The Dickinson press., 1889-05-25
WOMEN In MALE ATTIRE.
FEMALES WHO ACHIEVED FAME IN
THE AABiLIMENTS OF MEN.

They Took to the Army and Navy and Made
Go"h lishtcrs-W"mcn of the Royalty
Thus Distinguished Themselves The
Original "Eiily Taylor"
Among what may he called the obscure
iaioSyncrasieS of the female sex is n passion
tor assuming male attire. nor is the woman
who thus truvcStle> herself necessarily in her
character Il virago Sometimes this sort of
disappearing takes an innocent and even u
lnmrticent form Nine Ida PfeiCfcr, the ia
n!"i!> Traveller, was us gentle and sympathetic
atyl,e of true woinanhood as ever lived, yet
She tells us i'll her autobiography that in her
early girlhood no restraints, no reproofs and
no punishment could wean her from attiring
herself i'll boys clothing whenever she had all
opportunity of so doing. a similar penchant
for the garments of the opposite sex was
shown by the Duchess de Bcrri, the mother
of the Count de Chamburd, This youthful
Neapolitan princess drcadfully scandalized
the aged Charles X. when, after abdicating
tho throne in July, lS'0, he fled from st.
Cloud, by presenting herself in his travelling
carriage i'll the complete make up Of u dandy
of the period. The nbSurdity of this disguise,
oNSNS va ~ XXI iuLJ SOillSSlAS<hISu
by the heroic conduct of the Duchess la Ven
dee. The Spanish Princess Donna Blanca
also distinguished herself in tho last Carlist
insurrection by appearing in knickerbockcrs
und riding en- cavalier. but such al exhibit
ton must be regarded as only a titful and
transient manifestations of eccentricity
THE FEMAI.E WARRIOR"
When we rome to study the curiosities of
female history it will he found that the
chronicle i'll question makes record OF u goodly
number of women who, in assuming the mas.
culine garb, seem to have been actuated by
genuine feelings of martial arlor, or, at
least, by Il dare devil sp,rit of adventure.
The roaring girl of the old comedies has
mad many corresponding types in real life;
and Joan of Arc has found plenty of imita-
tors as heroic, if not SO dcvoutly enthusiastic,
us tho Maid of Orleans. Hannah Smell flour
iSl!ed in the reign Of George III, Her grand
father was II soldier who fought with Marl-
borough at Malplaquet. she married early,
her husband heing a Dutch sailor who NAL
treated and deserted her. leaving her with a
baby, which died, whereupon Hannah appro-
priated a suit of her bro,her-in-law's clothes
and, assuming his name. which was Thomas
Gray, tramred to Coventry, where she en-
listed in Gen. Guise's regiment.
After u while she deserted. but subsequent
ly re-enlistcd i'll the navy as a marine, in
which capacity she served i'll tho East aud
West fndics. From her dexterity in washing
and mending for the men, and from her being
hcaltllcss, she acquired the nicknameof Miss
Molly" but her bravery in action eventually
caused her to DO invested with the more hon
orublc cognonlcn of Hearty Jenny" Being
at last discharged from the service, Hannah
Smell went on the stage and appeared with
much applause at the Royalty theatre, Well
cose square. as Bill Bobstay, u sailor, and
as Flrelock, a %grenadier In consideration
of the hurdshiIs she had undergone in the
service OF her country-which hardsllips
comprised, among other tribulatious, 500
lashes that she got at the halberts at Carlisle,
and an almost equally barbarous scourging
at the gangway OH board ship-tho govern
ment awarded Hannah a pension Of e2O a
year, on tho strength of which she took a
public house in Wrapping, with the appro-
pirate sign of ''The Widow in Masquerade;
or, the Female Warrior
Another female warrior. whose career was
even more remarkable than that of Hannah
Smell. was Mary Ann Talbot, better know IL
as John Taylor, whose extraordinary advent
urcs are said to have furnished tho theme for
the popular ballad of "Billy Taylor" Mary
Ann, who was born in l77s, is supposed to
have been the youngest of the sixteen illcgiti-
mate children of Lord Talbot. She seems to
have run away from school with n military
officer named Capt. Bowen. whom she fol-
lowed to the West Indies in male attire as a
soldiers servant. Afterward she enlisted as
a drummer, in which capacity she served
with the Duke of York's army in Flanders,
and at the siege of Valenciennes she received
two wounds, which she carefully concealed,
curing herself with the aid of lint, basilicon
and Dutch drops.
Then Mary Ann deserted, put OF the dress
OF a sailor and entered on board q French
pl'ivateer, which was soon afterward cap
tured by the British feet. She was badly
wounded i'll the leg by a grape shot in
action, but on her discharge from hospital
al Portsmouth she joined another man-of-
war, which was taken by II French ship, and
tho undaunted Mary Ann lay for many
months Il prisoner of war at Dunkirk. Then
she turned up i'll the United States, and, re-
turning to England, went through many
other adventures. She seems to have got into
very low water, so much so at one period as
to have contemplated joining Haines, a no.
torious highwaynan, in his excursions on
%llounslow Heath. Fortunately, she stopped
short after buying a pair Of buckskin
breeches and a brace of pistols and declined
to enter into the perilous partnership with
Haines. She. too, went on the stage, her
favorite characters being Juliet and Irene,
but her dramatic career was scarcely a
triumphant one, and she drifted into old age,
mainly supported by casual donations from
persons of quality
SOMETIMES SOLDIERS, SOMETIMES NURSES.
Still does her name occupy a distinguished
ploce on tho roll of female warriors, to whom,
again, must be added the famous Christiana
Davis. who served US a bombarlier at the
battle of Blcnheim and afterward married
three husbands in succession She had u pen
sion at last of a shilling a day from the
crown and settled down peacefully ut Chelsea
to be near her old comrades at the hospital
Then, again. there was Phebe Hessel, whose
exploits as Il soldier are recited OH her tomb
stone in the old parish c%hurchyard al
Brighton. ltmay, in fact, be said that, givel
n war which lasts long enough and embrace.
a sufficiently wide area thoroughly to stil
the national patriotism and love of adventure
there will surely come to the front a by ne
means inconsiderable element of female gal
lantry and fortitude.
Evidently such gallantry and such forti
tude are most frequently and most appropri
ately made manifest in the beautiful achieve
ments of a Florence Nightingale, but the &C
centricities of the female character occasion
ally assert themselves, despite the thorough,
feminine attributes of the nursing sister I
sometimes happens that the lady who SHOULD
be following the amhulances under the neutra
oritlamme OF the Geneva Cross yields to al
unaccountable propensity for donning double
and hose, especially when the doui1let is o
scarlet plentifully adorned with lace and tn
hose have a smart seam down the sides
Such a ~valorous spirit Of eccentricity only
can account for the occasional appearance q
a naval or military BILLY Taylor:" but il
the piping times Of peace society is ~justifie'
III regarding with some slight suspicion youn,
ladies who abandon bodice and skirts for cut
ava coats and deerstalkcr hats and try
under amusingly false pretense, to impos
recruiting sergeant. London Telegraph. ID
Mistakes of Partisan Experts.