WINE AND WOMEN.

NZ Truth, Issue 76, 1 December 1906, Page 4

WINE AND WOMEN.

WALTER DURKIN'S WILD TIME. : Giddy Auckland Girls Disgrace Their 1 PariftfS. : ; Pudding-head ColoniaNexperioncer Loses His Oofk

All last week Pullers' biograph threw on the sheet a s.et of [moving pictures entitled "Ephemeral Wealth." It. showed a dead-beat picking up the well-lined wallet of a swell, ami to i: a brief space that dead-beat mad^ things hum. Hq exgerJeAeetl th© race-course heart paJh pita.tdbß. He lingered lcwinßly and longingly m the arms of fair and fast females ; from their fair, jewelled hands he lapped champagne and flftally he finished dead j drunk m the gutter, to "be picked up and kicked Headlong iri a lock-up cell. With one or two exoaptibns that picture, of course a fake, might well be borrowed to illustrate the day-but that young Walter Durkin, a crook, from kustralifti had on October 18 last, oh the moiiey filched by him from a tya'nk^nbte bulging pocket-haok, the .pioperty of one .William SherwQttd Mail^y, a young Englishman 0? indep»n4©nt means out iri the "cawlinies-' for experiencej dontoherknow.

It was for filching £160 ; comprised of eight £i2O notes that Wally mon^ opojised. the Criminal. Court (lock on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning last, and truth .to, tell Wally'ii fame had preceded his appearane^ and consequently the dashing young | •buck attracted a lot of attention.' Wally is evidently one of those individuals who cannot stand cor.n. So;it and Ilat as Morley is, it is doubtful whether Wally is not a bigger flat. Mr Wilford, who defeiuled, and made use. of every poirit m iWaliy's favor, and, sad to relate, they were, riot many, no doubt W-(L a solid truth when addressiiig the jury he. averred that after all it was, only tlie different means employed m the spending as the boodle was bound to go fast and furious. Prom the Crown p.aint of vie^ : ; itj, was a perfect, simple,, plain ca^se ; one, Crown Prosecutor Myers aSsvU'e'd the jiiry, asnuttinp- of no defence.; From, a poverty-stricken bar bunimer Purlin effected a, metamorphasis m M hjours. On October 17, without .a feather to. fly with, ihirkin. cadged, a dfink from a bar-te.iider m the, Empx& Hoiel .|. assuring him- ihai'hewjt!? broke? On the" ih.Qrti.ine :pt Qctb'b^f $8 Wally |s: §till f^und buiijKjsng in-" ih§ Bmjpir^ baj. He scored twq drinks, having fallen m with some "frfendSi" and fearing that he might Ib£ asked to make' a fi^Qod fellow -of Himself, iie swpre liini^eJf bli.nrt lliat fee hj,d md. a stiver. The ''friends' • b?. had fallen in\yitih were the wealthy youns: EnKlishm^n, Morley, Q<&-> par P. Toby, an optician, and John Johnson,' a- saddler In the bar the ©ng^ish flat flashed a roll of notes. Me swore that m his pocket-book he Uftd JL2 .£SO notes, while m his i>ip ppclo^t- he had £i notes galore; The proposed purchase of a diamond ring lor £20 caused Morley to fla&n his roll. The owner of the rin^ was only jo^iiig, and the x £20 note w^nt back to the other 11 jiUthe ppckelr;b,oiok J which, MQrley carried iti his in.side pooket. Waiter must have seen those ivories and hwn^ pn like a leech. 84Uiftr4s. £i a game, was proposed t>£tweeTi the Eiiglishm?in who carried oyer £,3 ( Q(J on his person, a.n oj^en. Invit^iiQn as it were u to come and ?6 : fe me," ana, uninvited, Durkih . accompahied *&§ biUiardists to Wise's room m Wijlis^treet, and so. as ton^ake himself the more welcome arid a, more, ssociable companion proposed to mark. the game. • The . wealthy youns Englishman took 6|f his. coat and h\mg it hear the scaring, i.oard. Alter goiivs P< message far soir- he^v, Walter gat huhtrry, so he said, and left. When the cues were imt m?, Toby discovered that Morley 's pocky et-bbok was m the wronpr pocket. IV was m a side-pbcKct, and the wealthy youn«: ErigTishman for>ot his u haw"

and straight away announced that ho had been robbed. Eight of the. 13 £20 notes had cone. This was .indeed an experience the experience-seeking wealthy young Englishman had not bargained for. The same afternoon Walter had come into a fortune, so he told his lady friends, arid to a barmaid at the Masonic Hotel he confidently I whispered that he had won a Tattersall's sweep. The drink-cadger of the Previous day had been transfigured into. a bloated plutocrat. It was at the Masonic, that he, started m to smash £QQ notes. Wal.lv lived, m Percival-street and one of his fellow^ boarders, was Annie Maud Sayles, who, though married, is not particular/. She is a charminp. amiable voun' T person and had previously introduced Wa^ly to two of her inti-

