RUINED ROMANCE.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 12512, 21 July 1911, Page 2

RUINED ROMANCE.

slfiißol)fe^,- June 15. A romantic story ojf ■• a widow with farms and ,a inalriijionially'inglined agriculturist "of TyldenV; was before the City Court to-dAy^>^«i,*ilsabe}iiK Goodson", an amply-^poptipnfiidikdvlof about 40 .summers; >vas dharge^l mth liayirig imposed on ipUrican!,' jQje^'l^j w^th. indent to defraud hij^^f /ii':'Js,rge.'fe\int : Bf- ; . money. Clerk, ,a farme^\'&f^yMwi(i ■read an advertisement which _'stare<p that^a lady, possessing means arid property, 'desired to meet a middle-aged geijtlfeman, with a view to matrimony." He~ wrote 'to the address given, and received a. reply that the lady Had £700 and property, and that her future husband would be required to ha.ye at lefafit,£2Co. The scene of the romance was' next transferred to Melbourne, where Clerk met the accused. Renewed confidence' m the lady was established by her production, of deposit receipts on New Zealand banks for, sums totalling £770, The desirability, of. the match was still more impressed tipon witness when accused told him that she owned 2000 acres of land ki New Zealand. He asked her to marry* him the same evening. ; . (Laughter.) Oil the following day ' accused told him of a "solemn promise" she had made to her. husband shortly b.efore Ke'breatlied ' his last. At her husband's death she had vowed that if ever she, married again v she would insist upon 1 Her Second choice de positing £100 ( ,as a g" a : r &nte.e of his good faith. Witness listened sympathetically, but had to admit that he did' not have £100. Accused, however, was magnanimous, and uppn finding tje, .possessed ' 0n1y. ,£30 tojid Jnn) that Jtliat" jvould be sufficient. He' qfytgjjied.the required sum, and was to'liaye niH the lady and transferred ,it to her. Circumstances intervened at the last vnomei\t, which prevented him from doing sp^'. , ..,,,, Detective * Howard explained what these circumstances wore, He arrived at the rendezvous at Spencer sti'eet'b'e* fore tho money was handed over, and arresta^T 'accused. She admitted t6 him that, her name waft not Goodson ; that she had no property m New Zealand, and that she was jiot f a. widow, but was living apart from her husband. Mr Barnptt, -who appeared for .defendant, said he thought his client was more' fool than knave. Even on., his own evidence, Clerk was a* . anxious to gat the woman's money as she was to tret his. His client was the mother of four little children. He asked the Bench to take into consideration the fact that no harm had been dpne. , :'.-/■ Mr Cresswell, P.M-, said at was a well-defined scheme to rob Clerk of £30. The man, of course, m-os a complete too Avho deserved to lose his money; still that was no excuse f6r defendant's conduct, and ahe~ wa>4 gentenc^d to 14 days' imprisonment,^ -