Chapter 3 Chapter two

I'm not who I used to be. The first day of the trip was the hardest, even for those less ill than the General.Early on the morning of his departure he felt uneasy about an atmosphere of latent hostility in the streets of Santa Fe.Dawn came in the drizzle, and only a few stray cows were seen on the street, but the hatred of the enemy could be felt all around.Although the government had expected it, even if the general was arranged to walk the most remote streets, the general still saw some insulting slogans written on the walls of the monastery.José Palacios rode side by side with the general, as usual, even in the midst of battle, in his stately frock coat, with a topaz brooch on his silk tie, and goatskin gloves on his hands , two identical pocket watches hung from the damask waistcoat by two long intersecting chains.The harness was silver from Potosi, and the spurs gold, so that in two or three Andean villages he was mistaken for the president.Nevertheless, it must be said, he was so respectful and cared for his master that it was inconceivable that they should be considered one and the same.He knew the general so well, and was so loyal, that he felt the same way about saying goodbye to that exile.In this city, in the past, as soon as the general arrived, there was eruption everywhere, like a festival.Three years ago, when the general returned from the dreary southern battlefields laden with honors unearned by any American, living or dead, he had received an epochal welcome here.At that time, people grabbed his reins and stopped him on the street, complaining to him about poor public facilities, excessive financial taxes, or asking him to give some gifts, and some might just want to stand by his side and appreciate his history. Great and brilliant.He was so serious about the requests made in the streets and alleys, as if he was treating the most important national affairs.He was so amazingly knowledgeable about everyone's household, business, and physical health that everyone he talked to felt for a moment sharing with him the joy of politics.

No one now believed that he was the former general, that the gloomy city he left for ever with the care of a fugitive was the original city.The same houses with gray tile roofs and fragrant indoor gardens lined the lifeless narrow streets, and the General had never felt so downcast, like a foreigner, as he was today.The villagers were all cooking slowly, their affected manners and the dialect of the half-breed people were not so much trying to tell people something as they were trying to hide something from them.Even so, it seemed to him at the time that his imagination was beguiling him, but it was indeed a foggy, windy city, and he had chosen it for his exploits before he even saw it. .He loved it more than any other city, idealized it, made it the center and birthplace of his life.Think of it as the capital of half the world.

In the end, the general himself was astonished at the loss of his prestige.The government's presence of stealth guards in even less dangerous places prevented the angry crowd who had shot his effigy the previous afternoon from approaching him as he passed.However, throughout the journey, the same voice could be heard from afar: "Sausage"!The only person who expressed sympathy for him was a passing woman who said to him as he passed, "God bless you, ghost." No one seemed to hear what the woman was saying.The general looked sad and lost in thought.He continued to ride, oblivious to everything around him, until he reached the vast plain outside. The intersection of "Fourth Street" is the starting point of the gravel road. Manuela rode alone and waited for the general's team to pass there, waving to him from a distance as a final farewell.The general waved her the same way, and continued on his way.Since then, they have never met again.

After a while, the rain stopped, and the blue sky became crystal clear.During the entire march of the general, he saw two snow-covered volcanoes that remained motionless in the sky.However, at this moment the general showed no passion for the beauty of nature, nor did he pay attention to the villages that were left behind in his haste, let alone the people who bid farewell to him strangely on the way.What surprised his companions most was that he didn't take a deep look at the majestic horse herds in so many horse farms on the plain.He has said many times that it is his favorite scene in the world.The general's party spent its first night in the town of Fakatatiwa, where he bid farewell to those who had come to see him off, and moved on with his entourage.In addition to Jose Palacios, there are five other people in his staff: General Jose Maria Carreno, who was injured and lost his right arm in battle, and his Irish adjutant Belfort Inton Wilson Colonel, this person is the son of Mr. Roberto Wilson, an old general who participated in almost all the wars in Europe, and his nephew Fernando.Serving as his adjutant and clerk with the rank of lieutenant, he was the son of his elder brother who died in a shipwreck during the First Republic, his relative and adjutant Captain Andrés Ibarra, two years ago on September 25 During the attack, his right arm was cut and maimed; there was also Colonel Jose de la Cruz Paredes, who had fought many battles in the War of Independence.The guard of honor consisted of a hundred hussars and grenadiers selected among the Venezuelan troops.

Jose Palacios is particularly concerned about the two dogs acquired as trophies in the last Peruvian (12) war.Beautiful and courageous, the two dogs held vigil at the Santa Fe government building the night the president was murdered, before their two companions were knifed to death.During the journey from Lima to Quito, from Quito to Santa Fe, from Santa Fe to Caracas, and back to Quito and Guayaquil, the two dogs have been walking with the dog team, watching With luggage.It was the same with them on the last march from Santa Fe to Cartagena, though this time with as much baggage as before and with an army escort.

The general woke up listless in the early morning in the town of Wakatatiwa.As they descended the plateau on a hilly track, the weather warmed up, the sun less dazzling, and his mood slowly began to improve.On several occasions he was asked to dismount out of fear for his health, but he preferred to walk out into the heat without lunch.He says it's easy to think while on a horse, and he likes to travel day and night.In order not to tire the horses to death, it is necessary to rotate the mounts frequently.He had the bowed legs of an old knight and the way he slept with his spurs on, and his buttocks had a scabrous callus as hard as a barber's belt, which earned him the nickname "Iron Butt." .Since the Revolutionary War began, he had ridden 99,000 kilometers, more than twice circling the earth.No one has ever denied the myth that he slept while riding.

