The Hour and the Man Part 33

After the prayer for divine pardon, ensuing upon mutual forgiveness, L'Ouverture arose from his knees, stepped from his place, and stood before the altar. He spoke, while all rose to hear.

"In this place," said he, "brethren should be reconciled, or their offering of thanksgiving will not be pure. Will all who feel enmity towards me come to this holy spot, and exchange forgiveness?"

He looked towards the conspirators, who gazed upon him with eager eyes, but did not move. They could not believe that tills appeal was intended for them, till he beckoned to them. They advanced with hesitating steps--first one or two--then several--then all; and as they drew nearer they rushed upon him, some kissing his hand, others kneeling and embracing his knees. Bidding these arise, he said gently, but in a voice so penetrating that it was heard in the farthest recess of the building, "I must have offended you, since you have conspired against me; and you are very guilty towards me and your country. May He who looks down with pity on the shameful strifes of men, bear witness to our hearty forgiveness of each other! Can you with truth say Amen?--If not yet with truth, say it not till you have heard me."

"Amen!" they cried, with a cry which was echoed first from the roof of the church, and then by every voice beneath it which was not choked with sobs.

"If you had had patience with me," said Toussaint, "you would have found that I am above partiality in regard to race. When I find men of your colour fit for office, they shall be promoted to office as my friend Raymond was. I entreat you henceforth to give me time; to watch me, though closely, generously; and if I fail to satisfy you, to make your complaints to myself. As for the past, let it be forgotten by all. Go to your homes, and I trust no one will ever speak to you of this day.

As for myself, I must go where I am wanted. It may be that I shall have to punish the leader of your colour, if he persists in disturbing the peace of the colony. But fear not that, if you do not share in his offences, I shall impute them to you. It is true that, however far-off, my eye will be upon you, and my arm stretched out over you; but as long as you are faithful, this my presence will be, your protection. After the blessing, the amnesty I have promised will be read. This, my act of forgiveness, is sincere. Show that yours is so, I entreat, by cheris.h.i.+ng the peace of the colony. By the sanct.i.ty of the place on which we stand, let there be peace among us all, and mutual forgiveness for all time to come!"

"Amen!" again resounded, louder than the most joyous strain of the choir that ever rang through the building.

L'Ouverture went back to his place, surrounded by the eleven released men, for whom room was made round his person by those who could best read his eye. After the priest had given the blessing, the amnesty was road which declared pardon for all political offences, and all personal offences against the Commander-in-chief, up to that hour. The moment it was concluded, those who had arrived at the church in custody, left it in freedom, though in shame, and sped away to their several homes, as if the death they had antic.i.p.ated were at their heels. There they told their wonderful tale to their families, turning the desolation of wives and children into joy almost too great to be believed.

Afra found, to her satisfaction, that no one had entered to tell Euphrosyne of this act of L'Ouverture. Euphrosyne had been full of perplexity about the mulattoes--almost disposed to think that the whole race must have suddenly gone mad. She had seen them two hours before, flocking to church with faces whose gloom contrasted strangely with their numbers, their holiday dresses, and their eagerness to be in time to secure admittance. She now saw them return, as if intoxicated with joy, cheering, the whole length of the walk, and crying with an enthusiasm, if possible, surpa.s.sing that of the blacks, "Long live the Deliverer!"

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.

THE COUNCIL OF FIVE.

A council was held one morning, soon after the events just related, whose aspect would have perplexed an old colonist, if he could have looked forward in vision to that day. In a shady apartment of Toussaint's house at Pongaudin sat five men, in whose hands lay the fortunes of the colony; and only one of these men was a white.

The five came to report well to one another of the fortunes of the colony. Never, in the old days, could any set of counsellors have been gathered together, who could have brought with them such proofs of the welfare and comfort of every cla.s.s of inhabitants. In former times the colonial legislators were wont to congratulate the a.s.sembly on the good working of their system; which meant that the negroes were quiet, the mulattoes kept under, and the crops promising; but under this "good working" there were the heart-burnings of the men of colour, the woes and the depravity of the slaves, and the domestic fears and discomforts of the masters, arising from this depravity. Now, when there was no oppression and no slavery, the simple system of justice was truly "working well"; not only in the prospect of the crops, and the external quiet of the proprietors, but in the hearts and heads of every cla.s.s of men--of perhaps every family in the island.

