Nothing could exceed the astonishment of the Commissary on seeing
Toussaint this morning. Hedouville was amusing himself, before the sun
was high, alternately with three or four of his officers, in duetting
with a parrot, which had shown its gaudy plumage among the dark foliage
of a tamarind-tree in the garden. At every pause in the bird's chatter,
one of the gentlemen chattered in reply; and thus kept up the discord,
to the great amusement of the party. Hedouville was just declaring that
he had obtained the best answer--the loudest and most hideous--when he
heard the swing of a gate, and, turning round, saw Toussaint entering
from the barrack-yard.
"The ape!" exclaimed one of the officers, in a whisper.
"Who--who is it?" eagerly asked a naval captain, lately arrived.
"Who should it be but the black chief? No other of his race is fond
enough of us to be for ever thrusting himself upon us. He is
confoundedly fond of the whites."
"We only ask him," said Delon, another officer, "to like us no better
than we like him, and leave us to manage our business our own way."
"Say the word, Commissary," whispered the first, "and he shall not go
hence so easily as he came."
"I should beg pardon, Commissary," said Toussaint, as he approached,
"for presenting myself thus--for entering by a back-way--if it were not
necessary. The crisis requires that we should agree upon our plan of
operations, before we are seen in the streets. It is most important
that we should appear to act in concert. It is the last chance for the
public safety."
"Crisis!--public safety!--seen in the streets!" exclaimed Hedouville.
"I assure you, General, I have no thoughts of going abroad till evening.
It will be a scorching day. Is the crisis you speak of that of the
heats?"
"No trifling, Commissary! Gentlemen," said he, turning to the officers,
who happened to be laughing, "no levity! The occasion is too serious
for mirth or for loss of time. Shall we speak alone, Commissary?"
"By no means," said Hedouville. "These gentlemen would not for the
world miss hearing your news. Has a fresh insurrection been contrived
already? or has any Frenchman forgotten himself, and kissed Psyche, or
cuffed Agamemnon?"
"A new insurrection has been contrived; and by you. The cultivators are
marching over the plain; and in four hours the town will be sacked, if
you, Monsieur Hedouville, who have given the provocation, do not
withdraw it. You must sign this proclamation. It is the opposite of
your own now waiting for jubilation. But you must sign and issue it--
and that within this hour. I hear what you say, gentlemen. You say
that I have raised the cultivators. I have not. There is not a negro
in the plain who does not at this moment believe that I am in the south.
I come to put them down; but I will not go out with the sword in one
hand, if I do not carry justice in the other."
"What do you mean about justice, General? What injustice has been
done?"
"Here is the draft of your proclamation--"
"How came you by that paper--by the particulars of my intention?" asked
Hedouville. "My proclamation is yet locked up in my own desk."
"Its contents are nevertheless known throughout the colony. When a
Commissary, lightly and incidentally (and therefore the more
offensively) settles, without understanding them, the most important
points of difference between two unreconciled races, the very winds
stoop in their flight, to snatch up the tidings, and drop them as they
fly. See here! See how you pronounce on the terms of field-service--
and here, on the partition of unclaimed estates--and here, on the claims
of the emigrants! The blacks must be indeed as stupid as you hold them
to be, if they did not spread the alarm that you are about to enslave
them again."
"I protest I never dreamed of such a thing."
"I believe you. And that you did not so dream, shows that you are blind
to the effects of your own measures--that the cultivators of the plain
understand your proceedings better than you do yourself. Here is the
proclamation which must be issued."
And he offered a paper, which Hedouville took, but tore in pieces,
trampling them under foot, and saying, that he had never before been so
insulted in his function.
"That is a childish act," observed Toussaint, as he looked down upon the
fragments of the document. "And a useless one," he continued; "for my
secretary is getting it printed off by this time."
"Are you going to dare to put my name to a proclamation I have not
seen?"
"Certainly not. My name will suffice, if you compel me to dispense with
yours. This proclamation grants--"
Hedouville here gave whispered directions to Delon, who hastened towards
the house; and to another, who made for the barrack-yard.
"From every quarter," said Toussaint, "you will have confirmation of the
news I brought. I will speak presently of what must be done. This
proclamation," pointing to the torn paper, "grants an amnesty to all
engaged in former conflicts of race, and declares that there are no
`returned emigrants' in the island--that they are all considered native
proprietors--that all now absent shall be welcome again, and shall be
protected--that the blacks are free citizens, and will so remain; but
that they shall continue for five years to till the estates on which
they live, for one-fourth of the produce."
"I do not see the grounds of your disgust with my proclamation," said
Hedouville. "I think your anger absurd."
"I have no doubt you do. This proves, with a multitude of other
circumstances, that you must go."
"Admirable! And leave the colony to your government!"
"Just so. If you ask the whites of the island, they will tell you,
almost to a man, that I can govern the whites; while events daily show
that you cannot rule the blacks. While you have held the title of
Commissary, you know that you have ruled only by my permission--
sometimes strengthened by my approbation--oftener spared by my
forbearance. I am aware that these gentlemen are not of that opinion,"
he continued, his voice assuming the mildness which always distinguished
it when he spoke of his personal injuries. "They believe that if two or
three brigands could be got to seize in his camp the ape with the Madras
on his head, all would be well. But they are mistaken. They may play
the brigand, and seize me now; but then the town will be burning before
night."
