Transcriber’s Note
Obvious typographical and printing errors have been corrected.
Variations in hyphenation have been normalized; other spelling
inconsistencies have been retained.
Additional notes and details of the corrections can be found at
the end of this e-text.
THE
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.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY S. AND R. BENTLEY, DORSET STREET.
PREFACE.
I was led to undertake the following Narrative by the perusal of
a work, lately published at Paris, entitled “Histoire de L’Homme
au Masque de Fer, par J. Delort;” in which the name of that state
prisoner is most clearly and satisfactorily ascertained, by means of
authentic documents.
Under these circumstances, it may be asked why I was not contented
to leave 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 fulsome flattery of Lewis the Fourteenth, never, certainly,
more inappropriately bestowed, than while in the act of recording
one of the most cruel and oppressive acts of that Sovereign’s cruel
and oppressive reign.
I have also thought, that the subject was one of sufficient
historical curiosity to interest the English 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 previously
published, and printing the whole series in an Appendix.
G. A. E.
_April, 1826._
CONTENTS.
Page
HISTORY OF THE IRON MASK 1
APPENDIX.
No. 1. Estrades to Lewis the Fourteenth.
Commencement of the Negociation.--State of the
Court of Mantua.--Influence of the Spaniards
there 89
No. 2. Matthioli to Lewis the Fourteenth.
Protestations of devotion to Lewis.--Belief in
the good intentions of the Duke of Mantua 101
No. 3. Estrades to Pomponne.
Continuation of the negociation.--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
No. 12. Estrades to Pomponne.
Impatience of the Duke of Mantua to conclude the
Negociation 130
No. 13. Estrades to Pomponne.
Plans of the Spaniards.--Dispositions of the
Venetian Government 131
No. 14. Pomponne to Estrades.
Recommendations of Delay in the Negociation 138
No. 15. Estrades to Pomponne.
Information respecting the Dispositions 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 151
No. 19. Estrades to Pomponne 155
No. 20. Pomponne to Estrades.
Approval of Matthioli’s Mission to
France.--Permission to Estrades to leave Venice 156
No. 21. Estrades to Pomponne.
Conversation with Matthioli 158
No. 22. Pomponne to Estrades 160
No. 23. Estrades to Pomponne.
Means of protracting the Negociation.--Views of
Matthioli 162
No. 24. Estrades to Pomponne.
Delay in Matthioli’s Journey to Paris 164
No. 25. Estrades to Pomponne.
Interview with Matthioli 166
No. 26. Pomponne to Estrades 169
No. 27. Pomponne to Estrades 170
No. 28. Estrades to Pomponne.
Differences between the Duke of Mantua and the
Spaniards 171
No. 29. Estrades to Pomponne.
Excuses for the delay of Matthioli 173
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 delay 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 186
No. 43. Pomponne to Pinchesne ib.
No. 44. Pomponne to Pinchesne 187
No. 45. Pinchesne to Pomponne 188
No. 46. Pinchesne to Pomponne ib.
No. 47. Pomponne to Pinchesne 189
No. 48.
Powers granted to Pomponne, to treat with
Matthioli 190
No. 49. Lewis the Fourteenth to the Duke of Mantua.
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
No. 52. 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. 55. Pomponne to Pinchesne 199
No. 56. 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
Ratification of the Treaty 212
No. 64. Louvois to Saint-Mars 215
No. 65. Pomponne to Pinchesne ib.
No. 66. Pinchesne to Pomponne.
Reasons for the Duke of Mantua’s delay in going
to Casale 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 Pomponne.
Suspicions of the House of Austria respecting the
Negociations 225
No. 70. Pinchesne to Pomponne.
Arrest of d’Asfeld.--Departure of the Duke of
Mantua from Venice 227
No. 71. Pomponne to Matthioli.
Letter of Credence to be presented to Matthioli by
Catinat 230
No. 72. Estrades to Matthioli.
Complaints of the Delays in the Conclusion of the
Negociation 232
No. 73. Louvois to Saint-Mars 235
No. 74. Pomponne to Pinchesne 237
No. 75. Pomponne to Pinchesne.
Suspicions of the Fidelity of Matthioli 238
No. 76. Chanois to Louvois.
Reports of Catinat being at Pignerol.--Different
Rumours 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 245
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 had about his person 256
No. 87. Catinat to Louvois.
First Examination of Matthioli 260
No. 88. Pomponne to Pinchesne 271
No. 89. Pinchesne to Pomponne.
Interviews between the Duke of Mantua and the
Senator Foscarini 272
No. 90. Louvois to Saint-Mars.
