REMARKABLE DIVORCE STORY.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 16448, 3 June 1919, Page 4

REMARKABLE DIVORCE STORY.

A DISGUISED WOMAN. A divorce case with most extraordinary features is reported from Hobart. Thomas Barker, a sawudller, in December, 1905, married a Miss Rough, and between then and 1917 they lived at various places in Tasmania. Their fourth child was born at a place called Lady’s Bay, where they had Jived for several years. -They had a number of friends there, and Barker’s niatc was a man called John Thomas Martyu. Mrs. Barker expressed a wish to go to another place fWaratah), and it was arranged that she and her children should proceed thither, and that Barker should follow live weeks later, his wife to meet him at Burnic. She did not meet him at BuiTiie, and when, in July, 1917, ho reached. Waratah, ho found only a note from her saying that she had gono away “for good.” She said lie need not try to find her, for she would not come back. Sho ended her note by begging her husband not to let “Tom Martyn” know what sho had done. Tfio husband placed two of the descried children with relatives, and two in a Salvation Army home. In Juno, 1918, ho was in Hobart, and unsuccessfully sought information of his missing wife. He then went down to tho fishing boat Foam to look np Tom Martyn, his old friend. There was a. woman with Martyn, whom ho introduced as his wife. He had tea with them, and ho told them about his children in the homo. Mrs. Martyn said sho would like to sco thorn, so he met Mr. and Mrs. Martyn later in tho town, and they boarded a tramcar and set off for tho homo. On tho way Airs. Martyn had an argument with a tram conductor, and in the excitement her voice assumed what to Barker was a curious familiar riijg, but ho could not place it. Tho children we.ro duly inspected. The children liked Airs. Martyn. “Oh, daddy,” cried one of tho youngsters, his arms round the woman’s neck, “Isn’t sho like mummy?” That started a. train of thought in Barker’s mind. But his wife had been very dark, and Mrs. Martyn had fair hair and eyebrows. Still, when they took him to their lodgings he watched the woman carefully, and his suspicions grew. Barker called two or three times at the lodgings, and finally was able to got a look at Mrs. Martyu’s big coat, and easily identified it as ono his' wife took away. That afternoon, in the presence of her landlord and landlady Barker began to question the woman, and she became confused. “You are my wife,” he accused her. “I arn not,” she said, in her assumed voice. “Don’t be ridiculous. I have been married to Martyn for ten years.” Bur the evidence was too strong, and she surrendered, and admitted, in her natural voice, that sho had been merely living with Martyn. She had dyed her hair and eyebrows, and removed two moles from her cheek. The judge granted a decree nls(.