Encyclopædia americana. A popular dictionary of arts, sciences, literature, history, politics and biography, a new ed.; including a copious collection of original articles in American biography; on the basis of the 7th ed. of the German Conversations-lexicon. Ed. by Francis Lieber, assisted by E. Wigglesworth ...

CAGLIOSTRO-CAGNOLI. 385
himself acaroit in counterfeiting hand- ties and nonsense. But his pretensions
writing, and attempted to get possession to supernatural power, the mystery with
of a contested estate by means of a forged which his doctrines were enveloped, his
document, but was discovered, and oblig- pretended ability to work miracles, his
ed to flee. He now determined to go to healing the sick without pay, with the
Rome, and, in his journey through Cala- greatest appearance of generosity, and the
aria, became acquainted with the beautiful belief' that, as the great Kopll:tha (this
Lorenza Feliciani, daughter of a belt- name he had taken, as the restorer of:naker. She appeared to him intended Egyptian masonry), he could reveal the
by fortune to assist his designs. He secrets of futurity, gained him many
formined an intimacy with her, and soon fiiends and supporters. C. again travelcompelled her to assist in the accomplish- led through Europe, and attracted great
nent of his purposes by the loss of her attention in Mittau, Strasburg, Lyons and
1;irtue. They now began their travels, in Paris. While in this last city (1785), he
which he assumed the character ofa man had the misfortune to be implicated in
of rank, first appearing under the name the scandalous affair of the necklace, and
of the marquis Pellegrini, and finally was banished the country as a confidant
under that of the count Cagliostro. IHe of cardinal Rohan. He now returned to
travelled through many countries of Eu- London, and sent many epistles to his
rope, stopped in the capital cities, and, by followers, wherein he bitterly complained
his chemical mixtures, by his tricks, and of the injury he had received in France,
by the amours of his lady, gained consid- and painted the French court in the
erable sums. XWe find him in Madrid, blackest colors. From London, where
Lisbon, Paris, London, and many other he could not long remain, he went to
cities. He knewhowto cheat with great Bale, and other cities in that quarter.
ingenuity, and was always fortunate But, at length, listening to the repeated
enough to preserve himself by an early entreaties of his wife and other fiiends,
flight, if men's eyes began to be opened, he returned (1789) to Rome. Here he
or waking justice threatened him with busied himself about freemasonry; but,
imprisonment. The discovery of thephi- being discovered, and committed to the
losopher's stone, the preparation of a castle of St. Angelo, he was condemned,
precious elixir vitme, &c., were the pre- by a decree of the pope, to imprisonment
tences, under which he extracted friom for life, as a fieemason, an arch-heretic,
credulous people considerable sums in and a man very dangerous to religion.
ready money. Many had recourse to his He died, in the sumlner of 1795, in the
assistance, not, indeed, to be initiated into castle of St. Leo, a small city in the States
the mysteries of magic, but to purchase, of the Church. A biography of madame
at a high rate, different kinds of medi- von der Recke, in the Zeitgenossen, No. xi,
cine, one of which was the water of contains an account of C.'s residence in
beautyt. This profitable business em- Riga, and his connexion with madame
ployed our hero many years; but, with von der Recke; and in Casanova's methe fading charms of his lady, many moirs there is some interesting informasources of wealth failed. His trade in tion concerning him.
medicine also began to grow less lucra- CAaGoLT, Anthony, astronomer, member
tive, and he determined to seek his for- of the French national institute, and prestune as the founder of a new and secret ident of the Italian academy of sciences,
sect. In pursuance of this plan, he passed was born at Zante, and was attached, in
himself off, during his second residence his youth, to the Venetian embassy at
in London, for a fieemason, and played Paris, where, after the year 1776, he
the part of a magician and worker of showed more love for astronomy than for
miracles, in which character he drew diplomacy. Having settled in Verona in
upon himself the eyes of all the enthusi- 1782, he constructed an observatory in
asts in Europe. The countess C., on her his own house, by his observations in
part, did not remain idle. She was the which he enriched the science of astronfirst and most perfect scholar of her hus- omy with many discoveries. After the
band, and played the part of a priestess destruction of his observatory by the
to this new order in as able a manner as French (1798), who, however, co.:rpenshe had before played that of a priestess sated him for his loss, his instrumlents
to another goddess. His plan for reviving were transferred to the observatory of
an old Egyptian order, the founders of Brera, in Milan, and he was appointed
which he declared to be Enoch and Elias, professor of astronomy in the military
contained a mass of the greatest absurdi- school at Modena. In;1814, he welnt
VOL XI. 33