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About Google Book Search Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web at |http: //books .google .com/I 600004567S z ^. /3s: /J/. /nC THF. TRUE HISTORY OF THE STATE PRISONER, COMMONLY CALLED THE IRON MASK, EXTRACTED FROM DOCUMENTS IN THE FRENCH ARCHIVES. BY THE HON. GEORGE AGAR ELLIS. LONDON : JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. MDCCCXXVI. .. BENTLEY, DORSET 3 PREFACE. I WAS led to undertake the following Narrative by the perusal of a work, lately published at l^aris, entitled " Histoire de THomme au Masque de Fer, par J. Delort ;'' in which the name of that state prisoner is most clearly and satisfactorily ascer- tained^ by means of autben:tic documents. • .}. • " .■- Under these circunistances, it may be asked why I was not contented tal^e^vfe the question, thus set at rest, in the hands of M. Delort, who had the original merit of the discovery : — to this I would answer, that M. Delort's part of the book struck me as peculiarly ill arranged and confused ; besides being unnecessarily filled with the most ful- some flattery of Lewis the Fourteenth, never, cer- PREFACE. tainly, more inappropriately bestowed, than while in the act of recording one of the most cruel and oppressive acts of that Sovereign'*s cruel and op- pressive reign. I have also thought, that the subject was one of sufficient historical curiosity to Interest the Eng- lish public. For these reasons, I have been induced to throw together the following chain of evidence upon the subject, making use of the same documents as M. Delort, to which I have added some others pre- viously published, and printing the whole series in an Appendix. G. A. E. April, 1826. CONTENTS. History of the Iron Mask- • . . 1 APPENDIX. No. 1. Estrades to Lewis the Fourteenth. Commenoement of the Negodatioii— State of the Court of Mantua^— .Influence of the Spaniards there . 89 No. 2. Matthioli to Lewis the Fourteenth. Protestations of devotion to Lewis — Bdief in the good intentions of the Duke of Mantua . . • 101 No. 3. Estrades to Pomponne. Continuation of the negodation— Intrigues of the Austrian Party ..... 104 No. 4. Estrades to Pomponne. Intrigues of the Spaniards to form a league in Italy against France ..... 108 No. 5. Pomponne to Estrades . . .110 No. 6. Pomponne to Estrades. The King's approval of the negociation . . ib. No. 7. Lewis the Fourteenth to Estrades. Approval of the negociation — Answer to the demands of the Duke of Mantua ^. . . . 112 No. 8. Lewis the Fourteenth to Matthioli . .116 No. 9. Estrades to Pomponne . ... 117 No. 10. Estrades to Lewis the Fourteenth. Conference with Matthioli— Discussion of the demands of the Duke of Mantua .... 119 No. 11. Estrades to Pomponne. The Duke of Mantua watched by the Spaniards 126 11 CONTENTS. • Page. No. 12. Estrades to Pomponne. Impatience of the Duke of Mairtua to conclude the Negociation h • . . • .130 No. 13. Estrades to Pomponne. Plans of the Spaniards. — ^Dispositions of the Venetian Goremment . . . . .131 No. 14. Pomponne to Estrades. Recommendations of Delay io the Negociation. . 138 No. 15. Estrades to Pomponne. Information respecting the DispoBitions of the Venetians 140 No. 16. Estrades to Pomponne. Fears of the Duke of Mantua . . . .143 No. 17. Estrades to Lewis the Fourteenth. Account of his Interview with the Duke of Mantua.^^ The latter insists upon sending Matthioli to Paris . 146 No. 18. Estrades to Pomponne. Reasons for consenting to the mission of Matthioli to Paris ..... 151 No. 19. l^strades to Pomponne. . . . .155 No. 20. Pomponne to Estrades. Approval of Matthioli*s ]\Iission to France. — Permission to Estrades to leave Venice . • • .156 No. 91. Estrades to Pomponne. Conversation with Matthioli . . < . 158 No. 22. Pomponne to Estrades . • .160 No. 29. Estrades to Pomponne. Means of protracting the Negociation. — ^Views of Mat- thioli . . • . • • 162 No. 24. Estrades to Pomponne. Delay in MatthioH> Journey ta Paris • • .164 No. 25. Estrades to Pomponne. Interview with Matthioli . . • .166 No. 26. Pomponne to Estradest ... 169 No. 27. Pompeime to Estrades - . . . 170 am» CONTENTS. Ill No. 28. Estrades to Pomponne* Differences betwein the Duke af Mantua and the Spaniards . . . . . . 171 No. 39. Estrades to Pomponne. Excuses for the delay of Matthioli . « « 178 No. 30. Pomponne to Estrades . » .174 No. 31. Estrades .to Pomponne . . .175 No. 32. Pomponne to Estrades . . .176 No. 33. Estrades to Lewis the Fourteenth. Good dispositions of the Duke of Mantua, and of the Garrison of Casale . • « . . 177 No. 34. Pinchesne to Pomponne . .179 No. 35. Matthioli to Lewis the Fourteenth. . Excuses his own d^ay • . . . . ib. No. 36. Pinchesne to Pomponne. . . .180 No. 37. Pomponne to Pinchesne . . .181 No. 38. Pomponne to Pinchesne . .182 No. 39. Pinchesne to Pomponne Intention of Estrades to leave Venice . . .183 No. 40. Pinchesne to Pomponne. Continued delay of Matthioli . . . .184 No. 41. Pinchesne to Pomponne . . .185 No. 42. Pomponne to Pinchesne . . .180 No. 43. Pomponne to Pinchesne . . . ib. No. 44. Pomponne to Pinchesne . . .187 No. 45. Pinchesne to Pomponne . . .188 No. 46. Pinchesne to Pomponne v . . ib. No. 47. Pomponne to Pinchesne . . . 1^9 No. 48. Powers granted to Pomponne, to tMat With MatthioK 196 No. 49. Lewis the Fourteenth to the Dtike of Mantna. Promises his protection to the Duke. . . .192 No. 50. Pomponne to Pinchesne . .193 No. 51. Pinchesne to Pomponne Interview of Pinchesne with Don Joseph Varano. 194 IV CONTENTS. No. 62. Pomponne to Pinchesne. A courier sent to Venice with a new cypher . .196 No. 53. Louvois to Saint- Mars. Catinat sent to Pignerol . . . .197 No. 54. Pomponne to Pinchesne. D'Asfeld sent to Venice. . . . .198 No. 66. Pomponne to Pinchesne . . .199 No. 66. Pinchesne to Pomponne . . . 200 No. 57. Pinchesne to Pomponne . . . 201 No. 58. Pinchesne to Pomponne . . . 202 No. 59. Pinchesne to Pomponne Arrival of d'Asfeld at Venice . . • 203 No. 60. Pinchesne to Pomponne. Delays of Matthioli, and of the Duke of Mantua . 206 No. 61. Pinchesne to Pomponne. Further Delays of Matthioli . . . .208 No. 62. Louvois to Saint-Mars. . . .211 No. 63. Pinchesne to Pomponne. Interviews with Matthioli — Further Delays in the Rati- fication of the Treaty . ... • 212 No. 64. Louvois to Saint-Mars. . . .215 No. 66. Pomponne to Pinchesne . . . ih. No. 66. Pinchesne to Pomponne Reasons for the Duke of Mantua *s delay in going to Cassale. ...... 216 No. 67. Pomponne to Matthioli . . 220 No. 68. Pinchesne to Pomponne. Arrangements for the Exchange of the Ratifications of the Treaty ..... . 222 No. 69. Pinchesne to Pompoiuie. Suspicions of the House of Austria respecting the Nego- dations . ..... 226 No. 70. Pinchesne to Pomponne. Arrest of d*Asfeld, — Departure of the Duke of Mantua from Venice. ...... 227 CONTENTS. V Pagr. No. 71. Pompoime to MatihiolL Letter of Credence to be presented to Matthioli by Catinat . . . . . 290 No. 72. Estrades to Matthioli. Complaints of the DeUys in the Conclusion of the Nego- dation ...... 232 No. 73. Louvois to Saint-Mars . . . 9S6 No. 74. Pomponne to Pinchesne . . . 837 No. 75. Pomponne to Pinchesne Suspicions of the Fidelity of Matthioli . . 238 No. 76. Chanois to Louvois. Reports of Catinat being at Pignerol — Different Ru- mours respecting the Negociation . . . 239 No. 77. Catinat to Louvois. . . . 241 No. 78. Catinat to Louvois. Rumours of Catinat's being at Pignerol — Civilities of Saint-Mars to him ..... 242 No. 79. Pomponne to Pinchesne. Continued Suspicions of Matthioli. . . . 246 No. 80. Louvois to Saint-Mars . • . 246 No. 81. Pomponne to Pinchesne. Confirmation of the Suspicions respecting Matthioli*s want of fidelity ..... 247 No. 82. Louvois to Saint-Mars. Order to receive Matthioli as a Prisoner . . 248 No. 83. Pomponne to Pinchesne. Further confirmation of the Treachery of Matthioli . 249 No. 84. Catinat to Louvois. Arrest of Matthioli ..... 250 No. 85. Catinat to Louvois. Intelligence respecting Matthioli*s Papers . . 252 No. 86. Inventory sent by Catinat to Louvois, of the Papers which Matthioli ha^ about his person • . 256 No. 87. Catinat to Louvois. First Examination of Matthioli . . . 260 VI CONTENTS, Page. No. 88. Pomponne to Pinchesne. . . .271 No. 89. Pinchesne to Pomponne. Interviews between the Duke of Mantufi and tlie Se- nator Foscarini . . . ... 272 No. 90. Lou vols to Saint- Mars. Orders to treat Matthioli with severity . . 2T5 No. 91. Catinat to Louvois. Plans of Catinat for obtaining possession of Casale . 276 No. 92. Second Examination of Matthioli . . . 280 No. 93. Louvois to Saint-Mars. . . . 29S No. 94. Catinat to Louvois. Further particulars respecting Matthioli . . ib. No. 95. Third Examination of Matthioli . . . 296 No. 96. Louvois to Saint-Mars . . . 302 No. 97. Catinat to Louvois. Concluding Examination of Matthioli . . . 303 Ne. 98. Varengeville to Pomponne. Proposed recompense to Giuliani . . . 307 Nfo. 99. Louvois to Saint- Mars . . . 309 No. 100. Louvois to Saint-Mars . / . . 310 No. 101. Saint-Mars to Louvois . . ib. No. 102. Saint- Mars to Louvois. Matthioli complains of his Treatment, and gives Proofs of Insanity . . . . . .311 No. 103. Louvois to Saint-Mars . . . 312 No. 104. Louvois to Saint-Mars . . . 313 No. 105. Saint-Mars to Louvois. Matthioli and the Jacobin placed together. . .314 No. 106. Saint-Mars to Louvois . . . 315 No. 107. Saint-Mars to Louvois. Particulars i*especting the Ring given by Matthioli to Blainvillien . . , , , .316 CONTENTS. Vll P4gt'. No. 108. Louvois to Saint-Mars .... 317 No. 109. Louvois to Saint-Mars . .318 No. 110. Louvois to Saint-Mars .... 319 No. 111. Louvois to Saint- Mars. Appointment of Saint-Mars to the Oovemment ci Exiles — Measures to be taken by him thereupon 320 No. 112. Louvois to Saint-Mars. Precautions for the Journey of the Prisoners from Pig- nerol to Exiles. . . . . . 322 No. 113. Louvois to Saint-Mars . . . . 326 No. 114. Louvois to Saint-Mars .... 39^ No. 115. Saint- Mars to Louvois. Precautions for the Security and Concealment of the Prisoners at Exiles ..... 327 No. 116. Louvois to Saint-Mars Departure of Saint-Mars from Pignerol ordered to be deferred, in order that he might receive Catinat there 323 No. 117. Louvois to Saint-Mars . . . 329 No. 118. Louvois to Saint-Mars. Orders for the Reception of Catinat at Pignerol. . 380 No. 1 19. Louvois to Saint-Mars . . . . 332 No. 120. Louvois to Saint-Mars . . . . ib. No. 121. Saint-Mars to Louvois .... 333 No. 122. Saint- Mars to Louvois. Description of the Apartment and manner of Confine- ment of the Prisoners at Exiles. . . . 334 No. 123. Saint- Mars to Louvois . . . 336 No. 124. Saint- Mars to Louvois. Saint-Mars is made Governor of the Islands of Saint . Margaret. ...... 337 No. 125. Saint-Mars to Louvois . . . . 338 No. 126. Saint-Mars to Louvois. Arrival of MatthioU at the Islands of Saint Margaret . 340 VIU CONTENTS. Page. No. 127. Saint-Mars to the Minister Relation of the conduct of two Protestant Ministers - . 341 No. 128. Extract iProm the Roister of the Bastille, published in the Work entitled, '' La Bastille D^voill6e" . 342 No. 129. Second Extract from the Register of the Bastille, pub- lished in the Work entitled, '« La Bastille D6voil^e" 343 No. 130. Extract from the Register of Burials of the Church of Saint Paul, at Paris .... 345 No. 131. Extract from the Work entitled '* La Correspondance Intercept6e,** by M. Lewis Dutens, published in 1789 346 No. 132. Extract from the article on the Iron Mask in the Work entitled '< Melanges d'Hiatdre et de Littirature ;** by Mr. Quintin Craufurd .... 347 No. 133. Letter from the Baron de Heiss to the Authors of the ^^ Journal Encyclopedique,''^ on the subject of the Iron Mask ; published in that Journal in 1770. . . 348 Letter on the subject of the Man in the Iron Mask, an- nounced in the preceding one . . . 349 HISTORY OF THE IRON MASK, The curiosity of the public has been now, for above a century, so much wrought upon by the mystery which has enveloped the name of the Iron Mask, (or as the French more properly de- signate him, " the Man of the Irmi Mask^ *) that the eagerness for discovery has thus been carried much farther than the real importance of the subject deserved. Numerous have been the papers written, and the conjectures hazarded in favour of different theories; almost all presenting, at first * '' Llioiiime au masque de to." B 2 THE IRON MASK. view, some semblaDce of probability ; but all, with- out exception, crumbling to nothing when exposed to the researches of accurate inquiry. Under these circumstances, it is certainly satisfactory, that the question should be finally set at rest. It is singular, that among all the inquiries hi- therto made respecting the Iron Mask, no one seems ever to have thought of recurring to the only source from whence true information could be de- rived — the archives of the French Government, during the reign of Lewis the Fourteenth. It was reserved for M. Delort to make these researches ; which he did by the permission of the Count d'Hauterive, Keeper of the Archives of the office of Secretary of State for the Foreign department, and the result has been perfectly conclusive. In those archives, he found the continued corres- pondence of the French ministers, proving, be- yond a doubt, that the Iron Mask was an Ita- lian of the name of Matthioli ; a personage who was first put on the list of candidates for that honour, in a pamphlet published in 1801, by M. THE IRON 1CA8K. 8 Roux (Fazillac) ;* who, however, was then unable to support his opinion with sufficient authorities. Hercules Anthony Matthioli -f- was a Bolognese of ancient family, distinguished in the law. He was the son of Valerian Matthioli and Girolama Maggi, and was bom on the 1st of December 1640. On the 13th of January, 1661, he married Ca* milla, daughter of Bernard Faleotti, and widow of Alexander Fiatesi. By her he had two sons, one of whom only had posterity, which has long since been extinct. Early in life he was public reader in the Univer^ty of Bologna, but' he soon quitted his native city to enter into the service of Charles the Third, Duke of Mantua, by whom he was much favoured, and towards the conclusion of * M. Roux (Fazillac) published several of the docu- ments, since republished; by M. Delort, but he does not appear to have seen the whole series; and therefore his reasoning upon the subject is incondusive. M. Delort has, however, copied a great deal from him in his narrative — whole sentences sometimes, word for word, without any acknowledgment of the plagiarism. t Delort. B 2 4 THE IRON MASK. whose reign he was made Secretary of State. His successor, Ferdinand, Charles the Fourth, the last sovereign of Mantua, of the house of Gonzaga, created Matthioli Supernumerary Senator of Man- tua, an honour which had formerly been enjoyed by his great grandfather, and gave him the title of Count. When he ceased to be Secretary of State at Mantua does not appear; but he was clearly not in that office when he first, unhappily for himself, was involved in diplomatic relations wifli the agents of the French Government. Towards the "end of the year 1677, the Abb6 d'Estrades, ♦ ambassador from France to the Re- public of Venice, conceived the idea, which he was well aware would be highly acceptable to the in- satiable ambition of his master, of inducing the * The Abbs d'Estrades^ Ambassador for a considerable time from Lewis the Fourteenth^ to the Republic of Venice, was son of Godfrey^ Count d'Estrades^ so long employed in negodations and embassies in Holland^ and who was one of the eight Marshals of France made uponr the death of Turenne. Madame Comuel called them^ ^^ La Monnoie de M. de Turenne/' tHE IRON MASK. 5 Duke of Mantua * to allow of the introductioa of a French garrison into Casale^f a strongly fortified town, the capital of the Montferrat, and in a great measure the key of Italy. The cession of the fortress of PignerolJ to the French, by Victor Amadeus, § Duke of Savoy, in 1632, had opened * Ferdinand Charles IV., Duke of Mantua, a weak and unfortunate Prince. Died July the 5th, 1708, as it is said of poison, administered by a lady he was in love with. t Casale did not come into the possession of the French till 1681. In 1695, it was taken by the Allies, and its fortificaticms demolished. It was, however, retaken by the French, and fortified again. The King of Sardinia, (Victor Amadeus,) made himself master of it in 1706. His suc- cessor, Charles Emmanuel, lost it again to the French in 1745, but regained it the following year. X The strong fort of Pignerol, acquired to the Crown of France by the negociations of Richelieu, continued in their possession for 68 years. In 1696, it was restored by treaty to Victor Amadeus II., Duke of Savoy ; its forti- fications having been previously dismantled. § Victor Amadeus I., Duke of Savoy, a prince of great bravery and considerable talent. He married Christina, daughter of Henry IV., King of France, by whom he had two sons, Francis Hyacinth and Charles Emmanuel 11.^ successively Dukes of Savoy. Died October 7th^ 1637. He b THE lUOK MASK. to them the entry of Piedmont, and the possession of Casale would enable them to invade the Mi- lanese, whenever they were so indined. At this time the council of the Duke of Mantua, headed by his mother, * an Austrian Archduchess, was entirely in the interests of the Court of Spain ; while the young Duke, plunged in pleasures and excesses of every kind, took little apparent interest in politicks. The great difficulty, therefore, which Estrades had to encounter in the prosecution of this intrigue, was the establishment of a channel of communication with the Duke ; who, as has been stated, was surrounded by persons in the Spanish interest. If he could once enter into secret re- lations with that Prince, he hoped to be able to bribe him into a concurrence in his designs; for Ferdinand Charles was both needy and unprin- was the first Duke of Savoy, who appropriated to himself the title of Royal Highness, * Isabella Clara, of Austria, daughter of the Archduke Leopold, who was grandson of the Emperor Ferdinand II I» Married June 13th, 1649, to Charles III., Duke of Mantua. THE IBON MASK. 7 cipled. He had, besides, discovered, as he writes word to Lewis, in his first letter * to him, dated Venice, Dec. 18th, 16T7, that the Duke was not so abandoned to his pleasures, but that he still had some ambition, and much chagrin at the state of subjection in which he was kept by his mother; joined to a great distrust of the Spaniards, who were supposed to foment the divisions of the Court of Mantua, with the view of, eventually, them- selves obtaining possession of Casale and the rest of the Montferrat. The desired channel of communication Estrades thought he had found in Matthioli, who was a complete master of Italian politicks, as well as much in the Duke^s good graces. Before, how- ever, he proceeded to enlist him in his service, he deemed it necessary to discover what was the bent of his inclinations. This he effected ingeniously enough, by sending a certain Giuliani, in whom he appears to have placed implicit confidence, to Verona, where Matthioli then was, to act as a spy • Appendix^ No. !• 8 THE IBON MASK. upon him. The report of Giuliani, upon his re« turn to Venice, was so favourable, both with regard to the discontent of Matthioli against the Spani-^ ards, ^^ who had always amused him with hopes, « and afterwards abandoned him,^* and his wish to enter into the service of the French Monarch, that Estrades lost no time in sending him (Giuliani) back again for the purpose of conferring with Mat- thioli upon the subject of the proposed negociation. Giuliani was instructed by the Ambassador to enlarge to Matthioli upon the jeopardy which the sovereignty of the Duke of Mantua was in, in consequence of the different pretensions of various branches of his family to his territories, which were more or less countenanced by the Spaniards for the purposes of their own aggrandizement. These were, among others, those of the Empress Eleanor "f- to the Montferrat; and those of the * Appendix^ No. 1. t The Empress Eleanor was daughter of Charles^ Duke of Rhetelois^ who died in the life-time of his father, Charles I. Duke of Mantudj in spite of which he is generally deno- THE IRON MASK. SI Marquis of Laguna* to the Duchy of Guastallii, to the prejudice of the Duke of Mantua, who was the rightful heir. Giuliani was also to lament the dependant state of the Duke of Mantua, the revenues of whose states, as well as all the powers of government, were entirely in the hands of his mother, and the Monk Bulgarini ;-f- and to explain the necessity which, on these accounts, existed for that Prince to seek, without delay, the alliance and protection of Lewis the Fourteenth. He was to assure him, in conclusion, that Estrades had no doubt of the readiness of Lewis to assist in freeing minated by historians^ Charles 11.^ Duke of Mantua. She became^ on the 30th of Aprils 1651^ the third wife of Ferdi- nand III.^ Emperor of Germany^ whom she survived many years^ and died December 5ih, 1686. She was the aunt of Ferdinand Charles IV.^ Duke of Mantua. * Thomas de la Cerda, Marquis of Laguna, in Spain^ married April 92, 1672, to Maria Louisa, only daughter of Vespasian Gronzaga, only brother of Ferdinand III., the reigning Duke of Guastalla. t The Monk Bulgarini appears to have been the confes- sor and favourite of the Duchess-mother of Mantua ; and to have been entirely devoted to the Spanish interests. 10 THE IKON MASK. the Duke of Mantua from his embarrassments; but that, in order to enable him to do this effec- tually, it was absolutely necessary to garrison Casale with French troops. Matthioli concurred entirely in these views of Giuliani, and offered to sound the Duke of Mantua upon the subject. A few days afterwards, he sent word to Estrades, that he had managed to have an interview with that Prince (having previously established himself secretly in the neighbourhood of Mantua), and had found him generally well- disposed to the plan. He also requested £strades to send Giuliani again to him, in order that they might act in concert ; the said Giuliani being also a person who might, without suspicion, carry in- telligence backwards and forwards,* which was not the case with Matthioli himself. Giuliani was accordingly sent, and had an audi- * The profession of Giuliani was^ that of an editor of newspapers^ in which capacity he was in the habit of travel- ling from town to town^ to collect and convey news. See Appendix^ No. 98. THE IRON MASK. 11 ence of the Duke of Mantua, who received him very favourably, and acquainted him with his willingness to enter into an alliance with France, and to ddiver up Casale, upon the understand- ing that Estrades was to try to obtain for him any reasonable requests he might make; the principal of these, in addition to the grant of a sum of money, was the being made generalissi- mo of any French army that might be sent into Italy, " that being," says Estrades, " what he wishes beyond all things; or rather, that being the only thing he is very anxious for, in order that he may have the same consideration in Italy the late Duke of Modena* had, and the late Duke of Mantua,-|- who at his age commanded in • Alphonso IV., Duke of Modena, succeeded his father Francis I. in his territories, and in the command in chief of the French army in Italy, in 1658. Died in the 29th year of his age, July 16, 1662, having married. May 27, 1655, Laura Martinozzi, niece of Cardinal Mazarin. t Charles III., Duke of Mantua, father of Ferdinand Charles IV., the reigning Duke, had the command of the Imperial Army in Italy, and took upon himself the office of 1^ THE. IRON MASK. chief the Emperor'^s army, with the title of Vicar General of the Empire.''* The Duke of Mantua also announced in this conference, that he put himself, on this occasion, entirely into the hands of Matthioli, whom he promised to reinstate in his place of Secretary of State, and to appoint his first minister, as soon as he himself should have regained his au- thority, and that the treaty, he was now pro- jecting with the King of France, had been duly executed. To Matthioli were joined in the negociation the two counsellors of the Duke of Mantua, in whom he had the most confidence; the Marquis Cavriani and Joseph Varano; and these, together Vicar General of the Empire in Italy^ during the interreg- num which followed the death of the Emperor Ferdinand III. in 1657, in virtue of a diploma^ lately granted to him by that Prince. His right was contested by the Duke of Savoy, who, upon the ground of old usage, claimed the office for himself. The Electors of the Empire annulled the appointment of the Duke of Mantua. • Appendix, No. 1. THE IBON MASK. 18 with Giuliani, Estrades, Fincfaesne the French Secretary of Embassy at Venice, and the Duke himself, were the only persons in Italy acquaint- ed with the business ; so that the Ambassador had certainly very fair grounds for expressing his hopes ^^ the secrecy, so necessary in this affair, would remain impenetrable.*"* This conference was followed by another, in which the Duke showed the greatest impatience to conclude the treaty ; entreating that Lewis might be instantly made acquainted with the state it was at present in, and requesting, or rather imploring, for a French army ; on the ar- rival of which he hinted much might be done against the Duchy of Milan. Finally, he pro- mised to have a conference with Estrades, *^ as he was soon going to Venice, where they might see one another conveniently, and without being observed, on accoimt of the Carnival, during which all the world, even the Doge and the * Appendix, No. I. 14 TH£ lEON MASK. oldest Senators were accustomed to go about in mask."* He also requested that the Cardinal d'Estrees -f- might not be made a party to the negociation ; be- cause he was so well known to be employed gene- rally by Lewis to negociate with the Italian So- reigns, that liis entering into it would naturally excite the suspicions of the Spaniards that some- thing secret was going on ; and that they would then ruin him, the Duke of Mantua, before he could receive the assistance of the French Mo- narch ; and that thus the hopes of both the con- ♦ Appendix, No. 1. t Csesar' Bishop of Laon and Cardinal d'Estr^es^ son of the first Marshal of France of that name^ was employed in various negociations with the Princes of Italy; but is now more remembered for his courtier-like reply to Lewis XIV. That Monarch one day at dinner complained of having lost all his teeth. '^ And who is there^ Sire^ that has any teeth ?" said the Cardinal (Sire^ et qui cst-ce qui a des dents ?) What made the flattery the more ludicrously gross was^ that the Cardinal^ though an old man^ had re- markably fine teeth^ and showed them very much whenever he opened his mouth. TH£ IBON MASK. 15 tracting parties, from the treaty at present under discussion, would be frustrated. To this propo- sition Estrades agreed, though unwillingly. We cannot but here remark how skilful a negociator he seems to have been ; beginning as he does by making trial of his tools, and then of his argu« ments, and afterwards bringing both of them to bear very judiciously on the negociation, in the way the most likely to lead to a favoiu'able result. When the affair was advanced thus far, Estrades lost no time in forwarding an account of it to Lewis, to whom, as he says himself, he had not before ventured to write upon the subject, because at first he despaired of being able to bring the in- trigue to bear : but he now thought it in so good a train, that upon recdving the approval of his proceedings from Lewis, he could almost answer {or its success. The letter of Estrades was accom- panied by a schedule, containing the demands of the Duke of Mantua, and by a letter from Matthioli, also addressed to Lewis, in which he offers to de- vote himself to his service, to strive to detach his 16 THK lUON MASK. master, the Duke of Mantua, from the Austrian in- terest, and insinuates very plainly his wish and in- tention of selling him and his fortress of Casale to the French Monarch ; whom, he says, he " regards and reveres as a Demigod,'^'* * To these protesta- tions Lewis returned, as was natural, a very civil answer ;-f- generally promising his protection and favour to Matthioli. On the 24th of December of the same year, Estradesj: writes to M. de Pomponne,§ (then one of the Secretaries of State), to inform him of a discovery he has made from the Duke of Mantua himself, that the Austrian party have * Appendix^ No. 2. t Appendix^ No. 8. I 1677. § Simon Amaud de Pomponne^ Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from 1671 to 1679^ when he was dis- missed from his office^ but retained the title of Minister of State^ with permission to attend the Council. A man^ like so many of his race^ who united considerable talents to great excellence of character. Madame de S^vign^ says^ in speaking of the eminent station he had filled^ that '* For- tune had wished to make use of his virtues for the happi- ness of others." THE IRON MASK. 17 determined, in case any French troops should arrive in Italy, and that the Duke of Mantua should manifest any disposition of favouring them, to seize upon Casale and Mantua. He therefore adds that the Duke, though thoroughly well-dis- posed towards the French interests, cannot take any active part in their favour, unless Lewis will send into Italy a su£Scient force to secure Casale and the rest of the Duke^s territories from the at- tempts of the House of Austria. He subsequent- ly seems to hint his fear that the life of the Duke of Mantua may be made away with by the Aus- trians, in order the more easily to possess them- selves of his territories. " We must besides. Sir, consider that the Duke of Guastalla* being the nearest relation of the Duke of Mantua, as well as his heir, there would be danger that, if the * Ferdinand III.^ Duke of Guastalla, descended from a younger branch of the House of Gonzaga; and the heir to the Duchy of Mantua^ if he survived Ferdinand Charles; which however was not the case. He died of dropsy, January ] 1th, 1678. c 18 THE IRON MASK. Duchess,* his daughter, who is very ill and has no children, should die, some misfortune might happen to the Duke of Mantua, which would as- sure his territories to the Spanish Nobleman, who has married the second daughterf- of the Duke of Guastalla, and whose marriage the Spamards, doubtless with this view^ made up at Vienna by means of Don Vincent "J * Anne Isabella^ eldest daughter of Ferdinand III.^ Duke of Guastalla, married August 13th, 1671, to Fer- dinand Charles IV., Duke of Mantua, by whom she had no offspring. t This is evidently a mistake, and should be read niece instead of second daughter. It alludes to Maria Louisa^ only daughter of Vespasian Gonzaga, only brother of Fer- dinand III., Duke of GuastaUa, married to a Spanish no- bleman, Thomas de la Cerda, Marquis of Laguna. At this time neither of the daughters of Ferdinand had jchildren^ and sJie, consequently, after them, was the heiress of their claims upon the Duchies of Guastalla and Mantua. The second daughter of Ferdinand III., Maria Victoria, married June 30th, 1769, Vincent Gonzaga Count of St. Paul — the person who is here erroneously described as haying been the means of marrying her to another person. t Vincent Gronzaga, Count of St. Paul, afterwards Duke of Guastalla, was descended from a younger son of THE IRON MASK. 19 To Estrades, Lewis retuitoed a long and detail- ed statement of his views ; in which he approves generally of the design of putting a French garri«> son into Casale ; intimates upon what terms it may be done ; rejects a request of the Duke of Man- tua to procure for him the restoration of those parts of the Montferrat, which by former treaties had been ceded to the Duke of Savoy ; objects to the largeness of his demand of 100,000 pistoles as the price of Casale ; promises to bear him harm- less and remunerate him for any injury that may be done to him by the Spaniards, in consequence of his siding with the French ; and finally instructs Estrades, to entertain the notion that a French Ferrant 11.^ first Duke of Guastalla. After contest- ing for many years his right to that Duchy with Fer- dinand Charles IV.^ Duke of Mantua ; during which they were both merely made use of^ by tums^ as the instruments of the French and Austrian domination ; he was finally saccessful in establishing himself at Guastalla in 1706^ where he died April 28th^ 1714. By his wife^ Maria Victo- ria^ second daughter of Ferdinand III.^ Duke of Guastal- la^ he left two sons, who successively succeeded him in the sovereignty of that Duchy. c2 so THE IRON MASK. army is about to pass the Alps, and in the mean- while to protract the negociation, in order to allow him, Lewis, time to make his various preparations. Indeed this last point, the necesaty for delay, was so strongly impressed upon Estrades, upon more than one occasion, that, in a subsequent despatch, he expresses his regret that the negociation goes on so smoothly and prosperously, that he cannot find any difficulties* to enable him to protract it till the troops of Lewis are in readiness to march towards Italy. The only point in dispute appears to have been, what the sum of money should be which was to be given by the French Monarch to the Duke of Mantua. The stipulation for 100,000 pistoles was decidedly rejected by Lewis ; and at length, after some difiiculty, Estrades reduced the demand of the other party to 1 00,000 crowns, and those not to be paid till after the signature of the treaty be- tween the two sovereigns.t * Appendix^ No. 9. f Appendix^ No. 10. THE IBON MASK. 21 The next event of importance in the negociation was the interview, eflPected at Venice during the Carnival, between the Duke of Mantua and Es- trades. It took place at midnight, ' on the 18th of March, 1678, in a small open space, equally dis- tant from the residence of the Duke and the Am- bassador, and lasted a full hour. In it the Duke dwelt * much upon his impatience for the conclu- sion of the treaty with France ; and for the speedy appearance of the troops of the latter in Italy, al- leging as his reason, the constant and lively fear he was in of the Spaniards. He also announced his intention of sending Matthioli, in whom, says Estrades, ^^ He has a blind confidence, and who goVems him absolutely','' to the French court; thinking that his presence there might bring mat- ters to a speedier issue. Estrades, who had now ascertained that his mas- ter could not possibly spare an army for Italy that year (1678), and who therefore was more than ever * Appendix, No. 17. £^ THE IBON MASK. anxious to prevent such a consummation, consented with considerable difficulty to the project ; resolv- ing, at the same time, to obstruct the departure of Matthioli for France as long as possible ; and writing to M. de Pomponne to delay him and his business, when at length he arrived there, by every means in his power.* Subsequently the procrastinating intentions of Estrades were more easily put into execution than he expected ; for Matthioli, of his own accord, de- ferred his journey from spring to autumn on va- rious pleas, of which the principal one was, his un- willingness to leave his master, exposed to the in- sinuations, and perhaps menaces, of the Spanish partizans, by whom he was surrounded.-f* Finally, after many delays, Matthioli, accompa- nied by Giuliani, set off for Paris in the beginning of November, 1678, and arrived there towards the end of the same month.]: He found the Abb6 d^ Estrades, who had quitted his Venetian Em- * Appendix^ No. 18. t Appendix, Nos. 24, 28, 29, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 39, 40. $ Appendix, No. 47. THE IRON MASK. 9S bassy, arrived there before him^ and had several interviews with him and M. de Pomponne; dur- ing which a treaty was agreed on to the follow- ing effect : — 1. That the Duke of Mantua should receive the French troops into Casale. 