n in poverty; and the numberless
families, formerly in affluence, now reduced to absolute beggary. Such
was the state of my native land. And yet no one complained--all were
ready to struggle on in the cause of Liberty; blaming, not those who had
risen to fight for freedom, but the tyranny of their oppressors as the
cause of all they endured.

While we were encamped at a neighbouring hamlet, which afforded
sufficient means for defence, and enabled us to watch the fort, a
despatch arrived for Juan, ordering him to evacuate it. Alas! had it
come sooner, he and his companions might have preserved their lives, as
I believe he would have succeeded, had he made the attempt, in cutting
his way through the enemy; but, influenced by a stern sense of duty, he
had held it after all hope of successfully defending it had gone. This
added greatly to my grief at his loss.

General Bolivar had heard of the corps Uncle Richard had raised, and now
sent forward requesting him to join his army without delay. By forced
marches across the mountains, in which both officers and men suffered
not a little, we reached the general's camp, and I had the honour of
being introduced to him. I little expected to see so young a man. In
person he was small, but well-made and muscular, and able to go through
astonishing exertion--frequently marching on foot over mountains and
plains without exhibiting the slightest fatigue. His eyes were dark,
large, and full of fire and penetration, denoting wonderful energy of
mind and greatness of soul. His nose was aquiline and well-formed, his
face rather long, and his complexion somewhat sallow. As Uncle Richard
and I had the honour of being invited to his table, I had an opportunity
of seeing him in his social moments. He was lively in his manner, full
of anecdote and conversation; and it was said that, like Buonaparte, he
possessed the power of reading at once a man's character, and placing
him in a position where his talents and abilities would prove useful to
his country. He was also thoroughly disinterested, and so little regard
did he pay to himself under the most severe privations, that he was
always ready to share what he possessed with his companions-in-arms, to
his last cigar or his last shirt. He was always cool, and invariably
displayed the most undaunted courage. He was, to be sure, hasty in his
temper, and often made use of intemperate expressions, abusing in no
measured manner those who