lution, and many high places were likewife occupied by men of talents who, under the old regime, had been free negroes or mulattoes. According to Mr Rainsford, too, the agriculture and population of the island has fuffered infinitely lefs than might have been expected from its late unfettled ftate. The fugar and coffee crop of 1800, he affirms, was not more than one third lefs than the produce of the moft profperous feafons before the revolution. And the increase of population,' fays he,' was such as to aftonifh the planters refident in the mother country, who could not conceive the poffibility of preventing that falling off in the numbers of the negroes which formed their abfolute neceffity for fupplying them by the flave trade.' (p. 240.)

Some of Mr Rainsford's accounts of manners, and of the comforts of the lower orders in this fingular commonwealth, we have occafionally fufpected of exaggeration. But, even taken with much allowance, they form a very pleafing picture. The fumptuousness of living which he afcribes to the fuperior orders in the ifland, particularly the wealthy inhabitants of the Cape, we by no means queftion. That chafteness of taste was generally confpicuous in their finery, we must be allowed to doubt. The prevalence of ftrict etiquette, which he talks of in p. 220., and the excellent difcipline of the domeftics, we fhould think rather incompatible with the habits of equality and relaxation which we formerly dwelt upon;-and we can fcarcely conceive by what standard he judges of polite or accomplished fociety, when we find him praifing, in that particular, the hordes of emancipated flaves among whom he mixed. A conscious eafe,' fays he, and certain gaieté du cœur prefided over every repast.' In many instances he heard reasoning, and witneffed manners of acutenefs and elegance, the relation of which would appear incredible from those who were remembered in a state of fervitude, or whofe parents were in fituations of abject penury; while fallies of wit, not frequently furpaffed, have enlivened many an hour.' After afferting, in general, that the enjoyments of life were to be found in a high degree at the Cape, and that their alloy did not exceed, nor perhaps always equal that of ancient European cities,' he adds, what we have great difficulty in believing, that the men were, in general, fenfible and polite, often dignified and impreffive; the women frequently elegant and engaging; and that the intercourse of the fexes was on the most rational footing.' (p. 221.) He is loud, too, in his praises of the negro players, whom he has feen perform comedies in a ftyle that would not difgrace the first theatre in Europe.

The happiness of the lower orders and their virtues, however, are painted in a still more utopian manner. Labour was fo much abridged,

abridged, that our author says it would be a great gratification to the feeling heart, to see the peasant in other countries with a regulated toil similar to that of the labourer in St Domingo.' (p.228.) The condition of the bulk of the people,' he observes, approached nearer to happiness than many others which are considered its ultimatum. Crimes were by no means frequent, and those rather attributable to accident than vice.' (p. 223.) Such high colouring will certainly deceive nobody of ordinary sense. But the following passage, containing more details, and executed in a more sober style, may probably he admitted to convey a fairer idea of the state of the negro peasantry in the new empire.

In one inftance, the writer was introduced by a Brigand of peculiar intelligence, (with whom he had frequent conferences on the military tactics of the Black army), to the cottage of a black labourer, of whom an account may not be uninteresting. He had a family of thirteen children; eight of them by one woman, and the remainder by two others; the former only lived with him in the fame cottage, with his mother, who was aged and infirm; the other two separately, at a small distance. This man was an epitome of legislature, and his family a well regulated kingdom in miniature. His cottage confifted of three irregular apartments, the first of which was his refectory, where, as often as poffible, and always on jours de fêtes, his fubjects affembled, including on thofe occafions his three wives. The furniture of this apartment was entirely of his own making, even to the smallest utenfil, and with an ingenuity beyond what might be expected from perfect leifure; notwithftanding the artificer, during the process, had been obliged to attend his labour in the fields, and was a confiderable time in arms. On a neat shelf, appropriated peculiarly to their use, lay a mass book, and a mu tilated volume of Volney's Travels, some parts of which he understood more than his vifitor. Every thing convenience required was to be found on a small scale; and the whole fo compact, and clean, with such an air of propreté throughout, as was abfolutely attractive. His own bed-room was furnished wirh an improved bedstead, fupported by truffels, with a mattress and bedding of equal quality with the other furniture; but that of his children and mother furpaffed the whole. One bedstead contained them, yet separated the male from the female, the young from the aged, and was feparated or combined in an inftant. The third was his kitchen and storehouse, and might also be called his laboratory; for conveniences were found for chemical experiments, though not of the most scientific kind; but every utenfil for culinary purposes was provided in the best manner. The wife of this labourer (for he had fubmitted to the ceremony of marriage with the female who had born him the most children, as is the general custom with them) was nearly as ingenious as himself, and equally intelligent. The mode he pursued in the regulation of his domeftic economy was excellent. As continence is not a virtue of the blacks, the increase of his family was not confined to his own house; yet, even in his amours he was just;