Orders to treat Matthioli with severity 275
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 293
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
No. 98. Varengeville to Pomponne.
Proposed recompense to Giuliani 307
No. 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 respecting the Ring given by Matthioli
to Blainvilliers 316
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 Government of
Exiles--Measures to be taken by him thereupon 320
No. 112. Louvois to Saint-Mars.
Precautions for the Journey of the Prisoners from
Pignerol to Exiles 322
No. 113. Louvois to Saint-Mars 325
No. 114. Louvois to Saint-Mars 326
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 328
No. 117. Louvois to Saint-Mars 329
No. 118. Louvois to Saint-Mars.
Orders for the Reception of Catinat at Pignerol 330
No. 119. 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
Confinement 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 Matthioli at the Islands of Saint
Margaret 340
No. 127. Saint-Mars to the Minister.
Relation of the conduct of two Protestant Ministers 341
No. 128.
Extract from the Register of the Bastille, published
in the Work entitled, “La Bastille Dévoilée” 342
No. 129.
Second Extract from the Register of the Bastille,
published in the Work entitled, “La Bastille
Dévoilée” 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
Interceptée,” by M. Lewis Dutens, published in
1789 346
No. 132.
Extract from the article on the Iron Mask in the
Work entitled “_Mélanges d’Histoire et de
Littérature_;” by Mr. Quintin Craufurd 347
No. 133.
Letter from the Baron de Heiss to the Authors of the
“_Journal Encyclopédique_” 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,
announced 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 designate him, “_the Man
of the Iron Mask_,”[1]) 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 view, some semblance of probability; but all, without
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 hitherto made
respecting the Iron Mask, no one seems ever to have thought of
recurring to the only source from whence true information could be
derived--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 correspondence of the
French ministers, proving, beyond a doubt, that the Iron Mask was
an Italian 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. Roux (Fazillac);[2] who, however, was then unable to
support his opinion with sufficient authorities.
Hercules Anthony Matthioli[3] was a Bolognese of ancient family,
distinguished in the law. He was the son of Valerian Matthioli and
Girolama Maggi, and was born on the 1st of December 1640. On the
13th of January, 1661, he married Camilla, daughter of Bernard
Paleotti, and widow of Alexander Piatesi. 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 University 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 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 Mantua, 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 with the agents of the French
Government.
Towards the end of the year 1677, the Abbé d’Estrades,[4] ambassador
from France to the Republic of Venice, conceived the idea, which
he was well aware would be highly acceptable to the insatiable
ambition of his master, of inducing the Duke of Mantua[5] to allow
of the introduction of a French garrison into Casale,[6] a strongly
fortified town, the capital of the Montferrat, and in a great
measure the key of Italy. The cession of the fortress of Pignerol[7]
to the French, by Victor Amadeus,[8] Duke of Savoy, in 1632, had
opened to them the entry of Piedmont, and the possession of Casale
would enable them to invade the Milanese, whenever they were so
inclined.
At this time the council of the Duke of Mantua, headed by his
mother,[9] 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 relations with that Prince, he hoped to be able to
bribe him into a concurrence in his designs; for Ferdinand Charles
was both needy and unprincipled. He had, besides, discovered, as
he writes word to Lewis, in his first letter[10] to him, dated
Venice, Dec. 18th, 1677, 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,
themselves 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, however, 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 upon him. The report of
Giuliani, upon his return to Venice, was so favourable, both with
regard to the discontent of Matthioli against the Spaniards, “who
had always amused him with hopes, and afterwards abandoned him,”[11]
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 Matthioli 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[12] to the Montferrat; and those of the Marquis of
Laguna[13] to the Duchy of Guastalla, 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;[14] 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 the Duke of
Mantua from his embarrassments; but that, in order to enable him to
do this effectually, 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 Estrades 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 intelligence backwards and forwards,[15] which was not the
case with Matthioli himself.
