1 00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 1: The quest for immortality and he urged to escape the 2 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:17,600 Speaker 1: inevitability of death has long been a preoccupation for us, 3 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:22,360 Speaker 1: as evidenced by the ancient Sumerian poem The Epic of Gilgamesh, 4 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:28,640 Speaker 1: the oldest example of written literature known today. In the poem, 5 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:34,520 Speaker 1: written sometime around eighteen hundred BC in Mesopotamia, the titular Gilgamesh, 6 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:39,960 Speaker 1: part hero, part arrogant demigod, undertakes an audacious mission to 7 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:44,280 Speaker 1: find the secret immortality after being confronted by the inevitability 8 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:48,000 Speaker 1: of his own death. Though we might not be demigods 9 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:52,400 Speaker 1: like Gilgamesh, his desperate refusal to accept the inevitability of 10 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:55,600 Speaker 1: his fate is a deeply human one, and something that 11 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:59,200 Speaker 1: many of us can sympathize with, whether we elect to 12 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 1: place our hope in the promises of religious teachers or 13 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:06,840 Speaker 1: in the invention and imagination of our leading biogerontologists, those 14 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:10,000 Speaker 1: that study the mechanics of aging. There aren't many of 15 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:14,280 Speaker 1: us who haven't contemplated the possibility of existing forever in 16 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:18,679 Speaker 1: one form or another. However, although some of us may 17 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:21,560 Speaker 1: want for it, being a mortal is rarely portrayed as 18 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:25,160 Speaker 1: something desirable, and at the very least as something that 19 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:28,440 Speaker 1: can only be achieved at a great cost, from the 20 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:31,520 Speaker 1: burdens of Cone McCloud in his pursuit to become the 21 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:35,399 Speaker 1: only remaining Highlander, to the pitiful efforts of Melmouth the 22 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:38,320 Speaker 1: Wanderer to convince another soul to take on his pack 23 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 1: with the devil in return for another one hundred and 24 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:44,959 Speaker 1: fifty years of life. In fact, we take great pains 25 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:49,120 Speaker 1: to dissuade ourselves from wanting it. Perhaps this is simply 26 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:51,720 Speaker 1: to provide some comfort in the face of such a 27 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 1: futile desire, but it doesn't stop us trying back. In 28 00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:00,600 Speaker 1: October this year, a team led by Tel Aviv University 29 00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:05,480 Speaker 1: professor Shay Fratti published the results of an extraordinary study 30 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:10,240 Speaker 1: in the journal Aging. The study, to determine the effect 31 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:14,239 Speaker 1: of pure oxygen on the aging process, involved placing thirty 32 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:17,040 Speaker 1: five adults over the age of sixty four in a 33 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:20,919 Speaker 1: hyperbaric chamber and giving them pure oxygen for ninety minutes 34 00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:23,720 Speaker 1: a day, five days a week over the course of 35 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:28,560 Speaker 1: three months. Through this process, of Fratti's team found they 36 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:31,399 Speaker 1: were able to successfully limit the build up of senescent 37 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:34,240 Speaker 1: cells in the body, cells that have aged to the 38 00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:37,400 Speaker 1: point where they can no longer replicate, leaving the bodies 39 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:42,639 Speaker 1: susceptible to many age related diseases. Incredibly, not only did 40 00:02:42,639 --> 00:02:48,359 Speaker 1: this delay the aging process, but actually reversed it. Aubrey 41 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 1: De Gray, one of the best known biogerontologists, has long 42 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:56,160 Speaker 1: insisted that medical technology were one day allowers to control 43 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:59,919 Speaker 1: the aging process, even making the stunning claim as far 44 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:02,880 Speaker 1: back as two thousand and eight that the first person 45 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:06,640 Speaker 1: who lived to a thousand years old is already alive today. 