Sentence:  She looked at the girl speculatively from eyes which had paled with the years ; from the early evening lights of them which had first startled Izaak to look at her in an uncousinly way , they had faded to a <WSD>near</WSD> absence of color which had , possibly from her constant looking at the water , something of the light of the sea in them . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  not far distant in time or space or degree or circumstances