Kitabı oku: «The True History of the State Prisoner, commonly called the Iron Mask», sayfa 11

No. 88
POMPONNE TO PINCHESNE

St. Germain, May 10, 1679.

Your letter, Sir, of the 22d of last month serves still more to confirm the treachery of the Count Matthioli, of which we had even before had too many proofs. He was, in fact, arrived in Piedmont, and had seen the Abbé d’Estrades. It is impossible to conceive the insolence of his daring to show himself, at a moment when all Italy rings with his perfidy. However, it is to be wished that he should deliver up the ratification of the Duke of Mantua, if it is true, as that Prince states, that he has still got it in his hands; If the Sieur Tarani²⁸¹ has more fidelity than him, it would be desirable he should have the confidence of his master, and should dispose him to satisfy His Majesty, by showing him that it is dangerous to break promises which have been so solemnly made to him. ∗ ∗ ∗

I am, &c.

Pomponne.²⁸²

No. 89
PINCHESNE TO POMPONNE

Interviews between the Duke of Mantua and the Senator Foscarini.

Venice, May 13th, 1679.

Sir,

I beseech you very humbly to be persuaded that I will not fail to execute, with all the exactitude and zeal possible, the orders which it has pleased you to give me, (in the letter which you have done me the honour to write to me on the 26th of last month,) to inform you of all that shall come to my knowledge respecting the affair of Casale, and on the subject of the Count Matthioli. The annoyance I had, at not being able to discover what brought the Duke of Mantua to Venice, the last time when, as I sent you word, he came there, obliged me to redouble my endeavours to try and learn something upon the subject; and at last they have not been in vain, since I know at present, so certainly that I cannot doubt of it, that this prince had, during that time, two long conversations, in the Convent of the Capuchins, with M. Foscarini, a sage and a grandee, who is the person named by the Republic, to continue the history which the Procurator Nani was about, and who is one of the most able men of this state: in which this senator represented to him very strongly how dangerous it would be for him and for all Italy if he gave up Casale to the King, as it was said he had the intention to do, and had even made a treaty for that purpose with His Majesty, and that the Republic hoped he would not take a step so prejudicial to all the princes of Italy; to which I know that the Duke of Mantua answered, that he knew his own interests, and that assuredly he would never voluntarily give up Casale to the King; but that His Majesty was the most powerful Prince in Europe, and in a condition to attempt every thing, without its being easy to prevent him; that it would be therefore necessary to seek for the most proper means to do this, which, however, could not be hoped for, without having considerable troops to oppose to his, in case he wished to attempt some enterprise; that of himself he was not sufficiently powerful to resist His Majesty; that it was for those, who had as much interest as himself in the preservation of that place, to find the means of preserving it, without which he would not answer for what might happen; and that the fault even could not be attributed to him, but to his bad fortune and to his want of aid.

I know, besides, that the ministers of the Republic consider it certain that Casale is to be attacked by the King, and that they say they have this intelligence from such good authority, that they cannot doubt of it.

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

I cannot, Sir, refrain from testifying to you the joy I felt in learning this week, by a letter of the Abbé d’Estrades, that the Count Matthioli has been carried prisoner to Pignerol, and that thus this rogue will no more be in a condition to execute, every day, fresh perfidies.

I am, with the most respectful submission, and all the attachment possible,

Sir, Your very humble and very obedient Servant,

De Pinchesne.²⁸³

No. 90
LOUVOIS TO SAINT-MARS

Orders to treat Matthioli with severity.

St. Germain, May 15th, 1679.

I have received your letter of the 6th of this month, which requires no answer, except to say that you will have sufficiently seen by my former letters, that it is not the intention of the King that the Sieur de Lestang should be well-treated, nor that, except the absolute necessaries of life, you should give him any thing that may make him pass his time agreeably.

I address to you a packet of importance for M. de Richemont, which I beg of you to give into his own hands, and to tell the Commissary du Channoy, not to send away the courier who carries him this, until you shall have given him the answers he is to bring back.

De Louvois.²⁸⁴

No. 91
CATINAT TO LOUVOIS

Plans of Catinat for obtaining possession of Casale.

Pignerol, May 16th, 1679.

