TALE OF A “SHAH.”

Thames Star, Volume LIX, Issue 16787, 14 May 1926, Page 6

TALE OF A “SHAH.”

FOURTEEN FORLORN WIVES. PATIENTS AND MYSTERIES. The problems of the guardians of liollingborune, Kent, who have on their hands a destitute negro with whom they ditl not know what to do, is one ot a class by no means uncommon in poor law administration. This man refuses to perform any of the tasks allotted to him, and the guardians have been informed by the Colonial Office that before he can be repatriated the colony from which he comes must be ascertained and the governor of that colony must be consulted, so that the man may not be refused permission to land.

Many queer folk drift into the workhouses, where they become more or less hard cases. One alien entered the workhouse at Liverpool, and, as nothing intelligible could be got out j of him, he was transferred to the asylum at Rainliill. After he had been detained at this institution for about l a. year it was discovered that lie was a wealthy Parsee whose friends had been searching England for him. Equally mysterious was a man admitted to the Luton workhouse. When questioned orally, he only gesticulated but lie described himself in writing as the Shah of Persia, aged 157, of Teheran, and, in reply to the question, “Married or single?” replied, “Fourteen wives, left behind at Teheran.” Great caution has to be exercised in dealing with such men, because they may be impostors who “play' up” workhouses all over the country. A pest of this kind, who was apparently in great pain, was admitted to an Essex workhouse. He said he had swallowed a quantity of nails, and when he was examined ip the infirmary, his story seemed to be borne out by the fact that a nail was protruding from his side. AN OLD NAIL TRICK.

In the end the man was taken to the London Hospital for X-ray examination and operation; but as soon as he arrived there he was recognised as an old acquaintance. By inserting a nail in a hole that had been left in his side as the result of an operation, he had defrauded many boards of guardians.

But it is often difficult, and sometimes impossible, to discover anything about certain paupers. A man was in a Hampshire workhouse for 10 years, and during the whole time uttered only six words. Even the number is not a “record,” for in about 14 years a Lancashire pauper neither spoke nor wrote one word, and when lie died he was buried as an unknown man.

Occasionally a workhouse inmate has a curious reason for maintaining absolute silence on some matters, at any rate. A certain woman, though she talked readily enough about things in general, declined to disclose her identity. One day, as her wearing apparel was going through the laundry, a scrap of paper bearing an address was found concealed in the hem ot the skirt.

In this way communication was begun with the woman’s relatives, from whom it was learned that until two years previously the woman had had a residence in London, and that she had got through, mainly by giving contributions to charities, about .£IO,OOO. A s she had a son in a good position, and comparatively wealthy brothers and sisters, the guardians, despite her protests, discharged her, and she returned to London. ALL THROUGH A PET CAT.

Another pauper was equally reticent about personal matters. She gave a name, which there was reason to believe was assumed; but she absolutely refused to disclose her last address. After remaining in the workhouse for some time she was taken to an asylum, where she died without having been identified. Subsequently some of the attendants read in the newspapers that a certain woman who had walked out of her house one morning and disappeared had been presumed dead, and through their efforts it was established that the mysterious patient was this person. She had vanished simply because of a trifling dispute over a pet cat.