A TOO TRUSTING WOMAN.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11957, 2 February 1901, Page 12

A TOO TRUSTING WOMAN.

ROMANCE OF THE SEA,

(Argus, January 19.)

A story; of alleged heartless deception of a

| lady visitor from England by a man,who has | since left Australia possesses tho elements of S a genuine romance of the sea.

Mrs Payne, the unfortunate victim, be-

ame well acquainted with several of her feldw passongera' by the Aberdeen. Her story, irhicli slie told several of them on the voyage ictweon Sydney and Melbourne, has won her t great deal of sympathy. It' appears that the lady, who is a widow, vas living in a London suburb a few months igo, When she met the man who is now the abject of a search by the Victorian police. Mrs Payne was in a very comfortable position, md on becoming friendly with the " wanted " innn, she revealed her financial position to hiin. They became engaged to be married, and resolved to commence life together inAustralia. Mrs Payne states that she converted as much of her property as poesiblo into cash, and handed it over to him to remit to Sydney, where they proposed making tlicir home and establishing themselves in a business. They then .booked passages by the Abor- . deen, travelling as Mr and Mre Payne, and. were accompanied by two young persons, ono tho nepliow of " Mr Payne," and the other the daughter of Mrs Payne. The young people ]. appeared to have become as devoted to each j other during the voyage to the Capo as their

I elders avowedly were, to the apparent an- : noyance of "Mr Payne," who publicly • | threatened to " kick " the young man off the | boat v when they reached the Cape. It is } (staled tlmt the ill-feeling was only apnarent, | however, and that the two men were fre--8 quently to bo seen in each other's company, i Any threat of oxpulsion was nullified by the announcement which was made by the yonng man that they had been married before they left London. They left the steamer at the I Cape, and the elder couplo continued the journey lo Australia. ] Mr Payne's temperament is said to have i been of the most awful order. Ho spent his | money freely .at the refreshment bar, "shouted" all'lmnds, including a number of returnod Australian soldiers, to unlimited whiskies, and on one occasion cettlcd a bill for £13, which represented a champagne supper to.some chosen companions. He exhibited a preference for the society of the steerage passengers, and was on that account put down by some of his saloon shipmates as a valet, | who. had been suddenly raised to prosperity. I His luggage was all kept packed separately i from that of Mrs Payne, presumably in order | to bo available for a hurried departure, if !! necessary. . j On the .arrival of the Aberdeen in Melbourne on the 27th December the couple spent a day in town seeing the sights. Ignorant of the man's intention, Mrs Payne rejoined tho steamer, and did not discover for some j hours after it had sailed that the man was not on board; and had, moreover, removed his | luggage. Her manifest distress attracted the ] sympathy of her fellow passengers, who started | a subscription on her behalf. Arrivcd in SydI ney, she raised a little money by disposing § of some of her effects, but discovered, to her S disgust, that a sewing machine, which was | among her belongings, had been deliberately ] smashed up and rendered useless. The whereabouts of the missing man is a matter of conjecture. It has been supposed that he sailed, for London by the Sophocles a few days afterwards, and, acting on that assumption, the Attorney-general authorised tho issue of a notification to the police at the Cape, who may intercept his hoped return. Mrs Payne is still in communication with the Detectivo'departments of Sydney and Melbourne, and everything is being done by sym-. pathetic to atone for. the wrong which she has suffered at the hands of an unprincipled Ecou'pdrel. The Argus of the 24th January says.—A cable message was received from the Natal police by the Commissioner of Police yesterday notifying him of the arrest of George Henry Frostic, for whose apprehension two warrants were issued on charges of stealing money and jewellery,- the property of Mrs Sarah Payne. He was an ironmonger, carrying on business at Erith, in Kent, and Mrs Payne, who is a widow with two children, was living on her means at Plmnstead, five miles from the township. Mrs Payne states that he sold his business, and agreed to remit the proceeds, £l£oo, together with £1900 of her money, to Sydney, where they intended residing and starting a new business. They came to Melbourne by the steamer Aberdeen, arriving here on December 29, Mrs Payne being acompanied by her two children. On arrival in Sydney Mrs Payne discovered that £20 worth of jewellery had been stolen from her boxes, and that Frostic had destroyed, as far as possible, the belongings which remained to her. She put the matter in the hands of the police, and gave a detailed description, which was sufficiently good to enable the Natal police to arrest him nt Durban, where he was found to have in his possession £470 in cash and a quantity of jewellery. He will be detained pending the arrival of papers for his extradition to Victoria. The warrants issued charge him with the theft of £1900 and of £20 worth of jewellery,. the property of Mrs Payi\e.