THE MAN WHO WASN'T.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 491, 14 August 1912, Page 7

THE MAN WHO WASN'T.

WOMEN WHO HAVE CONDESCENDED TO BECOME "MERE MEN." The extraordinary case of Marie Leroy, who masqueraded as a man for nearly twenty-five years at Ponder's End, is not an isolated one, by any means. This particular case is all the more extraordinary, in that "his" daughter did not know of her "father's" secret till after "his" death, though she had been broug' ' up and educated by "him." Some five or six years ago, a girl named Shilson was arrested for :raud. She was dressed in man's clothes, and was noted for being a very heavy smoker. No one suspected her identity until she jumped from the railway carriage in which shs was travelling, and was killed by a passing train. Meny of these male impersonators Qave taken to men's clothing for the purpose of swindling the innocents of the world, and they succeed morf easily, as a rule, than the stronger sex. Some do it, however, merely as an odd craze, or because necessity compels them to. Necessity, you say ? Yes, necessity. One such case will easily be recalled of a woman who was allowed to dress in male attire. The German police have a very strict regulation that each sex must wear the clothing that is customary to it ; but in this particular instance they issued -a licence early last year giving her permission to go about in male attire. She is twenty-five,, and is so masculine in her general appearance, gait, and demeanour that she has been several times arrested on suspicion of being a man in. womanclothing! Before she was allowed ito change her clothing the German police took the advice of medical experts. They gave it as their opinion that, though she was a woman, her features, character and appearance were those of a man, and she was far less likely to attract the attention of the multitude in trousers than in petticoats.

A still more remarkable case was that of Nicolas de Raylan, whose secret was only revealed on her death, four years ago-. She was secretary to the Russian Consulate in Chicago, and held her own with the men she met in drinking and smoking. She was noted, too, for being a most daring and expert rider—riding, of course, astride. Not only in these things did she imitate man, but she followed -it up by being three times married.

Another woman who married a woman was a Londoner, Catherine Coombes. She posed as a rnan under the name of "Charlie Wilson," and she married, and lived with her wife for fourteen years before shs gave herself up to the police, and told them the amazing story of her life.

Only as recently as last January, a smart young girl was brought before the New York magistrates on a charge of dressing in male costume. She had been employed for some time as a male helper in a hotel kitchen.

Many famous women have taken to the clothing of the lords of creation, not for any fradulent purposes, but because they prefer it for ease and comfort. One of the best known of them was Rosa Bonheur, the famous animal painter, who for years lived in male attire. Another well-known Frenchwoman who has rejected petticoats in favour of trousers is the Marquise de Morny. She has published a great number of books, and has travelled all over Europe las a man, after obtaining the necessary permission from the French Government.

Madame Dieulafoy, the wife of the famous explorer and engineer, is another famous male impersonator. Her husband was spnt in 1883 on a hazardous archaeological expedition to the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates, and Madame Dieulafoy, who not only dresses like a man, but has cut her hair short to enhance the resemblance, accompanied him. The French Government recognised her services, granted her special permission to wear male attire, and, furthermore, decorated her with the order of the Legion of Honour.