2. That if Lewis sent an army into Italy, the Duke of Mantua should have the command of it. 3. That immediately after the execution of the treaty, the sum of 100,000 crowns should be paid to the Duke of Mantua.* The treaty contained also some other articles of minor importance. Matthioli himself had the honour of being re- ceived in a secret audience by Lewis,-|- who made him a present of a valuable ring.-|- He also re- ceived a sum of money for himself,-f- and a promise * Delort^ quoting from an Italian manuscript^ in the records of the office of the French Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs^ which appears to have been written by Giuliani. -)- Delort^ quoting from the same authority. 24 THE I&ON MASK. of a much larger gratification* after the ratifica^ tion of the treaty. He was also promised that his son should be made one of the Eing''s Pages ; and that his brother, who was in the Church, should receive a good benefice.-f- He was then sent back to Italy, with a detailed instruction from Louvois,;}; upon the manner of executing the articles of the treaty. The French Government was thus far so en- * M. Delort says the sum actually given to Matthioli, was 400 Doubles^ and the sum promised him 400^000 Dou- bles^ which, from its largeness, he conceives must be a mistake; but he adds that it is so written in the Italian manuscripts before referred to. t Delort. X Francis Michael Le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois, son of the Chancellor Le Tellier, Secretary, of State for the War department, from 1666, to the time of his death, in 1691, which occurring suddenly, and just as he was on the point of being disgraced, gave occasion to a report that he was poisoned: for which, however, it appears there was no foundation. He was of a haughty and cruel disposition, and was the minister who planned and ordered the inhuman ravages of the Palatinate, which have so indelibly disgraced the reign of his master. THE IROK MASK. ^ tirely satisfied of the sincerity and good faith of Matthioli; and so convinced of the speedy admis- sion of the French troops into Casale, that they immediately upon his departure took decided mea- sures in furtherance of their plan. * Thus the Mar- quis de Boufflers,-f- Colonel-General of the Dra- goons, was sent to take the command of the forces, which were assembling near the frontier of Italy, at Brian^on, in Dauphiny. Catinat, I Brigadier of Infantry, afterwards the celebrated Marshal of that name, who was to serve under the command of Boufflers, had orders to conceal himself in the fortress of Pignerol,^ and to adopt a feigned name, • Delort. t Lewis Francis^ Marquis and afterwards Due de Bouf- flers^ Marshal of France in 1693. Died in 1711. One of the hest of Lewis the Fourteenth's generals. $ Nicholas de Catinat, Marshal of France in 1698. '' He united," says Voltaire, ** philosophy to great military talents. The last day he commanded in Italy, he gave for the watch-word, ' Paris and St. Gratien,' the name of his country house. He died there in the retirement of a real sage, (having refused the hlue ribbon) in ITIS.** § Upon reference to the M^oires de Catinat, published ^ THE IBON MASK. that of Richemont ;* while the Baron d'Asfeld,"t* Colonel of Dragoons, was despatched to Venice, upon a mission for exchanging the ratifications of the treaty ; for which purpose he was to unite with M. de Pinchesne, the Charge d' Affaires there, du- ring the absence of an anibassador.:|: in 1819, this event is found to be thus adverted to : — " In 1679, Catinat was charged with some negociations with the Duke of Mantua ; but the affair failed of success, in conse- quence of the treachery of the Secretary of that prince. Catinat, according to the King's orders, was anxious to punish the traitor. He remained at Pignerol some days, and having engaged him in a hunting party, had him arrested." It also appears from these Memoirs, that both Catinat and Boufflers were again despatched to Italy on the same errand, in 1681, when Casale was really given up to Lewis ; and on this occasion, Louvois, in his instruction to Boufflers, mentions Matthioli by name, as the person whose treachery had prevented the success of the former negociation. • Appendix, Nos. 52, 62, 64, 73, 76, 77, 78. t I am not sure whether I am correct in imagining that this was the Marshal d'Asfeld, who distinguished himself at the battle of Almanza, and died at great old age, in 1743. :|: Appendix, Nos. 52, 54, 55. THE IRON MASK. 27 Though these measures were taken with the greatest secrecy, it was impossible but that the report of the assembling of the French forces so near the territories of the Duke of Savoy,* should reach the ears of the Spaniards, and excite their suspicions ; as well as those of the Venetians, and of the other Italian states. Accordingly, we find that remonstrances were several times made by the ambassadors of the Emperorf- and Sling of Spaing at Venice, to the Duke of Mantua, upon the rumour of his intention of delivering the capital of the * Victor Amadeus 11.^ at this time a minor, and under the Regency of his mother, Mary Jane de Nemours. In 1713, he became King of Sicily, which kingdom he was compelled to exchange for that of Sardinia, in 1790 ; abdi- cated the throne in favour of his son, in 1730 ; and died in 1732. This prince possessed in an eminent degree, the at- tributes of his race— valour and skill in military matters, and faithlessness in his treaties and engagements with his brother sovereigns. t Leopold I. succeeded Ferdinand III. in 1657, died in 1705. X Charles II. the last King of Spain of the House of Austria. — Died in 1700. 98 THE IRON MASK. Montferrat to Lewis. Ferdinand Charles denied that this was the case ;* but was not beheved. As, therefore, the ferment and discontent in the north of Italy increased, the agents of the French Government were naturally anxious that the treaty should be ratified and executed as soon as possible ; for which purpose, the Duke of Mantua had pro- mised to meet the Baron d^Asfeld at Casale, du- ring the month of February, 1679. In proportion, however, as the French became more impatient for the conclusion of the affair, the Count Matthioli found fresh excuses for delaying it. At one moment his own ill health deta'med him at Padua, and pre- vented his coming to Venice to confer with Messrs. de Pinchesne and d'Asfeld ; at another, the Duke of Mantua could not raise a sufficient sum of money to enable him to transport his court to Casale ; at another, it was necessary to have time to persuade Don Vincent Gonzaga-f- to accompany the Duke to Casale, as it was not considered safe * Appendix^ Nos. 6S, 69, 89. t See ante^note^ page 18. THE IBON MASK. ^ to leave him at Mantua ; and again, the Duke of Mantua was obliged to stay at Venice, having promised to hold a carrousel there.* In spite of all these di£Sculties, it was, however, finally arranged, that the, Baron d^Asfeld and Matthioli should meet, on the 9th of March, at Incr^a, a village ten miles from Casale, in order to make the exchange of the ratifications; that the Duke of Mantua himself, should go to Casale on the 15th of the same month ; and should put the troops of Lewis into possession of the place on the 18th; on which day, being the ninth after the ratification, it was decided they could without fail be there, -f- The various excuses made by Matthioli, for the non-execution of his agreement, all more or less frivolous, appear first to have given to the French Government a suspicion of his fidelity. Whether the reception of Matthioli at the French court had net been such as he expected, though it would • Appendix^ No. 66. t Appendix, No. 68. 30 THE IRON MASK. appear to have been most gracious; or whether, which is more probable, the sum of money there given to him did not content him;—- or whether, which is also probable, the Spaniards having got some knowledge of the transaction, had oflered him a still larger bribe, it is impossible for us, at this distance of time, exactly to decide ; but it appears evident, that, from the time of his return from Paris, his conduct with regard to the negociation became entirely changed ; and he was as anxious to procrastinate, as he had formerly been to advance it. It was, therefore, natural for the French di- plomatists to conclude, supported as this opinion also was by various circumstantial evidence, that he had been bought by the other side — a circum- stance of no extraordinary occurrence in the career of a needy Italian adventurer. His weak and timid master followed implicitly his counsels ; but appears to have been himself in the intention of acting fairly and faithfully by the French Government. The first intimation that is given in the correspondence of the suspicions, with THE IRON KASK. 81 regard to the conduct of Matthioli, occurs in a letter from Pomponne * to Matthioli himself, dated February 21st, 1679, in which he says that Lewis ^^ is unwilling to doubt that the promise which has been so solemnly made -f him will not be kept ;^ an expression which certainly seems to imply, that some doubt did exist in the mind of Lewis and of his ministers upon the subject. The next is an elaborate and skilful letter of Estrades to Matthioli, written on the 24th of March, 1679,$ from Turin, where he was then awaiting the execution of the treaty, in which he mingles promises and threats to encourage him to perform his stipulations ; and shows sufficiently his suspicions to the object of them, to frighten him; at the same time leaving open the hope of forgiveness in case of future good conduct. By the subsequent letters § of Pomponne to • Appendix^ No. 67. •I* Namely^ of the delivery of Casale. X Appendix^ No. 73. § Appendix, No. 75, 79, 81, 83, 88. 32 THE IRON, MASK. Pinchesne, it appears, that the treachery of Mat- thioli soon became more apparent. Indeed, £s- trades, during his stay at Turin, obtained .the most indubitable evidence of the fact ; for the Duchess of Savoy * showed to him the copies of all the do- cuments relative to the negociation respecting Casale, which MatthioU had given to the Presidait Turki, one of her ministers who was in the in- terests of Spain, when he passed through Turin on his return from Parisf From Turki, as it subse- quently appeared, MatthioU had received a sum of money for his information. J Meanwhile Asfeld was arrested by the orders of the Count de Melgar, the Spanish Governor of the Milanese, as he was on his way to the rendez- • Mary Jane Baptista of Savoy, daughter of Charles Amadeus, Duke of Nemours and Aumale, (who was killed in a duel by his brother-in-law^ the Duke of Beaufort). Married May 11th, 1665, to Charles Emmanuel II., Duke of Savoy ; Regent of the territories of her son during his minority. Died March 15th, 1724. t Delort. Appendix, Nos. 87, 92, 95. t Appendix, No. 92. THE IBON MASK. 38 vous at Incr^ ; and Matthioli was the first person who acquainted the French agents with this mis- fortune,* as well as with the fact that the Duke of Mantua had been obliged to conclude a treaty with the Venetians, in a directly contrary sense to the one he had first entered into with France ;t " having probably been,'" as Pomponne remarks, in a letter to Pirichesne,^ " himself the sole author of the accidents and impediments he acquaints us with.'' Upon the arrival of the intelligence at Paris, of the arrest of Asfeld, the French ministers, though their suspicions of Matthioli were now changed into certainties, being still anxious, if possible, to get possession of Casale, empowered Catinat to supply his place, and to conclude the ratification of the treaty. Intelligence of this change was con- veyed to Matthioli in a letter § from Pomponne, of the date of March 14jth, 1679. Catinat accordingly went, on the appointed day, * Appendix, No. 70. t Delort. t Appendix, No. 75. § Appendix, No. 71. D S4 THK IKOX MASK. from Fi^nerol to Incr^^accompamed by St. Macs,* the ComDiaEXidant of tbat ptrt of the. Ibitoress of Pignerol, which was appropriated for a state priaan, and by a person of confidence, belonging to tbe mi^ bassy of Estrades. But the appointed day passed over, without bringing Matthioli to Increa ; and the next mcnming Calinat was informed liiat his arrival there was discovered ; that the peasants of the neighbourhood were in arms ; and that a de* tachment of cavalry was on its way, for the purpose of seizing upon him and his companions. What became of the latter does not ajqiear, except tbat they escaped the threatened danger; but be hii»- sdf got away secreUy, and in disguise, to Casale ; where he gave himself out as an officer of the gar- * Benigne d'Auvergne de Saint-Mars^ .Seigneur of Dimon and Palteau ; Bailli and Governor of Sens ; successively (jrovernor of Exiles^ the Island of St. Marguerite^ and the Bastille. At Pignerol he had only the command of the state prisoners^ the Marquis d'Herleville heing governor of the fortress. St. Mars came to Pignerol a short time he- fore the anival there of Fouquet, who W8»the first prisoner confided to his eare. THE IRON MASK. . 36 rison of Fignerol. The Govemor there, who was weltdisposed to the Freiieh interest, received him with great cirilfty ; and, at a dinner he gave to bim, joined in drinking the King of France^s health with enthusiasm.* The next day Catinat was too happy to return undiscovered to PigneroL Matthioli, meanwhile, instead of iceeping his en- gagement at Incr^a, had returned to Venice, and had had sereral interviews with Pinchesne, the particulars of which we are unacquainted with, as the letters containing the accounts of them, though alluded to by M. de FompoBnef in his answers, have not been published, Pinchesne was, at this time, convinced of the perfidy of Matthioli, having, in addition to va- rious other suspicious circumstances, discovered that be had been secretly at Milan for some days. He, however, did not think it advisable entirely to break with him; but advised him to go and confer with Estrades, at Turin ; representing to * Rottz (FaziUac.) f Appendix, Nos. 79, 8L B 2 ' 36 THE IBON MASK. him the danger to which he exposed himself if this aifair failed of success through his fault.* Matthioli followed the advice of Pinchesne to his own ruin, and going to Turin, presented him- self forthwith to Estrades,t to whom he offered many insufficient excuses for his delay. The vindictive Lewis had, meanwhile, deter- mined to satisfy his wounded pride and frustrated ambition, by taking the most signal vengeance of MatthioU ; as we find by the following note from Louvois to his creature, St. Mars, dated, St. Ger- main, April STth, 1679.^ — " The King has sent orders to the Abb6 d^Estrades, to try and arrest a man, with whose conduct his Majesty has reason to be dissatisfied; of which he has commanded me to acquaint you, in order that you may not object to receiving him when he shall be sent to you ; and that you may guard him in a manner, that not only he may not have cominunication with any one, but that also he may have cause to re- • Delort. + Appendix, No. 88. THE IRON MASK. 37 * pent of his bad conduct ; and that it may not be discovered that you have a new prisoner.'** Nothing therefore could be more opportune to Estrades, than the arrival of MatthioU at Tiirin, and accident soon enabled him to lay a successful plan for executing the wishes of the French mo- narch. The plan he is said to have communicated to the Duchess of Savoy, who consented to the arrest taking place, but objected to its happening on her territories.^ Matthioli complained much of want of money, occasioned by the expenses of his joumies, and the bribes he had been obliged to offer to the Duke's mistresses. Estrades took this opportu- nity of forwarding his scheme, by telling him that Catinat^ who, under the name of Richemont, com« manded the troops destined to take possession of Casale, had considerable sums at his disposal, . which he would be happy to make so good a use of as in ministering to his wants ; provided he, Matthioli, would give him a meeting on the fron- * Appendix^ No. 82. f Delort^ S8 TH£ IBON MASX. tier towards Pignen^ at which also Estrades would be present.* Of course, the reason as- signed for naming the frontier as the place of rendezvous was, that Catsnat could not leave the nei^bourlKKxl where his troops were stationed. To this prc^sition Matthioli readily consent- ed ; and having first made a journey to Casale, he returned and met Estrades (who was accom- panied oa this expedition by his relation the Abb^ de Montesquiou) by appointment, in a church half a mile from Turin, from whence they pro- ceeded together to the frontier. At three miles ftom the place of rendezvous they .were stopped by a river, of which the banks were overflowed, and the bridge broken. Matthioli himself as* sisted in repairing the bridge, which was to con- vey him to his captivity ;f and they then proceeded on foot to the place where Catinat awaited them * M. Roux (Fazillac) gives these particulars^ upon the authority of a letter from Estrades to Pomponne^ of Mny 7th^ 1679 ; and of one from Catinat to Louvois of the same date ; neither of which are published. t Rouz (Fazillac.) THE IKON MASK. 89 acoompanied only by two offioecs, the Chevafiars de St. Martin and de Villebois, and by four soldiers of the garrison of Rgnerol.' Before, however, Matthicdi was arrested, E»« trades held some conversation with him, and oblig<« ed him, in the presence of Catinat, to confess that he had in his possession all the original papers r^arding the delivery of Casale, and that they wcFe left in the custody of his wife at Bologna ; who was living in the convent of the nuns of St. Thomas-^ in that city. This was necessary, be* cause Matthioli had lately refused to give them up to the Duke bis master, j: alleging that he no longer knew where they were. His confession, upon this occasion, afterwards turned out to be fSalse, and that the papers in question were con- cealed in a wall at Padua.§ Immediately after this avowal had been ex- tracted from him, he was lurested; and offered no tesistance, though he always carried a sword ♦ Appendix, No. 84. t ibid. t Delort. § Appendix, No. 8^. 40 THE IRON MASK. and pistols about his person. He was conducted to Pignerol, where he arrived late at night. * Catinat, in bis letter to Louvois, giving an ac- count of this seizure, which took place on the 2d of May, 1679, dwells much upon the secrecy with which it was effected, so that, says he, ^* no one knows the name of the rascal, not even the officers who assisted in arresting him.'*'*. And he con- eludes by mentioning, that in order to perpetuate the mystery in which his priscmer is enveloped, he has given him the name of " Lestang,''— ^^ not a soul here knowing who he is.^ In the subsequent correspondence of Louvois ^th Catinat and St. Mars, . he is very generally designated by that name. . At first, St. Mars carried his precaution so far as to serve Matthioli himself, and not al- low any of the garrison to approach him ; soon afterwards his valet, who had been arrested by the exertions of Estrades,t was allowed to attend upon him ; and subsequently St. Mars appointed those of his officers, in whom he had the most • Appendix^ No. 84. . f Ibid. No. 85. TH£ IRON MASK. 41 confidence, to assist in guarding him. It may be remembered that Louvois, in his letter to St. Mars, which has been before quoted, orders that the prisoner, who was to be brought to Pignerol, "should have intercourse with no one;'' and in the subsequent letters from the same Minister, difficulties are even made to his being permitted to see either a physician or a confessor.* These extraordinary precautions against disco- very, and the one which appears to have been afterwards resorted to, of obliging him to wear a mask, during his journeys, or when he saw any ode, are not wonderful, when we reflect upon the violent breach of the law of nations, which had been committed by his imprisonment. Matthioh, at the time of. his arrest, was actually the pleni- potentiary + of the Duke of Mantua, for conclud- ing a treaty with the King of France; and for that very sovereign to kidnap him and confine him in a duitgeoA was certainly one of the most • Appendix, Nos. 96, 103, 104. t Ibid. No. 48. t2 XHJS IBON MASK. flagrant acts of violeioce that could be committed ; one which, if known, would have had the moat injurious effects upon the negociations of Lewis with other sovereigns ; nay^ would probably have indisposed other sovereigns from, treating at all witli him. It is true the Duke of Mantua was a prince insignificant both in power and character, but, if in this way might was allowed to over- oomie right, who could possibly tell whose turn might be the next. Besides, it was important for Lewis that the Duke of Mantua should also be kept in good humour, the delivery of Casale not having been effected; nor is it to be supposed diat he would have consented to give it up to the French monarch within two years of this period, had he had a suspicion of the way^ his diplomatic agent and intended prime minister bad been treated. The same reasons for conoealm^it existed till the death of Matthioli, since that ev^nt happened while both Lewis XIV. and the Duke of Mantua were still alive, which accounts for THE lEON MASK. 48 his confinement oontinoing to be always sditary Mid alwftys secret The arrest of Matthioli, certainly' appears to have been the effect of a vindictive feeling against him in the breast of Lewis himself ; for it is im«« possible to imagine that any minister would have ventured^ of his own free-will, upon a step by which so much was to be hazarded, and nothing, in fact, was to be gained. The act is only to be expkdned in this manner ; that the monarch inskted upon his revenge, which the ministers were obliged to gratify ; and, at the same time, in order to pre- vent any ill consequences that might result from it, determined upon burying the whole transaction under the most impenetrable veil of mystery. The confinement of Matthioli is decidedly one of the deadliest stains that blot the character of Lewis the Fourteenth : for, granting that Matthioli be- trayed the trust reposed in him by that monarch, one single act of diplomatic treachery was surely not sufficient to warrant the infliction of the most 44 THE IRON MASK. horrible of all punishments, — of solitary confine- ment, for four and twenty years, in a dungeon 1 — It was, however, an act of cruel injustice that was to be expected from the man, who, when the un- happy Fpuqiiet* was condemned by the tribunals of his country to exile, himself changed his sentence to that of perpetual imprisonment ; — who, to please his mistress, confined his former favourite, Lauzun,-|- for nine years in the fortress of Pignerol, and only then released him in order, by that means, to * Nicholas Fouquet, '' Surintendant des Finances/' in 1 653. The most lavish^ hut the most amiahle of financiers.— Disgraced in 1664^ when he was condemned^ hythe commis- sioners appointed to inquire into his conduct^ to banish- ment. The sentence was commuted by the King himself to perpetual imprisonment ; and Fouquet died in the cita- del of Pignerol^ in 1680. On his trial he defended himself with great spirit and talent. See Madame de Seyign^'s interesting Letters to M. de Pomponne upon the subject. t Anthony Nompar de Caumont^ Marquis of Peguilhem, and afterwards Duke of Lauzun : whose adventures and eccentricities are too well known to require relation here* It is in speaking of him that La Bruyere says^ '^ II n'est pas permis aux autres hommes de revei*^ comme il a vecu.'' THB IRON MASK. 4S swindle Mademoiselle de Montpensier* out c^her fortune, in fitvour of his bastard, the Duke du Maine; — who shut up so many other persons, guilty only of imaginary crimes, in various prisons, where they died of misery and ill-treatment; — who revoked the Edict of Nantes ;— ordered the burning of the Palatinate ;«-^persecuted the saints of Port Royal ; — and gloried in the Dragonades, and the war of the Cevennes ; — ^who, in short, whether we regard him as a man or a sovereign, was one of the most hardened, cruel, and tyrannical characters transmitted to us in history. Provi- dence doubtless made use of him as a scourge be- fitting the crimes of the age he lived in ; and^ in this point of view, his existence was most useful. Nor is his memory less so ; which has been left to * An&e Mary Louisa, of Orleans, Mademoiselle de Mont- pensier, commonly called the " Grande Mademoiselle." — A woman of an unpleasant character, according to her own showing in her Memoirs ; but who certainly did not deserve to be the victim, as she was, in different ways, of two such men as Lewis and Lauzun. 46 THE IBON MASK. US and to aU posterity, as a mighty warning of the effects, even in this world, of overweening am- bition ; and as a nielancholy example of the per- TersioD of a proud heart, which '^ gave not Grod the glory ,^^ and was therefore abandoned by the Almighty to the effects of its own natural and irretrievable wickedness. After the arrest of Matthioli, he underwent se- veral interrogatories,* in which, in spite of his nui- merous prevarications, his treachery was still move amply discovered. The examinations were all sent to LouvcHs by Catinat, who, as soon as th^y were concluded, left Pignerol, and returned to the court.'f At first, Matthioli was, by the direction of Es- trades, J well treated in his prison ; but this was not by any means the intention of Lewis, and accordingly, we find Louvois writing thus to St. Mars. " It is not the intention of the King that the Sieur de Lestang should be well-treated; nor * Appendix^ Nos. 85, 87, 91, 92, 94, 95, 97. t Ibid. No. 97. t Ibid. No. 8i, 85. TXS IRON MASK. 4n iHbaX, except the absolute neceiusacieg <^ life, you should give him any Ihifig thftt may make him. paia hia.tinie agreeaUy.*" * Again, in the same strain: ^^ I . have nothing U> add to what I have ahready eommanded you req)ecting the severity with which the individual named Lestang must be treated.^' i: And again ; ^^ You must keep the individual named Lestang, in the severe confinement I en- joined in my pseceding letters, without allowing him to see a physician, unless you know he is in absolute want of one.'*'' % These repeated injunc* tions to the same effect are a proofs how much importance the rancorous Lewis attached, to his victim's being compeUed to drink the bitter cup of captivity to the very dregs. The harshness and hopelessness of his prison^ seems to have affected the intellects of Matthioli, § fof after he had been nearly a year confined, St. Mars acquets Louvois, that *^ The Sieur de Lestang complains, he is not treated as a man of « A]n>^^> '^^- ^' t Ibid. No. 93. t Md. No. S«. § Ibid. No. 101. 48 THE IRON MASK. his quality, and the minister of a great |irince ou^t to be; notwithstandiftg 'whidi, I contkiue to follow your commands most estactly (ipbn this subject) as well as on all others. I think he is deranged by the wliy he talks to me/ telling me he converses every day with God and his angielst — ^" that they have told him of the death of the Duke of Mantua, and of the Duke of Lorrain ; * and as an additional proof of his madness, he says, that- he has the honour of being the near relation of the King, to whom he wishes to write, to complain of ' • Chailes IV. or V., for he is sometimes called one and flomeiimes the other^ was the son of Nidiolas Franiois, Cardinal^ and afterwards Duke of Lorrain. On the death of his uncle^ Charles IV.^ he took the barren titles of Duke of Lorrain and Bar^ but never obtained possession of his territories^ (which were usurped by France,) " thotigii his military, political, and Christian virtues ^ad. ti^^n^, made him worthy to occupy the first throne in the uni- v^rse." He commanded the armies of the Emperor for some years with the greatest distinction; married ' thie Archduchess Eleanor, widow of Michael . WiecnoMfieoki, King of Poland, and died in 1690. Lewis the Fourteenth, on hearing of his death, said of him, " that he was the greatest, wisest, and most generous of his enemies." THE lEOH MARK. 40 the way in whidi I treat Jhim. I have not thoQgbt it rif^. to give bin paper or ink for that purpose, perceiving him not to be in his right sense..''* The unhappy prisoner, in his pbrensy and de- spair, sometimes used very violent language to his keepers, and wrote abusive sentences with diar- coal' on the walls of his prison ; on which account St. Mars ordered his lieutenant, Blainvilliers, to threaten him with punishment, and even to show lum a cudgel, with which he was to be beaten, if he did not bdave better. These menaces so far intimidated Matthioli, that a few days afterwards, while Blainvilliers was serving him at dinner, he, in order to propitiate him, took a valuable ring from his finger and offered it to him. Blainvilliers told him he could accept nothing from a prisoner, but that he would deliver it to St. Mars ; which he accordingly did. f St. Mars estimates the ring at fifty or iAxty jHstoles: and M. Delort conjectures it to have been the one ♦ Appendix^ No. 102. t Appendix, No. 107. 50 THE I&OM MASK. given to him by Lewis the Fourteenth, during his stay at Paris. . St. Mars inquires from I^ouvoi^ f what he is to do in consequence;, and the l^tt^ returns for answer, that he '* must k^iep tfie ring^ which the Sieur Matthioli has giyepi to the. Si^ur de Blainyilliers, in order to restore it toliim. if it should ever happen that the JSong ordered him tq be set at liberty."*^ t Matthioli apparently expressed a wish to con- fess to a priest ; and Louvois desires tha4; jie may be only allowed to do so once in the year.j; .It appears that St. Mars had at this time in his cus- tody a Jacolun monk, with whose criipe, aawell as name, we are unacquainted ; but in the i;qrre&-, pohd^ice of St. Mars and Louvois, h^ i^ d^igr nated as ^' the Jacobin in the lower part of t))0 tower.*" This man was mad; very possibly. 1^ been made so, like Matthioli, by solitary con^ne- ment and ill-usag^. St. Mars advised the put^g Matthioli with him, in order to avoid the neces- * Appendix, No. 106. f Apfpendhr, No. 108. t Appendix, No^ 103. THE lBr a priest for eacb prifioner.* To'this pi^ipbmtlkmTmff^'v^tu the followkig itiiiiiiin^r i '^'i have beeli made acqtraiated, by your letteit df lii^TOk of tMfi inotith (August 1680)^ Widi^tb^ ptbpi3gitl yott make, to put die Simt de Le^tan^'With the Jacobin^ in order to aroid the n^ssh^ df'hayii^ two priests. The King ap- proves of your project, and you have only to exe- cute It when yo^ T^ase.^t i^ St. Hf^; hi a letter of the 7th of September, iteoi ttitifa d^f^li^ the results of the execution of - ^^ Sinccf you periiiitted me to put Matthioli with thd*7inodl)in in ^tfae lower part of the tower^ the afbf^^kaid M&tthioli was^' for four or five day«^ in thb' Mief tihiit the Jacobin was a man diat I had ^Mi6ed' 4^' biin to watch his aotionsi Hatdudi,* wlib^S^aliiibi^ d^ n^ad fis the> Jacobin, walked about witti'^16ni^'bt!rides;''wiA-iiis cloak over his npsey cryhl^ otii tiMt h^ was not a dupe, but that he knew, morvi thm,.|if^ would si^y. The Jacobin, * Appendfac/ lOi. f HSid. £ 2 5d THE IRON MASK. who was always seated on his truckle bed, with his elbows resting upon his knees, looked at him gravely, without listening to him. The Signior * Matthioli remained always persuaded that it wad « a spy that had been placed with him, till he Was one day disabused, by the Jacobin'^s getting down from his bed, stark naked, and setting himself to preach, without rhyme or reason, till he was tired. I and my lieutenants saw aU their man- oeuvres through a hole over the door."* It a;ppears to have been very entertaining to St. Mars and his lieutenants, to witness the ravings oi these two unhappy maniacs ; and there are proba- bly many gaolers who would experience the same feelings' upon a similar occasion : what cannot, however, but strike us with horror, is the fact that there' was found a minister, nay, a king, and that king one who piqued himself upon profes- sing the Christian religion, f to sanction such a ♦ Appendix^ 1 05. •|- If we were to judge of the Christian religion by the manner in which it was professed by Lewis the Fourteenth^ THE IRON MASK. 58 proceeding. It is indeed most painful to think, that power should have been placed in the hands of men^ who could abuse it by siich needless acts of xruel^..' We have no farther particulars of the state of Matth]!iiirs< opnd: but, being more than half-mad at the time be was placed with the Jacobin, who was quite so^ it ia probable the company of the latter increased and perpetuated his phrensy. It is even not impossible that such may have been the inten- tion of St. Mars, as, while Matthioli continued in- sane, it was of course more reasonable and plau- we shduld indeed have a most perverted idea of its pre- eejpts. It seems as if the pseudo-christianity of that mo- Pfuxh, Qnly incited him to acts of narrow-minded bigotry and cruelty^ allowing^ at the same time^ fiill latitude tq every kind of licentious excess ; while it debarred him from tiife exercise of humanity and toleration. A good measure f^.the. nature and extent of his religious knowledge and feelings is acquired^ by the anecdote respecting Fontper- tuis and the Duke of Orleans. When the latter was going into Spain^ Lewis obj beted to his taking the former with him^ because he was a Jansenist ; but withdrew the objec- tion when assured by the duke that he was only an atheist ! 54 XHK I&ON. MASK. sible to ct to be worth the carriage ; and that all his furnitwe and linen being added to it, the sum producediby the sale was only thirteen crowns.t It may be worth remarking here that the letter * M. Roux (Fazillac)^ quoting from an unpublished let- ter of Louvois to St. Mars^ dated Decembier 14th, 1681. t About 1/. 128, Od, Appendix, No. 126. THS IBON MASK. 55 <^ LouToiB, respecting Mattlrioli^s elothes, is a suf- ficient answer to the absurd stories with r^aird t6 the ridmess of the lace, &c« worn by. the Iron Mask^; and the relations from St. Mars himself of his threats to his prisoner, of even corporal pu- nifShment; no less disjnnove the erroneous accounts of the extraordinary resptet shown to him. In the year 1681, St. Mars was offered the go- yemment of the citadel of Pignerol, which he de- clined accepting, for what reasons we are not told : Lewis; who was anxious to recompense his services as a gaoler of State prisoners, then gave him the government of Exiles,* a stroi^ fortress and pass near Susa, on the frontier of Piedmont and the Biian^onnois, which was vacant by the death of the Duke de Lesdigui^res ; at the same time augment- ing the salary attached to iJiat situation, so as to make it equal to that of the towns in Flanders, j* Louvois, in a letter dated May 13th, 1681, ac- * Exiles was taken from the French in 1708^ by the Duke of Savoy, but restored to them by the treaty of Utrecht* t Appendix, No. 111. 56 t1S!& UTOK MASK. ()lt{dnt^ St/^Marft with his appomfment ;* 4 This is alsoi fH'oyed by the precautions or- dered to be taken during the journey of the two .prisoners, lest they should be seen or spoken to . by any , one. V and by. the repeated orders for their strict confinement- — "The intention of his - Ma- jesty is, that, as soon as the .room at Exiles, which you shall judge the most proper for the secure keeping of the two prisoners in the lower part of the tower, shall be in a state to receive * Appendix, No. 111. S8 XiiK IRON MASK. I^eio^ you. should aend them out of ; the citadel of Pignerol ji^ a Jitter, aiid conduct theigi there mider tbp f scort of your troop.