PRE FA C E

T m u c h has been w r it t en ab o u t Cagliost r o

H O UGH ,

most of it is con fined to a r ticles i n encyclopedias and

magazines o r to desc r iptive parag r aphs in works
,

dealing with magic fr eemasonry an d the pe r iod in ,

w h ic h h e lived 1
This mate r ial may be desc r ibed as a
.

footnote w h ic h h as been r aised to the dignity of a

page of h isto r y I t is b ased on contempora ry r eco r ds
.

inspi r ed by envy h at r ed and contempt i n an age ,

noto r io u sly passionate r evengeful and unsc ru pulous , .

!

I t is mo r eove r ext r emely superficial being me r ely a

, , ,

repetition o f information o b tained second h and by -

compile r s appa r ently to o igno r ant o r too la z y to make

thei r own investi g ations E ven M Funck B r entano . .
-
,

w h ose brillian t h istorical monog r aphs h ave earned h im

a dese r vedly h igh r eputation is not to be r el ied upon , .

I n t h e sequel to h is ente rtaining acco u nt of t h e affai r

2

o f t h e D iamond N ecklace t h e b r ie f c h apte r h e devotes ,

to Cagliost r o contains so many inacc ur acies as to

s uggest t h at like t h e majo r ity of h is p r edecesso r s h e
, ,

was content to impa r t his in fo r mation with ou t p r e

v i ous l
y taking th e t r o u bl e to examine t h e so ur ces fr om
wh ic h it was de r ived .

I t h as been said t h at eve r y book on Cagliost r o

Pri or to th e pres e t v olume n o compl ete biog aph y of Cagl ios tro
1
n r

h as b p bl i h d i E gl i h
ee n u s e n n s

Tr l t d
.

L M2
’

tes ae l afiazr e aze eol /zer

’
’ ’ ’
d l R i
a L
or t ie a e ne es s u . an s a e
i t E gli h d r h titl f C gl i
n o n s un e t e e o a os tr o an d Comp any .

V
 P re fac e
mu s t be a book aga i n s t him Wit h this opinion I
.

t otally disag ree I n c hoosing Cagliostro as the

.

subj e c t of an histori c al memoir I was guided at first I ,

admit by th e belief that h e was t h e arch imposto r he

,
-

i s popularly supposed to be Wit h h is m ystery

.
,

magic and highly sensational ca r eer h e seemed j u st

,

the so r t of picturesque pe rsonality I was in searc h o f .

The moment howeve r I began to make m yresearches

, ,

l was astonished to fi nd how little fo u ndation t h ere

was in point of f act for the popular conception The .

—
deepe r I went into the subj ect how deep th is h as
been t he reader may gath e r from t h e B ibliog r ap h y ,

w h ic h contains but a portion of the material I h a v e

—
sift ed the more convinced I became of the fallacy
of this conception U nder such circumstances t h ere
.

seemed but two alternatives open to me : eithe r to

abandon the subj ect altogeth er as unsuited for the
purpo s e I had in V iew or to follow t h e line o f least
,

r esis t ance and dish onestly adh ering to the old meth od
,
,

which from custom had almost become ae r zg n e n r help ’

'

t o perpe t uate an impression I believed to be u nfounded

and unj us t.

On reflection I have adopted n eit h e r cou r se .

I rritation caused by t h e ignorance and carelessness

of t he s o called
- “
authorities awoke a fres h and
”

unexpected interest i n th eir victim and I decided to

s t ick to the subject I h ad c h osen and treat it fo r th e

first time h ones t ly As Ba r on de Gleichen says i n

.

his S o u v en i r s
, E nough ill h as been said of Cagliostro .

I intend to speak well of h im because I t h ink this is

,

always p r eferable providing one can and at least I ,

shall not bo r e th e reader by r epeating w h at h e g h as

al r e ady h ea r d
.

vi
 P re fac e
Suc h a statemen t m ade in connection wit h s u c h a
c h a r acter as Cagliost r o is popula r ly supposed to be
will no doubt expose me to t h e c h a r ge of h aving
, ,

“
w h itewas h ed him T h is howeve r I emph atically
.
, ,

deny .
“
Whitewas h ing as I u nde rstand t h is te r m
, ,

is a plausible attempt to portray b ase o r detestable

c h a r acte r s as wo r t h y o f esteem by palliating t h ei r vice s
and attributing noble motives to t h ei r c r imes T h i s .

manner of treating h isto r ical figu r es is ce rtainly not

one of w h ich I can be accused as t h ose w h o m ay h ave ,

r ead p r evious biog rap h ical books of mine will admit .

W h ateve r sympat h y for Cagliost r o my r esea r ches may

have evoked it h as always been exceeded by contempt
of t h ose w h o combining an un r easoning prejudice with
,

a slovenly syste m of compilation have r epeated th e ,

o l d c h arges against h im wit h par r ot like stupidity -

.

T h e obj ect o f this book i s not so m u c h an attempt

to vindicate Cagliost r o as to cor r ect and r evise if ,

possible w h at I b el ieve to be a false j u dgment of

,

h isto ry .

W R H T R O WB R I D G E
. . .

Lon don , Augns t I9I 0 .

vi i
 B I B L I O GR A P H Y
books and doc u ments r elating to C aglios t ro are
T HE

ve r y numerous T h ei r value h oweve r is so question .

, ,

able that in making a c r itical c h oice it is ext r emel y

difficult to avoid incl u ding many t h at are wo r t h less .

I n t h e F r enc h Arc h ives

A aos s i er en
’
titl d De ocu men ts a l ai de aes gu el s
’ ’
l a pol i ce de P ari s a
e Cagl i os zr o n efai l a n tre
’
e/eer efié a établ i r, l or s a Col l i er , on e
’
d ‘

p au r oe s

n ommé os ep /z B al s amo, gu z
’
def/a s e
j e a
’

av ai l
av en tu r i er j
’

gu un ou rn

P ari s en 1 77 2

L ttre dr
e a i ir F i r mi
es s é e par u n an on y me au co mm s sa e on ta n e, e se

d e Pal m lN er7 86 e, e 2 ov . , 1 .

P lai t d
é a M d S ti
n e a p J B l m t f mm
re s s e . e ar n e ar . a sa o c on re s a e e .

Ordr d M d S ti e mmi ir F
e i . d d e ar n e au co s sa e on ta n e e re s s e r

p e
roc b l d l p t
s v er a
n
r d l d m B l m 3 J e i r 7 73
a ca u e e a a e a sa o, 2 an v e , 1 .

P é rb l d p t r d l d m B l m
ro c s -v e aF i e ca
7 73 u e e a a e a sa o, 1 e v r e r, 1 .

I tr gt i d l dm Bl m
n e ro F ri r 773
a o re e a a e a sa o, z o ev e , 1 .

R pp rt Mi i tr
a o au n s e .

The abov e have also been p r inted in fu ll in E mile

C ampardo n
’
s Mar i e A n toi n el l e of l e P r oeés an
’
Col l i er .

T h e following doc u men ts a r e u nprinted

b l d pt d i
Pro c é s v er a
-
dm e ca ure e s s e ur e t a e Cagl i tr os o .

P e rb l d p rq i iti f it p l
ro c s -v e a e e u s on a ar e co i i
mm s s a re Ch es n on l e
2
3 A o t 8
7 5 hul i r,C g l i
1 t ,
c ez e s eu a o s ro .

I t r g t ir d C gl i t
n e ro l 3 J ir
a o e e a os ro e 0 an v e , 1 78 6 .

1X
 Bi b l io g rap h y
I n the Frenc h Archives (con ti n u ed)

k
Min ute de c on fron tation s des té m i de Caglios tr o ns o
s .

r
F oc s e rb al d
-
e l
v a re mi e fait e a Ca gl i os tr o l o rs de s a m s e e s ,
1 n

ib
l e r t é des e
,
fl e ts ai i s a n d m i '

c i l l e j o u r
s d e s asm i s e en é tat so o e

d arres tation
’
.

J ur al du l ibraire H ard y
o n .

C pie d u e l ettre é crite d Lo n dres par un o ffici er fran gai s remi s e

o
’
n e

aP ari s l e 9 J u il l et 78 61 1 .

Lettre au peupl f an cai s e r .

Published Wo r ks
J ph B l m
V i e de os e l m d C mt C g l i tr a sa o, c o n n u s o us e no e o e a os o

e xtr it d l pr éd r i tr it tr I i a R m
a e e a 79oc u e ns u e c on e u o e, en 1 0,

t d it d pre l rigi l it l i i mp imé al Ch mbr Ap t l iq

ra u e
’
a s
’
o na a en , r a a e os o ue .

C ri r d l E p g tt gl f g i S pt mb r O t b
ou e e
’
uro e, az e e an o -
ran a s e, e e e , c o e r,

N mb r 7 86 l G tt d H ll d G tt d U tr h t
ov e e ,
1 ; a so az e e e o an e, az e e
’
ec ,

G tt d L yd G tt d Fl r
aze e e eC ri r d B R h i e, az e e e o en c e , ou e u as - n ,

J r l d B rli P bli Ad rti r F ill Vi ll g i

ou n a e e n, d u c ve ze , eu e a e o s e, an

M it r U i r ]
on eu n ve se .

C gl i t d ém q é aV
a o s ro i 78 as u ars ov e e n 1 0.

N hri ht
ac d b ii h i g
c C gl i tr
v on f th lt i Mit es er c t ten a os o au en a e n au ,

im j h 7 79 ( C
a re 1 t Eli d R k) oun e s s s a v on er ec e .

L tt e l S i
re s s u r
7 8 ( I B d L b rd )
a u s se e n 1 1 . . e a o e .

G h i ht g h i m d ah l h f M h ( F B l )
e sc c en , e e e un r t se a te en s c en . u au ; or

h Fr
t e h tr l ti by Willi m D k tt P
en c an s a on
g E igm i g a uc e er s on n a es n at u es .

S i d B r d Gl i h
o uv en rs e a on e e c en .

S ir d l M q i d Creq y
ouv e n s e a ar u s e e u .

Cr p d
o res o n Iitté i r ( G i mm) an c e ra e r .

M ém i é ré tif i i fiq
o re s r c d tiq d p hy i i a s , s c en t u es , e t an ec o u es u s c en
a ér t GERb
o n au e . . o ers on .

M é m ir th tiq d C mt C gl i tr ( p ri b y h
o es au en u es e o e a os o s u ou s , t e

k
M rq i d L h t)
a u s e uc e .

M ém ir d B i Abb é G rg ] B r d Ob i h M d m
o es e r s s o t, eo e , a on n e
’
er rc , a a e
d H u Gr l y B h m M étr C
auss e t, C mt B g
os e , ac au o n t, a, as an o v a, o e eu n o t,
an dB d B
aro n l e e s en v a .

C 81i3 L Fr m M g i t l O l i m
°5 tT ° = a XV I I I a e -
a o n n er e e
’
ccu t s e au
‘

si é l ( H ri d Al mé
c e
)
en
’
ras .

X
 Bi b l io g rap h y
O th o do x i e Magon n iq ( R g )
ue a on .

La Fr M c an c -R e el i d My te d F
a o n n e, ou v at o n s es s res es ran c s

Mca on s .

A l d l igi d Gr d O i t Fr
n n a es e
’
or ne u an r en en an c e .

A t L m m ( Th ry )
c a ato o ru o .

M ém ir p r r ir al hi i d J bi i m (A bb é B l )
o es ou se v
’
s to re u ac o n s e arru e .

Hi t i d M r ill x ( Fi g i )
s o re u e ve eu u er .

Hi t ir d l Fr M g i ( Cl l )
s o e e a an c - a o n n er e av e .

Hi t i ph il phiq d l M c i ( K ffm
s o re oso Ch pi ) ue e a a o n n er e au an n e t er n .

L esS t l ié té
ec es et ( C
et mt LesC l ds oc s s ec r es o e e o u te u x e

C tl )
an e e u .

S hl r Hi t ry f h E ight th C t ry
c osse
’
s s o o t e e en en u .

Hi t ir d l R e l i F c i L R é l ti ir
s o e e a v o ut o n ran a se es vo u on n a es

M y tiq ( L i B l )
s ue s ou s an e .

Hi t ir d Frs o XV III
e el ( H i M ti )
an c e
"
s 1e e e en r ar n .

Hi t i d F s o re L Aff i d C ll i r ( Mi h l t )
e ran ce :
’
a re u o e c e e .

R i l d t t l p i e ( 3 ) qi
e cu e e o u esp r d n l ff i d
es c es 1 u on t a u a s
’
a a re e

M l C di l d R h
. e ar na e o an .

M i A t i t l P é d C ll i r ( E mil C mp d )
ar e n o ne te e t e ro c s u o e e a ar on .

L Afi i d C ll i r ( F k Br t )
'
’
a re u o e un c -
en an o .

T h D i m d N kl
e a ( H ry V
on i l l y) ec ac e en z ete .

M i A t i tt l P é d C ll i r ( Ch ix d E A g )
ar e n o ne e et e ro c s u o e a
’
s t- n e .

L D r i e P i e d f m x C ll i r
a e n re ce u a eu o e .

M é m ir d S i r S h i
o e u eu ac c .

L ttr d L b th al h é l g S g i
e e e a ar e
’
arc o o ue e u er .

L t d G rd d R i ( M
e tre
’
un l) a e u o an u e .

L ttr d C mt d Mir b a
e es u o C gl i tr L t r
e e a eau s ur a os o et av a e .

R q et P rl m t p l C mt d C gl i t
e u e au a e en ar e o e e a o s ro .

M é m ir p r l C mt d C gl i t d m d r
o e ou e tr o e e a os ro , e an eu , co n e

M Ch l fil
. l i rd L y
es n o n e s et e s eu e aun a .

L tte P pl A gl i p l C mt d C gl i tr
re au eu e n as ar e o e e a os o.

Th d M
ev en eau d (P l R b iq ) e o ran e au o u et .

Li b r M m i l i d C l
e e d m or a stR b i e a e o s tro u es s e o o rett .

Al d d i C gl i tr I mp t r M rtyr ? ( Ch l S h )
e s san ro a os o. os o or a ar e s o t eran .

C t C gl i t ( Criti l d Mi ll
oun a o s ro E y C rl yl ) ca an s ce an e o u s s sa s a e .

Vi x p pi i ill m i ( G L otr )
eu a e rs , v e es a s on s . en e .

I lia i h R i
ta ( G
n sc t h ) e e se oe e .
 CO NT ENT S
PAR T I

T HE P O WER or P REJU DI C E
I I G I U SE E B ALSAM O
PP

PAR T II

C A GLI O S T R O
IN LO ND O N
II E I HT EEN TH C ENTU R OCC U LT ISM
G Y

M AS ED AND U NMAS ED
K K

I V T C O NQU ES T
HE TH E C ARDINAL
or

C A LI O S T R O IN P ARIS
G

T D IAM O ND N E C LA C E A AIR
HE K FF

C A LI O S T R O R E TU RNS T O L O ND O N
G

N A TU RE S U
“ ’
C H ILD
N FO R T U N A I E
’ ‘

I NDE X

03 1 1 13 1 10
OF P '
 L I ST OF I LLU ST R A T I O N S

CO U N T CA LI O S T R O
G
' ‘

F r on tzspzere

C ARDINAL DE R O H AN

CO U N T ESS CA LI O S T R O
G

M ESME R
E MMAN U EL S WEDEN O R B G

ADAM WEIS A U T H P

Co uNT Es s E LISA DE R R EC E
VO N K

H O U DO N B US T C A LI O ST R O
’
S OF G

CO U N T ESS DE LAM O TT E
MA R IE A N T O INE TT E
LO RD G E O R E G O RD O N
G

T H EVE N EAU DE M O RANDE

A M AS O NI C A NEC D OT E
P ILI J AMES DE L
H P O UT HER BOU R G

XV
 C AG LI O S T R O

PAR T I

C H A P TE R I
T H E P OWER OF P REJU D I C E
I

T HE mention of Cagliost r o al ways suggests t h e

ma r vellous the mys t erious t h e u nknown There is
, , .

something cabalistic in the ve r y so u nd of t h e name

that considering t h e occult ph enomena perfo r med by
,

the st r an g e personality who assumed it is curiously ,

app r opriate As an i n cog n i to it is perh aps t h e mos t

.
, ,

suitable eve r invented T he name fits t h e man like

.

a glove ; and r ecalling t h e mystery in w h ic h his

,

ca r ee r was w r apped one involuntarily wonde r s if it has

,

eve r been clea r ed up I n a word what was Cagliostro

.
,

r eally Ch arlatan adventu rer swindle r wh ose i m

?
, , ,

postu r es were finally expose d by the ever memorable -

N ecklace Affai r in whic h h e was implicated ? Or

“
friend of humanity as h e claimed w h ose b e n e fac
,
”
,

tions excited the enmity of t h e envious w h o took ,

advantage of his m isfo r t u nes to calumniate and r ui n

him ?
,
—
K nave o r ma r ty r w h ic h ?

This question is mo r e easily answe r ed by saying

what Cagl i o s tro was n ot than what he was I t has .

been stated by competent judges — and all wh o hav e

B
s tudied the subj ect will ag r ee wi t h them
— that t h ere is ,

perhaps no othe r equally celebrated figure in modern

,

history whose cha racte r is so ba ffl ing to t h e biog raphe r .

Documents and books relating to him abou nd but they ,

possess li tt le o r no value The most i nteresting are

.

frequently the most unreliable The fact that material

.

s o ques t ionable should provide as many reasons for

—
rejec t ing i t s evidence w h ich is by the way almost
, ,

en t irely hostile as fo r accepting i t h as induced

-
,

theosophis t s spiritualists occul t ists and all who a r e

, , ,

s ympat h eti c ally drawn to the my s terious to become

h i s apologi s t s
. B y these amiabl e V isionaries Cagliost r o
i s regarded as one of the princes of occultism whose
mys t ical tou c h has r evealed the arcana of t h e spiritual
world to the ini t iated and illumined the path along
,

which the speculative scientist proceeds on entering

t he labyrinth of t he supernatural To t h em the strik
.

ing contrasts wit h whic h his agitated existence was

c hequered are unimpea c h able witnesses in h is favour
,

and they stubbornly refuse to accept t h e un s a t isfactory

and contemptuous explanation of h is miracles given
by those who regard him as an imposto r .

U nfor t unately greate r weig h t is attached to police

,

reports t h an to theosop h ical eulogies ; and something

more s ubstan t i al t h an the enthusiasm of t h e occulti s ts
i s required to s uppo r t t h eir con t ention H owever t h ose
.
,

who t ake t h is ex t ravagant ( I had almost said ridiculous )

V i ew of Cagliostro may obtain what con s olation they
—
can from the fact which cannot be stated too emp h atic
—
ally t h a t t h ough it is utterly impossible to grant
t heir prophet th e halo t h ey would accord h im it is ,

equally impo s sible to accept t h e verdict of h i s enemies .

I n reality it is by t h e evil that h as been said and

,

2
 C agl io s tro
might still left the t r ut h in doubt only se r ved to
,
-

strengthen his p r ejudice I t could s ur ely be n o inno

.

cent victim of injustice who aro u sed contempt so

malevolent hatred so u nive r sal T h e myste r y i n
,
.

wh ich he masqueraded was alone su fficient t excite o

suspicion And yet whispe r ed t h e conscience of the

.
,

historian enraged at t h e mendacity f t h e witnesses h e o

consul t ed what noble ideals what loft y aspi r ations

, ,

misjudged misunderstood exposed to ridicule pelted

, , ,

with calumn y may not h ave sough t s h elte r u nde r that

,

mantle of mystery
“
Looking at t h y so att r actively deco r ated p r ivate
th eatre wherein thou ac te ds t and l i v e ds t h e exclaims
, ,
”
,

“
what hand but itc h es to d r aw aside t h y c ur tain
overh aul thy paste boa r ds paint pots paper mantles
-
,
-
,
-
,

stage lamps ; and turning t h e whole inside o u t find

-
,

ti m e in the middle thereof !

And suiting t h e action to t h e wo r d h e cl u tc h es w it h

an indignant hand at t h at m e taph o r1c al cu r tain ; b u t
in the very act of drawing it aside h is old ing r ained
p r ejudice asse rts itself Bah ! w h at else b u t a fr aud
.

moment to cros s th e th r es h old of h isto ry Ca r lyle ,

dropped the cur t ain h is fingers itched to draw aside

and proceeded to empty all t h e vials of h is w r at h
on Cagliostro .

I n his b r illiant essay in t h e Di amon a N ecé l ace in the

,
’
,

4
 T he P owe r o f P rej u di c e
F r on cé R ev ol u ti on — w h erever he meets h im —h b r ands e
“ ” ”
him as a K ing of Liars a Prince of S c oundrels

k
, ,

an “
A r c h Quack -
“
Count Front of B r as s Pinch
,
”
-

“ ” “ ”
b e c o s tru m Bubby jock
,
a babbling bubbling -
, ,

Turkey cock et cete r a B ut suc h violence defeats its

-
, .

intention W h en on eve r y page the hi s torian s con

.
’

s cience is smitten wit h doubts that prejudice cannot

succeed i n stilling the c r itical and inqui s itive reade r

,

comes to t h e conclusion h e knows less about t h e r eal

Cagliost r o at t h e end than h e did at t h e beginning .

H e h as me r ely seen Carlyle in one of his fine literary

rages ; it is all ve r y inte r esting an d memorable b u t ,

by no means what h e wanted As a matter of fact in .

,

th is instance Ca r lyle s j udgment is absolutely at sea ;

’

and t h e modern biog r ap h ers of Caglios t ro do not even

refe r to it .

N eve r theless these w r ite r s h ave come pretty muc h

,

to t h e same conclusion M H enri d Al mé ras whose . .

’

book on Cagliost r o is the best speaking of th e ,

questionable evidence t h at so incensed Carlyle ,

decla r es the h isto r ian even in h andling i t wit h ca r e

“
, ,

find s h imself willy n i ll y adopting t h e old prej u dice .

T h at I s to say eve r y book written on Cagliost r o even

, ,

u nder th e pretext of reh abilitating him can o nly be ,

a book agai n s t h im B ut while holding to the old

.
”

conventional opinion he conside r s that a rogue s o

“
,

picture s que disa r ms ange r and deserves to be t reated ,

D Al mé ras pict ur es Cagliostro as

” ’
with indulgence .

a sort of clown w h ic h is certainly the most curious

,

V iew eve r taken of th e F ron t of B r ass and even

“
,
”

more unjustifiable than Ca r lyle s ’

.

“
What a good natured amusing o r iginal rascal !
-
, ,

h e exclaims “
The Figa r o of mo r e i n te l l i
5
 Cagl io s tro
gent than Di afo i ru s and more c u nning t h an S capin
,
.

And with w h at impe r turbable serenity did he lie i n

fiv e or six languages as well as in a,
gibberis h that
had no meaning at all To lie like th at gi v es one a
.

grea t superiority ove r t h e maj ority of one s fellow men

’
-
.

H e did not lie because h e was afraid to speak t h e

t ru th but because as in the ca s e of many anoth er
, , ,

falsehood was in h im an excessive development of th e

imagination H e was himself moreove r t h e first
. , ,

vic t im of his lies By t h e familia r p h enomenon of

.

auto suggestion h e ended by believing w h at h e said

-
,

from force of saying it I f h e was s u ccessfu l in a.

,

c ertain s ense h e dese r ved to be

,
.
”

From all of wh ic h it may be gat h e r ed t h at w h et h e r

Cagliostro is depicted as an Apostle o f Light by h is
friends th e occultists or a r ank imposto r by h is enemies
, ,

of whom Carlyle is th e most impla c able and d Al mé ras ’

the most charitably inclined t h e real man h as been as ,

effectually h idden from V iew by prejudice as by the

myste ry in which h e wrapped h imself B ut h eavy .

though th e curtain is t h at conceals h im it is per h aps ,

po ssible for the h and that itc h es to draw it aside

“ ”
.

As a matte r of fact no really honest attempt h as eve r

,

been made to do so I t is true it is only a fleeting

.
,

somewh at nebulous glimpse t h at can be obtained of

,

this singula r personali t y T h ere i s moreove r one .

, ,

condition to be observed B efore th is glimpse can be

k
.

obt ained it is essential t h at some attempt s hould be

made to discove r if possible w o Caglio s tro was
, , .
 T he P o we r o f P rej u di c e

II
Considering t h at one has only to tu r n to th e
biographical dictionaries and encyclopedias to find it
defini t ely asserted that Count Caglio s tro was the
“

be s t known of many al i as es assumed by Giu s eppe

Balsamo a Sicilian adventu r er born in Palermo in
,

1 74 3 or 1 74 8 t h e above statement would appear to

'

be directly contrary to reco r ded fact For t h ough .

biog r ap h ical dictiona r ies and ency c lopedias are

notoriously supe r ficial and frequently misleading t h ey ,

are perh aps in this instance accurate enough for the

purpo s e of casual inquiry w h ic h is afte r all w h at they
,

a r e compiled fo r I ndeed t his B alsamo legend is so

.
,

plausible an explanation of the myste r y of C agl i o s tro s ’

origin that fo r lack of any othe r it has sati s fied all

, ,

who are entitled to be regarded as authorities T h e .

evidence howeve r on which they have based their

, ,

belief is ci r cumstantial r athe r than positive .

N ow circumstantial evidence as eve r ybody knows , ,

i s not always to be trusted The r e a r e many cases on

.

reco r d of pe r sons having been condemn ed on th e

strengt h of it who we r e afterwards found to be inno
cent . I n this particular case moreover doubts do , ,

exist and all authorities h ave admitted the fact

,
“ ”
.

Those prej udiced against C agliostro h ave agreed to

attac h no importance to them those prej udiced in h is ,

favou r t h e g r eatest To t h e occultists t hey are t h e

.

rock on whic h their fait h i n h im is founded Thei r .

opinion however may be ruled aside as untenable

, , ,

for t he doub t s are en t irely of a n e gati v e c h arac te r an d ,

suggest no counter theory of identity whatever

-
.
examining—not so much for the purpose of questioning
the accu racy of the authorities as to show h ow th e
”
“

Bal samo legend which plays so impo r tant a part in the

,

his t o ry of Cagliost r o originated

,
.

I t was not t ill Cardinal Rohan entangled h im in t h e

Diamond N ecklace Affair th at the name of Cagliost r o
hi t he r to familiar only to a limited numbe r of people
who as t he case migh t be h ad derived benefit or
, ,

suffe red misfortune fr om a pe r sonal expe r ience of his

fabulous powers acquired European noto r iety
,
.

The excitement caused by this cau s e cel éé re as is well ,

known was inten s e and universal

,
The a rr est of t h e
.

Cardinal in th e Oeil de Boeuf at Ve r sailles i n th e

- -
,

presence of the Cou r t and a great conco ur se of people

from Paris as h e was about to celebrate mass in th e
,

Royal Chapel on Assumption Day on the cha rge of ,

having purchased a necklace for livres for

t he Queen who denied all knowledge of the trans
,

action ; the subsequent disappea r ance of t h e j ewel

and the suspicion of intent to swindle t h e j ewelle r
which attached itself to bo t h Queen and Ca r dinal the
further implication of the Countess de Lamotte wit h ,

he r strangely romantic histo ry ; of Cagliostro wit h h is ,

mystery and magic ; and of a h ost of ot h e r s h ady

—
persons these were elements sensational enough to
s t rike the dullest imagination fire the wildest cu r iosity
, ,

and rivet the a t tention of all E u r ope u pon th e acto r s

I n so unparalleled a drama .

After the Cardinal whose position as G r and

,

Almoner of F rance (a sort of F r enc h Archbishop of

Can t erbury so to s peak ) made him the protagonist of
,

t h i s drama th e self styled Count Cagliost r o was th e

,
-

8
 T he P owe r
P rej u di c e o f
figure in whom t h e public were most inte r ested The .

prodigies he was s aid to have performed magnified by ,

rumour and his strange undeciphe r able pe r sonality

,

gave h im an impo rtance out of all p r opo r tion to t h e

small part he played in th e famous Affai r of t h e
N ecklace Speculation as to h is origin was natu r ally
.

rife. But neither t h e police no r the lawye r s could

th r ow any light on h i s past

k
The evidence of the.

Countess de Lamotte who in open cou r t denounced

,

h im as an imposto r fo r me rly nown as Don T i s c i o a ,

name unde r w h ich s h e decla r ed h e had fleeced many

people i n va r ious pa r ts o f Spain was too palpably ,

unt r ustwo r t h y and ridiculous to be t r eated se r iously .

Cagliostro himself did indeed attempt to satisfy

, ,

curiosity but the fantastic account he gave of his

—
,

—
caree r only served as per h aps h e intended to deepen
its myste r y .

The mo r e it was ba ffled the keener became t h e

,

cu r iosity to discove r a secret so cleverly gua r ded .

T h e noble travelle r as he described h imself with

“
,
”

r idiculous pomposity on h is examination con fessed ,

t h at Cagliostro was only one of t h e seve r al names

h e h ad as sumed in t h e cou r se of h is life An al i as .

—h e h ad termed it i n cog n i to— is always suspicious .

Coupled as it was in his case wit h alc h emical e x pe ri

, ,

ments p r ognostications sp i r i tualist S ean c e s and quack

, , ,

medicines it suggested rascality

, F r om r idicule to .

calumny is but a step and fo r eve r y voice r aised i n

,

defence of h is h onesty the r e we r e a dozen to dec r y

h im.

On t h e day h e was set at liberty — fo r h e had no

difficulty in p r oving h is i nnocence— eight o r ten
thousand people came en mas s e to offe r him t h ei r
9
 C agl io s tro
congratulations The court yard the s tai r case t h e
.
-
, ,

very room s of his hou s e in t he Rue S t Claude were .

filled wi th t hem But t hi s ovation flattering though it

. ,

was t o his vanity was intended le s s as a ma rk of

,

res pect to him than as an insult to the Queen who was ,

known t o regard the verdict as a s tigma on her honou r ,

an d whose waning popularity the hatred engendered

by this s candalou s affair had completely obliterated .

Banish ed t he following day by the Government ,

which s ough t to r epair th e pre s tige of t h e throne

by perse c uting and cal umniating tho s e who might be
deemed inst r umental in s h attering it Cagliostro los t ,

wha t lit t le credi t the trial h ad left h im Wfioe v e r .

he was t he world h ad made up i ts mind w/eat he

,

was and its opinion was w h olly unfavourable to the

,

“
noble trav elle r .
”

From F r ance w h ich h e left on J une 2 1 1 78 6

, , ,

Cagliostro went to E ngland I t was he r e i n the .

,

following September t h at the assertion was made fo r

,

t he first t ime by the Cou r i er ae l E u r ope a Frenc h

’ ’

pape r publi s h ed in London that h e was Giuseppe ,

Balsamo This announcement made with every

.
,

assu rance of i t s accuracy was at once repeated by ,

o t her journals t h rough out E urope I t woul d be .

intere s t ing t hough not particularly impo r tant t o know

, ,

how t he Cou r i e r de l E u r ope obtained its information

’
.

I t is permis s ible h oweve r to conj ecture that the

, ,

Anglo French journal had been info r med of the

-

r u mour current in Palermo at t h e time of C a l i o s tro s

g
’

Impri sonment in the Bastille that he was a native of

t hat ci ty and on investigating t h e matter decided
,

there were su fficient grounds for identifying h im with

Balsamo .

IO
 T he P o we r o f P rej u di c e
B e t h is as i t may it i s , which th e the manne r in
statemen t made by the Cou r i er ao l E u r op e appears ’ ’

to be confi r med that gi v es the whole t h eory its

weight .

On D ecember 2 1 8 76 — dates are impo r tant fa c tors

,

—
in the evidence Fon t aine th e chief of t h e Paris ,

police r eceived a ve r y cu rious anonymous letter

,

from Palermo The writer began by saying that h e

.

had read in t h e Gazette ae L ey ue of S eptembe r 2 5 an ’ ’

ar t i c le taken from t h e Cou r i er ao l E u r op e stating that ’ ’

t h e famous Cagliostro was c alled B alsamo from

“
,
”

w h ic h h e gat h ered t h at th e B al s am o referred to was

t h e same who in 1 7 7 3 h ad caused his wife to be s h u t
up in Sainte P elagie at Paris for h avi ng deserted
him and who h ad afterwards applied to th e cou rts
,

for h er r elease To confirm Fontaine in t h is opinion

.
,

he gave h im i n detail t h e hi s to r y of t h is B alsamo s

’

career w h ic h h ad been imparted to h im on J un e 2

,

by t h e said Bal s amo s u ncle Antonio B rac o n i e ri ’

, ,

w h o was firmly convinced that h i s nephew of whom ,

he had hea r d nothing for some years was none oth er ,

t han Cagliostro As h e lea rnt th is t h e day afte r

.

C agl i o s tro s acquittal and r elease from t h e B a s tille

’

t h e news of w h ich could n ot h ave reac h ed Pale r mo

:

’
in less than a week it proves that B rac o n i e ri s con
,

v i c ti o n was fo r med long before th e P r ess began to

m amtam i t .

I n fact th e anonymo u s writer stated t h at t h is

conviction was prevalent in Palermo as far back as
th e previou s year w h en t h e news arrived t h ere of t h e
,

arre s t of Cagliostro in connection with the D iamond

N e c klac e Affair .

H e went on to say that he had pe r sonally r idiculed

I 1
 Cagl io s tro
t h e r eport at t h e time but having r eflected on t h e
,

grounds th at B raco n i e ri had given him for believing

it “
h e had come to the conclusion t h at Coun t
Cagliostro was Gi u seppe Balsamo OI Palermo o r t h at
Antonio B raco n i e ri his uncle was a scoundrel wo r t h y
, ,

of being t he uncle of M l e Comte de Cagliostro

. .

As i t was not till Novembe r 2 that this some

what ingenuous person sent anonymously to Fontaine
the information he h ad received on J une 2 fr om
B rac o n i e ri his r eflections on the ve r acity of t h e
,

latter one suspects we r e scarcely complimentary

, , .

H owever suc h doubts as he migh t still h ave c h e r is h ed

,

were finally set at r est on October 3 1 w h en ,

Antonio B rac o n i e ri met h im in one of the chief

thorough fares of Palermo and s h owed him a Gaz ette
ao F l or en ce which confirmed eve r yt h ing
’
B raco n i e ri
had told him mo r e t h an fou r months before H e r e .

upon the anonymous individual convinced at last

, ,

beyond the s h adow of a doubt that the s oi cl i s an t

“ -

Count Cagliost r o was really Giuseppe B alsamo of

Pale r mo decided to info r m the c h ief of t h e Paris
”
,

police of h is discove r y .

to unea rth this anonymous letter together wit h the

o ficial report upon it in t h e N ational Archives and as
f
,

h is O pinion is the one commonly accepted it will be

,

su f cient to quote wh at h e h as to say on the s u bj ect

fi .

“
The advent u res he asks of Giuseppe B alsamo
”
, ,

an d those of Ale s sandro Cagliostro — do t hey belong

t o th e history of th e same ca ree r ? Was the individual

w h o had his wife shut up in Sainte P elagie in 1 77 3
12
 T he P o we r o f P rej u di c e
the same who in 1 78 6 protested so vehemently against
the imp r isonment of h i s wife ? 1

“
E ve r ything goes to p r ove it T h e Countess .

C agliostro was bo r n in Rome ; B alsamo s wife was ’

likewise a Roman The maiden name of bot h was .

F e l i c i an i .

M adame B al s amo was ma rr ied at fourteen ; t h e

“

Countess Cagliostro at t h e time of h e r ma rr iage was

still a child .

Cagliost r o stated at h is trial t h at his wife did not

know how to write M adame Balsamo at Aer t r ial al s O
declared s h e could not w r ite .

H e r husband at any rate could At the time of .

his petition against h is wife B alsamo signed two

documents w h ich are still to be seen in t h e A r c h ives .

—
B y comparing as Fontaine h ad done t h ese two —
signat u res with a letter w r itten whilst i n the B astille
by Cagliost r o t h e expe rts declared the writing o f
B alsamo and t h at of C agliost r o to be identically t h e
same .

“
Fu r the r more acco r ding to t h e statement of Antonio
,

B rac o n i e ri B alsamo h ad frequently w r itten him unde r

,

t h e name of Cou nt Cagliost r o N o r h ad he invented .

th e name fo r Giuseppe Cagliost r o of M essina stewa r d

, ,

of the P r ince of Villafr anca was B rac o n i e ri s uncle and

,
’

conseq u ently Giuseppe Balsamo s great u ncle ’

-
.

“
I f to these p r obabilities one adds ce r tain mino r
—
resemblances su c h as C agl i o s tro s declaration t h at ’

Cardinal O r sin i and the D uke of Alba could vo u c h fo r

t h e trut h of t h e account he gave of h imsel f who we r e ,

1
On h i g th t hi wif
ear n a s e h ad b t d w ll h im l f i
een arres e as e as se n

co n n e c ti with h N kl
on t e ec ir C gl i tr m if t d h wild t
ace Affa ,
a os o an es e t e es

n ef .

3
pers onages by wh om Balsamo was known to h ave been
employed ; the fact t h at Caglios tr o spoke the S icilian
dialect and that B alsamo h ad employed magic in his
—
,

s windling operations i t is sca r cel y c r edible that lives

and characte r s s o identical c o u l d belong to two
i

differen t beings .

The a rguments in favour of t h is hypothe s is a r e very

plausible and apparen t ly as convincing as suc h circum
s tan t i al evidence usually is I t is possible h oweve r
.
, ,

as s t ated above to question the accu r acy of th e

,

con c lusion thus reached for t h e following reasons .

( )
1 The basis of t h e supposition t h at the C ountess
Cagliostro and M adame B alsamo we r e the same rests
entirely on coincidence .

Granted that both happened to be Romans t h at ,

the maiden name of both was Fe l i c i an i that both we r e ,

married ex t remely young and that neither could w r ite

, .

The fac t t hat both were Romans is no argument at

all Though their maiden nam e was Fe l i c i an i it was
.
,

a comparatively common one — t h ere were seve r al

families of F e l i c i an i in Rome and fo r t h at matte r all
,

over I taly M adame Balsamo s fat h e r came fr om

.
’

Calabria H er Christian name was Lo r enza The

.
.

s t atement that the Countess Caglio s t r o was likewise

called Lorenza and c h anged her name to S e r aphina by ,

which she was known i s based entirely on s u pposition

, .

That both we r e married very young and t h at neithe r

knew how to write sca r cely calls for comment I talian
, .

women usually married in early girlhood and ve r y few , ,

i f any of th e class to whic h S erap h ina Cagliost r o

,

and Lorenza Balsamo belonged could write .

T h e te s timony of the experts as to the r emark

able S I mI lar1ty between the writing of Balsamo and
I 4
 C agl i o s tro
C agliostro and Balsamo given as p r obabilities fo r
supposing them identical in conside r ing t h at Cagho s tro
used as refe r ences t h e names of C ardinal Orsin i and
t h e Duke of Alba by w h om B alsamo was known to
,

have been employed at one time t h e fantastic acco u nt ,

h e gave of himself at his trial should b e r emembe r ed .

One of the principal reasons fo r disbelieving h im was

the fact that these personages were dead and so unable
to verify or deny his statement Again though th e .
,

S icilian dialect was undoubtedly B alsamo s mot h e r ’

tongue no one could eve r make out to w h at fiatoi s

,

Cagl i o s tro s extraordina r y abracadab r a o f accent b e

’

longed But nothi ng can be weake r than to advance

.

thei r use of magic and alchemy as a r eason fo r identify

ing them M agic and alchemy were t h e common
.

s t ock i n trade of eve r y advent u r e r in E u r ope in the

- -

eigh teenth centu r y .

S o much for c riticism of t h e o fficial p roof

“
.

There is however anot h e r reason for doubting t h e

, ,

identity of t h e two men I t is the most powerful of .

all and h as h ith e r to appa r ently escaped the attention

,

of those wh o h ave taken this singular t h eo r y of

identification for g r anted .

The description of Balsamo s features given by ’

An to n I o B raco n i e ri resembles t h at whic h ot h e r s h ave

given of Cagl i o s tro s pe r sonal appea r ance as far as i t
’

g oes .
Unfortu nately it merely proves that both were
,

s hor t h ad da r k complexions and peculiarly bright

,
,

eyes As for their noses B rac o n i e ri described

.

Balsamo s as being ecr as e; i t is a muc h mo r e fo r cible

’
’

an d unflatte r ing
term than h as eve r been applied to
I 6
 T he P o we r o f P rej u di c e
t h e by no means uncommon shape of Cagl i o s tro s
’

nasal organ The r e were many pictu r es of Cagliostro

.

s ca t tered over E urope at the time of the N ecklace

Affai r I n Palermo w h ere the interest taken in h im

.
,

was g r eat few p ri n ts e ll e rs windo ws one would

,
’

imagine but would h ave contained his port r ait

, .

B rac o n i e ri ce r tainly is likely to h ave seen it ; and

h ad t h e resemblance to Balsamo been u ndeniable he ,

would su r ely h ave attached the greates t importance

to it as a p r oof of t h e identity h e desired to establish .

As a matter of fact h e barely mentions it

'

, .

Again one wonders w h y nobody who h ad known

,

Balsamo ever made t h e least attempt to identify

Cagliost r o with h im eithe r at t h e time of t h e t r ial o r
when the a r ticles in th e Cou r i er ae [ E u rop e brought '

him a second tim e prominently before t h e public .

N ow B alsamo was known to h ave l ived in London in

1 77 1 w h en his conduct was so suspicious to the police
that he deemed it advisable to leave the count ry H e .

and h is wife accordingly went to Paris and it was here ,

t hat in 1 7 7 3 the event s occur r ed which brought bo t h

, ,

prominentl y under t h e notice of t h e aut h orities S ix .

years afte r B alsamo s disappearance fr om London ’

Count Cagliostro appea r ed i n th at city and becoming

'

involved wit h a set of swindler s in a manne r that made

him appear a fool rather t h an a knave spent fou r mont h s ,

I n the K ing s B enc h j ail H ow is i t one asks that

’
.
, ,

“
the London pol ice who wanted Giuseppe B alsamo
, ,

utte r ly failed to recognize him in the notorious

Cagliostro ?

N ow granting that the police as well as the ,

pe r sons whom B alsamo fl e e c e d in London i n 1 7 7 1 ,

had fo rgotten him in 1 7 7 7 and that all w h o could ,

C I 7
 C agl io s tro
have recognized him a s Caglio s t r o i n 1 7 8 6 wh e n ,

t he Cou r i e r ae l E’
u
’
r op e expo s ed him we r e dead , ,

s would repeat
is i t probable that t h e same coinci d ence
s ?
°

I f the Parisian police who were ,

wife in 1 7 73 is,
it at all likely that the various peopl e
t he Balsamo s had known in their two year residence s -
’

?
in Paris would all have di ed in the meantime
People are always to be found to iden t ify criminal s

and s uspiciou s cha r acte rs t o w h om th e attention of th e

police i s prominently drawn B ut befo r e t h e sort .
o f
S herlock H olmes proces s of identification employed
by t he Cou r i e r cl e l E u r ape and the Parisian police not
’
,

a soul was eve r hea r d to declare that Cagl io t r o and

s

Balsamo were t he same .

To the r eade r who knowing little o r nothin g of

,

Cagliostro t akes u p th is book with an unbiassed

,

mind t he above obj ection s to the Bal s amo legend may

,

s eem proof conclusive of i ts fal s ity T his w ould . ,

howeve r be to go further than I who attac h mu h

,
c
,

greate r impor t an c e to these doubts than hi s torians a r e

in c lined to do care to admit They me r ely show that
,
.

i t i s neither right nor ex c usable to treat as a conviction

what is purely a conj ecture .

I f t his c onclusion wrapping as it does t h e origin

,

and early life of Cagliostro once more in a veil of

mystery be accep t ed it will go fa r to remove th e
, ,

prejudice which has hitherto made the answer to

t ha t o t her and more impo r tant question What “

was Cagliostro ? so unsatisfacto r y

”
.

I 8
 C H A PT E R I I
GI U EPPE BAL AM O
S S

T H ERE could be no be t ter illustration of the pe rpl e x i

tie s t hat confr ont the biographer of Cagliostro at every
stage of his mysterious career than the uncertainty that
prevails regarding the caree r of Giuseppe Balsamo
himself Fo r rightly or wrongly t h eir iden t i t y has so
.
,

long been taken for granted that the his t ory of one h as
become indissolubly linked to t h at of the other .

N ow not only i s it extremely difficul t when not

, ,

altogether impo s s ible to verify th e information we

,

have c oncerning B al s amo but the ve r y integrity o f

,

those from whom t h e information is derived is ,

qu estionable These tainted sources so to speak

.
, ,

from which the r e meanders a confused and maze

like stream of contradictory details and u n v e ri fiab l e
epi s odes a r e ( 1 ) B alsamo s wife Lorenza ( 2 ) th e
,
’

, ,

E ditor of t he Cou r i er de 1 E u r op e and ( 3 ) the

’

I nquisition biographer of Cagliost r o

-
.

Lorenza s s tatement is mainly the itine ra r y of t h e

’

wanderings of herself an d husband about E u rope

from t hei r ma r riage to h e r imp r isonment i n Paris in
1 77 3
. Such f acts as it purports to give as to t h e
characte r of their wandering s a r e ve ry meag r e and ,

colou r ed so as to dep ict h e r in a favou r able light The .

aos s i e r containing the particulars of he r arrest is in

’

C 2 19
 Cagl i o s tro
t h e Archives of Pari s where it was di s cov er ed b y t h e
,

French Government in 1 78 6 and w h ere it is still to be ,

seen Query considering the suspi cious circumstances

.

that led to its discove ry is the ab s s i er a fo rge r y

,

Opposed to t h e evidence of the Cou r i er de l E u r ope

’

are the cha racte r sec r et motives and avowe d enmity

, ,

of the E ditor .

As to the life of Balsamo publis h ed anonymo u sly

1
,

in Rome in 1 79 1 under t h e auspices of th e I nquisition

, ,

into whose power Cagliostro had fallen the tone o f ,

hostili t y in which it is written excessive even fr om an ,

ult r a Catholic poin t of view its lack of precision and

-
,
'
,

the absence of dates which makes it impossible to v e ri fy

i ts statements have caused c r itics of eve r y s h ade
,

of Opinion to consider it pa r tially if not wholly

, , ,

unauthenticated .

I t purports to be th e conf ession of Cagliost r o ,

extrac t ed either by tortu r e o r the fea r of to r t u r e du r ing ,

his trial by the I nq u isition That Cagliostro did .

indeed confess is quite likely B ut what so r t of

“
.

val u e c o uld suc h a confession possibly h ave ? The

manne r in which the I nquisition conducted its trials
has rendered i ts verdicts suspect the world ove r H is .

condemnation was decided on fr om t h e ve r y sta r t as .

the charge on which he was a rr ested proves—as will

,

—
be shown in due course and to escape tortu r e per h ap s ,

also in the hope of acquittal Cagliost r o was ready ,

enough to oblige his ter r ible j udges and con fess “

whatever they wished .

b k i w ry
T hI S oo s no ve T he r
ra e
en c Fr h
v e s o n i s th e mo re r i
i l bl It t itl d
.

av a a e Vi
. I s en e e de
f os ep’ fi B al s amo con n u s ous l e n om de
C m C l
o te ag zos tro ex tr ai te de l a r océau re i n s tr u i te con tr e l u i 21 R ome
,
p
d
’
en 1 7
9o t zte d a r e l
’
ori gi n al i tal i en
; r a u
p s
, i mpr i mé a l a Cfiamb r e

20
 G i u s e pp e B al s amo
I t is mo r eove r a question w h ethe r t h e a d ventu r es
, ,

r elated in t h e Vi d j p/ B l m a r e those of one o r

e e os e t a sa o

of several pe r sons As it is quite inconceivable that t h e

.

Cagliost r o of t h e N ecklace Affai r could eve r have been

the ve r y ordinary adventu r e r he r e depicted it h as been ,

suggested — and t h ere is much to upport t h e view s

that Giuseppe B alsamo as known to hi to r y is a so r t of

, s ,

composite individual manu factu r ed out of all t h e rogues

of whom the I nquisition write r had any knowledge -
.

One th i ng howeve r may be confidently asse r ted

, ,

whet h e r the exploits of Giuseppe Balsamo were pa r tially

or wholly h is imagina r y o r r eal they a r e at any r ate
, ,

typical of the adventu r e r o f t h e age .

Like Cagliost r o he boasted a noble origin and

, ,

neve r failed on the va r ious occasions of changing his

name to give h imself a title The r e is h owever no .
, ,

r eason to s u ppose t h at h e was in any way related t o o r ,

even awa r e of t h e existence of t h e aristocratic family

of t h e same name who derived tfi i t itle fr om t h e e r

little town of Balsamo nea r M on a in the M ilanese z .

A a matte r of fact t h e name was a fai r ly common

S

one in I taly and t h e Balsamos of Pale r mo we r e of

,

no conseq u ence w h ateve r N othing is known of .

Gi u seppe s fathe r beyond t h e fact that h e was a

’

petty t r adesman who became bank r upt and died at ,

the age of forty fi a few mont h s afte r t h e birth

-
v e,

of h is son Pietro Balsamo was t/ gfit to be of

. tou

mixed J ewis h an d M oo r is h ext raction w h ic h woul d ,

acco u nt fo r h is obscu r ity and t h e slight esteem in

w h ich h is name was h eld in Palermo w h e r e t h e ,

Levantines we r e th e scum of t h e population .

S u ch scant c onsideration as the family may h ave

enj oyed was du e enti r ely to Giuseppe s mot h er w h o ’

2 1
 Cagl io s tro
t h ough of h umble birth was of good h onest S icilian ,

s tock
.
T hr ough her he could at least clai m to h ave
had a great grandfather one M att eo M artello whom
-
, ,

i t has been supposed Caglio s tro had in mind w h en in

h i s fan t astic account of him s el f at the time of t h e
Necklace Affair h e claimed to be descended fr om
Charles M artel t h e founder of the C arl o v mgi an
,

dynasty This Matteo Martello had two daug h te r s

. ,

the yo u ngest of whom Vi ncenza ma r ried Giuseppe

Caglios t ro of M essina whose name and r elationship ,

t o Giuseppe Balsamo is th e c h ief a rgument in t h e

attempt to prove t h e identity of t h e latte r with Cagli
ostro V i n c e n z a s elder siste r married Giuseppe
’
.

B rac o n i e ri and had three children Fel ice M a t teo and , , ,

Antonio B rac o n i e ri The former was Giuseppe s mothe r

.
’

H e had also a siste r older t h an himself M aria w h o , ,

became th e wife of Giovanni Cap i tu mm i n o O n th e .

death of h e r h usband s h e r etu r ned wit h h er children

to live with her mot h e r all of whom Goethe met w h en ,

in Palermo in 1 78 7 .

The poverty in which Piet r o B alsamo died obliged

his widow to appeal to he r brot h e r fo r assistance .

Fo rt u nately t h ey were in a position and willing to come

t o h er r elief Matteo t h e elder was chief clerk in
.
, ,

t he post o ffic e at Palermo ; while Antonio was book

-

keeper in the firm of J F Aubert Co B oth. . .

bro t he r s as well as t h ei r siste r appea r to h ave been

, ,

deeply r eligious and it is not unlikely t h at t h e seve r i t y

,

and r epression to whic h Giuseppe was continually sub

j e c te d may have fostered the spi r it of r ebellion al r eady ,

latent in him whic h w as to turn h im into the black

,

guard h e became .

I t manifested i t self at an ea r ly age F r om the .

22
 C agl io s tro
pe r sistent and finally succeeded in wea r ing o u t t h e
patience of the long suffe r ing monks
-
.

From th e manner in which he attained h is obj ect

Carlyle detects in him a touc h of g r im h u mo ur o r
“ —
-
,
—
deep wo r ld i rony as the Ge r mans call i t the surest
sign as is often said of a c h aracte r nat ur ally great
”
.
, ,

I t was a unive r sal c u stom in all r eligious associations

t h at one of t h ei r numbe r during meals should r ead
aloud to the othe r s passages fr om t h e Lives of t h e
Saints This dull and unpopular task having o n e day
.

been allotted to Giuseppe— p r obably as a pun is h ment

—he st raightway p r oceeded careless of t h e c o n s e
,

q ue n ces to,
read out whateve r came into h is h ead ,

substituting fo r th e names of t h e S aints t h ose of t h e

most notable cou r te z ans of Pale r mo T h e effect of .

t h is daring sacrilege was di r e and immediate Wit h .

fis t and foot t h e scandalized monks instantly fell upon

the boy and having belabou r ed h im as t h e saying is , ,

within an inch of his life indignantly packed him back

,

to Pale r mo as h opelessly inco rr igible and u tte r ly n u

wor th y o f eve r becoming a B e n frate ll o .

N o fatted calf needless to say was killed to cele

, ,

b ra t e t h e r etu r n of the p r odigal B ut Gi u seppe having

.

gained h is obj ect took whateve r c h astisement he re

,

c e i v e d from his mot h e r and uncle s philosop h ically and

,

left them to swallo w their mo rti fic ati o n as best t h ey

co u ld H owever so r ely t r ied t h oug h t h ey we r e t h ey
.
, ,

did not even now wash t h eir h ands of h im S omehow .

-
ju s t how it would be difficult to say— one fo r ms a
vague idea h e was never with out a pla u sible excuse fo r
his conduct Adventu r ers even the lowest mo r e o r
.
, ,

less understand the a r t of pleasing ; and many little

things seem to indicate t h at with all h is vicio u sness h is
2 4
 G i u s e pp e B al s amo
disposition was not unatt r active On t h e cont r a r y .

t h e r e is m u ch in t h e c h a r acter of h is ea r ly villainies to
suggest h is powers of pe r suasion were considerable .

T h us afte r his expulsion from C t gi

,
th e ar e ro n e

I nquisi t ion biograp h e r tells us that h e took lessons in

-

d rawing for which no doubt he must have given ome

, ,
s

proof of talent and inclination Far however from .

, ,

s h owing any disposition to confo r m to the wis h es of

his uncles who fo r his mother s sake if not fo r h is
,
’

own continued to take an inte r est in him the boy

, ,

rapidly went fr om bad to worse As neithe r r eproof .

no r rest r aint produced any effect o n his h eadstrong

and rebellious natu r e he appea r s to have been per
mi tte d to r un wild pe r hap s because h e h ad r eac h ed an
,

age when it was no longe r possibl e to cont r ol h i s

a c tions N or were the acq u aintances he formed of
.

t h e sort to counte r act a natu r al tendency to vicious

ness H e was soon h and i n glove wit h all th e worst
.

c haracters of the town .

“
There was no fight or st r eet b r awl says t h e i n ,

di gn an t I nquisition biog r apher -

“
i n w h ich h e was not
,

involved no theft of w h ic h he was not suspected

, .

T h e band of young despe r adoes to w h ich h e belonged

fr equently came into collision wit h the n igh t watc h -
,

whose prisoners if any they would attempt to set free

, , .

E ven th e murder of a canon was attributed to h im by

the gossips of t h e town .
”

I n a word Giuseppe Balsamo became a ve r ita b le

Apache destined seemingly sooner or late r fo r t h e
galleys o r th e gallows Such a character it goes wi t h
.
,

out saying could not fail to attract th e notice of the

,

police H e mo r e than once s aw t h e inside of t h e

.

Pale r mo jail b u t fr om lack of su fficient p r oof o r fr om ,

2
5
 intercession of his estimable uncles as often as he was ,

a rr ested h e was let o ff again .

E ven his drawing lessons wh il e they lasted we r e

-
, ,

perver t ed to the most ignoble ends T o obtain th e .

money he needed he began like all t h ieves wit h petty

, ,

t heft s from his relations One of h is u n cles was his

.

fi r st vic t im I n a simila r way he derived p r ofit fr om

.

a love affai r between h is siste r and a cousin As thei r

- .

parents p u t obstacles in the way of thei r meeting

Giuseppe offered to act as go between I n a rash -
.

moment t h ey accepted his aid and h e profited by th e,

occasion to substitute fo rged lette r s in the place of

those h e undertook to deliver by m e an s of whic h he
,

got possession of t h e p r esents the uns u specting lovers

we r e induced to exc h ange E ncou r aged by t h e skill
.

he displayed in imitating h and writing and copying -

signatu r es which seem s to have been the extent of

-“

—
h is talent fo r d rawing he tu r ned it to account in other
and mo r e p r ofitable w —
ays Somehow pe rh aps by
.

hints dropped by himself in th e right quarte r — h is

p r oficiency in this r espect and his readiness to give
,

o t he rs the benefit of it for a consideration got known , .

From forging tickets to the theatre fo r his companions

“

—
h e was employed to fo rge leave o f absence passes fo r -

monks and even to forge a will in favou r of a certain

,

M arqui s Mau ri gi by whic h a r el i g i ous I nst i tut i on was

,

defrauded of a large legacy .

There is anothe r ve r sion of this affai r which t h e

I nquisition w r iter has naturally igno r ed an d fr om which
-

i t would appear that it was the marqui s w h o was de

frau de d of the legacy by the religious institution B ut .

be this t r ifling detail as it may the fact r emains that ,

2 6
 G i u s epp e B al s am o
t h e fo rge r y was so successfully effected t h at it was not
discove r ed till seve r al yea r s later w h en some attempt ,

was made to b r ing B alsamo to justice w h ich the i m ,

possibility o f a s ce r taining whet h e r he was alive o r

dead r endered abo r tive
,
.

Suc h sums of money howeve r as he obtained in , ,

this way must of necessity have been small I t could .

only have been in coppe r that his Apache fr i ends

“

and the monks paid h im fo r th e theatr e tickets and -

convent passes h e forged for them N o r was the notary

-
.

by whom he was employed to forge the will and who , ,

we are told was a r elation likely to be muc h more

, ,

libe r al I n Pale r mo t h en as to day scores of j ust suc h

.
,
-
,

yo u ths as Giuseppe B alsamo we r e to be fo u nd r eady

to pe r fo r m any villainy for a fifty centime piece H e .

a c co r dingly sought othe r means of procuring t h e money

he needed and as none thanks to his compat r iots ,
’

notorio u s c r edul ity was likely to prove so r emune r ativ e

,

as an appeal to thei r love of the ma r vellous h e h ad ,

recourse to what was known as so r cery “

.
”

I t is to the questionabl e significance attac h ed to

this word t h at t h e prej udice against C agl iostro whose ,

wonders we r e att r ibuted to m agic has been very largely ,

due For it is only of compa r atively recent date t h at

.

sorce r y s o called h as ceased to be anathema owing

”
-
,

to th e belated investigations of science w h ic h is always , ,

and per h aps with r eason suspicious of occult pheno ,

mena by w h ich t h e indubitable existence of certain

,

—
powe r s as yet only partially explained active i n —
some passive in othe r s and perhaps latent in all
, ,

h uman beings has been revealed And even still

, .
,

so great is the fo r ce of tradition many j udging from ,

the fr au ds fr equently pe rpetrated by pe r sons claim

2 7
ing to possess t h ese sec r et powe r s r ega r d wit h suspicion , ,

if not with down r ight contempt all that is popula r ly ,

designated as so r cery magic o r witchc r aft

, ,
.

