Itwasintheautumnoftheyear17——
thattheeventswhichledtothecatastrophewhichIhavetodetailoccurred。
Ishallrunthroughthesaidrecitalasbrieflyasclearnesswillpermit，andleaveyoutomoralise，ifsuchbeyourmood，uponthestoryofreallife，whichIevennowtraceatthisdistantperiodnotwithoutemotion。
Itwasuponabeautifulautumnevening，atthatgladperiodoftheseasonwhentheharvestyieldsitsabundance，thattwofigureswereseensaunteringalongthebanksofthewindingriver，whichI
describedasboundingthefarmoccupiedbyHeathcote；theyhadbeen，astherodsandlanding-netswhichtheylistlesslycarriedwenttoshow，plyingthegentle，butinthiscasenotaltogethersolitarycraftofthefisherman。Oneofthosepersonswasatallandsingularlyhandsomeyoungman，whosedarkhairandcomplexionmightalmosthavebelongedtoaSpaniard，asmightalsotheproudbutmelancholyexpressionwhichgavetohiscountenanceacharacterwhichcontrastssadly，butnotuninterestingly，withextremeyouth；hisair，ashespokewithhiscompanion，wasmarkedbythatcarelessfamiliaritywhichdenotesaconscioussuperiorityofonekindorother，orwhichmaybeconstruedintoaspeciesofcontempt；hiscomradeaffordedtohimineveryrespectastrikingcontrast。Hewasratherlowinstature——adefectwhichwasenhancedbyabroadandsquare-builtfigure——hisfacewassallow，andhisfeatureshadthatprominenceandsharpnesswhichfrequentlyaccompanypersonaldeformity——aremarkablywidemouth，withteethwhiteasthefangsofawolf，andapairofquick，darkeyes，whoseeffectwasheightenedbytheshadowofaheavyblackbrow，gavetohisfaceapowerofexpression，particularlywhensarcasticormalignantemotionsweretobeexhibited，whichfeaturesregularlyhandsomecouldscarcelyhavepossessed。