoonful each of soft soap and powdered starch, two teaspoonfuls of table salt, and enough lemon-juice to mix. Spread the paste on the mildewed spots, and expose to the fresh air for a short time. Then wash the linen.