Quotation from: The Arrow of Gold

Written by: Joseph Conrad


The feeble gas flame in the hall was still there, on duty, as
though it had never been turned off since I last crossed the hall
at half-past eleven in the evening to go to the harbour. The small
flame had watched me letting myself out; and now, exactly of the
same size, the poor little tongue of light (there was something
wrong with that burner) watched me letting myself in, as indeed it
had done many times before. Generally the impression was that of
entering an untenanted house, but this time before I could reach
the foot of the stairs Therese glided out of the passage leading
into the studio. After the usual exclamations she assured me that
everything was ready for me upstairs, had been for days, and
offered to get me something to eat at once. I accepted and said I
would be down in the studio in half an hour. I found her there by
the side of the laid table ready for conversation. She began by
telling me--the dear, poor young Monsieur--in a sort of plaintive
chant, that there were no letters for me, no letters of any kind,
no letters from anybody. Glances of absolutely terrifying
tenderness mingled with flashes of cunning swept over me from head
to foot while I tried to eat.

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Old Dominion University CS Dept
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Created: 2007-2-22T12:35:29Z
Part of the CratePreservation Project
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Part of a series of experiments in web preservation under the direction of Michael L. Nelson, Ph.D.