The True History of the State Prisoner, commonly called the Iron Mask
by Baron George Agar Ellis Dover · English · Gutenberg #42419 · 399,673 chars · public domain (US)
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Title: The True History of the State Prisoner, commonly called the Iron Mask
Author: Baron George Agar Ellis Dover
Release date: March 27, 2013 [eBook #42419]
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TRUE HISTORY OF THE STATE PRISONER, COMMONLY CALLED THE IRON MASK ***
Transcriber’s Note
Obvious typographical and printing errors have been corrected.
Variations in hyphenation have been normalized; other spelling
inconsistencies have been retained.
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THE
TRUE HISTORY
OF
THE STATE PRISONER,
COMMONLY CALLED
THE IRON MASK,
EXTRACTED
FROM DOCUMENTS IN THE FRENCH ARCHIVES.
BY
THE HON. GEORGE AGAR ELLIS.
LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET
MDCCCXXVI.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY S. AND R. BENTLEY, DORSET STREET.
PREFACE.
I was led to undertake the following Narrative by the perusal of
a work, lately published at Paris, entitled “Histoire de L’Homme
au Masque de Fer, par J. Delort;” in which the name of that state
prisoner is most clearly and satisfactorily ascertained, by means of
authentic documents.
Under these circumstances, it may be asked why I was not contented
to leave the question, thus set at rest, in the hands of M. Delort,
who had the original merit of the discovery:--to this I would
answer, that M. Delort’s part of the book struck me as peculiarly
ill arranged and confused; besides being unnecessarily filled with
the most fulsome flattery of Lewis the Fourteenth, never, certainly,
more inappropriately bestowed, than while in the act of recording
one of the most cruel and oppressive acts of that Sovereign’s cruel
and oppressive reign.
I have also thought, that the subject was one of sufficient
historical curiosity to interest the English public.
For these reasons, I have been induced to throw together the
following chain of evidence upon the subject, making use of the same
documents as M. Delort, to which I have added some others previously
published, and printing the whole series in an Appendix.
G. A. E.
_April, 1826._
CONTENTS.
Page
HISTORY OF THE IRON MASK 1
APPENDIX.
No. 1. Estrades to Lewis the Fourteenth.
Commencement of the Negociation.--State of the
Court of Mantua.--Influence of the Spaniards
there 89
No. 2. Matthioli to Lewis the Fourteenth.
Protestations of devotion to Lewis.--Belief in
the good intentions of the Duke of Mantua 101
No. 3. Estrades to Pomponne.
Continuation of the negociation.--Intrigues of
the Austrian Party 104
No. 4. Estrades to Pomponne.
Intrigues of the Spaniards to form a league in
Italy against France 108
No. 5. Pomponne to Estrades 110
No. 6. Pomponne to Estrades.
The King’s approval of the negociation ib.
No. 7. Lewis the Fourteenth to Estrades.
Approval of the negociation.--Answer to the
demands of the Duke of Mantua 112
No. 8. Lewis the Fourteenth to Matthioli 116
No. 9. Estrades to Pomponne 117
No. 10. Estrades to Lewis the Fourteenth.
Conference with Matthioli.--Discussion of the
demands of the Duke of Mantua 119
No. 11. Estrades to Pomponne.
The Duke of Mantua watched by the Spaniards 126
No. 12. Estrades to Pomponne.
Impatience of the Duke of Mantua to conclude the
Negociation 130
No. 13. Estrades to Pomponne.
Plans of the Spaniards.--Dispositions of the
Venetian Government 131
No. 14. Pomponne to Estrades.
Recommendations of Delay in the Negociation 138
No. 15. Estrades to Pomponne.
Information respecting the Dispositions of the
Venetians 140
No. 16. Estrades to Pomponne.
Fears of the Duke of Mantua 143
No. 17. Estrades to Lewis the Fourteenth.
Account of his Interview with the Duke of
Mantua.--The latter insists upon sending
Matthioli to Paris 146
No. 18. Estrades to Pomponne.
Reasons for consenting to the mission of Matthioli
to 151
No. 19. Estrades to Pomponne 155
No. 20. Pomponne to Estrades.
Approval of Matthioli’s Mission to
France.--Permission to Estrades to leave Venice 156
No. 21. Estrades to Pomponne.
Conversation with Matthioli 158
No. 22. Pomponne to Estrades 160
No. 23. Estrades to Pomponne.
Means of protracting the Negociation.--Views of
Matthioli 162
No. 24. Estrades to Pomponne.
Delay in Matthioli’s Journey to Paris 164
No. 25. Estrades to Pomponne.
Interview with Matthioli 166
No. 26. Pomponne to Estrades 169
No. 27. Pomponne to Estrades 170
No. 28. Estrades to Pomponne.
Differences between the Duke of Mantua and the
Spaniards 171
No. 29. Estrades to Pomponne.
Excuses for the delay of Matthioli 173
No. 30. Pomponne to Estrades 174
No. 31. Estrades to Pomponne 175
No. 32. Pomponne to Estrades 176
No. 33. Estrades to Lewis the Fourteenth.
Good dispositions of the Duke of Mantua, and of
the Garrison of Casale 177
No. 34. Pinchesne to Pomponne 179
No. 35. Matthioli to Lewis the Fourteenth.
Excuses his own delay ib.
No. 36. Pinchesne to Pomponne 180
No. 37. Pomponne to Pinchesne 181
No. 38. Pomponne to Pinchesne 182
No. 39. Pinchesne to Pomponne.
Intention of Estrades to leave Venice 183
No. 40. Pinchesne to Pomponne.
Continued delay of Matthioli 184
No. 41. Pinchesne to Pomponne 185
No. 42. Pomponne to Pinchesne 186
No. 43. Pomponne to Pinchesne ib.
No. 44. Pomponne to Pinchesne 187
No. 45. Pinchesne to Pomponne 188
No. 46. Pinchesne to Pomponne ib.
No. 47. Pomponne to Pinchesne 189
No. 48.
Powers granted to Pomponne, to treat with
Matthioli 190
No. 49. Lewis the Fourteenth to the Duke of Mantua.
Promises his protection to the Duke 192
No. 50. Pomponne to Pinchesne 193
No. 51. Pinchesne to Pomponne.
Interview of Pinchesne with Don Joseph Varano 194
No. 52. Pomponne to Pinchesne.
A courier sent to Venice with a new cypher 196
No. 53. Louvois to Saint-Mars.
Catinat sent to Pignerol 197
No. 54. Pomponne to Pinchesne.
D’Asfeld sent to Venice 198
No. 55. Pomponne to Pinchesne 199
No. 56. Pinchesne to Pomponne 200
No. 57. Pinchesne to Pomponne 201
No. 58. Pinchesne to Pomponne 202
No. 59. Pinchesne to Pomponne.
Arrival of d’Asfeld at Venice 203
No. 60. Pinchesne to Pomponne.
Delays of Matthioli, and of the Duke of Mantua 206
No. 61. Pinchesne to Pomponne.
Further Delays of Matthioli 208
No. 62. Louvois to Saint-Mars 211
No. 63. Pinchesne to Pomponne.
Interviews with Matthioli.--Further Delays in the
Ratification of the Treaty 212
No. 64. Louvois to Saint-Mars 215
No. 65. Pomponne to Pinchesne ib.
No. 66. Pinchesne to Pomponne.
Reasons for the Duke of Mantua’s delay in going
to Casale 216
No. 67. Pomponne to Matthioli 220
No. 68. Pinchesne to Pomponne.
Arrangements for the Exchange of the Ratifications
of the Treaty 222
No. 69. Pinchesne to Pomponne.
Suspicions of the House of Austria respecting the
Negociations 225
No. 70. Pinchesne to Pomponne.
Arrest of d’Asfeld.--Departure of the Duke of
Mantua from Venice 227
No. 71. Pomponne to Matthioli.
Letter of Credence to be presented to Matthioli by
Catinat 230
No. 72. Estrades to Matthioli.
Complaints of the Delays in the Conclusion of the
Negociation 232
No. 73. Louvois to Saint-Mars 235
No. 74. Pomponne to Pinchesne 237
No. 75. Pomponne to Pinchesne.
Suspicions of the Fidelity of Matthioli 238
No. 76. Chanois to Louvois.
Reports of Catinat being at Pignerol.--Different
Rumours respecting the Negociation 239
No. 77. Catinat to Louvois 241
No. 78. Catinat to Louvois.
Rumours of Catinat’s being at Pignerol.--Civilities
of Saint-Mars to him 242
No. 79. Pomponne to Pinchesne.
Continued Suspicions of Matthioli 245
No. 80. Louvois to Saint-Mars 246
No. 81. Pomponne to Pinchesne.
Confirmation of the Suspicions respecting
Matthioli’s want of fidelity 247
No. 82. Louvois to Saint-Mars.
Order to receive Matthioli as a Prisoner 248
No. 83. Pomponne to Pinchesne.
Further confirmation of the Treachery of Matthioli 249
No. 84. Catinat to Louvois.
Arrest of Matthioli 250
No. 85. Catinat to Louvois.
Intelligence respecting Matthioli’s Papers 252
No. 86.
Inventory sent by Catinat to Louvois, of the Papers
which Matthioli had about his person 256
No. 87. Catinat to Louvois.
First Examination of Matthioli 260
No. 88. Pomponne to Pinchesne 271
No. 89. Pinchesne to Pomponne.
Interviews between the Duke of Mantua and the
Senator Foscarini 272
No. 90. Louvois to Saint-Mars.
Orders to treat Matthioli with severity 275
No. 91. Catinat to Louvois.
Plans of Catinat for obtaining possession of Casale 276
No. 92.
Second Examination of Matthioli 280
No. 93. Louvois to Saint-Mars 293
No. 94. Catinat to Louvois.
Further particulars respecting Matthioli ib.
No. 95.
Third Examination of Matthioli 296
No. 96. Louvois to Saint-Mars 302
No. 97. Catinat to Louvois.
Concluding Examination of Matthioli 303
No. 98. Varengeville to Pomponne.
Proposed recompense to Giuliani 307
No. 99. Louvois to Saint-Mars 309
No. 100. Louvois to Saint-Mars 310
No. 101. Saint-Mars to Louvois ib.
No. 102. Saint-Mars to Louvois.
Matthioli complains of his Treatment, and gives
Proofs of Insanity 311
No. 103. Louvois to Saint-Mars 312
No. 104. Louvois to Saint-Mars 313
No. 105. Saint-Mars to Louvois.
Matthioli and the Jacobin placed together 314
No. 106. Saint-Mars to Louvois 315
No. 107. Saint-Mars to Louvois.
Particulars respecting the Ring given by Matthioli
to Blainvilliers 316
No. 108. Louvois to Saint-Mars 317
No. 109. Louvois to Saint-Mars 318
No. 110. Louvois to Saint-Mars 319
No. 111. Louvois to Saint-Mars.
Appointment of Saint-Mars to the Government of
Exiles--Measures to be taken by him thereupon 320
No. 112. Louvois to Saint-Mars.
Precautions for the Journey of the Prisoners from
Pignerol to Exiles 322
No. 113. Louvois to Saint-Mars 325
No. 114. Louvois to Saint-Mars 326
No. 115. Saint-Mars to Louvois.
Precautions for the Security and Concealment of the
Prisoners at Exiles 327
No. 116. Louvois to Saint-Mars.
Departure of Saint-Mars from Pignerol ordered to be
deferred, in order that he might receive Catinat
there 328
No. 117. Louvois to Saint-Mars 329
No. 118. Louvois to Saint-Mars.
Orders for the Reception of Catinat at Pignerol 330
No. 119. Louvois to Saint-Mars 332
No. 120. Louvois to Saint-Mars ib.
No. 121. Saint-Mars to Louvois 333
No. 122. Saint-Mars to Louvois.
Description of the Apartment and manner of
Confinement of the Prisoners at Exiles 334
No. 123. Saint-Mars to Louvois 336
No. 124. Saint-Mars to Louvois.
Saint-Mars is made Governor of the Islands of Saint
Margaret 337
No. 125. Saint-Mars to Louvois 338
No. 126. Saint-Mars to Louvois.
Arrival of Matthioli at the Islands of Saint
Margaret 340
No. 127. Saint-Mars to the Minister.
Relation of the conduct of two Protestant Ministers 341
No. 128.
Extract from the Register of the Bastille, published
in the Work entitled, “La Bastille Dévoilée” 342
No. 129.
Second Extract from the Register of the Bastille,
published in the Work entitled, “La Bastille
Dévoilée” 343
No. 130.
Extract from the Register of Burials of the Church
of Saint Paul, at Paris 345
No. 131.
Extract from the Work entitled “La Correspondance
Interceptée,” by M. Lewis Dutens, published in
1789 346
No. 132.
Extract from the article on the Iron Mask in the
Work entitled “_Mélanges d’Histoire et de
Littérature_;” by Mr. Quintin Craufurd 347
No. 133.
Letter from the Baron de Heiss to the Authors of the
“_Journal Encyclopédique_” on the subject of the
Iron Mask; published in that Journal in 1770 348
Letter on the subject of the Man in the Iron Mask,
announced in the preceding one 349
HISTORY
OF
THE IRON MASK.
The curiosity of the public has been now, for above a century, so
much wrought upon by the mystery which has enveloped the name of the
Iron Mask, (or as the French more properly designate him, “_the Man
of the Iron Mask_,”[1]) that the eagerness for discovery has thus
been carried much farther than the real importance of the subject
deserved. Numerous have been the papers written, and the conjectures
hazarded in favour of different theories; almost all presenting,
at first view, some semblance of probability; but all, without
exception, crumbling to nothing when exposed to the researches
of accurate inquiry. Under these circumstances, it is certainly
satisfactory, that the question should be finally set at rest.
It is singular, that among all the inquiries hitherto made
respecting the Iron Mask, no one seems ever to have thought of
recurring to the only source from whence true information could be
derived--the archives of the French Government, during the reign of
Lewis the Fourteenth. It was reserved for M. Delort to make these
researches; which he did by the permission of the Count d’Hauterive,
Keeper of the Archives of the office of Secretary of State for the
Foreign department, and the result has been perfectly conclusive.
In those archives, he found the continued correspondence of the
French ministers, proving, beyond a doubt, that the Iron Mask was
an Italian of the name of Matthioli; a personage who was first put
on the list of candidates for that honour, in a pamphlet published
in 1801, by M. Roux (Fazillac);[2] who, however, was then unable to
support his opinion with sufficient authorities.
Hercules Anthony Matthioli[3] was a Bolognese of ancient family,
distinguished in the law. He was the son of Valerian Matthioli and
Girolama Maggi, and was born on the 1st of December 1640. On the
13th of January, 1661, he married Camilla, daughter of Bernard
Paleotti, and widow of Alexander Piatesi. By her he had two sons,
one of whom only had posterity, which has long since been extinct.
Early in life he was public reader in the University of Bologna, but
he soon quitted his native city to enter into the service of Charles
the Third, Duke of Mantua, by whom he was much favoured, and towards
the conclusion of whose reign he was made Secretary of State. His
successor, Ferdinand, Charles the Fourth, the last sovereign of
Mantua, of the house of Gonzaga, created Matthioli Supernumerary
Senator of Mantua, an honour which had formerly been enjoyed by his
great grandfather, and gave him the title of Count. When he ceased
to be Secretary of State at Mantua does not appear; but he was
clearly not in that office when he first, unhappily for himself,
was involved in diplomatic relations with the agents of the French
Government.
Towards the end of the year 1677, the Abbé d’Estrades,[4] ambassador
from France to the Republic of Venice, conceived the idea, which
he was well aware would be highly acceptable to the insatiable
ambition of his master, of inducing the Duke of Mantua[5] to allow
of the introduction of a French garrison into Casale,[6] a strongly
fortified town, the capital of the Montferrat, and in a great
measure the key of Italy. The cession of the fortress of Pignerol[7]
to the French, by Victor Amadeus,[8] Duke of Savoy, in 1632, had
opened to them the entry of Piedmont, and the possession of Casale
would enable them to invade the Milanese, whenever they were so
inclined.
At this time the council of the Duke of Mantua, headed by his
mother,[9] an Austrian Archduchess, was entirely in the interests of
the Court of Spain; while the young Duke, plunged in pleasures and
excesses of every kind, took little apparent interest in politicks.
The great difficulty, therefore, which Estrades had to encounter
in the prosecution of this intrigue, was the establishment of a
channel of communication with the Duke; who, as has been stated,
was surrounded by persons in the Spanish interest. If he could once
enter into secret relations with that Prince, he hoped to be able to
bribe him into a concurrence in his designs; for Ferdinand Charles
was both needy and unprincipled. He had, besides, discovered, as
he writes word to Lewis, in his first letter[10] to him, dated
Venice, Dec. 18th, 1677, that the Duke was not so abandoned to his
pleasures, but that he still had some ambition, and much chagrin at
the state of subjection in which he was kept by his mother; joined
to a great distrust of the Spaniards, who were supposed to foment
the divisions of the Court of Mantua, with the view of, eventually,
themselves obtaining possession of Casale and the rest of the
Montferrat.
