' --. . . ' w f-1 : ' : - r : " r"- ? . ' ,( m . . , , .... . ; - a -t;t tV 71 TT X1' i DELUXE, FADE SAW A I L&AVHVU uil. i 1? u w: .'j fPRETEMWR MOURNIMG PRINCESSES AND RECUR LfA SL ULU.J uiv - - i ( - Jftretnantic Defectives Skew Prince , Henri de Bburben, etc., etc., was Plain Hareld Schwarm of Neps Britain, Conn., the "Town Dude" - BUT HE CERTAINLY COULD MAKE LOVE ROY ALLY AND TOSS A MEAN CUP OF TEA V Few 5FVj -. and Leng List of Dupes JThe Heard His Story of Granduer Attest te His "Nobility Complex" . mjUS remarkable and, -notwithstanding certain sordid details and some traffic consequences, the romantic career of Hareld Schwarm, New Britain factory hand and Trenten petwasher, who posed, with Indefinite access as a scion of the proud Bourbons and heir te the throne of France, ii mere than a momentary contribution te the gayety of the public. Even if the police manage te capture him and he is sent te jail for 'polygamy, his case will remain something mere than. a texi for moralists. By right the case would seem to'beleng te the psychologists, particu larly te these who are trying te determine what throws the balance between genius and madness. Its especial Importance among the cases of ,th various nobility fakera exposed during the last five or six. years lies la the fact that the story is new nearly complete from the beginning. The pretensions of commoners te royal or noble birth have been known In almost every age, and are new ascribed by the new psychology mostly te a mental state called the Oedipus complex. Sometimes such pretenders are able, sb in the case of Oedipus him self, actually te get upon the throne and te found a dynasty, or, as in the instance of the Russian Dlmitri, te get within the very shadow of the throne. Mere frequently they have been none tee gently executed. Democratic Genius Often Padded Family Tree The nature of he complex varies and its influence en the men afflicted with it varies. Many great enea are accused of having developed it Shakespeare is charged by some of l' commentators with pretend in? te nobility. Victer Huge, though a democrat and revolution ist, made much of a spurious gen ealogy that connected him with the old noblesse. Swinburne, another revolutionist, boasted a descent from a medieval English King. Sometimes the victim of the com plex believes firmly in his exalted origins; sometimes the idea hangs en the borderland between delusion and desire. It is probable that "Prince Hareld" belongs te the sec ond class, and that there are 'mo ments when he Is thoroughly fright ened at the situations into which his day dreams have led him. On the ether hand, there seems te be a hereditary element in the illusion. "Prince Hareld" was bem te a peer family of German immigrants who had settled in New Britain, Conn. His mother is still living In the second story of a small frame shack and supporting herself, aa she has done, most of her life,' by sew ing and housework for neighbors. She was net able te give 'Hareld much education. He went te the North End Grammar Scheel, and that was all. Mrs. Schwann's father had been a von something or ether, but had lest the title, owing te drink and debS Her husband, K she says, ence told a widow in Glastenbury, where they lived for a while, that he was a millionaire with vast estates, though he had net at that time even a job. Later he told his two sons, Hareld and Herman, of their noble heritage, though he had net sufficient clothing te give them. "Hareld was a nervous boy," says his mother. "He was sharp and al ways associated with elder people. He read every kind of book and could talk about anything. He al ways said he would be somebody, no matter hew he had te go about it. "He was always a dressy boy," continued the mother a little proudly. "He has been very smart, I think, te make people believe he was a Prince." When Hareld was In bis teens he married Miss Ethel Abetz, who was then twenty. one. Told that he Bheuld support her, he