"'The last time,' said I (thinking I would rather have him the amiable Paul than the savage Shah), 'your Majesty informed me that you were the holy Apostle St. Paul!'
"'So I am,' answered the Shah.
"'I am at a loss, your Majesty, I humbly confess, to understand how your immortal Highness can be at one and the same time the blessed Apostle St. Paul and the Shah of Persia,'
"'Because you are such a damned fool!' replied His Highness.
"Here was the fierceness of the Shah, but immediately the gentleness of the Apostle restored him to a more amiable mood, and coming towards me with a smile, he said,—
"'The explanation, my dear sir, is simple;' and then, in a quiet, confidential tone, he added: 'It was the same mother, but two fathers!'"
"I had another experience not long after in the same asylum," continued Warren. "One of my patients told me he had married the devil's daughter when I was asking him about his relations. 'She was a nice girl enough,' he said, 'and although my people thought I had married beneath me, I was satisfied with her rank, seeing she was a Prince's daughter. We went off on our honeymoon in a chariot of fire which her father lent us for the occasion, and had a comfortable time of it at Monte Carlo, where all the hotels are under her father's special patronage.'
"'I hope,' said I, 'your marriage was a happy one.'
"'Yes,' said he with a sigh, 'but we don't get on well with the old folks!'"
* * * * *