"Prince, was here this morning; he left with his pass in order."[1]
Toussaint had had many warnings. Some friends who had remained true to him had informed him of Leclerc's intentions and had entreated him to leave Beaumont. The black General refused to believe that French officers could dishonor their calling by such base deceit. Leclerc had promised to forget the past. Brunet had just written to him that he was his sincere friend and that he would find in his house "the sincerity of an honest man." Toussaint was unwilling to cast the least doubt on the word of two major-generals. Furthermore, it seemed incredible to him that they would invite his wife to come and witness his arrest; for Brunet in his letter had offered to send his own horses for Madame Toussaint should she wish to accompany her husband. On the other hand should Toussaint fail to respond to Brunet's call and flee from Beaumont, it would seem as though he were guilty of some offense. As a consequence, Leclerc would at once seize the opportunity to go in pursuit of him with all the forces of the colony.
As soon, therefore, as he had received the letters of the two French Generals, Toussaint left for the Georges plantation,[2] where General Brunet was stationed. In his memorial to the first Consul he states the odious outrage of which he fell the victim[3] in the following words: "At eight o'clock p. m. (June 7, 1802) I arrived at General Brunet's. Having been conducted to his bedroom I told him that his and General Leclerc's letter inviting me to confer with him had reached me, and that I came for that purpose; that it was not possible for me to comply with his wish as to my wife's accompanying me, as being purely domestic in her tastes she sees no company. … I also told him that feeling somewhat unwell I would be obliged to