After noon, when the people began to be scorched by the heat rising from the valley, it was agreed to stop and rest in a monastery.The abbess received the general's men in person, and a group of local novices distributed to them marzipan cakes fresh from the oven and cornmeal porridge that was about to ferment.When she saw the general's disheveled and exhausted vanguard, the matriarch probably thought that Colonel Wilson was the supreme commander. Perhaps because he had a head of blond hair, was handsome, and wore an elegant military uniform, she kept on He was attended to with all the attention and respect of a woman, which aroused all sorts of malicious talk.

The misunderstanding of the female dean gave Jose Palacios an opportunity.He asked his master to lie down under the kapok tree that had finished his cultivation, and wrap himself in a blanket to sweat and reduce his fever.And so he stood there, just listening to the novices singing one local love song after another to the accompaniment of an older nun on the harp.Finally, a nun walks around the convent asking for alms, a straw hat in hand.As she approached, the nun playing the harp said to her, "Please don't ask the sick for money," but the novice ignored her.The general didn't even look at the nun begging for money, but said to her with a wry smile, "I still need someone else to give me alms, son." Wilson took out a piece of money from his pocket and gave it to the nun.At his generosity, the general mocked affectionately, "You see, Colonel, this is the price of honor."Afterwards, neither in the abbey nor on the road afterwards, did anyone recognize the most famous man of the new republic.Even Wilson himself was surprised by this.Undoubtedly, it was also a bizarre thing for the general.

"I'm not who I used to be." They spent the second night at an inn near the town of Guadoas, a former tobacco factory, where the general was awaited for a ritual of disgrace, although the general Not willing to do so.The house was large and gloomy, and the atmosphere itself gave one a strangely melancholy feeling.Weeds were overgrown nearby, and the black and swift river was surging, making a rumbling sound, rushing towards the plain, as if to destroy everything.The general was familiar with this place, and the first time he passed by it he said: "If I am going to ambush someone cleverly, I will choose this place." The general used to march around this place, because it reminded him often of Bei Mount Ruecos.It was a dangerous pass on the way to Quito, by which even the most daring had to pass.On one occasion, the general disregarded everyone's opinions and camped more than ten kilometers away from Guadoas because he felt that he could not bear to witness the desolation in the town.But this time.In spite of his fatigue, and his occasional fever, he found the town's bleakness more tolerable than the sympathy dinner his unfortunate friends were about to throw for him.

Seeing how weak he was when he arrived, the owner of the shop suggested that he seek medical attention from an Indian who lived by the roadside nearby.Those Indians, as long as they smell the sweaty clothes of the patients, can diagnose the disease and cure the disease no matter how far away they are, or even if they have never seen the patient.The general laughed at him for being too credulous, and forbade his men any contact with Indian wizards.Since he didn't even trust doctors—he said doctors were people who bought and sold other people's pain—how could he be expected to entrust his fate to wizards in the backcountry?Finally, to further prove his contempt for medicine, instead of living in the comfortable bedroom that someone else had prepared for him out of care for his body, he hung a hammock in the wide open porch above the valley and spent the night there under the dew .

