In 1747 a young man of elegant appearance arrived at Rochelle, in
France. He was accompanied by an elderly person, who, from his
studious care of his young companion, appeared to be his tutor. They
took apartments in a quiet house, and furnished them in a moderate
manner at their own expense. The avowed object of their visit to this
French seaport was to procure a passage for the younger of the two to
some foreign port; but owing to the difficulty of evading the English
cruisers--the two nations then being at war with each other--it was a
long time before a vessel would put to sea. Ultimately, a passage was
taken on board a small merchantman bound for Martinique, and the youth
and man prepared to embark. When leaving his apartments, the landlady
enquired what was to be done with the furniture, and was told, with a
gracious smile, by the younger of the twain, to keep it as a souvenir
of him.
The elderly personage then parted from his young companion, who
embarked on board the West Indian merchantman, whither his reputation
had, apparently, preceded him. Instinctively the captain and crew
recognized the fact that they had an important personage on board, and
therefore did all that they could to let him see they knew it. The
elder man, who had taken a passage for the youth, had vouchsafed no
further information to the captain than that his passenger was a person
of distinction, whose friends would one day gratefully repay any
attention paid to him; but that was sufficient to procure him every
attention. At one time he was enabled to do the crew a service, which
certainly increased their respect for him. Alarmed by English
cruisers, nearly all the crew had taken to the shallop, and had hurried
off so quickly that no provisions had been taken with them;
consequently they were soon starving. The young passenger, however,
purchased a quantity of refreshments from a native boat that came out
to them, and shared it equally amongst all on board. They got back
safely to their ship, but the youth was taken with an illness, during
which he repaid their anxious inquiries and attentions more with a
courteous hauteur than with gratitude. He appeared to shrink from all
familiarity, but, as it was necessary that he should have an attendant
during his illness, he selected a young sailor of about his own age,
named Rhodez, who was respectably connected, and fairly well educated.
Rhodez, with whom the youthful stranger became somewhat more confiding
than he had been with the others, stated that their passenger was Count
de Tarnaud, son of a field-marshal; but this scarcely satisfied the
inquisitive, who grew more mystified daily as they beheld the great
deference with which the confidant treated the interesting invalid.
On arrival off Martinique, the port was found to be too strictly
blockaded by the English cruisers to be entered; and, to save
themselves from capture, all had to take to the boats, and by
abandoning their ship and cargo, contrived to land safely, but
destitute. The supposed count did not appear much grieved at his
misfortune, but, attended by Rhodez, at once put up at the best
establishment he could discover. The attentions of his host, Ferrol,
he accepted as a matter of course, and behaved with such mysterious
assumption of grandeur, that the household at once put him down as a
prince in disguise. Rhodez could not, or would not, afford any further
information than is already known, which it may be well imagined had
been thoroughly circulated through the place by the Count's
fellow-passengers. Rumours spread rapidly, and at last attained such
dimensions that the commandant of the port thought it high time to make
the mysterious stranger's personal acquaintance. He invited the _soi
disant_ count to his house, and his invitation was accepted. Attended
by the useful Rhodez, the unknown removed to the commandant's dwelling,
and by a certain incident at the very first meal he partook of there,
contrived to impress his new host with an idea of his importance. On
sitting down to dine, he found that he required a handkerchief,
whereupon Rhodez got up and brought him one. This surprised the
company present, as at that time, as Rhodez knew well, it was not only
unusual, but even considered dishonourable, for one white man to wait
upon another. Whilst everybody was in a state of perplexity at this
incident, a note from Ferrol was handed to the commandant, wherein it
stated: "You wish for information relative to the passenger who lodged
with me for some days; his signature will furnish more than I am able
to give. I enclose you a letter I have just received from him." This
letter, written in a schoolboy hand and badly worded, contained a few
words of thanks for Ferrol's services, and was signed "Este," and not
Tarnaud. Here was more mystery. All kinds of persons and books were
consulted in order to solve the enigma; and at last, by means of an
almanac, the youthful stranger was identified as Hercules Renaud
D'Este, hereditary Prince of Modena, and brother of the Duchess de
Penthievre. This discovery, which was substantiated by the testimony
of two officers of somewhat shady reputation, but who were reputed to
have seen the young prince in Europe, was quickly noised about, and the
stranger's health was drunk to a full accompaniment of all his supposed
titles. The _soi disant_ "count" appeared to be extremely annoyed at
this discovery, having, so it seemed, signed the note with his real
name inadvertently; and although he did not deny the rank imputed to
him, the disclosure appeared to excite his haughty displeasure.
