1955-02-05 — Page 5

THE CHINA MAIL, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1955.

Would your watch have kept

time on the sea-bed?

+

WEARING & Rolex Oyster Perpeturi, a, profesor of Milan University went for a swim off Capri, Bat the step-buckle was loose, and his watch broke from his wrist, and sank to the bottom. Without much hope, the professor asked some divers, working nearby, to keep an eye open for his watch. Surprisingly, seven days later, they actually found it, and it coas still kieping perfect time.

It is not really so incredible. For this superb watch, completely protected from water and sand by the famous Oyster waterproof case, is automatically wound by the Perpetual “rator" mechanis another Rolex invention.

It is in their ability to stay accurate under such incredible tests of endurance that Rolex watches prove their immunity from the more normal ills that beset an ordinarje watch.

MONTE CARLO RALLE

"We MIGHT he in Regent's Park; he MIGHT have escaped from

map one day, mightn't you, dear?”

circus; and you MIGHT learn to read

London Express Bervios

THE LACK OF £5 ON APRIL FOOL'S DAY, 1817, LED TO ONE OF THE BIGGEST IMPOSTURES OF ALL TIME

The Princess Who Wasn't

T

By CHRIS BAKER-CARR

HERE

have

Irreli

11

Thousands of impos tors who have left behind them

heartbreak. pitiful trait of

But fraud and crime.

few can have been so strange and harmless, so honest and Jovable as Princess Caraboo

of Javasu.

Many acknowledgest called there to see this enigma of a girl, only to retreat haffted auct embarrassedi by deftat, while newspapers up and down the country published columns of print about the mysterious foreigner. One man. however, secined more of an expert than the others. He said

had he

the travelled several times to East Indies, that he knew mosl languages there and The story begins-appro- of the priately enough on April claimed he was an authority on

Не customs and rituais.

A

the Ceoilar ko

וויha

letters of

The alphabet. numbers had fascinating

Bud

those from one

f Leti were: **Exc Duce. Tan. Trup,

Sen- Zennce. dee. Tam Nunta, Berteen and Tustiman

But she could

count

only up:

even

Every

to 15!

ed all her own

food, preferring

Fool's Day, 1817. A pretty, boasted that he knew plump girl with roina creek and harbour in that vast face, dark, merry eyes, black area. hair, and a laughing mouth walked along the quay Fat Bristol looking for the cap tains of three ships then in harbour.

She wanted, she said, a pass-

America ago to

Two turned her down, but the third said he

22 15 sailing

daya and

Caraboo cook-

This mum spent a great deal of line claseied with Carnboo and loved ex deciphering

her

language--In

the process straming his imagin- ation to its uumost, nut

Acara! Whether

AL

mention honestly

believed she was genuine we shall never know. Quite possibly he tumbled once to such a delightful hoax and played along with Curaboo, would take her for £5. Five geillag us much enjoyment from

I as she did herself

Was

pounds ow Wils that vast sum?

Her

she tu raise

sense of fun, never, very for wway. spucer! her on to Lic starl of the magnificent Jaje. It took only moment to remove her bon- net and wind a showi round her head like a turban. Sho de- cided to play the part of destitute foreigner and beg for money,

She rearranged ner clothes to give them on Eastern air, drap- ing a red and black shawl loosely

over the shoulders of her black dress and

little its muslin collar. Then this almost illiterate girl of 25 began win- dering from vilinge to village. knocked At Almondsbury she at the parson's door.

Unintelligible

Discovery

ht

However, be announced Uscovery that Curaboo was the daughter of a Congee

that her man) of rank, and mother was a Maudin (Mulay). He extracted the life story of this Princess of Javasu- for so the enger-believer "expert" per- sunded her shu must be.

rice to bread, tremely

curry.

On

Tuesdays sbe

fasted religi- où siy

and

ilmbod to the

roof of Knole to pruy

God, Allah Taliah.

She wound a shawl round her hoad.... and became a Princeau.

to her

A jocular parson called OBC afternoon. Caraboo was a fraud, he wald, and he would unmask

her.

"You are the most beautiful creature ever beheld," he told But her. "You are an angel." not a blush came to her checks; THI athy face muscle moved. The parzon went home defeated. But dospite the success of her imposture, her worr

were Soon the men growing dally.

India House would be But the panel of Oxford Dons down from London naking nwk-

her wtw studad

vocabulary ward questions, and sho WIS words declared of about 100

frightened of being recognised on roundly that it was completely

The servants at Knola one of the many trips to Bristol bogus.

Caraboo

Mirs Worrali, often thought

might be made with

Brun

give herself away by talking in The strain became too great; on her sleep, and said 50 once Saturday, Jum 0, she took to she deliberately gave tongue in her heels onde mano.

within her hearing. That night

ber Jayasu Jurgon.

Mrs Worrall supposed aho bad princess

Vialtors crowded the elegant drawing-room, with Caraboo the

altraction-one centre of

Mrs Worrall demanded the true story of her life as well as her real identity.

So the miserable girl talked: sho was Mary Willcocks, A Witheridge Devon. native of

in

and known la later years Mrs Molly Baker. She had run away from home at the age of 10 and gone into service Exeter. From there she drifted from job to job, and ended up In London, still working as n housemaid.

short "She stayed for a very time in the Magdalen in Black- friars Road. She left hurriedly on discovering it was, in fact, a home for "fallon" women. She tpok, to the rond met more, Lila time disguised as a page- boy for the journey to her Devon home. With Q fresh supply of clothing she returned from Devon to London,

ĮRAN

Disappointed

tho

Where she found a "husband" is not certain: 4ome people say it was in a Billingsgate book- girl shop; others in a seid by was kneeling at her feet, an- River Thames. Her lover was other holding her hand and thought to have been a foreigner third bagging a kiss from the royal lips. Caraboo said later she found this the hardest test of all and had to do her utmost to stop herself from laughing.

