Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1884-05-08

And oil the world is dark ana still,
a And I'm asleey-tffen, If you will, $ -
. Come down. and make nay flowers grow,
Dear Rain, and will love you SO.
sss..s *.t'te ~ -. p YOUTHS Companion.
,.<, A PRISON WITHIN A PRISON.
One of the strangest stories in history
is that of the Man in the Iron Mask,
who was imprisoned in France, nearly
two hundred years ago, by the order of
King Louis XIV. He died in the Bastile
in 1703, and from that day to this it has
never been found out who he really was.
All sorts of stories have been told
about the unfortunate man, who not
only spent so many dreary years in
prison, but was compelled to have his
face always covered with a mask. But
no one saw him in an iron one, which
would have been toe horrible. Yet the
prisoner probably found his black, vel
vet covering, fastened with steel springs,
intolerable enough. 1t was never re
moved. Sleeping or waking, in hot
weather Or cold, sick or well, the suffo-
eating thing had to be worn, and it
seems a wonder that it did not drive
him insane. -. as ,aa4gr '..N 'sste
sr For long time this mysterious pris-
on some islands in the Mediterranean,
known, as the Marguerite Islands, He
was removed from thence when M. De
prison there, accepted the Governorship
of the Bastile, the great prison of Paris.
He was carried in a closed litter, accom-
panied by the Governor. N. De Saint
Mars, and several srnied men on horse
back. When they stopped for meals,
the prisoner always sat with his back to
the windows, and the Governor had
pistols beside his plate. /, They were att
tended by single valet, Antoine Ru.
The servant who waited on them did not
come into the dining-roem, but the
dishes were taken from him and re-
turned in an ante chamber after the din
ing-room door had been carefully closed.
- Poor man! heawas closely watched,
and he was said to have been richly
himself on Bonded knee with dainty food
on rich silver plate. But what mock
cry all this outward show of respect
was threatened with death il he re-
moved his sitting mask for moment.
or attempted to speak to any one except
IuOS0 VINO udu CIdISC VI I'LL.
e In spite, however, of the dreadful
risk he ran. he did try, when in the
fortress of Pignerol, the gloomiest of all
ing up against its rocky wall, to make
his hard fate known to the outer world.
He engraved some words on a silver
plate: which he threw from the window
of his dungeon to the narrow beach be-
E1h l,o in,
boat saw the glitter of the metal, and
read the words which the poor despair
ing man in the mask had written, and
thinking it might be lost article of
great value, the honest fisherman gave
up his prize to the keeper Of the prison.
/. Far from receiving any reward, he
was closely questioned, and escaped be-
ing put to death only because he could
not read a word; but he was obliged to
leave the neighborhood as quickly as
possible. Two other persons who found
a linen shirt with words marked on it,
and who were not SO ignorant as the
fisherman, were said to have died very
soon afterward without any apparent
cause.
The Man in the Iron Mask spent five
years in the famous state-prison of the
Bastlle, which was destroyed by the
mob in the beginning of the French
Revolution For over four hundred
wears this strongest and most hopeless
of prisons had held men and women of
all ranks, many of whom languished
there without the ordinary comforts of
life, for no crime whatever, but merely
to CRAFTY the malice of some powerful
rival. 1t has been thought that the
masked prisoner was Alvin, brother of
Louis XIV, whose birth was carefully
concealed from every one outside of the
royal family, and that he was disposed
of in this way to prevent the trouble
that would arise from two heirs to, the
throne. His life was spared, because if
the acknowledged heir died it would be
desirable TO produce him as his lawful
successor.
.sa He was said to resemble Louis XIV.
so strongly that it would be dangerous
to have his features seen by any one, and
this led to the uncomfortable mask. "A
picture of him looking through the
grated window of his cell in the Bastile,
with two armed soldiers watching his
slightest movement, is very sad; he
could see SO little, between his mask
and the prison bars, and the guards
had orders to fire upon him if he made
the slightest attempt to attract notice
outside. - SO T
Fl Many persons who did not believe
that the Man in the Iron Mask was a
brother of Louis XVI have tried to
prove that he was q Count de Matthioli,
an agent of the Duke of Mantua, who
employed him in some negotiations with
the King of France. The Count was
accused by the French of having be-
trayed one of their state secrets; and
the angry monarch imprisoned him for
life in way that effectually prevented
him from telling anything more.
But the real truth about this most un-
fortunate OF prisoners has never yet
come to light. All We know of his
death is the following entry taken from
the journal OF Dajunca, the chief turn
key of the Bastile. He writes:l ION
Monday, the 18th of November, 1703,
the unknown prisoner who had contin-
ually worn a black velvet mask, and
whom Saint Mars had brought with
him from the island of Sainte Mar
frtiarito 6iod fo day al of1f fan osclock