Frankenstein Part 4

We feel, conceive, or reason; laugh or weep, Embrace fond woe, or cast our cares away; It is the same: for, be it joy or sorrow, Te path of its departure still is free.

Man's yesterday may ne'er be like his morrow; Nought may endure but mutability!

It was nearly noon when I arrived at the top of the ascent. For some time I sat upon the rock that overlooks the sea of ice. A mist covered both that and the surrounding mountains. Presently a breeze dissipated the cloud, and I descended upon the glacier. Te surface is very uneven, rising like the waves of a troubled sea, descending low, and interspersed by rifs that sink deep. Te feld of ice is almost a league in width, but I spent nearly two hours in crossing it. Te opposite mountain is a bare perpendicular rock.

From the side where I now stood Montanvert was exactly opposite, at the distance of a league; and above it rose Mont Blanc, in awful majesty. I remained in a recess of the rock, gazing on this wonderful and stupendous scene. Te sea, or rather the vast river of ice, wound among its dependent mountains, whose aerial summits hung over its recesses.

Teir icy and glittering peaks shone in the sunlight over the clouds. My heart, which was before sorrowful, now swelled with something like joy; I exclaimed, 'Wandering spirits, if indeed ye wander, and do not rest in your narrow beds, allow me this faint happiness, or take me, as your companion, away from the joys of life.'

As I said this I suddenly beheld the fgure of a man, at some distance, advancing towards me with superhuman speed.

He bounded over the crevices in the ice, among which I had walked with caution; his stature, also, as he approached, seemed to exceed that of man. I was troubled; a mist came over my eyes, and I felt a faintness seize me, but I was quickly restored by the cold gale of the mountains. I perceived, as the shape came nearer (sight tremendous and abhorred!) that it was the wretch whom I had created. I trembled with rage and horror, resolving to wait his approach and then close with him in mortal combat. He approached; his countenance bespoke bitter anguish, combined with disdain and malignity, while its unearthly ugliness rendered it almost too horrible for human eyes. But I scarcely observed this; rage and hatred had at frst deprived me of utterance, and I recovered only to overwhelm him with words expressive of furious detestation and contempt.

'Devil,' I exclaimed, 'do you dare approach me? And do not you fear the ferce vengeance of my arm wreaked on your miserable head? Begone, vile insect! Or rather, stay, that I may trample you to dust! And, oh! Tat I could, with the extinction of your miserable existence, restore those victims whom you have so diabolically murdered!'

'I expected this reception,' said the daemon. 'All men hate the wretched; how, then, must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things! Yet you, my creator, detest and spurn me, thy creature, to whom thou art bound by ties only dissoluble by the annihilation of one of us. You purpose to kill me. How dare you sport thus with life? Do your duty towards me, and I will do mine towards you and the rest of mankind. If you will comply with my conditions, I will leave them and you at peace; but if you refuse, I will glut the maw of death, until it be satiated with the blood of your remaining friends.'

'Abhorred monster! Fiend that thou art! Te tortures of h.e.l.l are too mild a vengeance for thy crimes. Wretched devil! You reproach me with your creation, come on, then, that I may extinguish the spark which I so negligently bestowed.'

My rage was without bounds; I sprang on him, impelled by all the feelings which can arm one being against the existence of another.

He easily eluded me and said- 'Be calm! I entreat you to hear me before you give vent to your hatred on my devoted head. Have I not sufered enough, that you seek to increase my misery? Life, although it may only be an acc.u.mulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it. Remember, thou hast made me more powerful than thyself; my height is superior to thine, my joints more supple. But I will not be tempted to set myself in opposition to thee. I am thy creature, and I will be even mild and docile to my natural lord and king if thou wilt also perform thy part, the which thou owest me. Oh, Fran- kenstein, be not equitable to every other and trample upon me alone, to whom thy justice, and even thy clemency and afection, is most due. Remember that I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed. Everywhere I see bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded. I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous.'

