Chapter 3
When I had attained the age of seventeen my parents resolved
that I should become a student at the university of Ingolstadt. I
had hitherto attended the schools of Geneva, but my father thought
it necessary for the completion of my education that I should be
made acquainted with other customs than those of my native country.
My departure was therefore fixed at an early date, but before the
day solved upon could arrive, the first misfortune of my life
occurred—an omen, as it were, of my future misery.
Elizabeth had caught the scarlet fever; her illness was severe,
and she was in the greatest danger. During her illness many
arguments had been urged to persuade my mother to refrain from
attending upon her. She had at first yielded to our entreaties, but
when she heard t
