[579] In 1633, Richelieu had the Fort Royal built on the northern shore of the Isle Sainte-Marguerite, but it was on the arrival of Saint-Mars that the buildings were erected which were to serve for prisoners of very various classes. The following unpublished letter, written by M. de Grignan, Lieutenant-General of Provence, September 29, 1691, proves that previous to this date the Isle Sainte-Marguerite was a State Prison:-- “The guard which I had placed at Cannes have arrested a sailor, supposed to belong to Oneglia, who was coming from the direction of Genoa, and who, from his replies, in which he has varied a great deal, has given grounds for belief that he has been put ashore by the Spanish galleys and is a spy, who, under pretence of carrying to Toulon a letter from a captain of Genoa, was going there to obtain information. He has been taken to the Isles of Sainte-Marguerite. “L. DE GRIGNAN, L. G. of Provence. “September 29, 1691, to M. de Pontchartrain.”--Archives of the Ministry of Marine, Correspondence. Another letter, dated July 21, 1681, from Count de Grignan to M. de Pontchartrain, shows that the island was beginning to be armed for the defence of the coast:-- “M. de Saint-Mars, governor of the islands of Sainte-Marguerite and Saint-Honorat de Lérins, speaks to me of provisions which he is obliged to fetch from the mainland, and of the twenty-five pieces of cannon which require carriages.”--_Ibid._ [580] In a despatch dated January 8, 1688, Saint-Mars hastens to apprise Louvois that his new prisons are quite ready and waiting to be occupied:-- “Monseigneur,--I will do myself the honour to tell you that I have placed my prisoner, who is generally in bad health, in one of the new prisons which I have had built according to your instructions. They are large, lofty, and light, and considering their excellence, I do not think that there are any stronger or more secure in Europe, and in like manner for everything that can concern the giving of intelligence by word of mouth from near and far, which was not the case in the places where I have had the care of the late Monsieur Fouquet from the moment that he was arrested. With a little precaution one might even allow the prisoners to walk about the whole of the island, without any fear of their escaping or of their giving or receiving news. I take the liberty, monseigneur, to point out to you in detail the excellence of this place in case you may at any time have prisoners whom you wish to put in perfect security with a fair amount of liberty. “Throughout this province people say that mine is Monsieur de Beaufort and others the son of the late Cromwell.” [581] The greater portion of the despatches relating to the Protestants confined in the islands have been given by Depping in his _Correspondance Administrative sous Louis XIV._. [582] Unpublished despatch from Barbézieux to Saint-Mars, June 29, 1692:--Archives of the Ministry of War.