The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-10-09
When a Prince Breaks Loose

Here is the story Of a European happen
ing which illustrates many features OF Life
on the continent 1t illustrates most not
ably the great gulf fixed between the
Prince and merchant and the nobility and
the bourgeoise. 1t illustrates also the emas-
culating influence Of continental custom
and tradition upon the manhood OF the
husband and the brother, tanning their
arms and bunting their sense of shame
against insults that come from titled
sources.
Prince Fasula-Mirsaswas lieutenant in
the Forty-tArd Russian Dragons. sta
toned at Twer. Last month he went on
his summer furlough with Count Sherme-
teff. They rode little and drank little,
and eventually took a train at Patigorsk
to continue their spree IN a large town
al the other end of the line. They entered
a first-class compartment, in which they
found a young merchant and MS attractive
wife. The Prince threw kisses at the young
wife, kissed her hand, and made as II 10
embrace her. She shrank away toward
her husband, and the Prince des-sted- The
Count and the Prince had some testing
conversation as regarded the young Wo-
mans offishness. They fell TO betting as
TO the size of her ankle. The Prince Owed
down and grasped her foot, pulled away
her skirts. and tried to take the measure
OF her ankle. The train was drawing into
a station al this stage of the princely d.
version. The husband had made no effort
10 protect his wife, for he had heard the
Prince addressed as 1.-The serene" and ap-
parently felt helpless in such an august
presence. But the young woman was not
ready to offer herself up in public TO a
Princes pleasure, and, screaming and
weeping. she pushed open the compart-
ment door. The conductor OF the train
came She told him OF her experience. the
Prince laughed and showed his card. The
station-master was called. The Prince
laughed, showed his card, and called the
group at the compartment door camille.
Eventually the conductor declared ne could
do nothing except give the merchant ana
his wife seats in another compartment.
This he did. He was punished, however,
for depr.ving the Prince of his amusement.
The Prince seized him by the collar, shook
him, waved his drawn sword over him.
and called him an imperinent dog.
Before the train started the Prince and
Count moved into another first-class COM
partment. There they found a Muscovlte
school teacher named Gevashoff and his
wife. Mrs. Gevashoff was neither young
nor pretty, as was the merchants wife,
but as a woman Of the burgeois she was
regarded as good game for the nobility,
and all the insults and familiarity that
had been tried in the other compartment
were repeated by the Prince and the Count.
Mr.. Gevashoff began to protest, but one
view of 1.-THE serene ones card Gained
him, so that he allowed his wife TO be
Ial rx-f-L yir1C fIrF
Their protest.
At the next station, Ossentuki, Mrs. Gev-
ashoff appeared at the compartment win
dow, crying for help. The station officials,
train guards, and the general public gath
cred at the compartment door. heard her
story, and tried to redress her wrong, but
promptly yielded to that magic card OF
1.-THE serene" ruffian. reinforced by the
crested card of the Count of Sheremeteff.
There was a delay of twenty-five min
utes. The train was held while the police
were consulted. The chief Of police ap-
preached the august persons who had caus-
ed all the trouble The Prince drew his
sword and shouted:
Back, back, canaille! Back or I will
hew you down."
The upshot of the scrimmage was that
the second pair of the Princes victims had
to follow the example of the first pair:
they fed 10 another couple and locked the
door behind them so as to keep the two
titled rowdies out. Then the train started
on. AT the next station the Count en-
braced a waiting passengers wife and
kissed her. When her husband called to
him to stop the Count drew a short driv-
ing whip from his cavalry boots and cut
the husband over the cheek with il. The
Prince displayed his card. and the ind:g-
nant populace, suddenly humbled, sunk
into the background once more.
1t Is not necessary TO follow this precious
pair step by step from the beginning OF
the trip to the terminus of the road; the
rest OF the journey was like the part al
ready described Two or three more wives
were insulted, but no husbands hand was
raised to avenge them. However, the
Prince came to grief. despite all his Sc
renity" and titles and exalted associa-
tons at court. His conduct was complain
ed of in ST. Petersburg. The war depart
ment sent out an order for a court-mar-
tial The court-martial was held, and, Ike
most other Russian things ordered from
81. Petersburg, il was no joke or mere
Formally. The Prince was found guilty;
he was deprived Of his commission, and
he was degraded to the rank of private
soldier. Similar punishment was melted out
10 the Count. Thus the husbands who
allowed their wives 10 be handled and in
suited and terrified by a stranger merely
because he bore the title of Prince have
their revenge at last, such as il Is. OF
course il might have been even less sat
isfactory than this. In Germany. for in
stance, a mere Count or Baron after such
a debauch often gets nothing more than
a transfer TO another garrison. SO, from
the European point of view. these amiaole
husbands may be regarded as subjects for
conora tulatiou