'Begone! I will not hear you. Tere can be no community between you and me; we are enemies. Begone, or let us try our strength in a fght, in which one must fall.'

'How can I move thee? Will no entreaties cause thee to turn a favourable eye upon thy creature, who implores thy goodness and compa.s.sion? Believe me, Frankenstein, I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity; but am I not alone, miserably alone? You, my creator, abhor me; what hope can I gather from your fellow creatures, who owe me nothing? Tey spurn and hate me. Te desert mountains and dreary glaciers are my refuge. I have wandered here many days; the caves of ice, which I only do not fear, are a dwelling to me, and the only one which man does not grudge. Tese bleak skies I hail, for they are kinder to me than your fellow beings. If the mult.i.tude of mankind knew of my existence, they would do as you do, and arm themselves for my destruction. Shall I not then hate them who abhor me? I will keep no terms with my enemies. I am miserable, and they shall share my wretchedness. Yet it is in your power to recompense me, and deliver them from an evil which it only remains for you to make so great, that not only you and your family, but thousands of others, shall be swallowed up in the whirlwinds of its rage. Let your compa.s.sion be moved, and do not disdain me. Listen to my tale; when you have heard that, abandon or commiserate me, as you shall judge that I deserve. But hear me. Te guilty are allowed, by human laws, b.l.o.o.d.y as they are, to speak in their own defence before they are condemned. Listen to me, Frankenstein. You accuse me of murder, and yet you would, with a satisfed conscience, destroy your own creature. Oh, praise the eternal justice of man! Yet I ask you not to spare me; listen to me, and then, if you can, and if you will, destroy the work of your hands.'

'Why do you call to my remembrance,' I rejoined, 'circ.u.mstances of which I shudder to refect, that I have been the miserable origin and author? Cursed be the day, abhorred devil, in which you frst saw light! Cursed (although I curse myself) be the hands that formed you! You have made me wretched beyond expression. You have lef me no power to consider whether I am just to you or not. Begone!

Relieve me from the sight of your detested form.'

'Tus I relieve thee, my creator,' he said, and placed his hated hands before my eyes, which I fung from me with violence; 'thus I take from thee a sight which you abhor. Still thou canst listen to me and grant me thy compa.s.sion. By the virtues that I once possessed, I demand this from you.

Hear my tale; it is long and strange, and the temperature of this place is not ftting to your fne sensations; come to the hut upon the mountain. Te sun is yet high in the heavens; before it descends to hide itself behind your snowy precipices and illuminate another world, you will have heard my story and can decide. On you it rests, whether I quit forever the neighbourhood of man and lead a harmless life, or become the scourge of your fellow creatures and the author of your own speedy ruin.'

As he said this he led the way across the ice; I followed.

My heart was full, and I did not answer him, but as I proceeded, I weighed the various arguments that he had used and determined at least to listen to his tale. I was partly urged by curiosity, and compa.s.sion confrmed my resolution. I had hitherto supposed him to be the murderer of my brother, and I eagerly sought a confrmation or denial of this opinion. For the frst time, also, I felt what the duties of a creator towards his creature were, and that I ought to render him happy before I complained of his wickedness.

Tese motives urged me to comply with his demand. We crossed the ice, therefore, and ascended the opposite rock.

Te air was cold, and the rain again began to descend; we entered the hut, the fend with an air of exultation, I with a heavy heart and depressed spirits. But I consented to listen, and seating myself by the fre which my odious companion had lighted, he thus began his tale.

Chapter 11.

'It is with considerable difculty 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 operations of my various senses. By degrees, I remember, a stronger light pressed upon my nerves, so that I was obliged to shut my eyes. Darkness then came over me and troubled me, but hardly had I felt this when, by opening my eyes, as I now suppose, the light poured in upon me again. I walked and, I believe, descended, but I presently found a great alteration in my sensations.

