The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-03-20
A NOTABLE 1MposrURE.
The Egyptian COpt Who Successfully
Deceived n Pope OF Rome.

The Egyptian COpt Who Successfully
Deceived Pope OF Rome.
A few weeks ago there died ut Spoleto,
Italy, a man who at one time success
fully deceived pope OF Rome, and
scandalized the whole Roman Catholic
church. His name was Abraham Cas-
hiour, and he was an Egyptian Copt.
The son of fruit peddler at Cairo, he
was brought to Italy, and educated at
the college of the propaganda. Here
he gave out that his father was of i'm
mense wealth and great influence with
the Egyptian viceroy, and that if he
the SOM were made patriarch of the
Egyptian Copts, the schismatic Copts
would In a mass abjure their schism and
return to the fold of the new church.
Leo XII, who was tn the pope, was
deceived by this report, consecrated the
young Cashiour as patriarch, installed
him In elegant apartments, and provided
him with all the surroundings suitable
to his new rank. The patriarch received
the cardinals, patricians, and embassa-
doris, while the people crowded around
his carriage to kiss his outstretched
hand. It was observed, however, that
the new patriarch was very slow to go
He fingered about Rome, evidently en-
ioying the homage he was receiving. 1t
wa observed that letters he had shown
to the pope, as coming to him from
Egypt, were written on pontifcal paper,
and suspicious being aroused, the pope
apo nted priest, Canestrari by name,
to watch him.
Cashiour, seeing that his star was be-
ginning to pale, decided to start for
Egypt with the priest. OF course, all
this was before the days of railroads
about 1926 and the false patriarch
travelled slowly along in his state car
riage. He traversed the southern part
of the pontifical states, Sicily and NAL
ia, everywhere honored and feted, and
distributing, as he passed, benedictions
from the window of his coach.
In due course of time the ship con-
veying the patriarch and priest arrived
at the port of Alexandria, and Cashiour
sent Canestrari in advance to arrange
with the consular corps and the local
authorities for his ceremonial disem-
barkment. Either he did this in sheer
desperation, or he had some faint hopes
that he might still carry on his impos
ture. But his career of successful
fraud was at an end. Mohamet Ali, on
hearing that Rome had sent, with great
pomp, a patriarch whose mission was to
bring back the schismatic Copts to the
Romish church, flew into a passion
declared that the new patriarch was an
impostOr, and threatened to impale
him if he dared to come on shore.
So Canestrari took Cashiour back to
Rome, where the unhappy COpt was
tried by the inquisition, and sentenced
to ecclesiastical degradation and to i'm
prisonment for life.
For more than twenty years he lin
gered in prison, until, in 1849, the
short-1ived Roman republic of that day
set at liberty all the prisoners found in
the dungeons of the inquisition. Cas-
hiour was among them but year later
he decided to throw himself on the
mercy of Pins TX, who then had just
remounted his throne.
The pontiff was touched by this mark
of confidence, pardOned the penitent
impostor, and even permitted him to re-
sumo the ecclesiastical garb and to say
mass. He also assigned him pension
of l, 500 francs. For time Cashiour
lived at Rome, but finally left the me-
tropolis for Spoleto, where he could
support life more economically. His
death brought to it's close strange and
chequered career At this date, with
the general use of telegraphic and mail
facilities, such an imposture would be