LOVE IN A STUDIO.

NZ Truth, Issue 65, 15 September 1906, Page 6

LOVE IN A STUDIO.

MARTIN'S DRAUGHT OF MEAD.

Pollock Plucked a Peach and Pays the Piper.

The little love . affairs of Fanny Meads and Martin Pollock were investigated by .Magistrate Riddell at^-thi; S.M.s Court on Monday last,, and on Tuesday 'the Magistrate came to; the conclusion that Martin was thedaddy of a little, baby boy that first saw, the light m June last ; and that;, conchislon ': haying • ' be'eri arrived at Martin was ordered to pay- 7s ,- a week, for ,-• its maintenance, with, -ddctor,'s v^aiinrrsing fees,' 7 amountini^^viio, a tenner '-, ana; fegalj;costs.;.V ?^ cisiiii.'^id .;-,' throttgto-M^ 'fewjif or^ J |^^.^p|lce;^f t appeal;- "*.{.. :; :/; >': 1 (^;f-' V -^v:^/'^ '■ . ;v ; The story /liold- liy Fannys through Mr. Lyhch (of ; Messrs^ Skerre'tt and Wylie), who appeared -for her, was the same old one of fond passion and iss sad aftermath, accentuated by what the young legal gentleman described as Martin's

CALLOUS, DISREPUTABLE AND

COWARDLY . CONDUCT,

The young woman was of a .respectable family, without a blemish on her character. She followed the occupation of a waitress, and about June, 1905, she was introduced to the "villain" and for a month or two after that her life seemed bright, happy and fruitful of promise. Martin's brother William ran a photograp&ic studio -at Revans-street, Newtown. After the introduction Martin and Fanny seemed 'greatly attached to one another. Parties were formed and outings took place. Those were indeed happy and joyous days. Martin was engaged at the studio, and studios dp have a strange fascination for. females and this studio had a decided attraction for Fanny, who wandered m and put promiscuously at evening and other times. ; Soon/

LIKE EVE, FANNY FELL. She listened to the wiles of the serpent, buoyed up by that too frequently; made and seldom performed promise that if anything happened to her she would be seen through her trouble. About the end of August and early, m September she allowed Martin to satisfy the animal m him. Then she was forced to go to Patea. Then she learned the truth of Goldsmith's melancholy lines ; she learned too late that men betray. Two anxious letters she wrote to Martin, relying on his promise to see her through, and informing him of her sad condition/but Martin, the , pho-? tographef's assistant, was wary, and proved indifferent. Time- wore on: Fanny resided with her sister at Patea for some time, but left to take a situation; which she was obliged to leave to give birth to the breathing living remembrance of herlove for Martin, and m June last the child was born: She shortly afterwards came down to Wellington and saw Martin, who wanted to know what she was doing down here. She replied to him, "I thought you would know ; I suppose you know that you are the father of that child." Martin thereupon reckoned he would take it and adopt it, but she was not having any of that. She. cried and he tried to console her, but she was business bent and ' pave him 24 hours to consider what he would do as she would put the matter m the. hands of another if he. did not come to the scratch. This brought from Martin the threat that it would be the

WORST DAY'S WORK SHE EVER DID. Fanny reckoned she had done her very worst day'. 1 ? work when she yielded to Martin's blandishments. She denied, when Mr Wilford took" her m hand, that she had told a Miss Carr, one of her companions m the -happy days gone by, that she had had a child befo,re and that it had, died. Then. tU$ gtotft fl( a Iojffl&

lover, a tram-conductor named Valroy, was' resurrected, but sweet as she might have been on "Val" he had always conducted .himself as a gentleman towards her. It was subsequently mentioned that Valroy had gone to Sydney— in fact had cleared . out rather m ahurry. She had trotted out with Valroy nine or ten.months, but that dashing tram tro.ubador got the sack when Martin appeared ,'oh the horizon. She admitted having told Miss Carr, now Mrs Ward, that at Patea she had had a real good time with a bachelor there named Fairwether: The recolliectibn , of this pacific individual caused her .to' smile,: and being asked why, she rejoined that '. ;■' \ ■•■;., ■'' :..'■ ■ ' ;

.. HEWAS.^BIT^ILt-Y,' \>. and that she hid • oiiiy/ f dojed . with' him.; ■ ■/;' j V ,■•■'- '.•: v -'."'.t "•■ •• -r :•.■■'•'- .■■■,'■;' < '; ' . ■ .Annie\:^jen?rQgl:i;;'--'4':^ina r fcrie(i „w.oman,: , wtose -whare ad-jmhs? Foilock's studio, was -called' to .live'feyidence^ to- the Effect that in^^t^^anAtSeptemijer.

last, she saw Miss Meads, whom she was acquainted with, out at Pollock's place. Mrs Gemmell, as she said, was not a busy-body and was reluctantly drawn into. the case, but it struck her as being very funny one day when Martin introduced Miss Meads to her as his sister, and as she knew better she told him so, Then once again Martin pointed , with pr^de to a photo of Miss Meads, whom he described as his girl, and brother William, not to.be outdone, Indicated that of another young lady— ijhe then Miss Carr— as his lady-love.

When Miss Meads found that little satisfaction was to be obtained of Martin, she saw Mr Blair at Messrs Skerretti and Wylie's office, and a couple of lawyer's letters reached Martin, who came bowling m, full of denials and posing as an -injured innocent and describing Fanny as the merest of acquaintances. His /statements 1 to Mr Blair seemed so inconsistent that he was advised to that effect.:' "'«■'■.'. - ,

The defence was a total denial of Fanny's story. Martin said that he had only been out once with Fanny and that was at Day's Bay; but there were others ,■ on the scene. Fanny had- not visited the studio so frequently as she alleged, and he had never, no never, been guilty of IMPROPER CONDUCT WITH' HER.

Martin's brother William also gave evidence, which' was to the effect that Fanny was not a great attendant at the studio, while Mrs Cecilia Ward, the "Miss Carr that was, and who had introduced Martin to Fanny, gave evidence about Fanny expressing her willingness to have the case settled out' of Court if Martin would only pay the doctor's and nurse's bill ; that she was going to marry a man at patea, m November, who would adopt the child as his own.

Having heard all the evidence on Monday, Magistrate Riddell reserved his judgment till Tuesday, morning with the result stated.