The continental journals announced that, on the 10th of August 1845,
there died at Delft, in Holland, Charles-Louis, known as the 'Duke of
Normandy.' This individual presented one of those extraordinary
instances of doubtful identity which we find scattered over ancient
and modern biography. The mystery of his birth has not been cleared
up by his death, and continues as impenetrable as that of the
celebrated Man with the Iron Mask.
It is well known that, in 1791, Louis XVI. of France was overtaken
during his attempted flight from France at Varennes, and afterwards
dragged to the prison of the Temple. He was accompanied by his
family, which consisted of his wife, Marie Antoinette, his sister,
daughter, and his only son, the dauphin of France. On the 21st
January 1793, the unfortunate monarch was beheaded; and his son,
still a prisoner, was partially acknowledged as Louis XVII., though
only in the ninth year of his age. This was but a mockery, for his
captivity only became the more close and cruel.
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