ROMANCE AND SAWDUST

NZ Truth, Issue 1062, 1 April 1926, Page 7

ROMANCE AND SAWDUST

He Tamed Wild Animals, But Couldn't Tame His Wife! DORIS RtPLNTS_ AT LLISURL (From "Truth's" South Auckland Representative.) She had met him only twice before he led her to the altar. Now the "boneless wonder" is wondering what induced her to marry m such haste. '

A PPARENTL.Y all is not gaiety m the *»• showman's tent when the cymbals have ceased to clang-, the crowd has departed and the weary artists have stripped themselves of their forced smiles and shoddy tinsel. It is then that they . have to turn their attention to their domestic affairs, and these are not always of that sweet, harmonious nature which one would be led to believe from the ' laughter and jest when the crowd is present. The clown behind his mask of paint is often the saddest man at heart,. and the girl who is the picture of merriment m her frills and powder frequently hides behind it all a tragic domestic past — or present. Most New Zealanders are* familiar with that itinerant family who display certain physical ability to twist themselves into all sorts of shapes under the title of "The Boneless Wonders." Godfrey is the family name and the show is solely a family affair— or it was, at any rate, until Doris, one of the daughters, took a fancy to Frederick John Smith. Smith, who is a smart, well-groomed young man, had previously been.attached to some other kind of show, but only as a supernumery. He had never given a turn until he met Doris. He then apparently turned the young lady's head and seized the opportunity of becoming a member of a well-established institution. This was about the middle of last year, at Hawera, since when the young couple have had ample time to realise that marriage is not one of those conditions to be regarded lightly, or .to be entered into without due consideration of the perils that lay ahead. SMITH WENT BACK The nomad life had really very little attraction for Frederick, and, as he could "star" at nothing but beating the drum and directing the crowds into the tent, he was not a very welcome addition to the troupe. Consequently, after hours, the show tent began to resemble a miniature volcano with the constant marital eruptions, and finally Frederick decided to leave Doris and the other wonders to tour on their own. According to the hubby — when Doris applied m the Hamilton Magistrate's Court last week for a separation order and maintenance on the grounds of her husband's persistent cruelty — his wife, soon after his departure, began to feel the need for his society and, when the show was at Opotiki, she sent him an "5.0.5." to return. The call was answered and Frederick went back. Things continued well for a few days, but soon they drifted back to the old bickering stage again, and the old unwelcome feeling soon exhibited itself m the family circle, where Fred, it was stated was practically regarded as an interloper or a parasite. After many miles of the East Coast had been travelled he was finally given the "frosty Ijmb" by Doris and the other members of . the family. : ,

He told the Magistrate that he had done all h& could to try and preserve harmony beneath/ the canvas, but the plain. fact was that because he could not do a "turn" he was riot welcome. Doris, however, had a somewhat different tale to tell. Since she took Frederick to her bosom, she said, things had not gone well at all. He was the disturbing element m an otherwise harmonious party, and he warmed things up considerably at time's, even to the extent of "putting m the boot." As the result of one of these little connubial differences she was compelled on one occasion to spend a week m hospital. There were distressing scenes at Masterton, Invercargill, and Dunedin, at which it was declared by several witnesses that Doris was very .badly handled by her spouse. At Dunedin he was stated to have pointed a loaded gun at her and threatened to "do for" both of them. ' . The climax was reached at Ngaruawahia, a few days before the big annual regatta, where natives from all over the island assemble for a picnic on water melons and crayfish. On this occasion the large canvas town was rudely disturbed by the agonized screams of a woman for help, which issued from the "boneless wonder" tent. Various witnesses of the subsequent happenings told the Magistrate that "Frederick the gentle" had blackened one of Doris' optics and had once again introduced to various parts of her anatomy the blocked toe of his right boot. "A GENTLE PUSH" During the recital of .her wrongs and her story of what a wicked mau her husband was, Doris intimated that Frederick did not always come to light with sufficient emolument to keep the pot boiling, and her father had, m consequence, to come to the rescue. Smith discounted his wife's story, which he stated, was grossly exaggerated, and he told the Court that he was the person to be commiserated with. His wife, he said, had an almost ungovernable temper and "flew off the handle" without the slightest provocation. Smith, before he first set eyes on his dear one, was an attendant at a circus, his particular job at that time being the care of the wild beasts of the jungle, but if his story' to the Court is to bo believed the anger of those caged beasts was not to be compared with the petulance of Doris when once she let her fury loose. He could stand up to the jungle beasts, but before Doris he had to fly for his life. The Magistrate said it was a case of "marry, m haste, repent at leisure."' He rejected the defendant's story as Hot m accordance with facts, and-grant-ed the wife a separation, with maintenance at 30/- a week.