^* " His Majesty, e&pepts that you will guard the two before-m^tioiied.pri-* souers, with the same exactitude you have made u§e of hitherto/'f To these instructions St. Mars returned an answer in the same strain, dated from Pignerol, as he was on the point of setting. off for Exiles* — " In order that the prisoners may notjbe seen (at Exiles), they will not leave their chamber when, they hear mass ; and in order that they may be kept the more securely, one of my Ueuteowts will sleep above them, and there will be two seil4 tinels jnight and day, who will watch' the whole round of the tower, without its being possible for them and the prisoners to see and to speak to.ose another, or even to hear any thing of one aoo^ ther. They will be the scddiers of my oompiu^y^ who will be always the sentinels over the priaon? ers. There is ooiy a confessor, about whom . I * Appendix, No. 112. f Ibid. hm^mfjdoidhi»\'hniit'jou do ^M: dtsappro^c^,'! villi give tiiem Ae evirate of BxileB intiteftd, irfid ii a^good'mlu>,'alid very old ; wdiom I wiD forbid, oh tlie:{iart<6f his Mkjesty, to inquire who these pn-^ wimen^atej ot thdr nmesy or what they have beeri, or>i6 sp^ak ttf thetn in any way, or to receive frotii theM by Word (tf mouth, or by writing, either com* tt^eatioi^s or fiot^.'^ '^'Befbriet St. Mars removed finally to Exiles, he w^^there to iitspect the fortress, leaving his{>ri- mukers under the guard of one of his lieiitenanti^^ wiriisb^is here^mentioned to show the falseness of the idea that he* never quitted his mysterioiEid pritbinep^ • Lotivois enjoined him before ' he^ left tlii^my to arrange the guarding of his prisoners ki siidi'ii nlanoer, Aat no accident might happetl to dwn diiri«g hls^ short absence ; and ^ that they Bsighl faave^no intercourse with any one, kiky moi^e dum^ Aey had had during the time they had beiE^n under his ciMrge«^t Subsequently Louvois de- • Appenduc, No. 115, t Appendix^ No. Ill, 60 THE lEON KASK. sired him not to be more than one night at a time absent from PigneroL* St. Mars found certain r^airs to be neoessary to that part of the fortress of Exiks, which he deemed the most proper residence for ^^ the. two prisoners in the lower part of the tower.'' . He demanded money for this purpose, and Louyois returned for answer that the King acc him by the Duke of Mantua, in the autumn of this year^ 1681. Finally, it appears that St. Mars and his pri* soners did not more to Exiles till late in the autumn «»r» «» hi. ».«„ security ; as well as for his not now, nor ever^ hdd> ing any intercourse with my Lieutenant, whom I have forbidden to qpeak to him, which is punctually dbeyed.''"|- He afta*w^:ds writes again to the same Minister^ from the Island of St. Margaret, '' I promise to conduct my prisoner here in aU security, without any one^s seeing or speaking to him. He shall not hear mass after he leaves Exiles, till he is lodged in the prison which is preparing fcHT him here, to * Appendix, Nos, 124, 125. t Appendix, No. 12i. F 66 THE IRON MASK. which a chapel is attached. I pledge my honour to you for the entire security of my prisoner."** St. Mars accordingly returned for Matthioli, and conveyed him to his new abode, in the man- ner he had proposed doing, in his letter to Lou- vois, of January 20th, 1687 — " In a chair, cover- ed with oil-cloth, into which there would enter a sufficiency of air, without its being possible for any one to see or speak to him during the journey, not even the soldiers, whom I shall select to be near the chair .''•f- In spite of the expectations of St. Mars that, in this mode of conveyance, his prisoner would have air enough, it appears that he complained of the want of it, and soon fell ill in consequence. This is mentioned in a letter of St. Mars, dated May 3d, 1687, giving an account of their arrival at the Island of St. Margaret, and is the last of the correspondence between Louvois and St. Mars ♦ Appendix^ No. 125. f Appendix^ No. 124.. THE IRON MASK. 67 respecting Matthioli : " I arrived here the 30th of last month. I was only twelve days on the jour- ney, in consequence of the illness of my prisoner, occasioned, as he said, by not having as much air as he wished. I can assure you that no one has seen him, and that the manner in which I have guarded and conducted him during all the journey, makes every body try to conjecture who my prisoner is." It was probably, during this journey, that St. Mars first made use of a mask to hide the fea- tures rf Matthioli.+ Not as has been erroneously supposed a mask made of iron, which it will be evident, upon the slightest reflection, could not have been borne ujxin the face for any long con- tinuance of time,' but one of black velvet,^ strength- ened with whalebone, and * fastened behind the head with a padlock, which did not prevent the r ♦ App^dix; No, 126. t Delort. t Extract of Dujonca's journal, in Mr. Craufurd's article upon '^ L'Horame au Masque de fer." F 2 68 THE IBON MAI^. prisoner from eating and drinking, or impede his respiration.* The identity of Matthioli with the prisoner known by the name of ^* the Iron Mask,*" is here very satisfactorily confirmed by circumstantial evidence. We have seen that MatthioK and the Jacobin were placed together at Pignerol; we have seen that they were designated as "the two prisoners in the lower part of the tower;'' we have seen that '^ the two prisoners in the lower part of the tower" were the only ones who ac- companied St. Mars when his government was transferred to Exiles; we have seen the death of the Jacobin at the latter place ; and now we find St. Mars conveying a single prisoner, de^ signated as " the prisoner^ with him to St. Mar-, garet, with a repetition of the same precautions and of the same secrecy as on former occa^ons^ to which are added the celebrated Mask. Who could this prisoner be but Matthioli P It is also * Delort. THE IBON MA8K. 09^ observable, that in all the various accounts of the Iron Mask, though the dates are made te vary, he is always said to have been originally confined at Pignerol, subsequently at the island of St. Margaret, and finally to have accompanied St. Mars to the Bastille. The prison of Matthioli, at the Island of St. Margaret, was a room lighted by a single window to the north, pierced in a very thick wall, guarded by bars of iron, and looking upon the sea.* Dur- ing his residence in this place, his valet, who, as may be remembered, had been arrested by £strades> and who had served his master ever since his confinement, died, and was buried at midnight, and with great secrecy. To supply his place, a woman of the neighbourhood was asked if she would undertake to wait upon the prisoner. At first she consented to accept of the place, imagining * Papon in his ^' Histoire g^n^rale de Provence" informs us that he went to see the room. 70 THE IKON MASK. it might be a means of benefiting her family ; but afterwards declined it, upon learning that she wad to be cut off from all further intercourse with the world, and never even to see her family again.* Whether any one was eventually found to under- take the office, does not appear. Among the erroneous anecdotes that have ob- tained credence with regard to the Iron Mask, there are two, or rather apparently two versions ci one event, which is said to have taken place while he was at the island of St. Margaret, but which is proved to be incorrect, by a letter pub- lished by M. Roux (Fazillac). One version of the story states, that the mysteri- ous prisoner wrote his name and qualities with the point of a knife upon a silver plate, and threw it out of his window ; that it was picked up by a fish- erman, who could not read, but brought it to St. Mars ; and that the latter, having ascertained that » « Histoire gdn^rale de Provence^, du Pere Papon.' THE IKON KASI^. 7l the man could not read, released him.* Xhe other version is, that the prisoner covered one of his shirts with writing, and then threw it out of window ; a Monk found it, brought it to the Go- vernor, and assured him he had not read it ; but was himself found dead in his bed two days after- wards, and was supposed to have been assassi- nated.'f' The origin of these stories, is evidently to be found in a letter from St. Mars to the Minister,^: dated June 4th, 169^; in which he informs him that he has been obliged to inflict corporal punishment upon a Protestant minister, named Salves, who was a prisoner under his care, because he would write things upon his pewter * See '^ Melanges d'Histoire et de Litt^ture^" by Mr. Quintin Craufiird. -f Bee the same work of Mr. Quintin Craufurd. I This must have been Lewis Francis Le Tellier^ Marquis de Barbezieux^ who> in the preceding year^ had succeeded his father^ Louvois^ in the post of Secretary of Statd for the War Department. He was an indolent but intelligent Minister.— Died in 1701> aged 33. 72 THE I&ON MASK. Vessels, ^nd on his lineriy in order to make known that he was imprisoned unjustly ^ on account of the purity of his faith* Thu# we see that this anec- dote, which has been twisted into the history of the Iron Mask, had, in fact, no relation to him. And this circumstance should put us on our guard with respect to the many other marvellous stories, which have probably been pressed in the same way into the service. It is also worthy of remark that the pubUc having determined that the Iron Mask was a great Prince, every thing was related in a man- ner to favour this opinion — and thus the pewter of the obscure Salves was turned, in the anecdote, into silver plate. After eleven years' tedious confinement at the Island of St. Margaret, Matthioli accompanied St. Mars to the Bastille, to the government of which the latter was appointed, upon the death of M. de Bezemaux, which occurred in the last days of 1697.t Before his departure from St. Margaret, St. * Appendix^ No. 127. f Delort. THE I&ON M ABIC. 78 Mars wrote to the Minister to request that secure lodgings might be provided for him and his pri- soner during the journey ; to which he received for answer, ^^ It will be sufficient that you should lodge as conveniently and securely as you can, by means of payment.'' * St. Mars accordingly set forth on his journey to the Bastille, early in the autumn of 1698, and in the course of it lodged at his own estate of Pal- teau, which he probably considered a securer rest- ing place for his prisoner than any inn could have been. An account of his visit to Palteau has been given by one of his descendants, of whose accu- racy no reasonable doubt can be entertained. It is there stated, that the masked prisoner arrived at Palteau in a litter, which preceded the * Delort^ quoting from an unpublished letter (probably from Barbezieux), dated August 4tk^ 1698.^ It may be a& well to mention here that M. Delort frequently quotes portions of letters from the French Archives^ but does not publish them in his appendix. When in the course of thi& narrative the name of M. Delort is given as an authority^ it is^ for the most part^ under these circumstances. 74 THE lEON MASK. one in which St. Mars himself travelled. They were accompanied by many men on horseback, and by the peasants who had gone to meet their landlord. St. Mars always ate with his prisoner^ iuid the latter sat with his back to the windows of the dining-room, so that the peasants, who were in the court, could not see whether he kept his mask on while at meals ; but they observed that St. Mars, who sat opposite to him, had two pistols placed by the side of his plate. They were served by a single servant, who brought all the dishes from the anti-room, where they were placed, and always when he came in or went out shut the door very carefully after him. When the prisoner crossed the court, he always had his black mask over his face. The peasants also observed, that his teeth and lips were seen, that he was tall of stature, and had grey hair. St. Mars slept in a bed, which had been put up close to that of his prisoner.* * Such is the account given hy M. de Palteau^ the direct descendant of St. Mars^ in a letter to Freron^ dated Pal- tHE IRON MASK. 75 St. Mars and Matthioli arriyed at the Bastille on the 18th of September^ 1698, and the former immediately went to the Minister to apprize him of their arrival.* This event is thus commemor- ated in the journal of M. Dujonca,-|- who was for many years the Lieutenant of the King, at the Bastille :— " Thursday, 18th September, 1698, at three o^clock in the afternoon, M. de St. Mars, Grovernor of the Bastille, arrived to take posses- teau, June 19th, 1768. It was published in the ** Ann^ Litt^raire'' for that year, and has since been republished by Mr. Craufurd, in his paper on the Iron Mask. ♦ Delort. f The place of *' Lieutenant de Roi,*' at the Bastille, was created by Lewis the Fourteenth, for M. Dujonca, who had been '^Exempt" of one of the regiments of the^King's Body-guards. He acquired great credit by his endeavours to procure the release of the prisoners under his care, whom, upon inquiry, he found to be unjustly detained. Some one represented to him that he would deprive him- self of a great portion of his profits by thus diminishing the number of prisoners — ^to which he replied, *' lean only lose my money, but these unhappy people are deprived of v'hat is more valuable to them than even life itself >»t 76 XH£ IBON MASK. §\6n of his office, coming from the Islands of St. Margaret and St. Honorat, bringing with him in his litter an old prisoner, whom he had under his care at Pignerol, of whom the name is not mentioned ; who is always kept masked, and who WAS first placed, till night, in the tower of the Basiniere,^ and whom I conducted afterwards myself, at nine p^clock at night, to the third chamber of the tower of the Bertaudiere ;* which chamber I had taken care to furnish with all things necessary before his arrival, having re- ceived orders to that effect from M. de St. Mars. When I conducted him to the before-mentioned chamber, I was accompanied by the Sieur Rc- sarges,-f" whom M. de St. Mars also brought with him, and who is charged to wait upon and take care of the aforesaid prisoner, who is fed by the Governor," | * These towers are supposed to have heen so called from the names of the architects who built them, f Rosarges was made Major of the Bastille by St. Mars. X Extract from the Journal of Dujonca, first published THB IRON MASK. 77 Dujonca^s account is confirmed by the extracts of the Register of the BastiDe, published in the work entitled " La Bastille d^voil^e.**' * The placing of the prisoner, on his first arrival, temporarily in one part of the Bastille, and after- wards removing him by night to another, appears to have been done for the sake of greater secrecy ; and we see by this, as well as by the account of his visit to Palteau, that the precautions against the possibility of discovery of his name and cha- racter were in no way diminished. He certainly continued, from all accounts, to wear his mask from the time of his arrival at the Bastille till his death. We learn from the persons . who saw him at Palteau that he was tall of stature ; and an old phydcian, who had attended him at the Bastille when he was ill, described him (if we may credit Voltaire) as well made, of a brown complexion, and possessing an agreeable voice. by Griffet, then by St. Foix, and subsequently by Mr. Craufiird. ♦ Appendix^ No. 128. 78 THE IRON MASK. He attended mass occasionally, and was forbid in his way there to speak to any one. The inva- lids were ordered to fire upon hira if he disobey- ed.* He is also said to have occupied himself a good deal during his confinement with playing on the guitar.f , These are all the particulars, worthy of credit, to be collected respecting Matthioli during his con- finement at the Bastille, which lasted rather more than five years. He died there after a few hours' illness, November 19th, 1703. Dujonca's journal gives the following account of his decease and interment. '* Monday, 19th November, 1703. The un- known prisoner, who was always masked with a mask of black velvet, whom M. de St. Mars brought with him, when he came from the Islands of St. Margaret, and whom he had had the care of for a long time, having found himself rather more unwell when he came out from mass, died «» * Mr. Craufurd, on the authority of Linguet, f Delort and Craufurd. T&E IRON HASK. 79 to-day, about ten o^clock in the evening, without having had any considerable iUness. M. Girault, our chi^Iain, confessed him yesterday. Death having come suddenly on, he was not able to re- ceive his sacraments, and our chaplain only had time to exhort him for a moment before he died. He was interred on Tuesday the 20th November, at four in the afternoon, in the church-yard of St. Paul, which is our parish His interment cost forty livres.'' This extract is confirmed in its facts by the re- gister of tl^e Bastille,* as well as by the register of burials of the church of St. Paul, at Paris. The former document also informs us that he was wrapped in **a winding sheet of new linen,'*+ — and the latter, that he was buried in the presence of Rosarges, Majoi" of the Bastille, and of Reilh, Surgeon Major of the same prison. In the register of the church he is designated by the name of Marchialy, and his age is entered As ♦ Appendix, No. 129. f Appendix, No. 129. 80 THE IRON MASK. forty-five ; assertions which are both of them evi- dently incorrect, and probably only made in order to mislead the curious. At the time of his death, Matthioli was sixty-three years of age, as appears from the date of his birth before given. Shortly be^ fore he died, he told the Apothecary of the Bastille that he believed he was sixty years* old — a. degree of inaccuracy as to his own age, which is easily to be conceived in a man who had been so long and so rigorously imprisoned. His confinement had lasted above twenty-four years. After the decease of Matthioli, every thing was done to endeavour to destroy all trace even of his former existence. His clothes were burnt, as was all the furniture of his room ; the silver plate, the copper, and the pewter, which had been used by him, were melted down ; the walls of his chamber were first scraped, and then fresh white-washed ; the floor was new paved ; the old ceiling was taken away and renewed ; the doors and windows were * Delort. THE IRON MASK. 81 burnt; and every comer was aearched in which it was thought any paper, linen, or other memorial of Urn might be concealed.* Thus were continued, to the very last, the same extraordinary precautions against discovery, which marked the whole imprisonment of the mysterious prisoner : a circumstance, which of itself certainly affords a strong confirmation of the fact, that the Iron Mask of the Bastille^ was one and the same person with the Count Matthioli^ who had been so secretly introduced into Pignerol, and so myste- riously conveyed from place to place by St. Mars. But the actual proof of this is only to be found in the documents which form the groundwork of the preceding narrative; and which, undoubtedly, do present a most convincing and satisfactory chain of evidence upon the subject. An important corroboration of this evidence is also derived from the well-attested fact^ that Lewis • Mr. Craufurd, on the authority of M. Delaunay^ Go- vernor of the Bagtille. Also Register of the Bastille ; for which see Appendix, No. 129. 6 82 THE IRON MASK. tibeiSffte€aftb,>wli@i6niciN»B>^ fi/La^faaid du Barrio, in 1770) he was turned into a martyr^ by the influence of the ladies of the courts who were an- gry with the King for choosing his mistresses fhnn the tl^er etders, instead of among them. To do him hemiom ^uff-boxes .were made^ bearing the head of Sully on one side^ and that of the Duke de Choiseul on the other. One of them being shown to Sophie Amoud, the actress^ cele- brated for her repartees^ she looked atthei;wo sides> and aaid^ ^^ C'^t la recette-^^t la ^pense." f This first answer of the king ought not to be entirely 4)verlooked; as^ itwili be^r^nembered, that at the time it wafr made> the minister of the Duke of Mantua had not been mentioned by any one as the .Iron Mask. Hfi was.fir^t sug- THE IRON MASK. 8S then begged Madame de Pompadour * to ask the King who it was ; she did so, and his reply was, '* The minister of an Italian prince Tf The Duke gtested to liave been that prisoner^ by the Baron de Heiss^ in a letter to the authors of the ^' Journal Encydop^quey** dated Phalsbourg^ June S8th^ 1770; in which he grounded his opinion upon a letter^ published in a work entitled *^ L'Histoire Abreg^ de I'Europe;" published at Leyden in 1687 ; giving a detailed account of the arrest, by French agents, of a secretary of the Duke of Mantua4 M. Dutens, in his ^^ Correspondence Interceptee," published in 1789, held the same opinion, grounded upon the same authority. He afterwards,repeated the same opinion in his ^^ M^oires d*un Voyageur, qui se repose." Finally, M. Roux, (Fazillac) in 1801, published his work upon the Iron Mask ; in which he supported the same opinion; and attached to the Secre- tary ihe name of MatthiolL * Jane Antoinette Poisson, married to a financier named Le Normand d'Etioles ; created Marquise de Pompadour by Lewis the Fifteenth, of whom she was first the mistress, and afterwards the minister of his disgraceful debauches. At her death, in 1765, the King showed no signs of grief ; and on seeing her funeral go by his windows on a rainy day, his only remark was, ^' La Marquise aura aujourdhui un mauvalB temps pour son voyage !'' f Appendix, No. 131. X See A]^pendix, No. 138. g2 84 THE IKON MASK. de Choiseul, unsatisfied by this reply, which he considered to be only an evasion, took another op- portunity of again applying to the King upon th6 subject, who again answered, '" He believed that the prisoner was a minister of one of the courts of Italy r* Thus has the ill-fated Matthioli been identified with the Iron Mask, and traced through his long and dreary prison to his grave. It is probable that much of the illusion and interest, which* ac- companied the mysterious appellation of the Iron Mask, will be destroyed by the certainty of who he really was; as well as by the comparative in- significance of the personage who has successfully laid claim to the title. Still it is surely satisfac- tory that truth, after being so long overwhelmed by error, should be at length triumphant. * Appendix^ Nos. 131^ 132. Madame Campan mentions having heard Lewis the Sixteenth tell his wife^ that the Count de Maurepas (who^ hoth from his age and situation^ was very likely to know the truth,) had informed him that the Iron Mask was " a prisoner dangerous from his intrigu- ing disposition, and a suhject of the Duke of Mantua." THE IRON MASK. 85 The lovers of romance, who still wish to know more of the magnificent conjectures of former days ; or who desire to be made acquainted with the reasons that induced a belief, that the Iron Mask was either the Duke de Beaufort; or the Count de Vermandois ; or the Duke of Monmouth ; or an elder or a twin- brother of Lewis the Four- teenth ; or a son of Oliver Cromwell ; or Arwe- diks, the Armenian Patriarch ; are referred to Voltaire, Dutens, St. Foix, La Grange Chancel, Gibbon, the Pfere Papon, the Pere Grifiet, the Chevalier de Taulfes, and Mr. Quintin Craufurd. Of these accounts, perhaps Voltaire's is the least curious, and Mr. Craufurd's the most so ; because the first did not seek for truth, but only wished to invent a moving tale; while the latter was most anxious to arrive at the truth, and had all the advantage in his researches of the former writers upon the same subject. APPENDIX. APPENDIX. No. I. ESTRADES TO LEWIS THE FOURTEENTH. Commencement of the Negociation. — State of the Court of Mantua. — Influence of the Spaniards there. Venice, Dec. 18th, 1677. Sl&E, As the grief I felt at having displeased your Majesty was extreme, so my joy is not less to learn from M. de Pomponne, that your Majesty has had the goodness to pardon me my too great facility ; and that you have been graciously pleased to listen' to the reasons, which I took the liberty to ofiFer to you, in justification of the innocence of my intentions ; however, Sire^ this misfortune will 90 THE IRON MASK. oblige me, in future, to act in all things with so great a circumspection, that your Majesty will, I hope, never have cause to be dissatisfied with my conduct. I have thus far deferred informing your Ma- jesty of a project, which my anxiety for your service has suggested to me, because the success of it appeared so difficult that I did not venture to propose it, till I saw some chance of being able to accomplish it ; but, as the afikir is at present in a fav.ourable state, I can almost assure your Ma- jesty, that the conclusion of it will depends upon yourself. I shall now give you an exact account of it, in order that I may receive the orders it shall please you to send me ; which I will take care to execute punctually. About four months ago, having become more particularly acquainted with tbe divisions at the Court at Mantua^ than be&re was the case, and having heard that the Duk^^ Mantua- was^ not so aban4oa^d to his pleasures^ but that he still had some ambition, and much' chagrin, at the state to which he was reduced by* his mother, and his suspicions of the Spaniards $ I hoped that it would not be i«i.possible. to deladi' him entirely from them, to induce hiav to-' enter THE IBON MA8K. 91 into the views of your Majesty, and to persuade him really to treat respecting Casale. I have thought that I could not employ any one in this affiur more proper to conduct it, than a certain Count Matthioli, who is entirely devoted to that, prince; I had already known him for some time, and he had testified a great ' desire of rendering himself agreeable to your Majesty by some service. I knew that he had been Secretary of State to the late Duke of Mantua, that the present one had preserved* much affection for him, and that he was well-informed of the different interests of the Princes of Italy ; but as he had been much in the Milanese, and had had a good deal of access to the Spanish ministers, I would not put any confidence in him, till I had first tried him. I therefore charged the individual, named Giuliani, to whom your Majesty had the goodness to make six months ago a gratification, and who has a zeal fort your service which prevents my having any doubt of his fidelity, to observe Matthioli attentively and se^. cretly ; and after I had been sufficiently informed that he was much discontented with the Spaniards, who had always amused him with hopes, and after- wards abandoned him, I sent Giuliani, in the month 9'^ THE IRON MASK. of last October, to Verona, where he went under pretext of his private affairs; but in fact, to put Matthioli, who was there, upon the subject of the Duke of Mantua, according to the instruction I had ^ven him, and to represent to him that those who had an attachment for their prince, could not but be much aiBicted to see him, at his age, still under the guidance of his mother; without money, with- out authority, always in a state of suspicion against those who are habitually about him ; and what is worse, in so insensible a state, that he only thought of passing his life with actresses and women of the town ; which had made him lose the esteem of every body, and the consideration which his rank ought to have given him : that so strange a way of life, as well as the opinion that was prevalent that he would never have children by his wife, though she was as young as himself, induced the Spaniards to foment the divisions that existed in this Court, in order to profit by them, and to try and obtain possession of Casale and of all the Montferrat; that the said Giuliani had heard me say, that I was well informed that the Em- press Eleanor had already declared her preten- sions to put herself in possession of that part o£ THE IRON MASK. 9S the territories of Mantua; that the king of Spain supported strongly those of a Spanish nobleman, who, in virtue of his marriage with the niece of the Duke of GuastaUa, by whom he has children, maintains that he is the sole heir of that duke, to the prejudice of the Duke of Mantua^ who has married his daughter, and who is besides his nearest relation; that, on the other hand, the absolute control over all the territories of this prince, and all the revenues, were in the hands of his mother and of the monk Bulgarini ; that, of all those who serve him as ministers, some are giuned by the Spaniards, others by the Empress Eleanor, and the rest by the Duke of Guastalla ; that his mother has also a part of them on her side, but that these are the smallest number, and in short, that it is a sort of miracle that he has not been already deprived of his territories, but that he runs the risk of it every day, and that the misfortune may happen to him when he is the least prepared for it; that he has no choice of the means to be made use of to guarantee himsefl^against it, but that it is the protection of your Majesty which is alone able to give him complete security. MatthioU replied to him, that 94 THE IBON MASK. oU he had been saying to him was quite true, and that he had long, with grief, seen the truth of it ; but that there was still a remedy for so great an evil ; that he was sufficiently acquainted with the Duke of Mantua to know that he had more talent and ambitibn than he was thought to have ; that, if I approved of it, he would dis- cover his real sentiments, and that he would charge himself with whatever negodation I wish- ed. That, meanwhile, he would go to — — -♦j in drder to be nearer to Mantua, where he coiild not go without making himself suspected by the different parties who governed there, aind that the^'e he would wait till I made known to him •my intentions. Some days afterwards, he ^tent 'me word that he had found means to have a se- cret interview with the Duke of Mantua ; mid that he wished me, in order that we might act in ^^cm- oert, to send him Giuliani, whom I have always made use of in the different journeys that weire to be made, because his employment of sending the news through the different parts of Italy, gaive him occasion to go from one town toranothcsr, and ^ The^ name of the place is not stated in the letter. THE IftOK MASK. U5 pre¥ented any suspicion of him, as there would have infallibly been, if I had sent any one of my hous^old. I despatched him, therefore, with a new instruction, and not only had he an audience of .the Duke of Mantua, to whom he spoke as I had desived him, but this prince even approved very much of the proposition that was made him, to deliver him from the continual inquietudes caused him by the Spaniards, and that, for this purpose, Casale- should be put into your Majesty^s hands, with the understanding that I should try to obtain from yoiFin his favour all that he could reasonably ask for. Finally, he declared that his rescdution was taken upon this subject, but, that things might be better adjusted, he wished to commimicate it to two of his counsellors, in whom Irchad the most confidence, and that he gave the selection of them to Matthioli, in order that he mi^t he quite secure of them. Matthioli named the Marquis Cavriani and Joseph Varano, in whom he has confidence. Meanwhile the Duke of Mantua sent Giuliani to me, to acquaint me with what had passed, and recommended him to return as soon as possible, in order to receive the draft of the plan, which would then be pre- 96 THE IRON MASK. pared — ^and to convey it to me. I was much pleased, Sire, to see the affair in so good a train. I sent Giuliani back quickly, and ordered him to tell the Duke of Mantua that I entreated him to allow me to have a conference with him; that your Majesty had not as yet any knowledge of the proposed treaty, because I could not venture to go so far as that, without being certain first that he would not disavow me in what I should have the honour of writing to your Majesty, and also that he would have sufficient power to exe- cute what had been arranged. • Giuliani returned here yesterday, bringing me as favourable answers as I could possibly desire. He told me that the two counsellors of the Duke of Mantua had, with every sort of precaution, commenced their negociation with Matthioli ; that they had approved of the resolution of their mas- ter, and that they had put down in the schedule, with which they had charged him, and which I join to this letter, what the Duke requests your Majesty to grant to him ; that afterwards the Duke of Mantua called him to him; that he or- dered him to beg me to assure your Majesty of his respect and of his attachment to your inter- THE JBON MASK. 97 ests, and to acquaint me that he had entirely put himself into the hands of the Count Matthioli ; that he would soon go to Venice, where we might see one another conveniently and without being ob- served, on account of the Carnival, during which, all the world, even the Doge, and tlie oldest sena^ tors, go about in mask ; that he wished me not to lose any time in acquainting your Majesty with this affair, because he feared some surprise from the Spaniards ; but that if I wished him to keep his word with me, I must not, on any account, communicate the project to the Cardinal d^Estr6es, because there was so strong a report in Italy, that he had your Majesty's orders to negociate with the Princes there, of which the Spaniards had so great a jealousy, that, upon the least suspicion they should haVe of him (the Duke,) they would ruin him before he could receive assistance from your Majesty, who would, at the same time, lose all hope of getting possession of Casale ; that he would take measures to tranquillize them, and to prevent their having any suspicions of his conduct; and that if the Cardinal d'Estrees made him any propositions, he would only receive them in full council, and give general answers, which would 98 TU£ IRON MASK. not render him suspected by any body. I thus iSnd myself precluded from the confidence which I intended to make of this business to the Cardi. nal d'Estr6es, who I believe will soon be here, and am obliged to keep the secret scrupulously, till I have received the orders of your Majesty. The Duke of Mantua also offers to raise a regiment, provided it be at your Majesty's expense, and he represents, that by recruiting at Mantua and Ca- sale he shall do much injury to the Spaniards, who are raising troops there daily ; that Joseph Varano, who is one of the two before-mentioned counsel- lors, promises to get a good many soldiers from the Ferrarese, where he possesses interest, being Lord of Camerigo. He also implores your Ma- jesty to make an effort to send a sufficiently strong army into Italy, to be able to undertake some- thing considerable ; and he assures me, that» in this case, he will not content himself with having delivered Casale into the hands of your Majesty, but will obtain for your Majesty other great ad- vantages, through the means of his intimate con- nexions with the other states of Italy; that the Duchy of Milan was never so feeble, nor so de- void of all means of defence, as at present ; but THB IRON MASK. 99 that, in order to obtain more particular intelli- gence upon this head, he has given orders to Mat- thioli to go to Milan, to observe every thing there with attention, and especially to discover the inten- tion of the Genoese, with regard to the report which has now been for some time afloat in Italy, that your Majesty intends sending an army there next Spring, at the latest. As some accident might happen to the packets, I have not ventured to put into mine the letter that the Count Matthioli, who has certainly served your Majesty well upon this occasion, does himself the honour to write to you, but have had it turned into cypher, as well as the memoir of the demands of the Duke of Mantua ; and I keep the originals, together with the plan of Casale, which I do not send to your Majesty for the same reason. I can assure your Majesty, that I have never told either Giuliani or Matthioli that you intend to march troops to^ wards the Milanese ; but the latter speaks of it in his letter, because he has taken for granted the re- port which was purposely spread abroad in order to lead the Duke of Mantua to the determination I wished him to take ; knowing that he desired to be generalissimo above all things, or rather that K 9. 