London was our present point
of rest; we determined to remain
several months in this wonderful
and celebrated city. Clerval
desired the intercourse of the
men of genius and talent who
flourished at this time; but
this was with me a secondary
object; I was principally occupied
with the means of obtaining the
information necessary for the
completion of my promise, and
quickly availed myself of the
letters of introduction that
I had brought with me, addressed
to the most distinguished natural
philosophers.
If this journey had taken place
during my days of study and happiness,
it would have afforded me inexpressible
pleasure. But a blight had come
over my existence, and I only
visited these people for the
sake of the information they
might give me on the subject
in which my interest was so terribly
profound. Company was irksome
to me; when alone, I could fill
my mind with the sights of heaven
and earth; the voice of Henry
soothed me, and I could thus
cheat myself into a transitory
peace. But busy uninteresting
joyous faces brought back despair
to my heart. I saw an insurmountable
barrier placed between me and
my fellow-men; this barrier was
sealed with the blood of William
and Justine; and to reflect on
the events connected with those
names filled my soul with anguish.
But in Clerval I saw the image
of my former self; he was inquisitive,
and anxious to gain experience
and instruction. The difference
of manners which he observed
was to him an inexhaustible source
of instruction and amusement.
He was also pursuing an object
he had long had in view. His
design was to visit India, in
the belief that he had in his
knowledge of its various languages,
and in the views he had taken
of its society, the means of
materially assisting the progress
of European colonisation and
trade. In Britain only could
he further the execution of his
plan. He was for ever busy; and
the only check to his enjoyments
was my sorrowful and dejected
mind. I tried to conceal this
as much as possible, that I might
not debar him from the pleasures
natural to one who was entering
on a new scene of life, undisturbed
by any care or bitter recollection.
I often refused to accompany
him, alleging another engagement,
that I might remain alone. I
now also began to collect the
materials necessary for my new
creation, and this was to me
like the torture of single drops
of water continually falling
on the head. Every thought that
was devoted to it was an extreme
anguish, and every word that
I spoke in allusion to it caused
my lips to quiver, and my heart
to palpitate.
After passing some months in
London, we received a letter
from a person in Scotland, who
had formerly been our visitor
at Geneva. He mentioned the beauties
of his native country, and asked
us if those were not sufficient
allurements to induce us to prolong
our journey as far north as Perth,
where he resided. Clerval eagerly
desired to accept this invitation;
and I, although I abhorred society,
wished to view again mountains
and streams, and all the wondrous
works with which Nature adorns
her chosen dwelling-places.
We had arrived in England at
the beginning of October, and
it was now February. We accordingly
determined to commence our journey
towards the north at the expiration
of another month. In this expedition
we did not intend to follow the
great road to Edinburgh, but
to visit Windsor, Oxford, Matlock,
and the Cumberland lakes, resolving
to arrive at the completion of
this tour about the end of July.
I packed up my chemical instruments,
and the materials I had collected,
resolving to finish my labours
in some obscure nook in the northern
highlands of Scotland.
We quitted London on the 27th
of March, and remained a few
days at Windsor, rambling in
its beautiful forest. This was
a new scene to us mountaineers;
the majestic oaks, the quantity
of game, and the herds of stately
deer, were all novelties to us.
From thence we proceeded to
Oxford. As we entered this city,
our minds were filled with the
remembrance of the events that
had been transacted there more
than a century and a half before.
It was here that Charles I. had
collected his forces. This city
had remained faithful to him,
after the whole nation had forsaken
his cause to join the standard
of parliament and liberty. The
memory of that unfortunate king,
and his companions, the amiable
Falkland, the insolent Goring,
his queen, and son, gave a peculiar
interest to every part of the
city, which they might be supposed
to have inhabited. The spirit
of elder days found a dwelling
here, and we delighted to trace
its footsteps. If these feelings
had not found an imaginary gratification,
the appearance of the city had
yet in itself sufficient beauty
to obtain our admiration. The
colleges are ancient and picturesque;
the streets are almost magnificent;
and the lovely Isis, which flows
beside it through meadows of
exquisite verdure, is spread
forth into a placid expanse of
waters, which reflects its majestic
assemblage of towers, and spires,
and domes, embosomed among aged
trees.
I enjoyed this scene; and yet
my enjoyment was embittered both
by the memory of the past, and
the anticipation of the future.
