He was separated from
his mother, and handed over to the custody of one Simon, a ferocious
cobbler, and his wife, who, besides practising all sorts of external
cruelties on him, tried every means to demoralise his mind. When this
ruffian was promoted to a seat in the 'Commune' (a kind of common
council), the royal prisoner's hardships increased. He was shut up in
a room, rendered totally dark both night and day. In this he was kept
for a whole year, without once being allowed to leave it; neither was
his body or bed linen changed during that time. The filth, stench,
and vermin amidst which the child dragged on his existence, at
length, it is said, terminated it. On the eve of death, his
persecutors sent the physician Dessault to see if his life could be
prolonged by better treatment; but the doctor's reply was that it was
too late: nothing could save him; and his demise was announced to
have taken place on the 8th of June 1795, at the age of ten years and
two months. The National Convention, which then managed the public
affairs, appointed a commission to verify the event, and the body was
opened by two surgeons, named Pelletan and Dumangin.
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