The desired channel of communication Estrades thought he had found
in Matthioli, who was a complete master of Italian politicks,
as well as much in the Duke’s good graces. Before, however, he
proceeded to enlist him in his service, he deemed it necessary to
discover what was the bent of his inclinations. This he effected
ingeniously enough, by sending a certain Giuliani, in whom he
appears to have placed implicit confidence, to Verona, where
Matthioli then was, to act as a spy upon him. The report of
Giuliani, upon his return to Venice, was so favourable, both with
regard to the discontent of Matthioli against the Spaniards, “who
had always amused him with hopes, and afterwards abandoned him,”[11]
and his wish to enter into the service of the French Monarch, that
Estrades lost no time in sending him (Giuliani) back again for
the purpose of conferring with Matthioli upon the subject of the
proposed negociation.
Giuliani was instructed by the Ambassador to enlarge to Matthioli
upon the jeopardy which the sovereignty of the Duke of Mantua
was in, in consequence of the different pretensions of various
branches of his family to his territories, which were more or
less countenanced by the Spaniards for the purposes of their own
aggrandizement. These were, among others, those of the Empress
Eleanor[12] to the Montferrat; and those of the Marquis of
Laguna[13] to the Duchy of Guastalla, to the prejudice of the Duke
of Mantua, who was the rightful heir. Giuliani was also to lament
the dependant state of the Duke of Mantua, the revenues of whose
states, as well as all the powers of government, were entirely in
the hands of his mother, and the Monk Bulgarini;[14] and to explain
the necessity which, on these accounts, existed for that Prince
to seek, without delay, the alliance and protection of Lewis the
Fourteenth. He was to assure him, in conclusion, that Estrades had
no doubt of the readiness of Lewis to assist in freeing the Duke of
Mantua from his embarrassments; but that, in order to enable him to
do this effectually, it was absolutely necessary to garrison Casale
with French troops.
Matthioli concurred entirely in these views of Giuliani, and offered
to sound the Duke of Mantua upon the subject. A few days afterwards,
he sent word to Estrades, that he had managed to have an interview
with that Prince (having previously established himself secretly
in the neighbourhood of Mantua), and had found him generally
well-disposed to the plan. He also requested Estrades to send
Giuliani again to him, in order that they might act in concert; the
said Giuliani being also a person who might, without suspicion,
carry intelligence backwards and forwards,[15] which was not the
case with Matthioli himself.
Giuliani was accordingly sent, and had an audience of the Duke
of Mantua, who received him very favourably, and acquainted him
with his willingness to enter into an alliance with France, and
to deliver up Casale, upon the understanding that Estrades was to
try to obtain for him any reasonable requests he might make; the
principal of these, in addition to the grant of a sum of money, was
the being made generalissimo of any French army that might be sent
into Italy, “that being,” says Estrades, “what he wishes beyond all
things; or rather, that being the only thing he is very anxious for,
in order that he may have the same consideration in Italy the late
Duke of Modena[16] had, and the late Duke of Mantua,[17] who at his
age commanded in chief the Emperor’s army, with the title of Vicar
General of the Empire.”[18]
The Duke of Mantua also announced in this conference, that he put
himself, on this occasion, entirely into the hands of Matthioli,
whom he promised to reinstate in his place of Secretary of State,
and to appoint his first minister, as soon as he himself should have
regained his authority, and that the treaty, he was now projecting
with the King of France, had been duly executed.
To Matthioli were joined in the negociation the two counsellors of
the Duke of Mantua, in whom he had the most confidence; the Marquis
Cavriani and Joseph Varano; and these, together with Giuliani,
Estrades, Pinchesne the French Secretary of Embassy at Venice, and
the Duke himself, were the only persons in Italy acquainted with the
business; so that the Ambassador had certainly very fair grounds
for expressing his hopes “the secrecy, so necessary in this affair,
would remain impenetrable.”[19]
This conference was followed by another, in which the Duke showed
the greatest impatience to conclude the treaty; entreating that
Lewis might be instantly made acquainted with the state it was
at present in, and requesting, or rather imploring, for a French
army; on the arrival of which he hinted much might be done against
the Duchy of Milan. Finally, he promised to have a conference with
Estrades, “as he was soon going to Venice, where they might see one
another conveniently, and without being observed, on account of the
Carnival, during which all the world, even the Doge and the oldest
Senators were accustomed to go about in mask.”[20]
He also requested that the Cardinal d’Estrées[21] might not be
made a party to the negociation; because he was so well known
to be employed generally by Lewis to negociate with the Italian
Sovereigns, that his entering into it would naturally excite the
suspicions of the Spaniards that something secret was going on; and
that they would then ruin him, the Duke of Mantua, before he could
receive the assistance of the French Monarch; and that thus the
hopes of both the contracting parties, from the treaty at present
under discussion, would be frustrated. To this proposition Estrades
agreed, though unwillingly. We cannot but here remark how skilful
a negociator he seems to have been; beginning as he does by making
trial of his tools, and then of his arguments, and afterwards
bringing both of them to bear very judiciously on the negociation,
in the way the most likely to lead to a favourable result.
When the affair was advanced thus far, Estrades lost no time in
forwarding an account of it to Lewis, to whom, as he says himself,
he had not before ventured to write upon the subject, because at
first he despaired of being able to bring the intrigue to bear:
but he now thought it in so good a train, that upon receiving the
approval of his proceedings from Lewis, he could almost answer for
its success. The letter of Estrades was accompanied by a schedule,
containing the demands of the Duke of Mantua, and by a letter from
Matthioli, also addressed to Lewis, in which he offers to devote
himself to his service, to strive to detach his master, the Duke
of Mantua, from the Austrian interest, and insinuates very plainly
his wish and intention of selling him and his fortress of Casale
to the French Monarch; whom, he says, he “regards and reveres as
a _Demigod_.”[22] To these protestations Lewis returned, as was
natural, a very civil answer;[23] generally promising his protection
and favour to Matthioli.
On the 24th of December of the same year, Estrades[24] writes to M.
de Pomponne,[25] (then one of the Secretaries of State), to inform
him of a discovery he has made from the Duke of Mantua himself,
that the Austrian party have determined, in case any French troops
should arrive in Italy, and that the Duke of Mantua should manifest
any disposition of favouring them, to seize upon Casale and Mantua.
He therefore adds that the Duke, though thoroughly well-disposed
towards the French interests, cannot take any active part in their
favour, unless Lewis will send into Italy a sufficient force to
secure Casale and the rest of the Duke’s territories from the
attempts of the House of Austria. He subsequently seems to hint his
fear that the life of the Duke of Mantua may be made away with by
the Austrians, in order the more easily to possess themselves of
his territories. “We must besides, Sir, consider that the Duke of
Guastalla[26] being the nearest relation of the Duke of Mantua, as
well as his heir, there would be danger that, if the Duchess,[27]
his daughter, who is very ill and has no children, should die,
some _misfortune_ might happen to the Duke of Mantua, which would
assure his territories to the Spanish Nobleman, who has married the
second daughter[28] of the Duke of Guastalla, and whose marriage the
Spaniards, _doubtless with this view_, made up at Vienna by means of
Don Vincent.”[29]
To Estrades, Lewis returned a long and detailed statement of his
views; in which he approves generally of the design of putting
a French garrison into Casale; intimates upon what terms it may
be done; rejects a request of the Duke of Mantua to procure for
him the restoration of those parts of the Montferrat, which by
former treaties had been ceded to the Duke of Savoy; objects to the
largeness of his demand of 100,000 pistoles as the price of Casale;
promises to bear him harmless and remunerate him for any injury that
may be done to him by the Spaniards, in consequence of his siding
with the French; and finally instructs Estrades, to entertain the
notion that a French army is about to pass the Alps, and in the
meanwhile to protract the negociation, in order to allow him, Lewis,
time to make his various preparations. Indeed this last point,
the necessity for delay, was so strongly impressed upon Estrades,
upon more than one occasion, that, in a subsequent despatch, he
expresses his regret that the negociation goes on so smoothly and
prosperously, that he cannot find any difficulties[30] to enable him
to protract it till the troops of Lewis are in readiness to march
towards Italy.
The only point in dispute appears to have been, what the sum of
money should be which was to be given by the French Monarch to the
Duke of Mantua. The stipulation for 100,000 pistoles was decidedly
rejected by Lewis; and at length, after some difficulty, Estrades
reduced the demand of the other party to 100,000 crowns, and those
not to be paid till after the signature of the treaty between the
two sovereigns.[31]
The next event of importance in the negociation was the interview,
effected at Venice during the Carnival, between the Duke of Mantua
and Estrades. It took place at midnight, on the 18th of March, 1678,
in a small open space, equally distant from the residence of the
Duke and the Ambassador, and lasted a full hour. In it the Duke
dwelt[32] much upon his impatience for the conclusion of the treaty
with France; and for the speedy appearance of the troops of the
latter in Italy, alleging as his reason, the constant and lively
fear he was in of the Spaniards. He also announced his intention
of sending Matthioli, in whom, says Estrades, “He has a blind
confidence, and who governs him absolutely,” to the French court;
thinking that his presence there might bring matters to a speedier
issue.
Estrades, who had now ascertained that his master could not possibly
spare an army for Italy that year (1678), and who therefore was
more than ever anxious to prevent such a consummation, consented
with considerable difficulty to the project; resolving, at the same
time, to obstruct the departure of Matthioli for France as long
as possible; and writing to M. de Pomponne to delay him and his
business, when at length he arrived there, by every means in his
power.[33]
Subsequently the procrastinating intentions of Estrades were more
easily put into execution than he expected; for Matthioli, of his
own accord, deferred his journey from spring to autumn on various
pleas, of which the principal one was, his unwillingness to leave
his master, exposed to the insinuations, and perhaps menaces, of the
Spanish partizans, by whom he was surrounded.[34]
Finally, after many delays, Matthioli, accompanied by Giuliani, set
off for Paris in the beginning of November, 1678, and arrived there
towards the end of the same month.[35] He found the Abbé d’Estrades,
who had quitted his Venetian Embassy, arrived there before him, and
had several interviews with him and M. de Pomponne; during which a
treaty was agreed on to the following effect:--
1. That the Duke of Mantua should receive the French troops into
Casale.
2. That if Lewis sent an army into Italy, the Duke of Mantua should
have the command of it.
3. That immediately after the execution of the treaty, the sum of
100,000 crowns should be paid to the Duke of Mantua.[36]
The treaty contained also some other articles of minor importance.
Matthioli himself had the honour of being received in a secret
audience by Lewis,[37] who made him a present of a valuable
ring.[37] He also received a sum of money for himself,[37] and a
promise of a much larger gratification[38] after the ratification
of the treaty. He was also promised that his son should be made one
of the King’s Pages; and that his brother, who was in the Church,
should receive a good benefice.[39] He was then sent back to Italy,
with a detailed instruction from Louvois,[40] upon the manner of
executing the articles of the treaty.
The French Government was thus far so entirely satisfied of
the sincerity and good faith of Matthioli, and so convinced of
the speedy admission of the French troops into Casale, that
they immediately upon his departure took decided measures in
furtherance of their plan.[41] Thus the Marquis de Boufflers,[42]
Colonel-General of the Dragoons, was sent to take the command of
the forces, which were assembling near the frontier of Italy,
at Briançon, in Dauphiny. Catinat,[43] Brigadier of Infantry,
afterwards the celebrated Marshal of that name, who was to serve
under the command of Boufflers, had orders to conceal himself in
the fortress of Pignerol,[44] and to adopt a feigned name, that of
Richemont;[45] while the Baron d’Asfeld,[46] Colonel of Dragoons,
was despatched to Venice, upon a mission for exchanging the
ratifications of the treaty; for which purpose he was to unite with
M. de Pinchesne, the Chargé d’Affaires there, during the absence of
an ambassador.[47]
Though these measures were taken with the greatest secrecy, it was
impossible but that the report of the assembling of the French
forces so near the territories of the Duke of Savoy,[48] should
reach the ears of the Spaniards, and excite their suspicions; as
well as those of the Venetians, and of the other Italian states.
Accordingly, we find that remonstrances were several times made
by the ambassadors of the Emperor[49] and King of Spain[50] at
Venice, to the Duke of Mantua, upon the rumour of his intention of
delivering the capital of the Montferrat to Lewis. Ferdinand Charles
denied that this was the case;[51] but was not believed.
As, therefore, the ferment and discontent in the north of Italy
increased, the agents of the French Government were naturally
anxious that the treaty should be ratified and executed as soon as
possible; for which purpose, the Duke of Mantua had promised to meet
the Baron d’Asfeld at Casale, during the month of February, 1679.
In proportion, however, as the French became more impatient for the
conclusion of the affair, the Count Matthioli found fresh excuses
for delaying it. At one moment his own ill health detained him at
Padua, and prevented 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 Gonzaga[52] 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 Pomponne[55] 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 made[56] 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 letters[58] 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 Savoy[59] 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 letter[65] 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
Pomponne[68] 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.[72]
Matthioli complained much of want of money, occasioned by the
expenses of his journies, and the bribes he had been obliged to
offer to the Duke’s mistresses. Estrades took this opportunity of
forwarding his scheme, by telling him that Catinat, who, under the
name of Richemont, commanded the troops destined to take possession
of Casale, had considerable sums at his disposal, which he would
be happy to make so good a use of as in ministering to his wants;
provided he, Matthioli, would give him a meeting on the frontier
towards Pignerol, at which also Estrades would be present.[73] Of
course, the reason assigned for naming the frontier as the place of
rendezvous was, that Catinat could not leave the neighbourhood where
his troops were stationed.
To this proposition Matthioli readily consented; and having first
made a journey to Casale, he returned and met Estrades (who
was accompanied on this expedition by his relation the Abbé de
Montesquiou) by appointment, in a church half a mile from Turin,
from whence they proceeded together to the frontier. At three miles
from the place of rendezvous they were stopped by a river, of
which the banks were overflowed, and the bridge broken. Matthioli
himself assisted in repairing the bridge, which was to convey him
to his captivity;[74] and they then proceeded on foot to the place
where Catinat awaited them accompanied only by two officers, the
Chevaliers de St. Martin and de Villebois, and by four soldiers of
the garrison of Pignerol.[75]
Before, however, Matthioli was arrested, Estrades held some
conversation with him, and obliged him, in the presence of Catinat,
to confess that he had in his possession all the original papers
regarding the delivery of Casale, and that they were left in the
custody of his wife at Bologna; who was living in the convent
of the nuns of St. Thomas[76] in that city. This was necessary,
because Matthioli had lately refused to give them up to the Duke
his master,[77] alleging that he no longer knew where they were.
His confession, upon this occasion, afterwards turned out to be
false, and that the papers in question were concealed in a wall at
Padua.[78]
Immediately after this avowal had been extracted from him, he was
arrested; and offered no resistance, though he always carried a
sword and pistols about his person. He was conducted to Pignerol,
where he arrived late at night.
Catinat, in his letter to Louvois, giving an account of this
seizure, which took place on the 2d of May, 1679, dwells much upon
the secrecy with which it was effected, so that, says he, “no one
knows the name of the rascal, not even the officers who assisted in
arresting him.”[79] And he concludes by mentioning, that in order
to perpetuate the mystery in which his prisoner is enveloped, he
has given him the name of “Lestang,”--“not a soul here knowing who
he is.” In the subsequent correspondence of Louvois with Catinat
and St. Mars, he is very generally designated by that name. At
first, St. Mars carried his precaution so far as to serve Matthioli
himself, and not allow any of the garrison to approach him; soon
afterwards his valet, who had been arrested by the exertions of
Estrades,[80] was allowed to attend upon him; and subsequently
St. Mars appointed those of his officers, in whom he had the most
confidence, to assist in guarding him. It may be remembered that
Louvois, in his letter to St. Mars, which has been before quoted,
orders that the prisoner, who was to be brought to Pignerol, “should
have intercourse with no one;” and in the subsequent letters from
the same Minister, difficulties are even made to his being permitted
to see either a physician or a confessor.[81]
These extraordinary precautions against discovery, and the one which
appears to have been afterwards resorted to, of obliging him to
wear a mask, during his journeys, or when he saw any one, are not
wonderful, when we reflect upon the violent breach of the law of
nations, which had been committed by his imprisonment. Matthioli, at
the time of his arrest, was actually the plenipotentiary[82] of the
Duke of Mantua, for concluding a treaty with the King of France; and
for that very sovereign to kidnap him and confine him in a dungeon
was certainly one of the most flagrant acts of violence that could
be committed; one which, if known, would have had the most injurious
effects upon the negociations of Lewis with other sovereigns; nay,
would probably have indisposed other sovereigns from treating at all
with him. It is true the Duke of Mantua was a prince insignificant
both in power and character, but, if in this way might was allowed
to overcome right, who could possibly tell whose turn might be the
next. Besides, it was important for Lewis that the Duke of Mantua
should also be kept in good humour, the delivery of Casale not
having been effected; nor is it to be supposed that he would have
consented to give it up to the French monarch within two years of
this period, had he had a suspicion of the way his diplomatic agent
and intended prime minister had been treated. The same reasons for
concealment existed till the death of Matthioli, since that event
happened while both Lewis XIV. and the Duke of Mantua were still
alive, which accounts for his confinement continuing to be always
solitary and always secret.
