A MASCULINE WOMAN.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1042, 7 April 1882, Page 3

A MASCULINE WOMAN.

A remarkable case of conspiracy, involvin'! "charges of forging the signatures of Her Majesty, the Prince of Wales, several noblemen. and the Lord Chief Justice, has been investigated at Birmingham. The parties charged are Mary Jane Fearnoux and James Gctbing, a Birmingham engineer ; and they are charged with obtaining by fraud £2OOO from Ed. Benyon of SeDoy Oak, near Birmingham , and for obtaining in the same way £3OOO from Mr Screen, The Brades, Oldbury, but there are several other charges to be brought forward. The male prisoner alleges that ho is the dupe of the female prisoner, and that she has ruiued him and nearly all his relatives.

The woman, who in the noice of a distin- I guished provincial obvsician, took lodgings : at the honse of Mrs Drew, of Aston, iiermingham, about seven years since; and after staying a short time stated, as ‘‘a secret which must, not ha demigod. ” that she was Lord Arthur Pe’ham Clinton, who had only feigned to have die I, and for whom a wan ant was out, nut for whom Her Majesty was about to grant a free pardon, and restore valuable estates winch the Crown had confiscated. She graphically describes how, as she alleged, the coffin of Lorn Pelham was filled with atones and buried whilst the lawyers and doctors were bribed not to inform that the “corpse” had walked away. Mrs Drew, believing in promises that she would be handsomely repaid, did not trouble about her rent; but, on the contrary, willingly advanced money from time to time to the young “nobleman and besides this, introduced “ his lordship ” to several of her relations, who were eagerly anxious to lend money on the same favouraide terms. Mrs Drew and her sister, Mrs Ward, state that they introduced the woman to the male prisoner, who is their brother, and that he introduced her to Mr Beynon, from whom she obtained £2OOO, and from Mr Screen, from whom she obtained £.‘1(100 by various instalments from £2O to £IOOO, giving as “securities” what purported to be valuable deeds and letters from L >rd Coleridge, whom she represented as her trustee. During the time that she was borrowing the money she frequently, or nearly always, dressed as a man “hi the height of fashion. ” with gaiters, lavender kid gloves, and walking stick. In this costume she gained the affection of two youngladic o , oneofwhoinbecamesoderanged on discovering the traud that she had to he placed in an asylum, where she is still confined. When ar ested, the woman was living with her mother at Grcwson street, Liverpool, and dressed in fen ini m attire. She is of very slender buld, an 1 of extremely masculine appearance. When in the dock she might easily have been mistaken for a man, wearing, as she did, a Newmarket overcoat, and er uatr being cut quite short. There is no 'ouht but that the woman has been as; iste 1 by some clever persons in her real: rka do frauds. Some of the dupes have, at the woman,s request, posted at different post-offices letters to Lord Coleridge, and letters purporting to come from his lordship have been received in reply. In the same way have letters been sent to and received from her Majesty the Queen and various other illustrious persons. Tire Prince of Wales she stated to be her most intimate friend, and in the two thousand and more letters and documents in the possession of the police the name of his Royal Highness is of frequent occurrence. A strange feature in the case is that win n unable to obtain further loans, the woman took a situation as governess at Caremero Farm, Preston, Bisset, near Birmingham, but was given notice to leave under idle belief that she was a man. Site, afterwards to,dr a situation as attendant at Prestwioh Asylum, Manchester, 1 but did not, remain long. Her latest freak was to write to some of her dupes in Bitmine' am, stating that she had m inded a young lady in Liverpool. The reason she tiist gave for going to Liverpool was that it was at the request of some Cabinet Ministers, who did not wish her to he in 1 oudnn or Birmingham while they were preparing Her Majesty’s pardon and the restoration of the confiscated estates.