-
B u t this is not the place to disc u ss t h e met h ods
by which those w h o work miracles obtain t h ei r r es u lts .

S uffice it to say the r e has been from time immemorial

,

a belief in the ability of ce r tain pe r sons to cont r ol the

forces of nature Nowhe r e is t h is belief st r onge r t h an
.

in Sicily There the sorce r e r is as common as t h e

.
“ ”

p r iest ; not a village b u t boasts some sibyl see r or , ,

wonde r worker That all are not equally e fficient

-
. ,

goes without saying Some possess r ema r kable

.

powe r s which they themselves would p r obably be

,

unable to explain Othe r s like Giuseppe B alsamo

.
, ,

are only able to deceive ve r y simpl e o r foolish people

easy to deceive .

From t he single instance cited of Gi u seppe s skill ’

in this direction one infers h is magical gifts were of

the crystal gazing sand divination kind — t h e o r dina r y
-
,
-

kind with which eve r ybody is more o r less familia r ,

if only by name According to th e I nquisition

.

biograp h e r , one day whilst he and his companions

we r e idling away t h e time toget h er th e conve r sation
having turned upon a certain gi r l whom they all knew ,

one of the numbe r wondered what sh e was doing at

th at moment w h ereupon Giuseppe immediately offe r ed
,

to gratify him M arking a square on t h e g r ound h e

.

made some passes with his h ands above it after which ,

th e figu re of t h e girl was seen in the squa r e playing

at tr es s ette with t hr ee of her friends So g r eat was .

t h e effect of t h is exhibition of clairvoyance though t ,

t ransference h ypnotic suggestion w h at you will upon

, , ,

the ama z ed Apac h es that they went at o n ce to look

2 8
 G i u s epp e B al s amo
for the girl dan found h e r i n th e same attitude
“

playing th e ve r y game and with t h e ve r y pe r sons t h at

B alsamo had shown t h em .

The fact that suc h phenomena a r e of q u ite common

occur r ence and to be witnessed any day in la rge cities
and summe r r eso r ts on payment of fees va r ying
-
,

according to the renown of the performe r has robbed ,

them if not of their att r action at least of thei r wonde r .

One h as come to take t h em fo r granted Whateve r .

may be the scientific explanation of such occult th e —

wo r d must serve fo r want of a better— powe r as
Giuseppe possessed he himself we may be sure
, , ,

would only have been able to acco u nt fo r it as so r cery

”
.

H e was not likely to be a whit less supe r sti t ious than

the people with whom he associated I ndeed h is .
,

faith in t h e e fficacy of t h e magic p r ope r ties att r ibuted

by vulgar supers t ition to sacred t hings would appea r
to have been g r eate r t h an his faith in his own
s u pe r natural powers .

I t is reported of him on one occasion that unde r “

p r etext of curing his sister w h o he s aid was possessed

,

of a devil h e obtained fr om a p r iest in t h e country a

,

little cotton dipped i n h oly oil to w h ic h doubtles s

,
”
, ,

he attac h ed great impo r tance as the means of success

fully pe r fo r ming some wonder he had no confidence in
h is own powers to effect Such cryptic attributes as
.

h e had been endowed wi t h must have been ve r y

S light o r undeveloped fo r the r e is no r efe r ence what
, ,

ever to the marvellous i n the swindles of h i s sub

seq u ent histo r y in which one would expect h im to
have employed it Ve r y probably whateve r m agnetic
.
,

hypnotic o r telepathic faculty he possessed was fi r st

,

discovered by the apoth eca ry u nde r w h om he was

2 9
 Cagl io s tro
placed in t h e labo ratory at C artegi ro n e who like all , ,

of his kind no doubt experimented in alchemy and

, ,

kindred sciences I f so he certainly did not stay long

.
,

enough with th e B e n frate l l i to turn his mysterious

t alent to account o r to obtain mo r e than the merest
glimpse of the so r cery of w h ich though banned by
“
, ,

t he Church the monasteries were t h e sec r et nursery

,
.

B e t his as it m ay needless to say those who h ad

,

witnessed Giuseppe s st range phenomenon r eq u ired

’

no further proof of h i s ma r vellous power w h ich ,

rapidly noised ab r oad and exagge r ated by rumou r

s orcere r a reputation h e only
“
gave the young
wanted an opportunity of exploiting for all it
was worth H ow long he waited fo r t his opportunity
.

is not stated but he was still in his teens when it

,

eventually tu r ned up in t h e person of a certain ninny

”
of a goldsmith named M arano whose superstition , ,

avarice and gullibility made him an easy dupe

, .

One day in conversation with t h is man who had ,

been p r eviously nursed to the p r oper pitc h of cupidity ,

as on e nurs es a constituency befo r e an election ,

Giuseppe informed him under pledge of t h e strictest

secrecy that he knew of a certain cave not far fr om
Palermo i n whic h a great treasure was buried
, .

A c cording to a superstition prevalent in S icily where ,

belief in such treasu r e was common it was supposed ,

to be guarded by demons and as it would be necessary ,

t o hire a priest to exo rcize them Giuseppe offe r ed to ,

take M arano to the spot and assist him in lifting t h e

hidden wealt h for t h e consideratio n of sixty o u nces
“
”
of gold.
1

Whateve r obj ection M arano migh t h ave h ad to

1
Ab o u t £3 0 .

3 0
 C agl i o s tro

II
At this stage in B alsamo s car ee r even the I n
’

q u i s i ti o n biographe r ceases to vo u c h fo r t h e acc ur acy

-

of what he relates .

“
H encefo r th he confesses
,
”
we a r e obliged to ,

accept Cagl i o s tro s own asse r tions

’
— w r ung from h im
in the tortu r e c h ambe r of t h e Castle of S t A ngelo be .
,

it r emembe r ed without the means of ve r ifying t h em ,

as no fu r ther trace o f his doings is to be fo u nd

elsewh ere .

Conside r ing th at accu r acy to w h ic h no impo r tance ,

has been attached in all previous books on Cagliost r o ,

is the main obj ect of this afte r such a statement the ,

continuation of Balsamo s histo r y wo u ld appea r to be ’

superfluous Apart however from t h eir r omantic

.
, ,

interest B alsamo s subsequent adventu r es a r e r eally

,
’

an aid to accu r acy Fo r the cha r acte r of t he man as

.

revealed by them will be found to be so dissimila r to

Cagli o s tro s as to serve mo r e fo r cibly than any argu
’

ment to prove how slight are t h e grounds fo r identifying

t he two .

By relating w h at befell B alsamo on fleeing from

Pale r mo one may j udge fr om t h e very start of t h e , ,

so r t o f faith to be placed in his I n q u i s i ti o n biog r ap h er -

.

I n Cagl i o s tro s own account of his life— w h ich will be

’

d uly reported in its prope r place — h is statements in

regard to the noble Al tho tas th at rema r kable
“
,

magician by w h om he avowed h e was b r ought up ,

were regarded as absol utely r idiculous N evert h eless .

for t he sole pu r pose appa r ently of p r ov ing Cagl i o s tro s ’

identity with Balsamo the I nq u isition biographer d r ags -

3 2
 G i u s epp e B al sam o
this individual whose very existence is open to doubt
I nto the life of th e latte r and unblushingly plunges the
,

two into those fabulous and ludicrous adventures of ,

which the description caused so much mirth at the

time of t h e N ecklace Affair .

Thus t h e imaginative I nquisition biog r apher de -

clares it was at M essina whither h e went on leaving

,

“
Palermo that Balsamo met the
,
noble Al th o tas ,

whose powe r to demate r ialize him s elf was to judge

“ ”
,

from th e last occasion on which he was reported to

have been seen in the flesh at Mal t a only ano t her way ,

o f saying t hat he was cleve r in evading the police .

B u t as Balsamo afte r having “

ove r run the w h ole
eart h with Al tho tas eme rges once more into some
t h ing like r eality at N aples in t he company of t h e
,

renegade priest who had assisted in the fleecing of

Ma r ano it is not un r easonabl e to suppose t hat this
,

ci t y and not M essina was his immediate destination

on leaving Palermo .

H e did not stay long h oweve r at N aples Owing

, , .

either to a quar r el with t h e priest ove r thei r ill gotten -

funds o r to a h int from the pol ice whose su spicions h is

,

conduct a r oused h e went to Rome The statement

, .

t h at on h is a r r ival h e presented a lette r o f introduction

from t h e G r and M aster of the K nights of M alta— one
—
of h is advent ur es wit h Al tho tas to t h e Ba r on de
B r etteville t h e envoy from M alta t o th e H oly See by
, ,

whom i n turn h e was int r oduced to Ca rdinals York

and O r sini is sca r cely wo r t h r efuting
, Fo r if the .

Pale r mo Apac h e eve r entered t h e salon of a Roman

noble it could of course only h ave been v i a the es cal i er
de s e r v i ce .

The I nquisition biog r aph e r howeve r quickly

-
, , re

D
33
ai l? !
J 9 ,
 C agl io s tro
duces him to a situation much more in keeping wit h
“ ”
his character and condition N ot long he says .
, ,

aft e r his arri v al in Rome B alsamo was s entenced to ,

t hree days in j ail fo r qua r relling wi th one of the

waiters at the sign of the Sun w h e r e h e lodged
”
.
,

On his r elea s e he was as is highly probable forced to

, ,

live by h is wi t s and instead of consorting with

,

Cardinals and diplomatists turn ed his attention to

drawing But as h is talent in this respect appears
.

to have been as limited as h is knowledge of the

o c c ul t it is not surp r ising that the revenue h e
,

derived fr om the sketches he copied or from old ,

prints freshened up and passed off as o r iginals was

, ,

precarious .

Love howeve r is t h e great console r of poverty

, ,
.

About this time Balsamo conceived a violent passion

for Lorenza Fe l i c i an i the fou r teen yea r old daughte r
,
- -

of a smel t er of coppe r who lived in an alley close to

“

the Chu r c h of th e Trinita de Pellegrini —one of t h e ’

poorest quarters of Rome M a r riage follo w ed the .

love making and Lorenza in spite of her tende r years

-
, , ,

in d u e course became h is wife This event— which is .

one of the few authenticated ones in Balsamo s ca r eer ’

took place in April 1 76 9 in the C h u r c h of San

S alvatore in Campo .
”

As t h e sal e of her h usband s p en and ink sketches ’

- -
,

which in Lorenza s estimation at least were superb

’

,
”

was not remune r ative at t h e be s t of times t h e young ,

c ouple made t h eir home at fi r st wit h the bride s parents

’
.

And now fo r perhaps t h e only time in h is life a decent

and comfortable existence was open to B alsamo H e .

had a young and acco r ding to all accounts a beautiful

, ,

wife whom he loved and by w h om h e was loved ; h e

,

34
 G i u s e pp e B al s am o
h ad a h ome and the chance of adopting his fat h e r i n
,
-

’
—
law s more luc r ative if less congenial trade o f settling
, ,

down in a word and turning over a new lea f B u t

, , .

he was a born blackguard and under t h e C i r cumstances

i t is not surprising that h e s h ould h ave had the
no s ta lgi e de l a é ou e I n other words his Apache
.

na t ure as s er t ed i t self and he had no soone r married

,

than he proceeded wit h revolting cynicism to tu r n

his wife s c h arms to account
’
.

B ut Lo r en z a being at this stage of h er caree r as

,

innocent as sh e was igno r an t ve ry naturally obj ected ,

to h is odio u s proposal B y dint h oweve r of persuasion

.
, ,

and argument he finally succeeded in indoctrin a t ing her

wi t h h is vi ews to t h e great indign a t ion o f h e r pa r ents
, ,

who scandal ized by suc h conduct after freq uent

, ,

altercations finally t ur ned t h e couple out of th e house .

W h ereupon Lo r enza decided to abandon any remain

ing sc r uples s h e had and assist he r husband to t h e
be s t of h e r ability .

Among the acquaintances t h ey made i n this way

we r e two S icilians of the worst characte r Ottavio ,

N icastro who finis h ed on the gallows and a sel f

, ,

styled M arquis Agliata T h e latter being an ac c o m .

l i s h e d forge r was not long in discovering a similar

p
talent i n t h e husband of Lo r enza by whose charms h e ,

h ad been smitten H e accordingly proposed to take

.

h im into pa r tne rs h ip a p r oposition which Balsamo ,

was r eady enough to accept N i c as tro howeve r feel .

, ,

in
g h imself slighted by the close intimacy between the
two from which h e was excluded i nformed t h e police
, ,

of thei r doings ; but as he was foolis h enough to

qua r rel with them befo r ehand t h ey suspected his ,

intention and d efeated it by a h u r ried flight

,
.

D 2
35
 C agl io s tro
I f Lo r enza is to be believed thei r intention was to ,

go to Ge r many and it was per h aps wi th th i s end in

, ‘

view t hat Agliata h ad as the I nquisition biog r apher

,
-

asse r ts previously fo rged the b r evet of a Prussian

,

c olonelcy for Balsamo At any r ate once o u t of th e

.
,

Papal S tates they p r oceeded ve r y leisu r ely s windling ,

righ t and left as t h ey went At Lo r etto t h ey obtained

.

“
fifty sequins from the gove r no r of the town by means
”

of a forged lette r of int r oduction fr om C a r dinal O r sini .

I n this way they got as fa r as B e rgamo where t h e ,

cra fty Agliata decided to adopt diffe r ent tactics H e .

accordingly gave out that h e was a r ecruiting agent of

the K ing of Prussia but by some chance the suspicions
of the aut h orities we r e a r oused w h e r eupon Agliata , ,

having some h ow got wind of the fact without mo r e ,

ado decamped leaving t h e B alsamos to shift fo r t h em

,

selves Scarcely had h e gone when t h e s é i r r i a rr ived

.

to arrest h im . N ot finding h im they sei z ed t h e ,

Balsamos as his accomplices they h oweve r s u c , ,

c e e de d in clearing t h emselves and on being r eleased

,

we r e o r de r ed to leave the town As Agl iata h ad gone .

off with all t h e money t h ey we r e obliged to sell thei r

,

effects to obey this inj unction ; and not da r ing to

r etu r n to Rome they p roceeded to M ilan whe r e t h ey
, ,

a rr ived almost destit u te .

Beggary was now t h ei r only means of exist e nce b u t ,

even begga r y may be p rofitable p r oviding one knows

lzow to beg . Acco r ding to t h e Co u ntess de Lamotte ,

who spoke from experience the r e was only o n e way of

,

asking alms and that was in a ca rr iage

, I n fine to .
,

get on as a beggar as in eve r y profession r equi r es

”
, ,

ability I t is t h e kind of ability w ith w h ic h B alsam o

.

was abundantly gifted Awa r e t h at t h e pilgrims h e

.
’

3 6
 G i u s e pp e B al s am o
saw wandering about I taly from sh rine to shrin e
sub s isted on wayside c h arity h e concei v ed the i n ge n i,

ous expedient of imitating them As the obj ective .

of th is expiatory vagabondage he s elected S t .

J ames of Co mpo s te l l a one of t h e most popula r,

sh r ines at the time in Christendom and consequently ,

one to whic h a pilg r i mage might mo s t easily be

exploited.

S o setting out from M ilan staff in h and mumbling , ,

paternoste r s fumbling th eir beads begging thei r way

, ,

fr om village to village from p r esby t ery to p r esbyte r y

, ,

and constantly on the al e r t fo r any chance of improving

thei r condition th e couple took th e road to Spain
,
.

Of this tou r along th e Riviera to B arcelona w h ere ,

the pilgrimage ended Lorenza on being a rr ested

“ ”
, ,

three years l ate r in Pa r is gave an account which the ,

I nquisition biograp h e r has embellis h ed and w h ich in

-
,

one pa r ticular at least has been ve r ified by no less a

pe rson than Casanova .

As it happened this prince of adventure r s w h o

,
—
in obedience t o a time h o noured convention is neve r
-

mentioned in p r int by E nglish w r iters é i en en ten du

, ,

wit h out c ondemnation though i n p r ivate conversation

,

people wax eloquent enoug h over him — was h imself

wandering about th e So u th of France at the time .

A r riving in Aix e n P r ovence in 1 7 70 h e actually

- -
,

stopped in the same inn as t h e B alsamos who excited ,

h is curio s ity by t h ei r lavish distribution of alms to

the poor of the town B eing a man w h o neve r m issed
.

a single oppo r tunity of improving any acquaintance t h at

c h ance mig h t th r ow in his way he called upon th e ,

couple and reco r ded his impression i n tho s e fa s cina

,

t ing M emoirs o f h is of which th e auth enticity is now

,

37
 C agl io s tro
fully establi s hed and what is more t o the point of , ,

which all the details h ave been v e ri fie d 1

.

I found t h e female pilgrim he says seated in a

”
, ,

c hai r looking like a person e x h aus te d wit h fatigue f

l
,

and inte r esting by reason of her youth and beauty ,

s ingularly heightened by a touch of melancholy and

by a crucifix of yellow metal six inches long which

she held in he r hand H e r c ompan ion who was .
,

arranging shells on his coat of black baize made no ,

movement— h e appeared to intimate by the looks he

cast a t his wife I was to attend to her alone .

From the manner in w h ich Lo r enza conducted

herself on this occasion S h e appear s to have had
remarkable aptitude fo r acting the r ole h e r husband
had given her .

We are going on foot s h e said in answe r to ,

Casanova s que s tions li v ing on c h arity t h e better to

’
“
,

obtain the mer c y of God whom I have so often ,

offended T h ough I ask only a sou in c harity people

.
,

always gi v e me pieces of silver and gold a h int -

Casanova did not take — “

s o that ar r iving at a town

we h ave to distribute to t h e poor all t h at remains to

u s in orde r not to commit t h e sin of losing confidence
,

in the E ternal Providence .

Whateve r doubt s Casanova may h ave had as to

her veracity th e I nquisition biographe r most c ertainly
,
-

had none H e declares t h at t h e silve r and gold of

.
“

w h ic h she and her husband were so lavis h at Aix was

T o i fer f o m th i s h o w e er as ma y writ
1
n r
, h a d e th at
v n e rs ve on

i d e e pro v e C agl i o t o an d B al am o to b
, ,
C as a ’
a n ov s ev nc s th s r s e e
sam ab s u d
e is H ev er m t th e Ca l i
r t e n
os i h i s l if I t
e ati g os r
g n e n s n
.

th tatth y wer the B al am wh o m h e h ad me t i 77 h e me el y

.

a e e s os n 1 0 r

p
re e w h at h e h ad
s a d i th e p ap r H i s M
re e m i s wner e ot e s o r n
writt ti ll ma y y a s lat
.

en n e r er .

3 8
 C agl io s tro
to as having known th e Balsamos in 77 came fo r wa r d 1 2

t o corrobo r ate what h e said o r to identify t h em with

t he C gl i t it is impossible to ve r ify h is evidence
a o s ro s , .

F r om the fact howeve r that it was commonly accepted

, ,

at the time and is still rega r ded as substantially trus t

k
,

worthy , en ti r ely é ecau s e Cag l i os tr o aos ol u tely den i ed any

no wledge of h r eade r may j udge at
té e B al s amos t e ,

once of the bitterness of the p r ejudice against Cagli ~

ostro well as of t h e value to be attached t suc h

as o
”
proof .

According to t h e Cou r i er de l E u r ape Balsamo and

’

his wife arri v ed in London fr om Lisbon in 1 7 7 1 and ,

afte r living for a whil e in Le ade n hall S t r eet moved

t o N ew Compton St r eet Soho T hey we r e we a r e
, .
,

, ,
—
t old in ext reme pove r ty which Lo r enza to w h om vi c e
had long ceased to be r epugnant— endeavoured to
alleviate by the most despicable expedients As s h e .

had but indifferent success B alsamo havi ng qua rr elled

, ,

with a painte r and deco r ato r by name of Pe rgo l e z z i by ,

whom h e had for a few days been employed assisted ,

her in the infamous rdl e of blackmaile r .

Their most profitable victi m appea r s to h ave been

a Quaker w h o i n s pite of t h e rigo r ous standard of
”
, ,

morality p r escribed by the sect to which h e belonged ,

occasionally deigned to make some sec r et concession

t o th e weakness of h uman natu r e D ecoyed by .

Loren z a this individual was discovered by h e r h usband

,

in so compromising a situation that nothing sho r t of

the paymen t of one hundred pounds co uld mollify
Balsamo s feigned indignation and avert t h e disgra c e
’

wit h whic h he t h reatened the erring and ter r ified

di s ciple of William Penn .

Their ill gotten gains h oweve r did not last long ;

-
, ,

4 0
 G i u s e pp e B al s am o
and w h ile Lorenza p r omenaded the st r eets in t h e vain
quest fo r othe r s victims B alsamo was once more ,

obliged to have recourse to his a r tistic talents But .

Fortune remained h ostile and even went ou t of h e r way ,

t o vent he r spite on the co u ple Fo r a certain D r . .

“
Moses B e n amo re described as the envoy of the K ing
,

of B a r bary was induced to pu r chase some of Balsamo s

,
” ’

drawings payment of which t h e artist was obliged to

,

seek in t h e courts The case howeve r w as decided

.
, ,

against him and since afte r paying the costs to w h ic h

, ,

he was condemned h e was unabl e to pay his rent

, ,

his landlo r d promptly had h im a r rested fo r debt .

To ext r icate him fr om this p r edicament Lo r enza ,

adopted tactics which according to t h e I nq u isition

,

biog r aphe r h ad p r oved effective u nde r simila r circum

,

s tances i n B a r celona I nstead of endeavou r ing to

.

excite admi r ation in the streets s h e now soug h t to sti r ,

the compassion of t h e devout E ve r y day s h e was to .

be seen on h e r knees in some chu r ch or other with a ,

weathe r eye open fo r some gullible dupe wh ilst s h e

-

piously m u mbled her p r aye r s I n t h is way she .

managed to att r act the attention of the c h aritable S ir

Edwa r d H ales or as s h e calls him S i r De h e l s who
,
“
,
”

not only pro c ured B alsamo s r elease from j ail but on ’

t h e st r engt h of his pen and ink ske t c h es employed h im

-
‘

to deco r ate t h e ceilings of some rooms at h is country

seat near C ante r bu r y—a task fo r w h ich h e h ad not the
least qualification Fou r mont h s late r afte r ru ining
.
,

his ceilings S i r De b els caught his r ascally p r oteg e

“
,
’ ’

making love to h i s dau ghte r whe r eupon t h e Balsamos ,

deemed it advisable to seek anothe r country to

exploit.

4 1
 C agl io s tro

IV
Fortune like N atu r e is non moral I f p r oof of
, ,
-
.

so palpable a fact where requi r ed n o more suitable

e x ample could be cited than the good luck tha t
came to the Balsamos at the ve r y moment t h ey least
deserved it .

Leaving E ngland as poor as when they ente r ed it ,

they found whilst crossing the Channel between Dove r

and Calais i f not exactly a fo r tune what was to p r ove
, ,

no mean equivalent in the person of a ce r tain M .

Duplessis de la R ado tte This gentleman formerly

.
,

an o fficial in I ndia had on its evacuation by t h e French

,

found an equally lucrative post in his native count r y as

agen t of the Marquis de Pr i e Very su s ceptible to
.

beauty as Lorenza was quick to detect h e n o sooner

, ,

beheld her on the deck of t h e Dover packet than

he sough t h er acquaintance Lorenza one imagine s
.
, ,

must have been not only particularly attractive and

skilled by considerable practice in t h e a r t of att r action ,

but a very good sailo r ; fo r i n the short space of t h e

C h annel crossing she so far succeede d in captivating
Dupl essis that on reac h ing Calais h e offered he r a seat
in hi s carriage to Paris N eedless to say it was not
.
,

the sort of offer she was l ikely to r efuse ; and w h ile

her husband trotted behind on h o r seback s h e tu r ned
her opportu nity to such acco u nt that Dupl essis was
induced to invite both the h usband and wife to be his
guests in Paris .

But to cut a long story s h o r t : as t h e resul t of t h e

 G i u s e pp e B al s am o
leave her husband and live unde r h is protection T h is “
.

was not at all t o B alsamo s taste and h e appealed to

’
’

the courts for redres s H e won his c ase and Lorenza

.
, ,

ac c ording to the law in such matters was arrested and ,

impri s oned in S ainte Pé ag e t h e mo s t famous o r

l i — ,

infamous — penitentiary for women in France du r ing

t he eigh teenth centu ry .

T h is event occu r red in 1 77 3 i f the dos s i er dis ,

cove r ed i n th e Frenc h Archive s i n 1 7 8 3 w h ic h ,

contains the statemen t Lorenza made at the time is to ,

be r ega r ded as authentic That n on e of the numerous

.

peopl e referred to in th e dos s i e r with who m the

Balsamos were ve ry closely connected should have
c ome forward during t h e N ecklace A ffai r and i de n ti

fie d Cagl iost r o lays the genuinene s s of t his celebrated

,

document open to doub t I s it likely t h at al l th ese

.

people had died in t h e fourteen years th at elapsed ? If

not w h y did not t h ose w h o s till l ived attempt to
,

satisfy the boundless curio s ity that the mysterious

C agliostro excited ? H e coul d not h ave changed out
of all recogni t ion du r ing t h is period fo r acco r ding to ,

Goeth e in P alermo those w h o r emembered B alsamo

,

discovered or t hough t t h ey discovered a likeness to h im

, ,

in the publis h ed po r traits of Cagliostro I n any case .

,

h oweve r much Cagl i o s tro s appearance may h ave’

changed his wife s most ce rt ainly h ad not At t h irty

,
’
.

t h e Coun t ess Cagliost r o possessed the fres h nes s of a girl

of twenty H ad s h e been Lorenza B alsamo she would
.
,

h ave been very quickly r ecognized .

But from these doubts w h ic h s h ake one s faith not ’

only in t h e dos s i er to w h ich so much importance h as

43
 C agl io stro
been attached but in t h e B alsamo legend itself let u s
, ,

retu r n to the still more u naut h enticated doings of our

adventurers .

I t was not long befo r e Balsamo repented of h is v e n

e an c e O n h i s inte r cession h is wife was released and
g . ,

s h ortly afterward s to avoid a rr est on his own score

, ,

th e couple disappeared T h e I nquisition biograp h e r

.
-

“
states vaguely that they went to B russels an d
Germany B ut it is not a matter of any importance
.
.

A few mont h s late r however Giuseppe B alsamo most

, ,

unq u estionably r eappeared in h is native city w h e r e h e ,

astonis h ed all his kind r ed to whom alone h e made ,

himself known by t h e splendou r in w h ic h h e

,

returned .

S omewh ere in t h e interval between h is flight from

Paris and h is arrival in Pale r mo h e h ad me tamo r
h s e d himself into a M a r chese Pellegri ni and by t h e
p o ,

aid of Lo r enza picked up a prince N eve r befo r e h ad .

th ey been so flus h T h e M a r c h ese Pellegrini h ad h i s

.

carriage and valet one Laro c a a N eapolitan ba r be r

,
”
, ,

who afte r wards started business on his o wn acco u nt as an

ad v enture r The Marchesa had h e r p r ince and h is
.

purse and w h at was to prove of even greater value

, ,

his influence to d r aw upon For a w h ile indeed so .

, ,

great was his luck B alsamo even had t h ough ts of

,

s ettling down and living O n t h e fortune Lorenza h ad

plucked from h e r prince H e actually h i r ed a h ou s e.

on t h e outskirts of Palermo with this intention B ut .

he counted without Marano t h at ni nny of a gold

“
,
”
smith , from whose vengeance he had fled years
before For M arano was still living and no sooner
.
,
 Gi u s e pp e B al s am o
once more in Palermo t h an he had himseized and
clapt into p r ison .

The matte r no doubt must have had ve r y serious

, ,

consequences fo r the Marchese Pellegrini had it not

been for the powerful inte r e s t of Lo r enza s prince As ’
.

this epi s ode i n B alsamo s career is one of the very

’

few concerning whi c h the information is aut h entic it is ,

worth w h ile describing .

“
The manner of his escape says Goet h e w h o was , ,

told what h e r elates by eye witnesses dese r ves to be -

,

desc r ibed The son of one of th e first S icilian

.

princes and great landed p r op r ieto r s who h ad more , ,

ove r filled impo r tant posts at the N eapolitan Court

, ,

was a pe r son that united with a strong body and

ungovern able tempe r all the ty r annical caprice w h ich
th e ric h and g r eat wit h out cultivation think them
, ,

selves entitled to ex h ibit .

Donna Loren z a h ad cont r ived to gain t h is man ,

and on him the fictitious M a r chese Pellegri ni fo u nded

his security The p r ince had testified openly t h at h e
.

was t he p r otector of this strange pair and h is fu r y ,

may be imagined when Giuseppe B alsamo at t h e ,

instance o f the man h e had cheated was cast into ,

prison H e t r ied vario u s means to delive r h im and

.
,

as these would not prosper he publicly in t h e , ,

President s ante chamber th r eatened Maran o s lawye r

’ ’
-
,

with t h e fri gh tfu l l e s t misusage if t h e suit were not

dropped and B alsamo fo r thwit h set at libe rt y As .

the lawyer declined such a proposal he clutched h im ,

bea t him t hr ew h im on the floor trampled h im with

, ,

h is fee t and could hardly be restrained from still

,

further outrage s w h en t h e P r esident himself came

,

r unning out at the tumult and commanded peace .

45
 C agl io s tro
This latter a weak dependent man made no
, , ,

attempt to puni s h t he inj ure r ; M arano and h is

lawye r grew fainthearted an d B alsamo was let go , ,
.

There was not so muc h as a reg i stration in t h e court

books specifying his dismissal who occasioned it or , ,

how it took place .

“
The Marchese Pelleg r ini Goet h e adds quickly
“
, ,

th ereafter left Pale rmo and perfo r med va r ious t r avels

, ,

w h ereof I could obtain no clear information

”
.

N or apparently could anybody else fo r on leaving ,

Pale r mo this time the Balsamos vanished as com

‘

l e te l y as if they h ad ceased to exist T he Cou r i e r de

p .

1 E u r op e an d t h e I nquisition biographer however were

’
-
, ,

no t to be dismayed by any such t r ifling gap in the

c hain of evidence they set t h emselves to string
together . U n able to discove r the least trace of
Balsamo t hey s eized upon two or three ot h er
,

swindlers who may or may not have been t h e creations

,

of thei r di s tracted imagination and boldly labelled ,

th em Balsamo .

Lorenza s honest coppe r smelting fat h er and

’
-

brother are dragged from Rome to j oin i n the

swindling operations of he r self and husband The .

brother is whisked off with them to M alta and Spain ,

where he is abandoned as an incubus appa r ently ,

because h e obj ected to exploit his good looks after the

manne r of h is siste r Then as it i s n ecessary in some
.
,

way to account for Cagl i o s tro s occult powers B alsamo ’

suddenly takes up the study of alchemy and i n t h e ,

moments he snatches from the p r eparation of beauty

” “
salves and longevity pills picks an occasional ,

pocke t
.

Bu t the most ba r e faced of all these p r oblematic

-

4 6
 C agl io s tro
barbarous —
dialect h ow co u ld he h ave
succeeded as
”
he did ?

H ow indeed ! The t r ansfo r mation is obviously

,

so improbable t h at th e puzzled r eade r will very likely

come to the conclusion t h at whoeve r Cagliostro may
,

have been h e could certainly neve r have been Giuseppe

,

Balsamo .

But enough of speculation ; let us now tu r n ou r

belated attention to the man w h ose caree r unde r the
impenetrable i n cog n i to of Count C agliostro is t h e
subject of th is book .
 PAR T II

C H A PT E R I
CA G L IO T R O I N L O N D O N
S

S O M E time in J uly 1 7 7 t h e exa c t date i s

6 —
—
unascertainable two foreigners of unmistakable re
s e c tab i l i t to j udge by their appearance i f not of
p y , ,

distinction a r rived in London and engaged a suite of

,

furnished apartments in Whi t combe S t r eet Leicester ,

Fields They called t h emselves Count and Countess

.

Cagliostro ; and their landlady who lost no time i n

,

letting eve rybody i n the h ouse as well as h er neigh

,

bours know she had people of ti t le as lodgers added

, ,

that she believed they were I talian thoug h s o fa r as

,

she could u nder s tand fr om t h e Count s ve r y b r oken ’

E nglis h t h ey h ad last come from Portugal A day or .

two later s h e was able to inform h er gossips whic h n o ,

doubt s h e did with even greate r satisfaction that h e r ,

foreign lodge rs were not only titled but undoubtedly

rich fo r the Countess h ad ve r y fi ne j ewels and the
,

Count was engaged I n t u rning one of t h e rooms he

had rented into a laborato ry as h e intended to devote
,

himself to the study of physics and c h emistry subj ect s , ,

i t seemed i n w h ich h e was keenly interested

, .

Thei r fi r st visito r was a M adame B l e v ary a lady ,

i n reduced circumstances w h o lodged in the same

E
49
 C agl io s tro
h ouse H ea ring t h ey h ad come from Portugal and
.
,

being h erself a native of t h at count r y h soug h t t h ei r , s e

acquaintance in t h e h ope of de ri ving some personal

benefit fr om it I n t h is s h e was not d isappointed ;
.

for the Countess who knew no E nglis h r equi r ed a

, ,

companion and as M adame B l

, y was conv e r san t e v ar

wi t h seve r al languages and had t h e manners of a

gen tlewoman s h e readily obtained t h e post on the
,

recommendation of t h e landlady .

Among the acquaintances M adame B l e v ary i n

formed o f he r good fortune which she was no doubt ,

induced to dilate upon was a certain Vitell i ni an , ,

ex J esuit and professor of languages Like h er h e

-
.
,

t oo had fallen on hard times ; but in his case the love

of gambling had been h is r uin H e was also as i t .
,

happened almost equally devoted to the study of

,

c hemist ry on a knowledge of which he pa r ticularly

,

piqued himself N o sooner therefore did h e lea r n

.
, ,

t ha t Count Cagliostro had a similar hobby and a ,

laboratory into the bargain t h an he persuaded M adame ,

B le v ary t o in t roduce him to t he Count i n the h O e

p ,

that he too might profit by th e acquaintance as s h e

had done As a result of t h is i ntroduction Vitellini
.
,

succeeded in ingratiating himself i nto the favour of

Cagliostro w h o employed him in th e laboratory as an
,

a s s i stant
.

S t inginess was a quality of whic h nei t her the

Coun t nor his wife was eve r accused On the .

c on t rary as even those most prej udiced against them

,

have been obliged to admit they were exceedingly ,

genero u s With t h em h owever generosity was one

.
, ,

of t ho s e amiable weaknesses t h at are as pernicious in

their effect as a vice There were fe wwho experienced
.

5 0
 Cagl io s tro in L o n do n
i t b u t abused it in some way I t was so in this .

instance .

Vitellini who was at bottom more of a fool than a

,

knave in the first flush of ex c itement ove r t h e sudden

,

turn of tide in h is fortune s whi c h had long been at the

lowest ebb began t o brag t o h i s acquaintances in the
,

gambling —den s and coffee houses he frequented of h i s -

connec t ion wi t h Caglios t ro whom he described as an “

,

ext r ao r dinary man a true adept whose fortun e was , ,

immense and who possessed th e secret of transmuting

,
”
metal s .

S uch praise naturally exci t ed the curiosity of

V i te l li n i s acquaintance s who in thei r turn were eager
’

to meet the benevolent foreigner T h us by t he i n .

discretion of Vitellini C agliost r o was soon besieged ,

by a crowd of shady people whose in t entions were

s o apparent that he was obliged in t he end to refuse

t o r eceive them wh en they called But th i s only .

exasperated them and one in particula r Pe rgo l e z z i ,

the painter and de c ora t or by whom the reader will

recall B al s amo was for a t ime employed t hreatened
to bla s t the reputation of th e Count by circulating a
report throughout London that h e was ignorant and
ne c essitous of ob s cure bir t h an d had once before
, ,
” 1
resided i n E ngland .

Vitellini needless to say perceiving the effect of

, ,

1
gli t h w r I g d th i thr t wh i h
Ca o s ro , o ly
ev e , n o re s ea c o n e can s carc e

b li h w ld h d h d h h d y r f r it N ,

e ev e e ou av e on e a e a an e as o n to ea or

did P g l i p it i t ff t d it w till y l t r
.

er o e zz ut n o e ec an as n o t ten e ars a e
wh C gl i tr t d Lo d th ghl y di r dit d h t h
en a os o re urn e to n on o ro u sc e e t a t e
,

E dit f h C i wi d it ,

l E m wy
’
i
’
or o t p g e f ou r er dae u ro e ot n o n so e a an
twi t d it i t h i B l m th ry f
s e n o ti g f h my t ri
s a sa o eo o ac c o u n n or t e s e ous
C gl i tr
a os Wh th r P g l i w l i i g
o . h ti m i
e k w
e e r o e zz as v n at t e e s un no n
i
n an
y h
c as ethr t whi h C gl i t w i g d t i d
t e ea c a o s ro no n o re con a n e no

men ti on of B al s amo .

E 2 I
S
 C agl io s tro
his folly now hastened to put a cu r b on his tongue lest
,

he too should be shown the doo r B ut as the sequel .

will p r ove discretion came to h im too late to benefit

,

h im Fo r M adame B l e v ary who also ente r tained in

. ,

secret a simila r O pinion of h e r patron s wealt h and

’

knowledge was one of t hose whose cupidity had been

,

exci t ed by V i te l l i n i s gossip Sh e at least had the

’
.

’
advantage of being on the inner side of the Count s
door and s h e de t e r mined w h ile she had the c h ance
,

t o profit by it .

To this effect s h e be t hou g h t hersel f of one Scott

“
,

a man of ambiguous character and the pliability of ,

whose principles was suc h t h at h e was eve r ready to

convert them to the interes t of th e p r esent moment .
”

I t was acco r dingly a rr anged between them t h at S cott

should impersonate a S cotch nobleman in whi c h guise ,

i t was h oped the C agl i o s tro s would be effectually

deceived as to his i ntentions A seve r e illness h ow .
,

ever wi t h whi c h she was suddenly seized an d during

, ,

whi c h th e Cagl i o s tro s “

supplied her with every
necessary comfort p r evented M adame B l e v ary from
,
”

personally int r oducing h er confede r ate N eve r t h eless .

s h e did not abandon the idea she had conceived a nd

,

ill though s h e was s h e sent wo r d to Cagliost r o that

,

“
Lord Scott of w h om s h e h ad often spoken to him
, ,

had arrived in town and p r oposed to h imself th e

honour of introduction that afternoon .

E ntirely unsuspicious of the treache r y of a woman

who owed so much to t h eir gene r osity th e Count and ,

Coun t e s s received Lord Scott on h i s arrival H is

“ ”
.

appearance it s eems did no t exactly tally wi t h such

, ,

no t ion s as Cagl iost r o had formed either of the man o r

h i s rank B ut S cott succeeded in dispelling h is dis
.

5 2
 C agl io s tro in L o n do n
appointment and swi ndli ng him into the bargain by
, ,

way of gentle beginning out of 1; 1 2 in Portuguese

,

money whic h h e undertook to get exc h anged for its

Englis h equivalent afterwards decla r ing wi th well
,

feigned mo rti fic ati o n he had lost it th roug h a hole

“

”
i n his pocket .

A Giuseppe Balsamo one imagines would have

, ,

been the last person in the world to be take n in by suc h

a story Cagliostro however swallowed it without
.
, ,

he s itation ; and begging S cott who confusedly r egretted

,

he was in no position to make good the loss t o think no ,

more about it invi t ed him to come to dinner the next day

, .

Whethe r M adame B le v ary got a s h a r e of these o r

subsequent spoils is not known fo r at t h is point she ,

disappea r s fr om t h e scene al t ogethe r Perh aps S h e .

died of that seve r e illness in w h ic h she r eceived fr o m

t h e Cagl i o s tro s w h ile betraying them so many p r oofs
of t h ei r gene r osity and humanity I n any case her .
,

place was most completely filled by Lady S cot t who ,

”

was at t h is pe r iod presented by Scott to the Cagl i o s tro s ,

and from whom in an inc r edibly sho r t time s h e

managed to borrow on h e r simple note of h and 2 0 0 .

II
Owing to the p r ej udice against C agliost r o a con ,

str u ction w h olly unfavourable to him has been placed

upon t h e extraordinary se r ies of events t h at now ensued .

T h is const ru ction however cannot be allowed to pass

, ,

unchallenged For it is based solely on the accusations

.

of the E dito r of th e Cou r i e r de l E u r op e w h o was the

’

bitte r enemy of C agliostro N ow t h ou g h it may b e

.

53
 C agl io s tro
t he cu tom in F r ance fo r the accused to be conside r ed
s

guilty till he proves his innocence th e contrary is th e

,

cu s tom in E ngland where fortunately it requires

,

something mo r e than the mere word of a singl e and

professedly hostile witness to condemn a man The .

E ditor of the Cou r i er de l E u r op e decla r ed t h a t

’

upwards of twenty pe r sons would confirm h is

s t atements N one however offe r ed to do so U nde r
.
, ,
.

suc h ci r c u mstance s as we are r educed to deal ing with

,

prej udices I shall i n t h is pa r ticula r instance confess

,

t o one in favour of an ancient E nglish prin ciple of

j ustice and give Cagliostro the benefit of th e doubt
,
.

H is wo r d at lea s t is as muc h entitled to r espect as that

of the E ditor of the Cou r i e r de l E u r ope T h ere is’
.
,

mo r eover much in h is spi r ited defence even wort h y of

,

credence .

H aving found him so easy to dupe t h e crew by ,

w h om h e was surrounded natu r ally devoted t h ei r

atten t ion to increasing t h e friends h ip they had formed
wi t h h im and h is wife N ot a day passed but Lo r d
.

Scott and his lady paid th e Count and Co u ntess a visi t ,

and as it was thei r habit to drop in j ust before dinne r

o r supper they soon managed to obtain their meals at
the expense of t h e hospitable fo r eigners .

On one of these occasions the conve r satio n having

t urned on a lottery in which his g u ests we r e inte r ested ,

“
Cagliostro was reminded of a manuscript h e had found
in t he course of his travels which contained many
curious cabal i s ti c operations by aid of which the aut h or
set fo r th t h e possibilities of calculating winning
But since t h e matter was not one i n w h ich
”
numbers .

h e h ad h ith erto taken any particular interest h e was ,

54
 C agl io s tro
lucky numbers but he is on a plane above t h e ordina ry
,

gambler .

T h is however was a d i st i nct i on t h at Scott who

, , ,

was merely a vulga r sharpe r was incapable of either ,

making h imself or appreciating when made After .

his success in testing the system h e believed it to be

infallible To be refused so simple a means of making
.

a fortune was intolerable I n h is exaspe r ation he

.

dropped th e r ole of Scotc h nobleman altoget h er and

a peared in his real c h aracte r as t h e common rogue h e
p
was whereupon Cagliostro promptly showed h im the
,

door and r efused to have any fu r t h er inte r cou r se with him .

Lady S cott h owever a few days late r fo r ced

, ,

herself upon t h e Countess and endeavou r ed to excit e ,

her compassion with the relation of a pitiful story in ,

whic h she declared t h at S cott by w h om s h e h ad been ,

betrayed had decamped wi t h t h e profit arising fr om

,

the lottery leaving h e r and th r ee c h ild r en entirely

,

desti t ute T h e Countess touched by t h is i magina r y

.
,

tale generously interceded in h er be h alf wit h the

,

Count w h o sent h e r a guinea and a number for t h e

,

M iss F r y to give h e r h er r eal name

”
following day .
, ,

no s oone r obtained t h is number t h an s h e and S cott

ri s ked eve r y penny they co u ld raise u pon it Fo r tune .

once mo r e favou r ed t h em and they won o n this

o c casion t h e sum of fifteen h und r ed gu ineas .

I n t h e first moment of ex u ltation M iss Fry at once

rushed off to the Cagl i o s tro s wit h t h e w h ole of h er
winnings w h ic h she offered to th e Count as a token
,

of her gratitude and confidence in him B ut Cagliostro .

was not to be caug h t in t h is cu n ningly laid sna r e H e .

received h er very coldly and refused to concern h imself

in her affairs .

5 6
 Cagl io s tro
L o n do n in

I f yo u will take my advice h e said you will go , ,

“

into the oun tr y with your three children and live on

c

the inte r est of you r money I f I have obliged you the .

,

only r eturn I desi r e is that you will neve mo r e ente r r re -

my doors .

But M iss Fry was not to be got r id of in this

fas h ion D azzled by t h e golden s h owe r t h e Count s
.
’

predictions had caused to r ain upon her s h e sighed ,

for more numbe r s and to obtain them she h ad re

,

course to Vit ellini in t h e h ope t h at as h e was still

,

employed by the Count he might succeed in getting

them for h er So eager was s h e to procure them t h a t
.

she gave Vitellini twenty guinea s in advance as an

earne s t of h e r sincerity and to inc r ease h is zeal in t h e
matter .

B ut tho u g h Vitellini was needless to say only too , ,

eager to oblige he r Cagliost r o was not to be pers u aded

,

t o gratify h im H ereupon M iss Fry r epenting of h er

.
, ,

liberality made a debt of h e r gift and had Vitellin i

, , ,

who was unabl e to re pay h e r imprisoned C agl iost r o , .

,

howeve r generously came to the r escue and obtained

, ,

his r elease This action awoke a belated sense of

.

gratit u de in t h e fellow w h ich h e afte r wa r ds ineffectually

,

attempted to prove .

B ut to retu r n to M iss Fry H aving failed to tu r n .

Vitellini to account s h e dete r mined to approach the

,

Countess and lay h e r if possible under an obligation

, , .

Afte r con s ide r ing vario u s schemes by w h ic h t h is was

to be effected s h e pu r c h ased of a pawnbroke r a
“
,

diamond necklace fo r whic h she paid {I She then

procu r ed a box with two compartments in one of ,

w h ic h sh e placed t h e necklace and in the other some ,

snuff of a ra r e quali t y that she knew t h e Countess

57
 C agl io s tro
l iked and watc h ing for an opportunity of finding h e r
,

alone managed to get access to her

,
.

I n the hands of a M iss Fry the Countess who was , ,

the most amiable pliable and insignifican t of creatu r e s

, , ,

was like w ax Cleverly tu r ning the conver s ation so as

.

to suit he r purpose M iss Fry casually p r oduced th e

,

box and opening t h e compartment containing the snuff

prevailed upon the Countess to take a pinch Afte r .

t his i t was an easy matter to pe rsuade h e r to keep t h e

box Two days later the Countess discove r ed th e
.

necklace As s h e had been forbidden to receive any

.

presents from Miss Fry s h e at once reported the ,

matte r to her h u s band H e was fo r returning the

.

necklace at once but as the Countess who doubtless

, ,

h ad no desire to part with it suggested t h at to do so ,

afte r having had it s o long in her possession would

appea r indelicate Caglios t ro foolis h ly con sented to
“
,

let he r keep it As to r etain the gift wit h out acknow

.

ledging it would have been still mo r e indelicate M iss ,

Fry was acco r dingly once mo r e pe r mitted to res u me

he r visits .

Fully alive to the fact that she was only r eceived

on sufferance she was naturally very careful not to
,

j eopardize the position s h e had r ecovered wit h so

much difficulty by any indisc r etion S he by no means .
,

howeve r lo s t sight of the obj ect s h e had i n V iew

, .

H earing that the Cagl i o s tro s were moving to Suffol k

S treet sh e hi r ed a r oom I n th e same house w h ere
,

it was impossible to avoid h er As she had told .

Cagliostro that she i ntended to follow h is advice and

li v e in the country wi th h er t hr ee c h ildren — a fic t ion
to wh ich s h e still ad h e r ed —h e naturally inquired th e
reason of he r continued residence in London S h e .

5 8
 Cagl io s tro L o n do n
in

gave a lack of the neces s s ary fund as h er exc u se

and ,

hinted as h e had broached the subj ect that h e s hould

, ,

ext r icate her fr om h er em barrassment by giving her

numbers for t he F r ench lotte ry .
”

The Count ignored th e hint B ut in conside r a t ion .

of th e neckla c e she had given t h e Countes s and with ,

t h e h ope of being entirely r id of h er he gave h e r £5 0 ,

to defray t h e expense of her j ou rney into the count ry .

T h i s was however n ot at all to M is s Fry s taste S h e

, ,
’
.

wanted numbe r s for the French lotte r y and meant to ,

have them too or know the reason why as the sayi ng

, ,

is. Acco r dingly the n ext day she trumped up some

,

fresh story of debts and absconding creditors and , ,

appealing to t h e compassion of the Countess implo r ed ,

h er to inte r cede with the Count to give he r the

numbe r s s h e wanted .

Cagliost r o was n ow t h o r ough ly annoyed To .

settle the matte r once for all h e told he r t h at h e ,

“

believed the success of the system was due mo r e to

chance t h an to calculation but whet h er it was effected
by the one or the ot h er h e was re s olved to h ave no
furthe r concern in anyt h ing of that natu r e The .

manner i n w h ic h these words were uttered was too

emphatic to permit M iss Fry to Continue to cherish
th e least h ope of eve r being able to induce Cagliostro
to change h is mind S till even now she r efused to
.
,

accept defeat T h e numbe r s h ad become to her like

.

morphia to a morp/zi n eu s e and p r eci s ely as t h e latter

to ob t ain t h e drug s h e craves will resort to t he mo s t
desperate st r atagems so M iss Fry determined t o
,

execute a scheme sh e had long premeditated by

w h ich Cagliostro was to be compel l ed to give h er the
numbers .

59
 C agl io s tro

III
This sc h eme described by arl a r dent defende r of
,

Cagliostro against the violent denunciations o f t h e

Edito r of t h e Cou r i er de l E u r op e as the most diabol ic
’ “

that ever ente r ed into the hea r t o f ing r atitude was

”
,

nothing more no r less than a so r t o f musc u lar black

mail Takin g advantage o f his ignorance of E nglish
. ,

Cagliostro was to be ar r ested on a false c h arge and

simultaneously r obbed of t h e p r ecious manuscript by
which he predicted t h e n u mbers .

To assist in the execution of h er plan M iss Fry ,

who was t h e life and soul of the conspi r acy had t h e ,

h elp of a barrister named Reynolds w h o n o twi th

“
, ,

standing h is expertness in t h e pettifogging finesse o f t h e

low law could not p r ese r ve himself fr om an ignominio u s
,

exhibition i n t h e pillo r y a r oug h known as B r oad ;

and of cou r se S cott
, , .

When everyt h ing was a rr anged M iss F r y b r ough t ,

an action against Cagliostro to r ecove r £1 9 0 the writ ,

fo r which was se r ved by Reynolds appa r ently by ,

b r ibing th e s h eriff s o ffice r T h us armed he proceeded

’
.
,

to Cagl i o s tro s h ouse accompanied by the othe r s and

’

w h ile h e explained to t h e amazed Count wh o had ,

never seen him before th e obj ect of h is visit and th e

,

auth o r ity for what he did S cott and B road b r oke into
,

the labo r ato r y wh ere they found and took possession

,

of th e manuscript and the note o f hand fo r the two - -

hundred pounds the Count had len t M iss Fry w h o ,

during these highly criminal proceedings had th e

shrewdne s s to wait on th e stai r s withou t Reynolds ”
.

t hen conducted Cagliost ro to a spon g ing house fr om -

,

60
 C agl io s tro in L o n do n
which he was released the follo wing day by depositing
with S aunde r s the she r iff s office r j ewels wo r th t hree or
,
“ ’

,
”
four hundred pounds .

The conspi r ators h owever baffled by the r elease

, ,

of Cagliost r o from whom t hey h ad obtained not h ing

,

but the note o f hand and the man u sc r ipt of which t hey
- -
,

could make neithe r h ead nor tail at once r enewed ,

their pe r sec u tion This time they pro c ured a warrant

.

for th e arrest of both himself and h is wife on th e

cha rge of p r actising wi tcncr af t T h e fact t h at i t was .

possible to obtain a wa r ran t on so r idiculo u s a c h arge ,

whi c h both those w h o made it as well as the official ,

by whom the wa rr ant was granted we r e perfectly aware ,

would be dismissed wit h contempt the moment it was

inve s tigated explains h ow ea s y it was unde r the
, ,

corrupt and ch aotic state of the legal system of t h e

pe r iod to convert t h e protection of t h e law into a
,

pe r secution I ndeed unauthenticated th ough they

.
,

a r e non e of the legal proceedi ngs in which Caglios t ro

,

was now invol v ed a r e improbable On th e contrary .

t h eir probability is so great as almost to gu a r antee

their credibility .

—
B y a bribe for it can scarcely be termed bail
Cagliost r o and his wife escaped the inconvenience of
being taken to jail before t h e investigation of th e
charge on which they were apprehended Seeing .

that t hei r victim was not to be te r rified h is perse ,

c u to rs t r ied other tactics Reynolds was deputed .

to persuade h im if possibl e to explain the syste m

, ,

by which he predicted t h e winning numbers .

But Cagliostro indignantly refused to g r atify h im

when he called whe r eupon S cott who had remained
, ,

wit h out the door his ear gl u ed to t h e key hole

,
-
,

6 1
 C agl io s tro
perceiving that t h e eloquence of Reynold s failed to
produce the desired effect suddenly burst into the room
, ,

and presenting a pistol to th e breast of th e Count

“
,

t hreatened t o di s charge i t th at instan t u nless he consented

to reveal the sec r ets they demanded
”
.

This species of bluff however was equally fu t il e

, , .

Cagliostro regarded the bully and h i s pistol with

—
contemptuous composure particularly as h e did not
discharge i t H e assured h im th at nothing was to be
.

a c complis h ed by solicitation s or threa t s but as h e desi r ed ,

t o be left in peace he was r eady to thin k no more of

“

the note o f hand they had robbed him of and would

- -
,

even let them h ave the effect s he h ad deposited

wi t h Saunde r s t h e sheriff S o fficer on condi t ion the
, ,

proceedings against him were dropped and the

ma nus c ript returned .

S eeing the re was no better alte r native Reynolds ,

and Scott decided to accept th e p r oposition an d ,

immediately went wi th Cagliostro t o Saunder s house ’

t o se tt le t he mat ter B ut Sau nders realizing that

.
,

C agl i o s tro s troubles were due to his gullibili t y i gn o r

’

an c e of E ngli s h and apparent fortune was temp t ed to

, ,

re s erve the plucking of so fat a bird for h im s elf H e .

accordingly advi s ed the Coun t not to compromise

t he matter bu t to bring in his turn an action for
,

robbery against t h e crew of sharpers in to w h ose power

he had fallen Cagliostro was easily induced to accept
.

t his advi c e and with th e aid of S aunders p r ocured

,

four warran t s fo r the arrest of S cott Reynolds B r oad , , ,

and M iss Fry T h e la s t however aware that the

.
, ,

c harge against her could not be substantiated as ,

she had not personally been present at the t ime o f

t he robbery made no at t emp t to escape and was
, ,

62
 C agl i o s tro
I occupied says Cagliostro the finest apartment
, ,

in the house T h e r e was always a seat at my table fo r

.

a chance come r I defr ayed the ex penses of the poor

.

prisoners confined there and even paid t h e debts of ,

some who t h us obtained thei r freedom

,
Of these .
,

one S h annon a C h emi s t is quoted by him as being

, ,
”

ready to testify to the truth of the statement B e this .

as it may afte r six weeks Cagliost r o once more returned

,

to his rooms in S uffolk S t r eet to th e sensibl e r eg r et

“

of Saunde r s .

But scarcely h ad h e a r rived w h en h e was served

for t h e thi r d time wi t h a w r it issued at the instigation
of M iss F r y fo r a debt of
“
At t h e instance of
S aunde r s an I talian merchant named B adiol i was
,

induced to be his surety S aunde r s w hose inte r est .

,

in his affairs was inspi r ed by t h e p r ofit h e calc ulated on

de r iving from them al s o recommended h im to engage ,

as counsel to defend h im a certain Friddle w h om

Cagliost r o h ad met in the sponging house Thus -
.

suppo r ted and conscio u s of I nnocence h e await e d h is

, ,

trial with comparative composu r e .

The case came on in due co u rse at t h e K ing s ’

Bench but Fr iddle discovering that it was to be tried

, ,

by Lor d; Mansfield whom h e da r ed n o t face backed

, ,

out of it altoget h er Left without cou nsel at the last .

moment Cagliost r o was d r iven in desperation to defend

,

his cause himself As h is knowledge of E nglish was

.

very imperfect he was obliged to have an interp r ete r

, ,

and none other apparently being available he employed

, ,

Vitellini Bu t as Vitellini eit h e r owing to excitement

.
,

caused by the responsibility h e was s u ddenly called

upon to assume or to an equally impe r fect knowledge
,

of English could not make himself understood Lord

, ,

64
 Cagl i o s tro i n L o n do n
M an field to avoid fu r the r conf sion and pe r ceiving
s ,
u ,

fr om the c h arge of wi t chcraft tha t t he case was trivial ,

sugges t d a compromise and r ecommended a M r

e .

H owarth as arbitrato r To this p r oposal Cagliost r o

.

was compelled and M iss F r y was only too glad to

, ,

consen t
The fi rst t h ing H owa r th had to decide was M i s s
F r y s first claim to £1 9 0 which sh e alleged she had
’

lent the Count As sh e had no p r oof w h a t eve r

.

to advance in suppo r t of her claim it was at once ,

set aside T he charge of witch c raft was also wi t h

.

S imila r expedi t ion dismi s s ed as fr ivolous

“ ”
.

I n h e r attempt to substantiate he r othe r claim to

£ 2 00 M,
iss F r y and her witness B road ve r y nea r ly
perj ured themselves They bot h asse r ted that the
.

money had been expended in pu r chasing sequins

“ ”

fo r Cagliost r o Questioned by H owart h as to how

.

he had obtained t h e sequins B r oad replied that h e ,

had bought them of a me r c h ant whose name h e

“

could not r ecollect At t h is H owarth w h ose

.
”
,

suspicion s we r e naturally a r oused by such a r eply ,

observed t h at it must have been a ve r y la rge amount

“

of sequins to r ep r esent £2 0 0 and h e did not believe ,

any me r chant would have such a quantity on h and .