I send you, Sir, the second examination of M. Matthioli, according to the order which I received to that effect, by the extraordinary courier you sent to this place. You will find it little different from the first. I put him into the greatest possible fear of the torture, if he did not tell the truth. One sees very well by his answers that his conduct has been infamous. I see no good reason which can excuse him for having had such intimate communication with the Court of Savoy, with the Abbé Frederic (the resident of the Emperor at Venice), and with Don Francis Visconti, one of the partizans of Spain, without any participation or correspondence upon the subject with M. de Pomponne, the Abbé d’Estrades, or M. de Pinchesne; this fact prevents my having any confidence in him. Nevertheless he persists, with the utmost obstinacy, in declaring, that the Governor of Casale is well-intentioned; that this Governor sees very well that the Duke of Mantua is a lost man; that he sees also that there cannot happen any change in the Court of Mantua, without his being removed from Casale; and that he is a man who would be accessible to any offers that might be made him; this is what he, Matthioli, is willing to stake his life upon; that if he is furnished with a specious excuse for receiving the troops of the King, he will assuredly do it, which will be easy, when we have the original papers which his father is to deliver into the hands of Giuliani; that provided the Governor is not absent from Casale, he, Matthioli, will find means to contrive an interview between this Governor, me, and himself; and that I shall both see and understand the means of rendering the King master of Casale. As I know beforehand that I am conversing with a rascal, and that it is almost of necessity, if his propositions are adopted, that he should himself be again employed in this affair, I cannot bring myself to answer for him in any thing; nevertheless I have thought it right to communicate all this, Sir, to you. When the King once has possession of the papers, my having an interview with this Governor is a step that would not hazard any thing; I do not see any inconvenience in it, except the chance of the Sieur Matthioli’s escaping, on account of the degree of liberty which must in that case be permitted to him, however vigilant I might be in watching him. I should be obliged to go with him to Asti, where he is acquainted with a Dominican monk, who would carry to Moncalvo a note to a physician whose name is Viveti; this Viveti would go to Casale to inform the Governor of the place of rendezvous, which had been settled for our interview with him. But it is almost impossible in all these proceedings to answer for the person of Matthioli: as there is, therefore, this inconvenience in the plan, the Abbé d’Estrades could, if it is the King’s wish that any proposition should be made to this Governor, according to the orders he should receive, have him spoken to, and his intentions sounded by some one. I beseech you, Sir, to be persuaded that in this affair I place my own interest beneath my feet, and that I only venture to make you proposals upon the subject, from the desire I have that the affair should succeed to the satisfaction of the King.

∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

As the papers which are at Padua are to be sent, at least I believe so, to M. de Pinchesne, in order to avoid any accidents that might happen to them by bringing them straight to this place or to Turin, I will take measures to set off from hence as soon as I shall know they are delivered to M. de Pinchesne. As you, Sir, may perhaps wish to send me word of any new determinations that may have been come to with regard to this affair, in consequence of which I might be of some utility here, I take the liberty of informing you, that I shall remain at Pignerol till the 9th or 10th of June. If you do not honour me with any order between this time and then, I shall execute that you have already given me of returning to France. I should be obliged to you to let me know where I am to go, whether straight to the Court, or to Dunkirk, where my company is, or to any other place where it shall please you to order me. I shall take great precautions to conceal myself, and not to appear before the relations of Messrs. Fouquet and Lauzun.²⁸⁵ I cannot, however, answer for it, Sir, that they will not write word of my being here. I did not take any measures for the Ambassador being present at this last examination, because I had been before particularly informed by him of all the proofs there were against Matthioli.

I am with all the respect, &c.

C.²⁸⁶

No. 92

Second Examination of Matthioli.

The Count Matthioli being asked what happened to him when he passed through Turin, replied, that he had been to visit the Marquis of Saint-Thomas; that as he was ill, he could not see him; that afterwards he went to the President Turki, whom he found full of suspicions respecting his journey into France; and that as he is an insinuating and adroit man, he engaged him insensibly to talk of the affairs of the Duke of Mantua and of Casale; that it is true, that being taken by surprise by the ingenuity and cunning of the aforesaid President, and by the affection which he pretended to show for the interests of France, he confided so much in the aforesaid President, that it was impossible for him to doubt but that there was some treaty made respecting Casale; that it is true, that he received two thousand livres from that Court,²⁸⁷ but that it was rather as a mark of gratitude for some services he had formerly had the honour of performing for it, than as a recompense for any thing he then confided.

He says that the President Turki begged him, when he left Turin, to write to him carefully all the progress of this affair; that he, the President, had written to him several times after this to Venice, asking for intelligence upon the subject; to which he had always answered that the affair would not take place, in order to diminish the opinion he might have had, from his former answers to him, of there being a treaty respecting that place.

Being asked where he went from Turin, he replied, that he took the road to Placentia, where he found letters from Don Nevani and Cabriani,²⁸⁸ which were only to testify their joy at his return, and to tell him that the Duke of Mantua waited for him with impatience, and that they had sent a boat to meet him, in order that he might be able to embark upon the Po.