46 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:11,600 Speaker 1: There are some, however, who'd say that this person isn't 47 00:03:11,639 --> 00:03:15,320 Speaker 1: just alive right now, but they've already lived to be 48 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:20,520 Speaker 1: over a thousand years old. You're listening to Unexplained, and 49 00:03:20,639 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 1: I'm Richard McClane Smith. It was sometime in the seventeen 50 00:03:31,639 --> 00:03:37,000 Speaker 1: seventies that Countess of Adama, Mary Antoinette's personal attendant, first 51 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:41,280 Speaker 1: met him. For her, it was his eyes that mosted out. 52 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:46,520 Speaker 1: They were like nothing she'd ever seen before. His teeth, too, 53 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:50,080 Speaker 1: were immaculate, and all the more noticeable for being framed 54 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:53,160 Speaker 1: by such a thick head of luxuriant jet black hair. 55 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:57,840 Speaker 1: And though his clothes were simple, they were nonetheless made 56 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:02,520 Speaker 1: from the finest materials and decorated with the most exquisite jewelry. 57 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:06,400 Speaker 1: It was an appearance she assumed would be accompanied by 58 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:11,120 Speaker 1: a certain steely, if not arrogant, countenance. However, when she 59 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:14,000 Speaker 1: finally plucked up the courage to approach him one afternoon 60 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:18,040 Speaker 1: at the court, though his stare was penetrating, so too 61 00:04:18,400 --> 00:04:22,840 Speaker 1: was it soft and inviting. Despite everything the Countess had 62 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:25,560 Speaker 1: heard about the man, it was quite something to see 63 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 1: him finally in the flesh, looking no more than forty 64 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:32,040 Speaker 1: five years old. And yet it was back in seventeen 65 00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:36,640 Speaker 1: forty three, over thirty years previously, that he'd first appeared 66 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:40,080 Speaker 1: mysteriously one day at the Palace of Versailles, home to 67 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:45,640 Speaker 1: King of France Louis the fifteenth, looking exactly the same age. 68 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 1: For the Countess of Gergi meeting him around the same time, 69 00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:54,719 Speaker 1: the effect was even more stark. Fifty years earlier, when 70 00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:57,440 Speaker 1: living in Venice with her husband, who was the French 71 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:00,719 Speaker 1: ambassador at the time, she'd been used to a man 72 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:04,039 Speaker 1: that looked nearly identical who went by the name of 73 00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:07,599 Speaker 1: Marquis Belletti. Had it not been for the sheer number 74 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:11,040 Speaker 1: of intervening years, she would have sworn it was his double. 75 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:15,120 Speaker 1: The Countess was so taken by the similarities she was 76 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:18,640 Speaker 1: compelled to ask him if perhaps this Belletti character had 77 00:05:18,680 --> 00:05:23,400 Speaker 1: been his grandfather or another close relative. Perhaps. The man 78 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:27,400 Speaker 1: simply smiled and congratulated the Countess on the solidity of 79 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:30,320 Speaker 1: her memory, for it was not his grandfather at all, 80 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:34,240 Speaker 1: but himself, who had been traveling under a different name 81 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:38,440 Speaker 1: at the time. But it couldn't be thought, the Countess, 82 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:41,760 Speaker 1: realizing as she drew a little closer to him, that 83 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:44,440 Speaker 1: it was indeed the man she'd met in Venice all 84 00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:48,440 Speaker 1: those years ago. If anything, he even looked a little 85 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:52,800 Speaker 1: younger than he had back then. The man, as it 86 00:05:52,839 --> 00:05:56,120 Speaker 1: turned out, had been known by many names over the years, 87 00:05:56,960 --> 00:05:59,560 Speaker 1: but there was one for which he will forever be known, 88 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:10,760 Speaker 1: the Count of Saint Germain. It's not known exactly when 89 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:13,520 Speaker 1: the Count of Saint Germain first arrived at the Palace 90 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:16,960 Speaker 1: of the Psailles, only that he arrived a complete stranger, 91 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:22,400 Speaker 1: but left the talk of