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1 | To Mrs. Saville, England. St. Petersburgh, Dec. 11th, 17—. You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of
an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings. I arrived
here yesterday, and my first task is to assure my dear sister of my welfare and
increasing confidence in th... |
2 | To Mrs. Saville, England. Archangel, 28th March, 17—. How slowly the time passes here, encompassed as I am by frost and snow! Yet a
second step is taken towards my enterprise. I have hired a vessel and am
occupied in collecting my sailors; those whom I have already engaged appear to
be men on whom I can depend and are ... |
3 | To Mrs. Saville, England. July 7th, 17—. My dear Sister, I write a few lines in haste to say that I am safe—and well advanced on my
voyage. This letter will reach England by a merchantman now on its homeward
voyage from Archangel; more fortunate than I, who may not see my native land,
perhaps, for many years. I am, how... |
4 | To Mrs. Saville, England. August 5th, 17—. So strange an accident has happened to us that I cannot forbear recording it,
although it is very probable that you will see me before these papers can come
into your possession. Last Monday (July 31st) we were nearly surrounded by ice, which closed in the
ship on all sides, s... |
1 | I am by birth a Genevese, and my family is one of the most distinguished of
that republic. My ancestors had been for many years counsellors and syndics,
and my father had filled several public situations with honour and reputation.
He was respected by all who knew him for his integrity and indefatigable
attention to pu... |
2 | We were brought up together; there was not quite a year difference in our ages.
I need not say that we were strangers to any species of disunion or dispute.
Harmony was the soul of our companionship, and the diversity and contrast that
subsisted in our characters drew us nearer together. Elizabeth was of a calmer
and m... |
3 | When I had attained the age of seventeen my parents resolved that I should
become a student at the university of Ingolstadt. I had hitherto attended the
schools of Geneva, but my father thought it necessary for the completion of my
education that I should be made acquainted with other customs than those of my
native co... |
4 | From this day natural philosophy, and particularly chemistry, in the most
comprehensive sense of the term, became nearly my sole occupation. I read with
ardour those works, so full of genius and discrimination, which modern
inquirers have written on these subjects. I attended the lectures and
cultivated the acquaintanc... |
5 | It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my
toils. With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected the
instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the
lifeless thing that lay at my feet. It was already one in the morning; the rain
pattered dismally... |
6 | Clerval then put the following letter into my hands. It was from my own
Elizabeth: “My dearest Cousin, “You have been ill, very ill, and even the constant letters of dear kind Henry
are not sufficient to reassure me on your account. You are forbidden to
write—to hold a pen; yet one word from you, dear Victor, is necess... |
7 | On my return, I found the following letter from my father:— “My dear Victor, “You have probably waited impatiently for a letter to fix the date of your
return to us; and I was at first tempted to write only a few lines, merely
mentioning the day on which I should expect you. But that would be a cruel
kindness, and I da... |
8 | We passed a few sad hours until eleven o’clock, when the trial was to commence.
My father and the rest of the family being obliged to attend as witnesses, I
accompanied them to the court. During the whole of this wretched mockery of
justice I suffered living torture. It was to be decided whether the result of
my curios... |
9 | Nothing is more painful to the human mind than, after the feelings have been
worked up by a quick succession of events, the dead calmness of inaction and
certainty which follows and deprives the soul both of hope and fear. Justine
died, she rested, and I was alive. The blood flowed freely in my veins, but a
weight of d... |
10 | I spent the following day roaming through the valley. I stood beside the
sources of the Arveiron, which take their rise in a glacier, that with slow
pace is advancing down from the summit of the hills to barricade the valley.
The abrupt sides of vast mountains were before me; the icy wall of the glacier
overhung me; a ... |
11 | “It is with considerable difficulty that I remember the original era of my
being; all the events of that period appear confused and indistinct. A strange
multiplicity of sensations seized me, and I saw, felt, heard, and smelt at the
same time; and it was, indeed, a long time before I learned to distinguish
between the ... |
12 | “I lay on my straw, but I could not sleep. I thought of the occurrences of the
day. What chiefly struck me was the gentle manners of these people, and I
longed to join them, but dared not. I remembered too well the treatment I had
suffered the night before from the barbarous villagers, and resolved, whatever
course of ... |
13 | “I now hasten to the more moving part of my story. I shall relate events that
impressed me with feelings which, from what I had been, have made me what I am. “Spring advanced rapidly; the weather became fine and the skies cloudless. It
surprised me that what before was desert and gloomy should now bloom with the
most b... |
14 | “Some time elapsed before I learned the history of my friends. It was one which
could not fail to impress itself deeply on my mind, unfolding as it did a
number of circumstances, each interesting and wonderful to one so utterly
inexperienced as I was. “The name of the old man was De Lacey. He was descended from a good ... |
15 | “Such was the history of my beloved cottagers. It impressed me deeply. I
learned, from the views of social life which it developed, to admire their
virtues and to deprecate the vices of mankind. “As yet I looked upon crime as a distant evil, benevolence and generosity were
ever present before me, inciting within me a d... |
16 | “Cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live? Why, in that instant, did I not
extinguish the spark of existence which you had so wantonly bestowed? I know
not; despair had not yet taken possession of me; my feelings were those of rage
and revenge. I could with pleasure have destroyed the cottage and its
inhabitants and have... |
17 | The being finished speaking and fixed his looks upon me in the expectation of a
reply. But I was bewildered, perplexed, and unable to arrange my ideas
sufficiently to understand the full extent of his proposition. He continued, “You must create a female for me with whom I can live in the interchange of
those sympathies... |
18 | Day after day, week after week, passed away on my return to Geneva; and I could
not collect the courage to recommence my work. I feared the vengeance of the
disappointed fiend, yet I was unable to overcome my repugnance to the task
which was enjoined me. I found that I could not compose a female without again
devoting ... |
19 | 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... |
20 | 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 o... |
21 | I was soon introduced into the presence of the magistrate, an old benevolent
man with calm and mild manners. He looked upon me, however, with some degree of
severity, and then, turning towards my conductors, he asked who appeared as
witnesses on this occasion. About half a dozen men came forward; and, one being selecte... |
22 | The voyage came to an end. We landed, and proceeded to Paris. I soon found that
I had overtaxed my strength and that I must repose before I could continue my
journey. My father’s care and attentions were indefatigable, but he did not
know the origin of my sufferings and sought erroneous methods to remedy the
incurable ... |
23 | It was eight o’clock when we landed; we walked for a short time on the shore,
enjoying the transitory light, and then retired to the inn and contemplated the
lovely scene of waters, woods, and mountains, obscured in darkness, yet still
displaying their black outlines. The wind, which had fallen in the south, now rose w... |
24 | My present situation was one in which all voluntary thought was swallowed up
and lost. I was hurried away by fury; revenge alone endowed me with strength
and composure; it moulded my feelings and allowed me to be calculating and calm
at periods when otherwise delirium or death would have been my portion. My first resol... |
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