745 Character of Christophe. are placed around, which the brevity Bermondsey Square, July 9, 1821. 746 government, and in the end killed him. It has been said that Christophe headed the plot, and was at no great distance from Dessalines, with some other black officers, when the fellow, whom they had engaged to murder him, made up to him, in the presence of the soldiers, and shot him. Christophe, being next in command, considered the place thus vacated, to be his right, and immediately took steps to secure it. A part only of the officers and soldiers, however, attached themselves to him. Dissatisfied at this, he endeavoured to reduce those who had, so contrary to his expectations and ambitious designs, chosen another chief, and adopted another form of government. But all his attempts were fruitless. Over the northern districts of the island, however, mentions his expedition against the Ethiopians; so that this procession may very naturally be considered as consisting of captives made in his wars. The passages in scripture which illustrate this portion of history, will be found in the 2d Chronicles, chap. 35. ver. 20, 21, 22, 23, 24; and chap. 36. ver. 1, 2, 3, 4; and in Jeremiah, chap. 36. See also the 2d book of Herodotus. It is impossible to conceive any thing more striking, than this agreement of sacred and profane history, with this remark-he reigned with little or no opposition able representation in the catacomb. There is ample room for curiosity to indulge itself in conjecture, as to the import of the other pictures which adorn the pillars and the walls of the Entrance Hall. CHARACTER OF CHRISTOPHE, THE (Communicated by Timotheus.) - PREVIOUSLY to the insurrection in St. Domingo, in 1790, Christophe had been a common slave; but being of a courageous and daring spirit, he soon signalized himself in the black army, and was accordingly promoted; and before the termination of the war between the natives and the French, he was made a general. From the period the French were obliged to evacuate the island, to the death of Dessalines, little more is known of him than that he generally assisted in promoting and carrying into execution the measures of that sanguinary and barbarous chief: though there can be little doubt that he was acquiring to himself greater power, and aiming to secure the supreme command. were so It is well known that Dessalines possessed so ferocious and barbarous a disposition, and that his proceedings insupportably tyrannical, that the black population, having obtained their independence, and being averse to every thing that had the appearance of tyranny, soon grew weary of his No. 30, Vol. III. till the period of the circumstance which occasioned his death. one The accounts which have been since received from St. Domingo, and which have appeared in the public papers, have represented this chief as of the greatest tyrants, and the common and only enemy of his people." Saying this of a man, is certainly saying the worst that can be said. Those who have been accessary to his death, find it necessary to represent him in this light, to serve their cause, and to make the reasons for their conduct in this affair appear as plausible as they can. But such as have had an opportunity of knowing their character and designs, will hesitate not a little to receive all they may now say to the discredit of their late chief. That Christophe, however, was a great lover of power, is very certain. This, at the beginning of his reign, led him to take measures of a most arbitrary nature, to secure the supreme power to himself for life, and to his son after him. These proceedings, though by no means equal in cruelty to those of his predecessor, nevertheless inspired the minds of the people with a dread of him, which, had he been afterwards more lenient, would most probably have softened into reverence and respect. But his love of power would not allow him to be less severe; and he continued to be feared and to be hated. He was also avaricious. It has been said, he was so to an extreme; and when it is known that he reserved 3 B 747 Character of Christophe. to himself the largest and the best of the estates in the country, that he so managed as to have at command the property and labour of the highest as well as of the lowest of the natives, and that this power, when he thought proper, he used to his own aggrandizement,-it will be thought that this trait in his disposition was but too glaring. Add to this, he was inflated with vanity and pride. This was evinced by the grandeur of his person, his court, and his retinue. Perhaps no court in all civilized Europe surpassed, in this respect, that of the black king of Hayti; no monarch was more extravagantly apparelled, no retinue greater. It was this too which led him to send forth into the world exaggerated accounts of the happy condition of his people; of the plans he had adopted, and was pursuing, for their benefit; and of the progress they were making in civilization. With this, however, there might have been mixed a good deal of what is called patriotic feeling. He found himself at the head of a considerable number of people, but just liberated from slavery; his own character, and that of his subjects, depended much on his exertions; he felt it so ; he wished the exaggerated statements he sent forth had been true, and was anxious they should be credited by the world. 