Before, dark and opaque bodies had surrounded me, impervious to my touch or sight; but I now found that I could wander on at liberty, with no obstacles which I could not either surmount or avoid. Te light became more and more oppressive to me, and the heat wearying me as I walked, I sought a place where I could receive shade. Tis was the forest near Ingolstadt; and here I lay by the side of a brook resting from my fatigue, until I felt tormented by hunger and thirst. Tis roused me from my nearly dormant state, and I ate some berries which I found hanging on the trees or lying on the ground. I slaked my thirst at the brook, and then lying down, was overcome by sleep.

'It was dark when I awoke; I felt cold also, and half frightened, as it were, instinctively, fnding myself so desolate.

Before I had quitted your apartment, on a sensation of cold, I had covered myself with some clothes, but these were insufcient to secure me from the dews of night. I was a poor, helpless, miserable wretch; I knew, and could distinguish, nothing; but feeling pain invade me on all sides, I sat down and wept.

'Soon a gentle light stole over the heavens and gave me a sensation of pleasure. I started up and beheld a radiant form rise from among the trees.* [*Te moon] I gazed with a kind of wonder. It moved slowly, but it enlightened my path, and I again went out in search of berries. I was still cold when under one of the trees I found a huge cloak, with which I covered myself, and sat down upon the ground. No distinct ideas occupied my mind; all was confused. I felt light, and hunger, and thirst, and darkness; innumerable sounds rang in my ears, and on all sides various scents saluted me; the only object that I could distinguish was the bright moon, and I fxed my eyes on that with pleasure.

'Several changes of day and night pa.s.sed, and the orb of night had greatly lessened, when I began to distinguish my sensations from each other. I gradually saw plainly the clear stream that supplied me with drink and the trees that shaded me with their foliage. I was delighted when I frst discovered that a pleasant sound, which ofen saluted my ears, proceeded from the throats of the little winged animals who had ofen intercepted the light from my eyes. I began also to observe, with greater accuracy, the forms that surrounded me and to perceive the boundaries of the radiant roof of light which canopied me. Sometimes I tried to imitate the pleasant songs of the birds but was unable.

Sometimes I wished to express my sensations in my own mode, but the uncouth and inarticulate sounds which broke from me frightened me into silence again.

'Te moon had disappeared from the night, and again, with a lessened form, showed itself, while I still remained in the forest. My sensations had by this time become distinct, and my mind received every day additional ideas. My eyes became accustomed to the light and to perceive objects in their right forms; I distinguished the insect from the herb, and by degrees, one herb from another. I found that the sparrow uttered none but harsh notes, whilst those of the blackbird and thrush were sweet and enticing.

'One day, when I was oppressed by cold, I found a fre which had been lef by some wandering beggars, and was overcome with delight at the warmth I experienced from it.

In my joy I thrust my hand into the live embers, but quickly drew it out again with a cry of pain. How strange, I thought, that the same cause should produce such opposite efects! I examined the materials of the fre, and to my joy found it to be composed of wood. I quickly collected some branches, but they were wet and would not burn. I was pained at this and sat still watching the operation of the fre. Te wet wood which I had placed near the heat dried and itself became infamed. I refected on this, and by touching the various branches, I discovered the cause and busied myself in collecting a great quant.i.ty of wood, that I might dry it and have a plentiful supply of fre. When night came on and brought sleep with it, I was in the greatest fear lest my fre should be extinguished. I covered it carefully with dry wood and leaves and placed wet branches upon it; and then, spreading my cloak, I lay on the ground and sank into sleep.

'It was morning when I awoke, and my frst care was to visit the fre. I uncovered it, and a gentle breeze quickly fanned it into a fame. I observed this also and contrived a fan of branches, which roused the embers when they were nearly extinguished. When night came again I found, with pleasure, that the fre gave light as well as heat and that the discovery of this element was useful to me in my food, for I found some of the ofals that the travellers had lef had been roasted, and tasted much more savoury than the berries I gathered from the trees. I tried, therefore, to dress my food in the same manner, placing it on the live embers. I found that the berries were spoiled by this operation, and the nuts and roots much improved.