Caraboo felt the end had come when Mrs Worrall walked

and the person responsible for her wide knowledge of Eastern customs. She taught herself to read and write in a rudimentary way during her eight years of wandering along the south coast of England.

At any rate, the man deserted in. The girl prostrated herself her and went to France. Their on the carpet and then hugged child died, only a few months her hostess before flying from old in 1 London foundling the room Downstairs aho con hospital. Disappointed and

Aded that it was only to see her lonely, she took 1 coach to father once again that she had Devon, saw her family and set

off for Bristor and the impersonation.

run away.

Recognised

grand

When Caraboo Anished her confession Mrs Worrall pro- miss to

pay

to her fare America,

But the princesa was about

A marquess, da earl and to abdicate. Her former many linguists, physiognomista, landlady had seen, ane of the cruntologists arid gipales come to many newspaper. 'stories about sen her off. the dark stranger. Mrs Nente immediately recognised her one. Molly Baker, the one-time But her memory must have offended her darling

Javasu, been phenomenal to enablo and driven her away. Hearing time lodger end produced such Princess Caraboo of The overseer of the parish

been heading unshakable evidence of identity made one final (and her only her to use each Javasu word that Carabon hind by poor, mystined

could solemn) promise: "I will return the

poor Mrs Worrall girl's

correctly every time-while her for Bath this time, Mrs. Worrell doubt no longer,

from America and ride through language and her

Bristol in my own carriage and intriguing appearance, took her acting ability was beyond recalled. for her

arrived in the city the following Princesa Caraboo isid aside sour horses." up to the big house, Knole Park. proach.

afternoon. She found her Cara- her bogus "crown" in a food of 7.

almost Chinese style able houses.

send hair to guol. In return of again. ;

strange

This was

#

carriage and

that

'

mattor for Mr Numerals she wrote in aboo in one of the most fashion- bears and beamed them not to She was never seen or heard

Worrall, a country straneg,

Samuel magistrate.

Mrs Worrall tried talking to the girl, asking who she WIR and where she came from. I was useless. Her replies were n torrent of strange, unintelligible words. Mrs Worrall went so far

2

tho

St Paul's Was Financed From Coal!

another

as to accuse her of being trand

and offered to keep

TUST two hundred and He regarded it as an enemy. After a full fifty years service, There is no doubt that all- secret, give her money and

** of all architests bessuse of the clothes it she

madne monument to fixing which now powera nome, would

eighty confess.

years ago, This too, had no effect. The Christopher Wren laid the smoke's injurious effects on coal that has become a familiar 80 percent of the world's me

masonry. And he campaigned Thomies landmark is to discurile marielus mach hig girl

just kept repeating the first stone of London's pre- for the prohibition of cool ares appear. word "Caraboo" while pointing

poets vastly clearre places, Th near. the City ..... or This is the coal hulle Artemis, clouds of cool, dust that at con to herself; That much, at least, sent St Paul's Cathedral anywhere

de- at me time the Great Eastern, tima billowed pym major bun- was clear her name

only. would the Hallway, paddle-steamer, Lady, leering depois made, že un- Carabeo.

ing been burned down in the pristine cleanliness of the Tyler, which for half a century, pleskmat : for, residopta- of' the Cathedral's masonry be sullled, has been moored off Gravesend neighbourhood, especially when A guest of somewhat dubious Great Fire of 1666. honour at dost (her name for The work took 35 years, and but the smoke would actually as a coaling depot for local tuas strong wind was blowing, dinner) that night, she refused the last stone was let into the attack the stone and harten its

was the previous structure hav-clared, not

London Otherwise, ho des

to eat meat and drank nothing demo in 1710 when Wron was decay.

nearly eighty years of age.

takon Cort or Uils superb cathedral

Until comparatively recently, there were many similar hulks dotted along the Thamer GREY often the remnants of once

stronger than ana (water). The following day she was before the Lord Mayor of Bristol and several of the city wortalm end to no effect and from there to St. Peter's Hospital for However, the greater pariton vagrants and poor people. Dury was provided from levy \ing" her} two-day stay Tres ranging from €4d to 21. fd, per lou

fused ei tov nat pangining. Mrn charna: (30 bulbulayakan war Worrall felt more, and more imposed and son borror & ORL away From: (dien fan helyed tributing her sport

was £850,000-a huge sum in Wrens failed to gain his point, fine ships with international Tom those days. Part of It was though he was only uttering, for putations reduced by, aga to raised by public subscriptions in scrvance the plea for Jamoksignominious role of howling

now frequently aculties for chuing

ever, lugs today; files stoing ships thay per Peony

*

The Rolex Oyster Perpetual is similar to the one in the story. Permanently waterproof in it. Öyster Case, it is given parftet accuracy by the Perpétant elfinding "retor" The Rolex Red Stat identifies every Rola chronometer.

Rilex

After sivin days baneath the sea, Oyster Perpetual, brought up by divers, cons found to be will showing the right time! (The original letter of Profiner Carolo can be inspected at the Rolex officer, 18 rue du Marche, Genson.)

ROLEX

་་

A landmark in the bistory of Time measurement

BOLEX Chronometer Official Timepiece of Panegra Airlines

AX-19

His only

rival

Johnnie Walker

FINE OLD SCOTCH WHISKY

BORN 1820

STILL GOING

STRONG

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