The True History of the State Prisoner, commonly called the Iron Mask

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As the papers which are at Padua are to be sent, at least I believe so, to M. de Pinchesne, in order to avoid any accidents that might happen to them by bringing them straight to this place or to Turin, I will take measures to set off from hence as soon as I shall know they are delivered to M. de Pinchesne. As you, Sir, may perhaps wish to send me word of any new determinations that may have been come to with regard to this affair, in consequence of which I might be of some utility here, I take the liberty of informing you, that I shall remain at Pignerol till the 9th or 10th of June. If you do not honour me with any order between this time and then, I shall execute that you have already given me of returning to France. I should be obliged to you to let me know where I am to go, whether straight to the Court, or to Dunkirk, where my company is, or to any other place where it shall please you to order me. I shall take great precautions to conceal myself, and not to appear before the relations of Messrs. Fouquet and Lauzun.285 I cannot, however, answer for it, Sir, that they will not write word of my being here. I did not take any measures for the Ambassador being present at this last examination, because I had been before particularly informed by him of all the proofs there were against Matthioli.

I am with all the respect, &c.C.286

No. 92

Second Examination of Matthioli.

The Count Matthioli being asked what happened to him when he passed through Turin, replied, that he had been to visit the Marquis of Saint-Thomas; that as he was ill, he could not see him; that afterwards he went to the President Turki, whom he found full of suspicions respecting his journey into France; and that as he is an insinuating and adroit man, he engaged him insensibly to talk of the affairs of the Duke of Mantua and of Casale; that it is true, that being taken by surprise by the ingenuity and cunning of the aforesaid President, and by the affection which he pretended to show for the interests of France, he confided so much in the aforesaid President, that it was impossible for him to doubt but that there was some treaty made respecting Casale; that it is true, that he received two thousand livres from that Court,287 but that it was rather as a mark of gratitude for some services he had formerly had the honour of performing for it, than as a recompense for any thing he then confided.

He says that the President Turki begged him, when he left Turin, to write to him carefully all the progress of this affair; that he, the President, had written to him several times after this to Venice, asking for intelligence upon the subject; to which he had always answered that the affair would not take place, in order to diminish the opinion he might have had, from his former answers to him, of there being a treaty respecting that place.

Being asked where he went from Turin, he replied, that he took the road to Placentia, where he found letters from Don Nevani and Cabriani,288 which were only to testify their joy at his return, and to tell him that the Duke of Mantua waited for him with impatience, and that they had sent a boat to meet him, in order that he might be able to embark upon the Po.

From Placentia he went straight to Mantua, where he found the Duke of Mantua; who, the very day of his arrival, took the trouble of coming to see him at his own house, where he was lying down, being very ill; this interview was passed in civilities respecting his malady. Two days afterwards he came again to see him, and asked him for a copy of all that he had done in France, which he gave him very exactly, but with great pain to himself, on account of his illness. That same day he made the Duke sign all the papers necessary for the entire completion of the treaty, as far as regarded the form. Three or four days afterwards, having received intelligence from the Sieur Carbonini, that there was a plan to poison him, and having even perceived that they had put poison into a medicine, which he had pretended to take, but had found the means of throwing away, he had taken the resolution, under the pretext of recovering his health, of going to Padua, whither he had taken all the original papers with him.

On the 24th or 25th of January, the Duke of Mantua, in his way to Venice, passed through Padua; where he went to see the Sieur Matthioli, who was ill, and where he told the Sieur Matthioli, that he had not been able to avoid talking of this affair to his Mother, and that it was an affair which means must be found to break off, because it was not for his advantage. To which, the aforesaid Matthioli answered several things, and among others, that he had again written quite lately to the court to say that all was signed; and that these were the sort of engagements that it was not easy to get released from. The Duke of Mantua afterwards asked him for the original papers, to which he replied that they were locked up, and that it would be a great inconvenience to him, being as ill as he was, to go and look for them; but that he would come as soon as he was able to Venice, where he would deliver the whole into his hands.

He says that the Sieur Giuliani came to see him at Padua from the Duke of Mantua, to give him intelligence that the Inquisitors of State at Venice were making search for him, and that he must take his measures accordingly, in order not to be seized with the papers; which obliged him to mix them with many others, and to place them in a separate house from the one he lived in.

After having been three weeks at Padua, he set off 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 Abbé Frederic, the Resident of the Emperor at Venice, was acquainted with all the affair respecting Casale; to which the aforesaid Matthioli 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 Abbé 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 advice which Giuliani had given him from him, 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 absolutely necessary to break off this affair; to which he answered that he ought to take care how he behaved with regard to the King; that he had entered 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 afterwards to have an interview with him and the Abbé 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 Abbé Frederic, with whom you will hold a conversation; you must do all that he shall bid you.” The aforesaid Abbé Frederic showed him a copy of the treaty; and appeared so particularly instructed upon the subject, that there was no possibility of his denying it. The aforesaid Abbé 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 absolutely 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 that remaining master of the original papers, he thought he should be always able to complete the affair, which he intended to do in this manner.

