A CAMBRIDGE HOAX.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XL, Issue XL, 1 August 1905, Page 4

A CAMBRIDGE HOAX.

PERSONAUING A Wtf-NCE. It will be remembered that some months ago some Cambridge undergraduates perpetrated a cleve* h&aix on the Mayor of the town, b*y ahe of them personating &. supposed Sliltaii di Zanzibar on un offi- r cial visit. The brief mention came £ by cable, bait a CamblMge paper, ] forwarded to his father, by a Nel- i sonian Cantab, Contains the full i details, wh'ioh are woriilh reprinting 1 . The account is afi follows :— i "Reply paid. Strand, Southamp Con-street. : "To the Mayor of Cambridge. j '"''The Sultian of Zanzibar will arrive to-day at Cam(b>'id*ge, 4.27,, i for short visit. C-oUlil you aiTfcngje* i td Show him buildings of interest | ahd) send carriage '.' •""Henry Lucas, Hotel Cecil, Lon- * don.'" . vThe. aboyte *belegl*ani, which i*eaeh*ed Ijie Mayor soon aft*er one ' o v cloctc on Thursday, marks tho au-d&cious and carefully-planned { opening scene in one of the most , practical jokes ever perpetrated by , und-cri'radutttQs. What ■su>bso'q,ucntly happened read? *l)ioi*e likii aii extract froni a G-ilb-'ertian comedy thntt a iia/i^atiVe of plain- fact. On tveeipt of tho telegram Mr Canipkiicn. the M^iyor, and the- Town Clerk, Mr Whitehead, an old Emanuel College irian. determined to do the honours of lho town to their distinguished guests as well as was possible at such short notice. "'Accordlnirly n reply was sent* saying tliat a cart-Jag**? wolild foe in Waiting; arid offer iiig to provide rdfreshm-ents. Later in the afternoon another telegram was received l«y tjhe Mayor, as* follows :— " '.Telegiram received with thanks. Unable to arrive till 5.43, No timo for dinner-. '' •Henry Lucas. ***An hour or two later passengers on Liverpool-street, Station saw four getttteinen with dark complexion's, ai*ray*d iii gorgeous flowing garments and brilliant turbans on their heads, drive up to the station. They wei-e accompanied bj a icon tie-man jn ordinary clothes, the interpreter, *Mr Henry .LUeas. The four da*rk gentle-men were "PWttctJ Mukasa AliJ ami* three rnem*h-*ers of his suite. Mr Lucas took tickets for Cambridge, and the party on arriving in due course drove to the Guildhall, where they wore received by tho Mayor and Town Clerk, the former wearing his chain of office. "Hero it was explained that the Sultan himself was unfortunately unal'ilo to come, and so* his place ' had beer, taken nt the last mmuto ; by his un-elc, trince Mukasa An. i Roft^hlnents wero offered and declined, and, as the Prince announced that he must go back by tho 1 7 5 train to Liverpool-street, the party wont into tho main room • of tho Guildhall, where a bazaar '. was bein-g hold, at which, however, ' thve ITinoe made no purchases. ' "Meantime news of a distini Wished stranger's arrival had 'got , aeb'out, and as the party came down the steps from the Guildhall to 1 enter the carriage a 1-at'ge crowd > cheered heartily, tho Prmce gra*e- ■ fully av.k*howU-d**,ln<g the salutation, anti' even distributing some largesse. • "Kino-'s College Chapel was, nal turallvr the first sight to be seen, but, perhaps fpr religious reasons, ' it was thought, the Prince declined ' to go inside. From King s his ! Rovnl Holiness w-dnt for a few nio- ) ments ln*.o 'Clare, and then passing Trinity Hall, went into Trinity \ College. "As they passed into the 1 great court thei visitors stopped. ■ struck with admiilation, and lifting l up their hands, expressed thenwonder. . ! ••The visitors, indeed, except • upon this one occasion, spoke very - lUUe but salaamed continually, ' and addretesed each other by signs - on th6ir hand** J 'Thence thu party visited V c • fellows' gardens and 'the backs. ; But Prince Mukasa complained of the cold, so thoy returned* ahd visit- ' ed St. John's College, where .h'sj ■ Royal Highness was especially de- ■ lighted with the bridge of sighs,' i ¥tnd seemed much interested on , hearing of its famous prototype. .. " Timo, however, was now short,, i and after a. w»lk up Truvity Strept, • the prince and his suite took leave of their kind hosts and drove off to j the station, having first expressed their deepest gratitude for the re- ■- caption accorded to them. I '"On arriving at the station a j- strange incident occurred which, if it had bieen witnessed by the major " or town clerk must have aroused l fcheir gra\«s*t suspicions. The . prince got out of the vehicle,, and gaining the platform through a conSide-Tafble crowd, ttegan to 3 tnareh majestically up the long :• platform, paying no attention to the remonstrances of the railway officials or ot Mr Lucas. Then suddenly he turned round, and, fol- ■ lowed by his suit, proceeded hastily , to the exit of the station. Passing* out the Africans, though surrounded by a crowd of spectators, bade ' farewell to Mr Lucas, and, leaping hastily into a couple of hansoms. » drove rapidly into the country, and i no more was seen of the supposed potentate. When interviewed yesterday, Mr , Cumpkin, thu Mayor, was still in r iy<aoru_iCo' of the real stato of ai- '. fairs, and in describjing the Visit repeatedly -v-xpressed his regret at • having baen unablo to rticeivo the ' visitors more fittingly, saying that if he had had longer notice ho would have communicated with the Vice-Chancellor of the L'niver- • sity and tuiuanonied the members o-t I the corporation. ■/'What really happened after lhe Prince and suite, had driven away was this : 'Ihey went to a pre-ar- - raq-^-ed sKot, and dotlirtg tlwir gor- - gap us robes,* mado their way back to their rooms. Yesterday certain of the party came up to London and returned to a woll-known cos- > tumicr thi' garments whiih thoy had hired for tho occasiou. "Ini fuiries at the Carlton Hotel last night showed that the Sultan himself was attended at, Buckiirg- ' Palace on Thursday, when he had an nu. i nee of his Majesty by one , of hi al -V»ri ln.n*s. the Sheikh, while his sf-civ-t uy remained at the hotel. > Tho mom*.;. '-i'.*i i*t the suite were also in the hotel during the timo they were supposed to bo at Cainbridg**."