Every reader at all conversant with the history of the present century,
or the past year, will appreciate our choice of the above Engraving. Its
pictorial and historical interest will not bear comparison; unless it be
in the strong contrast which the gloomy, wretched-looking building
affords with the beautiful _paysage_ of the scene. The spectator
may perhaps reflect on the damning deeds which the cruelty and ambition
of man have perpetrated in the Castle, then turn for relief to the
gaiety--nay, the dancing life and bustle of other portions of the
picture--and lastly confess that the composition, slight as it is,
abounds with lights and shadows that strike forcibly on every beholder.
To be more explicit--the Castle of Vincennes was formerly a royal palace
of the French court: it then dwindled to a state-prison; in its fosse,
March 21, 1804, the Duke d'Enghien was murdered, the grave in the ditch
on the left being where the body of the ill-starred victim was thrown
immediately after being shot. The reader knows this act as one of the
bloody deeds--the damned spots--of Bonaparte's career; that,
subsequently, by order of the Bourbons, the remains of the duke were
disinterred, and removed to the chapel of the Castle; and that the place
has since become interesting as the prison of Prince Polignac and the
Ex-ministers of Charles X. previous to their trial after the revolution
in Paris, July, 1830.
Before proceeding further, we ought to acknowledge the original of the
above print. In 1816, a few days after the removal of the bones of the
Duke d'Enghien, an ingenious gentleman, Mr. G. Shepheard, was on the
spot, and made a drawing for his portfolio. He was interrupted in his
task by the guard, and notwithstanding the explanation of his harmless
motive, was removed within the Castle: for those were days of political
jealousy and suspicion. The Governor of the prison chanced to be
acquainted with a friend who accompanied the artist; an explanation
was given, and instead of a dreary lodging in one of the cells of the
Castle, the "arrested" partook of a substantial _dejeuné_ in one of
its best apartments. Mr. Shepheard brought the sketch with him to
England, and, upon the frequent mention of the Castle of Vincennes
during the recent affair of the French ministry, he caused the drawing
to be lithographed by Mr. W. Day. As this has not been done with a
view to profit, we may mention that the drawing is to be purchased at
a cheap rate, of the printsellers. Our copy has been made by permission
of the artist, and we take this method of thanking him, as well as
distinguishing his praiseworthy enthusiasm. By the way, there is a print
of the Castle of Vincennes and the Execution of the Duke d'Enghien, in
the _Life of Napoleon_, in the _Family Library_. The Castle,
as there represented, is about as like that of Mr. Shepheard's drawing
as the publisher's house in Albemarle-street. This hint may probably not
be lost upon the editor of the "Family" Life in his next edition.
The History of the Castle deserves detail; and we copy it from the last
edition of our friend Galignani's _Picture of Paris_:--
Vincennes is a large village about four miles east of Paris, famous for
its forest, called the _Bois de Vincennes_, and its ancient royal
chateau. The forest appears to have existed long before the chateau,
and to have been much more extensive than at present. Philip Augustus
surrounded it with strong and thick walls in 1283, when Henry III. of
England, presented to him a great number of stags, deer, wild boars, and
other animals for the sports of the chase. That monarch, taking pleasure
in sporting, built a country seat at Vincennes, which was known by the
name of _Regale manerium_, or the royal manor. Louis IX. often
visited Vincennes, and used to sit under an oak in the forest to
administer justice. In 1337, Philippe de Valois demolished the ancient
building, and laid the foundations of that which still exists, and which
was completed by his royal successors. The chateau forms a parallelogram
of large dimensions; round it were formerly nine towers, of which eight
were demolished to the level of the wall in 1814. That which remains,
called the _tour de l'Horloge_, is a lofty square tower which forms
the entrance. The Donjon is a detached building on the side towards
Paris, and has a parapet for its defence. Deep ditches lined with stone
surround the chateau. The chapel called _la Sainte Chapelle_, built
by Charles V. stands in the second court to the right. It is a beautiful
specimen of Gothic architecture. The interior is remarkable for its
windows of coloured glass, by Cousin, after the designs of Raphael.
