DIRTY DOINGS IN DIVORCE.

NZ Truth, Issue 132, 28 December 1907, Page 5

DIRTY DOINGS IN DIVORCE.

— ♦■ ■ A STENCHFUL SASSIETY SUIT IN SMELLBOURNE. The Pofnic Pranks of the Elite/ WALLACE v. WALLACE AND STRONG.

Melbourne; within the past seek or two, has enjoyed the exquisite delight of a particularly blue divorce suit, full details of whioh cannot be permitted -to appear m a pious family pap*er Jffike the. 'W.Z. Truth." The principals are well-known sassiety folk, whilst the names of a number of prominent men and women have been incidentally introduced during the recital of the more or less nauseating details. It was surprising hem a rehearsal of ' SASSIETY'S VORNIC DOINGS attracts and interests the general public, more especially women, who, daily throng the court and strain their ears to. catch every prurient; scrap which is "*iven m evidence. , Although the court; does not sit until half-past ' ten 6'clocik m the moa>mhg> crowds aire' assembled near the' main entrance a couple of hours before that time. '■ There are women, with babies -m their, arms,, whilst] young Wctoen and • girls' m their teens form a; conspicuous feature of the eager gatherings. They comprise: nearly half the , "•.total-" number 6£ prurient would-"))©, listeners. rush the seats of <; the front balcony; row- quite fcrazen; and unashamed. A. few of the- sassiety women who manage ; to obtain sil/bing . accommodation^ m the body^of the /court are, for the most' part,- heavily veiled, m order- either to, be honTrecognisa'ble or to- hide i their blushes, if, they haye not forgotten that outward and vis-, : ible sign of J feminine, modesty. Some women briliig , lunchepn baskets for a.day Qut, whilst others, unable to -gain admittandef- stand for hours gazing through the glass .doors m the ' ; hope that at- lunch .time they may be successful -.in. passing {he barrier. Both Mr Oharl(?s : Dunkley Wallace and Mrs Ruby B-ma Waluce are -'of -the metropolis of . Blelhourne. , The gentleman • was. /born, at Glenhuntlvfoad,: East St. 'Kilday wMre old 'JatamyWalla'ce' Hvod - for a mimber of 'years, and where, /late m life, lie took' unto himself a second wife a NIEC^r OF . THE HON.-G-: H, REID V .The respondent .-'was, before marriage A Miss Steel,' and '■ iras born at Oliver House, North M&Lhburne. i '■ They were married. in the Old Country m March 1901,, namely/ at St. Catherine's Church . of England., Liverpool^ when Miv Wallace iiad;'came '' into' a' bifij share of bis alid pa's wealth, which, practically, constituted a ' fort.une. The iiap'py bridegroom and his beautiful ' young 'brics,. then between 19 • and/ 20 years ol age, spent ■ theit honeymoon m England, and returned to the/ land of .their .birth. The usual .. happy connubial result followed, wi*h moid tha|i>'ordinary rapidity. A balby app&areii ! B on the scene m December, i ibetween- nine and ten months after marriage:' ., Aitfer the consummafcioh of this interesiinK the domestic 'bliss was spoiled somewhat by, Mrs Wallace , : determining to prevent a recurrence of motherhood , According to Mr. G-avan Duffy, K'C., l&ading counsel, Mrs Wallace toQk drastic measures to avoid having any^ further,;, children, nqtwithstanding tKat- ,, her hflsband, having ample means,:; desirea* them. Her, hatred of maternity was a GREAT GRIEF TO HIM. Trouble ensued, which, was accentuated, when Mrs WajMee . 'became ; preg-!-nant, and adopted means to get rid, of the trouble. 'She was anxious to ! pursue a lile. of -ease and pleasure. In 1902 she iiiduted'l-.er husband to sell Mk yaoM. :the, .'SaYonara" and build a larger vessel/ he, did, and called •it ' the." "Bbna" ' (his wife's Christian name): : When the new yaoht Was foemg fouilt> Mrs Wallace went, across, to kew 1 Zealand, taking >noirse "child with her. She had never treated hfer'bab^.ih a motherly way. :It was left;: from its birth, to , the ; care of arhufse; which i was really its ' ' fositer ' m'pther; .In- February,. 1903, 'she returned ffGmNew Zealand, .and i?e9ided >in;,;h4i> husband's house. She borought a Miss -Arenas, a lady friend, 'With her. , ■■■- Mr was '.glad* to see his< wife .hack. He bad; previously her £250 FOR, DRESS, ALLOW ANCJE, and he increased it to' £300. ' Notwithstanding -his endeavors to please r hep he could no.'t .help noticing a lessening of 'affectidn and growing coldr ness oh her 'part since her return. •Although they 'continued to live on [good terms, he felt that his wife's, •love was ! ,:ibeihg alienated from him. This gave rise to suspicions, which were intensified when he fotfnd a let- i tec to- his .wife -from a young man! Who signed Mmself Cecil Hawkins, of Christchur,bh, New 'Zealand. The letrter said s-ameihihg to this effect :— '<! very, nearly ,broke • .down • when saying good-bye: to you. Thank you for the silver pigarette case. Dd youi think, Grey : or the .-girls.', saw us on the couch when they came into the hotel.' Did the , girls say anything , about ft ? Grey never said anything about it' to me." ' Mr Wallace took this letter to his wife m -her bedroom, threw- it on the bed, and tol<i her to destroy, it. In September, 1903, they -went to Syd-. ney, and at the New : Year the English cricketers were there. . Among them Was a professional named Leonard Braund, who so 'fascinated Mrs Wallace that she TyENT OFF HER HEAD m her pursuit of him. When the cricketers went ' to Melbourne she was most anxious to. go too, but Wallace would not let her. She said she wanted to see her child. Subsequently he went tp Tasmania m his. ~acht, and she returned to " Melbourne.' Then trcsh trouble arose concerning Braund. Wallace found a letter m his wife's drawer at -'their Melbourne residence. If had been torn into pieces but put together read :— "*.■''..■:'■■ 11/2/04. My Darlinß Old Lcn.-Well, dear, »ucss you are just avrivin". at the \ust-ralia. I womlor if you haye 1 thought of your old Ki'li' once sinrc yp.siov'^y. T hope so. Leii. ■->' o ii- Ji.;,-i.:,,... V s l'-'p '•'■- --f*nctl . ,>--. •■ . i .-• "i h ■ ■•' t. T'-- :'