The arrest of Matthioli, certainly appears to have been the effect
of a vindictive feeling against him in the breast of Lewis himself;
for it is impossible to imagine that any minister would have
ventured, of his own free-will, upon a step by which so much was
to be hazarded, and nothing, in fact, was to be gained. The act is
only to be explained in this manner; that the monarch insisted upon
his revenge, which the ministers were obliged to gratify; and, at
the same time, in order to prevent any ill consequences that might
result from it, determined upon burying the whole transaction under
the most impenetrable veil of mystery.
The confinement of Matthioli is decidedly one of the deadliest
stains that blot the character of Lewis the Fourteenth: for,
granting that Matthioli betrayed the trust reposed in him by
that monarch, one single act of diplomatic treachery was surely
not sufficient to warrant the infliction of the most horrible
of all punishments,--of solitary confinement, for four and
twenty years, in a dungeon!--It was, however, an act of cruel
injustice that was to be expected from the man, who, when the
unhappy Fouquet[83] was condemned by the tribunals of his country
to exile, himself changed his sentence to that of perpetual
imprisonment;--who, to please his mistress, confined his former
favourite, Lauzun,[84] for nine years in the fortress of Pignerol,
and only then released him in order, by that means, to swindle
Mademoiselle de Montpensier[85] out of her fortune, in favour
of his bastard, the Duke du Maine;--who shut up so many other
persons, guilty only of imaginary crimes, in various prisons, where
they died of misery and ill-treatment;--who revoked the Edict of
Nantes;--ordered the burning of the Palatinate;--persecuted the
saints of Port Royal;--and gloried in the Dragonades, and the war
of the Cevennes;--who, in short, whether we regard him as a man or
a sovereign, was one of the most hardened, cruel, and tyrannical
characters transmitted to us in history. Providence doubtless made
use of him as a scourge befitting the crimes of the age he lived in;
and, in this point of view, his existence was most useful. Nor is
his memory less so; which has been left to us and to all posterity,
as a mighty warning of the effects, even in this world, of
overweening ambition; and as a melancholy example of the perversion
of a proud heart, which “gave not God the glory,” and was therefore
abandoned by the Almighty to the effects of its own natural and
irretrievable wickedness.
After the arrest of Matthioli, he underwent several interrogatories,[86]
in which, in spite of his numerous prevarications, his treachery
was still more amply discovered. The examinations were all sent
to Louvois by Catinat, who, as soon as they were concluded, left
Pignerol, and returned to the court.[87]
At first, Matthioli was, by the direction of Estrades,[88]
well-treated in his prison; but this was not by any means the
intention of Lewis, and accordingly, we find Louvois writing
thus to St. Mars. “It is not the intention of the King that the
Sieur de Lestang should be _well-treated_; nor that, except the
absolute necessaries of life, you should give him any thing that
may make him pass his time agreeably.”[89] Again, in the same
strain: “I have nothing to add to what I have already commanded you
respecting the severity with which the individual named Lestang
must be treated.”[90] And again; “You must keep the individual
named Lestang, in the severe confinement I enjoined in my preceding
letters, without allowing him to see a physician, unless you know
he is in absolute want of one.”[91] These repeated injunctions to
the same effect are a proof, how much importance the rancorous Lewis
attached to his victim’s being compelled to drink the bitter cup of
captivity to the very dregs.
The harshness and hopelessness of his prison seem to have affected
the intellects of Matthioli,[92] for after he had been nearly a year
confined, St. Mars acquaints Louvois, that “The Sieur de Lestang
complains, he is not treated as a man of his quality, and the
minister of a great prince ought to be; notwithstanding which, I
continue to follow your commands most exactly upon this subject, as
well as on all others. I think he is deranged by the way he talks to
me, telling me he converses every day with God and his angels;--that
they have told him of the death of the Duke of Mantua, and of the
Duke of Lorrain;[93] and as an additional proof of his madness, he
says, that he has the honour of being the near relation of the King,
to whom he wishes to write, to complain of the way in which I treat
him. I have not thought it right to give him paper or ink for that
purpose, perceiving him not to be in his right senses.”[94]
The unhappy prisoner, in his phrensy and despair, sometimes used
very violent language to his keepers, and wrote abusive sentences
with charcoal on the walls of his prison; on which account St.
Mars ordered his lieutenant, Blainvilliers, to threaten him with
punishment, and even to show him a cudgel, with which he was to be
beaten, if he did not behave better.
These menaces so far intimidated Matthioli, that a few days
afterwards, while Blainvilliers was serving him at dinner, he, in
order to propitiate him, took a valuable ring from his finger and
offered it to him. Blainvilliers told him he could accept nothing
from a prisoner, but that he would deliver it to St. Mars; which he
accordingly did.[95] St. Mars estimates the ring at fifty or sixty
pistoles: and M. Delort conjectures it to have been the one given
to him by Lewis the Fourteenth, during his stay at Paris. St. Mars
inquires from Louvois[96] what he is to do in consequence; and the
latter returns for answer, that he “must keep the ring, which the
Sieur Matthioli has given to the Sieur de Blainvilliers, in order to
restore it to him, if it should ever happen that the King ordered
him to be set at liberty.”[97]
Matthioli apparently expressed a wish to confess to a priest;
and Louvois desires that he may be only allowed to do so once in
the year.[98] It appears that St. Mars had at this time in his
custody a Jacobin monk, with whose crime, as well as name, we are
unacquainted; but in the correspondence of St. Mars and Louvois,
he is designated as “the Jacobin in the lower part of the tower.”
This man was mad; very possibly had been made so, like Matthioli,
by solitary confinement and ill-usage. St. Mars advised the putting
Matthioli with him, in order to avoid the necessity of sending for
a priest for each prisoner.[99] To this proposal Louvois returned
the following answer: “I have been made acquainted, by your letter
of the 7th of this month (August 1680), with the proposal you make,
to put the Sieur de Lestang with the Jacobin, in order to avoid the
necessity of having two priests. The King approves of your project,
and you have only to execute it when you please.”[100]
St. Mars, in a letter of the 7th of September, 1680, thus details
the results of the execution of his plan:--
“Since you permitted me to put Matthioli with the Jacobin in the
lower part of the tower, the aforesaid Matthioli was, for four or
five days, in the belief that the Jacobin was a man that I had
placed with him to watch his actions. Matthioli, who is almost as
mad as the Jacobin, walked about with long strides, with his cloak
over his nose, crying out that he was not a dupe, but that he knew
more than he would say. The Jacobin, who was always seated on his
truckle bed, with his elbows resting upon his knees, looked at him
gravely, without listening to him. The Signior Matthioli remained
always persuaded that it was a spy that had been placed with him,
till he was one day disabused, by the Jacobin’s getting down from
his bed, stark naked, and setting himself to preach, without rhyme
or reason, till he was tired. I and my lieutenants saw all their
manoeuvres through a hole over the door.”[101]
It appears to have been very entertaining to St. Mars and his
lieutenants, to witness the ravings of these two unhappy maniacs;
and there are probably many gaolers who would experience the same
feelings upon a similar occasion: what cannot, however, but strike
us with horror, is the fact that there was found a minister, nay,
a king, and that king one who piqued himself upon professing the
Christian religion,[102] to sanction such a proceeding. It is indeed
most painful to think, that power should have been placed in the
hands of men, who could abuse it by such needless acts of cruelty.
We have no farther particulars of the state of Matthioli’s mind:
but, being more than half-mad at the time he was placed with the
Jacobin, who was quite so, it is probable the company of the latter
increased and perpetuated his phrensy. It is even not impossible
that such may have been the intention of St. Mars, as, while
Matthioli continued insane, it was of course more reasonable and
plausible to continue the extraordinary rigour of his confinement.
Nor were mental sufferings the only ones which the barbarity of
Lewis and his minister obliged Matthioli to undergo. We have before
seen, from the letters of Louvois to St. Mars, that the latter was
desired generally to treat Matthioli with great severity; afterwards
he writes to him upon the subject of his clothing, “You must make
the clothes of such sort of people as he is last three or four
years.”[103] Some idea may also be formed of the kind of furniture
of his dungeon, from the circumstance, mentioned by St. Mars, that,
upon the removal of his prisoner from the fort of Exiles to the
Island of St. Margaret in 1687, his bed had been sold, because it
was so old and broken as not to be worth the carriage; and that all
his furniture and linen being added to it, the sum produced by the
sale was only thirteen crowns.[104]
It may be worth remarking here that the letter of Louvois,
respecting Matthioli’s clothes, is a sufficient answer to the absurd
stories with regard to the richness of the lace, &c. worn by the
Iron Mask; and the relations from St. Mars himself of his threats
to his prisoner, of even corporal punishment, no less disprove the
erroneous accounts of the extraordinary respect shown to him.
In the year 1681, St. Mars was offered the government of the citadel
of Pignerol, which he declined accepting, for what reasons we
are not told: Lewis, who was anxious to recompense his services
as a gaoler of State prisoners, then gave him the government of
Exiles,[105] a strong fortress and pass near Susa, on the frontier
of Piedmont and the Briançonnois, which was vacant by the death of
the Duke de Lesdiguières; at the same time augmenting the salary
attached to that situation, so as to make it equal to that of the
towns in Flanders.[106] Louvois, in a letter dated May 12th, 1681,
acquaints St. Mars with his appointment; and informs him that “the
two prisoners in the lower part of the tower” are the only ones of
those under his care at Pignerol, whom the King wishes to accompany
him to Exiles.[107] “The two prisoners in the lower part of the
tower,” signify, as we have before seen, Matthioli and the monk.
An additional proof indeed, if any were wanted, that Matthioli
was one of the two prisoners conveyed to Exiles, is given in
the following extract from a letter of Louvois, dated June 9th,
1681:--“With regard to the effects belonging to the Sieur Matthioli
which are in your possession, you will have them taken to Exiles, in
order to be given back to him, if ever his Majesty should order him
to be set at liberty.”[108]
It is to be remarked, that this is the last time Matthioli is
mentioned by name in the correspondence between Louvois and St.
Mars--in consequence, it appears, of what is said by the former in
his letter before quoted of the 12th of May, where he desires a
list of the names of all the prisoners then under the guard of St.
Mars to be sent to him, and adds--“with regard to the two who are
in the lower part of the tower, you need only designate them in
that manner, without adding any thing else.”[109] This precaution
was evidently enjoined lest the list should fall into other hands,
while it also shows that the necessity for concealment was still
considered as strong as ever.
This is also proved by the precautions ordered to be taken during
the journey of the two prisoners, lest they should be seen or
spoken to by any one; and by the repeated orders for their strict
confinement.--“The intention of his Majesty is, that, as soon as
the room at Exiles, which you shall judge the most proper for the
secure keeping of the two prisoners in the lower part of the tower,
shall be in a state to receive them, you should send them out of
the citadel of Pignerol in a litter, and conduct them there under
the escort of your troop.”[110] “His Majesty expects that you will
guard the two before-mentioned prisoners, with the same exactitude
you have made use of hitherto.”[111] To these instructions St. Mars
returned an answer in the same strain, dated from Pignerol, as he
was on the point of setting off for Exiles.--“In order that the
prisoners may not be seen (at Exiles), they will not leave their
chamber when they hear mass; and in order that they may be kept
the more securely, one of my lieutenants will sleep above them,
and there will be two sentinels night and day, who will watch the
whole round of the tower, without its being possible for them and
the prisoners to see and to speak to one another, or even to hear
any thing of one another. They will be the soldiers of my company,
who will be always the sentinels over the prisoners. There is
only a confessor, about whom I have my doubts; but if you do not
disapprove, I will give them the curate of Exiles instead, who is
a good man, and very old; whom I will forbid, on the part of his
Majesty, to inquire who these prisoners are, or their names, or
what they have been, or to speak of them in any way, or to receive
from them by word of mouth, or by writing, either communications or
notes.”[112]
Before St. Mars removed finally to Exiles, he went there to inspect
the fortress, leaving his prisoners under the guard of one of his
lieutenants; which is here mentioned to show the falseness of the
idea that he never quitted his mysterious prisoner. Louvois enjoined
him before he left them, to arrange the guarding of his prisoners
in such a manner, that no accident might happen to them during his
short absence; and “that they might have no intercourse with any
one, any more than they had had during the time they had been under
his charge.”[113] Subsequently Louvois desired him not to be more
than one night at a time absent from Pignerol.[114]
St. Mars found certain repairs to be necessary to that part of the
fortress of Exiles, which he deemed the most proper residence for
“the two prisoners in the lower part of the tower.” He demanded
money for this purpose, and Louvois returned for answer that the
King accorded him a thousand crowns, on condition he kept the grant
a profound secret, and gave out that the repairs he was making, were
at his own expense.[115] This again was evidently for the purpose of
concealing from the neighbourhood, that any prisoners of importance
were to be removed from Pignerol to Exiles.
The repairs of the tower at Exiles first delayed the removal of
St. Mars, and afterwards he was ordered to stay some time longer
at Pignerol, in order to receive Catinat, who was again sent there
secretly, again under the assumed name of Richemont, and again for
the purpose of taking possession of Casale.[116] This time the King
of France was more fortunate than he had been in 1679, as Casale was
actually sold to him by the Duke of Mantua, in the autumn of this
year, 1681.
Finally, it appears that St. Mars and his prisoners did not move to
Exiles till late in the autumn of 1681. About this time, St. Mars
apparently requested permission to see and converse with Matthioli
occasionally, for Louvois writes, “this word is only to acknowledge
the receipt of your letter. The King does not disapprove of your
visiting from time to time the last prisoner who has been placed in
your charge, after he shall have been established in his new prison,
and shall have left that where he is at present confined.”[117] It
is rather curious to observe, from this document, that St. Mars
was permitted to visit his prisoner at Exiles, but not while he
continued at Pignerol.
The first communication of St. Mars to Louvois after his arrival
at Exiles, which has been published, is dated December the 4th,
1681,[118] and relates to the sickness of his prisoners: and the
next is a letter, dated March 11th, 1682, containing a similar
detail to those already alluded to, of the precautions he took
for the security and solitary confinement of his two prisoners.
He begins, by intimating that he has again received a charge from
Louvois to that effect, and that he continues to guard his two
prisoners as severely and exactly as he has ever done, and as he
did formerly “Messrs. Fouquet and Lauzun, who could not boast that
they had either sent or received any news, while they were in
confinement.” He adds, that the two prisoners can hear the people
who pass along the road at the foot of their prison, but that they
cannot be heard by any one; that, in the same way, they can see
the people who are on the hill opposite their windows, but cannot
themselves be seen, on account of the bars placed across their room;
that there are two sentinels always watching them, and who have also
orders to prevent the passengers stopping under their windows--and
that his own room, being joined to the tower, and commanding a view
of the sentinels, the latter are by this means always kept alert.
That, in the inside of the tower, he has made a partition, which
prevents the priest, who says mass, from seeing the prisoners, as
well as the servants who bring their food--which is afterwards
carried in to them by his lieutenant; who, together with himself,
the confessor, and a physician from Pragelas, a town six leagues
distant, are the only persons who speak to them; the physician only
being allowed to do so in the presence of St. Mars himself. He adds,
that equal precautions are taken with regard to their linen, and
other necessaries.[119]
From this period, we hear no more of St. Mars and his prisoners
in the published documents, for above three years; his next
communication to Louvois being dated Dec. 23d, 1685; in which he
informs him that his prisoners are still ill, and in a course of
medicine. By the expression _still_ being here used, it would seem
as if their malady had been of considerable duration. He continues,
“they are, however, perfectly tranquil.”[120] The mention of their
present tranquillity is certainly an indication that their insanity
had continued, at least at intervals.
Shortly after this, the Jacobin[121] died. Matthioli continued ill;
and St. Mars, also finding his own health failing him, he[122]
became convinced that the air of Exiles was unwholesome, and
petitioned in consequence for a change of government.[123] Lewis
upon this appointed him, in 1687, to that of the Islands of St.
Margaret and St. Honorat, on the coast of Provence, near Antibes,
and ordered him, as before, to take Matthioli with him.