and

and as the two mothers before mentioned were lefs protected than his oftenfible wife, the primary object of his confideration was to have the whole of his children under his own care. This was reconciled to all parties from the first, in fo mild a way, that no diftinction was perceivable but in age, while the mothers held a relationship to their domiciliated offspring fimilar to that of an aunt or coufin, each exerting herself for the purpose of adding to the comforts of her own child.-On feftive occafions, the two mothers fat alternately on the right or left of the mistress of the house, with as much etiquette as might be perceived in a more elevated ftation, and with the utmost harmony. The master of the family was abfolute; but with him it was in theory, not in prac tice; for all feemed to vie in forbearance. As foon as the children could contribute their little powers to labour, they were employed; the younger (except as regarded their ftrength) being fubject to the inferior offices; and, fingular as it may appear, on the feftive occafions alluded to, they waited upon their feniors, though but by a few years, and feemed delighted in the office. Agreeable to this rule, in accordance with that reverence for age fo remarkable among blacks of every condition, the grandmother received the affection and attention of all; and though often crabbed, infirm, and discontented, no one seemed to confider her failings as fuch, but as a duty prefcribed them to bear. ' p. 225-227.

After the picture which this abstract presents of the growing resources, and, we may say, the completed discipline of the military force in St Domingo, it will doubtless afford matter of surprise to find that our author belongs to that class of reasoners who entertain no fears whatever of such a neighbourhood; that he trusts entirely to certain peaceful professions, which circumstances have at different times wrung from the rulers of these negro tribes, and treats, with a contempt altogether indignant, those who presume to think the negro-peopled colonies of Cuba, Jamaica, and Guiana in the smallest jeopardy from the sovereignty of insurgent negroes in both divisions of St Domingo. His admiration of Toussaint, which, though excessive, may be pardoned when we reflect how much of it arises from gratitude, has chiefly, in our opinion, misled him into a belief, that this new dynasty can be kept united, and subject to regular organization, and that inoffensive councils are likely to retain their sway over the chiefs of the Blacks. But how little trust was to be reposed in Toussaint himself, we think sufficiently evinced by the indecision of his conduct towards the French government, and towards the people who had confided their cause to his management. The great and fatal. blunder of that excellent person's life, his surrender of authority almost at discretion to Le Clerc, is in our minds an ample proof that his talents were not proportionate to his virtues, and that, with all the more amiable parts of the civilized character, and

some

some of the best qualities of the savage, he was eminently deficient in that strength of resolution and constancy of purpose which alone can secure well grounded trust in a public man, or give value and efficiency to the rest of his endowments.

