a man who, without being a physician, had some knowledge of
medicine, and took no fees--who cured both rich and poor, and took no
money from either, he confessed that he was such a man, that he was an
empiric. She had also called him a mean alchymist. Whether he were an
alchymist or not, the epithet _mean_ could only be applied to those who
begged and cringed, and he had never done either. As regarded his being a
dreamer about the philosopher's stone, whatever his opinions upon that
subject might be, he had been silent, and had never troubled the public
with his dreams. Then, as to his being a false prophet, he had not always
been so; for he had prophesied to the Cardinal de Rohan, that Madame de la
Motte would prove a dangerous woman, and the result had verified the
prediction. He denied that he was a profaner of the true worship, or that
he had ever striven to bring religion into contempt; on the contrary, he
respected every man's religion, and never meddled with it. He also denied
that he was a Rosicrucian, or that he had ever pretended to be three
hundred years of age, or to have had one man in his service for a hundred
and fifty years. In conclusion, he said every statement that Madame de la
Motte had made regarding him was false, and that she was _mentiris
impudentissime_, which two words he begged her counsel to translate for
her, as it was not polite to tell her so in French.

Such was the substance of his extraordinary answer to the charges against
him; an answer which convinced those who were before doubtful that he was
one of the most impudent impostors that had ever run the career of
deception. Counsel were then heard on behalf of the Cardinal de Rohan and
Madame de la Motte. It appearing clearly that the cardinal was himself the
dupe of a vile conspiracy, and there being no evidence against Cagliostro,
they were both acquitted. Madame de la Motte was found guilty, and
sentenced to be publicly whipped, and branded with a hot iron on the back.

Cagliostro and his wife were then discharged from custody. On applying to
the officers of the Bastille for the papers and effects which had been
seized at his lodgings, he found that many of them had been abstracted. He
thereupon brought an action against them for the recovery of his Mss. and
a small portion of the powder of transmutation. Before the affair could be
decided, he received orders to quit Paris within four-and-twenty hours.
Fearing that if he were once mor