I was formed for peaceful happiness.
During my youthful days discontent
never visited my mind; and if
I was ever overcome by _ennui_,
the sight of what is beautiful
in nature, or the study of what
is excellent and sublime in the
productions of man, could always
interest my heart, and communicate
elasticity to my spirits. But
I am a blasted tree; the bolt
has entered my soul; and I felt
then that I should survive to
exhibit, what I shall soon cease
to be--a miserable spectacle
of wrecked humanity, pitiable
to others, and intolerable to
myself.
We passed a considerable period
at Oxford, rambling among its
environs, and endeavouring to
identify every spot which might
relate to the most animating
epoch of English history. Our
little voyages of discovery were
often prolonged by the successive
objects that presented themselves.
We visited the tomb of the illustrious
Hampden, and the field on which
that patriot fell. For a moment
my soul was elevated from its
debasing and miserable fears,
to contemplate the divine ideas
of liberty and self-sacrifice,
of which these sights were the
monuments and the remembrancers.
For an instant I dared to shake
off my chains, and look around
me with a free and lofty spirit;
but the iron had eaten into my
flesh, and I sank again, trembling
and hopeless, into my miserable
self.
We left Oxford with regret,
and proceeded to Matlock, which
was our next place of rest. The
country in the neighbourhood
of this village resembled, to
a greater degree, the scenery
of Switzerland; but everything
is on a lower scale, and the
green hills want the crown of
distant white Alps, which always
attend on the piny mountains
of my native country. We visited
the wondrous cave, and the little
cabinets of natural history,
where the curiosities are disposed
in the same manner as in the
collections at Servox and Chamounix.
The latter name made me tremble
when pronounced by Henry; and
I hastened to quit Matlock, with
which that terrible scene was
thus associated.
From Derby,
still journeying northward,
we passed two months
in Cumberland and Westmoreland.
I could now almost fancy myself
among the Swiss mountains. The
little patches of snow which
yet lingered on the northern
sides of the mountains, the lakes,
and the dashing of the rocky
streams, were all familiar and
dear sights to me. Here also
we made some acquaintances, who
almost contrived to cheat me
into happiness. The delight of
Clerval was proportionably greater
than mine; his mind expanded
in the company of men of talent,
and he found in his own nature
greater capacities and resources
than he could have imagined himself
to have possessed while he associated
with his inferiors. "I could
pass my life here," said he to
me; "and among these mountains
I should scarcely regret Switzerland
and the Rhine."
But he found that a traveller's
life is one that includes much
pain amidst its enjoyments. His
feelings are for ever on the
stretch; and when he begins to
sink into repose, he finds himself
obliged to quit that on which
he rests in pleasure for something
new, which again engages his
attention, and which also he
forsakes for other novelties.
We had scarcely visited the
various lakes of Cumberland and
Westmoreland, and conceived an
affection for some of the inhabitants,
when the period of our appointment
with our Scotch friend approached,
and we left them to travel on.
For my own part I was not sorry.
I had now neglected my promise
for some time, and I feared the
effects of the daemon's disappointment.
He might remain in Switzerland,
and wreak his vengeance on my
relatives. This idea pursued
me, and tormented me at every
moment from which I might otherwise
have snatched repose and peace.
I waited for my letters with
feverish impatience: if they
were delayed, I was miserable,
and overcome by a thousand fears;
and when they arrived, and I
saw the superscription of Elizabeth
or my father, I hardly dared
to read and ascertain my fate.
Sometimes I thought that the
fiend followed me, and might
expedite my remissness by murdering
my companion. When these thoughts
possessed me, I would not quit
Henry for a moment, but followed
him us his shadow, to protect
him from the fancied rage of
his destroyer. I felt as if I
had committed some great crime,
the consciousness of which haunted
me. I was guiltless, but I had
indeed drawn down a horrible
curse upon my head, as mortal
as that of crime.
I visited Edinburgh with languid
eyes and mind; and yet that city
might have interested the most
unfortunate being. Clerval did
not like it so well as Oxford:
for the antiquity of the latter
city was more pleasing to him.
But the beauty and regularity
of the new town of Edinburgh,
its romantic castle, and its
environs, the most delightful
in the world, Arthur's Seat,
St. Bernard's Well, and the Pentland
Hills, conpensated him for the
change, and filled him with cheerfulness
and admiration. But I was impatient
to arrive at the termination
of my journey.
