_Cape Francois._
We arrived safely here, my dear friend, after a passage of forty
days, during which I suffered horribly from sea-sickness, heat and
confinement; but the society of my fellow-passengers was so agreeable
that I often forgot the inconvenience to which I was exposed. It
consisted of five or six French families who, having left St. Domingo
at the beginning of the revolution, were now returning full of joy
at the idea of again possessing the estates from which they had been
driven by their revolted slaves. Buoyed by their newly awakened hopes
they were all delightful anticipation. There is an elasticity in the
French character which repels misfortune. They have an inexhaustible
flow of spirits that bears them lightly through the ills of life.
Towards the end of the voyage, when I was well enough to go on deck,
I was delighted with the profound tranquillity of the ocean, the
uninterrupted view, the beautiful horizon, and wished, since fate has
separated me from those I love, that I could build a dwelling on the
bosom of the waters, where, sheltered from the storms that agitate
mankind, I should be exposed to those of heaven only. But a truce to
melancholy reflections, for here I am in St. Domingo, with a new world
opening to my view.
My sister, whose fortunes, you know, I was obliged to follow, repents
every day having so precipitately chosen a husband: it is impossible
for two creatures to be more different, and I foresee that she will be
wretched.
On landing, we found the town a heap of ruins. A more terrible picture
of desolation cannot be imagined. Passing through streets choaked with
rubbish, we reached with difficulty a house which had escaped the
general fate. The people live in tents, or make a kind of shelter, by
laying a few boards across the half-consumed beams; for the buildings
being here of hewn stone, with walls three feet thick, only the roofs
and floors have been destroyed. But to hear of the distress which these
unfortunate people have suffered, would fill with horror the stoutest
heart, and make the most obdurate melt with pity.
When the French fleet appeared before the mouth of the harbour,
Christophe, the Black general, who commanded at the Cape, rode through
the town, ordering all the women to leave their houses--the men had
been taken to the plain the day before, for he was going to set fire to
the place, which he did with his own hand.
The ladies, bearing their children in their arms, or supporting the
trembling steps of their aged mothers, ascended in crowds the mountain
which rises behind the town. Climbing over rocks covered with brambles,
where no path had been ever beat, their feet were torn to pieces and
their steps marked with blood. Here they suffered all the pains of
hunger and thirst; the most terrible apprehensions for their fathers,
husbands, brothers and sons; to which was added the sight of the town
in flames: and even these horrors were increased by the explosion of
the powder magazine. Large masses of rock were detached by the shock,
which, rolling down the sides of the mountain, many of these hapless
fugitives were killed. Others still more unfortunate, had their limbs
broken or sadly bruised, whilst their wretched companions could offer
them nothing but unavailing sympathy and impotent regret.
On the third day the negroes evacuated the place, and the fleet entered
the harbour. Two gentlemen, who had been concealed by a faithful slave,
went in a canoe to meet the admiral's vessel, and arrived in time to
prevent a dreadful catastrophe. The general, seeing numbers of people
descending the mountain, thought they were the negroes coming to oppose
his landing and was preparing to fire on them, when these gentlemen
informed him that they were the white inhabitants, and thus prevented a
mistake too shocking to be thought of.
The men now entered from the plain and sought among the smoaking
ruins the objects of their affectionate solicitude. To paint these
heart-rending scenes of tenderness and woe, description has no powers.
The imagination itself shrinks from the task.
Three months after this period we arrived and have now been a month
here, the town is rapidly rebuilding, but it is extremely difficult to
find a lodging. The heat is intolerable and the season so unhealthy
that the people die in incredible numbers. On the night of our arrival,
Toussaint the general in chief of the negroes, was seized at the
Gonaives and embarked for France. This event caused great rejoicing.
A short time before he was taken, he had his treasure buried in the
woods, and at the return of the negroes he employed on this expedition,
they were shot without being suffered to utter a word.
Clara has had the yellow fever. Her husband, who certainly loves her
very much, watched her with unceasing care, and I believe, preserved
her life, to which however she attaches no value since it must be
passed with him.
Nothing amuses her. She sighs continually for the friend of her youth
and seems to exist only in the recollection of past happiness. Her
aversion to her husband is unqualified and unconquerable. He is
vain, illiterate, talkative. A silent fool may be borne, but from a
loquacious one there is no relief. How painful must her intercourse
with him be; and how infinitely must that pain be augmented by the
idea of being his forever? Her elegant mind, stored with literary
acquirements, is lost to him. Her proud soul is afflicted at depending
on one she abhors, and at beholding her form, and you know that form
so vilely bartered. Whilst on the continent she was less sensible of
the horrors of her fate. The society of her friend gave a charm to her
life, and having married in compliance with his advice, she thought
that she would eventually be happy. But their separation has rent the
veil which concealed her heart; she finds no sympathy in the bosom of
her husband. She is alone and she is wretched.
General Le Clerc is small, his face is interesting, but he has an
appearance of ill health. His wife, the sister of Buonaparte, lives in
a house on the mountain till there can be one in town prepared for her
reception. She is offended, and I think justly, with the ladies of the
Cape, who, from a mistaken pride, did not wait on her when she arrived,
because having lost their cloaths they could not dazzle her with their
finery.
