"You treat me with such noble generosity, sir," he said to me, "that I should reproach myself with base ingratitude were I to withhold anything from you which it would interest you to hear. I will tell you, if you care to listen, not only my misfortunes and sufferings, but the follies and misdeeds for which I have most cause to blush; and I am sure that, while you may condemn, you cannot help but pity me."
[I must here explain that I committed the young man's story to writing almost immediately after hearing it, and that the reader may consequently rest assured of the absolute accuracy and fidelity of the following narrative. Its fidelity extends, I may say, even to the relation of the reflections and sentiments to which the young adventurer gave expression in language of the utmost grace.
Here, then, is his story; to which I shall add not a single word, from beginning to end, that is not his own.]