French upper class society. A 92 00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:26,560 Speaker 1: keen conversationalist, he was said to be immeasurably knowledgeable about 93 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:30,880 Speaker 1: everything from politics and philosophy to art and the sciences, 94 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:36,680 Speaker 1: but also fluent in nine languages, including Italian, Sanskrit and Chinese, 95 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:41,000 Speaker 1: as well as being, according to some amongst the finest 96 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:44,960 Speaker 1: musicians of the day. But it was his apparent expertise 97 00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:48,000 Speaker 1: and restoring jewels that first brought him to the attention 98 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:52,679 Speaker 1: of King Louis the fifteenth. In one instance, the Count 99 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:55,320 Speaker 1: was invited to fix a flawed diamond for the king. 100 00:06:56,160 --> 00:06:59,080 Speaker 1: Having taken up the offer, he returned a month later 101 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:02,839 Speaker 1: and present of the King with his fixed diamond. Not 102 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:05,880 Speaker 1: only was the floor removed, but the diamond was now 103 00:07:05,960 --> 00:07:11,720 Speaker 1: somehow even bigger than it had been before. The royal jeweler, 104 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:15,560 Speaker 1: who inspected it soon afterwards, declared that whatever the mysterious 105 00:07:15,600 --> 00:07:18,400 Speaker 1: Count had done to it had increased its worth by 106 00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:23,600 Speaker 1: fifty percent. Soon rumors began to circulate about the true 107 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:27,680 Speaker 1: nature of this mysterious count. Some declared him a charlatan, 108 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:31,000 Speaker 1: others that he was some kind of magician and expert 109 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:35,280 Speaker 1: alchemist who had even succeeded in discovering the Philosopher's Stone, 110 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:39,160 Speaker 1: the fabled substance that could turn base metals into gold 111 00:07:39,640 --> 00:07:42,520 Speaker 1: and bestow those who knew its secret with the gift 112 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:47,480 Speaker 1: of immortality. Within a year, the Count of Saint Germain 113 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:51,000 Speaker 1: had become so trusted by King Louis the fifteenth that, 114 00:07:51,120 --> 00:07:55,000 Speaker 1: when in December seventeen forty four, his mistress, the Duchess 115 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:58,880 Speaker 1: of Chateaurouse, lay dying from a suspected poisoning, it was 116 00:07:58,920 --> 00:08:01,760 Speaker 1: allegedly to the out that the King turned for help. 117 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:05,440 Speaker 1: It isn't known exactly why the King would think san 118 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:09,080 Speaker 1: gimin capable of it. Nonetheless, he has said to have 119 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:13,240 Speaker 1: begged him to make an antidote to cure the duchess. However, 120 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:16,560 Speaker 1: the Count declined, saying that it was sadly too late 121 00:08:16,640 --> 00:08:21,240 Speaker 1: to help. Many years later, when the Countess of Adamar 122 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:24,440 Speaker 1: asked him why he didn't do it, the Count replied 123 00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:27,800 Speaker 1: coolly that had he done what the King asked, he 124 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:30,239 Speaker 1: would have been called on by each and any person 125 00:08:30,480 --> 00:08:32,959 Speaker 1: hoping to save the life of a loved one every 126 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:36,720 Speaker 1: time they got sick. It was a responsibility that he 127 00:08:36,800 --> 00:08:40,920 Speaker 1: could not bear, implying that although he was perfectly capable 128 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:44,880 Speaker 1: of holding sway over death, it would be simply impossible 129 00:08:45,240 --> 00:08:53,880 Speaker 1: for him to save everybody. 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Athletic Greens is also 147 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:50,800 Speaker 1: giving my audience a special offer on top of their 148 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:53,400 Speaker 1: all in one formula, which is a free liquid Vitamin 149 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:56,400 Speaker 1: D supplement amounting to a one year supply with your 150 00:09:56,440 --> 00:09:59,840 Speaker 1: first purchase for additional immune support. Make an investment in 151 00:09:59,840 --> 00:10:02,079 Speaker 1: your health today and try the ultimate all in one 152 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:05,760 Speaker 1: wellness bundle and support your immunity, gut, health and energy 153 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:10,680 Speaker 1: by visiting athletic greens dot com slash unexplained. That's athletic 154 00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:19,679 Speaker 1: greens dot com slash unexplained. Strangely, for a man of 155 00:10:19,679 --> 00:10:24,400 