As in the case of his removal to Exiles, so, upon the present
occasion, St. Mars went first to look at and prepare the prison
at St. Margaret, before he conveyed his prisoner there.[124]
Previously, however, to leaving him for that purpose, he writes
to Louvois, to assure him once more of the secrecy and security
with which he is confined--“I have given such good orders for the
guarding of my prisoner, that I can answer for his entire security;
as well as for his not now, nor ever, holding any intercourse with
my Lieutenant, whom I have forbidden to speak to him, which is
punctually obeyed.”[125]
He afterwards writes again to the same Minister, from the Island
of St. Margaret, “I promise to conduct my prisoner here in all
security, without any one’s seeing or speaking to him. He shall
not hear mass after he leaves Exiles, till he is lodged in the
prison which is preparing for him here, to which a chapel is
attached. I pledge my honour to you for the entire security of my
prisoner.”[126]
St. Mars accordingly returned for Matthioli, and conveyed him to his
new abode, in the manner he had proposed doing, in his letter to
Louvois, of January 20th, 1687--“In a chair, covered with oil-cloth,
into which there would enter a sufficiency of air, without its being
possible for any one to see or speak to him during the journey, not
even the soldiers, whom I shall select to be near the chair.”[127]
In spite of the expectations of St. Mars that, in this mode of
conveyance, his prisoner would have air enough, it appears that he
complained of the want of it, and soon fell ill in consequence. This
is mentioned in a letter of St. Mars, dated May 3d, 1687, giving an
account of their arrival at the Island of St. Margaret, and is the
last of the correspondence between Louvois and St. Mars respecting
Matthioli: “I arrived here the 30th of last month. I was only twelve
days on the journey, in consequence of the illness of my prisoner,
occasioned, as he said, by not having as much air as he wished. I
can assure you that no one has seen him, and that the manner in
which I have guarded and conducted him during all the journey, makes
every body try to conjecture who my prisoner is.”[128]
It was probably, during this journey, that St. Mars first made
use of a mask to hide the features of Matthioli.[129] Not as has
been erroneously supposed a mask made of iron, which it will be
evident, upon the slightest reflection, could not have been borne
upon the face for any long continuance of time, but one of black
velvet,[130] strengthened with whalebone, and fastened behind the
head with a padlock, which did not prevent the prisoner from eating
and drinking, or impede his respiration.[131]
The identity of Matthioli with the prisoner known by the name
of “the Iron Mask,” is here very satisfactorily confirmed by
circumstantial evidence. We have seen that Matthioli and the Jacobin
were placed together at Pignerol; we have seen that they were
designated as “the two prisoners in the lower part of the tower;” we
have seen that “the two prisoners in the lower part of the tower”
were the only ones who accompanied St. Mars when his government
was transferred to Exiles; we have seen the death of the Jacobin
at the latter place; and now we find St. Mars conveying a single
prisoner, designated as “_the prisoner_,” with him to St. Margaret,
with a repetition of the same precautions and of the same secrecy
as on former occasions, to which are added the celebrated Mask. Who
could this prisoner be but Matthioli? It is also observable, that
in all the various accounts of the Iron Mask, though the dates are
made to vary, he is always said to have been originally confined at
Pignerol, subsequently at the island of St. Margaret, and finally to
have accompanied St. Mars to the Bastille.
The prison of Matthioli, at the Island of St. Margaret, was a room
lighted by a single window to the north, pierced in a very thick
wall, guarded by bars of iron, and looking upon the sea.[132] During
his residence in this place, his valet, who, as may be remembered,
had been arrested by Estrades, and who had served his master ever
since his confinement, died, and was buried at midnight, and with
great secrecy. To supply his place, a woman of the neighbourhood was
asked if she would undertake to wait upon the prisoner. At first
she consented to accept of the place, imagining it might be a means
of benefiting her family; but afterwards declined it, upon learning
that she was to be cut off from all further intercourse with the
world, and never even to see her family again.[133] Whether any one
was eventually found to undertake the office, does not appear.
Among the erroneous anecdotes that have obtained credence with
regard to the Iron Mask, there are two, or rather apparently two
versions of one event, which is said to have taken place while
he was at the island of St. Margaret, but which is proved to be
incorrect, by a letter published by M. Roux (Fazillac).
One version of the story states, that the mysterious prisoner wrote
his name and qualities with the point of a knife upon a silver
plate, and threw it out of his window; that it was picked up by a
fisherman, who could not read, but brought it to St. Mars; and that
the latter, having ascertained that the man could not read, released
him.[134] The other version is, that the prisoner covered one of his
shirts with writing, and then threw it out of window; a Monk found
it, brought it to the Governor, and assured him he had not read
it; but was himself found dead in his bed two days afterwards, and
was supposed to have been assassinated.[135] The origin of these
stories, is evidently to be found in a letter from St. Mars to the
Minister,[136] dated June 4th, 1692; in which he informs him that he
has been obliged to inflict corporal punishment upon a Protestant
minister, named Salves, who was a prisoner under his care, because
_he would write things upon his pewter vessels, and on his linen,
in order to make known that he was imprisoned unjustly, on account
of the purity of his faith_.[137] Thus we see that this anecdote,
which has been twisted into the history of the Iron Mask, had, in
fact, no relation to him. And this circumstance should put us on
our guard with respect to the many other marvellous stories, which
have probably been pressed in the same way into the service. It is
also worthy of remark that the public having determined that the
Iron Mask was a great Prince, every thing was related in a manner to
favour this opinion--and thus the pewter of the obscure Salves was
turned, in the anecdote, into silver plate.
After eleven years’ tedious confinement at the Island of St.
Margaret, Matthioli accompanied St. Mars to the Bastille, to the
government of which the latter was appointed, upon the death of M.
de Bezemaux, which occurred in the last days of 1697.[138]
Before his departure from St. Margaret, St. Mars wrote to the
Minister to request that secure lodgings might be provided for
him and his prisoner during the journey; to which he received for
answer, “It will be sufficient that you should lodge as conveniently
and securely as you can, by means of payment.”[139]
St. Mars accordingly set forth on his journey to the Bastille, early
in the autumn of 1698, and in the course of it lodged at his own
estate of Palteau, which he probably considered a securer resting
place for his prisoner than any inn could have been. An account of
his visit to Palteau has been given by one of his descendants, of
whose accuracy no reasonable doubt can be entertained.
It is there stated, that the masked prisoner arrived at Palteau in a
litter, which preceded the one in which St. Mars himself travelled.
They were accompanied by many men on horseback, and by the peasants
who had gone to meet their landlord. St. Mars always ate with his
prisoner, and the latter sat with his back to the windows of the
dining-room, so that the peasants, who were in the court, could not
see whether he kept his mask on while at meals; but they observed
that St. Mars, who sat opposite to him, had two pistols placed by
the side of his plate. They were served by a single servant, who
brought all the dishes from the anti-room, where they were placed,
and always when he came in or went out shut the door very carefully
after him. When the prisoner crossed the court, he always had his
black mask over his face. The peasants also observed, that his teeth
and lips were seen, that he was tall of stature, and had grey hair.
St. Mars slept in a bed, which had been put up close to that of his
prisoner.[140]
St. Mars and Matthioli arrived at the Bastille on the 18th of
September, 1698, and the former immediately went to the Minister to
apprize him of their arrival.[141] This event is thus commemorated
in the journal of M. Dujonca,[142] who was for many years the
Lieutenant of the King, at the Bastille:--“Thursday, 18th September,
1698, at three o’clock in the afternoon, M. de St. Mars, Governor
of the Bastille, arrived to take possession of his office, coming
from the Islands of St. Margaret and St. Honorat, bringing with
him in his litter an old prisoner, whom he had under his care
at Pignerol, of whom the name is not mentioned; who is always
kept masked, and who was first placed, till night, in the tower
of the Basiniere,[143] and whom I conducted afterwards myself,
at nine o’clock at night, to the third chamber of the tower of
the Bertaudière;[143] which chamber I had taken care to furnish
with all things necessary before his arrival, having received
orders to that effect from M. de St. Mars. When I conducted him
to the before-mentioned chamber, I was accompanied by the Sieur
Rosarges,[144] whom M. de St. Mars also brought with him, and who is
charged to wait upon and take care of the aforesaid prisoner, who is
fed by the Governor.”[145]
Dujonca’s account is confirmed by the extracts of the Register
of the Bastille, published in the work entitled “La Bastille
dévoilée.”[146]
The placing of the prisoner, on his first arrival, temporarily in
one part of the Bastille, and afterwards removing him by night to
another, appears to have been done for the sake of greater secrecy;
and we see by this, as well as by the account of his visit to
Palteau, that the precautions against the possibility of discovery
of his name and character were in no way diminished.
He certainly continued, from all accounts, to wear his mask from
the time of his arrival at the Bastille till his death. We learn
from the persons who saw him at Palteau that he was tall of stature;
and an old physician, who had attended him at the Bastille when
he was ill, described him (if we may credit Voltaire) as well
made, of a brown complexion, and possessing an agreeable voice.
He attended mass occasionally, and was forbid in his way there to
speak to any one. The invalids were ordered to fire upon him if he
disobeyed.[147] He is also said to have occupied himself a good deal
during his confinement with playing on the guitar.[148]
These are all the particulars, worthy of credit, to be collected
respecting Matthioli during his confinement at the Bastille, which
lasted rather more than five years. He died there after a few hours’
illness, November 19th, 1703. Dujonca’s journal gives the following
account of his decease and interment.
“Monday, 19th November, 1708. The unknown prisoner, who was always
masked with a mask of black velvet, whom M. de St. Mars brought with
him, when he came from the Islands of St Margaret, and whom he had
had the care of for a long time, having found himself rather more
unwell when he came out from mass, died to-day, about ten o’clock
in the evening, without having had any considerable illness. M.
Girault, our chaplain, confessed him yesterday. Death having come
suddenly on, he was not able to receive his sacraments, and our
chaplain only had time to exhort him for a moment before he died. He
was interred on Tuesday the 20th November, at four in the afternoon,
in the church-yard of St. Paul, which is our parish. His interment
cost forty livres.”
This extract is confirmed in its facts by the register of the
Bastille,[149] as well as by the register of burials of the church
of St. Paul, at Paris. The former document also informs us that
he was wrapped in “a winding-sheet of new linen,”[150]--and the
latter, that he was buried in the presence of Rosarges, Major of the
Bastille, and of Reilh, Surgeon-Major of the same prison.
In the register of the church he is designated by the name of
Marchialy, and his age is entered as forty-five; assertions which
are both of them evidently incorrect, and probably only made in
order to mislead the curious. At the time of his death, Matthioli
was sixty-three years of age, as appears from the date of his birth
before given. Shortly before he died, he told the Apothecary of the
Bastille that he believed he was sixty years[151] old--a degree
of inaccuracy as to his own age, which is easily to be conceived
in a man who had been so long and so rigorously imprisoned. His
confinement had lasted above twenty-four years.
After the decease of Matthioli, every thing was done to endeavour
to destroy all trace even of his former existence. His clothes were
burnt, as was all the furniture of his room; the silver plate, the
copper, and the pewter, which had been used by him, were melted
down; the walls of his chamber were first scraped, and then fresh
white-washed; the floor was new paved; the old ceiling was taken
away and renewed; the doors and windows were burnt; and every corner
was searched in which it was thought any paper, linen, or other
memorial of him might be concealed.[152]
Thus were continued, to the very last, the same extraordinary
precautions against discovery, which marked the whole imprisonment
of the mysterious prisoner: a circumstance, which of itself
certainly affords a strong confirmation of the fact, that the _Iron
Mask of the Bastille_, was one and the same person with the _Count
Matthioli_, who had been so secretly introduced into Pignerol, and
so mysteriously conveyed from place to place by St. Mars. But the
actual proof of this is only to be found in the documents which form
the groundwork of the preceding narrative; and which, undoubtedly,
do present a most convincing and satisfactory chain of evidence upon
the subject.
An important corroboration of this evidence is also derived from the
well-attested fact, that Lewis the Fifteenth, who is allowed, on all
hands, to have known the history of the Iron Mask, affirmed, more
than once, that _he was the minister of an Italian sovereign_. He
told the Duke de Choiseul,[153] on one occasion, that he knew who
the Iron Mask was; and, upon the Duke’s questioning him further,
would only add, _that all the conjectures hitherto made upon the
subject were erroneous_.[154] The Duke then begged Madame de
Pompadour[156] to ask the King who it was; she did so, and his
reply was, “_The minister of an Italian prince_!”[157] The Duke
de Choiseul, unsatisfied by this reply, which he considered to be
only an evasion, took another opportunity of again applying to the
King upon the subject, who again answered, “_He believed that the
prisoner was a minister of one of the courts of Italy_!”[158]
Thus has the ill-fated Matthioli been identified with the Iron Mask,
and traced through his long and dreary prison to his grave. It is
probable that much of the illusion and interest, which accompanied
the mysterious appellation of _the Iron Mask_, will be destroyed by
the certainty of who he really was; as well as by the comparative
insignificance of the personage who has successfully laid claim to
the title. Still it is surely satisfactory that truth, after being
so long overwhelmed by error, should be at length triumphant.
The lovers of romance, who still wish to know more of the
magnificent conjectures of former days; or who desire to be made
acquainted with the reasons that induced a belief, that the Iron
Mask was either the Duke de Beaufort; or the Count de Vermandois;
or the Duke of Monmouth; or an elder or a twin-brother of Lewis the
Fourteenth; or a son of Oliver Cromwell; or Arwediks, the Armenian
Patriarch; are referred to Voltaire, Dutens, St. Foix, La Grange
Chancel, Gibbon, the Père Papon, the Père Griffet, the Chevalier
de Taulés, and Mr. Quintin Craufurd. Of these accounts, perhaps
Voltaire’s is the least curious, find Mr. Craufurd’s the most so;
because the first did not seek for truth, but only wished to invent
a moving tale; while the latter was most anxious to arrive at the
truth, and had all the advantage in his researches of the former
writers upon the same subject.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] “L’homme au masque de fer.”
[2] M. Roux (Fazillac) published several of the documents,
since republished by M. Delort, but he does not appear to have
seen the whole series; and therefore his reasoning upon the
subject is inconclusive. M. Delort has, however, copied a great
deal from him in his narrative--whole sentences sometimes, word
for word, without any acknowledgment of the plagiarism.
[3] Delort.
[4] The Abbé d’Estrades, Ambassador for a considerable time
from Lewis the Fourteenth, to the Republic of Venice, was son
of Godfrey, Count d’Estrades, so long employed in negociations
and embassies in Holland, and who was one of the eight Marshals
of France made upon the death of Turenne. Madame Cornuel called
them, “La Monnoie de M. de Turenne.”
[5] Ferdinand Charles IV., Duke of Mantua, a weak and
unfortunate Prince. Died July the 5th, 1708, as it is said of
poison, administered by a lady he was in love with.
[6] Casale did not come into the possession of the French till
1681. In 1695, it was taken by the Allies, and its
fortifications demolished. It was, however, retaken by the
French, and fortified again. The King of Sardinia, (Victor
Amadeus,) made himself master of it in 1706. His successor,
Charles Emmanuel, lost it again to the French in 1745, but
regained it the following year.
[7] The strong fort of Pignerol, acquired to the Crown of
France by the negociations of Richelieu, continued in their
possession for 68 years. In 1696, it was restored by treaty to
Victor Amadeus II., Duke of Savoy; its fortifications having
been previously dismantled.
[8] Victor Amadeus I., Duke of Savoy, a prince of great bravery
and considerable talent. He married Christina, daughter of
Henry IV., King of France, by whom he had two sons, Francis
Hyacinth and Charles Emmanuel II., successively Dukes of Savoy.
Died October 7th, 1637. He was the first Duke of Savoy, who
appropriated to himself the title of _Royal Highness_.
[9] Isabella Clara, of Austria, daughter of the Archduke
Leopold, who was grandson of the Emperor Ferdinand III. Married
June 13th, 1649, to Charles III., Duke of Mantua.
[10] Appendix, No. 1.
[11] Appendix, No. 1.
[12] The Empress Eleanor was daughter of Charles, Duke of
Rhetelois, who died in the life-time of his father, Charles I.
Duke of Mantua, in spite of which he is generally denominated
by historians, Charles II., Duke of Mantua. She became, on the
30th of April, 1651, the third wife of Ferdinand III., Emperor
of Germany, whom she survived many years, and died December
5th, 1686. She was the aunt of Ferdinand Charles IV., Duke of
Mantua.
[13] Thomas de la Cerda, Marquis of Laguna, in Spain, married
April 22, 1672, to Maria Louisa, only daughter of Vespasian
Gonzaga, only brother of Ferdinand III., the reigning Duke of
Guastalla.
[14] The Monk Bulgarini appears to have been the confessor and
favourite of the Duchess-mother of Mantua; and to have been
entirely devoted to the Spanish interests.
[15] The profession of Giuliani was, that of an editor of
newspapers, in which capacity he was in the habit of travelling
from town to town, to collect and convey news. See Appendix,
No. 98.
[16] Alphonso IV., Duke of Modena, succeeded his father Francis
I. in his territories, and in the command in chief of the
French army in Italy, in 1658. Died in the 29th year of his
age, July 16, 1662, having married, May 27, 1655, Laura
Martinozzi, niece of Cardinal Mazarin.
[17] Charles III., Duke of Mantua, father of Ferdinand Charles
IV., the reigning Duke, had the command of the Imperial Army
in Italy, and took upon himself the office of Vicar General
of the Empire in Italy, during the interregnum which followed
the death of the Emperor Ferdinand III. in 1657, in virtue of
a diploma, lately granted to him by that Prince. His right was
contested by the Duke of Savoy, who, upon the ground of old
usage, claimed the office for himself. The Electors of the
Empire annulled the appointment of the Duke of Mantua.
[18] Appendix, No. 1.
[19] Appendix, No. 1.
[20] Appendix, No. 1.
