I sat one evening in my laboratory;
the sun had set, and the moon
was just rising from the sea;
I had not sufficient light for
my employment, and I remained
idle, in a pause of consideration
of whether I should leave my
labour for the night, or hasten
its conclusion by an unremitting
attention to it. As I sat, a
train of reflection occurred
to me, which led me to consider
the effects of what I was now
doing. Three years before I was
engaged in the same manner, and
had created a fiend whose unparalleled
barbarity had desolated my heart,
and filled it for ever with the
bitterest remorse. I was now
about to form another being,
of whose dispositions I was alike
ignorant; she might become ten
thousand times more malignant
than her mate, and delight, for
its own sake, in murder and wretchedness.
He had sworn to quit the neighbourhood
of man, and hide himself in deserts;
but she had not; and she, who
in all probability was to become
a thinking and reasoning animal,
might refuse to comply with a
compact made before her creation.
They might even hate each other;
the creature who already lived
loathed his own deformity, and
might he not conceive a greater
abhorrence for it when it came
before his eyes in the female
form? She also might turn with
disgust from him to the superior
beauty of man; she might quit
him, and he be again alone, exasperated
by the fresh provocation of being
deserted by one
of his own species.
Even if they were to leave
Europe, and inhabit the deserts
of the new world, yet one of
the first results of those sympathies
for which the daemon thirsted
would be children, and a race
of devils would be propagated
upon the earth who might make
the very existence of the species
of man a condition precarious
and full of terror. Had I right,
for my own benefit, to inflict
this curse upon everlasting generations?
I had before been moved by the
sophisms of the being I had created;
I had been struck senseless by
his fiendish threats: but now,
for the first time, the wickedness
of my promise burst upon me;
I shuddered to think that future
ages might curse me as their
pest, whose selfishness had not
hesitated to buy its own peace
at the price, perhaps, of the
existence of the whole human
race.
I trembled, and my heart failed
within me; when, on looking up,
I saw, by the light of the moon,
the daemon at the casement. A
ghastly grin wrinkled his lips
as he gazed on me, where I sat
fulfilling the task which he
had allotted to me. Yes, he had
followed me in my travels; he
had loitered in forests, hid
himself in caves, or taken refuge
in wide and desert heaths; and
he now came to mark my progress,
and claim the fulfilment of my
promise.
As I looked on him, his countenance
expressed the utmost extent of
malice and treachery. I thought
with a sensation of madness on
my promise of creating another
like to him, and trembling with
passion, tore to pieces the thing
on which I was engaged. The wretch
saw me destroy the creature on
whose future existence he depended
for happiness, and, with a howl
of devilish despair and revenge,
withdrew.
I left the room, and, locking
the door, made a solemn vow in
my own heart never to resume
my labours; and then, with trembling
steps, I sought my own apartment.
I was alone; none were near me
to dissipate the gloom, and relieve
me from the sickening oppression
of the most terrible reveries.
Several hours passed, and I
remained near my window gazing
on the sea; it was almost motionless,
for the winds were hushed, and
all nature reposed under the
eye of the quiet moon. A few
fishing vessels alone specked
the water, and now and then the
gentle breeze wafted the sound
of voices, as the fishermen called
to one another. I felt the silence,
although I was hardly conscious
of its extreme profundity, until
my ear was suddenly arrested
by the paddling of oars near
the shore, and a person landed
close to my house.
In a few minutes after, I heard
the creaking of my door, as if
some one endeavoured to open
it softly. I trembled from head
to foot; I felt a presentiment
of who it was, and wished to
rouse one of the peasants who
dwelt in a cottage not far from
mine; but I was overcome by the
sensation of helplessness, so
often felt in frightful dreams,
when you in vain endeavour to
fly from an impending danger,
and was rooted to the spot.
Presently I
heard the sound of footsteps
along the passage;
the door opened, and the wretch
whom I dreaded appeared. Shutting
the door, he approached me, and
said, in a smothered voice--"You
have destroyed the work which
you began; what is it that you
intend? Do you dare to break
your promise?
I have endured
toil and misery: I left Switzerland
with you;
I crept along the shores of the
Rhine, among its willow islands,
and over the summits of its hills.
I have dwelt many months in the
heaths of England, and among
the deserts of Scotland. I have
endured incalculable fatigue,
and cold, and hunger; do you
dare destroy my hopes?"
"Begone! I
do break my promise; never
will I create another like
yourself, equal in deformity
and wickedness."
"Slave, I before
reasoned with you, but you
have proved yourself
unworthy of my condescension.
Remember that I have power; you
believe yourself miserable, but
I can make you so wretched that
the light of day will be hateful
to you. You are my creator, but
I am your master;--obey!"
"The hour of
my irresolution is past, and
the period of your
power is arrived. Your threats
cannot move me to do an act of
wickedness; but they confirm
me in a determination of not
creating you a companion in vice.
Shall I, in cool blood, set loose
upon the earth a daemon, whose
delight is in death and wretchedness?
Begone! I am firm, and your words
will only exasperate my rage."
The monster
saw my determination in my
face, and gnashed his teeth
in the impotence of anger. "Shall
each man," cried he, "find a
wife for his bosom, and each
beast have his mate, and I be
alone? I had feelings of affection,
and they were requited by detestation
and scorn. Man! you may hate;
but beware! your hours will pass
in dread and misery, and soon
the bolt will fall which must
ravish from you your happiness
for ever. Are you to be happy
while I grovel in the intensity
of my wretchedness? You can blast
my other passions; but revenge
remains--revenge, henceforth
dearer than light or food! I
may die; but first you, my tyrant
and tormentor, shall curse the
sun that gazes on your misery.
Beware; for I am fearless, and
therefore powerful. I will watch
with the wiliness of a snake,
that I may sting with its venom.
Man, you shall repent of the
injuries you inflict."
"Devil, cease;
and do not poison the air with
these sounds of
malice. I have declared my resolution
to you, and I am no coward to
bend beneath words. Leave me;
I am inexorable."
"It is well.
I go; but remember, I shall
be with you on your wedding-night."
I started forward,
and exclaimed, "Villain!
before you sign my death-warrant,
be sure that you are yourself
safe."
I would have seized him; but
he eluded me, and quitted the
house with precipitation. In
a few moments I saw him in his
boat, which shot across the waters
with an arrowy swiftness, and
was soon lost amidst the waves.
All was again
silent; but his words rung
in my ears. I burned
with rage to pursue the murderer
of my peace and precipitate him
into the ocean. I walked up and
down my room hastily and perturbed,
while my imagination conjured
up a thousand images to torment
and sting me. Why had I not followed
him, and closed with him in mortal
strife? But I had suffered him
to depart, and he had directed
his course towards the main land.
I shuddered to think who might
be the next victim sacrificed
to his insatiate revenge. And
then I thought again of his words--"_I_
will be with you on your wedding-night." That
then was the period fixed for
the fulfilment of my destiny.
In that hour I should die, and
at once satisfy and extinguish
his malice. The prospect did
not move me to fear; yet when
I thought of my beloved Elizabeth,--of
her tears and endless sorrow,
when she should find her lover
so barbarously snatched from
her,--tears, the first I had
shed for many months, streamed
from my eyes, and I resolved
not to fall before my enemy without
a bitter struggle.
The night passed away, and
the sun rose from the ocean;
my feelings became calmer, if
it may be called calmness, when
the violence of rage sinks into
the depths of despair. I left
the house, the horrid scene of
the last night's contention,
and walked on the beach of the
sea, which I almost regarded
as an insuperable barrier between
me and my fellow-creatures; nay,
a wish that such should prove
the fact stole across me. I desired
that I might pass my life on
that barren rock, wearily, it
is true, but uninterrupted by
any sudden shock of misery. If
I returned, it was to be sacrificed,
or to see those whom I most loved
die under the grasp of a damon
whom I had myself created.
I walked about the isle like
a restless spectre, separated
from all it loved, and miserable
in the separation. When it became
noon, and the sun rose higher,
I lay down on the grass, and
was overpowered by a deep sleep.
I had been awake the whole of
the preceding night, my nerves
were agitated, and my eyes inflamed
by watching and misery. The sleep
into which I now sunk refreshed
me; and when I awoke, I again
felt as if I belonged to a race
of human beings like myself,
and I began to reflect upon what
had passed with greater composure;
yet still the words of the fiend
rung in my ears like a death-knell,
they appeared like a dream, yet
distinct and oppressive as a
reality.
