birth is not certainly known. It has been said to have been on the 20th of May. But, from his name, it seems more likely[35] that it was on the 1st of November. In Catholic countries, almost every day of the year is set apart to the worship of some saint; and a child born on the day of any particular saint is very apt to receive his name from that day. The first of November is a festival of the church, called All Saints' Day; and Toussaint, in the French language, means All Saints. [35] In the neighborhood of Gaou-Guinou lived a very honest, religious old black man, named Pierre Baptiste. He had been in the service of Jesuit missionaries, and had there learned to read and write, also a little of geometry. By help of the Catholic Prayer-Book he learned some prayers in Latin, and found out their meaning in French. This man stood godfather for Toussaint at his baptism, and as the boy grew older it was his pleasure to teach him what little he himself knew. The language of the Arradas tribe was always spoken in the family of Gaou-Guinou, but from his godfather Toussaint learned to speak tolerably good French, which was the language of the whites in the western part of St. Domingo. It is said that Gaou-Guinou was allowed to cultivate a little patch of ground for his family, and that some of his fellow-slaves were permitted to assist him occasionally. This indulgence indicates that he stood well in his master's opinion. But, in common with other slaves, it is probable that he and his wife toiled early and late in the fields or the sugar-house, and that their family were huddled together in a hut too small to allow of their observing the laws of cleanliness or modesty. For several years Toussaint was so feeble and slender that his parents called him by a name which signified "The Little Lath." But he gained strength as he grew older; and by the time he was twelve years old he could beat all the boys in running, jumping, and leaping. [36] [36] It was the business of young slaves to tend the flocks and herds. They generally neglected and abused the creatures under their care, because they themselves were accustomed to hard treatment. But Toussaint was of a kindly disposition, and there was less violence on his master's plantation than elsewhere. It was remarked in the neighborhood that he differed from other boys in his careful and gentle treatment of the animals under his care. He was naturally a silent and thoughtful child, and probably this tendency was increased by
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