The Mineral argus., 1884-10-02
COUNT
rb. worlds Greatest ImpOstor Described
By Benedict.

and Benedict remarks: "He is a man
NJ middle height, stout, with an air Of
sinister cunning and a suspicious eye,
exactly as he is represented in the por-
trait I have of him. He was followed
nv his wife, a handsome, well proper
toned woman, with q vivacious express
sion" After a few preliminaries Gag
Iiostro seated himself in a tripod and
began to speak as follows: at is right
that I should relate my life to you, re-
veal my past, and lift the dense veil that
prevents you from seeing-harken to
ny yords--the boundless deserts spread
around me; gigantic palm trees cast
their shadows on the sand. I see
the quiet course of the Nile; the
Sphynx, obelisks, columns stand in
their majesty before me. Behold
these wondrous walls, these numer-
GUS temples, these mighty pyramids,
these labyrinthsl It is Memphis, the
sacred ethyl Behold the glorious King
Tothmes III. makes his triumphant en-
try after subduing the Syrians and Can
a%anites! 1 see-but now 1 pass to other
lands. Here is another city; here is q
holy temple dedicated to Jehovah, not
10 Osiris. New gods have overthrown
the old. I hear voices-they proclaim
the Prophet, the Son of God. Who is it,
1t is Christ! Yes 1 see him; he is at
the marriage feast of Cana. He is
changing the water into wine" And
hereupon Cagliostro started To his feet,
crying: "Not he alone can perform this
miracle. /, too, can perform it; will
show it to you all. I will reveal the
mystery nought is concealed from me.
I know all. 1 am immortal. aDtedilu-
Wan. Nothing is impossible 10 me.
Ego sum qui sum-" Then Selling a
vessel of pure water, he showed it to
the company and after making all taste
it, poured something into a huge crystal
goblet and added TO it o few drops of
another liquid from n small vial. In
stantly the water assumed Il golden blue
and became q sparkling wine, like Or
veto. This, he said, was the Falerni-
On used by the ancient Romans. Many
present drank of it and found it excel
lent. Cagliostro then continued his
raphsody. and spoke as with inspired
accents of his famous secrets, balsams.
elixirs. He produced a bottle of
which, he said was potent TO pro-
long life and to restore youth and
strength. And TO prove his words, he
administered doses of it to the oldest
persons in the assembly. Certainly it
gave color to their cheeks and bright
ness to their eyes; "but," adds Benedict
ii, ut struck me that a glass or so Of
Moutefiascone might easily produce the
same effect" The count then men,
Toned his power of charging precious
and offered to make an expert
nent on the spot. Cardinal Bernis
gave him the fine diamond ring that he
wore, and it was thrown into a
and various liquids poured
over it. T%hereupon Cagliostro recited
IN incarnation, composed of s~o-called
Egyptian and Arabian words. He
hen added several powders to
he mixture in tie cruclble, and
n a few minutes drew out the ring and
'estored it to the cardinal with a bril-
liant almost double the size Of the or
ginal stone. Bernis put on the mirac-
ring with great delight; but the
opinion was that the cardinal
lad been very ~cleverly tricked; that
he ring was quite different from his
'wn, and set with a crystal instead of
diamond. Cagliostro next introduced
young girl whom he called his ward,
md made her fix her eyes upon a glass
,Ofkla EI1ol NTH xroko. Gho coll ILL
he saw a road leading from one great
ity to another, and a vast crowd of men
nd women running forward and shout
ng, "Down with the king!" Cagliostro
.sked her what place this was, and she
answered that she heard the people
"To Versailles !" and that there
vas a great gentleman among them.
Hhereupon Cagliostro turned to us and
aid: "My ward has prophesied the
uture. Before long Louis XVI. will
,e attacked by the people in his
at Versailles, the mob will be
ed by the duke; the monarchy will be
'verthrown, the Bastile destroyed the
tyranny give place to freedom" "Dia-
nine !" exclaimed the French ambassa-
or, "you predict i'll things for my SOW
Unfortunately they will all
e verified" replied the count. To this
eport Benedict appends a note dated
oct. II, 1889: "Cagliostro spoke truly:
IN the 9TH inst. a mob, mainly COM
of women, and headed by the
Duke d'Aiguillon, attacked the king at
yersailles." This strange prediction
aused great excitement in the assembly
t the Villa Malta. Some cried out that
he count was an imposter, others that
e was q prophet and a man of wisdom.