Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard
tiful Antonia. A character, sir! A historical woman! Opposite—Casa Gould. Noble gateway. Yes, the Goulds of the original Gould Concession, that all the world knows of now. I hold seventeen of the thousand-dollar shares in the Consolidated San Tomé mines. All the poor savings of my lifetime, sir, and it will be enough to keep me in comfort to the end of my days at home when I retire. I got in on the ground-floor, you see. Don Carlos, great friend of mine. Seventeen shares—quite a little fortune to leave behind one, too. I have a niece—married a parson—most worthy man, incumbent of a small parish in Sussex; no end of children. I was never married myself. A sailor should exercise self-denial. Standing under that very gateway, sir, with some young engineer-fellows, ready to defend that house where we had received so much kindness and hospitality, I saw the first and last charge of Pedrito's Llaneros upon Barrios's troops, who had just taken the harbor gate. They could not stand the new rifles brought out by that poor Decoud. It was a murderous fire. In a moment the street became blocked with a mass of dead men and horses. They never came on again."
And all day Captain Mitchell would talk like this to his more or less willing victim:
"The Plaza. I call it magnificent. Twice the area of Trafalgar Square."
From the very centre, in the blazing sunshine, he pointed out the buildings.
"The Intendencia, now President's Palace Cabildo. where the Lower Chamber of Parliament sits. You notice the new houses on that side of the Plaza? Com-
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