"You should not believe all the saucy things that are told you--you
should not care for the impertinence of young soldiers," said
Hedouville, who suspected that his affairs were reality in a critical
state, and had now resumed his usual smoothness of manner. He led the
way up the alley between the rose-trees, that the torn proclamation
might be no longer in sight.
"No doubt," observed an officer, gravely, "the Commissary will report to
the First Consul (if you really persist in sending the Commissary
away)--he will doubtless report to the First Consul the prodigious power
you hold here, and how great a rival Bonaparte has on this side the
water."
"And how willing a servant," added Toussaint--"how willing to bear the
burden of government for the good of France."
"Burden!" exclaimed all.
"Yes," replied Toussaint: "where is there a heavier burden? Do you
suppose that men choose their own office in life? If so, should I have
chosen such a one as mine? Was the pleasure of Heaven ever more clearly
revealed than in my case? Ask the First Consul whether it was possible
for me to be other than I am. The revolution of Saint Domingo proceeded
without any interference from me--a negro slave. I saw that the
dominion of the whites could not last, divided as they were among
themselves, and lost in the numbers of their foes. I was glad that I
was a black. The time came when I was compelled to act. I associated
myself with the Spaniards, who were the allies of my king, and who had
extended protection to the loyal troops of my colour. But this
protection served no end. The republic proclaimed the general liberty
of the blacks. An unerring voice told me that my allegiance was
thenceforward due to the republic. The blacks in their new condition
wanted a leader. They chose me to lead them--to be the chief predicted
by Raynal, as General Laveaux declared. Inspired by this call, I
entered into the service of France. The services that I have rendered
prove that it was indeed the voice of God that called me. Why do I tell
you this?--Because I owe an account of my life to you? No, indeed!--I
tell you all this that you may render my account to the First Consul,
whom, it appears, I cannot reach by letter. I charge you, by your
fidelity to the mother-country, to repeat to Bonaparte what I have
said."
"You could do it more accurately and forcibly yourself," observed
Hedouville. "Let me advise that you go instead of me."
"You know," replied Toussaint, "who it was that said that I am the
Bonaparte of Saint Domingo, and that the colony could not exist without
me. It was your brother functionaries who said it; and never did they
say anything more true."
The naval captain, Meronet, observed that his ship, now in the roads,
happened to be that which had conveyed the Commissary; and that it would
greatly flatter him, after having brought out Commissary Hedouville, to
carry back General Toussaint L'Ouverture.
"Your ship, sir," replied Toussaint, "will not contain a man like me--a
man laden with the destinies of a race."
"But you speak of the burden of your office," observed one of the aides.
"It must be great; and all men need occasional repose. Suppose you
retire to France for an interval of repose?"
"Perhaps I may," replied Toussaint, "when this shrub," pointing to the
sucker of a logwood tree, "shall be large enough to make a ship to take
me there."
"You could devolve your cares upon your friend Raymond, General, if you
do not wish fully to trust the whites. Be persuaded to visit your
brother in destiny and glory, as you call Bonaparte."
"Raymond is my friend, as you say, and a good man; but he is not called
to be arbiter of the fate of the colony. See! Here are your
messengers, Commissary."
The officers entered from the barracks, with news that the plain was
really in a state of commotion, and that no adequate defences appeared
to be provided by the authorities of the town.
"I charge myself with the defence of the town," said Toussaint. "Your
part, Commissary, is to sign the new proclamation instantly; and to
prepare to sail for France, with as many persons as desire to accompany
you. On your promise to do this, I will guarantee the public peace. In
this case, you incur no further dishonour than that of not understanding
the temper and the affairs of the blacks. If you refuse to go, I shall
arrest you here, and denounce you to the government of France, as the
cause of the insurrection which will undoubtedly ensue. You will not
choose to incur this infamy. Therefore," he continued, turning to
Captain Meronet, "you will have the goodness to return to your ship, and
prepare it for the reception of the Commissary. He will probably join
you in the course of this day."
Again addressing the astonished functionary, he continued, "You shall be
protected to the latest possible moment, for the convenience of making
your arrangements. When I can protect you no longer, I will cause the
alarm gun on the height behind the barracks to be fired. At that
signal, you will hasten to the boats, and be gone. Assure yourself of
my justice, and render me an equal measure at the court of France.
Farewell!"
As he entered Government-house, the officers looked at each other in
consternation.
"What is to be done?" asked more than one.
"It is true enough," said Hedouville, "that neither I nor any one else
understand these people. The danger is really pressing Delon."
"Most pressing, there is no doubt."
"Then I have done with this mongrel colony; and I am not sorry. At home
I shall find means to vindicate my honour."
"You mean to depart, then, Commissary?"
"When we hear the alarm gun. Not sooner. It is possible that it may be
a mere threat."
"If so, it will be the first mere threat in which this black has been
detected."
"That is true. He usually acts first, and speaks afterwards.
Gentlemen, we shall have to go. I must first see about this
proclamation, and discover whether anything else can be done. If not,
Captain, au revoir!"