Jacques Dessalines had arrived from Saint Marc, near which his estate lay. He had to tell how the handsome crescent of freestone houses behind the quay was extending--how busy were the wharves--how the store-houses were overflowing--how the sea was covered with merchant-s.h.i.+ps--and how the cheerful hum of prosperous industry was heard the long day through.

Henri Christophe had come from the city of Saint Domingo, quite through the interior of the island. He had to tell how the reinstated whites paid him honour as he pa.s.sed, on account of his friends.h.i.+p with L'Ouverture; how the voice of song went up from the green valleys, and from the cottage door; how the glorious Artibonite rolled its full tide round the base of mountains which no longer harboured the runaway or the thief, and through, plains adorned with plenty, and smiling with peace.

Monsieur Raymond arrived from the sittings of the Central a.s.sembly.

What good things he had to report will presently be seen.

Toussaint, with Monsieur Pascal, had arrived from Cap, where all was at present quiet, and where he had done the best he could, as he believed, by making Moyse a general, and leaving him in charge of the town and district, till a person could be found fit for the difficult and most anxious office of Governor of Cap. The two most doubtful points of the colony were Port-au-Prince and Cap Francais. They had been the great battle-grounds of races; they were the refuge of the discontented whites; and they were open to the operations of factious people from France. L'Ouverture was never sure of the peace and quiet of Cap, as long as French s.h.i.+ps came and went; but there was peace in the town at the present moment; and he had left that peace in the temporary charge of one who had done much, under his eye, to establish it--who had shown no small energy and talent, and who had every inducement that could be conceived to go through his brief task well. Great had been Toussaint's satisfaction in offering to Moyse this honourable opportunity of distinguis.h.i.+ng himself; and much had he enjoyed the antic.i.p.ation of telling Genifrede of this fulfilment of her lover's ambition, and of the near approach of their union, in consequence. It is true, he had been disappointed by Genifrede's receiving this news with a shudder, and by none but forced smiles having been seen from her since; but he trusted that this was only a fit of apprehension, natural to one who loved so pa.s.sionately, and that it would but enhance the bliss that was to succeed.

If, as usual, L'Ouverture had to report the situation of Cap Francais as precarious, he brought good tidings of the South. An express had met him on his journey homewards, with news of the total defeat of the insurgent mulattoes by Vincent. Rigaud had surrendered his designs, and had actually sailed, with his princ.i.p.al officers, for France. Thus was the last torch of war extinguished in the colony, and matters of peaceful policy alone lay before this Council of Five.

The announcement of the entire pacification of the island was the first made by L'Ouverture, when his friends and counsellors looked eagerly to him for what he should say.

"Vincent is a fine fellow," said Dessalines, "and a credit to his colour."

"He has been in the most pressing danger," observed Toussaint. "G.o.d willed that he should escape, when escape appeared impossible."

"What is to be done now with these cowardly devils of mulattoes?" asked Dessalines.

Monsieur Pascal glanced at Raymond, to see how he bore this. Raymond chanced to meet his eye, and replied to the glance.

"You will not take me for a cowardly mulatto, Monsieur Pascal, if I do not resent Dessaline's words. He is speaking of the rebels, not of the many mulattoes who, like myself, disapprove and despise all such jealousy of race as leads to the barbarism of aggressive war."

"Yet," said Christophe, "I wish that we should all avoid such language as provokes jealousy of race."

"In council one must speak plainly," replied Dessalines. "I hope Monsieur Pascal agrees with me; for doubtless certain affairs of the whites will be in question, with regard to which they may be uncivilly spoken of. I was going to say, for instance (what L'Ouverture's secretary ought to be able to bear), that if we wish this state of peace to last, we must studiously keep the whites down--exclude them from all situations of power and trust. You all know that, in my opinion, they ought every one to have been done with some time ago. As that was not effected, the next best, policy is to let them die out. One may compute pretty well the time that this will take. If nothing better remains for them here than to live upon their estates, without a chance of distinction, or of employment in public affairs, they will grow tired of the colony; the next generation, at farthest, will be glad to sell their property, and go home; and we shall be rid of them."

