For when his legs were smitten off,
He fought upon his stumps.”
M. Madiou is a mulatto, who has played a prominent part in the history of his country, and his leanings are evidently in favour of his own colour, and, as I have observed, he is severe on Toussaint L’Ouverture for his endeavours to crush the attempts at independent command made by Rigaud.
Another work of inestimable value for the students of Haytian history is the one written by M. Beaubrun-Ardouin (fair mulatto). It is entitled “Études sur l’Histoire d’Haïti.” M. Ardouin attempted to collect in this work all the documents that could illustrate the history of his country, and, at the time of his death, ten volumes had already been published. He was for many years Haytian Minister in Paris, which gave him full opportunities for examining the French archives. I only knew him slightly; he was evidently a man of talent and industry, but as he was justly credited with a prejudice against the whites, he was generally avoided by them.
A Monsieur St. Rémy of Les Cayes wrote a Life of Toussaint, which is but a poor production, and is full of prejudice and virulence against both black and white.
A Frenchman, M. Edgar la Selve, has published a work called “L’Histoire de la Littérature Haïtienne.” It is a volume of some interest, containing as it does a collection of poetry written by natives, but it is considered to be inferior in point of style and extravagant in its appreciations. When you find M. La Selve ranking the crude productions of a rude school with the writings of the most distinguished among ancient and modern authors, one may readily feel that this work is an offering to the vanity of acquaintances.
It is to be regretted that a person like M. La Selve should have undertaken this task, as, instead of real criticism, which might have proved of value, he puffs up the vanity and presumption of Haytian writers by such observations as the following:—“Rapelle l’invotion de Pindare”—“La grande éloquence et la magnificence des images”—“Sa plume magique”—“La délicatesse de Charles Dovalle combinée avec la grâce de Lamartine”—“Le nom modestement glorieux”—“Esprit vraiment prodigieux et universel”—“Trois génies supérieurs”—“Cet autre Augustin Thierry”—“Comparer aux dialogues de Platon.”
What more could be said of the best classics? No wonder this work was unable to command any attention.
In the collection of poetry, it will be noticed that although there are some very pretty verses, there are none of any remarkable merit. It is not a special literature; there is seldom much local colouring: it is rather a reflection of French productions where Lamartine holds the place of honour.
It has been remarked by a French critic that the further we recede from the time of the Declaration of Independence the worse the poetry. The expressions become less exact, the phraseology common, the style incorrect, with less cadence in the verses. The versification is seldom accurate throughout any of these poems. It is but another proof of what I have elsewhere stated, that Hayti is in a state of decay.