Having heard that there were some American ladies here she expressed a
desire to see them; Mr. V---- proposed to present us; Clara, who would
not walk a mile to see a queen, declined. But I, who walk at all times,
merely for the pleasure it affords me, went; and, considering the
labour it costs to ascend the mountain, I have a claim on the gratitude
of Madame for having undertaken it to shew her an object which she
probably expected to find in a savage state.
She was in a room darkened by Venetian blinds, lying on her sofa, from
which she half rose to receive me. When I was seated she reclined again
on the sofa and amused general Boyer, who sat at her feet, by letting
her slipper fall continually, which he respectfully put on as often as
it fell. She is small, fair, with blue eyes and flaxen hair. Her face
is expressive of sweetness but without spirit. She has a voluptuous
mouth, and is rendered interesting by an air of languor which spreads
itself over her whole frame. She was dressed in a muslin morning gown,
with a Madras handkerchief on her head. I gave her one of the beautiful
silver medals of Washington, engraved by Reich, with which she seemed
much pleased. The conversation languished, and I soon withdrew.
General Le Clerc had gone in the morning to fort Dauphin.
I am always in good spirits, for every thing here charms me by its
novelty. There are a thousand pretty things to be had, new fashions and
elegant trinkets from Paris; but we have no balls, no plays, and of
what use is finery if it cannot be shewn?
The natives of this country murmur already against the general in
chief; they say he places too much confidence in the negroes. When
Toussaint was seized he had all the black chiefs in his power, and,
by embarking them for France, he would have spread terror throughout
the Island, and the negroes would have been easily reduced, instead
of which he relies on their good faith, has them continually in his
house, at his table, and wastes the time in conference which should
be differently employed. The Creoles shake their heads and predict
much ill. Accustomed to the climate, and acquainted with the manner of
fighting the Negroes, they offer advice, which is not listened to; nor
are any of them employed, but all places of honour or emolument are
held by Europeans, who appear to regard the Island as a place to be
conquered and divided among the victors, and are consequently viewed by
the natives with a jealous eye. Indeed the professed intention of those
who have come with the army, is to make a fortune, and return to France
with all possible speed, to enjoy it. It cannot be imagined that they
will be very delicate about the means of accomplishing their purpose.
The Cape is surrounded; at least the plain is held by the Negroes; but
the town is tranquil, and Dessalines and the other black chiefs are on
the best terms with general Le Clerc.
We are to have a grand review next week. The militia is to be
organized, and the general is to address the troops on the field. He
has the reputation of being very eloquent, but he has shocked every
body by having ordered a superb service of plate, made of the money
intended to pay the army, while the poor soldiers, badly cloathed, and
still more badly fed, are asking alms in the street, and absolutely
dying of want.
A beggar had never been known in this country, and to see them in
such numbers, fills the inhabitants with horror; but why should such
trifling considerations as the preservation of soldiers, prevent a
general in chief from eating out of silver dishes?
We have neither public nor private balls, nor any amusement except now
and then a little scandal. The most current at this moment is, that
Madame Le Clerc is very kind to general Boyer, and that her husband
is not content, which in a French husband is a little extraordinary.
Perhaps the last part of the anecdote is calumny.
Madame Le Clerc, as I learned from a gentleman who has long known her,
betrayed from her earliest youth a disposition to gallantry, and had,
when very young, some adventures of eclat in Marseilles. Her brother,
whose favourite she is, married her to general Le Clerc, to whom he
gave the command of the army intended to sail for St. Domingo, after
having given that island, as a marriage portion, to his sister. But her
reluctance to come to this country was so great, that it was almost
necessary to use force to oblige her to embark.
She has one child, a lovely boy, three years old, of which she
appears very fond. But for a young and beautiful woman, accustomed
to the sweets of adulation, and the intoxicating delights of Paris,
certainly the transition to this country, in its present state, has
been too violent. She has no society, no amusement, and never having
imagined that she would be forced to seek an equivalent for either in
the resources of her own mind, she has made no provision for such an
unforeseen emergency.
She hates reading, and though passionately fond of music plays on no
instrument; never having stolen time from her pleasurable pursuits to
devote to the acquisition of that divine art. She can do nothing but
dance, and to dance alone is a triste resource; therefore it cannot
be surprising if her early propensities predominate, and she listens
to the tale of love breathed by General Boyer, for never did a more
fascinating votary offer his vows at the Idalian shrine. His form
and face are models of masculine perfection; his eyes sparkle with
enthusiasm, and his voice is modulated by a sweetness of expression
which cannot be heard without emotion. Thus situated, and thus
surrounded, her youth and beauty plead for her, and those most disposed
to condemn would exclaim on beholding her:
"If to her share some female errors fall,
Look in her face, and you'll forget them all."
I suppose you'll laugh at this gossip, but 'tis the news of the day,
nothing is talked of but Madame Le Clerc, and envy and ill-nature
pursue her because she is charming and surrounded by splendor.
I have just now been reading Madame De Stael on the passions, which she
describes very well, but I believe not precisely as she felt their
influence. I have heard an anecdote of her which I admire; a friend,
to whom she had communicated her intention of publishing her memoirs,
asked what she intended doing with the gallant part,--Oh, she replied,
je ne me peindrai qu'en buste.