Recent Sightings of the Immortal Count of St-Germain ?
It was his passage in Paris between 1758 and 1760 that made the surprising Count of St-Germain known. In the salons of the capital as in the courts of Europe, crazy rumors circulate: he would be more than three thousand years old, he would have known Jesus Christ, he could make diamonds and make himself invisible!
First sightings in London
The Count of St-Germain is mentioned for the first time in 1745. This man, who appears 50 years old and has lived in London for two years, was arrested that year, carrying letters in favor of the Stuarts. England is wary of foreigners and more particularly of the French: Saint-Germain is under house arrest for several weeks. He then recognizes two things: living under a false name and "not wanting to have any business with women"!
An alchemy laboratory at the Château de Chambord
Count Saint-Germain left London in 1746. The mysterious man somehow vanishes for twelve years. For some, he retired to Germany where he devoted himself to his alchemical research. For others, he travels to India and Tibet; no proof of these journeys is advanced, but it is later noted that, in fact, the Count has a deep knowledge of the East.
He arrived in Paris at the beginning of 1758 and immediately addressed a request to Marigny, director of the King's Buildings. He asked that a royal house be made available to him so that he could set up a laboratory and a factory there, promising in return to Louis XV "the richest and rarest discovery that has been made".
Open to research in the "useful arts", Marigny attributes to him the Château de Chambord, a large deserted building. Saint-Germain installs its assistants, workers and laboratory in the outbuildings. However, he is more often in Paris than in Chambord and, quickly, is invited to the most famous salons. He was introduced to the Marquise of Pompadour: she, seduced, introduced him to the king. Louis XV immediately appreciated the brilliant character who very quickly became one of his relatives. Count of Saint-Germain is, in these circumstances, described as a man of 40 to 50 years, while more than ten years have passed since his stay in London!
Two wonderful anecdotes to build a reputation
Two authentic anecdotes are behind the rumors about the alchemical knowledge and the immortality of the Count of Saint-Germain.
Here is the first: St-Germain has a very beautiful collection of precious stones and one day claims before the king knowing how to rectify the imperfections of diamonds. Louis XV then entrusts him with a stained diamond. Saint-Germain brings it back it a few days later, perfectly pure. Did he use a chemical process or simply cut an identical stone? Mystery.
The second anecdote comes during a dinner with the old Countess of Cergy, who recognizes in him a man seen in Venice fifty years ago. Saint-Germain, perhaps just amused, does not fool the old lady: the story travels across Paris.
Loved by Louis XV and hated by Choiseul
But if the count attracted the king's sympathy, he alienated the powerful Duke of Choiseul, principal minister of Louis XV, who launched a campaign in order to discredit him. Choiseul pays an entertainer named Gauve to imitate the Count of Saint-Germain and pretend to be him. Gauve roams the salons under the identity of Saint-Germain and tells the most incredible stories: he drank with Alexander the Great, made a bomb at the wedding of Cana - he knew Jesus very well and had predicted an abominable end to him …
Quickly, the hoax is exposed and Gauve recognized, but the stories spread. Contrary to what Choiseul expects, the real Saint-Germain does not come out ridiculed, but grown up, surrounded by a mysterious aura!
Annoyed, the minister had to wait until 1760 to get rid of Saint-Germain, by accusing him of spying. Having fallen into disgrace, the count took refuge in the Netherlands.
In the following years, count st germain sightings are reported in England, Italy, Russia, Saxony, Prussia: everywhere, he apparently sought to set up laboratories to pursue research on pigments and colors.
Death of the immortal
In 1766, he placed himself under the protection of the King of Prussia, Frederick II the Great, but left him the following year. He finally arrives in Gottrop, on the Baltic, where he is hosted by the Prince of Hesse. He died there in 1784, aged 93 according to the Prince of Hesse, to whom he had confided. Physically, however, the Count of Saint Germain hardly appears sixty.
Nearly two centuries of sightings
As soon as the news was known, many people refused to believe in the count's death. Evidence abounds: some evoke his presence at a masonic congress in 1785, others claim to have seen him in Venice in 1788, he would also have warned Marie Antoinette of the imminence of a revolution the following year, attended the congress of Vienna in 1815, an Englishman would have met him in Paris under the name of Louis-Philippe, others would have crossed his path in 1905 in Tibet, then in 1926 in Rome. Legends…
The Count of Saint-Germain, an exceptional character who, amused by rumors, has never denied them, remains in history because he symbolizes the oldest dream of man: immortality.
The true identity of the Count of Saint-Germain?
Despite the dozen of pseudonyms which he used during his wanderings, the origin of Saint-Germain seems today almost known: he would be the natural child of the Queen of Spain Maria Anna of Neuburg, widow of Charles II, and a nobleman, the Earl of Melgar. This kinship would explain the easy way of life he always led, his education and his culture. Indeed, in addition to his certain knowledge in chemistry, Saint-Germain is recognized by his contemporaries as a man of very great knowledge, skillful musician and quality painter.
His longevity and his lasting youth can be explained by a lenient nature and, for a large part, by the efforts of physical maintenance of his body which the count does not fail to do.
According to all witnesses, Saint-Germain applied strict dietary rules all his life, attending dinners but eating little, never drinking: he thus appeared as a precursor of the followers of modern dietetics!
