Los Angeles herald., 1908-02-09
GIVES REASONS FOR
WEARING DRESSES
MYSTERIOUS CHARACTER RE-
LATEs EXPERIENCES
Peculiar Incidents in Life of miss"
BERTHE Marshall Are Told-ls
Not in Need of
Charity

1--WE always worn petticoats. 1 just
couldn't stand to wear trousers-oh,
goodness, no! want to work and
make my own way and do what's
right by everybody, if only they'll let
me-
So said Miss BERTHE Marshall, as she
was having his picture taken during
his visit to The Herald office yester-
day.
BERTHE is a masculine object of the
feminine gender, who has recently been
causing the police a good deal of
trouble because of his refusal to wear
the sort of raiment which it is believed
she ought to appear in.
BERTHE seems to be a real good boy,
only she says she is girl. And a
pretty girl she would be, if it wasn't
for her feet Those feet-well, they
are the first seen and the last heard
when Miss BERTHE makes one of her
afternoon calls. And her hands-he has
hands that look as though they were
capable of lifting mountains. Most of
their time they are kept busy lifting
skirts. for BERTHE does really have one
of the most horribly awful times. with
those skirts that you could possibly
conceive.
But, goodness knows, a girl without
skirts would be simply dreadful, and
every girl must wear them, so BERTHE
has to be fashionable. Anyway. skirts
are much nicer than those awful pants
which men wear, aren't they? Gee
whiz, what's poor guy to do, anyway?
A fellow has to wear something, that's
cinch, and it's nobody's blamed busi-
ness if he wears petticoats, providing
they reach below the ankles and are
not cut princess STYLE" says Berthe.
Wears Stylish Suit
Miss BERTHE came into the office of
The Herald looking real cute. He Wore
a stylishly patterned black skirt and
jacket and one of the dearest peek
aboo white waists a man ever crawled
into Then, too, he had beautiful
treastpjn-a veritable darling of a
hrooch-and his hair-his hair-what
hair! Black--real black. And just Ions
enough for him to tie 1t in one of the
daintiest little lovers knots imagin-
able. TIe does the knot up at the back;
hut there are no Marcelle waves or
other hirsute nonsensicals to mar the
feminine beauty of his masculine coun-
tenance. BERTHE is not prone to such
fashionable stunts as usually charac-
terize the flutterinG creatures of his
| duplex sexes.
Mr.. Bertie's complexion is decidedly
brunette-almost bewitchingly so, were
| 1t not for the fuzzy traces of what
might have beer mustache had it not
been for the cold irony of fate and
Bertie's fondness for femininity.
! Bertie's dimpled little chin is also
we'll covered with this horribly super
| fluous substance which indicates that
she has never experienced the cruel
ordeals of a barber chair. No, not Ber-
| tiei No vile razor has ever dug into
the virgin mould of Bertie's mug. Not
yet!
is PuzzIine Character
BERTHE has the refined. delicate, artis-
tic mien of French or italian wash
erwoman She is a very puzzling gen.
| tleman, to say the least.
Miss Bertie's mother, Mrs. ]. w.
Marshall. lives at Kenosha, Wis. 1t is
10 her that BERTHE turns for all advice,
and when the county doctors urged him
| to go to the hospital and get some
thing done for it, he Immediately wrote
to his mother, asking her opinion ir
tine matter. The edict from his mother
| came promptly forth, reduced in polite
English to mean that he must have
nothing whatever to do with any hor-
rid old doctor or hospital.
BERTHE declared that though she has
| the appearance of man she is in fact
| y woman. She wished to emphasize
the fact that, although he has been a
caller at the associated charities. the
most he ever got from that institution
was so cents and the donation of such
a small amount is looked upon In dis
gust by him.
This freakish young woman stated
! that she was 80 years old and was
born in Burlington, Iowa, August p
1876. She said she had been In Cali.