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  • The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine
  • Jan. 5, 1859
  • Page 18
  • CAGLIOSTRO AND THE LODGE OF ANTIQUITY.
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The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine, Jan. 5, 1859: Page 18

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    Article CAGLIOSTRO AND THE LODGE OF ANTIQUITY. ← Page 6 of 9 →
Page 18

Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Cagliostro And The Lodge Of Antiquity.

Egypt ivith the sage Athotas ; but , be this as it may , he turns " up at Borne , lod ging " at the sign of the Sun iu the Botonda , " and selling pen-and-ink dnnvings there . These pen-and-ink draivings are no more than outline engravings , filled in by hand Avith Indian ink ; aud it could not have been a very lucrative profession . While thus engaged he managed to get married to one Lorenza Felicianithe daughter of a '

, girdler , and Avas then and there taken to live in the house of her parents . Pen-and-ink drawing not being a very flourishing trade , domestic squabbles of mother-in-law , and sundry debts , forced our hero to emigrate from Borne ; but not before he had found out that in his wife ' s charms there was a mine of Ai'ealth in store for him , and French envoys , Spanish marquises , and other amorous men of high

degree , were , in many countries , ivell fleeced by this Avorthy couple ; and we find them visiting Venice , Marseilles , Madrid , Lisbon , Brussels , St , Germains , & c . In some of these he appeared as a count or a Marquis Pellegrini , and lastly as Count Alessandro Cagliostro , the latter name having really been in his family , for his grand uncle , a bell-founder at Messina , Avas thus named . Cagliostro and the Countess Serafina Avere IIOAV the talk of Europe ; their jeAvels , equipage , aucl unlimited supply of ready money procured them easy access to the best society of foreign states . Again visiting Palermo , he is seized and

imprisoned for the affair of the treasure digging goldsmith , but succeeds " } offing out by means of the connivance of one of the principal Sicilian princes , who , having formed an intimacy Avith Serafina , the countess , absolutel y proceeds to acts of violence so terrif ying to the prosecutor and judge , that Cagliostro is at once dismissed . Of his journeys nothing positive is kuoivn further than in Spain he is at

times seen riding in the coach-and-four—at other times he is acting as postillion , AA'hile enamoured noblemen are lolling on cushions Avith the lovely Serafina . A gain at other times he seems to be utterl y bereft of fortune , for in 1772 he is in . England , as Joseph Balsamo , AA'ith a reputation as a very excellent house decorator , but having smeared a residence of one Dr . Bennemorethe doctor refused to for it

, pay , Avhen Balsamo or Cagliostro entered an action against him , which he lost , and there Avas also some scandal about the beautiful Serafina and Dr . B ., and fche ugly Miss B . and Cagliostro . As the Countess ' s charms began to fade , Cagliostro , iu addition to his philtres , Avashes , itc , added the gift of prophecy , and foretold the lucky numbers ofthe lotteries ; there Avas a very curious case on this subject tried at

Westminster , Pry v . Balsamo , -which is well worthy of perusal—this turning against him , he quitted England . We now come to an important event to us , and here we shall quote Mr . Carlyle , who tells

- One good thing he has carried with him notAvithstaiuling : initiation into some primary arcana of Freemasonry . The quack of quacks , with his ' -i-. 'irriiive bias towards the supeniatural-niystificutorv , must long have had Ins eye on Masonry , which , with its blazonry , mummery , sashes , drawn sal-res , brothers terrible , brothers venerable ( the whole so imposing bv

