"On Thursday, September the 8th, 1698, at three o'clock in the afternoon,
M. de Saint-Mars, the new governor of the Bastille, entered upon his
duties. He arrived from the islands of Sainte-Marguerite, bringing with
him in a litter a prisoner whose name is a secret, and whom he had had
under his charge there, and at Pignerol. This prisoner, who was always
masked, was at first placed in the Bassiniere tower, where he remained
until the evening. At nine o'clock p.m. I took him to the third room of
the Bertaudiere tower, which I had had already furnished before his
arrival with all needful articles, having received orders to do so from
M. de Saint-Mars. While I was showing him the way to his room, I was
accompanied by M. Rosarges, who had also arrived along with M. de
Saint-Mars, and whose office it was to wait on the said prisoner, whose
table is to be supplied by the governor."

Du Jonca's diary records the death of the prisoner in the following
terms:--

"Monday, 19th November 1703. The unknown prisoner, who always wore a
black velvet mask, and whom M. de Saint-Mars brought with him from the
Iles Sainte-Marguerite, and whom he had so long in charge, felt slightly
unwell yesterday on coming back from mass. He died to-day at 10 p.m.
without having a serious illness, indeed it could not have been slighter.
M. Guiraut, our chaplain, confessed him yesterday, but as his death was
quite unexpected he did not receive the last sacraments, although the
chaplain was able to exhort him up to the moment of his death. He was
buried on Tuesday the 20th November at 4 P.M. in the burial-ground of St.
Paul's, our parish church. The funeral expenses amounted to 40 livres."

His name and age were withheld from the priests of the parish. The entry