Chapter 1

I am by birth a Genevese, and my family is one of the most distinguished of that republic.

My ancestors had been for many years counsellors and syndics, and my father had filled several public situations with honour and reputation.

He was respected by all who knew him for his integrity and indefatigable attention to public business.

He passed his younger days perpetually occupied by the affairs of his country; a variety of circumstances had prevented his marrying early, nor was it until the decline of life that he became a husband and the father of a family.
As the circumstances of his marriage illustrate his character, I cannot refrain from relating them.

One of his most intimate friends was a merchant who, from a flourishing state, fell, through numerous mischances, into poverty.