Felix De Lacey
My name is Felix. I am the son of De Lacey, brother of Agatha, and beloved of Safie. My name means “fortunate,” but the time I believed this to be an accurate description has come and gone. I lived a prosperous life in Paris with my family until a Turkish merchant was wrongfully condemned to death there. As someone who firmly believes it to be my duty to preserve justice to the best of my ability, I resolved to aid his escape from prison before the day of his execution. I rejected his offers of payment in exchange for my efforts, but I quickly fell in love with his beautiful daughter, Safie. The Mahometan encouraged our affection, and promised to me her hand in marriage. After the first stages of my plan were carried out, I was horrified to learn that my involvement had been discovered by the government, and my father and Agatha had been imprisoned as a result. I returned to Paris, hoping they would be freed if I gave myself up, but this was in vain. The three of us were held in prison for five months before being deprived of our fortune and condemned to exile. We retired to a cottage in Germany, where we continue to live in poverty and despair.
I could have endured this consequence of my commitment to justice, had I not almost immediately discovered that the man I had helped escape from prison had fled from Italy and taken my sweet Safie with him. These circumstances have reduced me to a perpetual state of misery, though I attempt to appear cheerful for the sake of my father and sister, who I am fiercely protective of. I do not believe my guilt for having caused our current situation will ever truly diminish; this along with the pain of betrayal will haunt me for the rest of my life. I now devote my time to improving my unhappy existence by working, gardening, and making improvements to the cottage. I enjoy spending my free time reading aloud to my family.