Mr. Midshipman Easy by Frederick Marryat

"I have already made you acquainted with my name, and I have only to add that it is one of the most noble in Sicily, and that there are few families who possess such large estates. My father was a man who had no pleasure in the pursuits of most of the young men of his age; he was of a weakly constitution, and was with difficulty reared to manhood. When his studies were completed he retired to his country seat belonging to our family, which is about twenty miles from Palermo, and shutting himself up, devoted himself wholly to literary pursuits.

"As he was an only son, his parents were naturally very anxious that he should marry; the more so as his health did not promise him a very extended existence. Had he consulted his own inclinations he would have declined, but he felt that it was his duty to comply with their wishes; but he did not trouble himself with the choice, leaving it wholly to them. They selected a young lady of high family and certainly of most exquisite beauty. I only wish I could say more in her favour -- for she was my mother -- but it is impossible to narrate the history without exposing her conduct. The marriage took place, and my father -- having woke up, as it were, at the celebration -- again returned to his closet, to occupy himself in abstruse studies -- the results of which have been published, and have fully established his reputation as a man of superior talent and deep research.