CHAP. V.]           OR   SAINT   DOMINGO.                      125
very harsh and cruel measures, which, although ef-
fectual for a time, nevertheless proved injurious to
the peace and security of his government after-
wards.
Rainsford, who is no mean authority, for he had
personal knowledge of Toussaint, says, that he was
a man without those unrelenting feelings which
others ascribe to him ; but this opinion may proceed
from gratitude on the part of that officer, who was
set at liberty by Toussaint after having been in pri-
son for a considerable period, and in momentary
expectation of the forfeiture of his life. Speaking
of him in his general character, and of his actions
in the field, he says : " Thus proceeded this illus-
trious man, like the simple acorn, first promiscuous-
ly scattered by the winds, in its slow but beauteous
progress to the gigantic oak, spreading its foliage
with august grandeur above the minor growth of the
forest, defending the humble shrub, and braving the
fury of the contending elements." And again, as if
the author would wish to find a cover for the many
massacres which Toussaint had sanctioned and in-
dulged in, he says : " When the cloud, charged
with electric fluid, becomes too ponderous, it selects
not the brooding murderer on the barren heath, but
bursts perhaps indiscriminately in wasteful ven-
geance over the innocent flocks reposing in verdant
fields. He was, without doubt, a man possessed of
many virtues, and performed many very good and