748 that he might be killed, and that they might have a better ruler. On his return to the Cape, a villanous Romish priest informed him of it. Exasperated beyond measure, he immediately issued a bloody mandate for all the mulatto women in his dominions to be put to death. Three hundred of these poor wretches were instantly taken to a spot near the town, and were barbarously beheaded; and had not his fury somewhat abated, it is probable the whole would have been cut off. This is the worst part of Christophe's character; and truly it is bad enough. Nevertheless, it can by no means be denied that he possessed some good qualities. Indeed, had he not been too ambitious of rule, there would not have been a man in Hayti so capable of forming and executing plans which would have been an honour to himself, and have greatly promoted the happiness and prosperity of his people. By his regulations, the state of his subjects was greatly improved, though not so much so as he wished it to be believed; they introduced order among them to a surprising degree, and evinced that, though a Negro, he had a mind of no ordinary conception. It is true, the subordination he enforced, too much resembled slavery; but it is a question whether it was not absolutely necessary to their future improvement, as well as to their se The island had indeed declared itself independent of France, but France has not to this day acknowledged its independence; and while this is the case, it is necessary, in order to keep the country in a state of defence, for the ruler, whoever he may be, to have the people (so difficult from their character and disposition to be properly disciplined) in a state of obedience, and at perfect command. More than this, he could also act the perfect tyrant. It may be thought by many, and perhaps with consi-curity. derable propriety, that when one with the uncultivated mind, and the naturally violent disposition, of this aspiring chief, obtains power, he may, from that circumstance, be suddenly and almost insensibly prompted to acts of inhumanity, rather than proceed to them from an uncommon cruelty of heart, and fixed purposes of barbarity. Whether this was the case with Christophe, it is difficult to Tyranny is to be abhorred, whereascertain; but the following circum-soever or by whomsoever it is exerstance is a striking and dreadful instance of his acting a part perfectly tyrannical and barbarous, while at war with Petion. When he was once absent from Cape Henry, the mulatto women of that town, who, previously to the French being driven from the island, were free, and who now considered themselves as suffering little short of slavery, went frequently to an old church, to pray to the Virgin Mary cised; but it is exceedingly doubtful whether a people like that of Hayti can be governed at all-whether indeed they would not soon degenerate into perfect savages-without having some severe regulations established among them, and occasionally enforced with some degree of severity. Christophe knew his people too well not to see the necessity of this, and his laws were framed and enforced accordingly. The means he adopted to secure the 749 Observations on Colours. country from being invaded by the French, of which they are in continual fear, were no small proofs of his wisdom and prudence. It was an established law with him, that every man in his dominions should be a soldier. His standing army was remarkable for order and discipline. It was fed and clothed at his own expense. Proper hospitals were provided for the sick and discased, and were regularly visited by himself as well as by his surgeons. And while he was possessed with the idea that he was a good soldier himself, he gloried at seeing an army of his own colour, the officers and privates of which promised, if there should be occasion, to fight in defence of their country and their liberty as bravely as himself had done. Cape Henry, the principal town, was well guarded with cannon, and batteries were erected beyond its limits. A few miles in the interior, on a mountain of amazing height, he had erected a citadel, the walls of which were stated to be seventy feet in thickness; it was so singularly situated, and so strongly defended, as to be deemed impregnable by assault. At the same time he encouraged commerce. The natives brought their little produce of cotton, sugar, and coffee, to the Cape, and sold it to the best advantage; though it must be acknowledged he always reserved to himself the privilege of selling his own stock first. The introduction of the Lancasterian system of education into the country, by qualified persons sent him from England, at his particular request, shewed that he truly valued education, and was anxious to promote the improvement of the younger part of the population, Schools were established in all the chief towns; they generally prospered, and the masters were handsomely remunerated for their services; but since his death, they have been broken up. He had also begun to introduce the arts of agriculture, especially the use of the plough; and the persons sent him by Mr. Wilberforce for this purpose, succeeded in teaching the natives much to their satisfaction. It will be remembered that these were the regulations of a Negro, who was, in one sense, born and also bred a Slave; who had had no opportunity of learning; who had seen little, and 750 had been taught less; and though, for his ambition and occasional cruelty, he will be justly hated, it will hardly be thought "he was the common and only enemy of his people." It would be useless to form conjectures respecting the future state of the Haytians. From their present circumstances there is much to be feared; those of the northern districts have rebelled against their chief, and have assigned his tyranny for their reason. That he was sometimes cruel, cannot be denied; but such as have had an opportunity of witnessing their fickleness and love of change, their utter want of principle, and their licentiousness, will ascribe it chiefly to other reasons. The whole country is now formed into one republic. What may be their next change, it is impossible to say. Yet it is sincerely hoped that, though a republican form of government is little suited to Negroes, they may now be united among themselves, and in every way prosper as a people. OBSERVATIONS ON COLOURS. MR. Accum, in his System of Chemistry, or the Theory of Colours, remarks,-"That the most curious composition of Light is that of Whiteness; that there is no one sort of rays which can alone exhibit this colour; that it is therefore always compound, and to its composition all the primary colours are necessary."