'Food, however, became scarce, and I ofen spent the whole day searching in vain for a few acorns to a.s.suage the pangs of hunger. When I found this, I resolved to quit the place that I had hitherto inhabited, to seek for one where the few wants I experienced would be more easily satisfed. In this emigration I exceedingly lamented the loss of the fre which I had obtained through accident and knew not how to reproduce it. I gave several hours to the serious consideration of this difculty, but I was obliged to relinquish all attempt to supply it, and wrapping myself up in my cloak, I struck across the wood towards the setting sun. I pa.s.sed three days in these rambles and at length discovered the open country. A great fall of snow had taken place the night before, and the felds were of one uniform white; the appearance was disconsolate, and I found my feet chilled by the cold damp substance that covered the ground.

'It was about seven in the morning, and I longed to obtain food and shelter; at length I perceived a small hut, on a rising ground, which had doubtless been built for the convenience of some shepherd. Tis was a new sight to me, and I examined the structure with great curiosity. Finding the door open, I entered. An old man sat in it, near a fre, over which he was preparing his breakfast. He turned on hearing a noise, and perceiving me, shrieked loudly, and quitting the hut, ran across the felds with a speed of which his debilitated form hardly appeared capable. His appearance, diferent from any I had ever before seen, and his fight somewhat surprised me. But I was enchanted by the appearance of the hut; here the snow and rain could not penetrate; the ground was dry; and it presented to me then as exquisite and divine a retreat as Pandemonium appeared to the demons of h.e.l.l afer their suferings in the lake of fre. I greedily devoured the remnants of the shepherd's breakfast, which consisted of bread, cheese, milk, and wine; the latter, however, I did not like. Ten, overcome by fatigue, I lay down among some straw and fell asleep.

'It was noon when I awoke, and allured by the warmth of the sun, which shone brightly on the white ground, I determined to recommence my travels; and, depositing the remains of the peasant's breakfast in a wallet I found, I proceeded across the felds for several hours, until at sunset I arrived at a village. How miraculous did this appear! the huts, the neater cottages, and stately houses engaged my admiration by turns. Te vegetables in the gardens, the milk and cheese that I saw placed at the windows of some of the cottages, allured my appet.i.te. One of the best of these I entered, but I had hardly placed my foot within the door before the children shrieked, and one of the women fainted.

Te whole village was roused; some fed, some attacked me, until, grievously bruised by stones and many other kinds of missile weapons, I escaped to the open country and fearfully took refuge in a low hovel, quite bare, and making a wretched appearance afer the palaces I had beheld in the village.

Tis hovel however, joined a cottage of a neat and pleasant appearance, but afer my late dearly bought experience, I dared not enter it. My place of refuge was constructed of wood, but so low that I could with difculty sit upright in it.

No wood, however, was placed on the earth, which formed the foor, but it was dry; and although the wind entered it by innumerable c.h.i.n.ks, I found it an agreeable asylum from the snow and rain.

'Here, then, I retreated and lay down happy to have found a shelter, however miserable, from the inclemency of the season, and still more from the barbarity of man. As soon as morning dawned I crept from my kennel, that I might view the adjacent cottage and discover if I could remain in the habitation I had found. It was situated against the back of the cottage and surrounded on the sides which were exposed by a pig sty and a clear pool of water. One part was open, and by that I had crept in; but now I covered every crevice by which I might be perceived with stones and wood, yet in such a manner that I might move them on occasion to pa.s.s out; all the light I enjoyed came through the sty, and that was sufcient for me.

'Having thus arranged my dwelling and carpeted it with clean straw, I retired, for I saw the fgure of a man at a distance, and I remembered too well my treatment the night before to trust myself in his power. I had frst, however, provided for my sustenance for that day by a loaf of coa.r.s.e bread, which I purloined, and a cup with which I could drink more conveniently than from my hand of the pure water which fowed by my retreat. Te foor was a little raised, so that it was kept perfectly dry, and by its vicinity to the chimney of the cottage it was tolerably warm.

