Friedrich Melchior Grimm (revisited)

[yanni]

The man carrying this name, who shaped modern european philosophy, art, society and geography, was infact born Gioachino Cocchi, musician. He is mostly known today-eversince 1745-as comte de Saint Germain but also used a few other interesting names (yet unknown, or at least never publicized by Saint Germain's authors and authorities until now).
Readers are advised to first read-through relative study at.....

http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15023

....and then return here, say late August next, for more on "Melchior Grimm" and his fascinating true life story.

Until then.

[yanni]

The discovery that "Melchior Grimm" never truly existed, that he was another face of le comte de Saint Germain, could perhaps be labelled "of major importance" or even "extremely radical" in what concerns modern history, philosophy and society as well as the corresponding "scholarly sources" or lack of.

Faced with the immense amount of online info on M.Grimm, yourstruly could not really make up his mind on his next course, how to handle the matter alltogether, and was more or less inclined towards simply proving his "grimm discovery" by presenting herein his evidence in a convincing "scholarly" manner, hence he granted himself the appropriate time, till late August, to prepare, also allowing for a few days by the sea.

Things did not turn out as he planned however: Soon after starting his "Melchior Grimm tour" another stranger appeared on his screen, le chevalier de Chastellux, insisting that his " Voyage dans l'Amérique septentrionale, dans les années 1780, 1781 et 1782" provided the answer to the alleged visits of mythical "comte Saint Germain" to the USA. .

Washington's, Jefferson's and Franklin's correspondent, le chevalier or marquis de Chastellux was yet another important alias of Saint Germain. The relative pile of webinfo, added to the corresponding "Grimm" pile, made life extremely unpleasant for yourstruly with his long formed and expressed opinion and "esteem" for the particular quality of scolarly truth and it's veil, carefully covering Saint Germain and everyone related to him:.

'Your "two hudred years of Poe scholarship" reminded me of Mr Bean clumsily trying to repair the portrait he accidentally damaged, finally destroying it! ' was his wicked response, 2 June 2008, to Wiki's "Poe expert" rejecting his Al Aarraf contribution, this same conclusion now further strengthened by his last discoveries.

When Gioachino Cocchi (as Saint Germain, Grimm AND Chastellux) is placed alongside his cousin Charles Nicholas Cochin(fils), 1750-1788, the need to rewrite History is certainly evident but not yourstruly's beer.

Counting resources he decided to limit himself to the bare essentials. "Everybody but me is a liar" was an egoistic statement, he knew well, but in his particular case there was no other option: He had to prove his truth, to do it, he had to prove the others "false"-when applicable-not least among them Saint Germain himself.

To follow:

Presentation of sufficient evidence to prove that Melchior Grimm and Le chevalier de Chastellux were in fact aliases of Gioachino Cocchi/Augustin Henry Cochin aka le comte de Saint Germain

[yanni]

Part I

The remarkably common lack of any family or other personal life details on the online biographies/tales on Saint Germain, Cocchi, Grimm and Chastellux cannot on its own be considered either proof of their common identity, or evidence of an artfully planned conspiracy to hide the fact .

The same applies for the thousand or so unanswered questions with regard to "their" common talents (opera buffa, theater, botanology, chemistry) philosophical viewpoints, friends etc etc. ("How did "german Grimm" learn french so quickly? Why did he support italian opera buffa? How did he manage to conquer french literature? etc etc)

When a detailed timeline however is prepared, including enough details concerning their presences or absences to various parts of the world- excepting "largely unknowns" Cocchi and Cochin*(footnote), the others are all labelled today as great travellers- the lack of any overlap, the harmonious coincidence of their arrivals, stays and departures is such evidence and much more than that.
It's the confirmation of Saint Germain's myth, it is the basis for a true study of his unique character.

With "Grimm"-last alias to survive- tactically withdrawing and covering up-in his "Correpondence Litteraires, anecdotiques..."-his other main aliases (Chastellux, Saint Germain and "Claude Louis, comte de Saint Germain") and with his Cochin-Caussin descendants returning to Paris ready to continue their under cover "Mercer dynasty" in -their friend**- Napoleon's regime, one can easily understand the reluctance of many of their later friends and associates, like Chateaubriand (on Grimm (http://tkline.pgcc.net/PITBR/Chateaubriand/ChatindexG.htm), "Mme de Crecqy"-Cousin de Chourchamp- (On a naughty comte de Saint Germain making a fool of le chevalier de Chastellux http://penelope.uchicago.edu/crequy/index.shtml) and naturally earlier friends and authors like Voltaire and Rousseau, fully under Cochin "influence".

It was "Grimm" in fact who first established "Saint-Germain, Claude Louis, comte de" (Mémoires de M. le comte de St. Germain ... éscrits par lui-même. Amsterdam, M. M. Rey, 1779. MiU (Amsterdam, 1779...London, 1781). (http://www.history.uiuc.edu/people/johnlynn/guide/part2/18th/)

Because it was he who later published in his "Correspondence", first ever, the letters of "his" comte de Saint Germain, war minister of France, establishing his presence in Copenhagen in an article by an unknown author who went as far as to claim that le comte de Saint Germain was in fact Rousseau***(NOTE), the attrocious claim immediately rejected then with horror by the know-all editor "Grimm-Saint Germain" (Correspondance littéraire, philosophique et critique ... p.548)

It was "Grimm" who kept a close eye with regard to his Chastellux alias as well, almost revealing his aliases nomdeplume sole existence.....

"Nom qui portait encore l'auteur, il y a deux ans." (about le marquis de Chastellux in 1785)
p. 517 "Correspondance littéraire, philosophique et critique ..."
books.google.gr/books?id=Qz00AAAAMAAJ...

...and it was he who labelled George Washington "Chastellux's God" writing to his friend Diderot
«C'est le Dieu de Chastellux», écrivait Grimm à Diderot._Correspondance_, X, 471
http://www.ihaystack.com/authors/b/thomas_balch/00011590_les_francais_en_amerique_pendant

Footnotes
*the copy/copyright protected site..... http://g.alhinc.free.fr/Epinay..... lists about 14 presences and 4-highly enlightening- absences (marriages or deaths of his children in his absence) of Augustin Henry Cochin from his "seigneury", all highly revealing.
** See a)marriage of : May 1778 Augustin Henry Cochin's daughter, Marie Henriette, 19years old, to Claude Joseph Gabrielle de Vaulx, father and mother of the bride present.(Viscount de Vaulx, +1809, Marshal of France)
see b) Napoleon/s acceptence in the school of war in 1784, while "Comte Saint Germain", who renovated and opened the school shortly before, was in control of France (to be verified lateron) .
HOWEVER:
Saint Germain's post 1784 actions (as Al.Serg. Stroganov -as discovered further down this thread) , the assasination of Paul I and Stroganov descendants military participation against N (russian campaign), indicate that their friendship did not last. Did Napoleon attack "Stroganov's" Russia? That's a good question for the historian of the future to answer!
*** The "parallel lifes" of all Saint Germain's aliases to Rousseau's have been studied in the meantime in detail (along with the "other similarities" -mainly between the works of "La Dixmerie" and Rousseau and the common talents of Cocchi/Gluck/Chastellux and Rousseau): Yourstruly hesitates to phrase his attrocious conclusion at this stage!

[yanni]

Part II

If Saint Germain had his private reasons to create, maintain and immortalize his multifaced myth, so did also his contemporary and later, till the present, historians, their efforts to conceal and diminish him (keeping his personnae apart) so obvious in every book and every relative article. There is no need to further drive the point home, but one would expect, by some authoritative sources at least, to be less obvious in their endeavours. Such as, for instance l’Académie française:

M. le chevalier de Chastellux, ayant été élu par l’Académie française à la place laissée vacante par la mort de M. de Chateaubrun, y est venu prendre séance le jeudi 27 avril 1775*, et a prononcé le discours**....:

Buffon his (Cocchi's/Grimm's) friend, directeur de l’Académie at the time sitting in "fauteuil" #1 and Chastellux was given the seat next to him, #2.

Such info can be found on related articles on him, but the fact he became president of the Academy later on (around 1783) is carefully avoided today, not just by wiki-pedias but by the Academy itself, and one has to rely on the word of abbe Morellet:

Le chevalier de Chastellux , directeur de l'académie à l'époque (1785) de ma réception.
(Mémoires de l'abbé Morellet ... sur le dix-huitième siècle et sur ... - Google Books- André Morellet - 1821)

Keeping the "quality of truth" in mind, let us now return to continue our "presentation":

Many such interesting details are revealed by our lengthy timeline, previously mentioned, but it's simply much too detailed to be presented herein, therefore the "cherchez les femmes" method will be next apllied to reach our q.e.d .

Among their other common characteristics, our heroes also shared their admiration for the fair sex not just in their common love affairs but also in their common affection to the offsprings thereof.

"Grimm" for instance was "vehemently" in love with Marie Fell, the "primadonna of the italian opera company", the same who purchased her Chaillot house later on from "Augustin Henri Cochin"-Cocchi after his divorce from his wife (around 1778).

"Grimm's" remarkable admiration for Catherine II of Russia, so evident in their- still partly unknown- correspondence, yet only explainable through Saint Germain's alleged involvement in her 1762 enthronement, the 1764 transfer of a large part of the Medici art collection (The Uffizi was under Raimondo Cocchi 1758-1775) in L'Ermittage, Charles Nicholas Cochin's own relative personal involvement, reward and decoration by Catherine II (Ed.Goncour).

Lastly, their simultaneous(Grimm, Dupin and Cocchi as per The Poe Announcement) affection to Mme d'Epinay, their common presences and theater presentations at "la Chevrette" ( Chastellux-and Rousseau-included).

Their common children and grand children,such as- but not limited to- Angelique and Emilie

Regarding "François-Jean de Beauvoir*** de Chastellux's" later life marriage to Marie-Josephine-Charlotte-Brigitte de Plunkett and their son Alfred: A separate chapter will follow later on herein, once relative research is sufficiently completed. http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/index/presidential/clist.html

Footnotes

*In this very same year:
In 1775 (27th) October, on the death of the Marechal du Muy, the ascendency obtained by the sect of innovators occasioned M. de Saint-Germain to be recalled to Court and made Minister of War.27 October 1775 US revolutionary congress authorises banknotes. "Grimm" was made a baron of the Holy Roman Empire in 1775 and "became minister of Saxe-Gotha at the court of France in 1776", while cousin Charles Nicholas Cochin (fils): En 1775, les Observations sur les ouvrages exposés au Louvre commencent ainsi : «Quelque rassasié que M. Cochin puisse être des éloges reçus en tant d'expositions (1)…» Et Diderot lui-même, emporté par l'éblouissement public, finit par le reconnaître pour le «premier dessinateur français».

