Show l- l I Monse r Andre o othe What a Huge Joke It Was When Monsieur N the night chic when he riot wore mitred the the loud proclaimed being Into Thinking 0 0 s eat woman le Para hearse Fooled Everybody hadn't sneeze as learned women how do doan to Him a Wom an and Would Have Carried Off the Diamond if Necklace t He Hadn't r Sneezed a On the left K aTt a i R Tt r cep wF we a ae ao Lionel Lonel Ames 4 4 t o e terY ter Y leading leaden vt 4 1 a ae lady of w Mr viP dt se this years year's e r ap an v University of avA aj 1 Michigan s y yet y P n e ce comic opera r e s e ei yN i F f y F r fF p Ll whose cos- cos cost o cos-o a x o i v e X i iv j v e T tume and a t Y fn t 4 dances were 1 r x t a 6 thought too a J W P x to realistically rte x q k Y feminine t dwa v ti The soulful z fie ly F eyes velvety stem pearly teeth v vr and fascinating smile t r c which made the five ds- ds Below Marc Peter jr of Harvard p a x ar arbeauty ting French connoisseurs of showing how girl he can be A ep beauty believe Monsieur a a coie e boys boy's show shown t on n ce tg J PARIS no other city is more PROBABLY enthusiastIc in its admiration forthe for forthe for for- forthe the beauty of ot women than this no other is the scene of ot more frequent competitions in which with the most elaborate care care the effort is made J to determine who is 3 the most beautiful ul woman of cf all an who the loveliest in m a certain certain tain lain neighborhood who the most charm charm- charming charming ing mg m each of the d different professions 4 and lines of o business Nor are the promoters of these contests con con- contests con contests tests content with judging as a whole the various things that combine to mako a woman attractive There are innumerable innumerable innumerable able competitions which try to deCIde j which of o the famous beauties has the most admirable hair or eyes the finest complexion ion the shapeliest figure the most coquettish smile Emile or dimples Life hero bere is just jest one b beauty buty uty contest after another The public never seems to weary of these competitions any more I Ithan than the tho beautiful who are arc continually striving for the honor of win win- winning winning ning o one or another of them The latest of o these contests ts was the theone theone theone one re recently held under the auspices of the management of the Moulin Rouge the well known music hall And it came per perilously near ending in a n ludicrous ca- ca catastrophe ca catastrophe that doubtless would have put putI puta puta I 1 a stop atop to these affairs for a long time timet timeto timeto to come t I If It the Judges had awarded the earl capi capital tal prize to the competitor they had unanimously agreed was by far the love love- loveliest Best liest of all aU they would have set ParIS laughing BO so hard that it might never i again have been able to take these con contests tests seriously I For the contestant who came BO so near I ulI being proclaimed the most moat beautiful ul woman m in Pans Paris wa was wan no more entitled to that distinction than the tile I cx-I ex Raiser user is to tor tobe tobe r be called President of the United States I Yet had it not been for tor a sneeze the distinguished judges would hav haw have made mado es and these contests the laugh laugh- laughIng laughing ing stock of the whole world by handing er 0 oer er the capital prize to a rank urn lIn poster im-poster poster to a who competitor was not a woman at all but a man in lD disguise The narrow escape of the judges is as amusing as it is 18 surprising and it goes to show shat hat an elusive thing beauty is and how easy it i ii is for even a group of famous connoisseurs to be de do- do- do deceived concerning its genuineness The Moulin Rouge contest was WIlS ar- ar arranged ar arranged ranged to determine once more the most ul woman in Paris It was open to anyone any one witha with a claim to pulchritude whether on the stage or in m some other profession or in private life A rich neb diamond necklace was the capi cape capital I tal and there were prize so Be many minor prizes that only a few of the beauties entering the competition would come como out of it altogether dl disappointed I On the night of the contest the Moulin MoulinE l E Rouge was packed to the doors With friends of one ono or another of the two hun hun- hundred hundred dred competitors and also with beauty I lovers who welcomed this opportunity to 1 see so much engaging femininity massed i together t t I l 1 were Although famous many beauties of at and the well contestants known 1 I I Ot u fu f 4 y h 0 x f 3 r i t j k I u M iY I f In InI Js i iw w v- v vA W 1 t A l A r f E L y 7 i i i A 1 Rya fi t Vf v wt i both to the judges and spectators each of them was designated to make every everything thing perfectly fairand fair and above board by bya bya bya a number Starting with No 1 each competitor was to parade alone before the five judges When the last of the two hundred had shown herself the judges would narrow their choice down to the ten aho ho had im Em im- im impressed impressed pressed them most favorably and these thesa ten would be asked to appear on the tha stage n a second time Then the judges would name the one they thought the greatest beauty of all There was no limitation as to the kind of clothes the contestants should wear and they made their appearance in about all the stages of dress and undress which feminine ingenuity has been Leen able to de- de deVIse devise de VIse Some chose to display themselves very frankly in rn the tho scanty garb of the tho tha-tage tha tage dancer or in the tho tightly swathed and daringly evening gowns of fashionable society Others thought their beauty would make the best impression lIon in severely ta suits or pretty morning dresses Still others preferred to appear m in fetch fetch- f fetching teh- teh mg ing kimonos and other forms of negligee Of the two hundred beauties who passed in m quick review one after nIter the tho theother other none brought more admiring comments com com- comment comments ments ment from tho the spectators and seemed ed to tomako o make mako a more favorable impression on tho Judges than the one designated as No 47 VI Curiously enough mo most of the spectators could delightful not recall having seen this delight ful had creature creature had no idea who the she he was The few who did kno know v No 47 very well had as wa was later revealed very good