The Wichita daily eagle., 1897-11-12
IN MANS ATTIRE
CATHERINE O00MBs WORKED WITH
MEN FOB YEARS.

tion of Him and Her Adoption of Mas
cuiine Garments the Better to hide
From Him-Not In Forty Three Years
Was Her Sex suspectsd-Known rs the
"Gentlsman Painter"
New York, Nov. v.in.-Catherine COMBS
is entitled to the unique distinction Of
years successfully masqueraded in male
attire, and under rhe name of Charley
Wilson" worked with men in the mas
cuiine trade Of painter Through an
accident her sex was discovered, and
she is now in the West Ham Union,
London. where she was recently inter-
viewed by the London Telegraph, which
prints her strange story:
Dressed in the simple uniform Of the
West aim Union Of blue linen, with
white apron and cap upon her slrort
iron gray fnair, Mrs Coombs entered
briskly and alertly, and certainly would
not have been set down as more than
fifty years of age, though she is over
sixty-three years old. She is by no
means tall, and masculine garb must
| have appeared short and slight. Her
voice sounded unusually deep for wo-
man, but, as she explained in subsequent
conversation, she had cultivated it's low
est registers till she had come to use
| them halbitually; and she also expresses
herself with tersness and vigor not quite
characteristically feminine. She was
| of Grcf fI, lr f111 nf ,Qr
life, saying modestly, that to some it
might not seem very edifying one; but
! 10y degrees and with the help of lead
ing question or two she unfolded her ex-
traordinary history, and as she talked it
| became evident that she had enjoyed
considerable educational advantages.
| To her possession, in fact, OF these is
| due to the unhappy beginning of her
life.
AS she explained, she was born at
Axbridge, in Somersetshire, Of comfort
ably circumstanced parents, who sent
her to Cheitenham Ladies' College,
which half century ago held, as 1t
does today, leading place among girls
schools, and while there she was far bet
| ter taught than were the majority of
that her husband was a curate, but t,at
| Is not the case. He was schoolmaster
and a cousin Of her own, considerably
| her senior Thinking that her knowl-
| edge would be of assistance to him in
teaching, he pressed for a very early
marriage, which proved a disastrously
unhappy one until mis- efforts to live
upon her parents and his personal vio-
lence to her compelled her not only to
leave him, but to take steps to prevent
his ever finding her again.
Then 1t was that the problem of ex-
istence. There were not the openings
for women" five and forty years ago
that there are today, and to put 1t in
her own words, she saw that the choice
lay between a mans attire and labor
and destitution. she elected the former
anc but for the accident would probably
have carried the secret to her deathbed.
She succeeded in affecting an outward
transformation in humble lodgings at
a Birmingham coffee house Her next
staep was to find work, and she started
as a learner in the house painting trade
at four shillings week. Her aptitude
soon showed itself, and after three weeks
this modest remuneration was raised,
until in a few months she was able to
earn a Giving wage" In the earlier
days of her career she worked great
deal in Yorkshire, and bore her part in
the internal decorations of many Of the
finest mansions OF the land and titled
people there.
I interrupted her narrative to ask IL
she had never felt afraid in these times
of some gesture or inadvertant speech
that would betray her to her ma tes, and
her answer showed how well she turned
the power OF observation to accaunt
Il knew that 1 must never lapse into
careiessness." she said, land how little
it would take to give me away, fgrom
small episode. We had our luncheon
while we were decorating a fine house,
and the gardner, thinking to give us a
treat, brough a basket OF apples. He
was in hurry, however, and to those
at the farther end OF the hall he threw
the apples, and young boy sitting down
who, 1 suppose, had been in the habit
Of wearing an apron at his work, extend.
ed his knees apart TO make a lap IN
which to catch the fruit. There was an
old Yorkshire foreman close beside him,
who al once laughed at the boy, and
said, 'Yon lads learnt how { 'wenciles
play had played cricket so knew how
10 catch mine, bus l did not forget the
lesson
Charley Wilson went twice 70 Paris
on special jobs for his employers and
had an exceedingly good offer on one
occasion to go 20 America
Perhaps the most remarka BILE fact Of
this woman's business capabilities was
her employment for over thirteen years
by the Peninsular and Oriental Com
pany. 1t is With considerable pride that
she mentions that. with the exception OF
the last two or three ships built, there
is not vessel in that stately fleet which
canot show her handiwork. She had a
large share in the decoration OF the sa-
loon OF the Rome, after the big altera-
tionS that were sde in her hull for her
improvement. The ornamea:ation OF the
music saloons OF the Victoria, the Ocean
and the -Archada, which are especially
elaborate and rich. was almost entirely
carried out by her in enamelhag. and
this. it should be added. IS rather a
distinct branch OF the painters craft. for !
as s.le says, "A ships painter may paint |
house, but house painter can't paint |
ship" During her engagement by the |
firm who did this work for the company,
and subsequently When the Peninsular !
and Oriental Company did its own paint |
ing. she enjoyed a particularly good !
character for her punciunality in a-riv- !
ing at her work in the morning
But how did YOU bring yourself TO /