Iron Mask
MAN IN THE, a mysterious French prisoner, confined in the Bastille and other prisons in the reign of Louis XIV., who has been the subject of numerous plays, stories, and novels.
Funck-Brentano in his work on the Bastille proves conclusively that this person was one Matthioli-secretary to the Duke of Mantua who was found guilty of treason and imprisoned for life. The mask he was compelled to wear was of a black velvet stretched over a steel frame.