** In Chastellux's touching speech one finds the word "grec" mentioned 15 times, "Muse" 9 times, "lati(n)" 7 times and "Franc(e)" 5 times.

***"Beauvoir" is the same as "Bellegarde"

(continued)

[yanni]

Interesting as they may be, we'll leave aside for the moment the details of our hero's life long relation to Mme d'Epinay or their daughter Angelique...

(Angélique Louise Charlotte dite Pauline LALIVE d'EPINAY, o La Chevrette 01.08.1749 + Gémozac 01.06.1824)

....to concentrate on their grandaughter, the famous Emilie, daughter of Angelique and Dominique de Belsunce, her husband*(Note 1).

Because Emilie, who allegedly hosted our hero (as "Grimm") in his later years in Gotha.....

...in 1777 he left Paris on a visit to St Petersburg, where he remained for nearly a year in daily intercourse with Catherine. He acted as Paris agent for the empress in the purchase of works of art, and executed many confidential commissions for her. In 1792 he emigrated, and in the next year settled in Gotha, where his poverty was relieved by Catherine, who in 1796 appointed him minister of Russia at Hamburg. On the death of the empress Catherine he took refuge with Mme d'Epinay's granddaughter, Emilie de Belsunce, comtesse de Bueil. http://tkline.pgcc.net/PITBR/Chateaubriand/ChatindexG.htm

......HAS the evidence we have been looking for to doublecheck our theorem that Gioachino Cocchi IS Augustin Henry Cochin (seigneur d'Epinay, du Breuil etc) IS le comte de Saint Germain, IS Grimm, IS Chastellux, IS*(Note 2) Claude Louis Dupin de Franceuil.....


....but for this slight misspelling: "Bueil" instead of "Breuil"!

There was noone else in her circle she could have inherited the "du Bueil" title from but her loving grandfather, A.H.Cochin "...seigneur du Breuil".

Is there, in this newly reordered world of ours, a man so impudent as to go against the authority of Encyclopedia Britanica and the rest of "them"?
Yes, there is:

In his "The Story of a Throne (Catherine II. of Russia), 1971" Kazimierz Waliszewski writes on Grimm:

"Rather late in life he had come to have quite a family: Emilie de Belsunce, granddaughter of Madame d'Epinay, married to the Comte de Breuil...." *(Note 3)

One must assume that the author had sufficient access to Catherine II' s letters to "Grimm" (the letters were returned to Russia in 1813) to spell Emilie's title correctly-and go against the "western lore"- but was also provided, by Emilie, the wrong information re the source of such title.

In other words, Emilie inherited the "Du Breuil" title from her grandfather (who allegedly sold the Epinay sur Orge property before he "died" in 1784:En 1785 il y avait Gilbert Georges de Montcloux, fermier général du roi....il vendit le moulin du Breuil au Bailli de Crussol, déjà propriétaire de la Gilquinière qui, acheté par la ville de Paris, sera le futur site de l’hôpital de Vaucluse) and she propably was in litigation with but "avoiding" Paris at the time of "Grimm's" death and later on (Until an overall settlement was reached, including "Grimm's" Livadia property, today Yalta, Ukraine-see next posts).

Q.E.D

(In view of other current commitments- and installation of new hardware-this thread will not be continued for a while)

Note 1:see The Project Gutenberg e-Book of Mémoires d’Outre-Tombe, Tome II, Note 19:
Le comte de Belsunce, major en second du régiment de Bourbon Infanterie. ..... près de son parc de la Chevrette, dans la forêt de Montmorency, ... conclusion: Angelique inherited La Chvretee from her mother Mme d'Epinay IF NOT from her real father!

Note 2: In her Memoirs Mme d'Epinay gives an interesting account of her simultaneous-for a while- dating of both Dupin and Grimm, the latter gaining her confidence soon after. The different fates of her son (by Dupin?) and daughter(Angelique, by Grimm) indicate that the two men were different personalities, ie "Grimm IS Dupin" only(?) because Dupin has been assumed "vraisembleument" to be the father of Angelique.


Note3: When they were married however HE was not a "Du Beuil" BUT SHE was "du Breuil"

See T319 Papiers du Bueil et Grimm at
www.archivesnationales.culture.gouv.fr/chan/chan/fonds/EGF/SA/InvSAPDF/T_etat_sommaire/T301_345.pdf

In 19th March 1786 Renee Therese Emilie de Belsunce was married to Alexandre Louis Auguste du Roux de Chevrier in France.
The title Du Bueil was granted to him by Charles X, in 1827. The couple, sometime after 1792?, moved to Russia and then to Brunswick 1798-1800

[yanni]

Even if yourstruly purchased the capacity to remain indefinitely online, boot large amounts of text, open pdf files etc- essential requirements to study his main hero and his entourage better-he is still undecided as to the most appropriate way forward of this here “new thread” or article concerning le comte de Saint Germain and his aliases and true role in “world history”.

A matter of taste mostly rather than anything else, the character complexity of subject and the amount of work involved amply compensated already by the perpetuous mirth and amusement created by this unique situation yourstruly is finding himself lately, having communicated not just with America’s hardest to understand poet but with la crème de la crème of France’s finest gens de lettres, he, a greek barely able to read and understand French.

Questions like “Why me?” or “If I can see IT, why others didn’t in the past?” should really be answered by others and furthermore there is this flaw of character thing, shuting off his research motor soon as curiosity is sufficiently satisfied while the “prose writing motor” refuses to start.

Curiously, his hero, as “Grimm”, has been accused for the same, more or less, character flaw:

In his “PRÉFACE” of Rousseau’s “confessions”, monsieur Jules CLARETIE de l'Académie française, vehemently attacks “Grimm” (C'est un assez médiocre personnage que ce Grimm….Grimm, cancanier vulgaire, critique de théâtre d'une infériorité absolue, sorte de reporter érudit, comme on dirait aujourd'hui…) while declaring himself unable to comprehend why and how “Grimm” “protégeait Diderot, le prenait en amitié!”

Monsieur Jules fails to mention that it was not just Diderot but also Rousseau AND Voltaire who saught “mediocre Grimm’s” protection and friendship to their last, but does subconciously link his “Grimm” to Concino quoting Eleonora Caligaia * (not Galigai as usually written to make her French):

…Galigaï retourné: "J'avais sur la reine, disait la maréchale d'Ancre, l'influence qu'ont les esprits forts sur les esprits faibles!"

Your “mediocre Grimm”, monsieur, was “otherwise occupied” working for France and could not afford to waste his time writing a page a day.He (Chastellux) was however paralleled to Montesquieu for his history writings by none other than Voltaire.

French academicians have apparently forgotten Charles Nicholas Cochin’s “Misotechnites” and their important place in modern society.

Next: Everything is possible with music!

*"Καλιγά" today, a well known name from the Ionian isles and a good wine also. Originaly "Καλιγαία" meaning fertile land!

[yanni]

Two hundred years after his loss, it is perhaps time to say a few words to the memory of the man who, among others, also “managed” european music and, practically, all music masters of the second half of the 18th century!

As the lighter of other issues arising out of our revelation, music is our “next post” choice, the goal still being to persuade our readers of the soundness of our findings.

Gioachino Cocchi, an accomplished composer and stage manager already, Paris 1752, as “german Grimm”, started, with his “Le petit prophète de Boehmisch-Broda”, the “war of the buffoons” favouring italian Music to Rameau’s and, shortly before his appointment to the French Ministry of War(as Claude Louis comte de Saint Germain) concluded the next debate, “gluckists vs piccininists”, favouring his old friend , the “bohemian” Gluck, as “Chastellux” (a name first used by him in Vienna. See Metastasio’s letter to chevalier de Chastellux, 15 July 1756 :

“Your Highness ... I have made every effort to restore music to its true role of serving the poetry by means of its powers of expression...” )

...by not just anonymously translating to French Algarotti’s “Essai sur l’Opera”, published in Paris 1773, but also by translating and performing by Mme d’Epinay’s at La Chevrette and at Mme Genlis’s theatre in Chaussee d”Antin, Gluck’s Iphigénie en Aulide (1774) and propably “…en Tauride” as well (1776).

Gluck, Vienna’s court maestro before -and with many visits to London-a friend of J.C.Bach-who replaced Cocchi in London, around 1754-certainly knew him well and so did propably Rousseau (who did enjoy Gluck’s Paris performances as above at the time, a mystery today for music researchers, how he, “their" choice for buffonist leader, deviated from his earlier beliefs!)

....and...

....shortly before his trip (as Chastellux) to America, 1778, his hosting (as “Grimm” living with Mme d’Epinay then) of Mozart junior to Paris, their intended cooperation gone sour because of Mozart’s youth and singularity of character and his host’s “other duties” and personal problems all accumulating then. Yet we have as a result Mozart’s precious correspondence to his father providing us with details of our hero’s life at the time.

He knew**- and was of the same age with-Gluck (and Rousseau too and who is to say who the real composer of his "Devin" was) from their common stay in Naples and Venice, was propably impressed by and attacked him ironically as the “petit prophet from Bohemia"*-see note below- in 1752 but his choice for “Melchior Grimm” certainly came from a book:

“Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus Teutsch, d.h. die Beschreibung des Lebens eines seltsamen Vaganten, genannt Melchior Sternfels von Fuchsheim” ....the greatest German novel of the 17th century by Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen.

His main task was indeed grim from then on and that's why Cocchi stopped producing opera pieces soon thereafter!

But, as stated, music has been the least of our concerns: The past few days the “parallel lifes” of “Chastellux”, “Grimm” and Cocchi have been examined in detail via his evergrowing timeline (some 80 pages A4 by now) and as it turns out, our multifaced hero’s cv is in fact so “dense”, so full, so important, fundamental and fascinating, as to distract the coolest of researchers.

It was therefore with great difficulty yourstruly could supress his emotions, keep his wits together and then dare separate relevant music personalities from others, even greater in their fields (political, philosophical, military).

Such must-and do-go, in real life, together but then, if this job, to keep them apart, is taken from our dear scholars, what would they do to earn a living?

