The True History of the State Prisoner, commonly called the Iron Mask. Dover George Agar Ellis

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СКАЧАТЬ 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 Gonzaga52 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 Pomponne55 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 made56 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 letters58 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 Savoy59 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 letter65 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 Pomponne68 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.СКАЧАТЬ