The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-04-08


evasiye and unsatisfactory replies to his ovor-
lures from the Mantuan Governments the
NEGOTIATIONS we're delayed by them on the
himsiest pretexts Perplexing intelligence of
the least reassuring nature continued to reach
d'Estrades from various parts of Italy, till an
event of no little significance occurred which
confirmed his worst suspicious. Baron dAs-
field, on his way to Increa to exchange rati6-
cations with Matthioly, had been arrested by
the Spanish Governor of the Milanese, and
was kept q close prisoner. Louis, however,
did not as yet wholly lose heart, and Catinat
received orders to take the place of dAsfeld.
Still travelling under q feigned name, he and
st. Mars, the Governor of Pignerol, likewise
in disguise, made their way to the appointed
rendezvous, where Matthioly was to have met
them, without, however, finding him
there After various misadventures, during
which they narrowly escaped capture, they
were glad to make good their retreat to Pig
nerol, without, of course, bringing back with
them the deed of cession, the obtaining of
which had been the object of their errand.
From that moment all doubt of Matthioly's
treachery vanished from d'Estrades' mind,
and he was the first to propose plan for cap
turing the traitor. Matthioly still attempted
to amuse d'Estrades with sham nego-
tiations, but the latter had by this time fully
ascertained that the arrest of dAsfeld was due
to Matthioly, and that Matthioly still with
held the original documents from the Duke
of Mantua. D'Estrades however, did not
cease to negotiate with Malthioly, using, how
ever, the utmost care not to let him know
how fully informed he was of his perfdy. He
accordingly sent Giuliani to him, saying that
if the Duke of Mantua we're still of the same
mind as regards Casale, the Ring of France
would be quite willing to continue the nego-
tiation for the surrender of the fortress.
Matthioly complained that he had spent all
the money at his command in bribes at
the Court of Mantua, with view to
bringing about the result desired by
the King of France. D'Estrades there
upon promised that he should be paid
certain sums by Catinat, who had been en-
trusted with them by the King, his master.
| So greedy for money was Matthioly that he
eagerly pressed dEstrades to lose no time in
| bringing about a meeting with Catinat, and
| Tuesday, the I'd of May, was the day ap-
| pointed.
| So wholly lulled were his suspicious, so
| dead was he to all sense of his danger, that
| he seemed stricken with mental blindness
fully as strange as his former shrewdness,
and hurried heedlessly on to a doom which
| will make him by-word for all that is alb
| jectly and irrecoverably wretched in this life.
The Able d'Estrades tells, with no little COM
placency, how completely he duped and en-
shared his victim, how he called for him at
six in the morning on the appointed day, and
| carried him in his own carriage towards the
place of meeting; how the rains had so
swollen the River Guisiola that it had
broken part of the bridge they went TO cross;
how Matthioly helped with his own hands to
repair the damage, and worked zealously on
till the bridge was passable on foot; and how
they then left the carriage and hurried for
ward through muddy lanes to the place of
assignation. There they found Catinat await
ing them; he managed matters SO well that
no one appeared on the spot but
himself he showed them into a
neighboring house where they could confer
unobserved; here dEstrades gradually led
Matthioly on to confess what he had heard
him say some days before, namely, that he
had in his possession all the original docu-
ments connected with the negotiations. Mat
thioly added that the Duke of Mantua had
often attempted, but in vain, to obtain them,
that he only possessed copies, and that the
originals were in the care of his (Matthiolys)
wife in q nunnery at Bologna. At this stage
of the conference dEstrades judged it best to
retire, and as soon as he had left, Matthioly's g
arrest was effected without the least diff
Guilty.
Among. the papers found on the captive
those emanating from the Court of Versailles
were not included but on being threatened
with torture and death the unhappy man
confessed that they were in Padua, slowed
away in place known to his father alone.
He was then made to write a letter by dicta-
tion to his father, in no way aluding to his
present state, but begging him to make the
papers over to Giuliani, the bearer of the
letter. The elder Matthioly, wholly ignorant
of the fact that Giuliani was in French pay,
unsuspectingly handed to him the precious
documents, which 'Estrades lost no time in
forwarding to Versailles.
On learning Matthioly arrest, Louis seems
to have behaved with characteristic presence
of mind: instantly abandoning all thought OF
acquiring Casale, he recalled the troops col
lected at Briancon, peremptorily demanded
and easily obtained the release of dAsfeld by
the Spanish Government, and caused a re-
port to be spread that Matthioly was dead.
'n faudra, wrote Louis to d 'Estrades I'll
,, faudra que personne ne sache ce que ce
! homme est devenu" The order was strictl,
obeyed The unhappy mans family dis
persed in silence and sorrow. In their pedi
l gree the date of Matthioly's death is lef
J blank. His wife, the widow of a man VIA,
was destined to survive her, retired broken
= hearted to the very convent whittier seven
teen years before Matthioly had come to wee
l her; his father dragged on wretched exist
: ence for some years longer at Padua, no
l knowing whether to bewail the death of a be
} loved son, or still to believe his existence
; | Narrowing as this state of doubt must hay
l been to them none of his kindred dared t.
= set on foot inquiries which were almost Ger
s tain to be fruitless and might possibly hav
, been dangerous. II. Topin traces Matthiol
l TO Pignerol, to the Islands of Ste. Marguerite
I and finally, as we have seen, to the Bastile.
1 In the dispatches addressed by the Frencl