'Being thus provided, I resolved to reside in this hovel until something should occur which might alter my determination. It was indeed a paradise compared to the bleak forest, my former residence, the rain-dropping branches, and dank earth. I ate my breakfast with pleasure and was about to remove a plank to procure myself a little water when I heard a step, and looking through a small c.h.i.n.k, I beheld a young creature, with a pail on her head, pa.s.sing before my hovel. Te girl was young and of gentle demeanour, unlike what I have since found cottagers and farmhouse servants to be. Yet she was meanly dressed, a coa.r.s.e blue petticoat and a linen jacket being her only garb; her fair hair was plaited but not adorned: she looked patient yet sad. I lost sight of her, and in about a quarter of an hour she returned bearing the pail, which was now partly flled with milk. As she walked along, seemingly incommoded by the burden, a young man met her, whose countenance expressed a deeper despondence. Uttering a few sounds with an air of melancholy, he took the pail from her head and bore it to the cottage himself. She followed, and they disappeared. Presently I saw the young man again, with some tools in his hand, cross the feld behind the cottage; and the girl was also busied, sometimes in the house and sometimes in the yard.

'On examining my dwelling, I found that one of the windows of the cottage had formerly occupied a part of it, but the panes had been flled up with wood. In one of these was a small and almost imperceptible c.h.i.n.k through which the eye could just penetrate. Trough this crevice a small room was visible, whitewashed and clean but very bare of furniture. In one corner, near a small fre, sat an old man, leaning his head on his hands in a disconsolate att.i.tude. Te young girl was occupied in arranging the cottage; but presently she took something out of a drawer, which employed her hands, and she sat down beside the old man, who, taking up an instrument, began to play and to produce sounds sweeter than the voice of the thrush or the nightingale. It was a lovely sight, even to me, poor wretch who had never beheld aught beautiful before. Te silver hair and benevolent countenance of the aged cottager won my reverence, while the gentle manners of the girl enticed my love. He played a sweet mournful air which I perceived drew tears from the eyes of his amiable companion, of which the old man took no notice, until she sobbed audibly; he then p.r.o.nounced a few sounds, and the fair creature, leaving her work, knelt at his feet. He raised her and smiled with such kindness and afection that I felt sensations of a peculiar and overpowering nature; they were a mixture of pain and pleasure, such as I had never before experienced, either from hunger or cold, warmth or food; and I withdrew from the window, unable to bear these emotions.

'Soon afer this the young man returned, bearing on his shoulders a load of wood. Te girl met him at the door, helped to relieve him of his burden, and taking some of the fuel into the cottage, placed it on the fre; then she and the youth went apart into a nook of the cottage, and he showed her a large loaf and a piece of cheese. She seemed pleased and went into the garden for some roots and plants, which she placed in water, and then upon the fre. She aferwards continued her work, whilst the young man went into the garden and appeared busily employed in digging and pulling up roots. Afer he had been employed thus about an hour, the young woman joined him and they entered the cottage together.

'Te old man had, in the meantime, been pensive, but on the appearance of his companions he a.s.sumed a more cheerful air, and they sat down to eat. Te meal was quickly dispatched. Te young woman was again occupied in arranging the cottage, the old man walked before the cottage in the sun for a few minutes, leaning on the arm of the youth. Nothing could exceed in beauty the contrast between these two excellent creatures. One was old, with silver hairs and a countenance beaming with benevolence and love; the younger was slight and graceful in his fgure, and his features were moulded with the fnest symmetry, yet his eyes and att.i.tude expressed the utmost sadness and despondency. Te old man returned to the cottage, and the youth, with tools diferent from those he had used in the morning, directed his steps across the felds.

'Night quickly shut in, but to my extreme wonder, I found that the cottagers had a means of prolonging light by the use of tapers, and was delighted to fnd that the setting of the sun did not put an end to the pleasure I experienced in watching my human neighbours. In the evening the young girl and her companion were employed in various occupations which I did not understand; and the old man again took up the instrument which produced the divine sounds that had enchanted me in the morning. So soon as he had fnished, the youth began, not to play, but to utter sounds that were monotonous, and neither resembling the harmony of the old man's instrument nor the songs of the birds; I since found that he read aloud, but at that time I knew nothing of the science of words or letters.

'Te family, afer having been thus occupied for a short time, extinguished their lights and retired, as I conjectured, to rest.'

Chapter 12.

'I lay on my straw, but I could not sleep. I thought of the occurrences of the day. What chiefy 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 sufered the night before from the barbarous villagers, and resolved, whatever course of conduct I might hereafer think it right to pursue, that for the present I would remain quietly in my hovel, watching and endeavouring to discover the motives which infuenced their actions.

'Te cottagers arose the next morning before the sun.

Te young woman arranged the cottage and prepared the food, and the youth departed afer the frst meal.

'Tis day was pa.s.sed in the same routine as that which preceded it. Te young man was constantly employed out of doors, and the girl in various laborious occupations within. Te old man, whom I soon perceived to be blind, employed his leisure hours on his instrument or in contemplation. Nothing could exceed the love and respect which the younger cottagers exhibited towards their venerable companion. Tey performed towards him every little offce of afection and duty with gentleness, and he rewarded them by his benevolent smiles.

'Tey were not entirely happy. Te young man and his companion ofen went apart and appeared to weep. I saw no cause for their unhappiness, but I was deeply afected by it. If such lovely creatures were miserable, it was less strange that I, an imperfect and solitary being, should be wretched.

Yet why were these gentle beings unhappy? Tey possessed a delightful house (for such it was in my eyes) and every luxury; they had a fre to warm them when chill and delicious viands when hungry; they were dressed in excellent clothes; and, still more, they enjoyed one another's company and speech, interchanging each day looks of afection and kindness. What did their tears imply? Did they really express pain? I was at frst unable to solve these questions, but perpetual attention and time explained to me many appearances which were at frst enigmatic.

'A considerable period elapsed before I discovered one of the causes of the uneasiness of this amiable family: it was poverty, and they sufered that evil in a very distressing degree. Teir nourishment consisted entirely of the vegetables of their garden and the milk of one cow, which gave very little during the winter, when its masters could scarcely procure food to support it. Tey ofen, I believe, sufered the pangs of hunger very poignantly, especially the two younger cottagers, for several times they placed food before the old man when they reserved none for themselves.

'Tis trait of kindness moved me sensibly. I had been accustomed, during the night, to steal a part of their store for my own consumption, but when I found that in doing this I inficted pain on the cottagers, I abstained and satisfed myself with berries, nuts, and roots which I gathered from a neighbouring wood.

'I discovered also another means through which I was enabled to a.s.sist their labours. I found that the youth spent a great part of each day in collecting wood for the family fre, and during the night I ofen took his tools, the use of which I quickly discovered, and brought home fring sufcient for the consumption of several days.

'I remember, the frst time that I did this, the young woman, when she opened the door in the morning, appeared greatly astonished on seeing a great pile of wood on the outside. She uttered some words in a loud voice, and the youth joined her, who also expressed surprise. I observed, with pleasure, that he did not go to the forest that day, but spent it in repairing the cottage and cultivating the garden.

'By degrees I made a discovery of still greater moment. I found that these people possessed a method of communicating their experience and feelings to one another by articulate sounds. I perceived that the words they spoke sometimes produced pleasure or pain, smiles or sadness, in the minds and countenances of the hearers. Tis was indeed a G.o.dlike science, and I ardently desired to become acquainted with it. But I was bafed in every attempt I made for this purpose. Teir p.r.o.nunciation was quick, and the words they uttered, not having any apparent connection with visible objects, I was unable to discover any clue by which I could unravel the mystery of their reference. By great application, however, and afer having remained during the s.p.a.ce of several revolutions of the moon in my hovel, I discovered the names that were given to some of the most familiar objects of discourse; I learned and applied the words, 'fre,' 'milk,'

'bread,' and 'wood.' I learned also the names of the cottagers themselves. Te youth and his companion had each of them several names, but the old man had only one, which was 'father.' Te girl was called 'sister' or 'Agatha,' and the youth 'Felix,' 'brother,' or 'son.' I cannot describe the delight I felt when I learned the ideas appropriated to each of these sounds and was able to p.r.o.nounce them. I distinguished several other words without being able as yet to understand or apply them, such as 'good,' 'dearest,' unhappy.