Speaker 1: such obvious renown, there exists little by way of letters, articles, 156 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:28,199 Speaker 1: or memoir certifiably written by the count himself, leading some 157 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:30,960 Speaker 1: to speculate as to whether he was even real at all. 158 00:10:32,360 --> 00:10:35,160 Speaker 1: What we do have are a tantalizing array of brief 159 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:38,720 Speaker 1: encounters and momentary glimpses of the man as he crops 160 00:10:38,800 --> 00:10:42,120 Speaker 1: up in the most unexpected places, and often in times 161 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:47,520 Speaker 1: of huge political significance, And so, like temper or detectives, 162 00:10:47,559 --> 00:10:50,120 Speaker 1: we are left with only these scraps and snippets with 163 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:53,480 Speaker 1: which to give form to this most mystifying of individuals. 164 00:10:54,559 --> 00:10:57,160 Speaker 1: The year after he is said to have first ingratiated 165 00:10:57,240 --> 00:11:01,320 Speaker 1: himself with King Louis the fifteenth, him appearing suddenly in 166 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:04,720 Speaker 1: England in the midst of the Jacobite Rising, as the 167 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:08,480 Speaker 1: recently deposed House of Stuart attempted to regain control of 168 00:11:08,520 --> 00:11:13,320 Speaker 1: the British throne. A letter written by Horace Walpole, author 169 00:11:13,480 --> 00:11:16,480 Speaker 1: of The Castle of Otranto, considered to be the first 170 00:11:16,559 --> 00:11:21,559 Speaker 1: Gothic novel, gives this account. The other day they seized 171 00:11:21,559 --> 00:11:24,240 Speaker 1: an odd man who goes by the name of Count 172 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:27,679 Speaker 1: Saint Germain. He's been here these two years and will 173 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:30,240 Speaker 1: not tell who he is or where he is from, 174 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:33,840 Speaker 1: but professes that he does not go by his real name. 175 00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:39,720 Speaker 1: He sings, plays on the violin wonderfully composes, is mad 176 00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:43,120 Speaker 1: and not very sensible. The Prince of Wales has had 177 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:48,640 Speaker 1: unsatiated curiosity about him, but in vain. The letter was 178 00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:51,040 Speaker 1: written after the Count had been arrested when he was 179 00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:54,840 Speaker 1: found to be carrying a note allegedly from Charles Edward Stuart, 180 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:57,640 Speaker 1: head of the House of Stuart, thanking him for his 181 00:11:57,760 --> 00:12:03,200 Speaker 1: help in trying to secure the throne. What exactly brought 182 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:05,720 Speaker 1: the count to England, like much of what we know 183 00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:09,640 Speaker 1: of his life, is unclear. What is known, however, is 184 00:12:09,679 --> 00:12:12,280 Speaker 1: that two arias written by him were featured in an 185 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:16,320 Speaker 1: opera performed at the Haymarket Theater in London earlier that year. 186 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:21,760 Speaker 1: The pieces of music, along with roughly forty more Italian arias, 187 00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:25,280 Speaker 1: seven solos for the violin, and a collection of English 188 00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:28,440 Speaker 1: songs can be found in the Classical Music archives at 189 00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:32,600 Speaker 1: the British Library. As musical historian Charles Burney wrote in 190 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:35,960 Speaker 1: his seventeen eighty nine book A General History of Music, 191 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:39,839 Speaker 1: an opera was attempted on April the seventh of the 192 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:44,360 Speaker 1: Little Theater in the Haymarket under the direction of Geminiani 193 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:47,960 Speaker 1: Prince Labkowitz, who was at this time in London and 194 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:51,800 Speaker 1: fond of music, and the celebrated and mysterious Count Saint 195 00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:56,679 Speaker 1: Germain attended all the rehearsals. Perhaps this is simply more 196 00:12:56,720 --> 00:12:59,439 Speaker 1: evidence of the high regard with which the count's musical 197 00:12:59,480 --> 00:13:03,240 Speaker 1: talent was held, and yet it remains unusual that a 198 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:06,480 Speaker 1: man of which so little has been recorded would have 199 00:13:06,559 --> 00:13:10,280 Speaker 1: his work performed in this manner. Things only become more 200 00:13:10,360 --> 00:13:13,839 Speaker 1: intriguing when we take into account an unusual mural that 201 00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:17,439 Speaker 1: was painted at the home of Johann Jacob Heidegger, once 202 00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:22,160 Speaker 1: manager of the renowned King's Theater in London. Heidegger bought 203 00:13:22,160 --> 00:13:25,840 Speaker 1: the property in seventeen forty four and had several murals 204 00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:30,280 Speaker 1: of Swiss and Italian landscapes painted throughout it, and over 205 00:13:30,360 --> 00:13:34,280 Speaker 1: one doorway still existing today, forming part of the mural, 206 00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:37,120 Speaker 1: you'll find the painting of a book open on a 207 00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:40,800 Speaker 1: piece of music written by none other than San German. 