AMAZING NAVAL HOAX.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10013, 8 April 1910, Page 3

AMAZING NAVAL HOAX.

SHAM ABY?SINIAN PKINCES VISIT THE DREADNOUGHT. Five young men and one woman, all of them extremely well connected, and all of them well-to do, have perpetrated a moat amazing and somewbatreprehensihie practical joke on the Admiralty, Me Bri iah Navy, and H.M.S. Dreadnought in particular. It is a joke of such colossnl proportions, «nd so audacious —Tneodore Hook, that master of practical jokes, might himself have been proud of it —that it is a little Lard to put it in a nutshell. Briefly, however, it may be said that on a Monday recentlythree of the young men and the girl, fully disguised as Abyssinian princes, travelled down to Portland, and were there received with princely honours on board the flagship. The two other young men played the parts respectively of attache to the Foreign Office and interpreter. From start to finish they were forty minutes on board H.M.S. Dreadnought, and fiom the point of view of the perpetrators of the joke, the escapade was entirely successful. In fact, on the following day, the battleship in question put' to sea without one single officer being aware of the manner Id which they had been hoaxed. ENQUIRIES. That the matter could have remained a secret for ever was, of course, impossible, as the practical jokers used certain means of carrying through their jest which caused in stdut inquiry on the part of the Foreign office. These inquiries were so pertinent that the majority of the young men sought seclusion, but one of them, bolder than the rest, has remained in London to tell the tale. Monday's adventure had been brewing for some time, but the exact lines upon which the joke was to be worked were not mapped out til! about a fortnight before tha joke was carried into effect. Then the commander-in-chief of the enterprise hied himself to an entirely innocent and unsuspecting costumier of worldwide renown, and requested him to furnish make-ups for four Abyssinian princes. Expense appeared to have been of no account, and the ringleader actually took to the costumier books showing exactly what the princes should wear. Of course, they could have out in rough-and-ready fashion at an instant's notice, but this was not in the least the idea of this latest follower of "Catpain Koepenick." He demanded accuracy of detail, and so some days had to be spent in procuring a rigidly correct make up. Indeed, so reckless was he as to what the adventure might cost that he one day rushed out of the shop, declaring that mock jewels were of no value, and returned half an hour later with £SOO worth or so of precious stones purchased from a neighbouring jeweller. WONDEFRUL MAKE-UP. The make-up when complete was certainly striking. The three young men the young woman all had their hair cut short, and were fitted with black woolly mats which completely covered their sulls. They were all provided with chort, crisp, curly black beards and the most complete sets of nigger lips. Their faces, arms, and hands were dyed to the proper hue. They wore turbans and flowing robes. Kound the neck of each, suspended by a gold chain, was an Early Christian cross. Their persons fairly glittered with costly jewels. But even in this make up the humour of the instigator of the plot struck a dominant note. The Abys- . sinian princes were all furnished with enormously long pointed, elastic sided leather boots. The Princes were indeed a glorious sight. The man who was to pass as the interpreter—supposeuly a Germn — looked ftis part. Tho dress of the Foreign Office attache wa.-, of course, an easy matter to furnish. On the day selected for the raid on Portland hll the conspirators were so anxious that their appearances should present no blemish tnat tney arrived al the costumier's at six o'clock in the morning, and were not satisfied with their Abyssinian toilets until after noon had struck. Then, unfortunately, the;' allowed their determintion and the exuberance of their spirits slightly to outrun their judgment, and the following telegram was despatched to the

Commander-in-chief of the Home t laet in Portland — j "Prince MakaUn and suite will arrive at VVeymuuch at 4.20. Kindly make all ar rangements to receive them." SPLENDID KECEPTION. This telegram, it muot regretfully be said, bore the name of a high official whofe lightest wishes were likely to be received with respect. Ani so it was that the "princely" visitors were received on board the flagship, ° and marines presented arms as "Prince Makalin" and his gorgeous suite stepped over tne side. Here it mav be mentioned that all the "princes" bore names which had been specially invented for the occasion on the journey do-vn from town; the name chosen for the lady was ''Prinea Mendax " Still, no one suspected the mendacious Mer.dax | With characteristic hospitality, the, officers of the battleship strove tr.eii'v utmost to shower honour and atten- j tion on their gucts. Ihere was un- I fortunately no Abyssinian flag on I board, bo, as to make shift, the flag j of Zanzibar was hoisted to the main mast. Unluckily, too, the National Anthem of Abyssinia could not be discovered among the music. Again Zanzibar was brought to the rescue, ■ and the National Anthem of that btate was rendered quite efficiently, considering the short notice that the band had received. SHOWN EVERYTHINu. The attache from the Foreign Office was charming, and his explanations were complete. He told what pleasure it would give the "princes" to , see over the warship, and informed I one of the officers that the "princes" were on a visit to England in order to make arrangements for sending their sons and nephews to Eton. S6 the "princes" were shown everything—the wireless, the guns, the torpedoes, and at every fresh sight they murmured in chorus, "Bunga, bunga," which, being interpreted, means, "Isn't it lovely?" That is to say, three of the "princes" did, but ths fourth "prince,'' being afraid to reveal her naturally treble voice, assumed a cold, and murmured, "Chuck-a-choi, chouck-a-choi," by whch shu intended to covey her great appreciation of her surroundings. After the inspection of the ship a grave peril for a few moments confronted the conspirators. They were asked to take tea, but this was not to be thought of, as it would certainly have ended in the "princes" false hps becoming detched. "Prince Makalin," apparently overcome by the hospitality which had been shown him, desired to present an officer with the urand Cross of Abyssinia. The officer regretfully explained that he could not receive the Order. No one apparently stopped to ask whether there were Grand Crosses in Abyssinia. Then the "princes" left. They were delighted, and the officers were delighted, too. It was altogether a most pleasant afternoon.