’Such，yousee，MrClennam，’saidtheFather，’aretheincongruitiesofmypositionhere。Butapublicduty!Noman，I
amsure，wouldmorereadilyrecogniseapublicdutythanyourself。’
Clennambesoughthimnottodelayamoment。
’Amy，mydear，ifyoucanpersuadeMrClennamtostaylonger，Icanleavethehonoursofourpoorapologyforanestablishmentwithconfidenceinyourhands，andperhapsyoumaydosomethingtowardserasingfromMrClennam’smindthe——ha——untowardandunpleasantcircumstancewhichhasoccurredsincetea-time。’
Clennamassuredhimthatithadmadenoimpressiononhismind，andthereforerequirednoerasure。