”

B road h ereupon declared h e had not bought them

“ ”
of one merchant but of about f ou r s cor e
, B ut on .

being p r essed by H owa r th he could not r emember

the names o r places of abode of any of t h em .

N o r co u ld M iss Fry assist him to disentangle

h imself She stated that a J ew of wh ose name sh e
.
“

was ignorant had b rough t the sequins to h e r After .

”

this t he r e was nothing fo r H owa r th to do but dismi s s

the cha rge which h e did wit h a seve r e rep r imand
, .
”

F 65
 C agl i o s tro
M iss Fry however was not to be beaten without a
, ,

further effo r t S h e demanded that the necklace should

.

be retu r ned to he r which she d ecla r ed she had only

,

l en t to the Countess To this Cagliostro saw fit to

.

p r otest but as Vitellin i failed to express his reasons

,

in t elligibly H owar t h came to the conclusion that the

,

necklace at least belonged to M iss F r y H e t h e r efor e .

ordered t he Count to r eturn it to he r and pay th e costs ,

of the a r bitration into the ba rgain .

This decision howeve r by no means put an end to

, ,

the t r oubles of Cagliostro .

Whet h e r at h is own req uest o r by order of H owarth , ,

he seems to have been given a fe w days in which to

confo r m to the r uling of the arbitrator But Badioli .
,

h i s surety no sooner learnt the result of the case t h an

, ,

dreading lest Cagl iost r o shoul d decamp and leave h im

t o pay the costs and compensate M iss F r y b e re s olved ,

to release himself from his obligations by surrende r ing

the Count K eeping his intention a p r ofound sec r et
.
,

he paid a friendly visit to Cagliost r o and at the close ,

carried him off fo r a d r ive in the park O n their way .

,
”

says an anonymous auth o r of the only contempo r a r y

book in defence of Cagliost r o “
they aligh ted at ,

a judge s chambe r s w h ere M r Badioli said he had

’

, .

business to settle T h ey then again entered the coach

.
,

which in a s h ort time stopped before an edifice of

whi c h the Count was ignoran t H oweve r his com .
,

panion entering h e followed h is example ; when M r

, .

Badioli making a slight apology desi r ed h im to wait

, ,

t here a few minutes saying w h ic h h e left h im, .

M inu t es and hou r s elapsed but no M r B adiol i , .

appeared The Count th en endeavou r ed to r eturn

.

through the doo r at w h ich th ey h ad ente r ed but found ,

66
 C agl io s tro in L o n do n
himself r epu lsed though h e was igno r ant of th e
,

cause .H e remained t ill evening in the greatest

agitation of mind roving from place to place when , ,

he attracted the observation of a fo r eigne r who ,

having heard his story and made t h e necessary ,

inquiries informed h im that he was a prisone r in

,

’
the K ing s B e nch .

“
Two days had elapsed before the Countes s was
a b le to obtain any info r mation concerning him .

IV
T h e conduct of B adioli w h o had taken so ,

treacherous an advantage of his ignorance of the

E nglish language and law was to Cagliost ro t he ,

u nkindest cut of all Afte r such convincing proofs .

of its h ostility to contin u e to st r uggle against

,

adve rsity seemed no doubt futile H e accepted the .

situatio n apat h etically M ore th an a mont h elapsed .

befo r e he apparently took steps to p r ocure his relea s e

e v en t h en t h e proceedings w h ic h resulted in his
liberation from t he K ing s B enc h p r ison do not ’

appea r to h ave been instituted by himsel f but by a ,

certai n O R e i ll y N ow as this good Sama r itan was

’

previously unknown to him t h e r e is reason to suppose ,

that he was delegated by the E sperance Lodge of

Freemasons of which the C ount was a membe r to
, ,

assist him For O R e i l l y was t h e p r op r ietor of the

’
.

K ing s H ead in Ge r a r d S t r eet w h e r e the E sperance

’

Lodge assembled .

1
Were al l th e su pp os i tzon s
'

on wh i hc th e g l pi i
en e ra o n on of
Ca gl i to s ro is b d as e as reas o n a bl e as h pr
t e e s en t th w l d b
ere ou e no

mp l i t th t ,

c aus e fo r co an on a s c o re .

F 2 67
 C agl io s tro
Th r ough th e inst ru mentality of O R i l l y fo r w h ose
’
e ,

kindness on th is occasion C agl iost r o was eve r afte r

grateful fresh bail was procured B ut as the summe r
,
.

vacation had commenced M iss F r y h ad the r ight ,

which she was only too glad to avail h e r sel f f to — o

refuse to accept the bail offered till the end of t h e

vacation O R i ll y h oweve r was not a S a u nde r s
’
. e , ,

his inte r est in t h e Count was not me r cenary and ,

being fully conve rsant wit h the intricate workings

of the law h e pplied di r ectly to Lord M ansfield
,
a ,

who at once ordered M iss F r y s tto r ney to accept ’

a

t he bail .

Considering the id f C agliost r o h ad h ad of

ev er ce s

t his woman s fury it was not surprising that he sho uld

’

have at t ributed the extraordina r y ci r cums t ances that

now occurred to h er vindictive ingenuity As he was .

p r epa r ing to leave the K ing s B enc h M r Crisp the ’

, .
,

under mar hal of the prison informed him t h at one

-
s ,

Aylett had lodged a detaine r against h im by name of

Melisa Cagliost r o otherwis J o eph B alsamo fo r a
, e s ,

debt of g; T he Count demanded with t h e

u t most surprise the meaning of th is new intrigu e .

Crisp replied that Aylett declared th e su m specified

was due to him as his fee wit h interest added , ,

from one J oseph B alsamo by whom h e had been ,

employed in t h e yea r 1 7 72 to r ecove r a debt of a

D r B e n amo re
. .
”

I t matte r ed not i n th e least t h at C agliostro

protested “
h e had neve r seen Aylett and did not ,

believe Aylett had eve r seen h im o r t h at Ayle tt ,

h imself did not appea r in pe rson As t h e law then .

s t ood Crisp s statemen t was su fficient to detain t h e

’

un for tunate Count wh om he in his tu r n was anxiou s

,

68
 C agl io s tro in L o n do n
to bleed w h ile h e h ad
the c h ance Acco r dingly
.
,
’
while admitting that without Aylett s consent he
was not empowe r ed to accept the bail which Cagli
o s t r o eage r ly offe r ed h im Cri s p was only ready to
,

let h im go i f he could deposit in h i s hand thi r ty

“

pounds to indemnify him .

To this p r oposition C agl iostro consented but as ,

he had not the cash upon him he a s ked Crisp if he

would accept its equivalent in plate promising to ,

redeem it t h e next day H is r equest was granted .

,

and Cagliost r o remain ed in K ing s Bench wh ile ’

O R e i l ly went to t h e C ountess fo r th e plate in

’

“
question which consisted o f two soup ladles two
'

-
, ,

candlesticks two salt cella r s two peppe r castors six

,
-
,
- -
,

fo r ks six table spoons nine knife handl e s wit h blades

,
-
,
-
,

a pai r of snuffers and stand all of s ilve r , .

”

The next day t ru e to h i s promise t h e Coun t paid

, ,

C r isp thirty pounds Crisp h owever instead of

.
, ,

giving back the plate decla r ed that Aylett had been

,

t o h im in t h e meantime and on lea r ning that h e ,

had fr eed the p r isoner was h ighly exaspe r ated and

demanded th e plate w h ic h had consequently been
,

g iven him . As Aylett on t h e ot h

, e r hand when ,

qu estioned decla red t h at C r isp was a liar

“ “
it was ,
”

impossible says C agliost r o fo r me to ascertain by

,
“
,

whom I was pl u nde r ed .

”

Of all t h e incidents in t h is series of injustices

“
,

as h e termed it of w h ic h h e was t h e v ictim the mo s t

,

curious is undoubtedly t h e unexpected advent of

Aylett upon th e scene in a r ole to t ally unconnected
wit h the development so to s peak of the plot of
, ,

the play Cons i dering t h at h e was t h e firs t person

.

on r ecord to state that Caglio s tro was Giuseppe

69
 C agl io s tro
Balsamo it is
,
wo r t h w h ile inquiring
into h is reason
for doing so and the value to be attac h ed to it .

Aylett s r eputation to begin wit h was such as

’

, ,

to rende r t h e trut h of any statement h e mig h t make

extremely doubtful if not to invalidate it altoget h er
,
.

Like Reynolds and Fr iddle h e was a rascally atto r ney

,

w h o h ad been convicted of perj ury and exposed

“

in t h e pillo ry .G ra n ting t h at he h ad defended

Balsamo in h is action against D r B e n amo re and .
,

was su fficiently struck by t h e r esem b lance o f

Cagliostro to his old client as to believe t h em to
be th e same pe r son h is conduct on t h e p r esent
,

occasion was decidedly ambiguous Acco r ding to h is .

s tatement
“
, h appening on e day i n 1 7 7 7 to be in
Westminste r H all he pe r ceived a person t h at h e
,

immediately recognized as B alsamo w h om h e h ad ,

not seen since 1 77 2 I nstead of accosting him then

.

and t h ere h e decided to find out whe r e h e lived and

,

aft e r muc h difficulty lea r nt t h at t h e person h e h ad seen

and believed to be B alsamo was in t h e K ing s B enc h ’

k
prison and t h at h is name was Cagliost r o whereupon
wi t/t ou t ta i ng té e l eas t
was r iglet or n ot i n lei s
s te

h e laid a detainer
s ur
p
mi s e
to as cer tai n

,
wAetlter he
,

against him for the money B alsamo owed h im N 0 .

reco r d of any kind exis t s as to w h at passed between

Aylett and Cagliostro w h en t h ey finally met or in fact ,

whe t her t h ey met at all .

T hat Aylett would afte r h aving r eceived

,

Cagl i o s tro s plate or money from Cri s p have admitted

’

he h ad made a mistake is j udging from the man s ,

’

character not to be credited But what renders t h is

, .

s in ular matter still more questionable is t h e fact tha t

g
the Editor of the Cou r i er de l E u r op e nine years late r ’

70
 C agl io s tro
—
h is trial as orde r ed by the arbitrato r the date named
for t h e settlement was still some weeks off i t is -
,

under t h e circumstances and considering all t h at h as

been said against him decidedly to h is c r edit that he
,

remained and fulfilled h is obligations .

H e states —and t h ere i s no r eason to disbelieve

him — th at O R e i ll y and J ames after t h e final settle
’

ment of h is case tried ha r d to persuade h im to

,

commence an action against Aylett fo r perjury ,

anoth er against C r i s p for swindling and one of black ,

mail against Fry Scott Reynold s and B road

, , He .

was howeve r not to be beguiled into any suc h costly

, ,

and uncertain undertakings .

“
The injustices h e s ays “
I h ad experienced
, ,

rendered me unjust to mysel f and attributing to the ,

w h ole nation the faults of a few individuals I dete r

mined to leave a place in w h ic h I h ad found neit h e r
laws justice no r h ospitality
, , .
”

Accordingly having given O R e i l l y with w h om

,
’

he contin u ed in close comm u nication a powe r of ,

attorney to u se in case of need h e left fo r B r ussels ,

“
with no mo r e than fifty pounds in cash and som e
”
j ewels .

H e afterwa r ds asse r ted t h at du r ing the eig h teen

months h e had r eside d in London he h ad bee n
defrauded of 3 000 guineas .

I n t h is a hostile w r iter— wit h s h eep like fidelity to -

popular prej u dice sees— “

t h e native excellence of
English talent when the most accomplished swindler
,

of the s windling eig h teent h century was so h obbled ,

duped and despoiled by the aid of the masterly fictions

,

”
of E nglish law .

I t is possible h oweve r to d r aw anot h e r and mo r e

, ,

7 2
 Cagl io s tro i n L o n do n
sensible inference fr om t h is legal q of whic h es cr o u er i e

Cagliostro was the dupe than one based on mere ,

prejudice As h is fame needless to say lies not i n

.
, ,

proved charges of embezzlement but in the secrets of ,

the crucible and t he mysteries of E gyptian M asonry ,

i t 18 clea r ly by his adventu r es in the laboratory and

t he lodge rathe r than by those whi c h led h im to th e

K ing s B enc h and t h e Bastille that he is to be j udged
’
.

S ince it is a que s tion of s windling it is perhaps j ust as ,

well to bear in mind the cé ar acter of these accomplished

impost ur es to whic h so much obloquy has been
attached Accordingly befo r e attempting to d r aw
.
,

aside the figurative curtain which conceals him as ,

Carlyle s h and itched to do it is essential to examine

“ ’

the fabric so to speak of the cu r tain itself —

, , i n othe r
words to get some idea of what was unde r stood by
,

t h e Occult in C agl i o s tro s day ’

.

AS I have no intention of ente r in g this laby r int h of

perpetual darkness wh ich none but an adept i s capable
of treading I s h all merely stand on t h e t h res h old
, .

T h e r e at any r ate i t is ligh t en ough fo r the reade r to

, ,

s e e as much as is nec es sa r y fo r t h e present purpose .

73
 C HAPTE R I I
E I GH T EE N T H C E N T U R Y O CC U L TI M S

I
MAN at once instinctively mist r usting
,
h is own
powe r and inspi r ed by the lov e of t h e ma r vellou s
,

w h ich is inhe r ent in human natu r e h as from the ,

beginning invoked o r invented as you will th e

, , ,

invisible powe r s of an inaccessible sp h ere H istory

’

is filled with t h e p h enome n a a r ising from t h is innate

tendency to believ in th e supe r natu r al w h ic h w h ile
e ,

v arying in fo r m according to epochs places and , ,

cu toms a r e at bottom identical B elief in t h e supe r

s .

natural is indeed th e basic p r inciple f p r imi t ive

, ,
o

man s first conception of community of inte r est the

’

germ from which r eligion social orde r civilization, ,

have developed .

I n t h e beginning religion and magic we r e on e .

Al l th e priests of Egypt and t h e E ast we r e i nvested

with supernatu r al and mysterious powe r s of which
they long possessed th e monopoly T h ese power s .

were precisely the same as those of t h e medi u ms of

t he present day ; but th e effects t h ey produced no
do u bt appeared infinitely g r eater owing to t h e bo u nd
less credul ity simplicity and igno r ance of those wh o
, ,

witnessed them .

B y degrees as civilization afte r civilization perished

, ,

knowledge became more diffused M agic passed from .

th e s anc t uary to th e street T h e Pagan world was .

74
 E i g h te e n th C e n tu ry O cc u l ti s m
filled wi t h astrologers sorcerers sibyl soot h sayers
, ,
s, -
,

wonder workers of all descriptions I n the M iddle

-
.

Ages when Christian ity finally s upe r seded Paganism

, ,

the supernatural on c e more took up its abode in

religion D emonology whi c h h ad survived all the
.
,

r evolutions of antiquity and wh ich still exists without

,

much fundamental differen c e unde r ot h er fo r ms all

ove r the world assimilated it s elf to t h e dogmas of the
,

C h urc h T h e Popes affi rmed the popular belief in

.

so r cery magic and diabolic posse s s ion

, But the .

supe r natural phenomena associated with the belief in

t h ese t h ings were rega r ded as t h e work of t h e devil ,

in whose existence t h e C h ristian world believed as

implicitly as in t h e existence of God ; so wh ile th e
Church sanctioned this belief as one of t h e myste r ies
of religion it waged a merciless war agai n t all person s
suspected of h aving commerce with demons From .

its terrible ban t h e mystical visionaries alone were

exempt T h ese person s ascetics all the sanctity
.
, ,

of w h o s e reputations was unq u estioned and w h ose

hallucinations were due to h ysteria epilepsy or , ,

neuroticism were canonized ,

.

Towa r ds t h e close of t h e seventeent h cent u ry wit h ,

th e r evival of a tolerant and enligh tened p h ilosophy ,

the devil h ad grown old and accusations of so r cery

were ra r e B ut the belief in th e supe r natural s till
.

continued to thrive ; and in t h e cent u ry of unive r sal

scepticism t h e cent ury of Voltaire and t h e E ncy
,

c l o p e di s ts w h en fait h in eve ry t h ing till t h en venerated

,

was exploded that i n the marvellous alone survived

, .

" ”
The more ci v ilization ad v an c e s wrote Voltaire
, ,
”
the more noise does superstition make .

On the eve of t h e Frenc h Revolution M e s mer ,

75
 C agl io s tro
electrified t h e world wit h his an imal magne tism .

Wit h t h is discove ry the belief in t h e supe r natural

entered a n e w and more wonderful phase Th e .

marvellous h ad passed from a g r ossly mate r ial to

a pu r ely spiritual plane The magnetism of M esmer
.

was followed by the hypnotism of the M arquis de

Puys egu r with its attendant trai n o f table tu r n
,
-

ing and telepathy clairvoyance an d clairaudience

, ,

spiritualism t h eosop h y and C h ristian science To

, ,
.

day th e w h ole system of the hermetic p h ilosophy of the

Egyptians and H indus h as been re discovered re -
,

deciphered and r estored with th e most aston i shing

,

results and t h e most conspicuous success to th e

a mazement of the world .

N ever has t h e belief in t h e supernatural been mo r e

flo u ris h ing and more invincibl e than at the p r esent .

S ide by side with th e positivism o f modern s cien c e

marches t h e mysticism of the occult equally confident ,

and undaunted and equally victorious N ot a l ink

, .

in the chain that conn ects th e p h enomena of t h e

mediums and adepts of to day with t h ose of t h e -

Chaldaeans h as been broken M adame Blavatsky .

and Mrs E ddy are t h e latest d escendants o f H erme s

.

Tri s megistus w h o whet h er regarded as man god

, , ,

or t he pe r sonification of all the knowledge of h is

remote times is t h e pa r ent of all the wonder workers
,
-
,

scientific as well as unscientific of t h e world T h e , .

prodigies of t h ese priestesses of t h eosophy and

Chri s tian science w h ic h are t h e last an d most
,

popula r manifestations of t h e marvello u s a r e no ,

less significan t and much more wonderful because

,

more inexplicable than those of a Ramsay or a C u rie

, .

As t o the fu tu re of thi s faith in t he supe r natural ,

7 6
 e
( Af t r P ujot) [ Tof a ce p a
g e 76
 C agl io s tro
Those who devoted their lives to these t h ings
—
were divided into three c lasses alch emists astrologers , ,

and the mo t ley tribe of quacks and charlatans who ,

may be summed up for sake of conven ience unde r the

name of so r ce r e r s The s e divisions howeve r were
. , ,

by no means hard and fast U nited by a common

.

idea each class d abbled in the affai r s of the others .

Thus ast r ologers and sorce r ers we r e ofte n alchemists ,

and alchemists seldom confined their attention solely

t o the search fo r the el ix i r v i tae and the philosop h e r s ’

stone .

As t h e alchemists owing to their superior know

,

ledge and the results t h ey obtained were more

, ,

considered than the astrologers and so r cerers alc h emy ,

developed into a science at an early date T h e .

ob s curity in whic h i ts origi n is involved i s a S ign

of its antiquity Some enthusiasts believe it to be
.

coeval with the c r eation of man Vincen t de B eauvais

.

was of the opinion t hat all t he antediluvians must h ave

had some knowledge of alc h emy and ci t es N oah as
,

having been acquainted with t he el i x i r v i tae other

“
,

wi s e he could no t have lived to so prodigious an age

and begotten child r en when upwa r ds o f five hund r ed .
”

Others have traced it to the Egyptians from w h om ,

Moses was believed to h ave learnt it M a r tini on t h e

.
,

o t her hand affirms t h at alchemy was p r actised by

,
;

t he Chinese two th ousand five hundred years before

the birt h of C hrist B ut t h oug h a belief in t h e trans
.

mutation o f metals was general in the Roman E mpire ,

t h e practice of alc h emy does not appear to have

received muc h consideration before th e eig h t h centu r y .

A t th is period the discoveries of Gebi r an Arabian ,

alch emist gave so great a sti mul u s to the ques t of

,

7 8
 E igh te e n th C e n tu ry O cc u l ti s m
t h e philo s opher s stone and the elixir of life that he
’

i s generally rega r ded as the creato r of these picturesque

delusions which for a thousand years h ad so great
,

a hold on the popula r imagination .

Banned and fostered in tu r n and often at the same ,

time by th e Church p r actised in all classes of socie t y

,

and by all sorts and conditions of people ; rega r ded

with admiration and con t empt ; alchemy h as played
too v ast and important a r ole in the h isto ry of
humanity t o be de s pised wild and romantic t h ough ,

this rOl e has been Nothing could be more u nj ust

.

and absurd t han t o judge it by t h e C ha r latans who

exploited it The al c hemists whom h isto r y still
.

remembe r s were in reality the pioneers of civilization ,

who venturing ahead of the r ace befogged in den s e

,

forests of ignorance and s uperstition cut a road ,

t hrough to the ligh t along which mankind travelled ,

slowly in t heir wake N ot only were these fantasti c.

spiri t s of light the parents of modern science and

phy s ics but th ey have helped to adorn literature and
,

art S ome idea of t h ei r importance may be gathered

.

from the many words i n common use that they have

k
given to the language su c h as : cr u ci é l e amalg am
al co ol , p otas é ,
l au dan u m
,

, p r ec ip i tate ,
,

s atu r ati on , di s
,

q
ti l l ati on , fi y
ui n etc
tes s en ce, a nit ,
.

The alchemists often stumbled upon discoveries

th ey did not seek S cience is t h us indebted to Gebir
.

for the first sugges t ion of corrosive sublimate the red ,

oxide of mercury nitri c a c id and nitrate of silve r ;

, ,

to Roger Bacon for t h e telescope the magic lantern , ,

and gunpowder ; to Van H elmont for the properties

of gas ; to Paracelsus t h e most ext r ao r dinary of them
,

all for laudanum I t is to h im also that medicine

, .

79
 C agl io s tro
owes the idea of the clinic As in chemist r y so in .

o t her sciences t h e most impo r tant di s coveries we r e

made by men who h ad a marked taste for alc h emic
theories K epler was guided in h i s investigations by
.

cabalistic considerations .

The searc h fo r gold and yout h howeve r we r e , ,

only one phase of alchemy I t was too closely allied .

to what was known as mag ic not to be confounded

“

with i t I n th e popular estimation th e alchemists were

.

all magicians M ost pe r haps all of the s o called

.
, ,
-

occult phenomena so familiar to us to d ay were

pe r fo r med by th em Long before suc h t hi ngs as .

animal magnetism h ypnotism telepat h y ventriloquism

, , , ,

au t o s uggestion etc had a name t h e alc h emists h ad

,
.
, ,

discovered them t h ough t h ey t h emselves were as

,

unable to explain or account fo r t h e wonders t h ey

performed as the ignorant world t h at witnessed t h em .

Albertus M agnus had the power to delude w h ole

c rowds, p r ecisely as I ndian n ecromancers do at the
“
present . Cornelius Agrippa at the request of
E rasmus and ot h er learned men called up from t h e
grave many of t h e great philosophe r s o f antiquity ,

among othe r s C icero w h om h e caused to re deliver ,

-

h is celebrated o r ation for Roscius H e also showed

”
.

Lord Surrey when on the continent t h e r esemblance

,
“
,

in a glass of h is mist r ess t h e fai r Ge r aldine

”
“
She , .

was represented on a couc h weeping for h e r lover .

Lord Sur r ey made a note of t h e exact time at w h ic h

he saw this vision and afterwa r ds asce r tained t h at h is
mistre s s was so employed at the ve r y min u te The
famous D r Dee whose w h ole life was devoted to th e
.
,

sear c h for the philosop h er s stone was an accomplis h ed ’

crystal gazer and spirit rapper

- -
.

80
 C agl io s tro
th e rules of t h ei r p h ilosop h y of w h ic h c h astity
was ,

t he mo s t rigorous and important they could igno re ,

hunge r or thirst enjoy perfect h ealt h and p r olong

, ,

thei r lives indefinitely Of the occult knowledge t h ey

.

possessed that of transmuting metals i nto gold was

,
’
stripped of its old significance The philosopher s .

stone was no longe r to be r ega r ded as me r ely t h e

means of acquiring r ic h es but t h e instrument by w h ich
,

mankind could command t h e se r vice o f the spi r its of

the invisible world .

They denied t h at t h ese we r e t h e h orrible and

ter r ifying demons with w h ich the monks had peopled
the unseen but mild beautiful and b e n e fic e n t sprites
, , , ,

anxious to be of se r v i ce to men I n the Rosic r ucian .

imagination th ere existed i n eac h element a race of

spirits peculia r to it Thus the ai r was in h abited by
.

Sylphs t h e water by U ndines the eart h by Gnomes

, , ,

and th e fire by S alamanders I t was by them that all .

t hat was ma r vellous was done I n th e cours e of thei r .

development th e mystical tendencies of th e Rosi

crucians became more and mo r e prono u nced Thus .

they finally came to r egard the p h ilosophe r s stone as ’

s ignifying contentment the secret o f w h ic h was com

‘

pared in t h e mystical p h raseology they adopted to

a spirit that lived wit h in an eme r al d and converted
everything near it to t h e h ig h est perfection it w as
capable of .

I n fine Rosicr u cianism may be desc r ibed as the

,

bridge over w h ich the belief in t h e supe r natural passed

fr om sorcery witchcraft and the grossest supe r stition
, ,

to t he high ly spirituali z ed fo r m in which it is mani

fe s te d at the present T h e transit h owever was not
.
, ,

effected witho u t inte r ruption Towa r ds t h e beginnin g .

82
 E i gh tee n th C e n tu ry O c c u l ti s m
of t h e eig h teent h century t h e b r idge unde r mined
by ,

the mockery and scepticism of the age collapsed , .

About fifty years later it was reconst r ucted by Sweden

borg on a new and spi r itualistic system I n t h e mean .

time as will be seen superstition adrift o n t h e ocean

, ,

of unbelief clutc h ed c r edulously at eve ry st r aw t h at

,

floated by .

II
T h e o ld belief in alchemy as a magical science did
not survi ve the seventeenth cent u ry I t is t ru e t h e .

c r edulous and igno r ant deluded by swindle r s and

,

impostors long continued to regard alc h emy as supe r

,

natu r al ; but the bona fide alchemists themselves w h o

-
,

were able and intelligent men h ad be gu n to unde r ,

stand t h e nature o f their discoveries The symbolic .

inte r pretation of the philosopher s ston e led to a new ’

conception of the uses of the c ru cible T h e alc h emists .

of t h e eigh teent h centu r y d ur ing w h ic h the nam e ,

was still in co mmon use thoug h its original s i gn i ,

fic ati o n had become obsolete were r eally amateu r ,

chemists From pseudo science mode r n science was

.
-

beginning to be evolved .

The g r eat changes h owever that upset t h e convi o

, ,

tions and disintegrated the w h ole fab r ic of society of

the eighteent h century we r e favourable to the i ncrease
,

and spread of supe r stition T h e ama z ing re c ru de s .

cence of the b e lief in the supe r nat u ral w h ich was one ,

of the most conspicuous feat ur es of the age was the ,

direct r esult of the p r evailing infidelity and i n di ffe r

ence Persecuted banned anathema t ized but neve r
.
, , ,

exte r minated it c r ept from t h e hiding places in which

,
-

it had lurked for centuries and in th e age of u nbelief

,

G 2 83
 Cagl io s tro
emerged boldly into the ligh t of
day T h e fo r ms it .

assumed we r e many and various .

—
I n 1 7 2 9 J ansenism a s ort of evangelical move
ment in the Churc h of Rome — which in its wa r with
J esui t ism in the p r evious centu r y had been crush ed ,

but not ex t erminated took ad v an t age of the apathy o f

,

t he time to reassert itself To do this with success

.

i t was necessa r y t o make a powerful appeal to the

popula r imagination and as no means a r e as su r e of
,

producing effect as supernatural ones the wo r ld was ,

s ta r tled by a series of mi r acles pe r fo r med at t h e g r ave

of Deacon P aris a famous ma r tyr in th e cause of

,

J ansenism The s e miracles which at fi r st took t h e

.
,

fo r m of cures s u ch as at th e p r esent day a r e to be

seen at Lourdes soon acquired fame All sorts of
, .

people whom the doctors were u nable to r esto r e to

,

health b egan to flock to the J ansenist Cemetery of St

, .

M edard where it was discovered t h at ot h e r graves

,

beside that of D eacon P aris an d finally t h e whol e

,

cemetery shared th e healing p r ope r ties of his as h es .

The h itherto simple characte r o f the cu r es was

c h anged T h ey were accompanied by extraordina ry
.

convulsions conside r ed more divine than the cures

,

t hemselves in which th e bones cracked th e body was

, ,

scorched with fever or parched with cold and t h e

, ,

invalid fell into a prop h etic transpo r t .

The noise of t hese pat h ological phenomena att r acted

immen s e c r owds to t h e Cemetery of S t M edard .
,

wh ere the spectators w h o we r e drawn out o f mere idle

,

curiosity as well as t h ose who came to be cured we r e

,
,

seized o r pretended to be seized wi t h th e convulsive

frenzy The popularity of St M edard induced t h e
.
.

J an s enists to at t ach s imilar vir t ues to othe r cemeterie s .

84
 C agl io s tro
disassociate themsel ves fr om t h e l i i who con v u s on n a r es ,

form ed t h emselves into a sect which existed down to ,

the Revol u tion .

To day medical science h as st r ippe d t h e

- l con v u

i i
s on n a r es of S t M edard of the last r ag of t h e
.

supe r natu ral but in t h e eig h teent h century only t h e

,

sane intelli g ence of t h e p h ilosop h e r s divested t h em of

all claims to wonde r T h eir fame spread t hr ough o u t
.

E ur ope and h elp ed in its way to emp h size the t r end a

of p u blic opinion in w h ich th boundless credulity and e

ig orance of th e many dvanced side by side t h roug h

n a

the century wit h th scepticism an d enligh tenment of

e

the few .

S o st r ong was t h e passion fo r the marvellous that

the least mys ti fic ati o n acquired a supernatural s i gn i fi
cance I n C atholic Ge r many a curé nam ed Gassne r
.

who exo r cised people possessed of devils an d cu r ed t h e

sick by a touc h h ad over a million ad h e r ents I n .

E ngland “
D r Graham wit h h is celestial bed h is
, .
” “
,

el ixirs of gene r ation and h is mud bat h s acquired ,

-
,

an immense reputation I n S witzerland Lavate r an .

, ,

orth odox L u th e r an pasto r r ead character and told the ,

future by t h e ph ys i ognomy wit h astonis h ing success .

At Leipsic S ch rOpfe r t h e p r op r ieto r of a c afé

, , ,

flatte r ed c r edulity so cleve r ly t h at belief i n h is ability

t o comm u nicate with t h e invisible World su r vived even
his exposure as an imposto r H is h istory is n ot wit h out .

dramatic interest Gifted with a temperament st r ongly

.

inclined to mysticism he became so infatuated wit h t h e

st u dy of t h e supernatur al t h at h e abandoned h is
profession of caf eti er as beneat h h im and tu r ned h is
café into a masonic lodge whe r e h e evoked t h e souls
of th e dead damned and saved alike Some of t h ose
, .

86
 E i g hte e n th C e n tu ry O c c u l ti s m
w h o witnessed t h ese appa r itions believing t h ey
recognized relations o r friends went mad a fate t h at , ,

was not long in overtaking S h Op f h imself c r er .

I ntoxicated by t h e immense vogue he obtained h e ,

next tu r ned h is lodge into a p r ivate h otel in w h ich h e

received only pe r sons of r ank a suming h imsel f t h at of , s

a colonel in the Frenc h a r my to w h ic h h e declared

he was entitled as a b stard of t h e Prince de Conti
“
a .
”

U nfo r t u nately at D r esden w h ith e r h e h ad gone to

,

evoke the s h ade of a K ing of Poland fo r t h e benefit

of th e Duke of Co ur land his impostu r e was exposed
, .

S h Op f
c r er h e r e u pon r eturned to Leipsic and after
giving a g r and s u pper to some of h is most fait h ful
ad h e r ents blew out h is brains N evert h eless t h is .
,

did not p r event many fr om continuing to believe in h is

evocations A r epo r t t h at he h ad predicted h e would
.

himself appea r afte r h is death to h is followe r s at a

given hou r in t h e Rosent h al at Leipsic ca u sed a ,

vast conco ur se of peopl e to assemble i n t h at p r omenade

on t h e day specified i n t h e expectation of be h olding
h is sh ade .

S till mo r e r ema r kable t h an t h e c r edulity t h at clung

to impost ur e afte r its exposure was t h e c r edulity t h at ,

discove r ed s u pe r natural powers in pe r sons who did

not even pretend to possess them T h e cu r iosity that .

scented t h e marvellous in t h e impenet r abl e myste r y in

w h ic h it ple sed th e sel f styled Co u nt de Sai nt Germain
a - -

to w r ap himself induced h im to amuse h imself at the

,

expense of th c r edulo u s Wit h t h e aid of his valet

e .
,

who entered into t h e j est he contrived to w r ap his

,

ve r y existence in mystery H e h ad only to speak of

.

persons w h o had been dead for centuries to convince

peopl e h e had known t h em M any bel ieved he ha d .

87
 C agl io s tro
witnessed the Crucifixion me r ely beca u se b y a sigh o r
,

a hint he conveyed that imp r ession w h en t h e subj ect

was mentioned N o absu r dity was too ext r avagant to
.

relate of him th at was not c r edite d E ven his se r vant.

was upposed to h ave moistened h is lips at the

s

Fountain of Youth .

As the century advanced t h e folly inc r eased .

Rumours began to be c u rrent t h at agitated the

popular mind —ru mours of secret societies bound by
terrible oaths and consecrated to shady design s ,

r umours of t h e impending fulfilment of o l d and awful

p rophecies ; rumours of vampires and witc h es ; of
s trange coincid ences and strange disappea r ances
rumou r s in which one may trace the o r igin of t h e
haunting suspicion to w h ic h the Reign of T e r ror was
due All the supe r stitions rega r ding t h e u nseen wo r ld
.

h ad thei r vogue I n P rotestant count r ies interprete r s

.

of the Apocalypse were rife E veryw h e r e t h e dead

.

came back to affright t h e living led by t h e W h ite,

“

Lady Deat h s messenger to t h e H ohenzolle r ns

,
’
.

I n suc h an atmosphe r e it was not s ur prising t h at

the 6aguet di v i n atoi r e of M esmer should h ave seemed
more wonderful t h an the scientific discoveries of
N ewton and Lavoisie r Cagliostro h ad only to appear
.

to be welcomed only to provide credul ity wit h fres h

,

occ u l t novelties to win a nic h e in t h e temple o f fame .

III
Occultism h oweve r like human nature of w h ic h it
, ,

i s the mystical replica h as its spi r itual as well as its

,

mater i al S i de and from the depths of gro s s s u pe rs ti

,

tion is capable of mounting to t h e h eig h ts of pure

88
 C agl io s tro
Sweden wit h t h e intention of giving h imsel f u p entirely
to science . H e published a scientific r eview an d
gained some reputation as an invento r At the age of .

twenty eigh t C h a r les X I I appointed h im assessor o f

-

mines ; and thr ee yea rs later Q ueen U lrica raised h im

to t h e rank of nobility by w h ic h his name was changed
,

fr om Swedbe rg as his family was originally called to

, ,

t h e more euphonious and a r istoc r atic Sweden b o r g .

B eing of an exceedingly inq u iring and p h ilosop h ical

mind and h aving plenty of leis ur e h e naturally widened
t h e area of h is investigations Fo r many yea r s h e .

so ugh t to find th e scientific explanation of t h e u nive r se .

This quest and t h e intensity wit h w h ich h e pursued

it insensibly led h im to seek to discove r t h e connection
between t h e soul and t h e body t h e relation of t h e finite ,

to the infinite From t h is stage to w h ic h h e h ad been

.
,

—
led no doubt by the fo r ce of h e r edity h is f at h e r a ,

Lut h e ran bis h op and p r ofesso r o f t h eology believed

himself i n constant inte r course wit h angels — i t was but
a step to t h e supernatural The scientist however
‘
.
, ,

t akes a long time in tu r ning into th e mystic Sweden .

bo rg was fifty seven befo r e the t r ansfo r mation was

-

accomplis h ed .

T h is event occ urr ed in London in 1 74 5 .

I was dining h e s ays on e day ve r y l ate at my

,
”
,

h otel in London and I ate with great appetite when

, ,

at t h e end of my repast I perceived a sort of fog w h ic h

obst ru cted my view and t h e floo r was cove r ed with
,

h ideou s r eptiles T h ey disappea r ed th e da r kness was

.
,

dispersed and I plainly saw in t h e midst of a b r ig h t

k
,

light a man S i tt i ng i n t h e corner of t h e room w h o said

, ,

in a terribl e voice Do n ot eat s o mu c,

F r om t h e characte r of t h is vision D o not ,

90
E MMA N U E L SW EDE R
NB O G [ T af a ce a e
r g 90
 C agl io s tro
Swedenbo rg s h eavenly visito r was Lu th e r an
’
— fait h a

be it said t o which S wedenbo r g ad h ered as devotedly

,

—
as Saints F r ancis and The r esa d to t h eirs an d when
di
h e appea r ed he dressed acco r dingly wearin g neit h e r ,

t h e Stigmata nor t h e Crown of Thorns wit h out whic h

no good Cathol ic would have r ecognized h im H e .

spoke a mystical j argon w h ic h was often so absurd as

to be unintelligible .

T h e U nseen World as revealed to Swedenborg was

,

th e exact counterpa r t of the seen I t was in h abited by .

spirits of bot h sexes the good ones dwelt i n H eaven

—
and the bad ones in H ell T h ey h ad t h e same o c c u
.

ati o n s as people on th e eart h They ma rr ied and

p
begot child r en among ot h er things and S w
.

,
edenbo r g
was present at one of these celestial weddin g s T hey .

al s o had sc h ools for infant angel s ; u n iversities for

“

th e learned and fairs for such as we r e comme r cially i n

cl i n e d— particularly fo r the E nglish and Dutch angels
Fo r th e spirits of the U nseen had all lived in th e seen .

Acco rding to S wed enborg man neve r dies The ,

.

day h e experiences wha t h e calls death is t h e day of h i s

eternal resurrection C h rist was the r u le r of bot h these
.

worlds H e was t h e one and only God All h uman

. .

desire would be cons u mmated when t h e t wo worlds

s h ould become one as t h ey h ad been in t h e beginning
, ,

before th e Fall On t h is day the N ew J erusalem

.

would be establis h ed on earth To h asten t h is event .

,

i t was necessa r y to seek t h e lost word o r p r imitive ”

” ’
innocence . This was S wedenborg s idea of the
ph ilosopher s stone w h ich h e declared was to be fo u nd
’

in t h e doctrines h e taught S h ould any person be .

tempted to seek it elsewhere h e was advised to go i n ,

“
quest of it in Asia among the Tartars,

9 2
 E i g h te en th C e n tu ry O c c u l ti s m
It w some time howeve r before h e became at
as , ,

h ome in the piritual world Ti me cea ed to h ave any

s . s

significance to him H e would lie fo r days in a t r ance

.

from whic h he would awake at night to w r estl e wit h “

evil spirits to the te r ror of his h ousehold Sometime

”
. s

his soul would es c ape altogether from his body and

borne on the wi n gs of th e I nfinite jou r ney t hr ough ,

I mmensity fro m planet to planet T o these t r avels .

”
,

t he most mar v ellous that imagination has eve r taken ,

we owe th e A r can a Cce l es ti a and T fie N ewjer u s al em .

T h ese books translated from th e Latin i n whic h t h ey

had been dictated to him by t h e Almighty had a
p r odigious success I n Protestant countries whi ch
.
—
—
he pers onally canvassed especially in Sweden and
England w h e r e he made t h e most conve r ts they were ,

regarded as the gospel of a new r eligion t h e B ible of ,

the C h u r c h of th e N ew J erusalem .

S h ow me four persons said F o n te n e l le who”

,

swear it is midnight w h en it 15 noon and I will S how ,

o u ten thousand to believe them

y .

Firmly con v inced that he was in daily interco urse

W i t h the Almig h ty S wedenborg soon convinced others
, .

For his was the faith whic h r emoves mountains H e .

had moreove r a maj estic appea r ance and a magneti c

, ,

personality whic h rendered ridicule silent in his pre

sence and in s pi r ed the confidence and love of all who
,

came i n contact wit h him Th ree ext r aordinary.

instances of his power to communicate with the u n

seen world a r e cited by h is followe r s E ven K ant .
,

the philosop h e r was struck by t h em t h ough h e con

, ,

fesses that o n i n q u ir he dismissed them as having

'

y
no foundation but r epo r t N evertheless there were
.

thousands who did n o t doubt leas t of all Queen Ulri c a

,
.

93
 C agl io s tro
H ad Swedenbo rg not r elated to he r t h e contents of a
letter known only to h erself and h e r b r othe r who had
been dead fo r yea r s
That t h e sentimental L th u i d Gnosticism h e
e ran z e

preac h ed should h ave been r eceived with enthusiasm

in Protestant E ur ope is not su rp r ising T h e peoples .

of the N ort h a r e natu r ally mystical N othing that .

appears to t h em in t h e guise of r eligion is too fantastic

to be r efused a h earing I n E ngland th e more fantastic
.

the mo r e certain is it of success S w edenbo rgianism

.

was to t h e i l l mi i d J er u salemites of M ancheste r

“
u n ze ,

w h e r e alone th ey numbered twenty t h ousand me r ely ,

a ve r y delicious é fi
r ec au of a diet to w h ich thei r
’

ee

imagination was specially addicted The eage r ness .

with w h ic h it was accepted i n E ngland was due

entirely to appetite .

Much more remarkable was t h e influence o f

Swedenborg in t h e Catholic wo r ld N atu r ally it
.

manifested itself diffe r ently in diffe r ent nations as ,

s u mi n
g t h e character peculia r to each Thus whils.t ,

in E ngland supe r naturalism unde r the influence of

Swedenborg b ecame a religio u s c r aze i n France it ,

g r afted itself upon philosophy and in Ge r many infected

,

the secret societies i n whic h the t h eo r ies of the F r enc h

philosophe r s found active political exp r ession .

The secret of this u niversal appeal is not fa r to

seek I t was one of t h e a r ticles of fait h with the old
.

Rosic ru cians t h at by them the t r iple diadem of t h e

“

”
pope should be reduced to dust The theosophy of
.

Swedenborg p r es u med the li b e r ty eq u ality and frate rn

, ,

ity of mankind I t was at once t h e spi r it u al negation

.

and defiance of t h e a rr ogant sup r emacy of bot h Ch u rc h

and St ate O c cultism whic h has eve r proclaimed th e
.
,

94
 C agl io s tro
of F r ance under his su c cessors was so sup r eme that
the decay of F r ench civilization in the eighteen th
century may be r egarded as a s o rt of mi rr o r in which
the process of the disinteg r ation of E u r opean society
generally is reflec t ed Already as ea r ly as 1 70 4 eleven
.
,

years befo r e the death of Louis X I V when au tnor ,

i ty still seemed to be everywhe r e dominant Leibnitz ,

detected all the signs of t h e gene r al Revolution with

“

whic h Europe is menaced With the pas s ing of Louis

.

X I V respect the c h ief st r ong h old of feudalism su r

, ,

rendered to the cynicism o f t h e Regency I n that .

insane S aturnalia c h ains we r e snapped t r aditions ,

shatte r ed old and worn out conventions trampled

,
-

under foot T h e Regency was but the Revolution i n

-
.

m i n i ature .

The orgy of licence passed in its tu rn as the gloomy ,

and bigoted hypocrisy of w h i c h i t was th e natu ral rea o

tion h ad passed befo r e it But the calm of the exq u isite
, .

refinement that took its place was only superficial .

Freedom conceived in the revels of t h e Regency

yearned to be born To assist at th is accou c/eemen t
.

was the aim of all the philosophical midwi fery of the

age I n 1 73 4 Voltaire physician i n ordinary to the
.
,
- -

“
c entury declared action to be the ch ief obj ect of
,

mankind But as fr eedom of ac t ion is impossible with

.

out freedom o f thought Vauvenargues n ext demanded

i n clarion tones t h at God should be freed The idea .
”

”
of freeing God in order to free man was an in s pira
t ion and Vauvenargues magnificent p h rase became
,
’

the tocsin of t h e philosophers .

B ut the chief effect of t h e Regency upon F r ance ,

and t h us indirectly upon E u r ope had been to free “

,

unbelie f Au t hority whi c h had feared faith when

.
,

9 6
 E i g h te e n th C e n tu ry O cc u l ti s m
alive and despised it when dead c r awled i nto th e
‘

s h ell from which the nail of belief h ad departed and

s

displayed t he sa me predatory and brutal instincts as

the intole r ant r eligion in w h ose iron carapace it
dwelt To dislodge i t was the fi r st step towa rds
.

”
freeing God ; and all sorts and conditions of
athletes entered the a r ena to battle wit h prej udice and
inj ustice I n Fran c e where t h e contest was destined
.
,

to be decided the B astille o r banishment was t h e

,

puni s h ment that b r ute authority awarded t h ose who

dared to defy it But to crush the rebellion of i n te l l i
.

gence against stupidity was impossible The effort s of .

t he p h ilosophers we r e reinfo r ced by sovereigns imbued

with the spirit of t h e centu r y With Frede r ick th e
.

G r eat a r ace of benevolent despots sp rang into exist

ence who dazzled by the refulgence of t he philosoph ical
,

light they so much admi r ed did not pe r ceive till too late
t h at i n igniting their to r ches at its flame t h ey were
helping to kindl e a co n flagrati o n destined to destroy
the system that would dep r ive them of th e absolute
fr eedom t h ey enj oyed and to a limited s h a r e of w h ic h
,

they we r e willing to admit the nations they r uled .

N or for t h at matter did t h e p h ilosophers them

selves To t h em as well as to t h eir p r incely disciples
.

to fr ee God was anoth er name for religious

toleration That was t h e revol u tion for w h ic h t h e
.

E ncyclopedists worked and whic h Frederick t h e Great

,

and t h e sove r eigns w h o s h a r ed h is enligh tened O pinions

de s ired N othing was furt h e r from t h eir intention
.

than t h at it s h ould take t h e form in whic h it eventually

came I t is impossible to believe t h at t h e Revolution
.

w h i c h demanded t h e h eads of a Lavoisier and a

B ailly would h ave spa r ed t h ose o f a Voltai r e o r a
H
97
 C agl io s tro
Roussea u Least of all would t h e stupid mob t h at
.

wa t c h ed the victims doomed to t h e guillotine spit

into t h e basket as it termed i n ferocious j est t h e fall
,
”

of the h eads beneat h t h e axe h ave made any di ,

s

tinction between t he virtuous and innocent Louis XV I

and J osep h I I or t h e E mp r ess Cat h erine h ad it
, ,

been possible to ar r aign t h em likewi e at t h e ba r of s

the Revolutionary Tribunal T he g r atitude of t h e

.

people is even less to be depended on t h an t h at of

“ ”
princes B ut God was not to be freed i n a day
. .

S eventy fiv e years elapsed between F reedom s con

-
’

c e ti o n in th e Regency and birt h in t h e Revolution

p .

D uring th is long pregnancy t h e cent u ry w h ic h was

to die in child bed developed an extraordinary appetite
-

for t h e supernatural To t h e materialistic p h ilosop h y

.

t hat analyzed and sough t to control t h e proces s of

decay whic h by th e middle of t h e century had become
visible even to one so indifferent to signs of t h e
“

times as Lo u is XV the cult of t h e super n atural

,

was an element unwo r t h y of se r ious consideration .

But th o u gh long ignored t h e time was to come w h en

it obtained from t h e tor c h bearers of reason a ques
-

t i o n ab l e and dangerous pat r onage I t was on t h e eve

.

of the birt h of Freedom t h at t h e century of Voltai r e ,

”

as H enri M a r tin expresses it extended its h and to

,

t h e occultists of t h e middle ages

‘ ”
.

Between Voltaire and cabalistic evocations between ,

the s c eptici s m of th e E ncyclopedists and t h e mysticism

of S wedenborg w h o wo u ld believe t h e re could be any
affiliation ? Yet the transition was nat u ral enough .

T h e philosop h ers in t h eir ab u se of analysis had too

pe rsistently sacrificed sentiment to reason I magina .

tion w h ic h Louis B lanc h as called the intoxication

,

9 8
 C agl io s tro
influenced w h en a boy by an ascetic book T lze A r t ,

o
f K n owi n
g O n es el
f that h e,
c h anced to r ead As .

h is fathe r to whom he was de eply attac h ed intended

, ,

him fo r t h e Ba r h e devoted h imself to t h e study of

law and t h oug h he had no taste fo r t h e p r ofession
,

passed his examinations B ut afte r p r actising six

.

mont h s he decla r ed himself incapable of distinguis h ing

in any suit between th e claims o f the defendant and
th e plaintiff and r eque s ted to be allowed to exchange
,

—
t h e legal profession fo r t h e milita r y not beca u se h e
h ad any l iking fo r t h e caree r of a r ms b u t in o r de r ,

that he might have leisu r e to continue t h e st u dy

“

of r eligion and p h ilosop h y

”
.

To oblige his fat h er t h e Du e de Ch oiseul t h en ,

P r ime M iniste r gave h im a lie u tenancy i n t h e

,

Regiment de Foix t h en i n ga rr ison at Bo r dea u x

, .

H e r e h e met one of t h ose st r ange c h a r acte r s so

common in t h is centu r y who eithe r Ch a r latans of
, ,

genius o r d r eame r s by tempe r ament s u pplied wit h ,

a r ms fr om the a r senal of t h e supe r nat ur al boldly

asse r ted the supremacy of t h e occ u lt and attacked
science and p h ilosop h y alike T h is pa r tic u la r indi
.

vidual was called M a r tine z Pas q u al i s b u t as like so ,

many of h is kind he enveloped himself i n mystery it is

impossible to discove r w h o o r what h e was o r whe r e ,

h e came from H e was s u pposed to b e a Chr istianized

.

J ew fr om one of the Po r tuguese colonies i n t h e E ast ,

whic h w o u ld account pe rh aps fo r h is skill i n the

practice of t h e occult At any r ate th e st r ange
.
,

sec r ecy h e maintained in r ega r d to h imself was

sufficient in the eigh teent h cent ur y to c r edit h im
with supe r nat ur al powe r s .

W h en Saint M artin met h im in Bo r dea u x h e h ad

-

100
 E ig h te e n th C en tu ry O c c u l ti s m
fo r ten yea r s h eld a sort of school of theurgy At .

Avignon Toulouse and ot h er Sout h ern cities h is

, ,

p u pils o r disciples formed t h emselves into a sect ,

known as M a r tinists afte r thei r master for the p r actice ,

of h is doctrines w h ic h thoug h but vaguely understood

,

we r e att r active fr om the hopes they h el d out of

communicating wit h t h e invisible world S aint .

Ma r tin was the first to g r asp thei r meaning H e .

j oined the M a r tinists w h ose existence till then was

,

sca r cely known and became t h ei r chief w h en the

,

dissensions to which t h e private life of P q l i h ad as ua s

given r ise were h ealed by h is sudden and singula r

depa r t ur e fo r H aiti w h e r e h e died of yellow fever
,

shortly afte r h is a r rival .

D r awn fr om obscurity by t h e personal c h arm and

h ig h social position of its n ew leade r M artinism ,

rapidly att r acted attention I n a strange littl e book

.
,

Des E r r eu r s et de l a Vtr i te p ar
’

nu p /i i l os o fie i n con n u ,
p
Saint M artin endeavoured to detac h h imself and h is
-

adherents fr om the magic in w h ic h Pas q u al i s — who ‘

practised it openly h ad involved th is sect Bu t

-
.

thoug h h e gave up t h e q u est of supe r natu r al

ph enomena as unnecessa r y to an acquaintance wit h
the unseen an d wandered deeper and deeper in t o
,

pure mysticism he never wholly succeeded in escaping

,

from the grosser infl u ence of h is first initiation i n t h e

occult F r om th e fact h oweve r tha t h e called himself
.
, ,

th e Robinson C ru soe of spiritualism some idea ,

may be gained of t h e distance t h at separated h im

from those w h o also claimed connection wit h the
invisible wo r ld H e did not cou nt on being under
.

stood Of one o f his books he said

.
“
it is too fa r ,

from o r dina r y hu man ideas to be successfu l I have .

10 1
 C agl io s tro
often fel t in writing it as if I were playing valses on
my violin in the cemete r y of M ontmart r e w h e r e fo r ,

all t h e magic of my bow t h e dead will neithe r hear

,
”
nor dance .

N evert h eless t h oug h philosophy failed to follow

,

h im to the remote regions of speculation to which he

with drew it grasped enough of h is meaning to apply
,

it And the Revolut i on wh ic h before its arrival he

.
,

had rega r ded as t h e “

lost wo r d by which the
”

regeneration of mankind was to be effected and w h en ,

it actually came as the miniatu re of t h e last judg

“

ment adopted h is sacred ternary Libe r ty E quality

,
”
, ,

and Frate r nity —

the Fat h er S on and H oly G h ost of ,

—
Martinism as its device Saint M artin was one of .
-

t he few w h o st rove to inaugu rate it w h om it did not

devour H e passed through it unmolested dying as
.
,

he had l ived gently H is only r eg r et in passing from

.

the visible to the in v isible was th at he h ad left

“
th e myste r y of num b ers u nsolved .

V
The influence of S aint M a r tin however was -
, ,

passive r at h e r than active Tho ugh ph ilosophy con .

fu s e dl y and unconsciously imbibed the Socialistic

t heories of mysticism the F r ench being at once a
,

practical and an excitable people vVe re not to be

-

kindled by speculations of the in tellect howeve r ,

da r ing original and at t ractive t h ey mig h t be The

, , .

palpable prodigies of M esme r appealed more power

fully to t h em than the vague abstractions of Saint
M a rt in .

I t was in Ge r many tha t revol u tionary mysticism

10 2
 C agl io s tro
rec r uiting followe r s As We i s h aupt s obj ect was to
’
.

conve r t t h em into blind inst ru ments of h is sup r eme

will h e modelled his o r gani z ati o n after that of the
,

J esuits adopting in particula r their sys tem of espionage

, ,

thei r p r actice of passive obedience and thei r maxim ,

that the end j ustifies t h e means F r om mysticism he .

borrowed t h e name of t h e society : I lluminés F r om .

freemason r y th e classes and g r ades into w h ic h they we r e

,

subdivided t h e pu rpose of w h ic h was to measu r e t h e

,

prog r ess of the adept in assimilating t h e doct r ine of

t h e absol u te equal ity of man and to excite h is imagina ~

tion by making him hope fo r t h e communication of some

wonderful mystic sec r et w h en h e r eached t h e h ig h est
-

g r ade T h ose w h o enj oyed t h e confidence of Weis

.

haupt we r e known as ar eopagi tes To t h em alone was .

h e visible and as h e deemed t h at too many precautions

,

could no t be observed in concealing the existence of a

society swo r n to t h e abolition of the C hr istian religion
and t h e ove r t hr ow of t h e establis h ed social system he ,

and h is accomplices adopted names by whic h alone

t h ey we r e known to th e othe r s .

Comprised at fi r st of a few students at the U nive r

s it
y of I ngolstadt t h e I,
llumin é s gradually inc r eased
t h eir numbers and so u ght rec r ui t s i n othe r places ,

special attention being given to the enlistment of

young men of wealt h and position I n this way the .
,

real obj ects of I lluminism being a r tfully concealed the ,

society extended with in the cou r se of fo u r o r five yea r s

all ove r Germany I ts adepts even had a h and in
.

affairs of State and gained t h e ea r of many of those

petty and pictu r esque sove r eigns of t h e E mpi r e who ,

catching the fever of philosop h y from Frederick t h e

Great and J osep h I I amused themselves in trying to
,

104
 e
( Af t r I Wa n s zn ger ) [ Tof ace p a
g e 104
 Cagl io s tro
ascendency ove r h im I t was owing to t h e advice
.

of K nigge that Weishaupt divided the I lluminés into

g r ades aft e r t he manner of the F r eemasons and ,

adopted t h e method of i n i tiation of which t h e mys te ri

ous and terrifying rites were well calculated to impress
t h e proselyte With a K nigge t o invent and a Wei s
.

haupt to organize the I lluminés r apidly inc r eased t h ei r

,

numbers and activities Overrunning Germany they

.

crossed the frontiers p r eac h ing p r oselytizing and, ,

spreading t h e gospel of the Revolution eve r yw h e r e .

B ut t h is r apid development was not witho u t its dangers .

Conscious t h at t h e existence of such a society if it

became known would inevitably lead to its s u ppression ,

K nigge wh o was not h ing if not r esourceful conceived

, ,

t h e idea of graft ing it on to Freemason r y which by ,

r eason of its powerful connections and vast p r opo rt ions

would h e t r usted give to I lluminism bot h protection
, ,

and the means of sp r eading more widely and r apidly .

T h e o r igin of this association t h e olde s t known to

,

t h e world composed of men of all countries ranks

, , ,

and creeds sworn to secrecy bound togethe r by ,

st r ange symbols and signs whose r eal mystic meaning

,

has long been fo rgotten and to day devoted to the

,
-

practice of p h il nt h ropy o n an extensive scal e has

a —
been t h e subj ect of much spec u lation T h e t h eory .
,

most gene r ally accepte d i s t h at wh ich s u pposes it to

,

h ave been fo u nded at the time and fo r t h e pu r pose of

building t he Te mple of Solomon B u t whateve r its .

early histo r y F r eemason r y i n its p r esent fo r m fi r st

,

came into p r ominence in the seventeent h centu r y in

E ngland w h ence it S p r ead to F r ance and Ge r many
, .

I t was int r oduced into t h e fo r me r country by the

J acobites early in the eighteenth centu r y with t h e
106
 E i g h te e n th C e n tu ry O cc u l ti s m
object of fu r thering the cause of the St u arts O n t h e .

extinction of their hopes howe ver i t reverted to its , ,

original ideals of equali t y and fraternity and in spite ,

of t h e s e democrati c principles obtained a st r ong hold

upon t h e ari s to c racy I ndeed in Fran c e it was from
.
,

the fi r st a decidedly r oyal ist institution an d this

characte r it prese r ved outwardly at least down to th e , ,

Revolution numbering nobles and clergy alike among

,

its membe r s and always having a p r ince of the blood

,

as G r and M aster .