Note *In 1752 Gluck was in Naples, where he had been called to compose an opera for the Teatro San Carlo. Although it was not originally intended for him, the libretto he decided to set was Metastasio’s La clemenza di Tito (copypasted from the web). 1750-51 Cocchi staged his operas in Venice and Metastasio was closely linked to him and family!

Note ** Following completion of this thread, yourstruly has realised that "Christoph Willibald Gluck" is, most propably,yet another persona of Cocchi, something that can easily be verified by those who have access to the text of "Le petit prophet" and enough interest in classical music (enough to call Romain Rolland-among others- a liar!). Among other relative evidence also see: Vitt-Maucher, Gisela. "E. T. A. Hoffmanns "Ritter Gluck" und E. A. Poe's "The Man of the Crowd": Eine Gegenuberstellung," The German Quarterly, 43 (1970), 35-46.

addendum to note**: In the meantime part of Le petite Prophete (first published 1744) has appeared online (Music & Culture in Eighteenth-century Europe by Enrico Fubini, Bonnie J. Blackburn, Wolfgang Freis, Lisa Gasbarrone, Michael Louis etc-THANKS). The text confirms imo that "Gluck" IS young Cocchi (aka Grimm, Chastellux, Dixmerie, Rousseau etc) and IS Saint Germain (a demonstration of tremendous self confidence and unlimited "Bourbon support" at the time)!!!

Next: Two minor discrepancies discovered in Cocchi’s timeline.

[yanni]

In short:

Our hero’s task, from 1752 to 1784, was not just to manage,control and censor muses, literary arts and sciences (alongside with cousin Charles Nicholas Cochin responsible for the secondary arts):

His main duty was what one would call today “Ministry of Culture” or in those Days “Propaganda fide”: To promote France’s interests worldwide.

Many worked for him but he also personaly undertook “frontline” assignments such as his travels to Russia and America.

He worked as a double agent within France as well: Monmorency,where “Epinay sur Seine” and La Chevrette are located, was Duc d’Orleans territory.

He lived in constant danger consequently and had to use multiple identities, had to lie, had to use other people’s identities when needed and, occasionally, have others appear propably as “Saint Germain”.

He was a planner, a stage manager, a protagonist, an actor, a liar…

….BUT….

He (as Grimm, Chastellux or Saint Germain) NEVER(*note) once mentioned the family name, in any form, in his (their) works, he NEVER revealed the family secret!

In his later years he himself tried to “correct” parts of his “other lifes” realising that “Chastellux” and “Grimm” at least would be scrutinised by historians and his main “lie” would leak, he therefore collected and send to his trusted friend Catherine not just her correspondence to him but Voltaire’s library, including her letters to Voltaire, Galiani’s, Diderot’s archives and anything else of relevance propably as well.

His correspondence to Mme d’Epinay is lost, what she, and other “salonieres” published , he controlled to begin with.

Rousseau’s “Confessions”-see JJRousseau's indicatory wiki bio: The work was "partly published", 1782, after Mme d'Epinay "stopped" him writing. "Grimm" was , understandably, absent(!)-remind the reader too much of their comic opera to be taken seriously historically!

On top of all that: His literary work was subsequent censored, modified and falsified by his eager biographers, friends and foes alike, the former to protect the Bourbons, the others to diminish him.

As such very little written on (or by) him is “dependable”.

Having double checked his “pile of piles” of a timeline, the following two “minor discrepancies” -only(!)-were found concerning his trips to Russia (late 1774-mid 1775) and America (1780-1782 as per his book), ie his two most important foreign diplomatic assignments by far.

A.With regard to the latter (first discrepancy):

He did not arrive to America with Rochambeau’s force-as often written-but later on in the year: He is registered present in his seigneury Epinay sur Orge on 17/06/1780 (at http://g.alhinc.free.fr/Epinay/Annees/1780) accompanied by his wife “Germain Marie Louise Elisabeth(F), reside a Paris, epouse du Parrain” ....

.....to be then welcomed by Rochambeau ….

...September 20, 1780 (Wednesday) Rochambeau and Chastellux made a round trip through Bolton during the trip to the Hartford Conference. They stayed at the White Tavern on Hutchinson Road, now Andover. (Bib 1 note 17 on pg. 25)

Back in France, his place (at Epinay sur Orge) is taken by a cousin of his “Cochin Henry” Conseiller d’etat seigneur d’epinay, (2/09/1780 ), who later declares himself as Cochin Henry avocat -garde archives de Lorraine**.

This happens 18/8/1782 at the funeral of his (Cochin-Cocchi-Chastellux's etc) daughter Marie Henriette’s (23 ans), also witnessed by Lambert Jean Philippe conseiller dy roi but not by either parent of unfortunate Marie!

As such, data of the Epinay sur Orge registry (site online) are trustworthy, something to remember while examining the second “discrepancy” in next post.

*Note: highly indicative that Chastellux even ommits astronomer Cassini from his books.
** Definitely another person, despite the name likeness: A branch of the family did live in Lorraine and was indeed in control of the Lorraine archive whereas our heroe's duties are registered (in same site) differently (councelor of the King, intendant of finances etc).

[yanni]

The next discrepancy is not really minor:

11th October 1773 our hero is registered at Epinay (sur Orge) witnessing a marriage of a young couple with amusing (in bold) names…..

St marc Antoine Louis, 23 ans, résidant… Paris, Rue des 4 fils ,Ecuyer munitionaire des vivres, (S) fils de St marc Alexis Louis, Conseiller secretaire du roy, (S) et de Grosposte Scholastique, résidant… Paris, rue des 4 fils Ballon defferant Marc Marie Elisabeth, 17 ans, mineure, résidant… Paris rue St antoine, (S) fille de +Ballon defferant Claude Nicolas, Colonel d’infanterie, (S) et de Lavier Elisabeth , résidant… Paris rue St antoine
Tem: .Gosselin Alexandre Marie, résidant… Paris,rue des 4 fils, (S)
Prieur Jean, résidant… Paris rue du vieux colombier, ami de l’époux, (S)
Cochin Auguste Henry, résidant…Paris, rue de l’universite , ami de l’épouse, Intendant des finances, (S)
Baize Bernard Hyacinthe, résidant… Paris,rue de l’universite , ami de l’épouse, Controleur general des finances
( http://g.alhinc.free.fr/Epinay/Annees/1773)

….whereas his otherself, “Grimm”, is known, historically, to have been at St Petersburg, September 15th 1773 to spring 1774.

Wilhelmina Luisa von Hessen-Darmstadt was getting married to prince Paul, the wedding scheduled for October 9th, 1773, and Grimm accompanied her as her father(?), Kaiser Joseph I-this info, translated from a german site, is wrong! Joseph I died long before 1771-made him a baron in 1771.

Having –in previous post-labelled “dependable” his data of above Epinay site, what are we to assume, whom are we to trust?

Is every “scholar” lying ……

OR

….was our “unique revelation” on the main identities of Saint Germain so ridiculously WRONG?

[yanni]

Part 1

The closing question of last post, dear reader, kept me (“yourstruly”tires me) in meditation the last couple of days:

Not that I was for one moment unsure on the correctness of my findings and relevant statements made- the mind always knows better than the pen-but imagine what my virtual “scholarly opponent” would have made out of my hero’s “last discrepancy” at his Epinay (sur Orge) precious register!!

He falsified it and, like the historian he was, left his mark behind.

There is a clear message in the words he selected:

Grospost, Scholastique,Ballon,defferant:

No matter how the words are reordered, the message is

this is a gross lie, an empty message created out of neccessity by someone who cares for the detail,….

In addition:

Munitionaire des vivres:

An official position in French military, guardian of live munition (gun powder, explosives), “varatario” in Italian, the word already mentioned in “Poe Announcement”, a post held in Hydra by his cousin, Lazarus Cocchini*(Note below).
See also: p42 “Documents Illustrative of the Canadian Constitution” (Article 23, The capitulation of Montreal)!

rue des 4 fils :

Housing today the “fonds” of the pre-Revolutionary Academy of Art:
(Fonds de l'acadιmie : Archives nationals (rue des 4 fils).
http://byc.ch/hga/ressources.html it propably housed the Academy itself back then!

Thus his message should now read as above plus …. an artist at war

At the time he was all of that and more (In following part 2)

*Note: Not just Hydra: Recent research indicates that "Saint Germain" (under an alias-initials P.S.K.- still existing in Russia, hence not to be revealed) was captain of the guards of Saint Petersburg, 1774-5, and owned a house in the ammunition yard next to Catherine's Palace

[yanni]

Part 2

No, not magic, just hard work:

His coded message was ONLY received AFTER* (note 1) his timeline was filled in detail (1769-1775) and then examined together with relevant books**(note 2).

There were other letters as well written by him while in Russia at the time (I.Gorbatov) and the conclusions:
-he was indeed in St Petersburg***(note 3),
-did trust Voltaire
-(and therefore his Epinay data were “not so dependable”)...
...were thus reached….

….but “something was wrong" with Mlle L’Espinasse’s correspondence to Guibert and had to be clarified! (part 3 following)

Note 1 Before that, when the second discrepancy was originally noticed, the first thoughts were: He had either persuaded Catherine to mislead Voltaire (her letter to Voltaire re his presence in St Petersburg as from September 15th, 1773) for some reason or that he perhaps had falsified her correspondence, following Voltaire’s death in 1778, when he intermediated for his library and her letters be send to her in Russia.

Note 2 Mainly:
a)The Republic of Letters: A Cultural History of the French Enlightenment by Dena Goodman.
b) The Story of a Throne (Catherine II. of Russia) by Kazimierz Waliszewski
c) Full text of “Letters Mlle De Lespinasse”
www.archive.org/stream/lettersmlledeles010668mbp/lettersmlledeles010668mbp_djvu.txt
d) Catherine the Great and the French Philosophers of the Enlightenment (Inna Gorbatov).

Note 3 Narishkin(not Cocchi-"Grimm") accompanies Diderot from Holland to St Petersburg. The wedding scheduled for October 9, 1773. They arrive October 8th. Everybody knew the wedding was engineered by Grimm. (p167, 168 ) Catherine writes to Voltaire(Sept 11/22,1773) that Grimm has been in Petersburg from the mid September 1773. Grimm writes two letters to Nesselrode, 2nd and 19th November 1773(page 176) and another two Jan 14th and feb 7th. Frederick dislikes Diderot (p180). From September 1773 to April 1774 Grimm met and had long conversations with Catherine almost daily. (p214) -in page 213 the “classic story” on Grimm. In pages 221-222 few letters she wrote him 1779(one), sept 7, 1780 (one) and then 1787 (one) and 1791 (one) etc. (I.Gorbatov)

[yanni]

Part 3

“something was wrong" with Mlle L’Espinasse’s correspondence….

