The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from Youth by Joseph Conrad: agents, I carried Mrs. Beard's bag to the railway-sta-
tion and put her all comfy into a third-class carriage.
She lowered the window to say, 'You are a good young
man. If you see John--Captain Beard--without his
muffler at night, just remind him from me to keep his
throat well wrapped up.' 'Certainly, Mrs. Beard,' I
said. 'You are a good young man; I noticed how at-
tentive you are to John--to Captain--' The train
pulled out suddenly; I took my cap off to the old
woman: I never saw her again. . . . Pass the bottle.
"We went to sea next day. When we made that start
 Youth |