Iron Mask

“ Of the principal personages in whom people have seen the Man with the Iron Mask, we have first got rid of those imaginary beings, those pretended brothers of Louis XIV., whom it was necessary to banish to the domain of fiction. Afterwards entering into that of reality, we have studied the lives of several princes whom people have also covered with the mysterious mask, [336] but whom we have [Pg 190] shown as dying elsewhere than at the Bastille; as Vermandois before Courtray, Monmouth on the scaffold, and Beaufort at the siege of Candia. ”

“ For ourselves, we hold the belief that the Man in the Iron Mask stood on the steps of the throne. Although the mystery cannot be said to be definitely cleared up, one thing stands out firmly established among the mass of conjecture we have collected together, and that is, that wherever the prisoner appeared he was ordered to wear a mask on pain of death. ”

“ Erecting their conjecture into a theory, they have become ardent propagators of it, and have adopted all that told in its favour with the same readiness with which they have energetically denied all that happened to be opposed to it. When the list of missing illustrious men belonging to this period was exhausted, certain writers, sooner than renounce seeing the Man with the Iron Mask in some person still alive in 1706, have had no other expedient than to delay for several years the death of Saint-Mars’ prisoner, in order not to abandon so dear a discovery. ”

“ To this we shall content ourselves with replying, that these despatches are in existence, that their authenticity cannot be contested, and that any one may take cognizance of them in the Archives of the Ministry of War or of Foreign Affairs. If they have remained unpublished to the present time, it is doubtless because they have escaped notice, containing, as they do, mere indications, and no proof revealing in a direct manner the identity of the Man with the Iron Mask. ”

“ To disfigure is better than to kill. There was, indeed, the Iron Mask, but that was a dangerous measure. Europe could not be peopled with iron masks, while deformed mountebanks ran about the streets without creating any surprise. Besides, the iron mask is removable; not so the mask of flesh. You are masked forever by your own flesh: what can be more ingenious?
The Comprachicos worked on man as the Chinese work on trees. They had their secrets, as we have said; they had tricks which are now lost arts. A sort of fantastic stunted thing left their hands ”

“ Of all the captives of whom Saint-Mars was the gaoler, Matthioly is thus the only one who reconciles the two apparently contradictory features of the Man with the Iron Mask, whom an undoubted tradition represents as having been brought to Saint-Mars at the Islands, and whom indisputable documents show to have also been imprisoned at Pignerol. ”

“ The Man in the Iron Mask stands the Man in the Iron Mask—which was, in fact, not of iron, at all, but of stoutly-lined velvet, as the loups and masks of the time nearly always were made. Probably this mask was secured by extra strong springs and fastenings, as mostly was the case for prisoners of [181] distinction, when they were being conveyed from one place of captivity to another.
Such kind of explanation was afforded to Ninon by the governor of the Bastille when she discussed the point with him. ”

“ Iron Duke, Duke of Wellington, from his iron will, it is surmised.
Iron Gate, the name given to dangerous rapids in the Danube at Orsova, as it issues out of Hungary.
Iron Hand, Goetz von Berlichingen (q. v.) .
Iron Mask, Man with the, a prisoner who in the reign of Louis XIV. wore, when he was transferred from prison to prison, what seemed an iron mask to prevent any one discovering and revealing his identity, over which to this day there hangs an impenetrable veil; he is reported to have been young and of noble form, and the conclusion is that he was a man of distinction. ”

“ It is thus that M. Loiseleur has studied, [550] by introducing new documents into the discussion, the question of the pretended poisoning of Gabrielle d’Estrées and of the supposed marriage of Anne of Austria and Mazarin.
The problem of the Man with the Iron Mask has also attracted the scrupulous attention and meditations of this trained mind. ”

“ But if at this period we find very frequent examples of the use of a mask in the ordinary course of life, there is absolutely no authentic example of the wearing of a mask being enforced upon a prisoner, and such a measure is altogether peculiar to the famous captive. ”

