The Memoirs of
Isaac Mathieu Crommelin
(1730 - 1815)

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"The Last of His Race..."

Part 2: 1764-1782 - The Autun Years Although married, Isaac lived away from his home in Saint Quentin while working for eighteen years at Autun in Burgundy as the administrator of a government-controlled tobacco warehouse. Here he cultivated his aptitude in the arts, archaeology and mechanics while coming to the aid of damsels in distress on various occasions.

PART 2a 01 - Stormy Beginnings in Autun 02 - Mandrin, the Marauding Bandit 03 - Decline in the Culture of Autun 04 - Contribution to Local Antiquities 05 - Incident at Bourbon-Lancy 06 - The Temple of Janus 07 - The Bell Tower of Autun Cathedral 08 - A Genealogical Project 09 - Louis XV's Rising Ceremony 10 - A Cheerful Party Turns Ugly 11 - Learning Mechanical Gadgetry 12 - My Natural History Collection 13 - The Feet of Saint Nicholas 14 - My Success as a Copy Artist 15 - The Villainous Valet 16 - My Music Teacher, Rameau's Brother 17 - My Attempt at Sculpture 18 - A Regional Gun Tournament 19 - My Involvement in Freemasonry 20 - A Sleepwalking Abbott 21 - Counselling a Troubled Nun 22 - A Precocious Actor

PART 2b 23 - Nuns Who Enjoyed a Party 24 - How I Met Voltaire 25 - Reviving a Sick Passenger 26 - My Visit With Choiseul 27 - The Astonishing Art of Nini 28 - A Goodly Canon 29 - Choiseul Cools Off a Hothead 30 - Restoring Vergennes' Paintings 31 - Vergennes' Mother-in-law 32 - Madam de Vergennes 33 - Vergennes' Job Offer in Boston 34 - My Holy Stage Craft 35 - My Refusal Saves Lives 36 - I Thrash an Insolent Passenger 37 - Bléton, The Amazing Water-Diviner 38 - A Shocking Experience 39 - A Tornado in Autun 40 - 'Doctor' Crommelin's Diagnosis 41 - An Archaelogical Discovery 42 - Reflections Upon Leaving Autun 43 - My Contentious Billboard 44 - A Damsel in Distress

Part 3: 1783-1791 - The Guise Years Isaac took over the administration of a salt warehouse at Guise to be closer to his family at Saint Quentin. At Guise he risked his life on various occasions inside a mine shaft, dealing with an unscrupulous clerk, and single-handedly attempting to collect the salt tax on the bridge into Guise. He also applied his mediation skills in alleviating several hostile stand-offs, and employed his amateur medical skills in saving the lives of people.

PART 3a 01 - I Accept a New Position in Guise 02 - Stuck in Quicksand 03 - Lost at Pont-Audemer 04 - My House Catches Fire 05 - Early Impressions of Guise 06 - How a Lt.-Colonel Became An Actor 07 - Stuck In A Mine Shaft 08 - Smuggling Tobacco 09 - I Avert A Crisis 10 - The Quirky Fermier-General 11 - A Delicate Duel

PART 3b 12 - The Fraudulent Clerk 13 - The Plot Thickens 14 - M. Saulce, A Scurrilous Magistrate 15 - I Win My Court Case 16 - I Challenge Saulce To A Duel 17 - Crommelin Ointment 18 - An Ambush That Failed 19 - Days of Extortion and Greed 20 - Salt, Taxes, a Bridge, and Me 21 - My Benevolence Leads to Debt 22 - A New Job Offer in St. Germain 23 - The Bureaucracy During the Revolution

Part 4: 1792 - 1806 - St. Germain-en-laye Isaac-Mathieu bore an uncanny resemblance to Benjamin Franklin, the American ambassador to France for whom he was often mistaken. As an administrator of Public Works in Saint Germain-en-Laye (near Paris and Versailles) at a time when France was swept with revolutionary fervor, he came in contact with high-ranking political figures and used his limited influence to save the forest of Saint Germain and alleviate the misery of many people.