Several writers have affirmed, that the body of this unfortunate personage was buried without a head; and M. de St. Foix informs us, in his Essais Historiques, that "a gentleman having bribed the sexton, had the body taken up in the night, but found a stone instead of the head." The natural inference from these extraordinary accounts, is, that the Iron Mask was not only a person of high birth, but that he must have been of great consequence; and that his being concealed was of the utmost importance to the king and ministry.

Among the various conjectures that have been formed, concerning the real name and condition of this remarkable man, none appears to have any probability except the following:- That he was a son of Anne of Austria, queen to Louis XIII. and consequently that he was a brother of Louis XIV; but whether a bastard-brother, a brother-german, or a half-brother, is a question that has given rise to three several opinions, viz. 1. That the queen proved with child at a time when it was evident it could not have been by her husband, who, for some months before, had never been with her in private. The supposed father of this child is said to have been the duke of Buckingham, who came to France, in May, 1625, to conduct the princess Henrietta, wife of Charles I. to England. The private letters and memoirs of those times speak very suspiciously of the Queen and Buckingham: his behaviour at Amiens, whither the queen and queen-mother accompanied the princess in her way to Boulogne, occasioned much whispering; and it appears, that the king, on this occasion, was extremely offended at her, and that it required all the influence and address of the queen-mother to effect a reconciliation. It is said, that this child was privately brought up in the country; that when Mazarin became a favourite, he was entrusted with the care of him; and that Louis XIV. having discovered the secret on the death of the cardinal, thought it necessary to confine him in the manner above related.

The second, and the most probable opinion, is, that he was the twin-brother of Louis XIV. born some hours after him This opinion first appeared in a short anonymous work, published without date, or name of place, or printer. It is therein said, "Louis XIV. was born at St. Germains-en-Laye, on the 5th of September, 1638, about noon; and the illustrious prisoner, known by the appellation of the Iron Mask, was born the same day, while Louis XIII. was at supper. The king and the cardinal, fearing that the pretensions of a twin-brother might one day be employed to renew .those civil wars with which France had been so often afflicted, cautiously concealed his birth, and sent him away, to be brought up privately." This opinion was confirmed, in a work, entitled, Memoires de Marechal Due de Richelieu, written by the Abbe Soulavie; in which it is asserted, that "The birth of the prisoner happened in the evening of the 5th September, 1638, in presence of the chancellor, the bishop of Meaux, the author of the MS. a midwife, named Peronete, and a sieur Honorat." This circumstance greatly disturbed the king's mind; he ob-served, that the Salic law had made no provision for such a case. By the advice of cardinal Richelieu, it was therefore resolved to conceal his birth, but to preserve his life, in case, by the death of his brother, it should be necessary to avow him. A declaration was drawn up, and signed and sworn to by all present; in which every circumstance was mentioned, and several marks on his body described. This document being sealed by the chancellor with the royal seal, was delivered to the king; and all took an oath never to speak on the subject, not even in private and among themselves. The child was delivered to the care of Madame Peronete, to be under the direction of cardinal Richelieu, at whose death the charge devolved to cardinal Mazarin. Mazarin appointed the author of the MS. his governor, and entrusted to him the care of his education. But as the prisoner was extremely attached to Madame Peronete, and she equally so to him, she remained with him till her death. His governor carried him to his house in Burgundy, where he paid the greatest attention to his education.

Cesar Landing In Great Britain.

Cesar Landing In Great Britain 2.

As the prisoner grew up, he became impatient to discover his birth, and often importuned his governor on that subject. His curiosity had been roused, by observing that messengers from the court frequently arrived at the house; and a box, containing letters from the queen and the cardinal, having one day been inadvertently left out, he opened it, and saw enough to guess at the secret. From that time he became thoughtful and melancholy, which, (says the author,) I could not then account for. He shortly after asked me to get him a portrait of the late and present king; but I put him off, by saying, that I could not procure any that were good. He then desired me to let him go to Dijon; which I have known since was with an intention of seeing a portrait of the king there, and of going secretly to St. John de Las, where the court then was, on occasion of the marriage with the Infanta. He was beautiful, and love helped him to accomplish his wishes. He had captivated the affections of a young housekeeper, who procured him a portrait of the king. It might have served for either of the brothers; and the discovery put him into so violent a passion, that he immediately came to me with the portrait in his hand, saying, Voila mon frere, et voila qui je suis, showing me at the same time a letter of the cardinal de Mazarin that he had taken out of the box!" Upon this discovery, his governor immediately sent an express to court, to communicate what had happened, and to desire new instructions; the consequence of which was, that the governor, and the young prince under his care, were arrested and confined. The author of this memoir concludes, "I have suffered with him in our common prison: I am now summoned to appear before my Judge on high; and for the peace of my soul, I cannot but make this declaration, which may point out to him the means of freeing himself from his present ignominious situation, in case the king his brother should die without children. Can an extorted oath compel me to observe secrecy on a thing so incredible, but which ought to be left on record to posterity?"

The third opinion is, that he was a son of the queen by cardinal Mazarin, born about a year after the death of her husband, Louis XIII.; that he was brought up secretly; and that, soon after the death of the cardinal, on the 9th of March, 1661, he was sent to Pignerol. To this account Father Grif-fet justly objects, "that it was needless to mask a face that was unknown; and therefore this opinion does not merit discussion." - (Traite de la Verite de I'Histoire, p. 318.) Indeed, it seems totally unaccountable, that so much care should have been taken to conceal a child of the queen by the cardinal, who, whether they were privately married or not, could never have had the most distant claim to the crown of France. The conjectures advanced by other authors, that he was the duke of Monmouth's, the count of Vermandois', or the duke of Beaufort's, etc. are still more improbable.