We do not see that Prince Alexander, the deposed Bulgarian monarch, is going to have very much difficulty in keeping the wolf away from the door.  In addition to the income from a $2,000,000 legacy, he has a number of profitable investments in America which he can realize upon at any time.  He owns considerable real estate in Chicago, Kansas City, Denver, and Omaha, and he is a part owner of one of the largest ranches in New Mexico.  His American property is held in the name of Alexander Marie Wilhelm Ludwig Maraschkoff, and his interests in this country are looked after by Colonel J.S.  Norton, the well-known attorney of this city.  Colonel Norton tells us that he would not be surprised if Prince Alexander were to come to this country to live.  In a letter to Colonel Norton last June the Prince said:  “If ever it is in divine pleasure to release us from the harassing responsibilities which now rest upon us, it will be our choice to find a home in that great country beyond the Atlantic, where, removed from the intrigues of court and state, we may enjoy that quiet employment and peaceful meditation for which we have always yearned.”

Now it must be confessed that this bears a sufficient air of verisimilitude to deceive the casual reader.  It is as perfect a specimen of the pure invention which Field delighted to deck out in the form of truth with facts and the names of real personages as he ever wrote.  In that year not only Englishmen, but other foreigners, were investing in American real estate.  James S. Norton was indeed a well-known attorney of Chicago, as he deserved to be for his wit and professional ability.  He was on such friendly terms with Field that the latter thought nothing of taking any liberty he pleased with his name whenever it served to lend credibility to an otherwise unconvincing narrative.  In subsequent paragraphs Field answered fictitious inquiries as to Mr. Norton’s reality by giving his actual address, with the result that Mr. Norton was pestered with correspondence from all over the union offering opportunities to invest Prince Alexander’s funds.

But the success of this hoax was not confined to the American side of the Atlantic, as the following paragraph from London Truth shortly after proves: 

I gave some particulars a few weeks ago of the large amount of property which had been extracted from Bulgaria by Prince Alexander, who arrived at Sofia penniless, except for a sum of money which was advanced to him by the late Emperor of Russia.  It is now asserted by the American papers that Prince Alexander has made considerable purchases under an assumed name (Alexander Marie Wilhelm Ludwig Maraschkoff) of real estate in Chicago, Denver, Kansas City, and Omaha, and that he is part owner of one of the largest sheep ranches in New Mexico.  The Prince’s property in America is under the charge of Colonel Norton, a well-known attorney of Chicago.  Prince Alexander must be possessed of a true Yankee cuteness if he managed to squeeze the “pile” for these investments out of Bulgaria in addition to the L70,000 to which I referred recently.  The Russian papers have accused him of dabbling in stock exchange speculations, and if disposed for such business, his position must have given him some excellent opportunities of making highly profitable bargains.