Mle L’Espinasse and her letters to Guibert*(note 5) (June, 1773 to December, 1775) guided me to the recent discovery of Kaiser Frederic’s correspondence to “Grimm&Co" and thereby to Frederic’s older links to Cocchi&family *1(note below). Having in the meantime supplemented my timeline accordingly, I can now neither complain for the nauseating and nonsensical nonentity of her and- the sorry adventure of-her “correspondences“, nor for the distinct limits of imagination of her numerous creators*2, among them a “M.Charles Henry“- known to us already from the Poe Announcement, Cocchi’s only known "french legitimate" son who also kept Charles Nicholas Cochin(fils)'s unpublished biography- who appears among her editors in 1887*3, ie posthumously! (27 June 1771 at Epinay sur Orge: The baptism of Cochin Henry Charles (4 months old) father and mother absent)

In a philanthropic mood today, I moreover refuse to address the issue of her fictitious character from a psychoanalytic perspective and do really feel a compassion for the many lost souls who were taken in to do so over time, lady writers in particular!

Mle L’Espinasse’s freakish carricature, who allegedly “assisted’’ Chastellux obtain a seat (#2) in Académie française, le 27 avril 1775.....

.....was in fact born 1809 specifically to give life to “Grimm, Chastellux and Claude Louis de Saint Germain’’ for reasons already explained (see also note 2).

She did exist nevertheless (possibly as Mme d’Epinay’s alias-a part of her lost correspondence to Cocchi-"Grimm" is possibly used) eversince 1775 but was highly suspect and "invisible" at the time and thereafter, otherwise Buffon, Cocchi’s associate and president of the Académie française-(fauteuil #1)-who promoted "Chastellux" to his Academy as above, would not have written his February 25th 1775 LETTRE CCXII A MADAME NECKER insisting he had never seen her.

For all the above, my compliments to her creators as well as those who maintain her myth-among others-those in particular who have…..

….décidé de se limiter, dans un premier temps, à ce qu'il est convenu d'appeler la «période Grimm», celle qui va….a fin février 1773.*4

They helped me a lot!

Bonjour La France

Note 1: google for "Barbara Campanini, Ludwig and Heinrich von Cocceji" -will it ever end this name game? !

Note 2:ready to justify all adjectives used if needed, preferably when the summer is over.

Note 3:Lettres inédites de Mademoiselle de Lespinasse à Condorcet, à d'Alembert, à Guibert, au comte de Crillon. Publiées avec des lettres de ses amis, des documents nouveaux et une étude par M. Charles Henry. Paris, Dentu, 1887!

Note 4:http://c18.net/cl/cl_pages.php?nom=cl_projet

Note 5: see http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/etext00/21frd10.htm
L'Espinasse's "Guibert" is another alias of Saint Germain.

[yanni]

The glory of a nation and an age is always the work of a few great persons, and it dissappears with them .....

.....wrote Cocchi-“Grimm”, allegedly from Gotha-Weishaupt’s last refuge-to then conclude...

....My writing will kill me!

Following his wishes to the letter, French historians, including- even headed by-his French cousins, decided to assist him vanish, killing and burying him along with their national pride and self respect,after loosing what he had accomplished for France.

Two centuries from his death, it’s not just the hired scholars we saw “researching” him indefinitely, it’s the others too, those particular “willing individuals” driven by the very same “dark forces”, his enemies, that continue the big lie, calling him names, a “charlatan comte de Saint Germain” who “sided with Weishaupt’s Illuminati and Cagliostro”!

Thanks to the web, this will end and he will be reinstated...

…from grief and groan, to a golden throne, beside the King of Heaven!

Afterall he did side with Rome as well in 1775!

[yanni]

…possibly, but perhaps not: Who knows what’s on the other side?

He never pretended he did know, he remained to the end a sceptic …and an enlightened monarchist as well!
His last years were spent in great wealth, among art treasures he had ammased throughout his life, in his Palace in Saint Petersburg and died in full years, 1811.

Count Alexander Sergeievitch Stroganoff, Cocchi-Saint Germain’s last alias!

(To be sufficiently documented in next)

[yanni]

The road to reach and witness Saint Germain’s 1811 ascencion as “Strogonov”, begins 1778 with Voltaire’s initiation -Ben Franklin was also initiated that day-to the Lodge of the Nine Sisters (Neuf soeurs, the nine parts of the "world" as administered by The Strict Observance)-in Paris.

A controversial initiation, less than two months before his death, and by a Russian count no less!

As “Grimm” recalls:

….a franc-maçonnerie. Il a été reçu en particulier par M. le comte de Strogonoff; il l’a été dans la loge des Neuf-Soeurs….http://www.voltaire-integral.com/Grimm/Avr1778.html

Surely a strange “last will and testament” by Ferney’s patriarch requiring further examination:

It turns out this Russian count…

…having received his count title by the Holy Roman Emperor himself
http://www.imperialcollegeofprincesandcounts.org/_wsn/page3.html

….…a distinguished member of the “Strict Observance” known as “ab Amiantho” as well (wwww.oisot.com/Obituaire_SOT.php )

…his immense fortune,originating from fur and fair trading practices ,enabled him to built his Palace at 17, Nevsky Prospekt, Saint Petersburg
(http://www.nevsky-prospekt.com/palaces/thepalaces.html) ….

…a “European art collector” kind of man who…

..avait fait comme eux plusieurs séjours en France et avait formé une collection rare de tableaux, médailles et gravures et réuni une riche bibliothèque ; il logeait dans son palais et pensionnait les artistes et les gens de lettres pauvres. …..

For his efforts to civilize Russia, Catherine appointed him….

….président de l’Académie des beaux-arts de Saint-Pétersbourg.
http://www.buffon.cnrs.fr/correspondance/corr_buffon_affi_lettre.php?lang=fr&table=buffon_corr_main&bookId=490&exp=LE%20Cte%20DE%20BUFFON&dest=

Curiously enough however…..

1)According to "Saint-Pétersbourg ou l'enlèvement d'Europe" by
Natalia Smirnova, Historienne et écrivain
(http://www.clio.fr/BIBLIOTHEQUE/saint-etersbourg_ou_l_enlevement_d_europe.asp )

President of the Academy was NOT Strogonoff ...

....but ...

“Grimm’s” friend …le comte Chouvalov, président de l'Académie, avait commandé les plans d'un bâtiment que l'on voulait alors installer à Moscou…

(Whereas a strange Russian architect actually designed the Saint Petersburg Academy:L'architecte russe Alexandre Kokorinov *(see Note below)élabora les plans de l'actuelle Académie de Saint-Pétersbourg à partir de ce projet, avec l'aide de Jean-Baptiste Vallin de la Mothe….)

2)Inna Gorbatov-in her book on Catherine (mentioned in previous post)-carefully avoids to mention “Stroganoff” or "Strogonov" etc-going as far in fact as to avoid mentioning the word “arts" alltogether

Finally:

In a relative study titled “Du Moujik à l'artiste." (L'académie impériale des beaux-arts de Saint-Pétersbourg (1757-1802)), Thèse soutenue en 2000 at Sorbonne, Paris, France:

Count Strogonov, the strange parisien Russian, is also carefully and totally avoided- unlike “Grimm” receiving discreetly the relative laurels-the “misunderstanding” attributed to “les archives”…

Les archives de l'Académie des beaux-arts de Saint-Pétersbourg antérieures à 1917 sont conservées dans le fonds 789 des Archives historiques de l'Etat russe à Saint-Pétersbourg ; une partie de ce fonds a été publiée entre 1864 et 1866 par Piotr N. Petrov à l'occasion du centenaire de la réforme de Catherine II. Les Archives centrales des actes anciens de Russie, situées à Moscou, comprennent la correspondance privée des souverains russes, notamment celle de Catherine II avec Melchior Grimm.

..whereas the duties of “Stroganov”- to invite young european artists to Saint Petersburg- are delicately transferred to “Grimm”:

A la fin d'un cycle complet d'études, les meilleurs étudiants, en termes de résultats, mais aussi de comportement, étaient envoyés à Paris pour se former auprès de ceux que les autorités académiques considéraient comme les meilleurs artistes de l'Europe, et à Rome pour y découvrir “ les grands modèles éternels ” selon les termes du baron Melchior Grimm dans une lettre à Catherine II. Les rapports trimestriels qu'ils avaient l'obligation d'envoyer représentent la source la plus complète et la plus précise dont pouvait disposer la Russie sur l'actualité artistique occidentale. Les problèmes de discipline ne peuvent occulter l'utilité d'un tel séjour, puisque la quasi-totalité des professeurs académiques étaient anciens pensionnaires.
http://theses.enc.sorbonne.fr/document4.html

Catherine never corresponded with her "count Srogonov" while he was in Paris nor does his name appear in any of her letters to "Grimm".

QED

Bonjour Sorbonne!

Note: He was not a "young c o c k" (κοκόρι in grk) anymore at the time but, as a devoted life long vegetarian, he was "functional" to his very end! (possibly the subject of next post)

[yanni]

Having revealed “Concino’s secret”-his specific link to French royalty- it would be unfair not to do the same with the Romanovs….

…. the same, that is, as our hero did, following his ancestor's example!

We saw him earlier (Poe Announcement) appearing as “russian navy officer Saltycov” experimenting with “flax” early 1770 in Venice....

…just five years after….

Sergei Saltycof (Catherine II’s first lover, still rumored to have fathered Pavel (Paul) I Petrovich of Russia, born October 1 [O.S. September 20] 1754), Emperor of Russia between 1796-1801, assassinated March 11, 1801)….

…passed, allegedly, away, 1765!

To the tune of “Fiddlesticks” we’ll now reinvestigate "them" (Grimm-Cocchi-Cochin-Chastellux-Strogonov-Saint Germain-Saltycof…ETC(!) ) focusing on “their” early 1754 whereabouts and particular talents inherited from “their” common father, doctor Antonio Cocchi (+1758)!

Insemination does not much differ from inoculation afterall, at least that’s what they believed at the time, and in some cases, on doctor's recomendation, both were performed simultaneoulsy.