For a whole day, he didn't eat anything except a cup of medicinal soup in the morning.At this moment he sat down at the table with the officers only out of courtesy.Though he was better adapted to the rigors of marching than anyone else, and was only a little inferior to the ascetic in eating and drinking, he was as acquainted with royal drink and cookery as a good European.On his first trip abroad, he learned the habit of talking about food while eating from the French.That evening, he drank only half a glass of wine, and tasted some venison out of curiosity, for the master said the phosphorescent meat had a jasmine flavor, and his officers thought so, and he wanted to confirm it himself.During the whole dinner he uttered only two words, and those words were as feeble as those he had uttered during the march.But his efforts to downplay the poignancy of his political misfortune and frail health with his decency were well appreciated.He didn't say a word about politics or touch on Saturday's misadventures.To tell the truth, after a person has been insulted, the anger and resentment in his heart are hard to overcome. Before everyone had finished eating, the general asked permission to leave the table.He put on his nightshirt and nightcap, and was shivering with fever.He was lying in the hammock.Night is cool.A round of withered yellow full moon rose from the mountains, but at this moment he didn't have the leisure time to enjoy the moon.A few steps down the corridor, the guards sang popular folk songs in unison.According to one of his previous orders, the guards must camp near his bedroom, just like the Roman dictator Julio Caesar's legions, through the night conversations of the soldiers, to grasp their thoughts and emotions in time.The general suffered from insomnia at night, and he was not at all sleepy. He often went to the soldiers' barracks. Many times he and the soldiers sang barracks carols or impromptu songs to amuse each other, ushering in the dawn in a festive atmosphere.However, that night he got upset when he heard the singing and ordered it to be stopped.The gurgling of the river among the rocks made him sound like a roar from the fever, and he couldn't help shouting dreamily, "Damn it! Can we make it stop for a minute?" However, the river is still running.Jose Palacios tried to calm him with a sedative from the medicine chest, but the general refused.This was the first time he had heard a general mention his resignation: "I have just given up power by mistakenly taking an emetic, and I am not going to give up my life again." He said the same thing when he was cured of his day syndrome.After taking this medicine at that time, he was almost killed by dysentery.Since then, the only medication he has taken has been laxatives.In order to treat his stubborn constipation.He doesn't hesitate to eat it several times a week.At the worst of his constipation, he also made an enema from a type of lentil. Shortly after midnight, Jose Palacios, feeling exhausted while listening to other people's sleep talk, fell asleep lying on the brick floor.When he awoke, the general was no longer in the hammock, and his sweat-soaked pajamas had fallen to the floor.This is not surprising.He had a habit of leaving his bed when there was no one in the house, and wandering naked until dawn to pass the time of insomnia.But Jose Palacios was concerned about his health that night.He had just had an unlucky day, and the cold and damp weather was not ideal for a walk in the countryside.In the pale moonlight, José Palacios searched the house for the general with a blanket, and finally found him lying on a stone bench against the wall in the corridor, like a statue resting on a coffin .The general turned around, his eyes were piercing, and his fever had subsided. "It's like a San Juan night in Pajara again," he said. "It's a pity that Reina Maria Luisa wasn't there." Jose Palacios understood the general's recollection very well.He was referring to a night in January 1820 when he led 2,000 warriors to a sparsely populated part of Venezuela's Apure Plateau.He had liberated 18 provinces from Spanish rule.He mastered all the territory of the former Governor of New Granada, ruled Venezuela and Quito in full, and united them into the Republic of Colombia.That was his first time as president and commander-in-chief of the military.His final fantasy was to expand the war to the south and realize his ideal of creating the largest country in the world, turning the vast territory from Mexico in the north to Cape Horn in Chile into a free and unified country. However, the military situation that night did not allow him to fantasize.A plague that fell from the sky suddenly attacked the livestock on the march, and there were stinking dead horses everywhere on the plateau within seven people and ten miles along the way.Many demoralized officers consoled themselves with looting and complacent disobedience. Some even laughed at the general's threat to shoot the perpetrators. The 2,000 soldiers who had neither weapons nor food nor blankets to withstand the severe