I n Germany on the contrary whe r e since the

, ,

Thirty Year s Wa r popula r aspirations and disconten t

’

had exp r e s sed t h emselves ina r ticulately in a multit u de

of sec r et societies t h e p r inciples of Freemason r y had
,

a political rathe r t h an a social significance .

The importance it acqui r ed from t h e numbe r of its

membe r s its inte r national cha r acter and its superio r
, ,

organization could not fail to excite t h e hostility of t h e

C h u r c h of Rome wh ic h will not tol e r ate wi t hin it the
,

existence of s ecret and independent as s ociations The .

J e s uits h ad sworn allegiance to the Pope and i n their

ambition to cont r ol th e Papa c y we r e its staunchest
defenders B ut t h e F r eemasons refused to admit the
.

Papal authority and t r eated all c r eeds wit h equal

,

respect Wa r between the Chu r c h of Rome and

.

Freemasonry was thus inevitable — a wa r that the

Church in such a centu r y as t h e eighteenth pe r meated ,

wit h scepticism and the de s ire fo r individual liberty ,

was most ill advised to wage Fo r it was a wa r in

-
.

w h ic h extermination was impossible and the victories

of Rome i ndecisive .

A n athema t ized by Clement X I I persecuted in ,

Spain by t h e I nquisition penalized in Catholi c ,

.

10
7
 C agl io s tro
Ge r many by the law and its membe r s decreed ,

wo r thy of eternal damnation by t h e Sorbonne i n

F r ance Freemason r y neverthel es s managed to find
,

powe r ful c h ampions E nt r enched behin d t h e th r ones

.

of P r otestant E u r ope particularly that of Frederick ,

the Great and encouraged by the philosop h e r s w h o

,

saw in it somet h ing mo r e t h an a P r otestant challenge

to t h e Church of Rome it became the r allying gro u nd ,

of all t h e forces of discontent and disaffection of the

centu r y the arsenal of all its hopes and ide als t h e
, ,

nu r se r y of t h e Revolution .

To rende r it if possible suspect even to its pat r ons

, ,

Rome denied t h e h umanity of its aim s and t h e boasted

antiquity of its origin Acco r ding to t h e stories .

ci r culated by the p r iests w h ic h excited by their ,

fears existed s olely i n their imagination t h e F r eemasons ,

we r e the successors of t h e old K nights Templa r s sworn

to avenge the abolition of t h at order by t h e bull of
Pope Clement V and the death of its G r and M aster ,

J acques M olay bu r nt alive by K ing P h ilip the Fair in

,

the fourteenth centu r y B ut t h ei r vengeance was not .

to be limited to the dest r uction of t h e Papacy and th e

French mona r chy ; it included t h at of all alta r s an d
all th r ones 1
.

This tradition however continually r epeated and

, ,

r endered mo r e and more myste r ious and ala r ming by

r u mou r merely h elped to articulate t h e h at r ed of t h e
,

enemies of t h e old r eg i me w h o h ad fl ocked to F r ee

masonry as to a camp As t h is association had at t h is .

period of its h istory no h omogeneity it was possible fo r ,

1
On e y mb l f h M
of th e s w Cr
o s o wh i h w r t e as o n s as a os s on c e e
th e l L P D w h i h w r i t pr t d b y h p i t
e tte rs . . . c m e e n er e e t e r es s to ean
L zl za
.

P db
e z usD T mpl h Li l i d r f t
es tr u e, ra e t e es un e -
oo .

10 8
 C agl io s tro
be t rayed two yea r s late r in 78 4 by a member w h o
,
1 ,

had reached the highest g r ade only to discover t h at ,

the mystic sec r ets by which h e h d been attracted to a

the I lluminés did not exist This information conveyed

.

to the B avarian government was confirmed by

domiciliary visits of t h e police w h o seized many
incriminating pape r s Weishaupt fled to Gotha
.
,

where he found a protector in the occultist D uke ,

whose friendship h e h ad nu r sed for years in V iew of

j ust such a contingency .

But t h oug h t h e society he had formed was broken

up it was too late to stamp out t h e fire it h ad kindled
, .

The subte r ranean ru mbling s of t h e Re v olution could

already be h eard M ysticism w h ic h had made use of
.

philosophy in France to sap tyranny was in its turn in

Germany turned to political account From t h e seeds .

sown by the I lluminés sprang t h at amazing crop of

ideals of which a few years later N apoleon was to r eap
the benefit .

Such then was t h e

, , curtain of Cagliost r o ;
“

woven so to speak on t h e loom of t h e love o f the

, ,
- -

marvellous out of mystical masonic principles and

S c h rOp fe r M esmer phenomena
-
.

And now let u s turn once more to t h e personality

of the man behind it .

1 10
 C H A PT E R I I I
M A K ED A N D U NM A K ED
S S

I
B E F O RE leaving E ngland during an interlude in ,

t he pers ecution to w h ich h e had been subjected ,

Cagliostro h ad become a Freemason T h is event .

,

innocent enough in itself thoug h destined years later ,

to have suc h terrible consequences fo r him occu r red ,

on April 1 2 1 77 7 T h e lodge he j oined was t h e

, .

E sperance whic h met in a room of t h e K ing s H ead

,
’

in Gerard S treet So h o , .

According to t h e E dito r of t h e Cou r i er de l E u r op e ’

who professed to h ave obtained t h e particulars of his

admission and initiation from an eye witness the -
,

Count on t h is occasion described h imself as J osep h “

Cagliostro Colonel of th e 3 rd Regiment of B r anden

,

Three other members were received at t h e

’

1 ”
burg .

same time Pierre Boileau a valet ; Count Ricciarelli , ,

“
musician and alc h emist aged seventy six and th e ,
-

Countess Cagliostro .

The r e was a full attendance of membe r s B r ot h e r

“
,

H ardi v i l l i e rs an u p h olste r er presiding

,
O u t of , .

1 Th i t t m t r t l l y h w rd f h E di t r f h
s s a e en es s so e on t e o o t e o o t e
C i
ou r er d l E ep w
’
h it d it
u ro e,f h i f id
o c tifyi g e as o n e o s re as o n s or en n

C gl i t
a with B l m T h l tt r it m y b
o s ro a sa ll d h d p d
o e a e a e re ca e a as s e
l l i h P i r i d ri g h ti m h w td
.
, ,

as a c o o n e n t e ru s s an s e v c e u n t e e e as c on n e c e
with h f rg Agl i t
t e o er a a .

III
 Cagl io s tro
courtesy to h e r sex the Co u ntess
was r eceived first .

H er initiation consisted i n taking t h e p r escribed oath ,

after w h ic h s h e was given a arter o n w h ic h the

“

device o f t h e lodge U n i on zl en ce
,
Vi r tu e was, é '

, ,

embroidered and o r dered to wear i t o n going to bed

,

t h at nigh t
”
.

T h e ceremony h oweve r of making t h e Colonel

,
“
,

of t h e 3 rd Regiment of B r andenbu rg a F r eemason

was characterized by t h e ho r sepl ay usual on such
occasions B y means o f a rope attached to the ceiling
.

the Colonel was h oisted into t h e air and allowed

“
,

—
to drop suddenly to t h e floo r an idiotic species of
buffoonery that entailed unintentionally a slig h t inj ury
to his h and H is eyes were t h en bandaged and a
.
,

loaded pistol h aving been given him h e was o r de r ed ,

by B rothe r H ardi v i l l i e rs to blow out h is b r ains

“
.

As h e not unnaturally manifested a l ively repugnan c e

to pull t h e trigger h e was assailed with cries of
“
cowa r d by t h e assembly To give h im cou r age
.
”

t h e president made him take t h e oat h I t was as .

follows
“
I J osep h C agliostro in presence o f t h e g r eat
, ,

Arc h itect of t h e U niverse and my superiors in this

respectable assembly promise to do all that I am
,

ordered and bi nd myself under penalties known only

,

to my superiors to obey them blindly wit h out question

ing their motives or seeking to discover the secret of
the mysteries in whic h I s h all be i nitiated eit h er by
word sign o r writing
, , .

—
T h e pistol an unloaded one t h is time —was again
put into h is h and Reassu red but still trembling h e
.
, ,

placed the muzzle to his temple and p u lled t h e trigge r .

At the same tim e h e h eard t h e r eport of another pistol ,

II 2
 C agl i o s tro
r evolutiona ry cha r acte r ; t h oug h to t h e C h urc h of
Rome awa r e ,
that I t perpetuated the tradition of the
Templars it was none the less a nathema To t h is
,
.

fact the sto r ies may be t r aced w h ich caused F r ee

mason r y as a w h ole to be suspected of conspiring to
“ ”
trample the lilies under foot -
.

I n E ngland the O r de r of S trict O bse r vanc e was

purely philanthropic and social t h ough t h e r e as else , ,

—
where it was steeped in occultism a fact which of
,

itself is quite sufficient to explain w h y Cagliost r o

joined the E sperance Lodge T h e impo r tance mo r e .
,

ove r acqui r ed by this masonic o r de r w h ose lodges

, ,

we r e scatte r ed all ove r E urope also explains th e ,

compa r ative ease with whic h he afte r wa r ds exploited

the curiosity his r ema r kable faculties aroused .

The precise manne r howeve r in w h ich he laid

, ,

t h e foundations of his fame can only be conjectured .

B etween N ovember 1 77 7 when Cagliostro left ,

E ngland unknown an d i mp ov e ri s h e d and M a r ch

~

1 77 9 ,when he arrived i n Co u rland to be received

into the highest society his movemen ts are wrapped
,

in mystery .

“
M y fifty gu ineas h e says whi c h was all t h at
,
“
,

I possessed on leaving London took m e as fa r as ,

B ru s sel s whe r e I found P rovidence waiting to

,

replenish my p u rse .

As he did not deign to enlig h ten the publ ic as to

the guise in which Providence met him his I nquisi ,

t ion biog raphe r w h o is always prej u diced and

-
,

generally unreliable was of the O pinion tha t it was

,

highly di s c r editable This authority states that he pro

.

cured money from a c r edulous man whom he duped

into believing h e could p r edi c t th e winning number i n a
1 14
 M as k e d
U n m as k e d an d

lotte ry and th at without waiting to lea r n t h e r es u lt

,

of his prediction w h ich on t h is occasion in spite of

— , ,

his previous uniform success in London was a failure ,

fled to t h e H ague .

-
W h ilst he r e so it was rumou r ed yea r s late r he
, ,

was admitted as a Freemason into a lodge of the

O r der of S trict Observance to t he members of which ,

h e made a speec h on Egyptian M asonry As a result .

of th e interest he aroused a lodge was founded in ,

acco r dance wit h the E gyptian Rite open to bo t h ,

sexes and of w h ic h t h e Countess was appointed

,

G rand M istress .

The I nquisition biographe r pro fesses to discove r

-

him n ext in Venice from which he fled afte r swindling

“
,

a merchant ou t of on e thousand sequins B ut as h e .

is described as calling h imself at th e time M a r quis

—
Pellegrini one of the al i as es under w h ich Giuseppe
Balsamo had masqueraded some yea r s p r evio u sly he ,

may be acquitted of the cha rge I f Cagl iost r o was .

really B alsamo i t is inconceivable that he would have

retu r ned to I taly under a name he h ad rendered so
notorious T h e incident if it has any foundation in
.
,

fact must h ave occurred seve r al years befo r e this date

, .

Mo r eover if Cagliostro and B alsamo are the same

, ,

Freemason ry must have w r ought a most r ema r kable

and unp r ecedented spi r itual r efo r mation in t h e c h aracte r
of the Sicilian crook fo r u nde r t h e name of Coun t
,

Cagliostro he most ce r tainly ceased to descend to the

vulgar villainies formerly habitual to him .

M uch more in keeping wit h Cagl i o s tro s cha r acte r ’

is t h e following adventure r eported to h ave befallen

him a t N uremb urg w h it h e r rumour next traces him
,
.

Being a s ked his name by a Freemason who was

1 2 1 1 5
 C agl io s tro
staying at t h e same h otel d to w h om h e h ad , an

communicated t h e fact t h at h e was also a membe r of

the same fr aternity by one f t h e sec r et signs o

familia r to t h e initiated h e r eplied by d r awin g on a

,

s h eet of pape r a serpent biting its tail T h is cryptic .

response coupled wit h t h e ai r f mystery C agliost r o

,
o

habitually gave to h is smallest action deeply imp r essed ,

the inquisitive stranger w h o with t h e c h a r acte r istic

,

superstition of t h e centu r y at once j umped to the

conclusion t h at he w in the presenc of t h e c h ief of
as e

one f the sec r et societies attac h ed to Freemason r y

o

w h o fleeing fr om persecution was o b li g ed to conceal

, ,

h is identity Accordingly with a sentimental b e n ev o

—
.
,

lence fr om w h ic h it may be infer r ed h e was both a

M ason and a German h e drew from his h an d a
diamond ring and pressing it upon Cagliost r o with
,

every mark of r espect expressed t h e h ope t h at it

,

migh t enable him more easily to elude h is enemies .

F r om N u r emburg r umour follows th Count to e

Be r lin where t h e i nterpretation t h e unsentimental

,

police of F r ederick the Great put upon the mystery

in w h ich h e enveloped himself was so h ostil e t hat
he h astened to Leipsic I n this town veritabl e h ome
.
,

of occu l tism and stage on wh ic h S h Opf a few years c r er

before had persuaded h is audience to believe in h im i n

spite of h is impostu res any mysterious pe r son was,

sure of a welcome T h e voice of r umour hit h e r to

.
,

reduced to a whispe r now becomes a u dible T h e

, .

Freemasons of t h e Order of S tric t Obse r vance a r e

said to h ave given a banquet i n C gl i t h onour a o s ro s
’

“
at w h ic h th ree plates three bottles and t h ree glasses
, ,

were set befo r e eac h guest in commemo r ation of th e

”
H oly Trinity .

1 16
 Cagl io s tro
O r de r i n t h ese cities we r e wholly given up to t h e
p r actice and study of occult p h enomena h e must no ,

doubt h ave fu r nis h ed t h em wi th some p r oof of h is

,

possession of supe r natu r al fac u lties

”
“
.

I n t h is way r ecommended fr om lodge to lo dge h e

, ,

reac h ed Mi tt , the capital of t h e D u chy Of Co ur land

au ,

in Ma r ch 7 79 H ere t h e clou d of unce r tainty in

1 .

w h ic h h e h ad been enveloped sinc le ving E ngland e a

was completely dispelled .

II
N ow one does not go to Co ur land witho u t a r eason ,

and a powe r fu l one M a r shal S axe the only ot h e r

.
,

celeb r ity one r ecalls in connection wit h t h is bleak ,

marshland duc h y of Ge r manized Letts o n t h e Baltic ,

was lu r ed t h it h e r by its crown Cagliostro too had h is .

reason — w h ic h was not Saxe s ; t h ough the ridic u lous ’

I nquisition biographer r emembe r ing that t h e c r own

-
,

of Cou rland had been wo r n by more t h an one

adventure r wit h in th e memory of t h e gene r ation
t h en living decla r es t h at t h e r e was a p r oject to
,

depose t h e r eigning d u ke and put Cagliost r o in h is

place.

As a matte r of fact Cagliost r o went to Co ur land

,

to furth er his g r eat scheme of founding th e O r de r of

Egyptian Mason r y This was the tho u ght uppe r most
.

in his mind from the time h e left E nglan d o r at least ,

the one mo s t fr equently exp r essed .

T h e idea of Egyptian M ason r y is sai d to h ave

been s u ggested to him by some unp u b lis h ed manu
sc r ipts that h e purc h ased w h il e i n London He .

h imself on th e cont ra ry p rofessed to h ave conceived

, ,

1 18
 M as k e d
U n m as k e d an d

it in Egypt during h is travels in t h e E ast of whic h h e ,

gave suc h an amazing account at h is t r ial in th e

Diamond Necklace Affai r I t is the spi r it however .
, ,

in w h ic h t h e ide was conceived t h at is of chief

a

impo r tance and t h is seems to h ave been w h olly

,

c r editable to h im .

Fo r in spite of t h e vanity and ostentation h e

exhibited when his sta r was i n the ascendant
Cagliostro w h ose bump of benevolence was h igh ly
,
“

developed was inspi r ed with a genuine ent h usiasm for

,

t h e cause of h umani ty Egyptian M ason r y h ad for .

its aim the mo r al r egeneration of mankind As the .

r evelations made to men by th e C r eato r ( of w h om h e

never failed to speak wit h t h e profoundest respect )
had in h is opinion been altered to subserve their own
, ,

pu rposes by t h e prop h ets apostles and fat h e r s of th e

, ,

Churc h the regene r ation of mankind was only to be

,

accomplished by restoring t h e knowledge of God in all

its purity T h i Cagliost r o p r ofessed was only to be
. s

effected by Egyptian Mason ry w h ic h h e declared h ad ,

been founded by the pat r iarchs w h om h e r egarded as ,

the last and sol e deposi t aries of the t r uth as the means ,

of communicating wi th the invisible wo r l d .

That h e really believed it was h is mission to

re establis h t h is communication the r e can be no doubt
-
.

’
“
E ven C arlyle s conception of him as a king of
liars only serves to emp h asi z e t h is Fo r since it i s
”
.

gene r ally admitted t h at t h e habitual l ia r is in the end

persuaded of the t ru t h of what h e says t h e r e is no ,

reason w h y t h e king of th e tribe s h ould be an ”

exception H ad Cagliostro therefore i n tAe é eg i n n i ng

.
, ,

known that the religion he preached was a lie o f —

—
w h ic h I can find no evidence w h ateve r h e was most
1 19
 C agl io s tro
certainly convince d of its truth i n t/ze en d I n F rance .
,

where h is following was most numerous t h e delegates ,

of the French lodges afte r hea ri n g him decla r ed in

, ,

thei r repo r t t h at they had seen in h im a promise

“

of truth w h ich none of the great masters had so

”
completely developed before .

I f it be true t h at a man s works a r e t h e key to

’

h is c h aracte r noth ing reveals that of C agliost r o more

,

clearly t h an h is system of E gyptian M asonry N ever .

did the welfare of h uman ity sublimest o f ideals find

, ,

more r idic u lous exp r ession B ut to describe in

.

detail the astonishing gal i mat/t i as o f t h i s system fo r

the regeneration of mankind wo u ld be as tedious as
it is unnece s s ary and t h e following r o u gh outline
,

must serve to illustrate t h e constitution and ce r emonies

of the Egyptian Rite .

B ot h sexes we r e alike eligible fo r adm i ss i on to the

Egyptian Rite t h e sol e conditions being bel ief in t h e
,

— —
immo r tality of the soul and as regards men previous
admission to some M asonic Lodge T h ere we r e as in .
,

ordinary F r eemasonry t hr ee g r ades : app r entice com

, ,

panion and master E gyptian The master E gyptians

,
.

were calle d by the names of t h e H eb r ew p r op h ets w h ile ,

the women of the same grade took t h ose of sibyls .

Cagliostro h imself assumed t h e title of G r and

C o ph ta w h ic h he declared to be t h at of E noc h t h e
, ,

first G r and M aster o f E gyptian M asonry H is wife .

,

as Grand M ist r ess was known as t h e Queen of

,

S h eba.

T h e initiations of t h e neop h ytes consisted o f being

breat h ed upon by t h e G r and M aste r o r Grand
”

M is t ress acco r ding to t h ei r sex T h is proceeding was

, .

accompanied by t h e swinging of cense r s and a s pecies of

120
 Cagl io s tro
su fficient to ensu r e t h e success of Egyptian M ason r y ,

Cagliostro in t h e cou rse of time found it expedient to

heigh ten its attraction by holdin g out h opes of bodily
h eal th and infinite weal th as well I t was by his
,
.

ability to cure t h e sick t h at t h e majority of h i s

followe r s we r e r ec ru ited and as h e gave to h is marvel

lo u s cu r es t h e same mysterious and abs u rd characte r as

,
—
h e gave to all h is actions h is enemies f whom he h ad o

—
many unable to explain or deny t h em endeavo ur ed ,

to turn the p h ysical regeneration that Egyptian

“ ”

M asonry was said to effect into r idicule .

Acco r ding to a c ur io u s and satirical p r ospectus

entitled T h e Sec r et of Regene r ation o r P h ysical Per
“

f ti
ec on b y w h ic h one can attain to th e spirituality of 5 5 5 7
yea r s ( I nsurance O ffice of the Great Cagliost r o ) h e ,

wh o aspi r ed to suc h a state must withd r aw every “

fifty years i n the mont h of M y at t h e full of t h e moon

a

into t h e country wit h a fr iend and the r e s h utting him

,

self i a room confo r m fo r fo r ty days to t h e most

n

r igorous diet .

T h e medical treatment was no less h eroic O n .

t h e seventeent h day after being bled t h e patient was

given a p h ial of some w h ite liq u id o r p r imitive
“
,

matte r created by God to r ende r man immo r tal

, f , . o

w h ic h h e was to take ce r tain numbe r of drops up to

a

t h e t h i r ty second day Th e candidate fo r p h ysical

-
.

regeneration was t h en bled again and p u t to bed

wrapped in a blanket w h en i f h e h ad t h e cou r age to
—,

—
continue wit h t h e t r eatment h wo u ld lose h is hai r e ,

skin and teet h but wo u ld r ecove r t h em and find h im

, ,

self i possession of yout h and h ealt h on t h e fortiet h

n

day afte r whic h h e need not unless h e liked s h u ffl e

, ,

off t h e mo r tal coil for 5 5 5 7 yea r s .

”

12 2
 M as k e d U n m as k e d
an d

Per h aps nothing better illust r ates t h e bo u ndless

c r edulity w h ic h characte r ized the pe r i od immediately
preceding the Frenc h Revol u tion t h an the belief
t hat this r eport intended as a t p
, by con e ou r r zr e

the Marquis de Luchet its author obtained As , , .

Cagliostro and his followers we r e very likely aware

t h at any attempt to deny suc h a statement would but
se r ve to p r ovide their enemies with fres h weapons of
attack t h ey endured t h e r idicule to w h ic h this malicious
,

invention subj ected them in silence T h is attitude .

,

however was not only misunde r stood by t h e p u blic

, ,

but has even misled h isto r ians of a later date ve ry few ,

,
o f w h om l ike Fig u ie r in his H i s toi r e du Merv e i l l e ux
, ,

h ave h ad th e wit to see t h e h umou r of th e lampoon

whic h they h ave been too ca r eless o r too p r ej udice d
to explain .

As a matte r of fact t h e mumbo j u mbo of t h e

,
-

Egyptian Rite was no mo r e g r otesque th an t h e

Swedenbo rgian Rosicrucian o r any ot h e r of t h e
, ,

numero u s rites t h at we r e g r afted o n to F r eemasonry i n

th e eigh teenth century I f the B aron v o n Gleichen
.
,

w h ose integrity was as i r rep r oac h able as h is e x pe ri

ence was wide is to be c r edited C agl i o s tro s Egyptian
, ,
’

Ma s onry was wo r th t h e lot of t h em for he tried to ,

render it not o nly mo r e wonderful but mor e lzon ou r aé l e

, ,

t h an any other M asonic order in E u r ope .

”

Conside r ed as the key to Cagl i o s tro s c h a r acte r ’

Egyptian M asonry so far fits the lock so to speak , .

To tu r n th e key it is necessa r y to explain t h e means

,

h e employed to r ealize the sublime ideal h e exp r esse d

so ridiculously .

I t is c h aracteristic of t h e ty r anny of ideals to

demand their r ealization of t h e enthusi ast if need b e ,

12 3
 C agl io s tro
at t h e cost of life h onour or happiness Al l reforme r s
, ,
.

magnetic enough to attract any notice h ave been

obliged to face thi s lion like temp tation at some time -

in their ca r ee r s T h e perfervid ones almost always

.

yield to it and may count themselves lucky if t h e

,

s acrifice of t h eir happiness is al l that is asked of t h em .

The natu r e of t h e su rr ende r is gove r ned entirely by

c ircumstances Cagliost r o paid for his attempt to
.

regene r ate mankind with h is h onou r I t was an .

excessive p r ice and considering the r esult obtained

— ,

useless .

As he did not h esitate to rec r uit his followe r s by

imposture w h en without it h e would h ave failed to
attract them many writers — and they a r e t h e most
,

—
hostile have denied that h e ever h ad a lofty ideal
at all To t h em Egyptian M ason r y is me r ely a device
.

of Cagl iostro to obtain money S uch an opinion .

,

however is as untenable as it is intentionally unj ust

, .

T lzer e i s n ot a s i n
g l e au t/een ti cated i n s tan ce i n wAi c/z
b e der i v ed per s on al p r ofit éy i mp os tu r e .

H ad he s u cceeded like Swedenborg w — ,

h o h ad a
p r ecisely simila r ideal and also had ,
r ecou rse to i m
—
postu r e w h en i t suited h is pu rpose his reputation ,

like t h e Swede s would hav e survived t h e calumny

’

t h at assailed i t 1
For though Cagliost r o debased h is
.

ideal to r eali z e it h is impostu r es did not make him an

,

imposto r any mo r e t h an M i r abeau can be said to

,

1
t ri t l d f S w d b g q it f t ti
T he s o es o
y o e en or are u e as an as c as an

r i g C gl i tr
c o n ce n n H wa w lki g y B itt i T /
os o . e as a n
”
sa s r an n te

d y l g C h p id with fri d p r f gr t ,
“
S i Ei
ze/ l
n a z, on e a a on ea s e a en a e s on o ea
w th d dit (wh ft rw rd r l t d h i id t) wh h w
or an c re o a e a s e a e t e nc
,

en en e as
su dd ly en h w ry l w
s e en to h gr d T h i mp i
o ve o to t e ou n 0
,

s co an o n s
’

q ti w h t h w b t S w d b g pl i d by k i g hi m
.

ue s o n as to a e as a o u e en or re e as n

if h h d
e a M p by d th t h w b wi g h i m
n ot s ee n o s es as s
,

, an a e as o n to .
”

124
 C agl io s tro
all his trouble in London From the H ague to Mi ttau
.

—
w h ereve r a gl impse of h im is to be had t h ere is a
reference to t h e eloquence with whic h he denou nced
“

the magic and satanism to wh ich t h e Ge r man lodges

were addicted . I t was not till he a rr ived in Courland
t h at his r epugnance fo r t h e s up e r c/zer i e s of supernatural
ism succumbed to t h e stronger forces of vanity and
ambition .

III
I f P r ovidence waited for Cagliostro at B r ussels
“
,

it was certainly Luck t h at met h im on h is ar rival at

M ittan .

As h ithe r to t h e cause o f Egyptian M ason r y does

not appear to h ave de r ived any mate r ial benefit from
t h e g r eat interest he is said to h ave excited in Leipsic
and ot h e r places it seems r easonable to infe r that t h e
,

lodges he fr equented we r e composed of bou rgeoi s or

u n i n fl u e n ti al pe r sons
. At M itta n however the lodge
, ,

t o which he was admi t ted addicted like the others to

,

the study of the occult consisted of peopl e of the

,

high est distinction w h o advised in advance of the

,

coming of the mysterious C ount were waiting to ,

r eceive him with open arms .

The great family of v o n M edem i n pa r ticula r

t r eated h im with the greatest conside r ation and i n ,

t hem he found at once congenial and influential

friends M a r shal v o n M edem was t h e head of the
.

Masonic lodge in Mi ttau and fr om boyhood had

,

made a special study of magic and alc h emy as h ad ,

his b r oth er Count v o n M edem This latte r h ad

.

t wo v e r y beautiful and accomplished daughte r s the ,

youngest of whom was married to the r eigning Duke

12 6
 M as k e d an d U n mas k e d
—
of Cou r land a fact t h at could not fail to imp r ess a
regenerator of mankind in quest of powerful disciples .

I t was however h e r siste r E lisa Cou nt v o n

, , ,

Me de m s eldest daughte r who became th e p oi n t

’

a app u i of C agl i o s tro s hopes

” ’
.

The mystical tendencies of Elisa we r e entirely due

to environment She h ad grown up in an atmosp h e r e
.

in w h ic h magic alchemy and t h e dreams of Sweden

, ,

borg were t h e principal topics of conve r sation .

Familiarity h owever as t h e saying is bred contempt

, , , .

I n he r child h ood s h e declared that t h e wonde r s of t h e

supe r natural w h ic h s h e h eard contin u ally discussed
around h e r “
made less imp r ession on her t h an the
,

tale of B lue B eard w h ile a concert was wort h all t h e

,

ghosts in t h e wo r ld ”
N eve r theless the occult was
.
,

not wit h o u t a subtl e effect on h e r mind As a girl s h e .

had a decided p r eference fo r books of a mystic or

religious c h a r acter h er favourites being Young s
,
“ ’

N i gfit T é ougli ts an d t h e wo r ks of Lavater .

Gifted with an exceptionally brilliant intellect of ,

whic h s h e afterwards gave unmistakable p r oof s h e also ,

possessed a most ent h usiastic and affectionate nat u re

qualities that her husband a Count von der Recke , ,

alone appears to h ave neither r e c ognized no r app re c i

ated T h eir union was of s h ort du r ation : aft er six
.

yea rs of wedlock t h e Countess v o n de r Recke w h o ,

had married at seventeen to please h er father obtained ,

a divo r ce S he was amply compensated for what she

.

h ad suffered by the affection sh e obtained from her

family Fa th er uncles aunts cousins seemed only to
.
, , ,

exist to study h er wi s hes H er sister the Duches s .

,

of Courland constantly sought her advice in political

,

matters and rega r ded her al ways as he r dearest friend

, .

12 7
 C agl io s tro
B ut it was to h e r you ng b r other to w h om s h e was
most deeply attached N o r was h e less devoted to .

her N early of the same age and possessing t h e

.
,

same tempe r ament and talents t h e sympat h y between ,

them was such that was b u t the echo of t h e ot h e r

“
on e .
”

They differed only in o n e respect Equally serious .

and reflective each longed to solve t h e problems of

,
“

existence ; but w h ile the Countess von der Recke

”

was led to seek t h eir solution in t h e B ible in t h e gospel ,

acco r ding to Swedenborg or in t h e cor r espondence ,

she formed with Lavater he r brother th ough t they ,

we r e to be found i n Plato an d Pythago r as

“ ”
D eath .
,

however p r ematurely inte r rupted his quest ca r rying

, ,

with h im to t h e grave the ambition of h is fathe r and

t h e h eart of h is sister .

I t was at this moment w h en s h e was ove r ,

whelmed with grief t h at Count Cagliostro a r rived in

,

Mi ttau with t h e reputation of being able to transmute

,

metals predict t h e future and communicate with the

, ,

unseen world M ight he not also evoke the spirit s

.

of the dead ? I n any case such a man was not to be ,

ignored M ittan was a dead an d alive place at the

.
- -

best of times the broken h earted Countess was only

,
-

t wenty fiv e th e problems of existence mig h t still

-
“
,
”

—
be solved and workers of wonders be t h ey impostors ,

or not a r e not met every day S o t h e Countess v o n

, .

der Recke was determi ned to meet the Spanis h ”

— —
Count and w h at is mo r e to the point to believe i n
,

h im .

As us u al on h is arrival in M ittan Cagliost r o had

, ,

deno u nced t h e excessive r age fo r magic and alc h emy

t h at t h e Freemasons of Courland as el s ew h ere dis , ,

played But th ough h e found a sympat h etic li s tener

.

12 8
 M as k e d an d U n m as k e d
in t h e Countess von de r Recke while h e
disco ur sed
mystically on the moral regeneration of mankind and
the E ternal S ource of all Good her father and uncle ,
”
,

who we r e devoted to magic and manifestations of the

occult demanded practical proofs of the power h e was
,

said to possess As he was relying on t h eir powerful

.

pat r onage to ove r come the opposition unexpec t edly

raised to the foundation of an Egyptian Lodge at
Mi ttau by some persons w h ose s u spicions were excited
by the myste ry he a ffected h e did not dare disoblige ,

them .

One day afte r conversing on magic and ne c ro

,

mancy with the v o n Me de m s h e gave t h em and a ,

certain H er r v o n H owen a proof of his occul t powers .

Apart from h is mi r aculo u s c u res n e arly all t h e

“ ”
,

prodigies performed by Cagliostro were of a c lai r

voyant natu re As previously stated i n t hese e x h ib i
.
,

tions he always wo r ked t h rough a medium known as ,

—
a p up i l l e or col omée acco r ding to t h e sex th e pup i l l es
,

being males and t h e col ombes females From t h e fact .

t h at t h ey were i nvariably ve ry young c h ildren h e ,

p r obably found t h at t h ey responded mo r e r eadily to

h ypnotic suggestion t h an adults T h ough these .

exhibitions were often impostu r es ( t h at is a r ranged ,

befo r ehand wit h the medium ) t h ey were as often u n

doubtedly genuine ( t h at is n ot p r eviously a rr anged and
, ,

baffling explanation ) I n eve r y case t h ey we r e a e com

.

an i e d by st r ange rites designed to sta r tle t h e imagina

p
tion of t h e onlooker and p r epa r e it to r eceive a deep
and durable impression of mystery .

On t h is occasion acco r ding to the Countess von

,

der Recke Cagliost r o selected as p up i l l e t h e little son

,

of M arshal v o n M edem a c h ild of five

“
, H avin g .

K 1 2 9
yrs-
1
 C agl io s tro
anointed t h e h ead and left hand of th e c h ild wit h t h e
‘
oil of wisdom h e inscribed s ome mystic letters on
,
’

the anointed hand and bade th e Ap up i l l e to look at i t

steadily H ymn s and p r ayers then followed till little
. ,

v on Medem became greatly agitated and pe r spi r ed

profusely Cagliostro t h en inquired in a stage whispe r
.

of the M a r shal w h at h e desi r ed h is son to see N ot to .

frighten him h is fat h er r equested h e migh t see his

,

siste r H ereupon t h e c h i ld still gazing steadfastly at

.
,

his hand declared h e saw h er

,
.

Questioned as to what s h e was doing he ,

described h e r as placi ng h e r han d on he r h eart as if ,

in pain A moment late r h e exclaimed now she is

.
,
‘

kissing my brot h er w h o has j ust come home

,
O n th e .
’

M a r shal declaring this to be impossible as t h is brot h er ,

was leagues away Cagl iostro terminated the S ean c e

, ,

and with an air of t h e greatest confidence ordered

t h e doubting parent to ve r ify t h e vision‘
This the .
’

M arshal i mmediately p r oceeded to do and learnt that

h is son whom he believed so fa r away had unexpect
, ,

e dl
y re t urned h ome and t h at shortly
, befo r e her
bro th er s arrival h is daugh te r h ad h ad an attack of
’

”
palpitation of the heart .

After proof so conclusive Cagl i o s tro s triumph was ’

assu r ed Those who mistrusted him we r e completely

.

Silenced and all furt h e r O pposition to the foundation of

,

his lodge ceased .

But t h e appetite of the von M edem b r othe r s only

grew by w h at it fed upon T h ey insisted on more .

wonders and to oblige t h em t h e r ep r esentative of t h e

,
“

Grand C o
p h ta — late r h e found it simpler to assume in
person the title and p r erogatives of t h e successor of
—
E noc h h eld another S ean ce A wa r e t h at he had to .

1 3 0
 Cagl io s t ro
worlds t h e powe r of prayer and t h e mi r acles of t h e
, ,

early Christians S he told h i m h ow the death of

.
”

he r brot h e r had r obbed her life o f h appiness and t h at ,

in the h ope of seeing him once more s h e h ad often spent

a long time in praye r and meditation besid e his g r ave
at nigh t And she also gave t h e Grand C O phta to
.

unde r stand that she counted on h im to g r atify this

desi r e
.

As to confess his utte r inability to oblige h er would

have been to rob him at one fell swoop of t h e bel ief in
his powers on which he counted to establish a lodge
of Egyptian Masonry at Mi ttau Cagl iostro evaded t h e ,

request H i s great gifts h e expl ained were only to be

.
, ,

exercised for the good of the wo r ld an d i f h e u sed ,

them merely fo r the gra t ific ation of idle cu r iosity h e ,

ran t h e risk of losing th em altoget h e r or o f being ,

destroyed by evil spi r its w h o we r e o n t h e watc h to

take advantage of the weakness of such as he .

B ut as th e ex h ibitions he h ad given h e r father and

uncle of h is powe r s were purely fo r t h e benefit of idle
curiosity the Countess h ad not unnaturally r ep r oac h ed
,

h im wit h having exposed h imself to t h e snares of the

evil spirits he was s o afraid o f W h e r e upon t h e .

u nfortunate G r and Co ph ta in h is desi r e to r efo r m

,

Freemasonry and to spread h is gospel of regene ration ,

having left t h e straig h t and narrow pat h of denunciation

for the broad r oad of compromise soug h t to avoid the ,

quagmire to w h ic h it led by taking t h e b y pat h o f -

double dealing
-
.

Conscious t h at h is success at M itta n depended on

keeping t h e Countess s esteem h e assumed an ai r of
’

myste r y and superiority w h en talking of t h e occult

calculated to impress h e r wi th t h e utte r i n s i gn i fic an c e
1 3 2
 M as k e d an d U n m as k e d
of he r views in matters of c she whi h as s h e admitted
, ,

was ignorant H aving made her feel as s mall as possible

.
,

he endeavou r ed to r econcile her t o t he phenomena h e

perfo r med fo r the benefit of her rela t ion s by holding
out to h e r a hope that by similar mean s it migh t be
possibl e to evoke th e s h ade of the brot h e r s he so
yea r ned to see When next s h e met him he assured
.
,

her that H an ach i e l as h e called his c h ief in t h e

“
,
” ”

spiritual world to whom h e owed his marvellous gifts ,

“
had info r med h im t h at h er I ntention was good in
wis h ing to comm u ni c ate wit h h er brother and that t hi s ,

was only to be accomplished by t h e study of the o c c ult

sciences in w h ic h she migh t make rapid progress if
,

she would follo w h is directions unquestioningly .

”

I n th is way like anothe r J ason stee r ing his Argos

,

s h ip of Egyptian M ason ry clea r of the rocks and

quicksands he sough t to round t h e cape of suspicion
,

and come to a safe ancho r age in por t But thoug h b e .

handled t h e h elm wit h cons u mmate skill as the Countess ,

h erself afterwards acknowledged it was a perilous sea ,

on w h ic h he sailed U nquestioning obedience t h e .

,

Counte s s declared she could not promise him

, .

“
God H imself s h e said “ ”
c ould not induce me
, ,

to act again s t w h at my con s cience tells me is right and

w r ong .
”

“
T h en you condemn Abra h am for offering up his
son ? ”
was C agl i o s tro s curious rejoinder I n h is
’
.

place what would you h ave done

,
? ”

I would have said replied t h e Counte s s : O

k
,

God kill Thou my son with a flash of Thy l ightning if

,

T h ou requirest his life ; but as m e not to s lay my

child w h om I do not think guilty of death
, .

With such a woman wha t is a Cagliost r o to do ?

,

I 33
 C agl io s tro
P r evented so to speak by t h is flaw
in t h e wind fr om

k
, ,

coming to ancho r in th e harbou r of h e r u nquestioning

fait h i n h im h e sough t to reac h port by eeping u p
,

h e r h opes To reconcile h e r to t h e magical operations

.

he was obliged to perfo r m in order to r etain h is

influence upon t h e v o n Me de ms h e finally promised ,

he r a magic dream i n w h ich h e r b r ot h er would

“ ”

appea r to h e r .

From t h e manner in w h ic h Cagliostro p r oceeded to

pe r fo r m this p h enomenon one may obtain an idea of ,

the nature and extent of his ma r vellous powers As .

heretofore his effects h ad been produced by h ypnotic

s uggestion accompanied by every accessory calculated
,

t o assi s t it s o now h e proceeded o n simila r lines

,
.

T h at the t h ough ts of ot h ers besides h imself s h o u ld b e

concentrated on t h e magic dream t h e relations of
“
,

the Co u ntess as well as h ersel f we r e duly agitated by

, ,

i t s expectation With an ai r of great mystery w h ic h

.
,

Cagliost r o could make so impressive h e delivered to ,

Count v o n M edem a Sealed envelope conta i n i ng he ,

said a question w h ic h h e h oped by th e dream to h ave

, ,

answered At nigh t befo r e the Counte s s retired h e

.
, ,

broke the silence wh ic h he had imposed on her and h e r

relations during t h e day to refer once more to th e
dream wit h the obj ec t of still further exciting th e
,

imagination of all concerned whose thoughts were ,

fixed upon t h e com ing apparition of t h e dead until ,

t he p r ophecy like many anot h e r worked its own

, ,

fulfilment .

But this cu nningl y cont r ived artifice familiar to ,

magicians in all ages and frequen t ly c r owned wit h ,

success was defeated on the present occasion by th e

,

h ealth of th e Countes s whose ne r ves we r e so excited ,

1 34
 C agl io s tro
Suc h was the state of affairs when Cagliost r o
accompanied t h e v o n Me de m s to W il z e n to prove t h e
existence of the buried treasur e h e h ad so craftily
located I n spite of h is great confidence in himself he
.
,

must h ave r ealized that t h e task h e h ad so r ashly

unde r taken at W i l z e n was o n e that would require
exceptional cunning to S hirk F o r the chance of
.

finding a trea s u r e said to h ave been bu r ied h und r eds

of yea r s befo r e was even smalle r than t h at on w h ic h
h e counted of evoking t h e spirit of t h e Countess s ’

broth er B ut in this case strange to say it was not

.
, ,

h is failure to produce th e t r easure but t h e magic he

“
,

successfully employed to conceal his failu r e t h at was to

ca u se h im t h e most concern .

IV
Conscio u s t h at t h e Co u ntess s fait h in h im was
’

shaken by his fail u re to give h er t h e consolation s h e so

greatly desi r ed Cagl iostro requested t h ey should travel
,

i n the same ca rr iage i n orde r that he migh t have t h e

oppo r tunity to clear h imsel f of h e r suspicion s as to h is
since r ity T h e ve r y boldness o f such a r equest was
.

sufficient to disa r m h er S h e h e r self has confessed in

.
,

t h e book from w h ic h t h ese details h ave been drawn ,

t h at h is conversation was suc h as to c r eate in he r

“

a g r eat reverence fo r his mo r al c h a r acte r w h ilst his ,

s u btle observations on mankind i n gene r al astonis h ed

h e r as g r eatly as h is magical ope rations .
”

F r om the manner howeve r in which he faced the

, ,

difficulty he does not appea r to have been in t he least

,

appre h ensive of the consequences of failing to surmount

it The Countess was once mo r e h is a r dent discipl e
.

1 3 6
 M as k e d an d U n m as k e d
t h e von Me de ms belief in ’
again s t magic was p r oof
unsuccessful experiments ; and H a n a c h i e l — invaluable
H an ac h i e l — was always on hand to explain his failures
as well as his successes .

On ar r iving at Alt Auz as the von M edem estate -

,

at W i lz e n was named Cagliost r o p r oduced from his ,

pocket a littl e red book and r ead aloud in an u n

“
,
”
k nown tongue The Countess who believed him to
.
,

be p r aying ventured to inte r rupt him as they drove

,

th r ough the haunted fo r est in whic h th e t r easure was

said to be bu r ied H ereupon h e cried out in wild
.

“
zeal Oh Great Architect of the U n iverse help m e
, , ,

to accomplish this wo r k A bit of theatricality that .

”

much imp r essed h is companion and wh ich was all the ,

mo r e effective fo r being natural to him .

T h e v o n Me de ms we r e eager to begin digging for

the treasu r e as soon as t h ey alighted Cagliost r o .
,

h owever afte r withd rawing t o commune in solitude

“
,

with H an ac h i e l declared t h at the t r easure was

,
”

guarded by very powerful demons w h om it was

dange r o u s to oppose wit h out taking clue p r ecautions .

To prevent them from spi riting it away without h i s

knowledge he pe r formed a l ittle incantation w h ic h
”

was supposed to bind H an ac h i e l to keep an eye on

them The n ext day to b r eak t h e fall so to speak
.
, , ,

of the high h opes the v o n Me de ms h ad built on the

buried treasure h e h eld a séance in which the infant
,
’

medium was again t h e c h ief actor The child hold .

”
i ng a large iron nail and with only a screen between ,

it and the other members of the party having pre ,

s u mab l
y been hypnotized 1
by Cagl iost r o — described
1
T he “
m ag i c ai l h l d by th e c h i l d h a
n e a s tro g fami l y s n

res emb l a ce to M es mer s é ag t di vi atoi e T h e famo us di ov y

n
’
ue n r . sc er

I S7
 C agl io s tro
t h e site of the buried treasure the demon t h at gua r ded ,

it the t r easure itself and

,
“
seven angels in long ,

white r obes who helped H an ac h i e l keep an eye on

the guardian of the treasu r e At the command of .
”

Cagliost r o t h e child kissed and was kis s ed by these , ,

angels And to the amazement of those in th e room

.
,

wi t h only t h e sc r een between t hem and t h e child th e ,

so u nd of the ki s ses says the Countess von der Recke, ,

could be distinctly heard .

S imila r S ean c e s took place eve r y day du r ing t h e

eigh t days t h e von M edem party stayed at Alt Auz -
.

At one the Countess he r self was i nduced to ente r t h e

magic circle holding a magic watch in he r hand ,
”

w h ile the little medium assisted by t h e representative ,

of the G r an d C o p h ta in his t ur n assisted by H an ach i e l

, ,

read he r th ough ts .

But unlike h e r fathe r an d u ncle while the i m

, ,

p r ession these p h enomena made u pon h er mind was

p rofound it was also un favou rable T h oug h curiosity
, .

caused her to witness these séances the Countess v o n ,

de r Recke st r ongly disapp r oved of them on r eligious

“

g r o u nds Like many anot h e r w h at she could not

.
,

explain s h e rega r ded as evil The phenomena she

, .

witnessed appea r ed so uncanny that she believed

t h em to be directly inspired by the powe r s of darkness .

At first i n he r admiration of Cagliost r o sh e p r ayed

,
,

t h at he migh t escape temptation an d be preserved

fr om the demons wit h w h ic h it was but too evident to
h e r h e was surrounded When at last he decla r ed .

t hat he was informed by the eve r attendant H an ach i el -

of M m r it i
es ely dl , s s c arc e n ee es s to s ay, ly
was mere an a tt mpt
e to
e xpl i i tifi ll y p w h
an s c en ca o ers t e u s es o f whi h h d bc a ee n k w
no n to
ac l h m t fr m t i m i mm m i l
e
.

is s o e e or a .

1 3 8
 C agl io s tro
he r confidence in h is sincerity H e pe r ceived howeve r .
, ,

that the interest he excited was on the wane and ,

wisely took advantage of what he knew to be the r igh t

moment to depart .

H oping by the aristoc r atic connections he h ad

made i n Mi ttau to g ain access to the highest ci r cles i n
Russia he decided to go to S t Petersbu rg
,
H is . .

intention was r eceived wit h d ismay by those w h om

his magical phenomena had so astonished T he v o n .

Me de ms heaped p r esents on him “

From o n e he .

received a gift of 8 0 0 ducats from th e othe r a ve r y ,

valuable diamond ring E ven the Countess von d er

.

Recke hersel f though she made no attempt to detain

,

h im p roved that sh e at least believed him to be a man

,

of hono ur .

A day o r two befo r e h is depa r tu r e being at some ,

“
Court function he recognized old friends in some
,

large and fine pearls t h e Duchess of Cou r land was

wea r ing wh ich he Said reminded him of some pearls
, , ,

’
of his wife s that he had increased i n size by a process
known to h imsel f and sold fo r the ben efit of a bank
rupt friend in H olland The Countess v o n der Recke .

he r eupon de s i r ed him to do t h e same with he r s .

Cagliostro howeve r r efused as h e was going away

“
, , , ,

and the O peration would take too long N or would .

”

h e t ake them with him to Russia as the Countess ,

u rged and retu r n them when t he process was com

,

pl ote A st r iking instance of his integrity from an

.
,

authentic sou r ce that h is p r ej udiced b iographe r s have

,

always seen fit to igno r e .

I f t h e above is cha r acteristic of C agl i o s tro s honesty ’

the following episode also related by th e Countess is

, ,

equally Characte r istic of h is vanity I nforming him .

1 4 0
 M as ke d an d U n m as k e d
on c e t h at she was wri t ing to Lavater and wished to
gi v e him the details of a certain conversation he ,

obj ected.

“
Wait twelve mont h s said he ,
“
and when you ,

write c all me only Count C Lavater will ask you I s

.
,

not this the Great Cagliost r o and you will then be

able to r eply I t
,
‘

As t h e u nfavourable O pinion t h e Countess v o n der

Recke subsequently formed of Caglio s tro whos e path
'

n ever c rossed he r s again has on ac c ount of he r

, ,

deservedly high reputa t ion been largely r esponsible

,

for the hostili t y wit h whi c h hi s tory has rega r ded him ,

it is but fair t o explain how she came to reve r se the

favourable opinion s he had p r evio u sly entertained .

T h e value of h e r evidence indeed r ests not so

, ,

muc h on h e r wor d whic h nobody would dream of

,

questioning but on t h e man n e r in w h ic h she obta i ned

,

—
he r evidence I t was not till 1 78 4 fiv e years afte r
.

Cagliostro h ad left Mi ttau t h at the Countess v o n der

—
Recke came to r egard him as an impostor To t h is .

opinion s h e w as converted by one B ode w h om s h e

met in Weimar and who sh e says gave h er the
,
“
,

fullest info r mation concerning Cagliostro .

”

B ode was a F r eemason of th e Order o f St r ict

Observance w h o had j oined t he I lluminés and was
intimately acquainted wit h Weishaupt the founde r of ,

the sect As it is gen erally assumed t h at Cagliostro

.

was also an I lluminé Bode n o doubt had excellent

,

means of observing him The value of his O pinion

.
,

howeve r is considerably lowe r ed by t h e fact t h at

,

Cagliostro afterwards wit h drew from the I lluminés

when he h ad succeeded in turning h is connection wit h
14 1
 C agl io s tro
t h em to t h e account of Egyptian M a s onry U nde r .

the circumstances B ode w h o afterwards became th e

,

leader of t h e I lluminés would not be likely to view

,

Cagl iost r o in a favou r able lig h t .

The fa c t mo r eover that it took t h e Countess v o n

, ,

der Recke five years to make up her mind t h at h er

apostle of lig h t was an impostor was perh aps due ,

less to any absolute fait h i n B ode t h an to the changes

that h ad taken place in h e r self during thi s pe r iod .

O n recove r ing he r h ealth s h e became as pronou nced

a r ationalist as s h e had fo r merly been a m ystic As .

t his c h ange occurred about t h e period of he r meeting

.

wi t h Bode it may possibly account fo r the c h ange in

,

he r opinion of Cagliost r o .

But if t h e man ne r i n w h ich t h e Co u ntess came to

regard Cagliostro as an impostor somewhat det r acts
from the importance to be attached to her opin ion ,

t he manner in whic h s h e made h e r opinion publi c was

u nworthy of a woman to whose character this O pinion
owes the importance attributed to it Fo r this bo r n .

fair saint as Carlyle call s h er waited till t h e D iamond

”
,

N ecklace Affai r when Cagliostro was t h oroug h ly

,

discredited before ventu r ing to expose him

,
“
.

Very c u rio u s to relate all that is known of

,

C agl i o s tro s visit to S t P etersburg is based on a few

’
.

contradictory rumou r s of the most questionable au th e n

ti c i ty
. This is all the mo r e remarkable considering as ,

the Coun t ess v o n de r Recke he r self states t h at he left ,

Mi ttau in a blaze of glory reg r etted hono ur ed and

, , ,

142
 g l O S tI O
‘

resou r ceful when h is situation seemed utterly u ntenable .

That h e would h ave seen his prestige destroyed i n

this way without attempting to save i t is far from
likely and though t h e fact that St Pete r sburg i s the
,
.

only city in w h ich Cagliostro failed to establis h a lodge

of Egyptian M asonry may be r ega r ded as proof of
the fu t ility of h is efforts the nature of ot h e r rumours
,

concerning h im leads one to suppose t h at h e st r ove

ha r d to r egain t h e ground he had lost .

I t was no doubt with this obj ect that he tu r ned

, ,

his knowledge of medicine and chemist r y to account .

I t is in St Pete r sbu rg t h at he is h eard of for t h e first

.

time as a “
h eale r Acco r ding h owever to the
”
, ,

va gu e and h ostile rumours p ur po r ting to emanate

from Russia at the time of the D iamond N ecklace
Affai r h e was a quack devoid of knowledg e o r
skill
A bald maj o r says t h e I nquisition biographe r
,
-
,

“
entrusted his head to h is ca r e but he could not ,

make a singl e h ai r grow A blin d gentleman who

.

consulted him r emained blind ; while a deaf I talian ,

into whose ea r s h e dropped some liq u id became still ,

mo re de af .

As a few mont h s later Cagliost r o was perform i ng

t h e most ma r vellous cu r es at Strasbu r g and was fo r ,

years visited by invalids fr om all ove r E urope may ,

we not assume that in t h is instanc e malice only

publishe d h is failu r es and supp r essed his successes ?
These r umou r s h oweve r we r e by no means
, ,

damaging enoug h to pleas e t h e M a r quis de Luc h et ,

wh o h ad no sc r uples about inven t ing what h e con

anecdotes T h e following
k
“
s i de re d characteristic .

story d r awn from h is spurious Memoi r es A u t en ti gues

'

is worth repeating less as an ill u stration of his

,

1 44
 inventi v e powers than fo r the sake of nailing a popula r
lie
D eath h e writes ,
“
th r eatened to dep r ive a ,

R ussian lady of an idolized infan t aged two She .

promised Cagliost r o 5 0 0 0 louis if he saved its life .

H e undertook to restore it to health in a week if s h e

would su ffer hi m to remove the babe to h i s house The .

dist r essed mother j oyfully accepted t h e proposal O n .

the fifth day he informed her the r e was a marked

improvement and at the end of the week declared that
,

his patient was cu r ed Three weeks elapsed h owever .

, ,

before he would restore the c h ild to its mot h e r All .

St Petersburg r ang with t h e news of t h is ma r vellous

.

cure and talked of the mysterious man w h o was able

,

to c h eat deat h of its prey B ut soon it was rumou r ed .

t h at t h e child which was returned to t h e moth er was

not the one w h ich h ad been taken away The au tho ri .

ties looked into t h e matter and Cagliostro was obliged ,

to confess t h at t h e babe h e restored was substituted

for the real one which had died J ustice demanded the
, .

body of the latte r but Cagliostro could not produce it

, .

H e had burnt it he said t o test the t h eo r y of , ,

‘

’
reincarnation Ordered to repay the 5 00 0 louis he had
.

r eceived he offe red bills of exch ange on a Prussian

,

banke r As h e professed to be a colonel in the service

.

of the K ing of Prussia t he bills were accepted but on

1
, ,

being presented for payment we r e dishonou r ed The .

matter was the r efore b r ought to t h e no t ice of Count

von Goertz the Pru s sian E nvoy at St Petersburg
, .
,

who obtained an o r der fo r his a r rest This is the true .

explanation of his sudden departu r e .

Thi m h b
1
s s ee s gg t d
to av e een s u es e to de h t by h
L uc e t e Cou r i er
p w h i h t t d th t C g l i t b mi g F mas o n ,
’
d l E
e u r o e, c s a e a a o s ro, o n ec o n a re e

d i b d h i m l f C l l f h Br
es cr e se as
“
o on e o t e an d enb rg gi m t
u re en .
”

L 14 5
 C agl io s tro
Rumou r h oweve r differed widely fr om de Luchet
, , .

Fo r at the same time that d Luchet declared e

Cagliost r o to be po ing as a Prussian colonel h e s

is also said to have donned the un iform o f a col onel

in the Spani s h service and assu med the title o f ,

Prince de Santa Cruce B ut fa r fr om being t r eated .

with t he respect u sually paid to any h igh sounding -

title and uniform in R u ssia t h is p r ince colonel docto r ,

-

excited the s u s picions of M de N o rm an de z t h e .

,

Span ish c h arge d affai r es at the Russian Cou r t w h o

’

demanded his passport as proof of h is identity To .

fo rge one would have been easy fo r Giuseppe B alsamo ,

w h o had a talent i n that line one would t h ink ,

.

As h e failed h owever to adopt th is very simple ex

, ,

e di e n t A l m
’

p , M d . é ras his latest and least p j

re u ,

diced biog r apher is forced to th e conclusion t h at

,

he had long given up t h e p r ofession of fo rger

Freemasonry being responsible fo r h is renunciation !
The conception of Cagliostro as B alsamo reformed by
Freemasonry is th e mo s t singular and unconvincing
explanation eve r Offered o f t h is strange man .

At any rate th e Prince de Santa Cruce could

,

neith er produce a pas s port nor fo rge one and hea r ing , ,

that a warrant was about to be issued for his arrest he ,

made haste t o disappear Tha t suc h an adventu r e r .

was actually in S t Petersburg when Cagliostro was

.

there is h ig h ly probable and no doubt accounts for ,

rumour confounding them several years late r B ut that .

Cagliostro bearing letters of in t roduction from the

,

greatest families in Courland should h ave adopted any ,

other name t h an that whic h he bore i n M itta n is

inconceivable .

St ill more absurd is the rumour that th e E mpress

1 46
 C agl io s tro
inj ured him in t h e opinion of his forme r admi r ers in
Courland who from t h ei r hig h po sition and close con
, ,

n e c ti o n with t he Russian official wo r ld would have ,

been well informed of all that befell h im Fo r by .

one of them as we are told on the best authority

k k
, ,

he was fu r nished with int r oductions to P r ince Adam

Po n i n s i and Count Mo c z i n s i w h ic h h e p r esented on ,

his a rr ival in Wa r saw .

N ow Wa r saw society l ike t h at of Mi ttau was on t h e

, ,

most intimate terms with t h e great wo r ld of S t Pete r s .

burg H ad Cagliostro masqueraded in Russia as a

.

bogus Prince de Santa C ruce o r a sw i ndling Prussian

colonel or h ad h is wife excited t h e j ealousy of t h e
,

E mp r ess C at h erine the fact would h ave been known

,

—
in Wa r saw if not before h e a r rived t h e r e ce r tainly ,

befo r e h e left O f one th ing we may be absolutely

.

su r e t h e anonymous aut h o r o f Cagl i os tr o demas gu e d

,
‘ ’

Var s ov i e woul d not h ave failed to mention a scandal

so much to t h e point As a matte r o f fact w h ile
.
,

denouncing C agliost r o as an impostor t h is h ostile ,

witn ess even speaks of t h e ma r vels h e pe r fo r med i n

“

Russia .