That's how Paul I came to life......allegedly!

[yanni]

...a pair of small testicles accompanies our every move...

The rest is history....

….the wedding took place on August 21, 1745 in the Cathedral of Kazan. It was at this time that Catherine, who had never felt more isolated, wrote: "I should have loved my new husband, if only he had been willing or able to be in the least lovable. But in the first days of my marriage, I made some cruel reflections about him. I said to myself: If you love this man, you will be the most wretched creature on Earth. Watch your step, so far as affection for this gentleman is concerned, think of yourself, Madame." The young couple settled down, but the marriage was a miserable failure. Catherine was disappointed with her marriage, but decided to stick it out and concentrate on building herself a powerful group of allies. Catherine occupied herself with reading everything she could lay her hands on. She discovered satisfaction in the works of Plato and Voltaire. Her interest in the intellect caused an even greater distance between Peter and herself. The years passed and there was still no heir in sight. This of course irritated the Empress who wanted to secure a powerful dynasty, and could not do so without the presence of a male heir. She thought it must be Catherine's fault because she was not attracted to her husband. However, it was Peter that was not able to produce a male son, so Elizabeth permitted an affair between Catherine and a Russian military officer named Serge Saltykov. Catherine finally gave birth to a son, whom the Empress named Paul, on September 20, 1754. Peter accepted it as his own.http://www.dreamessays.com/customessays/English%20Composition/3899.htm

(Dr. Thomas Dimsdale)…..In the year of 1763 Catherine had founded Russia's first College of Medicine, consisting of a director, a president and eight members.

1764 M. le chevalier de Chastellux a fait imprimer de Nouveaux Éclaircissements sur l’inoculation(48)

the day of Catherine's smallpox vaccination became a national feast day.
http://www.lib.ndsu.nodak.edu/grhc/history_culture/history/catherine.html

Bet you -russian historian-that such national feast took place late January, early February each year!

[yanni]

…preferably “Capuccino”!

You have followed my travels to the past with patience, dear reader, and therefore do rethank and recompliment you:

Ours was anything but an “easy story”, the continuous addition of “new characters” a true nightmare for you as well as myself.

It’s not over, more of Saint Germain’s “Russian” aliases will appear shortly, I did warn you in previous but perhaps I shouldn’t have: You are accustomed by now, or even before that, you are perhaps, in some areas, more accustomed, better trained, more aware of “my” story, of what’s to come, than I am.

Let me just reflect on what my purpose is, what this is and where it’s going:

Borrowing from the words of a sculptor: “The form is in the stone, my job is to free it”.

We are, together, doing just that, trying to “free” an artistic form, the creation of a talented artist, from the “stone” surrounding it, truth’s veil.

It’s his “form” that leads us from the beginning, when our emotions, beliefs, fixations prevailed, we erred, we learned that, we must follow, we learned that too!

Consequently my only own “art”, if any, is to share such experience with you, be sincere and imaginative while doing it, make you feel my frustrations and disappointments, my joy and mirth, my emotions, reveal to you my way of thinking, trouble you with my faults!

We are about to beginn researching the two historical events that determined, as we recently discovered, our artist’s life, two historic murders, those of Peter III in 1762 and Paul I 1801, emperors of Russia, both practically “unsolved” historically,

The great obstacle of time, making our efforts to interpret people’s actions and events almost impossible, must be overcome together with “our”-my-limitations:

The more we approach our subject, the more we try to “be with” him, the more we realize the distance separating him from us, his talents, intelligence, immense overall power comparing so unfavourably to ours as to make us constantly aware of our smallness and foolishness to undertake such an endeavour.

To my motives for this research, explained already in “Poe Announcement”, Saint Germain’s long “eastern” presence must be added:

Michel Pierre Cochini*(see note), my “French” ancestor- who, among others commemorated Cosziusco(!) on the Missolonghi towers he built-had come from Bucarest, where he taught “sciences” till 1822 in the greek school there.

So, hang on, reader, you’ll be the first to know of my next revelations soon as I can put them in writing.

*In the meantime, architect "Petr Nik. K." has been discovered renovating Moscau around 1776-1782. He is, most propably, the father of engineer Michel Pierre. "Petr" was, most propably, the son of "Nicholas Saltykov" (ie St Germain-Cocchi-Cochin, also known as "Nicolas Bricaire de la Dixmerie", orator of the "Nine Sisters", Russia being the tenth "sister" or "part" -"merie"=μέρος, μεριά grk, "Bricaire"=bricklayer, see http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?p=5787715#post5787715. Also see : http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie-Anne_Botot_Dangeville#cite_note-5: Mme Dangeville was "similarly" favoured by "Grimm" and "Dixmerie" both, 1762-65).

[yanni]

whole message

[yanni]

...subsequent assasination?

Part 1

Medici Florence dying in Gian Gastone's degeneration, some members of the Cocchi family remained in Tuscany under the Austrian regime, like Antonio Cocchi, whereas others moved to neighbouring Kingdoms of-today’s-Italy under Bourbon control or sought and found positions in other European courts.

Such was apparently the case with…

Samuel Freiherr von Cocceji..(October 20, 1679 – October 4, 1755) was a German official who…lead the legal reorganization of annexed Silesia…subsequently reformed the legal system of all of Prussia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_von_Cocceji

Samuel was therefore very close to….

...Frederick “the Great” whose father …Frederick William considered executing Frederick and made him watch the execution of his lover, Hans von Katie. This did not deter Frederick from taking his military tutor, Count von Keyserling, as a lifelong lover. http://backgroundcheckofwhiteman.blogspot.com/

…so close in fact as to provide not just a cover for his absolutely essential “virility”- thorugh the myth of Frederick falling in love with La Barberina, who allegedly then run away with her other lover, Samuel's own son “Carl Ludwig von Cocceji” in 1749 etc -but also to provide a doctor for his sexual dysfunction.

This doctor was a non-german certainly, why would otherwise Frederick physician, Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann- who dismissed the rumors of his patients homosexuality as untrue-later claim that “his genitalia were harmed by a cruel surgical operation to save his life from an unnamed venereal disease.”?

This doctor could only have been Antonio Cocchi*(Note 1 below), expert in this field as testified-allegedly-by many Venetian castrati, Horatio Walpole and not only:

Sometime after the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (October 18, 1748), when Empress Elizabeth of Russia- through Betzutzev- had time and money to spare and had…

....isolated the King of Prussia by forcing him into hostile(!) alliances....She also spent exorbitant sums of money on the grandiose baroque projects of her favourite architect, Bartolomeo Rastrelli*Note 2, particularly in Peterhof and Tsarskoye Selo.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_of_Russia....

Only then did Elizabeth decide to "do something" for her nephew Peter whose marriage with Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst (future Catherine II the Great) was not going too well in view of both a sexual dysfunction on his part as well as his particular fondness for Elizabeth's new enemy, Frederick of Prussia, our previous “patient”!

In those “c o c k &bull” times, who did she consider calling to solve her problem?

Who else but her enemy’s own doctor, moreover a Cocchi or Cocceji-(pronounced kok-'tse-yi (!), quoting german wikipedia.)

As such, the first online "kok-'tse-yi" Russian presence is that of…

Alessandro Cocchi (mosaic);Luigi Valadier (frame)Smalto Roman mosaic; frame from gilded bronzehttp://www.hermitagemuseum.com/html_En/12/2004/hm12_3_4_7_0_5.html

Both artists came from Rome. Excepting his Russian interval-if he drew Elizabeth's “cartoon” himself as well-Al.Cocchi was a full time mosaic artist of the Vatican and so was his father Filippo. (http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/Altars/StsProcessus&Martinian/StsProcessus&Martinian.htm
http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/Docs/Msc/Chronology.htm)


*Note1 : Voltaire’s 1753 anonymous publication of "The Private Life of the King of Prussia, wittily claiming Frederick's homosexuality" is on its own a strong indication of his attachment to Cocchi eversince. Voltaire had previously personaly exploited-allegedly-somehow(!)Frederick’s “dysfunction”!

Note 2: Rastrelli designed and built Stroganov Palace in 1753 in Peterhof!

[yanni]

Part II

The correspondence between Frederick and Voltaire, which spanned almost 50 years, was marked by mutual intellectual fascination and homoeroticism

….is still dangerous, so say the experts….

Frederick of Prussia must have been really infuriated when Voltaire, whom he asked in 1750 to come to live with him in Sanssouci….

At Sanssouci Frederick entertained his most privileged guests, especially the French philosopher Voltaire.

…..attacked him-as instructed-below the belt in 1753-at the time future Peter III of Russia had his surgical operation as well!

Our aim is to solve Peter III’ 1762 murder, as stated.

Convinced that the motiv of such murder was Cocchi’s “Romanov inoculation- insemination”, a highly political penetration that led to the Seven Year War (1756-1762) ending with said murder (and subsequent reconciliation between Russia, France and Prussia at the expense of Austria loosing Poland and Lorraine) , our focus must be both to examine our timeline in detail (Cocchi’s relative early 1754 Russian presence) and to justify-explain the actions of the main players.

Frederick’s “Cocceji myth” is, moreover, of further interest to us who claim to have solved Saint Germain’s mystery a part of which was his alleged german origins!

We continue therefore reeinstating Frederick’s-imaginary- “Coccejis”;

Frederick had Carl Ludwig von Cocceji “married” to Barberina in 1749 to then displace –or even imprison for 18 months-his rival to Silesia as the region’s “president”…..
http://news.free-adio.de/index.php/hgfsdjh?blog=1&disp=posts&page=1&paged=168

…while, according to historian Laurenz Demps, Carl Ludwig- or perhaps Barb. Campanini who stayed behind for a short while-purchased a house in Wilhelmstrasse 76, Berlin, February 29th 1753*(Note below).

This must have happened while his alleged father, Samuel Freiherr von Cocceji, after his legal reorganization of annexed Silesia… was busy…reformed the legal system of all of Prussia.

Samuel unfortunately died-very-soon after, October 4, 1755 and son Carl Ludwig is nowhere to be found eversince on the web….

….while, shortly after -and by pure coincidence- Augustin Henry Cochin- his first appearance in Paris, France by this name-is getting married, 1756, said to be the son of...

