CHAPTER XX.
I sat one evening in my laboratory; the sun had set, and the moon wasjust rising from the sea; I had not sufficient light for my employment,and I remained idle, in a pause of consideration of whether I shouldleave my labour for the night, or hasten its conclusion by anunremitting attention to it. As I sat, a train of reflection occurred tome, which led me to consider the effects of what I was now doing. Threeyears before I was engaged in the same manner, and had created a fiendwhose unparalleled barbarity had desolated my heart, and filled it forever with the bitterest remorse. I was now about to form another being,of whose dispositions I was alike ignorant; she might become tenthousand times more malignant than her mate, and delight, for its ownsake, in murder and wretchedness. He had sworn to quit the neighbourhoodof man, and hide himself in deserts; but she had not; and she, who inall probability was to become a thinking and reasoning animal, mightrefuse to comply with a compact made before her creation. They mighteven hate each other; the creature who already lived loathed his owndeformity, and might he not conceive a greater abhorrence for it when itcame before his eyes in the female form? She also might turn withdisgust from him to the superior beauty of man; she might quit him, andhe be again alone, exasperated by the fresh provocation of beingdeserted by one of his own species.
Even if they were to leave Europe, and inhabit the deserts of the newworld, yet one of the first results of those sympathies for which thedaemon thirsted would be children, and a race of devils would bepropagated upon the earth, who might make the very existence of thespecies 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; Ihad been struck senseless by his fiendish threats: but now, for thefirst time, the wickedness of my promise burst upon me; I shuddered tothink that future ages might curse me as their pest, whose selfishnesshad not hesitated to buy its own peace at the price, perhaps, of theexistence 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 grinwrinkled his lips as he gazed on me, where I sat fulfilling the taskwhich he had allotted to me. Yes, he had followed me in my travels; hehad loitered in forests, hid himself in caves, or taken refuge in wideand desert heaths; and he now came to mark my progress, and claim thefulfilment of my promise.
As I looked on him, his countenance expressed the utmost extent ofmalice and treachery. I thought with a sensation of madness on mypromise of creating another like to him, and trembling with passion,tore to pieces the thing on which I was engaged. The wretch saw medestroy the creature on whose future existence he depended forhappiness, and, with a howl of devilish despair and revenge, withdrew.
I left the room, and, locking the door, made a solemn vow in my ownheart never to resume my labours; and then, with trembling steps, Isought my own apartment. I was alone; none were near me to dissipate thegloom, and relieve me from the sickening oppression of the most terriblereveries.
Several hours passed, and I remained near my window gazing on the sea;it was almost motionless, for the winds were hushed, and all naturereposed under the eye of the quiet moon. A few fishing vessels alonespecked the water, and now and then the gentle breeze wafted the soundof voices, as the fishermen called to one another. I felt the silence,although I was hardly conscious of its extreme profundity, until my earwas suddenly arrested by the paddling of oars near the shore, and aperson landed close to my house.
In a few minutes after, I heard the creaking of my door, as if some oneendeavoured to open it softly. I trembled from head to foot; I felt apresentiment of who it was, and wished to rouse one of the peasants whodwelt in a cottage not far from mine; but I was overcome by thesensation of helplessness, so often felt in frightful dreams, when youin vain endeavour to fly from an impending danger, and was rooted to thespot.
Presently I heard the sound of footsteps along the passage; the dooropened, and the wretch whom I dreaded appeared. Shutting the door, heapproached me, and said, in a smothered voice--
"You have destroyed the work which you began; what is it that youintend? Do you dare to break your promise? I have endured toil andmisery: I left Switzerland with you; I crept along the shores of theRhine, among its willow islands, and over the summits of its hills. Ihave dwelt many months in the heaths of England, and among the desertsof 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 likeyourself, equal in deformity and wickedness."
"Slave, I before reasoned with you, but you have proved yourselfunworthy of my condescension. Remember that I have power; you believeyourself miserable, but I can make you so wretched that the light of daywill be hateful to you. You are my creator, but I am yourmaster;--obey!"
"The hour of my irresolution is past, and the period of your power isarrived. Your threats cannot move me to do an act of wickedness; butthey confirm me in a determination of not creating you a companion invice. Shall I, in cool blood, set loose upon the earth a daemon, whosedelight is in death and wretchedness? Begone! I am firm, and your wordswill only exasperate my rage."
The monster saw my determination in my face, and gnashed his teeth inthe impotence of anger. "Shall each man," cried he, "find a wife for hisbosom, and each beast have his mate, and I be alone? I had feelings ofaffection, and they were requited by detestation and scorn. Man! you mayhate; but beware! your hours will pass in dread and misery, and soon thebolt will fall which must ravish from you your happiness for ever. Areyou 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, mytyrant and tormentor, shall curse the sun that gazes on your misery.Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful. I will watch with thewiliness of a snake, that I may sting with its venom. Man, you shallrepent of the injuries you inflict."
