Secret_History

Chapter 1: The Nature of the Quest 45
The point of this short aside is this: don’t assume anything about Jews, Masons,
or any other group when trying to solve the mystery. Nearly everything we come
across will be obscured. And, when it is right out in plain view, it will be even
more difficult to see!
Getting back to our purported alchemists, we come now to the year 1745 in
which Prince Charles Edward Stuart, known as the “Young Pretender”, staged his
Jacobite rebellion in an attempt to regain the British throne for his father the “Old
Pretender”. The Jacobite cause, for all intents and purposes, had been crushed at
the battle of Culloden in April of that year, yet there was a constant fear by the
British government that the Jacobites were still plotting with their French
sympathizers, and being French and in London was, at that time, a liability. This
“spy fever” resulted in the arrest of many Frenchmen on trumped up charges, and
most of them were later released, but it was a dangerous time for Gallic visitors!
In November of that year, one Frenchman was arrested and accused of having
pro-Jacobite letters in his possession. He became very indignant and claimed that
the correspondence had been “planted” on him. Considering the mood of the time,
it is quite surprising that he was believed and released! Horace Walpole, English
author and Member of Parliament, wrote a letter about this incident to Sir Horace
Mann on December 9, 1745 saying:
“The other day they seized an odd man who goes by the name of Count Saint-
Germain. He has been here these two years, and will not tell who he is or whence,
but professes that he does not go by his right name. He sings and plays on the violin
wonderfully, is mad and not very sensible.”
This is one of the few “authentic” on the scene comments about one of the most
mysterious characters of the 18th century, the Count Saint-Germain. Another
acquaintance of the Count Saint-Germain, Count Warnstedt, described Saint-
Germain as, “The completest charlatan, fool, rattle-pate, windbag and swindler”.
Yet, his last patron said that Saint-Germain was, “perhaps one of the greatest sages
who ever lived”. Clearly this was one of those people you either love or hate!
Saint-Germain first comes to our attention in the fashionable circles of Vienna in
about 1740, where he made a stir by wearing black all the time! Everybody else
was into bright colors, satins and laces, ornate patterns and designs; and along
comes Saint-Germain with his somber black outfits set off by glittering diamonds
on his fingers, shoe buckles, and snuff box! What an attention getter! If you want
to stand out in a roomful of robins, cardinals and bluejays, just be a blackbird! He
also had the habit of carrying handfuls of loose diamonds in his pockets instead of
cash!
So, there he is, garnering attention to himself in this bizarre way, and naturally
he makes the acquaintance of the local leaders of fashion, Counts Zabor and
Lobkowitz, who introduce him to the French Marshal de Belle Isle. Well, it seems
that the Marshal was seriously under-the-weather, but his illness is not recorded so
we can’t evaluate the claims that Saint-Germain cured him. Nevertheless, the
Marshal was so grateful that he took Saint-Germain to Paris with him and set him
up with apartments and a laboratory.
The details of the Count’s life in Paris are pretty well known, and it is there that
the rumors began. There is an account by a “Countess de B___” (a nom de plume,
it seems, so we have to hold the information somewhat suspect), who wrote in her