What do you think?
Rate this book
The Hour And The Man; A Historical Romance
Excerpt from The Hour and the Man: An Historical Romance
The nights of August are in St. Domingo the hottest of the year. The winds then cease to befriend the panting inhabitants; and while the thermometer stands at 90, there is no steady breeze, as during the preceding months of summer. Light puffs of wind now and then fan the brow of the negro, and relieve for an instant the oppression of the European settler; but they are gone as soon as come, and seem only to have left the heat more intolerable than before.
Of these sultry evenings, one of the sultriest was the 22nd of August, 1791. This was one of five days appointed for rejoicings in the town of Cap Fran ais - festivities among the French and Creole inhabitants, who were as ready to rejoice on appointed occasions as the dulness of colonial life renders natural, but who would have been yet more lively than they were if the date of their festival had been in January or May. There was no choice as to the date, however. They were governed in regard to their celebrations by what happened at Paris; and never had the proceedings of the mother country been so important to the colony as now.
During the preceding year, the white proprietors of St. Domingo, who had hailed with loud voices the revolutionary doctrines before which royalty had begun to succumb in France, were astonished to find their cries of Liberty and Equality adopted by some who had no business with such ideas and words. The mulatto proprietors and merchants of the island innocently understood the words according to their commonly received meaning, and expected an equal share with the whites in the representation of the colony, in the distribution of its offices, and in the civil rights of its inhabitants generally.
The nights of August are in St. Domingo the hottest of the year. The winds then cease to befriend the panting inhabitants; and while the thermometer stands at 90, there is no steady breeze, as during the preceding months of summer. Light puffs of wind now and then fan the brow of the negro, and relieve for an instant the oppression of the European settler; but they are gone as soon as come, and seem only to have left the heat more intolerable than before.
Of these sultry evenings, one of the sultriest was the 22nd of August, 1791. This was one of five days appointed for rejoicings in the town of Cap Fran ais - festivities among the French and Creole inhabitants, who were as ready to rejoice on appointed occasions as the dulness of colonial life renders natural, but who would have been yet more lively than they were if the date of their festival had been in January or May. There was no choice as to the date, however. They were governed in regard to their celebrations by what happened at Paris; and never had the proceedings of the mother country been so important to the colony as now.
During the preceding year, the white proprietors of St. Domingo, who had hailed with loud voices the revolutionary doctrines before which royalty had begun to succumb in France, were astonished to find their cries of Liberty and Equality adopted by some who had no business with such ideas and words. The mulatto proprietors and merchants of the island innocently understood the words according to their commonly received meaning, and expected an equal share with the whites in the representation of the colony, in the distribution of its offices, and in the civil rights of its inhabitants generally.
- GenresHistory
Kindle Edition
First published December 31, 1974
17 people are currently reading
80 people want to read
About the author
Harriet Martineau
1,197 books65 followersHarriet Martineau (1802 - 1876) was an English writer and philosopher, renowned in her day as a controversial journalist, political economist, abolitionist and life-long feminist. Martineau has also been called the first female sociologist and the first female journalist in England.
Comprehensive list of her works with links to digitized versions here.
Comprehensive list of her works with links to digitized versions here.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 22, 2014
A history book of value.
This volume is much to difficult to read a.d comprehend for an a read reader. there is an importance for history here. some will find it tedious to read.
This volume is much to difficult to read a.d comprehend for an a read reader. there is an importance for history here. some will find it tedious to read.
Displaying 1 of 1 review