Ностромо
Chapter 6
ItwasthesameGuzmanBentowho,becominglaterPerpetualPresident,famedforhisruthlessandcrueltyranny,readiedhisapotheosisinthepopularlegendofasanguinaryland-hauntingspectrewhosebodyhadbeencarriedoffbythedevilinpersonfromthebrickmausoleuminthenaveoftheChurchofAssumptioninSta.Marta.Thus,atleast,thepriestsexplaineditsdisappearancetothebarefootedmultitudethatstreamedin,awestruck,togazeattheholeinthesideoftheuglyboxofbricksbeforethegreataltar.
GuzmanBentoofcruelmemoryhadputtodeathgreatnumbersofpeoplebesidesCharlesGould’suncle;butwitharelativemartyredinthecauseofaristocracy,theSulacoOligarchs(thiswasthephraseologyofGuzmanBento’stime;nowtheywerecalledBlancos,andhadgivenupthefederalidea),whichmeantthefamiliesofpureSpanishdescent,consideredCharlesasoneofthemselves.Withsuchafamilyrecord,noonecouldbemoreofaCostaguanerothanDonCarlosGould;buthisaspectwassocharacteristicthatinthetalkofcommonpeoplehewasjusttheInglez—theEnglishmanofSulaco.HelookedmoreEnglishthanacasualtourist,asortofhereticpilgrim,however,quiteunknowninSulaco.HelookedmoreEnglishthanthelastarrivedbatchofyoungrailwayengineers,thananybodyoutofthehunting-fieldpicturesinthenumbersofPunchreachinghiswife’sdrawing-roomtwomonthsorsoafterdate.