was a big' row. and don't be surprised if you get ward at any time that I leave by the "Sonoma" on 22nd of this month, for- New York. Poor little nufse cried a|l' night. I was so sorry for her, Wallace taxed his wife with writing this love letter, and- she told' him he was a mean thing. He then examined .her blotting pad, and, reading bir the aid of a mirror, he found the following ■ m his wife's handwriting,: , ) I love you . . * anyone would, and I don't .care who knows it. .... 11/2/04. , . . Letter tomorrow, and I hope it comes. Good-bye, sweetheart. Good luck, and be good. , Always ..your loving' Kitty; , ,'. ■ •• Matters were coming to a very bad pass now. They were living at the Esplanade Hotel, St. Kilda, at this time. Mrs Wallace took a fancy to "Lanark,"" Mr Wilson's house > m Queetfs-road, South Melbourne, and her husband said if she would- be a GOOD GIRL IN THE FUTURE, act as a faithful wife and a motherto his boy, he would buy the plaice for her. , She . promised to give*', up all her evil habits, 1 and lie purchased -th6o^la' i ce:' v ' ; T^'ey'- r^etit^Hb'--ii?e' i! -ihere m May', 1905; ,For a time her con- 1 duct; was good, hjit gradually she resumed her old habits,, dining with men at cafes and driving home at all hours m hansoms. Mrs Wallace ail this while was persevering m her aversion to motherhood. Whenever she became pregnant she ruthlessly^ got rid of the trouble, even at the risk of killing ' herself. In consequence of this comhidt- on her part, Mr Wallace determined to have NO SEXUAL INTERCOURSE WITH HER. The sexual connection ceased about the middle of 1905, although they occupied the same house, and, for' a time, the same bed. In 19(ttl there were increased troubles. Mrs Wallace, was getting worse m her habits. She was at theatres, races, late suppers, and so forth,- constantly, and indulged, m cigarette-smokinir. In the morning she, would sleep oft, the effects,; rising-past mid-day so as to tie pre-: pared m the evening for another round -of? gaiety; ; While i.'tbis was going on a reconciliation took place between Mrs Wallace and a sister, who was .married to a Mr Vivian Parker. Mrs Parker, who lived at a house called "Novar," St. Kil-da, exercised an evil influence over .the respondent. Mrs Wallace joined the society at "Novar." which included Dr. Bob Strong, the co-respondent, and a most peculiar society it ' was. When, a woman delighted m storing up lascivious objects or relating lascivious things, . it could be assumed that she was impure m mind, and o-nly need-e-d occasion to cause scandalous acts of impurity.. Mr Wallace commenced to have grave doubts .m view of this vitiated atmosphere into which his wife continually plunged, and he examined the documents m her desk. A woman who dabbles m lewdness must leave A TRACE OF HER GUILT, as Mrs Wallace did. Her husband found a number of French post cards. TJbe first represented a woman sitting m a railway caTriage . . .... .. and a man emhraoih'g her. While thus engaged, the guard calls out the name of a station, a French name, meaning . .• . ,-. (Counsels iurther description of the card is unprintable.) This post-card was addressed by Mrs Wallace to her New Zealand lady friend, Miss Arenas, with the words i written--" What do you think of this lady m the" train ? Something like you, old girl, when you -get to Paris." Then there was another ,-post-card. A woman was lying m a suggestiv-e attitude on a couch with a man bending; over her. If the card was held.:iip to : a strong light a woman, is seen m a- nude; state (description unprintable). Written on the card were the wo'rdg, "Taken out oU ..Mrs Wallace's dressing habit." T,here. were other pictures of a disgusting nature, with libidinous jokes " below. . jOne type-written sheet related how a young man purchased a pair of gloves for a young lady, Whilst his sister purchased afc. article of female underclothing, and m mistake the un-. derclothyg was sent to the lady instead of the gloves. The words of the accompanying letter, when applied .to* the jroderclo-thin^ instead of the gloves were disgustingly obscene 1 .. Hrs Wallace sent/ a most indecent ipostcard to-a ydung girl friend m New Zealand, and, according 'to counsel, the woman had determined to live for pleasure only, tind had abandoned all decency of mind! Just at ' this period of her' life she was thrown into the society of Dr. Strong, who "was a member. 'of that peculiar coterie at • "Novai\" where drinking, - smoking, and open adultery were practised. In November, 1906, the petitioner was going away to Mornington with his little boy.- Respondent declined to accompany them. ' She said she was indisposed. He said lie would send for Drs. Maudsley ot Grant. She re-< plied that Dr. Strong was coming, ] and he replied ,. I'I # won't have Dr. Strong m my house.* If you insist on ' sending for him, I will wait here and break' his back." The doctor was warned accordingly on the telephone, and did not come. Now, what was this Dr. .Strong doing to engender. Wallace's' djslike? He was meeting Mrs Wallace, and under such circum-: stances as to declare improper relations. Oft one occasion, for iastance, she left her home at St; Kilda at nine o'clock at night, when. Dr. Strong was waiting to meet her at 'the end of the tram.' They walked around the University grounds, and. by way of North Carlton, returned to the city. Subsequently it was ascertained she was VISITING DR. STRONG AT HIS . rooms. ; He had formerly lived m his rooms, ?nd had kept a housekeeper there. In .'"hese circum starves, lie could not Inve ininvo'cr in^tv-,—'vt; C n t his ti v 0 he met rc«i)nndent out-

