The True History of the State Prisoner, commonly called the Iron Mask: Extracted from Documents in the French ArchivesDover, George Agar Ellis, Baron
History
The True History of the State Prisoner, commonly called the Iron Mask: Extracted from Documents in the French Archives
Dover, George Agar Ellis, Baron
Man in the Iron Mask; Mattioli, Ercole Antonio, conte, 1640-1703; Prisoners -- France -- 17th century
Reference to the Journal.
Dujonca, Volume 8th.
OBSERVATIONS.
Died November 19th, 1703, aged 45, or thereabouts; buried at St.
Paul’s the next day at four in the afternoon, under the name of
Marchiali, in the presence of M. de Rosarges, Major of the Fortress,
and of M. Reilh, Surgeon-Major of the Bastille, who signed their
names to the extract of the Burial Register of St. Paul’s. His
burial cost forty livres.
This prisoner remained at the Bastille five years and sixty-two
days, the day of his burial not included.
He was only ill for some hours, and died almost suddenly; he was
buried in a winding-sheet of new linen; and for the most part every
thing that was found in his chamber was burnt, such as every part
of his bed, including the mattresses, his tables, chairs, and other
utensils, which were all reduced to powder and to cinders, and
thrown into the drains. The rest of the things, such as the silver,
copper, and pewter, were melted. This prisoner was lodged in the
third chamber of the tower _Bertaudière_, which room was scraped and
filed quite to the stone, and fresh white-washed from the top to the
bottom. The doors and windows were burnt like the rest.
It is remarkable that, in the name of Marchiali, which was given
him in the Burial Register of St. Paul’s, are to be found the exact
letters of these two words, the one Latin, the other French, _Hic
Amiral_, here is the Admiral.[333]
[333] The discovery of this ridiculous and strained anagram was
one of the causes which led to the false supposition, that the
Iron Mask was either the Duke de Beaufort, or the Count de
Vermandois, both of whom were great Admirals of France.
No. 130.
Extract from the Register of Burials of the Church of Saint
Paul, at Paris.
The year one thousand seven hundred and three, on the nineteenth of
November, died at the Bastille, Marchiali, aged forty-five years or
thereabouts; whose body was interred in the burial-ground of this
parish, the twentieth of the aforesaid month, in the presence of M.
Rosarges, Major of the Bastille, and of M. Reilh, Surgeon-Major of
the Bastille, who have affixed their signatures.
Collated exactly with the original, and delivered by us the
undersigned, Bachelor in Theology, and Vicar of Saint Paul, at
Paris, this Tuesday the ninth of February, 1790.
Signed, POITEVIN.
No. 131.
Extract from the Work entitled “_La Correspondance
Interceptée_,” by M. Lewis Dutens, published in 1789.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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