502 
M A S Q U E. 
had the curiofity to read it ? He protefted repeatedly 
that he had not ; but two days afterwards he was found 
dead in his bed. 
The Mafque de Fer remained in this ille till the year 
1698, when St. Mars, being promoted to the government 
of the Baltile, conducted his priforrer to that fortrefs. In 
his way thither, he Hopped with him at his eftate near Pal- 
teau. The Mafque arrived there in a litter, furrounded 
by a numerous guard on horfeback. M. de St. Mars ate 
at the fame table with him all the time they refided at 
Palteau ; but the latter was always placed with his back 
towards the windows; and the peafants, who came to pay 
their compliments to their mailer, and whom curiofity 
kept conftantly on the watch, obferved that M. de St. 
Mars always fat oppofite to him with two piftols by the 
fide of his plate. They were waited on by one fervant 
only, who brought in and carried out the dilhes, always 
carefully fhutting the door both in going out and return¬ 
ing. The prifoner was always malked, even when he 
paded through the court ; but the people faw his teeth 
and lips, and alfo obferved that his hair was grey. The 
governor flept in the fame room with him, in a fecond 
bed that was placed in it on that occalion. In the courfe 
of their journey, the Iron Mafk was one day heard to 
alk his keeper whether the king had any defign on his 
life ? “ No, prince,” he replied ; “ provided that you 
quietly allow yourfelf to be conduced, your life is per¬ 
fectly fecure.” 
The ltranger was accommodated as well as it was pof- 
£;ble to be in the Baltile. An apartment had been pre¬ 
pared for him by order of the governor before his arrival, 
fitted up in the moll convenient Hyle ; and every thing 
he expreffeda defire for was inltantly procured him. His 
table was the bell that could be provided ; and he was or¬ 
dered to be fupplied with as rich clothes as he defired ; but 
his chief tafle in this lalt particular was for lace, and for 
linen remarkably fine. It appears that he was allowed the 
ufe of fuch books as he defired, and that he fpent much 
of -his time in reading. He alio amufed himfelf with play¬ 
ing upon the guitar. He had the liberty of going to mafs; 
but was then llriflly forbidden to fpeak or uncover his 
face; orders were even given to the foldiers to fire upon 
him if he attempted either; and their pieces were always 
pointed towards him as he paffed through the court. 
When he had occafion to fee a furgeon or a phyfician, he 
was obliged, under pain of death, conftantly to wear his 
mafk. An old phyfician of the Baltile, who had often 
attended him when he was indifpofed, faid, that he never 
faw his face, though he had frequently examined his 
tongue, and different parts of his body ; that there was 
fomething uncommonly interefting in the found of his 
’voice; and that he never complained of his confinement, 
nor let fall any hint by which it might be gueffed who he 
-was. It is faid that he often paffed the night in walking 
up and down his room. 
This unfortunate prince died on the 19th of November, 
3703, after a fliort illnefs ; and was interred next day in 
the burying-place of the parilh of St. Paul. The expenfe 
of his funeral amounted only to forty livres. The name 
given him was Marchiali: and even his age, as well as his 
real name, it feemed of importance to conceal; for, in the 
regiller made of his funeral, it was mentioned that he was 
about forty years old ; though he had told his apothecary, 
fome time before his death, that he thought he mult be 
fixty. It is a well-known faft, that, immediately after this 
prifoner’s death, his apparel, linen, clothes, mattreffes, 
and in (liort every thing that had been ufed by him, were 
burnt; that the walls of his room were fcraped, the floor 
taken up, evidently from an apprehenfion that he might 
have found means of writing fomething that would have 
difcovered who he was. Nay, fuch was the fear of his 
having left a letter or any mark which might lead to a 
difcovery, that his plate was melted down ; the glafs was 
taken out of the window of his room and pounded to 
duft; the window-frame and doors burnt; and the ceil¬ 
ing of the room, and the plaller of the inlide of the chim¬ 
ney, taken down. Several perfons have affirmed, that the 
body was buried without a head ; and M. de Saint Foix, 
in his Effais Hiltoriques, informs us, that “a gentleman, 
having bribed the fexton, had the body taken up in the 
night, and found a Hone infteadof the head.” 