[21] Cæsar Bishop of Laon and Cardinal d’Estrées, son of
the first Marshal of France of that name, was employed in
various negociations with the Princes of Italy; but is now
more remembered for his courtier-like reply to Lewis XIV. That
Monarch one day at dinner complained of having lost all his
teeth. “And who is there, Sire, that has any teeth?” said the
Cardinal (Sire, et qui est-ce qui a des dents?) What made the
flattery the more ludicrously gross was, that the Cardinal,
though an old man, had remarkably fine teeth, and showed them
very much whenever he opened his mouth.
[22] Appendix, No. 2.
[23] Appendix, No. 8.
[24] 1677.
[25] Simon Arnaud de Pomponne, Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs from 1671 to 1679, when he was dismissed from his
office, but retained the title of Minister of State, with
permission to attend the Council. A man, like so many of his
race, who united considerable talents to great excellence of
character. Madame de Sévigné says, in speaking of the eminent
station he had filled, that “Fortune had wished to make use of
his virtues for the happiness of others.”
[26] Ferdinand III., Duke of Guastalla, descended from a
younger branch of the House of Gonzaga; and the heir to the
Duchy of Mantua, if he survived Ferdinand Charles; which
however was not the case. He died of dropsy, January 11th,
1678.
[27] Anne Isabella, eldest daughter of Ferdinand III., Duke of
Guastalla, married August 13th, 1671, to Ferdinand Charles IV.,
Duke of Mantua, by whom she had no offspring.
[28] This is evidently a mistake, and should be read _niece_
instead of _second daughter_. It alludes to Maria Louisa,
only daughter of Vespasian Gonzaga, only brother of Ferdinand
III., Duke of Guastalla, married to a Spanish nobleman, Thomas
de la Cerda, Marquis of Laguna. At this time neither of the
daughters of Ferdinand had children, and _she_, consequently,
after them, was the heiress of their claims upon the Duchies of
Guastalla and Mantua. The second daughter of Ferdinand III.,
Maria Victoria, married June 30th, 1769, Vincent Gonzaga Count
of St. Paul--the person who is here erroneously described as
having been the means of marrying her to another person.
[29] Vincent Gonzaga, Count of St. Paul, afterwards Duke of
Guastalla, was descended from a younger son of Ferrant II.,
first Duke of Guastalla. After contesting for many years his
right to that Duchy with Ferdinand Charles IV., Duke of Mantua;
during which they were both merely made use of, by turns, as
the instruments of the French and Austrian domination; he
was finally successful in establishing himself at Guastalla
in 1706, where he died April 28th, 1714. By his wife, Maria
Victoria, second daughter of Ferdinand III., Duke of Guastalla,
he left two sons, who successively succeeded him in the
sovereignty of that Duchy.
[30] Appendix, No. 9.
[31] Appendix, No. 10.
[32] Appendix, No. 17.
[33] Appendix, No. 18.
[34] Appendix, Nos. 24, 28, 29, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 39, 40.
[35] Appendix, No. 47.
[36] Delort, quoting from an Italian manuscript, in the records
of the office of the French Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs, which appears to have been written by Giuliani.
[37] Delort, quoting from the same authority.
[38] M. Delort says the sum actually given to Matthioli, was
400 Doubles, and the sum promised him 400,000 Doubles, which,
from its largeness, he conceives must be a mistake; but he adds
that it is so written in the Italian manuscripts before
referred to.
[39] Delort.
[40] Francis Michael Le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois, son of
the Chancellor Le Tellier, Secretary of State for the War
department, from 1666, to the time of his death, in 1691, which
occurring suddenly, and just as he was on the point of being
disgraced, gave occasion to a report that he was poisoned: for
which, however, it appears there was no foundation. He was of a
haughty and cruel disposition, and was the minister who planned
and ordered the inhuman ravages of the Palatinate, which have
so indelibly disgraced the reign of his master.
[41] Delort.
[42] Lewis Francis, Marquis and afterwards Duc de Boufflers,
Marshal of France in 1693. Died in 1711. One of the best of
Lewis the Fourteenth’s generals.
[43] Nicholas de Catinat, Marshal of France in 1698. “He
united,” says Voltaire, “philosophy to great military talents.
The last day he commanded in Italy, he gave for the watch-word,
‘Paris and St. Gratien,’ the name of his country house. He died
there in the retirement of a real sage, (having refused the
blue ribbon) in 1712.”
[44] Upon reference to the Mémoires de Catinat, published in
1819, this event is found to be thus adverted to:--“In 1679,
Catinat was charged with some negociations with the Duke of
Mantua; but the affair failed of success, in consequence of the
treachery of the Secretary of that prince. Catinat, according
to the King’s orders, was anxious to punish the traitor. He
remained at Pignerol some days, and having engaged him in a
hunting party, had him arrested.” It also appears from these
Memoirs, that both Catinat and Boufflers were again despatched
to Italy on the same errand, in 1681, when Casale was really
given up to Lewis; and on this occasion, Louvois, in his
instruction to Boufflers, mentions Matthioli by name, as the
person whose treachery had prevented the success of the former
negociation.
[45] Appendix, Nos. 52, 62, 64, 73, 76, 77, 78.
[46] I am not sure whether I am correct in imagining that this
was the Marshal d’Asfeld, who distinguished himself at the
battle of Almanza, and died at great old age, in 1743.
[47] Appendix, Nos. 52, 54, 55.
[48] Victor Amadeus II., at this time a minor, and under the
Regency of his mother, Mary Jane de Nemours. In 1713, he became
King of Sicily, which kingdom he was compelled to exchange for
that of Sardinia, in 1720; abdicated the throne in favour of
his son, in 1730; and died in 1732. This prince possessed in an
eminent degree, the attributes of his race--valour and skill in
military matters, and faithlessness in his treaties and
engagements with his brother sovereigns.
[49] Leopold I. succeeded Ferdinand III. in 1657, died in 1705.
[50] Charles II. the last King of Spain of the House of
Austria.--Died in 1700.
[51] Appendix, Nos. 68, 69, 89.
[52] See ante, note, page 18.
[53] Appendix, No. 66.
[54] Appendix, No. 68.
[55] Appendix, No. 67.
[56] Namely, of the delivery of Casale.
[57] Appendix, No. 72.
[58] Appendix, Nos. 75, 79, 81, 83, 88.
[59] Mary Jane Baptista of Savoy, daughter of Charles Amadeus,
Duke of Nemours and Aumale, (who was killed in a duel by his
brother-in-law, the Duke of Beaufort). Married May 11th, 1665,
to Charles Emmanuel II., Duke of Savoy; Regent of the
territories of her son during his minority. Died March 15th,
1724.
[60] Delort. Appendix, Nos. 87, 92, 95.
[61] Appendix, No. 92.
[62] Appendix, No. 70.
[63] Delort.
[64] Appendix, No. 75.
[65] Appendix, No. 71.
[66] Benigne d’Auvergne de Saint-Mars, Seigneur of Dimon and
Palteau; Bailli and Governor of Sens; successively Governor of
Exiles, the Island of St. Marguerite, and the Bastille. At
Pignerol he had only the command of the state prisoners, the
Marquis d’Herleville being governor of the fortress. St. Mars
came to Pignerol a short time before the arrival there of
Fouquet, who was the first prisoner confided to his care.
[67] Roux (Fazillac.)
[68] Appendix, Nos. 79, 81.
[69] Delort.
[70] Appendix, No. 88.
[71] Appendix, No. 82.
[72] Delort.
[73] M. Roux (Fazillac) gives these particulars, upon the
authority of a letter from Estrades to Pomponne, of May 7th,
1679; and of one from Catinat to Louvois of the same date;
neither of which are published.
[74] Roux (Fazillac.)
[75] Appendix, No. 84.
[76] Ibid.
[77] Delort.
[78] Appendix, No. 85.
[79] Appendix, No. 84.
[80] Ibid. No. 85.
[81] Appendix, Nos. 96, 103, 104.
[82] Ibid. No. 48.
[83] Nicholas Fouquet, “Surintendant des Finances,” in 1653.
The most lavish, but the most amiable of financiers.--Disgraced
in 1664, when he was condemned, by the commissioners appointed
to inquire into his conduct, to banishment. The sentence was
commuted by the King himself to perpetual imprisonment; and
Fouquet died in the citadel of Pignerol, in 1680. On his trial
he defended himself with great spirit and talent. See Madame de
Sévigné’s interesting Letters to M. de Pomponne upon the
subject.
[84] Anthony Nompar de Caumont, Marquis of Peguilhem, and
afterwards Duke of Lauzun: whose adventures and eccentricities
are too well known to require relation here. It is in speaking
of him that La Bruyère says, “Il n’est pas permis aux autres
hommes de rêver, comme il a vécu.”
[85] Anne Mary Louisa, of Orleans, Mademoiselle de Montpensier,
commonly called the “Grande Mademoiselle.”--A woman of an
unpleasant character, according to her own showing in her
Memoirs; but who certainly did not deserve to be the victim, as
she was, in different ways, of two such men as Lewis and
Lauzun.
[86] Appendix, Nos. 85, 87, 91, 92, 94, 95, 97.
[87] Ibid. No. 97.
[88] Ibid. Nos. 84, 85.
[89] Appendix, No. 90.
[90] Ibid. No. 93.
[91] Ibid. No. 96.
[92] Ibid. No. 101.
[93] Charles IV. or V., for he is sometimes called one and
sometimes the other, was the son of Nicholas Francis, Cardinal,
and afterwards Duke of Lorrain. On the death of his uncle,
Charles IV., he took the barren titles of Duke of Lorrain and
Bar, but never obtained possession of his territories, (which
were usurped by France,) “though his military, political, and
Christian virtues and talents, made him worthy to occupy the
first throne in the universe.” He commanded the armies of the
Emperor for some years with the greatest distinction, married
the Archduchess Eleanor, widow of Michael Wiecnowiecki, King of
Poland, and died in 1690. Lewis the Fourteenth, on hearing of
his death, said of him, “that he was the greatest, wisest, and
most generous of his enemies.”
[94] Appendix, No. 102.
[95] Appendix, No. 107.
[96] Appendix, No. 106.
[97] Appendix, No. 108.
[98] Appendix, No. 103.
[99] Appendix, No. 104.
[100] Ibid.
[101] Appendix, No. 105.
[102] If we were to judge of the Christian religion by the
manner in which it was professed by Lewis the Fourteenth, we
should indeed have a most perverted idea of its precepts. It
seems as if the pseudo-christianity of that monarch, only
incited him to acts of narrow-minded bigotry and cruelty,
allowing, at the same time, full latitude to every kind of
licentious excess; while it debarred him from the exercise of
humanity and toleration. A good measure of the nature and
extent of his religious knowledge and feelings is acquired, by
the anecdote respecting Fontpertuis and the Duke of Orleans.
When the latter was going into Spain, Lewis objected to his
taking the former with him, because he was a Jansenist; but
withdrew the objection when assured by the duke that he was
only an atheist!
[103] M. Roux (Fazillac), quoting from an unpublished letter of
Louvois to St. Mars, dated December 14th, 1681.
[104] About 1_l._ 12_s._ 0_d._ Appendix, No. 126.
[105] Exiles was taken from the French in 1708, by the Duke of
Savoy, but restored to them by the treaty of Utrecht.
[106] Appendix, No. 111.
[107] Appendix, No. 111.
[108] Appendix, No. 112.
[109] Appendix, No. 111.
[110] Appendix, No. 112.
[111] Ibid.
[112] Appendix, No. 115.
[113] Appendix, No. 111.
[114] Appendix, No. 117.
[115] Appendix, No. 113.
[116] Appendix, Nos. 114, 115.
[117] Appendix, No. 120.
[118] Appendix, No. 121.
[119] Appendix, No. 121.
[120] Appendix, No. 123.
[121] Roux (Fazillac).
[122] Ibid.
[123] Ibid.
[124] Appendix, Nos. 124, 125.
[125] Appendix, No. 124.
[126] Appendix, No. 125.
[127] Appendix, No. 124.
[128] Appendix, No. 126.
[129] Delort.
[130] Extract of Dujonca’s journal, in Mr. Craufurd’s article
upon “L’Homme au Masque de fer.”
[131] Delort.
[132] Papon in his “Histoire générale de Provence” informs us
that he went to see the room.
[133] “Histoire générale de Provence, du Père Papon.”
[134] See “Mélanges d’Histoire et de Littérature,” by Mr.
Quintin Craufurd.
[135] See the same work of Mr. Quintin Craufurd.
[136] This must have been Lewis Francis Le Tellier, Marquis de
Barbezieux, who, in the preceding year, had succeeded his
father, Louvois, in the post of Secretary of State for the War
Department. He was an indolent but intelligent Minister.--Died
in 1701, aged 33.
[137] Appendix, No. 127.
[138] Delort.
[139] Delort, quoting from an unpublished letter (probably from
Barbezieux), dated August 4th, 1698.--It may be as well to
mention here that M. Delort frequently quotes portions of
letters from the French Archives, but does not publish them in
his appendix. When in the course of this narrative the name of
M. Delort is given as an authority, it is, for the most part,
under these circumstances.
[140] Such is the account given by M. de Palteau, the direct
descendant of St. Mars, in a letter to Freron, dated Palteau,
June 19th, 1768. It was published in the “Année Littéraire” for
that year, and has since been republished by Mr. Craufurd, in
his paper on the Iron Mask.
[141] Delort.
[142] The place of “Lieutenant de Roi,” at the Bastille, was
created by Lewis the Fourteenth, for M. Dujonca, who had been
“Exempt” of one of the regiments of the King’s Body-guards. He
acquired great credit by his endeavours to procure the release
of the prisoners under his care, whom, upon inquiry, he found
to be unjustly detained. Some one represented to him that he
would deprive himself of a great portion of his profits by thus
diminishing the number of prisoners--to which he replied, “_I
can only lose my money, but these unhappy people are deprived
of what is more valuable to them than even life itself._”
[143] These towers are supposed to have been so called from the
names of the architects who built them.
[144] Rosarges was made Major of the Bastille by St. Mars.
[145] Extract from the Journal of Dujonca, first published by
Griffet, then by St. Foix, and subsequently by Mr. Craufurd.
[146] Appendix, No. 128.
[147] Mr. Craufurd, on the authority of Linguet.
[148] Delort and Craufurd.
[149] Appendix, No. 129.
[150] Appendix, No. 129.
[151] Delort.
[152] Mr. Craufurd, on the authority of M. Delaunay, Governor
of the Bastille. Also Register of the Bastille; for which see
Appendix, No. 129.
[153] Stephen Francis, Duke de Choiseul, Prime Minister under
Lewis the Fifteenth, for above twelve years. A man of some
talent, but an unskilful and extravagant minister; in spite of
which, on his disgrace, (through the means of Madame du Barri,
in 1770) he was turned into a martyr, by the influence of the
ladies of the court, who were angry with the King for choosing
his mistresses from the lower orders, instead of among them. To
do him honour snuff-boxes were made, bearing the head of Sully
on one side, and that of the Duke de Choiseul on the other. One
of them being shown to _Sophie Arnoud_, the actress, celebrated
for her repartees, she looked at the two sides, and said,
“_C’est la recette--et la dépense_.”
[154] This first answer of the king ought not to be entirely
overlooked; as, it will be remembered, that at the time it was
made, the minister of the Duke of Mantua had not been mentioned
by any one as the Iron Mask. He was first suggested to have
been that prisoner, by the Baron de Heiss, in a letter to the
authors of the “Journal Encyclopédique,” dated Phalsbourg, June
28th, 1770; in which he grounded his opinion upon a letter,
published in a work entitled “L’Histoire Abregée de l’Europe;”
published at Leyden in 1687; giving a detailed account of
the arrest, by French agents, of a secretary of the Duke of
Mantua.[155] M. Dutens, in his “Correspondance Interceptée,”
published in 1789, held the same opinion, grounded upon the
same authority. He afterwards repeated the same opinion in his
“Mémoires d’un Voyageur, qui se repose.” Finally, M. Roux,
(Fazillac) in 1801, published his work upon the Iron Mask;
in which he supported the same opinion; and attached to the
Secretary the name of Matthioli.
[155] See Appendix, No. 133.
[156] Jane Antoinette Poisson, married to a financier named Le
Normand d’Etioles; created Marquise de Pompadour by Lewis the
Fifteenth, of whom she was first the mistress, and afterwards
the minister of his disgraceful debauches. At her death, in
1765, the King showed no signs of grief; and on seeing her
funeral go by his windows on a rainy day, his only remark was,
“La Marquise aura aujourd’hui un mauvais temps pour son
voyage!”
[157] Appendix, No. 131.
[158] Appendix, Nos. 131, 132. Madame Campan mentions having
heard Lewis the Sixteenth tell his wife, that the Count de
Maurepas (who, both from his age and situation, was very likely
to know the truth,) had informed him that the _Iron Mask_ was
“a prisoner dangerous from his intriguing disposition, and a
subject of the Duke of Mantua.”
APPENDIX.
APPENDIX.
No. 1.
ESTRADES TO LEWIS THE FOURTEENTH.
Commencement of the Negociation.--State of the Court of
Mantua.--Influence of the Spaniards there.
Venice, Dec 18th, 1677.
