The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-12-31
DINAH-sALIFOU.
The Adventures of a Negro King in
Paris

The Adventures of n Negro King in
Paris.
Paris Correspondence of the London Globe.
Dinah-salifou, formerly King of the
Nalous, died a few days ago in the Mill
tary hospital of St. Louis, in Senegal. 1t
may be remembered that only two sover-
eigns visited the French Universal ElXhl-
bition of lSS9-Dinah-Salifou was one ard
the Shah of Persia, the luxurious Nasr-
'ed-din was the other. They met one day
at the exhibition. The shah looked at hiss
black cousin from head to foot, and then
turned. away in contemptuous silence
much to the surprise of the poor negro.
monarch, Who felt inclined to call him out.
The shah, however, compensated for the
ahront by presenteng him with a mag
nificent sabre, which Dinah-Saifou imme-
diately suspended to his belt. 1t was the
happiest day of his life, as Joseph Prud-
homme would have said, but alas! his
happiness did not last long. There being
some doubt as to the authenticity of the
African potentate, no reception was pre-
pared for his arrival and he had to lodge
in a very small furnished apartment.
Every day our negro king, accompanied
by his queen a corpulent lady dressed
in savage fashion, went out in an open
cab to visit the sights of Paris. Behind
the royal couple there came their suite.
which was composed of half dozen ma
tlves, all attired in what may be described
as rags and tatters, and grinning like so
many gorillas. His majesty knew nothing
of the French language beyond a phrase
which he had learned, and which he en-
ployed on all occasions, from grave to-
gay, from lively to severe. ''Suis tres con-
tent was the universal phrase in Dues
ton. One evening Dinah-Salfou, together
with his wife and attendants, went to the
theater of the Porte st. Martin. The
king was dressed in long robe very much
Hpa hot hfr1,
bled a wideawake, with tall crown, red
babouches, and by his side the saber which
the shah had given him. The queen wore
a white dress, with a necklace made of
colored beads, and a small hat of red and
yellow velvet. AS regards their suite they
put on for the occasion caftans of vari-
Gus colors, greasy and patched up. One
of the dignitaries had on a pair of red
trousers, which evidently belonged at one
time to some French soldier Another was
the treasurer of the kingdom, who was
considered to be a distinguished person.
age.
His African majesty was tall we'll
built man, as black as ebony; the queen
was also tall but not without a certain
grace, but she was not so black as her
royal husband. The manager of the the
ater did honor to his royal guests by plac-
ing them in one of the prominent boxes,
from which theyf were able to see the
whole audience "Suis tres content!' said
the king, showing his tongue, and indi-
eating thereby that he was thirsty. Beer
was brought to them, and as they drank
it the orchestra struck up a "bambOula,"
which delighted them beyond measure
The performance passed off all right, save
that the queen fell asleep and set to snor-
ing so loudly that she had to be removed
to q back seat. The king preserved a
more dignifled attitude Upright and inn
mobile, with his right hand on his saber,
lie followed the representation. Now and
then he looked at the audience, and a
few cries of give Dinahi" were raised,
whereon he bowed gracefully, and exclaim-
ed "Suis tres content!' The news soon
spread that Dinah-Salifou and his suite
were inside, and in a few minutes the
/ theater was beseged by a large crowd,
curious to see them. When the dark
| monarch appeared at the door he was
| greeted with all sorts of cries, to which he
| responded by clapping his hands. 1t was
some time before the royal couple and
! their attendants could be pushed into cabs,
but alas! such was the crowd that 1t was
| impossible to move on The police were
| poweress to clear the way, and renewed
cries of "Vive Dinah! Vive les mori-
! caudsn' echoed on all sides.
Dinah-Salifou seemed at first to be
! agreeably surprised, and shook the hands
of all near him, eXclaiming: Suis tres
content" but, on seeing the crowd jump
! on his cab and take other liberties with
| himself ana wife, ne began 10 Ieel uneasy
| Suddenly he arose in great wrath. and.
| glaring ferociously at the crowd around
him, cried out, louder than ever: "Suis
! tres content!" which, of course, only in
| creased the merriment of the spectators.
His fury growing greater, he wanted to
draw his saber and charge the crowd but,
| unfortunately, the weapon was intended
for show only, and had no blade. But for
that, some disaster might have occurred.
His misfortune, however, did not end
here. A little ragamufin, more audacious
than the rest, seized hold of his majesty'S
crown and made off with it. The king
was about to descend from his carriage
and pursue the urchin, but his queen kept
him back by the tail of his caftan. The
disorder was now complete. A strong
force of police, however, soon arrived, and
! the crown was restored to it's owner The
! crowd then made way for the royal We
hicle, and Dinah, who had recovered from
his Indignation, saluted them The latter
| again shouted: "Vive Salifou!' while the
| black monarch responded with cries aof
'Sus tres content!" and so ended the roy
! al adventure