Rensselaer Republican, Volume 23, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 March 1891 — PORT SAID’S POOH-BAH. [ARTICLE]

PORT SAID’S POOH-BAH.

Ontwitrod tho Merchant Marrl.ob, bat Cavern to the Man With tke Plug nat. tan Francisco Chipnicle. There we-e so if of us standing near the register at the Palace Hotel counter last night -t ’o tall man with the scar on h s neck, the short, fat man with the four days’ beard, the proud owner of the Plug Hat, and He. “You have been a newspaper man?” asked the tall n an. “Uh. yes. out in Austra’ia ” He answered. “I was first at Melbo irne anu then .at Sidney. That was jus-: before the Egyptian war.” “And you became a warrior, of course?” “Well. I went out as correspondent. I had letters to Baker Pasha, who had been at school with an uncle of mine. •‘Baker Pasha sent me to Port Said at a salary of £SUO. He said hs wo-ild in a short time give me charge at Port Said at £7UO. All that mme about. At Port Said, you know, there is a gov. ernor, usually a Turk; a stipendiary magistrate, a Turk or an Egyptian; a commandant of gendarmerie a id various con-uis. You heard the Mikalo? You remember Pooh-Bah? Wei 1 , sir. I was the Pooh-Bah of Port Said. I was co nmamlant of gendarmerie. The governor went away and the stipendiary magistrate bee tme acting governor. The English Consul went away and asked me to act for him in nia absence. Then tho stipendiary magistrate went away and left me acting for him and also acting governor. There f was, a regular Pooh-Bah. Now, I’ll tell you how all these things worko.l into each other. There was a man at Port Said named Mayriseh. He kept the 1 irgCst store in the place, where you could get anything from an anchor to a needle, He also ha I a big gambling house, the El Dorado, opposite his store. He made £200,000 there the first year of the wr; bo you may imagine what thi place was worth to him. I dealt with Mayriseh, running up quarterly bills. He must have thought I was going away, for ho sent mo in my bill for £z ß before the«qnarier was up. I refused to pay until the usual time. He said he would summons me. ’All right,’ I said, ‘summons away.’ That afternoon when I got up—l always slept from about 3: 0 o’clock until 6— l sent two gendarmes to the bank to get Mayrisch’a account. Of course, as commandant, all accounts were open to me. He had £13.t0.) balan e, and I know he owned his house and had property in Italy and Maita, so he was not in need of my £26, Whjn I re urued I told an Eng ish de e tire to go down to Mayrisch’s store after 9 o’ lock that night and tate a drink there. The place was not licensed, nnd drinking after 9 o’clock was ag.iinst the law and auhjecte l the propertv to sei'.ure and Sale and removal of the business to ten miles from Port Said.

••The detective got tho drink, and ne't morning, shortly after o o’clo k, as Marish was going to board the ship in the harbor, two gendarmes accosted him an 1 told him he was under arrest and was to appear at the cou.-t of tha commandant (that was me at (i o’clock. He appeared, and I told him he could elect to be tried before the stipendiary magistrate. Tint was me again. I could fine him only 400 piastres as com, m ndant. but as stipendiary magistrate I could confiscate his propeity. He did not know I was acting as stipendiary. He elee'ed to appear before the st pondiary and vraen I appeared at Ifib court" Mayriseh almost fainted. He asked for twenty-four hours’ postponement wh ch I granted. That afte • noon I went to the Governor’s office and the c erk told me Mayriseh had been there to appeal to the Governor and when he found I was acting Governor be was taken ill. • *The next morning when I got up-I could hardly open the door of my room, which swung outward, on account of the things Mavriseh had caused to be piled in the hall. There wero-alx do «m champagne, six do/.en beer,- 5,00() cigarettes, 500 cheroots, soda and brandy, aid a Turkish silk sh awl, which I gave ray sister as a wedding present, and other things. There was also a receipt in full for £Ji, signeihy Mayriseh.” “Of course you ac epted them as tokens of esteem,” said the man with tho Plug Hat. •‘Ail but the receipted bill, which I returned, nnd I paid him tho money,” said tae Pooh Bah of Port Said. ••What!’ c ied tho fat man aid the tall man together. Then they looked at emb other and sigheJ, and locking a ms they wandered out into the fog, leaving the man with the illustrious t<lo and the changer of SIOO bills together. Later met their estee nod confrere of the famouß headcaverlng, and behold! he wore a new overcoat. On its collar was the name in gold lei tecs, “E. A. Choriton.” It had telonged to the Pooh-Boh of Port Said, who had parted with it to the man with the Plug Hat during a social chat concerning an ancient game called poker.