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

I know that a Senator, who is one of the Pregadi, has said, that the Emperor and the Spaniards 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 preserve Italy, and to keep out of it the armies of the King, with which it is menaced. I do not believe that the Pope163 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 subject. ∗ ∗ ∗

The Abbé d’Estrades.164

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.

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗Pomponne.165

No. 6

POMPONNE TO ESTRADES

The King’s approval of the negociation.

Saint Germain, January 12th, 1678.

Sir,

You will see by the letter of the King which goes herewith, how much his Majesty approves of the negociation, which you have entered into with the Duke of Mantua, for an affair undoubtedly very important at all times, but especially so at this conjuncture: you could not also have conducted 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 affair 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, &c.Pomponne.166

No. 7

LEWIS THE FOURTEENTH TO ESTRADES

Approval of the negociation. – Answer to the demands of the Duke of Mantua.

St. Germain, January 12th, 1678.

Abbé d’Estrades,

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, wish you to let him know, by the same channels as those you made use of to commence this negociation, that I have learned with much satisfaction, the favourable dispositions he has manifested for 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 propositions 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 that 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 of the advantage 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 holding them in the same manner in which I held them formerly; that is to say, under the condition of preserving 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 I would equally enter, with pleasure, into an agreement to share with him 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 with 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 master to conduct it as I please, either by enlarging or narrowing the conditions. It is on this account, that as the Count Matthioli has thus far been the principal confidant of this affair, and that he must be the most powerful 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.167

No. 8

LEWIS THE FOURTEENTH TO MATTHIOLI

January 12th, 1678.

Count Matthioli,

I have seen by the letter you wrote me, as well as by what my Ambassador, the Abbé 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 have much pleasure in giving you proofs of my satisfaction upon every occasion. Referring you, therefore, for further particulars, to what will be said to you from me by the Abbé d’Estrades, I shall not lengthen this letter more than to add, that I pray God to have you, Count Matthioli, in his holy keeping.

Lewis.168

No. 9

ESTRADES TO POMPONNE

Venice, January 29th, 1678.

Sir,

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 negociations as long as the King seems to wish; but I have the greatest difficulty to encourage the Duke of Mantua, under the fear he is in of the Spaniards, which, to say the truth, is pretty well founded; nor can he think himself in security, unless he sees himself supported by all the protection 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 most humble 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 having 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 present hold, than from any hope of thereby bettering my fortune.

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗The Abbé d’Estrades.169

No. 10

ESTRADES TO LEWIS THE FOURTEENTH

Conference with Matthioli. – Discussion of the demands of the Duke of Mantua.

Venice, January 29th, 1678.

Sire,

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 Matthioli 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 delivered into his hands the letter with which your Majesty 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 testifying 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 him, that you were anxious to give him other marks of it. I added to this, that he ought to think himself happy to have found an occasion of meriting the kindness and favours of your Majesty, 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 Majesty’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 affection for the Duke of Mantua, and those other parts of your Majesty’s despatch, which I thought myself authorized to communicate, that he might know that you had learned with pleasure the proposals of that Prince, and that he might be aware of the considerable advantages, which would be derived from the strict alliance he (the Duke) would enter into with your Majesty by means of Casale, which you were willing 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 preserving it for the Duke of Mantua. We afterwards came to talk upon his differences with the Duke of Savoy, for the restitution claimed by him of the parts of the Montferrat, which have been ceded to the latter; and it was not till after some slight disputing, that I made the Count Matthioli agree, by means of the same reasons you did me the honour 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 intercession of your Majesty was sufficiently powerful to obtain a satisfactory result for the Duke of Mantua.

The Count Matthioli at length contented himself 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 obstinate in not taking off any thing from this sum, because he said that it was to be made use of for the interests of your Majesty; and that the Duke of Mantua having taken possession of Guastalla,170 without giving notice to the Spaniards, he had judged it necessary to be upon his guard against the umbrage they might take at this measure; that for this purpose he had placed in Guastalla and in Casale the troops he had raised, and whom he was obliged to pay; that he had sent into the latter town great stores of corn and forage, and that he could not support this expense in the state to which he was reduced by his mother, who disposed entirely of his revenues. I answered him, that the sum of money, 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 augmentation of the garrison of Casale, and the provisions sent into it, were regarded by the Spaniards themselves 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 money 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; that till the conclusion of the treaty, which was to unite him so firmly with your Majesty, he would have no occasion for any new expenses, and that he would then receive all the assistance and succour which he could expect from your Majesty; that your Majesty, by engaging yourself 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 farther advantage in this affair, than that of delivering him from the yoke which the House of Austria had imposed upon him; and of facilitating the conquests in the Milanese, of 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 offer in consequence, and that you had only ordered me to tell him, that you would have no objection to make a present to the Duke of a more moderate sum; that therefore it was necessary for him to explain himself clearly upon the subject.