"Devil, cease; and do not poison the air with these sounds of malice. Ihave declared my resolution to you, and I am no coward to bend beneathwords. Leave me; I am inexorable."
"It is well. I go; but remember, I shall be with you on yourwedding-night."
I started forward, and exclaimed, "Villain! before you sign mydeath-warrant, be sure that you are yourself safe."
I would have seized him; but he eluded me, and quitted the house withprecipitation. In a few moments I saw him in his boat, which shot acrossthe 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 rageto pursue the murderer of my peace, and precipitate him into the ocean.I walked up and down my room hastily and perturbed, while my imaginationconjured up a thousand images to torment and sting me. Why had I notfollowed him, and closed with him in mortal strife? But I had sufferedhim to depart, and he had directed his course towards the main land. Ishuddered to think who might be the next victim sacrificed to hisinsatiate revenge. And then I thought again of his words--"_I will bewith you on your wedding-night._" That then was the period fixed for thefulfilment of my destiny. In that hour I should die, and at once satisfyand extinguish his malice. The prospect did not move me to fear; yetwhen I thought of my beloved Elizabeth,--of her tears and endlesssorrow, when she should find her lover so barbarously snatched fromher,--tears, the first I had shed for many months, streamed from myeyes, and I resolved not to fall before my enemy without a bitterstruggle.
The night passed away, and the sun rose from the ocean; my feelingsbecame calmer, if it may be called calmness when the violence of ragesinks into the depths of despair. I left the house, the horrid scene ofthe last night's contention, and walked on the beach of the sea, which Ialmost regarded as an insuperable barrier between me and myfellow-creatures; nay, a wish that such should prove the fact stoleacross me. I desired that I might pass my life on that barre
n rock,wearily, it is true, but uninterrupted by any sudden shock of misery. IfI returned, it was to be sacrificed, or to see those whom I most loveddie under the grasp of a daemon whom I had myself created.
I walked about the isle like a restless spectre, separated from all itloved, and miserable in the separation. When it became noon, and the sunrose higher, I lay down on the grass, and was overpowered by a deepsleep. I had been awake the whole of the preceding night, my nerves wereagitated, and my eyes inflamed by watching and misery. The sleep intowhich I now sunk refreshed me; and when I awoke, I again felt as if Ibelonged to a race of human beings like myself, and I began to reflectupon what had passed with greater composure; yet still the words of thefiend 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 myappetite, which had become ravenous, with an oaten cake, when I saw afishing-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 tojoin him. He said that he was wearing away his time fruitlessly where hewas; that letters from the friends he had formed in London desired hisreturn to complete the negotiation they had entered into for his Indianenterprise. He could not any longer delay his departure; but as hisjourney to London might be followed, even sooner than he nowconjectured, by his longer voyage, he entreated me to bestow as much ofmy society on him as I could spare. He besought me, therefore, to leavemy solitary isle, and to meet him at Perth, that we might proceedsouthwards together. This letter in a degree recalled me to life, and Idetermined to quit my island at the expiration of two days.
Yet, before I departed, there was a task to perform, on which Ishuddered to reflect: I must pack up my chemical instruments; and forthat purpose I must enter the room which had been the scene of my odiouswork, and I must handle those utensils, the sight of which was sickeningto me. The next morning, at daybreak, I summoned sufficient courage, andunlocked the door of my laboratory. The remains of the half-finishedcreature, whom I had destroyed, lay scattered on the floor, and I almostfelt as if I had mangled the living flesh of a human being. I paused tocollect myself, and then entered the chamber. With trembling hand Iconveyed the instruments out of the room; but I reflected that I oughtnot to leave the relics of my work to excite the horror and suspicion ofthe peasants; and I accordingly put them into a basket, with a greatquantity of stones, and, laying them up, determined to throw them intothe sea that very night; and in the mean time I sat upon the beach,employed in cleaning and arranging my chemical apparatus.
Nothing could be more complete than the alteration that had taken placein my feelings since the night of the appearance of the daemon. I hadbefore regarded my promise with a gloomy despair, as a thing that, withwhatever consequences, must be fulfilled; but I now felt as if a filmhad been taken from before my eyes, and that I, for the first time, sawclearly. The idea of renewing my labours did not for one instant occurto me; the threat I had heard weighed on my thoughts, but I did notreflect that a voluntary act of mine could avert it. I had resolved inmy own mind, that to create another like the fiend I had first madewould be an act of the basest and most atrocious selfishness; and Ibanished from my mind every thought that could lead to a differentconclusion.
