You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as i once did; and i ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been. i do not know that the relation of my disasters will be useful to you; yet, when i reflect that you are pursuing the same course, exposing yourself to the same dangers which have rendered me what i am, i imagine that you may deduce an apt moral from my tale, one that may direct you if you succeed in your undertaking and console you in case of failure.