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them at least; than the prisoners on the island; and must be put in

the safest places。〃  The 〃one〃 is doubtless Mattioli。  In 1681

Louvois had thought Dauger and La Riviere more important than

Mattioli; who; in March; 1694; came from Pignerol to Sainte…

Marguerite。  Now in April; 1694; a prisoner died at the island; a

prisoner who; like Mattioli; HAD A VALET。  We hear of no other

prisoner on the island; except Mattioli who had a valet。  A letter

of Saint…Mars (January 6; 1696) proves that no prisoner THEN had a

valet; for each prisoner collected his own dirty plates and dishes;

piled them up; and handed them to the lieutenant。



M。 Funck…Brentano argues that in this very letter (January 6; 1696)

Saint…Mars speaks of 〃les valets de messieurs les prisonniers。〃

But in THAT part of the letter Saint…Mars is not speaking of the

actual state of things at Sainte…Marguerite; but is giving

reminiscences of Fouquet and Lauzun; who; of course; at Piguerol;

had valets; and had money; as he shows。  Dauger had no money。  M。

Funck…Brentano next argues that early in 1694 one of the preacher

prisoners; Melzac; died; and cites M。 Jung (〃La Verite sur le

Masque de Fer;〃 p。 91)。  This is odd; as M。 Jung says that Melzac;

or Malzac; 〃died in the end of 1692; or early in 1693。〃  Why; then;

does M。 Funck…Brentano cite M。 Jung for the death of the preacher

early in 1694; when M。 Jung (conjecturally) dates his decease at

least a year earlier?'1'  It is not a mere conjecture as; on March

3; 1693; Barbezieux begs Saint…Mars to mention his Protestant

prisoners under nicknames。 There are THREE; and Malzac is no longer

one of them。  Malzac; in 1692; suffered from a horrible disease;

discreditable to one of the godly; and in October; 1692; had been

allowed medical expenses。  Whether they included a valet or not;

Malzac seems to have been non…existent by March; 1693。  Had he

possessed a valet; and had he died in 1694; why should HIS valet

have been 〃shut up in the vaulted prison〃?  This was the fate of

the valet of the prisoner who died in April; 1694; and was probably

Mattioli。





'1' M。 Funck…Brentano's statement is in Revue Historique; lvi。 p。

298。  〃Malzac died at the beginning of 1694;〃 citing Jung; p。 91。

Now on p。 91 M。 Jung writes; 〃At the beginning of 1694 Saint…Mars

had six prisoners; of whom one Melzac; dies。〃  But M。 Jung (pp。

269; 270) later writes; 〃It is probable that Melzac died at the end

of 1692; or early in 1693;〃 and he gives his reasons; which are

convincing。  M。 Funck…Brentano must have overlooked M。 Jung's

change of opinion between his p。 91 and his pp。 269; 270。





Mattioli; certainly; had a valet in December; 1693; at Pignerol。

He went to Sainte…Marguerite in March; 1694。  In April; 1694; a

prisoner with a valet died at Sainte…Marguerite。  In January; 1696;

no prisoner at Sainte…Marguerite had a valet。  Therefore; there is

a strong presumption that the 〃prisonnier au valet〃 who died in

April; was Mattioli。



After December; 1693; when he was still at Pignerol; the name of

Mattioli; freely used before; never occurs in the correspondence。

But we still often hear of 〃l'ancien prisonnier;〃 〃the old

prisoner。〃  He was; on the face of it; Dauger; by far the oldest

prisoner。  In 1688; Saint…Mars; having only one prisoner (Dauger);

calls him merely 〃my prisoner。  In 1691; when Saint…Mars had

several prisoners; Barbezieux styles Dauger 〃your prisoner of

twenty years' standing。〃  When; in 1696…1698; Saint…Mars mentions

〃mon ancien prisonnier;〃 〃my prisoner of long standing;〃 he

obviously means Dauger; not Mattioliabove all; if Mattioli died

in 1694。  M。 Funck…Brentano argues that 〃mon ancien prisonnier〃 can

only mean 〃my erstwhile prisoner; he who was lost and is restored

to me〃that is; Mattioli。  This is not the view of M。 Jung; or M。

Lair; or M。 Loiseleur。



Friends of Mattioli's claims rest much on this letter of Barbezieux

to Saint…Mars (November 17; 1697): 〃You have only to watch over the

security of all your prisoners; without ever explaining to anyone

what it is that your prisoner of long standing did。〃  That secret;