mate female friends, Clara Har- ;. greaves and Margajet McNelH. It was rather a curious coincidence that at the momeht Annie and Wkiij walked into the Masonic, Gl^v a Margate should also be. thete, £q&tented with having a #ass of stout \ each. Flinging down a £20 flimsy, \ Durkiii m a lordly wa* called for "oham" and a We bottle of it tbd. This was duly dispensed and drank, and up went the quartette to the White Swan where another big bOY tie was ordered and another £20 hote was smashed. To the Imperial they next repaired and another big hottle was stamped and another £20 note changed hands. ll li was a ne-aoheri-nq of a. drunk. M The ladj6s wefre fairly looted "With fizz. Wha* they - tJonlfln't drinlc tliev c>tri3d m their, axms; and Waiter ,■ dear Walter Raifl for it all. er^wii . Pi'bsegittor Myefs wanted to make sure on %Ua poiht, aM, so questioned ttie irflor- ■ ■kbte” Aainie, and she wit*'6l"gli liiln ; with hef ansWe-i-, "you wduMli't &. pect the ladies to paj> for it." Crtxt^n PJPdsecutor Myets said he did ! not expect they would, tfor his on- f told Wealth Burkin had assured the ladies, that he had tome into a &tf thousandst &nd tvt«o .of the . last's ' held that he "onlY said it m a; jpkc " arid as they had n#t made, that remark m the Police Court, the, 1 Gi-awn Prosequtor elicited ..lrani them the fact, feat; they had ob the pre-^ - vious day. hbri^ed AVaHfHT Witli a visit ai ihe saol. Prior to tlte "troijjble.'".as-pn« at the ladifes fiallejft it> Clara aAd Marcratet li-aft ori^y known him a., couple of days, aftrt^tlfe fact of their visit to the p^ioi dre;W a sufiirised yeititirk from the Chief Justice. ' . ■'; ■■■ ; •. • ,r ' ■ Well laden with? Win& the paAy broke dp somewhere Or other, where they all pot to was not made very clear. It had been a glorious day for them all ; but it had an inglorious ©ndittg for Wajtfcf > Late^ that night the 'tecs cot on" his track and located h.iiii §,t h-is 'Uqarilin'SrtodUse, and a third explanation lor the money m < h(s. :possession, , amoUntihp: to nearly £70, . r Was fojtlicbmi'n* to Detecjbive Cassells. . this time -Walter averred that; he had wqr.k'&d for it, , and to rtxe cpljor: 16 his r -stbtv'iiia.id that the previous hisht .her had caisbed a £10 fiote at the fobyal. A barman from this hotel, contradicted this story. Walter ; toid a ; lon^ rigjnarole, but only : £ot 'deeper m the riiire. Further-., more, M sfemed to have .l>een veryj eai6lesg Vrith bis raoiiev. as jv £20 7 '^lote vi^^ Vj>ic%d: "«jv m; the bftc.J-:7'''n r di 0f the./Tllaoe where he lived.' ''s'wi' this' nb.te,".-ih" c Wealthy ydtihg Englishman j . \hm:^i' ■■■'."* -#i

saiQ, wais very. Miit-h like biife lie had i onee owfled. Walter was duly locked up an<d oh Wednesday last he faced I .Judge arid jury right through wearing kn impiwieat look, Particularly wheiv his gay female friends, who bad, wh«n trouble, h>ome*J, oh the horizon, 1 cleared \ oft to Auckland, 'but wero yankM back on sum'fiaohses, stepped oil %q the witness stand to tell ot that ray afternoon. - , Mv Wilfbrd. had not much defence to set up,, bUt he • tluHlftht that it • 'was not fox the accused to shovo i W'R^t& he £§t "Htis money front but for the Cro.w\ to.- prove thit the h\6U&v was the Eujrlander's, and i.his, h.e v contended, the Crown had failed •to! prove. '■■ ' ■;'l\k ' s(umoiing the case, up, to thejmr the Cliit.t Justice did n0.% pive J)urkiu the faiafceat hope of bavins the dock a : {Tee. roa,k. .. TheiC; could no^^bo any doubt, the yvdqb jmpress-. e^, to the ty?e^ve srood men aii<l true, that Moxiev had. had a considerable sum of money on him, and .tha fact that it was m £20 notes, taVe-n to-, aetb.er witii-: the fact that Durkin bad kept Qii cashinsr! .£2O notes m = the various hotels was very suggest -iv*. The jury, .after; a .very short retii^nient, iounii Durkin ;nid he was remanded for sentence till Friday; . ,'- : When brought tip for sentence yesterday Walter had a woe-begone appearance, but when asketl -wfethfr ha had anything to say against, sentence, ' he brightened up considerably, and said that he had befn three years m the and had worked hard and honestly during thos.e years. He instanced that- he had been engaged with one firm, as collector and . during the twe4ve months he had been working he was never once sjh.ort. a penny. He said m addition that he had never been convicted of crime. The poliqe report before Hi* Honor ■showed' that Durkin, though never convicted, Was a reputed house-break-er- and thief, and had been tried .several times. • . Durkin : Only once, and i was fou/.d not, guilty. His Honor : The .Melbourne polio} 'Veuortf vpu as being a bad character. ; Diivkin : I Was clwged \viik lay^ny and acquitted. ; Ills HQnQr;^ui"tUcir.wre t you -hnvo I been the a s &o. ci at.e .oC thieves ptuj juomtitutek and other b«d cl\avacic}:s.. Durkin:'.. J. -never lived wUh. a. uouiau of bad repute m ray. life. ! His Honor : I shall deal len.ienUy with you, this- being yourrftrstonen<». You, are sentenced to 13 woßtH's' tin-, nrisonment.