So passed away the Liberator of Venezuela, the founder of the Republic of Colombia.
Twelve years later Paez, who was ruling in Venezuela, brought Bolivar’s body to Caracas and interred it with honours. But he left the hero’s heart in an urn in the Cathedral of Santa Marta, the city where he had died.
. . . . . . . . . .
Great Colombia, or the Great Republic of Colombia, founded by Bolivar, was a Union consisting of Venezuela, New Granada, and Ecuador. Great Colombia fell; its Union was dissolved. To-day, instead, there exist three independent Republics—Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador.
As for Bolivia, it was a part of Upper Peru. It was liberated by the help of Antonio Sucre. It declared its Independence, and took the name of Bolivar. To-day it is the Republic of Bolivia, “rich in all the natural products of the world.”
BOLIVAR THE MAN
I
Simon de Bolivar was about five feet six inches in height, lean of limb and body. His cheek bones stood out prominently in an oval-shaped face, which tapered sharply towards the chin.
His countenance was vivacious; but his skin was furrowed with wrinkles and tanned by exposure to a tropical sun. The curly black hair that once covered Bolivar’s head in luxuriant profusion, began to turn white about 1821. Thenceforth, he was accustomed to wear his hair short.
His nose was long and aquiline. Flexible, sensual lips were often shaded by a thick mustache; while whiskers covered a part of his face. In 1822, Bolivar’s large, black, penetrating eyes, “with the glance of an eagle,” were losing their remarkable brilliancy. At that time, Bolivar had also lost some of the animation, energy, and extraordinary agility which had distinguished him in youth and early manhood. Even the casual observer judged him to be many years older than he really was, so sick and weary did he appear....