cold of the wasteland, their clothes Ragged, barefoot, worn out by the war, many sick, they began to flee.Faced with this situation, the general did not make a rational decision, but ordered the patrols to be rewarded with ten pesos for every deserter caught, and the deserters were all shot without question. Life has made him fully aware that any failure will not be the last.Only two years ago, not far from there, his army was defeated.In the tropical forests on the banks of the Orinoco, he had to order the horses to be eaten in order to avoid cannibalism among his warriors.According to an officer of the British Legion, he looked ridiculous like a partisan at that time.He wore a helmet with Russian dragons on it, muleter's sandals, a blue military uniform with red tassels and gold buttons, and a small black flag like a pirate on the pike used by the people of the plains, The pattern on the small flag is a crossed skull and shins, and underneath is written in blood: "Give me liberty or give me death!" On San Juan Nights in Pajara, the general was better dressed than the bum, but not much better off.That reflected not only the conditions of the general's unit at the time, but also the tragic situation of the Liberator's forces as a whole.This army has often rallied after heavy defeats, only to be nearly wiped out by many victories.On the contrary, the Spanish general Don Pablo Morillo used various methods to subdue the patriots and rebuild the colonial order. His power not only ruled the vast area of ​​western Venezuela, but also became stronger in the mountains. Faced with this difficult situation, the general couldn't sleep at night. He walked up and down naked alone in the big old house on the manor.Most of the dead horses had been burned the day before far from the house, but the smell of decay was still unbearable.After a grueling final week of marching, the soldiers could no longer cheer up and sing, and the general was helpless when his sentries fell asleep from hunger.Suddenly, along the vast blue corridor, the general saw Reina Maria Luisa sitting on the doorstep.It was a beautiful mulatto girl in the prime of her youth, wrapped in a large embroidered shawl up to her heels, smoking a cigarette, and her silhouette resembled an idol.The girl was startled when she saw the general. She put her thumb and forefinger together to form a + and said to him, "Are you from God or from the devil? What do you want?" "I want you," he said. After all, he smiled slightly.She will remember the brightness of his teeth in the moonlight.He held her in his arms with all his strength, immobilizing her, while pecking at her forehead, eyes, cheeks and neck with tender kisses until he tamed her.At that moment, he took off her shawl, almost suffocating her.She was also naked, because the grandmother who slept in the same room with her took off her clothes for fear of her smoking, but she did not expect that at dawn the girl would wrap up in a shawl and escape.The general carried her to the hammock, still giving her one kiss after another.The girl gave herself to him neither out of lust nor out of love, but out of fear.She is a virgin.It was not until she regained her composure that she said, "I am a slave girl, sir." "Not now," he said, "love has set you free." The next morning, the general bought her from the owner of the estate for 100 pesos from his pitiful cash box, and freed her unconditionally.Before leaving, he couldn't resist suggesting that she choose one of the two.The general was in the backyard, and a party of officers found him a random horse or a mule to ride on, one of the only surviving animals.Another group of troops under the command of Major General José Antonio Pais, who had arrived the night before, was assembled there to see them off. The general made a brief farewell speech.In his speech, he played down the drama of the situation.Just as he was about to leave, he saw Reina Maria Luisa.The newly liberated woman was well cared for.She had just showered and looked beautiful, all the more radiant against the plateau sky.She was dressed in a starched white dress, with a petticoat trimmed with lace, but she was still wearing a slave girl's corset, and the general asked her excitedly, "Do you want to stay or come with us?" She replied with a charming smile, "I want to stay, sir." The girl's answer caused a burst of laughter.The landlord was a Spaniard, but from the moment the Revolutionary War began he