n the
Mediterranean, a prisoner of State closely guarded, and entrusted to
the especial care of a French governmental officer, De Saint Mars.

"Although confined in this obscure spot in the sea, where but little
was seen or heard save a distant sail and the dashing of waters, he
became a marked man among the few who chanced to meet him, and the
circumstance of his concealment was in danger of being noised abroad.
He was consequently removed to Paris, and immured in the cells of the
Bastile.

"From the time that he began to attract attention on the island in the
Mediterranean to the close of his protracted life, no one but his
appointed attendants is known to have seen his face.

"His head was enveloped in a black-velvet mask, confined by springs of
steel, and so arranged that he could not reveal his features without
immediate detection.

[Illustration: MAN OF THE IRON MASK.]

"His guardian, De Saint Mars, had been instructed by a royal order,
or by an order from certain of the king's favorites, to take his life
immediately, should he attempt to reveal his identity.

"During his confinement on the Marguerite island, De Saint Mars ate
and slept in the same room with him, and was always provided with
weapons with which to despatch him, should he attempt to discover the
secret of his history. If report is true, De Saint Mars might well
exercise caution, for it is asserted that he was to forfeit his own
life if by any want of watchfulness he allowed the prisoner to reveal
his identity.

"The prisoner himself seemed anxious to make the forbidden discovery.
He once wrote a word on some linen, and succeeded in communicating
what he wished to an individual not in the secret of the mystery. But
the _ruse_ was discovered, and the person that received the linen died
suddenly, being taken off, it was supposed, by poison. He once
engraved something, probably his name, on a piece of silver plate. The
person to whom it was conveyed was detected in his knowledge of the
secret, and soon after died, as suddenly and mysteriously as the one
who had received the linen.

"These incidents indicate that the prisoner was a man of shrewdness
and learning.

"He was attended, during his imprisonment in the Bastile, by the
governor of the fortress, who alone administered to his wants; and
when he attended mass he was always followed by a detachment of
invalides (French soldiers), who were instructed to fire upon him in
case he should sp