Nat Goodwin's BookGoodwin, Nat. C. (Nathaniel Carll)
General
Nat Goodwin's Book
Goodwin, Nat. C. (Nathaniel Carll)
Actors -- Correspondence
After breakfast the next day I opened the ball by remarking that I had
finally come across the trail of the thief who had stolen my watch.
Also I added with seeming irrelevancy that I had heard about the
clandestine meetings my wife had been indulging in with a gentleman I
named.
Her denials were not only positive; they were indignant. The fact that
I had absolute proof of all I had thus far said was the only thing that
saved me from becoming thoroughly convinced that I was mistaken.
Why is it so many women are such consummate actresses off the stage and
such impossible amateurs on?
I did a little acting on my own account, however, and evidenced
complete belief in all my wife's denials. She was sure I would
eventually find my watch in the top tray of a trunk which had lain in
storage in New York for months. I let it go at that. I had acquired all
the proof I wanted, in other directions, and was satisfied. Besides,
all this happened during the month of June, 1910, and I was in a great
hurry to get back to America.
The contest for the heavy-weight pugilistic championship of the world
was scheduled to be held July 4, 1910!
My wife remained abroad that summer but the
Jeffries-Johnson-fight-disappointment almost offset that benediction.
Preparatory to my going back into my profession I bought a play from
George Broadhurst who for some inconceivable (!) reason refused to let
me produce it if I allowed my wife to appear in it. This was quite
a shock to me but I set it down to the well-known eccentricity of
authors. Present in a box at the opening performance of the play was my
quondam "young and handsome star" who returned to New York just in time
to grace the occasion. Later she descended on our little organization
while we were playing in Toronto and this time she hurled accusations
of all kinds at my head--any one of which would have enabled her to
divorce me even in England! When the trial of her divorce action
came along all these charges were disproven--but that one session in
Toronto was not conducted along Parliamentary lines, so far as she was
concerned.
That she had instituted the proceedings didn't bother me at all. Having
done all the affirmative work in two other divorce actions I thought
I might as well take it easy this time and let her do it! But I had
forgotten all about a certain deed of trust I had made in Paris some
time before.
During my mining activities I foresaw the calamity that was inevitable
and acting on the advice of an incompetent attorney I foolishly entered
into a trust agreement with my wife under the terms of which I placed
all my property in the hands of a trustee. In avoiding a possible loss
I ran headfirst into a dead sure steal!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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