The Hour and the Man, An Historical Romance

  CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN.

  JUNE.

  Of the letters written by Toussaint and Pascal on the evening when newsarrived of the imposition of compulsory labour on the negroes, somereached their destination; but one did not. That one was toL'Ouverture's aide, Fontaine, at Cap Francais. It contained thefollowing:--

  "It is said that General Leclerc is in a bad state of health at Tortuga. Of this you will inform me. If you see the Captain-General, be sure to tell him that the cultivators are no longer disposed to obey me, for the planters wish to set them to work at Hericourt; which they certainly ought not to do.

  "I have to ask you whether any one near the person of the Captain-General can be gained to procure the release of D--, who would be very useful to me from his influence at La Nouvelle, and elsewhere.

  "Acquaint Gingembre that he is not to quit the Borgne, where the cultivators must not be set to work."

  This letter never reached Fontaine, but was, instead, made the subjectof a consultation in the Captain-General's quarters. Amidst theboastings which he sent home, and by which France was amused, Leclercfelt that his thirty-five thousand soldiers had made no progresswhatever in the real conquest of Saint Domingo. He was aware thatFrance had less power there than before she had alienated L'Ouverture.He felt that Toussaint was still the sovereign that he had been for tenyears past. He knew that a glance of the eye, a lifting of the hand,from Toussaint, wrought more than sheaves of ordinances from himself,and all the commendations and flatteries of the First Consul. Leclerc,and the officers in his confidence, could never take a morning ride, orgive an evening party--they could never hear a negro singing, or amusethemselves with children, playing on the shore or in the woods, withoutbeing reminded that they were intruders, and that the native andabundant loyalty of the inhabitants was all for their L'Ouverture, nowthat France had put him in opposition to herself. Leclerc and hisconfidential advisers committed the error of attributing all this toToussaint's personal qualities; and they drew the false inference (mostacceptable to the First Consul) that if Toussaint were out of the way,all would be well for the purposes of France. Having never seriouslyregarded the blacks as free men and fellow-citizens, these Frenchmenomitted to perceive that a great part of their devotion to Toussaint wasloyalty to their race. Proceeding on this mistake, Leclerc and hiscouncil, sanctioned by the First Consul, ruined their work, lost theirobject, and brought irretrievable disgrace upon their names--some ofwhich are immortalised only by the infamy of the act which ensued.

  From day-to-day, they endeavoured to entrap Toussaint; but he knew it,surrounded as he was by faithful and vigilant friends. Day by day hewas warned of an ambush here, of spies there, or of an attempt meditatedfor such an hour. During a fortnight of incessant designs upon hisperson, he so baffled all attempts as to induce a sort of suspicionamong the French soldiery that he was protected by magic.

  It was an anxious season for his family. Their only comfort was that itwould soon be over; that this, like all other evils connected with theinvasion, was to last only "till August;" the familiar words which werethe talisman of hope throughout the island. The household at Pongaudincounted the days till August; but it was yet only the beginning of June;and the season passed heavily away. On one occasion, a faithful servantof Toussaint's was brought in dead--shot from a thicket which his masterwas expected to pass. On another, the road home was believed to bebeset; and all the messengers sent by the family to warn him of hisdanger were detained on some frivolous pretext; and the household wereat length relieved by his appearing from the garden, having returned ina boat provided by some of his scouts. Now and then, some one mentionedretiring to the mountains; but Toussaint would not hear of it. He saidit would be considered a breach of the treaty, and would forfeit all theadvantages to be expected from a few weeks' patience. The French were,he knew, daily more enfeebled and distracted by sickness. Caution andpatience, for two months more, would probably secure freedom withoutbloodshed. He had foreseen that the present perils would arise from thetruce; and still believed that it had better not have been made. But,as he had agreed to it, the first breach should not be on his part.

