Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-03-20
1ailY II eagle
BOGUS NOBLEMEN.
How to Unmesk Pretenders to
Titles Of Old World Nobility,
Counts That Are of No ACCOMPLISHMENT
Barren OF Honor-M arquises Without
Mark of Distinc tion-Notes by .
Former Prussian Officer,


On any fine day you can see a doze,
fraudulent noblemen airing themselves OF
upper Broadway, asserts writer in til
New York Morning Journal
bogus Baron, a counterfeit Count,
n1iscalled Marquis, should never impose OF
anybody.
How can they be detectedi
Easily enough. Suppose you have q no
bleman presented to you; the introducel
should be able to vouch for him if the mat
ter OF title Is point In question.
But your bogus nobleman nearly Away:
presents himself. Then go to the Consulate
Of his country.
There it is easy to satisfy yourself Of his
Identity. Generally speaking, although MOI
always, real noblemen register at The
Consulate on their arrival in New
York, but every Consulate, even if ths
gentleman has not recorded there is more
Or less able to give information as to noble
men belonging to their country Thanks to
the English Peerage (Burke's and Debrett's)
and the German Gothaische Grafen and
Freiherrn Calendar, as wei as to the army
lists Of both countries, it is pretty easy to
get at the facts. And there are 50 many
real noelemen and officers Of the German
tnc English armies here in this city that the
bogus article could easily be detected by be.
ing confronted with the real one 1920
The impostor is generally good-looking
and distingue and has dangerous knowl-
edge OF what he Is talking about depending
On his good looks and his cheek to carry
him through. And our rich girls, blinded
by what they believe to be the honor of
being courted by real live Lord or Count,
fall an easy victim 10 the INSCRIPTIONS
fortune-hunter.
Counterfeit noblemen and real pobIemen
who have 50 far forgotten what is due to
their name that they closely resemble the
bad article, abound and always will abound
In great cosmopolitan city like New York
AS long as the present inordinate love for
titles exists in this enlightened Republic,
people must not be astonished il they are
the dupes Of such as have smattering of
education and the cheek TO call themselves
by high-souuding title
All these counterfeit noblemen have one
characterlstic-that is, on all possible occa-
)ions they will brag of their noble descent
and Will tell the most wonderful stories Of
their doings at home and Of the dolngs of
their ancestors generations before them.
The latest specimen who has been annoy
ing various families, particularly that of
Dir. William Steinway, represented himself
as a nephew Of the latter, called himself at
various times Count BONN, Count Won Ar
nim, Baron Fedwitz and various other
names. What his real intentions were have
cot been found out as yet Inspector Byrnes,
Of the Metropolitan police, Ripped his career
N the bud.
A peculiar and rather amusing case once
came under the notice of the writer, him
self for long years an officer in the Prussian
service. He used 10 lunch regularly at a
downtown restaurant when one day he
was told by the proprietor that he had an
ex-oficer, who was down on his luck, as
waiter.
The said waiter claimed TO be a Count
x, and said that he was First Lieuten-
ant in a crack cavalry regiment of the
Guards The writer was rather curious to
see the waiter, as he had personally known
Count x. He was rather skeptical as to
the walters identity, seeing that he told
wonderful stories Of his prowess during the
Franco-German war, the Count IN reality
having entered the army only after the close
Of the campaign.
At last the waiter made his appearance,
and after having been taken to task he ac-
knowledged that he was not the Count, but
was once the Counts servant. The latter
fact accounted for his intimate knowledge
Of the Counts family affairs.
Many are the cases where American wives
have married bogus nobiemeu and suffered
bitterly for it afterward, simply because
they did not take the trouble to make in
quiries, but believed every thing the
smooth-tongued rascals said.
I'LL 81 !.
Fifth avenue with gentleman, when the
name of Marquis weil-known in New York
was mentioned On asking what national
ity the Marquis was, he received as answer:
"Oh, he is not really Marquis, only we
al call him 500
Englishnen, thorough cockneys, come
here, dropping their his and calling them
selves by titles of which Burke's Peeragei is
guiltless, but they are taken for ''pur sang''
because they are English, you know" The
Innocent native never dreams of asking
bow it is that an English nobleman has so
little education as to drop his his.
The most dangerous are the Italian, Span
tsh and French MarQuises and other noble
men. as titles of nobility exist in those
countries TO such an extent that they are
really difficult TO classify.
All this makes it very hard for such noble
men who come here TO gain a footing IN
good society as people have been so often
iuped by the spurious article that when an
man comes he is apt 70 be looked
IN with dubious eye.
II the Consulates here are not able to
1--WE information, 1t is easy enough to write
10 the American Consuls in London, Berlin.
n whatever country the claimant to the
ltle comes from. to receive authentic in
orma ton.
But as long as the inordmate craving of
Americans exists for titles, so long Will the (
American storekeeper and tailor as well as
he American heiress fall an easy victim to
he foreign adventVrer who comes with
,ig-sounding utle. The more names and 4
he longer the title, the hetter