The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1922-10-12
|HIST1RY'S.
MYSTERIES.
The KING OF LIARS

co FAR - socoessfni imposiures ST.
- concerned. Giuseppe Baisamo. bet
Ter known by bis adopted title Of
( Count Cagliostro" was undoubt'
edly the most remarkable man the
world has ever produced. for he not
/ only numbered his victims BY the thou
sands but practieed his chosen art u
lying with such eoBsummate clever
ness that be yictimized cardinals and
princes as well as peasants and the
various classes lying between these
categories He was, In truth, 'the
King Of liars beside whom such mod
ern examples ~ Cassie Chadwick and
Ponzi we're The rankest amateurs
A. a boy. Balsamo gave early evi.
dence Of his scheming tendencies, and,
after being expelled from school. was
placed IN the apothecary shop Of a
Sicilian monastery. where he set about
10 master the science OF chemicals
and drugs for which he appeared TO
have a positive genius. II WIS while
In the npothecary's shop that Balsamo
ERAA ~ a hAHAAAbAH AashEfAAtA AAAf e'ahfA
OF a mythical treasure cave" which
was supposed 10 be near by. but, when
the purchaser Of the secret went TO
examine the cave, he was set upon by
a devil" tBalsamo HIMSELF and beat
en- nearly 10 death. For this escapade,
Giuseppe was banished from Sicily
and fled 10 Rome where he succeeded
in marrying a strikingly beautiful
woman and changed his name 20
Count Cagllostro"
His first venture on a large scale
was the invention OF an elixir OF
life" OF which he sold many thousand
bottles az fabulous prices and, in order
10 prove the value OF his own medi-
cine, claimed to be more than 1000
years old and 10 have been present at
the time Of the crucifixion. which he
described with a wealth Of detail omit
ted from the Scriptures. AT that
time there was much talk OF the
Wandering jew" and many persons
believed that CagIiostro was none
other than this personage-a belief
which the Sicllian took care to foster
whenever possible.
When the success of the "elixlr OF
life" appeared TO be lmperiled by the
death Of a number Of persons who had
taken It, Cagliostro hit upon the
scheme Of organizing Masonic lodges
for women, claiming that he was Of
divine origin and had received a spe-
cial mission 10 perform this work upon
earth-a statement which naturally
endeared him to 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 transmutatlon OF base metals into
gold.
BY virtue OF his various impostions, |
CagliostrO was able 10 accumulate a
large amount Of money and when he
decided TO move the headquarters of |
his influence 70 France, It was mat. |
ter Of only a 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 France and /
one Of the shrewdest statesmen in
Europe IN the tragic affair Of the dia-
nond necklace, which brought dis
grace or Imprisonment upon everyone
Implicated, including the Italian him
self, who was imprisoned in the Bias
lie in 1856, but was finally acquitted
n g.
After drifting about Europe for a
number Of years, the prince Of impos-
ors finally returned TO Rome and was
by the pope to life Inn
lrisonment as a dangerous foe to re-
lgion, dying in a papal dungeon on
August 20, 1895. after having duped
N Europe, prince and priest and
peasant alike. But, apart from Gag
iostro's strange and almost hypnotic
influence over practically everyone
With whom he came In contact. there
re a number Of mysteries concerning
be man which have never been ex.
his origin and IFS
ability for handling am
indS Of strange chemicals. In add.
Ion, there is the greatest mystery Of
D: Ills power n prophecy manifest
q upon numerous occasions. but par I
cularly when he announced that
larIa Theresa. empress Of Austria.
us dying and word reached Paris 1
We days later that the empress had
Iccumbed 40 the very hour furetold
y the italian count Again. during {
Is incarceration Ia the Basdle, Gag !
osir0 wrote upon the walls Of his :
en-: "Withln three years the Basule !
lail be destroyed and the people shall
lnce upon its site'-anotber proph- 3
IL which was carried out 10 the LED. {