sided with the Americans.Not only that, he is also an old acquaintance of the general.Hearing what the girl said, he laughed so hard that he stuffed the general's 100 pesos into a leather bag and threw it to him.The general reached out to catch the purse. "Go to your business, sir," said the landlady to the general. "Anyhow, the girl is free." General Cosse Antonio Pais had the face of a Faun, but he wore an incongruous patchwork shirt of various colours.At this point he burst out laughing. "You see, General," he said, "our time as liberators is past." The general agreed with his words, then raised his hand and waved goodbye to everyone, and finally bid farewell to Raina Maria Luisa with a helpless expression.Since then, he has never heard from her again.According to José Palacios' memory, when the general told him that he had relived that night, but unfortunately without the miraculous presence of Reina Maria Luisa, the same Those partings were less than a year apart, and they were all nights of first defeats. At five o'clock, when Jose Palacios brought him the first cup of herbal decoction, he saw the general lying still with his eyes open.The general got up suddenly and almost fell off the hammock, which induced a strong cough in him.When he coughed, he sat on the hammock and held his head in his hands until the coughing stopped.Afterwards, he began to drink the steaming hot soup, and from the first sip, his cough was suppressed. "I've been dreaming about Cassandro all night," he said. That's how the general informally called the Granada general Francisco de Paula Santander by name.The latter was his former friend and permanent contender, serving as his chief of staff from the beginning of the war, acting as Colombia's acting president during the grueling battles for the liberation of Quito and Peru and the creation of Bolivia.He became a brave and capable soldier more due to the necessity of history than to his talent.He has a curious penchant for cruelty.The pillars of his honor, however, were his civilized virtues and academic excellence.Undoubtedly, he was the number two figure in the Revolutionary War and the number one figure in the legal system of the Republic.The Republic has forever stamped its stamp of conformity and conservatism. The general had repeatedly contemplated resigning.The general once told Santander that he was leaving the presidency peacefully, saying to him, "I surrender this office to you, and you are another me, perhaps stronger than I am." Whether it is due to reason or reality He has never expressed such trust in anyone.He gave him the title of jurist, which made Santander honorable and famous all over the world.However, the man who deserved no honor had been living in exile in Paris two years earlier for his part in a plot to kill the general, although no proof of his involvement was ever brought up. It happened like this: On Wednesday, September 25, 1828, at twelve midnight, 12 civil servants and 26 soldiers broke into the government compound in Santa Fe, killed two of the general's police dogs, Wounded several sentries, severely slashed an arm of Captain Andrés Ibarra, and killed William Ferguson, a Scottish colonel in the British Legion - the general's aide-de-camp, whom the general had praised Be as brave as the ancient Roman emperor Caesar.Then they rushed to the general's bedroom, shouting "Long live liberty! Kill the tyrant!" The rebels said the action had been prompted by the general's own addition of special powers, tinged with tyranny, three months earlier to counteract the Santander victory at Compención de Ocanía.Santander was ousted from the post of vice-president of the republic after seven years.In typical words of his own style, Santander informed a friend of the matter "I am happy to be crushed under the ruins of the Constitution of 1821".He was thirty-six years old and had been appointed Minister Plenipotentiary in Washington, but he postponed his trip several times, perhaps to await the victory of the rebellion. The General and Manuela Saenz had just made up an evening together.Before that, they spent the weekend together in the town of Soacha, which is more than ten kilometers away from there, and returned by car on Monday.They had a quarrel more violent than usual, over love, for the general ignored the news of a plot to kill him, which everyone talked about but he did not believe.The general repeatedly sent messages to Manuela's house from the opposite