went te work In n ma 1 diitie shop. ThiH appears te be mere han he has ever done for the four or ttere ether young women whom he sut ured te become his "consort." fellow Workers Did Net Care Much for "Prince" , He was net popular in the machinery rks. He already had breached the "ct of his legnl inherltonce te some his fellow workers. Ills habit of Parading the main streets 'of New "Htnln in n dinner jacket, monocle, 4'ats and walking stick mnde him knew,, among the vnlgnr as "Dearie.' y, V"e morning he reported In some r !uch attire at the factory, which pre"- d his mates te hannlnr him. te a HIH Oil th fuwtntanutt. !. .t.lll-- I t-...w.,. UUV4, aiwg I I him te the waist and covering his back with red paint. His screams aroused a foreman, who cut hirn down. It was found that one of his arms had been broken. He never returned te thnt factory. Fer n while he lived by the support of his wife. But he was by new as unpopular at home. Mrs. Jacob Abete, his first methcr-iri-law, says: "Hareld was-a terrible loafer. The doctors told him there wouldn't be any thing wrong with the arm that was broken, if he'd only use It. But he used te lie around all day nnd let Ethel fe te work and take her money. "He had a wonderful appetite. "I can't understand hew he made anybody believe he was French. He never spoke a word of any foreign lan guage. I never saw, him before Ethel married him. Then he brought his suitcase and-moved right in here and tried te make himself boss. My sons had no use for him. but Ethel wouldn't har anything against him until mr ether girl, Florence, caught htm mash- rerd.M 8,1J ,aCt0rX g,r1' at H"- Fake Diamonds Added Te "Dearie's" 3 fake-Up "'Dearie' began te disappear -en Saturday nights. One Saturday night Florence happened te be in Hertf6rd. She heard some girls talking about selng te the station and flirting with the millionaire. She watched them go ntrvnd "pcak te a e,Iew fn B hl5h si Ik het evening coat and a stiff jh'lrt with false diamond stud. He looked familiar and Florence went closer. "It was 'Dearie' all right, and he was as Drezcn. H0 btoed twisting his monocle ribbon around his finger. When Florence asked him where he get the cuiues ne said -in Hartferd.' That me Wny ne spent three of the five ueuars ne toen out of Ethel's pay every Saturday night." Apparently that was the beginning of the- Prince's philandering. Tall, slender -and gracefully built with an Intelligent and pleasing, though net exacuy nanaseme, face, a soft veIm. a ready command of words, It is net perhaps surprising that simple-minded factory girls "fell ter him," as the saying gees. He would show them letters, secnJng 10 unve Dccn written by Jehn D. Itecke feller or Mrs. Helen Gould Shennnrd. offering te adept him, or asking nbeut the system he had used In Mente Carle. He would held long telephene cenver satiens, 'in which he would give the word for deals and mergers involving millions. When he was turned out of the Abetz home he seems te have left Hartferd Immediately. The manager of the store where v "i ,r Martin Van Bur en, a descendant of the President. He speke of having aban doned for mysterious reasons a lucrative practice In Washington, rfut In Tren Tren eon, as In New Britain, he was re garded as the victim of an interesting but harmless abberatlen. Ne ene took him seriously; no one, that Is, except the women. "Hew they did fall for his guff I" says Tanzenl. "They begged for It. And could you tell them te be careful, that this guy was just a peer nut? Yeu could jet." Hew Many "Princesses" Did "Prince Hareld" Make? Mnir mnnv wouien beenme Involved In Prince Hareld's life In Trenten nnd alene and penniless with n baby te sup port. The baby Is new three,years old arid gees by the surname of' his mother. The marriage has been nnnulctl. As for the abandoned girl, she says simply: "I have one consolation. The baby resembles me and net his father.' Frem here the career of "Prince Har Har old" becomes fragmentary again. He Is seen en the New England reads In the company of these two ether Oedipus adventurers, "Ierd nnd Lady Douglass Grey," burning along in a high-powered car of foreign make. The Oedipus complex has new apparently' hit Its stride. At Hartferd the party wait while repairs are made te the car and the Prince de Bourbon converses with one of the mechanics of the garage, Herbert Hlerdan. Says Itlerdan: "He told me he had met Lord Grey in France. 