Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-12-05

inst as hc did now in Paris. And Just
"a he appeared to have drifted from court
10 court before this appearance in Paris
50 did lie continue to do afterward. In
tie latter part of the eighteenth century
lie became the fayorite companion OF
the Landsrave Charles OF Hesse.
There yelled the close of his career al
most as much mystery as covered his
birth, for although his death in Schlesw1S
Holstein was announced in 17SO, Grosley,
an eminent savant of the British Royal
Society stated that he saw the count IN
a French prison during the reign of terror,
while Lord Lytton in 1860 met charac-
ter who appeared to be his double. II not
he himself, and there have since been IN
timations that he was the mysterious
Maj. Fraser who al the court of LOUIS
Napoleon, in about 1S.h1 was playing
much the same role as had ST. German at
that of Louis IN-whose birth and nation
alities were as enismatical as was the
supply of his plethoric purse and VINO
used to intimate that he lived with Nero
and knew Dante personally. Stu others
have limited that the mysterious Russian
who more recently penetrated into the
forbidden kingdom of Tibet. and there be-
came the adviser of the Dalai Lama was
the same Count of St. German, still
defying the last visitor.
w nile III Germany ct. Iel TidlH IIltl anu
initiated into Freemasonry one who was
destined to succeed him i'm the salons
and courts of Europe the worlds chief
man of mystery. This was none other
than that human enigma Count Ales-
sandro di CagIiostro.'
court of Louis WI November % 1850,
when Count Cagliostro. the lion of Paris
society. gravely announced that on that
day and at the moment named Queen
Marie Antoinette's mother. the Empress
Maria Theresa had died in Vienna. Now,
there was no telegraph or telephone a.
that time, and the fleetest messenger
could make Paris from Vienna in no less
than five days. OF course, the vast ma
jority of courtiers merely thought that
Cagliostro had taken big chances on
bold guess, and they shifted obviously.
Then. early in December. messenger ap-
peared with a dispatch from the queen.
and Paris stood agape to note that the
counts grim prophecy had been fulfilled
to the hour of the day.
Ambassadors. mobiles. princes were now
ready TO believe some of the most ex-
travagant claims concerning Cagliostro-
that he could manufacture gold; that he
could summon even kings from their
graves; that he had renewed the youth
of his wife. who was really a very old
woman with son of fifty: that he
was of divine origin and could make him.
self invisible at will. 1t was thought also
that he had lived for centuries-that he
was, in fact. the Wandering Jew.
He awed Europe with his hypnotic feats
and by his healing of the poor. from
whom he would accept no payment. He
instituted sort of masonic cult into
which he drew thousands of initiates,
many of them women. He foretold the
lucky numbers of the government lot
teries and dispensed his elixir of youth,
the wine of Egypt" He lived like a
noble, travelled with the encourage of a
prince, showered money upon charities,
assumed a majestic manner which for
bade famiiarities.
Once when some one made so bold as tc
ask, WHO are you?" he replied, Il am
He Who Is AS in the case of st. Ger
main, no one could learn whence he had
come or whence he had obtained his title.
But whereas St. German spoke all Ian
guages equally well. Cagliostro spoke them
equally badly" The Prince Cardinal de
Rohan declared that he had seen ths
count manufacture gold and diamonds.
Finally. after he had become implicated