The Count Matthioli for some time refused to say any thing, taking a line which was in appearance very civil, which was, that he threw himself upon the generosity of your Majesty. But seeing that I continued to desire him to speak, he reduced the sum by little and little to five hundred thousand livres. I told him, that I guessed pretty well what the Duke of Mantua might hope for 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-intentioned, he appeared to me very unyielding upon a point of small moment, in a negociation from which he would allow, without 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 signature of the treaty, and the exchange of the ratifications; and then, if you chose not to give the whole sum at once, that the Duke of Mantua should receive fifty thousand crowns first, and then the other fifty thousand three months afterwards. Besides this, I declared to the Count Matthioli that I could not answer for your Majesty’s approving of my having fixed upon so large a sum, but that I promised him to do all that depended on me, to prevent my being disavowed.

Not only have the other articles of your Majesty’s despatch been agreed to without difficulty, but they have even served powerfully to confirm the Count 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 embarrassed with the anxiety of the Duke of Mantua to conclude this affair, which is caused to him by his continual terror of the design, which he understands the Spaniards continue to have, of seizing upon his fortresses on the least pretext, and on the first favourable occasion. Nevertheless, I will endeavour 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 off. I implore your Majesty to be persuaded that I shall never be forgetful of any thing which may 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,The Abbé d’Estrades.171

No. 11

ESTRADES TO POMPONNE

The Duke of Mantua watched by the Spaniards.

Venice, February 12th, 1678.

Sir,

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 confer together; that he only deferred giving himself that satisfaction, 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 observe 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 master, whether I was about to despatch an extraordinary 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 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 order, 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,172 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 ministers his disapprobation of their entering, without his knowledge, into communications with the French ambassador, being aware of the measures which it was necessary for him to keep. He charged Matthioli 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 Modena173 had complained to his Majesty 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 things which the Duke of Mantua discovers daily, convince him that the Spaniards are suspicious of him, on which account he is so uneasy, that he is more than ever anxious for your Majesty to secure him quickly against their enterprises.

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗The Abbé d’Estrades.174

No. 12

ESTRADES TO POMPONNE

Impatience of the Duke of Mantua to conclude the Negociation.

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 oblige him to declare 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 Abbé d’Estrades.175

No. 13

ESTRADES TO POMPONNE

Plans of the Spaniards. – Dispositions of the Venetian Government.

Venice, February 26th, 1678.

Sir,

I have not had the honour of receiving any letters from you this week. Indeed, I expected that the hurry of the King’s departure would prevent 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: this is, without doubt, what has given occasion to the report which has been current for some days, that the Cardinal Porto Carrero176, in his way to Spain, where he is going to take possession of the Archbishopric 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 Duke177 has already made known his 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 belligerent 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 formerly, is very much reviving, and they are becoming apprehensive that the designs of his Majesty 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,178 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 intelligence is very capable of augmenting the disquietudes of the senate. I have shewn, as well as I was able, to those I have spoken to upon the subject, that it is impossible to act with more sincerity in favour of peace, or to facilitate more the means of procuring it, than his Majesty has 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,179 she will dare to declare herself in favour of the enemies of the King; but, Sir, I can assure you, from 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 conjuncture, I should say that there is not a more ready, or more certain way of ruining all the measures of the Spaniards in Italy, and of terminating in the King’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 concluding this affair, on account of the Emperor’s having sent word to him that he does not wish to deprive him of the succession of the Duke180 his father-in-law, but that he only desires him to withdraw the garrison he has placed in Guastalla: but besides, because his Imperial Majesty presses him to execute a treaty made by the late Duke, his father; which was an engagement that he should never have any but a German garrison in Casale. The Duke of Mantua shows me the greatest confidence, sends me word, by the Count Matthioli, what is deliberating on the state of affairs, in order to know my opinions before he decides any thing. You may be sure, Sir, that I omit nothing on my part to encourage his good dispositions, and to keep the negociation always in that state, that the King may be the complete master of it. The Duke of Mantua requested me, ten days ago, to come and see him ride at the academy. I went accordingly, and found that he was really very firm on horseback, though he has not a graceful seat, on account of his leg having been formerly broke, and that it is the custom here to wear the stirrups very short. As he piques himself upon being a good horseman, he was much pleased at my praises, which were repeated to him by the Count Matthioli; and at my promising to repeat them in the first letter I should have occasion to write to you.