“ In the case of an Italian like Matthioly, the use of the mask has a very natural explanation. Indeed, it is only in Italy that we meet with the custom of covering the face of a prisoner with a mask. Individuals arrested in Venice by order of the State inquisitors were taken masked to their dungeons. Moreover, we have seen Matthioly concealing himself with a mask in his secret interviews with the Abbé d’Estrades, Louis XIV.’s ambassador. This mask [631] the [Pg 353] Minister of the Duke of Mantua and the companion of his pleasures used always to carry about with him. ”

“ The magnetic mask, which prevents iron-filings escaping down the throats of grinders and polishers, and thus prevents the consumption of the lungs, to which these trades are peculiarly obnoxious, would diminish the price of steel goods, if the workmen did not prefer receiving the premium in the shape of higher wages, to the health and long life which they would get, without the premium, by the use of the mask. ”

“ I know many cases where men have been forced to wear masks literally continuously for more than eight hours; and much longer periods than this, with perhaps short intervals of rest in protected dugouts or in unaffected areas, are common.
Of course the soldier has to be practiced in putting the mask on quickly. It is not quite so simple as the old “gas bag,” about which a drill sergeant said to a squad: “You just whops it out and you whops it on.” But it does not take long to make men proficient with the respirator, at any rate on the parade ground. ”

“ There was a time when the mask was not worn for the assault. And I remember reading some time ago in the Encyclopaedia, published about the middle of last century (1755) , under the word mask the following remarks:—
‘In foil-play Fencers have sometimes carried precaution so far as to wear a mask, to protect themselves from possible hits in the face. It is true that those who have acquired little skill in the Art may chance to wound their Adversary by a clumsy thrust, or cause themselves to be wounded by throwing up the point with a bad parry. ”

“ With the new American mask, with its much stronger and stiffer face material, the chances are that the life will be considerably increased although the more constant use of the mask will probably offset its greater durability. ”

“ While the armor-piercing projectile has always had a little the better of the game, it is just the reverse with gases. The gas mask has always been just a little better than the gases, so that very few casualties have occurred through failure of the mask itself. This margin of safety has never been any too great, and that we have had a margin at all is due to the energy, skill and enthusiasm of those developing and manufacturing masks in England, France, and particularly in the United States. ”

“ A perfect mask is one which will remove completely every trace of gas or poisonous vapor before the air can reach the eyes, nose, or mouth of the soldier.
The first masks adopted by the allies were simply gauze pads saturated with neutralizing chemicals. These became unsuitable as soon as new varieties of powerful poisons were brought out. The mask development thereafter progressed to the box respirator type. This consisted of a mask or helmet connected to a box filled with absorbing and neutralizing chemicals which purified the air for the mask wearer. ”

“ Because of the extreme cold to which gunners are subjected under combat conditions, you MUST learn to remove and replace the mask quickly and accurately WEARING HEAVY GLOVES. It is not easy to manipulate a mask or unjam a .50 cal. gun with numb fingers in heavy flying gloves. PRACTICE these things on every training flight with gloves ON.
FITTING THE MASK TO THE FACE -- There are two considerations in obtaining a proper fit:
An AIR-TIGHT SEAL of mask to face. Comfort of fit without undue pressure. The A-10-A and A-14 masks come in three sizes. ”

“ Further, it was not fully appreciated that the rubberized cloth used in making the facepiece had to be highly impermeable against gases, that hardness as much as anything else was desired in the make-up of the soda-lime granules in order to withstand rough jolting so that the fines would not clog the canister, and raise the resistance to breathing to a prohibitive figure. Neither was it appreciated at [Pg 44] that time by any of the allies, that the gas mask really should be a be a fighting instrument, one that men could work hard in, run in, and wear for hours, without too serious discomfort. ”