  If Toussaint owed his danger to Christophe, he owed him the protectionby which he had thus far been preserved. Worn as he was by perpetuallabour and anxiety, Henri seemed never to close his eyes in sleep duringthis anxious season. He felt to the full his responsibility, from thehour of the first discovery of French treachery towards his friend. Byday, he was scouring the country in the direction of Toussaint's rides.By night, he was patrolling round the estate. It seemed as if his eyepierced the deepest shades of the woods; as if his ear caught upwhispers from the council-chamber in Tortuga. For Henri's sake,Toussaint ran no risks but such as duty absolutely required; for Henri'ssake, he freely accepted these toils on his behalf. He knew it to beessential to Henri's future peace that his personal safety should bepreserved through this season, and that Henri himself should be hischief guardian.

  Henri himself did not ask him to give up his rides. It was necessarythat his people should have almost daily proof that he was among them,safe and free. It was necessary that the French should discern nosymptom of fear, of shrinking, of departure from the mode of life he hadproposed on retiring to his estate. Almost daily, therefore, he rode;and exhilarating did he find the rapid exercise, the danger, and, aboveall, the knowledge he gained of the condition of his people, in fortunesand in mind, and the confidence with which they hailed him, theconstancy with which they appealed to his authority, wherever heappeared.

  This knowledge enabled him to keep up more than the show of co-operationwith the French in matters which concerned the welfare of the people.He pointed out gross abuses; and Leclerc hastened to remedy them.Leclerc consulted him occasionally in local affairs, and had his bestadvice. This kind of correspondence, useful and innocent, could nothave been carried on to equal purpose but for Toussaint's rides.

  By such excursions he verified a cause of complaint, concerning which hehad received applications at home. In dispersing his troops over thecolony, Leclerc had taken care to quarter a very large proportion in thedistricts near Gonaives, so as to enclose the residence of Toussaintwith the best of the French forces. The canton of Henneri wasovercharged with these troops; so that the inhabitants were oppressed,and the soldiers themselves suffered from scarcity of food, and from thefever which raged in their crowded quarters. Having ascertained this tobe the fact, Toussaint wrote to represent the case to Leclerc, andreceived a speedy and favourable reply. By Leclerc's command, GeneralBrunet wrote that this was an affair which came within his department;that he was necessarily ignorant of the localities of Saint Domingo, andof their respective resources; and that he should be thankful forinformation and guidance from one who had a perfect knowledge of thesecircumstances. He proposed that General Toussaint should meet him inthe centre of the canton of Henneri, and instruct him concerning thebetter distribution of the troops.

  "See these whites!" said Toussaint, handing the letter to MonsieurPascal. "Till they find they are wrong, they have no misgivings; theyknow everything; and they are obliged at last to come, and learn of oldToussaint."

  "You will not meet General Brunet, as he proposes," said MonsieurPascal. "You will not place yourself in the centre of the canton, amongtheir troops?"

  "No, no; you will not! You will not think of going!" cried MadameL'Ouverture.

  "For once, Margot, you bear ill-will towards those who compliment yourhusband," said Toussaint, smiling. "But be easy; I shall not go to thecanton of Henneri. If I walk into a pitfall, it shall not be afterhaving seen it made. I must meet General Brunet, however. I shallinvite him here with an escort of twenty soldiers; promising to limit myown guard to that number."

  "He will not come," said Monsieur Pascal.

  "I think he will; not because they trust me, for they know not whattrust is; but because I could gain nothing by any injury to GeneralBrunet and twenty soldiers
that could compensate for a breach of thetreaty."

  "The gain, from capture or violence, would be all the other way,certainly," said Pascal, in a low voice.

  "Henri will take care that General Brunet's is _bona fide_ an escort oftwenty. There is reason for the meeting taking place here. Maps willbe wanted, and other assistance which we might not remember to provideelsewhere. General Brunet must be my guest; and Madame L'Ouverture willmake him admire our hospitality."

  General Brunet immediately accepted the invitation, promising to presenthimself at Pongaudin on the tenth of June.