ALFRED I. OF ARABIA.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 184, 4 August 1913, Page 6

ALFRED I. OF ARABIA.

A RBMARKABLE STORY. ! It eounde etrange to talk of an unknown but mijrhty 'king, to spetk uf a monarch who is wealthy and ownis large possessions, but whose position is not recognised. Such n man is Alfred 1.. King of Syria and .Arabia, who still it- ;i c.iiizen of France. The fact tha-t he im a king might. have remained unknown even in Paris, where he livras in the crowded artiets' quarter of Montnmrtre. had he not had a dispute with one of Vote neighbours over some fjrmians to which both laid claim. When the case was brought into court it was discovered that "Monoieur le Yicomte Alfred, Oe.rman de Bre.uil," by the grace of God and by the. election by the twelve emirs of Arabia and Syria, has ruled over a territory six timee the size of Vranve. In Paris K-ing Alfred T. livee high up in one of t.b-e modeet apartment houses crowded with .irtiets and artisans, lie enjoys hobnobbing with pa-inters and the many bohemiaiw who inhabit the«e interasting quarters. At he wearies ni these apartments; and move* into one of the simple hotek so plentiful in Paris. Tfiri oihr-T favourite pasumra? arc drivinj; in the parkf and boulevards and vii-iling the open-air ihciH.n* and restaurants. Though he appreciated pood-I-ook ing women and has found ma.ny who "nis fancy, he eeerw to prefer the easy, unconstrained life of the celibate. To the coquet tee and {rrisettee of hi« quarter, he it= known as Mone-ietir Beau'■aire. Th-is I <-:.le i- apropr*. foT he drrsiies in fanlllo.se taste, and mak-ee it n point to follrrw and often launch tlie etyli* in men's drees. lip ib t> stocky man. not much morr than five feet eight inch** tall, but !ir looks much tailor beca.us* , hi» stands erei-t and !s well-proportioned. T>F/?pitc his pixty ye»r# hie friends have deeigr.ared b : m t)ir •'young cavalry officer." KING AN ACCOMPLISHED I.IN(;UIST. He is eaeily reengniised by his t-h:ir;i eyr-t- hit. erect carriage, and h> complexion, will browmvi by a life spent under tropic.-il tfums. Though he line the righ-t to be called of Syria and Arabia, ho it* indifferent about his title. But he is proud of the hntfcon he weare. an inisijrrtia of the Order of the Medjidie. bestowed on him by the late Abdul Ham id. Another distinction of whii-'i h«- is proml i« blri knowledge of languages. He r-pe.al-s more than a dozen languages Ilnently. The story of how bp rsmp into conrrol of thie wealth and pri<*pftsioTUs rums about like this-. -

"In 1574 I returned from Armenia. I had passed over the Bineol Dagh. the mountain of a thousand streams pnd of a territorial paradise, through Mesopotamia. nn,-I thenr-e Marched on the River Fuphratp.*. Thrre T fell ii with a caravan of Persian merchants. They were ct\ route fnr Medina 3rd Mpeca. 'be holy p.itips.

-1 supposed they would g,, by nay of •Tenwalerti and propc-r-d to join them. But no. They were going .by the Arabian dfwert mule. T was afnazeH. How did they propose to cross t hr> i-ands of Iho dr-=crti- unon our rontp?

"Incredulous. I wem with the ■ bnnts' caravan. They the >n;*h. bin. like the Quprn of She.ha. benolrl the half «m« not yet told mc. t sm- a country fertile. rK'ii. and ravishing—a l.ur] flou-ing with milk .md bonny. Tb,i( is why I returner! lhitlier wilh thr dfs.'re to organise tliw wondrouts hind for til" a-lorv of Kranep and (be benefit of mm!- -. nri. In IS7S )he emirs rulin? ihe !<vil\p province* which compose Arabia ripsired in ifcogi-ise m-e as their kin".

"Tf I Imp t:iken the title i: „»'{ f o v my o-wn gratification. It is not osten.'ation. 1; is thai T may be n-oful to this enunrrv. in the interests of France, but T h'vr no( sacrificed my title at? citizen nf Fr<nee."

WHERE KrNCi ALFRED [. RKH.'NS. King Alfred explains thai he was given h:> position and title because these people could not find among them a niua who wae able to niJe all of them without rivalry and jealousy. That he i> mr.re than a king in na-me Is shown by the fact that he ha>s a parchmem ],v twelve emirs and delegates from different parts of the empire. H.:s kin<jd-r>ni is bounded on the tin-r.h b\- the Ottoman Empire, on the e.a<st by the Guif of Persia and the Indian Ocean. "" ihe >vw! hv ihp K-ed Spa and a strip of land belongrin-T tn Turkey, while the Indian flee.ni and British Somaliland are ilp Knii;hprn " He nilos over thrpp million men and women, who call t-herrnM-Tvps Xazarenes or primit-ive Chrieiinns. men who follow the diictrineti of Christ as they were ! utifterßiood and accepted 2.000 yeans a-gn. Thnt he rs an able rnler is proved by tlip f:iet ;bat when lih was nwde kin'jj he induced a French company to !>ui)d a railroad which runs from Port Said to Luwa on the <"!ul? of Oman. He is now negotiating with th-e .cunpany for the ere.ci.ion or" a branch line through tTe wonderful petroleum lakes discovered by PriTiep WrPtle. He has done nuwli to reorjjanjee ;he .army and to imporve the civic and hyprienic conditions of hie capita! at Kyoiin. It s not known how rich a man th'x» ! strange and nnknon-n ruler rea'lv is. bn! j i'er(:iinly lip is worth many millions. For 1 thpre are ferr riches that are not found j in ATaiia. Hie tTeaenree include gold, j silver, turquoise, pearhs. norees. ca.me.ls. sheep, goats, frnits. wheat, and zinc. Besides three possessions he ds given a i large salary every year, which is paid in I fbe wealth of the country. 600,000 ebeep. ;