Giuliani was accordingly sent, and had an audience 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 deliver up Casale, upon the understanding 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 generalissimo 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[16] had, and the late Duke of Mantua,[17] who at his
age commanded in chief the Emperor’s army, with the title of Vicar
General of the Empire.”[18]
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 authority, and that the treaty, he was now projecting
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 with Giuliani,
Estrades, Pinchesne the French Secretary of Embassy at Venice, and
the Duke himself, were the only persons in Italy acquainted 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.”[19]
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 arrival of which he hinted much might be done against
the Duchy of Milan. Finally, he promised 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 account of the
Carnival, during which all the world, even the Doge and the oldest
Senators were accustomed to go about in mask.”[20]
He also requested that the Cardinal d’Estrées[21] might not be
made a party to the negociation; because he was so well known
to be employed generally by Lewis to negociate with the Italian
Sovereigns, that his entering into it would naturally excite the
suspicions of the Spaniards that something secret was going on; and
that they would then ruin him, the Duke of Mantua, before he could
receive the assistance of the French Monarch; and that thus the
hopes of both the contracting parties, from the treaty at present
under discussion, would be frustrated. To this proposition 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 arguments, and afterwards
bringing both of them to bear very judiciously on the negociation,
in the way the most likely to lead to a favourable 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 intrigue to bear:
but he now thought it in so good a train, that upon receiving the
approval of his proceedings from Lewis, he could almost answer for
its success. The letter of Estrades was accompanied 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 devote
himself to his service, to strive to detach his master, the Duke
of Mantua, from the Austrian interest, and insinuates very plainly
his wish and intention of selling him and his fortress of Casale
to the French Monarch; whom, he says, he “regards and reveres as
a _Demigod_.”[22] To these protestations Lewis returned, as was
natural, a very civil answer;[23] generally promising his protection
and favour to Matthioli.
On the 24th of December of the same year, Estrades[24] writes to M.
de Pomponne,[25] (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 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-disposed
towards the French interests, cannot take any active part in their
favour, unless Lewis will send into Italy a sufficient force to
secure Casale and the rest of the Duke’s territories from the
attempts of the House of Austria. He subsequently seems to hint his
fear that the life of the Duke of Mantua may be made away with by
the Austrians, in order the more easily to possess themselves of
his territories. “We must besides, Sir, consider that the Duke of
Guastalla[26] being the nearest relation of the Duke of Mantua, as
well as his heir, there would be danger that, if the Duchess,[27]
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[28] of the Duke of Guastalla, and whose marriage the
Spaniards, _doubtless with this view_, made up at Vienna by means of
Don Vincent.”[29]
To Estrades, Lewis returned a long and detailed statement of his
views; in which he approves generally of the design of putting
a French garrison into Casale; intimates upon what terms it may
be done; rejects a request of the Duke of Mantua 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 harmless 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 army is about to pass the Alps, and in the
meanwhile to protract the negociation, in order to allow him, Lewis,
time to make his various preparations. Indeed this last point,
the necessity 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[30] 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 difficulty, Estrades
reduced the demand of the other party to 100,000 crowns, and those
not to be paid till after the signature of the treaty between the
two sovereigns.[31]
The next event of importance in the negociation was the interview,
effected at Venice during the Carnival, between the Duke of Mantua
and Estrades. It took place at midnight, on the 18th of March, 1678,
in a small open space, equally distant from the residence of the
Duke and the Ambassador, and lasted a full hour. In it the Duke
dwelt[32] much upon his impatience for the conclusion of the treaty
with France; and for the speedy appearance of the troops of the
latter in Italy, alleging 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 governs him absolutely,” to the French court;
thinking that his presence there might bring matters to a speedier
issue.
Estrades, who had now ascertained that his master could not possibly
spare an army for Italy that year (1678), and who therefore was
more than ever anxious to prevent such a consummation, consented
with considerable difficulty to the project; resolving, 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.[33]
Subsequently the procrastinating intentions of Estrades were more
easily put into execution than he expected; for Matthioli, of his
own accord, deferred his journey from spring to autumn on various
pleas, of which the principal one was, his unwillingness to leave
his master, exposed to the insinuations, and perhaps menaces, of the
Spanish partizans, by whom he was surrounded.[34]
Finally, after many delays, Matthioli, accompanied by Giuliani, set
off for Paris in the beginning of November, 1678, and arrived there
towards the end of the same month.[35] He found the Abbé d’Estrades,
who had quitted his Venetian Embassy, arrived there before him, and
had several interviews with him and M. de Pomponne; during which a
treaty was agreed on to the following 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.[36]
The treaty contained also some other articles of minor importance.
Matthioli himself had the honour of being received in a secret
audience by Lewis,[37] who made him a present of a valuable
ring.[37] He also received a sum of money for himself,[37] and a
promise of a much larger gratification[38] after the ratification
of the treaty. He was also promised that his son should be made one
of the King’s Pages; and that his brother, who was in the Church,
should receive a good benefice.[39] He was then sent back to Italy,
with a detailed instruction from Louvois,[40] upon the manner of
executing the articles of the treaty.
