I think it would be #1. Compassion.
The words that represent verbs that would be useful in describing the purpose for a text are the following ones: Inform and define.
Cambridge dictionary defines the verbs "to inform" as "to tell someone about particular facts" and "to define" as "to say what the meaning of something is". When you are about to describe the purpose of a text, you are to inform the reader what you want to say and why you are saying it. You are giving meaning to your piece of writing.
Answer:
I asked my good friend Simon Wheeler about a friend of mine who wrote to me from the east that wanted to know something. I also asked him something my friend's friend Leonidas W. Smiley wanted to know, since he asked me to do so.
Explanation:
Make it sound something you would say. Not many people talk like this, so write as if you were talking a normal conversation with your friend.