Commander-in-chief held his levees at Port-au-Prince on certain days
of the month, all the year round. No matter how far-off he might be, or
how engaged, the night before, he rarely failed to be at home on the
appointed day, at the fixed hour. On one particular occasion, he was
known to have been out against Rigaud, day and night, for a fortnight,
and to be closely engaged as far south as Aux Cayes, the very evening
preceding the review and levee which had been announced for the 20th of
January. Not the less for this did he appear in front of the troops in
the Place Republicaine, when the daylight gushed in from the east,
putting out the stars, whose reflection trembled in the still waters of
the bay. The last evolutions were finished, and the smoke from the last
volley had incited away in the serene sky of January, before the
coolness of the northern breeze had yielded to the blaze of the mounting
sun. The troops then lined the long streets of the town, and the avenue
to the palace, while the Commander-in-chief and his staff passed on, and
entered the palace-gates.

The palace, like every other building in Port-au-Prince, consisted of
one storey only. The town had been destroyed by an earthquake in 1770;
and, though earthquakes are extremely rare in Saint Domingo, the place
had been rebuilt in view of the danger of another. The palace therefore
covered a large piece of ground, and its principal rooms were each
nearly surrounded by garden and grass-plat. The largest apartment, in
which the levees were always held, was the best room in the island--if
not for the richness of its furniture, for its space and proportions,
and the views which it commanded. Not even the abode of the
Commander-in-chief could exhibit such silken sofas, marble tables,
gilded balustrades, and japanned or ivory screens, as had been common in
the mansions of the planters; and Toussaint had found other uses for
such money as he had than those of pure luxury. The essential and
natural advantages of his palace were enough for him and his. The door
of this, his favourite apartment, was covered with a fine India matting;
the windows were hung with white muslin curtains; and the sofas, which
stood round three sides of the room, between the numerous windows, were
covered with green damask, of no very rich quality. In these many
windows lay the charm, commanding, as they did, extensive prospects to
the east, north, and west. The broad verandah