-To prove this, he observes-"The surface of a spinning-top may be painted with the colours of the spectrum of the prism, and that, when set in motion, the rapidity with which it revolves prevents the possibility of any one colour being distinguished singly, but that the whole appears white.' the contrary, Blackness," he says, "is produced by a total absorption of the incidental light, which being stopped or absorbed in the body, is not reflected outwards, but refracted within, hence it is lost, and produces darkness. If this be correct, may not Blackness also be considered a colour, if we are to understand it to be produced by an absorption of all the primitive colours; Whiteness having been proved to be a colour from a concentration or intimate admixture of the primitive colours? "On 751 Observations on Colours. 752 colours of all natural bodies," says Mr. Accum,“ depend on this (the abovementioned) refrangibility of light; they may be considered as prisms, which decompose or rather divide the light. Some reflect the rays without produc Mr. Burke, on the "Sublime and Beautiful," observes, “ Blackness is but a partial darkness, and therefore it derives some of its powers from being mixed and surrounded with coloured bodies. In its own nature it cannot be considered as a colour. Blacking any change, and these are white; bodies reflecting none or but a few rays, with regard to sight, are but as so many vacant spaces dispersed among the objects we view." Mr. Accum goes on to speak of the effect of Light on vegetables, and observes, that" the more plants are exposed to the Light, the more colour they acquire; but if raised in perfect | obscurity, they are colourless," or white, I presume. He adds, that Professor Davy assures us, red rosetrees, carefully excluded from the Light, produced roses nearly white. Here then we are given to understand, that a combination of the solar rays produces whiteness, and that whiteness is therefore a colour; and on the other hand, that a total abstraction of those rays produces whiteness also, by leaving the vegetable colourless. Is not this contradictory, and how can it be reconciled? That solar light has very extensive influence in the vegetable kingdom, is certain, but I question its agency in the animal and mineral kingdoms. Mr. A. observes in another place, "that whatever pleasure we derive from the beauty of colouring, is owing to the different refrangibility of light, each object sending back to our eyes those rays which the peculiar structure of its surface is best adapted to reflect. In this sense, the blushing beauties of the rose, and the modest blue of the violet, may be considered as not in the objects themselves, but in the light that adorns them in those robes." Now, I conceive, there is a material difference between the rays of light received directly from the sun, and those produced by the light of a candle; yet all colours preserve their character in candle-light, sufficiently to be distinguished, although the various shades of any one colour may differ. That vegetables are dependent on solar light for the preservation of their colours, I believe ; but I also feel convinced they possess an original principle in themselves, for displaying their various tints, impressed on them by the hand of Deity. Again, "The others absorb them all, and are therefore black. The greater or less affinity of the several rays with various bodies, is no doubt the cause, that when a pencil of light falls upon a body, some rays enter into it, whilst others are reflected; and it is this which affords the diversity of colours, and the prodigious variety of shades, under which bodies appear to our eyes; and thus are formed the pellucid stream, the green sea, the white froth, the dark pool, the azure sky, the varying colour of the pigeon's neck, the opal, the mother of pearl, the silk called changeable, &c.; and hence the white colour of the European, the copper colour of the American, and the black colour of the Negro." How, I would ask, can this refrangibility of light possibly apply to the animal and mineral kingdoms? With regard to precious stones, more particularly in the mineral kingdom, it is well known their colours are affected by chemical agents. The colour of the emerald, for instance, is indebted to the presence of iron, and other precious stones to other metals; and again, their being found deeply buried in the earth is proof positive against their being indebted to the agency of light for their colours. Again, as it regards the animal kingdom, if the varied colours of people of different nations are dependent on the action of solar light, why are not the hands and face of a European as black as the whole body of a Negro, seeing they are equally exposed to it? but we know the Negro is black from his birth; and this, as well as the varied colours of the feathered tribe, have not, I apprehend, their origin in any of the effects produced by solar light, but also, as with vegetables, from a principle they originally possess, imprinted on them by a divine hand. Were the negro, the blackbird, the swan, the peacock, or any animal whatever, to be born in total obscurity, and suffered to live for a number of years secluded from the light of day, can it be supposed, or proved, that they would have colours 753 Review-Mexican Revolution. different from others of their own tribes? 