N oth i ng coul d have been mo r e flattering to ,

Cagliostro than t h e welcome h e r eceived on h is ar r ival

in Warsaw in M ay 1 7 8 0 Poland like Cou rland was

k
.
, ,

one of the strongholds of F r eemason r y and occultism .

Prince Po n i n s i w h o was as g r eat a devotee to magic

,

and alc h emy as t h e v o n Me de ms i nsisted on t h e ,

wonder worke r and h is wife staying at h is ho u se

-
.

Finding th e soil so admirably adapted to the seed h e

had to s o w Cagliostro began at once to preac h t h e

k
,

gospel h e had so muc h at heart T h e conver s ion of .

Po n i n s i to Egyptian M a s onry was followed by that of

1 4 8
 M as k e d an d U n mas k e d
t h e g r eate r part of Polis h society Within a mont h of .

h is a rr ival h e h ad establis h ed at Wa rsaw a M asonic

lodge i n wh i c h t h e Egyptian Rite was observed

k
.

I t was not howeve r by Cagl i o s tro s ideals that

, ,
’

Po n i n s i and h is fr iends we r e attracted but by h i s ,

t

power to gratify thei r c raving for s ensation N o specula .

tions in pu r e mysticism d l a Saint M artin for t h em - :

t h ey were occult materialists and demanded of the ,

supernatural p r actical tangible manifestations

, .

As unde r similar circumstances at Mi ttau Cagl iostro ,

h ad found it convenient to encou r age t h e abuses he

h ad p rofessed to denounce h e h ad no compunction ,

about followi ng t h e same co u rse at Warsaw B ut it .

evidently did not come easy to h im to p r ostitute his

ideal j udging from t h e awkwardness wit h whic h h e
,

adapted h imself to t h e co nditions it entailed .

At fi r st apa r t fr om certain r emarkable faculties h e

,

possessed and a so r t of dilettante knowledge of magic

and alc h emy h e lacked bot h skill and experience I n
, .

Mi ttau w h ere his caree r as a wonde r worker may first

,
-

fairly be said to begin h e failed as often as h e suc

,

c e e de d
. T h at the ph enomena h e faked were no t
detected at the time was due to luck wh ich to judge , ,

from ru mo ur appears almost enti r ely to h ave deserted

,

h im in S t Pete r sburg
. .

I n Warsaw too h e was still fa r from expert H ere

, , .
,

in spite of t h e precaut i ons he took he found h imself ,

called upon to pass an examination in alchemy a ,

s ubj ect fo r w h ic h h e was unprepa r ed and failed ,

miserably .

I n the opinion of t h e indignant Pole w h o caught

h im c r ibbing so to speak if h e knew a little mo r e
“
,
” “
,

of optics aco u stics mechan ics and p h ysics gene r ally

, , ,

149
 C agl i o s tro

if he h ad studied a little the tricks of Comus and

P h iladelphus what suc cess mig h t he not h ave with his
,
’

rep u ted skill in counte r feiting w r iting ! I t is only

necessa r y fo r h im to go into partne r s h ip wit h a ven
q
t ri l o u i s t i n o r der to play a muc h mo r e impo r tant pa r t

th an he has h ith e r to done H e s h ould add to th e .

trifling sec r ets h e possesses by r eading some g ood book

on c h emistry .
”

But it is by fail ur e t h at o n e gains experience As .

Cagliost r o was quick and intelligent and h ad a fo r e ,

h ead o f brass that noth ing could abash by t h e time ,

”

he had r eac h ed S t r asbu rg he was a past master of the -

occult h aving brou ght h is powers to a high state of

,

pe r fection as well as being able on occasion to fake a

, , ,

phenomenon wit h consummate skill .

T h ere are two accounts o f h is adventures in

Wa r saw one favourable t h e other unfavourable T h e
— , .

latte r it is scarcely necessary to say is t h e one by

, ,

w h ic h h e has been j udged I t dates as usual fr om t h e

.
, ,

—
pe r iod of t h e N ecklace Affair that is six yea r s after ,

t h e events it describes I t is by an anonymous write r

.
,

who obtained h is info r mation se c ond h an d from an -

“
eye witness one Count M
-
, E ven Ca r lyle refuses
.
”

to damn h is A r c h Q uack on such evidence T h i s

“ -
”
.

vial of vitriol flung by an u nknown and h ostile h and

,

at t h e Grand C Oph ta of Egyptian M ason ry i n his h ou r

of adve r sity is called Cag l i os tr o demas gu e a Var s ov i e
,
’ ’

N eve r t h eless contemptible and questionable tho u gh

,

it is th e i mp r es s i on it conveys if not the actual

, ,

account is confirmed b y M adam e B o h me r wife of the

, ,

j ewelle r in the N ecklace Affair M adame B Ohme r s .

’

tes t imony is t h e more valuable in t h at it was given

befor e t h e anonymous writer flung h is vitriol .

1 5 0
 C agl io s tro
magical séances simila r to t h ose at Mi tt au , adding
sleigh t f hand t r icks to h is predictions and
-
o -
“
divina
”
tions by col omées .

U nfortunately t h e occ u ltists of Wa r saw were prin

,

c i al l
p y inte r ested in the supernatural properties of t h e
c rucible . T hey were c r azy on the subj ect of alc h emy ,

and t h e pursuit of t h e secret of th e transmutation of

base metals into gold H aving be n t t h e knee to magic
.
,

in w h ic h at least b y vi r tue o f h is o wn occult gift s h e

, ,

could appear to advantage Cagliost r o ras h ly— com ,

p olled by necessity pe rh aps rat h e r t h an vanity in

, ,

this instance assumed a knowledge of w h ic h h e was

—
igno r ant r elying on making gold by sleigh t o f h and
,
- -
.

Alas ! Count M h ad devoted his l ife to the sub

“
.
”

je ct
, of wh ich it did not take h im long to discover
Cagliost r o knew next to not h ing I ndignant t h at one .

w h o h ad not even learnt t h e alp h abet of alc h emy

s h ould u ndertake to instruct h im of all people h e laid ,

the trap described by M adame B ohme r I t was not .

,

h owever at t h e Royal Palace that t h e exposu r e took

,

place that caused Cagliost r o to leave Poland b u t at a ,

country seat near Wa r saw M oreover if we are to .

,

believe Count“
Cagliost r o did not wait to be
exposed but suspecting w h at was a foot decamped
,
“ -
,

during t h e nigh t .

N ow on t h e st r engt h of M adame B o hme r s e v i

,
’

—
dence not given by h e r in person by t h e way but , ,

q u ote d by the Countess de Lamotte in h e r defence at

—
t he N ecklace t r ial while t h ere seems to be little doubt
th at the statement of t h e anonymous Count M is
“
.
”

1 5 2
 M as k e d an d U n m as k e d
substantially correct there ,
is nevert h eless
anothe r , ,

and a favourable — account of Cagliostro in Poland I t

k
.

h as t he advantage of being neit h er anonymous no r

dated like t h e Countess v o n der R e c e s book years
,
’

after the events it relates I t is from a letter written

.

by Laborde t he Farmer General who happened to be

,
-
,

in Warsaw when Cagliostro was there The letter .

bears the date of 1 7 8 1 which was t h at of the year

,

after the following episodes occu r red .

“
Cagliostro wri t es Labo r de was some time at
,
“
,

Warsaw and several times had h ad the honour of

,

meeting Stan islas Augustus One day as t h is monarch .

,

was expressing h is great admiration fo r his powe r s ,

which appea r ed to him supernatural a youn g lady of t h e ,

Cou r t who had listened attentively to him began to

laugh declaring that Cagliostro was nothing but an
,

impostor S he said she was s o ce r tain of it that s h e

.

would defy him to tell h e r certain t h ings t h at h ad

h appened to h er .

The next day the K ing informed th e Count of

t his c h allenge who r eplied coldly that if the lady would
,

meet him i n the pre s ence of H is M aj esty h e would ,

cause he r th e greatest s urprise s h e had e v er known in

her life The p r oposal w as accepted and the Count
.
,

told the lady all that she thought it impossible for h im

to know The surprise this occasioned h e r caused her
.

to pass so r apidly from incredulity to admiration t h at

s h e had a burning desire to know what was to happen
t o her in the future .

“
At first he refused to tell h e r but yielding to h er ,

entreaty and per h aps to gratify the curio s ity of the

,

K ing he said
,

“
You will so o n make a long j ourney in cou r se of ,

I S3
 C agl io s tro
w h ic h yo ur ca r riage will meet wit h an accident and , ,

w h ilst you a r e waiting for the re pa i r s to be made t h e ,

manne r in which you are d r e s sed will excite such

mer r iment i n the crowd t h at you will be pelted wit h
apples You will go from there to some famous water
.

ing place w h e r e you will meet a man of h igh birt h to

-
, ,

whom you will s h o r tly afterward s be wedded T h ere .

will be an attempt to p r event you r ma rr iage which will ,

cause you to be foolis h enoug h to make over to h im

you r fo r tune You will be mar r ied i n a city in w h ich I
.

s h all be and in spite of you r effo r ts to see me you will

, , ,

not succeed You a r e th r eatened wit h g r eat m i s fo r

.

tunes but h ere is a talisman by which you may avoid

,

them so long as you keep it B ut if you a r e prevented

,
.

from making ove r your fo r t u n e to you r h usband in

you r mar r iage contract yo u will immediately lose t h e
talisman and t h e moment yo u cease to h ave it it will
, , ,

ret ur n to my pocket w h e r ever I may be .

’

“
I do not know continues Labo r de w h at c o n fi
,
”
“
,

dence t h e K ing and the lady placed in t h ese p r e

di c tions but I know t h at t h ey were all fulfilled I h ave
, .

had th is on the aut h o r ity of seve r al pe r sons as wel l ,

as t h e lady h e rself also fr om Cagliostro who desc r ibed ,

i t in precisely t h e same words I do not gua r antee .

eit h er its tr u th or its falsity and as I do not p r etend to

, ,

be an exact histo r ian I shall not indulge in t h e smallest

,
”
refl ection .

1 54
 C agl io s tro
1
as s u med to be the I lluminés I f this assu mption be .

true— and wit h out it h is mode of life in S trasburg i s

u tterly inexplicable— h i s initiation could only have
taken place at this period and probably at Frankfo r t , , ,

whe r e K nigge one of the leaders o f the I llumin é s h ad

, ,

h is head quarters -
.

As K nigge was a membe r of t h e O rde r of S trict

Observance in t h e lodges of which t h roughout Ger
,

many C agl i o s tro s reputation as a wonde r worker stood

’
-

high h e had undoubtedly h eard of h im if he was not

, ,

personally acquainted wi t h h im K nigge moreove r .

, ,

was ju s t t h e man to appre c iate th e possibilities of su c h

a reputation i n obtaining r ec r uits for I lluminism .

N othing i s more reasonable then t h an to assume t h at , ,

ce r tain members of the I lluminés made overtures at

F r ankfort to Cagliostro w h o one can i magine would , , ,

have readily accepted them as t h e means of recovering

the influence and prestige h e h ad lost in Poland .

H is initiation acco r ding to the I nquisition bio ,

-

graphe r took place in a g r otto a s h ort distance from

,

the city I n th e centre on a table was an iron c h est

.
, , ,

from which K nigge or h is deputy took a manuscript .

On the first page Cagliost r o perceived the wo r ds We ,

t/i e G r an d Mas ter s of té e T e mp l ar s Then followed .

the fo r mula of an oath wri t ten in blood to which ,

eleven signat ur es were appended and w h ich sign ified ,

t h at I lluminism was a conspiracy against th r ones Th e .

first blow was to he s t r uck i n F r ance and afte r t h e , ,

1
As an a en g t
gl i tr w l d h b q it
of th e I ll iI mi n é s , C a os o ou av e e en u e
free f d l dg f E gypti M ry M y E gypti
to ou n o es o an as o n an an
M w r l I ll mi é t b l y S i f B al h b k r f
.

as o n s e e a so u n s, n o a araz n o e, t e an e o

b th i ti I j i i g h I ll mi é th r f r C gli t w l d
o s oc e es . n o n n t e u n s, e e o e, a os ro ou
n ot l y h f t h r d th i r i t r t b h
on av e ur i d y
e e e n e es s , ut ave rec e v e e v er
i t fr m th m i r t r
.

as s s an c e o e n e u n .

1 5 6
 Co n q u e s t o f the Card i n al
T he

f l l of t h e mona r chy
a Rome was to be attacked
, .

Cagliostro moreover learnt that the society had r ami

, ,

fi ti
ca everywhere and possessed immense s u ms in
ons ,

banks in Amster dam Rotterdam London Genoa and

, , , ,

Venice T h is mon ey was furnis h ed by an annual sub

.

scription of twenty fiv e l iv r es paid by eac h membe r

-
.

On taking the oath which included a v o w of

,

se c recy Cagliost r o i s p r esumed to have r eceived a

,

large s u m destined to defray the expenses of p ro pa

,

ganda and to have proceeded immediately in

, ,

acco r dance with inst ru ctions to St r asburg w h e r e he

, ,

ar r ived on Septembe r 1 9 1 7 8 0 ,
.

II
From t h e natu r e of his ent r y into t h e capital of
Al s ace it is certain t h at great pains had been taken i n
,

advance to exci t e public interest in h im T h e fabulou s .

Palladium could not have been welcomed with greater

demonstrations of j oy F r om early morning c r owds of
.

people waited on t h e Pont de Koch] and on bot h banks

of the Rhine fo r t h e a r rival of a mysterious pe r sonage
w h o was reported to go from city to city healing t he
sick wo r king miracles and distributing alms I n the
, , .

crowd speculations we r e rife as to h i s mysterious o r igin ,

his mysterious travels in strange and remote countries ,

and of the my s te r ious source of his immense wealth .

Some regarded him as one inspi r ed a saint or a ,

proph et possessed of the gift of m iracles To othe rs .

,

the cures attributed to him we r e th e natural result of

his g r eat lea r ning and occult powe r s Yet anot h er .

group saw in him an evil genius a devil sent into the ,

world on some diabolic mi s sion Among t h ese how .

,

I S7
 C agl io s tr o
—
eve r and t h ey we r e not t h e least —
numerous t h e r e
were s ome more favourable to Ca glio s tro and who , ,

considering that after all he only did good inferred ,

logically that if s u pe r n atural he must be a good rat h e r

, , ,

than an evil genius ,

.

Suddenly speculation was silenced by the approach

,

of th e being who h ad excited it T h e r umbling of .

w h eels the clatter o f hoofs the cracking of whips was

, ,

heard and out of a cloud of dust appeared a ca r riage

,
-

drawn by six horses and accompanied by la c queys and ,

outriders i n magnificen t liveries Within rode t h e .

Grand Co ph ta th e H ig h P riest of Myste r y wit h h is

, ,

“
hai r in a net and wearing a blue coat c ove r ed wit h
,
”

gold braid and precious stones B izarre t h ough h e was .

wit h h is circus rider s spl endou r the manne r in w h ic h

-
’

h e acknowledged th e vivats of th e crowd th rough1

which he pas s ed was not wit h out dignity H is wife .

,

who sat bes ide h im sparkling with youth beauty and , , ,

diamonds s hared the curio s ity h e excited I t was a

, .

veritable triumphal progres s .

T h e advantage to whic h suc h an ovation could be

turned was not to be neglected Fond of luxury and .

aristocratic society though h e was Cagliostro was ,

not t he man to despise popularity in any form t h at it

presented it s elf H aving lo s t the influence of th e
.

great by means of whom h e had counted to establi s h

,

Egyptian M asonry h e was anxiou s to secure that of ,

the masses So g r eat was the importance h e attached

.

to th e interest h e had aroused h e even took up his ,

1
t y th t it w i t r pt d by h dd pp
T he s or a f as n e ru e t e su en a e aran ce o

Maran o ,f i l y d m di g f C gl i t h ixty
ur ou s f g ld
e an n o a o s ro t e s o u n c es o o

th t G i pp B l m h d d f d d h i m f y b f r P l m
a use e a sa o a e rau e o ears e o e in a er o,
i
s a pr i i fh M qi d L ht
u e n v en t o n o t e ar u s e uc e .

1 5 8
 Cagl io s tro
obliged t h e one h e chose in his place as I h ave been ,

informed by s everal people to s ell his remedies at so

,

low a price that the fellow made scarcely anything by

t h e sale of th em .

“
H e would take moreove r neithe r payment nor
, ,

pre s en t for h i s labour I f a present was offe r ed him of

.

a sort impossible to r efuse without offence he imme ,

di ate l y made a count er p r esent of equal o r even of

h ighe r value I ndeed he not only took nothing from
.
,

h i s patients but if they were very poor h e supported

,

them for months ; at times even lodging t h em i n h is

own h ouse and feeding t h em fr om his own table .
”

III

At first only the poor r eceived attention fr om

,

Cagliostro I f a ric h invalid desired h is attendance he

.

referred h im to th e r egular doctors Though such an .

attitude was well calculated to att r act attention it was ,

not as his enemies have decla r ed altogether prompted

, ,

by selfish conside r ations I n the disdain h e affected

.

for the ric h there was muc h r eal r esentment T h rough .

the rich and powerful h e had gained nothing but mo r

,

ti fic ati o n and disg r ace T h e circumstances unde r w h ic h

.

he was forced to flee from Warsaw must h ave wounded

to the quick a nature i n which inordinate van ity and
generosity were so cu r iously blended O f a ce r tainty .

it was not alone t h e hope of turning I lluminism to the

advantage of Egyptian M asonry that prompted h im
to join the I ll u minés i n h is hou r of humiliation I n .

I lluminism whose aim revolutionary t h ough it was

, , ,

like that of Egyptian M asonry was also inspi r ed with ,

t he love of h umanity Cagliostro had seen both a

,

1 60
 T he Co n qu e s t o f the C ardi n al
me an S
'

of rehabilitation and revenge

Of studied v e n .

e an c e h owever he was incapable ; the disdain wit h

g , ,

which h e t r eated t h e rich was th e extent of h is r ev e nge .

I ndeed s u sceptible as h e was to flattery it was not

, ,

long befo r e his r esentment was altogethe r appe ased .

But t h o u gh in spite of h is bitte r experience he was

, ,

even once mo r e tempted to co ur t t h e favour of th e

g r eat h e did so in quite a diffe r ent manne r H ence
, .

fo r th in pandering to t h ei r love of sensation h e took

, ,

ca r e to give them what fie saw fit and n o t as befo r e , , ,

what tb ey demanded .

Pa rticula rly was th is the cas e in the ex h ibitions h e

gave of h is occult powers I f as on p r evious occasions.
, ,

he h ad r ecou r se to artifice to obtain the effect he

desi r ed it was not detected I t is evident that h is
, .

unfortunate experiences in Wa r saw had taught h im the

wisdom of confining h imself solely to phenomena
within h is scope N 0 longe r does one h ea r of séances
.

a r ranged befo r e h and wit h t h e medi u m ; of fail ur es ,

expos ur es and h umiliations

, .

I f from some of h is prodigies t h e alch emists of t h e

pe r iod saw in him a s u ccesso r of t h e cleve r v e n tri l o
quist and p r estidigitato r Las c ari s fr om many others t h e ,

mediums of th e p r esent day in E ur ope and Ame r ica

might h ave r ecognized in h im t h ei r p r edecessor and
even thei r maste r in table t ur ning spi r it r apping clai r
-
,
-
,

voyance and evocations I n a word h e was no lon g e r

, .
,

an app r entice i n magic but an expe r t , .

As th e manifestations of t h e occult of w h ic h
C agliostro so to speak made a special ity we r e of a
, ,

clai r voyant characte r, some idea of the manne r in

w h ic h he h ad developed h is powe r s may be gat h e r ed
fr om t h e following account by a contempo rar y of a
M 16 1
 C agl io s tro
séance he h eld in St rasb urg with t h e c u stoma r y mé e
col o

and carafe .

Cagliost r o says this witness h aving an no u nced

,
“
,

t h at he was ready to answer any question p u t to him a ,

lady wish ed to know t h e age of he r h usband To this .

the col omée made no r eply whic h elicited g r eat applause

,

when the lady confessed sh e had no husband Another .

lady demanded an answe r to a q u estion w r itte n in a

sealed lette r s h e h eld in h e r h and T h e medium at .

o nce r ead in t h e ca r afe t h ese words : You shall not ‘

obtain it .
’
T h e lette r was opened t h e p ur po rt of the
,

q u estion being whet h er the commission in the a r my

whic h t h e lady solicited for her son would be acco r ded
'

h er As t h e reply was at least indicati ve of t h e

.

q u estion it was r eceived with appl ause

, .

A j u dge however w h o s u spected th at C agl i o s tro s

’

, ,

a n swe r s we r e t h e r esult of some t r ick secretly sent h is ,

son to h is h o u se to find out w h at his wife was doin g at

t h e time W h en he h ad depa r ted t h e fathe r put this
.

question to t h e G r and C o ph ta T h e m edi u m r ead

.

noth ing in the ca r afe but a voice anno u nced t h at t h e

,

lady was playing ca r ds wit h two o f h er neigh bou r s .

This myste r ious voice w h ic h was p r oduced by no

,

visible o rgan te rr ified t h e company ; and w h en t h e

,

son of the judge r etu r ned and confi r med the r esponse
of the o r acle seve r al ladies we r e so fr igh t e ned t h at
,

t h ey wit h d r ew .

A t Strasbu rg h e also told fo r tunes an d r ead t h e

k
,

fu tu r e as well as t h e past wit h an acc u racy t h at

astonis h ed even the sceptical M adame d O b e r i rch ’
.

O ne of th e most ext r ao r dina r y instances h e gave of h is

psyc h ic powe r was in p r edicting the deat h of the
E mp r ess Maria T h eresa .

162
 C agl io s tro
appea r ed to ba ffle him The g r ave r
the malady t h e
.

more resourceful h e became A woman about to be .

confined h aving been given up by the midwives who

, ,

doubted even t h ei r ab ility to save her child sent for ,

him i n he r ext r emity H e answered th e summons

.

immediately as was his custom and after a slight

, ,

examination guaranteed h e r a successful accouclzemen t .

What is mo r e to t h e point h e kept h is word , .

This case is wo r thy of note as being th e only

one on reco r d concerning which Cagliost ro g ave an
explanation of his success .

H e afte r wa r ds confessed to me says Gleic h en , ,

t h at his p r omise was r ash B ut convinced that the .

c h ild was in perfect h ealth by th e pulse of the umbilical

co rd and perceiving that the mothe r only lacked the
,

strengt h requi s ite to bring h er babe i nto the wo r ld ,

he had r elied on the virtue of a singula r ly soothing

remedy with w h ich h e was acquainted The result he .
,

conside r ed had been due to luck rat h e r t h an skill

, .
”

The most famous of all his cu r es was that of t h e

P r ince de Soubise a cousin of Cardinal de Rohan I n
, .

this case h oweve r it was th e rank of the patient even

, , ,

mo r e than the illness of which h e was cured that set ,

the seal to Cagl i o s tro s reputation Th e prince it

’
.
,

seems h ad been ill fo r some weeks an d t h e doctors

, , ,

aft e r diffe r ing widely as to t h e cause of h is malady ,

had finally pronounced his condition to be despe r ate .

The r eupon the Cardinal w h o h ad boundless confidence

,

i n C agl i o s tro s medical skill immediately ca rr ied him

’

off in his ca r riage to Paris to attend his co u sin simply ,

stating on a rr iving at the H Ote l de Soubise t h at he

, ,

had brought a docto r wit h ou t mentioning his name

“
, ,

lest t h e family influenced by t h e r egu la r physicians

, ,

1 64
 T he C ardi n al
Co n q u e s t o f th e

who r egarded him as a quack should r efuse his ,

services I t was perhaps a useless p r e aution fo r as

.
, , c , ,

the patient had just been given up by the do c tors the ,

family were willi n g enough to suffer e v en a quack to

do what h e could .

C agliostro at once requested all who we r e in the

si c k r oom to leave it What he did when he found him
-
.

self alon e with the prince was n ever known but after , ,

an h ou r he called th e Cardinal and said to him

,

I f my prescription is followed in two days ,

Monseigneur will leave h is bed and walk about the

room Within a week h e will be abl e to take a drive
.
,

an d wit h in th r ee to go to Cou r t .

When one has consulted an oracle one can do no ,

bette r than obey it T h e family acco r dingly confided

.

the prince completely to the ca r e of the unknown

doctor who on the same day paid h i s patient a second
,

vi s it On th is occasion h e took wi th him a s mall vial

.

containing a liquid ten d r ops of w h ich h e administe r ed

,

to the sick man .

On l e av mg h e said to t h e Ca r dinal
, To mor row I -

will give the p r ince five d r ops the day after two and ,

you will s e e that he will sit up the same e v ening .

T h e result mo r e than fulfilled t h e prediction .

The second day after this visit th e Prince de So u bi s e

was in a condition to r eceive some friends In .

the evening h e got up and walked about the room H e .

was in good spirits and even had su fficien t appetite t o

,

ask fo r the wing of a chicken B ut i n s pi t e of h i s .

,

insistence it was necessa r y to refuse h im what he so

,

muc h desired since an absolute ab s tention from s olid

,

food was one of the prescription s of t h e doctor

“
.

On t he fourt h day the pa t ient was convalescent b u t ,

1 65
 C agl io s tro
it was not till the evening of t h e fift h t h at he was pe r
mi tt d to h av h is wing of a c h icke n
”
e e N one say s . 0 ,

Figu ie r in the H Ot l de S oubise h a d t h e least idea

,
“
e

that C agliost r o was t h e docto r who attended the

prince H is identity was only disclosed f t t h e c ur e
. a er ,

w h en h is name al r eady famous ceased to be r ega r ded

, ,

any longer as t h at of a c h a r latan .

”

V
T h e sec r et of these astonishing cures by fa r th e ,

most wonderful o f Cagl i o s tro s p r odigies h as given ’

rise to a great deal of futile discussion Fo r h e neve r .

cu r ed in public like M esme r ; nor would h e consent

,

to give any explanation of his m et h od to the doctors

and lea r ned academicians w h o treated h im with con ,

—
tempt bo r n of envy as t h e pioneers of scienc e wit h ,

ra r e exceptions ha v e al ways been t r eated

, .

From t h e fact that h e became celeb r ated at about

t h e same time as M esmer many h ave regarded t h em ,

as rivals and decla r ed that t h e p r estige of bot h is to

,

be traced to t h e same sou r ce According to th is point .

of view Cagliost r o being more ency c lopedi c t h an

, ,

M esme r though less scientific in manipulating th e

,

agent common to bot h had in some way gene ralized ,

magnetism so to speak H is cu r es h oweve r were

, .
, ,

far mo r e astonishing than M esme r s fo r t h ey we r e ’

performed wit h out passes o r the u s e o f magnets and

magnetic wands N eit h er did h e h eal merely by
.

tou cfii ng like Gassne r no r by praye r s exo r cisms and

, , , ,

t h e religious mach inery by w h ic h faith is made active

t hough ve ry probably t h e greater pa r t of his succe s s
was due like M rs E ddy s to t h e confident tone in
,
.
’

1 66
 C agl io s tro
on t h e followin g nigh t t h e maid was sei ed with
, z

t h e ve r y malady f w h ic h h e r mist r ess h ad spoken

o .

Rememb r ing t h e r emedy so fo r tu ito u sly at h and s h e

e

g ot up opened th e wa r d r o b e and emptied th e vial at

, ,

a d r aught .

T h e next mo r nin g s h e went as usual to wait on h e r

mist r ess w h o looked at he r in s ur prise d asked h er
, an

what s h e w fi d Thinking t h e l d lady had had a

a e . o

st r oke in th n ig h t s h e said
e ,

A h madame don t y know m e

, ,
’
? I am you r
ou

My maid is a woman of fi fty w as t h e r eply , ,

and yo u
B u t s h e did not finish t h e sentence T h e woman .

had ca u gh t a glimpse of h e r face in a mi rr o r .

T h e Win e o f E gypt h ad r ej uvenated h e r t h i r ty

yea r s !
I n an ag e u nfamilia r wit h t h e c u nning devices of
th e art of advertising and t h e unive r sality of t h e
pretensions of quack r emedies s u c h encomi u ms lavis h ed ,

on an extract o f Sat ur n a Wine of E gypt or an ,

”
,
”

“
E lixir Vit ae we r e calc u lated to damage t h e rep u tation
,
”

of t h ei r invento r in t h e opinion of se r ious people even

more t h an the bitte r denunciations to w h ic h t h ey were
exposed On e of the c h a rges of impostu r e on w h ic h
.

t h e case against C agl iostro r ests is that of manufact u rin g

h is r emedies with th e obj ect of defrauding t h e public
by att r ib u ting to them fabulo u s p r ope r ties whic h h e
knew t h ey did not possess I f t h is be admitted t h en a
.
,

similar acc u sation must be made ag ainst eve r y maker

of patent medicines to day whic h in view of the law
-
, ,

of libel and t h e fact t h at many pe r sons have been

r esto r ed to healt h by th e concoctions of quacks whom
1 68
 T he Co n q u e s t o f
C ardi n al
th e

t h e skilled p h ysician has been powe r less to h eal ,

would
be incredibly foolis h .

To regard these remedies of Cagliostro wit h th eir

ridiculo u s names and qu i xotic preten s ions with t h e old
prej udice is p r eposte r ous J udged by t h e number and
.

—
variety of his cu r es and it is the only reasonable
—
standard to judge t h em b y they we r e to say the ,

least r ema rk able

, .

I n the p r esent day it is no longe r t h e custom to

,

de r ide the knowledge of t h e old alc h emists T h e .

world h as come to acknowledge that in spite of the ,

fantastic jarg on in w h ic h they expressed themselves ,

they fully understood t h e uses o f the plants and

'

mine r als of whic h they composed their drugs St r ipped .

of t h e atmosp h ere of magic and myste r y in w h ich they

deligh ted t o wrap thei r knowledge and which ,

r idiculous as it may seem to day h ad just as much

-
,

effect on the imagination in t hei r benighted age as t h e

'

“ ”
more scientific mode of suggestion employed by
—
t h e doctors of ou r own enligh tened era the r emedies
of a B or r i o r a Paracels u s are still dese r ving of r espec t ,

and still employed Caglio s tro is known to have

.

made a serious study of alchemy and it is very ,

p r obable t h at his magic balsams and powders were

prepa r ed after receipts he discovered i n old books of
.
,
—
alc h emy Per h aps too like all quacks i t is impossible
to accord a more dignified titl e to one w h o had n o t
t h e diploma of a properly qualified practitioner h e —
made t h e most of old wives remedies picked u p ’

haphazard in the co u rse of h is travels .

Without doubt the unparalleled credulity and

superstition of th e age c ontributed greatly to h i s
success M iracles can only succeed i n an atmosphere
.

169
 C agl io s tro
favourable to the mi r ac u lo u s I n
E u r ope as t h e .
,

—
r eade r has seen particularly i n T rance— t h e soil had
been well p r epa r ed fo r seed of the sort t h at C agliostro
sowed .

VI
T h e c ur e of the Prince de S ou bise gave C agl iost r o

k
”
an immense prestige . I t would be impossible says ,

th e B a ro ness d O b e r i rc h to give an idea of t h e

’
“
,

passion t h e madness wit h w h ich people pu r s u ed h im

, .

I t wo u ld appear i nc r edible to any one w h o h ad not

seen it .
”
On r eturning to Strasbu rg h e was followed
“
,

by a do z en ladies of rank and two act r esses w h o

desi r ed to have the benefit of h is t r eatment People .

came from far and wide to con sult him ; and many
out of s h ee r curiosity To these w h om h e r egarded
.
,

as spies sent by his enemies he was eit h e r ina ccessible ,

o r positively r ude .

Lavater who came fr om Z uric h was t r eated wit h

, ,

very scan t cou r tesy I f sai d Cagl iostro

.
,
”“
yo ur ,

science [ tha t of r eading c h a r acter by the featu r es by ,

w h ich h e h ad acq u i r ed a E u r opean rep u tation ] is

g r eate r t h an mine you have no need of my acquaintance ;
,

and if mine is t h e g r eate r I have no need of you r s

, .
”

Lavater howeve r was not to be repulsed by the

, ,

infe r ence to be drawn from such a rema r k The .

following day h e w r ote C a g liostro a long l etter in

wh ic h among othe r things he asked him h ow h e had
, ,
“

acqui r ed h is knowledge and i n what it consisted,

In .
”

r eply Cagliost ro limited himself to these words : I n

v er b i s i n lee r é i s i n l ap i di é u s by w h ic h as M d Al mé ras
’

, , , , .

obse r ves h e probably indicated co r rectly t h e na t ure

,

and extent of h is medical and occ u lt lore .

1 70
 Co n qu e s t o f the C ardi n al
T he

Bu t Lavater as c r edulous as he was inquisitive

, ,

impressed by t h e mystery in w h ic h Cagliost r o enveloped

his lea t action read i nto h is words quite anoth er
s ,

—
meaning B elieving firmly i n t h e D evil about whom
.

—
he h ad written a book t h e Swiss pastor returned h ome
convinced t hat the G r and C ph t of Egyptian M asonry O a

was a supernatu r al being wit h a diabolic mission .

I n nobody were the cu r iosity and admiration t hat

he inspi r ed g r eater t h an in the noto r ious Cardinal de
Ro h an H is E minence was one of t h e darlings of
.

Fo r tune whose choicest favo ur s h ad been s h owered on

,

hi m wit h a lavish hand Of t h e most illust r ious birth

.
,

exceptionally handsome enormously r ich and m , , u

deniably fascinating no younger son ever sta r ted life

,

under more brilliant auspices T h e Chu r c h seemed to .

exist solely for t h e purpose Of p r oviding him with

h onours B i hop of Strasburg Grand Almone r of
. s ,

France Ca rdinal P r ince of the E mpi r e Landg r ave of

, , ,

—
Alsace h is t itles we r e as nume r ous th e beads of a as

r sa ry N o r we r e they me r ely high sounding and

o .
-

dignities F r om th e Abb ey of S t W ast t h e

. . a ,

in France of w h ic h h e was t h e Abbot h e

, ,

l iv r es a yea r and from all these ,

combined his r evenue was estimated

livres
0 00 .

N ature h ad endowed him no less bo u nteously t h an

Fo r tune To the honours whic h h e owed to the
.

accident of birth h is intellect h ad won h im anothe r

,

still more coveted At twenty seven he had been.

-

elected to t h e Académie F ran caise w h e r e as he was , ,

parti c ularly brilliant in con v ersation i t is not surprising ,

t hat t he I mmortals s h ould have decla r ed th emsel v es

“

cha r med wi t h his company .

1 7 1
 C agl io s tro
H e possessed all t h e conspic u o u s qualities and de
f t w h ic h in t h e eig h teent h centu r y were characte r istic
ec s

of the a r istoc r at H igh ecclesiastic that he was he

.
,

h ad not h ing of th e ascetic about him Like so many .

of the g r eat dignitaries of th e C h u r ch unde r the i an c e n

r eg i m he was worldly to t h e l ast degree

e, As h e was .

not a hypoc r ite h e did not hesitate to live as b

, e

pleased Appointed Ambassado r to Vienna he had

.
,

scandalized the strait laced Maria T h e r esa by his

-

r eckless ext r avagance and dissipation The E mpe ro r .

,

to h er disgust loved conve r sing with h i m to enjoy

,
“

his fl ipp t gossip and wicked sto r ies

an Ou r .
“

women s h e w r ote to h e r Ambas ado r a t Ve r sailles

,
s ,

“
young and old bea u ti ful and ugly a r e bewitched by
, ,

him H e is thei r idol

. .
”

H is character was a mosaic of vice and vi r tue

k
.

With h im manners took t h e place of morals He .

“

“
possessed says M adame d O b e r i rch the gallantry
,
’

and politeness of a grand seigneu r such as I h ave

ra r ely met in an y one M adame de Genlis con
.
”

s ide re d that
“
if he was nothing that he oug h t to be
, ,

h e was as amiable as it was possible to be I n him .

vice lost all its g r ossness and levity acqui r ed dignity .

Anxious to please h e was also susceptible to fla t te r y

, .

”
By my lording h im says M anuel who disliked
, ,

h im one can get from h im whatever one desires

,
“
.

At t he same time h e was obliged to confess th at th e

“ ”
C ardinal had a really good heart .

I t was to his excessive good natu r e th at he owed -

most of h is misfortunes The entire absence of i n.

tolerance i n his characte r caused hi m to be regarded as

an at h eist but his unbelief l ike his vices was greatly
, , ,

exagg e r at e d M en i n his position neve r escap e detrae

.

1 7 2
 Cagl io s tro
p r inted books acco r ding to M adame d O b e r i rc h we r e
,

beneat h h is notice h is lib rary was noted for its beauti

,
’
k ,

ful bindings and above all fo r the missals ornamented

,

with miniatu r es wo r t h thei r weight in gold .

H is p r incipal pastime however was alchemy At , , .

Saverne besides h is lib r a r y h e had o ne of t h e fines t

, ,

laborato r ies i n E u rope H e was almost mad on the .

s ubj ect of t h e philosop h e r s stone

’
The mention of .

the occult sciences at once a rr ested his attention t h en ,

and only then did the b r illiant fr ivolo u s C ardinal

, ,

become se r ious .

N aturally such a man could not fail to be i m

,

p r essed by t h e myste r ious physician w h ose cures we r e

t h e talk of St r asbu rg .

S h o r tly afte r C agl i o s tro s a r rival Ba r on de ’

Mi ll i n e n s t h e Cardinal s master of t h e b ou n ds call e d

,
’

to inform him t h at his E minence desired to make his

acquaintance B ut Cagliostro knowing as he s t ated
.
,

at his trial in t h e N ecklace Affair that t h e p r ince ,

“
only desired to see him from curiosity refused to ,

gratify him The answe r he r et u rned is famous and

.
”
,

tho r oughly characteristic of him .

I f the Ca r dinal is ill h e is r eported to h ave s aid,

”
,

let him come to me and I will cure him b u t if he is

well he has no need of me no r I of him
, .
”

Th is message fa r from affronting t h e Ca r dinal only

, ,

inc r eased h is curiosity Afte r having attempted in .

vain to gain admittance to the sanctuary of the new

E s c u l ap i u s h is E minence h ad o r feigned an attack
, , ,

of ast h ma of w h ic h says C agliost r o

,
“ “
h e sent to
,
”
,

inform me w h ereupon I went at once to attend him

, .

The visit thoug h sho r t was long enough to inspire

, ,

t h e Cardinal with a desir e for a close r acquaintance .

1 74
 T he Co n qu e s t o f th e Cardi n al
B ut Cagl i o s tro s disdainful r ese r ve was not easily
’

broken down T h e advances of the Cardinal how

.
,

ever were none the less flatte r ing At last captivated

,
.
,

by the pe r sistency of t h e fascinating prelate he ,

decla r ed in h i s grandiose way to R o han s immense ,

’

joy that the prince s soul was wo r thy of his and that
“ ’

, ,

he would confide to him all his sec r ets .

”

The relation t h us fo r med whateve r th e motives t h at ,

prompted it soon r ipened into intimacy N eedless to

, .

s ay they had long frequent and secret confabulatio n s

, , ,

in the Cardinal s well equipped labo r atory Cagliostro

’
-
.
,

with his wi fe eventually even went to live at S averne

,

at th e C a r dinal s r equest H e was h i dde n to conside r

’
.

the palace as h is own and t h e se r vants were ordered ,

to announce him when h e entered a room as H is “

k
”
E xcellen cy M l e Comte de Cagliostro
. .

T h e B aroness d O b e r i rc h on visiting Save r ne ’

while he was t h ere was stunned by th e pomp with

“
,

whic h he was treated She was one of the few great .

”

ladies of St r asbu rg who r efused to bel ieve i n him .

To he r he was me r ely an advent ur e r On t h e .

occasions of her visit to Save r ne t h e Ca r din al w h o ,

had grea t r espect for her endeavoured to bring h e r ,

round to his O pinion “

As I r esisted she said h e
“
.
, ,
”
becam e impatient .

“
Really madame said h e yo u a r e h a r d to
,
“
, ,

convince Do you see t h is

.
?

H e showed me a la rge diamond t h at h e wo r e on

his little finger and on w h ich the Rohan arms were
,

eng r aved T h is r ing was wo r th at least twenty

.

t h ousand francs .

“
I t is a beautiful gem monseigne ur I said I “
, , ,

h ave been admiring it .

”

I 7S
 C agl io s tro
Well he exclaimed it is C agliost r o who made
, ,

it : h e made it out of not h i ng H was p r esent du r ing .

the whole ope r ation wit h my eyes fixed on th e crucible .

I s not that science B a r oness ? People s h oul d not

,

say that he is duping me o r taking advantage of me ,

.

I h ave had t h is r ing val u ed by a j ewelle r and an e m

g r aver and t h ey have estimated it at twenty fiv e
,
-

thousand l iv r es You must admit t h at h e would be a

.

strange kind of cheat who would make suc h p r esents ”

.

I acknowledge I was stun ned M de Ro h an per . .

c e i v e d it and continued
,

—
T h is is not all h e can make gold H e h as made
in this ve ry palace in my p r esence fiv e o r six t h o u sand
, ,

l ivres H e will make me t h e r ichest p r ince in E urope !

.

T h ese a r e no me r e vagaries of th e imagination ,

madame but positive facts T h ink o f all his pre

, .

dictions t h at h ave been r ealized of all t h e mi r aculous ,

c u res that h e has effected ! I r epeat h e is a most

extraordina r y a most s u blime man w h ose knowledg e
, ,

is only equalled by his g oodness W h at alms h e

k k
k
.

gi ves ! What good h e does ! I t exceeds all powe r of

r ecei v ed any t i ng f r om me k
imagination I can as s u r e y ou e as n ev er as ed or
.

B ut Cagliost r o did not confin e h imsel f solely to

.

seeking th e philosop h er s sto n e fo r the Cardinal Fo r

’
.

the benefit of his splendid h ost h e displayed the whole

series of his magical phenomena .

—
One day acco rding to Robe r son w h o p r ofessed to
,

h ave obtained h is info r mation from an eye witness

“ -

very wo r thy of c r edence —h e promised to evoke fo r

th e Cardinal t h e s h ade of a woman he had loved H e .

had made the attempt two o r t hr ee times befo r e with

o u t s u ccess D eath seemed to h esitate to come to th e
.

1 7 6
 C agl io s tro
while Cagliost r o attacked h is u nde r standing s h e laid ,

siege to his heart .

The di s dainful almost h ostile attitude t h at Cagl i o s

, ,

t r o adopted towa r ds his patron at the beginning of

their acq u aintance was so well calculated to inflame
R o h an s c ur iosity that it is a matter o f cou r se to
’

att r ib u te it to desi g n T h e Abb é G e o rge l who as a

.
,

J esuit t h orough ly disliked t h e G r and Co phta o f

E gyptian M ason r y asse r ts t h at h e so u ght wit h o u t
“
, ,

h aving the ai r of seeking it th e most intimate con ,

fide n c e of h is E minence and the greatest ascendency

ove r h is will .
”

B u t this ve r y plausible statement is not only u m

s u ppo r ted by any fact but is act u ally cont r a r y to fact
, .

T he Car dinal was n ot C agl i o s tro s banke r as h as so ’

often been stated At his tr ial in the N ecklace Affai r

.

Ro h an denied t h is most emp h atically M oreover it .

,

would h ave been utterly impossibl e fo r h im h ad he ,

wished to have supplied C agl iost r o wit h t h e s u ms h e

,

spent so lavishly I n spite of his vast income he h ad

.
,

fo r years been head ove r ea r s in debt I f t h e r e were .

any benefits confe rr ed it was t h e Ca r dinal who received

k
,

t h em .

Cagliostro says M adame d O b e r i rc h t r eated

,
’

,
‘

h im as well as t h e rest of his a r istoc r atic admi r e r s as

, ,

i f they we r e under infinite obligation to h im and b e

unde r none to them .
”

This statement is the sec r et of the r eal nature of

Cagl i o s tro s s o called conquest
’
-
I t was not cupidit y .
,

but colossal vanity t h at lu r ed h im into t h e glitterin g

,

fr iendship t h at r u ined him T h e C ardinal with his .

,

g r eat name and position his influence and his u n , ,

deniable charm dazzled Cagliostro quite as m u c

,

1 7 8
 T he Co n qu e s t o f the C ardi n al
h e wit h his mi racles his magic and his myste ry
, , , ,

appealed to t h e imagination of t h e Cardinal E a h . c

h ad fo r t h e ot h e r th fascination of a flame for a moth

e .

E ac h fl u tte r ed r ound the ot h e r like a mot h and each

met with the p r overbial moth s fate B ut the C gl i
’
. a os

tro fl m only sco r ched t h e wings of h is E min ence

-
a e .

I t was in th e flame of the C rdinal t h at Cagliostro

a
’

perished .

I 79
 C H APT E R V
C AG L I O T R I N P A I
S O R S

N O T WIT H S TA N D I N G t h e immense vog u e t h at C agl i

ost r o enjoyed th r oughout the th r ee years he pa s sed in
Strasbu rg h is l ife was by no means one of un alloyed
,

pleasu r e M any a disco r dant note mingled in the

.

c h o r u s of b lessing and p r aise that g r eeted his c ars .

I n the memoi r he published at t h e time of the D iamond

N ecklace Affai r he speaks vaguely of certain pe r se
,
“

e n tions to which he was constantly subj ected .

“
H is good fortune o r his knowledge of medicine
, ,

says Gleichen excited the h atred and j ealousy of t h e

“
,

docto r s who w h en they persecute a r e as dangerous

,

as the p r iests T h ey we r e his implacable enemies in

.

F r ance as well as in Poland and Russia

, .

H is ma r vellous c ur es wounded t h e amou r p r opr e

o f t h e docto r s as muc h as they damaged thei r reputa

tion E ve rything t h at malice and en v y could devise

.

was done to dec r y h im T h ey accused h im of treating

.

only suc h pe r sons as s u ffe r ed from slight o r imaginary

ailments questioned the pe r manency of h is cures
, ,

denied th at h e saved lives th ey h ad given up and ,

att r ib u ted eve r y deat h to h im H e was charged with

.

exacting in sec r et the fees he refused in public H is .

l ibe r ality to t h e poo r was ascribed to a desire to attract

attention his p h ilanthropy was r idiculed and t h e
, ,

1 80
 C agl io s tro
matter of c ou r se that it was the Ca r dinal s money ’

w h ich the Count spent so lavis h ly .

But fa r from plundering the in fatuated prince as

h is enemies asse r ted Cagl i ostro did not so muc h as
,

appeal to h im fo r protec t ion Fort u nately t h e C a r dinal

.

did not requi r e to be reminded of t h e claims of fr iend

s h ip
. Fully aware o f the hostility to Cagliost r o he ,

endeavou r ed to silence it by proc ur ing for him from

th ree membe r s of the Gove r nment lette r s to t h e c h ie f
C i vil authority i n which h is p r otege was r ecommended
i n t h e highest te r ms To Cagliost r o t h ese lette r s to
.
,

whic h at any time he would h ave attac h ed an e x ag

gerated importance had a special significance fr om th e
,

fact that he neithe r solicited them directly no r i ndi

rectly .
”
H e cou nted t h em among his most valuable :

possessions .

T h e tranquillity h owever w h ich t h ey p r ocu r ed h im

, ,

was only transient E ve r employing fr esh weapons

.

and met h ods in attacking him h i s enemies eventually ,

—
found h is Ac h illes h eel t h e impulsive sympathy of a
’
-

natu r ally kind h ea r t .

One day wh ile h e was showing an impo r tant

,

gove r nm ent o fficial ove r h is h ospital a man whom h e ,

had neve r seen befo r e and w h o appeared to h ave

,

fallen on evil times appealed to h im for assistance

, .

H e asked to be taken into h is se r vice and offered to ,

wea r his livery H e said that his name was Sacc h i

.
,

t h at he came of a goo d family i n Amsterd am and had ,

some knowledge of chemist r y Touc h ed by h is evi .

dent dist r ess Cagliostro yielded as u sual to h is cha r it

,

able impulses H e found employment for S acc h i in h is

.

h ospital and paid him libe r ally

, .

“
I was even pe r suaded h e said afte r wa r ds to
,
” “
,

1 82
 C agl io s tro
As sensitive to a b u se as h was s u scepti ble to e

flattery Cagliost r o was u nabl e to end ur e such treat

,

ment and convinced from h is p r evio u s expe r ience in

,

Russ i a t h at t h e r e would be l imit to t h e vindictive no

malevolence f t h e docto r s h e dete r mined he says to

o , , ,

leave S t r asb urg w h e r e in spite of t h e Cardinal s pro

, ,
’

tec ti and his ministe r ial lette r s h e could fi nd neithe r

on ,

t r anqu illity no r sec ur ity A lette r r eceived about this .

time info r ming h im t h at t h e C h evalie r d Aqi f

’
u n o, o

N aples a fr iend f h is myste r io u s past was dange r

, o ,

o us l y ill and desi r ed to see him confirmed him in h is

, ,

resolution Acco r dingly in pite of t h e ent r eat es f

.
, S i o

t h e C ardinal h e s h ook the dust of S t r asbu r g fr om h is

,

feet and depar ted in all h aste fo r N apl s w h e r e

, e , ,

howeve r h e states h e a rr ived t

, late to save his
, oo

fr iend .

II
On leaving S t r asb urg as p r eviously on le aving ,

London and Wa r saw C agliostro once mo r e pl u nged ,

into t h e obsc u rity i n w h ic h so m u c h of h is ca r ee r was

passed t h at it migh t almost be descri b ed as h is native
’

elemen t to eme rg e again t hr ee months late r as befo r e

,

on t h e c r est of the wave of fo r tune in B o r dea u x As .

r umou r h oweve r followed h im it is possible to su r mise

, ,

with some deg r ee of p r ob ability w h at became of h im .

T h e ima g inativ e I nquisition biog r ap h e r t h o u gh -

,

unable to giv e any acco u nt o f Cagl i o s tro s j ou r ney ’

fr om St rasbu rg to N aples h is r esidence in t h at city , ,

d i
ur n kl Aff ir h P rl i m t f P ri rd d i p
g th e Nec ac e a , t e a a en o a s o ere ts s u
pr i i j ri
e s s o n as d lmi Th
n u dit r f h C i
o u s an ca u n ous
”
e e o o t e ou r er

ft w q t d it bitt d i ti i
.

d lE
e
’
p r d
u ro e a i h i e r ar s f C gl uo e n s e e n u n c a on o a
t d d d it pr f f hi i d tity with G i pp B l m
o s ro, an a v an ce as oo o s en us e e a sa o
I t h i g r lly b dmitt d m li i i ti
.

as s n c e b en e a ee n a e to e a a c ou s n v en on .

1 84
 C agl i o s tro i n P ari s
o r s u bsequent jou r ney to Bordeaux — singu la r tour ! a

neve r theless unconsciously th r ows somet h ing like

ligh t on t h e subj ect H e decla r e s t h at the Co u ntess
.

C agliost r o w h o accompanied her h usband confessed

, ,
“ ”

at h er trial before t h e Apostolic Court in Rome th at

“
h e left N aples owing to his failure to establish a ”
lodge of Egyptian M asonry Questionable as the.

s ou r ce is from w h ic h t h is statement emanates it is ,

neve r t h eless a clue .

Whateve r diffe r ence of opinion t h e r e may be as

to t h e h onesty of Cagl i o s tro s motives in propagating ’

Egyptian M ason r y t h e r e is none as to h is pertinacity

, .

With in three weeks of h is a r rival in St ra s bu rg h e had

fo u nded a lodge for t h e obse r vance of t h e Egyptian
Rite The mysterious and hur r ied visits h e paid from
.

t i me to time to B ale Geneva and other places in

, ,

S witze r land d ur ing h is thr ee yea r s r esidence in Alsace ’

we r e appa r ently of a M asonic nature I t is mo r eover .

, ,

curious to note t h at h is h u rr ied depa r ture fo r N aples

occ u rred immediately after the N eapolitan govern
ment removed its ban against F r eemasonry As t h e .

N eapolitan government would not h ave taken this

step h ad t h ere been t h e least likelihood of Free
masonry obtaining a h old ove r t h e masses i t is highly
‘

probable t h at C agliostro left N aples fo r t h e reason

given by the I nquis i t i on biograp h er -
.

T h is p r obability is still fu rt h er strengt h ened by his

subseq u ent movements w h ic h e r ratic t h ough they may
, ,

appea r h ad a well de fin e d p urpose From t h e time h e

,
-
.

left London be it said till h is last fatal j ourney to

, ,

Rome Cagliostro neve r went anywhere wit h out having

,

a definite and preconceived pu rpose .

I t was ce r t ainly wit h a very definite obj ect t h at h e

1 85
 C agl io s tro
went to B o r deaux where h e i next h ea r d of and
, s, ,

w h ith er h e t r avelled as h e h imself says th rough the

, ,

cities of Sout h ern F r ance N ow the cities of So u t h ern

.

F r ance we r e perme ted with supe r natu r alism I t w

a . as

at B ordeaux t h at M a r tinez P q l i h ad h eld h is

,
as ua s

celebrated sc h ool f magic and mystical t h eu rgy t h e

o ,

most disting u ished of w h ose pupils was Saint Martin -

,

t h e fou nder of the M artinists N o place was bette r .

adapted fo r gainin g rec r uits t Egyptian o r any ot h e r o

kind of F r eemason ry .

I t was h e r e t h at M esme r found t h e noisiest and

most ardent of h is admi r e r s in P er e H i an e rv e r,

Augustinian monk w h o by h is eloq u ence h ad made

a g r eat r eputation as a popula r p r eac h e r S ummoned .

t o Bo r d au x by t h e municipality to p r eac h during Lent

e

at the C hur c h of S t And r ew H i p r eached not

.
, e rv e r

only t h e gospel according to Chr ist but t h at acco r ding

to t h e M essia h of animal magnetism wit h the r esult ,

t h at h e made bot h th e clergy and the docto r s h is

enemies .

This c hu rch one of t h e finest Gothic m onuments

,

in E u r ope was t h e stage on w h ic h h e displayed h is

,

talents bot h as an o r ator and as a mesme r ist H e was .

p r eac h ing one day on ete r nal damnation H is fl as h .

ing eyes commanding gest ur es an d allu r ing voice

, , ,

which h ad from t h e start p r ep ar ed the c hur c h fr om

th e holy water stoup to t h e candles o n t h e altar neve r ,

once lost t h ei r h old upon the imagination T he con .

re ati o n consisting of the ric h est yo u ngest and mo s t

g g , , ,

fr ivolous women of B ordeaux was in complete accord ,

wit h t h e p r eache r Suddenly w h en the monk began

.

to pictu r e t h e h orro r s of h ell a youn g girl fell into a

fit S u c h an i ncident h appenin g at suc h a moment
’

1 86
 C agl io s tro
c h ange h is mind and resume th e g ratu i to u s miracles
, ,

w h ic h had rendered h im so celebrated in Strasbu rg .

I n coming to th is decision he afterwar d s decla r ed

t h at h e counted o n t h e p r otection of the C omte de
Vergennes S ecreta r y of S tate fo r Foreign Affai rs
, ,

and one of the t hr ee Cabinet M inisters w h o h ad

p r evio u sly r ecommended h im to t h e P r eto r of S t r as
burg I t was h e said at Ve rgenn es special r equest
.
, ,
’

t hat h e retu r ned to F r ance As th e Comte de .

Ve r gennes failed to deny this statement which h e ,

could easily h ave done when it was made by Cagliost r o

at his trial in t h e N ecklace A ffai r t h e r e seems n o ,

reason to doubt it .

I n B ordea u x as at St r asb urg h is c ur es and h is

, ,

c h a r iti es att r acte d general attention and p r ocu r ed h im

a la rge and ent hu siastic following Many of t h e most .

influential men of the ci ty sought admittance to the

lodge he founded B ut as before E gyptian M asonry
.
, ,

flo ur ished at t h e expense of t h e t ranq u illity and sec ur ity

of the G r and Co ph ta Th e influence of Ve rgennes and
.

ot h er powe r ful pat r ons was powe r less to protect h im

from t h e ingenious malevolence of the envio u s docto r s .

E ven P er e H e rv i e r I nstead o f j oining fo r ces with

,

h im ente r ed t h e lists against h im M e r e cle r k of

,
.

M esme r h e h ad the folly to engage Cagliost r o in a

,
”

publ ic disc u ssion in w h ich h e r eceived so h umiliating

,

a chastisement t h at h e was laughed out of B o r deaux .

B u t in spite of his t r iumph s life was made suc h a

b ur den to C agliost r o that after being continually baited
fo r eleven months h e could endu r e t h e to r ment no
longe r and departed for Lyons
,
.

This city was a veritable st r ong h old of F r ee

mason r y Lodges o f all descriptions flo ur ished h e re
.
,

1 88
 C agl io s tro
P ari s in

notably those founded by Saint M a r tin the most -

,

mystical of occultists i n whic h the S wedenbo r gian ,

Rite was obse r ved I t was here that Cagliost r o found

.

h i most a r dent and loyal suppo r te r s : T h ei r enthusiasm

s

was uc h that they built a temple exp r essly fo r the

s
“

o b se r vance of the Egyptian Rite I t enjoyed the .

dignity of being t h e M ot h e r Lodge of Egyptian

M a onry t h e lodges at S trasbu r g B ale B ordeau x
s , , , ,

Pa r is and ot h e r places being affiliated to it As it was

,
.

the custom for the mot h e r lodges of every orde r of

F r eemasonry to h named after some vi r tue this e ,

one received t h e title of S g T i mp / t It a es s e r o t an e .

was t h e only lodge specially erected by C agli t ’

o s ro s

followe r s all t h e othe r s being held in r ooms r ented fo r

,

thei r needs .

I t would have been well fo r Cagliost r o had he been

content to remain i n Lyons H e would have enjoyed .

the t r anquillity and security he so much desired ;

“

and h istory pe r haps would have forgotten him fo r i t

, , ,

is owing to his misfortunes t h at his ac h ievements a r e

chiefly remembe r ed .

But destiny lured hi m to destruction and an ign o

minio u s r enown I no r dinately vain and sel f conscious
.
-
,

he was en t iced to Pa r is by t h e Ca rdinal who was then ,

residing t h ere and with w h om he h ad been in constant

,

c o r respondence eve r since he left S trasb u rg So .

insistent was his E minence that he sent Raymond de

Ca r bonni er es one of h i s sec r etaries and an enthusias t ic
, ,

admire r of Caglios tr o to Lyons on pu r pose to fetch ,

him Paris too M ecca of every celebrity called him

.
, , ,

with no unce r tain voice M agic struck she c r aved t h e .

