Editing Louis XVII (section)

====1794: Illness====
On 19 January 1794, the Simons left the [[Temple, Paris|Temple]], after securing a receipt for the safe transfer of their ward, who was declared to be in good health. A large part of the Temple records from that time onward disappeared under the [[Bourbon Restoration in France|Bourbon Restoration]], making ascertaining of the facts impossible. Two days after the departure of the Simons, Louis-Charles is said by the Restoration historians to have been put in a dark room that was barricaded like the cage of a wild animal. The story recounts that food was passed through the bars to the boy, who survived despite the accumulated filth of his surroundings.

[[Maximilien Robespierre]] visited Marie-Thérèse on 11 May, but no one, according to the legend, entered the boy's room for six months until [[Paul Barras]] visited the prison after the [[Thermidorean Reaction|9th Thermidor]] (27 July 1794). Barras's account of the visit describes the child as suffering from extreme neglect, but conveys no idea of the alleged walling-in. The boy made no complaint to Barras of any ill treatment. He was then cleaned and re-clothed. His room was cleaned, and during the day he was visited by his new attendant, {{ill|Jean Jacques Christophe Laurent|fr}} (1770–1807), a creole from [[Martinique]]. From 8 November onward, Laurent had assistance from a man named Gomin.

[[File:Louis Charles of France2.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Louis Charles by [[Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun|Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun]]]]
Louis-Charles was then taken out for fresh air and walks on the roof of the Tower. From about the time of Gomin's arrival, he was inspected, not by delegates of the Commune, but by representatives of the civil committee of the 48 sections of Paris. From the end of October onward, the child maintained silence, explained by Laurent as a determination taken on the day he made his deposition against his mother. On 19 December 1794, he was visited by three commissioners from the Committee of Public Safety&nbsp;— {{ill|Jean-Baptiste Harmand|fr}}, [[Jean-Baptiste Charles Matthieu]] and {{ill|Jacques Reverchon|fr}}&nbsp;— but they failed to get the boy to say anything at all.