Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. I must take the reader back to the period of my life when I first met the Chevalier des Grieux. It was about six months before my departure for Spain. Though I rarely quitted my retreat, still the interest I felt in my child’s welfare induced me occasionally to undertake short journeys, which, however, I took good care to abridge as much as possible.<br><br>I was one day returning from Rouen, where I had been, at her request, to attend a cause then pending before the Parliament of Normandy, respecting an inheritance to which I had claims derived from my maternal grandfather, and which I had made over to her. Having taken the road by Evreux, where I slept the first night, I on the following day, about dinner-time, reached Passy, a distance of five or six eagues. I was amazed, on entering this quiet town, to see all the inhabitants in commotion. They were pouring from their houses in crowds, towards the gate of a small inn, immediately before which two covered vans were drawn up.