Note 75 — Chapter XIII

So much having been said of this man, it may be agreeable to the reader to be informed of his origin, and pursuits in the former part of his life.—Victor Hughes was originally a petty inn-keeper at Basse Terre, Guadaloupe; from whence he was driven for some misdemeanor, and became master of a small trading vessel at St. Domingo; then a lieutenant in the French navy; and afterwards a deputy in the national assembly: from whence he came out to the West Indies as commissioner, with controlling powers over the commanders of the army and navy. His abilities were certainly good, his courage and perseverance undoubted; but, from the ferocity of his character, he was both feared and hated. Colonel Drummond, who with his small party was taken at Point Bacchus, relates that the republicans put to death all the sick they found in the hospital at Petit Bourg, many of the women, and some children, cutting off heads, and otherwise mutilating the bodies; that, as the men who surrendered with him at Point Bacchus, fainted in their march, they were instantly bayonetted; the Colonel himself was, by particular directions from Victor Hughes, ordered to clean the prison ship in turn with the others; but from this disgrace he was relieved by the dutiful attachment of his men, who would not permit it: his food and lodging were the same as the rest, no attention being paid to his rank; but from the respect and good behaviour of his men, not one of whom would desert from him. A great number of people of all ages, sexes, and conditions, were condemned to the guillotine by this inexorable tyrant, all of whom were conducted in boats round the prison ship, in order to distress and intimidate the British prisoners.