The Saint Paul globe., 1904-01-24
HOOSlER. AUTHOR is
CALLED GRAND DUKE
Booth darlington and His Wife Have Much Fun and Get
Reputation for Riches While Journeyng to Rome
Beaqar Thinks the Writer Must Be Crazy.
snecial Foreign Service.

Special Foreign Service.
LONDON, Jan. 23.-Mr and Mrs.
Booth Harrington, who have been stay
ing at the Hotel Quisisana, Capri, for
some little time, are now about to
journey to Rome, where they will be
stationed at the Palace hotel. At Capri
the American novelist and his wife
We're known as the grand duke and
duchess because they never question:
ed the first prices that were asked
them for anything they wished to buy,
no matter how eXorbitant and out
rageous were these first prices. The
general custom in Capri is to ask
ridiculousy high prices and to come
down gradually to a business basis.
What still further impressed the people
of Capri with the munificence of their
grand duke and duchess was that
when attending a native wedding Mrs.
Harrington. suddenly realizing that she
had no present with her for the bride,
unclasped a pearl necklace from her
neck and presented it to the bride.
This thrifty lady was overwhelmed
with joy at the Americans tribute, and
it was not long before she was a the
local jewelers. at Capri, having the gift
valued. To Mr. and Mrs. Tarkington's
intense amusement it was priced by
this authority a 10000 francs. The
bride is envied of all her friends. whilst
the giVer and a few friends are enjoy
ing joke, for having left her jewelry
in America, Mrs. Harrington bought
few imitation things in England to
wear until she got back. The price
she paid for the pearl necklace in
London was just $5.
1t was via Paris that Booth Tark-
ington went to Capri, and one day
when strolling through the Paris
streets the novelist was accosted by an
old beggar who asked for aims. Mr..
Harrington looked at the man for a
moment, then dropped a louis into his
hands The beggar was thunderstruck
at the receipt of so much money and.
while the donor looked on amused,
kept passing it from one hand to an
other to make sure it was real. Then
Harrington in eXecrable French tried
to explain, and finally taking hold of
the beWildered old man, dragged him
off to neighboring florists, where he
decorated him with choice orchids. All
this time the beggar had been abso-
lutely speechless; but finding himself
garlanded with costly flowers, he be-
came affrighted, gazing alternately at
Harrington, the glittering gold in his
hand and at his floral decora tions, and
Clutching the florist by the arm, he
whispered Tell me, is he crazy, or
am ~"
Jean Gerardy. the famous 'cellist, is
the latest notable addition to Edna
Mays long list of feryent admirers l
hear that the impressionable young
musician has given to the fair Ameri-
can actress a rare old violincello of
beautiful quality and tone, which cost
a .iy
months cello lessons for her, being
fondly convinced that she has other
aud greater musical gifts than her
voice Jewels from an Indian princess
and some valuable ermines from an
other titled parsonage were among her
other Christmas gifts from this lucky
Syracuse girls cirle.
My Brussels correspondent writes
that the Prince of Looz Corser-
Varcin has just been arrested in BrUs-
sells for Swindling operations in Paris.
Retired tradespeople and upper serv-
ants with good savings were his prin-
cipal victims he having succeeded in
Wringing from them about $150000
as nearly IS the police can estimate.
The princes title and his luxurious
style of living, as well as the promise
of generous old age pensions from
fortune of the Humbert kind were the
bait that lured the victims to ruin.
In 1890, when still in the divorce court,
his highness made the acquaintance of
a Mrs. Bloomfield, d rich American
widow, whose fortune he coveted, and
he became engaged to her. Her Amer
lean shrewdness, however, enabled her
to discover the state of affairs and
she declined crown with the paint
wore off, and a damaged reputation.
AT Client the prince picked up at
one of the clubs, "a young American,
the son of a retired Chicago merchant
who had died in Paris in 1885, leaving
his better half handsome fortune.
The prince made the acquaintance of
the lady through her son and laid siege
to her hand and money bags; but she
too, escaped him.
He then went to Nice, where he pre-
tended he was about to marry the wild
ow of Prince Troubetskoi- Demidoff.
To keep his credit quiet he had to
invent various pre- .1Xts to account for
the postponement of the wedding His
matrimonial adventures are for the time
cut short as he is now safely under
lock and key In st. Giles prison, Brus-
sells.
The United States minister to Bel
gium and Mrs. Lawrence Townsend
were among the special guests invited
by Sir Constantine Phipps, the English
minister to Belgium, to the farewell
dinner given to the papal nuncio, Mgr
Granite del Belmonte. At this Brus-
sells dinner the various ministers of
different countries were all present
with their wives. Nine. Gomez Bran
dao was also present with her sister,
Mrs. Barton, and considerable inter-
est centered round the former lady,
as Sir Constantine Phipps seized the
occasion to present her as his fiancee,
to whom he will be married at Nice on
Jan. 20. She is the widow of resi-
dent of Rio Janeiro, where Sir Con-
stantine was formerly British minis
ter and is doubtless well known to
Americans who have stayed there. She