The French Government was thus far so entirely satisfied of
the sincerity and good faith of Matthioli, and so convinced of
the speedy admission of the French troops into Casale, that
they immediately upon his departure took decided measures in
furtherance of their plan.[41] Thus the Marquis de Boufflers,[42]
Colonel-General of the Dragoons, was sent to take the command of
the forces, which were assembling near the frontier of Italy,
at Briançon, in Dauphiny. Catinat,[43] 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,[44] and to adopt a feigned name, that of
Richemont;[45] while the Baron d’Asfeld,[46] 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 Chargé d’Affaires there, during the absence of
an ambassador.[47]
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,[48] 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 Emperor[49] and King of Spain[50] at
Venice, to the Duke of Mantua, upon the rumour of his intention of
delivering the capital of the Montferrat to Lewis. Ferdinand Charles
denied that this was the case;[51] but was not believed.
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 promised to meet
the Baron d’Asfeld at Casale, during 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 detained him at
Padua, and prevented 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[52] to accompany the Duke to Casale, as it was
not considered safe to leave him at Mantua; and again, the Duke of
Mantua was obliged to stay at Venice, having promised to hold a
carrousel there.[53]
In spite of all these difficulties, it was, however, finally
arranged, that the Baron d’Asfeld and Matthioli should meet, on the
9th of March, at Incréa, 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.[54]
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 not been such as
he expected, though it would 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
offered 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 diplomatists to conclude,
supported as this opinion also was by various circumstantial
evidence, that he had been bought by the other side--a circumstance
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 regard to
the conduct of Matthioli, occurs in a letter from Pomponne[55] 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[56] 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,[57] 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[58] of Pomponne to Pinchesne, it appears,
that the treachery of Matthioli soon became more apparent. Indeed,
Estrades, during his stay at Turin, obtained the most indubitable
evidence of the fact; for the Duchess of Savoy[59] showed to him the
copies of all the documents relative to the negociation respecting
Casale, which Matthioli had given to the President Turki, one of
her ministers who was in the interests of Spain, when he passed
through Turin on his return from Paris.[60] From Turki, as it
subsequently appeared, Matthioli had received a sum of money for his
information.[61]
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 rendezvous at Incréa; and Matthioli was the first person who
acquainted the French agents with this misfortune,[62] 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;[63] “having probably been,”
as Pomponne remarks, in a letter to Pinchesne,[64] “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 conveyed to Matthioli in a letter[65] from Pomponne, of
the date of March 14th, 1679.
Catinat accordingly went, on the appointed day, from Pignerol to
Incréa, accompanied by St. Mara,[66] the Commandant of that part
of the fortress of Pignerol, which was appropriated for a state
prison, and by a person of confidence, belonging to the embassy
of Estrades. But the appointed day passed over, without bringing
Matthioli to Incréa; and the next morning Catinat was informed
that his arrival there was discovered; that the peasants of the
neighbourhood were in arms; and that a detachment of cavalry was on
its way, for the purpose of seizing upon him and his companions.
What became of the latter does not appear, except that they escaped
the threatened danger; but he himself got away secretly, and in
disguise, to Casale; where he gave himself out as an officer of the
garrison of Pignerol. The Governor there, who was well-disposed
to the French interest, received him with great civility; and, at
a dinner he gave to him, joined in drinking the King of France’s
health with enthusiasm.[67] The next day Catinat was too happy to
return undiscovered to Pignerol.
Matthioli, meanwhile, instead of keeping his engagement at Incréa,
had returned to Venice, and had had several 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
Pomponne[68] in his answers, have not been published.
Pinchesne was, at this time, convinced of the perfidy of Matthioli,
having, in addition to various other suspicious circumstances,
discovered that he 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 him the danger to which he exposed himself if this affair failed
of success through his fault.[69] Matthioli followed the advice of
Pinchesne to his own ruin, and going to Turin, presented himself
forthwith to Estrades,[70] to whom he offered many insufficient
excuses for his delay.
The vindictive Lewis had, meanwhile, determined to satisfy his
wounded pride and frustrated ambition, by taking the most signal
vengeance of Matthioli; as we find by the following note from
Louvois to his creature, St. Mars, dated, St. Germain, April 27th,
1679.--“The King has sent orders to the Abbé 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 communication with any one, but that also he may have cause
to repent of his bad conduct; and that it may not be discovered that
you have a new prisoner.”[71]
Nothing therefore could be more opportune to Estrades, than the
arrival of Matthioli at Turin, and accident soon enabled him to lay
a successful plan for executing the wishes of the French monarch.