-

excitement of fresh mysteries and the spell of a new

idol M esme r s tempestuous vogue was ove r ; ado r ed
.
’

1 89
 C agl io s tro
and r idiculed i n tu r n h e h ad
arte d wit h

liv r es a ve r y p r actical proof

, success .

So having appointed a Grand M aster to r ep r esen t .

him and delegated his seal — a se r pen t pierced wit h an

,

a r row to two vene r ables Cagliostro left Lyons fo r

-
,

Paris I f h e made enemies i n Lyons they did not

.

m olest him I t was the only place in whic h h e does

.

not complain of being pe r sec u ted .

III
O n a rr iving in Pa r is Cagl iostro decla r es that he
,

took t h e greatest p r ecaution to avoid causing ill will -

.

As th e m ajority o f contemporary do cuments concu r i n

desc r ibing h is life in Pa r is as dignified and rese r ved
“
,
”

the r e is no reason to doubt the t r uth of h is statement .

’
B ut on e cannot escape one s fate and in spite of his ,

efforts not to att ract attention h e was condemned to an ,

extraordinary notoriety .

H is a r rival was no sooner known than as at Stras ,

bu rg Bordeaux and Lyons h is h o u se was beset with

, , ,

cripples and invalids o f all walks of life As usual h e .

refused to accept payment fo r his services or even for

h is r emedies .

N o one sa ys G rimm eve r s u cceeded in making

, ,

h im accept the least mark of g ratitude .

“
What is singula r about C agliost r o says the ,

“
B aron de B e s e n v al is that in spite of possessing the
,

c h a r acteristics that one associates with a c h a r latan he ,

never behaved as suc h all the tim e he was at S t rasburg

or at Paris O n t h e contrary he neve r took a sou
.
,

from a person lived honourably always paid with t he

, ,

1 9 0
 C agl io s tro
suspect that h is visito r w an emi ssa ry of t h e docto r s
as .

Rest r aining his indignation he tu r ned to t h e othe r and

said wit h th e g r eatest g r avity
“
Your fr i end m u st r emain h e r e u nde r my care for
sixteen days T he treatment to whic h I s h all subj ect
.

him is very simpl e but to effect his cu r e it will be

,

absol u tely n ecessa ry fo r him to eat b u t once a day ,

and t h en only an o u nce of nou r ishment .

”

Ala r med at the prospect of so d r astic a diet t h e

mock invalid b egan to protest and asked if it was not
-
,

possible to indicat exactly w h at it was he s u ffered

e

from .

“
N oth in g simple r r eplied C agliost r o
,
S u pe r .
“

fl u i ty of bile i n t h e medical faculty

”
.

T h e two students finding t h emsel ves caug h t in t h e

,

t r ap t h ey h ad set for h im stamme r ed t h eir apologies

,

as best they could Whe r eupon Cagliost r o pe r ceiving

.
,

th ei r di s c o mfitu re good natu r edly set t h em at ease and

,
-

invited t h em to b r eakfast with t h e r es u lt t h at t h ey

,

were conve r ted i nto ardent admire r s .

H e did not desi r e h oweve r to be known only as a

, ,

h e ale r of t h e sick .

I n t h e ex h ibitions h e gave of h is oc c u lt o r psych ic

powe r s h e soon eclipsed eve r y ot h e r contempo r ary
,

celebrity from t h e numbe r and variety of t h e phenomena

h e perfo r med E ve r ybody wished to witness t h ese
.

wonders and t h ose w h o w ere denied t h e p r ivilege were

,

n eve r tired of desc r ibin g them in detail as if they had

seen them o r of listening in tu r n to thei r r ecital
,
.

T h e memoi r s o f th e period a r e filled with t h e marvels

—
of his séances at whic h h e r ead b y means of col omées
—
and p up i l l es th e futu r e and t h e past in mirro r s , ,

carafes and crystals ; of his predictions h is cu r es a n d

, , ,

192
 C agl io s tro i n P ari s
his evocations of t he dead w h o appeared at h is command ,

to r ejoice or to terrify as the case might be those in

, ,

compliance wit h whose wis h es he h ad summoned them

from t h e g r ave .

E ve r y day some new and fantastic sto r y was

circulated about him .

I t was r elated fo r example that one day after a

, ,

dinner pa r ty at Chaillot at which t h e company con

-
,

sisted chiefly of ladies he was asked by his ho s tes s to

,

p r ocu r e partners fo r h e r friends w h o h ad exp r essed t h e

desire to dance .

“
M de Cagl iost r o she said half se r iously half
.
,
-
,

playfully you have only to employ you r supe r natural

,

powers to fetc h u s some officers fr om t h e E cole

”
M ilitaire .

“
True h e repl ied going to a window from w h ic h
, ,

this institution could be seen in t h e distance “

it only ,

requi r es an invisible bridge between them and us ”

.

A bu r st of ironical laugh te r greeted his words .

I ndignant h e extended h is a r m i n the direction of t h e

,

H Ote l des I nvalides w h ich could also be seen fr om

,

the window A fe w minutes late r eighteen veterans

.

wi t h co r k legs a rrived at t h e house !

-

On anothe r occasion it was reported t h at C agliost r o ,

having invited six noblemen to dine wi t h him had the ,

table laid fo r thirteen On t h e arrival of his guests h e

.

requested th em to name any illu s trious s h ades they

desired to occupy the vacant seats S t raightway as .
,

their names we r e mentioned t he s pectres of the Du e ,

de Choiseul the Abbé de Voisenon Montesq uieu

, , ,

Diderot d Al e mb e rt and Voltai r e appeared and

,
’

, ,

taking the places a s signed them conversed with thei r

h osts in a manne r so incredibly stupid whic h had it ,

0 I 93
 C agl io s tro
been ch aracteristic of them in ghe flesh would have
r obbed them of all clai m to distinction .

This anecdote on e of th e gems of the M a rquis de

,

Lu c h e t s l ively imagination w h o r elated it with m u c h

’

spi r it was devoid of th e least pa r ticl e of t r uth N eve r

,
.

th e l e s s t h e C énacle de Treize o r B anq u et of t h e Dead ,

as it was called acquired an immense noto r iety All

, .

Pa r is talked of it ; and even at Ve r sailles it h ad t h e

honou r for some minutes of being the subj ect of r oyal
conve r sation .

Constantly fired by s u c h s to ri e s t h e adm i rat i on ,

and cu r iosity tha t Cagl iostro a r oused i n all classes of

society r eac h ed a degree of infatuation little sho r t
of idolat ry B y his followers he was addressed as
.

“
r eve re d fathe r o r august master They spent
“
.
”

w h ole ho u rs censing him wit h a flattery alm ost p r ofane ,

believing themselves pu r ified by being nea r him .

Some mo r e impassioned and r idic u lo u s t h an othe r s

averred that he could tell At h eists and Blasph eme r s
by thei r smell which t hr ew h im i n to e p i l e pti c fits .
”

H oudon the most celebrated sculpto r of the day

, ,

executed his bust Replicas in bronze marble an d .

, ,

plaster bea r ing th e words L e Di v i n Cag l i os tr o on

, ,

t h e pedestal we r e to be found in salons boudoi r s and

, , ,

o ffices Rings brooches fans and snuff boxes were

.
, , ,
-

ado r ned with his portrait Prints of him by Ba r tolozzi .

and ot h e r s we r e scatte r ed b r oadcast ove r E urope wi t h ,

the following flattering inscription

De l mi d h m i
’
a i l tr it ;
es u a ns re c o n n a s s e z es a s
T ous j tm qé p d
s es o u rs x bi f it
s on ar u s ar e n o u v e au en a s,

I l pr l g l i 11 t l i dig ’
o on e a V c, s e c o ur n en c e ,

L p l i i r d etr til l re mp ’
e as e u e es t s e u sa co en s e .

F iguie r s t a t ement h owever t hat b i l l were even

’
s , ,
“
s

I 94
 Cagl io s tro in P ari s
posted on the walls to the effect that Louis XV I had
declared t h at any one who inj ured h im was guilty of
l es e majes té
‘
-
is ext r emely doubtful H e was neve r
”
.

received at Ve r sailles M arie Antoinette who had .

,

pro t ected M esmer could not be induced to take th e

,

least inte r est in Cagliostro .

IV
T h e inte r est displayed in the p r odigies h e was said
to perform was augmented by the profound secrecy he
obse r ved in regard to h is pa r entage h is nationality , ,

and h is past in gene r al I n t h e h ectic years imme .

di ate l y preceding t h e Revolution when c r edulity , ,

curiosity and the passion fo r sensation had reached a

,

stage bo r de r ing almost on madness i t required no ,

effort of t h e imagination to make this secrecy itself

supe r natu r al ; indeed in t h e end t h e inte r est taken in
,

the mystery in whic h Cagliost r o wrapped himself

surpassed that i n all h is wonde r s combined .

People speculated on t h e source of his wealt h

with out being able to arrive at any conclusion N0 .

” “
one s ays G e o rge l could discover the nature of his
, ,

resources h e h ad no lette r of c r edit and appa r ently

, ,

no banke r neve r theless h e lived in t h e gr eatest

,

a ffluence giving m uch to t h e needy and seeking

, ,

no favours w h ateve r fr om t h e rich I n St r asburg .

,

according to M einers “
at the ve r y lowest estimate
,

h is annual expenditure was not less than

liv r es .I n Pa r is he was reputed to l ive at the r ate of
”

livres a year The splendid footing on which

.

h i s es t ablis h ment was maintained was however , ,

probably greatly exaggerated H e himself says that .

O 2 195
 C agl io s tro
the fine h ouse i n th e Rue S t Claude which b e .
,

rented from th e Ma r quise d O rv i l l i e rs was fu r nished “ ’

by deg r ees .
”

Some as p r eviously stated att r ibuted his splendou r

, ,

to t h e C a r dinal I t was attested during the N ecklace

.

Affair that p r oof of this was found among the

Ca r dinal s papers Ro h an h oweve r at h is t r ial
’
.
, ,

denied t h e c h a rge most emphatically an d Cagliost r o ,

h imself declared t h at the Cardinal s mu n i fic e n c e neve r ’

went beyond “
bi r t h day gifts to the Countess t h e ,

whol e of whic h consisted of a dove his ( Cagl i o s tro s ) ,

’

po r t r ait set in diamonds wit h a small watc h and ,

chain also set wit h brilliants 1

.
”

Othe r s decla r ed that h i s wealth was de r ived from

the mines of Lima of w h ic h his fathe r was said to ,

be di r ecto r ”
B y ot h ers again it was said t h at the
.
“
, ,

J esuits supplied him with funds o r t hat having ,

persuaded some Asiatic p r ince to send his son to

t r avel i n E u rope h e h ad mu r de r ed t h e youth and
,

taken possession of his treasu r es C agliost r o himself .

”

was always ve r y mysterious on this subj ect .

“
B ut your manne r of l iving h e was ques t ioned ,
”

at his t r ial in the N ecklace Affai r is exp ensive ; you ,

give away much and accept of nothing in retu r n you

,

pay everybody ; h ow do you contrive to get money ? ”

“
This question h e r eplied has no kind o f
“
,
”
,

r elation to th e case in point What diffe r ence does .

T o d o u bt t h es e tate me t o n th e s c ore o f a p op l ar prej udi c e

1
s n s u

i fa o ur o f egardi g C agl i os tro as a l i ar wh o n e er by a y c h an ce

n v r n v n

s p oke the t uth i s q uite ridi ul ous No t o l y i s there o pro of o

r c n n n

w hic h to bas e th i s as ertio b ut the e i s ot e en th e leas t s ugges tio

.

s n, r n v n

that Cagl io stro wa e ver c o idere d a l iar by h i s o temp ora ies

s ns c n r

b efore th E ditor of the C ri de l E p —hi m e lf th e bigges t of

e ou er
’
u ro e s

li ars an dk n av e s —to o k d tg f h p i
a v an a e o t e as s o n s l et l o os e by th e
Di amon dN ec kl ac e Aff ir b d hi m
a h to ran as s u c .

1 96
 C agl io s tro
from w h om he h ad lea r nt all he knew But M i r abeau .

states t h at M de N o r dbe rg who had t r avelled much

“
.
,

in the E ast once add r essed him me wo rds in A r abic

, so

f w h ich h e did not unde r stand one w r d

”
o o .

The myste r y i n which he pu r posely enveloped

him elf and wh ic h became the deepe r t h e more it was
s ,

p r obed coupled wit h th e wonders he pe r formed

, ,

r ecalled the famous C o u nt d e Saint Ge r main who -

,

had created a simila r sensation some twenty yea r s

befo r e .Of the l ife family o r count ry f t his
, o

mysterious individ u al nothing was eve r known Of .

many suppositions th e m ost popular was that h e was

the son of a royal f emme gal an te— M arie de N e u b o u rg ,

widow of the last K ing of Spain of the H ouse of

Aust r ia— and a J ewis h banker of B ordea u x Louis XV .
,

who h ad a particula r predilection for men of his stamp

and was p r obably pe rfectly acquainted with his histo r y ,

employed him fo r a time on secret diplomatic missions

and gave h im apartments at C h ambord H is fasci .

nati n g manners good looks lavish expenditu r e and

, ,

mysterious antecedents att r acted attention w h e r eve r

he wen t .

I n London w h ere he l ived fo r a couple of yea r s

, ,

b e excited great cu r iosity “

H e was called says
.
,

Walpole “
an I talian a Spania r d a Pole a nobody
, , , ,

t h at mar r ied a great fo r t u ne in M exico and r an away

with he r j ewels to C o n s tan ti n O pl e ”
.

T h ese j ewels we r e the admi r ation of all w h o

beheld them M adame de H au s s e t the compan ion of
.
,

M adame de Pomp adour to w h om h e showed t hem

,

once believed t hem to be false Gleichen however

, .
, ,

w h o was a connoisseu r of p r ecious stones “

could ,

disce r n no r eason to do u bt thei r gen u ineness Like .

198
 Cagl io s tro in P ari s
Cagliost r o who gave a diamond valued at
,

livres to Cardinal de Rohan Saint Germain made a ,

-

p r esent of one to Lou is XV worth liv r es .

The secrecy h e obse r ved in regard to his origin

appea r s in the beginning to have been due les s to
any intention to mystify the public than to a s trong
sense of humou r I n an age when a supernatural
.

significance was attac h ed to anything that appeared

mysterious he was at once c r edited with oc c ult powers
,

whic h h e neve r claimed to possess U rged by a .

whim to see how fa r he could play upon th e credulity

of the public b e found the rOl e of wonder man so
,
-

congenial t h at h e neve r attempted to adop t ano t her .

A pa r ticular talent fo r romancing aided by a ,

w onde r ful memory enabled h im to doctor up the

,

marvello u s to s uit t h e taste of his hearer s He .

described people and places of the distan t pa s t with a

minuteness of detail that p r oduced t he imp r e s sion that
h e had been person ally acquainted wi th them As .
1

many we r e foolish enough to take h im literally all ,

so r ts of fabulous stories were cir c ulated about him .

“ ”
I amuse myself he once confessed to Gleichen
, ,

who rep r oved him fo r encou r aging t h e belief t hat he

had lived fr om time immemorial “
not by making ,

people believe what I wish but by letting t h em believe

,

what they wish These fools of Pa r isians declare t ha t

.

I am five hund r ed and I confirm t h em in the idea

,
”
since it pleases them .

The least c r edulo u s believed h im to be at least a

hundred M adame de Pompadour said to him on c e
.

that old M adame de Gergy r emembered having met

him fi fty years befo r e in Venice when he passed fo r
a man of sixty .

I 99
 C agl io s tro
I neve r like to contradict a lady he r eplied , ,

b u t it is just possible that M adame de Gergy is in

h e r dotage .
”

E ven his valet was supposed to h ave discovered

t h e sec r et of immo r tality This fellow a ve r itable .
,

Scapin assisted him admirably i n mystifying the

,

c r edulous .

“
You r maste r said a sceptic one day seizing h im
, ,

by the collar “
is a r ogue who is taking us all in
, .

T ell me is it t r ue that h e was p r esent at t h e ma r riage

,
”
of Cana ?
“
You forget sir was t h e reply
, ,
“
I h ave only ,

been in his se r vice a centu r y .

M any of th e most ama z ing sto r ies circ u lated about

Cagliostro we r e m e r el y a r epetition of t hose related
twenty yea r s befo r e of S aint Germain The re c o l l e c -
.

tion of Saint Germain s reputed longevity led to th e

-
’

bestowal of a simila r att r ibute to his successor T hus .

i t was r epo r ted that Cagliostro stopped one day befo r e

a D escent fr om t h e Cross in t h e Louvre and began
“ ”

to talk of t h e Crucifixion as if he had witnessed it .

T h oug h t h e story was devoid of foundation it was

not wit h o u t effec t and many decla r ed and believed
, ,

too t h at th e Grand C o ph ta had l ived h undreds

, ,

and even thousands of years Cagliostro it is .

,

but fai r to add complained bitte r ly o f this at h is

,

t ri al.

O n t h e st r eng th of t h e clo s e r esemblance in the

mystery and the stories conce r ning Saint Ge r main and -

Cagliostro as well as their alchemical knowle dge

,

fo r S aint Ge r main n eedless to say was credited wit h

-
, ,

h aving discove r ed th e philosopher s stone— Grimm ’

believed C ag liost r o to h ave been the valet alluded

2 00
 C agl io s tro
p r ove that C agl i o s tro appea r ance was anyt h ing but
’
s

r epulsive .

B e ugn o t wh o has described h i mwith mo r e mocke r y

,

than any of his contempo r aries says h e was of “

,

mediu m height r athe r stout with an olive complexion

, , ,

a sho r t neck round face a b r oad tu r ned u p nose and

, ,
-
,

two la rge eyes ”

F rom all acco u nts h is eyes we r e
.

r emarkable “
.I cannot describe h is physiognomy ”
,

says the M arq u ise de C r equy fo r h e had twelve o r

“
,

fifteen at h is disposal But no two eyes like his were

.

eve r seen ; an d h is teeth were s u perb Laborde .

”

speaks of his eyes of fi r e wh ich pie r ced to t h e

“

bottom of t h e soul ”
Anot h e r write r decla r es t h at
.

”
his glance was like a gimlet .

All t h e contempo r a r y documents t h at speak of

—
h im and they a r e hostil e with ve r y few exceptions
r efe r to the powe r ful fascination that he exe rcised on
all who app r oac h ed h im T h e i mp r ession he p rod u ced
.

upon t h e intellectual Countess v o n de r Recke has

already been refe rr ed to Like he r Labo r de M otus .
, , ,

“
and others considered that his countenance indicated
genius .

C ardinal de Rohan told G e o rge l t h at on seeing

“
h im for th e first time he discovered i n his phys i o g
momy a dignity so i mposing that he felt pen et r ated
”
with awe

k
.

H e was not strictly speaking h andsome says

, , ,

M adame d O b e r i rc h who ce r tainly was not one of

’

his admire r s but n eve r have I seen a more r emark

,

able face H is glance was so penetrating that one

.

might b e almost tempted to call it supernatural I .

—
could not desc r ibe t h e expression of his eyes i t was ,

so to speak a mixtu r e of flame and ice I t attracted

,
.

2 02
 C agl io s tro in P ari s
and repelled at the same time and inspired whilst it , ,

terrified an insu r mountable curiosity I cannot deny

, .

tha t Cagliost r o possessed an almost demoniacal power ,

and it was wit h difficulty that I to r e my s elf from

a fascination I could not compreh end but wh ose ,

influen c e I could not deny .

Lavate r whose unfavou r able opinion seems to be

,

due to th e contemptuous way i n which Cagliost r o

r eceived him n eve rt h eless thought him a man such
,
“

”
as few are .

B e u gn o t after r idiculing h im as
,
m oulded for
t h e express pu r pose of playing t h e part of a clown ,
”

“ —
confesses that his face h is atti r e th e whole man in , ,

fact impressed h im in spite of himself

,
.
”

I f as M eine r s and othe r hostile contempo raries

,

“
assert h e spoke badly all the language s he pro
,

fessed to know th ere is not the least r ea s on to infer

, ,

“
like Carlyle that he was wholly intelligible to no
,

mo r tal o r th at what t h ought w h at resemblance of

,
” “
,

though t he had could not delive r itsel f except in , ,

gasps blustering gushes spasmodic re fl ue n c e s whic h

, ,

made bad worse .

—
M ichelet Ca rlyle s brilliant and equally learned ’

—
contempo r a r y r egarded him as a ve r i t able so r ce r er
possessed of g r ea t eloquence E ven the bitter I n .
”

q u i s i t i o n biograp h e
-
r confessed that he was “
mar v el

l o u s ly eloquent M otus decla r ed that h is eloquence

fascinated and subj ugated one even in t h e languages ,

” ”
he spoke least well I f gibberi s h c an be sublime
. ,

“
says B e u gn o t C agliostro was sublime
,
When h e .

began any s u bj ect he seemed carried away wi t h

it and spoke imp r essively i n a ringing sonorou s
, ,

voice .

203
 C agl io s tro
The beauty of t h e C o u ntess Cagliost r o was also an
important element in t h e success of h e r husband .

S h e was like a sylp h wit h h e r fluffy straw colo u red -

hai r w h ic h sh e wo r e unpowde r ed her large deep soft

, , , ,

blue eyes h e r small and delicately chiselled nose he r

, ,

full r ose r ed lips and a dazzlingly w h ite skin

-
,
.

“
S h e is an angel i n h u man fo r m said M a i t r e ,
”

P l
o v er i t by whom she was defended w h en she was i m
,

p r isoned in t h e B astille on the c h a rge of being i mpl i

t d in t h e N ecklace Affai r w h o h as bee n sent on “
ca e ,

ea r th to sha r e and soften t h e days of t h e M an of

M a r vels Beautiful wit h a beauty that neve r belonged
.

to any wom n s h e cannot be called a model of tender

a ,

ness sweetness and resignation — no ! fo r she does not

,

even suspect t h e existence of any ot h e r qualities .

”

And the judges evidently ag r eed fo r they orde r ed h e r ,

r elease wi t hout a trial .

M otus desc r ibes h e r as a beautiful and modest “

pe r son and as charitable as h e r husband S h e was .

”

fond f dress and h er diamonds we r e t h e talk of Pa r is

o , .

T h e Countess de Lamotte at h e r trial declared that

M adame de C gl i t display of j ewel r y scandal
a o s ro s
’

i d r espectable women as well as those w h o we r e not

”
ze , .

I t is sca r cely necessa r y however to observe t h at, ,

M adame de Lamotte saw th e Countess t h roug h h er

hat r ed of Cagliostro To make a display of j ewelry
.

at that pe r iod did not cause the least scandal T h e .

Co u n tess mo r eove r was a fine h orsewoman

, , d , an

m ounted o n he r black ma r e Dj er id attracted attention

quite apa r t from the fact t h at s h e was t he wife of
Caglio s tro .

—
U neducated s h e could not write ; t h oug h fr om
mixing in t h e best society s h e h ad acquired t h e
2 04
 C agl io s tro
captain i n t h e se rvice of t h e Dutch gove r nmen t As .

this made h er at least fo r ty w h en she did not appea r to

be twenty a c r edulous public wa r eady to see in her
, s

a living witness to the e fficacy of he r husband s ’

r ej uvenating powders and elixi r of l ife D e L u c h et .

,

who is r esponsible fo r the sto ry asserts t h at s h e added ,

to he r age exp r essly to adve r tise C gl i t

’
’
quack a o s ro s
1
medicines .

Like Saint Germain s valet she was also c r edited -

’

with a s h are of he r h u sband s supe r nat u ral endowments ’

.

Acco r din g to ce r tain un a u then t icated information she ,

was t h e G r and M ist r ess of the I sis lodge fo r women ,

w h ic h among ot h e r conditions of membe r s h ip included

a subsc r iption of one h undred lo u is T h is lodge is .

said to h ave been composed of t h irty six ladies of r ank -

,

who j oined it fo r the pu rpose of being taught magic by

the wi fe of Cagliost r o T h e repo r t widely ci r culated .

by de Luc h et of the obscene cha r acter of the ,

”
evocations is devoid o f the least authenticity I t is
, .

doubtful i ndeed w h ethe r such a lodge eve r existed a t

, ,

all M adame de Genlis who fi g ures i n de Lu c he t s

.
,
’

1
If
it b tr th t h C t d C t C gli tr w
e ue a t e ou n an o un e s s a os o e re

r ll y G i pp
ea d L r us eB l m r l y h r m rk b l h g
e an o en z a a sa o, s u e t e e a a e c an e

i
n h
t e app p k f h l
ear an ce, n o t f é l m t b to s ea o t e c zar acter, o ot z, us e

r g rd d
e a h m t
e t i h i g f l l C gl i
as t e pr digi T h
os as o n s n o a a o s tro s
’
o es . e

i mp i h pr d d fr m h
re s s o n e t g i b w t t lly
o uc e o t e ac c o u n s v en a ov e as o a

diff r t f m th t w h i h B l m w id h pr d d A
e en ro a c a sa o as s a to av e o uc e . s

f
or h i wif it i p r p t r
s e, xp t y s b l i th t h
e o s e ou s to e ec an on e to e ev e a t e

pr tty d mir p L
e e w l d h l k d g irl i h d fr h h
e o re n za ou av e oo e as s an es as t e

C t S r p h i f r fift y
o un e s s e a f h rt f l if h l d with
n a a te e en e ars o t e so o e s e e

Gi pp A i
us e e d h d hip h
. s ry b v ce r g rd d an ar s av e n e v e et ee n e a e as

a i d b ty th wh p r i t i pi i g th ir f ith h B l m
s to e au ,
ose o e s s n nn n e a to t e a sa o

l g d will p rh p
e en t h gg ti th t C gl i
e a s as s e n m di to t e su es on a a
’
o s tro s re e es

p d irt h ith rt d i d th m
os s e s s e v u es e o en e e .

206
 Cagl io s tro in P ari s
list of membe r s neve r so, much as mentions the
C agl i o s t
ro si n h e r memoi r s .

VI
N eedless to say Cagliostro did not fail to turn t h e
,

p r odigious fu r ore he created to the accoun t of Egyp t ian

M asonry N ot long afte r h is a r rival in Paris a lodge
.

was establis h ed at the r esidence of one of his followers

in a r oom specially set apa r t fo r the pu rpose an d
furnished says t h e I nquisition biographer
, with -
,

unpa r alleled magnificence H e r e from t ime to time

”

“
the seven angels of the Egyptian Paradise who ,

stand ro u nd the th r one of God An aé l M ichael — , ,

Raphael Gab r iel U r iel Z o b ri ac he l and H an ach i e l

, , , ,

( wi th whom the G r and C O p h ta was a special favou r ite

)
condescended to appear to t h e fait h ful .
”

Cagliost r o also opened another lodge in his own

h ouse when t h e angels came at t h e bidding of oth e r
,

membe r s besides the G r and CO ph ta I t was not long .

before simila r phenomena we r e witnessed in all the

Egyptian lodges I n a r emarkable letter of an adept
.

of the lodge at Lyons found in Cagli o s tro s papers at ’

the time of his a r rest in Rome the writer in de s cribing , ,

a ce r emony held there said th at the fi rst philosopher

“
,

of the N ew Testament app ear ed wi t/tou t bei ng cal l ed ,

and gave the entire assembly prost r ate befo r e the blue ,

cloud in wh ich h e appeared h i s l essing Moreove r , .

e write r r t s lato r
( adds th ) two g, ea prophets and the legi
of I srael have given us simila r convincing s igns of
”
their good will -
.

I t is fr om C agl i o s tro s ability to t r ansmit his’

”
powers as it was termed that the singular phenomena
, ,

207
 C agl io s tro
of mode r n spiritualism we r e developed I n r eality it .

was nothing mo r e or less t h an th e discove r y of t h e

psychic — t h e word must j want of a better
s e rv e or
—p r operties latent in every human being and whic h ,

in many a r e capable of a very high degree of develop

ment This discovery till then unimagined was the
.
, ,

secret of the veneration in w h ic h Cagliost r o was

r ega rded by h is followe rs .

N otwithstanding the ve ry h igh development to

which C agl i o s tro s o wn psychic powe r s had now
“ ’ ”

attained one gathers the imp r ession fr om his o wn

,

utte r ances t h at he neve r compl etely understood them .

A link b e tvve e n th e old conception of magic and t h e

'

new theosophical theories the r e a r e many indica

,

tions t h at h e regarded the p h enomena he perfo r med

as di r ect manifestations of divine powe r I n an .

age of u nbelief h e always spoke of God wit h t h e

greatest respect even in ci r cles i n whic h it was the
,

fas h ion to dec r y t h e goodness as well as t h e exist

ence of t h e S upreme B eing Like all the mystics of
.

the eig h teen t h cent u ry he was deistic

,
“
All duty .
,

accordi ng to h im says G e o rge l

”
,
“
was based on t h e
,

principle : N ever do to others w h at yo u would not

wis h them to do to you ”
O ne of the first t h ings seen
.

on entering his hous e in Paris was a slab of black

marbl e on w h ic h was engraved in gold lette r s Pope s
’

U n i v e r s al P r ay er .

H istorians who have been i nclined to treat h im

leniently as the loyal agent of a r evolutiona r y sect are
h orrified that h e should have effaced t h e dign ity of the
enthusiast be h ind the tri ckeries of th e necromance r
”
.

Louis Blanc w h o p r eached a perpetual c r usade against

,

th r ones and alta r s and de s pised occultism decla r es

, ,

208
 C agl io s tro
To complete t h e m i s e en s cen e Cagliostro wo r e a
,

r obe of black silk on which hieroglyphics we r e em

broide r ed i n red H is h ead was po v e re d with an Arab
.

tu r ban of clot h of gold o r namented with j ewels A .

c h ain of eme r alds hung en s au toi r upon his b r east to ,

w h ich scarabs and cabalistic symbols of all colours i n

metal we r e attac h ed A swo r d with a handle s h aped
.

like a c r oss was suspended from a belt of red S ilk .

I n this costume says Figuier

,
“
the G rand ,

C o ph ta looked so imposing that t h e w h ole assembly

felt a so r t of te r ror when h e appea r ed .

The manner in w h ich Cagliost r o dressed and con

ducted himself in public was equally designed to att r act
attention though it was sca r cely of th e sort h e desired
, .

A w r iter w h o saw h im walking one day followed by an

admiring band of st r eet arabs says h e was wearing a
coat of bl ue silk braided along t h e seams ; his h ai r I n
powde r ed knots was gathe r ed up in a net ; his shoes
a l a d A r toi s we r e fastened wit h j ewelled buckles his
’

stockings studded with gold buttons r ubies and

diamonds sparkled on his finge r s and on the frill of ,

his s hi r t fr om h is watch c h ai n hu ng a diamond d r op

-
,

a gol d key ado r ned with diamonds and an agate seal ,

—all of which i n conj unction wit h h is flowe r ed waist

,

coat and musketeer hat wit h a w h ite plume p r oduced ,

an instantaneous e ffect .

T h e M arquise de C r equy B e ugn o t and nea r ly all

, ,

h is contempo ra r ies allude to th e fantastic man ne r in

which he dre s sed as well as to his colossal vanity ,

wh ich in flated by success r ende r ed h im not only

, ,

ridiculous to t h ose whom he failed to fascinate but ,

even insu ffe r able Pompous i n Mi ttau h e became

.
,

a rr ogant dominee r ing and c h ole r ic in Paris F latte ry

, ,
.
,

2 10
 Cagl io s t ro in P ari s
to w h ic h he had always been peculiarly susceptible ,

at last became to him l ike some drug by which he

was enslaved H e could not tolerate cri t i c ism or
.

contradic t ion “
T h e Chevalie r de Mo n tb ru e l says
.
,
”

B e u gn o t “
a veteran of t h e green r oom and ready to
,
-
,

affi rm anything was always a t hand to bea r witness to

,

Cagl i o s tro s cu r es offe r ing h imself as an example

’

cu r ed of I do not know how many maladies with

names enough to frighten one .

H oweve r Cagliostro was n eve r so spoilt by

,

success neve r so compromised by the tricks and

,

devices to whic h he stooped to perform his wonders ,

as to lose sight of his ideal H ad he been the vulga r .

cheat the so r did imposto r it is customa r y to depict him

, ,

he would have contented h imself with the s u b s c ri p

tions paid by the members of t h e lodges h e founded
and have ceased to insist on the ethical cha r acte r
of Egyptian M ason r y I n 1 7 8 5 a religious element .

was cal c ulated t o r epel rat h e r t h an to att r act I t was .

the wonder man and not th e idealist in whom Paris

-
, ,

was interested B ut instead of taking the l ine of least

.

resistance so to speak Cagliost r o deliberately adopted

, ,

a cou r se that co u ld not fail to make enemies r athe r

t h an fr iends .

Far fr om d r opping the r eligiou s an d moral characte r

of the E gyptian Rite he laid greater st r ess on it than ,

eve r and claimed for his sect a supe r iority over all the
,

ot h ers of Freemason r y on the ground that it was ,

based on the mysterie s of I sis an d Anubis which he

had b r ought fr om t h e E ast As no one ever ventured .

to rega r d him as a fool as well as a knave i t is i mpo s ,

sible to question h is since rity in the matte r At once .

the seventy two M ason i c lodges of Paris rose in arms

-

P 2 2 1 1
 C agl io s tro
against him H e managed howeve r to t r iumph ove r
.
, ,

al l opposition At a meeting held fo r the purpose of

.

expounding t h e dogmas of Egyptian M ason ry h is “

“
eloquence was so pers uasive says Figuier that h e , ,

completely conve r ted to h is vi ews t h e la rge and

distinguished audience he add r essed .

From the respect that Cagliost r o t h us exacted

an d obtained E gyptian M asonry acqui r ed an i m
,

portance i n F rance not u nlike that of th e I lluminés

in Germany N othing p r oves this so well as th e
.

Congress of Ph i lal ete s or t h e S eekers o f T r ut h

, .

T h is M asonic body was composed of members of

Swedenbo rgian and M artinist lodges affiliated to
I lluminism I ts cha r acter was at once occult and
.

political O n th e detection an d supp r ession of t h e

.

I lluminés in 1 7 8 4 the Phi lal ete s o rganized by

, , ,

S av al e tte de Langes a r evol u tionary mystic sought

, ,

to finish i n France the work w h ich Weishaupt had

begun in Germany As an old I lluminé S av al e tte de
.
,

Langes was well acqu ainted wit h Cagliost r o and the ,

i mpo r tance h e attac h ed to h im was so great that he

desired to inco r po r ate th e sect of Egyptian M ason r y
i n that of the Ph i lal é te s H e accordingly summoned .

a congress of Ph il al é te s to whic h Cagliost r o was invited

to explain his doctrine .

Th e ambitions and aspirations of t h e G r and

C o ph ta h ad kept pace with t he steadily r ising fo r tunes
of Egyptian M asonry H e was quick to pe r ceive the
.

immense advantage to be de r ived fr om a union of the

o rganization of which h e was the head with that of the
Phi l alete s w h o were one of t h e most nume r ous and i n
,

fl u e n ti al of th e M asonic sects B ut he h ad no i n te n .

tion of playing second fiddle to them and in r eplying ,

2 12
 C H A PT E R V I
T HE D IA M O N D N E C K LA C E A FFA I R

FEW subj ects have been more w r itten about more ,

discussed than the Affai r of the Diamond N ecklace .

T h e defences alone of those i nvolved i n t h is cau s e

c el eé r e fill two big volumes
’ ‘
All th e memoi r s of the
.

period contain more o r l ess detailed acco u nts of it ;

in eve r y history o f F r ance it occupies a c h apter to
itself ; and as it suggests r omance even more t h an
history no v elists and dramatists alike have often
,

exe r cised their I mag i na t i on upon its entanglements .

To re tell in detail t h is r omance to re h ea r se this

-
,

drama in which the happiness an d reputations of all

w h o figure i n it were destroyed does not come wit h in ,

t h e scope of th is b ook Fo r the chief i nterest it

.

—
exc i te i s focussed on t h e star the Comtesse de
s

—
Lamotte Valois who dominates the scen e from first
-

to last I t is only in th e last act that Cagliost r o

.

appea r s N evertheless t h e part h e played was so

.
,

impo r tant t h at a brief r és u me of t h e action p r eceding

’

his appearance is necessa r y to enable the r eader to

unde r stand h ow h e came to be involved in t h e
imbrogl io .

N atu r e h ad specially cast M adame de Lamotte fo r

the pa r t s h e played in thi s d r ama D escended fr om .

t h e Valois t hr ough a nat ur al son of H e nr y I I he r ,

family ha d s u nk i nt o a state of abj ect poverty At h e r .

2 14
CO U N TE SS DE LA MO TT E [ T o f a c e p ag e 2 14

( Af t e r R ob i ne t)
 C agl io s tro
sympat h etic and susceptible m anifested the g r eatest ,

pi t y for th e young and charming Co u ntess whose

condition was in suc h a contrast to her illustrious bi r t h .

H e was amazed that t h e C ou r t should so neglect a

descendant of H enri I I and promised r eadily to,

suppo r t h er claim A few days late r in his capacity as

.

G r and Almoner of F r an ce h e sent his interes t ing

,

p r otegee
'

livres as an ea r nest of his intention .

As g r atitude and necessity caused th e suppliant to

r enew h er visits frequently the impression sh e ,

p r oduced on the C a r dinal d eepen ed H is p r ide as .

well as his s ensuality urged him to protect a woman

as fascinating and distinguished as she was unfo r tunate .

H e entered into h er views gave her advice and even

,

confided to h e r his own grievances and desires .

Wit h all his splendour h is E minen c e was w h at is

known as a disappointed man I t was h is ambition .

to play a conspicuous pa r t i n affai r s of state To .

flatte r him t h e sycoph ants who surrounded h im we r e

i n the h abit of compa r ing his abilities to those of
Richelieu M aza r in an d Fleu r y the t h ree g r eat
, , ,

C a r dinals w h o had gove r ned F r ance I t was mo r e .

than his right it was his duty they told h im to become

, , ,

Fi r st M inister I n r eality h e was utterly u n fitte d fo r

.

such a position t h oug h not mo r e s o th an Calonne and

,

Lom eni e de B rien ne the last two ministers to gove r n

,

the state unde r the an ci en r eg i me Ro h an howeve r .

, ,

i ntoxicated by flattery believed w h at h e was told and

,

his desi r e fo r power dev e loped into a passion a fixed ,

idea .

O ne obstacle alon e stood between him and the

pu r s u it of his ambition M a r ie Antoinette ; a fasci
-

natin g and da zz ling obstacl e to t h is c onsec r ated

2 16
 T he D i amo n d Ne ckl ac e A ffai r
voluptua r y so dazzling that it became confused in his
,

mind with the summit from which it kept him H e .

did not bea r the Queen t he slightest re s entment for

he r animosity to him H e was aware that it h ad .

been imparted to h er by her mother M aria Theresa ,

at whose instance h e had been recalled from Vienna

twelve y e ars before H e felt certain that if he could .

but meet her get in t o commun ica t ion with her he could
, ,

win he r esteem U nfortunately M arie Antoinette s

.
’

contempt extended to Lo u is XV I Ver s ailles was .

thus closed to t he C ardinal H e was never seen there .

but once a yea r on Assumption Day in his rOl e of

, ,

G r and Almone r when b e celebrated mass in t h e

,

Royal Chapel .

The co n fide n c e s of her protector gave the

Countess de Lamotte mo r e t h an an insigh t into his
cha r acte r I n the vanity and credulity they re v ealed
.
,

he r ale r t and cunning mind saw a Gol c onda of

possibilities w h ich not only he r necessity but he r
geni u s fo r int r igue urged her to exploit 1
By .

ci r culating r umours of her friendship with t h e Queen ,

to whic h he r frequent j ourneys to Ve r s ailles in s ea r ch

of some influential pe r son to p r esent her petition to
the K ing gave weight she h ad obtained cred i t fr om ,

t r adespeople To cause this rumo ur to glide to the

.

ears of his E minence was easy And as people .

generally believe what flatters them when Madame ,

de Lamotte s poke of the in t erest that t h e Queen took

in h im an interest that circumstances compelled he r
,

1
It i t
s b d h C t d L m tt i f m
th e c u s o m to ran t e o un es s e a o e as n a o us ,

an d j d g d by m
u l t d d h r i ly w T h m i g
e o ra s an ar s s e ce ta n as e a az n

pirit d i ti h di pl y d h w r gi fi i h h
.

s an n v en on s s e s a e o ev e ,
ve a n s to er

i f my th t gg t h ti t w ll h m r d t
,

n a a su es t e ar s as e as t e e e a v en ure s s .

2 1 7
 C agl io s tro
to conceal t h e dissipated amo r ou s C ardinal too vain
, , ,

to dream any on e wo u ld deceive him l istened and ,

believed all he was told .

T hus began t h e famous se r ies of violet tinted -

lette r s which du r ing M ay J une and J uly 1 7 8 4 passed , , , ,

between M arie Antoinette and Rohan T h is cor r e .

s po n de n c e of whic h t h e Queen needless to say had , ,

not the least inkl ing b ecoming as it proceeded less ,

and less cold an d r ese r ved i n flamed all the desi res t h at ,

fermented i n t h e heart of the Ca r dinal I n this way it .

was the simplest th ing in the world fo r t h e Cou ntess

de Lamotte to induce him to send the Queen t hr ough
he r l ivres ou t of t h e Almonry funds fo r a poo r
family in whom h e r M aj esty was inte r ested ”
.

As M arie Antoinette continued to be sho r t of “

cas h Rohan who was himself heavily i n debt and

,
”
,

h ad misapp r op r iated into th e bargain th e funds of

va r ious institutions of w h ic h h e was the t ru stee was ,

obliged to borrow the money t h e Q ueen was s u pposed

to be in n eed of from t h e J ews H is E minence how .
,

ever at length b ecame r estive unde r t h ese incessant

,

demands fo r money H e even began to suspect t h at .

the Q ueen mig h t be playing hi m false and in spite of ,

’
all the Countess s explanations demanded som e visible
proof of the interest she p r ofessed to manifest in him .

I t was at this j unct ur e w h en it s eemed as if the ,

game was up that Lamotte walking in the ga r den of

, ,

t h e Palais Royal met by accident an unfortunate female

,

whose face bo r e a pe r fect r esemblance to that of t h e

Queen 1
To suc h an i n tr i gan te as the Co u ntess this
.
,

All t mp
1
c on e r
o ar e s i gr d t h i p i t S m fi g r
are a ee on s o n
“
a e u e,

mp l xi m h ir mb l f phy i g my f h
.

m
sa e co e on , s a e a a res e an c e o s o no o t e
m t tri k i g k i d y T g t wh d f d d h C rdi l hi tri l
,
”
os s n n , sa s ar e , o e en e t e a n a at s a .

2 1 8
 C agl io s tro
o f t h e j udges h ow a man so cultivated so intelligent , ,

and even so able as h e unquestionably was —h is

,

embassy i n Vien n a had been a brilliant success

should h ave become t h e plaything of t h e C ountes s de
Lamotte .

“
H is inc r edible c r edulity says the Due de L evis
, ,

was r eally th e knot o f the w h ole affair H oweve r .

”
,

it is not so incredible as it seem s T he very fact of h is

.

i ntelligence partially explains it As S uzanne says to

.

Figaro in t h e B ar ber of S ev i l l e intellectual men are

“
,

fools particularly when t h ere is a woman in th e case

,
”
,

and M adame de Lamotte was cleve r and fascinating

enough to have turned the h ead of the D evil himself .

As a result of this strategy th e C ountess managed

to mulct t h e Ca r dinal of liv r es The figu r e .

that s h e c u t on th is money confirmed th e r umours of

h e r intimacy with th e Q ueen a circumstance s h e did
,

not fail to turn to account B y paying t h ose w h om she

.

owed s h e obtained from th em and others still g r eater

credit w h e r eby th e foundations of the va st structu r e

k
,

of deceit in which s h e lived we r e still furthe r st r ength

ened an d extended She had no longe r to as for
.

c r edit it was offered to h e r and people even came to

, ,

implo r e h er to use he r boasted influence at Cour t in

thei r behal f S ome silk me r ch ants of Lyons who
.
,

desi r ed the pat r onage of t h e Queen sent h er a case of

,

superb st u ffs valued at li v res .

I t was in this way that s h e became acq u ainted wi

B ohme r the maker of the famous necklace
,
.

E xcept the Cardinal it would be impossible

k
,

i magine a mo r e ridiculous monomaniac than this

J ew For ove r te n yea r s h e had lo o e d up his
.

fortun e i n a matc h less j ewel fo r w h ich h

”

2 20
 T he
D i am o n d Ne ckl ac e A ffai r
unable to find a pu r chase r Marie Antoinette in .
,

pa r ticula r had been pes t ered to buy it till he r patience

, ,

being exhausted s h e orde r ed B ohmer never to men t ion

it to he r again 1
H e obeyed her but none the less
.
,

continued to hope s h e woul d change h er mind I n the

k
.

cou r se of ten years this hope became a fixed idea ,

wh i h h sought to r ealize by b
c e or crook Thu oo . s

hearing that Madame de Lamotte had great infl u ence

with the Queen B ohme r came l ike the S ilk merchants of
, ,

Lyons and ot h er to purchase it if possible s, .

I t did not take the wily Coun t es long to gauge s

t he credulity of h e r visitor o r to make up h e r mind ,

t h at i t was wo r th he r while to exploit it N eedles to . s

sa
y ,
a woman clever enough to pe r suade th e Grand
Almone r of France that a fil l d j of th e Palais e e oze

Royal fr om w h om h e had received a rose in the park

of Versailles was M arie Antoinette would have no ,

difficulty in getting possession of B Oh me r s necklace

’
.

The Cardinal w h o had been ma r king time so to , ,

speak at Save r ne eve r since his adventu r e was hastily

, ,

summoned to Paris to pe r form a service for h er

Maj es t y conce r ning w h ich s h e enjoined th e strictest
sec r ecy When Rohan who had t r avelled post in a
.
,

blizza rd discovered what the service was he was

,

stagge r ed N o wonde r The Queen h e was info r med

. .
, ,

wished him to be her secu r ity for the purchase of the

M a i e An toin ette i s s ai d to ha e tol d B h mer s h e c oul d ot
1
r v o n

afford to b u y it b u t wit h h e w ll k o wn e xt a aga c e a d p a s i r e -

n r v n n s on

di m d
fo r a t h l p th i k i g h w l d h f d h
on s on e
,

c an n o e n n s e ou av e o un t e

m h d h
ean s kla ll y pp l d h T h f t th t
t e n ec ac e re a a ea e to er e ac a

B hm l d fi d p r h r gg t th t h h d l ittl t t
.

o er c ou n no u c as e su es s a e a as e as e

as b i T h C rdi l wh l ik h Q
ra n s e k w b tif l
a na o e t e ue e n ne a e au u

bj t wh h w it t h ght h yth i g b b i f l
.

o ec en kle sa ou
,

t e n ec ac e an n ut a eau t u

r m t d w h t l d th t h Q w t d it w d d wh t
,

o na en an en o a t e u een an e on ere a
,

l d i it
,

sh e c ou s ee n .
 Cagl io s tro
n ecklace fo r whic h she had agreed to pay
,

l iv r es in fou r instal ments of equal amounts

at intervals of s i x months Madame de Lamotte
.
,

howeve r succeeded i n pe r suading him to affix h is

,

signature to th e necessary documents — and in

d u e course B Oh me r s matchless j ewel was in he r
“ ”
’

possession .

I t did not take h e r long to b r eak it u p as M a r ie

“
,

Antoinette had advised B ohmer to do yea r s befo r e .

H e r manne r of disposing of th e diamonds w h ich she ,

“
picked fr om th e setting with a knife was itself a ,
”

r omance B ut it is impossible in so h urried a r es u me

.
' ’

of t h is imb r oglio to ente r into an y pa r tic u la r s that

h ave no connection w h ateve r wit h Cagliost r o .

T h e den ou emen t a rr ived six mont h s late r w h en t h e

’

fi r st instalment of liv r es became due M adame .

de Lamotte awaited it wit h pe r fect indiffe r ence S h e

k
.

had involved th e C a r dinal too deeply to h ave any

k
fea r s for herself T h e ve ry pe r il to whic h e was
.

exposed was e r safety At all costs Ro h an would be

.

obliged to pay fo r the necklace to p r event a scandal .

S h e made a mistake however in not i nfo r ming

, ,

h im in time that th e Q ueen was not in a position to

pay the instalment whereby as h e r secu rity the
,

liability devolved on h im Fo r neve r d r eaming t h at

.

s u c h a contingency was possible he was utte r ly u n p re

,

pa r ed fo r it when it came C r ippled wit h debt he was

.
,

unable to put h is h an d on 4 0 0 0 00 1iv r es at a moment s

,
’

notice The di ffi culty h e fou nd i n raising t h e sum

.

made B ohme r so ne r vo u s t h at h e consulted M adame

Campan one of t h e Q u een s ladies i n wai t ing S he
,
’
- -
.

info r med the j ewelle r t h at [ he was mad if he imagined

the Queen had bough t h is necklace H e r eupon .

2 22
 C agl io s tro
th r oug h a confidante o f whom sh e h ad n eve r h ea r d ,

s h e was transported with indignation Forgetting .

that sh e was a Queen which s he did too often s h e , ,

r emembered only t h at s h e was a woman and without ,

thinking of the consequ ences insisted t h at the Cardinal ,

s h ould be ar r ested and h e r r eputation publicly vindi

c ate d Louis XV I whose misfo r tune it was to be
.
,

gu ided by her when he shouldn t an d never w h en he ’

—
should a misfortune that in the end was to cost him
—
c r own and life at once ordered the a rr est of the
G ran d Almone r who attired i n h is p o n ti fic al r obes
, , ,

was carried off t h en and t h e r e to the B astille like a

common criminal befo r e t h e e ye s o f th e enti r e C ou r t .

The a r rest o f t h e Cardinal was in due cou r se

1

followed by that of th e C ountess de Lamotte ,

Cagliost r o an d h is wife t h e B a r oness d O li v a who

“ ”
,
’

had acte d the pa r t of t h e Q ueen in t h e pa r k of

Ve r sailles R é te au x d e Vilette w h o h ad fo rged t h e
, ,

Quee ns letters to Ro h an and seve r al othe r s on whom

’

suspicion h ad fallen The B astille as Carlyle says

.
, ,

opened its i r on bosom to t h em all 2

.
”

S uch in b r ief is t h e story of t h e r ape of t h e

D iamond N ecklace .

The trial that followed h as been j ustly desc r ibed as

t h e prologue of the Revolution T o t h e cal u mnies it .

gave birt h may be t r aced th e hatred whic h engende r ed

t h e Reign of Ter r o r .

1
T h e Ca rdi l
na was a rres te d on th e 1 5 th ,
an d Cagl i tr
os o on th e
2 3 rd A g t 78 5
u us 1

L m tt l
.

pi g
,
2
a o e a on e s u cc e e d die n e s ca n .

2 24
 o
( Fr m a en c n
Fr h pri t) [ T f a ce p a e
0 g 2 2 4
 C agl io s tro
Lamotte and r us h ed h im c the on fo r e h ead of t h e
Queen w h ich will r etain the ma r ks
, .
”

I t was by his advice i nde ed that Louis XV I , ,

had been persuaded to gratify th e rage of his r eckless

conso r t The opportunity of r uining his enemy h ad
.

been to o gr eat fo r B reteuil to r esist The weak .

ness of t h e K ing t h e unpopula r ity o f the Q ueen and

,

th e faults o f a blun de r in g ministe r w e r e thus alike

accentuated .

“
W h en a king h as absol u te powe r says C h aix ,

d E s t Ange
’
-
“
it is wit h out doubt at such a time as this
,

t h at h e s h o u ld u se it to stifle scandal The arrest of .

”

th e Ca r dinal could only have been j ustified by his

conviction I t was a q u estion o f h is h onou r or the
.

Queen s T h irty yea r s befo r e it would have been an

’
.

easy matter to find him guilty but the spirit of dis ,

r espect fo r a tyrannized and stupid aut h o r ity whic h was

beginning to asse r t itself eve r yw h e r e made R o han s ’

convic t ion extremely difficult if not altoge t he r i mp o s

sible For Louis XV I from a m i s ta e n sense of equ ity
.
,

w h ic h was interpreted as weakness allowed the Parlia

,

,
k
ment to t r y hi m .

This was t h e heigh t of folly Fo r sixty yea rs .

t h ere h ad been wa r betwe en the Court and the Pa rlia

ment . I n th e truce w h ic h h ad tak e n pla c e on the
accession of Louis XV I the membe r s had r esumed,

t h eir deli b e r ations more imbued t han eve r wit h

spirit of r esistance ; embittered by a long exile t
r ega r ded thei r recall as a victory Th u s to give .

Parliament the powe r of dete r m i n i ng the guilt

innocence of the Cardinal which was i n r eality tha ,

the Queen herself was to take an acknow ,

enemy fo r a j udge .

2 2 6
 T he D i am o n d N e ckl ac e A ffai r
W h en t h e news of the Ca r dinal s arrest r eached t h e ’

Pa r liament one of the most popular members— h afte r

, e

wa r ds peris h ed the guillotine like most of them

on

c r ied out ru bbing h is h ands

, G r and and joyful busi
,
“

ness ! A Ca r dinal in a swindle ! The Queen i mpl i

ca e t d in a fo r gery ! Filth on the crook and on the
scept r e ! What a t r iumph fo r ideas of libe r ty ! H ow
impo r tant fo r t h e Parliament !
I n suc h ci r cumstances it is not u rp r ising t h at the s

t r ial of the Ca r dinal and his e should become co accu s s

-
,

as M irabeau w r ote th e most serious affai r in t h e

,
“

”
kingdom .

The g r eat family of Ro h an left no stone untu r ned

to save t h e h onou r of thei r name To assist t h em .

—
but inspired by q u ite ot h e r motives t h ey had all the
enemies of t h e Queen and the M in ist r y as well as the ,

people w h o considered t h e Cardinal the victim of

despotism Women i n particular were all fo r la B elle
.

E minence I t was the fas h ion to wea r ribbons half red

.

and half yellow th e fo r me r rep r esenting t h e Cardinal

, ,

t h e latter the st r aw on w h ic h he was supposed to lie in

t h e B astille Car di n al s u r l a p ai l l e was the name of
.

the r ibbon w h ic h was worn even in the palace of

,

Versailles itself .

To save the honou r of t h e t hr one th e Government

was obliged to descend into the arena and figh t the
forces a rr ayed against it Th e attention of the .

civilized world was t h us r iveted on th e trial which lasted ,

nine months N o detail was kept secret accounts

.
,

we r e published daily in which t h e slightest incident

was r eco r ded France an d E urope were inundated
.

with libels and calumn ies i n whic h the r eputations of

all conce r ned we r e to r n to shreds .

Q 2 2 2 7
 C agl io s tro
T h row enough mud and some o f it is s ur e to stick .

I t took more t h an half a centu ry to cleanse the h onour

of M a r ie An to i n e tte o f all susp i c ion of connivance in
the theft of the necklace .

Th e mistrust that myste r y an d magic always

inspi r e made Cagliostro with his fantastic pe r sonality
an easy target for calumny After havi n g been r iddled
.

wit h abuse till he was un r ecognizable prej udice the , ,

foster c h ild of calumny proceeded to lync h h im s o to

-
, ,

speak Fo r over o n e h undred years his c h a r acte r has

.

dangled on the gibbet of in famy upon which t h e ,

.

s bi r r i of tradition have insc r ibed a c ur se on any one

w h o shall attempt to cut h im down .

H is fate has been his fame H e is r emembe r ed in .

histo r y not so much fo r anyt h ing h e did as fo r what

, ,

was don e to him T he D iamond N ecklace Affair in

.
,

w h ich t h e old r eg i me and t h e new met i n thei r due ! to

th e death was C agl i o s tro s damnation I n j udging
,
’
.

him to day it is absolutely essential to bea r in mind

-
,

the unparall eled lack of scr u ple with which the Govern
ment and its enemies contested thi s trial .

II
I mplicated in h er swindle by the C o u ntess de
Lamotte to whose accusa tions h is close intimacy wit h
,

th e Ca r dinal gave weight Cagliostro was ar r ested,

at seven i n the morn ing by I nspecto r B ru gn i ere ,

accompanied by Commissary C h e s n o n and eight

policemen .

“
H e desi r ed me says C agliost r o who h as desc
, ,

his arrest in de t ail to deliver up my keys and

“
, ,

p e l l e d me to open my bureau which I did , .

22 8
 C agl io s tro
B ut to Cagliost r o his r ole was ve ry fa r fr om comic .

Th e consciou s ness of innocence is not necessarily a

consolation in adversity I t po isons as often as it
.

stimulates a c cording to th e tempe r ament Cagliostro

— .

was utte r ly crushed by the blow th at had fallen on

him Th e gloom of t he B astille whi c h the popular
.
,

imagination hau nted by ol d legends made deepe r than

it was seemed to chil l his v e r y soul H e who had
, .

faced wi t h a front o f brass all t h e p r ev i ous dange r s

“ ”

and humiliations of his agitated existence was for the

first time cowed l lluminist E gyptian M ason M y s tic
.
, ,

—
Regenerator of M ankind Revolutionist in a wo r d ,

h e had no confidence i n th e j ustice of the powe r into

w h ose hands h e had fallen H e believed that he .

would be fo rgot t en in h is du ngeon l ike so many

o th ers
.

T h e severity wi th which he was t r eated was

calculated to j ustify his fears .

“
We r e I left to choose he says “ ”
between an
, ,

ignomin ious death and six mont h s in the B astille I

, ,

would say without hesitation Lead me o n to the ,

‘

For five month s he was not onl y i n ignorance b u t ,

pu r posely misinformed as to what was tr anspiring

,

withou t his p r i s on During t h is time the beautiful

. ,

Countess less rigorously gu arded was confined near

, ,

h im without h i s knowle dge As soon as B ru gn i é re

.

had carried off her husband C h e s n o n and the police

, ,

who had r emained behind after searching fo r i n c ri m

i n ati n g documents which they did no t find attached ,

“
seals to the house and carried her off too half dead ,

wi t h fear to the Bastille I n response to C agl i o s tro s

’

.
,

repeated inqui r ies as to w h et h e r s h e sha r ed h is

2 3 0
 T he D i am o n d N e ckl ac e A ffai r
capti v ity as , he feared h i j aile r s
s , thei r
swore by
honour and God that she was not in the Bastille .

