ar's tent to
deliver the message. I had not got many yards off, however, when I
heard a volley of musketry fired close to me, and directly, as it
seemed, at the tent. An instant afterwards I saw a party of men, who
must have followed close upon us, disappearing in the darkness.

"To arms!--to arms! the enemy are upon us!" was the cry, and soon
general confusion ensued. The troops got under arms, and some fired in
the direction taken by the fugitives, but in the darkness it was
impossible to see whether any were hit. The fear was that the general
must have been killed, and every one was in dismay until he himself rode
round, quieting the alarm of the men. He had fortunately quitted his
tent a few minutes previously, and was not many yards off when the
firing took place. On examining his cot, it was found that three or
four bullets had passed right through it, so that he must have been
killed, or severely wounded, had he not providentially left his tent.

Few in the camp slept that night. A treacherous attempt had evidently
been made to assassinate our general. When morning came we looked out
in the direction of the enemy's camp. On the ground lay two bodies, and
a party was sent out to bring them in. One of them was that of Colonel
Lopez; and on his person was discovered a paper proposing a plan to
Murillo for penetrating the camp with a party of Spaniards disguised as
Patriots, and putting Bolivar to death. It was countersigned as
approved of by the Spanish general. Such, then, was the fate of the
rejected suitor of Dona Dolores.

I have not space to describe the several engagements which followed, but
Colonel Duffield and Captain Laffan, who soon became a major, gained the
credit they deserved for their gallantry on numerous occasions, and I
had the satisfaction of being praised by Bolivar himself. However, the
severe life we led at length affected both Major Laffan and me, and
Colonel Duffield, in whose corps we served, insisted that we should
return home to obtain the quiet and rest we required. The road was now
open to Popayan, and we were able to travel with a small escort of
invalids and wounded men, who, like ourselves, were unfit for service,
and were anxious to return home.

With feelings of considerable anxiety we rode up to my father's house,
for what might not have happened during our absence we could not tell.
Great, therefore, was my joy when we were greeted at the entrance by my
mother,