Toussaint Louverture himself, he died in that prison in the Jura, he died on the 14th April 1803
And he died alone, and old - and nobody knows where he is buried.
As far as I know, there’s no plaque, there’s no burial ground, there’s no tomb, there’s no mausoleum, no mummification —
Someone came to the Young William Wordsworth and said
“Toussaint Louverture is Dead somewhere in Switzerland, We-Know-Not-Where, he’s died,
and he’s not even buried somewhere —
TOUSSAINT, the most unhappy man of men!
Whether the whistling Rustic tend his plough
Within thy hearing, or thy head be now
Pillowed in some deep dungeon’s earless den;—
O miserable Chieftain! where and when
Wilt thou find patience? Yet die not; do thou
Wear rather in thy bonds a cheerful brow:
Though fallen thyself, never to rise again,
Live, and take comfort. Thou hast left behind
Powers that will work for thee; air, earth, and skies;
There’s not a breathing of the common wind
That will forget thee; thou hast great allies;
Thy friends are exultations, agonies,
And love, and man’s unconquerable mind.
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