'Lord' Grey,' he says, 'was an English aviator and I was a French ace. Lord Grey has been assisting me in some very Important negotiations with British and Japanese officials con cerning the purchase of surplus air planes. " 'We are going te buy these air planes for $200 aplece and sell them te Japan for $5000 each.' " Enter Prince Henri, Garbed As Adviser te the Czar This seems te have been the Prince's first appearnnce la the white Russian uniform blensc new become famous. Lord Grey also was In uniform. He re ferred te the car jocularly as Abdul Azzizl. As for the car, It was by no means a new one. "It looked te me," says Rlerdan, "like an old touring car fitted with a racing body." The party, it seems, was en its wny te Washington for a consultation with the Japanese Ambassador. They were te step en route at the Hetel Taft In New Haven. What reverses of fortune followed and hew the destinies of Prince and Baronet became separated is still a matter for conjecture. Anyway, the Prince next is discovered en Blackwells Island working mere or less humbly aa a cook and making f . ''-";'W. X I IN rrm ' y ''A'UJ ' mtimmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm I ' MStKmmmMmmmmmmmWit '' 'SJ nplTlfVl !,- Y$fr ?xfe 'St. Yi-rM? Prince Leuis Henri de Chatereux de Bussigny de Bourbon; ether- WmSmtmmmWf''"''''i nV'' ' vv'''?, &'" ,?eiV'x"--A W wise plain Hareld Schwarm, scullion de ldxe BL&ir " t't,wirrs9 '"' 'M' ' '1 fc$ "$ , ' "fi --'''TiTiTiTiTiTiTiTiTiTiTiTiTiTiTiTiTiTMfcBW Wm$M taLMMMMMMllllmMMMMMMWKmMfl s 'aiiiiiiHKlHinaiHI' t mSBBKUtfvi yjw R9BhBw pbjM dHBT1iMHyilfc sIiTWijiii ii" I If Catherine Lynn, of Dorchester, Masa., who had her marriage te U'V" If 'MflCv'fl tffllflrat'- 'mi flBpMHB " "Prince Hareld'7 annulled when she learned, she was only one of --j iiJflf'K WKKSSpP'' &$?$'' Wpl" iHH 4 hi w$n Win - ,.v- assfipr 'ii. xvmml j ' ' v '.f " ? ?,V'i tAl.-wEMmfti LI r k.j ,i .'vv? v-2 ufaaa.. m fc,W ?ffe f II fei t Prince Hareld bought most of his finery says: "That fellow, might get away with it In New Yerk, but net In New Britain. His nerve wasn't geed for a dime here. He had been the town clown for years. We considered him harmless, but he had te pay cash." Garbed Like the Lily He Began Scrubbing Pets Seme time after his disappearance from Hartferd, which, except by his mother and the Abetz family, had scarcely been remarked, he floated into ! iu a nearby burber bhep. Trenten and found work as a scrubber of pets in the kitchens of the Hetel Sterllnp. Undoubtedly there hed been adventures In the interim, for Herman ScheriT, the chef who employed him, observed that his clothes were of the finest cut und materials. However, he was a geed worker, nnd though the job was hard and unpleas ant he never cetr.plained. On the tes timony of both Scherer nnd Daniel Tanzenl, the hotel manager, his work was consistently better than any !. ..u.. uviuiu um iuuu ur since. Old Dec . Van der Vere - Reports en a "Case" JCROM one of the papers found in the room of Prince-Henri de Bourbon, alias Dr. Martin Van Duren, alias Dr. Reginald Van der Vere: "Henry Perter FynckBern in Wayne County, 67 years of age Suffered first shock in April 1918 Dr. Skinner of Brdwy. and Ulet St. attended Diagnosis arterio'8clere8is with Suicidal in tentions. History Bern in Wayne County 1854 worked for N. Y. Central thirty-five years en their beats, suffered first shock April 1918, but recovered and went back te work, but suffered relapse after six months Pres ent address 363 Edgeeemb Aveu, where he has