The Republican journal., 1873-05-29
The Mystery Of the Iron Mask.

| Two things there are which have great
ly excited public curiosity in the last two
hundred years. One of these is the
authorship of the letters of Junlus; the
other the name, station and causes of de-
tention of the prisoner of state known as
The Man in the Iron Mask. Over one
hundred books have been written in the
endecvor to identify the bold and dazzling
| assailed the British ministry, and about
| forty different persons have in turn been
invested with the laurelS of this brilliant
| author 1t is now as certain as ANYTHING
| in connection with the matter that .Junius
was the sole repository of his own secret,
and that it died with him.
The June number Of the Galaxy has an
article which processes to give the solu-
ton OF the other great mystery, and to
lift the mask from the historic face so long
yelled to the world. Precisely two hun
dred years ago there was in the French
Bastle, a prisoner by order of the French
King, concerning whose detention there
were certain remarkable facts. He was
guarded with the utmost rigor, vet the
Jallor always stood uncovered in his pres
ence, with the Difference that belongs to
| princes. His keeper, ST. Mars. was the
only enc who saw his face in the presence
OF all other persons the features being
always covered with a black mask of vel
vet. His jailer slept near with loaded
| pistols, and the guards had orders to kill
him on an attempt to escape His food,
drink and clothes were all of the most
costly description He lacked for nothing
but freedom. St. Mars appears to have
been entrusted with the secret of state
concerning him. and when his keeper was
transferred to other fcrtresses, with him
went the man in the iron mask. Once the
prisoner flung from his window fine
shirt, written all over, which was picked
up by a prison Waterman and carried to
St Mars. The man protested that he had
read not q word, bet next day he was
found dead in his bed. A silver plate
| scratched all over with a fork was picked
up under his window by fisherman and
taken to the Governor. "Have YOU read
anything?" he was asked 81 cannot
read" was the reply. The man was de-
| tanned until this was established, and then
he was told to 90, with the remark ''Y on
are fortunate in not being able to read ."
After thirty years of weary Imprisonment,
the Iron Mask died. He was obscureIv
buried, quick-lime was put in his coffin,
all his furniture, clothing and bedding
was burned, and everything in and about
his room destroyed.
Who was the parsonage concerning
whom such remarkable precautions were
taken9 A dozen different theories have
been preached. One of these was that
| the prisoner was twin brother OF the
king. Louis Fourteenth, and was thus dis
posed Of to prevent awkward questions
regarding the succession. Another, that
|
ton between the English Duke of Buck
ingham and the queen, Anne of Austria
Another that he was the Duke of Mon
mouth, natural son of Charles Second of
England. Fifty-two books have been
written upon the subject by different
authors in various languages
10 81 s,to
who is conceded to have discovered the
long buried secret. Ma or Jung, French
office: with a taste for historical research
and having access to the French archives,
stumbled upon some forgotten documents
which reveal the secret. And the Man in
the Iron Mask proved to have been neither
royal nor noble, legitimate or natural, but
simply a gentleman of Lorraine named
Marched, who led a conspiracy to assas-
sinate the king. The documents appear
to establish this beyond doubt There arc
on record authentic declarations of the
Dauphin and Louis Fifteenth to different
persons, that if they knew who the masked
prisoner was, they would be surprised to
find him SO embarrassing parsonage. Why
the man was not at once put to death with
his associates, and thus made an end of, il
is impossible to say Probably the whin1
for fantastic punishment may have beer
the motive, and for the reason that the
Bastile for lite was more to be dreaded
than the scaffold. Thus is the light OF
day let in upon one of the mysteries Of
history.
Capt. Ross has put on the Penobscot
new and powerful tug boat called the
Howell
1T is generally believed that there
was serious trouble on board the Polaris
and that there is q tale OF mutiny yet tc
be told.
The President has issued proclama.
ton against the Louisianians who hold that
the Kellogg administration in that state
is illegal, co mmanding them to dispense
&C. &c.
THE VERDICT. A despatch announces
that the Coroner's jury in the Baker muir
der case have completed their inquest and
returned verdict ''that Dr. Baker came
to his death by pistol shot discharged
from the hand of Lucy Ann Mank."
The President is catching trout in
Pennsylvania, while Ben. Butler follows
the same noble pursuit in Maine 1t is
supposed that his excellency will allure
the trout by promising to increase theil
pay. Benjamin has a decided preference