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.[72]
Matthioli complained much of want of money, occasioned by the
expenses of his journies, and the bribes he had been obliged to
offer to the Duke’s mistresses. Estrades took this opportunity of
forwarding his scheme, by telling him that Catinat, who, under the
name of Richemont, commanded 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 frontier
towards Pignerol, at which also Estrades would be present.[73] Of
course, the reason assigned for naming the frontier as the place of
rendezvous was, that Catinat could not leave the neighbourhood where
his troops were stationed.
To this proposition Matthioli readily consented; and having first
made a journey to Casale, he returned and met Estrades (who
was accompanied on this expedition by his relation the Abbé de
Montesquiou) by appointment, in a church half a mile from Turin,
from whence they proceeded together to the frontier. At three miles
from the place of rendezvous they were stopped by a river, of
which the banks were overflowed, and the bridge broken. Matthioli
himself assisted in repairing the bridge, which was to convey him
to his captivity;[74] and they then proceeded on foot to the place
where Catinat awaited them accompanied only by two officers, the
Chevaliers de St. Martin and de Villebois, and by four soldiers of
the garrison of Pignerol.[75]
Before, however, Matthioli was arrested, Estrades held some
conversation with him, and obliged him, in the presence of Catinat,
to confess that he had in his possession all the original papers
regarding the delivery of Casale, and that they were left in the
custody of his wife at Bologna; who was living in the convent
of the nuns of St. Thomas[76] in that city. This was necessary,
because Matthioli had lately refused to give them up to the Duke
his master,[77] alleging that he no longer knew where they were.
His confession, upon this occasion, afterwards turned out to be
false, and that the papers in question were concealed in a wall at
Padua.[78]
Immediately after this avowal had been extracted from him, he was
arrested; and offered no resistance, though he always carried a
sword and pistols about his person. He was conducted to Pignerol,
where he arrived late at night.
Catinat, in his letter to Louvois, giving an account 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.”[79] And he concludes by mentioning, that in order
to perpetuate the mystery in which his prisoner is enveloped, he
has given him the name of “Lestang,”--“not a soul here knowing who
he is.” In the subsequent correspondence of Louvois with 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 allow any of the garrison to approach him; soon
afterwards his valet, who had been arrested by the exertions of
Estrades,[80] was allowed to attend upon him; and subsequently
St. Mars appointed those of his officers, in whom he had the most
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.[81]
These extraordinary precautions against discovery, 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 one, are not
wonderful, when we reflect upon the violent breach of the law of
nations, which had been committed by his imprisonment. Matthioli, at
the time of his arrest, was actually the plenipotentiary[82] of the
Duke of Mantua, for concluding a treaty with the King of France; and
for that very sovereign to kidnap him and confine him in a dungeon
was certainly one of the most flagrant acts of violence that could
be committed; one which, if known, would have had the most injurious
effects upon the negociations of Lewis with other sovereigns; nay,
would probably have indisposed other sovereigns from treating at all
with 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 overcome 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 that 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 had been treated. The same reasons for
concealment existed till the death of Matthioli, since that event
happened while both Lewis XIV. and the Duke of Mantua were still
alive, which accounts for his confinement continuing to be always
solitary and always 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 impossible 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 explained in this manner; that the monarch insisted upon
his revenge, which the ministers were obliged to gratify; and, at
the same time, in order to prevent 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 betrayed 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 horrible
of all punishments,--of solitary confinement, for four and
twenty years, in a dungeon!--It was, however, an act of cruel
injustice that was to be expected from the man, who, when the
unhappy Fouquet[83] 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,[84] for nine years in the fortress of Pignerol,
and only then released him in order, by that means, to swindle
Mademoiselle de Montpensier[85] out of her fortune, in favour
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. Providence doubtless made
use of him as a scourge befitting 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 us and to all posterity,
as a mighty warning of the effects, even in this world, of
overweening ambition; and as a melancholy example of the perversion
of a proud heart, which “gave not God 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 several interrogatories,[86]
in which, in spite of his numerous prevarications, his treachery
was still more amply discovered. The examinations were all sent
to Louvois by Catinat, who, as soon as they were concluded, left
Pignerol, and returned to the court.[87]
At first, Matthioli was, by the direction of Estrades,[88]
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 that, except the
absolute necessaries of life, you should give him any thing that
may make him pass his time agreeably.”[89] Again, in the same
strain: “I have nothing to add to what I have already commanded you
respecting the severity with which the individual named Lestang
must be treated.”[90] And again; “You must keep the individual
named Lestang, in the severe confinement I enjoined in my preceding
letters, without allowing him to see a physician, unless you know
he is in absolute want of one.”[91] These repeated injunctions to
the same effect are a proof, how much importance the rancorous Lewis
attached to his victim’s being compelled to drink the bitter cup of
captivity to the very dregs.