lived twelve years, is insured in Metropolitan and Prudential Life Insurance Ce. and is member of Cattahoechet Tribe Ne. 95, Improved Order of Red Men. Member for threw years. "Reginald M. Van der Ver M. D." Idle moments f I, ''&' & Uttif? tji JH wXmm y t r WSMK .i aBBBBBBBBBBV BBBBBBBn" ml iAMffwryd i"t - - JlVs tfieSS? SuiBBBBBBBBBBBBi -jrfJJBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBCfcBaBBBaBMfcBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBItBMP T" nmm tmmmmmmwmmmmwmmmmmmmmtwmmimmmmmtmCiHmmmJmmmatmmmmtmSmmmmtsaMm 't.In.. T IJH Ai . .... rUiu Blreuing en Klverside Drive, New Yerk, with his deg and pet monkey 5 Tz ftttr: "s&snrssistr: .. .-y- ------ !-.. r.uiMu.i ku in me institu tions ntfinna T 1 L r, . . . . " iu "r "e cenmieu nis se Xn,rrevalchmber InNew Yerk after'the "pretender de luxe" decamped iuddenly. Nete the nulla ket.nL and empty flasks and discarded. slippers -""Wi- "?le,tn.u,J KJ".? WHkomersen. who said wonders what her number as "Princess' is he went the whole gamut of the bar ber s ministrations. Though his wages ere e.ily .$ir a week, his bill nt the inrbcr h frequently amounted te $13 n week. When he hnd no money for tips ne would exchange sandwiches for clwrs wjth the Iceman andglve the i-igars 10 tne barbers. never be. In connection with the name he hnd assumed nt this time, It is interesting te recall that President Martin Van Buren hnd a son whef was known as "Dandy Jack" Van Buren nnd thnt he rivaled in resplendency nnd fastid iousness nny of the European beaux of the preceding generation, ne was almost as active as his father in poll tics of the day, and was for a while Attorney General of New Yerk. Hareld remained In Trenten four months. Whither he went n, te known definitely. Shortly nfterward he mnde his appearnnce In Bo-ten, i where he continued thu name "Dr. Vun i Buren." Here his effrontery went te the limit of seeking n place with the staff of the Fere River Hospital for Insane. Here, tee, he met and married Catherine Frances Lynn, although net divorced from his first wife. Decamped Frem New England Deserting His Girl Bride rri 11..-1 . ..-, ..... ,,,,s 00!s ..D, ..,.-., a wiuia nc urwgewater as' as it. nnu .Mrs. van Huren. Then sud denly the "doctor" deserted her. A child was born shortly afterward and christened Jehn Van Buren. Li l' I Trenten h. .caUedWhlmselfNDr. ',.: te deCTwitu her. When "Mrs. Van Huren's" lin.Kn. had been identified with the dishwasher of Trenten her relatives refused te have She was left cret nnd te her he recited from a paper memorandum his titles: "Prince Leuis Henri de Chatereux de Bussing- de Bourbon, Ceinptc de Paris Due d'Orleans. Due de Vulels, Prince d Ancelen, etc., etc., etc., etc." What clee he may have told her Is a matter for an Imagination matching the Prince's own. She became Princess de Chatereux de Busslngy de Bourbon, etc., etc. Once Mere Haughty Neble Has Kitchen as Kingdom Anether time he Is chef nt the Brownsville Hospital In East New Yerk, where bame wife is working as a laboratory technician. Here he calls himself "Rcglnuld Van de Vere." "Yes I remember htm well," says Dr. Harry J. Mess, formerly super Intendent of the hospital. "Ha had MMimnenilntln... . v...... ...U.....HIUIID ,n,ra several eoeil families, and let me tell you he was booms ns 11 clief. I'll hire my lamuy cook any old ueeds n job. "The story that he was fired from iiiu iiusniiui UUf'nilKA l.n him tlme he KltMIerl ltn broth is untrub. The reason was this: The ether men disliked him and he was always spooning around the place " wn. nne was always Jeavlng the laboratory te .auke 16ve te him when he should have been stirring the soup. I hed te let him go. "I would like te say one thing. Be is no feel. He is a bright fellow." We next find that "the Prince," wearing his white blouse nnd cordea, before Magistrate Simpsen in the West Side Police Court in New Yerk. "Yes," he is saying, "I nm the first Prince of France, the last of my line, and the