“ The mask itself, with proper treatment, lasts for a long time. While the more quickly adjusted, but far less reliable, French mask is also carried by our men, the British mask is chiefly relied upon. It is complete protection against every gas thus far developed; and the scientific men of the Allies are daily lessening the fiendish menace of gas. The spirit of the men who face the poison is expressed by Corporal Harold Hall of Bridgeport, Conn. ”

“ Then came the wangie about the spear, which was not taken on, and the fight was over. The warriors retired, and very soon the place was clear. All night the victor was feasted, whilst the vanquished one's friends condoled with him.
The wooden mask of which we have become possessed is not only difficult to obtain but very rarely possessed by a white man. We hear they are not used here, but come from the interior. It is used at the ceremony of man-making. It is placed over the face of the boy after the ceremony is over, and for fourteen days he has to wear it, not showing his face to anyone. ”

“ He took up a revolver and balanced it on his palm.
By and by the proprietor came sidling along behind the cases, the slip-slip fashion of his approach informing me that he wore slippers.
"Do you keep costumes?" I asked.
"Anything you like, sir, from a crusader to a modern gentleman,"—with grim and appropriate irony. "What is it you are in search of—a masquerade costume?'"
"Only a grey mask," I answered. "I am going to a masked ball to-night as a Grey Capuchin, and I want a mask that will match my robe." ”

“ Co-operative tests were carried out with the Gas Defense Division to determine the value of given masks under field conditions. Companies of infantry, fully equipped for the field, would wear masks for hours at a time digging trenches, cutting timber, drilling, etc., and imitating in every way, as far as possible, actual field conditions. During these activities tons of gas in cylinders were released in such a way that the men were enveloped in a far higher concentration than would probably ever be the case in actual battle. These tests gave valuable data for criticizing gas mask construction. ”

“ The mask has, at all times, been the essential complement of the domino. In its ordinary form it consists of a stifle shape arranged to fit the face as far as the upper lip. Moulded to the nose, it is provided with slits for the eyes and nostrils, and fastened by means of a button and a narrow elastic band. Now and then it is edged with a frill of lace which conceals the chin and further enhances the disguise. Black satin and velvet are most frequently employed to cover this kind of mask, the latter, by the way, being far more becoming ”

“ Observation and experiment will guide you in the painting of the eyes, lips, brow, and hair, and also in the subtle violet shadows about the eyes, cheeks, and chin. Beware of timid lines that imitate nature. They say very little when the mask is a few feet away from you. Big, 166sweeping rhythmic lines make for design and carrying power, and are to be seen in all great masks. The inside of the mask should also be painted, decorated if you like, and shellacked when the oil paint is thoroughly dry. This prevents the breath from softening the papier-mâché. The outside must not be shellacked. ”

“ While the helmet does not afford complete protection against rifle and shrapnel fire, it has [Pg 416] been found that hits result only in severe concussion, where before fatal wound resulted. These helmets are painted khaki color.
1206. Masks. Steel masks for sentinels and snipers have been adopted by the Germans. This mask covers the head and face with curved surfaces which deflect bullets. Small eye holes permit a clear view of the target and a small section is omitted in the lower right side to permit bringing the rifle against the cheek in firing. ”

“ Pshaw! a mask makes people but the more inquisitive, and is as ridiculous a disguise as a stage-beard: her shape, stature, habit will be known. And if we should meet with Horner, he would be sure to take acquaintance with us, must wish her joy, kiss her, talk to her, leer upon her, and the devil and all. No, I'll not use her to a mask, 'tis dangerous; for masks have made more cuckolds than the best faces that ever were known. ”

“ They seemed to feel that if a single gas casualty occurred through failure of the mask, their work would be a failure or at least they would be open to severe criticism. Accordingly efforts were made to perfect masks and to perfect protection regardless of the discomfort imposed upon the wearer of the mask. This idea was very difficult to eradicate. The laboratory worker who accustoms himself to experiment with a particular thing forgets that he develops an ability to endure discomfort, that is not possible of attainment by the ordinary man in the time available for his training. ”