Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-03-15
THE COUNTS VISIT.
How Montercole Put in a Day at the
Hotel Duquesne in This City.
A SECTION OF HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Which he Desired to Sell in Order to Raise
Money.
HE WAS FRIGHTENED LAST EVENING

HE WAD rhlUnIENGU uADL 1EuNANu
In scrawling, foreign-looking hand the
name "Conte di Montercole" appeared on
the register of the Hotel Duquesne yester-
day. 1t was written there by small man
with swarthy complexion and black mus
tache and eyebrows, soon after the early
morning express from the East got in. This
small man was the italian parsonage who
married Miss Virginia Knox here several
months ago, and who has been held up to
the public in very unpleasant light ever
since the complicated weddings took place.
He was assigned room 55 by the hotel
clerk, and at once secluded himself there,
having first asked for an interpreter, IN
which capacity Mr.. Scollari, one Of the
hotel walters, was directed to serve. AS
soon as he had smoked three cigarettes and
discussed some of his personal affairs with
Mr.. Scollari, he directed the latter to tell
THE DISPATCH that he wanted to make
statement for publication. 1t was in answer
to this request that reporter of THE DIS
PATCH called upon the Conte di Montercole
shortly before noon.
THE COUNTS AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
According to Mr.. Scollari's statement the
Count had given to him the sole right to
purvey reporters and dispose of his count
ship to them. Accordingly, Mr.. Scollari
escorted The DISPATCH reporter into the
august presence of the Count.
The Count looked comfortable and fairly
well-fed, His slightly curly hair was
parted in the middle. Under a stand-up
collar he wore white bow with red figures
upon it. His coat and vest were black, and
there was reminiscence of hymeneal lilac
in his trousers. Two rings were all his
right hand boasted-one OF them diamond.
He waved his hand necessarily while ne
talked. In his mouth was an American
straight-cut cigarette, and this occupied his
hand when he was not pulling his mustache
or caressing his curly forelock.
When a little Introductory ceremony in
italian, French and English had been pain
fully performed the Count observed that he
had written out little story, which would
not require more than one issue of The
DISPATCH to print. The Count thereupon
pulled out lot of towzled manuscript from
his overcoat, which lay upon the bed. He
handed the roll of paper to the reporter and
babe him look over it. 1t was written in
Italian, in the same bad, uneven hand that
the signature on the hotel register had
shown. Estimating roughly, the story
might fill three or four columns of The
DISPATCH.
'In that paper" said the Count, by way
of the interpreter, sis full history of my
affairs" Then, turning to the reporter d.
rectIy he continued with great gesticulation,
ooh, very interesting, very interesting;" by
which it is presumed that he meant to en-
phasize the qualities of his historical effort.
ITS PURPOSE EXPLAINED.
He wanted to set himself right, he said,
before the American public, and he also
wished to recoup himself by sale of this
part of his autobiography for the expense to
which the consequences ofhis American ex-
perience had put him. Everything that had
been said about him was untrue, and the
little history he had compiled contained the
truth and the whole truth.
AT this point in the interview the reporter
ventured to ask: care you a Count at
alp"
"Oui, yes" the Count replied, and break
ing off into torrent of italian, added that
anybody could obtain confirmation of his
claim to the title by telegraphing to the
Italian Consul in New York. He also took
from a velvet pocketbook letter dated
August, 1885 addressed to the Conte de
Montercoli and signed E. B. Heath, italian
Consul at London, England. Then the
small italian reverted to his desire to make
money out of the recital of his domestic
difficulties. He had been told, he said, on
the other side that money could be made
out of anything in America. The history
and its attractiveness he extolled as a
peddler would any ordinary wares, 1t was
for sale. He must have money tor
it soon, for he was going to sail
for Italy on Saturday next. Be-
sides the Italian Consul in New York,
whose name he did not know, had urged
him to visit Pittsburg and have his history
published, for patriotic as we'll as personal
reasons. italian Counts had fallen away
below par already, and this history would
most pathetic at this stage of the converse
ton, and repeated his old formula of adyer-
tisement for his literary production.
But The DISPATCH reporter left the his
tory on the table, unopened and unread,
pretty we'll satisfied that the circumstance
of person seeking to make money out of
transaction of this sort was in itself 30
unique and suggestive that the public would
not care to make further acquaintance with
the interesting specimen of Italian nobility
either through his memoirs or otherwise.
At last accounts the Count was taking the
fresh air in the neighborhood of the hotel.
Several well-known characters loitered
about the doorway of the Duquesne all aft
ernoon. They said they were waiting to
punish his Countship if he appeared, but
the Count had been advised to keep his
room, and he never showed his face. For
this reason he gave up an engagement for
dinner. No one visited him. 1t had been
rumored that consultation was to be held
by the friends of the parties to the marriage,
but if any such conference did occur the
Count was not present.