"YOU ARE MY HUSBAND."

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XLV, Issue 11763, 25 February 1919, Page 7

"YOU ARE MY HUSBAND."

MASK COMEDY IN SYDNEY. WOMAN CLAIMS CHAPLAIN An extraordinary experience befel the Rev. Horace W. Barder, in Sydney, when he was claimed on a tram by a strange woman as her long-lost husband. Relating the etory, Mr Barder, who iis only 30 years of age, said :— * ‘I ? got into a tram, and had been sitting there only a few minntes, with my mask on, when a woman 3f apparent middle age, who was sitting opposite me, looked at my eyes closely. She did this so often as to make her action noticealbe Then alts opened a bag which she had on her lap and looked at a group photograph closely, Lookina at me again she exclaimed, loudly: ‘Yon are my busband. I know yon by yonr brown eyes and yonr. brow._ Yon left me ten years ago. ’ A girl, apparently about 14 years of age, was sitting next her. “The wo«an remarkei to a fel-low-passenger: It is always the way! When you want a policeman yon can’t get one. I want to give this man in charge. He is my husband. ”

“The conductor came along just then, and she said to him, ‘As noon as you see a constable stop the tram! I want to give this man in charge.’ By this time other passenger were becoming decidedly interested, and I don’t mind admitting that I felt far from comfortable. It was a preposterous iaea, of course but none the less embarrassing.” “At last, two constables appeared in the vicinity of the Newtown Bridge, and I was just as pleased to see them as was the lady. The constables, after conversation with the woman, sat on either side of me. She still claimed me as her husband.

“I said, ‘I have never seen this woman before.’ One of the constables said, ‘A lot of attention is being attracted here to you!’ and it certainly was so, for I was in my military uniform, and my high collar dislcosed that I was a chaplain.

“In the circumstances each a situation would arouse curiosity on the part of the onlookers, who no doubt scented a scandal. I gladly followedthe suggestion of the police officers that I should go to the Newtown station for the purposes of identification.

“I was in that station three-quar-ters of an hour, and was brought betore a “ superintendent who*’ was also masked. The woman started off by remarking, ‘He’s my husband all right They are his very eyes. They are my Tom’s eyes. My little girl has those eyes. He is my Tom alright. ’ “ ‘Where were we married?’ I asked.

“ ‘At 'the matrimonial agency near the railway station,’ she( replied. “ ‘How long ago?’ I said. “ ‘Fifteen years ago,’ was the answer.

“I may interpolate here that 15 years ago 1 was only 15 years of agrf I asked the woman who married us, and she said, ‘Dr Zillman We were going to have another clergyman—the Rev Mr Hav, ’ She also saidj'her Tom’ was an ironmoulder. “I said, ‘When did I leave you?’ and she “replied, ,‘You left me in July, 1910. Proceeding with his story the chaplain said “I then toot off my mask and taming to the lady said, ‘Now am I your husband?’ Hhe'looked at me for some time and said, ‘Yon have his eyes aud yoar chin is like his, but that isn’t Tom’s uosa.’ At this stage I looked at one of the constables closely, and said ‘1 think I know you, ’ and the constable; after looking ai me intently, said, ‘Why! Yon are Barder,’ and, turning to the woman, he added, ‘I have known Mr Barder for years. ‘He cau’t be yom husband.’ “The little girl then began to cry, and between her sobs she said ‘Whenever mother sees a man with brown eyes she has him arrested. She always thinks he’s father!’ ”