PENITENT MAGDALEN.

NZ Truth, Issue 74, 17 November 1906, Page 6

PENITENT MAGDALEN.

Foul-mouthed Virago YaggedV

One of the worst characters m the octiony that a policeman has to, fouti,4oesn't care to, handle is Mary Mo-' Kegney, one of the notorious McKegaey sisters, who spend* the greater jpart of their time m gaol, purely for riotous conduct when overloaded with 3tagger-juice. Mary has also achieved the unenviable distinction of being the foulest mouthed woman m New Zealand ; no man or woman can approach . her m that particular line. She came out of Lyttelton aslyum for crooks t'other morning, and before the, afternoon was far advanced she was pretty full up. The lady was m Kelleher's Grosvenor Hotel, and started to play ■up old Harry with her tongue when lequested to, leave. Her conduct was disorderly, and her language sufcerb. To Constable Baird was given the opportunity of taking charge of this noxious weed of society, and Seirgt. Burroughs took a haM and the ithree cabbed it to the police station, which is some distance away. During the whole of the drive Mary emitted the most awful, the most vile, the most obscene observations that the lowest and most disreputable human atom could think of, and all at the top. of her voice. The language, said the sergeant, was positively the worst he had ever heard m his natural, and "could be

HEARD ALL' OVER THE TOWN." In vain they tried to stop her, and the sergeant had frequently to place his hand over the woman's mouth m oijder to squelch the flow. Everybody turned m the streets, men, women and <*ildren, attracted by the prisoner's filthy remarks, which she kept up even m. the police station. McKegney vehemently denied m. Court that she had conducted herself m such an outrageous manner, and when the police were giving , evidence she became hysterical, as ! she always does, and cried, and interrupted' the witnesses, and the magistrate, every other secpn-d, no demand for quietness having the slightest effect upon her. "I never, did," she frequently interpolated m a weepful' outburst, at least a dozen times, and then she asked for mercy. She had only come out of gaol m the mdmintr ; the police had a dead set against her and wanted her m again. "So much imprisonment has fairly broken me down," she moaned 1 ,

"AND DON'T SENT ME TO GAOL, I'll go to a Home ; I'll stop there a year, I'll work; I will pick myself up ; Mr Smail will get me there " fdi this m fitful interjections while theevidence was being heard. "I have wasted my life," .she continued, "I'll work m a Home; I will, so help me Ood ; have mercy on me this time, I don't <want to end up m an asylum." ".[ 'have heard all this before," remained magistrate Bishop when he Could get a word m. Then the hyrteri.eal woman broke out again with moife promises of repentence, and Mr UttMil At last got her quiet. Then

the S.M. said he had no desire to send her to gaol, but as the Samaritan Home was willing to take her he would do this : impose a sentence of 12 months' imprisonment, to be sus perided if she remained m the Home for that period. Pious Mary, now quite subdued, seemed thankful, and left the dock with the air of a woman who has had a great weight lifted off her mind after having left all her sins scattered about promiscuously on the top of the penitent form.