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��Historic Problems.
��though details of her execution and last moments crowd the civic records of Rouen. Several books have been pub- lished discussing the question. A Bel- gium lawyer is the author of one of these. He contends that the his- torians — who have done nothing but copy each other in the narratives of her death — err exceedingly in saying that it took place on the last day of May, 1429, the fact being that she was alive.
There are good grounds, it is also asserted, for believing that the pretty tale of Abelard and Heloise is a pure fiction.
Nobody has yet unriddled the mys- tery of the man in the iron mask, and nobody seems likely to do so. Of the various theories advanced by different writers, some are more probable than others. It is not likely that he was the Duke of Monmouth, or a bastard son of Anne of Austria, or a twin brother of Louis XIV. He was probably a political offender, or else a rival of the king in one of his numerous amours. Still, his identity remains unsettled, a problem as uncertain as that regarding the identity of the writer of the famous " Junius " letters. These are two in- soluble enigmas, impenetrable mysteries, that baffle solutions, and about which perhaps the public has become tired of surmises.
An extremely witty and characteristic anecdote of the late Lord Beaconsfield
��will bear repetition in this connection. An adherent from a distant county brought his two sons to the then Mr. Disraeli, and asked him to give them a word of advice on their introduction into hfe. " Never try to ascertain," said the illustrious statesman to the eldest boy, " who was the man who wore the iron mask, or you will be thought a terrible bore. — Nor do you," turning to the second, " ask who was the author of 'Junius,' or you will be thought a bigger bore than your brother."
VValpole wrote an ingenious work to show — taking for his base the con- flicting statements in history and biog- raphy — that no such person as Richard the Third of England ever existed, or that, if he did, he could not have been a tyrant or a hunchback. " Historic Doubts Relative to Napoleon Bonaparte " was published in London in 1820, and created widespread amuse- ment because of its many clear strokes of humor and satirical pungency. Na- poleon, who was at the time a captive at St. Helena, admired the composition greatly. Archbishop Whately and Syd- ney were each reported to be the authors. Since the publication of that sketch, numerous imitations have been issued ; but none have shown much originality or literary skill, and have therefore vanished into the darkness of merited oblivion.
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