ers of the Empire, but for a humble parish priest
in a little village, such notable Imperial recognition was overwhelming.
Possibly as a result of it, a change was noted in Father Borghesi in the
next few years. His conscience began to bother him, and he began to
question whether he had done right in spending so much of his time and
thought on his horological research. He became more and more confused in
his own mind. Had he spent too much time in mechanical studies to the
neglect of his ecclesiastical duties? If this had been the case, he had
committed the most grievous sin.

Exaggerated though these thoughts may appear, they were undoubtedly of
the most critical importance to the middle-aged priest. His mental
turbulence and confusion increased daily, and it soon became apparent to
others around him. By June 1779, he was completely in the grip of his
obsession, and his parishioners began to whisper amongst themselves that
their pastor was being tortured by the devil. They were unable to help
him, and he became more and more preoccupied with his problem. The years
passed slowly as the pastor became more vague and more tortured by his
conscience.[18]

There probably was continued contact between Father Borghesi and
Bertolla for at least some time after the development of his illness.
Bertolla had retired from active work, but continued to pursue his
interests in his clockshop as much as his health and advanced years
permitted. A clock which he made at the age of 80 survives and is
described and illustrated in the following section on "The Clocks of
Bartolomeo Antonio Bertolla." Finally, on January 15, 1789, Bertolla
passed away and Father Borghesi was left alone, deprived of the
companionship he had enjoyed with the older man for the past two or
three decades. One of Bertolla's nephews continued to work in the master
clockmaker's workshop, but there did not appear to be any association
between the younger man and Father Borghesi.

At last, in 1794, Father Borghesi lost his sanity completely, and he was
forced to relinquish his pastoral duties to a curate. For the remaining
eight years of his life, he continued to live in the rectory of the
little parish church in Mechel where most of his life had been spent,
his needs undoubtedly attended by the parishioners he could no longer
serve. During this period, until his death at the age of 79 on June 12,
1802, Father Borghesi lived on, oblivious of those around him.
Seeming