The relult of thefe extraordinary accounts is, that the 
Iron Mafque was not only a perfon of high birth, but 
mull have been of great confequence ; and that his being 
concealed was of the utmoft importance to the king and 
miniftry. We come now, therefore, to notice the opi¬ 
nions and conjectures that have been formed concerning 
the real name and condition of this remarkable perfonuge. 
Some have pretended that he was the duke of Beaufort; 
others, tb3i he was the count de Vermandois, natural fori 
to Louis XIV. by theduchefs de la Valliere. Some main¬ 
tain him to have been the duke of Monmouth, natural 
Ion of Charles II. of England by Lucy Walters; and 
others fay, that he was Gerolami Magni, miniller to the 
duke of Modena. 
Befides thefe conjectures, none of which poffeffes fuf- 
ficient probability to entitle them to conflderation, a fifth 
has been advanced ; namely, That the Iron Mafque was 
a fon of Anne of Aullria, queen to Louis XIII. and con- 
fequently that he was a brother of Louis XIV. but whe¬ 
ther a baftard-brother, a twin-brother, or a half-brother, 
is a queftion that has given rife to three feveral opi¬ 
nions, which we lhall Hate in the order of time in which 
the refpective tranfaflions to which they allude hap¬ 
pened. 
1. The firft opinion is, that the queen proved with child 
at a time when it was evident it could not have been by 
her hufband, who, for fome months before, had never been 
with her in private. The fuppofed father of this child is 
faid by fome to have been the duke of Buckingham, who 
came to France in May 1625, to conduft the princefs 
Henrietta, wife of Charles I. to England. The private 
letters and memoirs of thofe times fpeak very fufpicioufty 
of the queen and Buckingham: his behaviour at Amiens, 
whither the queen and queen-mother accompanied the 
princefs in her way to Boulogne, occajioned much whifpering: 
and, notwithftanding the pains that were taken by La 
Porte in his Memoires to excufe his millrefs, it appears that 
the king, on this occafion, was extremely offended at her ; 
and that it required all the influence and addrefs of the 
queen-mother to effeCt a reconciliation. It is faid, that 
this child was privately brought up in the country ; that; 
when Mazarine became a favourite, he was intruded with 
the care of him ; and that Louis XIV. having difcovered 
the fecret on the death of the cardinal, thought it necef- 
fary to confine him in the manner that has been related. 
But it may be obferved, that this fecret could fcarcely 
have efcaped the vigilance of the cardinal de Richelieu ; 
and it is not improbable, that a miniller fo little icrupu- 
lous, if inclined to fave the honour of a queen, would 
have removed a child, who, if he lived, might have been 
made life of to difturb the tranquillity of the kingdom. 
After this fuppofed birth, the queen had frequent quar¬ 
rels with the king, and what was more dangerous, with 
the cardinal; who even ufed every means in his power to 
inquire into her molt private tranfaflions. It was on a 
memorable occafion of this kind, that her fervant La Porte 
was thrown into the Baltile; and it can fcarcely be ima¬ 
gined Hie would have had the firmnefs (lie then difplayed, 
while confcious of fo much guilt, and under the rllk of 
having it difcovered. The priloner with tbs mafk ap¬ 
pears, by feveral accounts, to have been a youth of a hand- 
fome figure in the year 1661 ; and in 1703, when he died, 
to have bedn above fixty; but, had he been a fon of Buck¬ 
ingham, he would have been about-thirty-fix in 1661, 
when he could not be faid to have been a youth; and, in 
November 1703, about feventy-eight. 
2. The fecond opinion is, that fie was the twin-brother 
of Louis XIV. born lome hours after him. This firft ap¬ 
peared in a fnort anonymous work, publilhed without date, 
1 ■ and 