Henry Cochin~. A brilliant lawyer and writer of Paris, 1687-1747

(Brilliant enough to have written his first study at the age of 8?
Juris Publici Prudentia compendio exhibita: quo materiae eius, praecipuaeque hactenus agitatae controversiae ab sua origine ac fonte du****ur, facilique ratione exponuntur & demonstrantur. / Cocceji, Heinrich von . Frankfurt a. d. Oder, 1695 see wikipedia: Heinrich Freiherr von Cocceji (Aussprache: kok'tse:ji, * 25. März 1644 in Bremen; † 18. August 1719 in Frankfurt (Oder) war Professor für Natur- und Völkerrecht an der Universität in Heidelberg). The article traces Cocceji's roots to the usual culprits, thus a "Coch"-father of Heinrich-is married to a noble german lady with progressive ideas!! Not surprisingly, Melchior Grimm's mother "was" a "Coch" as well!!)

Henry Cochin moreover was praised by Voltaire in his works!

Note: Diderot:AU PETIT PROPHÈTE DE BOEHMISCHBRODA A Paris, ce 21 février 1753.AU GRAND PROPHÈTE MONET,A TOUS CEUX QUI LES ONT PRÉCÉDÉS, ET SUIVIS ET A TOUS CEUX QUI LES SUIVRONT.SALUT

[yanni]

Part 3

Having hopefully depicted conditions leading to 1754(described elsewhere as ….1754. Beginning of the Refusal of Sacraments Controversy (to 1756) *see Note1 below )…

…it’s time to list our intermediate decisions-conclusions:

Firstly, we are quite convinced of the futility to keep on trying to find our hero in german history sources as well!*Note 2

Secondly: Behind Voltaire and Cocchi (and Diderot and Rousseau-see next post-apparently also joining in at the time) and their relative actions, the French royal foreign policy is evident*Note 3



Note 1 The Grand Remonstrances of April 1753 re the Fundamental Laws of the realm, led to Louis XV's refusal. The following strike by the magistrates resulted to the exile of the Parlement, to the arrest of its least temperate members, and to its replacement by the Chambre royale du Louvre.

Note 2 Frederick finally came to terms with his “Coccejis” -or lack of- following the Seven year War(Frédéric à la duchesse de Saxe-Gotha, Berlin, 26 mai 1763: He knows about Grimm’s work but has been “informed” that Grimm was born in “Gera” -Thuringia, E Germany, on the White Elster River.Evidently Grimm's Gotha provenance is a later creation)

Note 3
a) Note 1 above.
b) Our hero, as Stroganov building his Peterhof Palace 1753 and buying property in Berlin at the same time, is clearly representing France.
c) Frederick did not just loose Voltaire’s friendship in 1753 but that of his count-1740-Algarotti as well who decided in same year, 1753, to return to Italy and conform to Cocchi’s definition of Opera (Saggio sopra l’opera in musica (1755). In this influential work, Algarotti proposed that all of the elements in opera be subordinated to a unifying poetic idea)
d)Grimm's "correspondance litteraire" commencing 1753.

[yanni]

Below my last version of a timeline, 1752-1754, abbreviated.



1752

In 1752 Gluck was in Naples, where he had been called to compose an opera for the Teatro San Carlo. Although it was not originally intended for him, the libretto he decided to set was Metastasio’s La clemenza di Tito.

(February) Friedrich Melchior Grimm's pamphlet “Lettre sur Omphale” (1752).

Am 29. Februar 1752 kaufte, laut Eintrag im Grundbuch, der preußische Gesandte Freiherr Carl Ludwig von Cocceji das Anwesen Wilhelmstraße 76.

1752 (May). Encyclopedia thanks to Malesherbes and Madame de Pompadour, the government discreetly authorizes Diderot and d'Alembert to resume their work.

September 1752 Carl Ludwig Cocceji is ordered to go to Glogau as president of Silesia.( Die Tagebücher des Grafen Lehndorff, p40)

October Rousseau's "Devin" on stage in Paris with Marie Fell in the role of Colette.

(November). La Querelle des bouffons, pitting proponents of traditional French opera against the supporters of Italian opera buffa, begins to claim public attention.

1752 in Paris. Le petit prophète de Boehmisch-Broda die italienische Oper. Grimms Begeisterung für die italienische Kunst bei Marie Fell zu suchen ist.



1753

Gioacchino Cocchi’s. La maestra (performed in Paris as La scaltra governatrice 25. Jan. 1753 Paris, Académie de musique)

Letter Ferdinando Galiani to Antonio Cocchi, 20 February 1753, published in Franco Venturi, ‘Alle origini dell’illuminismo napoletano’, pp. 452–454.

ce 21 février 1753 Diderot:AU PETIT PROPHÈTE DE BOEHMISCHBRODA, Paris, AU GRAND PROPHÈTE MONET,A TOUS CEUX QUI LES ONT PRÉCÉDÉS, ET SUIVISET A TOUS CEUX QUI LES SUIVRONT.SALUT

Diderot Pensées sur l'interprétation de la nature (1753)

4 Mars 1753 "Devin de Village" de Jean Jacques Rousseau repeated at “Bellevue” theatre with Mme De Pompadour in the role of Colin. Invitations drawn by Charles Nicholas Cochin. (http://www.madamedepompadour.com/_fra_pomp/galleria/teatro/invtmme.htm)

Mar 25, Voltaire leaves the court of Frederik II of Prussia.

May 9, King Louis XV disbands the French parliament.

May 25th, Collini assists imprisoned Voltaire in Frankfurt.

May 29, Dupin junior born by Luise d’Epinay (She leaves La Chevrette soon after and "séjourne de 1754 à 1756 dans une maison de la rue du Mont)

June 23, Grimm writes to Gottshed favourably commenting on the “Devin” (W. A. Mozart By Hermann Abert, Stewart Spencer, Cliff Eisen, p 96)

Paris, 21st October, 1753. D’Alembert writes to Mme Du Deffand defending a “mademoiselle Rousseau” who she apparently dislikes. (Diderot in his turn also speaks of "his fostermother", a "madame Rousseau".)

1753, October 30, Carl Ludwig Cocceji arrives in Berlin together with the author’s brother incognito and without guard. (Die Tagebücher des Grafen Lehndorff,p137)

Rousseau's "Lettre sur la musique française," published in November 1753.

The Private Life of the King of Prussia, by Voltaire

December 17th,G.Cocchi’s “Gli amanti gelosi” was performed in Londra (King ‘s Theatre)

Venelle's territory in La Provence, (reaching the sea front, with Entremont at its center, some 3 km from Aix) belonged from 1753 up to the revolution to the Caussini family


1754

Beginning of the Refusal of Sacraments Controversy (to 1756).

Dr. Ant. Cocchi’s “Chirurgici Veteres,” a very curious work, containing numerous valuable extracts from the Greek physicians.

Mlle de Lespinasse arrived in Paris only in the spring of 1754 to begin her apprenticeship in Mme du Deffand's salon;

Pavel Petrovich born October 1 [O.S. September 20] 1754, Emperor of Russia between 1796 and 1801.

The Empress sent Saltikov to the Swedish court at the end of September 1754.

On November 11,1754 Voltaire, Collini, Madame Denis, a lady's maid, and a servant left Colmar to visit the Duke of Richelieu at Lyons.

mme D’Epinay:”séjourne de 1754 à 1756 dans une maison de la rue du Mont”

On December 10, 1754, Voltaire, Madame Denis and Collini leave Lyons for Geneva which they reach December 13.

December 1754 Grimm comments in his Correspondance littéraire on Anthony
Collins’s “A Philosophical Inquiry concerning Human Liberty and Necessity

Many of G.Cocchi’s works on stage in Italy this year.

:yawnb:

The reader is kindly requested to supply any additional information on Grimm-Cocchi-Saint Germain etc whereabouts for January 1754 in particular!

[yanni]

part IV

Let me tell you, dear reader, why this story appears stuck to the specific period 1752-54, and doesn’t move on to solve Peter III’s 1762 assassination as intended:

The previous timeline has strengthened our previous assumptions that

a) Dupin de Franceuil was another alias of Saint Germain and
b) Mme d’Epinay and Mle Lespinasse were one and the same.

…and we must do something about it:

Leaving aside Simone de Beauvoir’s roots(see "Story of My Life By George Sand, Thelma Jurgrau" which confirms, more or less, that "Dupin" was Cocchi-Saint Germain-through the strange violinist "Gavinies" of 1794) what really interests us is the early 1778 marriage of “de Franceuil” with Aurore du Saxe in London…

Why would our hero (obviously very high in Louis’s “Secret du Roi” service) visit London at such critical time and….

…why is there such a confusion with regard to the exact month this marriage took place?

You see, whereas the Wikipedia lot wants our hero Dupin be married….

Marie-Aurore de Saxe…se remaria le 14 juin 1777 à Londres avec Charles Louis Dupin de Francueil (1716-1780).

…other sources insist….

Marie Aurore de Saxe,Demoiselle de Venieres….Married (2) January 1777 London Louis Claude Dupin de Franceuil, son of Claude…. (http://artemis.austincollege.edu/acad/cml/cmanley/home/dupin.htm)

Checking our own timeline for the period*(see note), we find that Wikipedia’s date is wrong (Claude Louis de Saint Germain was hosting von Steuben at the time to then leave Paris as Grimm -he is still ministre de guerre of France- and travel to Sweden and Russia) whereas the other version of the marriage is feasible (Augustine Henry’s Cochin d’Epinay data show him missing)…

…as such…

Both our assumptions as above are evidently true and…

We’ll have to return to the subject of his London visit in later posts!

*Note

October 1776 Necker was made director-general of the finances

(1776. Le 9 octobre) Minister comte Saint Germain thrashes a vineyard watchman who caught him stealing grapes from the royal vines near Epinay sur Orge .

15/10/76 at Epinay AHC baptises a child

January 1777 two “Cochin” registrations at Epinay regarding domestic help of Cochin without his presence. No other entries for the whole year. He is absent !

Early 1777 CNCochin draws Benjamin Franklin’s fur cup portrait.

20th February -19th May 1777 The Scottish Philosophy rite abolishes nobility priviliges to its members while in France the Grand Orient approves «St. Charles of Triumph and Perfect Harmony of St. Alexander of Scotland” (“Contrat sociale”) while...
Marie Antoinette is trying hard to consummate her marriage!

[yanni]

part V

After Saint Germain’s London presence in 1745, the large number of opera performances by Gioachino Cocchi 1749-1752 and Charles Nicholas Cochin (fils)'s italian trip with de Marigny, Mme Pombadour's brother, Dec 1749 to Sept 1751, all point to G.Cocchi’s rising star in “Secret du Roi” eversince.