From Placentia he went straight to Mantua, where he found the Duke of Mantua; who, the very day of his arrival, took the trouble of coming to see him at his own house, where he was lying down, being very ill; this interview was passed in civilities respecting his malady. Two days afterwards he came again to see him, and asked him for a copy of all that he had done in France, which he gave him very exactly, but with great pain to himself, on account of his illness. That same day he made the Duke sign all the papers necessary for the entire completion of the treaty, as far as regarded the form. Three or four days afterwards, having received intelligence from the Sieur Carbonini, that there was a plan to poison him, and having even perceived that they had put poison into a medicine, which he had pretended to take, but had found the means of throwing away, he had taken the resolution, under the pretext of recovering his health, of going to Padua, whither he had taken all the original papers with him.

On the 24th or 25th of January, the Duke of Mantua, in his way to Venice, passed through Padua; where he went to see the Sieur Matthioli, who was ill, and where he told the Sieur Matthioli, that he had not been able to avoid talking of this affair to his Mother, and that it was an affair which means must be found to break off, because it was not for his advantage. To which, the aforesaid Matthioli answered several things, and among others, that he had again written quite lately to the court to say that all was signed; and that these were the sort of engagements that it was not easy to get released from. The Duke of Mantua afterwards asked him for the original papers, to which he replied that they were locked up, and that it would be a great inconvenience to him, being as ill as he was, to go and look for them; but that he would come as soon as he was able to Venice, where he would deliver the whole into his hands.

He says that the Sieur Giuliani came to see him at Padua from the Duke of Mantua, to give him intelligence that the Inquisitors of State at Venice were making search for him, and that he must take his measures accordingly, in order not to be seized with the papers; which obliged him to mix them with many others, and to place them in a separate house from the one he lived in.

After having been three weeks at Padua, he set off for Venice, leaving the original papers, and not taking them with him. He arrived ill at Venice; went to bed as soon as he arrived there, where he remained three days; afterwards he went to see the Duke of Mantua, who told him that the Abbé Frederic, the Resident of the Emperor at Venice, was acquainted with all the affair respecting Casale; to which the aforesaid Matthioli answered that he was not surprised at it, and that assuredly his Mother, to whom he had told all himself, had had no reserve upon the subject with the aforesaid Abbé Frederic. He asked him afterwards for the original papers, which he told him he could not give him, having left them at Padua, upon the advice which Giuliani had given him from him, to take care that the Venetians, who were looking out for him, should not find them in his possession. The Duke of Mantua told him that it was absolutely necessary to break off this affair; to which he answered that he ought to take care how he behaved with regard to the King; that he had entered into engagements from which he could not extricate himself without breaking his word, which would be very dangerous to do with so powerful a Prince. The Duke of Mantua obliged him afterwards to have an interview with him and the Abbé Frederic, which took place in the chamber of a Monk of Saint George; they were masked there, in order not to be known. The Duke of Mantua said to the Sieur Matthioli, “I leave you with the Abbé Frederic, with whom you will hold a conversation; you must do all that he shall bid you.” The aforesaid Abbé Frederic showed him a copy of the treaty; and appeared so particularly instructed upon the subject, that there was no possibility of his denying it. The aforesaid Abbé told him that it was an affair which must be broken off; that it would be the ruin of Italy and of his master also, and that it was absolutely necessary to think of some means which would make it certain not to happen; and that he might expect a great deal of gratitude from the House of Austria, if he conducted himself well. He confesses that he appeared to enter into his sentiments, not being able to do otherwise; but that remaining master of the original papers, he thought he should be always able to complete the affair, which he intended to do in this manner.

The Governor of Casale being his friend, he did not doubt but that he should be able to make him do all that he wished. To this end, he made a packet of the four blank papers signed by the Duke of Mantua, which he had made him sign at Mantua when he first arrived there, and while this Prince was still well-intentioned. That in order to inspire more confidence to the Governor of Casale, that he, the Sieur Matthioli, would do nothing, except with the order of his master, he had had this packet addressed to him by another Secretary of the Duke of Mantua, named Magnus, who has for his department the management of the affairs of the Montferrat, to whom he said, “Here is a packet which his Highness has told me to send to Casale: as you administer the affairs of that country, write a letter to the Governor, ordering him to execute all that is to be enjoined by this packet.” That this proceeding procured for him the entire confidence of the Governor, by making him see that he would not ask any thing of him which he could not execute with honour; that he had made d’Asfeld set off from Venice two or three days afterwards, in order to arrive about the same time with him at Incréa, where he intended to have taken all the necessary measures with the aforesaid Governor, for the completion of the affair.

