Dear Sir, - I have been noting with a good deal of interest the letters from limbless lady readers of "London Life" and have enjoyed the different accounts of these brave monopedes who have taken an unfortunate blow of Fate, and are happy and satisfied in facing life with their handicaps.
However, I am afraid I must find fault with some of the pictures which you print, accompanying these articles.
The snap which was printed with the letter signed "Another Monopede", which appeared a few months ago, in April, I think, was supposed to be of a young lady with an 8 inch stump. Yet the picture shown does not indicate any stump short of the lady's knee. The tucking under of her skirt and the width of her lap both appear to give the lady a knee amputation. The irregular shading to the left af the single leg shown looks a though they might have been made to cut the other leg from the picture, making the whole a fake. Perhaps I am wrong and the shading was only put in to show off the remaining limb to better advantage.
The two pictures in the September 4 issue might also quite easily be fakes, the positions of the ladies being such that they might quite easily be sitting on their other legs.
Perhaps I am too critical, but I am not writing this to say that I believe these pictures are faked or "doctored." I merely wish to point out that there is every indication that such "doctoring" was quite possible in the pictures shown. No doubt the majorities of the ones that you print are genuine, and I enjoy seeing them. The attitude these unfortunate young ladies have taken seems to belie what I have heard many people say:
"I should rather die than lose a leg."
I am sure that there are many people in this world who admire monopedes more than they realise, and out of genuine interest, not mere curiosity, would like to see more letters and good pictures, some of them perhaps showing just how neat and trim a peg-leg can really look. The only I've ever sren on a lady was a rather clumsy looking affair.
Yours truly,
Interested In Monopedes.