Between two and three in the morning the moon rose; and I then, puttingmy basket aboard a little skiff, sailed out about four miles from theshore. The scene was perfectly solitary: a few boats were returningtowards land, but I sailed away from them. I felt as if I was about thecommission of a dreadful crime, and avoided with shuddering anxiety anyencounter with my fellow-creatures. At one time the moon, which hadbefore been clear, was suddenly overspread by a thick cloud, and I tookadvantage of the moment of darkness, and cast my basket into the sea: Ilistened to the gurgling sound as it sunk, and then sailed away from thespot. The sky became clouded; but the air was pure, although chilled bythe north-east breeze that was then rising. But it refreshed me, andfilled me with such agreeable sensations, that I resolved to prolong mystay 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 keelcut through the waves; the murmur lulled me, and in a short time I sleptsoundly.
I do not know how long I remained in this situation, but when I awoke Ifound that the sun had already mounted considerably. The wind was high,and the waves continually threatened the safety of my little skiff. Ifound that the wind was north-east, and must have driven me far from thecoast from which I had embarked. I endeavoured to change my course, butquickly found that, if I again made the attempt, the boat would beinstantly filled with water. Thus situated, my only resource was todrive 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 thegeography of this part of the world, that the sun was of little benefitto me. I might be driven into the wide Atlantic, and feel all thetortures of starvation, or be swallowed up in the immeasurable watersthat roared and buffeted around me. I had already been out many hours,and felt the torment of a burning thirst, a prelude to my othersufferings. I looked on the heavens, which were covered by clouds thatflew before the wind, only to be replaced by others: I looked upon thesea, it was to be my grave. "Fiend," I exclaimed, "your task is alreadyfulfilled!" I thought of Elizabeth, of my father, and of Clerval; allleft behind, on whom the monster might satisfy his sanguinary andmerciless passions. This idea plunged me into a reverie, so despairingand frightful, that even now, when the scene is on the point of closingbefore me for ever, I shudder to reflect on it.
Some hours passed thus; but by degrees, as the sun declined towards thehorizon, the wind died away into a gentle breeze, and the sea becamefree 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 highland towards the south.
Almost spent, as I was, by fatigue, and the dreadful suspense I enduredfor several hours, this sudden certainty of life rushed like a flood ofwarm joy to my heart, and tears gushed from my eyes.
How mutable are our feelings, and how strange is that clinging love wehave of life even in the excess of misery! I constructed another sailwith 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, Ieasily perceived the traces of cultivation. I saw vessels near theshore, and found myself suddenly transported back to the neighbourhoodof civilised man. I carefully traced the windings of the land, andhailed a steeple which I at length saw issuing from behind a smallpromontory. As I was in a state of extreme debility, I resolved to saildirectly towards the town, as a place where I could most easily procurenourishment. Fortunately I had money with me. As I turned thepromontory, I perceived a small neat town and a good harbour, which Ientered, my heart bounding with joy at my unexpected escape.
As I was occupied in fixing the boat and arranging the sails, severalpeople crowded towards the spot. They seemed much surprised at myappearance; but, instead of offering me any assistance, whisperedtogether with gestures that at any other time might have produced in mea slight sensation of alarm. As it was, I merely remarked that theyspoke English; and I therefore addressed them in that language: "My goodfriends," said I, "will you be so kind as to tell me the name of thistown, 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 astranger; and I was also disconcerted on perceiving the frowning andangry countenances of his companions. "Why do you answer me so roughly?"I replied; "surely it is not the custom of Englishmen to receivestrangers so inhospitably."
"I do not know," said the man, "what the custom of the English may be;but is the custom of the Irish t
o hate villains."
While this strange dialogue continued, I perceived the crowd rapidlyincrease. Their faces expressed a mixture of curiosity and anger, whichannoyed, and in some degree alarmed me. I enquired the way to the inn;but no one replied. I then moved forward, and a murmuring sound arosefrom the crowd as they followed and surrounded me; when an ill-lookingman approaching, tapped me on the shoulder, and said, "Come, Sir, youmust 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 afree country?"
"Ay, sir, free enough for honest folks. Mr. Kirwin is a magistrate; andyou are to give an account of the death of a gentleman who was foundmurdered here last night."
This answer startled me; but I presently recovered myself. I wasinnocent; that could easily be proved: accordingly I followed myconductor 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 acrowd, I thought it politic to rouse all my strength, that no physicaldebility might be construed into apprehension or conscious guilt. Littledid I then expect the calamity that was in a few moments to overwhelmme, 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 memoryof the frightful events which I am about to relate, in proper detail, tomy recollection.