The conduct of the Haytian ladies who are married to foreigners is much to their credit, as rarely a case occurs to draw the attention of the public to their private life; and almost the same may be said of their married life in general, and this in defiance of the debauchery of their Haytian husbands. This virtue was, perhaps, unfairly ascribed by a French diplomatist to their sluggish temperaments and their want of imagination. But, whatever may be the cause, it appears to exist to a considerable extent. The habit of having no fixed hours for meals appears to prevail in most tropical countries; and in Hayti, though there are fixed times for the husband and the other males of a family, who can only return from business at certain hours, yet the ladies of the family prefer cakes, sweetmeats, and dreadful messes at all hours, and only sit down to the family meal _pro formâ_. No wonder they are ever complaining of indigestion, and taking their wonderful _remèdes_. From my own observation, and that of many of my friends, I may assert with confidence as a general proposition, that the Haytian black or mulatto is more given to drink, and to a forgetfulness of his duty to his family, than any other people with whom we were acquainted. With some marked, and I should add numerous exceptions, after his early coffee the Haytian begins the day with a grog or cocktail, and these grogs and cocktails continue until at mid-day many of the young men are slightly intoxicated, and by night a large minority at least are either in an excited, a sullen, or a maudlin state. It appears also to be a rule among them, that, whether married or not, a Haytian must have as many mistresses as his purse will permit him; these are principally drawn from the lower classes. This practice is not confined to any particular rank; from the Presidents downwards all are tainted with the same evil. The mistresses of the first-named are always known, as they are visited publicly, often accompanied by a staff or a few select officers. I have met them even at dinner in respectable houses, and have been asked to trace a resemblance between their children and the reputed father. No one seeks to conceal it, and the conversation of married ladies continually turns on this subject. One excuse for it is that many of the ladies whom you meet in society were only married after the birth of their first children. However, according to French law, that ceremony renders them all legitimate. Some of those admitted into society are not married at all, but their daughters’ being married prevents notice being taken of the false position of the mother. An excuse has been made for the debauchery of the Haytians. It is said that there are three women to every two men, which is probably true, and that therefore the latter are exposed to every kind of temptation, which is also true.