A NEW ZEALAND DRAMA.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume X, Issue 1838, 26 January 1888, Page 2

A NEW ZEALAND DRAMA.

[FROM AN ELTHAM COHEESPONDENT.I

Last May a woman named Mary Eliza* beth Kent, who had been a resident of Timaru for more than twenty years, suddenly left her home, and no knowledge of her whereabouts could be obtained. She was a very eccentric person, and, to a certain extent, a religious maniac; carrying her fanaticism to such an extent that she was soon estranged from most of her friends and many of her relatives, including her husband. Some time about last Christmas, her husband, who resides in Ngaire, had a strange dream that she bad returned to him and made a great fuss of him, and behaved as if nothing had happened in the way of estrangement. The dream was particularly realistic, but, being a hard-hearted individual and not having any faith in visions of the night, he took no further notice of the circumstance. He, however, became strongly impressed with the desire to have a son of his up to live with him, as he is getting up in years and has not good health, and to do this preferred going to invite him to writing the invitation. He had heard nothing of the disappearance of his wife, and, when told of it on reaching Chris tchurcb, be was very much surprised and went at once to the police office and interviewed Inspector Pender, who gave him what information he could. Starting next day for Timaru, he arrived late in the evening, and went next morning to the police station and thence to the Timaru Mail office, wishing to see the files, which contained several paragraphs in allusion to the missing woman. The clerk asked him what he wanted to see about, and, on being told, banded him a piece of "copy" which was to appear that evening with the following clipping from the Melbourne Catholic Gazette, stating it had ]ust come by that mail : — " It was reported to the St. Hilda police on Thursday afternoon by the residents of Nightingale-street, Balaclava, that an old woman named Mary Elizabeth Kent, 60 years of age (should be 68), a resident of that street, bad not been seen by anyone for several weeks. On removing the blinds of one of the windows of the house which she bad ocoupied, Senior Constable McEvoy saw the dead body of tbo woman in a kneeling position by the side of a stretcher, the only furniture in the house. Her hands, which clasped a rosary, as if she had been in the act of prayer, were folded, and the body partially undressed. The body was much decomposed, death having apparently taken place about 12 days ago. No food was found in the house, nor were there any signs of struggling. The deceased took the house in July last from Mr. Kelly, of High-street, under the name of Mary Hammon, and had rent paid up to 28th November. When the collector called later on he got no reply to his repeated knocks. In a portmanteau were papers showing that her maiden name was Mary Hammon; that she was married to William Kent at Brighton, England, on the 12th February 1863, and obtained a protection order in February, 1878, at Timaru, New Zealand. A purse containing 12s Id, and a will bequeathing her property to H. E. Kent, ot Timaru, |sh« had promised to share the plunder with this step-son when she got the protection order] with a small annuity to the Eoman Catholic Bishop of that diocese, were also found in her possession. An inquest will be held." The strange part of the affair is that Mr. Kent should have arrived at every place he went to just at the nick of time, as if some invisible guide had directed bim throughout. Among other things he was told while south chat his youngest son, of his first wife's family, whom he went to see, had just gone to get married, and he was only just in time to see him going into church, much to the surprise of the bride* groom. '

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