100 .THE IRON MASK. it was the only thing he was very anxious for, in order to be considered in Italy like the late Duke of Modena, and like the late Duke of Mantua, who at his age commanded in chief the Emperor's army, with the title of Vicar-general of the Em- pire. When this Prince is here, there will only be at the conference we are to hold together, himself, Matthioli, (whom he has pron;iised to re- establish in his post of Secretary of State, and to appoint his first minister, as soon as he shall see himself restored to his authority, and that the treaty he intends making with your Majesty shall have been executed,) the Sieur Giuliani, the Sieur de Pinchesne, (who is secretary of the embassy, and of whom M. de Pomponne, who placed him with me, can answer to your Majesty for the fide- lity and secrecy,) and myself. So the secrecy, so necessary in this afiair, will certainly remain im- penetrable. I have the honour to be, &c. The Abbe d'Esteades.* * From the Archives of the OflSce for Foreign Affairs, at Paris. THE IRON MASK. 101 No. 2. MATTHIOLI TO LEWIS THE FOURTEENTH. Protestations of devotion to Lewis. — Belief in the good intentions of the Duke of Mantua. December Uth^ 1677. SiBK, I take the liberty of bearing testimony to your Majesty, that among the great Ministers, whom, in your supreme wisdom, you have sent at different times into Italy, your ambassador at Venice, the Abbe d^Estrades, ought to be distinguished for his skill and his zeal to seize every occasion, which may seem to oflFer him the improvement or the aggrandizement of your territories. This Ambassador having confided to me, that, in order to succeed in the enterprize that you me- ditate against the territories of Milan, it would be necessary to detach the Duke of Mantua from the Austrian party, and to draw him into that of your Majesty, I am anxious to contribute every thing in my feeble power for the success of this object. Your Majesty will be made acqujunted with all that has passed by the despatches of the Ambassador. For myself, I bless the destiny, 10^ THE IRON MASK. which procures me the honour of serving so great a monarch, whom I regard and revere as a demi- god. I will transmit to your Majesty all that I shall learn respecting Casale, which has been fortified by one of the most skilful engineers of the Milan- ese. This engineer has promised us a plan of all the fortresses of that State, and even, if your Ma- jesty commands him, he will separate himself from the service of Spain,- who does not know how to recompense properly the services and the talents of those who serve her with fidelity. I am convin- ced it would be useless in me to enlarge upon the Unportance of the fortress of Casale. Your Ma- jesty must remember, that at different times it has arrested the progress of many armies, and that it is the only bulwark, upon which depends the loss or the preservation to the Spaniards of the ter- ritories of Milan ; territories, which for more rea- sons than one, ought to belong to your Majesty's crown. It is known that the Austrians are at this mo- ment arming, in order to obtain possession by sur. prize of Casale, to the prejudice of the Duke Fer- dinand, my master, the lawful possessor of it. THE IRON UAA%. 108 This Prince, nephew of Charies* the first, (which latter Prince was rather French than Itar- lian, and by whose interventioii the fortress of Pignerol has remained in the possession of your royal house) ; this Prince, I say, Ferdinand, will make known, in fit time and place, that he has not d^enerated from his ancestors ; he has promised to serve you with the greatest fidelity, and to fight for you in a manner worthy of his birth ; and as he is extremely anxious to acquire glory, I trust your Majesty will have reason to applaud his conduct in your armies. By the confession of even the most skilful political observers, he is free from the suspicions, which may fall upon the other Italian Sovereigns. The Abb6 d^Estrades knows that his Highness has communications with other great personages, who complain with reason of the insupportable yoke of the Spaniards, and who will take arms with him to combat, and to .* Charles the firsts Duke de Nevers in Fran suc- ccieded to the sovereignty of Mantua on the death of his cousin Duke Vincent II. His two sons, Charles Duke de Rhetelois^ and Ferdinand Duke de Mayenne^ died during his life-time> and he was consequently succeeded, at his death in 1637> by his grandson Charles HI. 104 THE 1B0N MASK. drive as quickly as possible from Italy, a power which is only established there to oppress it. If destiny willed it so, I have no doubt that the other Princes of this country would be happy to enjoy a stable peace under the auspices of your Majesty. I offer up vows for the progress of your victorious arms, and I pray God to prolong your days for the consolation of the world, &c. Hercules A. Matthioli.* No. 3. ESTRADES TO POMPONNE. Continuation of the negociation.-— Intrigues of the Austrian Party. Venice, Dec. 24, 1677. Sir, I have only some few particulars to add ^to the letter, which I did myself the honour to write to * This letter exists in cypher, and also written in Ita- lian and French, in the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs at Paris. THR IRON MASK. 105 the King last week ; but as the Duke of Mantua has made known to me, that they may serve to make you still more aware how important it is to that Prince to take his measures secretly, and to use all possible diligence for the conclusion of the a£Pair, which I have given an account of to his Majesty, I have thought it necessary, Sir, that you should be informed of them. Three days ago, the Duke of Mantua informed me that he had found means to procure a copy of the written orders that the Empress Eleanor and the Emperor, conjointly with the Spaniards, had given to the Count Yiltaliano Borromei, a Milanese, and the Imperial Commissary. They are to this eflTect, that if the French should come into Italy, and that it should appear to him that the Duke of Mantua had any intention to be on their side, he should make use of # this pretext to render himself master of Casale without delay, by means of their partizans, who are there in considerable numbers, and among others, the Governor of the town, and the Governor of the citadel ; in order to preserve this fortress and all the Montferrat for the Em- press Eleanor. The Marqtiis Carrossa has re- ceived a similar birder with regard to Mantua. 106 TH£ IRON MASK. He is also an Imperial Commissary, and it will be easy for him to execute what is ordered him, be- cause the Governor of the citadel is his brother- in-law, and the Major of the town his intimate friend. On these accounts, the Duke of Mantua has sent me word that in his present situation, in which he is besides watched by his mother, by the Monk Bulgarini, who governs her, and by the greater part of his Ministers, who are devoted to the House of Austria, he is obUged to show no ambition, to appear to have no knowledge of his own affairs, and to excite no suspicions by his conduct ; and also that he cannot declare himself openly in favour of the King'^s interests, as he would wish to do, nor deliver up Casale to his Majesty, unless he will send a sufficient army into Italy to secure that fortress, and to defend him (the Duke) from the evils th#t menace him, and from the designs which the House of Austria has against him ; and that this obliges him to suppli- cate and exhort his Majesty to make an effort to that effect, even if he has not actually resolved to carry the war into the Milanese, since Casale is an acquisition sufficiently important to deter- mine him to it. But Matthioli, to whom the TH£ IRON MASK. 107 Duke of Mantua has given up the entire conduct of this affair, goes still farther, and is confident, that even in this case means could be easily found to place a Gk)vemor in the citadel of Mantua, and a Major in the town, who should be as much attached to the service of the King, as those who at present occupy these two posts are to the House of Austria. We must, besides. Sir, consider that the Duke of Guastalla, being the nearest relation of the Duke of Mantua, as well as his heir, there would be danger that, if the Duchess his daughter, who is very ill, and has no children, should die, some misfortune might happen to the Duke of Mantua, which would assure his territories to the Spanish nobleman, who has married the second daughter of the Duke of Guastalla, and whose marriage the Spaniards, doul^tless with this view, made up at Vienna, by means of Don Vincent, who re- turned from thence some time back. You know much better than I do, Sir, of what consequence it would be to the king, not only to take away the Mantuan and the Montferrat from the House of Austria, who will never lose an opportunity of making use of them when they have once ob- 108 THE IKON MASK, tained them, but besides to have in his own hands these two states, by means of which his Majesty caft easily bridle the Princes of Italy. Therefore, I do not take the liberty of entering farther upon this matter, or of mingling my reflections with those you may choose to make upon it. « 4» * 4' m * * m' I am, &c. The Abbe d'Esteades.* . No. 4. ESTRADES TO POMPONNE. Intrigues of the Spaniards to form a league in Italy against France. Venice, January 1st, 1678. Sib, I have so little news to send you from hence to-day, that I shall very soon have told you all I know, and may hope not to fatigue you with the length of this letter. I know that a Senator, who is one of the Pre- * From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at Paris. THE IRON MASK. 109 gadi, has said, that the Emperor and the Span- iards are ardently soliciting the Nuncios and the Ambassadors from Venice, residing at Madrid and Vienna, to persuade their masters to unite with them against France, and to represent to them that they have a common interest to pre- serve Italy, and to keep out of it the armies of the King, with which it is menaced. I do not believe that the Pope* will be much disposed to do them this pleasure ; and. Sir, I could almost venture to assure you, that, if the republic should renounce the advantages of that neutrality, which she has thus far so exactly observed, it will not be for the purpose of partaking in the disgraces of the house of Austria ; and indeed it is in this sense that the before-mentioned Senator talked upon the sul)ject. * ♦ » * ♦ The Abbe n'EsTRADEs.f * Benedict Odescalchi, son of a Milanese banker, elected Pope, September 21st, 1676, and took the name of Innocent XI. He was a good Pope, and a virtuous man, and a de- cided enemy to Nepotism, against which he published a boll. He died August 12th, 1689, and his memory was venerated as that of a saint by his subjects. t From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at Paris. 110 THE IRON MASK. No. 5. POMPONNE TO ESTRADES. Saint Germain^ January 5th^ 1678. Sir, Not having yet had time to render an account to the King of your despatch of the 18th of last month, I cannot inform you of the sentiments of his Majesty as to what you acquaint him with respecting the dispositions of the Duke of Mantua. I will, however, do so by the next post. « « 4» « ' « ^t 41 POMPONNE.* No. 6. POMPONNE TO ESTRADES. The King's approval of the negociation. Saint Germain^ January I2th^ 1678. Sir, You will see by the letter of the King which goes herewith, how much his Majesty approves of * From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs^ at Paris. THE lEOK MASK. Ill the negociadon^ which you have entered into with the Duke of Mantua, for an a£Pair undoubtedly very important at all times, but especially so at this conjuncture: you could not also have con- ducted yourself in it with greater prudence, or greater secrecy than you have done. I am very happy to see that you have taken advantage of this occasion, to testify your zeal for the service of his Majesty; and I hope that the success of the a£Pair may assist you in procuring the sooner from his Majesty, the favour that you have asked of him. We have not, at present, any news to send you from these parts ; the King'*s heavy baggage set off Monday morning, for St. Quentin, as I sent you word ; but his Majesty has not, as yet, made any preparation to follow it. I am. Sec. POMPONNE.* ♦ From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at Paris. lis THE IROK MASK. No. 7. • LEWIS THE FOURTEENTH TO ESTRADES. Approval of the negociation. — ^Answer to the demands of the Duke of Mantua. gt. Germain^ January l^h^ 1678. Abbe d^Estbades, I have seen with pleasure, by your letter of the 18th of last month, the pains you have taken, as well to draw the Duke of Mantua from the lethargy of debauchery in which he is sunk, as to excite him to throw off the yoke of the Archduchess, his mother, and of the Monk Bulgarini; who, without leaving him any part in the government of his territories, add every day to the shackles and the dependance, by means of which they have subjected him to the House of Austria. I take so much a greater interest in the more noble resolutions he seems disposed to take, on account of his belonging to a family, which was so long settled in France, and to which the King, my father, gave such great proofs of his friendship and protection. I should, therefore. THE IKON MASK. 113 wish you to let him know, by the same channels as those you made use of to commence this ne- gociation, that I have learned with much satis- faction, the favourable dispositions he has mani- fested fcH* my interests, and for taking himself a part more worthy of his fame and his birth ; that on these accounts, I receive with pleasure the pro- positions he has made you of attaching himself to me by a union of measures, and by admitting my troops into Casale, upon the same terms as those by which they formerly, for so long a time, held possession of the place. Experience ought to have taught him, that the authority of his father was never more firmly established in the Montferrat, than when tliat fortress and those territories were supported by my protection ; and the affection for the French name, which has still remained among the people, is a sufficient testimony erf the adi- vantage and kindness they received from them. In rendering an answer to the articles that he has communicated to you, I shall commence by replying to the first ; that, with regard to the offer of delivering up to me the citadel and fortress of Casale, I shall willingly content myself with hold- ing them in the same manner in which I held them J 114 THE IRON MASK. formerly ; that is to say, under the condition of pi^serving them for the Duke of Mantua, and of paying the garrisons I shall keep there. I would also, in order to favour the warlike inclinations of this Prince, take measures with him respecting the command of the armies I shall send across the Alps. But he must be aware, that I cannot at all enter into any consideration of the article, in which he demands, that I should get restored to him the parts of the Montferrat, which have been ceded to the Duke of Savoy. These cessions have been recognized by so many treaties, in which I have been a principal party, that I cannot do any thing that would invalidate them; all that I could possibly do, would be to employ myself, as I have several times done, to accommodate the differences which still exist between them, with regard to the valuation of those same portions of territory, and the sums that ought to be paid for them by the Duke of Savoy. It is a different case with regard to the losses which the Duke of Mantua might sustain in the war he may possibly be engaged in together with me. I would willingly bind myself not to make peace, unless compensation was made to him ; and THE IROV MABX. 115 I would equally enter, with pleasure, into an agree^ ment to share with hini any conquests my arms might make in the Milanese. As for his demand, that ' I should now make him a present of a hundred thousand Pistoles, simply as a gift, you must make him understand that this sum is too large, but that I should be ready to agree to a more moderate one, according to the engagements he is willing to enter into ¥dth me ; and without explaining yourself as to what the sum should be, you will make him first state what he expects, and oblige him to keep within reasonable bounds. You will still continue to entertain the opinion that I intend sending a considerable army this year into Italy, and you will keep principally in view in your negociation, the having it in such a state as to be able to prolong it without the danger of being obliged to break it off; since it is for the good of my service to continue it always in such a manner, that I may be the mas- ter to conduct it as I please, either by enlarging or narrowing the conditions. It is on this ac- count, that as the Count Matthioli has thus far been the principal confidant of this affair, and that i2 116 THE IRON MASK. he must be the most poMrerful instrument of it^ it is necessary that you should keep him always in good humour^ by the assurance of the especial good-will I bear him for his conduct, and by the hope of the marks of it I shall be inclined to give him. This is what I wish you to say in addition to the letter which I send you for him, in answer to the one he wrote to me. I am, &c. Lewis.* No. 8. LEWIS THE FOURTEENTH TO MATTHIOLI. January ISth^ 1678. Count Matthioli, I have seen by the letter you wrote me, as well as by what my Ambassador, the Abb6 d'^Estrades, communicated to me, the affection that you show for my interests. You cannot doubt but that I am much obliged to you for it, and that I shall * From the Archives of the Office for Foreign ASaixs, at Paris. THS IKON MASK. 117 have much jdeasure in giving you proofs of my satasfacdon upon every occa«on. Referring you, therefore, for further particulars, to what will be said to you from me by the Abb6 (TEstrades, I shall not lengthen this letter more than to add, that I pray God to have you. Count Mattluoli, in his holy keejHng. Lewis.* No. 9. ESTRADES TO POMPONNE. Venice^ January S9th^ 1678. Sib, I have nothing to add to what I did myself the honour to write to the King, upon the present state of the affair, which I am treating of with the Duke of Mantua. It goes on so rapidly, that I am reduced to be sorry that I cannot find any difficulties, which, without rendering the eventual success of it doubtful, might prolong the negoda- * From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs^ at Paris. 118 THE IRON MASK. tions as long as die King seems to wish; but I have the greatest difficulty to encourage the Duke of Mantua, under tlie fear he is in of the Spaii- ianls, which, to say the truth, is pretty well founded; lior can he think him^lf in security, imkss be sees himself supported by aU the pro- tection the King can give. Nevertheless, I will take care that this Prince does not escape us, even if the affair should not be as quickly concluded as he desires. I return you a thousand inost hum- ble thanks^ Sir, for all the kindness you show me on this occasion ; and I can assure you, that I shall be much more anxious for the success of this affair, from my pleasure at haying made known to the King by it the zeal I have for his service, and having rendered myself worthy of the favour you have done me, in procuring for me the situation I at pr^ent hold, than from any hope of thereby bettering my fortune. The Abb6 d*Estrade8.* * From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs^ at Paris. THE IBON MASK. 119 No. 10. £STRAD£S TO LEW^IS THE FOURTEENTH. Conference with Matthloli — Discussion of the demands of the Duke of Mantua. Venice^ January 29th> 1678. At the time that I received the letter which your Majesty did me the honour to write to me on the 12th of this month, having learned that the Count MatthioU was arrived at Venice, I sent to him to say that I desired to have a conference with him^ in consequence of which he came to my house with the usual precautions. I first deliver- ed into his hands the letter with which your Ma- jesty had charged me for him, which he received with all possible marks of respect and gratitude; and I told him, as your Majesty had commanded me, that you would not content yourself with tes- tifying with your own hand the satisfaction you feel at the zeal he has shown for your interests, but that you also ordered me expressly to assure liim, that you were anxious to give him other 120 THE I BON MASK. marks of it. I added to this, that he ought to think himsdf happy to have found an occasion of meritii^ the kindness and favours of your Ma- jesty, which he could easily do through the means of the implicit confidence placed in him by the Duke of Mantua, to whom he would also have the satisfaction,' at the same time, of rendering the greatest service in his power. He answered me in a manner that does not permit me to doubt his being as grateful as it is possible to be for your Msyesty'^s goodness, and his having a very strong wish to serve you. Afterwards I read to him the obliging expressions your Majesty makes use of to mark your a£Pection for the Duke of Mantua, and those other parts of your Majesty's despatch, which I thought myself authorized to communi- cate, that he might know that you had learned with pleasure the proposals of that Prince, and that he might be aware of the considerable advan- tages, which would be derived from the strict al- liance he (the Duke) would enter into with your Majesty by means of Casale, which you were will- ing to hold possession of on the same terms as formerly ; that is to say, paying the garrison you should keep up in the place, and presarving it for THE lEOH MASK. 121 the Duke of Mantua. We afterwards came to talk upon his differences with the Duke of Sa- ^oy, for the restitution claimed by him of the parts of the Montferrat^ which have been ceded to the latter ; and it waa not till after some slight di&. puting, that I made the Count Matthioli agree, by means of the same reasons you did me the ho- nour' to detail to me, that you could not enter into this ■affair in any other way, than by employing yourself to accommodate it ; but that the interces* sion of your Majesty was sufficiently powerful to obtain a satisfactory result for the Duke of Mantua. The Count Matthioli at length contented him* self upon this point, but he had more difficulty to give way upon the demand of the present of one hundred thousand pistoles. He was the more ob- stinate in not taking off any thing from this sum, because he said that it was to be made use of for the interests of yout Majesty ; and that the Duke of Mantua having taken possession of Guastalla,* without giving notice to the Spaniards, he had * On the occasion of the death of Ferdinand III. Duk^ of Gua8ta]Ia> which occarred January 11th, 1678. The pitke Off Mantua had married his eldest daughter. 122 THE IBON MASK. judged it necessary to be upon his guard against tbe umbrage they might take at this measure; that for this purpose he had placed in Guas* tillla and in Casale the troops he had raised, and whom he was obliged to pay; that he hads^it into the latter town great stores of ^ com and fo- ri^, and that he could not support this expense in the state to which he was reduced by his mo- liier, who disposed entirely of his revenues. I an- swered him, that the sum of mon^, which the Duke of Mantua requested your Majesty to give him at present, was not necessary to him for the expenses which he alleged; that the augmenta- tion of the garrison of Ca»ale, and the provisions s^t into it, were r^arded by the Spaniards them- sdves as precautions that he wisely took against the enterprises of France, at a time when it was no longer doubted that the latter power intended to carry the war into Italy; and that therefore neither the partizans of the Spanish faction who are about him, nor his mother, could refuse him the itioney he wanted for that purpose ; that I knew that his subjects would contribute with pleasure, and that they had shown the greatest joy at their Sovereign's applying himself to his own affairs; TILE mON MASK. 1^ itmt'tSl the Gonckisiim of the treaty, which was ta unite; him so &rHily with your Majesty, he would hrre no, ooeasion for any new expenses, and that he would then receive all the assistance and suc- oourmrfaich he could expect from your Majesty ; that your Majesty, by engaging yocurself to pay and keep up the garrisons in Casale, ceded to the Duke the entire enjoyment of the property and: revenues without any deduction, and that your Majesty would have no further advantage in this affidry than that of delivering him from the yoke whii^ the House of Austria %ad imposed upon him ; and of facilitating die conquests in theMilaneseyof which you were to give him a. share ; so that the present which he asked for, being to be considered purely in the light of a gratification^ a hundred thousand pistoles was a demand so excessive, that your Majesty had not judged it right to make any offisr in ccmsequence, and that you had only or- dered me to tell him, that you would have no ob- jection to make a present to the Duke of a mcMre moderate sum ; that th^efore it was necessary for him io explain himself clearly upon the subject. The Count Matthioli for some time refused to say ;any thing, taking a'line which was. in appear- 1S4 THE IRON MASK.' auce very civil, which was, that he threw bimaelf upon the generosity of your Majesty. But se^iig that I continued to desire him to speak, he re- duced the sum by little and little to five hundred thousand livres. I told him, that I guessed pretty well what the Duke ^Mantua might bc^ f or from your Majesty, and that I could not charge myself to lay this proposal before you, and that I also could not help telling him, that for a man who professed to be so well iht^iitioned, he appeared to me very unyielding upon a point of small moment, in a negociation from which he would allow, with- out doubt, that the Duke of Mantua would derive great and solid advantages. Finally, Sire, I brought him to content himself with one hundred thousand crowns, and that on condition that your Majesty was not to pay them till after the signa- ture of the treaty, and the exchange of the ratifi- cations ; and then, if you chose not to give the wiiole sum at once, that the Duke of Maintua should receive fifty thousand crowns firsts and tben the other fifty thousand three months after* wards* Besides this, I declared to the Count MattibioM that I could not answer for your Majes- ty^s approving of my having fixed upon so large a THE IRON HABK. 1S5 sum, but that I promised bim to do all that de- pended on. me, to prevent my being disavowed. Not only have the other articles of your Majes- ty^s despatdi been agreed to without difficulty, but they have even served powerfully to confirm the Cotmt Matthioli in his opinion, that the Duke of Mantua cannot take a better course than that of abandoning himself entirely to the protection of your Majesty. He has so firm a belief in the resolution he is convinced you have taken of sending a considerable army this year into Italy, that I should have no difficulty in persuading him still more strongly of it ; but I am a little embar- rassed with the anxiety of the Duke of Mantua to conclude this afiair, which is caused to him by his continual terror of the design, which he under- stands the Spaniards continue to have, of seizing upon his fortresses on the least pretext, and on the first favourable occasion. Nevertheless, I will en- deavour to lengthen the negociation as much as your Majesty shall find useful to your interests, as you have commanded me, and at the same time I will take care not to put it in any danger of being broken ofip. I implore your Majesty to be persuaded that I shall never be forgetful of any thing which may 126 THS IRON MASK. be for the good of your service, or which may testify the zeal and the profound respect, with which I am, Sire, Your Majesty's most humble, most obedient, and most faithful subject and servant, Thb Abb£ d'Estbades.* No. 11. ESTRADES TO POMPONNE. The Duke of Mantua watched by the Spaniards.' Venice, February 12th, 1678. SlE, Though the Duke of Mantua has been for the last fortnight at Venice, I have not yet been able to see him; but he has sent me word several times, by the Count Matthioli, that he had still more impatience than even I have, that we should * From the Archiyes of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at Paris. THE IRON MA8£. 1S7 confer together; that he only deferred giving himself that satisfSaction, in order that he might first get rid of those of his people whom he has the least confidence in, and particularly four men, whom his mother has sent with him here to ob- serve all his actions, which they do with the greatest care ; and that two days before he sets off to return to his own territories (where he is not afraid of any surprise, when he shall be once there himself), he will acquaint me with the time and place at which we may see one another. It is true, that the step he has taken, of at once seizing upon the territories of the late Duke of Guastalla, has very much disquieted the Spaniards ; and one sees that they are endeavouring, by all sorts of means, to ascertain whether the Duke of Mantua has taken any measures to gain the support of the King. His resident at Venice, who is devoted to the Duchess his mother, came two days ago to the Sieur de Pinchesne to ask, on the part of his mas- ter, whether I was about to despatch an extraor- dinary courier to Paris, because his highness would be glad to make use of him to convey there a packet of consequence : he answered him, that affairs were so little of a pressing nature here, that 1S8 'the laON MASK. I always wrote by the usual conveyance, and that I had not at present any reason for sending a courier ; but that, if the Duke of Mantua wished it, I would send one on his account. I made this known to the Prince himself, who was surprized that his resident, in his name, and without his (Mrder, should have made a request of that nature ; and as he was of opinion, as well as myself, that the intention of his resident was by this means to discover whether a packet, which, it was said, the Duke of Mantua had received from the Grand Duchess,* was of importance, he agreed to the expedient which I proposed to him, of sending publicly to make him the same offers as those which had been made to his resident, in order that he might be able to express before his mi- nisters his disapprobation of their entering, without his knowledge, into communications with the French ambassador, being aware of the mea- * Margaret Louisa^ daughter of Gaston^ Duke of Or- leans; married in 1661^ to Cosmo III.^ Grand Duke of Tuscany^ whom she quarrelled with^ and finally left^ and returned to France, where she established herself in the Abbey of Montmartre. She died at an advanced age in 17«1. THE lEON MASK. 199 bures which it was necessary fdt him to keep. He charged MatthioH to tell me that he had had a letter from the Grand Duchess, to which he had sent an answer, for the purpose of begging her to support his claims to the King ; having heard that the Duke of M odena * had complained to his Ma- jesty of his having taken possession of the succession of the Duke of Guastalla, to which the Duke of Modena had pretensions. The Sieur de Pinchesne went to him from me, and the thing was executed as it had been previously determined upon ; but his adventure, as well as many other thirigs which the Duke of Mantua discovers daily, convince him that the Spaniards are suspicious of him, on vhich account he is so uneasy, that he is more than ever anxious for your Majesty to secure him quickly against their enterprises. » * « « » * Ht »_ The AfiBfe d'Estrades. -f- * Francis of Este^ Duke of Modena^ succeeded his father^ Alphonso IV. in 1662. During his minority^ his territories were wisely and ably governed by bis mother^ Laura Mar- tinozzi, niece of Cardinal Mazarin. His only sister, Mary Beatrix, was the second wife of James II. of England. H« died in 1694. t From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at Paris. K 130 THE IRON MASK. No. 12. ESTRADES TO POMPONNE. Impatience of the Duke of Mantua to conclude the Nego- ciation. Venice, February 19th, 1678. Sir, You will have seen by the last letters I did myself the honour to write to you, that I take care to keep up the negociation I have entered into with the Duke of Mantua, and to hold it always in that state that it may be terminated in whatever way the King shall judge most according to his interests. Thus, Sir, I have only to assure you, that I shall apply myself, as you command me in your last letter of the 2d of this month, to gain time, and to confirm the Duke of Mantua in the resolution he has taken of abandoning himself to the King^s protection. He is as thoroughly persuaded as one could wish, that he cannot take a better course, although the Spaniards have lately been making him large offers of money and of employment, in order to obUge him to declare THE IBON MASK. 181 himself openly in their favour, and to allow of the introduction of a garrison of Germans into Casale ; but as he is always apprehensive, lest his want of affection for the House of Austria should be discovered, he can never think himself in security till he shall be supported by a treaty ; and it is this which gives him so much impatience to conclude the one he intends making with the King. » » » » » » ♦ The Abbe d'Estrades. * No. 18. ESTRADES TO POMPONNE. Plans of the Spaniards. — Dispositions of the Venetian Go- vernment. Venice, February 26th, 1678. Sib, I HAVE not had the honour of receiving any letters from you this week. Indeed, I expected * From the Archives of the Office for Foreign ASsdrs, at Paris. K 2 132 THE IRON MASK. that the hurry of the King's departure would pre- vent your writing. I have learned from good authority, that the government here have received intelligence, that the Spaniards have renewed their proposals to form a league of the Princes of Italy against France, and that it was at Rome that they concerted the means to succeed in it : th's is, without doubt, what has given occasion to the re- port which has been current for some days, that the Cardinal Porto Carrero *, in his way to Spain, where he is going to take possession of the Arch- bishopric of Toledo, is to visit the different Courts of Italy, to try to engage them in the party which they call the common cause. It is said, that the Grand Duke -|- has already made known his * Lewis Emmanuel Ferdinand Portocarrero, second son of the Marquis of Almenara : created a Cardinal in 1669^ by Clement IX.; Archbishop of Toledo and Primate of Spain, 1677; commander of the order of the St. Esprit, and Bishop of Palestrina. Was also, at different periods of his life. Viceroy of Sicily, Ambassador at Rome, Lieutenant- General at sea, and twice Grovemor of Spain. Died at Madrid, September 14th, 1709. f Cosmo III., Grand Duke of Tuscany, son of Ferdinand II. and Victoria Delia Rovere, heiress of the Dukes of Urbino. Succeeded his father in 1670, and died in 1723, aged 81 years. He was a weak, narrow-minded, and bi- THE IRON MASK. 138 opinion, that if they intend to unite, it ought to be for the maintenance of their liberty, and that they ought not to engage themselves in an extensive war, or to assist in enabling one of the two belli- gerent powers to oppress them eventually with greater ease. This intelligence has obliged me to. give all my attention to penetrate the sentiments of the Venetian government upon this subject ; and I have been informed, upon good authority, that thus far the determination is to deliver themselves from the importunities of the Spaniards, if they should be too pressing, by a similar reply to that which is said to have been given at Florence ; but it now appears to me, that the fear and jealousy of the power of the King, which existed here for- merly, is very much reviving, and they are be- coming apprehensive that the designs of his Ma- jesty are not confined to the preservation of the conquests he has already made, nor even to those he may make in Flanders. The senate is confirmed in this opinion, by the letters of M. Contarini,* goted Prince; and was the Duke of Tuscany^ whose travels in England^ in the reign of Charles II. have been published. * At that time Ambassador to France^ from the Republic of Venice. 