754 With regard to blackness, I cannot, for my own part, find a circumstance in nature to prove, that it is effected by an absorption of incidental light. It may be produced by various means, in which light has no agency what-orders should subside, or some leader of more ever, yet there are some cases where it acts as a chemical agent; black ink, for example, becomes blacker by exposure to solar light; also, if a piece of linen be immersed in a colourless solution of nitrate of silver, by exposure to light it soon acquires colour, and gradually becomes black; and this is effected by the oxidating power of light on the metals. According to Mr. Burke, and without his testimony it is well known, that bodies originally black, refract none, or but few of the solar rays, but absorb them all; and vice versa with bodies originally white; but colours used in painting, dyeing, &c. have not, in my opinion, any dependence on the agency of light, in forming the brightest yellow or the deepest black. My principal object in submitting the above to the attention of the readers of the Imperial Magazine, has been to propose the Query,—— "Are the appearances termed Black and White, Colours, or not? and to request proof in support of a reply." G.O. REVIEW.—Memoirs of the Mexican Revolution, &c. (Continued from col. 675.) THE Successes which had crowned the early efforts of Mina, had inspired him and his followers with fresh courage, and the Spaniards were alarmed at his progress and daring exploits in a similar proportion. These fears, and the state of the capital, the author thus describes: "Whilst Mina was making his arrangements in Sombrero, opening a correspondence with the royal towns, and adopting the best measures in his power for future military operations, the royalists were likewise more than commonly active. The government of Spain had early sent orders to the viceroy, to abandon, if necessary, every other object, and to direct all his exertions to the crushing of Mina. The viceroy had calculated, that after the measures which had been previously adopted, the large force collected in the internal provinces was sufficient to overwhelm Mina. But when the news of the rencounter at Peotillos reached aroused him at once to a sense of his danger. The state of the capital was also such as to aggravate his fears: for the city of Mexico, Mexico had long abounded in men of republican principles; but as the revolution unfortunately population of the country, nearly all the intelbegan among the most ignorant and wretched ligent part of society, for the reasons which have already been set forth, rallied around the royal standard; awaiting the moment when the revolutionary paroxysms among the lower consequence than had hitherto appeared, should spring up. They would then have thrown their exertions into the scale of their country on the first favourable occasion. In Mina they at length beheld the man on whom they could rely. To him they looked, as the individual who should plant the banners of liberty on the Mexican capital. "Nor was this feeling confined to the Creoles. Many European Spaniards were enthusiastically attached to Mina, and the only cause of regret was, that he had not brought a sufficient number of foreign troops to inspire confidence; for although his name alone struck terror into the royal authorities, and a party in his favour was daily augmenting, yet it was not in his power to hold out a certainty of personal protection. And since, under a vigilant and despotic government, time and caution were absolutely requisite to form a combination; many individuals were restrained from abandoning their families to the horrors which they knew must result from the premature espousal of the cause of liberty. These considerations operated as a check on the patriotic inhabitants of the capital and other royal towns, but they secretly panted for his advance, and were prepared to join him at the first auspicious moment. "So much encouraged were his partisans by his extraordinary successes, that they met in coffee-houses in the city of Mexico, discussed the news of the day, and betrayed their hopes and fears so openly, that it could not escape the knowledge of the government. Coercive measures were adopted against some distinguished citizens, but still the ferment in the capital did not subside. "After the defeat of the royal troops at Peotillos, the viceroy saw that the invasion was assuming a formidable aspect, and that if Mina was not immediately checked, all would be lost. Roused, therefore, by this critical state of affairs, he withdrew as many of the European troops as could be spared, or seasonably procured, from the numerous royal can tonments, and united them with some native infantry and his best Creole cavalry. But, great as was the emergency, he could concentrate only about five thousand men. Upon this army depended the fate of the government; and if it had been destroyed, which would have been the case had Padre Torres acted as he ought to have done, no similar force could have been raised. Our reasons for this assertion will be adduced in their proper place. "The command of the army destined for the overthrow of Mina, was conferred on Don Pasqual Liran, a mariscal de campo. He held likewise the distinguished rank of inspector general of Mexico, the officer next in military rank to the viceroy. Linan, by rapid marches, arrived in the province of Guanaxuato, in the middle of July. Mina was accurately and regularly advised of the movements of the enemy, from their own towns; but, placing a firm |