208 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:44,800 Speaker 1: The book also happens to be surrounded by a wreath 209 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:51,319 Speaker 1: of acanthus a symbol of immortality. Heidegger's painting has led 210 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:53,720 Speaker 1: some to speculate that there was a little more to 211 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:57,480 Speaker 1: the Count's music than met the ear, that he'd buried 212 00:13:57,480 --> 00:14:06,920 Speaker 1: all his magical secrets within it. One of the few 213 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:10,160 Speaker 1: letters attributed to the Count of Saint German places him 214 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:13,760 Speaker 1: in India in seventeen fifty five. It is there that 215 00:14:13,800 --> 00:14:17,079 Speaker 1: he claims to have learned his peculiar talent for restoring jewels, 216 00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:20,960 Speaker 1: although details of what he learnt exactly are teasingly absent. 217 00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:24,960 Speaker 1: As was ever the case, it wasn't merely a solitary 218 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:28,320 Speaker 1: trip of self discovery, but one spent in the company 219 00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:32,040 Speaker 1: of Lieutenant Colonel Robert Clive, who was busy laying the 220 00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:35,160 Speaker 1: foundations of the British Empire in India at the time. 221 00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:39,800 Speaker 1: In seventeen fifty eight, we find a tantalizing mention of 222 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:43,000 Speaker 1: the Count in a letter written by Voltaire, one of 223 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:46,400 Speaker 1: the most brilliant writers and thinkers of the day, describing 224 00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:48,840 Speaker 1: him as the man who does not die and who 225 00:14:48,920 --> 00:14:54,760 Speaker 1: knows everything. And then five years later this from Austrian politician, 226 00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:58,480 Speaker 1: Count Carl von Kourbenzel to the State Chancellor of the 227 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:04,400 Speaker 1: Hasburg Empire Anton. It was about three months ago that 228 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:06,720 Speaker 1: the person known by the name of the Count of 229 00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:09,920 Speaker 1: Saint German passed this way and came to see me. 230 00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:13,160 Speaker 1: I found him the most singular man that I've ever 231 00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:16,640 Speaker 1: saw in my life. I do not yet precisely know 232 00:15:16,760 --> 00:15:19,440 Speaker 1: his birth. I believe, however, that he is the son 233 00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:22,840 Speaker 1: of a clandestine union in a powerful and illustrious family, 234 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:27,920 Speaker 1: possessing great wealth. He lives in the greatest simplicity. He 235 00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:32,240 Speaker 1: knows everything and shows an uprightness, a goodness of soul 236 00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:36,960 Speaker 1: worthy of admiration. Among a number of his accomplishments, he 237 00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:40,840 Speaker 1: made under my own eyes, some experiments of which the 238 00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:44,480 Speaker 1: most important were the transmutation of iron into a metal 239 00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:49,400 Speaker 1: as beautiful as gold and at least as good. The 240 00:15:49,520 --> 00:15:52,760 Speaker 1: Count was traveling under the name of Monsieur Zermont at 241 00:15:52,760 --> 00:15:59,880 Speaker 1: the time. In the same year, famed philanderer Giacomo Casanova 242 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:04,880 Speaker 1: aimed to also have met the man. Then, in seventeen seventy, 243 00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:08,160 Speaker 1: the Count was allegedly spotted in the port of Livorno 244 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:12,240 Speaker 1: in Italy, dressed in a Russian naval uniform, going by 245 00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:16,240 Speaker 1: the name of Count Soltikoff. There he was said to 246 00:16:16,280 --> 00:16:19,560 Speaker 1: have stood shoulder to shoulder with Count Alexis all Off, 247 00:16:19,840 --> 00:16:22,880 Speaker 1: one of Russia's leading naval commanders at the time, who 248 00:16:22,880 --> 00:16:26,280 Speaker 1: would soon after oversee the destruction of more or less 249 00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:31,680 Speaker 1: the entire Turkish navy at the Battle of