Lives of alchemystical philosophers: To which is added a bibliography of alchemy and hermetic philosophyWaite, Arthur Edward
Philosophy
Lives of alchemystical philosophers: To which is added a bibliography of alchemy and hermetic philosophy
Waite, Arthur Edward
Alchemists -- Biography; Alchemy -- Bibliography; Alchemy -- History
From Barcelona they proceeded to Madrid, where also certain noble
Spaniards proved sensible to the charms of Lorenza. From Madrid they
journeyed to Lisbon, and thence sailed to England, where Cagliostro
is said to have adopted the profession of a common quack, to have
fallen into prison, to have been bought out by his wife, in whose
person he still continued to traffic, bartering her charms to every
opulent man who wished to become a purchaser; but the frequency of her
prostitutions has probably been grossly exaggerated.
An English Life of the Count Cagliostro, dedicated, in 1787, to Madame
la Comtesse, and written in the interests of the charlatan, gives a
singular account of his misfortunes in London, showing that when he
arrived there he was in possession of plate, jewels, and specie to the
amount of three thousand pounds, that he hired apartments in Whitcomb
Street, where he dedicated a large portion of his time to his favourite
studies of chemistry and physics, and that all he suffered must be
entirely attributed to the profuse generosity and charity of himself
and his lady.
In 1772, Cagliostro and his wife crossed over to France, accompanied by
one M. Duplaisir, who lodged with them at Paris, and seems to have been
intimate with Lorenza. But Cagliostro was insatiable, says St Felix. He
sold his honour at a high price, and the fortune of Duplaisir melted
in the crucible of another’s follies and extravagances. At length,
in alarm, the victim took leave of his rapacious guests, not without
strongly warning Lorenza to return to her parents, for he had learned
to esteem the natural good qualities which she possessed. According to
one account, she attempted to follow this advice, but others say that
she sought refuge from incessant prostitution with Duplaisir himself.
In either case, Cagliostro had recourse to the authority of the king,
and obtaining an order for her arrest, she was imprisoned in the
penitentiary of Sainte Pélagie, and was detained there several months,
during which Cagliostro abandoned himself to a life of congenial
dissipation. The sale of a certain wash for beautifying the complexion
appears to have procured him a considerable revenue about this period.
The imprisonment of Lorenza did not prevent a reconciliation with her
husband immediately after her release, which occurred on December
21, 1772, on which date, having obtained under false pretences some
magnificent dresses from the _costumiers_, Cagliostro appeared at the
ball of a dancing-master in a peculiarly brilliant costume.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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