Toussaint adopted an original method of making the force of this fact
evident to his followers. He would fill a glass with black grains of corn
and throw upon them a few grains of white. "You are the black grains," he
would say; "your enemies are the white." Then he would shake the glass.
"Where are the white grains now? You see they have disappeared."
The authorities in France could not but recognize the ability and the
moderation of the black leader, and in 1796 he was appointed
commander-in-chief in the island, a commission which was confirmed by
Bonaparte about December, 1799. All classes and colors regarded him as a
general benefactor and a wise and judicious ruler. Order and prosperity
were restored, and his government was conducted with moderation and
humanity. It looked as though peace and good will might continue in Hayti
as long as this able governor lived, but unluckily he had to deal with a
man in whom ambition and pride of place overruled all conceptions of
justice. This was Napoleon Bonaparte, who had now risen to the supreme
power in France.
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