Mr.Gould exaggerated to himself the disadvantages of his new position, because he viewed it emotionally.

His position in Costaguana was no worse than before.

But man is a desperately conservative creature, and the extravagant novelty of this outrage upon his purse distressed his sensibilities.

Everybody around him was being robbed by the grotesque and murderous bands that played their game of governments and revolutions after the death of Guzman Bento.

His experience had taught him that, however short the plunder might fall of their legitimate expectations, no gang in possession of the Presidential Palace would be so incompetent as to suffer itself to be baffled by the want of a pretext.