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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from The Mirror of the Sea by Joseph Conrad: extreme good-nature, the serious, unsmiling good-nature of a fat,
swarthy man with coal-black moustache and steady eyes; but he might
have been a bit of a diplomatist, too. His enticing suggestions I
used to repel modestly by the assurance that it was extremely
unlikely, as I had not enough experience. "You know very well how
to go about business matters," he used to say, with a sort of
affected moodiness clouding his serene round face. I wonder
whether he ever laughed to himself after I had left the office. I
dare say he never did, because I understand that diplomatists, in
and out of the career, take themselves and their tricks with an
exemplary seriousness.
The Mirror of the Sea |
