New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-12-25
THE NAN IN THERON MASK
Nor Of II. Fapck-Brentano in
idCRtfying Him as .Iatthiof.

Who was the Man In the Iron 1Iae5~c Tor
more than two centuries his identity his Been a
mystery. the one mystery among The multitude
winch cluster round the Rdztile th.- has ~s,,,fvad
unsoIvsd and apparently insoIu5Ie Fron. lens, bs
lore the death OF the monarch o.-. XIV ,,r+if
2tt7" NJ LouLet was elected President Of IN.
french Republic the question has been varfo1vlv
asked and as yar:ously answered. From Dumas
down. Il has furnished the central theme, F many
plays AID books. has ereaee,i Tho life e-,,tieg -,
historians, Swans ana ar,,s--,.+.. ,. -. -
the world at large Is much in Tie l7rlz las .ver
Some have declared that THE 5I-a in the Iron
MASK was Charles L; others, chat he vas the Duke
y Dt'NlcA- The French Court would have IL .Har
.-e vas the Ills natuTcI' of Louis NV and louisa
&c "a VALERIE Voltaire declared the man was The
! p'O'her or Louis. and only recently u lva,o4a
Loqulh. president Of the Academy OF Bordeaux
las US'"ted TWO volumes 20 the derlonstraticu that
,r,i ,l'SN,1 ma" was no other than the great
-'A'iie'e' "uhB MO a dungeon and compelled 10
wear q mask I'r me term CT his natural life Ho-
cause OF the heterodoS "Jcsutisu.' DISPLAYED IL,
Iartufte-'
Wv comes Forward " Frantz Fun -f.-eatarc.
''''' anu archl'lst' who declares thar after ten
years OF patieit study and such porting over Bastls
RECORDS that Tor six months he remained totally
bind he has finally solved TIE mystery for orre
and for all In lecture Tile Secrets Of IN,
Bastie," delivered under the auspices Of the 51i-
ance Franeaise al the College OF ire City OF NV
YORK on Wednesday evening VI. Fsn-El I;-r--,su no
toid or his discovery OF the identity ~ tas Nan
IN the IRON Mask The Man in The Iron MASK
says NJ. FunCk-BreutauO. was none other than
Hercule Antoine NIatthioli Minister Co the Duke Of
Mantua, and his mask was not or iron. rs tr.,ii-
tionally asserted. but OF black Italian velvet
Why is NJ Funcll-Brentauo certain Of this Well.
IN the main. he says. because of his discovery 81 a
certain lettre de cachet amous the records of tho
Bastne. This document is tho corlr1irtal rrua- "a,
the Bastils in 1923 O. "a former prisoner whom
Governor St. Mars had with him nj PlzueroI''
(prison). and who comes with The name o. the
Masked Man
After long research among the prison archives
and with Infinite pains " FUuck- B~srtaro dis
covered that there had been only i've prisoners at
PigneroI at the .me when St Mars was governor
there BY gradual process os elimination. NJ
Brentano found that three OF these prisoners had
died before 1885 and that of ths two remaining
enc was an unimportant nobody VINO was subss-
quentIy permitted TO become the nla7servant OF
the famous Fououet Ergo he argued thar "+bo
Man with the Iron Mask could he no other than
the fifth prisoner on the PigreroI recCrI-SIatthrI
to wit Without this document. N Breutauo admits
that his entire contention falls 10 the ground.
In FUuck- BrentauO's second proof which h.
considers. cIinches his contention beyond sssaII-
neut Is a chance and seemingly fn,onsecUert par
agraph in two memoirs Of Nine. Campan chamber
maid of Marie Antouette.
Marie AntoInette apparently still credited tha
tale that the Iron Mask the first born son
Of Louis Kill and consequently. Louis XIVFs elder
brother one day. however she took occasion 70
ask the King Louis wv her cousort The King
consulted NJ. MauerDas. an aged councillor. at
that time his Minister of the Treasury but who
had forTnerly been custodian of the department.
which includes the 'Iettres de cachet' ar about
the period Of the "Iroa Masks incarceration in
the BastiIe. 1T IS not well know OF this man.
replied the Minister. He was e. dangerous man.
fond OF intrigue. an agent for the Duke oc Man
tua'
These two facts. taken in conjunction NJ Bren-
tano told a Tribune representatives settle tho
question With one fact alone one may feel that
a thing Is so. but no. know it, With these two
facts. not to name three others In my possession.
one knows It 20 be So"
But II the Iron Mask was NIatthiol. It may
DC asNeu' no" &c A' % % mp i7'-.9i' ano WY
the HiV4Oido6 secrecy Iellii 'B MS wearing per
petualy a velvet domino was asked.
at war with most Of Europe and while Louis NV
OF hon'selI1t III 'le DuNo % Nl.,-- ; commons
and strategic point IN the war;, Matchtoh arrived
at the court Of Versailles. He announced his au-
tbortv on behalf Of his master Il, Weld I'D CssaIs
ana us secrets 20 Ihe FIng III coS4uertol OK mo
sum of 33.5o3 uvres- \ treaty was accordingly ne
sollaLeo De'NeS-' VI w o'.' - -
ing the dukes minister 200 Iivres aud a bag Of d-
rno,ds as his own commissions
1T appeared subsequently, that the duke knew
his ernissarv Scarcely had the neaotiators closed
-, - - - se.rI 49,, 800 % Ils -
master went - take possession Of Casale but was
arrested on the v-av a- Spanish and Austrian
troops. NhcFe@l tle rii-' le.t'i-@ 'i11t''ot- ii@N
be+rayai him became furlguSIv an-rv- HIS min
frtrr he disgrecel. and as eor Natrf.cIi Ne caused
his arrest on Italian soil and duuS him on May ?.
pelec t9-redI'eI - "-'-' O. i''i@" i1S~ -Ae -tl<s
am. 4, -. ,,,+ ~, ono s.,,r ,... ~.
has boone of him wrote Louis -, his own b,rI