New-York tribune., 1910-04-27
princes DE uUS|CNAN
Many Americans Duped by
These Bogus Kings of Jerusalem.


ristv through the arrest and conviction Of
.-e ~ its bearers st 81. Petersburg for
so-rf-y, and in Paris, ss well a. in this
,-o,7-.t-y through tho sale OF bogus orders
% kniFnthcod and % paintings bearing
she forged names of famous artists, once
e-eupied . notable place In history And
g. view ~ the letter received by the head
- The Marriage License Bureau at City
Hall m New York. last week from ST
T>e+e-xhurg. inviting his assistance in secur-
i-z a wife. very rich. for prince of royal
l1oa-d NJ nely. Prince Michael lie Lusignan.
Prince of cyprus. of Jerusalem. Of Ar
rre-la. Conlte De "a Msrche. ffty-seven
.,es-s % age. and without fortune" IL may
s.. rs well 10 furnish few notes bearing
anon the subject.
Tho real sud authentic House % l.u-
sic-an now extinct. took its name from tho
ropu and castle ~ Lusiguar. in tho Da-
rs-traert ~ Niprre. sorne twenty miles to
,he southwes- % Poitiers The castle and
the Lusignan family were founded. accord
tur ~ tradition. hy The fairy Melusine who
f-r-es 50 largely in medieval romance ana
m The traditions OF oldtfme French chiv-
-'-- Descended from the ancient kings or
Albania she married Raymond. sovereign
count cf Potion. and the children horn Of
this union became known as the Sires de
T.usignan. According 10 the legend, she
vss n1etamorphosed every Saturday into
serpent. as = punishment for having
murdered her father. and her husband, ig-
,orsut OF this fact. having late one Friday
might caught her IN the act or undergoing
this change, IS asserted 70 have immured
re- in one of the lowest dungeons Of the
cssue. from which she never emerged.
- I mention this story. il is because the
order which tho bogus Prince OF Lusignsn
IN Paris has bestowed with the greatest
6e-ree Of Iiberality on credulous Americans
has been precisely the order OF Melusine.
srd 8; was in the fantastic uniform OF this
rreposterous order that the soi-disant
count d'Aubly de Grstigny-' figured on
-re occasion OF his marriage at Boston 10
fis unfortunate American wife. Miss Laura
1.Uut The pseudo count lis now in jail I'm
Tsrfs on charges OF colossal sNindles OF
Americans by means OF the sale OF bogus
rsintiugs. that is 10 say, OF pictures bear
90 the forged signatures OF Sreat painters,
ana which are quite as valueless as the
o~6er Of Nelusine. which Is reserved Tor
male dupes and the order OF St Catherine
~ Mount Sinai, which the prince had the
tupudcnce 20 confer upon Miss Clara Bar
ton ~ the Red Cross
The 'sires" de LuSIgnsn owned the petty
sovereign countships OF Angouleme and OF
ue Ia Nsrche and one Of them. Guy by
name. married Sibylle. only daughter and
hcress OF Amaury I. the penultimate Cru
ssder King OF Jerusalem. being created on
the occasion OF his wedding Count OF Jsffs
snd Of Ascalou. On the death OF his faith
o~-in-lsw Guy, Sire de Lusignan. was pro
.lsimeo King OF Jerusalem, but in 1lS was
,Icfested b. Sultan Saladin at the battle
Lrav, re
,9,ering his liberty after some time on
trc condition OF his renouncing the title
~ King of Jerusalem. Violating his
Wedges. he resumed the empty title, OF
hich not long sfterWard he made COM
rIcte and full concession 10 King Richard
o. England, Cuur de Lion, who gave him
sr exchange the kingdom Of Cyprus.
Guy -eigned there until his death and
founded p sovereign dynasty OF Cyprus,
which lasted for nearly three hundred
-oars becoming extinct with the death Of
pseen Catherine Cornaro. last OF the line
cr Jusignsn. Who sold her crown and the
Island q cyprus 10 Venice in 1852. A hun
cred wears later IL was taken from the
r- r-e,-tIans by tho Turks. and remained in
rheir possession until leased TO Great
jSritain in 1875.
Niesnv hile. The Lusignans who had re-
nained in France lost both power and
prestige. were deprived OF their countships
e DC Il Nsrche and Of Augouleme, and IN
;574 their ancestral chateau OF Lusignan
~sv ra5ed to tho ground by tho Duo de
efoutpeusier There vas a distant relative
r no died in 1897. under the name OF stephen
,ie T.usignan. as Bishop OF Limisse, whose
existence IS conmernorsted by his His
sorry or the Kingdoms Of Jerusalem and OF
,,rrus." published At Paris In l57s. and
,' vhich a COPY is 10 be found in the
>-s-ional library Of France. After that
-rr family became extinct. at any rate in
..c male lire. and il was only toward the
.ose % the reign of King Louis XIV OF
rance that he permitted one of his favor
ste courtiers, who could show q descent
,- the distsf side from the he Lusginsns,
.o s'-lo himself De Busignan and 10 adopt
fue sruaS. creating him al the same time
MARQUIS de Lusirnsn. His son. in turn.
vas Delegate Of the Nobility OF Gascony
~ The meeting OF d States General in
.-ss i'm Paris. Ted along with the other
iIorler M 1922. returned 10 France IN 1900
49, died IN tire utmost poverty and OBJ
s.Irif. ir lsio without leaving any issue.
The Russian Bogus de Lusiensns.
p8r'ug the reign of Emperor Nicholas I
~ Russia some Armenian agitstors on the
'.n--rg, fo- rlan who could serve as q pre-
tender and const itUte tie nucleus Of q ma
rfonalist movement. found an adventurcr,
t.e'er-do-vrciL the son OF = captain IL III"
s-s@ian army Of the name or klcnke, who
-4e p-or- 10 boast that ne had in his veins
-.e blood % tho former LusiCuan kings or
'so-us For want of something better they
took -he man - his vO-d. dubbed him With
t.s name OF Iueignsu ard tho tile of
Prince - Armenia" conc"cted n number
.r Da-chmcnts showing in = moro or less
s-r-facto~v manner that he was descended
.ron tie crusader Guy d. Lusignan, last
.r-~-eirr KING - Jerusalem. whose line
I'D died out ~1th Queen Catherine Cornaro
.- C.p-us. and proclaimed him some
----our,. years ago - King % Armenia,
-.u6er fre firie ~ leo VII
D. s1-nS Russia policy a. tho time 20
.orr-rnsuce rie prrtensiors-t was on tho
--.r n tre rrfnrean War. lIo was invested
eftr rho honorary rank ~ colonel 90 The
rYe-iau army. and hailed not a. king but
r Primer ~ hIruenis. But when Emperor
choIss found. after IN" hostlities had
f.e-- ir progress for some time. thai the
.-r5eufsrs could rot be relied upon 20 oner
rne promised assistance 20 the RUSSIAN
R-n.v OF Invasion ~ - -sc6 Prince Leo de
T.-s.cf.r." - be dismissed from the army
AID % be placed on hoard a merchant Nes-
.,.--f-o f,r---ssrl Tor London. with fhe