Kesma. The 250 00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:34,960 Speaker 1: arrival of the Russian fleet at Livorno is considered by 251 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:37,760 Speaker 1: many to be the day that Russia announced itself on 252 00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:41,280 Speaker 1: the world stage as a substantial political power in the 253 00:16:41,320 --> 00:16:45,360 Speaker 1: affairs of Europe, the Count appearing once again to be 254 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:48,320 Speaker 1: at the very center of the most pivotal moments in 255 00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:57,120 Speaker 1: European politics. Rosemary Kent, a woman who lives on the 256 00:16:57,240 --> 00:16:59,960 Speaker 1: edge of the infamous Black Hills Forest, needs your help 257 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:03,120 Speaker 1: to find her missing son. But to find him you 258 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:06,920 Speaker 1: must investigate the mysterious forest yourself. 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Right now, you can go to 275 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:02,600 Speaker 1: hunter Killer dot com, forward slash unexplained and use code 276 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:06,560 Speaker 1: Unexplained for twenty percent of your first box. Again, make 277 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:09,960 Speaker 1: sure to use code Unexplained for a twenty percent discount. 278 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:17,359 Speaker 1: When the count returned to France in seventeen seventy, he 279 00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:20,399 Speaker 1: was introduced to the Countess of Adamar for the first time, 280 00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:24,960 Speaker 1: writing in her memoirs years later, she described a royal 281 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:29,359 Speaker 1: dinner which Sant German attended, as was his custom. The 282 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:33,120 Speaker 1: Count ate nothing. In fact, it is said that no 283 00:18:33,119 --> 00:18:36,000 Speaker 1: one ever saw him eat, despite the numerous meals and 284 00:18:36,080 --> 00:18:41,800 Speaker 1: sophisticated engagements he attended. Instead, he preferred merely to regale 285 00:18:41,840 --> 00:18:46,760 Speaker 1: the guests with his bizarre and unusual anecdotes. On this night, 286 00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:49,480 Speaker 1: he spoke at the time, he was introduced to a 287 00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:52,840 Speaker 1: man referred to only as Count R, who was on 288 00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:57,160 Speaker 1: the verge of death when they first met. His perilous condition, 289 00:18:57,480 --> 00:19:00,720 Speaker 1: according to Sant German, was the result of a terrifying 290 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:03,520 Speaker 1: haunting he'd been suffering at the hands of a woman 291 00:19:03,640 --> 00:19:09,320 Speaker 1: he'd inadvertently resurrected and then spurned. Every night, at midnight, 292 00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:12,240 Speaker 1: the ghost and its rotting body would arrive in his 293 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:16,479 Speaker 1: bedroom and crawl into his bed, before vanishing in the morning. 294 00:19:17,640 --> 00:19:20,960 Speaker 1: As Saint German explained, knowing the powers he had at 295 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:23,760 Speaker 1: his disposal, he had little choice but to try and 296 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:27,840 Speaker 1: help the hapless Count R, and so it was soon 297 00:19:27,880 --> 00:19:32,080 Speaker 1: after that Saint Germain arrived at the man's home at 298 00:19:32,080 --> 00:19:35,639 Speaker 1: a quarter to midnight. Having placed seven lit candles around 299 00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:39,000 Speaker 1: the sitting room, He traced out a triangle surrounded by 300 00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:42,280 Speaker 1: a circle on the floor, one shape to act as 301 00:19:42,280 --> 00:19:45,360 Speaker 1: a gateway to the other realm, the other to protect 302 00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:49,440 Speaker 1: him from whatever might appear. He then ordered Count Ar 303 00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:52,640 Speaker 1: into the middle and warned him not to leave under 304 00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:58,040 Speaker 1: any circumstances. For the next ten minutes, they waited in 305 00:19:58,080 --> 00:20:01,840 Speaker 1: complete silence under the flickering light of the candles, until 306 00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:05,600 Speaker 1: the clock struck midnight and the door flew open to 307 00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:09,640 Speaker 1: reveal standing in the doorway the terrifying specter that had 308 00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:13,560 Speaker 1: been haunting the man so terribly. But it was the 309 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:17,119 Speaker 1: next bit that most shocked the guests, when Saint German 310 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:20,440 Speaker 1: claimed to have used the Rod of Moses to dispense 311 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:25,280 Speaker 1: with the foul smelling creature. The rod, he claimed, had 312 00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:28,080 