YOUTH

A NARRATIVE


By Joseph Conrad



". . . But the Dwarf answered: No; something human is dearer to me than
the wealth of all the world." GRIMM'S TALES.



TO MY WIFE




YOUTH


This could have occurred nowhere but in England, where men and sea
interpenetrate, so to speak--the sea entering into the life of most men,
and the men knowing something or everything about the sea, in the way of
amusement, of travel, or of bread-winning.

We were sitting round a mahogany table that reflected the bottle, the
claret-glasses, and our faces as we leaned on our elbows. There was a
director of companies, an accountant, a lawyer, Marlow, and myself. The