that Von Neuhoff carried off with him all his wife’s jewellery and valuables. He arrived in Paris at the moment when the Mississippi swindle was at its height. Of course adventurer Law and adventurer Von Neuhoff soon became thick as thieves, and the former procured him a parliamentary decree that protected him from the persecutions of his old creditors. So long as the bubble lasted, Von Neuhoff lived en grand Seigneur, and spent fabulous sums; but when Law became bankrupt and fled, my hero was once more in a very awkward fix. At this moment his loving sister, the Countess de Trevoux, took compassion on him, and he cost her such enormous sums, that her protector, Count de la Mark, became impatient at it, and obtained a lettre de cachet in favour of Von Neuhoff. The poor fellow was compelled to fly from France, and took with him a few unconsidered trifles, as usual, that did not belong to him. This appears to have been a weakness of my hero: the Duchess of Orleans tells us that on his flight “he robbed his sister of two hundred thousand francs, and Law’s brother of close upon a million.” I doubt whether matters were so bad as this, for the old lady was fond of a good mouthful, and seems to have had a spite against her ex-page, for which, however, she can hardly be blamed. Von Neuhoff went first to England, and thence to Holland, and at Amsterdam he crept into the favour of several rich merchants, especially Portuguese Jews, who advanced him considerable sums, with which he went off to trade in the Levant.
And here comes a gap in my adventurer’s life, which all my research has been unable to fill up. I lose him entirely out of sight, and can only assume that he spent some time with Baron Ripperda, who had been stripped of his grandeeship and ducal title, and was now General in the service of Muley Abdallah, Emperor of Morocco, under the name of Osman. It may be assumed that Ripperda, who only maintained his position in Morocco through his intimacy with the most illustrious European adventurers, promoted Von Neuhoff’s bold plans in every way; but I am unable to offer any direct proof of this. Our adventurer’s idea was to put himself at the head of the Corsicans, who, wearied of the despotism of the Genoese, were preparing to declare their independence. Von Neuhoff had entered into negotiations at Leghorn with the national chiefs, and speedily convinced himself that a man who supplied the Corsicans with money, arms, and ammunition, might easily raise himself to supreme power. On this trust he acted, and ere long Europe was amazed at reading the following newsletter in nearly all the papers:—
Bastia, April 5, 1736.
An English ship, said to belong to the Consul of that nation at Tunis, anchored in Aleria Bay, on March 13th ult., having on board a very illustrious personage, whom some state to be an English Lord, others a Royal Prince, and others again Prince Rayoczy. So much is certain, that he is of the Romish Confession, and is called Theodore. His dress is after the fashion of that of Christians who travel in Turkey, and consists of a long scarlet quilted coat, velvet peruke, hat, stick, and sword. He has a suite of two officers, a secretary, a chaplain, a chamberlain, a steward, a cook, three slaves, and four lacqueys. He has landed his cannon, over 7000 musquets, 2000 pairs of shoes, a great quantity of stores of every description, as well as several chests full of gold and silver specie. The leaders of the Corsicans have received him with signal marks of honour, and given him the titles of Excellency and Viceroy: he has also appointed four of the Corsicans colonels, with a monthly pay of 200 pieces of eight, and raised twenty companies, in which each private receives a firelock, a pair of shoes, and a sequin. He has taken up his residence in the bishop’s palace, at Campo Loro, in front of which 400 men, with two cannon, keep guard.
This piquant article attracted the attention of all Europe to Corsica, but the mysterious personage, only indicated by the name of Theodore, was no other than our friend Von Neuhoff, who placed himself at the head of the insurgents, and declared war against the illustrious Republic of Genoa. Matters progressed rapidly; on April 15, Von Neuhoff was unanimously elected King of Corsica, and crowned in the open field with a wreath of leaves, which must have looked remarkably chaste on the above-mentioned peruke. At the same time a capitulation was drawn up between the new king and his subjects, to the effect that the crown would be hereditary in his family, on condition that the reigning monarch belonged to the Catholic faith and resided permanently on the island.
The whole affair now seems very ludicrous, but at that time was sober seriousness. The adventurer had become a real king, the king of a nation struggling to free itself from foreign domination, and he would have had an opportunity to play a great and noble part—had he been more than an adventurer. At the same time it cannot be denied that the man assumed with the royal title a certain dignity; that he felt, partly at any rate, the obligations he had assumed; and that the good points of the old Westphalian gentleman came to light. After the election the new king proceeded to organise his court. Costa, with whose assistance he had carried on the negotiations at Leghorn, became Lord Chancellor and Keeper of the Seals, and was raised to an earldom. Don Xavier was appointed Marquis and Treasurer; Don Giafferi, Count and General of the Army; and Don Hyacintho Paoli, Vicegerent. King Theodore had gold, silver, and copper coins struck, on the obverse of which was his bust, with the inscription: “Teodorus d.g. unanimi consensu electus Rex et Princeps Regni Corsici.” On the reverse was a crown supported by three palm-trees, with the legend: “Pro bono publico Corsico.” Other coins of his bore on one side the Immaculate Conception, with the legend: “Monstra te esse matrem;” on the other, the arms of the new kingdom, a Moor’s head on a field or, and the family arms of the Von Neuhoffs, a broken chain argent on a field sable, coupled together.
We see from this that the kingdom of Theodore of Corsica was seriously meant, and the whole world regarded it as such. In Westphalia, the regal crown also created a sensation, and seems to have reconciled a portion of the haughty family with the adventurer, for I find several Westphalian cousins in the royal Corsican service; for instance, a Baron von Droste. The Republic of Genoa re-