They formerly were numerous, but only seven now remain. The high altar
is entirely detached and consists of four Gothic columns of white
marble; its front is ornamented with small figures. The balustrade which
separates the choir is also Gothic, and of white marble. To the left of
the altar is a monument, after the designs of Deseine, to the memory of
the unfortunate Duke d'Enghien. It consists of four erect full length
statues in beautiful white marble. The prince appears supported by
religion. The other figures represent, the one, France in tears, having
at her feet a globe enriched with _fleurs de lis_, and holding in
her hand a broken sceptre; and the other fanaticism armed with a dagger,
and in the attitude of striking her victim. The statue of the prince is
replete with dignity and expression; that of religion is remarkably
fine; near her is a gilt cross, and upon her head is a golden crown. A
trophy, in bronze, formed of the arms of the prince and the _ecu_
of the house of Condé fills up the interval between the figures of the
foreground.
Henry V. King of England, the hero of Agincourt, died at Vincennes, in
1422.
Louis XI. enlarged and embellished the chateau, which he made his
favourite residence. It was in the reign of that cruel and superstitious
prince, about the year 1472, that the Donjon of Vincennes became a state
prison.
Charles IX. died at this chateau in 1574.
In the reign of Louis XIII. Mary de Medicis, his mother, built the
magnificent gallery still in existence; and Louis XIII. commenced the
two large buildings to the south, which were finished by Louis XIV.
In 1661, Cardinal Mazarin died at Vincennes. The Duke of Orleans,
when regent of the kingdom, continued to live in the Palais Royal;
and therefore, in order to have the young king, Louis XV. near him, he
fixed his majesty's residence, in the first year of his reign (1715) at
Vincennes, till the palace of the Tuileries could be prepared for him.
In 1731, the trees in the forest of Vincennes being decayed with age,
were felled, and acorns were sown in a regular manner through the park,
from which have sprung the oaks which now form one of the most shady and
agreeable woods in the neighbourhood of Paris.
Vincennes, though no longer a royal residence, continued to be a
state-prison. Here the celebrated Mirabeau was confined from 1777
to 1780; and wrote, during that time, besides other works, his _Lettres
à Sophie_. This prison having become nearly useless, during the reign
of the unfortunate Louis XVI., it was thrown open to the public in 1784.
During the early stages of the revolution, Vincennes was used as a place
of confinement for disorderly women.
Under Bonaparte, it again became a state prison; and a more horrible
despotism appears to have been exercised within its walls than at any
former period. The unfortunate Duke d'Enghien, who was arrested in
Germany on the 15th of March, 1804, having been conducted to Vincennes
on the 20th, at five in the evening, was condemned to death the same
night by a military commission, and shot at half-past four on the
following morning, in one of the ditches of the castle. His body was
interred on the spot where he fell. On the 20th of March, 1816, the
eve of the anniversary of his death, a search having been made for his
remains, by order of Louis XVIII., they were discovered, and placed with
religious care in a coffin, which was transported into the same room of
the chateau in which the council of war condemned him to death, where it
remained till the Gothic chapel was repaired and a monument erected to
receive it. On the coffin is this inscription.--_Ici est le corps du
très-haut, très-puissant prince, Louis Antoine Henri de Bourbon, Duc
d'Enghien, Prince du Sang, Pair de France. Mort à Vincennes, le 21 Mars,
1804, à l'âge de 31 ans, 7 mois, 18 jours_.
Beyond this descriptive notice of the last-mentioned event, little
need be said. The reader who wishes to pursue the subject further may
with advantage consult Sir Walter Scott's _Life of Napoleon_, vol. v.,
and No. 5 of the Appendix to that work. The political worshippers of
Napoleon have set up, or rather attempted, many points of defence.
That the Duke's grave was dug before the judgment was pronounced, has
been denied by Savary. Sir Walter Scott in a note says, "This is not
of much consequence. The illegal arrest--the precipitation of the
mock-trial--the disconformity of the sentence from the proof--the hurry
of the execution--all prove the unfortunate prince was doomed to die
long before he was brought before the military commission." The affair
is similarly regarded in the Life of Napoleon in the _Family
Library_, where the writer emphatically says, "If ever man was
murdered, it was the Duke d'Enghien." Fouché's remark on this act has
even passed into a proverb: "It was worse than a crime--it was a
blunder." Lastly, although many pages have been written on Napoleon's
conduct, his anxiety to justify or clear up his conduct on this occasion
is not less worthy of attention.
We pass from this atrocious incident in the history of the prison-house
to its last eventful scene, which is closely associated with the
political mischief of the past year in France--the imprisonment of the
ministers of Charles X. which has been too recently described in the
journals of the day to render necessary its repetition.
* * * * *