Preachers solemnly proclaimed the fact, that this, without
doubt, was a catastrophe akin to the memorable convulsion which once had
swallowed up Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, for mutiny against the Lord; and
the proximate wrath of God could be appeased only by a retrogression
into his chosen paths. The people listened to the fathers, and obeyed
trembling. Miranda, who had struggled against and overcome the material
power of his enemies, was impotent when confronted by spiritual terrors;
and after a few languid combats, his troops deserted, leaving Monteverde
to triumph once more in the assertion of Spanish authority over every
province of Venezuela. His headquarters were established at Caracas,
and there, as well as elsewhere, his troops revelled in the perfidious
torture and execution of their capitulated foes. During nearly two
years, Monteverde reigned in Venezuela.
IV.
GUERRA A LA MUERTE!
Yet, towards the close of 1813, the star of liberty glimmered once
more from the summits of the Western Cordillera. During and after the
memorable earthquake, the city of Puerto Cabello, at that time held by
the Patriots, was under the command of a young colonel in the Republican
service, who had devoted a portion of his immense patrimonial wealth
to the culture of his intellectual powers in European travel, (not,
however, without subsequently applying a large share to the necessities
of his country,) and whose name was Simon Bolivar.
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