After a time, becoming accustomed to the loyal recognition of the
people, the supposed prince interested himself warmly in the interests
of the natives. Owing to the strict blockade maintained by the
English, supplies from the neighbouring islands became scarcer and
dearer; and, to make matters worse, had to be obtained through the
intervention of certain monopolists, of whom the Marquis de Caylus, the
Governor of the Windward Islands himself, was the chief. The
Commandant at Martinique, who hated the Marquis, sided with the people
in their murmurs, and sought to interest his princely guest in their
complaints. The youthful scion of royalty declared himself indignant
against the monopolists, and swore to put an end to their exactions;
which being duly reported, rendered him more popular than ever.
News of all these things coming to the Governor's ears, he began to
grow uneasy, and, to judge for himself, invited the "Count de Tarnaud"
to visit him; but received for answer, that although to the rest of the
world the stranger might be the Count de Tarnaud, to the Marquis de
Caylus he was Hercules Renaud d'Este. "If he desires to see me," said
his highness, "let him repair to Fort Royal, which is half way, and in
four or five days I shall be there." At first the Governor was so
impressed by this imperative style, and the reports which his
emissaries brought him, that he started for Fort Royal, but growing
sceptical, he retraced his steps. Not finding him at the appointed
place, "the prince," attended by quite a retinue of gentlemen,
proceeded to Fort St. Pierre, where the Governor beheld him from a
window, and exclaiming that he was the exact image of his royal mother
and sister, left the place in a panic and repaired to Fort Royal.
After this his "highness" threw off all further reserve, assumed the
honours of his position, appointed a household and a suite of
attendants, and accepted, without reserve, the generous hospitality of
the inhabitants. As might be expected from his youth and exalted
birth, he never denied himself the gratification of a whim, and joined
in all the maddening dissipation of the place. One remarkable thing
was noticed, and that was, that whatever frolic or excess he joined in
he never forgot his dignity of prince, and so continued to command the
respect of his companions. At first he must have suffered much
inconvenience from the fact that although hospitably entertained from
the moment of his arrival, he had landed in the island without a coin
in his pocket; but his good fortune soon remedied this defect. The
Duke de Penthievre had a large property in the island, and his agent,
hearing of the awkward position in which the young prince, his
employer's brother-in-law, was placed, very friendlily put the funds in
hand at his disposal. His highness graciously accepted this useful
offer, and henceforward was enabled to pay his way with royal
regularity.
During this period of almost absolute power, the prince had written
home to his family, whilst the Marquis de Caylus sent a special
messenger to Europe to detail what had happened, and to ask for
instructions. Meanwhile peace was proclaimed, the blockade raised, and
prices returned to their normal condition. By this time the youthful
visitor, having contrived to spend fifty thousand crowns of the
Penthievre funds, and strained the hospitality of the islanders to its
extreme limits, deemed it time to depart. Accordingly, attended by all
his household and the royal physician, he hoisted an admiral's flag on
board a merchant vessel, and, under a royal salute from the fort, set
sail for Portugal. Scarcely had their expensive guest departed before
a courier arrived with an order for the stranger's arrest, whilst the
agent of the Penthievre family learnt, to his dismay, that he would be
expected, for his want of caution, to make good half of what he had
allowed the _soi disant_ prince to cheat him out of.
Meanwhile, the young adventurer arrived at Faro, in Portugal, and
landed amid an artillery salute. He requested a courier should be sent
at once to Madrid, as also conveyance for himself and suite to Seville.
Everything was placed at his disposal, and, on his arrival at the
latter city, which he entered in triumphant-like style, he began a life
of festivity similar to that he had carried on in the West Indies.
Still provided with funds, he entertained right royally all those who
feted him in return, and speedily won the admiration of the women and
the envy of the men. In the midst of all this festivity, an order
arrived for the prince's arrest! He was lodging with the Dominicans,
who, after a time, despite the indignation of the populace, agreed to
give him up, provided no blood were shed. At first the officers found
it difficult to execute this agreement, the youth, who was a good
swordsman, making it a dangerous task to approach him; but ultimately
he was secured by stratagem, and thrown into a dungeon. The following
day, for some inexplicable reason, he was released from his fetters,
and placed in the best apartment the prison afforded. The "prince,"
who haughtily refused to answer any questions, was finally condemned to
the galleys; and his retinue, upon a charge of a supposititious nature,
were expelled the Spanish dominions.
Upon the prisoner's removal to Cadiz, great military precautions were
taken, as it was feared a riot on his behalf might be made. On arrival
at Cadiz, he was consigned to Fort de la Caragna, and the commandant
was instructed to treat him, the convict, with politeness! Being
allowed liberties not often granted to prisoners, he availed himself of
an opportunity to escape, and got on board an English vessel. On
arrival at Gibraltar, the captain reported to the governor that he had
on board a personage claiming to be the Prince of Modena. "Let him
beware of landing," responded the governor, "for I shall have him
apprehended immediately!" The bewildered captain informed his
"highness" of the reply, and his passenger, warned by the past,
remained on board. The vessel departed with this claimant to royalty,
of whose further proceedings history makes no mention.