But at any rate, when Toussaint left the stage, he was succeeded by Dessalines; and we really do hope that we shall hear no more of this man's superiority to the rest of his race, and of his personal qualities furnishing a pledge, against all the best founded apprehensions derived from general views, that the military republic of negroes will be a harmless and peaceful neighbour. His first act, to be sure, after assuming the supreme power, was dictated by humanity, and merits most of the praises bestowed on it; -we allude to the reward offered for the restoration of exiled negroes to their own country, But what was his next act? A rigorous persecution of all persons who had contributed, in any way, even as informers, to the schemes of Le Clerc and Rochambeau. These were immediately devoted to capital punishment; and the officers of the Black army were charged with the summary discovery, trial and execution of those unhappy persons. By the act for abjuring the French nation, instant death is denounced to any native of France, who may soil, with his sacrilegious footstep, this territory of liberty.' (See Appendix, No. XIV.) In his proclamation when appointed governor-general for life, we find the most barbarous exultation expressed at a retrospect of the cruelties committed in the revolutionary war. Where,' says

he, is that Haytian so vile, so unworthy of his regeneration, who thinks he has not fulfilled the decrees of the Eternal, by exterminating those blood-thirsty tygers? If there be one, let him fly indignant nature discards him,' &c. Yes, we have rendered to these true cannibals war for war, crime for crime, outrage for outrage. Yes, I have saved my country; I have avenged America,' &c. (See Appendix, No. XV.) But the language of this chief, when he talks of the colonies where the negroes are still enslaved, is too pointed not to make its application immedi ately. After mentioning the frightful despotism exercised at Martinique,' he exclaims, Unfortunate people of Martinique! Could I but fly to your assistance, and break your fetters! Alas! an insurmountable barrier separates us. Yet perhaps a spark from the same fire which inflames us, will alight on your bosoms: Perhaps at the sound of this emotion, suddenly awakened from your lethargy, with arms in your hands, you will reclaim your sacred and indelible rights.' (Ibid.) The following address is equally intelligible, and must attract the attention of every one not resolved to shut his eyes. Tremble! tyrants, usurpers, scourges of the new world! Our daggers are sharpened; your punishment is ready!

Sixty

Sixty thousand men, equipped, inured to war, obedient to my orders, burn to offer a new sacrifice to the manes of their assassinated brothers.

(Ibid.)

Such are the prospects offered by the character and views of the actual rulers of the Black Empire. Let us hear no more then of Dessalines, the worthy successor of the peaceful Toussaint, and the simple and unoffending tribes entrusted to his pacific rule. No change of dynasty can new-make or new-mould half a million of men; convert slaves into freemen, or force a rude multitude into a community of civilized subjects.-And when were barbarians ever peaceful?-Neither let us be told that our fears are chimerical, and our speculative views of danger from the neighbourhood of Hayti, senseless and hypothetical, and founded in ignorance of the subject.' (p. 414.) With these documents before our eyes, it is in vain to talk of theory. But, more than all this, let not such dangers as we have been contemplating, or the resources and spirit of the new empire, be despised in consideration of the respectable state of defence in which our islands are kept.' (p. 415.) And, above every thing, let it not be forgotten that all our fears are indeed useless, and all our measures of caution vain, so long as we persist in filling our finest colonies, those settlements most exposed to the influence of negro insurrection, with the natural allies of the common enemy, and with the seeds of new flame, as well as the fuel which can best support it. Let us at length be wise while it is called to-day;' and since we cannot bring ourselves to abolish the slave trade, for justice or for money, let us now at least yield to the necessities of our situation, and terminate that dangerous commerce, for safety.

pre

We have enlarged so much on what appears to be the most valuable portion of the work now before us, that we cannot afford room for any further abstract of its contents. It contains, however, several statements, of some importance, relative to the employment of bloodhounds, both in the French service and our own. These we can recommend to our readers, both as giving amusing and interesting information. They will be found in No. X. of the Appendix. Before closing this article, we have to remark, that Mr Rainsford's book is adorned with plates, taken from drawings made by himself, while resident in St Domingo. We cannot give them any great commendation for taste or skill; and we are certain that, in some particulars, they have no claims to accuracy. There is not, for example, a single negro represented with any of the features peculiar to the race. Every one has the high skull, and nose, and thin lips, and general expression of the European; so that the negroes of Mr Rainsford's pencil, are exactly whites with their faces blackened.

ART.