Speaker 1: been given to him by a great great grandchild of 313 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:30,560 Speaker 1: Moses back when he was living in the city of 314 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:35,280 Speaker 1: Babylon during the reign of Cyrus. If true, this would 315 00:20:35,320 --> 00:20:37,760 Speaker 1: have placed him there at some time in the sixth 316 00:20:37,760 --> 00:20:42,440 Speaker 1: century BC. At one point, he turned to his assistant 317 00:20:42,520 --> 00:20:46,399 Speaker 1: Roge for help in recollecting another of his anecdotes, to 318 00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:50,440 Speaker 1: which Roget replied, you forget master, that I've only been 319 00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:53,359 Speaker 1: with you for five hundred years. Perhaps it is my 320 00:20:53,440 --> 00:21:03,840 Speaker 1: predecessor that you're thinking of in the official account, as 321 00:21:03,840 --> 00:21:06,120 Speaker 1: far as any such thing could be said to exist. 322 00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:10,119 Speaker 1: In seventeen seventy nine, Count Saint Germain is said to 323 00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:13,480 Speaker 1: have arrived in Altona formerly of the Duchy of Schleiswig 324 00:21:13,720 --> 00:21:17,080 Speaker 1: but now part of Hamburg in Germany. There he was 325 00:21:17,119 --> 00:21:21,040 Speaker 1: taken in by Prince Charles of Hesse Cassel, well known 326 00:21:21,119 --> 00:21:23,600 Speaker 1: for his interest in the occult and a member of 327 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:27,879 Speaker 1: a number of secret societies. The Prince was so impressed 328 00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:31,200 Speaker 1: by the Count's talent for alchemy he installed a laboratory 329 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:34,800 Speaker 1: for him in which to conduct his experiments. In a 330 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:38,399 Speaker 1: letter written by the Prince in eighteen twenty five, he 331 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:42,160 Speaker 1: claimed that Saint Germain confided in him that, despite all 332 00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:45,120 Speaker 1: the rumors, he was in fact only eighty eighty years 333 00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:47,600 Speaker 1: old when they first met, and that he was the 334 00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:52,479 Speaker 1: son of Prince Francis Ragotzi of Transylvania. The Prince, who 335 00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:55,240 Speaker 1: was under threat at the time, had apparently sent his 336 00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:57,719 Speaker 1: son away as a young boy to be raised by 337 00:21:57,760 --> 00:22:02,120 Speaker 1: the wealthy Medici family in Italy. The claim has never 338 00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:06,000 Speaker 1: been verified, though the Count was known on occasion to 339 00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:12,119 Speaker 1: travel under the name Zaroggi, an anagram of Rgottsi. It 340 00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:15,320 Speaker 1: is said that the Count died in February seventeen eighty 341 00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:18,399 Speaker 1: four at the residence given to him by Prince Charles 342 00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:22,240 Speaker 1: of Hesse Cassel. He was buried the following month at 343 00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:26,200 Speaker 1: Nikolai Church in Eckenford, on the coast of the Baltic Sea. 344 00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:30,720 Speaker 1: The Count's estate on his death was said to include 345 00:22:30,760 --> 00:22:34,320 Speaker 1: little more than a packet of paid and receiated bills 346 00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:39,159 Speaker 1: and a small amount of money. Also, some might have 347 00:22:39,280 --> 00:22:49,920 Speaker 1: it four years later, the Count of Chalon, an acquaintance 348 00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:53,119 Speaker 1: of the Countess of Adama, was walking through San Marco 349 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:56,280 Speaker 1: Square in Venice, when the sight of a familiar face 350 00:22:56,520 --> 00:23:00,240 Speaker 1: stopped him in his tracks. Recalling the moment to the 351 00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:03,720 Speaker 1: Countess not long afterwards, he could have sworn it was 352 00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:08,720 Speaker 1: the Count of Saint German that he'd seen. It would 353 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:11,840 Speaker 1: be almost a hundred years later when journalist and writer 354 00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:16,760 Speaker 1: Albert Dresden Van Dame published his book An Englishman in Paris. 355 00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:21,240 Speaker 1: The book detailed Van Dam's time spent socializing in the 356 00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:24,560 Speaker 1: cafes and bars of Paris from eighteen fifty five to 357 00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:28,840 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy, and the many interesting bohemian characters that he 358 00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:32,800 Speaker 1: met there. The account of one such character makes for 359 00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:38,560 Speaker 1: some startling reading. Major Fraser, though he never dined there, 360 00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:41,760 Speaker 1: spent an hour or two daily in the estaminais de 361 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:45,680 Speaker 1: Divan to read the papers. He was a great favorite 362 00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:49,119 Speaker 1: with everyone, though none of us knew anything about his background. 