SIRE,
As the grief I felt at having displeased your Majesty was extreme,
so my joy is not less to learn from M. de Pomponne, that your
Majesty has had the goodness to pardon me my too great facility;
and that you have been graciously pleased to listen to the reasons,
which I took the liberty to offer to you, in justification of
the innocence of my intentions; however, Sire, this misfortune
will oblige me, in future, to act in all things with so great a
circumspection, that your Majesty will, I hope, never have cause to
be dissatisfied with my conduct.
I have thus far deferred informing your Majesty of a project, which
my anxiety for your service has suggested to me, because the success
of it appeared so difficult that I did not venture to propose it,
till I saw some chance of being able to accomplish it; but, as the
affair is at present in a favourable state, I can almost assure
your Majesty, that the conclusion of it will depend upon yourself.
I shall now give you an exact account of it, in order that I may
receive the orders it shall please you to send me; which I will take
care to execute punctually. About four months ago, having become
more particularly acquainted with the divisions at the Court at
Mantua than before was the case, and having heard that the Duke of
Mantua was not so abandoned to his pleasures, but that he still had
some ambition, and much chagrin at the state to which he was reduced
by his mother, and his suspicions of the Spaniards; I hoped that
it would not be impossible, to detach him entirely from them, to
induce him to enter into the views of your Majesty, and to persuade
him really to treat respecting Casale. I have thought that I could
not employ any one in this affair more proper to conduct it, than a
certain Count Matthioli, who is entirely devoted to that prince; I
had already known him for some time, and he had testified a great
desire of rendering himself agreeable to your Majesty by some
service. I knew that he had been Secretary of State to the late Duke
of Mantua, that the present one had preserved much affection for
him, and that he was well-informed of the different interests of
the Princes of Italy; but as he had been much in the Milanese, and
had had a good deal of access to the Spanish ministers, I would not
put any confidence in him, till I had first tried him. I therefore
charged the individual, named Giuliani, to whom your Majesty had
the goodness to make six months ago a gratification, and who has
a zeal for your service which prevents my having any doubt of his
fidelity, to observe Matthioli attentively and secretly; and after
I had been sufficiently informed that he was much discontented with
the Spaniards, who had always amused him with hopes, and afterwards
abandoned him, I sent Giuliani, in the month of last October, to
Verona, where he went under pretext of his private affairs; but in
fact, to put Matthioli, who was there, upon the subject of the Duke
of Mantua, according to the instruction I had given him, and to
represent to him that those who had an attachment for their prince,
could not but be much afflicted to see him, at his age, still under
the guidance of his mother; without money, without authority, always
in a state of suspicion against those who are habitually about him;
and what is worse, in so insensible a state, that he only thought
of passing his life with actresses and women of the town; which
had made him lose the esteem of every body, and the consideration
which his rank ought to have given him: that so strange a way of
life, as well as the opinion that was prevalent that he would never
have children by his wife, though she was as young as himself,
induced the Spaniards to foment the divisions that existed in this
Court, in order to profit by them, and to try and obtain possession
of Casale and of all the Montferrat; that the said Giuliani had
heard me say, that I was well-informed that the Empress Eleanor
had already declared her pretensions to put herself in possession
of that part of the territories of Mantua; that the king of Spain
supported strongly those of a Spanish nobleman, who, in virtue of
his marriage with the niece of the Duke of Guastalla, by whom he
has children, maintains that he is the sole heir of that duke, to
the prejudice of the Duke of Mantua, who has married his daughter,
and who is besides his nearest relation; that, on the other hand,
the absolute control over all the territories of this prince, and
all the revenues, were in the hands of his mother and of the monk
Bulgarini; that, of all those who serve him as ministers, some are
gained by the Spaniards, others by the Empress Eleanor, and the
rest by the Duke of Guastalla; that his mother has also a part of
them on her side, but that these are the smallest number, and in
short, that it is a sort of miracle that he has not been already
deprived of his territories, but that he runs the risk of it every
day, and that the misfortune may happen to him when he is the least
prepared for it; that he has no choice of the means to be made use
of to guarantee himself against it, but that it is the protection
of your Majesty which is alone able to give him complete security.
Matthioli replied to him, that all he had been saying to him was
quite true, and that he had long, with grief, seen the truth of it;
but that there was still a remedy for so great an evil; that he
was sufficiently acquainted with the Duke of Mantua to know that
he had more talent and ambition than he was thought to have; that,
if I approved of it, he would discover his real sentiments, and
that he would charge himself with whatever negociation I wished.
That, meanwhile, he would go to----[159], in order to be nearer to
Mantua, where he could not go without making himself suspected by
the different parties who governed there, and that there he would
wait till I made known to him my intentions. Some days afterwards,
he sent me word that he had found means to have a secret interview
with the Duke of Mantua; and that he wished me, in order that we
might act in concert, to send him Giuliani, whom I have always made
use of in the different journeys that were to be made, because his
employment of sending the news through the different parts of Italy,
gave him occasion to go from one town to another, and prevented any
suspicion of him, as there would have infallibly been, if I had sent
any one of my household. I despatched him, therefore, with a new
instruction, and not only had he an audience of the Duke of Mantua,
to whom he spoke as I had desired him, but this prince even approved
very much of the proposition that was made him, to deliver him from
the continual inquietudes caused him by the Spaniards, and that,
for this purpose, Casale should be put into your Majesty’s hands,
with the understanding that I should try to obtain from you in his
favour all that he could reasonably ask for. Finally, he declared
that his resolution was taken upon this subject, but, that things
might be better adjusted, he wished to communicate it to two of his
counsellors, in whom he had the most confidence, and that he gave
the selection of them to Matthioli, in order that he might be quite
secure of them. Matthioli named the Marquis Cavriani and Joseph
Varano, in whom he has confidence. Meanwhile the Duke of Mantua sent
Giuliani to me, to acquaint me with what had passed, and recommended
him to return as soon as possible, in order to receive the draft of
the plan, which would then be prepared--and to convey it to me. I
was much pleased, Sire, to see the affair in so good a train. I sent
Giuliani back quickly, and ordered him to tell the Duke of Mantua
that I entreated him to allow me to have a conference with him; that
your Majesty had not as yet any knowledge of the proposed treaty,
because I could not venture to go so far as that, without being
certain first that he would not disavow me in what I should have
the honour of writing to your Majesty, and also that he would have
sufficient power to execute what had been arranged.
Giuliani returned here yesterday, bringing me as favourable answers
as I could possibly desire. He told me that the two counsellors of
the Duke of Mantua had, with every sort of precaution, commenced
their negociation with Matthioli; that they had approved of the
resolution of their master, and that they had put down in the
schedule, with which they had charged him, and which I join to
this letter, what the Duke requests your Majesty to grant to him;
that afterwards the Duke of Mantua called him to him; that he
ordered him to beg me to assure your Majesty of his respect and of
his attachment to your interests, and to acquaint me that he had
entirely put himself into the hands of the Count Matthioli; that he
would soon go to Venice, where we might see one another conveniently
and without being observed, on account of the Carnival, during
which, all the world, even the Doge, and the oldest senators, go
about in mask; that he wished me not to lose any time in acquainting
your Majesty with this affair, because he feared some surprise from
the Spaniards; but that if I wished him to keep his word with me, I
must not, on any account, communicate the project to the Cardinal
d’Estrées, because there was so strong a report in Italy, that he
had your Majesty’s orders to negociate with the Princes there, of
which the Spaniards had so great a jealousy, that, upon the least
suspicion they should have of him (the Duke,) they would ruin him
before he could receive assistance from your Majesty, who would,
at the same time, lose all hope of getting possession of Casale;
that he would take measures to tranquillize them, and to prevent
their having any suspicions of his conduct; and that if the Cardinal
d’Estrées made him any propositions, he would only receive them
in full council, and give general answers, which would not render
him suspected by any body. I thus find myself precluded from the
confidence which I intended to make of this business to the Cardinal
d’Estrées, who I believe will soon be here, and am obliged to
keep the secret scrupulously, till I have received the orders of
your Majesty. The Duke of Mantua also offers to raise a regiment,
provided it be at your Majesty’s expense, and he represents, that
by recruiting at Mantua and Casale he shall do much injury to the
Spaniards, who are raising troops there daily; that Joseph Varano,
who is one of the two before-mentioned counsellors, promises to
get a good many soldiers from the Ferrarese, where he possesses
interest, being Lord of Camerigo. He also implores your Majesty to
make an effort to send a sufficiently strong army into Italy, to be
able to undertake something considerable; and he assures me, that,
in this case, he will not content himself with having delivered
Casale into the hands of your Majesty, but will obtain for your
Majesty other great advantages, through the means of his intimate
connexions with the other states of Italy; that the Duchy of Milan
was never so feeble, nor so devoid of all means of defence, as at
present; but that, in order to obtain more particular intelligence
upon this head, he has given orders to Matthioli to go to Milan,
to observe every thing there with attention, and especially to
discover the intention of the Genoese, with regard to the report
which has now been for some time afloat in Italy, that your Majesty
intends sending an army there next Spring, at the latest. As some
accident might happen to the packets, I have not ventured to put
into mine the letter that the Count Matthioli, who has certainly
served your Majesty well upon this occasion, does himself the honour
to write to you, but have had it turned into cypher, as well as
the memoir of the demands of the Duke of Mantua; and I keep the
originals, together with the plan of Casale, which I do not send
to your Majesty for the same reason. I can assure your Majesty,
that I have never told either Giuliani or Matthioli that you intend
to march troops towards the Milanese; but the latter speaks of it
in his letter, because he has taken for granted the report which
was purposely spread abroad in order to lead the Duke of Mantua to
the determination I wished him to take; knowing that he desired to
be generalissimo above all things, or rather that it was the only
thing he was very anxious for, in order to be considered in Italy
like the late Duke of Modena, and like the late Duke of Mantua, who
at his age commanded in chief the Emperor’s army, with the title
of Vicar-general of the Empire. When this Prince is here, there
will only be at the conference we are to hold together, himself,
Matthioli, (whom he has promised to re-establish in his post of
Secretary of State, and to appoint his first minister, as soon as
he shall see himself restored to his authority, and that the treaty
he intends making with your Majesty shall have been executed,) the
Sieur Giuliani, the Sieur de Pinchesne, (who is secretary of the
embassy, and of whom M. de Pomponne, who placed him with me, can
answer to your Majesty for the fidelity and secrecy,) and myself.
So the secrecy, so necessary in this affair, will certainly remain
impenetrable.
I have the honour to be, &c.
THE ABBÉ D’ESTRADES.[160]
[159] The name of the place is not stated in the letter.
[160] From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at
Paris.
No. 2.
MATTHIOLI TO LEWIS THE FOURTEENTH.
Protestations of devotion to Lewis.--Belief in the good
intentions of the Duke of Mantua.
December 14th, 1677.
SIRE,
I take the liberty of bearing testimony to your Majesty, that among
the great Ministers, whom, in your supreme wisdom, you have sent
at different times into Italy, your ambassador at Venice, the Abbé
d’Estrades, ought to be distinguished for his skill and his zeal to
seize every occasion, which may seem to offer him the improvement or
the aggrandizement of your territories.
This Ambassador having confided to me, that, in order to succeed in
the enterprize that you meditate against the territories of Milan,
it would be necessary to detach the Duke of Mantua from the Austrian
party, and to draw him into that of your Majesty, I am anxious to
contribute every thing in my feeble power for the success of this
object. Your Majesty will be made acquainted with all that has
passed by the despatches of the Ambassador. For myself, I bless the
destiny, which procures me the honour of serving so great a monarch,
whom I regard and revere as a demi-god.
I will transmit to your Majesty all that I shall learn respecting
Casale, which has been fortified by one of the most skilful
engineers of the Milanese. This engineer has promised us a plan of
all the fortresses of that State, and even, if your Majesty commands
him, he will separate himself from the service of Spain, who does
not know how to recompense properly the services and the talents
of those who serve her with fidelity. I am convinced it would be
useless in me to enlarge upon the importance of the fortress of
Casale. Your Majesty must remember, that at different times it
has arrested the progress of many armies, and that it is the only
bulwark, upon which depends the loss or the preservation to the
Spaniards of the territories of Milan; territories, which for more
reasons than one, ought to belong to your Majesty’s crown.
It is known that the Austrians are at this moment arming, in order
to obtain possession by surprize of Casale, to the prejudice of the
Duke Ferdinand, my master, the lawful possessor of it.
This Prince, nephew of Charles[161] the first, (which latter Prince
was rather French than Italian, and by whose intervention the
fortress of Pignerol has remained in the possession of your royal
house); this Prince, I say, Ferdinand, will make known, in fit
time and place, that he has not degenerated from his ancestors;
he has promised to serve you with the greatest fidelity, and
to fight for you in a manner worthy of his birth; and as he is
extremely anxious to acquire glory, I trust your Majesty will have
reason to applaud his conduct in your armies. By the confession
of even the most skilful political observers, he is free from the
suspicions, which may fall upon the other Italian Sovereigns.
The Abbé d’Estrades knows that his Highness has communications
with other great personages, who complain with reason of the
insupportable yoke of the Spaniards, and who will take arms with him
to combat, and to drive as quickly as possible from Italy, a power
which is only established there to oppress it. If destiny willed it
so, I have no doubt that the other Princes of this country would be
happy to enjoy a stable peace under the auspices of your Majesty. I
offer up vows for the progress of your victorious arms, and I pray
God to prolong your days for the consolation of the world, &c.
HERCULES A. MATTHIOLI.[162]
[161] Charles the first, Duke de Nevers in France, succeeded to
the sovereignty of Mantua on the death of his cousin Duke
Vincent II. His two sons, Charles Duke de Rhetelois, and
Ferdinand Duke de Mayenne, died during his life-time, and he
was consequently succeeded, at his death in 1637, by his
grandson Charles III.
[162] This letter exists in cypher, and also written in Italian
and French, in the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs
at Paris.
No. 3.
ESTRADES TO POMPONNE.
Continuation of the negociation.--Intrigues of the Austrian
Party.
Venice, Dec. 24, 1677.
SIR,
I have only some few particulars to add to the letter, which I did
myself the honour to write to the King last week; but as the Duke of
Mantua has made known to me, that they may serve to make you still
more aware how important it is to that Prince to take his measures
secretly, and to use all possible diligence for the conclusion of
the affair, which I have given an account of to his Majesty, I have
thought it necessary, Sir, that you should be informed of them.
Three days ago, the Duke of Mantua informed me that he had found
means to procure a copy of the written orders that the Empress
Eleanor and the Emperor, conjointly with the Spaniards, had given
to the Count Viltaliano Borromei, a Milanese, and the Imperial
Commissary. They are to this effect, that if the French should come
into Italy, and that it should appear to him that the Duke of Mantua
had any intention to be on their side, he should make use of this
pretext to render himself master of Casale without delay, by means
of their partizans, who are there in considerable numbers, and among
others, the Governor of the town, and the Governor of the citadel;
in order to preserve this fortress and all the Montferrat for the
Empress Eleanor. The Marquis Carrossa has received a similar order
with regard to Mantua. He is also an Imperial Commissary, and it
will be easy for him to execute what is ordered him, because the
Governor of the citadel is his brother-in-law, and the Major of the
town his intimate friend. On these accounts, the Duke of Mantua has
sent me word that in his present situation, in which he is besides
watched by his mother, by the Monk Bulgarini, who governs her, and
by the greater part of his Ministers, who are devoted to the House
of Austria, he is obliged to show no ambition, to appear to have no
knowledge of his own affairs, and to excite no suspicions by his
conduct; and also that he cannot declare himself openly in favour of
the King’s interests, as he would wish to do, nor deliver up Casale
to his Majesty, unless he will send a sufficient army into Italy to
secure that fortress, and to defend him (the Duke) from the evils
that menace him, and from the designs which the House of Austria
has against him; and that this obliges him to supplicate and exhort
his Majesty to make an effort to that effect, even if he has not
actually resolved to carry the war into the Milanese, since Casale
is an acquisition sufficiently important to determine him to it.
But Matthioli, to whom the Duke of Mantua has given up the entire
conduct of this affair, goes still farther, and is confident, that
even in this case means could be easily found to place a Governor
in the citadel of Mantua, and a Major in the town, who should be as
much attached to the service of the King, as those who at present
occupy these two posts are to the House of Austria.
We must, besides, Sir, consider that the Duke of Guastalla, being
the nearest relation of the Duke of Mantua, as well as his heir,
there would be danger that, if the Duchess his daughter, who is
very ill, and has no children, should die, some misfortune might
happen to the Duke of Mantua, which would assure his territories
to the Spanish nobleman, who has married the second daughter of
the Duke of Guastalla, and whose marriage the Spaniards, doubtless
with this view, made up at Vienna, by means of Don Vincent, who
returned from thence some time back. You know much better than I do,
Sir, of what consequence it would be to the king, not only to take
away the Mantuan and the Montferrat from the House of Austria, who
will never lose an opportunity of making use of them when they have
once obtained them, but besides to have in his own hands these two
states, by means of which his Majesty can easily bridle the Princes
of Italy. Therefore, I do not take the liberty of entering farther
upon this matter, or of mingling my reflections with those you may
choose to make upon it.
