Pictures and the Picturegoer (April - September 1915)

PICTURES AND TilE P1CTUREG0ER I 392 Wees bkdjvg Aug isr 21, 1915 the TRUMPET CALL The Neptune production of Geo. R. Sims and Robert Buchanan's drama. Exclusively controlled by the Gaumont Film Hire Service. ADLY loving Bertha liis wife, .lames I? < ■ 1 rut li was exasperated beyond measure at her frequent absences from home. Hec ired naught for night clubs himself, and could not understand her liking for such a gay and dangerous life. One night when his patience was exhausted he burst in upon the merry throng, and after chastising the man who was making love to her he ordered his wife home. The high-spirited girl protested against such treatment, but Redruth, insisting upon being obeyed, locked her in her bedroom. To Bertha this was the crowning insult, and hastily gathering together her jewels she left the house by the window, after leaving a note to remind Redruth that he ought to have married a Sunday-school teacher. When in the morning her husband discovered the note, he swore to kill the woman who had wrecked his life. But he failed to find her, and. taking to drink, he went from bad to worse, drifting" swiftly down the social scale as so many had done before him. Bertha obtained the help of a lover, but even he, a rich man. was unable to withstand the constant drain upon his resources, and in due course the foolish woman found herself compelled to earn her own livelihood. She was a beautiful girl of that charm which entices men on the road leading to perdition, and she had merely to answer an advertisement for "Smart ladies for a beauty chorus " to be engaged. Very soon she was once more on the high road to prosperity; she never doubted that her charms would secure for her. if not a husband at least a lover. # * # # Outhbert Cuthbertson. a young country squire, who inherited the gambling instincts of his ancestors, frequented clubs where high stakes were the rule and not the exception. One evening a theatrical manager invited him to the rehearsal of a new revue. and then' he met Bertha. Her fatal beauty fascinated him. and in a moment of mad infatuation he married her. It mattered UOl to Cuthbert whether she had a • past " or not. If the thought entered his mind at all it was outweighed by his mad desire to possess her. For a time all went well. The new life entranced Bertha, and while there was money to squander she was content. .But there is always an end to losses at gambling and a " wife's " extravagance, and before long Cuthbert received a letter from his solicitors that it was impossible to raise another shilling upon the estate. It was mortgage 3 to the hilt. The letter fell into the hands of Bertha. She shuddered at the prospect o!' poverty, and determined she would not face it ; she upbraided Cuthbert for the loss, which was largely attributable to herself. Then .-he left the house. .Money was essential to lK-r very existence, and as she stood admiring the gems in a jeweller's shop window in the town she was joined by a man who so admired her beauty that he purchased the jewel she desired and handed it to her together with his card. When she reached home again she waved the gift in Cuthbert's face. Then she went mockingly away. "I wanted your money— not you!"' were her parting words. Cuthbert's eyes were opened, and all the love he had ever posssssed for his wife was turned into hate. Again Bertha was cast xipon her own resources. This time she set up as a palmist, and called herself Astrsea. Her first husband Redruth, reduced to a state of poverty, had enlisted in the Royal Horse Artillery. » # * * Professor Ginnifer, a travelling showman, was one of the Old English type who travels the country erecting a booth at the fairs, feasts, and fetes, providing wholesome fare for the provincial, folk whose love for the simple has not yet departed, and who delight in being mystified. If happened that the Professor, who was always on the look out for something new. saw Astraea's announcement as a palmist, and called to suggest that she should join his show as clairvoyant. Bertha rejected the showman's offer with scorn ; but was the Professor perturbed? Not a bit of it. "All right, dearie," said he, "you may want an engagement some day. If you do. come and see Ginnifer. My card!" Bertha laughed, but she did not destroy the card. On the same day she received a call from the police, who requested her to close the establishment. Again the fates had dealt this woman a cruel blow, and a little later Cuthbert. at home amid the ruins of his patrimony, received a demand for money, and responded bysending his " wife " a five-pound note. Bertha continued to do business as a palmist, but only in a small way. and day by day her life became a greater burden. One day, seeing no hope of recovering her position, she sat contemplating suicide by poison, which she was about to take when a girl in a desperate plight called upon her to have '"the lines ' read. Before Bertha was able to complete the mummery her client had fainted. Bertha left the room to obtain water, and in her absence the girl found the poison, drank it. and died. The tragedy suggested a way out of Bertha's difficulties* The dead girl, being something like her in appearance. should take her place. So Bertha wrote a note that, deserted !>\ every one. she had decided to take her lit'-, then, taking the purse of her late client, she disappeared from the house as quickly as possible. • • • • Cuthbert, having sown his wild oat-, bad settled down, and was growing to deeply stance, the charming daughter of his neighbour, Sir William Barton: but of his unhappy marriage his lips were sealed. Then by chance he read a paragraph in a n< paper announcing that Bertha had committed suicide, and. free to pi Constance, he did so. and was gladly accepted. But Sir William had other views. There was Richard Feathersto!)-. her" cousin; he would make a better husband ]>ecause of his wealth ; so Cuthbert was forbidden to enter the house again. Love sometimes laughs at parents, and Sir William discovered this when Constance eloped with Cuthbert and left a note to say that she had gone to join the man she loved. • * * » One New Tear's Eve, when their little child was three years old. Constance was seized with the desire to see her father and effect a reconciliation. Husband, wife, and child journeyed towards home, and put up at the " Angler's Delight.'" an inn kept bj Mrs. Wicklow. her old nurse. Recruiting was in full swing. Men were needed for the Army, and Sergeant-Major Milligan, of the Royal Horse Artillery, was busy in the village. His favourite scene of action was the taproom of the "Anglers Delight." where he nightly pointed out to the male inhabitants t lie advantag of serving their country. From the inn Constance wrote t William, appealing to her father to overlook the past, and not let anotl er year dawn upon theirestrangement. But the old gentleman was adamant. " You know the condition." he repeat id. "Leave that man. and I will again acknowledge yon as my daughter." But this Constance resolved she would never do. And what of Bertha!" Slow but inevitable retribution was overtaking her. In desperate straits, she remembered Professor Ginnifer's offer, and had since joined his travelling show. On this New Year's Eve the Professor put up at Mr-. Wicklow's, and the caravan was stabled in the yard. The Professor and his daughter were old friends of the landlady, and while they were inside recounting their experiences of the past, with Ginnifer making love to Mrs. Wicklow, Bertha sat on the steps of the showman's van and sang a verse of an o'd son-'. Cuthbert heard and thought he recognised the voice, and, goimr < ut into the moonlight, he came face to tare with his dead wife." Soured in soul, and as vindictive as ever, the woman threatened to exp the man unless he consented to leave Constance at once. It broke hi-; heart to accept the cruel condition, but Cuthbert's hand •••