morning, noon
But the image of Dolores was ever before my mind , so that all this crowded period , lasting nine or ten days , passed before me like a phantasmagoria , or an uneasy dream , leaving only a very confused impression on my brain . I not only grieved for the sorrow I had occasioned her , but mourned also that my own heart had so terribly betrayed me , so that for the moment the beautiful girl I had persuaded to fly from home and parents , promising her my undying affection , had ceased to be what she had been , so great was this new inconvenient passion . The General had offered me a commission in his tatterdemalion gathering , but , as I had no knowledge of military matters , I had prudently declined it , only requesting , as a special favour , that I might be employed constantly on the expeditions he sent out over the surrounding country to beat up recruits , seize arms , cattle , and horses , and to depose the little local authorities in the villages , putting creatures of his own in their places . This request had been granted , so that morning , noon , and night I was generally in the saddle . One evening I was in the camp seated beside a large fire and gloomily staring into the flames , when the other men , who were occupied playing cards or sipping _ maté _ , hastily rose to their feet , making the salute . Then I saw the General standing near gazing fixedly at me . Motioning to the men to resume their cards , he sat down by my side .