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COLOMBIA. 



names of their respective favourites. Bolivar or 

 San Martin. There was something a little ludi- 

 crous, perhaps, in their notion of displaying an 

 Independent flag, (I quite forget its colour or de- 

 vices,) and calling themselves an independent na- 

 tion, while in the same breath, they were vocifer- 

 ating their determination to submit to the will of 

 a military leader, and were quarrelling amongst 

 themselves, merely as to which of the two chiefs 

 they would be governed by. It was an election, 

 however, and one in which all classes took an ac- 

 tive and sincere part. This was a new thing for 

 South Americans, and their spirits accordingly 

 rose with that feeling of freedom, which the exer- 

 cise of an elective right inspires more than any 

 other. The whole scene, therefore, was highly 

 animated, and more like that of an English elec- 

 tion, than anything I have before seen abroad. 



They must needs have an army too ; and as 

 in revolutionary times, the military always take 

 upon themselves to become a reflecting body, and 

 as they possess some cogent and effective argu- 

 ments, they generally usurp no small share of in- 

 fluence. Accordingly, on Christmas eve, at the 