San Carlos Palace, asking her to come to him, but Manuela refused.It wasn't until nine o'clock in the evening, after three urgent messages from the general, that she put on waterproof sandals over her leather shoes, put a large shawl on her head, and walked through the rain-soaked streets to come here.She saw the general soaking face up in the vanilla water in the tub, José Palacios was not there.The reason why she didn't think he was dead was only because she often saw him thinking in this graceful posture.The general heard Manuela coming from the sound of footsteps, and he closed his eyes and said to her: "There is going to be a mutiny." She didn't hide her look of ironic resentment. "Congratulations," she said. "It won't start until about ten o'clock, because you welcome the news very much." "I only believe in omens." They still had time to quarrel with each other when the general's chief of staff told him that the plot had failed—in fact, he had given the rebels the password that night in order to fool the sentries guarding the government buildings—and the general was happy from Flushed out of the bathtub. "Don't worry," he said, "it looks like the sodomites are dead." They start flirting in bed.The general was naked, and Manuela half naked, when suddenly they heard the first shouts, gunshots, and the rumble of cannon hitting a barracks loyal to the general.Manuela hastily helped him into his clothes, and put on him also the rain boots which she had put on the leather shoes.Because the general sent his only pair of leather shoes to be oiled.She helped him flee from the balcony with a machete and a pistol, but without any rain gear, and the rain kept falling.When the general came to the street, he saw a dark figure approaching him, and immediately opened the safety mechanism on the gun and pointed it at him. "Who?" It turned out to be his confectionary technician. The technician returned home sad when he heard that he had been shot.He was determined to live and die with his master and share adversity, so he hid with him in the thorn bushes under the Carmen Bridge over the San Agustin River.Until the troops loyal to the general quelled the riots. Manuela received the assailant who broke into the bedroom with the tact and bravery he had shown in past emergencies.They asked the general where he was, and she said it was in the government affairs meeting hall.They asked why the balcony door was open on a winter night, and she said it was because she wanted to see what was going on among the noisy people in the street.They asked why the bed was still warm, and she said that she was lying down with all her clothes on and waiting for the general.Manuela took his time answering all the questions to buy time, and puffed on his cigarette like a vulgar coachman, dispelling the smell of perfume that filled the room. A court presided over by Rafael Urdaneta determined that General Santander was behind the plot and sentenced him to death.Even Santander's enemies admitted that the sentence was too severe, but that was not so much due to his crime of organizing the rebellion as afterward he was the first to appear in the Grand Place, embracing the general falsely, and Shameless act of congratulations.The general was riding in the drizzle, shirtless, with his officer's uniform torn and drenched.The army and crowds from the suburbs cheered him and demanded the execution of the murderer. "All accomplices will be duly punished," the general said in a letter to Marshal Sucre. "Santander is the chief culprit, but he is the luckiest, because my generosity helped him." Sure enough, the general used his power of pardon to change Santander's death sentence to exile in Paris.Instead, Admiral José Cucdencio Padilla, who was believed to have organized an attempted rebellion in Cartagena without sufficient evidence against him, was shot and held captive for a long time in the Santa Fe jail.Bin Yu said that he often dreamed of Santander, but Jose Palacios did not know which of these dreams were real and which were imaginary.Once in Guayaquil, the general said that he dreamed that there was a book spread out on his round belly, but instead of reading it, he tore it up bit by bit, stuffed it into his mouth and chewed it with gusto. , making the sound of goats grazing.Another time in Cucuta, he dreamed that he was covered in cockroaches.Another time, he woke up screaming loudly in his villa in Santa Fe Monserrat, because he dreamed