134 THE IRON .MAfiKJ who sends them word that they must not look for peace, because the King is against it. This way of talking persuades me, that M» Contarini is either ill-intentioned or ignorant — and his intel-^ ligence is very capable of augmenting the dis- quietudes of the senate. I have shewn, as weU as I was able, to those I have spoken to upcm the subject, that it is impossible to act with more sin- cerity in favour of peace, or to facilitate more the means of procuring it, than his Majesty ha& done. There is, however, no probability that, in the present state of the affairs of the Republic of Venice, and under the perpetual fear she is in of the Grand Vizier,* she will dare to declare herself in favour of the enemies of the King ; but, Sir, I * The Grand Vizier, at this moment, was Achmet Co- progli, the most iUustrious, perhaps, of all the ministers who have ever governed the Ottoman Empire. He inherited the eminent talents of his father, Mahomet Coprogli, whom he succeeded as Grand Vizier, in 1661 ; and was superior to him in humanity and generosity. His military exploits were also more considerable. In 1669, he successfully con- cluded the siege of Candia, which had lasted twenty-two years. He died in 1678; having for seventeen years sus- tained the throne, and rendered illustrious the reign of his feeble and indolent master, Mahomet IV. THE IRON MA«K. 135 can assure you, tr(aa the knowledge I have upon the subject, that at the present time, we must only reckon upon the weakness of the Venetians, and upon the poverty of their finances, and not upon their good intentions towards us. If I might be permitted to give my opinion upon the present con- juncture, I i^ould say that there is not a more ready, or more x^rtain way of ruiping all the measures of the Spaniards in Italy, and of terminating in the Kitig^s favour the irresolutions of the Senate, than by binding the Duke of Mantua by the treaty which he is willing to make with his Majesty : not only is he always in the same resolution of conclud- ing this affair, on account of the Emperor^s having sent word to him that he does not iiirish to deprive him>of the ^iccession of th)3 Duke'* his father-in-law, but page 109. At this tirne^ the conferences for the peace of Nime- guen had commenced. That peace was concluded and signed on the 10th of August of this same year. I From the archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs^ at Paris. T. 146 THE IRON MASK. No. 17. ESTRADES TO LEWIS THE FOURTEENTH. Account of his Interview with the Duke of Mantua. — The latter insists upon sending Matthioli to Paris. Venice> March Idth^ 1678. SiBE, A week ago I communicated to M« de Pom- ponne that I was to ha,ve a, conference the next day with the Duke of Mantua. We met, as had been concerted, at midnight, in a small open place, which is at an ^qual distance from his house and mine. I was an entire hour with him, and not only did I tell him all that your Majesty had desired me to apprize him of, and which he had ^eady learned frpm the Count Matthioli, but besides, I re-assured him, as much as I was able, upon the subject of the constant, and indeed well- grounded, alarms he is in with regard to the Spa- niards. I did not explain myself to him with re- gard to the present your Majesty intends making to him in money, as soon as the treaty shall be concluded ; but contented myself with promising THE IRON MASK. 147 that he should have reason to be content with it He iq>peared to be much satisfied with our conversation, and, on my side, I have no less rear- son to be so ; since he has confirmed to me all that the Count Matthidii told me from him. I have given so exact an account of these things to your Majesty in the letters I have had the honour to write to yourself and to M. de Pomponne, that it is useless for me to enlarge more upon this subject When we were upon the point of separating, the Duke of Mantua represented to me the risk he is in of being overwhelmed by the Spaniards, whose bad intentions he cannot doubt of, after their late earnest persuasions to him, to admit the Germans into Casale, to withdraw his gar- rison from Guastalla, and to declare himself open- ly and without delay in their favour. He added, that I must be aware, that under the resolution he had taken of serving your Majesty, both with his person and hie territories, he would do nothing prejudicial to your interests ; but that, if the Spa- niards did not give him more money than what they were accustomed to furnish him with, for the support of the garrison of Casale, as they had dedlnred to him was dieir in<}enti<>n>^ he should not L 2 148 THE IRON MASK. be able to support the expense of it himself, or to preserve that fortress; that the danger was so pressing, that no time was to be lost in placing him in a state of safety, and that affairs went on so slowly by means of despatches, that he found himself obliged to send the Count Matthioli to your Majesty, to expose to you the state to which he finds himself reduced, and to implore you to deliver him from it as quickly as may be possible. I have not dared, Sire, to oppose myself to this journey, because I perceived that the Duke of Mantua had taken some offence, or at least that he had some uneasiness at the length of this ne- gociation, which I have protracted upon different pretexts as much as I was able, without endanger- ing it, as your Majesty had ordered me ; and be- cause besides I have thought that you would be the more assured of the firmness of the Duke of Mantua, when the Count Matthioli, in whom he has a blind confidence, and who governs him ab- solutely, should be with you. He will make known to your Majesty, better than can be done by letters, the facilities you would find in con- quering the Milanese, the intelligences that may be established there, and the detail of the whole THE IBON MASK. 149 negociation he has had with the Republic of Venice in the name of the Duke of Mantua, who demanded the advice of the Senate upon the affair of Guastalla, and its assistance, in case it was at- tempted to disturb him by force in the possession of that Duchy. The Senate has sent word to Matthioli, by a Sage of terra Jirma^ who was de- puted for this purpose, that the Duke of Mantua ought to retain possession of Guastalla ; that the Republic would render him all the good offices she could, and that even if her intercession should be of no avail, she would still assist him secretly with advice and money, and not abandon him. This Senator gave him to understand, that if your Majesty was to send an army into Italy, and that the Duke of Mantua should be in your interests, the Republic would not be disinclined to enter into the same party ; and the Procurator Nani,* ^ John Baptist Felix Gaspar Nani was descended from an illustrious family at Venice^ and was bom on the 30th of August^ 1616. He distinguished himself early in diplomacy^ and was for twenty-five years ambassador from the Republic to France. He was subsequently chosen Procurator of St. Mark^ the next dignity in the Republic to that of Doge. He is best known to posterity by his ^'Istoria della Republica Veneta/' — ^which is a valuable 150 THE IRON MASK. with- whom he has also had two conversations, ex- plained himself upon this subject still more clearly. As the Count Matthioli is not to receive his in- structions till the day after to-morrow, he will not, certainly, set oflF from hence till towards the end of the week. I shall have the honour of ac- quainting your Majesty with what they contain of most importance, as well as with the time by which the Count Matthioli can be with you. I am, with every kind of respect and submission, Sire, Your Majesty^s most humble, most obedient, and most faithful Servant and Subject, The ABBt d'^Estbades.* and useful work, though it has been reprobated as being partial^ and written in a vicious and incorrect Italian. He died on the 25th of November, 1678. * From the archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs^ at Paris. THE IRON MASK. 151 No. 18. ESTRADES TO POMPONNE. Reasons for consenting to the mission of Matthioli to Paris. Venice, March 26th, 1678. Sib, My last letters will have shown you that I had forestdled^ in some measure, the orders which I received in the one of the 4th of this month, which you did me the honour to write me. I had judged that, in the present conjuncture, it would not be easy for the King to send a powerful army into Italy, so speedily as was wished. It appeared to me, nevertheless, that His Majesty considered the negociation which I had commenced with the Duke of Mantua, through the means of the Count Matthioli, as an affair which might eventually be of use to him, and which he would wish to be in a situation to profit by. Therefore, Sir, I have used all my endeavours to encourage the opinion already entertained, that the arms of France will appear in the Milanese, and to confirm the Duke of Mantua in his good dispositions towards His 152 ' THE IRON MASK. Majesty, and in his suspicions of the Spaniards. I had even made use of the same reasons, which you prescribe to me to urge in your letter, to mo- derate his impatience to conclude the treaty, which he is desirous of making vidth the King. Before His Majesty left St. Germain, I represented to the Count Matthioli that the negociations with Eng- land occupied him too much, to permit him, in such very critical times, to apply himself as much as was necessary to a new enterprize of the im- portance of the one that was meditated in Italy ; and since that, I have alleged to him the diffi- culty of getting answers during, the hurry of the journey, and the occupations of the campaign, which oblige the King to go frequently from one place to another. I have added, that I was by no means surprized at this, and that, in preceding years, I had rarely received any letters from you at those times. He has contented himself, thus far, with the excuses I have given him ; but the Duke of Mantua is so violently alarmed at the peril in which he believes himself to be, and at the length of the negociation, that he has abso- lutely determined upon sending the Count Mat- thioli to the King — and I have not dared to oppose THiS IRON MASK. 153 myself to this, from the fear of giving him sus^ picions, or of disgusting him with the negociation altogether. It is true. Sir, that after having well considered the manner in which this journey could be accomplished, I have thought that it would .turn out to be the most easy and the most infalli- ble method to confirm still more the dispositions of the Duke of Mantua, and to prolong this affair as long as the King shall judge for the good of his service. I have for this purpose persuaded the Count Matthioli that it was important he should not go immediately to his Majesty, but that he should first pay a visit to some of the towns in Italy, under the pretext of his master^s interests, and his disputes with the Duke of Modena respect- ing the Duchy of Guastalla, in order that there may be no suspicion of his going into France. He is agreed upon this point with me ; and by the reckoning we have made together of his course, and the halts he will make, I can assure you. Sir, that you will not see him for these two months. It will be still easier for you, when he does arrive, to detain him at least as long ; and thus the campaign will be nearly finished without the Duke of Man- tua'^s being able to complain of the delay, or to 154 THIS lAOK MASK. take measures contrary to the King^s intentions!. Since this Prince left Venice, he is travelling about his territories, without ever stopping more than three or four days in a place, in order to avoid giving audience to the Spanish envoys, who arc waiting for him at Mantua, and to whom he has sent word that they may address themselves to his Council; that for himself, he has no answer to give them to their propositions, because he is wait- ing for intelligence from Vienna, by which he in- tends to regulate his conduct. The Count Mat- thioli went to him the beginning of this week, in order to receive his instructions for his journey to Paris, and to give him an account of his negoci&- tion with the JRepublic. He will afterwards re- turn here to explain to the Senate bis Master's sentiments; and so. Sir, I shall peirhaps have a further opportunity of deferring his departure for a still longer time. * » » » I am, &c. The AsBfi n'EsTEAUES.f f From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs^ at Paris. THE IRON MASK. iSff No. 19. £STRAD£d TO POMPONNE. Venice, April Sd, 1678. Sir, I have nothing to add to what I have already had the honour of writing to you, upon the affair which regards the Duke of Mantua. I have re- ceived this morning a note from the Count Mat* thioli, in which he gives me intelligence that he shall be here to-morrow ; and that he will come the same day to me, an hour after sunset, I will not fail to give you an account, in my next letter, of the conversation I shall have with him. I am glad that he did not return to Venice so soon as he originally int^ided ; because his journey to Paris will be, in consequence, deferred some days longer. I will try to obtain intelligence why the Resident from Mantua has had such frequent audiences of the Ccilege for the last few days. * * The Abb£ n'EsTRADEs.t t From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs^ at Paris. 156 THE IRON MASK. No. 20. POMPONNE TO ESTRADES. Approval of Matthioli's Mission to France.— Permission to Estrades to leave Venice. ■ April 5th, 1678. SiK, We are now at the end of our journey, and con- sequently at the end of my want of punctuality in writing to you. The being stationary at St. Ger- main, will make me more regular. I took an op- portunity, yesterday, to give an account to his Majesty of your letters of the 5th, 12th, and 19th, of last month. He appeared satisfied vidth the manner in which you have conducted the business with the Duke of Mantua; and was made ac- quainted, by your letter, written after your inter- view with that prince, with the resolution he had taken of sending the Count Matthioli to France. You will have already seen by my despatches, that there is little probability of his Majesty's being able to send a considerable army into Italy this year. Now it appears, that the expectation of his sending one, forms the foundation of all the designs which TH£ IRON MASK. 157 the Duke of Mantua has communicated to you. You must be aware, that it would answer no good purpose to undeceive him ; because this would be' to break off a negociation, which may otherwise have considerable results. Therefore one of the advantages of the journey of the Count Matthioli is, that it gains time ; besides, perhaps it may be possible to remove diiSculties, and take measures with him in person, which might be difficult to be arranged at a distance. Therefore, Sir, you will see that, as the King cannot grant the principal con- ditions which have been required, because they all turn upon an action in Italy, we cannot flatter our- selves with concluding any thing with this prince, at present. This is what makes me think, that if it is so particularly necessary for your interests, as you say, to return to France, there is nothing that need prevent your executing your wish. His Majesty appears to me so much satisfied with your services, that, though he has doubtless the inten-* tion of making use of them in a sphere which will give them a wider scope than Venice does, he vidll willingly grant you leave of absence. I have even already made him acquainted with your wish ; and it appears to me, that you are at liberty to do 158 THE IBON MASK. what you choose ; either to stay at Venice, or to come to Paris, * » » » * » * » * PoMPONNB.-f- No. 21. ESTRADES TO POMPONNE. Conversation with Matthioli. Venice, April 9th, 1678. Sib, The Count Matthioli arrived here six days ago ; I had a~ conversation with him the same evening, and the day after he set off for Bologna, where he was to meet the Duke of Mantua, who will send him from thence to Paris, after having given him his last orders. He assured me that he was <;harged to confirm to his Majesty all that I have had the honour of acquainting him with, and that t From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at Paris. THK IRON MASK. 159 his master had only reeommended him not to con- sent to the putting a French garrison into Casale, as long as he could fight it off. But, Sir, he told me at the same time, that he saw too well that this condition was the actual foundation of the propos- ed treaty^ to wish to raise a negociation respect- ing it ; and that he had made the Duke of Mantua understand that it was necessary to act with good faith towards the Kii^, and not to balance about giving him this security and satisfaction, if he wished to attach himself to the interests of his Majesty, as he had deterhiined to do. I perceiv- ed notwithstanding, though he did not speak open- ly of it, that the example of Messina* had made him reflect upon the consequences of the engage- ment his master was about to make with the King, * In 167i the people of Messina in SicUy^ unable any longer to bear the harshness of the Spanish Government, revolted. The French assisted them with a body of troops under the command of the Chevalier de Valbelle. In 1676 the Marshal de Vivonne was sent there with a powerful fl^et, and gained a complete victcMry over those of Spain apd Hollaad. But m the b^ginnin^ o£ 1678^ the French, alarmed at the prospect of a union of England with their •B^mieiB, abandoned Sicily to its fate. It is to this latter event that £strades alludes. 160 THE IBOX MASK. which obliged me to represent to him how much this fear was ill-founded, and what a di£Ference there was between a solemn treaty of two Sove- reign Princes, as the one we were now concerting would be, and the assistance which his Majesty had only given to the Messinese from pure gene- rosity. The Count Matthioli professed to be of my opinion, and to have great joy at seeing af- fairs as well-disposed as he could possibly have wished. The Abb6 n^'EsTBADEsf. No. 22. POMPONNE TO ESTRADES. St. Germain^ April 13th^ 1678. Sib, I have already sent you word that the King ap* proves very much of the manner in which you t From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs^ at Paris. THE IRON MASK. 161 have carried on the negociation with the Duke of Mantua, without either breaking it off or advan- cing it too much. It is even advantageous, as a very natural means of gaining time, that that Prince should have taken the part of sending the Count Matthioli to the King. We may treat with him according to the propositions he is charged with ; but it would be a pity if the foundation of them was to be the condition of sending a power- ful army into Italy this year, because I can tell you in confidence, that the King has not yet taken any measures for the purpose. POMPONNE.-f t From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at Paris. M 16% THE IftON MASK. No. 23. ESTRADES TO POMPONNE. Means of protracting the N^ociation. — ^Views of Matthioli. Veniee^ Apiril 30th, 1678. Sir, I consider myself very happy, that the King has so much approved of the manner in which I have conducted myself, in the affair of the Duke of Mantua, as you have informed me in the letter which you did me the honour to write to me on the 13th of this month, and that his Majesty has had the goodness to regard more the zeal I have for his service than my capacity. I shall have nothing more in future to tell you on this subject, but the Count Matthioli will give you ample in- formation, when he arrives at Court, of the sen- timents of his master; of the state of his affairs; and of what may be expected from them. The disposition in which I have seen him, makes me hope that it will not be impossible to protract this negodation, without '-running the risk of break- THE IBON MASK. 163 ing it off, until the season for action is past, and that, when he shall see the necessity that there is of waiting till the King can take measures for send- ing an army into Italy, he will willingly employ the influence he possesses over the mind of the Duke of Mantua, to take from him all kind of sus- picion, and to prevent his being impatient at this delay ; perhaps even he might be able to persuade his master, if he should really endeavour it, to put himself under the declared protection of the King, as he has thus far been under that of the House of Austria; and to content himself with his Majesty^s paying the garrison he intends to place in Casale. Finally, Sir, this affair will be in such good hands, since it is yourself that will manage it, that even what appears the most difficult in it may very well succeed. I will only add, that I know that the Count Matthioli has a great desire, and need of making his fortune, and that there are few things to which his master would not consent for a con« siderable sum of money, and from the hope of a great employment ; of which, in fact, the title alone need be given to him ; as was the case with the Duke of Modena in the service of France, and with the late Duke of Mantua in that of the Emperor, M 2 164 THE IRON MASK. whose Vicar-general he was in Italy, with the command of an army there. « #. « # « * The Abb£: D''EsTRADES.t No. 24. ESTRADES TO POMPONNE. Delay in Matthioli's Journey to Paris. Venice, May 21, 1678. SlH, The Count Matthioli has been here for the last four days with his master. He came to me yester- day, to tell me that the Spaniards had been, for ttie last two months, making such great advances to the Duke of Mantua, that they would, perhaps, have obliged him to consent to all they desired, which was the removing his garrison from GuastaUa, introducing the Germans into Casale, and de- t Prom the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs^ at Paris. THE IRON MASK. 165 claring himself openly against France, if he had separated himself for a single moment from him ; the Duchess-mother, and all the council of this Prince, being devoted to the House of Austria. That it was necessary he should wait for the return of the Marquis Galerati from Milan, and that he should remain, besides, three weeks or a month with the Duke of Mantua, who was to go, during that time, to Casale, where he had per- suaded him to wait for his return from France. That, therefore, he could not set off till towards the end of June, but that he would not delay beyond that time. I answered him, that he had been in the right to remain with his master, at a time when his presence was so necessary to hini ; that he ought not to set off on his journey to Pa- ris, till he was well assured that his absence would cause no change, either in the sentiments or the afiairs of that Prince, but that I could assure him the King would see him with pleasure, and that he would receive every kind of satisfaction from his journey. # ♦ # * The Abb6 n'EsxRADEs.t t From the Archives of the Office fw Foreign Affairs, at Paris. 1^6 THE IRON MASK. No. 25. ESTRADES TO POMPONNE. Interview with Matthioli. Venioe^ June 11^ 1678. SlE, « « # « * « The Count Matthu^, who does not lose right o£ the Duke of Mantua, for the reasons that I have already informed you of, is come here to Hiake a 9tay of thnee or four days with that Prince ; he has assured me that he is jstill in the resolution of setting off, the end of this month, to go to Paris ; and that he will first aooompany his master to Casale, wh^e he has lately discovered the intrigues of the Spaniards, for the purpose of obtaining possession of tbat place* I have taken occasion, Sir, to represent to him, that, ev^en if the report, which has been spread of a general peace, diould be true, the Duke of Mantua would liave still more need of the Eong's protection ; tliat the House of Austria will not be in a condition to do injury to any Prince, as long as she shall have to contend with the power of his Majesty ; but that if she had no longer this obstacle, it would be easy THE IBON MASK. 167 for her to execute the designs, which his master could not doubt her having against him ; that it was greatly his interest to put himself in such a state^ that be need not fear being deprived of Casale and the Montferrat, of which the Court of Vienna had declared its wish to put the Empress Eleanor in possession, who had no other view than that of leaving it some day to the Prince of Lorrain,* in favour ofhis marriage withthe widow of the King of Poland ; that the Duke of Mantua could not avoid this mas£ortune, except by procuring for himself the support of the King, by means of an intimate ocnmection of interests ; as would be that he would have with him, if his Majesty had a garrison in Casale, which would be paid at his expense, and kept on the same conditions as we had already agreed upon ; that this would make him the more secure, fiom the circumstance of his Majesty^s never having had any claims upon his territories, and from his being the only sovereign who was capable of defending them successfully against * Charles V. Duke of Lorrain^ married^ in the com- mencement of this year^ Eleanor^ daughter of the Emperor Leopold^ and widow of Michael Wiecnowiedd^ King of Poland. For an account of him^ see note> page 48. 168 THE IRON MASK. those, who thought they had well-grounded claims upon them. I added to this, that if he reflected upon what I told him, he would, without doubt, pierceive, that the Duke of Mantua could not take a better line, than the one that I proposed to him. The Count Matthioli answered me, that he was so persuaded of this, and that he was so assured of the aversion which that Prince had for the Spa- niards, and of his inclination towards France, that even if at his arrival at Court he should find the peace concluded and published, and that there should be in consequence no more hopie of seeing the war in the Milanese, which his master so much wished for there, he would still not hesitate to conclude in his name the aflair which we have commenced here, provided the King wished for it. Should this agree with his Majesty'*s designs, you. Sir, will know better than any body how to make use of the good intentions of the Count Matthioli, when hie shall be with you. The AbB^ D'EsTRADES.f t From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Alairs, at Paris. THE IRON MASK. 169 No. 26. POMPONNE TO ESTRADES. St. Germain, June 15, 1678. Sir, I answer your letters of the 21st and 28th of May, and of the 4th of this month together ; the first has made known to the King the reasons which have delayed the Count Matthioli : if they are really such as he told you, and that he has thought his presence necessary, in order to pre- vent the injurious resolutions to which the Span- iards might have persuaded his master, it is quite right in him not to have left him ; it would also be advantageous if he could soon withdraw him from Mantua, and lead him to Casale. It will then be more easy for him to make his journey into France, and to insure the success of the measures which he has concerted with you. * * ' * « * m PoMPONNE.f t From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at Paris. 172 THE IRON MASK. is no other safe part for him to take, than that of putting himself under the protection of the King, and of fulfilling those engagements with his Ma- jesty, which he has already agreed upon. This is what I represented to the Count Matthioli at his last visit to this place, and he was the more easily brought to be of this opinion, because he has a great interest that this affair should succeed, since the Spaniards, who are all-powerful in the councils of his master, and who have the Duchess- mother on their side, have easily discovered that it is he alone who injures them in the mind of the Duke, and would not fail to take vengeance on him, if he ever fell into their hands. He de- parted yesterday to go and join the Duke of Man- tua, whom he does not quit, and whom he is to accompany to Mantua, and afterwards to Casale, from whence he will proceed to Paris: but, by the reckoning that we have made together, he cannot be there before the end of the next month. « « ' « « « « Sir, I am obliged to tell you that the Nuncio is so devoted to the Spaniards, and that he sees with so much chagrin the power of the King, and the weakness of the House of Austria, that he would THE IRON MASK. 17S be capable of inventing to me a story of this na- ture, even should it not be true.-|- * * The Abb£ d^Estrades.^ No. 29. ESTRADES TO POMPONNE. Excuses for the delay of Matthioli. Venice, July 9, 1678. Sir, After what I had the honour of acquainting you with in my last letter, on the subject of the Count Matthioli, I should not have any thing further to add to-day, if he had not begged me to let you know that he has only remained at Venice some days longer than he originally intend- ed, in order to execute some little commissions which the Duke of Mantua gave him when he left the place ; but that he will go and meet that Prince f As the letter breaks off here abruptly, it is impossible • • • • ior us to discover to what transaction Estrada alludes. X From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at Paris. 174 THE IJiON MASK. this week at Mantua^ that he will follol^ faim to Casale, and that from thence he will set off to go to Paris, where he .expects to arrive during the month of September. We have together cal- culated the time, and he cannot and ought not to leave his master sooner. He has, however, been apprehensive that these delays might give a bad opinion of him, and he has wished, in order to set his mind at rest, that I would send you the letters he has written to the King and to you. Sir ; although I assured him he need not take this trouble, and that it would be sufficient if I b 1679. Sir, Before I received the letter, which you did me the honour to write to me on the ^th of last month, and by which you informed me that the King in- tended to send here the Count d^Asfeld, Colonel of a regiment of Dragoons, he was already arrived, and had been to see me, to communicate to me the orders he had received from His Majesty ; but t Form the Archives of the Office for Foreign ASairs, at Paris. d04 THE I&ON MASK. as he was not charged with any letter from you, for rae, I diould have had some difficulty in open* ing my plans to him, in an aflFair of this consd- quence, if M. Giuliani, who happened to be with me just then, and who was come to see me for the first time since his return, had not told me, a few moments before, that there would shortly arrive here a gentleman from the King ; and if I had not found him himself so well informed of the whole of this afPair, that I could have no doubt of the truth of what he told me ; since it appeared to me impos- sible that he could know so much upon the subject without having learnt it from you, or from those who are« alone acquainted with it. He told me that M. de Louvois had obliged him, before his departure, to bum the letter which you had given him to de- liver to me, from fear lest, if he was stopped in the Milanese, it might give some ground of suspicion to the Spaniards. He even detailed to me so pre- cisely all that it contained, that I could have no further cause for fear, after I had seen that what he told me, tallied so well with all that you have done me the favour to write to me upon his subject. We have not been able to agree upon any thing together since he has been here, because the THS lEON MASK. SOS Count Matthioli is not yet arrived ; but as he has ¥aittentoineand to M. Giuliani^ from whom he se- parated himaelf near Turin, in order to excite less observation, that he will be here in a few days, I hope to be able, by the next post, to give you an ac- count of all we shall have settled with him. I will not fail, Sir, to represent strongly to him, according to the order which M. d'Asfeld has given me, on the part of the King, to that effect, that it is absolutely necessary for the Duke of Mantua to be at Casale by the ^th of next month, to make the exchange of the treaties ; and I will make him do clearly un- derstand that diligence is most necessary in an affair of this importance, lest, from delay, it should be discovered, that I am almost bold enough to pro- mise, that he will persuade his master to go there at that time. However, Sir, if this prince, who is accustomed to pass the last days of the Carnival here every year, wished also to do so this year, in order not to make his conduct appear extraordi- nary ; and that he should think that from the 15th of February, which is the first day of Lent, to the SOth, there will be too little time for his journey to Casale, without showing an anxiety which might cx^casioii suspicions ; and that, therefore, he might 906 THE IROK MASK. wish to defer for some days the exchange of the tluaties, I think you will approve of my sending you an extraorditlary courier to inform you of it ; it being impossible for me to do so sufficiently quickly by the post. De PlNCHESNE.f No. 60. PINCHESNE TO POMPONNE. Delays of MattUoli^ and of the Duke of Mantua. Venice^ Jan. 2Sth, 1679. Sir, * . • * * According to the letters which M. Giuliani and I received last week from the Count Matthioli, we thought he would, without doubt, be this week at Venice, with the Duke of Mantua. However, nei^ ther one nor the other are yet arrived, on account of a slight illness which the Duchess dowager t From the Archives of the Office for Foreign A^Eiirs^ at Paris. TH£ IROK MASK. 807 of Mantua has had, which has obliged that prinde to remain with her; but the Sieur Giuliani has received to-day a letter from Don Joseph Varano, in which he informs him, that the Count Matthioli is at present at Padua, where he is waiting for the Duke of Mantua, in order that they may come here together, on Monday, or Tuesday at the latest. This has obliged M. d*Asfeld and myself to send Giuliani this evening to Padua^ to the Count Matthioli, to give him intelligence of the arrival of M. d'Asfeld at Venice, and to represent to hina that it is of the last importance, on account of the shortness of the time, for us to hav«, as soon as possible, a conference together, in order to take all the measures that shall be necessary to induce the Duke of Matitua to be at Casale the ^th or 535th of next month, according to the wish of the King. I think I can say to-day more securely than I did last week, that I shall inform you by the next post of all we shall have arranged with the Count Matthioli, since certainly the next week will not pass away without our meeting. De PlNCHESNE.