atural
affections. The animated sweetness of the negro countenance is known
only to those who have seen it thus.

Paul was of the party, looking very well in the French uniform, which he
wore in honour of his brother on great occasions, though he was far from
having grown warlike on his change of fortune. His heart was still in
his cottage, or on the sea; and now, as he stood leaning against a
pillar of the piazza, his eye was more busy in watching the
fishing-boats in the bay than in observing what went on within the
house. The only thing he liked about state-days was the hours of
idleness they afforded--such hours as this, when, lounging in the shade,
he could see Moyse happy at the feet of his beloved, and enjoy the soft
wind as it breathed past, laden with spicy scents. During such an hour,
he almost forgot the restraints of his uniform and of his rank.

There was yet another person in the piazza. Seated on its step, but
sheltered by its broad eaves, sat Therese--more beautiful by far than
Genifrede--more beautiful by far than in her days of girlhood--
celebrated as she had then been throughout the colony. Her girlishness
was gone, except its grace; her sensitiveness was gone, and (as those
might think who did not watch the changes of her eye) much of her
animation. Her carriage was majestic, her countenance, calm, and its
beauty, now refined by a life of leisure and the consciousness of rank--
leisure and rank both well employed--more imposing than ever. Her
husband was now a general in Toussaint's army. When he was in the
field, Madame Dessalines remained at home, on their estate near Saint
Marc. When he was in attendance on the Commander-in-chief, she was ever
a welcome guest in Toussaint's family. Madame L'Ouverture loved her as
a daughter; and she had endeared herself to the girls. At this time,
from an accidental circumstance, she was at the palace without her
husband. It was evident that she felt quite at home there; for, though
she had arrived only a few hours before, she did not appear disposed to
converse. As she sat alone, leaning against the base of the pillar, she
now and then cast her eyes on the book she held open in her hand, but
for the most part looked abroad upon the terraced town, the bay, or the
shadowy clefts of the rocky island which closed it in.

The sound of feet and of voices from within increased from moment to
moment. The Commander-in-chief had assumed his place, with hi