The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from Some Reminiscences by Joseph Conrad: doubt that would be all right in essentials. The fortune of the
house included a pair of grey-blue watchful eyes that would see
to that. But I felt somehow as grimy as a Costaguana lepero
after a day's fighting in the streets, rumpled all over and
dishevelled down to my very heels. And I am afraid I blinked
stupidly. All this was bad for the honour of letters and the
dignity of their service. Seen indistinctly through the dust of
my collapsed universe, the good lady glanced about the room with
a slightly amused serenity. And she was smiling. What on earth
was she smiling at? She remarked casually:
"I am afraid I interrupted you."
 Some Reminiscences |