Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-02-14
POET sAfD,s PooH-sAH.
Outwitted the Merchant 1Iayrisch, hut Gave
l. I'm to the Man with the Plug Hat.

0ntwitssd the Merchant Mayr,sch, hut Gave
|. I'm to the Man with the Plug Hat.
From the San Francisco Chronicle.
There were four of us standing near the
register at the Palace Hotel counter last night
the tall man with the scar on his neck, the
short fat mtn with the four days beard, the
proud owner Of the Plug Hat, and He.
"You have been a newspaper man?" asked the
tall man..
"Oh, yes; on. in Australia" He answered. II
was first at Melbourne and then Mt Sydney.
That was just before the Egyptian war"
"And You became a warrior, Of course?'
well, went out Is correspondent. had
letters to Baker Pasha, who had been at school
with An uncle Of mine"
'sBaker Pasha sent me to Port Said at sal
airy OF E500. He said he would in q short time
give me charge at Port Said at E7OO All that
came about. At Port Said you know, there il
q governor, usually Turk; q stipendiary
magistrate. Turk or an Egyptian; a COM
mandant OF gendermerie and various consuls
You heard the 'Mikado? You remember Pooh
Bah? Well, sir. was the Pooh-Bah Of Fort
Said. ! was commandant of gendarmerie
The governor went away and the stipendiary
magistrate became acting governor. The
to act for him in his absence. Then the
stipendiary magistrate went away and left
me acting for him and also acting governor
There I vas, a regular Pooh-Bah. Now I'll
tell You how all these things worked into
each other. There was a man at Port Said
named Mayrisch. He kept the largest store in
the place, where you could get anything from
an anchor to needle He also had big
gambling house, the Ell Dorado, opposite his
store. He made f200, 900 there the first year
OF the war; 30 You may imagine what the place
was worth to him. I dealt with Mayrisch. run
ming quarterly bills. He must have thought
was going away. for he sent me in my bin for
E2S before the quarter was up. refused to pay
until the usual time. He said he would sum
mons me. All right l said, summons away
That afternoon when got up-I always slept
from about $3.50 ociock until 81 sent two gem
darmes to the bank to get Mayrisch's account
Of course, as commandant, all accounts were
open to me. He had fls,OOO balance, and
knew he owned his house and had property in
Italy and Malta, 30 he was not in need Of my
E28. When returned l told an English de-
tective to 60 down to Mayrischs store that
night after o clock and taLe Il drink there
The place was not licensed and drinking after
O'Clock was against the law and subjected the
property to seizure and sale and removal Of the
business to ten miles from Port Said.
1.-The detective got the drink, and next
morning shortly after O'Clock, as Mayrisch
was going to board the ship in the harbor, two
gendarmes accosted him and told him he was
under arrest and was to appear at the court of
the commandment lthat was me) at O'Clock.
He appeared and told him he could elect to
be tried before the stipendiary magistrate.
That was me again. could fine him only 400
piastres as commandant but as stipendiary
magistrate could confscate his property. He
did not know was acting as stipendiary. He
elected to appear before the stipendiary, and
when I appeared US the court Mayrisch almost
tainted. He asked for twenty-four hours post
poTement, which granted. In the afternoon
l went to the governors Office and the clerk
told me Mayrisch had been there to appeal to
the governor, and when he found l was acting
governor he was taken i'll.
"The next morning when 1 got up could
hardly open the door OF my room, which swung
outward, on account of the things Mayrisch
had caused to be piled in the hall. There were
six dozen champagne, six dozen beer. 5000
cigarettes, zoo cheroots soda and brandy and
a Turkish silk shawl, which gave my sister as
a wedding present, and other things. There
was also q receipt in full for E2S, signed by
Mayrisch."
"Of course you accepted these things as
tokens Of esteem" said the man with the Plug
Hat.
'.Al but the receipted bill, which returned,
and paid him the money" said the Pooh Bah
of Port Said.
WHAT cried the fat man and the tall man
together. Then they looked at each other and
sighed, and, locking arms. they wandered out
into the fog. leaving the man with the illustri-
GUS tile and the changer Of 900 bills together.
Later on they met their esteemed confrere of
the famous head covering, and behold He wore
new ovcrcOat. On its collar was the name in
to the POoh-Bah Of Port Said, who had parted
with it to the man with the Plug Hat during
social chat concerning an ancient game called
poker,