This deception was even carried to the leng t h of

permitting him to w r ite let t ers to her which never
reached he r and to receive replie s which s h e neve r
,

wrote in w h ich she as s ured him t h at s h e was taking

,

s teps to res t ore him to fr eedom As the Countess .

Cagliost r o could not write a friend was supposed to ,

write the letters for her I n t h e same way i f he .

wanted c lothe s o r linen h e woul d dispa t c h a line to

his wife and an official would go to hi s house and
,

fetch what he required bringing back a letter from

,

t he Countess cal c ulated to make hi m believe th at t h ey

had been sent by he r .

At the s ame t ime the Cardinal was living in almost

as much comfort as if h e had been in his own palace .

H e occupied a spacious apartment had three of his ,

servants to wait on him and saw as many people as,

he wi s hed The number of his vi s itors was so g r eat

.

that t h e d r awbridge of t he Bas t ille was kept lowe r ed

thro u ghout the day On one occasion he even gave
.

a dinner of t wenty co v ers .

”

—
AS mo n ey and Cagliost r o had plen ty of i t like
—
rank was able to pu r cha s e equal consideration in the
,

Bastille t h e contra s t in the treatment of the two

,

prisoners almo s t warrants the supposition t h at t he

j aile r s de r ived no little amusement fr om making spo r t
of t he sufferings of one who was alleged to be immune
from those ill s to whic h mere clay is p r one There .

are many people to whom a weeping Pie rr ot is as

funny as a laughing one .

I t was not till his despondency on discoverin g as ,

he eventually did that his wife was a p r isoner like

2 3 1
 C agl io s tro
himself th r eatened to affect his r eason that the severity
,

of his confinement was relaxed To prevent him fr om .

committing sui c ide T h i ro u x de Crosne the m inister

, ,

who had issued the wa rr ant fo r his arrest advised de ,

“
Launay the Governor of th e Bastille
, to choose a ,

warde r ikely to be sympathetic to sleep in h is cell

,
l
, .
”

H e was also permi t ted l ike t he ot h e r prisone r s to

, ,

have exercise and to sel ect a lawye r to de fend h im .

T h e fi rst use h e made of this privilege was to

petition th e Parl iament — “
to r elease h i s wife from a
dungeon w h e r e a man h imsel f had occasion fo r all h is
,

strength all his fo r titude and all his r esignation to

, ,

”
struggl e against despair .

The B astille was too massive a cage fo r so delicate

a bi r d I mplicated without th e shadow of a reason in
.

the N ecklace Affai r th e C ountess Cagliostro began to

imagine h erself ill S h e pined for h e r fine house her
.
,

admirers h er diamonds he r black mare Dj

, ,
erid and the ,

companionship of th e man to whom s h e owed all that

spelt happiness i n he r inoffensive doll like exi s tence ,
-
.

M oved to pity less by t h e peti t ion of Cagliostro than

by th e pleading of her lawyer Po l v e ri t and the elo , ,

q u e n c e o f d E re me n i l the most b r illiant member of

’

p ,

the Parl iament t h at body was finally per s uaded to set

,

he r free without a trial aft e r having been imprisoned

seven months in the B as t ille .

The release of t h e Countess C agliostro to which ,

t h e Cou r t was bitterly opposed was the first reverse ,

of the Govern ment in the duel to w h ic h it had so

fooli s hly challenged public O pi nion .

N o sooner was the news known than fr iends and

s trangers alike came to congratulate h er For more .

than a week nea r ly th r ee hund r ed peo ple came daily

2 3 2
 C agl io s tro
swindler To penetrate th e mystery in w h ich he had
.

wrapped his o r igin s h e invented fo r h i m a low and

shameful past whic h th e edito u of t h e Cou r i er de
,

l E u r op e an d t h e I nquisition biograp h er afterwards

’
-

merged into Giuseppe B alsamo s S h e r idiculed his ’

.

cure s and cited t h e M edical Faculty as witnesses of

,

th e deaths h e had ca used Sh e declared his dis .

i nterestedness and h is gene r osity to b e a fr aud and ,

accused h im of p r actising in p r ivate the vices he

denounced in public H aving st r ipped hi m of t h e
.

last sti t c h of respectability she p r oceeded to expose

the woman who passed as his wife and whose l i a i s on s ,

wit h t h e Ca r dinal an d othe r s s h e declared he e n

c o u ra e d
g .As fo r the wonde r s he was said to pe r fo r m
they we r e not even wort h y of the name of tricks only
fools we r e taken in by t hem I n fine t o M adame .
,

“
de Lamotte th e Grand C o ph ta was nothing but an
,

a r ch empiric a mean alchemist a dreamer on the

, ,

philosop h e r s stone a false prophet and a J ew who

’

, ,

had taken to pieces the necklace whic h h e had

beguiled t h e Ca r dinal ove r whom he h ad gained an,

incredible influence to ent r ust to h im in o r der to

, ,

swell a fortune u nheard of befo r e .

—
T h is memozr e the fi r st of many whic h the various
pe r sons implicated in the Affair r ained u p o n th e public .

— was to an impatient world the signal that the battle

had begun E xcitement already at feve r heat was
.
, ,

intensified by t h e boldness directness and violence of ,

M adame de Lamotte s denunciation I t was felt that

’
.

to j ustify h imself Cagliost r o would be obliged to clear

up the mystery of his past N eve r be fore had the .

“ ”
Gran d Coffer as he was called by a police o fficial
,

who unwittingly con founded the titl e and the fortune

2 34
 T he D i am o n d Ne ckl ac e Afl h i r
of the restorer of Egyptian M asonry r oused cu r iosity ,

to so high a pitch The recollection of h i s reputed

.

prodigies gave to h i s expe c ted self revelation the -

cha r acte r of an evocation so to speak ; and th e publi c

, ,

as ready to mock as it had fo r merly been to r espect

him awaited h is defence as a sort of magic séance at
,

which all t h e tricks of nec r omancy we r e to be explained .

Cagliostro employed to defend him T h i lo ri e r one ,

of the youngest and most p r omising advocates of the

Parisian ba r Perhaps no cau s e cel éé r e in history has
.
’

eve r called fo r th a more b r illiant display of legal talent

t han the Diamond N ecklace Affair Of all the mé moi r es .

or statemen t s t h at were publ ished by the advocates

engaged in the case that of T h i lo ri e r c r eated the
greatest sensation .

Warned by the tumult occasioned by the r ush o f

purchasers who had be s ieged the house of M adame de
Lamotte s advocate on the publication of her memoi r e
’

T h i l o ri e r took the precaution to secure eight soldier s

of the watch to guard his doo r Wi t h in a few hours .

t ens of t h ousands of copies were s c at t ered ove r Pari s ,

and large editions were dispatched to the principal

cities of Europe I t was regarded as a r omance after
.

the s tyle of the A r aé i an N zg/tts r athe r than the serious

defence of a man whose libe r ty and very life were at
stake E veryw h ere people read it with a sort of
.

amused bewilde r ment and T h i l o ri e r himself says

, ,

B e u gn o t,
“
who was a man of infinite wit was the ,

first to laugh at it .

As a ma s terpiece of i r ony clearness dignity and , , ,

wit it was equalled only by B londel s defence of the ’

“
Baroness d O l i v a
’
B ut its chief merit lay not s o
.

much in t h e piquancy of its lite r ary s tyle as in its

2 35
 C agl io s tro
po r trayal of Caglio s tro Those who read this fanta s tic .

documen t felt that t h ey not only s aw the man but

could hear h im speak T h i l o ri er had drawn h is h e r o .

to the life .

Beginning with a h igh fl o wn an d egotistical re -

capitula t ion of his sufferings and virtues C agliostro

pro c eeded to r efute “
those imputations ( as to his
origin ) which in any ot h e r circumstan c e he would
have t r eated wi t h contempt by r elating “
with ”

candou r t h e hi s tory of his life As a specimen of his .

g r andiloquence i t is worth quoting at some length .

“
I cannot he says speak positively as to th e
, ,

place of my nati v ity nor to the pa r ents who gave me ,

birth All my i nquiries have ended only in giving

.

me some great notions it i s true but altoget h er vague , ,

and uncertain concern ing my family ,

.

“
I Sp ent th e yea rs of my child h ood in t h e city of
M edina in Arabia There I was brought up u nde r .

th e n ame of Acharat which I preserved during my ,

p r ogress th r ough Afr ica an d Asia I h ad my apa r t .

ments i n t he pal ace of th e M uphti S al ahaym I t is .

needless to add t h at the M uphti i s the c hief of the

M ahometan r eligion and that his constant r esidence ,

is at M edina .

I recollect perfectly that I had then four pe r sons

attach ed to my service : a gove r nor between fifty fiv e ,
-

an d s ix t y yea r s of age whose n ame was Al tho tas 1

, ,

1 xi t
T he f Al h
e i w g r ll y
s en ce dd A o t o tas s no en e a c on ce e .

pl ibl tt mpt h b m d
au s e a eid tify h i m with rt i as een a e to en a ce an

K l m r fr m w h m W i h pt
o e o i dl i m gi
o d wh e s au re c e v e es s on s n a c , an o

was id b J tl d m h t wh h d l i d m y i
sa to e a u an e rc an o a ve so e e ars n

M mph i d ft w d t ll d th gh E r p p t di g
e s an a er ar s rav e e ro u u o e re e n n to
i iti t d pt i h i t E gypti My t i H w k w
n a e a e s n t e an c e n an s er e s . e as no n

to h i it d M lt i h ti m f h Gr d M t r P i t
av e v s e a a n t e e o t e an as e n o.

2
3 6
 C agl io s tro
t h at M e d ina and my youthful sports the r e lost all t h e
allu r ements I had found in t h em before At last w h en .
,

I was in my twelfth year Alth e tas info r med m e one

,

day that we were going to commence o ur t r avels A .

ca r avan was prepared and we set out afte r h aving ,

taken ou r leave of th e M uphti w h o was pleased to ,

express his concern at our departure in t h e most

obliging manner .

On our a r rival at M ecca we alig h ted at t h e

palace of t h e C h erif H ere Al th o tas provided me wit h
.

su mptuous apparel an d p r esented me to th e C h e r if ,

who h ono u red me wit h the most endea r ing ca r esses .

At s ight of this prince my senses experienced a s u dden

emotion w h ich it is n o t i n t h e powe r of wo r ds to
,

express and my eyes d r opped t h e most delicious tears

,

I h ave eve r shed in my life H is I pe r ceived h e .

, ,

could h ardly contain .

I remained at M ecca for t h e space of t hr ee yea r s ;

not a day passed wit h out my being admitted to th e
sove r eign s presence an d every h our inc r eased h is
’

attac h ment and added to my g r atit u de I sometimes .

surprised h is gaze riveted upon me an d tu r n ed to ,

h eaven with every exp r ession of pity and commise r a

tion T h oug h tful I would go from him a p r ey to an
.
,

ever fruitless curiosity I dared not question Al th o tas

-
.
,

w h o always r ebuked me with great severity as if it had ,

been a crime in me to wis h fo r some information con

cern ing my parents and the place where I was b o rn .

I attempted in vain to get t h e sec r et from th e negro

who slept in my apartm ent I f I c h anced to talk of
.

my parents h e would tu r n a deaf ear to my questions .

B ut one night when I was more pressing than usual ,

he told me that if ever I should leave M ecca I was

2 3 8
 D iam o n d N e ckl ac e A ffai r
T he

“
, k k
t hr eatened with t h e g r eatest misfortunes and bid me
above all ewar e of t e c i ty of T r eé i z on d
My inclination howeve r got the bette r of his fo r e
, ,
,

.
,

—
bodings I was tired of the un iformity of life I led at
’
the Ch e rif s court O n e day when I was alone th e
.

p r ince ente r ed my apa r tment ; he strained me to his

bosom with mo r e than usual tenderness bid me never

k
,

cease to ado r e t he Almighty and added bedewing my , ,

c h eeks wit h his tears : N atu r e s u nf or tu n ate c i l d

‘ ’

adi eu

T h is was our last interview T h e caravan waited .

only fo r me and I set o ff leav ing M ecca neve r to, ,

re enter it more
-
.

“
I directed my cou r se first to Egypt w h e r e I i n ,

s e c te d those celeb r ated py r amids which to t h e eye of

p
the superficial observ er only appear an enormous mass
of ma r ble and granite I also got acquainted wit h the
.

priests of t h e various temples who had the com ,

p l ac e n c e to introduce me into suc h place s as no

o r dinary travelle r eve r ente r ed befo r e The next .

three yea r s of my p r og r ess we r e spen t in the p r incipal

kingdoms of Africa and Asia Accompanied by .

Al th o tas and t h e th r ee attendan t s who continued in

,

my service I a r rived in 1 76 6 at th e island of Rhodes

, ,

and there embarked on a Frenc h ship bound to

M alta
N otwithstanding t h e gen e ral r ule by w h ic h all
vessels coming from t h e Levant are obliged to enter
quarantine I obtained on the second day leave to go
,

a s hore Pinto the G r and Master of the K nights of

.
,

M alta gave us apartments in h is palace and I pe r fectly

, ,

recollec t that mine we r e nea r the laboratory .

“
The first t hing t h e Grand M aste r was pleased to
2 39
 C agl io s tro
do was
, to request t he Chevalier d Aqi u no of t h e’

p r incely house of Ca r amanica to h me

e ar
, company
an d do me the honours of the isla nd I t was h ere that .

I fi r st assumed E u r opean d r ess and with it t h e name

of Count Cagliost r o ; no r was it a small matter of
surprise to me to see Al th o tas appear i n a clerical d r ess
with the i n s ignia of the Order of M alta .

I have eve r y reason t o belie v e that the Grand

M aste r Pinto was acquainted wi t h my real origin H e .

often spoke to m e of the Cherif and mentioned the

city of T r ebizond but neve r would consen t t o enter
,

into furt h e r particula r s on th e subj ect M eanwhile he .

t r eated m e with t h e utmost di s tinction an d a s sured me ,

of very r apid p r eferment if I would con s ent to take

the cross B ut my taste for travelling and th e p r e
.

dominant desire o f practising medicin e induced me ,

to decli n e an offe r that was as gen erous as it was

honourable .

I t was in t h e island of M alta that I had the mis

fortun e o f losing my best frien d and m aster th e wi s e s t ,

as well as t h e most learned of men t he venerable ,

Al th o tas Some minutes before h e expired pre s s ing

.
,

my h and h e said in a feeble voice M y son keep for

, ,
‘
,

ever before you r eyes t h e fear of God and t h e love of

you r fellow creatu r es ; you will soon be convinced by
-

expe r ience of what you have been taught by me

’
.

The spot w h e r e I had parted fo r eve r from the

fr iend who had been as a father to me s oon became ,

odious I begged leave of the Grand M aster to quit

.

t h e island in order to travel ove r E urope ; he c o n

sented r eluctantly and the Ch evalier d Aq
,
u i n o was so
’

obliging as to accompany m e O ur first trip was to

.

Sicily fr om thence we went to the different islands

,

2 4 0
 Cagl io s tro
Rome he a r rived at S trasburg at a bound w h ence he ,

proceeded to his impri s onment in th e B astille with

almost equal speed H is confession r endering as it
. ,

did his country and parentage more mysteriou s than

ever was r eceived with derision T h e credulous
,
.

public which had swallowed so easily all t h e ex

,

trav agan t s t ories concerning h is supernatu r al powers

refused to believe in this fantastic account of a
myste r ious childhood pa s sed in M ecca and M edina ,

of caravans and py r amids of tole r an t M u p h tis and

,

benignant Grand Maste r s of M alta I t was not t h at

.

the c r edulity of the eigh teenth century had its limit

but t h at calumny h ad mesme r ized it so to speak , .

Cagl i o s tro s prestige had been s ubmerged in the

’

N ecklace Affai r ; the bligh t of the B astille h ad fallen

on the fame of the Grand C Op h ta and all his works .

As t h e manne r in w h ic h h e stated h is ign orance

of h is birth seemed to leave it to be infe r red that he
knew more than h e wi s hed to say it was dete r mined
,

to give him a fat h e r W h ile h is enemies ag r eed with

.

the Countess de Lamotte that h e was t h e son of a

N eapoli t an coac h man h is friends declared h im to be
,

th e offspring of the illicit love s of th e G r and M aster

Pinto and a princess of T r ebizond To account fo r
.

the meeting of this S ingular pai r it was gravely asser t ed

that a Maltese galley had captured a T u rkish pleasure

kk
boat with several young ladies of distinc tion on board
one of whom h ad ex c anged ear ts with Pinto who
,

k
, ,

prevented by his v o w of celibacy fr om making h er h is

wife had sent h er b ac to her disconsolate parents
,
,

and t hat to frus t rate their rage at t he condition in

which she had returned s h e had ca u s ed her c h ild
a s soon as it was b o rn to h e spirited away to Arabia ,

2 4 2
 T he D i am o n d N e ckl ac e A ffai r
w h ic h acco u nted for th e mysterio u s warning A c h a rat h ad
r eceived from th e black slave to beware of Trebizond “
.

Ridic u le howeve r soon disposed of t hi agreeable s

kk
, ,

fable and substituted instead the popular B alsamo

k
,

legend in w h ic h ju s t as m u c as i t as p l eas ed s u b
q i r a lzer s to acce t o
f C l i
’
s e ue n t og p p ag os tr o s con
f e s s i on

h as been included As to w h eth e r h e spoke the truth

.

w h olly or partly o r not at all the present writer , ,

confr onted with h is myste r ious and fantastic character

on t h e one hand and the assertions based on t h e
prej udice of a century on t h e ot h er is unable to expre s s ,

any opinion I t seems h owever hard to believe that

.
, ,

any man placed i n so s erious a situation as Cagliostro ,

and one w h ic h moreover had tho r oughly shaken his

, ,

cou rage would h ave ventu r ed to invent a s to r y

,

calculate d to inc r ease t h e suspicion it was his obj ect

to allay To t h e p r esent generation accustomed
.
,

by t h e p r ess to infini t ely greater imp r obabilities ,

Cagl i o s tro s adventu r es i n M ecca and M edina have

’

at least lost the air o f incredibility .

IV
As may be s ur mised fr om t h e c u rsory acco u nt of
t h e D iamond N ecklace Affair al r eady given Cagliost r o ,

had no di ffic u lty in p r oving h is in nocence The me r e .

compa r ison of th e dates of t h e various incidents of the

i mbroglio wit h h is own w h e r eabout s at the time was
su fficient to vindicate h im .

T hr ough o u t t h e w h ole of 1 7 8 4 w h ile the Cardinal ,

was cor r esponding as h e supposed with the Queen

, , ,

meeting h er in t h e park of Ver s aille s and pu r cha s ing ,

the necklace Cagliostro was i n B ordeaux and Lyon s

,
.

H e did not a r rive in Pa r is till J anua r y 3 0 1 7 8 5 ,

R 2 2 43
 Cagl io s tro
it was on Feb r ua r y 1 that the Cardinal gave t h e
necklace to M adame de Lamotte to h and to t h e
Queen Accordingly if Cagli ostro had ever even
.
,

s een t h e necklace it could only h ave been between

,

J anuary 30 and Feb r uary 1 w h en B Oh me r h ad already

obtained the Cardinal s guarantee in exchange fo r ’

his precious j ewel This howeve r he denied

.
“
It
, ,
.

was not h e said till a fortni ght befo r e the Cardinal

,
” “
,

was arrested that h e informed me for the first time of

the tran s action about the necklace .

B ut Caglio s tro was not content wit h merely

’
establishing his innocence M adame de Lamotte s .

at t ack on his character had deeply wounded him in h is

— —
most sensitive spot h is vanity and pride would not
suffer him to ignore he r gibes .

She had described him as an a r ch empi r ic a ,

mean al chemist a dreamer on t h e ph ilosop h er s stone

,
’

a false prophet and a p r ofane r of the true religion

, .
”

Empiric he said r efuting each epithet in tu r n

,
”
, ,

not without a ce r ta i n dignity ; th is wo r d I h ave often

“

heard without knowing exactly what it meant I f it .

mean s one w h o without being a docto r h as some

knowledge of medicine and takes no fee who attends ,

to rich and poo r alike and receives no mon ey fr om

ei t her t h en I confess I am an empiric
, .

“
M ean alchemist Alchemist o r not the epith et
.
,

mean i s applicable only to those who beg or cringe ,

and it i s well known whethe r Count C agliost r o ever

a s ked a favour of any one .

“
Dreame r on the p h ilosop h er s stone Whateve r ’
.

my opinion may be conc e r ning the philosopher s stone ’

,

I have kept it to myself and never troubled the public

with my dreams .

2 44
 C agl io s tro
cons ulted Cagliost r o on t h e pricking of a t h umb
“
,

which made h er r egret sh e did not live i n t h ose

“

blessed time when a charge of orce ry would h ave led

s s

him to the s t ake

”
.

But while she attempted to ove r whel m the m u

fo r tunate creature she had chosen to saddle wit h h e r

own guilt he dexterously turned the tables u pon h e r
,
.

Assuming that her cal u mnies were i nspi r ed by th e

desire to lear h erself r ather than h atred he fo rgave

c ,

he r the tears of bitte r ness h h ad ca u sed him to s e

shed
Do not imagine he said wi th the ai r o f s u blim e
, ,

bombast t hat was characteristic of h im “

that my ,

mode r ation is a piece of mere affectation F r om the .

bot t om of the abyss into which you h ave plunged me

I s h all rai s e m y voice to implo r e in you r behalf t h e
~

clemency of the laws ; and if afte r my innocence and ,

that of my wife is acknowledged the best g o f kings ,

should think an unfo r tunate st r anger who had settled

i n France on the fait h of his royal wo r d of the laws of ,

hospitality and of the common righ ts of nations is

,

enti t led to some indemnity th e only satisfaction I shall

,

require will be t h at h is M aj esty may be pleased at my ,

request to pardon and set at liberty the u nfo r tunat e

,

Countess de Lamotte H owever guilty she may b e

.

supposed she is already sufficiently punished Al as !

, .

as I have been taug h t by sad expe r ience the r e is no ,

crime ever so great but may b e atoned fo r by s i x

month s in the B astille !
B l ag u e o r conviction at such a moment it w o u ld
, ,

be c h urlish to inquire When o n e is fig h tin g fo r life

.

and liber t y one readily avails oneself of an y weapo n

that comes to h and At least s o t h o u gh t M ad am e de
.

2 4 6
 T he D iam o n d N e c l ac e A ffai r k
Lamotte Failing further abuse of which S he had been
.

depri v ed by a r zpos te as unexpected as it was subtle she ,

pi c ked up a candlestick H urled at the head of her .

adversary it h it him in the s tomach to the amuse

“
, ,

ment of the cou r t th e j udges and M adame de Lamot t e

,

her s elf who remarked t o her counsel that if he

,
“

wi s hed to render th e scene still more amusing he had

but to give he r a broomstick .
”

But neithe r abusive epithets no r candlesticks are

argument s Finding herself on the wrong road the
.
,

Countess made haste to leave it for another I t was .

no longer Caglios t ro w h o had stolen the necklace but

‘

th e Cardinal .

At la s t after mo r e t h an nine mont h s the famous

, ,

affair c ame t o an end On M ay 30 1 7 8 6 all the

.
, ,

accused were summoned before the Parliament W h en .

Cagliostro arrived tricked out as usual like a mounte

,

bank in a coat of green s ilk embroide r ed with gold ,

and his h air falling i n little tails on h is shoulders t h e ,

w h ole assemblage burst into a laugh But to h im it .

was anything but an occasion for merriment ; h e was

serious to the point of solemnity .

“
Who are you asked t he p r esident .

An illustrious travelle r was the reply T h en

k
.
,

with impe r turbable gravi t y he began in his loud ,

metallic voice w h ich M adame d O b e r i rc h compared

,
’

t o a t r umpet veiled in crape to r epeat t h e story of

“
,

his life
.

At the mention of T r ebizond t h e laughte r re

doubled Thi s made him nervous and either u n c o n
.
,

s cious l
y fr om old h abit o r in t h e h ope
,
of exciting an
i nte r est favou r able to his cause b e related h is adv e n ,

tu r es in a j a rgon composed says B e ugn o t “

of all , ,

2 47
 Cagl io s tro
known languages as well as th ose whic h neve r existed .

The gibberish b e employed rendered him and his

sto ry still more fantastic The laughter in t he court .

was so loud th at at times t h e voice of the speaker was

drowned E ven t h e j udges were convulsed At the
. .

finish the p r esiden t seemed to be on the point of

“ ’ ”
complimenting N ature s unfortunate child I t was .

evident that Cagliost r o h ad won the sympat h y of t h o s e

on whom his fate depended O f the verdict of the .

mob th ere was no doubt H e t ook the cheer s with .

w h ich h e was greeted on being driven back to the

B astille as a premonition of h is acquittal One write r .

says b e di s played t h e joy h e fel t by throwing his h at

”
into the air .

On the following day ( M ay 3 1 ) the Parliament

p ronounced the verdict The Cardinal and Cagliostro .

—
were unanimously acquitted t h e innocence of the
latte r had been acknowledged by all implicated in the
t r ial even i n the end by the Countess de Lamotte
,

1
herself .

The ve r dict was immensely popular “

I don t .
’

know what would h ave befallen the Parliament s aid

k iPt i ti g
,

1
i w M F kB t
O n e , de S ou da i n an n ere s n re v e o f un c ren an o s -
’

Ap il ly
.
,

L Afiai r e du Col l i er , i n th e ar s T emp s ,

’
r 1 , 1 9 0 2 , i s th e o n
d w it t d q ti thi di t
mo ern r er wh o h as v e n u re to u e s on ls v er c T h e v a ue
O pi i j dg d f ti l by
.

o f hi s n o n may b e u e ro m an ar c e h i m i n th e R ev ue
wh i h tt pt id tify y t i F h
B l eu e, 1 8 9 9 , i n c h e a e m s to en a m s er o us re n c
w o man w di d
ho e Ci i n th e with
r me a i n 1 82
5t th e C o u n e s s de

L tt
am o e , w di d L d
ho e in ft
on o n pi g f
1 7 1 , a er e s ca
9 n ro m th e
whi h
S al pé tri é re, to c b d d l if
s h e h ad ee n c o n e m n e fo r e H er s en
te n c e —th e
j dg w i fi di g g ilty— l
.

u es e re u n an mo u s in n n h er u a so
i l d d b i g w hipp d k d b y h x ti r b d d h
nc u e e n e na e t e e e cu on e ran e on t e
s h ld r with h l tt r V ( l ) d h fi ti f l l h
ou e s t e e e . v o eu s e an t e c on
,

s ca on o a er
pr p ty T h t th r i mpl i t d i th i ff ir d
,
”
o er . f h e s en e n c e s o t e o e s ca e n s a a n ee
hr
n o t c o n c ern u s e e .

2 4 8
 C agl io s tro
gift of an ardent soul and a sensi t ive h eart you who ,

have experienced the delig h ts of a first love you ,

alone will unde r stand me you alone will appreciate

,

what after ten mont h s o f to r ture t h e fi r st moment of

”
bliss is like !
Both Cagliost r o and t h e Cardinal were obliged to
show t h emselves at t h e windows of thei r re s pective
houses before the crowds which were chee r ing t hem
,

and hissing the name of t h e Queen could be induced ,

to disperse .

To Marie Antoinette w h ose popularity was for

,

eve r blasted by the trial the verdict of th e Parliament

,

— —
was an insult as it was meant to b e which i n to l e r
able t h ough i t was s h e would have been wis e to have
,

bo r ne in silence But it was her fate to t h e last to

.

hold the honou r of the woman h igh e r t h an th e maj esty

of t h e Queen H aving made the blunde r of arresting
.

t h e Cardinal and suffering th e Parliament to try him ,

the K ing advised by he r now committed th e folly of

, ,

S howing his resentment of the verdict which had aft e r ,

al l in the eye of th e law c lea r ed h is consort of com

, ,

p l i ci t
y in the swindle O
. n J u ne 2 the day after his ,

releas e fr om the Bastille Ro h an was st r ipped of all

,

his Court dignities and functions and exiled to one of ,

his abbeys in Auve rgne At t h e same time Cagliost r o

.
,

was also o r dered to leave Paris wit h his w ife wit h in a

week and F r ance within three
, .

The news no sooner became known than an

immense conco ur se of people flocked to manife s t t h eir
disapproval in fr ont of t h e house of the Grand C o p h ta
But if he mistook their demonstration of hatred of t he
Queen as a sign of sympathy fo r himsel f popularity ,

u nde r su c h conditions was too fr augh t with danger fo r

2 5 0
 T heD iam o n d N e c kl ac e A ffai r
him to take any pleasu r e in it Ter r ified lest t h e .

Government should seize t h e opportunity of thrusting

him back into the B astill e h e came out on t h e balcony
,

of h is h ouse and ent r eat ed the mob to withdraw

quietly and t h en h urriedly left Pari
, s .

H e went first to Passy w h ither he was followed by

,

a small band of his most faithful adhe r ents who during ,

the few days he r emained the r e mounted guard in t he

house in which h e h ad taken shelte r A fortnight .

late r he embarked fr om B oulogne wit h h is wife for

E ngland Upwards of five thousand people a r e said
.

to h ave witnessed his departure many f whom , o

'

demanded and received his farewell blessing on t h eir

knees F r ance on a page of whose h istory he had
.
,

indelibly printed his name neve r saw him mo r e ,

.

Th e r e is an old and uncor r oborated r epo r t that h e

w h o had always been so punctilious in the discha rge
of his liabilities left Paris witho u t paying his r ent I t .

appears to have arisen from th e action t h at b e afte r

wards brough t against the magistrate Ch e s n o n and
de Launay t h e gove r no r of the B astille to r ecove r
, ,

p r operty valued at liv r es which he decla r ed

had been stolen from his ho u se du r ing h is imprison
men t and fo r which h e sought to hold them r esponsible .

H is fail ur e to substantiate th e cha rge gave it the

appearance of havin g been t r umped up Whethe r it .

had any basis i n fact it is impossible to say but ,

the r e can b e no doubt fr om the manne r in which th e

t h at many v al u abl e articles might easily have b ee n

2 5 1
 C agl io s tro
spirited away in t he confusion by un s crupulous se r vants
and even by the poli c e t hemselves .

I f Caglio s t ro h owever failed to pay his r ent t h e

, ,

proprietor of t he house c ertainly took the matter very

ligh t ly . H is house ,
”
says Len otre remained
,

closed till the Revolution I n 1 80 5 t h e doors we r e

.

opened for the first time in eighteen yea r s when th e

owner sold the Grand C o ph ta s furnitu r e by auction
’
.
”

S urely a very long time to wait to indemnify onesel f

for unpaid r ent ?

A curious inte r est attac h es to th is house which is ,

still s tanding though long since shorn of its splendou r

, ’

i n the days w h en t he Cardinal an d the aristocracy of

the old r eg i me c ame to assi s t at Cagl i o s tro s magic ’

séance s Yet i n t h e meantime it has not b e e n

.

without a history . I n 1 8 5 5 the doors of t h e gateway

were removed during s ome pro c e s s of repair and
replaced by doors wh i c h had fo r merly done service
at t he Temple w h ere t h e Royal F amily were
incarcerated after t h e fall of t h e monarchy T h ey .

may be still seen with th eir h eavy bolts and huge

locks .

—
W h at a fatality the doors o f M ari e Antoinette s ’

p r ison closing C agl i o s tro s house !

’
H istory h as h e r
o

irony as well as her romance .

2 5 2
 C agl io s tro
k
methods o f the R o an i s ts as all t h e enemies o f t h e
Gove r nment we r e called and launch like Calonne ,
,

, ,

Madame de Lamotte and so many ot h ers libel afte r ,

libel at the h ono u r of th e defenceless and unpopula r

Queen —t h e low and contemptible r evenge of low and
contemptible natures O n t h e contra r y h e h eld t h e
.
,

B a r on de B r ete u il as the head of t h e Gove r nment

k
, ,

di r ectly responsible fo r h is suffe r ings and attacked h im

once and once only in h is famo u s L etter to t e F r en clz
,

This lette r w r itten t h e day afte r his a rr ival in

,

E ngland to a friend in Paris was immediately

, ,

published in pamp h let fo r m and even translated into ,

several languages S catte r ed broadcast ove r Paris

.

and all France it c r eated an immense sensation .

D i r ected against B r eteuil w h ose u npopula r ity al r eady

, ,

g r eat it inc r eased it assailed mo r e o r less openly the

, ,

mona r chical p r inciple itself Of all the pamp h lets

.

whic h fr om t h e N ecklace Affai r to the fall of t h e

B astille attacked the royal aut h ority non e are so
dignified o r so eloquent The longing fo r fr eedom
.
,

whic h was latent i n the bosom of eve r y man and

w h ic h t h e p h ilosophe r s an d the sec r et societies h ad
been doing t h ei r best to fan into a flame was r evealed ,

in every line I t was not un r easonably r egarded as

.

t h e confession of fait h of an I llumin é T h e I nquisition .

biog r aphe r declares t h at it was conceived i n a spirit so

calculated to excite a r evolt that it was wit h diffic u lty
a printer co u ld be found in E ngland to p r int it .

1
T h e Lettr e an peup le f r anfai s was dat d
J e th e 2 0 th 78 6
un e 1
ttd pr i h pt r B t i l w h d dl y y
.

As s a e i n th e ev o u s c a e , re e u as t e ea en em of

rdi l R h
Ca na de o an , an d e n c o u a e r g d M ri A t i tt i d
a e n o ne e n e man di n g
rr t ig
h i s a es o f th e K n .

2 54
 C agl io s tro R etu rn s to L o n do n
Cagliostro himsel f admits t h at it was written with a “

fr eedom r athe r r epublican .

”
1

This letter ga e great offence to t h e French v

Government and pa r ticularly to the Ba ron de Brete u il

who dominated it and whose conduct in the N ecklace ,

Affai r sufficiently proves his u n fitn e s s for t h e post b e

filled U nder o r dinary circumstances he would no
.

doubt have igno r ed the attack upon h imself H is .

pride t h e p r ide of an a r istoc r at— h e was the p e rs o n i fi

—
,

cation o f reaction would have scorned to notice the

insult of one so fa r beneat h him as Cagliostro But .

t h e p r estige of the Government and the majesty of the

t hr one damaged by the unspeakable calumnies of the
N ecklace Affai r had to be conside r ed M ight not the

k
sensation caused by t h e inflammato r y L etter to t o
F r en c P eop l e encourage t h e aut h or to follow it u p by
.

k
ot h er and still more seditious pamp h lets

For not only would it be impossible to persuade th e

—
but onelway to prevent this contingency to i dn ap lti m
There was
k .

E nglish Gove r nment to give h im up but fu t ile to attempt ,

to purchase silence from one w h o h ad a grievance and

made it h i s boast that h e n eve r took payment fo r th e
favou r s h e con fer r ed .

B efore t h e days of extradition kidnapping was a ,

N earl y al l wh o ha e writte on Cagl i os tro have er ed i n s tati g

1
v n r n

that th e l etter co tain e d th e p edictio s that the B a till woul d b e

“
n r n s e

d stroyed i t ite be o me a public p ome ad a d that a k i g

e s s c r n e, n n

w ld ig i F
ou wh w l d b l i h l
re
,

n n dran c e / d o ou a o s ettr es e cac zet an

k h St t G r l —l l f wh i h t ll y r d thr
c on v o e t e a es en e a a o c ac u a o c c u re ee

y l t r i 78 9 T h pr di ti
e ars a e n h 1 i ti f h e e c on s are t e n ven on o t e
I q i iti bi g p h r wh h rt mi g it i l dl y
.

n u s on - o ra p e m to os e s o -
co n s, to ut ,

a tt ti h f q tl y b
en on ll d C gl i t m ly y th t if
as re uen een ca e a o s ro ere sa s a

h f t r h w p mitt d t F h w ld ly d
.

i
n t e u u e e as er e to re u rn to ran c e e ou on o so
“
p i d d
r ov h B ti ll we d t y d
t e d i i t
asr d i te p asb l i e s ro e an ts s te u ne n o a u c

p m d A py f h i l tt r w b m ry r i b
ro en a e co o t s e e no e co e ve are, s to e

h F h N ti l A h i
,
.

i
s ee n n t e re n c a on a rc v es .

2 55
 C agl io s tro
practice more o r less common to all governments .

E ighteenth century history particularly that of France , ,

is full of suc h in s tances 1

B reteuil was therefore .
, ,

merely following precedent when he ordered Bar

th é l e m y the Frenc h Ambassador in London to inform
, ,

Cagliostro that “
H is M ost Christian M aj es t y gave
h im permission to retu r n to h i s domin ions .
”

This permi s sion was acco r dingly duly conveyed , , ,

to Cagliostro with the request that he would c all at a

,

cer t ain hour on the following day at the E mbassy when

the ambas s ador would gi v e h im any further information
on t h e subj ect h e de s ired I t is exceedingly u nlikely .

that Barth elemy intended to forcibly detain h im wh en

he called but rathe r to gull him by fal e pretences a
,
s —
not difficult pro c eeding in t h e case of one so notoriou s ly
vain as C aglio s tro in t o ret urning to France B e t hi s
— .

as it may on calling on t he ambassado r at th e

,

appointed h our he prudently invited Lo r d George

Gordon and one B ergeret de Frouville an admi r e r ,

who h ad followed him from France to accompany him , .

Thi s they not only did bu t i nsisted in being present ,

t hroughout the interview .

N ettled by this veiled suggestion o f treac h ery ,

B arth elemy received h is vi s itor in a manne r which

served to confirm this impre s sion Produ c ing a le t ter .

M y tt mpt w m d th i y tim kid p h C t

1 an a e s e re a e at s v er e to na t e o un
d L m tt
e wh
a l o f ll w d i h N kl Aff ir
e, o a on e o a
“
an te n t e ec ac e a
dd i
s uccee pi g O
e ni hi m d r w
e s ca n n on e o c c as o n s ur e as ev en
tt mpt d T h C t d L m tt h l f wh pdf m
.

a e e . e oun es s e a o e e rs e o e s ca e ro

L d d p bli h d h il t f l l h l m i ,

h S l pé
t e a tri e re to on o n an u s e t e v es o a t e ca u n es

g i t M i A t i tt p i h d i j mpi g
a a ns ar e f
n o newi d w e er s e n u n o ut o a n o to
l d pt
e u N m
e ca i t u ref h .kid ppi g f F h
u e ro u s n s an c e s o t e na n o re n c

su bj t i E gl d by h F h p l i
ec s n n it d b y B i i h i
an t e re n c o c e are c e r s sot n s
M m ir
e o s .

2 5 6
 C agl io s tro
Louis XV I o rdered h is ambassado r
i n London to
bring an action against Gordon .

U nde r o r dina r y ci r cumstances Go r don relying on ,

the r esentment t h at E ngland c h ef i s h e d against F rance

'

for the pa r t sh e had taken in the A merican War of

I ndependence would have had nothing to fear B ut
,
.

he was a r abid demagogue wit h a bad reco r d A few .

years before he had accepted the presidency of the

P r otestant Association formed to secu r e the repeal o f
the act by w h ic h t h e Catholic disabilities imposed in
t h e time of William and M a r y had been removed I t .

was this association which had fomented the famous

Gordon r iots as they were called wh en London h ad
, ,

been on the point of being pillaged Go r don it is .

,

true had disclaimed all r esponsibility fo r the conduct

,

of t h e mob which however acknowledged him as its

, , ,

leade r and though tried for h ig h treason had been

,

acquitted But th i s experience had not sobe r ed his

.

fanaticism H e was the soul of sedition in his own

.

co u ntry and one of th e most noto r ious and v iolent

,

revolu t ionists in E u r ope at this period T h e B r itis h .

Government was only too glad of the oppo r tunity

afforded it by the F r ench to r educe him to silence .

Gordon acco r dingly fled to H olland but lea r ning

k
, , ,

that the Dutch Government was prepa r ing to send

him b ac he r etu r ned sec r etly to E ngland Soon
, .

afte r wards h e was betrayed b y a J ew whose r eligion

-
,

he had adopted an d with whom he had taken s h elter .

T h e action of the F renc h Government h aving in the

meantime been decided against him he was sentenced ,

to fiv e years imp r isonment and to pay a h e avy fine .

This was the end of Lord George Go r don Fo r at .

the expi r ation of his te r m of confinemen t being unable ,

2 5 8
 o
( Fr m an o ld p r zn t) ae
[ T o/ ace p g 2 58
 C agl io s tro
II
H ad Cagl iostro come to E ngland before h is fame
had been tarnis h ed by th e N ecklace Affair h e would ,

in all probability h ave been lionized by t h e best society

as h e was in F r ance B ut the unsavo ur y notoriety h e .

had acqui r ed the hundred and o n e repor t s that were

,

circulated to h is disc r edit an d believed for people ,

always l isten mo r e r eadily to t h e evil t h at is said of

one than to t h e good closed t h e doo r s of t h e a r is ,

to c rac y to him I nstead of floating on t h e crest of

.

the wave h e was caught in the un der cu rr ent Wit h -

.

few exceptions the acq u aintances h e made we r e more

calculated to lower h im still fu r th e r in t h e esteem of
respectable society than to clea r h i m o f the s u spicion
,

t h at attac h ed to h im The me r e associatio n of h is .

name with Lord Geo rge Go r don s woul d alon e h ave ’

excited mist r ust B u t the inj ur y he received from

.

the questionable man ne r in whic h Go r d on so ught to

befriend him was t r ifling compared with t h e inte r est
that t h e E dito r of t h e Cou r i er c l E u r ope took in h im
T h e v e n e au de M orande to give this individual a ,
k ’
.

name was one of the greatest blackguards of h is time

,

—the last quarter of the eighteenth century p r oduced

many who equalled him in infamy but none w h o
surpassed him The son o f a lawyer at A r nay l e Duc
.
- -

in Burgundy w h ere h e was born in 1 74 1 T h e v e n e au

, ,

de M orande was as M Paul R o b i q

“ ”
u e t truly says
, .

i n his brillian t study of him “

from the day of his ,

bi rth to the day of his deat h utterly without sc r uple 1

1
T b ev en eau de Mor an de : E tude s ur le X ”M
S i écl e par
P l
au qBy h i t mp r ri h
R o b i u et . s c on e o a es t e na me o f M d w
o ran e as
n ev e r m ti d with t
en on e b i pith t ou an a u s v e e e ti g hi m
B ri s s o t, m ee n
h fir t ti m i r t ti L d dd r d i ti ti l y
.

fo r t e s e n a e s au ran n on on , s h u e e ns nc ve
at hi ppr h
s a o ac
”
.

2 60
 C agl io s tro R e tu rn s to L o n do n
W h en a boy h e was a rr ested for theft in a house of
ill fame Compelled to enlist or be sent to pri s on he
-
.

c h ose the forme r alte r native but did not ser v e long , .

I n r esponse to h is entreaties his fathe r obtained his

disc h a rge on condition t h at he would r eform I n s tead .
,

howeve r of r et u rning home as h e promised M orande

, ,

went to Paris where his dissolute life led him to the

k
,

prison of Fo r l E v é que -
H e r eupon his fat h er s ol icited
’
.

the favou r of a l ettr e de cac et by means of which he

was confined i n a convent at Armenti eres .

On being r eleased two years later at the age of

fou r and twenty having been imprudent enough to
- -
,

lampoon one of t h e principal members of the Govern

ment M orande fled t h e country
, After tramping '

about B elgium h e a r rived in London in a condition

of absolute want B ut h e was not long wit h out mean s
.

of subsistence Th e ease with which he extorted

.

money by t hr eatening to info r m th e police of the

eq u ivocal lives of such acquaintances as chance threw
in his way suggested the sy s tem of blackmail which
he after wa r ds developed into a fine art .

Gifted with a talent for writing h e ventured to

attack notabilities From fear of his mordant cynical
. ,

pen many were induced to purchase his silence I n .

L e Gaz eti e r Cu i r as s e
’

, ou A n ecdotes s can da l e u s es s u r la
cou r all who had refu s ed to pu rc h as e
de F r an ce ,

exemption had been r ep r esented by him in t he worst

possible lig h t Fo r this work Whic h B ri s s o t de s cribes
.
,

as one of t h ose in famous productions the very name

“

of which one blus h es to mention h e is said to have ,

”

received guineas .

E mbolden ed by the fright b e inspired he r edoubled

his attacks but t h ey did not always meet with t h e
,

2 61
 C agl io s tro
same success H e . t h ought to exto r t
a ransom fr om
Voltaire but t h e aged philosopher of F e r n ey had
,

lived th rough too much to be frightened for so little .

H e publis h ed Mo ran de s letter accompanied wit h

’

commenta r ies of the so r t he kn ew so well how to

make effective The Comte de Lau ragu ai s r eplied
.

even mo r e effectively t h an Vol taire No t only did .

h e obstinately refuse to pay th e tribute demanded of

h im but being in London at the time gave the black
, , ,

maile r a horsewhipping and compelled h im to publis h

,

an abj ect apology in the press into th e ba rgain .

M orande howeve r was not discou r aged and p r e

, , ,

pared to reap the most fr uitful of all his harvests .

For the obj ect h e h ad in vie w M adam e du Bar r y was

a gold mine The famo u s favourite of Louis XV was
.

notoriously sensitive o n the subj ect of h er r eputation ,

and dreaded not h ing so m u c h as a libel M o r ande .

,

accordingly w r ote to info r m he r that he had in

,

prepa r ation a wo r k i n fou r volumes to be entitled the ,

Memoi r es d u n e f emme p u bl i q
‘ ’
u e in which s h e would ,

figure as the he r oine unl ess s h e p r efe rr ed to pay a

,

handsome sum fo r its supp r ession To assist he r to .

come to the latter decision a scenario of the work was

sent h er “
L e Gaz eti er says B ach au mo n t

k
.
,

wh o saw it was r ose wate r in compa r ison wit h this

“
,
-

new c ef
Alarmed and enraged th e poo r creatu r e communi ,

c ate d her fears and anger to th e K ing who applied ,

to George I I I fo r Mo ran de s extradition T h e attitude ’

.

of the B ri t ish Gove r nment was cha r acteristic of the

pol itical morality of th e age T h e laws and c u stoms .

of England rendering the ext r adition of a foreign

refugee o u t of th e question t h e F r enc h Court was ,

2 62
 C agl io s tro
liv r es in cas h and a pension of livres to be paid ,

to Mo ran de s wife in the event of h er surviving him

’
.

I t was about t h is t ime th at M orande without ,

altogeth e r abandoning h i s career of blackmail adopted ,

the mo r e profitable on e of spy I nstead of attacking .

a u thori t y he now offered to serve it H aving been

,
.

taugh t his val ue by expe r ience the French Gove r n ,

ment gladly accepted the offer H e began by .

“
watc h ing t h e Frenc h colony in London wh i c h
was composed chiefly of escaped cri m
,

inals and
political refugees and ended as E dito r of t h e Cou r i er
~

,
’
de l E u r op e .

This pape r had been sta rted by a refugee Se r res ,

de Latour with the obj ect of inst r ucting the Frenc h

,

public in t h e intern al affairs of E ngland pa r ticula r ly ,

as regards h er fo r eign policy T he money to finance .

the sc h eme h ad been supplied by a S c otc h man by

name of Swi nton w h o was granted every facility by
,

t h e Comt e de Vergennes t h e F r enc h M iniste r fo r

,

Fo r eign Affairs t h at would assist the enterprise

, .

Th u s p r otected the Cou r i er de l E u r ope was a

,
’

success from the sta r t I n a short time it had

.

subsc r ibe r s n u enormous numbe r fo r t h ose days

-

and a r evenue o f l i v res B ri s s o t the leade r .

,

of t h e Gi r ondins in the Revolution who was con ,

n e c te d wit h it f o r a time as a young man estimated ,

its readers at ove r a million “

T h ere was not h e.
,
”

says a co r ner of E ur ope i n w h ic h it was not r ead

,
“
.

Such a widely circ u lated j o ur nal natu r ally had

g r eat influence D u ring th e American Wa r of
’

I ndependence its ever inc r easing success ala r med the

-

E nglis h Cabinet w h ic h instead of suppressing it

, , ,

foolishly endeavo ur ed to circumvent the laws respect

2 64
 Cagl io s tro R e tu rn s to L o n do n
ing t he liberty of the Press by placing an emba rgo on
the bales of the paper de s tined for export But .

S winton parried thi s blow by causing it to be printed

“
simultaneously at B oulogne Whereupon says .
,

B ri s s o t “
the E nglis h Government resigned itself to
,

the inevitable and suffered the Cou r i e r de l E u r ope to ’

continue to injure E ngland unde r th e protec t ion of

”
E nglish law itself Throughout the war which ended
.

so h umilia tingly for E ngland as Ve rgennes exp r essed ,

it t h e gazette of Latou r was worth a h undred spies

,
“

to F r an ce .

U nde r the editorship of M o r ande who succeeded ,

S e rr es de Latou r th e j ournal as may be imagined

, ,
”
,

“
more than maintained its reputation I n it s ays .
,

B ri s s o t h e t ore to p i e c e s th e mo s t estimable people

, .
,

spied on all the French who lived in or visited London ,

and manufactu r ed o r caused to be manufactu r ed , ,

a r ticles to ruin any one he fea r ed .

Suc h was t h e man and such t h e weapon that the , ,

Cour t of Versailles w h ich h ad frequently utilized bo t h

,

before now employed to dest r oy Caglio s tr o

,
1
.

M o r ande who h ad now become the c h ief of the

,

brigade of police spies whic h when h e himself had ,

been thei r qua rry h e had so loudly denounced in t he

E nglish p r ess opened fire in obedience to his
, ,

o r de r s on September 1 1 78 6 For three months he

, ,
.

bomba r ded Cagliostro unceasingly in a long s eries of

articles that befo u led calumniated and ridi c uled him , ,

wit h a devi lish cleve r ness Like the Countess de .

1 M
o a d e h ad o n e re d e mi g q al ity
r n R oyal i s t to th e cor
e n u e,

h e s e e d th e F e c h C o urt l y all y ti ll th e fall f th e m a h y

.

rv r n o o on rc .

I mp i o e d duri g th e R e ol ti o h e e cap d th e gui ll ot b y a

r s n n v u n, s e ine n

acc id t a d ha i g eturn ed to hi s ati e t w etir d I t a

en n v n r n v o n, r e
o

n o

re p tab l e b c urity
,

s ec o s .

2 65
 C agl io s tro
Lamotte h e did ,
not hesi t ate to deny
h is own state
ments when others could be made more serv i ceable .

Thus after a ffi r ming N ature s unfortunate c h ild to

,
” ’

be the son of a coachman of the N eapolitan D uke of

Cas tro p i gn an i he de c la r ed him to be the valet of the
,

alchemist G rac c i known as t h e Cosmopolite from

, ,

whom he h ad stolen all his secrets which h e had ,

afterwa r d s exploited in Spain I taly and Russia u nde r

q
, ,

various titles sometimes a count at o thers a ma r uis

'

, ,

h ere a Spanish colonel there a P ru ssian —but always

-
,

and everywhere an imposto r .

I n this way rambling from a r ticle to a r ticle fr om ,

calumny to calumny without knowing w h ere he was,

going so to S peak M orande finally arrived at Giuseppe

, ,

—
B alsamo as described at t h e beginning of t h e book .

T h e discovery of Balsamo was a veritable tr ouv ai l l e .

I t ena b led Mo r ande to tack on to t h e va r iegated

career of t h e S ici lian scoundrel all that he h ad hithe rt o
affirmed of Cagl i o s tro s past l ife wit h out appea r ing
’

to contradict h imself Once on B alsamo s track he .

.
’

neve r lost scent of h im H e fer re t ed out or invented .

all the sto r ies conce r ning the Balsamos t heir marriage ,

the man ne r in w h ich t h ey h ad lived their fo rgeries , ,

blackmail pove r ty licentiousness imprisonment

, , ,

everything in fact that could damage Cagliostro and

, ,

b i s wife H e foun d peopl e mo r eover to swea r to t h e

.
, ,

tru th of all he said or rat h er h e asse rt ed it and on t h e

, ,

strengt h of t h ei r accusations caused Caglios t ro to be

sued fo r debts incurred in t h e name of Balsamo years
before H e collected all the h ostile r epo r ts of t h e
.

enemies t h e G r and C o phta had made in h is travel s

throug h E u r ope and afterwa r ds in t h e N ecklace Affair ,

and re edited t h em wit h t h e p r ecision of an h isto r ian

-

2 66
 C agl io s tro Re tu rn s to L o n do n
and t h e malice of a personal enemy The n after .
,

having done h im all the inj u r y he could and given the

French Government full value fo r its money Morande ,

with b r azen effronte r y p r oposed to Cagliostro th at he

s h ould purchase the silence of the Cou r i er !
—
B u t Cagliost r o was not t h e man to his credit be ,

—
it said to igno r e the feigned indignation of t he
libellist who h ad been h i r ed to r uin him Aided by .

T h i l o ri e r h is b r illiant counsel in the N ecklace Affair

1

k
, ,

who happened to be in E ngland t h e wonder worker ,

-

published a L etter to t o E ng l i s /t P eop l e in wh ich he ,

flung in the face of th e blackmaile r all the atrociou s ac t s

of his own past M orande howeve r aware that any
.
, ,

effort on h is pa r t to clear himself of these accusations

would be useless sough t to dist r act attention fr om th e
,

subj ect by da r ing Cagliostro to disprove the c h arges

made in t h e Cou r i er At t h e same time he though t to
.

stab him to S ilence by cove r ing wit h r idicule a state

ment whic h b e asserted Cagliostro had made to the
effect that the lions and tigers in the fo r ests of
“

M edina were poisoned by t h e Arabian s by devou r ing

hogs fatten ed o n a r senic for the purpose .

T he laugh te r w h ich t h is r eply a r ou s ed evidently

Cagliost r o to the qu ick and to refute Mo ran de s
’

accusation of c h a r latanism he wrote the ,

g lette r to th e P u bl i c A dv er ti s er in which , ,

1 some prelimina r y sa r casms h e said ,

“
Of all the fine stori e s that you have invented
u t me t h e best is undoubtedly that of the pig
,

fattened on arsenic wh ich poisoned the lions t h e tigers , ,

1 h th r T hi l
W e e ori e r h ad c o me to E gl d
n an at q t f th e re ue s o

C gl i t
a i
os ro o r n o t s un c er a n , ti b ut it i s no w k w t h t h wr t
no n a e o e

C gl i
a pl i
’
o s tro s re es to Mo ran de s ’
c h rg
a es .

2 67
 C agl io s tro
and th e leopards in t h e forest of M edina I am now .

going si r j este r to have a j oke at you r expense I n

, , .

physics and chemist r y a rgume nts avail little p i fl g

, , e rs a e

nothing ; i t is experiment alone that counts Permit .

me then to p r opose to yo u a l i t tle experiment w h ich

, ,

will dive r t the public eit h e r at you r expense o r

mine I invite you to lunc h wit h me on N ovembe r 9
.

You s h all suppl y t he wine and all the

accessories I on the othe r h and will provide but a
,

single dis h — a little pig fattened acco r ding to my plan .

Two h ours b efore the lunch you s h all see it alive and ,

h ealthy and I will no t c o mé nea r it till it is served on

,
‘

t h e table You s h all cu t it in fou r pa r ts and h aving

.
, ,

chosen t h e portion that yo u prefe r yo u S h all give me ,

what you think p r oper The next day o n e of fou r .

'

t h ings will occu r : eit h e r we s h all bot h be dead o r we ! ,

shall neit h e r of us be dead ; o r I s h all be dead and

you will not o r you will be dead and I shall not O f .

these fou r c h ances I give you t hr ee an d I will bet you ,

guineas that the day after the l u nc h you are

dead and t h at I am alive and well ”
.

Whethe r or no Mo ran de s pe r cept i on h ad been ’

bl u nted by ove r taxing h is imagination in the attempt to

-

disc r edit h is enemy b e interp r eted C agl i o s tro s sa r casm

,
’

lite rally Afr aid to accept t h e c h allenge but tempted

.
,

by the guineas he suggested th at the test

“
,

sho u ld take place i n publ i c and that some oth e r ca r ,

n i v o ro u s animal s h ould be substituted fo r t h e pig

fattened on a rsenic B ut t h is suggestion w h ich
.
”
,

r evealed his cowardice by r educing the culinary duel

to a farce gave his adve r sa r y an oppo r tunity h e was
,

quick to seize .

“
You r efu se to come yo ur self to t h e lunc h to
2 68
 C agl io s tro
hostility thei r contradictions thei r statements ei th er
, ,

u n v e ri fiab l e o r based on the testimony o f persons

whose r eputations alon e made it worthless created a ,

gene r al feeling that the man wh om they deno u nced

was an imposto r The impo r tance of t h e paper in
.

which t h ey appea r ed quoted by other pape r s all of

, ,

E urope served to confirm this impression Thus the

,
.

wo rld whose conclusion s a r e fo r med by i nstinct r at h er

,

t h an r eason forgetting t h at it had r idiculed as i mp ro b

,

able C agl i o s tro s own sto r y of his life accepted t h e

’

amazing and still mo r e imp r obable past t h at M orande

unmasked wit h out reservation N or did t h e Cou rt
”
.

of Versailles and its fr iends no r all the forces of ,

law and orde r w h ich th r eatened eve r yw h e r e made

, ,

common cause with the threaten ed French mona r chy ,

fail to ci r culate an d confirm by eve r y means i n their

power the statements of M o r ande As if t h e stigma .

whic h t h e C ountess de Lamotte and t h e Pa r liament ,

fo r two totally different reasons had cast upon t h e ,

r eputation of Marie Antoinette was to be o b lite rated

by bligh ting C agl i o s tro s ! ’

The deeper an imp r ession t h e mor e ine r adicabl e ,

it becomes Within a quarter of a cent ury t h e man

.

whom M o r ande had called a cheat an imposto r and a , ,

sco u nd r el h ad become on t h e page of history on wh ich

h is memory is imp r isoned the A r c h quack of the
“ -

eighteent h centu r y “
a liar o f t h e first magnit u de
,
”
,

“
an unparalleled imposto r .
”

B ut i n t h e c ur ious mass of coincidence and circum

s tan ti al evidence on w h ic h the popular conception of

Cagliost r o has been based ingenious and plausible ,

though it is there i s one little f act w h ic h history has

,

overlooked and w h ic h Mo r ande was ca r eful to ignore .

