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Wordsworth's Poetical Works, Volume 2: 1802

Edited by William Knight

1896

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/12145/12145-h/Wordsworth2f.html#section75

To Toussaint L'Ouverture

Composed August, 1802.—Published 1807A

The Poem

text variant footnote line number Toussaint, the most unhappy man of men! Whether the whistling Rustic tend his plough Within thy hearing, or thy head be now Pillowed in some deep dungeon's earless den;— O miserable Chieftain! where and when Wilt thou find patience? Yet die not; do thou Wear rather in thy bonds a cheerful brow: Though fallen thyself, never to rise again, Live, and take comfort. Thou hast left behind Powers that will work for thee; air, earth, and skies; There's not a breathing of the common wind That will forget thee; thou hast great allies; Thy friends are exultations, agonies, And love, and man's unconquerable mind.

Note Contents 1802 Main Contents

1

2 B

C

5

10

Variant 1: 1827 Whether the rural milk-maid by her cow Sing in thy hearing, or thou liest now Alone in some deep dungeon's earless den,

1803 Whether the all-cheering sun be free to shed His beams around thee, or thou rest thy head Pillowed in some dark dungeon's noisome den,

1815 Whether the whistling Rustic tend his plough Within thy hearing, or Thou liest now Buried in some deep dungeon's earless den;—

1820 return

Variant 2: 1807 ... Yet die not; be thou Life to thyself in death; with chearful brow Live, loving death, nor let one thought in ten Be painful to thee ...

1803 return

Footnote A: But previously printed in The Morning Post of February 2, 1803, under the signature W. L. D.—Ed. return to footnote mark

Footnote B: Compare Massinger, The Bondman, act I. scene iii. l. 8: 'Her man of men, Timoleon.' Ed. return

Footnote C: Compare Rowe's Tamerlane, iii. 2: 'But to subdue the unconquerable mind.' Also Gray's poem The Progress of Poesy, ii. 2, l. 10: 'Th' unconquerable Mind, and Freedom's holy flame.' Ed. return

