I am from Geneva and my
family is rich and influential. My father occupied public offices. He married
at an old age.
One of his most intimate
friends, Mr. Beaufort, was a merchant who fell into poverty after some bad
businesses. Being unable to continue living in a country where he had been rich
he went to Lucerne to live with his daughter. My father tried to find him and
after some time he discovered him lying on bed, sick and with his daughter
attending him.
The daughter had tried to
find work but the father, worsening his illness, died, and left his child
without any means of support. When my father found Caroline, the daughter, he
decided to help her. After some time he married the daughter of his friend.
There was a great
difference of age between them but my father loved her tenderly and tried to
mend what she had suffered by giving her all she wanted. After some time my
father quitted his job and decided to take his wife to Italy, where she could
rest and recover.