* * * * * *
I am, &c.
THE ABBÉ D’ESTRADES.[163]
[163] From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at
Paris.
No. 4.
ESTRADES TO POMPONNE.
Intrigues of the Spaniards to form a league in Italy against
France.
Venice, January 1st, 1678.
SIR,
I have so little news to send you from hence to-day, that I shall
very soon have told you all I know, and may hope not to fatigue you
with the length of this letter.
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 Pope[164] 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.[165]
[164] Benedict Odescalchi, son of a Milanese banker, elected
Pope, September 21st, 1676, and took the name of Innocent XI.
He was a good Pope, and a virtuous man, and a decided enemy to
_Nepotism_, against which he published a bull. He died August
12th, 1689, and his memory was venerated as that of a saint by
his subjects.
[165] From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at
Paris.
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.[166]
[166] From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at
Paris.
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.[167]
[167] From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at
Paris.
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.[168]
[168] From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at
Paris.
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.[169]
[169] From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at
Paris.
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.[170]
[170] From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at
Paris.
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,[171] 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.[172]
[171] On the occasion of the death of Ferdinand III. Duke of
Guastalla, which occurred January 11th, 1678. The Duke of
Mantua had married his eldest daughter.
[172] From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at
Paris.
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,[173] 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 Modena[174] 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.[175]
[173] Margaret Louisa, daughter of Gaston, Duke of Orleans;
married in 1661, to Cosmo III., Grand Duke of Tuscany, whom she
quarrelled with, and finally left, and returned to France,
where she established herself in the Abbey of Montmartre. She
died at an advanced age in 1721.
[174] Francis of Este, Duke of Modena, succeeded his father,
Alphonso IV. in 1662. During his minority, his territories were
wisely and ably governed by his mother, Laura Martinozzi, niece
of Cardinal Mazarin. His only sister, Mary Beatrix, was the
second wife of James II. of England. He died in 1694.
[175] From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at
Paris.
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.[176]
[176] From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at
Paris.
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 Carrero[177], 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
Duke[178] 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,[179] 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,[180] 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 Duke[181] 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.
Two of the most considerable gentlemen of this republic, whose
names are, Cornaro the elder, called “of the great House,” and a
Foscarini, are already intriguing to succeed M. Contarini, in the
embassy to France, although the choice cannot be made till the month
of September; upon whichever of the two it shall fall, he will fill
the situation worthily, above all in the article of expense, as they
are both very rich and very generous.
Although I took the liberty, Sir, to request, in my last letter,
your protection with M. Colbert,[182] for the payment of my
appointment, and, above all, for the payment of those of the first
six months of the year 1676, for which I have long had the orders,
I have not yet been able to obtain them. I am, however, forced by
my pressing necessities to renew my request, and to supplicate you
most humbly to procure me this favour from M. Colbert. I trust, Sir,
you will be kind enough to afford me this mark of your affection,
which is the greatest I can possibly receive, in the embarrassment
in which I at present find myself; and that you will be always
persuaded that I am, with profound respect, and unalterable
attachment,
Sir, &c.
THE ABBÉ D’ESTRADES.[183]
[177] Lewis Emmanuel Ferdinand Portocarrero, second son of the
Marquis of Almenara: created a Cardinal in 1669, by Clement
IX.; Archbishop of Toledo and Primate of Spain, 1677; commander
of the order of the St. Esprit, and Bishop of Palestrina. Was
also, at different periods of his life, Viceroy of Sicily,
Ambassador at Rome, Lieutenant-General at sea, and twice
Governor of Spain. Died at Madrid, September 14th, 1709.
[178] Cosmo III., Grand Duke of Tuscany, son of Ferdinand II.
and Victoria Della Rovere, heiress of the Dukes of Urbino.
Succeeded his father in 1670, and died in 1723, aged 81 years.
He was a weak, narrow-minded, and bigoted Prince; and was the
Duke of Tuscany, whose travels in England, in the reign of
Charles II. have been published.
[179] At that time Ambassador to France, from the Republic of
Venice.
[180] The Grand Vizier, at this moment, was Achmet Coprogli,
the most illustrious, perhaps, of all the ministers who have
ever governed the Ottoman Empire. He inherited the eminent
talents of his father, Mahomet Coprogli, whom he succeeded as
Grand Vizier, in 1661; and was superior to him in humanity and
generosity. His military exploits were also more considerable.
In 1669, he successfully concluded the siege of Candia, which
had lasted twenty-two years. He died in 1678; having for
seventeen years sustained the throne, and rendered illustrious
the reign of his feeble and indolent master, Mahomet IV.
[181] Of Guastalla.
[182] John Baptist Colbert, one of the most eminent men of
the many who adorned and illustrated the reign of Lewis XIV.
He was an able and honest financier, a great statesman, and
an enlightened patron of letters and arts. The blots in his
character were, his persecution of Fouquet, and his enmity to
the virtuous Arnaud de Pomponne, to the disgrace of whom he
largely contributed. He was made Comptroller-general of the
Finances, in 1664; Secretary of State for the Marine, in 1669;
and died in 1683.
[183] From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at
Paris.
No. 14.
POMPONNE TO ESTRADES.
Recommendations of Delay in the Negociation.
Cambray, March 1st, 1678.
SIR,
I have rendered an account to the King, during his journey, of
your despatches of the 29th of January and 5th of February. I
shall not now have time enough to send you a long answer to them.
I shall therefore only tell you, that his Majesty saw in them the
continuation of the negociation which you have entered into with the
Count Matthioli; that you had been discussing the points which he
proposed to you, and those which his Majesty wishes neither to grant
nor to refuse; that you had even descended to the detail of the sum
which had been demanded, and that you had reduced it to one hundred
thousand crowns. On these subjects I have to inform you, Sir, that
his Majesty approves entirely of your continuing a negociation,
which may eventually be of very considerable importance; but for
this it is necessary that the opportunities should be favourable,
and the more so, as the basis of whatever treaty is concluded, must
necessarily be the King’s sending a powerful army across the Alps.
You, I am sure, are sufficiently aware, that thus far events do not
seem to favour such a project; it is, however, always advisable to
continue to encourage the belief of it, and this is what his Majesty
thinks it will be best for you to do; but he does not see the
necessity for your entering into any engagement upon a point, which
must fail of success, and which would render useless any expense his
Majesty may go to. Therefore, Sir, your best course to pursue is,
to cultivate always the good intentions of the Count Matthioli, and
through him those of his master; not to put an end to the hope they
have to see the arms of France in Italy; but to defer the answer
they expect from you, partly upon the ground of the journey and the
campaign in which his Majesty is at present engaged, which prevents
his writing to you, and partly upon other reasons; but still to
keep the negociation, as much as you are able, in such a state as
his Majesty may be able to take advantage of, according to the
conjuncture of affairs. * * *
POMPONNE.[184]
[184] From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at
Paris.
No. 15.
ESTRADES TO POMPONNE.
Information respecting the Dispositions of the Venetians.
Venice, March 12, 1678.
SIR,
The hurry which I know always prevails on a march, left me but
little hope of hearing from you till you arrived at Metz, and I am
therefore the more obliged to you for your kindness, in writing to
me on the 15th of last month from Vitry.
I have nothing certain to send you to-day; but next week I shall
have the honour of sending to the King an account of the conference,
which I am decidedly to have to-morrow evening with the Duke of
Mantua. All the measures are taken for this purpose; and that
Prince has sent me word that he will explain to me the reasons
which oblige him to send the Count Matthioli, without delay, to
your Majesty; he will not, however, set off for ten or twelve days,
and I explained to him that it was necessary first that I should
be made acquainted with the subject of his mission. I thought it
necessary to obtain a knowledge of it, in order that his Majesty
may be fully informed before the Count Matthioli waits upon him.
I can only assure you at present, that things could not be better
disposed for the formation of a powerful league in Italy, to drive
the Spaniards entirely out of it, in case the King chooses to turn
his arms to this side. This is what you shall be informed of more in
detail, and more particularly, in my next despatch; because I shall
be able to speak to you upon the subject with certainty, after I
have learned from the Count Matthioli, the success of a negociation
which he has entered into lately with the Republic, in the name of
the Duke of Mantua, to which I am privy. We agreed that the pretext
he should make use of, was the desire of that Prince to regulate
himself by the counsels of the Senate, after having communicated
to them his legitimate rights to Guastalla, and the well-grounded
fears he entertains from the sentiments displayed by the House of
Austria towards him in this affair. M. Matthioli has already had
two conferences with a sage of the _terra firma_, named Lando, a
deputy of the College, and he is to have three more with him this
week; which will discover to us the real dispositions of the Senate
towards his Majesty. It is easy to see by the manner in which this
senator has already spoken, that if a French army was to arrive in
Italy, the Republic would prefer profiting by the misfortunes and
weakness of the House of Austria, by joining her arms to those of
the King, to remaining in a neutrality, which would appear to her
dangerous, while the army of so powerful a prince was carrying on
war at her gates. These political views of the Venetians justify
what I have already had the honour of remarking to you, that we must
expect nothing from them, except what fear or interest may oblige
them to. * * *
THE ABBÉ D’ESTRADES.[185]
[185] From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at
Paris.
No. 16.
ESTRADES TO POMPONNE.
Fears of the Duke of Mantua.
Venice, March 19th, 1678.
SIR,
I have not had the honour of receiving any letter from you this
week. You will see by the account I send to the King, what passed
at the conference I had with the Duke of Mantua. I will only add to
it, Sir, that, if his Majesty deems it to his advantage, that this
Prince should be united with him, according to the conditions which
have been proposed, it appears to me that it will be necessary,
before the Count Matthioli sets off for Paris, to put this affair
in a situation in which it is no longer liable to be broken off;
because I have seen the Duke of Mantua so alarmed at the menaces of
the Spaniards, and at the protection they afford openly to the Count
de Prades,[186] who pretends that the Duchy of Guastalla belongs
to him, that I have been unable to tranquillize his fears, except
by giving him the hope that the return of the Count Matthioli will
deliver him from all his embarrassments; and if he was to see him
return without bringing the King’s consent for the conclusion of the
affair, and without a certain assurance of speedy assistance, I do
not know whether the fear of being stripped of his territories would
not make him change his resolution. I have thought, Sir, that I
ought to inform you faithfully of the situation in which I find the
mind of the Duke of Mantua, in order that you may regulate yourself
accordingly.
The Senate has discovered that the Pope[187] has let drop, of his
own accord, the affair of the adjustment between the Republic and
Spain, on the occasion of what has passed at Trieste, because His
Holiness wishes to be the only Mediator of the Catholic Princes at
the Assembly of Nimeguen, and that the Ambassador of Venice should
not divide this honour with his Nuncio. * * *
I am, &c.
THE ABBÉ D’ESTRADES.[188]
[186] This is one of those mistakes into which the French are
so liable to fall from their slovenly way of writing the names
of foreigners. The _Count de Prades_ means Emmanuel _Count
d’Eparêdés_. Viceroy of Valentia, a Spanish nobleman, whose
daughter married Vespasian Gonzaga, only brother of Ferdinand
III., Duke of Guastalla. The sole offspring of this marriage
was Maria Louisa, who, as has before been mentioned, (see note,
page 18,) married Thomas de la Cerda, Marquis of Laguna.
[187] Innocent the Eleventh (Odescalchi;) see note, page 109.
At this time, the conferences for the peace of Nimeguen had
commenced. That peace was concluded and signed on the 10th of
August of this same year.
[188] From the archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at
Paris.
No. 17.
ESTRADES TO LEWIS THE FOURTEENTH.
Account of his Interview with the Duke of Mantua.--The
latter insists upon sending Matthioli to Paris.
Venice, March 19th, 1678.
SIRE,
A week ago I communicated to M. de Pomponne that I was to have a
conference the next day with the Duke of Mantua. We met, as had been
concerted, at midnight, in a small open place, which is at an equal
distance from his house and mine. I was an entire hour with him,
and not only did I tell him all that your Majesty had desired me
to apprize him of, and which he had already learned from the Count
Matthioli, but besides, I re-assured him, as much as I was able,
upon the subject of the constant, and indeed well-grounded, alarms
he is in with regard to the Spaniards. I did not explain myself to
him with regard to the present your Majesty intends making to him
in money, as soon as the treaty shall be concluded; but contented
myself with promising that he should have reason to be content with
it. He appeared to be much satisfied with our conversation; and,
on my side, I have no less reason to be so; since he has confirmed
to me all that the Count Matthioli told me from him. I have given
so exact an account of these things to your Majesty in the letters
I have had the honour to write to yourself and to M. de Pomponne,
that it is useless for me to enlarge more upon this subject. When we
were upon the point of separating, the Duke of Mantua represented
to me the risk he is in of being overwhelmed by the Spaniards,
whose bad intentions he cannot doubt of, after their late earnest
persuasions to him, to admit the Germans into Casale, to withdraw
his garrison from Guastalla, and to declare himself openly and
without delay in their favour. He added, that I must be aware, that
under the resolution he had taken of serving your Majesty, both with
his person and his territories, he would do nothing prejudicial
to your interests; but that, if the Spaniards did not give him
more money than what they were accustomed to furnish him with,
for the support of the garrison of Casale, as they had declared
to him was their intention, he should not be able to support the
expense of it himself, or to preserve that fortress; that the danger
was so pressing, that no time was to be lost in placing him in
a state of safety, and that affairs went on so slowly by means
of despatches, that he found himself obliged to send the Count
Matthioli to your Majesty, to expose to you the state to which he
finds himself reduced, and to implore you to deliver him from it as
quickly as may be possible.
I have not dared, Sire, to oppose myself to this journey, because
I perceived that the Duke of Mantua had taken some offence, or at
least that he had some uneasiness at the length of this negociation,
which I have protracted upon different pretexts as much as I was
able, without endangering it, as your Majesty had ordered me; and
because besides I have thought that you would be the more assured
of the firmness of the Duke of Mantua, when the Count Matthioli,
in whom he has a blind confidence, and who governs him absolutely,
should be with you. He will make known to your Majesty, better than
can be done by letters, the facilities you would find in conquering
the Milanese, the intelligences that may be established there, and
the detail of the whole negociation he has had with the Republic of
Venice in the name of the Duke of Mantua, who demanded the advice
of the Senate upon the affair of Guastalla, and its assistance, in
case it was attempted to disturb him by force in the possession of
that Duchy. The Senate has sent word to Matthioli, by a Sage of
_terra firma_, who was deputed for this purpose, that the Duke of
Mantua ought to retain possession of Guastalla; that the Republic
would render him all the good offices she could, and that even if
her intercession should be of no avail, she would still assist
him secretly with advice and money, and not abandon him. This
Senator gave him to understand, that if your Majesty was to send
an army into Italy, and that the Duke of Mantua should be in your
interests, the Republic would not be disinclined to enter into the
same party; and the Procurator Nani,[189] with whom he has also had
two conversations, explained himself upon this subject still more
clearly.
As the Count Matthioli is not to receive his instructions till the
day after to-morrow, he will not, certainly, set off from hence till
towards the end of the week. I shall have the honour of acquainting
your Majesty with what they contain of most importance, as well as
with the time by which the Count Matthioli can be with you.
I am,
with every kind of respect and submission,
Sire,
Your Majesty’s
most humble, most obedient, and
most faithful Servant and Subject,
THE ABBÉ D’ESTRADES.[190]
[189] John Baptist Felix Gaspar Nani was descended from an
illustrious family at Venice, and was born on the 30th of
August, 1616. He distinguished himself early in diplomacy, and
was for twenty-five years ambassador from the Republic to
France. He was subsequently chosen Procurator of St. Mark, the
next dignity in the Republic to that of Doge. He is best known
to posterity by his “Istoria della Republica Veneta,”--which is
a valuable and useful work, though it has been reprobated as
being partial, and written in a vicious and incorrect Italian.
He died on the 25th of November, 1678.
[190] From the archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at
Paris.
No. 18.
ESTRADES TO POMPONNE.
Reasons for consenting to the mission of Matthioli to Paris.
Venice, March 26th, 1678.
SIR,
My last letters will have shown you that I had forestalled in
some measure, the orders which I received in the one of the 4th
of this month, which you did me the honour to write me. I had
judged that, in the present conjuncture, it would not be easy
for the King to send a powerful army into Italy, so speedily as
was wished. It appeared to me, nevertheless, that His Majesty
considered the negociation which I had commenced with the Duke of
Mantua, through the means of the Count Matthioli, as an affair
which might eventually be of use to him, and which he would wish
to be in a situation to profit by. Therefore, Sir, I have used all
my endeavours to encourage the opinion already entertained, that
the arms of France will appear in the Milanese, and to confirm the
Duke of Mantua in his good dispositions towards His Majesty, and
in his suspicions of the Spaniards. I had even made use of the
same reasons, which you prescribe to me to urge in your letter,
to moderate his impatience to conclude the treaty, which he is
desirous of making with the King. Before His Majesty left St.
