He now became an inmate of the Cardinal’s palace, and was introduced by his patron everywhere, even to the Pope. Under such good auspices he soon began to prey upon his new friends, before whom he put the many schemes that filled his inventive mind, and from most of whom he extracted considerable sums. He persuaded a rich merchant clothier to endorse a bill for 60,000 francs; he borrowed another sum of 30,000 francs from the Cardinal Archbishop’s bankers; he bought jewellery on credit to the value of 60,000 francs from one tradesman and defrauded many others; even the Cardinal’s personal servants were laid under contribution. A more daring theft was a number of blank appointments to the priesthood which he abstracted from the Cardinal’s bureau, and with them a bull to create a bishop in partibus. Then he decamped from Rome.
His thefts and frauds were soon discovered, and the papal police put upon his track. He had left Rome on an ecclesiastical mission, and in company with other priests, one of whom was informed of his real character and requested to secure him. But Collet, having some suspicion, forestalled him by making off before he could be arrested. The place to which he fled was Mondovi, where he set up as a young man of fashion, and was soon a centre of the pleasure-loving, with whom he spent his money freely. His next idea was to organise amateur theatricals, and he forthwith constituted himself the wardrobe-keeper of the company. A number of fine costumes were ordered, among them the robes of a bishop and other ecclesiastical garments, the uniforms of a French general officer and of French diplomatists, with all the accessories, ribbons, medals, decorations, feathers, and gold lace. On the night preceding the first dress rehearsal he again decamped, carrying off most of the “properties” and clothes.
Now he assumed the garb of a Neapolitan priest who was flying into Switzerland from French oppression. He fabricated the necessary papers and was fully accepted by the Bishop of Sion, who appointed him to a cure of souls in a parish close by. Here he discharged all the clerical functions, confessing, marrying, baptizing, burying the dead, teaching youth, visiting the sick, consoling the poor and needy. He also started a scheme for restoring the parish church, and collected 30,000 francs for the good work, promising to make up from his own purse any balance required. The building was set on foot, an architect was engaged, and many purchases were made by the false curé, who was, of course, treasurer of the fund. Collet finished up by paying a visit to a neighbouring town, where he bought religious pictures, candelabra, and church plate, all on credit, and despatched them to his parish. But he proceeded himself with the building money to Strasburg, driving post.
Using many different disguises, and playing many parts, he travelled from Strasburg into Germany, and then by a circuitous route through the Tyrol into Italy, making for Turin, where he forged a bill of exchange for 10,000 francs, and got the money. But the fraud was detected, and he had to fly, this time towards Nice. Now he filled in the bull appointing to a bishopric, and created himself Bishop of Monardan, by name Dominic Pasqualini. This gained him a cordial welcome from the Bishop of Nice, who invited him to his summer palace, where all the clergy were assembled to be presented to him. His Eminence wished the sham bishop to examine his deacons, but Collet avoided the danger by saying there could be no need; he was sure that his brother of Nice had not ordained “ignorant asses.” Yet the other was not to be entirely put off, and at his earnest request Collet put on his episcopal robes, stolen from the amateurs of Mondovi, and ordained thirty deacons, after which he preached a sermon—one of Bourdaloue’s, which he had by heart.
The rôle of bishop was a little too dangerous, so Collet abandoned the violet apron and went on to Paris as a private person. On arrival he came across the friend who had helped him to his first appointment in the army, and being well provided with funds, he renewed his acquaintance by giving him a sumptuous dinner. Through this friend’s good offices he was reappointed to the army, this time to the 47th of the line, in garrison at Brest, and Collet started for the west to join his regiment. But he does not seem to have got further than L’Orient. He, however, perpetrated a number of robberies by the way, and now resolved to break ground in an entirely new and distant quarter. Bringing his inventiveness to bear, he fabricated papers appointing himself inspector-general and general administrator of the army of Catalonia; his new name and title being Charles Alexander, Count of Borromeo.
He took the road to Fréjus, on the Riviera, not the most direct to Catalonia, and was everywhere received with great honour on presenting his credentials. Thence, with an imposing escort, he passed on to Draguignan, and appeared in full uniform, covered with decorations, before the astonished war commissaries, explaining that he had the Emperor’s express commands to undertake an inquiry into their accounts. At the same time he appointed a staff, aides-de-camp, secretaries, and attendants, and soon had a suite of some twenty people. Amongst the papers he had forged was one which empowered him to draw upon the military chest for the equipment of his army of Catalonia. At Marseilles he had made use of this to secure 130,000 francs, and at Nismes he laid hands on 300,000 more. Whenever he arrived in a garrison he reviewed the troops, and conducted himself as a grand personage.
At Montpelier his luck turned. He had begun well; a crowd of suppliants fell at his feet, including the prefect, to whom Collet promised his influence and a strong recommendation for the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour. But at this moment the bubble burst. The prefecture was suddenly surrounded by the gendarmes, a police officer entered the salle-à-manger and arrested Collet as he sat at table with the prefect and his staff. No fault could well be found with those whom Collet had duped, but the swindler himself was in fear of being instantly shot. He was, however, kept in confinement awaiting superior orders.
One day the prefect, still chafing at the trick played upon him,
