whilst a few determined on endeavouring to work their passage to the United States."

Of the others we are told,

"The various artificers were put ashore at the same period. The printer, having been permitted to carry with him a portion of the types, and printing apparatus,fortunately procured a situation in the newspaper office. The armourer afterwards returned to St. Bartholomews, with the intention of proceeding to New Orleans. The fate of the remainder I never learned, but fear their distresses must have been great, as they appeared to be totally destitute of money, and were subsequently dependent for subsistence on the manual exercise of their respective arts. Some of the officers succeeded in providing for themselves, either through their own resources or pecuniary aid from friends; the remainder, including captain — and myself, were still permitted to continue on board the Britannia."-p. 50.

To these two officers no alternative presented itself but that of attaching themselves to some other corps, which though impaired in strength, by diminution of numbers and contempt of discipline, still retained the shadow of a name.

"This resolution we had scarcely formed, when the arrival of several officers, recently in the Patriot service, and who had just then succeeded in effecting their return, gave us such information of the state of affairs on the Spanish Main, as clearly proved the madness of our previous decision, and convinced us that it would be preferable to risk every vicissitude of fortune, rather than personally engage in a contest, not only far more hazardous, and accompanied by infinitely greater hardships and privations, than an ordinary state of hostilities, but likewise conducted by both parties, on principles at variance with every feeling of honour and humanity; whilst the extreme difficulty attendant on a departure from the Patriot service of those who once actually join their standard, renders every attempt at return so nearly impracticable as to place foreigners, thus cir. cumstanced, almost in a state of slavery. Exclusive, however, of the obstructions to return, originating in the peculiar local circumstances of the country, and the hazard which must unavoidably be encountered in traversing the interior, the Independents, for reasons sufficiently obvious, are particularly cautious of permitting individuals to withdraw from their armies."-p. 51-52.

"Our unfortunate soldiers were further assured that in consequence of the extended duration of the war, and exterminating principle upon which it had been conducted, the country in general displayed one uniform scene of devastation and wretchedness: that the Patriot forces were

reduced to a state of the greatest poverty, totally devoid of discipline, and not one-fourth provided with proper military arms, the remainder being compelled to resort to bludgeons, knives and such other weapons as they found most readily."-52-53.

In another essential the commissariat of the Patriots exhibited a woful picture; their clothing

" in most instances merely consisting of fragments of coarse cloth wrapt round their bodies, and pieces of the raw buffalo hide laced over their feet as a substitute for shoes, which when hardened by the sun's heat, they again render pliant by immersion in the first stream at which they chance to arrive."-p. 53.

In the following description we are to recognise the dress of one of those English officers who thought it not inconsistent with the character of "a gentleman, a man of honour, and a British subject" to seek "worldly prosperity" in the service of the South American Patriots:

"A blanket, with a hole cut in the middle, let over the head, and tight> ened round the middle by a buffalo thong!"—p. 53.

"Whilst these gentlemen," continues the Narrative, "thus described the Patriot habiliments, they commented in the strongest language on the impolicy and imprudence of proceeding to serve in conjunction with an army barefooted and in rags, provided with such splendid uniforms as we had been obliged to procure; and ridiculed the strange contrast which our dresses and those of the Patriots would exhibit in the field; observing that such clothes would be alone sufficient to excite the jealousy of the natives; to whose eagerness for their possessions, we would almost inevitably become the sacrifice."-p. 53.

Of the discipline and character of the Patriot forces, the following account is given:

"The Independent armies march in hordes, without order or discipline; their baggage consisting of little more than the scanty covering of their backs. They are totally destitute of tents, and in their encampments observe neither regularity nor system. The commanding officers are generally mounted, and likewise such of the others as are able to provide themselves with horses or mules, the latter of which are in great plenty. The exterminating principle upon which the war is carried on between the contending parties, render their campaigns bloody and destructive; desolation marks the progress of those hostile bands to whose inveterate

enmities the innocent and unoffending inhabitants are equally the victims, with those actually opposed to them in military strife. In action the Independents display much bravery and determination, and frequently prove successful, notwithstanding their want of discipline, deficiency of arms and disorderly manner of attack and defence. Unhappily the work of death terminates not with the battle, for on whatsoever side victory rests the events which immediately succeed those sanguinary struggles, are such as must cast an indelible stain upon the Spanish American revolution. The engagement is scarcely ended, when an indiscriminate massacre of the prisoners take place; nor is the slaughter only confined to the captives, the field also undergoes an inspection, when the helpless wounded are put to the sword.”—p. 54-56.

He relates an anecdote, in this place, which casts an indelible blot upon the name of one of the chieftains.

“A young French officer, in the service of the Independents, had his arm severed from his shoulder by a sabre cut, and being unable to sustain himself from loss of blood he sunk to the ground. His distinguished bravery had, however, previously been observed by his companions, who succeeded in bearing him off the field, from whence they conveyed him into the woods, and sheltered him in a negro hut; where having applied such balsams as could be procured, they departed. The armies retired to other parts of the country, and the officer was fast recovering from the effects of his wound, when general Morillo, advancing upon the same route discovered his retreat, and had him instantly put to death!”—p. 56.