The assumption he used his theatrical talent to disguise himself behind different names and appearances-the fact not bypassed by Rousseau who observed he (Grimm) was always making himself up (wore a whig, used face powder and spend a lot of time doing it) while at La Chevrette-is therefore solid unlike Mme d’Epinay’s myth of Memoires: As his trusted associate and lover, mother of two of his children, she had every reason to protect him and also mimic him (as Lespinasse) and so did Saint Germain's French “inheritors” who continued and expanded his myth by creating the biographies of each of his aliases that are now in encyclopedias and on the web . They did have the power and the interest to do so.

If perhaps the last post was no real and concrete evidence thereof, if the lie of the Dupin-de Saxe marriage in June instead of January 1777- and his London business at the time-does not constitute evidence of Dupin’s “Saint Germain” identity , then perhaps the following bit of info will be so and will do so:

In a footnote to letter No 6 to "Ajax", undated but from the beginning of 1777, Weishaupt writes: "I will go to Munich before the carnival, and will be received in the famous Freymaurer Orden (Order of F∴ M∴). Ne timeas. Our business is in good way; we learn how to know a new nexus (bond, secrecy) and we will become thus reliquis fortiores (stronger than the others). " This would be sometime before 12 February 1777. Cited in La Conjuration des Illuminés, Henry Coston. Paris: Henry Coston, 1979. pp. xxxvii-xxxviii. Pb. 304 pp.

Massenhausen, Count Hertel Poltroon Mandl ("Ajax") (treasurer)
(Same site wants Saint Germain as member) http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/illumnas.htm

In other words an agreement of “wide concern” and implications was reached at the time in the higher echelons of Masonry. Saint Germain may have been a part thereof (or he might have just visited London to get hold of Walpole art collection for Catherine) but if so, he disagreed (as his change of course thereafter indicates: Even if he did assist USA 1781-1782 as Chastellux, he personaly remained true to his “enlightened monarchy” ways and customs and increased his visits to Russia, -looking after his son’s Pavel education among others. As Grimm he attacked Necker calling him a traitor-from Coblenz-1792)

Jefferson, a friend of Willermoz- and Chastellux for a while-wrote somewhere (link missing) something like “ This world has room enough for us as well as Chastellux”.

As such…
(continued)

[yanni]

As such…
(continued coming back to 1752-5)

The whole story of Lalive d’Epinay cheating on his wife by developing a relation with one of Les Demoiselles de Verrieres and that’s why she then divorced him and had her affair with “de Franceuil” is……completely fake!

Not just this story however:

Besides Lalive d’Epinay (sur Seine) there was a number of other owners of “a theater at La Chevrette” and there still exists a terrible mix-up as to who owned what in the area. (See post below by yourstruly at www.terresdecrivains.com/ROUSSEAU):


ROUSSEAU
12 juin 2008
The following theatrical characters may also added to our list as above :

1. "Le marquis du Terrail", another "d’Epinay" theater lover, who "avait, dans sa maison d’Epinai, proche Saint-Denis, une Salle de Théâtre, ….En 1755, le marquis du Terrail, fils d’un riche financier, achète le « grand château ». C’est ce dernier bâtiment qui, depuis 1908, est devenu l’Hôtel de Ville d’Epinay"

2.Le maréchal de Montmorency-Luxembourg, protecteur de Rousseau qui 1754 à 1764 habitait au chateau de Montmorency (His relation to les freres Crozat, financiers, whose art collection formed the basis of Hernitage Museum in Saint Petersburg with "Diderot" allegedly intermediating-are also well worth investigating) .

3. Le marechal duc du Croy (or Croi) owner of …….Ermitage "C’est elle [Mme d’Epinay] qui concéda quelque temps le chalet de l’Ermitage Ermenonville) à Jean-Jacques Rousseau où en 1756 le grand philosophe allait connaître ses meilleurs moments." Le maréchal, surnommé….

(4.)le Penthièvre du Hainaut, à cause de sa bienfaisance et de ses vertus, fit bâtir le magnifique château de l’Ermitage au milieu de la forêt de ce nom, près Condé-sur-l’Escaut, où il avait aussi un château dont il était seigneur

Le Duc du Croy died 30th March 1784 (A month after Comte Saint Germain’ s Eckeforde death, a month before Augustine Henry Cochin’s Paris death.)

En conclusion : Un vrais "jardin de plantes" cochinois ou les chourouges ont replace les orchidees.

I have no intention to further research the issue on each and everyone as above(they don't seem to be essential in Saint Germain's biography, excepting the evident yet untraceable "family banking business") and the point is made re his continuous use of aliases to disguise himself, the practice continued when in Russia as well, as we’ll see in next!

[yanni]

Part VI

An abbreviated timeline of our hero’s-online-presences and actions 1758-1762 is as follows

1758

As Baron Alexander Stroganov he married 1m: St.Petersburg 18.2.1758 (div XI.1762) Countess Anna Mikhailovna Voronzova (*1743 +21.2.1769);

April 1758 …At this time the King gave an apartment in the royal castle of Chambord to Saint-Germain, and a group of students formed around him. These included Baron von Gleichen, Marquise d’Urfré and the Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst, mother of Catherine II of Russia.(i.e. Johanna Elisabeth von Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp who died shortly after, May 30, 1760),

Voltaire’s famous statement from 1758 in his letter to Frederick of Prussia, that St Germain is “a man who never dies, and who knows everything,”*(Note below)

1759
The united Austrian and Russian forces nearly destroyed the Prussian army at the battle of Kunersdorf

Grimm becomes envoy of the town of Frankfort at the court of France in January - but looses his post in August because of his criticism of Marshall de Broglie

Grimm expresses his views on Voltaire’s Candide.

(about this time, 1758-59, "Serge Saltycov", leaves Saint Petersburg for Germany and France)

1760 ...an extant a letter from Saint-Germain to the Marquise de Pompadour, dated March 11, 1760

March 14-May the 6th St Germain is in Holland (Mitchell papers) While his attempts to make peace appeared to fail, he returned to Paris in May

Palissot's Philosophes opens at la Comédie-Française(May) a play which plagiarizes les Femmes savantes and abuses Diderot, Helvétius, Grimm, Madame Geoffrin and especially Rousseau, who is portrayed as an animal walking on all fours. L'abbé Morellet retorts with an incisive brochure, Vision de Charles Palissot, which will consequently warrant his imprisonment.


1761

The Bourbon Family Compact emerged to be eventually followed by the Treaty of Paris which ended the colonial wars.

When the Marquise d’Urfé informed Choiseul of the Count’s presence, he responded, “I am not surprised, because he spent the night in my chamber.”

Baron Alexander, (Stroganov) ….Count of the Holy Roman Empire 29.5.1761,

When the Empress Elizabeth died at Christmas, 1761, Catherine was carrying Orlov’s child, Aleksei Gregorovich

*Note: Living at Ferney at the time, the house owned by "a" Saint-Germain, propriétaire de maison à Ferney, II 58, 68, 69 at http://societe-voltaire.org/cv-index.php -The good site permits no access to research details, if any, of such a revelation. A further look reveals that the site is Préparé par Ulla Kölving, the same scholar who "looks after" Melchior Grimm's documents and "shortened" biography.

[yanni]

(A sudden lumbago attack-possibly the result of multiple lol fits produced by the recent discoveries of Saint Germain “russian” story and identities or perhaps of his relative reaction and consequent spell or both- prevents me from elaborating for long on the subject at this stage, as such the bare essentials only follow in this post).

As Serge Soltycov he fathered Catherine’s first, Pavel, and as Alexander S.Stroganov he was responsible for Peter III’s dethronement, 1762, when Catherine “was” with Gregory Orlov.

Gregory claimed he did not know him as “S.Soltycov” or as “A.Stroganov” at the time, only as Count Saint Germain, (he wrote to the Margrave of Brandenburg-Anspach that the Count “played a great part in their revolution” and helped set Catherine II on the throne..)

Peter III was truly at St Germain’s mercy: His chief chancellor, Mikhail Vorontzov, was “Stroganov’s” fatherinlaw whereas his alleged mistress, Elisabeth or Yelizaveta Vorontsova, was the younger sister*(note1) of “Stroganov's” first russian wife-Anna Mikhailovna Voronzova.

Catherine Vorontzova Dashkova, either a sibling sister or a cousin of the other two ladies, later President of the Academies of arts and sciences and Ben Franklin’s 1781 “friend”, was a life long instrument in Saint Germain’s hands and plans.

Her 1804-6 memoirs, written while her master was still alive (as Stroganov he finally died 1811, while she died 1810) totally avoid “Grimm” or “Serge Soltycov” whereas two more aliases are provided to cover*{note2) him: “Ivan Betskoy” who allegedly claimed a part in the heroic act of Peter’s disposal and “Ivan Saltycov” who “didn’t know a thing about music” or arts. As regards Stroganov (Stroganoff) her cousin: what she writes is he courted her once and Catherine reprimanded her.

Another opera buffa of his that is considered today a history source.

There is much more to say on the subject*(note 3) but for the time being an apology to his ruskie “serfs”-counting hundreds of thousands-suffices.

Note1: "Penny cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge" p572 wants Mikhail Vorontzov to have just one daughter, Anna, and three nieces among them Elisabeth, Peter's mistress, and Dashkova!

Note2: Dashkova provides also a detailed account of the 1770-1771 whereabouts of Alexei Orlov and "Ivan" Saltycov: Her intention is to absolve-discriminate "Serge" Saltycov (who "dies" 1765) from "Ivan Saltycov"- who "could not have been in Venice, 1771" preparing brulots with Al.Orlov but were both enjoying themselves in northern Europe. Clearly a case of planted misinformation!!

Note 3: In the meantime Lord Chesterfileds letters have been discovered. A brief study produced conclusive evidence re "Peter Soltikow's" role and origins as well as his early "british links"
(See http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/c/chesterfield/letters/volume8.html and volume 9)
Highly indicative imo the following letter on Peter III's disposal
BLACKHEATH, September 14, 1764
You ask me what I think of the death of poor Iwan, and of the person who ordered it. You may remember that I often said, she would murder or marry him, or probably both; she has chosen the safest alternative; and has now completed her character of femme forte, above scruples and hesitation. If Machiavel were alive, she would probably be his heroine, as Caesar Borgia was his hero. Women are all so far Machiavelians, that they are never either good or bad by halves; their passions are too strong, and their reason too weak, to do anything with moderation. She will, perhaps, meet, before it is long, with some Scythian as free from prejudices as herself. If there is one Oliver Cromwell in the three regiments of guards, he will probably, for the sake of his dear country, depose and murder her; for that is one and the same thing in Russia.