We left Edinburgh
in a week, passing through
Coupar, St. Andrew's,
and along the banks of the Tay,
to Perth, where our friend expected
us. But I was in no mood to laugh
and talk with strangers, or enter
into their feelings or plans
with the good humour expected
from a guest; and accordingly
I told Clerval that I wished
to make the tour of Scotland
alone. "Do you," said I, "enjoy
yourself, and let this be our
rendezvous. I may be absent a
month or two; but do not interfere
with my motions, I entreat you:
leave me to peace and solitude
for a short time; and when I
return, I hope it will be with
a lighter heart, more congenial
to your own temper."
Henry wished
to dissuade me; but, seeing
me bent on this plan,
ceased to remonstrate. He entreated
me to write often. "I had rather
be with you," he said, "in your
solitary rambles, than with these
Scotch people, whom I do not
know: hasten then, my dear friend,
to return, that I may again feel
myself somewhat at home, which
I cannot do in your absence."
Having parted from my friend,
I determined to visit some remote
spot of Scotland, and finish
my work in solitude. I did not
doubt but that the monster followed
me, and would discover himself
to me when I should have finished,
that he might receive his companion.
With this resolution I traversed
the northern highlands, and fixed
on one of the remotest of the
Orkneys as the scene of my labours.
It was a place fitted for such
a work, being hardly more than
a rock, whose high sides were
continually beaten upon by the
waves. The soil was barren, scarcely
affording pasture for a few miserable
cows, and oatmeal for its inhabitants,
which consisted of five persons,
whose gaunt and scraggy limbs
gave tokens of their miserable
fare. Vegetables and bread, when
they indulged in such luxuries,
and even fresh water, was to
be procured from the main land,
which was about five miles distant.
On the whole island there were
but three miserable huts, and
one of these was vacant when
I arrived. This I hired. It contained
but two rooms, and these exhibited
all the squalidness of the most
miserable penury. The thatch
had fallen in, the walls were
unplastered, and the door was
off its hinges. I ordered it
to be repaired, bought some furniture,
and took possession; an incident
which would, doubtless, have
occasioned some surprise, had
not all the senses of the cottagers
been benumbed by want and squalid
poverty. As it was, I lived ungazed
at and unmolested, hardly thanked
for the pittance of food and
clothes which I gave; so much
does suffering blunt even the
coarsest sensations of men.
In this retreat I devoted the
morning to labour; but in the
evening, when the weather permitted,
I walked on the stony beach of
the sea, to listen to the waves
as they roared and dashed at
my feet. It was a monotonous
yet ever-changing scene. I thought
of Switzerland; it was far different
from this desolate and appalling
landscape. Its hills are covered
with vines, and its cottages
are scattered thickly in the
plains. Its fair lakes reflect
a blue and gentle sky; and, when
troubled by the winds, their
tumult is but as the play of
a lively infant, when compared
to the roarings of the giant
ocean.
In this manner I distributed
my occupations when I first arrived;
but, as I proceeded in my labour,
it became every day more horrible
and irksome to me. Sometimes
I could not prevail on myself
to enter my laboratory for several
days; and at other times I toiled
day and night in order to complete
my work. It was, indeed, a filthy
process in which I was engaged.
During my first experiment, a
kind of enthusiastic frenzy had
blinded me to the horror of my
employment; my mind was intently
fixed on the consummation of
my labour, and my eyes were shut
to the horror of my proceedings.
But now I went to it in cold
blood, and my heart often sickened
at the work of my hands.
Thus situated, employed in
the most detestable occupation,
immersed in a solitude where
nothing could for an instant
call my attention from the actual
scene in which I was engaged,
my spirits became unequal; I
grew restless and nervous. Every
moment I feared to meet my persecutor.
Sometimes I sat with my eyes
fixed on the ground, fearing
to raise them, lest they should
encounter the object which I
so much dreaded to behold. I
feared to wander from the sight
of my fellow-creatures, lest
when alone he should come to
claim his companion.
In the meantime I worked on,
and my labour was already considerably
advanced. I looked towards its
completion with a tremulous and
eager hope, which I dared not
trust myself to question, but
which was intermixed with obscure
forebodings of evil, that made
my heart sicken in my bosom. |