With provisions they were scantily supplied; and as to pay!

"the sufferings which the Independents undergo during their campaigns, from the difficulty of procuring food are most severe; mule's flesh, wild fruit, and some dried corn, which they carry loose in their pockets, frequently constitute the whole of their subsistence; and we were confidently assured, that the army under general Bolivar, has even often been for days together dependant for support solely upon the latter description of provisions and water. Pay was now totally unknown to them, in consequence of the utter exhaustion of their resources; and, however successful they might eventually be, there existed no probability whatever that they would even then possess the means of affording pecuniary compensation to those who may have participated in the struggle."-p. 57-58.

If these privations, in addition to the constant danger of assassination from the brother patriots be not sufficient to cool the

fever for Spanish liberty which riots in the veins of our young enthusiasts, the lieutenant adds one more consideration:

"Few need be informed of the strength and peculiar character of constitution, which are requisite for enabling Europeans to resist the destructive effects of a tropical climate, even when enjoying every advantage which wealth or luxury can bestow; but if those naturally injurious, under circumstances the most favourable towards correcting its malignancy, how infinitely must its virulency be increased, by the extreme fatigue, deficiency of nourishment, and inadequacy of clothing, suffered by the Independents during their predatory campaigns. Being destitute of tents, or change of dress, they are invariably exposed to every vicissitude of weather, in a country where the transitions are sudden and extreme. After getting drenched with heavy rains, they have no other resource, than that of allowing their dripping garments to dry upon their backs, under the influence of a scorching sun.

"The troops, continually in the open air, and devoid of any protection from the weather, are necessarily exposed at night to the heavy fogs and dews, which in the West Indies are so dreadfully destructive to human health; and the severity and hardship of their campaigns are, in every respect, infinitely greater than can be conceived by those who have been only subjected to the privations usually encountered by a British army in the field. Even the natives themselves sustain serious injury and sufferings; but the uniforin testimony of every individual acquainted with Venezuela, concurred in assuring us that a campaign in that country,' under such circumstances, could not otherwise than prove more fatal to Euro-" peans, than even the sword itself.”—p. 65-67.

It is scarcely necessary to inform the reader that the eyes of the lieutenant were at length opened to the hopelessness of the enterprize, and he determined to avoid the ferocious banditti which ravage the plains of South America. He thinks that though the war will be protracted, it will terminate in the separation of the colonies; but although the royal authority will be trampled under foot, we believe that the native Indians will gain nothing but a change of masters or a change of enemies. Sweet is the name of peace, but dearer far to these oppressed men will be the name of freedom, to which their ears are now familiar. They will never return to their former vassalage, and their white fellow-patriots will not admit them to terms of equality. The justice of the cause must be admitted by every generous mind,

and it would be peculiarly gratifying to an American to behold another portion of this hemisphere escape from the thraldom of European misrule; but we cannot disguise our fears that as soon as the common danger by which the Patriots are now united, is removed, internal discord will arise. What amalgamation can be expected from so heterogenous a mass of natives and foreigners;-of

Black and white spirits,

Blue spirits and gray?

Indians, Negroes, Spaniards, Americans and Frenchmen? The object of this conflict is glorious, but the details offer nothing but the most loathsome pictures of human deformity.

Our unfortunate lieutenant was finally taken back to St. Bartholomew's," utterly devoid of even the means of procuring a single meal; without a friend upon the island to whom we could make application for relief; in every respect destitute and pennyless, and reduced by a long train of disappointments, and the wretchedness to our present hopeless situation, to a state of the most desponding misery."

We cannot forbear transcribing the affecting picture which the author draws of his present situation:

"Anxious to avoid the inquisitive observations of the inhabitants, I returned to the beach, and again indulged in the melancholy but pleasing recollection of home-the remembrance of happier days, and of those absent but dear friends from whose society I was now so distant. Every circumstance connected with former felicity recurred with double force to my imagination, and I was only roused from this train of cheerless contemplation, by the well-known cadence of the sailors weighing anchor on board the Britannia. I thought my heart would have burst when I saw the vessel (which from habit I almost considered my home) depart from the bay without me; despair nearly took possession of my mind, and the barren hills of St. Bartholemew's at this instant appeared more desolate than ever. Whilst in this gloomy reverie, the approach of night and want of nourishment, warned me of the necessity of proceeding to the town, in order to procure shelter and refreshment: weak and spiritless, thither I accordingly pursued my course, but had only advanced a short way, when I met Mr. Vaucrosson, the merchant to whom the Britannia had been consigned, who offered me the use of a waste room in one of his outhouses, of which I gladly accepted. A black woman, who also occupied part of the place of which I had now become a temporary tenant, appeared solicitous by every means in her power to render my situation comfort