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Man with the Iron Mask: Louis

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