"The opportunity was at hand. On the 21st
of June we marched from San Carlos, due east
about a dozen miles, to the village of Tinaco.
Our cavalry in advance, under Colonel Silva,
had a sharp brush with the enemy, and brought
in some prisoners. The same evening the third
division, under Plaza, joined us, and brought
up our strength to something over seven thousand.
Next day, the 22nd, we pushed on due
north, through the village of Tinnaquillo, and
halted on the road to Carabobo, the enemy's
outposts falling back before us, but not without
sharp skirmishes.

"We had now the River Chirgua to cross, and
then the defile of Buenavista. This is a formidable
position, and if it had been occupied by the
enemy we could hardly have forced it. Luckily,
they had resolved on the Pass of Carabobo as
the spot where they would give battle, so our
advance on the 23rd was unopposed. That day,
about noon, our vedettes came in sight of the
Spanish army, and Bolivar halted us and formed
us as if for the attack. Paez commanded the
right, Cedeño the left, and Plaza had the
centre. Bolivar then rode from left to right, and
addressed each corps as he passed. His words
were received by the others with silence, but
when he had done speaking to the English, we
gave him three hurrahs that were heard a mile
off.

"It was only one P.M., but Bolivar determined
to postpone the attack till next day, either to
give us a rest, or because he thought it would
be lucky to fight on San Juan's Day. We
halted, therefore, and passed the night where
we were. And such a night it was! The rain
fell in torrents, and those of us who had been
at Waterloo reminded one another that it was
just the same there, and took it for a good
omen.

"The weather in South America is always
in extremes, and the sky was cloudless on tne
24th, when we stood to arms. Our officers
were grouped together, talking over the chances
of the day, when an order came from Bolivar
for the right division, in which we English were,
to advance. It was now that the Creole regiment
that was with us, called the Bravos of
Apure, claimed to lead the attack. As a matter
of right it belonged to us, we being the older
corps, but considering the pretension on the
part of natives of the country very natural, we
conceded the point, and on they went. Our
regiment followed, and then came the cavalry,
under Paez, led by a squadron called Los
Colorados, composed of two hundred supernumerary
officers. The morning dawned bright
and clear as we moved along the heights opposite
the Spaniards. All was calm and still, as if
Nature would contrast her peacefulness with
the horrid uproar with which man was about
to break in.

"We were moving to the west, to get round
the enemy's right flank, if possible. We could
see his guns and some of his infantry; but much
of his force was hid by the trees and the broken
ground, and a strong body of his men were
posted in a ravine, where they were altogether
out of sight. But it is time to point out to you his
position. This road, by which we came from
Valencia, is the high road to San Carlos. The
ravine which you see there behind us, coming
down to it from the south-east, is called the
Manzana, or 'Apple' ravine. Behind that were
the head-quarters of the Spanish army. Their
forces were in position in front of the ravine,
and on the right of the San Carlos road, their
guns being on their left flank—on that hill
which you see completely commands the road.
Had we advanced along the road, our column
would have been swept by their guns, and
exposed to an attack in flank, which must have
proved fatal. On the other hand, the ground
on the extreme right of the Spaniards you see
there," said the old general, pointing to a series
of steep hills and deep ravines, "was quite
impracticable for regular troops and cavalry.
Bolivar, therefore, after reconnoitring the
enemy for about a quarter of an hour, sent us
orders to attack by the ravine, which, as you
see, lies between the hill on which were the
Spanish guns and their infantry. This ravine
we found so deep, that, on descending into it,
we lost sight of the regiment of Apure. Meantime,
the enemy's guns had opened fire, and
men began to fall in both the battalions of our
brigade.

"The crest of the ravine was lined by the
enemy. The ground on which they stood
slopes gently towards the mouth of the ravine,
which is so steep, that I, for one, was glad to
catch hold of the tail of a horse ridden by an
officer in front of me. Directly the Apure
regiment had got out of the ravine and were
beginning to deploy, the enemy's cavalry threatened
to charge it, but, either through treachery
or cowardice, retreated before our cavalry, who
now passed us on our right and charged, but
were in their turn driven back by the fire of the
Spanish line. Meantime, the Apure Bravos had
formed line and advanced to within pistol-shot of
the Spaniards, when they received a murderous
volley from more than three thousand muskets,
besides the fire of the Spanish artillery.
Overwhelmed with this storm of shot, the regiment
wavered, then broke and fled back in headlong
disorder upon us. It was a critical moment,
but we managed to keep our ground till the
fugitives had got through our ranks back into
the ravine, and then our grenadier company,
gallantly led by Captain Minchin, formed up
and poured in their fire upon the Spaniards,
who were only a few paces from them. Checked
by this volley, the enemy fell back a little,
while our men, pressing eagerly on, formed and
delivered their fire company after company.

"Receding before our fire and the long line
of British bayonets, the Spaniards fell back to
the position from which they had rushed in
pursuit of the Apure Bravos. But from thence
they kept up a tremendous fire upon us, which
we returned as rapidly as we could. As they
outnumbered us in the ratio of four to one, and
were strongly posted and supported by guns,