363 00:23:50,119 --> 00:23:53,760 Speaker 1: In spite of his English name, he was decidedly not English, 364 00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:57,159 Speaker 1: though he spoke the language. He was one of the 365 00:23:57,200 --> 00:24:00,520 Speaker 1: best dressed men of the period, and a bachelor. He 366 00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:05,359 Speaker 1: never alluded to his parentage and lived by himself. He 367 00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:08,240 Speaker 1: was always flush of money, though the sources of his 368 00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:12,480 Speaker 1: income were a mystery to every one. He rarely spoke 369 00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:15,919 Speaker 1: on the subject of politics, but when he did, every 370 00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:19,080 Speaker 1: one sat listening with the raptest attention, for he was 371 00:24:19,119 --> 00:24:23,000 Speaker 1: a perfect mine of facts. His knowledge of political history 372 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:26,480 Speaker 1: was as nothing to his familiarity with the social institutions 373 00:24:26,520 --> 00:24:31,560 Speaker 1: of every civilized country and of every period. His memory 374 00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:35,800 Speaker 1: was something prodigious, and even men like Dumars and Balzac 375 00:24:36,320 --> 00:24:40,840 Speaker 1: confessed themselves his inferiors in that respect. Strange to say, 376 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:43,520 Speaker 1: he often used to hint that this was no mere 377 00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:47,880 Speaker 1: book knowledge. Of course, it is perfectly ridiculous. He remarked 378 00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:51,440 Speaker 1: with a strange smile. But every now and again I 379 00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:53,439 Speaker 1: feel as if all this did not come to me 380 00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:58,720 Speaker 1: through reading, but from personal experience. At times I become 381 00:24:58,720 --> 00:25:01,960 Speaker 1: almost convinced that I lived with Nero and that I 382 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:07,600 Speaker 1: knew Dante personally. When Major Fraser died, not a single 383 00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:10,359 Speaker 1: letter was found in his apartment, giving a clue to 384 00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:14,439 Speaker 1: his antecedence, merely a file of receipts and a scrap 385 00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:19,119 Speaker 1: of paper detailing his last wishes. His clothes and furniture 386 00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:21,720 Speaker 1: were to be sold and the proceeds to be given 387 00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:28,840 Speaker 1: to the Paris Poor. If you enjoy Unexplained and would 388 00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:31,080 Speaker 1: like to help support us, you can now do so 389 00:25:31,200 --> 00:25:34,919 Speaker 1: via Patreon. To receive access to add three episodes, just 390 00:25:35,119 --> 00:25:38,480 Speaker 1: go to patron dot com, forward Slash Unexplained Pod to 391 00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:40,919 Speaker 1: sign up, or if you'd like to make a one 392 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:44,600 Speaker 1: time donation, you can go to Unexplained podcast dot com 393 00:25:44,840 --> 00:25:48,840 Speaker 1: Forward Slash Support. All donations, no matter how large or small, 394 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:53,680 Speaker 1: are greatly appreciated. Unexplained. The book and audiobook, featuring ten 395 00:25:53,760 --> 00:25:56,240 Speaker 1: stories that have never before been covered on the show, 396 00:25:56,520 --> 00:26:00,520 Speaker 1: is now available to buy worldwide. You can purchase Amazon, 397 00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:05,400 Speaker 1: Barnes and Noble and Waterstones, among other bookstores. All elements 398 00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:08,639 Speaker 1: of Unexplained, including the show's music, are produced by me 399 00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:12,320 Speaker 1: Richard McClain smith. Please subscribe and rate the show wherever 400 00:26:12,359 --> 00:26:14,919 Speaker 1: you listen to podcasts, and feel free to get in 401 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:17,880 Speaker 1: touch with any thoughts or ideas regarding the stories you've 402 00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:20,639 Speaker 1: heard on the show. Perhaps you have an explanation of 403 00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:22,919 Speaker 1: your own you'd like to share. You can reach us 404 00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:27,600 Speaker 1: online at Unexplained podcast dot com or Twitter at Unexplained 405 00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:32,920 Speaker 1: Pod and Facebook at Facebook dot com, Forward Slash Unexplained 406 00:26:32,960 --> 00:26:33,520 Speaker 1: Podcast