that General Santander, who was eating lunch with him, took the eyeballs that prevented him from eating and put them on the table.Therefore, while living near Guadoas, the general said that at dawn he dreamed of Santander again, and Jose Palacios did not even ask about the plot of the dream, but tried to eliminate the unreal and consoled himself with reality he. "There's a whole ocean between him and us," Palacios said. But the general cut him off with a piercing look. "That's not the case anymore," he said. "I'm sure damn Joaquin Mosquera is going to let him come back." It was tormenting him all the time, when the matter of honorably abdicating power and giving up power had been placed in front of him. "I would rather go into exile or die than suffer the disgrace of handing over the honor to the school of San Bartolomé," he once said to Jose Palacios.But the antidote was itself poisonous, and as the decision to abdicate drew nearer, he became more and more certain that if he left, Santander, the most eminent of the rascals, would be called back at once. "He's a treacherous fellow indeed," he said. His fever was gone, and he was a very lively man.He asked José Palacios for pen and paper, put on his glasses, and wrote a six-line letter to Manuela Saenz himself.In this regard, even Jose Palacios, who often saw his impulsive behavior, could not but be surprised. He could only interpret it as a sign, or a sudden inspiration that was hard to contain.Because it not only violated his decision on Star Friends Friday not to write letters for the rest of his life, but also violated his always waking up the clerk whenever he was dealing with letters, dictating announcements, and sorting out the messy thoughts generated by his insomnia thinking. old habits.In particular, that letter was obviously not urgent, and it was just an addition to his farewell advice: "Be careful in everything, otherwise, not only you will be ruined, but we will also be ruined." He finished the letter in one go as before. , as if without thinking.Finally, he took the letter in his hand, and continued to swing in the hammock dreamily. "Great power lies in irresistible love." He suddenly said with emotion, "Whose mouth is this from?" "Nobody ever said that," Jose Palacios said.Jose Palacios could not read or write.He refused to study culture for the simple reason that he thought donkeys were the smartest.However, he could remember any sentence he heard occasionally.But he didn't remember anyone saying that. "Then let me say it," said the general, "but let us say it was General Sucre." In times of crisis, Fernando was the most suitable person to stay by the general's side.Of all the General's many clerks, he was the most attentive and patient, and though not the most gifted, he endured with fortitude the General's arbitrary schedule and his irascibility from insomnia. angry temper.The general would wake him up at any time to read a dull book, or make him write down a manuscript for an extemporaneous speech he was going to make the next day, only to have it thrown into the trash at dawn the next day.The general had countless nights of love but never had a son (although he said he could prove he was fertile), so after his older brother died, he raised his nephew Fernando.He sent him by celebrity to Georgetown Military Academy, where General Rafael expressed to him his admiration and admiration for his uncle.He later attended Jefferson College in Charlottesville and the University of Virginia.Fernando is probably not the successor in the general's mind, because he doesn't like learning, but likes living in the open air and sitting and doing gardening.他的学业一结束将军便让他回到了圣菲。这时他很快便发现了侄子的书记官才能，这不仅因为他能写一笔漂亮的字和精通英文，而且还因为他是唯一会编写使读者探感兴趣的连载小说的人。还有，他在高声朗读那些贫乏无味让人昏昏欲睡的作品时，能够临时添枝加叶，令其变成生动无比的篇章。象所有为将军效劳的人一样，当他叔父后来在一次演说中引证古希腊的雄辩家德摩斯梯尼的一个句子而把它说成是古罗马的政治家思想家和演说家西塞罗的话时，费尔南多也倒过霉。由于是他的侄子，将军对他比对别人更严厉，但是将军没有惩罚完他便予以宽恕了。 省长华金?波萨达?古铁雷斯将军比随行人员提前两天起程，以便通知当地政府将军要在此过夜，并提醒他们注意将军严重的身体状况。但是，看到将军星期一下午到达瓜杜阿斯的人都一下子相信了一直流传的谣言，说省长带来的坏消息和将军旅行本身只不过是一场政治骗局。 这又一次证明将军是不可战胜的。他敞开衣怀，象吉卜赛人一样把一块布扎在头上吸汗，从最主要的街道上走了过来，在欢呼声、鞭炮声和教堂铛铛的钟声中挥舞着帽子向人们致意，那些声音混合在一起，震耳欲聋，连音乐声都听不到了。他骑在一头欢决跑动的母骡上，终于使列队行进的人群失去了任何庄严的气氛。唯一关着窗子的房子是修女学校，那天下午大概是出现了传言，说不准修女们参加迎接，但是，将军劝说那些告诉他这一消息的人不要听信修道院里的流言蜚语。 前一天晚上，何塞?帕拉西奥斯把将军发烧出汗时穿的衬衣送去洗刷。一个勤务兵交给一位士兵，准备黎明时到河里去洗，但是到了出发的时候，谁也不知衬衣弄到哪儿去了。在去瓜杜阿斯的行军途中，甚至到了举行欢迎仪式的时候，何塞?帕拉西奥斯才最后知道，那件衬衣并没有洗，而是被饭店的主人送到印第安巫师手中，让他显示其魔力去了。因此，将军回来时，何塞?帕拉西奥斯把旅店老板干的荒唐事告诉了他，同时还提醒他说，他只有身上穿着的那件衬衣了。将军只是说了一句富有哲理的话原凉了这件事。 “迷信比爱情更顽固。”他说。 “奇怪的是从昨晚开始，我们再没有发烧。”何塞?帕拉西奥斯斯说。“如果江湖医生真的懂魔法．那又该怎么办？” 将军没有当即反驳，他陷入沉思，同时一边思考一边在吊床上摇晃看。“真的，我的头再也不疼啦，”他说，“嘴也不苦啦，也没有要从塔顶上掉下来的感觉啦。”但是，最后他在小腿上拍了一下，猛然欠起身来。“你不要再往我脑袋里装乱七八糟的东西啦。”他说。 两个仆人把一大锅滚烫的香草水送到卧室。何塞?帕拉西奥准备让将军夜晚洗澡，他相信由于白天行军十分疲劳。将军很快就会上床睡觉。但是，由于他口授给加夫列尔?卡马乔的一封信，澡水凉了。卡马乔是他侄女巴伦蒂娜?帕拉西奥斯的丈夫，也是将军在加拉加斯出卖阿罗阿铜矿的代理人。这个矿是他从先辈手中继承来的。将军本人对自已的目的也不明确，他在信中一会儿说在卡马乔把事情办妥之前要到安第列斯群岛的库拉索岛去，一会儿又要求卡马乔往伦敦给他写信，交罗伯托?威尔逊先生转，另外还要寄一个副件给牙买加的马克斯韦尔?伊斯洛普，以保证至少收到其中的一封。 在许多人，尤其是他的秘书和书记官们看来，将军所说的阿罗阿铜矿只不过是他发烧时的梦呓或产生的怪念头。他一直对它不太感兴趣，许多年来，那些矿只是偶然开采一阵而已。他最后才记起来，是因为他手头开始拮据，但是由于所有权凭证不清楚，他无法将它卖给一家英国公司。此事引起了一场神话般的司法纠纷，官司一直打到他去世以后的两年。不管是在战争中，还是在政治争执和个人恩怨中，只要将军一提到“我的官司”，人人都知道指的是铜矿。因为他一生中只打过阿罗阿铜矿这场官司。将军在瓜杜阿斯口授写给加夫列尔?卡马乔先生的信使他的侄子误认为，铜矿纠纷未解决之前，他们不会去欧洲。这是后来费尔南多在跟其他军官一起玩牌时说出的见解。 “那么我们永远也去不了欧洲。”威尔逊上校说。“我父亲甚至怀疑这个铜矿在实际生活中是否存在。” “没有人看到过这个铜矿不等于说它就不存在。”安德烈斯?伊瓦拉上尉反驳道。 “这个矿是有的，”卡雷尼奥将军说，“就在委内瑞位省。” 威尔逊生气地顶撞道：“在那么高的地方，我甚至怀疑委内瑞拉是否存在。”威尔逊无法掩饰他的不悦。他甚至认为将军并不喜欢他，所以要他做随从，只不过是出于对他父亲的尊重。将军对老威尔逊是永远感恩不尽的，因为后者在英国议会士一直为美洲解放运动辩解。由于一个法国老副官的出卖，小威尔逊知道了将军曾说过这么句话：“威尔逊缺乏三种经历：困难，逆境和贫困。”成尔逊上校没有证实将军是否真的说过这句话，但是他认为．只须看一次他过去参加的战斗，就足以证明他在这三方面是问心无愧的，而且应该受到嘉奖。如今他已26 岁，八年前，当他结束了在威斯敏斯特和桑德赫斯特的学业时，父亲将他派到将军身边服务。胡宁战役时他是将军的副官，是他在沿丘基萨卡工1980 公里的山间行军中，在骡背上驮着玻利维亚宪法草稿的。将军同他分别时，要他最迟在21 天后到达拉巴斯。威尔逊打了个立正说道：“我20天到达，阁下。'最后，实际上他只用了19 天。 他已决定跟将军回欧洲去，但是，他看得越来越清楚，将军总是找出种种借口推迟这次旅行．两年多以来，阿罗阿铜矿一事已再也不能成为将军的任何借口了，如今他又旧事重提，在威尔逊看来，这是将军情绪沮丧的征兆。 将军口授完信件之后，何塞?帕西奥斯又重新热过澡水，但将军没有洗，而是继续茫然地走动着，朗诵着诗篇，他那宏亮的声音回荡在整个房间。后来他又背诵自己写的诗，这些诗只有何塞?帕拉西奥斯一个人懂。在他的来回踱步中，有几次穿过了走廊，他的军官们正在按马拉加人的方式玩一种地方纸牌，从前将军也常常参加这种游戏，他在牌桌前停下来，透过每个人的肩膀上方看看他们的牌，做出输赢的判断，然后便离开。“我不明白他们怎么能用如此乏味的游戏来消磨时间。”他说。 但是，转了几圈之后，将军终于要求伊瓦拉上尉把牌让给他打。他没有玩牌高手的那种耐心，而且总是咄咄逼人，输了就发脾气。但是他玩得也很机灵．出牌很快，丝毫不比其下属逊色。这一次，他跟卡雷尼奥将军打搭档，玩了六牌全输了。他气得把牌往桌子上一扔，说道：“真是狗屁游戏，看看谁敢玩三连牌。” 军官们跟他一起玩了起来。他连赢了三次，精神大振。看到威尔逊上校玩三连牌游戏的方式，他还不时嘲弄他一下。但威尔逊上校没有生气，而是利用将军的头脑发热占了上风，接下去便没有再输。将军紧张起来，嘴唇紧紧地绷着，没有一点血色，陷在乱糟糟的双眉下的眼睛重新放射出从前那凶狠的光芒。他一声未吭．连续不断地咳嗽使他情神无法集中。半夜过后，他停下牌来说．“今晚我一直顶着风在打牌。” 于是，大家把桌子搬到了一个风小的地方，但是将军还是继续输牌。他心烦意乱，要求附近舞会上停止吹奏高音笛，但笛声还是超过了蟋蟀的鸣叫。他跟别人换了位子，要来枕头垫在椅子上坐得高高的，这样舒服了一些。他又喝了一杯椴树花浸剂止咳随后，他从走廊的这一端走到另一端来回活动了一会儿，直接又玩了几把，但仍旧输了。威尔逊用他明亮而冷酷的眼睛盯着将军，但将军并没有去看他。 “这牌使了记号。”将军说。 “这是您的牌，将军。”威尔逊说。 那的确是将军的一副牌。但将军还是一张一张地检查了一遍，最后又吩咐换一副来。威尔逊没有给他喘息的机会。蟋蟀的叫声停止了，万籁俱寂，只有潮湿的微风把热烘烘山谷的最初的幽香吹到了走廊上。一只雄鸡叫了三遍。 “这只鸡疯了。”“伊瓦拉说。”才只有两点钟呢。 ”将军的眼睛没有从牌上移开，他以严厉的语调命令道：“他妈的，谁也不能走！ " 听了这话，没有一个人敢吭声。卡雷尼奥将军在继续玩牌，但他更多的是焦急，而不是高兴。他记起了两年前度过的那个他一生中最长的夜晚。那是他们在布卡拉曼加等待从孔本西翁?德奥卡尼亚来的消息。他们晚上九时开始玩牌，直到第二天上午十一时才结束。当时为了让将军停止玩牌，他的同事们只好商定让将军连赢三盘。此时卡雷尼奥将军担心在瓜杜阿斯再出现类似那天晚上的较量，于是他向威尔逊上校使了个眼色，让他开始输牌。但威尔逊上校没有理睬。后来，当上校要求暂停五分钟时，卡雷尼奥将军跟他去了平台，他发现上校正在天竺葵花坛上哗哗地撒尿发泄怒气。 “威尔逊上校，”卡雷尼奥将军命令道，“立正！” 威尔逊没有回头，回答道：“请让我把事办完。” 他不慌不忙地把尿撒完，然后系着裤子扣转过身来。 “您要开始输牌，“卡雷尼奥将军对他说，“就算是对一个倒霉的朋友的照顾吧。” 我不愿对任柯人进行这种侮辱。”威尔逊带点讥讽地说。 “这是命令！”卡雷尼奥说。 威尔逊立正站在那儿，以他的高度威严和卑夷不屑的神情看了卡雷尼奥一眼，然后回到桌上开始输牌。将军马上意识到了这一点。 “您没有必要把牌打得那么差，我亲爱的威尔逊。”他说，“归根结底，我们该去睡觉了。” 将军告别时，和每个人都紧紧握了手。他每次从牌桌上起来时都是如此，以表示输赢并没有伤害大家的和气。 他回到了卧室。何塞?帕拉西奥斯已躺在地板上睡着，看到他进来马上欠起身来。将军匆匆脱光衣服，开始光着身子在吊床上摆动，思绪也随之起伏不定，随之，他呼吸的声音也越来越响，越来越刺耳。当他泡进浴缸时，他浑身哆嗦，牙也咬得咯咯作响。但那不是由于发烧或发冷。而是由于愤怒。“威尔逊是个狡猾的家伙。” He said. 那是他最倒霉的夜晚之一。何塞?帕拉西奥斯违抗着将军的命令把事情告诉了军官们，以便在必要时去叫医生。与此同时，他给将军裹上了一条毛毯让他发汗退烧。几条毛毯都被他的汗水湿透了，暂时的间歇之后，他又产生了幻觉。他几次高声叫道：“高音笛不要吹啦，他妈的！”这一次谁也无法帮助他，因为高音笛半夜时就不响了。后来，他终于找到了他体力衰竭的罪魁祸首。“在那个用衬衫看病的王八蛋印第安人迷惑我之前，我的身体一直很好。” He said. 去洪达镇的最后一段路，是一条崎岖不平、乍寒、乍暖令人毛骨悚然的山间小路，天空明净得有如晶体。这一夜的痛苦挣扎，除了象将军那样的抵抗力和钢铁意志之外，谁也经受不住。从头十几公里开始，他就离开了他原来的位置，退下来和威尔逊上校骑马并肩而行。威尔逊上校明白将军的用意，那是一种姿态，让他忘记在牌桌上受的侮辱。于是上校象养猎鹰者一般伸出一支胳膊让将军扶着，这样他们可以一边走，一边休息。威尔逊上校为将军的礼貌深深感动。将军用最后力量呼哧呼哧喘着粗气．但骑马的本领仍然高超无比。当他们走完最崎岖险恶的那段通道之后，将军象是在梦中似地问道：“伦敦的的情况会是怎样的呢？” 威尔逊上校仰首看了看太阳，它几乎正置中天，于是说道：“非常糟糕，将军。” 将军没有感到诧异，而是又以同样的声调问道：“为什么？” “因为那儿现在是下午六点钟，这是伦敦最坏的时刻。”威尔逊说，“此外，那儿大概正在下着阴郁而肮脏的雨，那雨水就象蛤蟆云集的污水一样，因为春天是灾害最多的季节。” “或许是您已驱散了乡愁吧。”将军说。 “相反，是乡愁击败了我，”威尔逊说。“我对乡愁已没有任何抵抗力。” “那么，您愿不愿意回去？” “我什么也不知道，将军。”威尔逊说。“我完全由一种命运所左右，而这种命运并不属于我。” 将军直视着威尔逊，以惊讶的语调说道：“这话或许应该由我来说。”待将军次天讲话的时候，他的声调和情绪都改变了。“您不必担心，”他说。“无论如何我们也要到欧洲去，即使仅仅为了让您父亲高兴地看您一眼也要这样做。”尔后，他慢慢考虑了一会儿之后，又象下结论似地说道：“请允许我告诉您最后一件事，我亲爱的威尔逊。他们说您什么都行，就是不能说您是个狡猾的家伙。” 威尔逊上校又一次向他投降了，他己习惯了将军那绝妙的惩罚，特别是在一场玩牌风波和一次胜仗之后。他继续骑马缓缓而行．那位美洲最荣耀的病人的滚烫的手象猎鹰一般紧紧在抓着他的前臂。空气开始热起来。热得发烫，他们不得不把几只在他们头上盘旋的不祥之鸟赶开，有如驱赶苍蝇一般。 在一道最陡峭的斜坡上，他们同一群印第安人相遇。那些印第安人把椅子放在背上运送欧洲旅客。突然，就在他们快要走到坡下的时候，一个发疯般的骑士从他们身旁疾驰而过，朝着他们同一方向奔去。那骑士戴着一顶红风帽，几乎把脸全部遮住。他的马跑得如此急速和疯狂，以致伊瓦拉上尉的骡子险些被惊得跌下悬崖。将军冲他喊道：“请注意，要明白您是在什么地方，他妈的！”他在那骑士的后边追赶着，直到他在第一个拐弯处消失。但是骑士在悬崖下边的每个拐弯处出现时，将军都注意地看着他。 下午两点钟，他们爬过了最后一个山岗，地平线在一片闪闪发光的平原上展开。在平原的尽头，映现出仿佛在沉睡中的遐尔闻名的洪达城。它的架在浑浊的大河上的卡斯蒂利亚式的石桥、破旧的城墙和被地震摧毁的教堂钟楼依稀可辨。将军凝望着这热气腾腾的山谷，没有流露出任何激动，只是此时正在骑马从桥头上飞驰而过的戴红帽的汉子牵引着他的心。于是，他的梦幻之光又重新燃起。 “我的上帝”他说，“他这般急急匆匆，只能理解为他是去给卡桑德罗送信，告诉他我们已经走了。”