160 The Eve of Saint Simon, in Colombia. [AuG. 



sincere to disguise his feelings at any time, he attempted not to restrain 

 them when the routine of his professional duties brought him into 

 contact with the degraded Trayner. His heart would have sympathized 

 with misfortune, might have wept over the delusions of error, but never 

 could hold communion with guilt. Trayner's barefaced impudence dis- 

 gusted him, and he evinced his abhorrence on every occasion by the 

 most sovereign contempt. Risdale of course partook of his friend's an- 

 tipathy ; and both rendered themselves, in consequence, more especially 

 the objects of a villain's hatred ! Too cowardly openly to evince his 

 enmity, Trayner meditated a plan of vengeance so diabolical in its nature, 

 and so sudden in its result, that it fell with the velocity of the thunder- 

 bolt upon its unsuspecting victims, without affording the slightest warn- 

 ing of its fatal approach. 



Making his patron's ill-placed confidence subservient to his purposes, 

 he secretly employed emissaries to foment the general discontent that 

 still prevailed amongst the men of the " British legion ;" and by en- 

 forcing the performance of vexatious duties, curtailing the rations, and 

 giving harsh replies to the repeated remonstrances for a redress of 

 grievances become almost too heavy to be borne all which he pretended 

 to do in the name of the colonel, although Blosset was really uncon- 

 scious of this abuse of his authority he so irritated the minds of the 

 soldiers against their commander, that they only waited a favourable 

 opportunity of breaking out into open revolt. Like a skilful angler, he 

 let them nibble at the bait, in the conscious security of being able to 

 hook his prey at any moment it might suit his convenience ; and the 

 hour drew near that was to present the garrison of Achaquas with a 

 tragedy conceived and executed by a fiend in human shape, and teach 

 the inhabitants of the New World this great moral lesson, that an all- 

 wise Providence may at times permit the triumph of powerful guilt over 

 feeble innocence ! 



Most of my readers are of course well aware that in catholic coun- 

 tries it is the common usage to celebrate the anniversary of the canoniza- 

 tion of each and every saint in the calendar. On these occasions the in- 

 dividual whose name may correspond with that belonging to any of these 

 sanctified worthies regards it as his own particular festival, and keeps it 

 as we protestants do our birthdays. Now it so happened, that the 

 good lady to whom the present ' ' Liberator" of Colombia owes his ex- 

 istence was prevailed upon by the orthodox gossips to select the venera- 

 ble Saint Simon as her son's patron : the motive that led to this choice, 

 or the arguments for and against its adoption, or whether it was decreed 

 Cf nemine contradicente" the annals of the Bolivarian family sayeth not ! 

 It suffices that I acquaint my reader, who may not possess the advan- 

 tages of this saintly patronage, that such was the fact, and the day ra- 

 pidly advancing that was to afford to all classes of the republic an op- 

 portunity of blending with their devotion to the saint a demonstration 

 of respectful homage to the virtues of their ruler ! 



Bright and glorious rose the sun upon the morn that preceded the 

 Eve of Saint Simon, as if unconscious that his setting rays were doomed 

 to linger on a scene of carnage ! 



All in the little town of Achaquas were actively engaged in making 

 preparation for the coming festival. Besides illuminations, it was in- 

 tended to amuse the populace with the favourite spectacle of a bull-fight, 

 and messengers were despatched to bring from the plains some of the 