The Governor of Casale being his friend, he did not doubt but that he should be able to make him do all that he wished. To this end, he made a packet of the four blank papers signed by the Duke of Mantua, which he had made him sign at Mantua when he first arrived there, and while this Prince was still well-intentioned. That in order to inspire more confidence to the Governor of Casale, that he, the Sieur Matthioli, would do nothing, except with the order of his master, he had had this packet addressed to him by another Secretary of the Duke of Mantua, named Magnus, who has for his department the management of the affairs of the Montferrat, to whom he said, “Here is a packet which his Highness has told me to send to Casale: as you administer the affairs of that country, write a letter to the Governor, ordering him to execute all that is to be enjoined by this packet.” That this proceeding procured for him the entire confidence of the Governor, by making him see that he would not ask any thing of him which he could not execute with honour; that he had made d’Asfeld set off from Venice two or three days afterwards, in order to arrive about the same time with him at Incréa, where he intended to have taken all the necessary measures with the aforesaid Governor, for the completion of the affair.

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 had together on the 24th 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 Master 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, even in case he (the Duke) had not kept to his engagement of coming to Casale. 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 Governor, or to give them any idea of uncertainty in this affair, which might perhaps have made them suspend the 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 Cornaro, Inquisitor of State, only once, for the purpose 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 sentiments would change upon this subject as upon every thing else; and that by making use of precautions for some time, he should escape this misfortune: 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 Spain, he answered, no; that he left that place on the 28th of February, two days after M. d’Asfeld, to go to Incréa.

Being asked whether he had not known beforehand, 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 Buffacore, as far as which place he had gone on his road to the rendezvous at Incréa, 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 found, though he was very minutely searched upon the frontiers of the Brescian and the Milanese; that from Buffacore he returned straight to Venice, not having any doubt of the arrest of d’Asfeld, from the news he had received respecting it; that he only remained there two days, in 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 Venice, of a day at the longest, to confer with M. de Pinchesne.

Being asked if, at Padua, he had not held intercourse 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 possession 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 confidence 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 Pinchesne, and was no longer master of them. The aforesaid Francis persuaded him to enter into communication 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 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 from the mother of the Duke of Mantua, to whom her son had confided the whole affair.

He came from Padua to Turin, upon receiving the letter of the Abbé d’Estrades, in order to contrive 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 Abbé d’Estrades persuaded him to have an 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.289

No. 93

LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS

St. Germain, May 20th, 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.

De Louvois.290

No. 94

CATINAT TO LOUVOIS

Further particulars respecting Matthioli.

Pignerol, May 21st, 1679.

I only send you, Sir, the answers which the Sieur Lestang has made to me upon the points, on 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 already, Sir, made you acquainted with the means we are making use of to obtain them. I am also persuaded that he has had intimate communications 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 according to orders; that it was also necessary to let him have an interview with some confidential man 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 affair, 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 Abbé d’Estrades. I have asked him why, as the Governor was so well-intentioned, he, Lestang, had eluded a prompt execution, when it was proposed to him? He answers to this, that he had engaged himself by letter to the Duke of Mantua to be at Venice on Ascension-day, where he still hoped to have sufficient influence over him to extract from him a last consent. That he should immediately after this have brought back the original papers, and that having already taken his measures with the Governors 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, being of the Spanish faction, might have been a small obstacle, but not to signify, when the town and the citadel should have been in our possession. I send you, Sir, all that this man has told me, without being answerable for the truth of it. I shall set off the 2d of next month, as I have already done myself the honour of acquainting you, Sir, if between this time and then, I hear that the papers have been delivered to M. de Pinchesne.

I am, with all the respect, &c.(Signed) C.291

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 answered, 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, because he had not his papers with him, having sent them from Lyons to Placentia, addressed to one of his friends named M. Rigueti-Cannevavi, Chancellor-general 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 he had known the President for four or five years; and that in the course of conversation, from indiscretion 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 several good reasons for this.

Being asked why he, who had the honour of being the head of so great and important a negociation, 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 design; that it was very true that he had said to the President Turki, that there was no appearance of this treaty being executed, because it depended upon the peace, and that if the war was at an end, he was persuaded they should never manage to arrive at the execution of it. The aforesaid President upon this told him, that peace would certainly be made; but that, if under any circumstances a change was to take place at Casale, 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 might agree with what he told the Duke of Mantua himself, and the Abbé 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 Governor. That this intention never quitted him for a moment, and that what now was considered as his crime, would appear a most able contrivance, if the whole of this affair was ever thoroughly known. That his obstinacy in keeping possession of the original papers, and his understanding 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 indignation 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 letters he received from the President; he answered, that he had received one among others, in which 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 affair should fail; he answered, no; that he had always conversed upon it without delivering an opinion, 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 acquainted the Count Hercules Visconti of the departure from Venice of the Sieur d’Asfeld; he answered, that he had had no intercourse with him, till his return from Buffacore to Padua, after the arrest of the Sieur d’Asfeld, when Don Francis, the natural son 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.