* * From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs^ at Paris. S08 THE I&ON MASK. No. 61. PINCHESNE TO POMPONNE. Further Delays of Matthioli. Venice, February 4th, 1679. Sib, # . ♦ « « # « The Duke of Mantua has been here since Tuesday. The Count Matthioli was to have come with him, but the fever he has been suffering from for the last ten or twelve days prevented him, and obliged him to remain at Padua, where he still is, for the purpose of going through a course of remedies. Nevertheless, Sir, as time presses, M. d'Asfeld and I have sent M. Giuliani to him twice this week, to represent to him the necessity we have of seeing him, to arrange toge- ther the day when the Duke of Mantua is to be at Casale. He has sent us word for answer, that to-morrow he will certainly be at Venice, whatever his state of health may be, and that on Monday or Tuesday, at the latest, we may see one another, to THE IRON MASK. 209 conclude all things ; after which, M. d'Asfdd can set off fbr Pignerol : that, besiiles, he could assure us, that in all the conversations he had had with the Duke of Mantua, since his return from France, he had found that Prince in the best possible dis- positicMis for the success of the affair, within the time that had been fixed upon with you, and that he had even done himself the hcHiour of acquaint- ing you with this in a letter which he had written you. I have also seen, within the last two days, Don Joseph Varano, who has also given me as- surances to the same effect on the part of his master. So, Sir, there is every reason to hope, that the King will soon receive the satisfaction tliat he expects from this business. When M. d'^Asfeld and myself shall see the Count Matthi- dU, we will represent to him the diligence that if necessary to be made use of in this affair ; which is the more so, because the march of the troops towards Pignerol begins to give suspicion to the Spaniards in the Milanese, although thus far they are persuaded that they are only sent to that place to work at the fortifications. M. d^Asfeld, who, as well as myself, is rendered uneasy by the delay of the Count Matthioli, had made a resolu- SIO THE IRON MASK. tion, on Friday evening, to go and pay him a visit at Padua, and to take as a pretext his wish to go and see some of the towns of the Terra Ferma ; but we reflected, that two days, more or less, was not of great consequence; and that, besides the uselessness of this journey, since it is necessary that the Count Matthioli should speak to the Duke of Mantua before he can settle any thing with us, it might also cause some suspicion in his inn, where there are many strangers, if he was seen to leave Venice during the time when the diversions there are at their height, to go and make a tour in towns were there are none. Therefore we have thought, that it was better to wait the arrival of the Count Matthioli in this city, in order not to risk any thing by too much precipitation, in an a£Pair in which secrecy is so necessary, and respecting which one can never take too many precautions. * ♦ • * * *■ • De PlNCHESNK.f t From the Archives of die Office for Foreign Af^rs^ at Paris, THE IBON MASK. Sll No. 62. LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS. St. Germain, Feb. 7th, 1679. I SEND you a letter for the same person* to whom you were to deliver the two packages, which the individual named Barrere ought to have brought you by this time. I beg that you will give it to him, and send me by the return of the same courier, who will deliver to you this letter, whatever answer he shall make to it. The person who despatches this courier from Lyons, has orders to tell him, that he is the bearer of the letters of Madame Fouquet. It will be right for you to tell him the same thing when you send him back. You will observe, if you please, to put an envelope over your letter to me, addressed to the Sieur Du Bois, Clerk of the Foreign Post at Lyons. If the person to whom you have to deliver this * This person was Catinat, who was now on his way to Pignerol, under the assumed name of Richemont. v2 SIS THE IRON MA8K. letter is not arrived, you will send me word of it by the return of the courier, and will keep the letter till his arrival. De Lou vols.* No. 63. PINCHESNE TO POMPONNE. Interviews with Matthioli — Further Delays in the Ratifica- tion of the Treaty. Feb. 7th, 1679. We had hoped, M. d^Asfeld and I, according to the promises which had been given us to this effect- by the Count M atthioli, through M. Giofi- ani, as often as we sent him to Padua, that we might be able to dispose the Duke of Mantua to go to Casale the ^th of this month, according to the King^s intentions ; but notwithstanding all that we have been able to allege to' the Count in the two conferences we have had with him, last • ^ From the ArcfaiveB of France. THE lEON MASK. 21$ Thursday and this morning, we have not been able to succeed, and we have therefore been ob- liged to defer the day of the exchange of th^ ratifi^tions of the treaty till the 10th of next March ; on which day the Duke of Mantua pro- mises to be, most assuredly, and without any fur^ ther delay, at Casale. We have despatched you this extraordinary courier. Sir, to give you intelligence of this ; and we have so strongly recommended diligence to him, that we hope our letters will still arrive soon enough at court, to afford the King sufficient time to give whatever orders his Majesty shall judg^ necessary, for the delaying of the march of the troops towards Pigqerol. M. d^Asfeld writes in this intention, to M. de Louvois; but I will take the liberty to request you. Sir, in case the King has any new orders to give us on this affair, to order them to be sent directly to me; because, as it is possible that M. d'Asfeld may be obliged to depart before they arrive,. I could not be made acquainted with them if they were sent to him, the cypher he has received from M. de Louvois being different to 214 THE IRON MASK. that which you have sent me. We think, never- theless, we can assure you, Sir, that we do not see, from this delay of time, any reason to doubt the sincerity of the sentiments of the Duke of Mantua ; who has again assured us, through the Count Matthioli, that he is more than ever in the in- tention of executing the treaty he has just made with his Majesty, and of keeping the promise he has given to him. The Count MatthioK had written to you ; but as his letter was not in cypher, and did not contain any thing but what I have sent you word of in this, I have not thought it necessary to send it to you. De Pinchesne. * * From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at Paris. THE IBON MASK. 215 No. 64. LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS. St. Germain^ February 15th, 1679. ♦ ♦♦••# When the affairs for which the Sieur de Richemont is with you shall be concluded, you may, fecf ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ De Louvois.J No. 66. POMPONNE TO PINCHESNE. February 17th, 1679. I HAVE given an account to the King of what you tell me, in your last letter of the ^th of January^ you have done concerning the affair which is entrusted to you, and of your expecting t The sentence is left thus imperfect in M. Delort's pub- lication. The whole letter, however, is published in the work entitled, " Les philosophes et les gens de lettres des XVII« et XVIII« siecles k la Bastille." The rest of the letter does not refer to Matthioli's affidr. I From the Archives of France. £16 THE lEOK MASK. the Count Matthioli soon, from the assurance that the Sieur Giuliani had given you to that effect. His Majesty was very glad to see that you still have hopes both of the success of the affair, and of prevailing upon the Duke of Mantua to leave Venice on the 20th or 25th of this month. I have nothing particular to acquaint you with, beyond what you already know. You will con- tinue, .if you please, to inform me exactly of all that shall pass on this subject ; even despatching me an extraordinary courier if you shall deem it necessary. POMPONNE. t No. 66. PINCHESNE TO POMPONNE. iie«i8ons for the Duke of Mantua's delay in going to Casale. Venice, February 18th, 1679. Sib, The necessity, which M. d'Asfeld and myself were under a week ago, of sending off in all haste t From the Archives of the Office for FoFoiga Affairs, at Paris. THE IRON MASK. S17 the courier whom we despatched to the Court, prevented me, Sir, from being able to acquaint you in the letter, which I then did myself the honour to write to you, with the reasons, which the Count Matthioli has alleged to us, to make us understand that the Duke of Mantua cannot be at Casale the 25th of this month, according to the wishes of the King expressed to him by us. He {old us three : the first was, that this Prince, wish- ing to send to Casale, as soon as he should be arrived there, his guards and the greater part of his court, (intending to make some stay there after the conclusion of the aSair,) it became necessary for him for this purpose to liave some money, which could not be got in so short a time. The second, that it was absolutely necessary first to persuade Don Vincent Gronzaga,* who is at pre- sent at Mantua, to make this journey with his Highness, since, being the presumptive heir of the Duke of Mantua, it would be very dangerous to leave him at Mantua, at the time when the afikir of Casale would be known; because the Mantuans regarding him as likely to he their future sovereign, there would be danger that they * See note> page 18. ^18 THE IRON MASK. might allow themselves to be persuaxled by him to rebel against the Duke of Mantua, which, without doubt, he would not fail to try to make them do, when he should see that his Highness was attaching liimself to the party of France, and abandoning that of the House of Austria, to which Don Vincent is absolutely devoted. And the third, the obligation under which the Duke of Mantua found himself of holding here a sort of carousel with several Vene- tian gentlemen, to whom he had given his promise to that effect, which he could not now retract, without occasioning some suspicion here. This last reason, Sir, although the least considerable of the three, appears to me notwithstanding to be a truer one than the others ; because this Prince is so much attached to all pleasures, of whatever kind they may be, that when he finds an occasion of in- dulging in them, the most important affairs cannot turn him away from them. This little carousel is certainly to take place some day next week ; after which the Count Mattbioli has assured us that the Duke of Mantua will, without doubt, leave this plac6, in order to be at Casale the 10th of next month, as he has promised us ; his people are even to set off to-day to return to Mantua. To-morrow THE IBON MASK. 219 we are to have another conference with the Count Matthioli, to regulate in what manner M. d^Asfeld is to open the business at Casale with the Duke of Mantua, for the purpose of making the exchange of the ratifications of the treaty. Meanwhile, Sir, I think it right to inform you, that the march of the troops to Pignerol, and the munitions and money which are carried there, cause great fear through the whole of Italy ; and that it is said publicly here, that the King has some great plan, with- out its being possible to penetrate what it is, sus- picions falling upon Casale, upon Geneva, upon Savoy, and more particularly upon the Republic of Genoa, on account of what has lately passed there: I even know that M. Contarini* has written in these terms to Venice. There are also two couriers, arrived during the last eight or ten days from Turin, at Milan ; the one despatched by Madame Royale t to her envoy, and the other by the Duke of GioninazzeJ to the government of * Contarini was at this time Ambassador from the lie- public of Venice to the Court of Lewis the Fourteenth. f The Duchess of Savoy. For an account of her, see note, page 32. X The Spanish Envoy at the Court of Turin. 2^ THE lEON ICASK. Milan, to give them intelligence of these move- ments. The CoaDt Matthioli has Udd us, that the Duke of Mantua intended to make an excuse for his journey to Casale, by saying, that the fear he is in of the designs of France, obliges him to go to that place, to give the necessary orders for its security. I have just now learnt, that a courier is arrived to the Spanish Ambassador from Milan. I am persuaded he is sent for the same reasons I have' before stated. # * • # # De PlNCHESNE.f . No. 67. POMPONNE TO MATTHIOLI. February 21st, 1679. Sib, I HAVE received the letters, that you have taken the trouble to write to me, and I think I cannot do better than address my answer to them to the t From the ArchiveB of the Office for Foreign Affiurs, at Paris. THE IRON MASK. SSBl care of the Abbe d^Estrades, as you intend mak- ing a journey to Turin. I have not failed to give an account to the King of your sorrow at the long delay of an affair, which was commenced and is to be concluded through your means. His Ma- jesty is still willing to promise himself a good suc- cess in it, and will not entertain any doubt of the promise which has been so solemnly given to him being kept. You know how much you may promise yourself from his goodness when you shall have accomplished the success of the prcgect, of which you yourself laid the foundation. Upon this subject the Abbe d^Estrades will speak to you still more in detail, and therefore I will not lengthen this letter any more than to assure you, that I am, &c. POMPONNE.* * From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at Paris. 222 THE IRON MASK. No. 68. PINCHESNE TO POMPONNE. Arrangements for the Exchange of the Ratifications of the Treaty. Venice, Fehniary 25th, 1679. Sir, * ♦«#♦•. I SENT you word in my last letter of the re- ports, which the inarch of the troops to Pignerol caused through the whole of Italy : these have much increased this week from the news which has been received that M. de Vauban* is gone there by the King'*s order ; which makes it be believed more than ever, that his Majesty certainly medi- tates some great design on that side, although the strongest suspicion falls always on Genoa, and, next to that, on Casale. The Spanish Ambassa- dor, and the Abbe Frederic, the resident of the Emperor, went together on Wednesday to the Duke of Mantua, to tell him they had heard from * Sebastian Le Pretre, Marquis of Vauban, the cele- brated Engineer ; Marshal of France in 1703 ; Died in 1707. THE IRON MASK. 223 Turin that he wished to give Casale and the Montferrat to the King, and to represent to him the disadvantages that would arise to all Italy from this measure, and particularly to the House of Austria, on account of the Duchy of Milan. That Prince answered them that he was astonish- ed they could believe in reports of this nature, which had no solid foundation. This answer was all they could draw from him on the subject. Nevertheless, Sir, as he is always in the intention of executing the treaty he has made with the King, which he has again assured us through the Count Matthioli, M. d'Asfeld and I have had two more conferences this week with the aforesaid Count, the last of which was yesterday evening ; in which we arranged that M. d^Asfeld and he should find themselves on the 9th of next month at Notre-Dame d'*Incr6a, which is a village ten miles from Casale, in order to make there the ex- change of the ratifications ; and that the Duke of Mantua should arrive without fail at Casale on the evening of the 16th, to wait there for the troops of his Majesty, and to put them in possession of the place when they should arrive there on the XSH THE IROK MASK. 18th, which is the day that M. d^Asfeld has said they would be there, having, according to the or- der of M. de Louvois, demanded nine days be- tween that of the exchange of the ratifications and that of their arrival at Casale. M. d'Asfeld left this fiace yesterday after this conference to go to Pignerol, and the Count Matthioli is to eel off this evening for Increa: but as the Duke of Man- tua wishes to remain only a single day at Mantua, and intends to travel post to Casale, he will re- main here till the 11th or ISth of next month t it is even better he should do so, because as long as they shall see him amusing himself here with a oarousdL and similar trifles, there will be less sus- picion of him than if they saw him take his de- parture. * * * * De PlNCHESHE.f t From the Ardiives of the Office for Foreign Affairs^ at Park. THE IRON MASK. ^^5 No. 69. PINCHESNE TO POMPONNE. Suspicions of the House of Austria respecting the Negoci»- tions. Venice, March 4th, 1679. Sir, * * * * All the advices that come from France and from Turin declare so positively that the Duke of Mantua has made a treaty with the King for the cession of Casale and of the Montferrat, that they are beginning here to change into certainties those suspicions which I mentioned to you. Sir, in my t wp last letters, they had had, ever since the first news arrived at Milan by the couriers which Madame Royale and the Duke of Gioninazze despatched there. The Governor of Milan immediately sent two others to Madrid and Vienna to give intelli- gence to the Emperor and the King of Spain. The courier, who was sent to Vienna, returned here on V^Tednesday evening, with express orders to the Marquis Canozza, the Imperial Vicar, in Italy, to 226 THE IBON MASK. speak strongly to the Duke of Mantua, and to try and deter him from doing a thing so contrary to the interests of the wh(de House of Austria; and to go afterwards to Turin and Milan, to concert there the means of preventing it, in case the news proved true. This same Marquis Canozza having been, for the last five or six months, in the prisons of Venice, accused of having had a gentleman of Verona assassinated, the Emperor has also written by the same Courier to the Republic, to beg that he may be enlarged, which was done on Thursday evening. He has not been able as yet to see the Duke of Mantua, who defers, as much as he can, giving him audience, in order to gain time. The fear I have been in, Sir, lest what he has to say to this Prince, from the Emperor, might be capa- ble of producing some change in him, has obliged me to charge M. Giuliani to go, as from me, to Don Joseph Varano, who is at present, since the depar- ture of Count Matthioli, the only confidant of the Duke of Mantua, to try to know from him what are the sentiments of his master upon the subject of this mission. He has answered me, that his master would assuredly execute the treaty he has made witli His Majesty, "notwithstanding the ob- THE IBON MASS. 927 stacles which the House of Austria puts in the way of it, and that he would leave this place on Wednesday or Thursday, in order to arrive at Casale within the time at which he has promised to be there. All that We have to fear is, that the ^laniards, who are extr^nely suspicious, may watch him, and oppose his passage,t and that of the Count Matthioli, of whom they have an equal distrust * * # # Db Pivcbesne.| No. 70. PINCHESNE TO POMPONNE. Arrest of 4'Asfeld. — Departure of the Duke of Mantua from Venice. Venice^ March ilik, 1679. Sib, The Courier, whom we sent you a month ago, not having complied with the order I had given t Through the Duchy of Milan. t From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairt^ at Paris. 228 THE IROll MASK. him to Write to me as soon as he should be arrived at Lyons, in order to acquaint me whether he had passed through the Milanese without being arrested, I was under great uneasiness until I re- ceived the letter, in which you do me the favour to inform me that you have received the despatch which I sent you by him. You may believe, Sir, that when M. d'Asfeld and I were obliged to de- fer the day of the exchange of the ratifications till the 10th of this inonth, we did not do so, till we saw that it was impossible to persuade the Duke of Mantua to perform his part within the period desired by the King. All the world says here, that he is to go away this evening, or to-morrow, without his suite ; and he has always told us, through the Count Mat- thioli, that when he left this place, he would only pass through Mantua, and travel post from thence to Casale. He has still more time than is neces- sary for him to be there before the 18th of this month, which is the day when the troops of the King are to enter the place, accordii^ to what we agreed upon with the Count Matthioli. M. Giuliani has received a letter from him^ this * MfttthioH. THE IRON MASK. 2^9 week, in which he writes him word that M. d'As- feld has been arrested at La Canonica, which is a village beyond Bergamo, but that he was released shortly after. I do not know. Sir, if this news is really true, it having been impossible for me to verify it, and the Count Matthioli only writing word of it because a Voiiurievy whom he met on the road, told him that a gentleman whom he had conducted three or four days ago from Verona to La Canonica, had been arrested at the latter place, and released afterwards. In any case, I cannot doubt but that you are already informed of it, since the Count mentions, in the same letter, that it has been writ- ten to the Abb^ d'Estrades, who will not certainly have failed to make you acquainted with it. ♦ « « * « I have just this moment heard. Sir, that the Duke of Mantua set oflF yesterday evening at four oVlock at night,-f" and that the Marquis Canozza is also gone to Verona, which is his country, from t According to the Italian mode of reckoning the hours. 830 TB£ IKON if ASK. whence it is believed he will be very likely to go to Milan. De PlNCHKSNE.* No 71. POMPONNE TO MATTHIOLI. Letter of Credence to be presented to Matthioli by Catinat. St. Germain^ March 14^ 1679. Sir, The King has been informed by the Sieur de Pinchesne, of all the measures which you have taken with him and with M. d'Asfeld, for the ex- ecution of the affair, which has been conducted by your labours, and of the time which the Duke of Mantua has arranged for being at Casale. He is, besides, aware that M. d'Asfeld was to leave Venice some days earlier, according to the agree- ment that you had made together; but as he • From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs^ at Paris. THE IRON MASK. SSI learns by his letters from Piedmont, that it is very l)ossible he may have been arrested in his passage through the Milanese, and placed in the Castle of Milan, he has judged it right to supply his place with the person who will deliver you this letter ; it is the same whom he has honoured principally with his confidence for the execution and the con- duct of all that shall be to be done with you and the Duke of Mantua, after the arrival of that Prince at Casale. Therefore you will, if you please, place entire confidence in him, and particularly in the assurances which he will give you of the good-will of his Majesty for you, and of his sense of the service you are rendering to him. For myself. Sir, I intreat you to believe me with the most perfect truth, &c. POMPONNE.* * From the Archives of the Office for Foreign AflfSEtirs^ at Paris. 2S2 THE IBON MASK. No. 72. JBSTRADES TO MATTHIOLI. Complaints of the Delays in the Conclusion of the Nego- ciation. Turin, March 24th, 1679. I have thought it my duty, Sir, to give you advice of my arrival at this court, in order that you may be able to let me know ' whatever you shall judge necessary ; and that whatsoever re- mains to be dojie, for the termination of what has been already resolved, may be the more easy of execution, from the proximity of the places at which we respectively are. You cannot doubt its being with this view, that the wish has been ex- pressed for my coming here ; and I have been the more glad to come, because I hoped that I should not be long without seeing the eflTect of the en- gagements which you have entered into with the king. If I was not aware of your probity and of your zeal for the interests of His Majesty, and for the advantage of the Prince to whom you are at- tached, I should have been dreadfullv uneasy at the THE IBON MASK. S38 delay of our affair, which ought without fail, and at the latest, to have been concluded at the com-; mencement of this month. But though we are al- ready at the 24th, and that all you can desire on our part is entirely ready, I cannot persuade my- self that the intentions of his Highness and your own are other than they always were. You have been so well aware, how much this affair would be useful to him at present, and glorious for the future, and you have made him so well compre^ hend this, that I cannot have any suspicions oil this head; neither can I, when I represent to myself the very considerable interest you have in completing an affair of this importance, of which the conclusion will be considered so great a merit on your part in the eyes of the most generous and the greatest King in the world, who has testified to you himself the good-will he bears you for it ; who has praised the address with which you have conducted the negociation ; who has begun by giving you several marks of his esteem and libe- rality ; and who has promised you besides suck great advantages as would be sufficient to establish all your family, and to make you happy for the rest of your days. As his word has always been 834 THE IRON MASK. inviolable, you no doubt rely upon it implicitly : you must be aware, also, how dangerous it would be to deceive him, and that, after all the steps he has taken, and the measures he has agreed upon, you would expose his Highness, and yourself, to very great misfortunes, if his Majesty had reason to think that bad faith had been made use of towards him, after a treaty concluded in all the proper forms with himself, and founded upon a full pow- er ; the inexecution of which would only serve to ruin a Prince, who abandons himself to your coun* cils, and who would be infallibly stripped by the Spaniards, who would be willing once for all to deliver themselves from the alarms which they have received from the reports spread about on all sides respecting this affair. I have already told you. Sir, that I believe you as well-inten- tioned as ever, and that it is not for the purpose of exciting you to return to these good sentiments, or to strengthen them, that I speak to you in this manner; but only lest a longer delay should di- minish the good opinion entertained of you, and lest umbrage should be taken that an affair in which secrecy was so important, has been made public, although the King, and those who have TH£ IKON MASK. ftS5 the honour to serve him, have kept the secret so well that it cannot have been got at through them. I hope, neverthdiess, that we shall soon be s6^ tisfied; and that I shall have the pleasure to see you worthily recompensed for your zeal : I assure you, Sir, that your interest, more than my own> thou^ I have much in this affair, makes me de* drous of it. The Abb£ d^Estbades.* No. 73. • LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS. St. Germdin, March 26th^ 1679. I have received your letter of the 21st of this month. You will have seen by my former ones, that the King approves of the officers of the citadel of Pignerol visiting your prisoners, and passing the mornings and afternoons with them when they desire it, in the presence of one of your * From the work of M. Roux (Fazillac). S36 THE IRON MASK. own officers.* I can only now repeat the same thing to. you, and tell you, that with regard to tlie governor, the officers, and the inhabitants of the town, you may act in the same manner by them, when you shall judge fit : not, however, until after the a£Pair, for which the Sieur de Ri- chemont is at Pignerol, shall have succeeded or failed. I address to you a packet for the Abb6 d'Es- trades, which you will send him, if you please, by one of your officers, with a direction in your hand- writing; and when he shall have despatched to you his answer, you will send it to me by the return of the same courier, whom, in the mean while, you will keep concealed in the prison. De L0UV01S.+ * Saint-Mars only commanded in that part of the citadel of Pignerol which was appropriated to the use of a State- prison. f From the Archives of France. THE IRON MASr 237 No. 74. f POMPONNE TO PINCHESNE. St. Germain^ March 26tli^ 1679. The King is extremely, anxious for the success of the a£Pair of the Duke of Mantua. We have heard nothing from M. d^Asfeld, and, therefore, can have no doubt of his being prisoner in the Milanese. The news which you received of his being arrested at La Canonica, was doubtless as true as that of his being released again was the reverse. We shall now see if the firmness of the Duke of Mantua, which has thus far re^sted the efforts of the Count Carrossa, and of the Republic of Venice, will continue to the end : we cannot be long without having this point cleared up, if, as you mention in your letter of the 11th, be had set off the night before to go to Casale. Your next letters will, of course, bring us fresh intelligence upon the subject. PoMPONNE.* * From the Archives of the pffice for Foreign Affairs^ at Paris. 388 THE IRON MASK. No. 75. POMPONNE TO PINCHESNE. Suspicions of the Fidelity of Matthioli. St. Germain^ April 5th, 1679. I have received your letter of the 18th of March) which shows the bad state in^ which, ac- cording to the Count Matthioli^s own accounts, the affair of Mantua is: he is very possibly, as you say, the sole author of all the accidents and impediments in it, which he writes word, in his letter, to Giuliani^ have happened. Your next let- ters will give us still clearer intelligence on this sub- ject ;. but we have many reasons for apprehend- ing that this negociation, which appeared so much advanced, may fail at last, when we were in the immediate expectation of seeing it happily con- cluded. # ♦ ♦ # # POMPONNE.-f" t From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs^ at Paris. THE IRON MASK. ^9 No. 76. CHANOIS TO LOUVOIS. Reports of Catinat being at Pignerol — Different Rumours respecting the Negociation. Pignerol^ April 5th^ 1679. As I have discovered, Sir, since the last post, that the Marquis d'Herleville (governor of Pig- nerol) is aware that M. de Richemont is incog- nito in the citadel of this town, and that, in fact, he knows his real name ; I do myself the honour of acquainting you with the circumstance. M. de Saint-Andr^ even sends word, that he has been told at Turin that M. de Catinat is to take him with him to Casale. I do not know how they can have discovered so much, unless it is, that the absence of M. de Catinat has given occasion to some of the Guards* to write from Paris, that he is in these parts. These reports also mention the days on * The Officers of the French Guards^ of whom Catinat^ at this time^ waft one. S40 THE IRON MASK. which he has gone out of the citadel, and the spot where the Abbe d^Estrades came to speak to him the last time from Turin. I have answered no- thing when I have heard these things said, except that I knew of no one in the citadel, and nothing upon the subject. The Marquis of Saint-Maurice told several people that the French Ambassador wished to be very cunning; but that he knew very well that there had been a treaty made between the King and the Duke of Mantua, on the subject of Ca- sale ; and that he also knew that during the last ten days it had been absolutely broken ojff. The retrograde movements of the troops cantoned in the Briangonnois and the valley of Chaumont, on the side of Dauphiny and Provence, seem to confirm the report of the Marquis of Saint-Maurice ; but the arrival of the battalion of the regiment of Piedmont in this town two days ago, makes the people of the country, who love to reason upon every thing, suspend their judgments ; their rea- sonings will be of no importance, if the Dukes's sentiments are always well disposed, for between this place and Casale there is no fortress, nor any THE IRON mask; S41 obstacle which can delay the march of the King's troops. I am always with profound respect, &c. Dk Chanois.* • No. 77. CATINAT TO LOUVOia Pignerol, April 8th, 1679. Sib, The roads being good, and the days as long as they are at present, a body of cavalry can go in less than thirty hours from Pignerol to Casale. There is no fortified place through which we should be obliged to pass, and I am not aware of any difficulty that we could find on the passage, provided we took the country by surprise in our march. I have thought it right to state this t9 you. Sir, because the possibility of using this de- gree of diligence may materially assist the mea- * Chanois was a French Commissary at Pignerol. This letter is extracted from the work of M. Roux (Fazillac). K 848 THE IBON MASK. sures you may wish to take. The Duke of Man- tua has never been at Casale, which seems to me an obstacle to the finding good excuses for his go- in^ there, at a time when his conduct is so much watched and suspected. But we could do very well without him« if he is always well-intentioned, and if he is the master of a good part of his gar- rison. The Governor is of Mantua, and there- fore his actual subject ; which is perhaps a fa- vourable circumstance. I am, &c. Catinat.* No. 78. CATINAT TO LOUVOIS. Rumours of Catinat's being at Pignerol. — Civiliiieis of Saint Mars to him. April 15tli, 1679. Sir, M. d^'Herleville must have received some letters from Paris by the last post, which have given him ♦ From the work of M. Roux (Fazillac). Tfifi IRON MASK. 243 the. suspipion that I might be here ; at least, he has put some leading questions on the subject to M. de Chanois : he is not a man without curiosity, a^d he thought by these means to gain certain intelligence. As I have been now a long while aboent^ and there has been no doubt at Paris of some design in agitation in these parts, on account of the troops which have been sent here, it is probable that some reasoner of the regiment of Guards, or some other person, may have given him this idea. I did myself the honour to send you word. Sir, of all that passed in my journey to Incr^a. I have received letters from the Abb6 d'^Estrades, in which he informs me that the troops have retired a little, in order to get into quarters where they can subsist more conveniently ; and also of the accounts he has received respecting the delay in the execu- tion of the affair you are acquainted with. I am treated here with so much attention and civility, that a long residence, while waiting for intelli- gence, ought not to give me any impatience, nor can I complain of any, except that which is caused by my anxiety and zeal to see the conclusion of an affair which His Majesty is anxious about, and for R 2 244 THE IRON MA Sit. the conduct of which you, Sir, have thought pro- per to honour me with your confidence. I should have some uneasiness at being for so long a time a burden and an inconvenience to M. de Saint Mars ; but he executes with so much pleasure the orders which he receives from you, that all the care he takes of me does not distress me. I re^ ceive it all as a very evident mark of the kindness with which you. Sir, write to him on my subject, for which I am infinitely obhged to you ; as well as for the honour you do me in permitting me to remain, with all the respect that is due to you. Your very humble and very obedient Servant, De Richemont.* * In his correspondence with Louvois^ Catinat some- times signs with his real name^ and sometimes with his assumed one of Richemont. This letter is extracted from the work of M. Roux (Fazillac). THE JRON MASK. 245 No. 79. POMPONNE TO PINCHESNE. Continued Suspicions of Matthioli. St. Germain^ April 18th, 1679. The account you gave me in your letter of the 85th of last month of the conversation you had had with the Count Matthioli, could not be more exact. It is still ver}- difficult to discover what is the real case with this affair, and whether the good faith that was to be desired in it has been kept to* Try to discover this adroitly, but without show- ing any suspicions ; and be careful to inform me of every thing that shall come to your knowledge upon the subject. This is all I have to reply to your letter. The rest does not require any particular answer. PoMPONNE.