Chapter 15
"Such was the history of my beloved cottagers. It impressed me
deeply. I learned, from the views of social life which it
developed, to admire their virtues and to deprecate the vices of
mankind.
"As yet I looked upon crime as a distant evil, benevolence and
generosity were ever present before me, inciting within me a desire
to become an actor in the busy scene where so many admirable
qualities were called forth and displayed. But in giving an account
of the progress of my intellect, I must not omit a circumstance
which occurred in the beginning of the month of August of the same
year.
"One night during my accustomed visit to the neighbouring wood
where I collected my own food and brought home firing for my
protectors, I found on the ground a leathern portmanteau co