The sun had far descended,
and I still sat on the shore,
satisfying my appetite, which
had become ravenous, with an
oaten cake, when I saw a fishing-boat
land close to me, and one of
the men brought me a packet;
it contained letters from Geneva,
and one from Clerval, entreating
me to join him. He said that
he was wearing away his time
fruitlessly where he was; that
letters from the friends he had
formed in London desired his
return to complete the negotiation
they had entered into for his
Indian enterprise. He could not
any longer delay his departure;
but as his journey to London
might be followed, even sooner
than he now conjectured, by his
longer voyage, he entreated me
to bestow as much of my society
on him as I could spare. He besought
me, therefore, to leave my solitary
isle, and to meet him at Perth,
that we might proceed southwards
together. This letter in a degree
recalled me to life, and I determined
to quit my island at the expiration
of two days.
Yet, before I departed, there
was a task to perform, on which
I shuddered to reflect: I must
pack up my chemical instruments;
and for that purpose I must enter
the room which had been the scene
of my odious work, and I must
handle those utensils, the sight
of which was sickening to me.
The next morning, at daybreak,
I summoned sufficient courage,
and unlocked the door of my laboratory.
The remains of the half-finished
creature, whom I had destroyed,
lay scattered on the floor, and
I almost felt as if I had mangled
the living flesh of a human being.
I paused to collect myself, and
then entered the chamber. With
trembling hand I conveyed the
instruments out of the room;
but I reflected that I ought
not to leave the relics of my
work to excite the horror and
suspicion of the peasants; and
I accordingly put them into a
basket, with a great quantity
of stones, and, laying them up,
determined to throw them into
the sea that very night; and
in the meantime I sat upon the
beach, employed in cleaning and
arranging my chemical apparatus.
Nothing could be more complete
than the alteration that had
taken place in my feelings since
the night of the appearance of
the damon. I had before regarded
my promise with a gloomy despair,
as a thing that, with whatever
consequences, must be fulfilled;
but I now felt as if a film had
been taken from before my eyes,
and that I, for the first time,
saw clearly. The idea of renewing
my labours did not for one instant
occur to me; the threat I had
heard weighed on my thoughts,
but I did not reflect that a
voluntary act of mine could avert
it. I had resolved in my own
mind, that to create another
like the fiend I had first made
would be an act of the basest
and most atrocious selfishness;
and I banished from my mind every
thought that could lead to a
different conclusion.
Between two and three in the
morning the moon rose; and I
then, putting my basket aboard
a little skiff, sailed out about
four miles from the shore. The
scene was perfectly solitary:
a few boats were returning towards
land, but I sailed away from
them. I felt as if I was about
the commission of a dreadful
crime, and avoided with shuddering
anxiety any encounter with my
fellow-creatures. At one time
the moon, which had before been
clear, was suddenly overspread
by a thick cloud, and I took
advantage of the moment of darkness,
and cast my basket into the sea:
I listened to the gurgling sound
as it sunk, and then sailed away
from the spot. The sky became
clouded; but the air was pure,
although chilled by the north-east
breeze that was then rising.
But it refreshed me, and filled
me with such agreeable sensations,
that I resolved to prolong my
stay on the water; and, fixing
the rudder in a direct position,
stretched myself at the bottom
of the boat. Clouds hid the moon,
everything was obscure, and I
heard only the sound of the boat,
as its keel cut through the waves;
the murmur lulled me, and in
a short time I slept soundly.
I do not know
how long I remained in this
situation, but when I
awoke I found that the sun had
already mounted considerably.
The wind was high, and the waves
continually threatened the safety
of my little skiff. I found that
the wind was north-east, and
must have driven me far from
the coast from which I had embarked.
I endeavoured to change my course,
but quickly found that, if I
again made the attempt, the boat
would be instantly filled with
water. Thus situated, my only
resource was to drive before
the wind. I confess that I felt
a few sensations of terror. I
had no compass with me, and was
so slenderly acquainted with
the geography of this part of
the world, that the sun was of
little benefit to me. I might
be driven into the wide Atlantic,
and feel all the tortures of
starvation, or be swallowed up
in the immeasurable waters that
roared and buffeted around me.