“The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine: 1859-01-05, Page 18” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 24 June 2025, django:8000/periodicals/mmr/issues/mmr_05011859/page/18/.
  • List
  • Grid
Title Category Page
Untitled Article 1
Untitled Article 2
INDEX. Article 3
THE MASONIC MIRROR, Article 6
FREEMASONS' HALL. Article 11
CAGLIOSTRO AND THE LODGE OF ANTIQUITY. Article 13
THE DUTIES OF FREEMASONRY. Article 22
REVIEWS OF NEW BOOKS. Article 26
Selection Article 30
CORRESPONDENCE. Article 31
" JUSTITIA" AND THE "MASONIC OBSERVER." Article 31
CHARITY. Article 34
FREEMASONRY AND CHRISTIANITY. Article 35
THE PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OF SOMERSETSHIRE. Article 35
MASONIC HALLS versus TAVERNS. Article 36
THE MASONIC MIRROR. Article 37
PROVINCIAL. Article 39
ROYAL ARCH. Article 52
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR. Article 52
MASONIC FESTIVITIES. Article 53
THE WEEK. Article 55
PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS. Article 58
NOTICES. Article 58
TO CORRESPONDENTS. Article 58
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Cagliostro And The Lodge Of Antiquity.

Egypt ivith the sage Athotas ; but , be this as it may , he turns " up at Borne , lod ging " at the sign of the Sun iu the Botonda , " and selling pen-and-ink dnnvings there . These pen-and-ink draivings are no more than outline engravings , filled in by hand Avith Indian ink ; aud it could not have been a very lucrative profession . While thus engaged he managed to get married to one Lorenza Felicianithe daughter of a '

, girdler , and Avas then and there taken to live in the house of her parents . Pen-and-ink drawing not being a very flourishing trade , domestic squabbles of mother-in-law , and sundry debts , forced our hero to emigrate from Borne ; but not before he had found out that in his wife ' s charms there was a mine of Ai'ealth in store for him , and French envoys , Spanish marquises , and other amorous men of high

degree , were , in many countries , ivell fleeced by this Avorthy couple ; and we find them visiting Venice , Marseilles , Madrid , Lisbon , Brussels , St , Germains , & c . In some of these he appeared as a count or a Marquis Pellegrini , and lastly as Count Alessandro Cagliostro , the latter name having really been in his family , for his grand uncle , a bell-founder at Messina , Avas thus named . Cagliostro and the Countess Serafina Avere IIOAV the talk of Europe ; their jeAvels , equipage , aucl unlimited supply of ready money procured them easy access to the best society of foreign states . Again visiting Palermo , he is seized and

imprisoned for the affair of the treasure digging goldsmith , but succeeds " } offing out by means of the connivance of one of the principal Sicilian princes , who , having formed an intimacy Avith Serafina , the countess , absolutel y proceeds to acts of violence so terrif ying to the prosecutor and judge , that Cagliostro is at once dismissed . Of his journeys nothing positive is kuoivn further than in Spain he is at

times seen riding in the coach-and-four—at other times he is acting as postillion , AA'hile enamoured noblemen are lolling on cushions Avith the lovely Serafina . A gain at other times he seems to be utterl y bereft of fortune , for in 1772 he is in . England , as Joseph Balsamo , AA'ith a reputation as a very excellent house decorator , but having smeared a residence of one Dr . Bennemorethe doctor refused to for it

, pay , Avhen Balsamo or Cagliostro entered an action against him , which he lost , and there Avas also some scandal about the beautiful Serafina and Dr . B ., and fche ugly Miss B . and Cagliostro . As the Countess ' s charms began to fade , Cagliostro , iu addition to his philtres , Avashes , itc , added the gift of prophecy , and foretold the lucky numbers ofthe lotteries ; there Avas a very curious case on this subject tried at

Westminster , Pry v . Balsamo , -which is well worthy of perusal—this turning against him , he quitted England . We now come to an important event to us , and here we shall quote Mr . Carlyle , who tells

- One good thing he has carried with him notAvithstaiuling : initiation into some primary arcana of Freemasonry . The quack of quacks , with his ' -i-. 'irriiive bias towards the supeniatural-niystificutorv , must long have had Ins eye on Masonry , which , with its blazonry , mummery , sashes , drawn sal-res , brothers terrible , brothers venerable ( the whole so imposing bv

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