Note: François Dominique Toussaint (who was surnamed L'Ouverture), the child of African slaves, was born at St. Domingo in 1743. He was a Royalist in political sympathy till 1794, when the decree of the French convention, giving liberty to the slaves, brought him over to the side of the Republic. He was made a general of division by Laveux, and succeeded in taking the whole of the north of the island from the English. In 1796 he was made chief of the French army of St. Domingo, and first the British commander, and next the Spanish, surrendered everything to him. He became governor of the island, which prospered under his rule. Napoleon, however, in 1801, issued an edict re-establishing slavery in St. Domingo. Toussaint professed obedience, but showed that he meant to resist the edict. A fleet of fifty-four vessels was sent from France to enforce it. Toussaint was proclaimed an outlaw. He surrendered, and was received with military honours, but was treacherously arrested and sent to Paris in June 1802, where he died, in April 1803, after ten months' hardship in prison. He had been two months in prison when Wordsworth addressed this sonnet to him.—Ed.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-HEADQUARTERS OF THE CAPE, le 28 Pluviose, an 10.
+Wordsworth's Poetical Works, Volume 2: 1802
-(17th February, 1802.)
-"INHABITANTS OF SAINT DOMINGO,
-        "I have come hither, in the name of the French Government, to bring you peace and happiness; I feared I should encounter obstacles in the ambitious views of the chiefs of the colony; I was not in error.
-        "Those chiefs who announced their devotion to France in their proclamations, had no intention of being Frenchmen; if they sometimes spoke of France, the reason is that they did not think themselves able to disown it openly. At present, their perfidious intentions are unmasked. General Toussaint sent me back his sons with a letter in which he assured me that he desired nothing so much as the happiness of the colony, and that he was ready to obey all the orders that I should give him.
+Edited by William Knight
-        "I ordered him to come to me; I gave him an assurance that I would employ him as my lieutenant-general: he replied to that order by mere words; he only seeks to gain time.
-        "I have been commanded by the French Government to establish here prosperity and abundance promptly; if I allow myself to be amused by cunning and perfidious ciruumlocutions, the colony will be the theatre of a long civil war.
+http://www.gutenberg.org/files/12145/12145-h/Wordsworth2f.html#section75
-        "I commence my campaign, and I will teach that rebel what is the force of the French Government.
-        "From this moment, he must be regarded by all good Frenchmen residing in Saint Domingo only as an insensate monster.
-        "I have promised liberty to the inhabitants of Saint Domingo; I will see that they enjoy it. I will cause persons and property to be respected.
+To Toussaint L'Ouverture
-        "I ordain what follows:--
+Composed August, 1802.—Published 1807A
-        "Article 1.--General Toussaint and General Christophe are outlawed; every good citizen is commanded to seize
-Page 181
-them, and to treat them as rebels to the French Republic.
-        "Article 2.--From the day when the French army shall have taken up quarters, every officer, whether civil or military, who shall obey other orders than those of the Generals of the army of the French Republic, which I command, shall be treated as a rebel.
-        "Article 3.--The agricultural laborers who have been led into error, and who, deceived by the perfidious insinuations of the rebel Generals, may have taken up arms, shall be treated as wandering children, and shall be sent back to tillage, provided they have not endeavored to incite insurrection.
-        "Article 4.--The soldiers of the demi-brigades who shall abandon the army of Toussaint, shall form part of the French army.
+The Poem
-        "Article 5.--General Augustin Clervaux, who commands the Department of the Ciboa, having acknowledged the French government, and the authority of the Captain-general, is maintained in his rank and in his command.
-        "Article 6.--The General-in-chief of the Staff will cause this proclamation to be printed and published.
+text	variant	footnote	line number
+Toussaint, the most unhappy man of men!
+Whether the whistling Rustic tend his plough
+Within thy hearing, or thy head be now
+Pillowed in some deep dungeon's earless den;—
+O miserable Chieftain! where and when
+Wilt thou find patience? Yet die not; do thou
+Wear rather in thy bonds a cheerful brow:
+Though fallen thyself, never to rise again,
+Live, and take comfort. Thou hast left behind
+Powers that will work for thee; air, earth, and skies;
+There's not a breathing of the common wind
+That will forget thee; thou hast great allies;
+Thy friends are exultations, agonies,
+And love, and man's unconquerable mind.
-        "The Captain-General commanding the army of Saint Domingo.
-(Signed) "LECLERC."
+Note
+Contents 1802
+Main Contents
+B
+C
+Variant 1:
+
+Whether the rural milk-maid by her cow
+Sing in thy hearing, or thou liest now
+Alone in some deep dungeon's earless den,
+Whether the all-cheering sun be free to shed
+His beams around thee, or thou rest thy head
+Pillowed in some dark dungeon's noisome den,
+Whether the whistling Rustic tend his plough
+Within thy hearing, or Thou liest now
+Buried in some deep dungeon's earless den;—
+return
+Variant 2:
+
+... Yet die not; be thou
+Life to thyself in death; with chearful brow
+Live, loving death, nor let one thought in ten
+Be painful to thee ...
+return
+Footnote A:   But previously printed in The Morning Post of February 2, 1803, under the signature W. L. D.—Ed.
+return to footnote mark
+Footnote B:  Compare Massinger, The Bondman, act I. scene iii. l. 8:
+'Her man of men, Timoleon.'
+Ed.
+return
+Footnote C:   Compare Rowe's Tamerlane, iii. 2:
+'But to subdue the unconquerable mind.'
+Also Gray's poem The Progress of Poesy, ii. 2, l. 10:
+'Th' unconquerable Mind, and Freedom's holy flame.'
+Ed.
+return
+Note:   François Dominique Toussaint (who was surnamed L'Ouverture), the child of African slaves, was born at St. Domingo in 1743. He was a Royalist in political sympathy till 1794, when the decree of the French convention, giving liberty to the slaves, brought him over to the side of the Republic. He was made a general of division by Laveux, and succeeded in taking the whole of the north of the island from the English. In 1796 he was made chief of the French army of St. Domingo, and first the British commander, and next the Spanish, surrendered everything to him. He became governor of the island, which prospered under his rule. Napoleon, however, in 1801, issued an edict re-establishing slavery in St. Domingo. Toussaint professed obedience, but showed that he meant to resist the edict. A fleet of fifty-four vessels was sent from France to enforce it. Toussaint was proclaimed an outlaw. He surrendered, and was received with military honours, but was treacherously arrested and sent to Paris in June 1802, where he died, in April 1803, after ten months' hardship in prison. He had been two months in prison when Wordsworth addressed this sonnet to him.—Ed.