reasons for pretending th they y didn't i i Nearly every spectator was wai ready to I rd i jf I I f io 1 wi ut I 1 Y o W 4 i I h th I thil il I Ir rf r M Md r d std t t r r k t 4 i L rrY ti r I M 5 a r 4 p r I v J f 43 3 f ff 4 if II k t Like all the other photo photo- I photographs graphs graph on lon this l r i ye page the theone a n none one on the right t is that of ofa t tt ts ta s a man e NOT NOTa NOTs a b s woman ro lea bL Bobby 1 I Ithe Lehman f F Fi i Ws 1 x t 14 playing the hero hero- heroine hero hero- herome I ine me in in a kr a college Zv musical 1 comedy u r R s agree that she was distractingly chic chic- ehlo- ehlo chic just the type of woman that Paris Pans adores Some thought her figure her crowning glory others her complexion still others her hair and eyes The dainty yet queenly way she carried herself the tho grace graco of the old-fashioned old curtsey sho made to the judges the smartness and exquisite taste of her hat and gown all gown were greatly admired Even the tho most loyal supporters of some of the other contestants had to admit tha that No 47 was going to give thema them II a close race The belief that she was sure to be one of tho the ten from whom tho 6 judges would make their final choice was WIlS general Sure enough No 47 was ono one of the tho fortunate ones whom the judges called to appear before them a 11 second time sd that they might weigh and compare moro more carefully their various charms After this final inspection the judges retired to deliberate de over the ho weighty matter Within twenty minutes they re- re returned re returned turned to the stage while the people In Inthe inthe inthe the audience leaned forward in their seats scats tense nse and breathless less with excite exCite- exCitement excitement excitement ment The crucial moment had bad arrived the the moment that was WIlS to decide the tb r y t b vie r f f t siss b Y i s- s I fate te of two hundred hun- hun hunk Il I k adred dred beauties expectant 1 I f No called y one of f the kj r X in lD a loud voice t And out from the the err a wings came trip trip- w t ping the ous l e t t I ups ous beauty whose appearance hadt hadI had bad badE J 11 t rt stirred such genI genA gen- gen genica It col 1 E oral eral era admiration A 4 i i ca The deis de- de deI judges t t f f dt t J Ji I I f fI I I is 4 J 7 landed to know 3 No No No- 47 name Darno K 11 s and f Ir t Af r and address r a I nf her occupation The answers a n a w o r s IThe I 7 came in m a 11 well modulated sweetly sweet sweet- sweetly sweetly ly shy girlish girlish olce these and other facts had rolce When been duly noted the chairman of tho hIS pompously from board of judges rose roso chair holding in III one hand the tho glitter glitter- glitter diamond necklace Ladies Ladles and gentlemen ho ha began after lifter tho the most careful deliberation we have decided de de- de decided ceded that the honor of of being berng called the most beautiful woman in III Paris Paris belongs to Mlle Mlle- Mile n But ut the sentence was fa j j never finished The judges judge's f words were cut short justat just at this moment bv by the fit a i of sn sneezing ng with which i i No N 47 was seized Once twice three times the prize winning prize winning beauty sneezed with mth great via vio lence and each sneeze spectators spectators more convincingly than tors and judges the one before that they had bad been the tho victims of an astonishing deception For no womans woman's sneezes could have sounded like liko those No 47 gave No chic bit of Parisian femininity could poSSIbly have produced such noises no matter how severe her cold or how irritating the th dust particle that had lodged in her ber nose or throat Everybody who he heard rd those snoozes sneezes knew that they were masculine snoozes They made it as plain as day that No carried off olf theM the 47 who had tad so nearly M t- t r t first prize was no woman w woman man but buta buta a man in disguise As Aa soon as IlS the sneezing fit St was over No 47 confessed that this was preCIsely the case I plainly see said she she that my my unfortunate sneezing has given away my secret and makes it useless for tor me to try to continue tho the deception which I have practiced so successfully all the eve eve- evening Wing ning With those words No 47 7 stripped off of the womans woman's hot hilt and wig and revealed M M Andre Andro a female impersonator tor who has been appearing for some sometime tune time in a music hall haJJ in the Latin Q Quarter ter tar and who had taken this novel method of demonstrating his skill in mimicry The spectators for the most part were inclined to treat it as a good Joke joIe and to bo ho grateful to M for them an amusing evening Bat Bet the judges whoso whose reputation as IlS connoisseurs of feminine beauty had been so w badly damaged at first were anxious to some way of ot punishing for tor his attempt to will walk off orr with the capital prIze under false pretenses 1 Finally however they decided that to drag him into court would only bring them more unpleasant notoriety and that they would better let matters rest as they thoy were But they never can forgive t the blow their self-esteem self suffered when he h gave the first of those sneezes All they c hake ha to be thankful for is the fact that the sneezes came before they actually had acclaimed him tho the most beautiful woman oman in Paris Parts and clasped the necklace around hIS hia shapely snow v snow snow- snow snowhite hite neck I was actuated by no me mercenary ma mo mo- motives t tines tives in entering the Moulin l I Rouge onga con con- contest contest con contest test as IlS I did says M Neither did I wish to humiliate the distinguished Judges or cause causa the management and the tho theother other competitors disappointment and aDd to- to in inconvenience convenience I My Uy purpose was to demonstrate to t the world how ridiculous it is rs to consider personal beauty the tho exclusive possession of woman I wanted to show that a mere mero man can un be just as u alluring If 11 he Daly will give the ne necessary time tame and thought hi hito to the care and adornment of his body bo ly If I had won the necklace I 1 intended selling it and the using pro proceeds s u II a 11 start toward the tho endowment of a great international school where men mcD can be taught the arts of beauty culture that are an arenow arenow now almost entirely monopolized monopolised ly by women If fIo q |