A regular visitor to the piers of early nineteenth century New York might have noticed a young man looking out to sea, lost in thought. The dreamer was Washington Irving. Irving lived near the riverfront with his father, a successful merchant. Young Irving's formal schooling was limited, and he seemed to lack ambition in that direction. However, he felt secure about his future. In time Irving studied law. After he was finally admitted to the bar, one of the bar examiners, a friend of the family, observed dryly, "I think the young man knows a little law." Washington Irving never practiced law. Instead, he became one of the most respected authors of the nineteenth century.

Q. Underline the words which suggest that Irving knew what he wanted for himself.