* * From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at Paris. ^46 THE IBON MASK. No. 80. LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS. St. Germain, April 18th, 1679. I HAVE received your letter of the 8th of this month. The period of time during which M. de Richemont will" have to remain in the place where he is at present being uncertain, I advise you to let him walk with your prisoners, even if it should only be in the dungeon. You may even permit him to pay them visits, and to converse with them. Which will assist in enabling him to pass the time of his stay, which, whether it will be long or short, I Cannot at present tell you. * « « 4^ 4t « De L0UV01S.+ t From the Archives of France.] THE IBON MASK. S47 No. 81. POMPONNE TO PINCHESNE. Confirmation of the Suspicions respecting Matthioli's want of Fidelity. St. Grermain^ April 19tli^ 1079. The account you have given in your letter of the first of this month, of your interview with the Count Matthioli, of the assurances he gave you of his good intentions, and of the journey he was preparing to make to the Abb6 d'Estrades, does not prevent his being suspected with great reason of want of fidelity. Do not, however, let him discover, in case you see him again, the know- ledge we have upon this subject, but tell him idways that we cannot doubt but that the Duke of Mantua will execute the promises he has so so* lemnly given through him. In truth, this Prince ought not to be allowed to believe, that it is per- mitted to him to fail in a treaty he has made with His Majesty ; and if the occasion presents itself^ make it appear to him that you can have no doubt of the promises which have been made to the King being kept, and of the engagements which S48 THE IRON MASK. have been once entered into with him being ex- ecuted. Take care to inform us exactly, as you have already done, of all that shall take place in this affair, and of the manner in which it shall con- tinue to be regarded at Venice. I am, &c. POMPONNE.* No. 8% LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS, Order to receive Mattliioli as a Prisoner. Saint Germain, April 27th, 1679. The King has sent orders to the Abbe d^Es^ trades, to try and arrest a man, with whose con- duct His Majesty has reason to be dissatisfied ;, of which he has commanded me to acquaint you, in order that you may not object to receiving him, when he shall be sent to you, and that you may guard him in a manner, that not only he may not have communication with any one, but that also ♦ From the Archives of the 0£|ce for Foreign Affairs, at Paris. THE IRON MASK. 249 he may have cause to repent of his bad conduct ; and that it may not be discovered that you have a new prisoner. De Louvois.* No. 83. POMPONNE TO PINCHESNE. Further confirmation of the Treachery of Matthioli. St. Germain^ May 3d, 1679. The letter you wrote me on the 15th of last month, has confirmed to the King the treachery^ of the Count Matthioli, which already was but too much suspected. There never was so signal a piece of perfidy. .We must hope that the sen- timents of his master will not be of the same kindj and that he will not wish to break the promises he has given to his Majesty. Meanwhile we hear that this Count has arrived at Turin, where he thinks, without doubt, to impose again upon the Abb6 d'Estrades. It is important always not to Bhow that you are acquainted with his conduct. POMPONNE.-J- * From the Archives of J'rance. t From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs^ at Paris. S50 THE IRON MASK. No. 84. CATINAT TO LOUVOIS. Arrest of Matthioli. Pignerol^ May 3d^ 1679. I ARRESTED MatthioH yesterday, three miles from hence, upon the King's territories, during an interview which the Abbe d'Estrades had in- geniously contrived between him, Matthioli^ and myself, to facilitate the scheme. For the purpose of arresting him, I only made use of the Chevalier de Saint-Martin and de ViUebois, two officers of M. de Saint-Mars, and of four men of his com- pany : it was effected without any violence, and no one knows the name of the rascal, not even the officers who assisted in his arrest: he is in the chamber which the individual named Dubreuil occupied, where he will be treated civilly, accord- ing to the request of the Abb6 d'Estrades, until the wishes of the King, with regard to him, are known. I do not write any thing to you. Sir, re- fSpecting the certain conviction we have acquired of the villanies of this man, the Abb6 d'Estrades having already given his Mjyesty 4II the information THE IBON MASK. 4251 possible upon this subject. In the interview we had together before his arrest, we talked of yarious things, and amongst others of the place in which he had placed the essential and original papers respecting the affair in questicm, which consist in a letter of the Duke of Mantua to the King, the full powers he himself had for negociating, die treaty of his Majesty executed by M. de Pom- ponne, tibe ratification of the aforesaid treaty sign- ed by the Duke of Mantua, and* a letter of the Duke of Mantua to the 'Governor of Casale, or- dering him to receive the troops of the King in conformity with the treaty. All these papers are in a box at Bologna, in the hands of his wife, who is retired into the convent of the Nuns of Saint Lewis. The Abbe d'Estrades is of opinion that no time should ' be lost in obtaining these papers. As I only brought. this man here yesterday very late,' and that the post goes early this morning, I have not as yet had any conversation with him, for the purpose of obtaining his papers ; but two hours hence I will go to his room, and I do not doubt the menaces I shall make to him, which his criminal conduct will render more terrific to him, will oblige him tado all that I wish. I have S5S THE IRON MASK. chosen M. de Blainvilliers, a choice approved of also by M. de Saint-Mars, to go to Bologna, considering him as very capable to conduct him- self well in such a business. I will try to give him a route by which he will avoid passing over the territories of the King of Spain. I will give Vn account to you, Sir, the next post, of aU that I shall have done on this subject with Matthioli, to whom I have given here the name of Lestang, no one here knowing who he really is. I am, 8cc. RiCHEMONT. No. 85. CATINAT TO LOUVOIS. Intelligence respecting Matthioli's Papers. Pignerol^ May 6th^ 1679. Sir, Since I did myself the honour of writing to you> 1 have taken down shortly in writing all the in- formation I have been able to draw from the , ♦ .From the work of M. Roux (FaziUac)* THE IRON MASK. ^3 Sieur de Lestang. By making him perceive, and roughly too, the misery to which his bad conduct exposed him^ I induced him to seek for the means of avoiding it, by doing readily and frankly all that was desired of him. I have not said any thing to him which could make him discover the means by which we have been so certainly informed of his treachery; but I have spoken to him in such a manner on that subject^ that he cannot doubt that we know it, and are convinced of it. He is a rascal ; but I believe him to be honest in his desire of delivering up the papers, either from the fear which his present condition causes him, or with the view of rendering a service to the King, which may be agreeable to him, and may make him forget what is past. The original papers are at Padua, concealed in ^ hole in the wall of a room, which is in his father's lodging, and which he says is known to him alone. These papers are the treaty made by M. de Pomponne, signed by him and by Matthioli, signed below by the Duke of Mantua, a blank being left for the insertion of the ratification, when the ^change should be made for that of the King ; a blank paper signed by the Duke of Mantua, intended for a letter to the Go- 854 THE IBOK MASK. vemor of Casale, to oi^der him to receive the troopis of the King ; the full power given to M« de Tomr poniie to treat with him respecting Casale ; and a list of the troops destined to the execution of tfhis affair. If we once have possession of these papery the affair is concluded as for as regards negocia* tion ; but this is. a f^ct that we need only make known when we think proper. As I am aware of what importance it is to have possession of these CHiginal papers, I have acquainted the Abb^ d^Es- trades with the expedients I thought might be made use of for this purpose, in order that I may be assisted by his advice. I do not detail them at present to you, Sir, because I expect to-day the Sieur Giuliani, whom the Abb6 d^Estrades is to send to me, together with the Abbe de Montes- quiou, his relation, for the purpose of the former's being confronted with the Sieur de Lestang. As this interview will probably suggest to me more certain means of getting possession of these papers, I will not, as yet, acquaint you, Sir, ^ith those that I had proposed to myself. There are, besides. Other papers at Bologna, which are only letters and papers we have, as it seems to me, little need THE IRON MASX. 2SS of;, knowing, as we do, by the list of those which are at Padua, that it is these alone which par- ticularly regard the affair in question. I will do myself the honour to send you word, Sir, by the next post, what shall have been the issue of the interview between the Sieur de Lestang and Giu- liani. The Abb6 d'Estrades, by his care and address, has found means to send to Pignerol the ser- vant of the Sieur de Lestang, with his goods and all bis papers. I have made an inventory of the latter; they consist in tables of cyphers, and let- ters, which I have docketted, and extracted the substance of; they are of no importance. 1 will send to you. Sir, by the next post, a copy of what I have extracted, and a short summary of what I have been able to learn from the Sieur de Lestang in the conversations that I have had with him ; respecting which he tells me he has already sent information to the King, or to the Abb6 d'Es- trades, which has diminished the impatience I should otherwise have had of acquainting you. Sir, with them. M. de Saint-Mars treats the Sieur de Lestang very kindly in all that regards 256 THE IRON .MASK. cleanHness and food ; but very rigorously in pre- venting him from holding intercoune with any one. I am, with all respect, &c. - V/« * No. 86. Inventory sent by Catinat to Louvms^ of the Pikper^ Vht^ Matthioli had about his person. ■i'*' 1. A Memorandum of what he had to do tA, Turin, at the place where he expected to receive letters from Carbonini. ^ 2. A little note of the papers of consequence he has at Padiia, among which are those which the King is desirous of having, and which the Sieus Giuliani is gone to take possession of. 3. A note of the road he was to take in his way to Casale. * Catinat. This letter is extracted from thff work of M. Roux (Fazillac). thk iron mask. 257 4. Another note, which states that he has sent four blank papers, signed by the Duke of Mantua, to the governor of Casale; also the dates of the departure from Venice of M. d'Asfeld, and of the day, on which he, the Sieur de Lestang, and the Sieur d^Asfeld were to meet at Incr^a. 5. A memorandum, to make him recollect the name of a man living at Placentia, to w^hom he owes five hundred livres. 6. A Kttle memorandum, of the places where he had bought some small barrels of good wine, which he intended to make a present of to M. de Varen- geville,* the new ambassador at Venice ; and of his intention to write ta the Governor of Ntivarre the news of what should happen in the affairs regard- ing Casale. 7. A note, stating that the Marquis de Rebouf can give intelligence to the King of what passes at Genoa ; and his reasons to the Marquis de Cavetto for the pretensions to Savona. 8. Another, stating that the Duke of Mantua had taken poison on the 22d of February, at * He had succeeded the Abbe d'Estrades as French Am. bassador at Venice. S58 THE IRON MASK. Venice, which was suspected to have been given him by an individual, named George Hacquet, a man about his person, and the minister of his pleasures. 9. Another memorandum, by which it appears that the Duke of Mantua received, on the 14th POf|dijt^ ^9^ anawer {os th3 p#i;soi% pf Mi^ttbJU pU,: aa t^r^ i^ th^^re^ thi^ incpavepiei\ce. i|i thfi pjyp^ th^ Ab^ 4'!§;^sjti^ade& could, i^ i| is th^ E^ij^g's^ wi]^ th^t a^y pi^ppp^itipM $hoMlc^ ^. ipade tp, tt^s Qpyeru^^ afccprding tc^ the prd^ra l^ sbpyld ^e^ve> H^y^ h^ 9P<3^€?i. tp, ^i\^ h|a ii^:. t^tips)^; spmi^ by ^pi^e CH^. I bej^e the aforesaid MattbioK answered several things;, and among others, that he had again written quite late- ly to the court to say that all waa sigoed; and that these were the sort of en^igemcnts that it wa^ not easy to get released from. The Duke pf Mantua afterwaids asked him for the original papers, to which he replied that they were locked up) and that it would be a great inconvemeoqe to him, being as ill as he was, to go and look for th^m; but that he would come as soon as he wa3 able to Veiuee, where he would deliver the whol^ i^to hi^ hands. He says that the Sieur GiuUaoi came to 9ee^ him at Padua from the Duke of Mantua^ to give him intelligence that the Inquitttors of Si9i» at Venice; 384 THE lEON MASK. were making search for him, and that he must take his measures accordingly, in order not to be seized with the papers; which obUged him to mix them with many others, and to *place them in a separate house &om the one he lived in. After having been three weeks at Padua, he set oflF for Venice, leaving the original papers, and not taking them with him. He arrived ill at Venice ; went to bed as soon as he arrived there, where he- remained three days ; afterwards he went to see the Duke of Mantua, who told him that the Abbe Frederic, the Resident of the Emperor at Venice, was acquainted with all the affair respecting Ca- sale; to which the aforesaid MatthioU answered that he was not surprised at it, and that assuredly his Mother, to whom he had told all himself, had had no reserve upon the subject with the aforesaid Abb6 Frederic. He asked him afterwards for the original papers, which he told him he could not give him, having left them at Padua, upon the ad- vice which Giuliani had given him from Aim, to take care that the Venetians, who were looking out for him, should not find them in his possession. The Duke of Mantua told him that it was abso-- lutely necessary to break off this affair; to which. THE IRON MASK. S85 he answered that he ought to take care how he behaved with regard to the King ; that he had en- tered into engagements from which he could not extricate himself without breaking his word, which would be very dangerous to do with so powerful a Prince. The Duke of Mantua obliged him after- wards to have an interview with him and the Abbe Frederic, which took place in the chamber of a Monk of Saint George ; they were masked there, in order not to be known. The Duke of Mantua said to the Sieur Matthioli, " I leave you with the Abb6 Frederic, with whom you will hold a con* versation ; you must do all that he shall bid you.^ The aforesaid Abb6 Frederic showed him a copy of the treaty; and appeared so particularly in- structed upon the subject, that there was no possibility of his denying it. The aforesiud Ab- be told him that it was an affair which must be broken off; that it would be the ruin of Italy and of his master also^ and that it was abso- lutely necessary to think of some means which would make it certain not to happen; and that he might expect a great deal of gratitude from the House of Austria, if he conducted himself well. He confesses that he appeared to enter into his sentiments, not being able to do otherwise; but S86 tun IROll MASK. that remftining maBter of the original papers, h6 thought he should be always able to complete the affair^ which he intended to do in this manner. *rhe Groternor of Casale bdng his fHend, he did not doubt but that h^ should be able to make him do all that he wished. To thiii end, 1^ mUde it packet of the four blank papers signed by the Duke of Mantua, which he h£td made him sign at Mantua when he first arrived there, and while thi^ Prince was still well-intentioned. iTiai in ord#f to inspire more confidence to the Oovtmar of Casale, that he, the Sieur Matthioli, would dd nothing, except with the order of bis master, he had hdd this packet addressed to him by another SecretAry of the Duke of Mantua, named Magntrs, who has for his department the management of the afikir^ of the Montferat, to whom he said, " Here is a packet which His Highness has told me to seitd to Casale: as you administer the affairs of that country, write a letter to the Govemdf, ordering him to execute all that is to be enjoine^d by thii^ packet.^ That this proceeding procure for Mtfl the entire confidence of the Governor, by making' bitti see that he would not ask any thing a( him: wlkich> he coidd not execute with honour ; that he THE IROTf MASK. C87 had made d'Asfeld set off from Venice two or three days afterwards, in order to arrive about the same time with him at Incr^a^ where he in- tended to hare taken all the necessary measores with the aforesaid Governor, for the completion of the affldr^ Being asked why he had acted in this indirect manner, (since it had been agreed in the interview which he, M. de Pinchesne, and M. d^Asfeld had liad together on the 24fth of February, that the Duke of Mantua should go to Casale on the 15th of March^ which was a decided mark of the good intentions of his Master), he replied, that his Mas- ter was truly well-intentioned, from the fear he had inspired him with of the King''s resentment*; but that knowing the natural uncertainty of his disposition, he had thought it right to take measures to enable him to complete the affair, evenin case he (the Duke) had not kept to his engagement of coming to Ca^ sate. Being asked why he did not confide this to the Sieurs de Pinchesne and d^Asfeld, he said that he did not wish to discover to them the intelligence that existed between him and the GUivemor, or to give them any idea of uncertainty in this affair, whidi might perhaps have made them suspend the 288 THE lEON MASK. execution of it ; that as he himself regarded it as the means of making his fortune, if he could bring it to a conclusion, and as he did not doubt that such would be the event, from the measures he had taken, he wished to avoid all that might retard the execution of it. That the Sieur de Pinchesne can say whether he, the Sieur Matthioli, did not always answer to him for the success of the affair, without, however, being ever willing to communicate to him the means to be employed in it. Being asked whether he did not speak of the affair of Casale with certain Venetians, he answered that they were so well-informed upon the subject, that it is very likely he may have conversed with some of them upon it, but in the way of telling them that it was an affair which . was broken off^ and had failed ; that he had seen the Chevalier Cor- naro, Inquisitor of State, only once, for the pur- pose of asking his permission to carry arms, as the Duke of Mantua wished to have him assassinated, in order the better to authorize his disavowal of all that he, the Sieur Matthioli, had done in France, which was certainly a very unjust reason on the part of his Master for wishing to have him killed ; that as he was of a fickle disposition, his senti- THE IRON MASK. S89 m ments would change upon this subject as upon every thing else ; and that by making use of pre* cautions for some time, he should escape this mis- fortune: this permission was promised, but was never given to him. Being asked whether he had not conversed at Venice with some one of the partisans of Spisdn, he answered, no ; that he left that place on the 28th of February, two days after M. d^Asfeld, to go to Incr^a. 'Being asked whether he had not known l^efore- hand, that the Sieur d'Asfeld was to be arrested, he answered that he had had no knowledge of it, and that he had even only known with certainty his detention at Bufiacore, as far as which place he had gone on his road to the rendezvous at Incr^a, having with him all the papers necessary for the conclusion of the affair of Casale, which he had concealed so well in a saddle, that they were not fbund, though he was very minutely searched upon the frontiers of the Brescian and the Mi- lanese; that from Bufiacore he returned straight to Venice, not having any doubt erf the arrest of d^Asfeld, from the news he had received respect- ing it ; that he only remained there two days, in u 290 THE IRON MASK. order to inform M. de Pinchesne of the accidents that had happened. Being asked whether he conversed with other persons at Venice, he answered, no. When he left Venice he returned to Padua, where he remained always, except some short visits to Vdoice, of a day at the longest, to confer with M. de Pinchesne. Being asked if, at Padua, he had not held inter- course with some one of the partisans of Spain ; he answered, yes; with the individual named Don Francis Visconti, natural son of the Count Visconti, Commissary-General of the Milanese, who had spoken to him on the part of his father and of the Count de Melgar, and who having in his pois- session a copy of the treaty, and being perfectly instructed of the whole transaction, it was not possible for him to deny it ; but he spoke of it as an affair that had failed, and gained the con- fidence of the aforesaid Francis, who offered him a thousand pistoles, and a fief in the Milanese, if he would deliver to M. de Melgar the original papers which were in his possession. He answered him that this affair having appeared to him to have failed, he had given them to M. de Pin- THE IRON MASK. 291 chesne, and was no longer master of them. The aforesaid Francis persuaded him to enter into com- munication with M. de Melgar, in order, for the future, to prevent the execution of this affair, and took measures with him^ about the 10th or 12th of March, for acquainting M. de Melgar with every thing; and to this end agreed with him upon the Spanish cypher found among his papers. He says that he did all this only to deceive them, and to prevent their taking other means, than through him, of being informed of the resolutions of the King in this affair. Being asked whether he did not know, through the means of Francis, of the arrest of d'Asfeld, he answered, yes, and that the aforesaid Francis told him he had been arrested at Canonica, twenty- five miles from Milan, on the side of Bergamo, and that they had been waiting for him there more than a fortnight. Being asked if he knew who were the people that arrested him, he answered, that he did not know precisely, but that Don Francis had told him they were people employed by M. de Melgar, and that they had been placed upon various routes in order not to miss him. Don Francis told him u 2 29S THE IRON MASK. besides that he was a prisoner in the castle of Milan; that he was very civilly treated there; and that he had not been interrogated, nor found charged with any papers. Being asked whether he had not given any body a copy of the treaty ; he swore distinctly that he had given it to no one, and that those copies which have got about could only have come frcnn the mother of the Duke of Mantua, to whom her son had confided the whole afiair. He came from Padua to Turin, upon recerving the letter of the Abb6 d'Estrades, in order to con- trive an interview with the Governor of Casale ; which he had done, and had found the Governor well inclined to contribute to the completion of the business. From thence he returned to Turin, where the Abbfe d^Estrades persuaded him to have ah interview with me, during which I arrested him. I send this last fact to you. Sir, shortly, because I have already given you a sufficiently exact detail respecting it.* * Extracted from the work of M, Roux (FaEillac). THE IRON MASK. ^9S No. 93. LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS. St. Germain^ May SOth^ 1679. Your letter of the 10th of this month has been delivered to me ; I have nothing to add to what I have already commanded you respecting the severity with which the individual named Lestang must be treated. With regard to the man who conducted M. de Richemont into Piedmont, you may let him go, after having recompensed him sufficiently, taking care to let me know what you have given him. Dk Louvois.* No. 94. CATINAT TO LOUVOIS. Further particulars respecting Matthioli. Pigneroi^ May 2l$t, 1679. I only send you, Sir, the answers which the Sieur Lestang has made to me upon the points, on * From the Archives of France. 294 THE IRON MASK. which you have ordered me to interrogate him ; the preceding examinations, which I took the liberty of sending you, having already informed you upon other subjects, and generally upon every thing which I have been able to learn from the aforesaid Sieur de Lestang. He is a man whose conduct has been so infamous, that one cannot answer for the truth of any thing he says; nevertheless, I believe him to be sincere in the desire he shows that the original papers should be in the King^s possession. He sees very well, that he has only this way of getting out of the affair. I have al- ready, Sir, made you acquainted with the means we are making use of to obtain them. I am also persuaded that he has had intimate communi- cations with the Governor of Casale; perhaps, though, the detention of the Sieur de Lestang may have changed the dispositions of the latter. The Sieur de Lestang has told me^ that at their last interview near Moncalvo, the aforesaid Governor pressed him to conclude this affair, saying, that any delay in the execution of it was dangerous; that the four black papers signed, which he had sent him, were sufficient, if they were filled up with what was necessary, so that he might appear to act THE IRON MASK. 295 according to orders ; that it was also necessary to let him have an interview with some confidential raan on the part of the King, with whom he might agree upon every thing ; he told him even that the civilities he had shown me when I was at Casale, were only because he thought I was a man employed in this afiair, although I called myself an officer going to Vercelli, and that for the chance of this, he was determined to treat me with great distinction. Lestang has told me that he related all this to the Abb6 d'Estrades. I have asked him why, as the Governor was so well-in- tentioned, he, Lestang, had eluded a prompt exe- cution, when it was proposed to him f He answers to this, that he had engaged liimself by letter to the Duke of Mantua to be at Venice on Ascen- sion-day, where he still hoped to have sufficient in- fluence over him to extract from him a last con- sent. That he should immediately after this have brought back the original papers, and that having already taken his measures with the Govei:nors of the town and of the citadel, the execution of the affair would not have had to encounter any further difficulty ; that Vialardo, Governor of the castle^ b^ing of the Spanish faction, might have been a 296 THiS IRON MASKb imall obstacle, but not to signify^ when th^ town ^od ftbe citadd i^iould have been in our possessicm. I send yoU) Sir^ all that thiis man has told me, witb- wA \mng answerable for the truth of it. I shall set off the 2d of next mwtb, as I have already done myself the honour of acquainting you, Sir, if between this time and then, I hear that the papers ]M^ve been delivered to M. de Pinchesne. I am, with all the respect, &c. (Signed) C* No. 95, Third Examination of Matthioli. May 21st, 1679. Being asked whether at his return from France he had not seen the president Turki ; he answer- ed, that it is true he had told him there was a treaty respecting Casale, and that he had even told him the conditions of it, but that he could not have given him an exact copy of it, be- cause he had not his papers with him, having ♦ Catinat. This letter is extracted from the work of M. Roux (Fazillac). THE IRON MASK. S97 s^t them from Lyons to Placentia, addressed to one of his friends named M« Rigueti-Cani^vaTi, Chancellor-^nerol of the posts, in order to avoid having them with him in his journey through Italy. Being asked why he made this confidence to the President Turki; he answered, that be had known the President for four or five years ; and that in the course of conversation, from indiscre- tion and quick talking, he had allowed himself to tell too much. Being asked what the aforesaid President said to him, when he had told him that there was a treaty respecting Casale; he answered, that M. Turki explained to him that it would disturb the whole of Italy, and that it would cause a war there ; that the aforesaid President gave him se- veral good reasons for this. Being asked why he, who had the honour of being the head of so great and important a nego- ciation, had commenced it with the intention of preventing the execution of it, as he had said at Turin ; he answered, that this was never his de- sign ; that it was very true that he had said to the President Turki, that there was no appear- 998 THE IBON MASK. emoe of this treaty being executed, because it de* pended upon the peace, and that if the war was isit an end, he was persuaded they should never * manage to arrive at the e;^ecution of it. The aforesaid President upon this told him, that peace would certainly be made ; but that, if under any mcumstances a change was to take place at Gasale, he would rather prefer that the French should be the masters of it than the Spaniards. Being asked why he wrote so regularly from Venice and from Padua, upon the subject of this affair, to the aforesaid President; he answered, that the aforesaid President begged him, when he left Turin, to do so, and to acquaint him exactly with all that should be done in relation to this affair; that in pursuance of the promise he had made him to that effect, he had always sent him accounts of it, but written in the sense as if it would not take place, the peace being at present concluded, and the affair of Guastalla being settled, which was one of the most powerful motives that had urged the Duke of Mantua to put himself under the protection of the King. That he persuaded the aforesaid President that this affair would not take place, in order that the intelligence he gave him. THE IRON MASK. 299 might agree with what he told the Duke of Mdn- tua himself, and the Abb^ Frederic, resident of the Emperor at Venice ; and that he encouraged this opinion in the mind of every body, the better to arrive at his ends, and to succeed in the plan he had of introducing the troops of the King into Casale, through the means of his intelligence with the Grovemor. That this intention never quitted him for a moment, and that what now was consi* dered as his crime, would appear a most able con- trivance, if the whole of this affair was ever tho- roughly known. That his obstinacy in keeping 9 possession of the original papers, and his under- standing with the Governor of Casale, are proofs of the truth of this ; that if he had not had a well-grounded intention of serving the King, he should not have taken such care of these papers, the retaining of which brought upon him the in-* dignation of his master, and even put his life into great jeopardy; and that his secret intelligence with the Governor was perfectly useless to him, unless his intentions were true and faithful. Being asked what were the contents of the let- ters he received from the President ; he answered, that he had received one among others, ia which. 800 THK IllOK MASK. the aforesaid President wrote him word that he was sure he was deceiving him, by always telling him that the affair of Casale would not take place ; because of the arrival of troops in the quarters behind Pignerol, which could only be for the affair of Casale. Being asked whether the President Turki had not shown to him a desire that this a£Eur should fail ; he answered, no ; that he had always conver- sed upon it without delivering an ofunion, at the same time showing a great deal of curiosity to be informed exactly of all that might happen relating to this affair. Being asked whether he had seen the Marquis of Saint-Maurice : he answered, no. Being asked, through whom the Court of Savoy could have received such particular information ; he answered, that it must have been through the Count of Juvenasque, the Resident from Spain at that Court, who has a great deal of intercourse with the Monk Bulgarini ; and that the aforesaid Bulgarini had known every thing from the mother of the Duke of Mantua. Being asked why he had acqifainted the Count Hercules Visconti of the departure from Venice THE IBON MASK. 301 of the Sieur d'^Asfeld ; he answered, that he had had no intercourse with him, till his return from Buffaoore to Padua, after the arrest of the Sieur d^Asfeld, when Don Francis, the natural scm of - the Count Hercules Visconti, saw him, and held intercourse with him ; which he had confessed to in his first examinations. Being asked whether the original papers were at Padua, he answered affirmatively, yes ; and that it is his real intention they should be delivered up to the King, as he sees this is the only means of atoning for his conduct. Being asked whether on his arrival at Turin, he had not asked the President Turki to be allowed to speak to Madame Royale^* as he had affairs of great consequence to communicate to her ; he an- swered, no ; and that he had neither desired, nor asked to speak to any one, except the aforesaid President. Being asked whether he had not written to Madame Royale from Padua, to request that she would send him a man to whom he could confide the real state of things, he answered readily, no ; * The Duchess Regent of Savoy.— See Note, Page 32. SOS THE IRON MASK. but that he would tell it as freely, if it had been the case, as he had avowed that he had always held communication upon the subject of this affair with the President Turki, from his wish to deceive him, by sending him word that it would not succeed. His answers elude, but do not deny all that has been said of him. In order to account for the com- munications he has held, he makes use of the con- tinual pretext, that he was obliged to hold them, in order to deceive, and to obtain the success of the affair by taking the other side by surprise ; making use, as the means of this surprise, of his intelligences with the Governor.* No. 96. LOUVOIS TO SAINT..MARS. St. Germain^ May 22d, 1670. I have received your last letter without a date. You must keep the individual named Lestang in the severe confinement I enjoined in my preceding * Extracted from the work of M. Roux (Fazillac). THE IRON MASK. 308 letters, without allowing him to see a physician, unless you know he is in absolute want of one. One cannot but approve of your plan for pre- venting the Sieur de Pressigny from being awarie of the residence at Pignerol of M. de Richemont, to whom I beg you to deliver the letter I send widi this. De Louvois * No. 97. CATINAT TO LOUVOIS. (/Oncluding examination of Matthioli. Pignerol^ June 3d^ 1679. Sir, The original papers have been delivered to Giuliani, who has taken them to Venice to M. de Pinchesne : they consist of the treaty which the aforesaid Lestang had made with the Court, which is signed by him and by M. de Pomponne: an instruction which was given to the aforesaid Les- * From the Archives of France. 