I had already been out many hours,
and felt the torment of a burning
thirst, a prelude to my other
sufferings. I looked on the heavens,
which were covered by clouds
that flew before the wind, only
to be replaced by others: I looked
upon the sea, it was to be my
grave. "Fiend," I exclaimed, "your
task is already fulfilled!" I
thought of Elizabeth, of my father,
and of Clerval; all left behind,
on whom the monster might satisfy
his sanguinary and merciless
passions. This idea plunged me
into a reverie, so despairing
and frightful, that even now,
when the scene is on the point
of closing before me for ever,
I shudder to reflect on it.
Some hours passed thus; but
by degrees, as the sun declined
towards the horizon, the wind
died away into a gentle breeze,
and the sea became free from
breakers. But these gave place
to a heavy swell: I felt sick,
and hardly able to hold the rudder,
when suddenly I saw a line of
high land towards the south.
Almost spent, as I was, by
fatigue, and the dreadful suspense
I endured for several hours,
this sudden certainty of life
rushed like a flood of warm joy
to my heart, and tears gushed
from my eyes.
How mutable are our feelings,
and how strange is that clinging
love we have of life even in
the excess of misery! I constructed
another sail with a part of my
dress, and eagerly steered my
course towards the land. It had
a wild and rocky appearance;
but, as I approached nearer,
I easily perceived the traces
of cultivation. I saw vessels
near the shore, and found myself
suddenly transported back to
the neighbourhood of civilised
man. I carefully traced the windings
of the land, and hailed a steeple
which I at length saw issuing
from behind a small promontory.
As I was in a state of extreme
debility, I resolved to sail
directly towards the town, as
a place where I could most easily
procure nourishment. Fortunately
I had money with me. As I turned
the promontory, I perceived a
small neat town and a good harbour,
which I entered, my heart bounding
with joy at my unexpected escape.
As I was occupied
in fixing the boat and arranging
the sails,
several people crowded towards
the spot. They seemed much surprised
at my appearance; but, instead
of offering me any assistance,
whispered together with gestures
that at any other time might
have produced in me a slight
sensation of alarm. As it was,
I merely remarked that they spoke
English; and I therefore addressed
them in that language: "My good
friends," said I, "will you be
so kind as to tell me the name
of this town, and inform me where
I am?"
"You will know that soon enough," replied
a man with a hoarse voice. "May
be you are come to a place that
will not prove much to your taste;
but you will not be consulted
as to your quarters, I promise
you."
I was exceedingly
surprised on receiving so rude
an answer
from a stranger; and I was also
disconcerted on perceiving the
frowning and angry countenances
of his companions. "Why do you
answer me so roughly?" I replied; "surely
it is not the custom of Englishmen
to receive strangers so inhospitably."
"I do not know," said the man, "what
the custom of the English may
be; but it is the custom of the
Irish to hate villains."
While this
strange dialogue continued,
I perceived the crowd
rapidly increase. Their faces
expressed a mixture of curiosity
and anger, which annoyed, and
in some degree alarmed me. I
inquired the way to the inn;
but no one replied. I then moved
forward and a murmuring sound
arose from the crowd as they
followed and surrounded me; when
an ill-looking man approaching,
tapped me on the shoulder, and
said, "Come, sir, you must follow
me to Mr. Kirwin's, to give an
account of yourself."
"Who is Mr.
Kirwin? Why am I to give an
account of myself?
Is not this a free country?"
"Ay, sir, free
enough for honest folks. Mr.
Kirwin is a magistrate;
and you are to give an account
of the death of a gentleman who
was found murdered here last
night."
This answer startled me; but
I presently recovered myself.
I was innocent; that could easily
be proved: accordingly I followed
my conductor in silence, and
was led to one of the best houses
in the town. I was ready to sink
from fatigue and hunger; but,
being surrounded by a crowd,
I thought it politic to rouse
all my strength, that no physical
debility might be construed into
apprehension or conscious guilt.
Little did I then expect the
calamity that was in a few moments
to overwhelm me, and extinguish
in horror and despair all fear
of ignominy or death.
I must pause here; for it requires
all my fortitude to recall the
memory of the frightful events
which I am about to relate, in
proper detail, to my recollection. |