g him as a general. Yes, I fancy you will find
your friend alive. At any rate, there is a General Carmen, rather a
leading man among the Blues, I think, and sometimes spoken of as a
probable president. You will, of course, put up at the Hotel de los
Generales. Ah, here is Bernhard with the five hundred dollars in hard
money, for which you asked. If you should want more, draw on us at sight.
I will give you a letter of introduction to the house of Bluehm & Bluthner
at Caracas, who will be glad to cash your drafts at the current rate of
exchange, and to whose care I will address any letters I may have occasion
to write to you."

This concluded my business with Mr. Van Voorst, and three days later I was
once more in Caracas. I found the place very little altered, less than I
was myself. I had entered it in high spirits, full of hope, eager for
adventure, and intent on making my fortune. Now my heart was heavy with
sorrow and bitter with disappointment. Though I had made my fortune, I had
lost, as I thought, both the buoyancy of youth and the capacity for
enjoyment, and I looked forward to the future without either hope or
desire.

As I rode with Ramon into the _patio_ of the hotel, where I had been
arrested by the alguazils of the Spanish governor, a man came forward to
greet me, so strikingly like the ancient _posadero_ that I felt sure he
was the latter's son. My surmise proved correct, and I afterwards heard,
not without a sense of satisfaction, that the father was hanged by the
patriots when they recaptured Caracas.

After I had engaged my rooms the _posadero_ informed me (in answer to my
inquiry) that General Salvador Carmen (this could be none other than my
old friend) was with the army at La Victoria, but that he had a house at
Caracas where his wife and family were then residing. He also mentioned
incidentally that several Spanish officers of distinction, who had arrived
a few days previously, were staying in the _posada_--doubtless the same
spoken of by Van Voorst.

The day being still young, for I had left La Guayra betimes, I thought I
could not do better than call on Juanita, who lived only a stone's throw
from the Hotel de los Generales. She recognized me at once and received
me--almost literally--with open arms. When I essayed to kiss her hand, she
offered me her cheek.

"After this long time! It is a miracle!" she exclaimed. "We mourned for
you as one dead; for we felt sure that if you were living we sh