with his prisoner to the
Bastille, they had put up on the way at Palteau, in Champagne, a property
belonging to the governor. Freron therefore addressed himself to a
grand-nephew of Saint-Mars, who had inherited this estate, asking if he
could give him any information about this visit. The following reply
appeared in the 'Annee Litteraire (June 1768):--

"As it appears from the letter of M. de Sainte-Foix from which you quote
that the Man in the Iron Mask still exercises the fancy of your
journalists, I am willing to tell you all I know about the prisoner. He
was known in the islands of Sainte-Marguerite and at the Bastille as 'La
Tour.' The governor and all the other officials showed him great
respect, and supplied him with everything he asked for that could be
granted to a prisoner. He often took exercise in the yard of the prison,
but never without his mask on. It was not till the 'Siecle' of M. de
Voltaire appeared that I learned that the mask was of iron and furnished
with springs; it may be that the circumstance was overlooked, but he
never wore it except when taking the air, or when he had to appear before
a stranger.

"M. de Blainvilliers, an infantry officer who was acquainted with M. de
Saint-Mars both at Pignerol and Sainte-Marguerite, has often told me that
the lot of 'La Tour' greatly excited his curiosity, and that he had once
borrowed the clothes and arms of a soldier whose turn it was to be sentry
on the terrace under the prisoner's window at Sainte-Marguerite, and
undertaken the duty himself; that he had seen the prisoner distinctly,
without his mask; that his face was white, that he was tall and well
proportioned, except that his ankles were too thick, and that his hair
was white, although he appeared to be still in the prime of life. He
passed the whole of the night in question pacing to and fro in his room.
Blainvilliers added that he was always dressed in brown, that he had
plenty of fine linen and books, that the governor and the other officers
always stood uncovered in his presence till he gave them leave to cover
and sit down, and that they often bore him company at table.

"In 1698 M. de Saint-Mars was promoted from the governorship of the Iles
Sainte-Marguerite to that of the Bastille. In moving thither,
accompanied by his prisoner, he made his estate of Palteau a
halting-place. The masked man arrived in a litter which preceded that of
M. de Saint-Mars, and several mounted men rode bes