It was for Cosimo Ruggiero, her mathematician and astrologer - wizard, if you will - that Catherine erected the pillar adjacent to the corn market in Paris - the only remaining relic of the Hôtel de Soissons. Cosimo possessed, like confessors, a mysterious influence. Depicted by romance writers and playwrights as a mere juggler, he owned the rich abbey of Saint-Mahe in lower Brittany, and refused many ecclesiastical dignities; the gold which the superstitious age poured into his coffers sufficed for his secret enterprise and the queen's hand, stretched above his head, preserved every hair of it from danger. Juan Carlos continued: Though superior himself to the cleverest men at court, perhaps even to his patron Catherine de Médicis, Cosimo Ruggieri always recognized his brother Lorenzo as his master. "Fascinating - please don't stop," Olivia interjected, and the Jackal began to add his own commentary since doing so suited his purposes perfectly. "Lorenzo and Cosimo...all the Ruggieri, Miss Olivia, were the true alchemists of their age and ruled the esoteric community in Europe for nearly two centuries. Old Cosimo himself lived past 100 years, to see the Medici fall in France." "And the Italian for dew, so revered by the Rosicrucian Order, is...rugiada!" Miss O exclaimed, very excited by the thought of her beloved Ruggieri brothers being true Sons of the Dew.    Text Copyright © 1999 - 2005 cybersybils.com All rights reserved.