The Words of Negroes
Such a Good Master
In court, Vallentin is keen to build up a good image of himself. It’s even his only line of defence: he’s supposed to be too good a master to be really concerned by what he’s accused of. The slaves, given the circumstances, were forced to contribute to this image: firstly, because there could have been a worse master than Vallentin, and secondly, because they testified in his presence and would continue to be in his power after the trial… However, behind the smooth image, the morbid obsessions of this ‘so good master’ were revealed.
In the courtroom, slaves are obviously not free to speak. They are under enormous pressure during the few days of the hearing: in this arena, they speak before a hostile audience and under the watchful eye of their master. Even in the witness room, where they are packed for days on end, the overseer is present, as a slave and witness himself. He spies on them and reports what they say to the court. And last but not least, once the trial is over, they all return to the habitation in the hands of their master and his commander. So it’s hardly surprising that most of the slaves made no explicit complaints on the stand. Yet as we listen to their protests about their master’s qualities, we can’t help but hear the truth of their ordeal. And behind the praise of Vallentin by his peers, we hear the solidarity of the executioners, certain of their impunity and right.
The slaves are almost unanimous in their praise of their master’s goodness. The most striking proof they give, is that he moderates the whip lashes.
Jean Pierre, 14, field slave.
M. Vallentin was a good master, and he did lash the children a few times, but only when they deserved it.
François, Sébastien’s former slave.
Ah, sir, he was only too good.
Q.
But tell us, what do you base your opinion on?
François.
For example, when a negro deserved 50 lashes, M. Vallentin would make him give only 5 or 10.
François.
It was our master who brought this fashion into being. The bad subject to whom he made me put the gag kept it 2 days, 3 days at the most.
Q.
How big was the gag?
François.
It was about as big as the bits on a horse’s bridle.
Vallentin never failed to intervene to ensure that none of his kindnesses were forgotten. Several slaves mention the quality of the care they received among his benefits.
Vallentin.
Jean-Pierre and Mélanie were swollen when I took over the house. Didn’t I provide them with all my care?
Jacob.
Yes, sir; they were swollen, but you took good care of them and cured them. I’ve been quite ill. Without you, I wouldn’t be alive.
Vallentin.
Mr. President, please ask the witness if I didn’t always take care of his children, if I didn’t order them to be served their meals?
Jacob.
Yes, sir, my children always had two meals a day, and you even had the nurse whipped 10 times for not giving them both meals.
And of course, Vallentin finds in his loyal Commandeur Louis, his most constant supporter:
No doubt one could find a worse master than Vallentin; to his credit, he maintained his human stock well enough. In any case, Vallentin was regarded by his peers as too gentle a master, to the point of putting his interests – and theirs – at risk.
Mr. Marc Wachter, resident-owner, Joinville.
I don’t know anything about the Sébastien affair. But it’s common knowledge that Mr. Vallentin’s administration is extremely gentle.
Boulogne de St-Villiers, resident-owner.
I’m a neighbour of Le Balisier. I have often noticed that M. Vallentin is too lenient with his negroes. I have not noticed that he punishes them excessively.
de Blonlemont, resident-owner.
I have been a neighbour of Mr. Vallentin for two or three years now. His administration has always been extremely gentle and humane. We can only blame him for being too lax. I’ve never heard or seen of Mr Vallentin being harsh with his negroes, or using excessive punishment.
Désiravant, resident-owner.
I’m Mr Vallentin’s neighbour. His administration is gentle.
Vallentin may have been a “good” master, but not a very good manager:
Mr. Raifer.
I was co-owner with Mr Vallentin of Le Balisier. Far from being a terrible man, I realised that he was too weak. His administration was compromising the dwelling’s income. So I decided to put a yoke on the house. As soon as the Negroes heard of my resolution, 4 or 5 of them came to beg me not to do anything about it. They said they had an excellent master in Mr Vallentin, and that they would be very unhappy if they changed.
This version was somewhat contradicted during Jacob’s interrogation.
Me Grandpré, the defendant’s lawyer.
I would ask Mr. President to ask Jacob if the negroes in the workshop did not make urgent representations to Mr. Raifer to prevent the sequestration from taking place and to ensure that Mr. Vallentin remained the manager?
Jacob.
I haven’t heard that. All I know is that I wasn’t happy when Mr. Vallentin left the house. I don’t know whether the others were pleased or not. The only thing we reproached him for was accusing us of poisoning his cattle.
Jacob, the wise old man, tempers the fable of the master loved by his slaves, and manages to slip in a protest against his master’s stubborn obsession.
But only Adeline dares to admit explicitly that she is afraid of her master, and dares to repeat the phrases that prove his premeditation.
Adeline.
I was afraid of Vallentin. When Sébastien was arrested to be thrown into the dungeon, Sébastien cried out: “Sir, shoot me rather than make me die in the dungeon” “No,” replied our master, “you will die in the dungeon as you made the cattle you poisoned die”.
Q.
Have you heard that Sébastien poisoned cattle? –
Adeline.
No, sir.
Q.
Did Vallentin ever have you beaten?
Adeline.
Yes, sir, but only when I deserved it. I’ve been sick twice, even three times. Mr Vallentin called in doctors Mouraille and Bellevue to treat me.
Mr James, Assessor.
She said she was afraid of her master; she probably meant that she was afraid of being treated by her master.
For finally, this good master is the same man who authorised his commander to persecute young Réville, Adeline and Sébastien’s son, to beat him to a bloody pulp, to make him eat excrement by force!
This is the paradox raised by Vallentin’s lawyer, who questioned the oldest witness, 70-year-old Raynal de St Michel.
Me Grandpré, defendant Lawyer.
Mr. President, please ask the witness if, in his opinion, a master who was in the habit of punishing his slaves by making them eat excrement would have the excellent reputation enjoyed by Mr. Vallentin?
Raynal de St Michel
No sir, I’m sure he wouldn’t.
Vallentin is the man who goes after Félicien, then after Sébastien and his family, who wreaks cold, methodical vengeance on these “valiant” men. First Félicien, “the naughtiest of all negroes”, thief and marooner; then Sébastien, the strongest, the best of all negroes.
Vallentin.
Oh! the best Negro, that’s not true ! He was a good worker with a hoe. But for the cultivation of his private garden, he hired maroons with whom he was in regular contact.
This trade with freedom, this way of taking back a little of his destiny in his own hands, is most likely what made Sébastien so unbearable for his master, what made him such an insolent figure of resilience, of resistance, that he vowed to destroy him.