2 70
 C agl io s tro Re tu rn s to L o n do n
I n tu r ning Cagliostro into Giuseppe Balsamo t he ,

fantastic id ealist enthusiast into the vagabond forger

-

,
“
t h e charlatan as Queen s friend B e s e n v al describe s
,
” ’

him ,
“
who neve r took a sou from a soul but lived ,

honou r ably and paid scrupulously w h at h e owed into ,

”

the vul gar s ou ten eu r Morande by no t r ick of the

, ,

imagination wi t h all the cunning calumnies of the

,

French Cou rt and t h e s o called confession w ru ng

,
“ -
”

from its victim by the I nquisition to aid him could , ,

not succeed in making the two r es embl e one another .

Yet i t is on the wo r d of this jou r nalist b r avo hi r ed by -

,

the Frenc h M inistry to defame an innocent man whose

unanimous acquittal of a crime in w h ich he had been
unj ustly impli c ated was believed by Marie An t oinette
to be tantamount to he r own conviction t h at Cagliostro ,

h as been branded as one of th e most contemptible

blackguards in h isto ry .

Surely it is time to challenge an opinion so frau du

l e n tl y supported and so arbi tr arily expressed ? The
f calumny is past The frenzied h atreds and
.

u s that,
l ike monst r ous maggots so to speak , ,

h e dying car cass of the old r egi me are extin c t ,

t h ave lost t hei r force We can u nde rs t and

.

ions they once stirred so powerfully without

I n taking the st i ng from the old hate
given n ew s cales to j ustice We no longe r .

i gh reputations by t h e ejects of detraction but by ,

its cau s e
.

The evidence on w h ich Mo ran de s diabolically

’

ingenio u s t h eories are based has already been examined

in the early c h apters of th is book I t requires no effort .

of the imagination to surmise what t he effect would be

on a ju r y t o day if thei r decision depended upon the
2 7 1
 C agl io s tro
evidence of a witness w h o as B i ,
r s s otsays re g arded
,

calumny as a t r ade and moral assa

,
s sination as a spo r t .
”

III
The campaign against Cagliostro was by no means
confined to defamation M orande assailed not o n ly.

h is character b u t his person

,
.

On t h e first shot fi r ed by the Cou r i e r de l E u r ope ’

as if it we r e t h e signal fo r a preconcerted attack a ,

s warm of blackmailers decoys and spu r ious c r editors

, ,

descended upon th e unfortunate G r and C o phta .

Warned by t h e noise that th e da r ing b u t uns u ccessful , ,

attempts of the secret agents of the F r ench police to

kidnap t h e Count de Lamotte h ad c r eated M orande ,

adopted met h ods less likely to scandali z e the B r itish

public in his effo r ts to t r epan Cagliost r o W h ile .

appa r entl y confining h imsel f to th e congenial task of

“
unmasking h is victim daily in the columns of h is
widely read jou r nal h e was a party to if h e did not
-
, ,

actually organize th e se r ies of persecutions t h at e m

,

bittered the existence of the now b r oken and disc r edited

wonder wo r ke r
-
.

I f as h e decla r ed in his effo r ts to convince the

, ,

public that Cagliostro was Giuseppe B alsamo the ,

perj u r ed Aylett and the r estaurant keepe r Pe rgo l e z z i -

we r e p r epa r ed to co rr oborate his statement then given ,

h is noto r ious cha r acte r u nconcealed motive and t h e

, ,

money with which he was supplied by t he Frenc h

Government the p r esumption that t h ese questionable

k
,

witnesses we r e bought is at least well founde d I n t h e .

L etter to fl ee E ngl i s P eop l e in w h ich C agliostro wit h ,

2 7 2
 C agl io s tro
wonde r wo r ke r wit h h is el ixirs his
-
balsams and h is , ,

magical phenomena was i f properly handled a mine , ,

of gold .

Taking advantage of C agl i o Stro s ignorance of the ’

language and customs of the count r y in whic h he had

sought r efuge Swinton who was assiduous i n h is
, ,

a t tention s rented him a house in Sloane S t r eet for

, ,

w h ich he desired a tenant induced h im to pay the cost ,

of repairing it and provided him with t h e furniture he

,

n eeded at double its value To prevent any one else .

from inte r fe r ing wi t h t h e ag r eeable task of plucking so

fat a bird and at t h e same tim e t h e better to conceal
,

his dupli c ity Swinton endeavoured to preclude all

,

app r oach to his prey I t was to t h is end that he made .

troubl e between Cagliostro and O R e i ll y H aving ’

.

succeeded thus fa r in his design h e r edoubled h is

attentions and urged Cagliost r o to give a public
,

exhibition of his h ealing powe r s as h e had done at ,

Strasburg B ut wa r ned by p r evious experience of t h e

.

dange r of exciting afr esh th e h ostility of t h e doctors ,

Cagliost r o fi r mly refused S winton th en proposed to .

become his apotheca r y and to pus h the sale of the ,

Grand Co ph ta s va r ious medicaments of whic h h i s

’

druggist s s h op should have the monopoly i n the

’

Cou r i er de l E u r op e
’

To this howeve r Cagliost r o also objected pre

, , ,

fe r ring apparently not to disclose the secret of thei r

, ,

—
preparation i f not to s h are with the apot h ecary as ,

M orande afte r wards declared the exorbitant profit to ,

be derived from thei r sale Perceiving t h at he was .

not to be persuaded by fai r means Swinton inj u ,

di c i o u s l y t r ied to p u t on th e screw B ut h is threats .

,

far from accomplis h ing thei r pu rpose only served to ,

2 74
 C agl io s tro R e tu rn s L o n do n
to

betray h i s designs and so di s , gusted Caglios tr o t ha t

he ceased to have any fur th er communication with
him S winton however was not to be go t rid of in
.
, ,

any suc h fashion Living n ext door to h i s enemy h i s

.
,

house became the r endezvous of the va r ious bailiffs

and decoys hired by Morande to seize or waylay his
unfo r tunate adve r sa r y .

Among numerous sc h emes of Swinton and Morande

to capture Cagliostro were two at t empt s t o obtain h i s
arrest by indu c ing persons to take out writ s again s t
h im for imaginary debts a proceeding which the
—
custom of merely s wearing to a debt to procure a writ
rendered easy I n t h is way Pri ddl e who h ad behaved
.
,

so scurvily in Cagl i o s tro s a r bitration s uit with M iss

’

F ry in 1 7 7 7 was induced to take out a writ for s ixty

,

pound s d u e as h e p r etended for legal bu s ines s tran s

, , ,

acted nine yea r s before Warned however t h at the .

, ,

bailiffs were h iding in Swinton s house to serve the writ ’

t he moment he s h ould appear Cagliostro was able to ,

defeat their intention by procuring bail before t hey

could accomplis h t heir purpose I n the end it was .

Friddle w h o went to N ewgate But instead of the .

forme r demand for sixty pounds Cagliostro by mean s , ,

of one of t he various legal s ubterfuges in th e practice

of whic h t h e eigh teenth century lawyer excelled was ,

obliged to pay one hu ndred an d eighty pounds and

c osts .

I mmediately after t h i s dearly bough t victo r y the -

,

baited victim of minis t erial tyran ny and co r ruption was

similarly attacked from anothe r quarter in a manner
whic h prove s how great was t h e exasperation of his
enemies S acchi t he blackmailer who had publis h ed
.
, ,

—
a libellous pamp h let against Cagl iost r o quoted by
1 2 2 75
 C agl io s tro
M a d ame de Lamotte at h e r t r ial w h en it w as gene r ally
,

regarded as wo r th le s and its suppression o r dered by

s ,

—
t h e Parliament f Pa r is appe ared in London and
o

obtained a writ fo r h undred and fifty pounds

one ,

w h ic h h e claimed Cagliost r o owed hi m fo r th e week

, ,

passed In his service in S t r asbu r g i n 78 The 1 1 .

impudence of this claim on examination was of cou r se , ,

sufficient t o disp r ove i t ; but M o r ande who h ad ,

b r o u gh t S acc h i to E ngland and assisted him to p r ocu r e

t h e w r it all but succeeded in havi ng Cagliost r o i g
,
no

mi i
n ous l y d r agged to N ewgate t h e strength of it
on .

T he p r oximity however of S winton s house i w h ic h

, ,
— ’
n

the bailiffs h ad sec r eted themselves pending an pp o or

tun i ty of seizing t h ei r prey as on the fo r me r occasion

,

h elped t bet r ay th eir p r esence and once again

o ,

Cagliostro managed to fo r estall t h em by giving t h e

necessa r y bail in due time .

Suc h an existence was enough t give the most o

fearless nature ca u se for ala r m and t h e B astille h ad ,

effectually damped th e cou r age f t h e G r and C ph t o o a .

S tartlin g at sh adows t h e pe r ti nacity of h is enemies

”

left him not a momen t s peace T he fate of Lo r d

’
.

G eorge Go r don was eve r in h is t h oug h ts I f the .

F r enc h Government was powe r ful enough to effect

the imprisonment of an E nglishman who had o ffended
it in his own count r y w h at chance had h e of escaping ?
,

H is M asonic experiences in E ngland mo r eover , ,

we r e not of a natu r e to encou r age t h e hopes he had

ente r tai ned of making conv erts to the sect he had
founded At first it seemed as if E gyptian M asonry
.

might prosper o n E nglis h soil Assisted by a numbe r .

of adepts from Paris and Lyons “ w h ose zeal had

induced them to follow their maste r to London ,

2 7 6
 C agl io s tro Re tu rn s to L o n do n
Cagl iost r o had sought to fo u nd a lodge for the ob
se r vance of the Egyptian Rite To th is end he h ad .

held s éance s which many people of distinction attended .

These we r e so suc c essful that to encourage some of

the mo r e p r omising of his clientele b e transmitted
“

to them as a mark of exceptional favou r the powe r

, ,
”
to obtain manifestation s i n his ab s ence U n fo rtu .

n ate l y instead of t h e angels t h ey expected to evoke

, ,

1
devils ap peared The effect produced upon the s e .

"
inexperienced o c c u l ti s ts was deplorable ; combined
wit h t h e attacks of the Cou r i er de l E u r ope it e ffe c tu ’

ally killed E gyptian M asonry i n E ngland .

T h e Freemasons w h o had welcomed h im to their ,

lodges with open arms as the victim of a degenerate ,

and despicable despotism in fluenced by t h e sca t hing ,

attacks of M orande who was h imself a Mas on now , ,

gave hi m th e cold s h oulde r A t a convivial gath ering .

a t the Lodge of Antiquity which h e attended about

this time instead of t h e sympa th y he expected he
,

was so ridiculed by one B rot h e r Mash an O ptician , ,

”

who gave a burlesque imitation of t he G r and Co phta

of Egyptian M ason r y as a quack docto r vending a -

spu r ious balsam to cure eve r y malady that the victim ,

of h is ridicule was compelled to withdraw

“

The m o rti fic ati o n w h ic h this incident occasioned

1
p t d d t mi i f hi p t l p w r
Cagl i o s tro
’
s re e n e ran s s s on o s su ern a ura o e s,

as pr i l y t t d w thi g m th h di
ev o u s s a e y th t has no n o re an t e s c o v er a t e
s o ca
-
ll d p y h i f lty i t d f b i g fi d f w p
e s c c
”
,

ac u n s ea o e n c on ne to a e ex c e

l p pl w ti ll th g r lly b l i d xi t d i m ,

ti on a eo e , as as en en e a e ev e e s e n a o re

l d lpd tt i yb dy B f h i ti m d i f t ti ll
,

or ess ev e o e s a e n ev er o e o re s e, an n ac

m y y ft h p y hi f lty w l ittl d r t d th t
.

”
an e ars a e r, t e s c c ac u as s o e un e s oo a

h b ph m
t e a ov e f mi l i r gh pi it pp d pl
en o en on , a a en o u to S r -
ra ers an an

c h w it f h p t d y w b l i d b h w k f h
e tte- r e rs o t e re s e n a as e ev e to e t e or o t e
p w f d rk wh m if t ti i pi d t r f whi h
o ers o a n es s ose an
,

es a on s ns re e rro ,
o c

f mili ity h pp tl y bb d th m w d y
a ar as a are n ro e e no -
a- a s .

2 77
 C agl i o s tro
Cagliost r o was fu rthe r intensified by the wide notoriety
that it was gi ven by Gillray in a cari cature entitled
A Masonic Anecdote to w h i c h the following l ines
:
“
,

were attached in E nglish and F rench

EXT R AC T O F TH E A R AB I A N C O U N T S M E M O I R S ’

B G d k w wh r— pp t d G d k w h w
o rn , o no s e e, su or e o no s o

Fr m wh m d d d di fli l k w
, ,
‘
o o e s c en e cu t to no ;
L d Cr p d pt h i m
or o b m fri d
a o s as a os o en

A d m dly d h trdf d ,

n a hi are s s c arac e e en

T hi l f d b b d C t m f w y i b m
.

’
s se -
u o un so e e e ars s n ce eca e

A Br th M i b wd m
o er as o n n a o rro
’
na e ;
F m
or n a l i k S mp l m es h h e e e nu e ro u s e e ars ,

A d Pr t
n l ik i fifty f m pp r
o eus -
e n or s a ea s

B h ld i m ( h y ) D m N t r h ild
.

‘ ’
e o n e e sa s a e a u e s c

Of S l b ou l t d M r mi l d
e n ev o e n an an n e s
h g i l tl A h r t b h ld
,

I m n e t e u es s c a a e o

Wh k w h my t y f m k i g G l d
,

o no s t e s er o a n o ;
A f li g h t I b t
ee n i pr
e ar o as a c on s c en c e u e,
I b t B l m ry i ll
,

o as a a sa ev e to c u re ,
My P ill d P wd l l di s an rm o e rs a s e as e e ov e ,

R w y r ig r d y r h l th i mp
en e ou v ou an ou ea ro v e
’

Thi i g p t h h i mp t r t
.

s cun n n ar t e arc -
os o ac s
A d thn h w k us d r d lt e tt t ea an c e u ou s a rac s

w h i h i t ry i d d l r
.

B
’
ut n o s s o s ren er c ea
Th r t h yp rit
e a ran d k pp r ; oc e an n av e a ea
Fi t B l m h p i t y d
rs as a sa o e to an es sa
’

B l y d bi g h
ut on d h t d
au n e re n o un c
’
t e
,

ra e ;
Th en M t b k br d h t ll d
as a ou n e an a oa e s ro
’

A d m y
n m
an D th b l k l i t
a na ll d e on ea
’
s ac s e n ro
’

Thr ti m h i it d h B iti h h r
.

ee es e v s e t e r s s o e,
A d n ry ti m ev
’
diff r t m h b r e a e en na e e o e ;
Th b e Al ti h with
rav e
j l dsa an s e e as e ca o
’

By b ti g f E gypti f m f l d
o as n o an or s o o

l f m tri k h p i d B rd x
.

Th e se -
sa e c e rac t s
’
at ou e au

At Str b g Ly P ri
,

as d ur on s an at a s to o
f t f B th r M h d h t k
, .

B ut a e or ro e as re s e rv
’
t e as
T t ip h i l imp t r f hi m k
o s r t e v e os o o s as
M y ll tr M h i pl i t l tt d !
.

a a ue as o n s s an a e a en
A d S ir
n l gh fr d h ll p
at e s
’
aud to au s a u t an en .

To r ecove r the prestige he had lost in the M aso u i

world Cag liost r o seems for a moment to h av
2 78
 C agl io s tro
observing the greatest caution in his movements T h e
Countess Cagl iostro fa r from being left in g r eat
,

distress as M o r ande asse r ted h ad ample means at

,
”
,

h e r disposal as well as valuable friends in t h e Royal

Academician de Lo u the rho u rg and h is wife with whom ,

she lived till he r own depa r ture fo r S witzerland .

P h ilip J ames de Lo u th e rh o u rg was a painter of

considerable note in h is day An Alsatian by bi r th .
,

he had studied art under Vanloo in Paris but meeting ,

wit h little success i n F r ance mig r ated to E ngland , ,

whe r e fortune p r oved more p r opitious H is battle .

pieces and landscapes i n th e Salvato r Rosa style we r e

very popular with the g r eat p u b l i c o f h is day E n .

gaged by Garrick to paint scene r y for D r ury Lane

Theat r e th e in novations t hat he int r oduced completely
,

r evolutionized t h e mounting o f the s tage H e was .

also the o r iginato r of t h e pano r ama “

H is E ido .

p h u s i c o
, n
”
as he called i t i n w h ic h by the ,aid of ,

mechanical contrivances painted scenes acqui r ed t h e

,

appearance of reality w h en exhibited in London excited

,

the un b ounded admiration of Gainsboro ugh .

O f a decidedly visionary temperament de Lo u t h e r ,

bo urg went i n fo r alchemy till h is wi fe w ho was

“ ”
, ,

equally visiona ry and mo r e spi r itually inclined smashed ,

h is crucible in a fit of religious exaltation Converted .

in this violent fas h ion to a less material t h ough no l ess

a b s ur d form of s u pe r naturalism t h e popula r Royal ,

Academician w h ose pictures at least had not h ing

,

mystical about t h em became assiduous i n attending

,

Baptist c h apels revivalist meetings and Sweden

, ,

b o rgi an services After associating wi t h t h e e n

.

thu s i as t B ro th e r s w h o called himself the nephew

,
“

of t he Almig h ty and was more fitted fo r a lunatic

”

2 80
 II
PH L P E DE
JA M S LO U T H E R B O U R G
 C agl io s tro
they had failed to cu r e and w h o
, accompanied by a
,

mob attacked t h e house and very n ea r ly lynched the

,

faith heale r s
-
.

D e Lo u th e rho u rg s mystical tendencies h oweve r

’

, ,

do not appea r to have inj ured him i n the least in the

Opinion of the gene r al publ ic O n resuming h is ca r ee r
.

as painter he found the same encouragement as befo r e ,

and was high ly r espected by all who knew him As .

contrasted with t h e enmity of so notorious a black

guard as M orande the friendship of so estimable a man
,

as de Lo u th e rh o u rg speaks vol u mes fo r C agl i o s tro s

’

own p r obity .

The c h a r ity of t h e de Lo u th e rho u rgs on w h ich ,

M orande Swinton and Company decla r ed t h at the

,

C ountess Cagliostro lived afte r he r h usband s escape ’

fr om their clutches consisted entirely in defeating

,

thei r attempts to take advantage of her defenceless

state Recei v ing info r mation that a writ was to be
.

issued by w h ich Cagl i o s tro s fu rnit ur e was to be seized

’

de Lo u th e rho u rg advised the Countess to sell it and

take up h e r abode i n h is h ouse until h e r hu s band sent
fo r h er when to ensu r e h er travelling without moles t
,

ation h e and M r s de Lo u th e rho u rg accompanied h er

.

to Switzerland .

T h e fi rst thing t h at s h e did on a r riving at B ienne

was to go befo r e a magist r ate and make an affidavit to
t h e effect that h e r r eported co rr obo r ation of the c h a rges
made against he r husband in the Cou r i er de l E u r ope ’

was a lie Th e fact t h at t h e Countess Cagliostro did

.

thi s wi th the knowledge of the de Lo u the rho u rgs is

sufficient to prove the t r uth of her words .

2 82
 C H A PT E R V I I I
“
N AT U RE U N F O R T U N AT E C H I L D
’
S

ON leaving E ngland in 1 78 6 Cagliost ro was

doomed to resume t he vagabond exi s tence of his
ea r lier yea r s ; with t he difference howeve r that , ,

where as previously his sta r th ough often obs c ured by ,

clouds was constantly rising it was now steadily on

, ,

the decline .

At first its descent was so imperceptible as to

appea r to have been checked After the manner in .

which he had been harried in London the t r anquillity

and admiration h e found in B ale must ha v e been
balm to h is tortu r ed S pirit At B ale he had followers.

who were s till loyal particularly t he ri c h banker

,

Sa razin on w h om he had confe r red the blessing of a

,
“

belated paternity and w h ose devotion to him as

, ,

Cagliostro decla r ed in his extravagan t way at his trial

in Paris was so great that he would give h im the
,
“

whole of h i s fortune we r e he to ask for it .

I t was at B ale moreover that the dying flame of

, ,

Egyptian Masonry flicke r ed up for t he la s t before e x pi r

ing altogethe r U nder th e auspices of Sarazin a lodge
.

was founded on w h ic h the Grand Co ph ta confer r ed

t h e h igh sounding dignity of the M o th e r Lodge of
-
“

”
the H elvetic States The funds however did not
. , ,

run to a temple as at Lyons but the r oom in which

“ ”
,

t h e faithfu l met was a r ranged to r esemble as closely as

2 83
 C agl io s tro
possible t h e inte r io r of that edifice Both sexes were .

admitted to this lodge and Cagl iostro again trans

,

m i tte d his powe r s to ce r tain of t h e membe r s who ,

h aving been selected fo r the favou r appa r ently with

more ca r e on this occasion than in London pe r fo r med ,

with the greatest success .

I t was h oweve r i n the little town of B ienne that

, ,

Cagliost r o seems to h ave resided chiefly while in

S witz erland Acco r ding to rumou r s t h at r eached
.

London and Paris h e lived the r e fo r several months

on a pension allowed h im by Sa r azin W h y b e left .

t h is quiet r etreat o r when is unknown H e is next

, ,
.

heard of vaguely at Aix les B ains whe r e t h e Countes s

- -
,

is said to h ave taken the cure Rumou r follows h im .

thence to Turin but says the I nquisition biog raphe r

, ,
-
,

“
h e had no sooner set foot i n th e town th an h e was
o r dered to leave it instantly .

H encefort h fo r tune definitely deserted him Against .

t h e poison i n w h ic h M o r ande had dipped his bar b ed

pen there was no antidote I t dest r oyed him by slow .

degrees d r ying up the springs of his fabulous fo r tune

, ,

exhausting t h e r esources of h is fe r tile b rain withering ,

his confidence h is ambition and h is heart

, B ut , .

though th e game was played h e still st r uggled despe r ,

ately to r ecover all he h ad lost till h e went to Rome , ,

into w h ich h e c r awled like a beast wounded to t h e

deat h th at h as j ust enoug h strength to r eac h i ts lair .

The luxu r y and flatte r y so dea r to h im we r e gone

fo r ever H i s j ourneys fr om place to place we r e no
.

longe r triumphal processions but flights Di s h onoured .

,

discredited disillusioned the once supe r b H igh Priest

, ,

of t h e Egyptian M ysteries the divine Cagliostro

“
, ,
”

accustomed to be courted by the g r eatest pe r sonages ,

2 84
 C agl io s tro
to the extent o f being invited to give an exh ibition of
his powers H e even succeeded in fou nding a lodge
.

at R o v o re do whic h b e affiliated wit h the lodge a t

,

Lyons t h e members of w h ic h still believed in h im

, .

At the same time followers being few and s u b s cri p

,

tions small b e r esumed t h e practice of medicine

, ,

making a mode r ate c h arge for h is attendance and his

medicaments .

B ut in spite of all h is p r ecautions to avoid exciting

ill will o r curiosity it was not long befo r e h is identity
-
,

was discovered S ome one per h aps t h e aut h or of

.
,

a stinging satire w h ic h fr om its biblical style was

1

known as t h e Gospel according to St Cagliostro

“
.
,
”

notified the aut h orities T h e q u ack was obliged

“ ”
.

to discontinue the exercise of his medical knowledge

in any shape o r form ; and th e matter coming to the
ea r s of th e E mpero r J osep h I I t h at sove r eign signed ,

an o r de r expelling him from the town altogethe r .

Cagliostro t h en went to Trent w h ere t h e r e ,

reigned a prince bis h op as devoted to alchemy and

-

magic as Rohan h imsel f This littl e potentate was .

no sooner informed of t h e arrival of t h e paria h than

instead of following th e example of h is I mpe r ial
s u ze r ain he invited h im to t h e episcopal palace I t
, .

was an invitat i on needless to say t h at was gladly

, ,

accepted ; fo r a moment protected by h is n ew ,

friend it seemed as if h e might succeed i n mendin g

,

h is broken fort u nes B ut while t h e prince bishop

.
-

was willing enoug h to tu r n his guest s occ u lt know ’

ledge to acco u nt h e was not inclined to co u ntenance

E gyptian or an y ot h er form of Freemasonry .

Li ber memori al i s dc Cal eos tr o du m es s et R ober etti

1
ti
co n a n s an
t
ac co u n o f Cagl i o s tro s
’
dig
o n s i n R o v o re do .

2 86
 Natu re s U n fo rtu n ate C h i l d
’

Acco r dingly to allay suspi c ion Cagliostro fo reswore

h is faith in M as oni c O bse r vances sough t a confes s or ,

t o whom h e declared that he r epented of h i s

connection wit h Freemasonry and manifested a de s ire ,

to be received h ack into t h e bosom of the Church .

The prince bishop in h is turn p r etended to believe

-
, ,

in t h is feigned repentance boasted of the conver t he ,

h ad made and assisted by t h e reforme d wonder

, ,

worke r resumed his quest of the philosopher s

,
’

stone and any other secret h is crucible might be

indu c ed to divulge Th e little world of Tren t
.
,

however w h ich h ad palpitated like t h e rest of Eu r ope

,

over t he revelations of the Diamond N ecklace Affai r

and M orande was profoundly scandalized Certain
, .

persons fel t it t h eir duty to inform the E mperor h ow

the p r ince bis h op was behaving T h e free th inking
-
.
-
,

liberty affecting J osep h I I could be arbitrary enough

-

when h e c h o s e S everely r eprimanding his episcopal

.

vassal for h arbouring so infamous an impostor he ,

commanded him to banis h the wretch in s tantly from

his estates .

J udging from the itinerary of h is wanderings in

rth e rn I taly and t h e Tyrol Cagliostro seems to ,

v e intended to go t o Germany hoping no doubt to , , ,

an asylum like S aint Ge r main Weishaupt Knigge

,
-
, ,

many other at th e C ourt of some P r otestant

,

pr i nce most of w h om were Rosic r ucian s alc h emists

, , ,

Freemasons and re v olutionary ent h usiasts

,
But .

wha t eve r h ope s h e may h ave had in this di r ection

were effectually dashed by the hostility of the
E mpe r or E xpelled fr om Trent in suc h a fashion he
.

dared not enter Germany .

To tu r n back was equally perilous I n I taly . ,

2 87
 C agl io s tro
where t h e Chur c h b r utal i ed , t f all sem b lanc
z ou o e

to C h ristianity by centu r ies of u ndisputed aut h o r ity ,

rega r ded t h e least attempt to investigate the sec r e t s

of nature as a reflection i ts w igno r ance a
on o n ,

certain and te r rible doom awaited any on e w h o

excited its s u spicions B ut to Cagl iostro wit h fate s
.
,
’

blood hounds on h is track an I mperial dungeon

-
,

seemed a mo r e p r esent dange r t h an an I nqui ition s

torture chambe r I t was no Count Front f B rass

-
.
“
o ,

as Carlyle jee r ingly stigmatized h im that was brough t ,

to bay at Trent H is co u rage was completely b r oken

. .

Spent in t h is st r uggle against destiny he was no ,

longe r able to devise new schemes and contrivances

as of old Retracing h is steps wit h a so r t of defiant
.

despai r as if driven by some i rr esistibl e fo r ce t his

, o

doom h e took the r oad to Rome w h e r e h e and h is

, ,

wife a rr ived at t h e end f M ay 7 8 9 o 1 .

According to the I nquisition biog r apher it was to -

please h is wife who desired to be r econciled to he r

,

pa r ents t h at Cagliost r o went to Rome I f indeed

, .
, ,

t h e parents f the Countess S e r ap h ina

o L ,
or o re i i z a

Balsamo as you will we r e still living o r even r esident

, ,

in Rome t h ey were apparently unwilling

, afr aid or

to r ecognize t h e r elations h ip for not h ing fu r t h e r is

,

h ea r d of t h em I t is m u ch more likely t h at C agliost ro

.

chose Rome on accou nt of its i ze as being th e one S ,

place in I taly w h ic h offe r ed h im the most likely chance

of escaping observation I n so la rge a city h is poverty
.

was itself a safe guard -

.

Cagl i o s tro s first effo r ts to d r ive t h e wolf fro m t h e

’

door were confined to t h e su rr eptitio u s p ractice of

medicine . O n suc h patients as h e managed to
p r ocure he enj oined t h e strictest S ilence But in .

2 88
 C agl io s tro
making h imself known to t h e V r ais Amis he contem
plated leaving Rome altogethe r T he fall of the B a . s

t ille which occurred about t h is time h avi ng inaugu rated

, ,

t he Revolution in France h e petitioned t h e States ,

Gene r al fo r pe r mission to r et ur n t h e r e as one w h o ,

“

had taken so great an inte r est i n l ibe r ty At t h e same .

”

time not being i n t h e position to take advantage of t h e

privilege were it g r anted h e w r ote urgent appeals for ,

money to fo r me r friends in Paris B u t i n t h e r apidity .

wit h w h ic h t h e Revol u tion marc h ed Cagliost r o had ,

ceased to h ave the least i mpo r tance even as a missile ,

to h url at th e hated Queen W h eth er the petition or .

t h e letters ever reac h ed t h ei r destination is u nknown

in neithe r case h owever did he obtain a r eply
, ,
.
1

With all h ope of r etreat cut off and sta r vation staring
h im i n t h e face t h e wretc h ed man timorously proceeded
,

t o seek th e acquaintance of the V r ais Amis T h e .

di fficulties and dange r s t h ey enco u ntered in obtaining

recruits won fo r t h e disc r edited Grand C ph t a cordial o a

welcome N otwit h standin g h e refused to seek adm i s

.
,

sion to thei r lodge and contented h imself wit h begging

,

a meal a smal l loan of t h e membe r s wit h w h om h e

or

frate r nized .

E ven M o r ande w h o h ad h imself experienced t h e

,

h o rrors of abj ect pove r ty in h is ea rly struggle for

existence in Londo m u st h ave pitied t h e victim of n,

h is r emo r seless pe rsecution had b Seen him now I n e .

his mise r able lodging n ea r t h e Pia a Fa r nese every zz

—
thing save s u ch fu r nit u re as was the prope r ty of the
landlo r d — w h ic h h e co u ld raise t h e least money had
on

1
Th M i e h w r w b q tl y i f rm d by i
on teu r , o ev e as su se u en n o e ts
r p d t th t h h d r i d bi ll f x h g fr m
,

Rmo an c o re s on en a e a ec e v e s o e c an e o
b th L d d P ri
o on o n an a s .

2 9 0
 Natu re s U n fo rtu n ate C h i l d
’

been pawned N ot a stone of the diamonds t hat had

.

so dazzled o r scandalized as Madame de Lamotte

, ,

maliciously decla r ed the h igh born ladies of Paris and

,
-

Strasbu rg was left his once lovely and stilled loved

, , ,

Countess Faded pinched wit h h unger she still clung

.
, ,

to th is man himsel f now broken and aged by s o

,

many calumnies persecutions and misfo r tune s who s e

, ,

enemies h ad falsely accused h im of t r eating he r brut

ally as she had clung to him for fifteen years—the
,

fi r st and the last of his countless admirers and followers .

To one of his vain and grandiose temperament the

abasement of h is soul m u st have been terrible as he
who h ad been as good as maste r of the splendid
palace of Saverne cowe r ed day after day in that bare
a t tic with h unge r and te r ro r like sullen lacqueys in con
,

s t ant attendance and th ought of all the pa s t—o f the

fascinating Card i nal w h ose friendship had b rought him
to t h is pass and who h ad now forsaken him ; of S arazin ,

the r ic h banker w h o would give me the whole of his

fortune we re I to ask fo r it dead now or as good as
,
”
,

dead of de Lo u th e rh o u rg the Good S amaritan of t he

,

reve r ent disciples to w h om he h ad been the p er e ador e

‘ ’

t he maste r ; of the Croesus fortune which he had

“ ” ’

lavished so ostentatiously and generously of the

a u deamu s with which t h e sympathe t ic crow ds had
g
greeted h im on h is r elease from t h e Bastille ; of the
mi racles of wh ic h h e h ad lost the tr ic k ; and last bu t
not least of h is fantastic sc h eme fer the regene ration of
mankind whic h h e h ad promulgated wit h suc h e n thus
i as m and success .

One day at a dinner to w h i c h some of h is Masonic

acquaintances invited h im when t h e memory of the
past was perh aps more vivid mo r e insistent th an usual ,
,

U 2 2 9 1
 C agl io s tro
influenced by t h e fe tal atmosp h e r e of t h e occasion
s ,

Cagliostro was persuaded to disco ur se on

M ason y B u t alas ! instead f exciting inte r st as in
r . o e

former times h is eloq u ence was wit h out effect T h e .

ice h oweve r was broken

, ,
d n ecessity becoming , an

st r onge r t h an h is fears h e endeavo ur ed t p r oc u re o

recruits in t h e h ope of maintain ing h imself and h is

wife on t h eir subscriptions .

Acco r ding to t h e I nquisition biog r ph e r two men -

a

w h om h e app r oached resolved to h ave a p r actical joke

at h is expense T h ey manif sted a lively desi r e to be
. e

instructed in the E gyptian Rite d C agliost r o de , an ,

i d into t h e belief t h at he h ad to d wit h m

ce v e of o en

means by false diamond w h ic h h e took to be r eal

,
“
a , ,

on t h e h and f decided t g r atify t h em Afte r

o on e, o .

h aving explained t th em t h e aims d c h racte r of

o an a

Egyptian Mason ry h e proceeded to initiate t h em in

confo r mity wit h t h e usu l ridiculous rites passing t h em
a , ,

as G r and M aster by t h e wave f swo r d t h rough

, o a

t h e t h ree M asonic g r ad s f pp r entice comp nion e o a ,

a

and master at once B ut to h is mingled te r ro r

. d an

m ti fi ti
or ca when it came to t h e paym ent f t h e fifty
on o

crowns that h e demanded as t h ei r s u bsc r iption fees ,

they excused t h emselves in manne r w h ic h sho w ed a

h im only too plainly h e was th ei r dupe .

Ala r med lest they i ntended to inform a g ainst h im ,

h e t h ough t to avoid t h e conseq u ences o f detection by

confessing to a p r iest as h had done t T r ent I t e a .

was the last effo r t of a be st at bay I n acco r d ance a .

wit h the monst r ous p r inciple t h at t h e means j u stify

t h e end confesso r s h ave been known on ccasion to o

betray t h e sec r ets confided to t h em i n t h e confessional .

I n this instance h ow ve r the r i no p r oo f t h t th

, e , e s a e

2 9 2
 C agl io s tro
t han any othe r factor of i n h umanity and stup idity that
led to the over t h r ow of the a i g i m n c en re e .

I n t h e case of C agliostr o w h o was of t h e last , on e

to be tried by the Apostolic Cou r t t h e I nquisition ,

lived up to its r eputation T hr eatened an d exec r ated .

eve r ywhere by the invincibl e spi r it of fr eedom which

the fall of th e Bastille had released the J esuits who , ,

cont r olled the machine r y of t h e Papal gove r nment ,

1

strove without cruple to crus h t h e enemies w h ich

s

thei r a rr ogant intrigues had c r eated fo r the Ch u r c h .

To t h em Freemason r y was a comp r e h ensive name for

everything and eve r ybody opposed to t h em and t h e i r
pretensions I n a ce r tain sense t h ey we r e r ig h t and
.
,

in France at any rate w h e r t h e lodges and secret e

societies no longer took the t r ouble to conceal t h ei r

aims th ere was no mistaking the r e olutionary c h a r acte r v

of the F r eemasons So great t h e r efore was t h e fea r

.
, ,

and hatred that F r eemasonry inspired in the Chu r c h

that in seizing Cagliostro th e I nquisition neve r d r eamt
o f c h a rging him wit h any othe r c r ime B eside it h is .
!

occult prac t ices or t h e crimes of w h ich on t h e mp ,

as s u

tion t h at h e was Giuseppe Balsamo h e might h ave

been condemned paled into i n s i gn ific an c e
, .

T h e fact that t h e I nquisition biographe r seeks to -

excuse t h e Apostolic Court for its failu r e to cha rge

h im with t h ese offences on t h e ground that all w h o,
“

could testify against him were dead p r oves ho w ”

slight was the importance his judges attached to t h em .

H ad t h ey desi r ed to bring him to t h e gallows fo r the

forgerie s of B alsamo the j udges of the I nquisition
,

T h e ab o l iti o n o f th e ir O rd r was b u t t e mp orary

1
e I t h ad bee n

fo ce d up o th e Po p e by s ereig w h e power i an atheis ti cal

.

r n ov ns os n

age h ad i n c reas e d as hi s d li d
ec ne T he J it esu s c on ti n ue dto e xi t i
s n

t i p ir tr l Pp y
.

s ec er , an d to ns e an d c on o th e a ac .

2 94
 Natu re s U n fo rtu n ate C h i l d ’

wo u ld have fo u nd th e necessa r y witne ses As a s .

mat t e r of fact t h ey neve r so much as attempted t o

identify him wit h B alsamo as they could easily have ,

done by bringing some of t h e relations of th e latter

from Pale r mo .
1

T h e news t h at Cagliost r o h ad been a rr es ted as a

r evolutiona r y agent caused g reat excitement As the .

Papal governmen t took care to foste r th e belief th at

h e was connected with all t h e events th at we r e
occu rr ing i n F r ance t h e unfo r tunate Grand C ph t, o a

of Egyptian M ason r y s u ddenly acqui r ed a politi al c

!
impo r tance h e had neve r possessed Ar r ested .
,

says t h e M i t h e evoked as much inte r est in

on eu r ,
“

Rome as he h ad forme r ly done in Paris I n all .

”

c la ses of society h e became once mo r e th e chief topic

s

of conve r sation .

I t was r epo r ted t h at befo r e h is a rr est h e had written

a ci r c ula r lette r to h is followe r s of wh om h e was ,

popula rly supposed to have many in Rome itself ,

calling upon them to succou r h im in case h e s h ould

fall into the hands of t h e I nquisition and if necessary ,

to set fire to th e Castle of St Angelo o r any othe r :

p r ison i n w h ic h h e might be confined E ven from .

his dungeon whic h was t h e same as th e one that the

,

alc h emist Bo r ri had died in a century earlier he w ,

”
as

said to h ave found t h e means to communicate with

his accomplices with out According to th e M i t . on eu r

a lette r fr om h im to a pries t h ad been inte r cepted

whic h h ad led to t h e detection of a conspiracy to ver o

t h row the Papal monarchy .

”

T j tify h
1 ttit d th y d pt d h I q i iti bi gr ph r
t e a t e u s on o a e
-
o us u e e a o e n

w as di gl y blig d b l k h h t r f C gl i t by
acc o r n o e to ac en t e c arac e o a o s ro

a ttrib i g ut him h
n to i f m r p t ti
t e f B
n al m ou s m e u a on o a sa o as a ean s

o f mp h i i g h
e as z ndi l i f Fr m i g r l
t e o o us v es o ee as on s n en e a .

2 95
 C agl io s tro
W h eth er t h e r epo r t was true o r not the Papal ,

gove r nment which had p r obably circ u lated it made it

, ,

t he excuse to ar r est nume rous pe r sons it suspected .

T h ese myste r ious a rr ests cause d a gene r al feelin g of

uneasiness w h ich was inc r eased by r umo ur s of mo r e
,

t o follow Fearing o r a ffecting to fea r a r ising the

.
, ,

Papal gove r nment dou b led th e gua r ds at t h e Vatican ,

closed t h e Arsenal w h ich was usually open to t h e ,

public ,
d su rr o u nded S t
an Angelo with t r oops . .

T h e r e was even talk of exiling ll t h e Frenc h in a

Rome .

I t r equi r ed no gift of p r op h ecy to fo r etell the fate

of t h e un h appy c r eature who was th e ca u se of all t h is
excitemen t F rom t h e fi r st it was r ecogni z ed that h e
.

had not the g h ost of a c h ance Two papal bulls .

dec r eed t h at F r eemason r y was a crime p u nishable by

deat h To convict h im mo r eove r t h e I nquisition h ad
.
, ,

no lack o f p r oo f Lauba r demont C a r dinal R ic h elieu s

.
,
’

famous police spy deemed a single comp r omising line

-
,

su fficient to h ang a man I n Cagl i o s tro s case t h anks to .

’

his singular lack of p r udence in not dest r oying h is

papers t h e documents seized on h is ar r est were a
,

formidable dos s i er N eve r theless befo r e dispatc h ing

.
,

t h eir luckless victi m th e H oly I nquisition played ”

with h im like a cat with a mo u se fo r ove r a yea r

, ,
.

As us u al at all I nqu i s i t i on t r ials the f or ms of

j ustice we r e obse r ved Permission was g r anted .

C agliostro to choose two lawyers to defend him .

T h is p r ivilege h oweve r was a mocke r y fo r his c h oice

, , ,

was in r eality l imited to ce r tain o fficials especially

appoin ted by the Apostolic Cou r t to take cha r ge of
s uch cases as h is They we r e not fr ee to acquit ; at
.

most t h ei r defence could only be a plea fo r me r cy I n .

2 9 6
 C agl io s tro
th e favo ur of h aving he r as a companion in h is
cell
One may well imagine reports t h e I nq u isition ,

biog r ap h e r “
t h at t h is r equest was not granted
, .
”

One may indeed ! Acco r ding to the Mon i teu r he also

asked to be bled pla c ed i n a large r cell allowed fresh
, ,

linen a fire and a blanket T h e fi r st and t h e last

1
, .

alone were g r anted him fo r th e I nquisi t ion had no ,

desire to have him di e before t h ey h ad finis h ed t r ying

him As h owever h is j u dges p r ofessed to be deeply
.
, ,

conce r ned fo r t h e h ealt h of his soul when to t h e above ,

r eq u est b e added one fo r some good book no

,
“
,
”

obj ection was made to satisfy him H e was t h e r efo r e .

, ,

given t hr ee fol io volumes on t h e defence of t h e

“

Roman Po n ti fic ate and th e Cat h olic Ch u r c h

”
2
.

Cagliostro took th e cynical h int and afte r read ,

ing the book manifested t h e deepest cont r ition ,

admitted t h at F r eemason r y was a veritabl e c r ime and ,

t h e Egyptian Rite cont r a r y to t h e C at h ol ic religion .

“
N o one howeve r says t h e I nquisition biog r ap h er
, ,
”
-
,

belie ved him and if he flatte r ed himself on r ecove r ing

,

h is liberty by th is means h e was mistaken Pe r .

”

ce iv i n
g that t h is act of repentance fa r fr om bein g of ,

any avail only se r ved to fu r ni sh his enemies wi th fr es h

,

weapons h e decla r ed that eve r yt h ing he had done

,

i n h is li fe had been done wit h th e consen t of the

Almig h ty and t h at h e h ad always been fait h fu l to the
,

Pope and t h e Chu r ch .

”

U n h appily fo r h im howeve r h e had to deal wit h , ,

1
I n th e B till h l as e e a so k d f f h l i wh i h w gi
as e or res n en , c as v en

him Ifbe dr d l i k es s e e am tb k h w
ou n e l t lw y
an e as at e as a a s
p ul l y l
.
,

s c ru ou s c e an
by P N M
.

s
2
d l P ifies a e on t ca to r o m d l t Cl i
an o e b lie a t es a cat o ca, . . .

P ll i i R m 6 8 6
a av e n o , o e 1 .

2 9 8
( F r om a e ae
v r
y r r F r e n c lt p r i n t) [ To f a ce p a
g e 1 4
 Cagl io s tro
enc e between venial and mortal sins t h e I nquisition ,

biograp h e r asse r ts to be t h e c h ief obj e ct of the t r ial ,

they we r e those of t h e enlig h t en ed men o f h is cen

tu r y
. Q u estioned h e decla r ed h e believed all
,

r eligions to be equal and th at p r oviding one b elieved

,
“

in the existence of a Creato r an d t h e immo r tality of

t h e so u l it matte r ed n ot w h ethe r o n e was C at h olic
, ,

Luth e ran C alvinist o r J ew

, , As to h is political
.

opinions h e confessed to a hat r ed of ty r anny e s pe c i

,
“
,

ally o f all forms of religio u s intole r ance .

At lengt h on M a r c h 2 1 1 79 1 t h e I nq u isition
, , ,

j udges b r ought t h ei r gloomy fa r ce to an end As an .

instance of t h e h atred of t h e Papal gove r nment fo r

sec r et societies and especially fo r Freemason ry Ca gli ,

ostro s sentence is wo r t h quoting in full

’

“
Giuseppe B alsamo attainted and convicted o f
,

many c r imes and of h aving i ncur r ed t h e cens ur es and

,

penalties p r ono u nced against h eretics dogmatics , ,

h e resiarc h s and p r opagators o f magic and s u pe r stition

, ,

has b een fo u nd guilty and condemned to t h e said cen

s ur es and pen alties as dec r eed by t h e Apostolic laws
of Clement X I I and B enedict X I V against all person s ,

w h o in an y manne r w h ateve r favou r o r f o r m societies

and conventicles of F r eemason r y as well as by t h e ,

edict of t h e Co u ncil of S tate against all pe r sons con

v i c te d of t h is crime in Rome o r in any ot h e r place in

t h e dominions of t h e Pope .

N otwith standing by special g r ace and favo ur th e

, ,

sentence of deat h by whic h this c r ime is expiated is

he r eby comm u ted into pe r pet u al imp r isonment in a
fortress w h e r e t h e c u lprit is to be st r ictly gua r ded
,

with out any hope o f pardon w h ateve r F u rthermo r e .

,

aft e r h e shall h ave abjured his offences as a he r etic in

3 00
 Natu re s U n fo rtu n ate C h i l d
’
’

t h e place of his imprisonment he shall r eceive absolu

tion ,
d certain sal u tary penances will t h en be
an

presc r ibed fo r him to w h ich he is h ereby orde r ed to

s ubmit .

“
Likewise t h e manuscript book w h ic h has for its
,

t i t le Egypti an Mas on ry is s olemnly condemned as

containing rites proposi t ions doctrines and a s ystem
, , ,

whic h being supe r stitious impious h e r etical and , , ,

altoget h er blasphemous open a road to sedition and

,

t he dest ru ction of the C h ristian religion T h is book .

,

the r efo r e s h all be bu r nt by the executioner together

, ,

wit h all t h e ot h e r documents relating to this sect

’

B y a new Apostol ic law we s h all confirm and

r enew not only the laws of the p r eceding pontiffs
w h ic h prohibit the societies and conventicles of Free
mason r y making particula r mention o f t h e Egyp t ian
,

sect and of anothe r vulga rly known as the I lluminés ,

and we shall dec r ee t h at the most gr i ev ou s corpor al

u n i s /zmen ts r ese r ved fo r h e r etics shall be inflicted on
p
all w h o s hall associate h old comm u nion with or , ,

”
protect these societies .

T h roughout E u r ope w h ic h was eve r ywhe r e i m

,

re n ate d with t h e doct r ines of t h e Revolution suc h

p g ,

a sentence for suc h a c r ime at suc h a time c r eated a

r evulsion of feeling in Cagl i o s tro s favou r H is fate ’
. ,

h owever evoked less sympathy for h im than

,

indignation against Rome An article in the Feui l l e .

Vi l l ageoi s e best exp r esses t h e gene r al opinion .

“
T h e Pope says the w r iter
,
ought to have ,

aba n doned Cagliost r o to the effects of his bad

r ep u tation I nstead he h as h ad h im sh ut up and
.

t r ied by Ch a rlatans fa r mo r e dange rous to society

than h imself H is sentence is c ru el and ridic ulo u s
.
.

3 0 1
 Cagl io s tro
I f all w h o make dupes of th e c r owd we r e p u nis h ed
i n this fashion precedence o n t h e scaffold s h o u ld
,

ce r tainly be granted to th e Roman I nq u isitors .

That the trial o f Cagliost r o was r eally intended

by the Papal govern ment as a proof of its deter
mination to show no quarter in its war against

k
t h e F r eemasons may be gat h ered from t h e I nq u isition
biog r ap h e r s Vi e de jos ep B al s amo w h ich is less a
’

life of Balsamo or Caglio s tro as it pu r ports to be th an

,
,

a furious attack on F r eemason r y w h ich is depicted in

,

t h e blackest and most odious colours I ts p u blication

.

exasperated t h e sec r et societies in Lomba r dy and they

we r e emboldened by the p r og r ess o f t h e Revolution
to publish a r eply “
.T h is pamphlet says t h e ,

Mon i te u r appeared under t h e auspices of t h e Swiss

,

government and produced suc h a sensation t h rougho u t

I t aly and pa r ticularly in Rome that t h e Conclave
, , ,

te rr ified at t h e revolutiona r y fury it h ad awakened ,

instr ucted its agents to buy up every copy t h ey co u ld

”
find .

T h e Conclave would h ave been bette r advised to

supp r ess th e work o f the I nqui s ition biog r ap h e r T h e
-
.

acco u nt it contains of C agl i o s tro s t r ial completely

’

j ustifies t h e popular belief in t h e bigotry cruelty , ,

tyranny and total lack of t h e Ch r istian spi r it tha t

,

c h a r acte r ized t h e p r oceedings of t h e H oly I nqui

s i ti o n .

III
Fo r some time afte r h is trial t h e p u blic continued
to manifest great inte r est i n Cag liost r o T h e re c ol .

lection of h is extraordina r y ca r ee r gave to h is sentence

3 0 2
 C agl io s tro
consented B ut sca r cely h ad h e r eceived th fi r st blow
; e

wh en b seized the cord flung h imself on the Capucin

e , ,

and did h is best to st r angle him H is intention was .

to escape in t h e p r iest s cloak and h ad h e been in his

’

vigou r and h is opponent a weak man h e might h ave

s u cceeded B ut Cagliostro was lean and wasted fr om
.

long imp r isonment and the Capucin was st r ong and

m u sc u la r I n the st ruggle wit h his penitent he had
.

time to call fo r h elp .

”

W h at followed t h e a rr ival f the j aile r s is not

on o

known b t it is not likely t h at th e prisone r was

, u

handled wit h gloves .

As a sequel to that frantic struggle fo r life an d

liberty C agl iost r o was sec r etly sent in th e middle of
,
“

t h e nigh t to t h e C astle of S an Leo nea r Montefeltro

”
,
.

The situation f t h is trong h old is one f the most

o s o

singu lar in E u rope T h e eno r mo u rock whose summit

. s ,

it c r owns r ising , t h ree sides precipitously fr om an

on

almost desert plain is like a mon u ment commemorativ

,
e

of some p r imeval conv u lsion of nature I n ea r ly times .

it h ad been t h e site f a temple f J u pite r t h e r uins

o o ,

of w h ic h afte r its dest ru ction by t h e ba r barians became

t h e a b ode of a C hr istian h e r mit w h ose ascetic virt u es ,

we r e canonized and wh beq u eat h ed his name to it

, o .

I n t h e M iddle Ages t h e h oly ru ins g ave place to an

almost impre g nable fo r t r ess w h ich at a still later ,

pe r iod wa conve r ted into a Papal prison compa red to

.

s ,

w h ic h t h e B astille was a pa r adise .

1

I n t h e eighteent h centu r y the condition of t h e

s urr o u ndings rendered it well nigh inaccessible T h e -
.

roads leading to S an Leo were only practicable fo r

h orses in fine weath e r ; in winter it was only app r oached
on foot To accentuate still fur t h e r t h is isolation t h e
.
,

1
S L
an i w w ll eo d t d It l i t t pri
s no a e c on
-
uc e a an s a e s on .
 C agl io s tro
Th i s is the last definite t r ace of C agl iost r o .

On the 6 th October 1 79 5 the Mon i teu r st ates , ,

i t is r epo r ted in Rome th at the famous Cagli

ostro is dead B ut when h e died or how is ab s o
.
, ,

l u te l y unknown
“
That h is end was tr agic says
.
,

d Al m é ras
’ “
one c an well suppose and his j aile r s to
, , ,

make su re that he should not escape may have put ,

h im o u t of h i s misery ”
T he Mon i teur speaks of the
.

p r obability Of such an end as being a topic of conversa

tion in Rome I n any case it seems impos s ible t o
.
,

believe that he could long have su r vived so ter r ible a ,

doom which whateve r his offence was utte rly dis

, , ,

g r aceful to the government that pronounced i t .

This mysterious end so i n keeping with Cagli ,

os t r o s myste r ious o r igin and personality appeals to

’

the imagination N ot h ing excites c u riosity like a

.

my s tery S ince h is death th e r e have been as many

.

at tempts to lift the veil in which his end is s hrouded

a s were made in h is lifetime to discove r the sec r et
.

k
of his birth O f t h ese specimens of s h eer futility
M adame B lav ats y s is th e mos t inte r esting t h e most
’

unlikely and the most popular among the believe r s in

,
,
,

th e supernatu r al wh o h ave allowed t heir imaginations

to run riot on Cagliostro generally .

Acco r ding to the equally ext r aordina r y H igh

Priestess of t h e Theosophi s t s Cagliostro e s caped from ,

S an Leo and long afte r h i s s upposed death in 1 79 5

k
,

was met by variou s peopl e i n R u ssia even residing ,

for some time in the h ouse of Madame B lav ats y s ’

fat h er whe r e in the midst of winte r he p r oduced by

,
“

magical power a plate full o f fr esh strawbe rr ies fo r a

”
sick person who was craving it .

H ad Cagl iost r o survived h is terrible s u ffering s in

3 0 6
 Natu re s U n fo rtun ate C h il d
’

S an Leo till 79 7 when the Fren h invaded th e

1 , c

Papal S tates h e ce r tainly woul d have been set at

,

liberty S an Leo to which the Pope s troops had

.
,
'

retired was taken by the famous Polish legion u nder

,

Gene r al D ombrowski T h e fi rst thing th e o fficers did

.

on ente r ing t h e fo r t r ess was to inquire anxiously if

Cagliost r o w h om they rega r ded as a ma rty r in the
,

cause of fr eedom was living , .

“
T h e y t h ought to resc u e h im says F igu i e r and
“
, ,

perhaps even to give h im an ovation similar to tha t

w h ic h he had r eceived in Paris afte r h is acquittal by
t h e Parl iament But they arrived too late Cagliostro
. .
,

they we r e told had j ust died

, .
”

Acco r ding to ano th er ve r sion t h ey demanded to ,

be shown his grave and h aving opened it filled the

, ,

sk u l l wit h wine whic h they d rank to the honou r of

,

the Revol u tion

T h e fate o f t h e inoffensive and colourles s Countess

Cagl iostro was quite as mysterious though le s s c ruel , ,

perh aps t h an h er h us b and s T h e I nquisition sentenced

,
’
.

h e r too to imp r isonment fo r life She was confined

, ,
.

in t h e con v ent of St Appolonia a penitentia ry for .

,

women in Rome w h e r e it was r umou r ed she h ad d i ed

,

in 1 79 4 .

3 7
0
 by M o d mp dkid dp
n o u n ce d ran e, 2 66 ; e fen s Eg yp ti an M as o n r y 1 1 5, 1 1 7 —1 2 6 131,
hi lms e f, 2 6 7 2 6 9 atte na ts to 142 ,
,

1 4 3, 1 44 . 1 49 ,
,

1 56,
i d i c l d by F
-

m
h i , 2 72 , 2 73 ; r u e re e 1 60, 1 85 , 1 88, 1 89 , 1 9 7 n ote, 2 0 7 ,
m o l v
as n s , 2 7 7 ; e a es E gl d n an , 2 79 ; 2 1 1, 2 12 , 2 1 3, 2 76 , 2 77, 2 9 2 , 2 9 8,
d h ip
fri en s o f de Lo u th erh o u rg, 2 80 99 , 30 1
2

k yl m
2 8 2 ; s ee s as u w i l ll dd
i n S tze r an , d E premi n i l ,
’
2 32
2 83 ; at R o v o re do , 5 28 ; ex p e e E ras mus , 80

fro m T
o
2 88 ; h i s pvre n t,

y iv l R m
2 8 7 ; arr a i n
e rt , 2 90 ; d byarres te
o e, Ep s eran ec L odg e, 6 7, 1 1 1 , 1 13, 1 14

P p l p lic
a a o b c
e, 2 9 3 ; efore th e I n F e l i ci an i , Lo ren za. S ee L o ren za

q u i s i ti on , 2 99 ;
mp c p
h i s s en ten e , 300 ;
at S an Leo
B l m ph i
a sa o

Co
atte t to e s a e , 30 3 S era n a. S ee un tess

5 my
30 4 , 30 ; io s ter us e n d, 306 C gl io o
a s tr
C gl i
a Co
o s tro , un tes s , 1 3, 1 4 , 1 9, 4 9 , F eu i l l e Vi l l ageoi s e, 30 1
5 0,5 5 5 5 5 III
4 : 6 : 7a 8, 9 : : 1 12 , 1 15, FF ig i ll
u e r, 8 5 , 1 2 3, 1 6 6 , 1 9 4, 2 10 , 2 1 2
1 2 0 , 1 5 1 , 1 7 7, 1 8 1 , 1 8 5 , o n te n e 93 e,
2 2 4 , 2 30 , 2 3 1 , 2 3 2 , 2 33; 2 4 1 , 2 3 0 , F d ick G
re er th e re at, 9 7, 1 04 , 1 0 8
2 8 2 , 2 8 5 , 2 8 8, 2 97, 30 7
G i pp
F
re em as o n s , T h e , 1 0 5 ,
1 1 6, 1 1 7, 1 2 1 , 1 8
1 0 7, 1 08 , 1 09 ,
us e e, 1 3, 1 5 , 2 2 5 2 96
C p M E il
am an , adam e , 2 2 2 F ry, Mi — s s, 5 3 6 8, 7 1 ,
,

72
Campardon ,
G iov i
C ap i tu mmi n o ,
m e, 1 2
an n , 2 2
unF ck B -
ren tan o , 2 0 1 n ote, 2 4 8 n ote

C bo i R y o d
ar n n ere s , a m n de , 1 89 Gan gan el l i S ee Cl m
e en t X I V
C lyl
ar e , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 2 4, 2 0 1 , 2 0 3, 2 2 4 , G
as s n er, 8 6 , 1 0 3 , 1 6 6
Gazette de F l or en ce, 1 2
.

30 5 n ote
Carte gi ro n e , B en fratel li o f, 2 3, 2 5 , 30 Gazette ae Ley de, 1 1
’

C ov
as an a, 3 7, 38 , 39
Dk u e o f, 2 6 6
eGG bil i M d m
r, 78 ,
79
C as tro p i gn an i , en s , a a e de , 1 2 , 2 06
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