The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1912-01-18

He pazzled the Court of Louis XIV. and
Said He Had Lived 1000 Years and
Had Connected an Elixir That Would
Keep Him Young and Alive Forever.
One Of the greatest impoStors in the
annals Of France and hat the court Of
any nation has had % deal with was
the Count of ST. German, whose life
Is written down as one long mystery
and tastes mbrh 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 Ky. in IT'S He had an az
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 II was &C
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
lieYing il. He had no records To show
that he WIS entitled 10 the name OF
count; he had no visible means Of sup
port and yet be took up splendid quar-
ters in Paris and lived at an extrava-
CANT rate The French court had had
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. Nine de
pompadour the regnng beauty of the
court consulted him freely on affairs
of state and society. So powerful did
he become that dukes and ambasSa
doris We're among his closest friends
and bitterest foes
Finally ST diermains 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 WIS pointed out rs the wonder
Of the age lie spoke every language
then known and one as tuently as the
other. He had positive genius for
chemistry and astouuded the world by
discoveries he made-or pretended to
have along this line. The most
monumental of all his fakes was the
story he told of how. having been born
close To 300 years before Christ, he
had found ace creeping mp and deter
mined. through his skill In chemistry,
to concoct the liquor that would keep
him always alive and young The
mans perfect and intimate knowledge
Of all history led many people 10 be-
leye this wild statement He would
relate personal narratives Of Nero,
Dante, Francis |. and other notables Of
former centuries.
st Germain also claimed to possess
secret Of turning baser metals into
gold and of making precious stones
-, =,
,i'9 un,ras 'l "eai'n ,''iu 1ne i',' ,"''
1T Ia'Ii9 ''"@e' WIN ui"Ilo'iu9 'el''
eleu'"'e - "is s,"I' 's. ne Nas ~
'it''l III w "o' Nus - w mn
"s no' 10 't' u''tsl'l ''ii1 NJ " a. ~
lio''" - -, '''''''.i q -,''''''l
II SPY. ihooeH he was 9i'afS'u win I've
ing all three.
ne wa ""''' my He'iH ''u a. NV
dul' Vi uiS "li't'l""'e ~ '''' ''.',
court lie gar iieo ~ - ,'.,IE o''o.'
MN WINE ne 'e'i'a'''', IVY , .u. Nv
WAS r'S'i'S9 aiia l,H"''a "i'i''u ,i''n
court 10 'ou't anu '"'ei - ''eui''u
Win iii inT o'',e ''ie ""''i
11,,i..,,'f,, T., 100