Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-02-09
A HUMAN ENIGMA
The Count of st. German, a Fa-
nous Old World Impostor.

One Of the greatest impostors in the
annals Of France and that the court OF
any nation has had to deal with was
the Count of St. German, whose life
is written down as one long mystery
and tastes much more Of fiction than
of fact in its relating. Who he was no
one knows nor where he came from
nor what finally became Of him. He
suddenly appeared at the French court
of Louis XIV. in 174S. He had an at
fable and convincing way about him
and succeeded in winning friends. Just
who introduced him or how this hand
some, brilliant stranger came to be in
troduced into the court circle IS mys-
terry. 1t was at the period when the
most rigorous etiquette was maintain
ed and ancestry counted for much and
every title of nobility had to be thor
oughly authenticated before it was ac-
cepted.
No one knew st. German nor had
ever heard of him when he made his
debut at the French court, although he
spread the report that he was 1000
years old and was able to convince
| many of the more susceptible into be
lieving it. He had no records to show
| that he was entitled TO the name or
count; he had no visible means of sup
| port and yet he took up splendid quar-
tiers in Paris and lived at an extrava-
| CANT rate The French court had bad
| some experience with Adventures and
were more or less suspicious; but, in
spite Of the fact that they knew moth
ing about him, st. German was receiv-
| ed with open arms and the king made
him his boon companion. Mime. de
| Pompadour, the reigning beauty of the
court, consulted him freely on affairs
of state and society. So powerful did
he become that dukes and ambassa-
| doris were among his closest friends
and bitterest foes.
Finally st. Germans claim to i'm
mortality became the general discus.
sion among all who knew him or had
heard of him. He claimed that he
would never die, for had he not al
ready lived 1000 years, and natural,
" he was pointed ont as the wonder
of the age. He spoke every languag
then known and one as fluently as the
other. He had a positive genius fol
chemistry and astounded the world by
discoveries he made-or pretended tC
have made-along this line. The mos
monumental Of all his fakes was thf
story he told of how, having been bor1
close to 300 years before Christ, he
had found age creeping up and deter
mined, through his skill in chemistry
to concoct the liquor that would keel
him always alive and young. The
mans perfect and intimate Knowledge
of all history led many people to be
; lieve this wild statement He would
relate personal narratives of Mere
Dante, Francis I. and other notables o.
former centuries.
St German also claimed to posses
secret of turning baser metals int
. gold and of making precious stones
. His untraced wealth and the fact tina
7 he fairly blaZed with diamonds len
: credence to his stories. He was 8
clever In the workings of his fake
,, as not to be detected, and he was neve
proved to be a swindler, a gambler o
, spy, though he was charged with be
t ing all three.
He was about fifty years old at tn
! time OF his appearance at the Frencl
court. He carried everything befor
him while he remained there, but b