first Bourbon te have ever been in a cell." Showing here that Hareld Schwarm'a rending of history tins doubtless been profound but erratic. , "I have been fourteen years in the Russian Army and later was chief of the bodyguard of the late Czar Nicholas. I have fifty-three decorations and orders, Including one from Pepe Bene dict for having protected various Catholic churches In Russia. "When I led the Ruwlan Armlea Inte Persia I was at the head of my troops. I have been live times wounded. The muscles of my left arm an paralyzed." After this dignified statement of affairs the Magistrate "honernbly dis charged" him. The Prince had bee accused of threatening te run a detec tive through with a rapier. Frank J. McEwen had been engaged te defend him. McEwan's story of his acquaintance with the "Prince" te interesting. Lest Russian Accent In an American Jail "A friend, who, like many ethers, had been deceived by this remarkable Imposter and poseur, introduced bla te me, and I took his case," he 6aya. "I had never seen him before and X have never seen hlru since. "There is nothing whatever in bis thrent te have me bring nn action for $50,000 against the City of New Yerk for false imprisonment. It Is ridicu leus, ns far as I am concerned, at least! for I would have nothing te de with htm. "When I learned that he was being supported by his wife, that was enough for me. Ills wife, who seemed a very decent young Jewlsli woman, came te me the night before I defended Schwarm In Magistrate Simpsen's court, "I asked her If' the Prince spoke English well enough for me te un derstand him or whether she would have te act as interpreter. She as sured me that he spoke excellent Eng lish, but that he hnd an nccent. I visited the man in jail nnd he poured at me a flood of New Yerkese, Interspersed with East .Side idioms that no mnn could hnve picked up in the two years he naid he hnd been in tiis coun try. There was no Russian accent in his talk either. "When I speke te ht wife about this later, she said that his nccent only cropped out when he wns much excited. I am frank te say thnt nt first I had no idea he was an imposter. I could hardly believe that hl wife v-as aware of the man s true rltnrncter, but nfter living with htm eighteen months I de net hee hew site could remain undo unde ccived. "Frem what I hnve learned of tht mnn, I !eliep lit fa tin victim of nn aberration. Te many mind he is a harmless nut, excepting for the peer girls he has deceied." Ouija Beard Left Behind In Deserted "Throne Roem? Next we learned thnt the Prince hnd fled New Yerk Toe much publicity and the story of having made his es. caftx from Hussln in a barrel of pota toes proved fatal te whatever plan he may hn hail. Detectives found nothing lu tils apartment but some of the l'rliU'eW clothing, eurn-u hlhky IliihltH. ,i Oulju benril, a bottle of Ipecaa unci the 111 tin tin swenl Ills Highness used te rnrrv when he teuk the nlr en Riverside Drive. Lust night the "Princess" wild de fiantly that he was fur, far away and that she would seen join him, If bbe could keep clear of the police. Twe Htrnnge details remain te be added. First, a man Bought McEwnn, declared himself te be a Persian gen tleman of high family nnd said he had actually seen the Prlnce leading Hus Hus seon treniis into hlin country. Sec ond, en the day of the Prince's flight it gentleman nf mllltiir demeanor on en peared at police liiiiiliiiiirterN U. pro pre test iiKiiiiist the InmoVter und le an nounce hliiiK'lf ns the only living de. . sctindmit of LeuIh XVIII. He giivrt his name us "Napeleon de Rei .out," showing here the wune eccentricity In ""hd'"-J.T'lsery as Hareld himself It -i ft" I i i : 2i ftl 1 vrr a 4 J 3 P 1 TO il.l fewSft. 4,-1M...S.U. .,.. .. i. . ,v. -gn?.jih..- in fl ' A ytfiy ft. , ! H'"tn , V. i u,-;f.,'httfc, jjSMUh ,; uate.t'y?..-ni. -LliJJw it tan i ... w nil 1 JMtiiJl k j, rtfu,'t JilV.;..tUu .i ;t !.'. - j P
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers