[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
or death would have been my portion.
My first resolution was to quit Geneva forever; my
country, which, when I was happy and beloved, was dear
to me, now, in my adversity, became hateful. I provided
myself with a sum of money, together with a few jewels
which had belonged to my mother, and departed.
And now my wanderings began which are to cease but
with life. I have traversed a vast portion of the earth and
have endured all the hardships which travellers in deserts
and barbarous countries are wont to meet. How I have
lived I hardly know; many times have I stretched my
failing limbs upon the sandy plain and prayed for death.
But revenge kept me alive; I dared not die and leave my
adversary in being.
When I quitted Geneva my first labour was to gain
some clue by which I might trace the steps of my fiendish
310 of 345
Frankenstein
enemy. But my plan was unsettled, and I wandered many
hours round the confines of the town, uncertain what path
I should pursue. As night approached I found myself at the
entrance of the cemetery where William, Elizabeth, and
my father reposed. I entered it and approached the tomb
which marked their graves. Everything was silent except
the leaves of the trees, which were gently agitated by the
wind; the night was nearly dark, and the scene would have
been solemn and affecting even to an uninterested
observer. The spirits of the departed seemed to flit around
and to cast a shadow, which was felt but not seen, around
the head of the mourner.
The deep grief which this scene had at first excited
quickly gave way to rage and despair. They were dead,
and I lived; their murderer also lived, and to destroy him I
must drag out my weary existence. I knelt on the grass and
kissed the earth and with quivering lips exclaimed, By the
sacred earth on which I kneel, by the shades that wander
near me, by the deep and eternal grief that I feel, I swear;
and by thee, O Night, and the spirits that preside over
thee, to pursue the daemon who caused this misery, until
he or I shall perish in mortal conflict. For this purpose I
will preserve my life; to execute this dear revenge will I
again behold the sun and tread the green herbage of earth,
311 of 345
Frankenstein
which otherwise should vanish from my eyes forever. And
I call on you, spirits of the dead, and on you, wandering
ministers of vengeance, to aid and conduct me in my
work. Let the cursed and hellish monster drink deep of
agony; let him feel the despair that now torments me.
I had begun my adjuration with solemnity and an awe
which almost assured me that the shades of my murdered
friends heard and approved my devotion, but the furies
possessed me as I concluded, and rage choked my
utterance.
I was answered through the stillness of night by a loud
and fiendish laugh. It rang on my ears long and heavily;
the mountains re-echoed it, and I felt as if all hell
surrounded me with mockery and laughter. Surely in that
moment I should have been possessed by frenzy and have
destroyed my miserable existence but that my vow was
heard and that I was reserved for vengeance. The laughter
died away, when a well-known and abhorred voice,
apparently close to my ear, addressed me in an audible
whisper, I am satisfied, miserable wretch! You have
determined to live, and I am satisfied.
I darted towards the spot from which the sound
proceeded, but the devil eluded my grasp. Suddenly the
broad disk of the moon arose and shone full upon his
312 of 345
Frankenstein
ghastly and distorted shape as he fled with more than
mortal speed.
I pursued him, and for many months this has been my
task. Guided by a slight clue, I followed the windings of
the Rhone, but vainly. The blue Mediterranean appeared,
and by a strange chance, I saw the fiend enter by night and
hide himself in a vessel bound for the Black Sea. I took
my passage in the same ship, but he escaped, I know not
how.
Amidst the wilds of Tartary and Russia, although he
still evaded me, I have ever followed in his track.
