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Updated: May 15, 2025
"Say monseigneur!" cried Athos, from his corner, with a voice so solemn and terrible, that the governor trembled from head to foot. Athos insisted upon respect being paid to fallen majesty. The prisoner turned round. "Who spoke?" asked Saint-Mars. "It was I," replied D'Artagnan, showing himself promptly. "You know that is the order."
By July 19, as we saw in the previous essay, Louvois was bidding Saint-Mars expect, at Pignerol from Dunkirk, a prisoner of the highest political importance, to be guarded with the utmost secrecy, yet a valet. That valet must be Martin, now called Eustache Dauger, and his secret can only be connected with Marsilly.
M. de Saint-Mars went to make his rounds, and left D'Artagnan alone with the pretended Spaniards. "Oh!" exclaimed the musketeer, "here is a life and a society that suits me very little. I command this man, and he bores me, mordioux! Come, let us have a shot or two at the rabbits; the walk will be beautiful, and not fatiguing.
It is hardly probable either that M. de Louvois and M. de Saint-Mars would have shown the Duke of Monmouth the profound respect which M. de Voltaire assures they showed the iron mask.
Several persons told me that when Saint-Mars, who had been placed over the Bastille, conducted his charge thither, the latter was heard to say behind his iron mask, 'Has the king designs on my life? To which Saint-Mars replied, 'No, my prince; your life is safe: you must only let yourself be guided.
They, not Mattioli, were the captives about whose safe and secret keeping Louis and Louvois were most anxious. This appears from a letter of Louvois to Saint-Mars, of May 12, 1681. The jailer, Saint-Mars, is to be promoted from Pignerol to Exiles. "Thither," says Louvois, "the king desires to transport such of your prisoners as he thinks too important to have in other hands than yours."
The precautions which he ordered to be kept up were quite as stringent as in the case of the Iron Mask. Pere Papon asserts that a valet who served the masked prisoner died in his master's room. Echoes of incidents which took place at Pignerol might have reached the Iles Sainte-Marguerite when Saint-Mars transferred his "former prisoner" from one fortress to the other.
M. Funck-Brentano argues that Saint-Mars was now quite fond of his old Mattioli, so noble, so learned. At last, on September 18, 1698, Saint-Mars lodged his "old prisoner" in the Bastille, "an old prisoner whom he had at Pignerol," says the journal of du Junca, Lieutenant of the Bastille.
"And now," said the musketeer, "answer me the question put to you by that black-looking Saint-Mars: what did you come to do at the Lerin Isles?" "To bid you farewell." "Bid me farewell! What do you mean by that? Is Raoul going anywhere?" "Yes." "Then I will lay a wager it is with M. de Beaufort." "With M. de Beaufort it is, my dear friend. You always guess correctly." "From habit."
But it was not they, it was the valet, Dauger, who caused "sensation." On February 20, 1672, Saint-Mars, for the sake of economy, wished to use Dauger as valet to Lauzun. This proves that Saint-Mars did not, after all, see the necessity of secluding Dauger or thought the King's fears groundless. In the opinion of Saint-Mars, Dauger did not want to be released, "would never ask to be set free."
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