Awhile successful in his career;
At length assailed by adverse winds, and on an hostile shore,
He was captured;
And being soon after brought to Paris,
Was confined in the prison called the Temple,
_Infamous for midnight murders_,
And placed in the most rigid custody:
But in bonds,
And suffering severities still more oppressive,
His fortitude of mind and fidelity to his country
Remained unshaken.
A short time after,
He was found in the morning with his throat cut.
And dead in his bed:
He died the 28th October, 1805, aged 36.
To be lamented by his Country,
Avenged by his God!
THE DONJON, OR CASTLE OF VINCENNES.
This ancient fortress is situate at the entrance of the forest of
Vincennes, (now reduced to a wood of small trees, the large timber
having been cut down during the revolution) and surrounded by a deep
ditch of great width, about two miles from the Barriere du Trone.
During many ages, it had been the casual residence of the sovereigns
of France. Philip de Valois added considerably to its dimensions in
1337. John continued the works, and during his captivity in England,
Charles his son, then regent of the kingdom, finished it.
During the reign of Charles VII. in 1422, Henry VI. of England died in
this castle. From this time Vincennes became a royal residence, until
the reign of Louis XIV. when that monarch fixed himself at Versailles,
from which period it has never been used but as a prison[13].
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