Page 537 - nostromo-a-tale-of-the-seaboard

stately remarks.
‘All the great world of Sulaco here, sir.’ Captain Mitchell
bowed right and left with no end of formality; then with
animation, ‘Dona Emilia, Mrs. Gould’s carriage. Look. Al-
ways white mules. The kindest, most gracious woman the
sun ever shone upon. A great position, sir. A great position.
First lady in Sulaco—far before the President’s wife. And
worthy of it.’ He took off his hat; then, with a studied change
of tone, added, negligently, that the man in black by her side,
with a high white collar and a scarred, snarly face, was Dr.
Monygham, Inspector of State Hospitals, chief medical of-
ficer of the Consolidated San Tome mines. ‘A familiar of the
house. Everlastingly there. No wonder. The Goulds made
him. Very clever man and all that, but I never liked him.
Nobody does. I can recollect him limping about the streets
in a check shirt and native sandals with a watermelon under
his arm—all he would get to eat for the day. A big-wig now,
sir, and as nasty as ever. However … There’s no doubt he
played his part fairly well at the time. He saved us all from
the deadly incubus of Sotillo, where a more particular man
might have failed——‘
His arm went up.
‘The equestrian statue that used to stand on the pedestal
over there has been removed. It was an anachronism,’ Cap-
tain Mitchell commented, obscurely. ‘There is some talk of
replacing it by a marble shaft commemorative of Separa-
tion, with angels of peace at the four corners, and bronze
Justice holding an even balance, all gilt, on the top. Cava-
liere Parrochetti was asked to make a design, which you can

Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard