Note 30 — Chapter XXVI
Reading edition
Anxiety, age, and a climate too severe for his constitution, soon put an end to his days. He died on April 27, 1803, after a captivity of ten months. His mysterious fate excited great interest—witness the noble sonnet of Wordsworth:—
"Toussaint! the most unhappy man of men! Whether the all-cheering sun be free to shed His beams around thee, or thou rest thy head Pillow'd in some dark dungeon's noisome 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."