As it was, even upon hearing it whispered that somebody else
was subject to headaches, a whole company must look as though they had
never had a headache in their lives. It is true they were not very
prevalent, for the people were the healthiest and most comely imaginable,
owing to the severity with which ill health was treated; still, even the
best were liable to be out of sorts sometimes, and there were few
families that had not a medicine-chest in a cupboard somewhere.
CHAPTER XV: THE MUSICAL BANKS
On my return to the drawing-room, I found that the Mahaina current had
expended itself. The ladies were just putting away their work and
preparing to go out. I asked them where they were going. They answered
with a certain air of reserve that they were going to the bank to get
some money.
Now I had already collected that the mercantile affairs of the
Erewhonians were conducted on a totally different system from our own; I
had, however, gathered little hitherto, except that they had two distinct
commercial systems, of which the one appealed more strongly to the
imagination than anything to which we are accustomed in Europe, inasmuch
as the banks that were conducted upon this system were decorated in the
most profuse fashion, and all mercantile transactions were accompanied
with music, so that they were called Musical Banks, though the music was
hideous to a European ear.
Pages:
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173