but received no reply. His fare was limited to a sum not sufficient to give him the comforts of life. His servant was taken away, and food reduced to a still smaller quantity; and thus the once ruler of St. Domingo, the man to whom in the darkest day of the insurrection the white planters looked for safety, knowing well his humanity, was little by little brought to the verge of starvation.
Toussaint's wife and children had been arrested, sent to France, separated from him, and he knew nothing of their whereabouts. He wrote to Napoleon in behalf of them. The document contained these words:
"General Le Clerc employed towards me means which have never been employed towards the greatest enemies. Doubtless I owe that contempt to my color; but has that color prevented me from serving my country with zeal and fidelity? Does the color of my body injure my honor or my courage? Suppose I was a criminal, and that the general-in-chief had orders to arrest me; was it needful to employ carabineers to arrest my wife and children; to tear them from their residence without respect, and without charity? Was it necessary to fire on my plantations, and on my family, or to ransack and pillage my property? No! My wife, my children, my household, were under no responsibility; have no account to render to government. General Le Clerc had not even the right to arrest them. Was that officer afraid of a rival?
"I compare him to the Roman Senate, that pursued Hannibal even into his retirement. I request that he and I may appear before a tribunal, and that the government bring forward the whole of my correspondence