side, where society would not set them, or at Mrs Parker's place, amongst the little coterie.; of familiars. At the end of May, Djr. Strong ceased to reside at Collins-street, and dismissed the. housekeeper. There was thus no one living at his surgery, and he had the house to himself, m the afternoon and evening, when. Mrs Wallace used to\call upon him. The way_they, used to close up for the night was suspicious. He tyouia put Ihp' lights out, and let her out tire hack way m Little Collinsstreet. He Would then come out of the front door. .and meet her. They would take a circuitous route, f round Exhibition-street, . Lonsdaleotreet, and Elizabeth-street, to an oystCr saloon. They were never seen m the act of adultery, hut, it could, be. proved that they were .TOGETHER IN DARK ROOMS, aid if- they were an ordinary mail and woman, having gone so far,- adultery would assuredly result. In the course of his' evidence, Wallace said that at Easter his wife was supposed to. so to Healesville to friends, tout he had * discovered photographs proving- she was at Lakes Entrance with certain men. There were portraits of her m the company of men named Rogers and Reitcher, a German. His wife was taken smoking a cigarette. Once he remarked that she was getting into debt. . "If Ido owe anything," she said to him, "you would not he asked to pay," "WHO IS GOING TO PAY, THEN?" asked Wallace. "There are plenty of men to pay my debts," she. replied ; "and Biily Lawson told me that if ever I quarrelled with you to come to him, and he- would look after me:" ;. One of. the letters, put, m was written by Captain -Dudley Parsons, of the Omrah,in ; which boat Ruby Bona travelled to England to marry Wallace. It concluded "with lots of love, . old girl,; ;y our old chum, Dudley." After \ the marriage, Wallace took his wife to' a doctor to see if she could safely, experience, a trip to' Canada. The medical man told him she was three months gone, and Wallace replied, "That is impossible;, we have only been married six weeks." The child was born." on December 3,, but it was ' hot '* expected ■till the 20th. - , ;