Germain, I represented to the Count Matthioli that the negociations
with England occupied him too much, to permit him, in such very
critical times, to apply himself as much as was necessary to a new
enterprize of the importance of the one that was meditated in Italy;
and since that, I have alleged to him the difficulty of getting
answers during the hurry of the journey, and the occupations of the
campaign, which oblige the King to go frequently from one place to
another. I have added, that I was by no means surprized at this, and
that, in preceding years, I had rarely received any letters from
you at those times. He has contented himself, thus far, with the
excuses I have given him; but the Duke of Mantua is so violently
alarmed at the peril in which he believes himself to be, and at the
length of the negociation, that he has absolutely determined upon
sending the Count Matthioli to the King--and I have not dared to
oppose myself to this, from the fear of giving him suspicions, or
of disgusting him with the negociation altogether. It is true, Sir,
that after having well considered the manner in which this journey
could be accomplished, I have thought that it would turn out to be
the most easy and the most infallible method to confirm still more
the dispositions of the Duke of Mantua, and to prolong this affair
as long as the King shall judge for the good of his service. I have
for this purpose persuaded the Count Matthioli that it was important
he should not go immediately to his Majesty, but that he should
first pay a visit to some of the towns in Italy, under the pretext
of his master’s interests, and his disputes with the Duke of Modena
respecting the Duchy of Guastalla, in order that there may be no
suspicion of his going into France. He is agreed upon this point
with me; and by the reckoning we have made together of his course,
and the halts he will make, I can assure you, Sir, that you will
not see him for these two months. It will be still easier for you,
when he does arrive, to detain him at least as long; and thus the
campaign will be nearly finished without the Duke of Mantua’s being
able to complain of the delay, or to take measures contrary to the
King’s intentions. Since this Prince left Venice, he is travelling
about his territories, without ever stopping more than three or
four days in a place, in order to avoid giving audience to the
Spanish envoys, who are waiting for him at Mantua, and to whom he
has sent word that they may address themselves to his Council; that
for himself, he has no answer to give them to their propositions,
because he is waiting for intelligence from Vienna, by which he
intends to regulate his conduct. The Count Matthioli went to him the
beginning of this week, in order to receive his instructions for
his journey to Paris, and to give him an account of his negociation
with the Republic. He will afterwards return here to explain to the
Senate his Master’s sentiments; and so, Sir, I shall perhaps have a
further opportunity of deferring his departure for a still longer
time. * * *
I am, &c.
THE ABBÉ D’ESTRADES.[191]
[191] From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at
Paris.
No. 19.
ESTRADES TO POMPONNE.
Venice, April 2d, 1678.
SIR,
* * * * * *
I have nothing to add to what I have already had the honour of
writing to you, upon the affair which regards the Duke of Mantua. I
have received this morning a note from the Count Matthioli, in which
he gives me intelligence that he shall be here to-morrow; and that
he will come the same day to me, an hour after sunset. I will not
fail to give you an account, in my next letter, of the conversation
I shall have with him. I am glad that he did not return to Venice so
soon as he originally intended; because his journey to Paris will
be, in consequence, deferred some days longer. I will try to obtain
intelligence why the Resident from Mantua has had such frequent
audiences of the College for the last few days.
* * * * * *
THE ABBÉ D’ESTRADES.[192]
[192] From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at
Paris.
No. 20.
POMPONNE TO ESTRADES.
Approval of Matthioli’s Mission to France.--Permission to
Estrades to leave Venice.
April 5th, 1678.
SIR,
We are now at the end of our journey, and consequently at the end
of my want of punctuality in writing to you. The being stationary
at St. Germain, will make me more regular. I took an opportunity,
yesterday, to give an account to his Majesty of your letters of
the 5th, 12th, and 19th of last month. He appeared satisfied with
the manner in which you have conducted the business with the
Duke of Mantua; and was made acquainted, by your letter, written
after your interview with that prince, with the resolution he had
taken of sending the Count Matthioli to France. You will have
already seen by my despatches, that there is little probability of
his Majesty’s being able to send a considerable army into Italy
this year. Now it appears, that the expectation of his sending
one, forms the foundation of all the designs which the Duke of
Mantua has communicated to you. You must be aware, that it would
answer no good purpose to undeceive him; because this would be to
break off a negociation, which may otherwise have considerable
results. Therefore one of the advantages of the journey of the
Count Matthioli is, that it gains time; besides, perhaps it may
be possible to remove difficulties, and take measures with him in
person, which might be difficult to be arranged at a distance.
Therefore, Sir, you will see that, as the King cannot grant the
principal conditions which have been required, because they all turn
upon an action in Italy, we cannot flatter ourselves with concluding
any thing with this prince, at present. This is what makes me think,
that if it is so particularly necessary for your interests, as you
say, to return to France, there is nothing that need prevent your
executing your wish. His Majesty appears to me so much satisfied
with your services, that, though he has doubtless the intention of
making use of them in a sphere which will give them a wider scope
than Venice does, he will willingly grant you leave of absence. I
have even already made him acquainted with your wish; and it appears
to me, that you are at liberty to do what you choose; either to stay
at Venice, or to come to Paris. * * *
* * * * * *
POMPONNE.[193]
[193] From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at
Paris.
No. 21.
ESTRADES TO POMPONNE.
Conversation with Matthioli.
Venice, April 9th, 1678.
SIR,
The Count Matthioli arrived here six days ago; I had a conversation
with him the same evening, and the day after he set off for
Bologna, where he was to meet the Duke of Mantua, who will send
him from thence to Paris, after having given him his last orders.
He assured me that he was charged to confirm to his Majesty all
that I have had the honour of acquainting him with, and that his
master had only recommended him not to consent to the putting a
French garrison into Casale, as long as he could fight it off. But,
Sir, he told me at the same time, that he saw too well that this
condition was the actual foundation of the proposed treaty, to wish
to raise a negociation respecting it; and that he had made the
Duke of Mantua understand that it was necessary to act with good
faith towards the King, and not to balance about giving him this
security and satisfaction, if he wished to attach himself to the
interests of his Majesty, as he had determined to do. I perceived
notwithstanding, though he did not speak openly of it, that the
example of Messina[194] had made him reflect upon the consequences
of the engagement his master was about to make with the King, which
obliged me to represent to him how much this fear was ill-founded,
and what a difference there was between a solemn treaty of two
Sovereign Princes, as the one we were now concerting would be, and
the assistance which his Majesty had only given to the Messinese
from pure generosity.
The Count Matthioli professed to be of my opinion, and to have great
joy at seeing affairs as well-disposed as he could possibly have
wished.
* * * * * *
THE ABBÉ D’ESTRADES.[195]
[194] In 1674 the people of Messina in Sicily, unable any
longer to bear the harshness of the Spanish Government,
revolted. The French assisted them with a body of troops under
the command of the Chevalier de Valbelle. In 1676 the Marshal
de Vivonne was sent there with a powerful fleet, and gained a
complete victory over those of Spain and Holland. But in the
beginning of 1678, the French, alarmed at the prospect of a
union of England with their enemies, abandoned Sicily to its
fate. It is to this latter event that Estrades alludes.
[195] From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at
Paris.
No. 22.
POMPONNE TO ESTRADES.
St. Germain, April 13th, 1678.
SIR,
I have already sent you word that the King approves very much of
the manner in which you have carried on the negociation with the
Duke of Mantua, without either breaking it off or advancing it too
much. It is even advantageous, as a very natural means of gaining
time, that that Prince should have taken the part of sending the
Count Matthioli to the King. We may treat with him according to
the propositions he is charged with; but it would be a pity if the
foundation of them was to be the condition of sending a powerful
army into Italy this year, because I can tell you in confidence,
that the King has not yet taken any measures for the purpose.
* * * * * *
POMPONNE.[196]
[196] From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at
Paris.
No. 23.
ESTRADES TO POMPONNE.
Means of protracting the Negociation.--Views of Matthioli.
Venice, April 30th, 1678.
SIR,
I consider myself very happy, that the King has so much approved of
the manner in which I have conducted myself, in the affair of the
Duke of Mantua, as you have informed me in the letter which you did
me the honour to write to me on the 13th of this month, and that
his Majesty has had the goodness to regard more the zeal I have for
his service than my capacity. I shall have nothing more in future
to tell you on this subject, but the Count Matthioli will give you
ample information, when he arrives at Court, of the sentiments of
his master; of the state of his affairs; and of what may be expected
from them. The disposition in which I have seen him, makes me hope
that it will not be impossible to protract this negociation, without
running the risk of breaking it off, until the season for action is
past, and that, when he shall see the necessity that there is of
waiting till the King can take measures for sending an army into
Italy, he will willingly employ the influence he possesses over the
mind of the Duke of Mantua, to take from him all kind of suspicion,
and to prevent his being impatient at this delay; perhaps even he
might be able to persuade his master, if he should really endeavour
it, to put himself under the declared protection of the King, as he
has thus far been under that of the House of Austria; and to content
himself with his Majesty’s paying the garrison he intends to place
in Casale. Finally, Sir, this affair will be in such good hands,
since it is yourself that will manage it, that even what appears the
most difficult in it may very well succeed. I will only add, that I
know that the Count Matthioli has a great desire, and need of making
his fortune, and that there are few things to which his master would
not consent for a considerable sum of money, and from the hope of a
great employment; of which, in fact, the title alone need be given
to him; as was the case with the Duke of Modena in the service of
France, and with the late Duke of Mantua in that of the Emperor,
whose Vicar-general he was in Italy, with the command of an army
there.
* * * * * *
THE ABBÉ D’ESTRADES.[197]
[197] From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at
Paris.
No. 24.
ESTRADES TO POMPONNE.
Delay in Matthioli’s Journey to Paris.
Venice, May 21, 1678.
SIR,
* * * * * *
The Count Matthioli has been here for the last four days with his
master. He came to me yesterday, to tell me that the Spaniards
had been, for the last two months, making such great advances to
the Duke of Mantua, that they would, perhaps, have obliged him to
consent to all they desired, which was the removing his garrison
from Guastalla, introducing the Germans into Casale, and declaring
himself openly against France, if he had separated himself for a
single moment from him; the Duchess-mother, and all the council of
this Prince, being devoted to the House of Austria. That it was
necessary he should wait for the return of the Marquis Galerati from
Milan, and that he should remain, besides, three weeks or a month
with the Duke of Mantua, who was to go, during that time, to Casale,
where he had persuaded him to wait for his return from France. That,
therefore, he could not set off till towards the end of June, but
that he would not delay beyond that time. I answered him, that he
had been in the right to remain with his master, at a time when
his presence was so necessary to him; that he ought not to set off
on his journey to Paris, till he was well assured that his absence
would cause no change, either in the sentiments or the affairs of
that Prince, but that I could assure him the King would see him with
pleasure, and that he would receive every kind of satisfaction from
his journey. * * *
THE ABBÉ D’ESTRADES.[198]
[198] From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at
Paris.
No. 25.
ESTRADES TO POMPONNE.
Interview with Matthioli.
Venice, June 11, 1678.
SIR,
* * * * * *
The Count Matthioli, who does not lose sight of the Duke of Mantua,
for the reasons that I have already informed you of, is come here to
make a stay of three or four days with that Prince; he has assured
me that he is still in the resolution of setting off, the end of
this month, to go to Paris; and that he will first accompany his
master to Casale, where he has lately discovered the intrigues of
the Spaniards, for the purpose of obtaining possession of that
place. I have taken occasion, Sir, to represent to him, that, even
if the report, which has been spread of a general peace, should be
true, the Duke of Mantua would have still more need of the King’s
protection; that the House of Austria will not be in a condition
to do injury to any Prince, as long as she shall have to contend
with the power of his Majesty; but that if she had no longer this
obstacle, it would be easy for her to execute the designs, which
his master could not doubt her having against him; that it was
greatly his interest to put himself in such a state, that he need
not fear being deprived of Casale and the Montferrat, of which the
Court of Vienna had declared its wish to put the Empress Eleanor
in possession, who had no other view than that of leaving it some
day to the Prince of Lorrain,[199] in favour of his marriage with
the widow of the King of Poland; that the Duke of Mantua could not
avoid this misfortune, except by procuring for himself the support
of the King, by means of an intimate connection of interests; as
would be that he would have with him, if his Majesty had a garrison
in Casale, which would be paid at his expense, and kept on the same
conditions as we had already agreed upon; that this would make
him the more secure, from the circumstance of his Majesty’s never
having had any claims upon his territories, and from his being
the only sovereign who was capable of defending them successfully
against those, who thought they had well-grounded claims upon them.
I added to this, that if he reflected upon what I told him, he
would, without doubt, perceive, that the Duke of Mantua could not
take a better line, than the one that I proposed to him. The Count
Matthioli answered me, that he was so persuaded of this, and that
he was so assured of the aversion which that Prince had for the
Spaniards, and of his inclination towards France, that even if
at his arrival at Court he should find the peace concluded and
published, and that there should be in consequence no more hope of
seeing the war in the Milanese, which his master so much wished
for there, he would still not hesitate to conclude in his name the
affair which we have commenced here, provided the King wished for
it. Should this agree with his Majesty’s designs, you, Sir, will
know better than any body how to make use of the good intentions of
the Count Matthioli, when he shall be with you.
* * * * * *
THE ABBÉ D’ESTRADES.[200]
[199] Charles V. Duke of Lorrain, married, in the commencement
of this year, Eleanor, daughter of the Emperor Leopold, and
widow of Michael Wiecnowiecki, King of Poland. For an account
of him, see note, page 48.
[200] From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at
Paris.
No. 26.
POMPONNE TO ESTRADES.
St. Germain, June 15, 1678.
SIR,
I answer your letters of the 21st and 28th of May, and of the 4th
of this month together; the first has made known to the King the
reasons which have delayed the Count Matthioli: if they are really
such as he told you, and that he has thought his presence necessary,
in order to prevent the injurious resolutions to which the Spaniards
might have persuaded his master, it is quite right in him not to
have left him; it would also be advantageous if he could soon
withdraw him from Mantua, and lead him to Casale. It will then be
more easy for him to make his journey into France, and to insure the
success of the measures which he has concerted with you.
* * * * * *
POMPONNE.[201]
[201] From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at
Paris.
No. 27.
POMPONNE TO ESTRADES.
June 22, 1678.
SIR,
The King has seen the letter which you were pleased to write to me,
and his Majesty has learnt from it with pleasure, that the Count
Matthioli is always in the same sentiments of affection and zeal,
which he has already shown for his Majesty. Continue to strengthen
him in them, by the hope of the same advantages which you have
already shown him that the Duke his master will find in the alliance
and protection of the King. The Duke not being in a condition to
preserve Casale, without the assistance of some one more powerful
than himself, he cannot certainly receive it more usefully and more
surely than from the hands of his Majesty. I trust you will labour,
as you have already done, to inspire him with the desire of it,
from the pleasure that you will have in rendering a very agreeable
service to his Majesty.
* * * * * *
POMPONNE.[202]
[202] From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at
Paris.
No. 28.
ESTRADES TO POMPONNE.
Differences between the Duke of Mantua and the Spaniards.
Venice, July 2, 1678.
SIR,
I see by the letter, which you did me the honour to write to me on
the 15th of last month, that you have approved of the assiduity of
the Count Matthioli about the Duke of Mantua, from the reasons which
I sent you. It will appear to you still more useful, when you are
told that he has obliged that Prince to break off the marriage of
the great-nephew of Don Vincent of Gonzaga, Viceroy of Sicily, with
the second daughter of the late Duke of Guastalla, and sister of the
Duchess of Mantua, which was already concluded, and which had been
contrived by the Spaniards, in the view of putting him more easily
in possession of the Duchy of Guastalla; so that the Duke of Mantua
is at present so much at variance with the Spaniards, that it is not
difficult to make him comprehend that there is no other safe part
for him to take, than that of putting himself under the protection
of the King, and of fulfilling those engagements with his Majesty,
which he has already agreed upon. This is what I represented to the
Count Matthioli at his last visit to this place, and he was the
more easily brought to be of this opinion, because he has a great
interest that this affair should succeed, since the Spaniards, who
are all-powerful in the councils of his master, and who have the
Duchess-mother on their side, have easily discovered that it is
he alone who injures them in the mind of the Duke, and would not
fail to take vengeance on him, if he ever fell into their hands. He
departed yesterday to go and join the Duke of Mantua, whom he does
not quit, and whom he is to accompany to Mantua, and afterwards to
Casale, from whence he will proceed to Paris: but, by the reckoning
that we have made together, he cannot be there before the end of the
next month.
* * * * * *
Sir, I am obliged to tell you that the Nuncio is so devoted to the
Spaniards, and that he sees with so much chagrin the power of the
King, and the weakness of the House of Austria, that he would be
capable of inventing to me a story of this nature, even should it
not be true.[203] * * *
THE ABBÉ D’ESTRADES.[204]
[203] As the letter breaks off here abruptly, it is impossible
for us to discover to what transaction Estrades alludes.
[204] From the Archives of the Office for Foreign Affairs, at
Paris.
No. 29.
ESTRADES TO POMPONNE.
Excuses for the delay of Matthioli.
Venice, July 9, 1678.
SIR,
After what I had the honour of acquainting you with
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