TRIALS AFTER ROMANCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20426, 30 November 1929, Page 2 (Supplement)

TRIALS AFTER ROMANCE.

GRETNA GREEN COUPLE. HUSBAND LOSES POSITION, WIFE'S INCOME REDUCED. After llieir recent whirlwind courtship, -romantic elopement, una wedding in the 'old blacksmith's shop at Gretna Green, a 17-year-old clerk and a 27-vear old widow discovered the course of married life anything hnt smooth The bridegroom, Mr. Erie Nurthcn, lived at New Harriet, Hertfordshire, and the bride, formerly Airs. Annie Hurst Bale, was the widow of Mr. Roger Hate, a Chester solicitor, who was gassed in his garage last December. Within five days of the marriage Mrs. Nurthen became estranged from her relatives, and suffered a reduction of her private income, while her husband was estranged from his parents, who did not learn of

the wedding until two days after the ceremony, and lost his employment. In addition, the couple had a lucky escape when their car was wrecked in a. motoring accident. When the bride was informed that it was understood that her husband's mother intended to contest the marriage 011 the ground that she had not had the necessary qualification of 21 days' residence in Scotland, she replied, "Of course 1 had. I have-much more than 21 days—years ago when 1 was playing in Scotland."

The bride, who was known on the stage

as M Bubbles Delany." before her . first marriage, stated in a subsequent interview, " Most people seem to imagine that I have taken a young boy away from tl)e_ care of his mother. .Actually Eric is a very determined young man with a mind decidedly his own.

" 1 have just returned from Chester, where the parents of my late husband live, and have had one of the most distressing experiences of mv life. They have always been so kind to rnc and since the death of my first husband I have lived at. their house. But they refused to receive me. Mr. Bate, my father-in-law, met inc at fhe station and made it quite clear that he did not wish to see me at his house again. " I spent most of the night on the station at Chester, and it was not until the

early hours of the morning that I went to my own house, Great Broughton, near Chester. As a result of the. happenings of the last, few days my income will be considerably reduced and until Eric gels another job we shall have to live very carefully."

Mrs. Nurthen, who is sliinly built and looks younger than 27, also declared: " The whole romance of the. tiling is being killed, or people are. trying to kill it." The bridegroom, who is about 6ft. in height, and appears to be much older than 17, on reporting at the City offices of the firm by whom lie was employed as a junior clerk was told that his services had been dispensed with. "1. was taken by surprise when they told me at the oflien that I was discharged," stated the bridegroom. " Before I went away on a few days' leave the manager of the works where 1 was employed said to me, ' You won't go and do anything silly ? You won't run Away and get married ?' One cannot very well tell one's friends that one intends to elope, so I said, ' No.' " r J lie young husband, in a previous interview, slated: "J. do want to correct, the impression that my marriage to Bettv was engineered by her'. That is not so. When we arrived at Gretna Green it was I who did most of tho talking and arranged tho details of the ceremony. It was truo love that brought us together."