Transvestia

old friend of mother's came for a visit, probably when I was about four. Probably I had long hair for a time as most boys did. I was never told of it, there were no pictures at all of those days. So I know nothing at all whether I did or did not, and if it was long when it was first cut. Had I been used to the boots, it is likely I would have thought nothing of them. The first I remember is of a boy coming to mother's school with new girl's boots. They did not last long for he got teased too much about them. I could not take my eyes off them. Soon after in the summer holiday, my cousin came to stay with us. There was one of the fre- quent diptheria epidemics and as her father had sever- al patients, it was thought unwise for her to stay home. She came in the evening, was undressed downstairs and put to bed. I arrived later and found her boots. As I did not know she was coming I was wildly excited, thought they must be for me, though I could not see why they had got old ones. I crawled under a table to try them on but could not button them. I came out before mother discovered me and found out who owned the boots. The love of those boots continued through life though no one could have persuaded me then to be seen wearing them. If mother had wanted me to wear them, all she could have done would have been to get boots my size and leave them where I would find them but say nothing at all. I would certainly have worn them whenever alone, and she might gradually have managed to see them on me and to persuade me to wear them when no one was around but her. I still re- member clearly a vivid dream I had years after of wearing a new and very neat pair.

I cannot just figure out how or exactly when my very intense interest in corsets commenced. I was a- bout fifteen I think. There were odd bits of news in the paper at times about men and corsets. Also at that time the new "straight front" ones were introduc- ed and widely advertised and commented on in women's pages as a great improvement over the older styles. They were, but still had tiny waists. That brings up something that I have often thought of. All the girls that I weat to school with were of course put into s small waisted corsets when about ten or twelve, and kept quite tightly laced. So according to ideas then

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