Lord Chesterfield is distorting the truth.

[yanni]

Poe's "On flowers, before, and mist, and love they ran, With Persian Saadi in his(!) Gulistan" *Note below....fits the "russian" history of the Cocchi family like a glove:

Their first online record is 1710-16 with a certain lieutenant "N.K", a cartographer, serving Peter I's "eastern" navy.

The particular name variation-to be found today in Russia**-will not be revealed but....

...it is comforting to know that they are propably among the readers of this thread!

Should they have any objection re the accuracy of my findings, their relative input is wellcome.

Good morning Russia!

*Note In 1813, with the conclusion of the Gyulistanskogo peace treaty, Russia acquired sole right to maintain a fleet in the Caspian Sea.
**The legal mess created by St Germain's russian aliases must have been a true nightmare for his successors (sorting out the real estate, particularly in "down town" Moscau) !

[yanni]

Yourstruly called for expert assistance be provided re St Germain's russian story

Quoting from http://forum.alexanderpalace.org/index.php?topic=11715.msg334330#msg334330


To continue-and add to- Saint Germain's "russian multiple personalities":

Paul I's paranoia (http://nationalism.org/patranoia/files/ragsdale-tsar-paul.pdf) may well be justified if the following persons surrounding him
turn out to be one and the same:

a)Sergei Vasilievitch Saltykov (Tzar Paul I’s father), who "was ambassador to Paris 1761-1762" (History of My Life By Giacomo Casanova, Willard R. Trask, p356) married 1750 to a “Matryona Pavlovna” (meaning "Paul's mother").. ….
b) Peter Semen Saltycov, governor of Moscau (with whom Catherine II corresponded in French).
and
c)Nikolai Ivanovitch Saltycov (Paul's tutor -who replaced N.Panin-while he was in Elizabeth's care, said to be Catherine’s spy, the general who previously defeated the Prussians, 1759* See note).

the last "outlives" the others (who had to "die" for various reasons too long to explain) :

Without doubt, the most formidable and impressive of Alexis’s close relatives was his grandfather General Nikolai Ivanovich Soltykoff (1736 - 1816) who became chairman of the war committee under Empress Catherine II and her son and heir Emperor Paul I, and later president of Council of the Empire and of the Board of Ministers and lastly Field Marshal of the Empire. After the wedding of Grand Duke Pavel (Paul) Petrovich son of Catherine II to Natalia Alekseyevna General Soltykoff was appointed by Catherine II to run their small household. In 1795, at the age of 59 he was described as a being 'small, thin and with a sharp nose; a very devout man who spent a long time each morning at his prayers; he wore a high, powdered and pomaded toupet and had a limp; and constantly pulled up his breeches'.[2] As an example of his commanding influence, when Catherine (The Great) had a stroke in 1796 and her grandson Alexander arrived at the Winter Palace, he was not allowed to see her for several hours. Count Saltykov - 'first personage' of Catherine’s court - had feared that Alexander may try to proclaim himself Tsar. At 5pm he gave permission. She died the next evening.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexei_Dmitriyevich_Saltykov

Count-General Nikolai, head of the Malta knights of Russia, the same who:

Au décès de Paul Ier, en 1801, son fils Alexandre Ier de Russie, conscient de cette irrégularité, décide de rétablir les anciens us et coutumes de l'Ordre catholique des Hospitaliers[1], par un édit du 16 mars 1801 par lequel il laisse les membres profès libres de choisir un nouveau chef. Néanmoins, étant donnée l'impossibilité de réunir l'ensemble des électeurs, le comte Nicholas Soltykoff assure l'intérim de la charge.

BTW there is a relative post in here (by Dr Richard Walding,Research Fellow,Griffith University, Australia) that has been left unattended for quite a while.

*Note : According to "The Russian Empire in the Eighteenth Century By Aleksandr Kamenskiĭ, David Griffiths" p193 however it was Peter Saltycov who defeated the prussians at Kunersdorf.........

[yanni]

Needless to comment on the-lack of-reply of the above "Russian nobility site" when King Google himself went as far as to push back my "Melchior Grimm" post, currently in Google's search results p#9* when for the past 20 days or so it was always in p#1 (googling for "Melchior Grimm" without "revisited")!

Trully honoured!

*True to their "Don't be evil" motto, the "mistake" was corrected a day after this post.

[yanni]

A lot has been written on the subject and it is more or less common knowledge that Paul never really accepted his problematic heritage and hated his mother for her “Saltycov” affair that brought him to life.

It would be therefore correct to assume that Paul as Tzar also attacked the specific members of Russian nobility that shared his secret and that his “Pauline law”-establishing the succession to the throne to the male hires of the Tzar- and his simultaneous attack on the “old aristocrats” were the basic motives of his murderers.

Paul’s reconciliation with Rome (Paul believed in the unification of the two churches and Pius VII had restored the Jesuit order in Russia following Paul’s written application, shortly before his murder) is furthermore an indication of his attempt to reconcile as well with France (at the time on their way to the Concordat, signed mid 1801, recognising Catholicism as the religion of the 'great majority' of the French people). This part of Paul’s foreign policy must have also seriously disturbed Jacobin plans at the time!

For these reasons our “hero” decided his son’s assassination and replacement by his grandson, Tzar Alexander I, the execution carried out by the known group of assassins, Platon Zubov, Pahlen, Benningsen,Kotchubey* and Paul Alexandrovich Stroganov, our heroe’s other son, the victim’s halfbrother and, according to some sources, leader of the group of assassins . (Paul had cancelled a previous 1800 assassination plan by expellling the conspirators from Russia, among them the british ambassador)

P.A.Stroganov, a Jacobin, member of the “Noeuf soeurs” and the Grand Orient of France (according to Oleg Platonov) , among Russia’s first ministers in 1802 (deputy minister under Kotchubey) is evidence of our heroe’s “strong allegiance” or even submission to the Jacobins and their “D’Orleans” link that enabled members of his family to safely return later to France, (among them propably Alexander I himself in 1825)..

Following a visit to London, P.A. Stroganov died suddenly 1817 on board a vessel bound for Copenhagen thus our hero’s “Stroganov” line came to an end (P.A.Stroganov’s own son was previously killed fighting Napoleon) but, considering his other “child producing” endeavours there was no lack of heirs, thus the following "Stroganovs"....

-In 1828 a count Stroganov was granted a loan of 3.2 million rubbles (some 25 % of the sumtotal loans at the time by Krankin.
"The Modernisation of Russia, 1676-1825" By Simon Dixon p96)

And

-A count Sergei Stroganov senator, member of the State Council, general-governor of Moscow, he owned 94000 adult male serfs and 1400000 hectares of land, *8.11.1794, +Stroganoff Palace 27.5.1882; m.1818 Css Natalia Pavlovna Stroganova (*1796 +1872)…

....both appear to have awfully much in common with the "Saltycov branch"** of the family.


THE END

(Next thread on "Jean Jacques Rousseau": See:
http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?p=639003#post639003)

*Note: A mysterious character, this "Victor Kotchubey", highly talented and with a western lustre, he was russian ambassador to Constantinople 1796 or so , ie shortly after "Labros Katsonis's" aegean adventures (As "colonel Rooke", was there 1810 too, see footnotes 288,289 of J.C.Hobhaus diary at http://www.hobby-o.com/constantinople.php#fn288). It's not just the latter's name, originally "Caccioni" (Gasparo Caccioni, an older music associate of Gioachino Cocchi) and "Canciani" (Giuessepe Canciani, cooperated with Gluck, founder of russian ballet) linking him to Saint Germain but his portrait too:
See and compare the portraits of Lambros and Victor on the web: The same face! (Victor's portrait at http://european-miniatures2.blogspot.com/ item 1042, Lambros's-by Johann Baptist Lampi, the same who portrayed Alexander S.Stroganov-at Wikipedia).
"Kotchubey" (ie "Katsonis") was also spelled "Kotsebu" in Odessa, Crimea (Odessa's second governor, around 1860-70, after Stroganov- quoting from "Diaspora Merchants in the Black Sea By Vasilēs A. Kardasēs").

In the meantime further traces of “Cocceji” have been discovered: He appears once, early 1758, as Kaiser Friedrich’s aide de camp to disappear soon after and only reappear again as Friedrich’s intermediary for peace (letter to the marquisse de Sachsen Gottha, FREYBERG, 16th February, 1760. The letter is censored). It is highly impropable that “C.L.Cocceji” and Russian general “Soltikow” (Peter Semenovich) were one and the same person but imo they were relatives nevertheless. One should mention here August Friedrich Ferdinand von “Kotzebue’s” birth in Weimar on May 3, 1761:He was not “Carl Ludwig’s”-ie Saint Germain’s- son by La Barberina, as previously believed but, most propably a son of his elder brother Johann Friedrich von Cocceji (see "C.F. Gellerts Briefwechsel" By Christian Fürchtegott Gellert, John F. Reynolds, p 357: Johann Friedrich Heinrich von Cocceji was Kanzler Samuel Cocceji's elder son and Frederic’s adjutant. “Carl Ludwig” was*** thus his younger brother, born in Bohemia) .

**Note: Equally mysterious, propably another alias of "Saint Germain", was count Ivan Petrovich Saltykov who also had a part in Paul I's "removal".

***Note: "pretendend to be" or "used the identity of..." rather.

P.S.

Present day descendants of the Cocchini family, residents of the “Grand Orient” and in “positions of authority”, are by themselves proof of the correctness of all above conclusions:

Placed on both sides of a potential future “hotspot” they seem to me as ready to stage another “opera buffa” which I have no interest whatsoever to witness.

Fortunately one side, “Moscau’s realtor”, is, as far as I am able to distinguish, a talented stage manager of Hesiod’s original “Prometheus bound” whereas the other side, “Bolek and Lolek” etc, are stuck on the disputed Aeschyllus version and while preparing their “Hermes" (agoraeus) part, they are also contemplating Pandora’s reintroduction (via the sea, as a victorious mermaid)!.

It’ll flop, trust me, I know, afterall I am greek!