1 827.-] Sketches of Hayti. \ 23 



since the revolution '; but his statements hardly bear him out. The reigns 

 of Dessalines and Christophe were dreadful scourges; and up to the death 

 of the latter, Hayti had derived no advantages which compensated for the 

 years of horror and destruction she had groaned under. Circumstances 

 favoured the revolution ; the treachery and subsequent imbecility of France 

 prevented her from resuming her authority ; and, as ignorance predominated, 

 the most ferocious became the most powerful. It is to be hoped that the 

 scene will now change, although it must be confessed that, under the govern- 

 ment of Boyer, the Haytians are more free in name than in reality. And 

 when the wealth which many of them possess, and the commerce carried on, 

 are spoken of, it should be remembered that the first was, in a great measure,- 

 drawn from the coffers of their former masters; while the latter is the pro- 

 duce of little more than the wreck of French industry. In 1791, the value 

 of the exports was 5,371, 593Z. ; and, in 1822, it is said to have been about 

 2,000,000/. The Haytians have hitherto done but little for themselves, 

 and time only can shew what capabilities they really possess. 



Of the style in which Mr. Harvey's volume is written, and of his reflec- 

 tions, we cannot speak in very high terms. In his reasoning he frequently 

 contradicts himself, and not rarely arrives at conclusions in direct oppo- 

 sition to his premises and arguments. Nevertheless, his pages are not 

 uninstructive nor uninteresting ; and although the office of historian appears 

 beyond his capability, his " Sketches" deserve perusal. He aims at impar- 

 tiality, but is not always successful in observing it. Where, however, his 

 statements are overcharged, the error is not difficult of detection ; and, 

 apparently from the author's desire to do justice, the bane almost invariably 

 brings with it, or is followed by, the antidote. 



" PAUVRE GENEVLWVE:" 

 A CONTINENTAL ADVENTURE. 



DURING a late visit to the Continent, I made it my object to pass by and 

 inspect one of the most imposing and interesting, though not one of tho 

 largest chateaux, to be met with in France, which stands near the banks 

 of the rapid Rhone, a few miles distant from the town of Pont-Saint- 

 Esprit. It is built-in the Gdthic style of the seventeenth century, but has 

 an air of greater antiquity. From the aspect of its towers, seen at a dis- 

 tance, as you enter a forest of primeval oaks connected with the domain, 

 besides its insulated situation, and the images rudely carved on its exterior, 

 in imitation of 



" The brawny prophets, who, in robes so rich, 

 At distance due possess the crisped niche," 



it might be supposed to be a structure of the middle ages. By an aged 

 domestic that I met with in keeping of the chateau, I was informed that 

 the estate had not been occupied or visited for many years. Its former 

 possessor having expatriated himself at the period of the Revolution, and 

 dying abroad,, the claim to the property fell into litigation, and had been 

 but recently decided. I wandered a whole day, I remember, through its 

 stately woods, traversed by glittering streamlets ; after observing atten- 

 tively its spacious halls and vaulted corridors, with an intricate maze of 

 apartments hung with superb Flemish tapestry, whose depth and grandeur 



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