Being asked why he had acted in this indirect manner, (since it had been agreed in the interview which he, M. de Pinchesne, and M. d’Asfeld had had together on the 24th of February, that the Duke of Mantua should go to Casale on the 15th of March, which was a decided mark of the good intentions of his Master), he replied, that his Master was truly well-intentioned, from the fear he had inspired him with of the King’s resentment; but that knowing the natural uncertainty of his disposition, he had thought it right to take measures to enable him to complete the affair, even in case he (the Duke) had not kept to his engagement of coming to Casale. Being asked why he did not confide this to the Sieurs de Pinchesne and d’Asfeld, he said that he did not wish to discover to them the intelligence that existed between him and the Governor, or to give them any idea of uncertainty in this affair, which might perhaps have made them suspend the execution of it; that as he himself regarded it as the means of making his fortune, if he could bring it to a conclusion, and as he did not doubt that such would be the event, from the measures he had taken, he wished to avoid all that might retard the execution of it. That the Sieur de Pinchesne can say whether he, the Sieur Matthioli, did not always answer to him for the success of the affair, without, however, being ever willing to communicate to him the means to be employed in it.

Being asked whether he did not speak of the affair of Casale with certain Venetians, he answered that they were so well-informed upon the subject, that it is very likely he may have conversed with some of them upon it, but in the way of telling them that it was an affair which was broken off, and had failed; that he had seen the Chevalier Cornaro, Inquisitor of State, only once, for the purpose of asking his permission to carry arms, as the Duke of Mantua wished to have him assassinated, in order the better to authorize his disavowal of all that he, the Sieur Matthioli, had done in France, which was certainly a very unjust reason on the part of his Master for wishing to have him killed; that as he was of a fickle disposition, his sentiments would change upon this subject as upon every thing else; and that by making use of precautions for some time, he should escape this misfortune: this permission was promised, but was never given to him.

Being asked whether he had not conversed at Venice with some one of the partisans of Spain, he answered, no; that he left that place on the 28th of February, two days after M. d’Asfeld, to go to Incréa.

Being asked whether he had not known beforehand, that the Sieur d’Asfeld was to be arrested, he answered that he had had no knowledge of it, and that he had even only known with certainty his detention at Buffacore, as far as which place he had gone on his road to the rendezvous at Incréa, having with him all the papers necessary for the conclusion of the affair of Casale, which he had concealed so well in a saddle, that they were not found, though he was very minutely searched upon the frontiers of the Brescian and the Milanese; that from Buffacore he returned straight to Venice, not having any doubt of the arrest of d’Asfeld, from the news he had received respecting it; that he only remained there two days, in order to inform M. de Pinchesne of the accidents that had happened.

Being asked whether he conversed with other persons at Venice, he answered, no.

When he left Venice he returned to Padua, where he remained always, except some short visits to Venice, of a day at the longest, to confer with M. de Pinchesne.

Being asked if, at Padua, he had not held intercourse with some one of the partisans of Spain; he answered, yes; with the individual named Don Francis Visconti, natural son of the Count Visconti, Commissary-General of the Milanese, who had spoken to him on the part of his father and of the Count de Melgar, and who having in his possession a copy of the treaty, and being perfectly instructed of the whole transaction, it was not possible for him to deny it; but he spoke of it as an affair that had failed, and gained the confidence of the aforesaid Francis, who offered him a thousand pistoles, and a fief in the Milanese, if he would deliver to M. de Melgar the original papers which were in his possession. He answered him that this affair having appeared to him to have failed, he had given them to M. de Pinchesne, and was no longer master of them. The aforesaid Francis persuaded him to enter into communication with M. de Melgar, in order, for the future, to prevent the execution of this affair, and took measures with him, about the 10th or 12th of March, for acquainting M. de Melgar with every thing; and to this end agreed with him upon the Spanish cypher found among his papers. He says that he did all this only to deceive them, and to prevent their taking other means, than through him, of being informed of the resolutions of the King in this affair.

Being asked whether he did not know, through the means of Francis, of the arrest of d’Asfeld, he answered, yes, and that the aforesaid Francis told him he had been arrested at Canonica, twenty-five miles from Milan, on the side of Bergamo, and that they had been waiting for him there more than a fortnight.

Being asked if he knew who were the people that arrested him, he answered, that he did not know precisely, but that Don Francis had told him they were people employed by M. de Melgar, and that they had been placed upon various routes in order not to miss him. Don Francis told him besides that he was a prisoner in the castle of Milan; that he was very civilly treated there; and that he had not been interrogated, nor found charged with any papers.

Being asked whether he had not given any body a copy of the treaty; he swore distinctly that he had given it to no one, and that those copies which have got about could only have come from the mother of the Duke of Mantua, to whom her son had confided the whole affair.

He came from Padua to Turin, upon receiving the letter of the Abbé d’Estrades, in order to contrive an interview with the Governor of Casale; which he had done, and had found the Governor well inclined to contribute to the completion of the business. From thence he returned to Turin, where the Abbé d’Estrades persuaded him to have an interview with me, during which I arrested him. I send this last fact to you, Sir, shortly, because I have already given you a sufficiently exact detail respecting it.²⁸⁹