804 THB lAON MASK. tang, when he left the Court : the full power giv&x to M. de FompoDne to treat with him» which is agned by you : and a letter from his Majesty to the Duke of Mantua. All these papers were in a box which had been placed in the Convent of Ca*- puchins. Giuliani performed his duty very well, and so completely persuaded the father of the aforesidd Lestang, that the papers were delivered into his hands with all confidence. The ratifica- tion of the Duke of Mantua is not to be found, although the Sieur de Lestang said it was amongst them : whereupon I interrogated him ; having first obtained all the advantage over him I could, by abusing him, and bringing soldiers into his room, as if preparatory to administering the question to him, which made him so much afraid, that he promised really to tell the truth. Being asked whether the Duke of Mantua had ratified the treaty ; he answered that he had never subscribed to all the articles, but that he had got from him four blank papers signed, one of which was a blank paper of two sheets, at the top of which he had written : Ratification of the treaty made with his most Christian Majesty. That there were three other blank papers signed, of one sheet each, of THE IRON MASK. 305 which he intended to make use to write in the name of his master to the three Governors, of the town, citadel, and castle, to order them to receive Jthe King'^s troops. Being asked where these blank papers signed are at present, he answered, that they are in the hands of the Governor of Casale, to whom he sent them at the time that d'^Asfeld left Venice. Being asked why he had sent them, without their being filled up, to the Governor of Casale ; he answered, he had sent them to him in a letter of Magnus, the Secretary of the Duke of Mantua, in which the Governor was ordered to do without hesitation, all that should be told him, re- garding the execution of the orders contained in that packet, — that they were left blank, because he wished to make the ratification according to that of the King, not knowing, as he says, exactly the form in which it ought to have been made out. Being asked why in his first examination he had said that this ratification was at Padua; he an- swered, that he had not wished to tell where it was before Giuliani, in order not to make him acquaint- ed^ in any way with his intelligence with the Go- vernor : he added that he had never had any other ratification except that one ; and that whatever tor- 306 THE IBON MASK. tures should be inflicted on him, he could never tell any thing more. He has not told me any thing new relating to the imprisonment of d'As- feld, and he says that he has no further knowledge of it than what I have already, Sir, sent word of to you. I have taken leave of the Ahhh d^Estrades, as we were both agreed of my inutility here at present. I shall, therefore, set off the 6th, to come to the Court, as you, Sir, have ordered me; where I shall have the honour of testif jang to you my lively gra- titude for the favours, which your protection has gained for me ; and for the kindness with which you acquainted me with the last you had procured for me. I am, • With all the respect that is due to you. Sir, Your very humble, &c. C.» * Catinat. This letter is extracted from the work of M. Roux (Fazillac). THE IRON MASK. 307 No. 98. VARENGEVILLE TO POMPONNE. Proposed recompense to Giuliani. Venice, July I, 1679. Sib, In answer to the letter which you were pleased to write to me on the 14th of last month, I shall do myself the honour to tell you that, although I am aware that Giuliani has performed services which have been useful to the King, and that I am per- suaded of his fidelity, and of his good inclinations towards France, which may render him still very useful for the future, I cannot forbear representing to you, that the recompense which the Abb6 d''£&^ trades wished to procure for him, is not a fitting one; and I feel myself the more obliged to say this, be^ cause you do me the honour to inform me that his Majesty wishes to receive further information on this subject. I shall therefore. Sir, take the liberty to tell you, that he is a little editor of newspapers, in whose shop the letters of news are written, as it is not the custom here to print them : he M'orks x2 308 THE IBON MASK. at this himself, as well as copying for the public ; and his situation in this town answers to that of the Secretaries of St. Innocent, at Paris. There- fore, it- would be a very improper thing to give a Secretaryship of Embassy to a man of this profes- sion, who, besides, in other respects, does not appear to me fit to fill properly such an employment. He would even cease to be able to give intelligence, as soon as he should be publicly recognized to be attached to France, because the persons whom he now holds communication with, would no longer wish, nor dare, to continue it with him. But as he is a sort of ferrety who works out, and gets at all that is passing, I think it is necessary to en* courage his zeal by some such gratification as forty or fifty pistoles a year, or whatever shall be ap- proved of by his Majesty. I think even that this sort of recompense would have a greater effect upon him than the other, and would make him act with the same zeal he has already shown in the affairs he has been employed in. VAEENGEVILLE.f # # # . # » •j* Varengeville was now Ambassador at Venice. This let- ter exists in the Archives of the Office for Foreign «Affairs^ at Paris. THE IRON MASK« 30if No. 99. LOUVOIS TO SAINT MARS. St. Germain^ July 25^ 1679. I HAVE received your letter of the 2d of this month. I wrote by yesterday's post to M. de Rissan,* that it is the King's intention that he should have the gate of the citadel of Pignerol opened, whenever you shall have occasion for it. You may give paper and ink to the Sieur de Lestang, with the understanding that he is to put into writing whatever he wishes to say ; which you will send to me, and I will let you know whether it deserves any consideration. De LouvoiS't * M. de la Motte de Rissan held the post of ** Lieutenant de Roi/' in the citadel of Pignerol. t From the Archives of France. 310 THE IRON MASK. No. 100. LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MA RS. St. Germain^ August 21, 1679. With regard to the Sieur de Lestang, you may give him paper whenever he wishes to write ; and afterwards send it to me. De Louvois."|- No. 101. SAINT-MARS TO LOUVOIS. Pignerol^ Jan. 6, 1680. » # # # # « I am obliged, Sir, to inform you that the Sieur de Lestang is become like the Monk I have the care of ; that is to say, subject to fits of raving f From the Archives of France. THE IRON MASK. 311 madness ; from which the Sieur Dubreuil also is not exempt. * * ♦ De SAINT-MARS.-f- No. 102. SAINT-MARS TO LOUVOIS. Matthioli complains of his Treatment, and gives Proofs of Insanity. Pignerol, Feb. S4, 1680. The Sieur de Lestang, who has been nearly a year in my custody, complains that he is not treated as a man of his quality, and the minister of a great prince ought to be. Notwithstanding this, I con- tinue to follow your commands. Sir, most exactly upon this subject, as well as upon all others : I think he is deranged, by the way he talks to me ; telling me he converses every day with Grod and his angels ; that they have told him of the death of the Duke of Mantua, and of the Duke of Lor- rain ;l and, as an additional proof of his madness, t Extracted from the work of M. Roux (Fazillac). t See Note^ page 48. S12 - THE IRON MASK. he says that he has the honour of being the near relation of the King, to whom he wishes to write, to complain of the way in which I treat him. I have not thought it right to give him paper or ink for that purpose, perceiving him not to be in his right senses. De Saint-Mars.* No. 103. LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS. St. Germain, July 10th, 1680. I HAVE received, together with your letter of the 4th of this month, that which was joined with it, of which I shall make the proper use. It will be sufficient to make the prisoners in the lower part of the tower confess once a-year. With regard to the Sieur de Lestang, I wonder at your patience, and that you should wait for an order to treat such a rascal as he deserves, when * Extracted from the work of M. Roux (Fazillac). THE IRON MASK. 313 he is wanting in respect to you. Send me word how it has happened that the individual named Eustache has been able to do what you have sent me word of, and where he got the drugs necessary for the purpose, as I cannot think you would have furnished them to him. De Lou vol s.* No. 104. LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS. Philippeville, August ]6th^ 1680. I HAVE been made acquainted, by your letter of the 7th of this month, with the proposal you make of placing the Sieur de Lestang with the Jacobin Monk, in order to avoid the necessity of having two priests. The King approves of your project, and you have only to execute it when you please. De Louvois."f * From the Archives of France. t ^^^' 314 THB IRON MASK. No. 105. SAINT-MARS TO LOUVOIS. Matthioli and the Jacobin plitced t<^ether. September 7th^ 1680. Since you, Sir, permitted me to put Matthioli with the Jacobin in the lower part of the tower, the aforesaid Matthioli was for four or five days in the belief that th6 Jacobin was a man that I had placed with him to watch his actions. Mat- thioli, who is almost as mad as the Jacobin, walked about with long strides, with his cloak over his nose, crjdng out that he was not a dupe, but that he knew more than he would say. The Jacobin, who was always seated on his truc- kle bed, with his elbows resting upon his knees, looked at him gravely, without listening to him. The Signor Matthioli remained always persuaded that it was a spy that had been placed with him, till he was one day disabused, by the Jacobin^s getting down from his bed, stark naked, and set- ting himself to preach, without rhyme or reason. THE IRON MASK. 315 till he was tired. I and my lieutenants saw all their manoeuvres through a hole over the door. De Saint-Mars.* No. 106. SAINT-MARS TO LOUVOIS. October 9th, 1680. I HAVE only further. Sir, to acquaint you with the circumstance of the Sieur Matthioli's having given a ring to Blainvilliers, who immediately de- livered it to me. I will keep it, till it shall please you, Sir, to give me orders what to do with it. I am, &c. De Saint-Mars.-(- ♦ Extracted from the work of M. Roux (Fazillac). t Ibid. S16 THE IRON MASK. No. 107. SAINT-MARS TO LOUVOIS. Particulars respecting the Ring given by Matthioli to Blainvilliers. October ^6th^ 1680. In order to explain to you, Sir, more amply than I have hitherto done, the story of the dia- mond ring which the Sieur Matthioli gave to Blainvilliers, I shall begin by taking the liberty to tell you that I believe he made him this present as much from fear as from any other cause : this pri- soner having previously used very violent language to him, and written abusive sentences with char- coal on the wall of his room, which had obliged that officer to menace him with severe punishment, if he was not more decorous and moderate in his language for the future. When he was put in the tower with the Jacobin, I charged Blainvilliers to tell him, at the same time showing him a cudgel, that it was with that the unruly were rendered manageable, and that if he did not speedily be- THE IRON MASK. 317 come the latter, he could easily be compelled to it. This message was conveyed to him, and some days afterwards, as Blainvilliers was waiting on him at dinner, he said to him ; S/r, here is a little ring which I wish to give you^ and I beg you to accept of it. Blainvilliers replied to him that he only took it to deliver it to me, as he could not receive any thing himself from the prisoners. I think it is well worth fifty or sixty pistoles. De Saint-Mars.* No. 108. LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS. Versailles, Nov. 2d, 1680. I HAVE received your letter of the 26th of last month. I am writing to the Sieur du Channoy to make the necessary repairs to the barracks of the citadel of Pignerol: with regaid to the bram- bles which are in the walls, I think it will be bet- ter to wait till the spring to have them rooted up, * Extracted from the work of M. Roux (Fazillac). 318 • THE IRON MASK. bclcause that will make them die more certainly, and then at the same time mortar might be in- serted into the fissures. You must keep the ring, which the Sieur Mat- thiol! has given to the Sieur de Blainvilliers, in order to restore it to him, if it should ever happen that the King ordered him to be set at Uberty. De Louvois.* No. 109. LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS. Versailles, Nov. 11th, 1680. The King has been informed that the Governor of JMilan has received the plan of the town and citadel of Pignerol, from an individual named Quadro, who was some time in the prison, to ex- plain the fortifications to one of your nephews ;. and as it is important for the service of His Majesty, that the Italians should never have any * From the Archives of France. THE IRON MASK. S19 communication with the citadel of Pignerol, nor with the prison there. His Majesty has commanded me to let you know, that he wishes you not to allow any one to enter there, without his express order ; and his intention is, if you have any sol- diers or servants who are Piedmontese, Savoyards, or Italians, that you should get rid of them as quietly as possible, under pretext of their not serving you well. De Louvois.* No. 110. LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS. St. Grermain^ December 5th^ 1680. Your letter of the 27th of last month has reach- ed me. The King does not wish you to have any soldiers in your company who are Piedmontese, Savoyards, Italians, or natives of the Groyern^ ment of Pignerol. With regard to the three ser- • From the Archives of France 320 THE IRON MASK. vants of this nation, who have been with you for six or seven years, you may keep them, since you are certain of their fidelity. Dk Lodvois.* No. in. LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS. Appointment of Saint-Mars to the Government of Exiles — Measures to be taken by him thereupon. Versailles, May 12th, 1681. I READ to the King your letter of the 8d of this month, by which his Majesty having disco- vered the extreme repugnance you have to accept the command of the citadel of Pignerol, he has thought proper to accord to you that of Exiles, vacant by the death of the Duke of Lesdigui^res ; whither he' wishes you to transport those of the prisoners who are under your care, whom he shall think it important not to entrust to any other • ♦ From the Archives of France. TH£ IRON MASK. SSI hands but yours. I shall take, care to solicit at the office of M. de Croissy* for the grants of the aforesaid government, of which, as the salary does not exceed four thousand livres, His Majesty will continue to you the five hundred livres a month he gave you at Pignerol, by means of which your emoluments will be as considerable as those of the Grovernors of the great places in Flanders. I have requested the Sieur du Channoy to go with you to visit the buildings at Exiles, and to make there a list of the repairs absolutely neces- sary for the lodging of the two prisoners in the lower part of the tower, who are, I think, the only ones His Majesty will have transferred to Exiles. Seifd me a list of all the prisoners under your care, and write opposite to each name all that you know of the reasons why they were arrested. With regaM to the two in the lower part of the tower, you need only designate them by this name, without adding any thing else. * Charles Colbert^ Marquis de Croissi^ brother of the great Colbert^ was employed in many embassies^ which he conducted with ability and success. In 1679 he succeeded Amaud de Pomponne as Secretary of State fpr Foreign Affairs. He died in 1696* 322 THE IRON MASK. The King expects that, during the little time you will be absent from the citadel of Pigne- rol, when you go with the Sieur du Channoy to ^Exiles, you will arrange the guarding of your prisoners in such a manner, that no accident may happen to them, and that they may have no in* tercourse with any one, any more than they have hitherto had dunng the time they have been under your charge. De Louvois.* No. 112. LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS. Precautions for the Journey of the Prisoners from Pig^ nerol to Exiles. Versailles^ June 9th^ 1681. I SEND you the necessary grants, as Governor of Exiles, which the King has thought good to have sent to you. The intention of His Majesty is, that as soon as the room at Exiles, which you • From the Archive^ of France. THE IRON MASK. 3^ shall judge the most proper for the secure keeping of the two prisoners in the lower part of the tower, shall be in a state to receive them^ you will send them out of the citadel of Pignerol in a litter, and conduct them there under the escort of your troop, for the march of whom the orders are hereunto joined : and immediately after the departure of the aforesaid prisoners, it is His Majesty's intention that you should go to Exiles, to take possession of the government, and to make it, for the future, your residence. And because His Majesty does not wish that the remainder of the prisoners at present under your charge, who are to remain in the citadel of Pigne- rol should be left to the care of a Captain of a Bat-» talion, who may be changed from day to day, I address to you an order from the King to have the Sieur de Villebois recognized as Commandant of the aforesaid citadel of Pignerol, until the return of M. de Rissan, or the arrival of the person whom His Majesty shall entrust with the command of the aforesaid citadel. In case the health of the aforesaid Sieur de Rissan does not permit him to return there, you will, if you please, ac- quaint the aforesaid Sieur de Villebois with it, to y 8 324 THK IRON MASK. whom the Sieur du Channoy has orders to pay two crowns a day, for the support of those three prisoners. You will see by the orders of the King here- unto joined, that your company is to be reduced to forty-five men, to commence from the 15th of this month ; and by the statement which accom^ panies them, the footing upon which it is to be paid, as well as what the King has ordered you for the subsistence of the two before-named prisoners, whom His Majesty expects that you will guard with the same exactitude you have made use of hitherto. Therefore, it only remains for me to recommend you to give me, from time to time, intelligence respecting them. With regard to the efiPects belonging to the Sieur Matthioli, which are in your possession, you will have them taken to Exiles, in order to be given back to him, if ever His Majesty should order him to be set at liberty. You will receive the orders I have mentioned by th6 first occasion. De Louvois.* * From the Archives of France. THE IRON MASK. S^ No. 113. LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS. Versailles, June 11th, 1681. I HAVE acquainted the King with the contents of your letter of the 13th of last month, and with the list of the repairs necessary to be made to the tower at Exiles, which you deem the most proper residence for the prisoners whom His Majesty leaves under your care. The King has thought fit to grant you a thousand crowns, as well for the aforesaid repairs, as for those which you shall judge necessary to make in your own lodging; which, as soon as you receive this, you will take care to have done immediately, as if the expense was to come out of your own pocket : and as soon as the prison shall be in a fit state, it is the inten- tion of His Majesty that you should transfer the aforesaid two prisoners to it, according to what I have already commanded you in my last letter; and in conformity with that and the order which was joined to it, you will then deliver to the Sieur S26 THE IRON MA^K. de Villebois the command of the citadel of Pig- nerol. De Louvois.* No. 114. LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS* Versailles, July 9th^ 168K I HAVE received your letter of the 29th of last month. You may have the doors you have need of, for the security of your prisoners, made at Ex-» iles, without taking the trouble of having themt carr ed from Pignerol. I have written to the Fire Lachaise for the benefice, which you ask of the King for one of your children, to whom I trust His Majesty will grant it. De Lou vols. + * From the Archives of France, t Ibid. THE IRON MASK, 8^ No. 115. SAINT-MARS TO LOUVOIS. Precautions for the Security and Concealment of tlie Prisoners at Exiles. , Pignerol, July 12th, 1681. Just setting off for Exiles. In order that the prisoners may not be seen (at Exiles,) they will not leave their chamber when they hear mass; and in order that they may be kept the more securely, one of my lieutenants will sleep above them, and there will be two sen- tinels night and day, who will watch the whole round of the tower, without its being possible for them and the prisoners to see and to speak to one another, or even to hear any thing of one another* They will be the soldiers of my company, who will be always the sentinels over the prisoners. There is only a confessor, about whom I have my doubts ; but if you do not disapprove, I will give them the curate of Exiles instead, who is a good man, and very old, whom I will forbid, on the part of His 8528 THE lEON MASK. Majesty, to enquire who these prisoners are, or their names, or what they have been, or to speak of them in any way, or to receive from them by word of mouth, or by writing, .eitlier communica^ tions or notes. I am, &c. De Saint.Maes.* No. 116. LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS. Departure of Saint Mars from Pignerol ordered to be de- ferred^ in order that he might receive Catinat there. Versailles^ July 22d^ 1681. I HAVE received your letter of the 12th of this month, by which I see that the repairs which you have ordered to be made at Exiles will not permit you to leave Pignerol before the end of next month. As the service of the King will perhaps require that you should remain there all the fol- lowing month, it would be well that you should * Extracted from the work of M. Rouz (Fazillac). THE IBON MASK. 3S9 advance the aforesaid repairs of Exiles as little as possible, in order that you may have a pretext for not leaving Pignerol till the first days of the month of October ; taking care to act in such a manner, that your continuing to remain there may not ap- pear to be the result of voluntary delay. I am about to send the necessary order for the repayment of the money you have expended for your prisoners, and you will receive it by the next post. You will find joined with this letter a packet for M, de Pianesse,* which I request you to de- liver to him without fail. De Louvois.-(- No. 117. LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS. Fontainebleau^ August Sd^ 1681. YoDE letter of the 23rd of last month has been delivered to me. The King approves of your * The Marquis de Pianesse was one of the Ministers of the Court of Turin, t From the Archives of France. 330 THE IROK MA&K. going to see the Marquis de Pianesse at his coun^ try house, and of your making a journey to Tiuin, if you desire it, provided you do not sleep out of the citadel of Pignerol more than one night at a time. With regard to the journey to Exiles, and the leave of absence you ask for the Sieur Tourte- bat, whom you wish to take with you, you will have seen by my former letters, that the intention of the King is that you should not go there. De Lou vols.* No. 118. LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS. Orders for the Reception of Catinat at Pignerol. Fontainebleau^ August 13th^ 1681. The King having ordered M. de Catinat to go as soon as possible to Pignerol, for the same affair which before took him there at the commence, ment of the year 1679, I send you these few lines by order of His Majesty, to give you intelligence thereof, in order that you may prepare an apart- ment for him, in which he can remain concealed * From the Archives of France. THE IKON MASK. 331 for three weeks or a month ; and also to tell you that when he shall send to let you know that he is arrived at the place where you went to meet him in the aforesaid year 1679, it is the intention of His Majesty that you should go there again to meet him, and that you should conduct him into the prison of the citadel of the aforesaid Pignerol, with every kind of precaution, in order that no one may know he is with you. I do not say any thing to you about assisting him with your ser^ vants, your horses, and whatever carriages he may have occasion for, because I have no doubt but you will do with pleasure on these heads^ whatever he shall ask you. If between this time and his arrival any packet for him should be addressed to you either from Piedmont or from Italy, you will keep it, if you please, to deliver to him. De Louvois.* * From the Archives of France. 382 THE IRON MAI^K. No. 119. LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS. Fontainebleau^ August 2Sd, 1681. I HAVE received your letter of the 13th of this month, which requires no answer, except to say that I have given orders for a French clerk to be sent, to have the direction of the Post-oflSce at Pignerol ; by means of whom we shall be assured that no further abuses can be committed with regard to the letters. De Louvois.* No. 120. LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS. Fontainebleau, Sept. 20th^ 1681. This word is only for the purpose of acknow- ledging the receipt of your letter of the 16th of last month. The King will not disapprove of * From the Archives of France. THE IRON MASK. 333 your visiting, from time to time, the last prisoner who has been placed in your charge, after he shall have been established in his new prison, and shall have left that where he is at present confined. His Majesty desires that you will execute the or- der he has sent you for your establishment at Ex- iles. I beg you to deliver the packet hereunto joined into M. de RichemonOs own hands. De Louvois.* No. 121. SAINT-MARS TO LOUVOIS. Exiles, Dec. 4th, 1681. As there is always one of my two prisoners ill, they give me as much occupation as I have ever luid with any of those I have hitherto guarded. Although, Sir, you have the kindness to give me permission to go, from time to time, to Casale, * From the Archives of France. To the name of Riche- mont is appended in the original the following note, in the hand-writing of Saint-Mars ; " This name means M. de Oatinat, whom I had then shut up with me at Pignerol." 834 THE IRON MASK. I dare not do it, lest during my absence, you should address any packets to rae for M. de Pia- nesse. De Saint-Mars.* No. 122. SAINT-MARS TO LOUVOIS. Description of the Apartment and manner of Confinement of the Prisoners at Exiles. Exiles, March 11th, 1662. SlE, I have received the letter which you were pleased to do me 'the honour to write to me on the 27th of last month, in which you acquaint me, Sir, that it is important my two prisoners should have no communication with any one. Since the first time that you. Sir, gave me this order, I have guarded these two prisoners, who are under my care, as severely and exactly as I formerly did Messieurs Fouquet and Lauzun, who could not * Extracted from the work of M. Roux (Fazillac). THE IRON MASK. 335 boast that they had either sent or received any news, while they were in confinement. These prisoners can hear the people speak as they pass along the road which is at the bottom of the tower ; but they, if they wished it, could not make themselves heard ; they can see the persons on the hill which is before their windows, but cannot themselves be seen on account of the bars which are placed across their room. There are two sentinels of my company always night and day, on each side of the tower, at a reasonable distance, who can see the window of the prisoners obliquely. They are ordered to take care that no one speaks to them, and that they do not cry out from their windows ; and to make the passengers walk on if they wish to stop in the path, or on the side of the hill. My own room being joined to the tower, and having no other look-out except towards this path, I hear and see every thing, even my two sentinels, who are by this means al- ways kept alert. As for the inside of the tower, I have divided it in such a manner, that the priest who says mass to them cannot see them, on account of a curt^n I have made, which covers their double doors. 336 THE IKON MASK. The servants, who bring their food, put whatever is necessary for the prisoners upon a table on the out^de, and my lieutenant takes it and carries it in to them. No one speaks to them except myself, my ofiicer, M. Vigneron (the confessor), and phy- sician from Pragelas, which is six leagues from hence, who only sees them in my presence. With regard to their linen and other necessaries, I take the same precautions which I did with my former prisoners. I am, &c. De Saint-Maes.* No. 123. SAINT-MARS TO LOUVOIS. Exiles^ Dec. 2Sdy 1685. My prisoners are still ill and in a course of me- dicine ; they are, however, perfectly tranquil. De SAINT-MARS.f * Extracted from the work of M. Roux (Fazillac). t Ibid. THE IRON MASK. 387 No. 124. SAINT-MARS TO LOUVOIS. Saint-Mars \i made Governor of the Islands of Saint Margaret. Esdles^ January 90th^ 168T« SiE, I am most grateful for the new favour^ which I have just received from his Majesty, ^the govern- ment of the Islands of Saint Margaret). If you order me to go there without delay, I would re- quest to be permitted to take the road through Piedmont, on account of the great quantity oi mow that there is between this place and Em- brun ; and, on my return, which shall be as quick as I can possibly make it, I hope you will ap- prove of my going by the way, to take leave of the Duke of Savoy, from whom I have always re- ceived so much kindness. I will give such good orders for the guarding of my prisoner, that I can answer to you. Sir, for his entire security, as well as for his not now, nor ever, holding inter- 86S THS iROK Majnc. course with my Lieutenant, whom I have forbid to speak to him, which is pimctually obeyed. If I take him with me to the Islands, I think the most secure conveyance will be a chair covered with oil cloth, in which there ti^dM enter 4 siifficiency of air, without its being possible for any one to see tMr ispeak t6 him during the joiuHiey, hot even the soldiers whom I shall select to be near the chair. This conveyance will be less embarrassing than a litter, which is liable often to break. I atol, &e. ~Dte «toi?*.]ftAEs.* m^^ No. 126. 6AINT-MARS TO LOUVOIS. From the Islands of Saint Margaret^ March 23d^ 1687. « • • « « I have been here for the last thirty 'days, of which I have passed twenty-^six in bed, with a caa- * SiEMeted frem the '#oririseul bud spoken to Lewis the Fifteenth on the subgect of Ae masked ptiadtier ; but that he had not been able to obtain any satisfactory answer. I addressed mysdf to the Abb^ Barthelemi and te the Abbe Betiardi, who had both lived in intimacy with M. de Choiseul: they acquainted roe that it was at Aefr request the Duke de Choiseul had spoken upon this subject to Lewis the Fifteenth ; that the Khig had answered him, that he believed the priaoner was a minister of one of the courts of Italy ; but that the Duke observed that this conversation ap^ peared to embarrass him. The Abb4 Beliardi told me in proper terms, that the King wished to evade the subject. They then begged M. de Choiseul to engage Madame de Pompadour to speak to the King. She did so ; but the answefr of Lewis the Fifteenth to his mistress was not more inttru^ive^ than that which he had given to his Minister. 848 THE I&OK MASK. No- 138. Letter from tlie Baron de HeisB to the Authors, of the ** Journal EncychpSdique/' on the sabject of thcf Iron Mask ; published in that Journal, in 1 770. L Gentlemen, Since the publication of the anecdote respecting the Man in the Iron Mask, which M. de Voludre has given us in his ^^ SiScle de Louis XIV.,^ I have been always very curious to discover who this pri- soner could be ; but all my researches had hither- to failed in giving me any information whidi could ccHitent me ; chance has placed in my hands a detached number of a work, of which the title is ** Histoire abregee de F Europe,'^ for the month of August, 1687, printed that same year at Leyden, hy*^ Claude Jordan.'" At the article Mantua^ I found the letter, which I have the honour to send you a copy of, translated from the Italian. It iqp- pears that this Secretary of the Duke of Mant^ia, who is there mentioned, might very well be the Man in the Iron Mask, transferred from Pignerol to the Islands of Saint Margaret, and from thence to the Bastille, in 1690, when M. de Saint-Mars THE IR019 MASK. 349 was made governor of it I am the more inclined to believe this, because, as M. de Voltaire, and all those who have made researches on this subject, have remarked, there did not at that time disap- pear any prince, or person of consequence in any part of Europe. If you, Grentlemen, find any appearance of pnK bability in my remark, and if you think it can interest the public, you are welcome to insert it in your Journal, &c.. The Babon be Heiss. Formerly Captain of the Regiment of Alsace. Fhalsbonrgy June 9S, 1770. Letter on the subject of the Man in the Iron Mask^ an- nounced in the preceding one. GSIITLEMEN, One of my friends tells me, that he has read in the " Histoire abtigie de f Europe,^ Vol. ii. p. 88.), that it was said, that the Duke of Mantua had had the intention of selling his capital town ; but that the author of this History did not believe it. You are ill-informed; it is certain that this affair was negodated, and that it was much ad- 350 THE IRON MASK. vanced towards a condusion. The secretary of the Duke, who had much influence with tiis ma»- l)er, dissuaded him from this de^i^; but ihe -doing so <;ost him very dear, as you shaU sooti learn. This faithful Minister made the Duke und«i^ -stand, diat it was necessary for his interest aoA his inmour to preserve his Duchy, and thus made 4iim change his intention ; he dML stiH more, he obliged him to unite himself wiA Ae other "fttooes of Italy, in order to oppose the designs of France It was he who negociated the interview of the different princes, which took place ^ Y^ce last winter, during the Carnival : this time was chosen in order the better to conceal the plans which weije in agitation. You are idlhout douh|t aware, that it is not an extraordinary circumstance to see many princes and persons of condition at Venice during that period. This Secretary went afterwards to JRome, where he remained «ome time ; he then ^^sited almost «11 the Courts df liahr ; he went -to ^V^enioe and Genoa, and he succeeded -every -where so well, that 'he had dlmosrt entirely detached all ^ibese powers *from the intereists of France. Fi- -mllly ^he went to Tmin with Ae wme intention. As he believed his negociations to be y&ry secret THE laON MASK. 351 ite ofttxi vifliC6d llie JMMrqunl D'Arcy, the French AmbftSBdulor ait the-Coutt of Savey ; but what call •escape the pene'trathig -ejet of Ft&ace ? The im- t»ster of that t»ro#n had -been informed of ^ the di^M^s of fh^ Secretary, b^ore his arriTal mt Tuiin. He, faxiwwer, paid him many civilities, asked him very often to dinner, and finally invited him to come and hunt with him, at some distance &om Tui*ih. Xhe Secreftary^ i^ho.had no time to hke^ iHHi who jdibiftght the tnoment -of the absence " In 1782 or 1783^ there died at Turin a Marquis de PancaHer de Prie> among whose maimaeripts was also firand the anee- dote of this Secretary of the Duke of Mantua. All the Italian newspapers published it ; but although it was eon- adered as a new idea^ it did not make a grekt sensation." TH£ END. London: raiNTED ity s. anu r. bentley^ dobset street. / f r