"By that time, Jacques," said Toussaint, "you and I may find ourselves again in the midst of them, in a place whence we cannot drive them out."

Dessalines' countenance told, as well as words could have done, that heaven would be no heaven to him if the spirits of white men were there.

Toussaint well understood it, and resumed, "Better begin here what may be our work there--draw closer, and learn from them the wisdom by which they have been the masters of the world: while they may learn from us, if they will, forgiveness of injuries."

"I am sick of hearing all that, Toussaint. It is for ever in your mouth."

"Because it is for ever in my heart. You will hear it from me, Jacques, till I see that there is no occasion to say it more. As to Vincent, I propose to keep him, in token of honour, near my person; and to request the Central a.s.sembly to decree to him an estate of such value as they shall think proper, to be purchased from the public treasury."

"That is, supposing he should desire to remain among us," observed Christophe; "but Vincent is fond of France."

"Then his estate shall be in France, Henri. Our friend Raymond will charge himself with this business in the a.s.sembly."

"If I bring it forward in the form of a message from yourself," replied Raymond, "there is no doubt of its being carried by acclamation. The finances of the colony are flouris.h.i.+ng, and the attachment of the a.s.sembly to your person most enthusiastic."

"What of the finances?" asked Toussaint.

Raymond gave from his notes a statement which showed that both the customs' duties and internal taxes had been productive beyond all expectation; that the merchant-s.h.i.+ps of almost every nation had visited the ports; and that, after defraying the expenses of the war now closed, there would be a surplus sufficient for the extension of the schools and the formation of some new roads.

"What of the attachment of the a.s.sembly to L'Ouverture's person?" asked Christophe.

"Every member of it sees that the prosperity of the island is the consequence of the vigorous prosecution of his system; and that there is no security but in its unquestioned continuance. The Commander-in-chief having been thus proved as eminently fitted for civil as for military government, the a.s.sembly proposes to const.i.tute him president of the colony for life, with power to choose his successor, and to appoint to all offices."

All eyes were now fixed upon Toussaint. He observed that a dark cloud must have hidden France from the eyes of the a.s.sembly, when they framed this proposition of independent sovereignty.

Raymond had no doubt that France would agree to have her colony governed in the best possible manner. If there should be a difficulty about the t.i.tle of president, that of governor might be subst.i.tuted. The power being the same, there need not be a quarrel about the t.i.tle. The a.s.sembly would yield that point--probably the only one that France would dispute.

Monsieur Pascal believed that France would never yield the power of appointing to offices of importance for life; still less that of choosing a successor.

"France ought not to yield such powers," said Toussaint; "and the a.s.sembly ought not to bring upon me (representative as I am of my race) the imputation of a personal ambition which I abjure and despise. I could tell the a.s.sembly that, if I had chosen to stoop under the yoke of personal ambition, I might have been sovereign of this island without waiting for their call. Yes," he continued, in answer to the inquiring looks of his friends, "I have in my possession a treaty proposed to me by the British Government, in which the English offer to make me king of this island--in such case to be called by its ancient name of Hayti--on condition of exclusive commerce."

"Is it even so?" exclaimed Christophe.

"Even so, Henri. The English believed that I had acted on my own account; and that we, the children of France, should turn against our mother in the day of her perplexity, and join hands with her foes."

"Any other man would have done it," said Monsieur Pascal.

"No, Pascal; no man who was appointed, like me, to redeem his race."

"How do you consider that you will injure your race by accepting the proposal of the a.s.sembly?" asked Monsieur Pascal. "I understand why you would accept nothing from the hands of the English; and also why you would hesitate to a.s.sume a power which the government at home would doubtless disallow. But how would your race be injured by honours paid to you?"

"You are my friend," replied Toussaint. "Is it possible that you can fail to understand?"

"I call myself your friend too," said Dessalines, "and I declare I can comprehend nothing of it."