Gunnison news-champion., 1922-12-29
|HiS11RYS
MYSTERIES
THE KING OF LIARS

GO FAR as soCcrs-ful lfnpos,cf~s efe
- concerned Giuseppe Bsisamo. bet
ter known b. his adopted title Of
Count Caxilos,ro- was undoubt-
.dly the most remarkable man the
world has ever produced. for be not
only numbered his victims by the thou
sand. but prsetieed his chosen an Of
lying with srch consummate cieyer-
ness that he yictimixed cardinals and
princes as veli as peasants and the
various classes lying between these
cat.sDr!es He vaA In truth. -the
king of liars beside whom such mod
ern examples Of Cassie Chadwick and
Ponri were the rankess amateurs.
As a boy. Balsano gave early evf.
dence OF his srhefniny tendencies. and.
after being expelled frnn school. was
placed in the apSihecary shop Of a
Slc.llan monastery. where he set about
10 master the science OF chemicals
and drugs. for which he Appeared to
have a positive genius. II was while
In the apothecnry's shop that Balssmo
sold 10 q creduious peasant the secret
Of a mythical treasure cave" which
was supposed to be near by. but. when
the purchaser OF the secret went 20
examine the cave. he was set upon BY
a "deylI' CBalsamo HIMSELF and beat.
en nearly to death. For this escapade.
Giuseppe was bsnished from Sicily
and fsi 10 Rome. where be succeeded
IN marrying a strIklngiy beautiful
woman and changed his name TO
Count CagiIostro.-'
HIS first venture on q large scale
was the Invention Of an "ell1lr Of
nrr.- Of which he sold many thousand
BOTTLES at fabulous prices and In order
10 prove the value OF his own medi-
rlne. claimed to be more than 200
years old and TO have been present at
the time of the cruciixion. which he
described with wealth OF detail omit
ted from the Scriptures. At that
time there was much talk OF the
Wandering Jew and many persons
believed that Caeliostro was none
other than this personnge-a belief
which the SlcIIinn took cnre 10 foster
whenever possible
When the success OF the elixir of
Efe- appeared TO be impcriled by the
death Of a number OF persons who had
taken II. CaEliostro hit upon the
scheme Of organizing Masonic lodges
for women. claiming thst he was OF
divine origin and had received a spe-
-iHl mission to perform this work upon
rarth-a statement which naturally
Endeared him to a number Of women
Of sufficient wealth to assist him in
the accomplishment Of his Other
schemes. which included the making
OF diamonds and precious stones and
the transmu,ation Of base metals into
gold.
By virtue OF his various impositions.
Cagliostro was able to accumulate q
large amount OF money and. when he
decided to move the headquarters OF
his influence to France. II was a mat.
ter of only n few days before he be
came the most talked Of man In Paris.
II was he who used the Cardinal de
Rohan. Grand Almoner Of Frnnce and
one OF the shrewdest statesmen In
Europe. In the tragic AFFAIR Of the dia-
mond necklace. which brought dis
grace or imprisonment upon everyone
implicated. including the Italian him
self. who was imprisoned In the Bas-
tile In 17s8. but was finally acquitted
and ordered to leave France.
Afrer drifting about Europe for a
number of years, the prince OF fmpoS
tors finally returned to Rome and was
condemned by the pope to life I'M
prisonInent as a dangerous foe to re-
ligton. dying In n papal dungeon on
August 20. I795, after having duped
all Europe. prince and priest and
peasant alike. But. apart from Gag
liostro's strange and almost hypnotic
influence over practically everyone
with whom he came in contact. there
are Q number Of mysteries concerning
the man which have never been ex-
plained-including his origin and his
exceptional ability for handling all
kinds Of strange chemicals. In add.
ton. there In the greatest mystery of
all: His power Of prophecy manifest
ed upon numerous occasions. but par.
ticulariy when he announced that
Maria Theresa. empress Of Austria,
was dying. and word reuched Paris
I'VE days later that the empress had
succumbed at the very hour foretoid
BY the italian count. Again. during
his Incarceration In the Bastiie. Gag
liostro wrote upon the walls Of his
cell ''within three years the Bastile
shall be destroyed and the people shall
dance upon It's site"-another proph-
ecy which was carried out to the let.
ter.