it is argued; MUST apply to Mattioli。  But all the world knew what

Mattioli had done!  Nobody knew; and nobody knows; what Eustache

Dauger had done。  It was one of the arcana imperii。  It is the

secret enforced ever since Dauger's arrest in 1669。  Saint…Mars

(1669) was not to ask。  Louis XIV。 could only lighten the captivity

of Fouquet (1678) if his valet; La Riviere; did not know what

Dauger had done。  La Riviere (apparently a harmless man) lived and

died in confinement; the sole reason being that he might perhaps

know what Dauger had done。  Consequently there is the strongest

presumption that the 〃ancien prisonnier〃 of 1697 is Dauger; and

that 〃what he had done〃 (which Saint…Mars must tell to no one) was

what Dauger did; not what Mattioli did。  All Europe knew what

Mattioli had done; his whole story had been published to the world

in 1682 and 1687。



On July 19; 1698; Barbezieux bade Saint…Mars come to assume the

command of the Bastille。  He is to bring his 〃old prisoner;〃 whom

not a soul is to see。  Saint…Mars therefore brought his man MASKED;

exactly as another prisoner was carried masked from Provence to the

Bastille in 1695。  M。 Funck…Brentano argues that Saint…Mars was now

quite fond of his old Mattioli; so noble; so learned。



At last; on September 18; 1698; Saint…Mars lodged his 〃old

prisoner〃 in the Bastille; 〃an old prisoner whom he had at

Pignerol;〃 says the journal of du Junca; Lieutenant of the

Bastille。  His food; we saw; was brought him by Rosarges alone; the

〃Major;〃 a gentleman who had always been with Saint…Mars。  Argues

M。 Funck…Brentano; all this proves that the captive was a

gentleman; not a valet。  Why?  First; because the Bastille; under

Louis XIV。; was 〃une prison de distinction。〃  Yet M。 Funck…Brentano

tells us that in Mazarin's time 〃valets mixed up with royal plots〃

were kept in the Bastille。  Again; in 1701; in this 〃noble prison;〃

the Mask was turned out of his room to make place for a female

fortune…teller; and was obliged to chum with a profligate valet of

nineteen; and a 〃beggarly〃 bad patriot; who 〃blamed the conduct of

France; and approved that of other nations; especially the Dutch。〃

M。 Funck…Brentano himself publishes these facts (1898); in part

published earlier (1890) by M。 Lair。'1'  Not much noblesse here!

Next; if Rosarges; a gentleman; served the Mask; Saint…Mars alone

(1669) carried his food to the valet; Dauger。  So the service of

Rosarges does not ennoble the Mask and differentiate him from

Dauger; who was even more nobly served; by Saint…Mars。





'1' Legendes de la Bastille; pp。 86…89。  Citing du Junca's Journal;

April 30; 1701。





On November 19; 1703; the Mask died suddenly (still in his velvet

mask); and was buried on the 20th。  The parish register of the

church names him 〃Marchialy〃 or 〃Marchioly;〃 one may read it either

way; du Junca; Lieutenant of the Bastille; in his contemporary

journal; calls him 〃M。 de Marchiel。〃  Now; Saint…Mars often spells

Mattioli; 〃Marthioly。〃



This is the one strength of the argument for Mattioli's claims to

the Mask。  M。 Lair replies; 〃Saint…Mars had a mania for burying

prisoners under fancy names;〃 and gives examples。  One is only a

gardener; Francois Eliard (1701); concerning whom it is expressly

said that; as he is a prisoner; his real name is not to be given;

so he is registered as Pierre Maret (others read Navet; 〃Peter

Turnip〃)。  If Saint…Mars; looking about for a false name for

Dauger's burial register; hit on Marsilly (the name of Dauger's old

master); that MIGHT be miswritten Marchialy。  However it be; the

age of the Mask is certainly falsified; the register gives 〃about

forty…five years old。〃  Mattioli would have been sixty…three;

Dauger cannot have been under fifty…three。



There the case stands。  If Mattioli died in April; 1694; he cannot

be the Man in the Iron Mask。  Of Dauger's death we find no record;

unless he was the Man in the Iron Mask; and died; in 1703; in the

Bastille。  He was certainly; in 1669 and 1688; at Pignerol and at

Sainte…Marguerite; the center of the mystery about some great

prisoner; a Marshal of France; the Duc de Beaufort; or a son of

Oliver Cromwell。  Mattioli was not mystery; no secret。  Dauger is

so mysterious that probably the secret of his mystery was unknown

to himself。  By 1701; when obscure wretches were shut up with the

Mask; the secret; whatever its nature; had ceased to be of moment。

The captive was now the mere victim of cruel routine。  But twenty

years earlier; Saint…Mars had said that Dauger 〃takes things

easily; resigned to the will of God and the King。〃



To sum up; on July 1; 1669; the valet of the Huguenot intriguer;

Roux de Marsilly; the valet resident in England; known to his

master as 〃Martin;〃 was 〃wanted〃 by the French secret police。  By

July 19; a

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