The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-02-04

necklace valued at 800, 900 English money,
Nine. de Lamotte became fired with the
desire to secure it. Pretending to Prince
Louis that she was familiar at court, she
led him to understand that the queen was
very DESTROYS OF procuring the necklace,
but was prevented by the king from max
ing the purchase.
With consummate skill the adventures
hoodwinked both the prince and the Jew
eler. She deluded the former into belley-
ing that he had an interview with the
queen at night in the park of Versailles,
while really only meeting Gay d'Ohya, a
beautiful girl taken from the streets Oh
Paris. She pretended TO carry the Jew
eler's terms for the necklace to the queen
and retufned with a note purporting TO
be signa2 by her agreeing to the condl-
fions Of sale. The valuable necklace was
then placed in the hands OF Prince Louis,
who then gave it to Nine. de Lamotte
to be conveyed to the queen. Soon AFTER
the diamond necklace came into the pos
session of the adventures it was taken to
pieces and sent in great haste out OF the
kingdom. Not until the jeweler clamored
for the first installment of the purchase
money, some time subsequent, was any
suspicion entertained by the prince or the
ieweler of the great swindle which had
been perpetrated. Mime. de Lamotte, who
had ample time to escape, was whipped,
branded and sentenced to imprisonment
for life. The Cardinal Prince de Rohan
was arrested and tried, but was finally ac-
Quilted through his great family
Cagliostro, one of the most picturesque
and successful swindlers THAI ever lived,
was born of humble parents in Palermo,
Italy, in 1743. His real name was
Giuseppe Balsamo, but, claiming to De
an aristocrat, he assumed the name of
Count Cagliostro. AT the age OF 10 ne
ran away from a seminary where he hau
been placed, but was caught and put IN
a monastery, where he learned something
of the properties of drugs as an assistant
to the apothecary in the institution. In
a few years he became the cieverest rogue
in Palermo, but Sicily becoming too hot
for him, he made his exit by obtaining
money from a ieweler under the pretense
OF securing him a treasure. With thls
money he set out on his travels with a
companion, whom he named Alhotas. He
assumed a different name and character
in each country he visited, at one time
appearing as a necromancer, tnen as a
nobleman. again as a naturalist or physi-
cian. while the continuous exercise of old
tricks and connection of new ores inn
narted a wonderful elasticity to his genius
for successful deception. According to
his own account, with Alhotas he explored
various countries of the orient and was
received with the most distinguished
honors. These reported p-erigrinatio1s
were only imaginary, but in 1870 he actu-
ally visited the grand master OF the
Knights of Malta and SO impressed him
and others that he was given letters OF in
PRODUCTION which gained him admission
into the society of the Italian nobility.
He then married d beautiful woman,
Iorenza F~eliciana, and, aided by her fem
mime cunning and attractions, succeeded
in making dupes where his oarser decop-
tions would have failed. Having done a
thriving business in Italy, he made his
appearance in Germany, where he offered
an elixir for sale which insured perpetual
life and never fading beauty. Its opera
ton he said was manifest in his WI per-
son. as he frequently passed himself as
ranging in age from 100 to 200 years, as
the case. might be. Reaping a golden
harvest in Germany, he departed for
| Russia, and il 1779 while at Mitau he
gathered around him the first ladies of the
town and foundeda Masonic lodge to
which high born ladies We're admitted as
members. Before the enthusiasm of his
victims could cool he left for St. Peters
burg, but Catherine II laughed at him
and his female dupes, and he then de-
parted for France. Some pretended
miracles he had performed at Strasburg
spread his fame through that country, and
upon arriving at Paris he was received
with open arms. The most notable per-
sonages of the French court became be-
levers in his receptions, among the NUM-
Der being Cardinal de Rohan- Through
him Gagliostro became implicated in the
affair Of the diamond necklace and was