Sometimes the peasants, scared by this horrid apparition,
informed me of his path; sometimes he himself, who
feared that if I lost all trace of him I should despair and die,
left some mark to guide me. The snows descended on my
head, and I saw the print of his huge step on the white
plain. To you first entering on life, to whom care is new
and agony unknown, how can you understand what I
have felt and still feel? Cold, want, and fatigue were the
least pains which I was destined to endure; I was cursed by
some devil and carried about with me my eternal hell; yet
still a spirit of good followed and directed my steps and
when I most murmured would suddenly extricate me
from seemingly insurmountable difficulties. Sometimes,
313 of 345
Frankenstein
when nature, overcome by hunger, sank under the
exhaustion, a repast was prepared for me in the desert that
restored and inspirited me. The fare was, indeed, coarse,
such as the peasants of the country ate, but I will not
doubt that it was set there by the spirits that I had invoked
to aid me. Often, when all was dry, the heavens cloudless,
and I was parched by thirst, a slight cloud would bedim
the sky, shed the few drops that revived me, and vanish.
I followed, when I could, the courses of the rivers; but
the daemon generally avoided these, as it was here that the
population of the country chiefly collected. In other places
human beings were seldom seen, and I generally subsisted
on the wild animals that crossed my path. I had money
with me and gained the friendship of the villagers by
distributing it; or I brought with me some food that I had
killed, which, after taking a small part, I always presented
to those who had provided me with fire and utensils for
cooking.
My life, as it passed thus, was indeed hateful to me, and
it was during sleep alone that I could taste joy. O blessed
sleep! Often, when most miserable, I sank to repose, and
my dreams lulled me even to rapture. The spirits that
guarded me had provided these moments, or rather hours,
of happiness that I might retain strength to fulfil my
314 of 345
Frankenstein
pilgrimage. Deprived of this respite, I should have sunk
under my hardships. During the day I was sustained and
inspirited by the hope of night, for in sleep I saw my
friends, my wife, and my beloved country; again I saw the
benevolent countenance of my father, heard the silver
tones of my Elizabeth s voice, and beheld Clerval enjoying
health and youth. Often, when wearied by a toilsome
march, I persuaded myself that I was dreaming until night
should come and that I should then enjoy reality in the
arms of my dearest friends. What agonizing fondness did I
feel for them! How did I cling to their dear forms, as
sometimes they haunted even my waking hours, and [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl chiara76.opx.pl
or death would have been my portion.
My first resolution was to quit Geneva forever; my
country, which, when I was happy and beloved, was dear
to me, now, in my adversity, became hateful. I provided
myself with a sum of money, together with a few jewels
which had belonged to my mother, and departed.
And now my wanderings began which are to cease but
with life. I have traversed a vast portion of the earth and
have endured all the hardships which travellers in deserts
and barbarous countries are wont to meet. How I have
lived I hardly know; many times have I stretched my
failing limbs upon the sandy plain and prayed for death.
But revenge kept me alive; I dared not die and leave my
adversary in being.
When I quitted Geneva my first labour was to gain
some clue by which I might trace the steps of my fiendish
310 of 345
Frankenstein
enemy. But my plan was unsettled, and I wandered many
hours round the confines of the town, uncertain what path
I should pursue. As night approached I found myself at the
entrance of the cemetery where William, Elizabeth, and
my father reposed. I entered it and approached the tomb
which marked their graves. Everything was silent except
the leaves of the trees, which were gently agitated by the
wind; the night was nearly dark, and the scene would have
been solemn and affecting even to an uninterested
observer. The spirits of the departed seemed to flit around
and to cast a shadow, which was felt but not seen, around
the head of the mourner.
The deep grief which this scene had at first excited
quickly gave way to rage and despair. They were dead,
and I lived; their murderer also lived, and to destroy him I
must drag out my weary existence. I knelt on the grass and
kissed the earth and with quivering lips exclaimed, By the
sacred earth on which I kneel, by the shades that wander
near me, by the deep and eternal grief that I feel, I swear;
and by thee, O Night, and the spirits that preside over
thee, to pursue the daemon who caused this misery, until
he or I shall perish in mortal conflict. For this purpose I
will preserve my life; to execute this dear revenge will I
again behold the sun and tread the green herbage of earth,
311 of 345
Frankenstein
which otherwise should vanish from my eyes forever. And
I call on you, spirits of the dead, and on you, wandering
ministers of vengeance, to aid and conduct me in my
work. Let the cursed and hellish monster drink deep of
agony; let him feel the despair that now torments me.
I had begun my adjuration with solemnity and an awe
which almost assured me that the shades of my murdered
friends heard and approved my devotion, but the furies
possessed me as I concluded, and rage choked my
utterance.
I was answered through the stillness of night by a loud
and fiendish laugh. It rang on my ears long and heavily;
the mountains re-echoed it, and I felt as if all hell
surrounded me with mockery and laughter. Surely in that
moment I should have been possessed by frenzy and have
destroyed my miserable existence but that my vow was
heard and that I was reserved for vengeance. The laughter
died away, when a well-known and abhorred voice,
apparently close to my ear, addressed me in an audible
whisper, I am satisfied, miserable wretch! You have
determined to live, and I am satisfied.
I darted towards the spot from which the sound
proceeded, but the devil eluded my grasp. Suddenly the
broad disk of the moon arose and shone full upon his
312 of 345
Frankenstein
ghastly and distorted shape as he fled with more than
mortal speed.
I pursued him, and for many months this has been my
task. Guided by a slight clue, I followed the windings of
the Rhone, but vainly. The blue Mediterranean appeared,
and by a strange chance, I saw the fiend enter by night and
hide himself in a vessel bound for the Black Sea. I took
my passage in the same ship, but he escaped, I know not
how.
Amidst the wilds of Tartary and Russia, although he
still evaded me, I have ever followed in his track.
Sometimes the peasants, scared by this horrid apparition,
informed me of his path; sometimes he himself, who
feared that if I lost all trace of him I should despair and die,
left some mark to guide me. The snows descended on my
head, and I saw the print of his huge step on the white
plain. To you first entering on life, to whom care is new
and agony unknown, how can you understand what I
have felt and still feel? Cold, want, and fatigue were the
least pains which I was destined to endure; I was cursed by
some devil and carried about with me my eternal hell; yet
still a spirit of good followed and directed my steps and
when I most murmured would suddenly extricate me
from seemingly insurmountable difficulties. Sometimes,
313 of 345
Frankenstein
when nature, overcome by hunger, sank under the
exhaustion, a repast was prepared for me in the desert that
restored and inspirited me. The fare was, indeed, coarse,
such as the peasants of the country ate, but I will not
doubt that it was set there by the spirits that I had invoked
to aid me. Often, when all was dry, the heavens cloudless,
and I was parched by thirst, a slight cloud would bedim
the sky, shed the few drops that revived me, and vanish.
I followed, when I could, the courses of the rivers; but
the daemon generally avoided these, as it was here that the
population of the country chiefly collected. In other places
human beings were seldom seen, and I generally subsisted
on the wild animals that crossed my path. I had money
with me and gained the friendship of the villagers by
distributing it; or I brought with me some food that I had
killed, which, after taking a small part, I always presented
to those who had provided me with fire and utensils for
cooking.
My life, as it passed thus, was indeed hateful to me, and
it was during sleep alone that I could taste joy. O blessed
sleep! Often, when most miserable, I sank to repose, and
my dreams lulled me even to rapture. The spirits that
guarded me had provided these moments, or rather hours,
of happiness that I might retain strength to fulfil my
314 of 345
Frankenstein
pilgrimage. Deprived of this respite, I should have sunk
under my hardships. During the day I was sustained and
inspirited by the hope of night, for in sleep I saw my
friends, my wife, and my beloved country; again I saw the
benevolent countenance of my father, heard the silver
tones of my Elizabeth s voice, and beheld Clerval enjoying
health and youth. Often, when wearied by a toilsome
march, I persuaded myself that I was dreaming until night
should come and that I should then enjoy reality in the
arms of my dearest friends. What agonizing fondness did I
feel for them! How did I cling to their dear forms, as
sometimes they haunted even my waking hours, and [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]