'I spent the winter in this manner. Te gentle manners and beauty of the cottagers greatly endeared them to me; when they were unhappy, I felt depressed; when they rejoiced, I sympathized in their joys. I saw few human beings besides them, and if any other happened to enter the cottage, their harsh manners and rude gait only enhanced to me the superior accomplishments of my friends. Te old man, I could perceive, ofen endeavoured to encourage his children, as sometimes I found that he called them, to cast of their melancholy. He would talk in a cheerful accent, with an expression of goodness that bestowed pleasure even upon me. Agatha listened with respect, her eyes sometimes flled with tears, which she endeavoured to wipe away unperceived; but I generally found that her countenance and tone were more cheerful afer having listened to the exhortations of her father. It was not thus with Felix. He was always the saddest of the group, and even to my unpractised senses, he appeared to have sufered more deeply than his friends. But if his countenance was more sorrowful, his voice was more cheerful than that of his sister, especially when he addressed the old man.

'I could mention innumerable instances which, although slight, marked the dispositions of these amiable cottagers.

In the midst of poverty and want, Felix carried with pleasure to his sister the frst little white fower that peeped out from beneath the snowy ground. Early in the morning, before she had risen, he cleared away the snow that obstructed her path to the milk-house, drew water from the well, and brought the wood from the outhouse, where, to his perpetual astonishment, he found his store always replenished by an invisible hand. In the day, I believe, he worked sometimes for a neighbouring farmer, because he ofen went forth and did not return until dinner, yet brought no wood with him. At other times he worked in the garden, but as there was little to do in the frosty season, he read to the old man and Agatha.

'Tis reading had puzzled me extremely at frst, but by degrees I discovered that he uttered many of the same sounds when he read as when he talked. I conjectured, therefore, that he found on the paper signs for speech which he understood, and I ardently longed to comprehend these also; but how was that possible when I did not even understand the sounds for which they stood as signs? I improved, however, sensibly in this science, but not sufciently to follow up any kind of conversation, although I applied my whole mind to the endeavour, for I easily perceived that, although I eagerly longed to discover myself to the cottagers, I ought not to make the attempt until I had frst become master of their language, which knowledge might enable me to make them overlook the deformity of my fgure, for with this also the contrast perpetually presented to my eyes had made me acquainted.

'I had admired the perfect forms of my cottagers-their grace, beauty, and delicate complexions; but how was I terrifed when I viewed myself in a transparent pool! At frst I started back, unable to believe that it was indeed I who was refected in the mirror; and when I became fully convinced that I was in reality the monster that I am, I was flled with the bitterest sensations of despondence and mortifcation.

Alas! I did not yet entirely know the fatal efects of this miserable deformity.

'As the sun became warmer and the light of day longer, the snow vanished, and I beheld the bare trees and the black earth. From this time Felix was more employed, and the heart-moving indications of impending famine disappeared. Teir food, as I aferwards found, was coa.r.s.e, but it was wholesome; and they procured a sufciency of it. Several new kinds of plants sprang up in the garden, which they dressed; and these signs of comfort increased daily as the season advanced.

'Te old man, leaning on his son, walked each day at noon, when it did not rain, as I found it was called when the heavens poured forth its waters. Tis frequently took place, but a high wind quickly dried the earth, and the season became far more pleasant than it had been.

'My mode of life in my hovel was uniform. During the morning I attended the motions of the cottagers, and when they were dispersed in various occupations, I slept; the remainder of the day was spent in observing my friends.

When they had retired to rest, if there was any moon or the night was star-light, I went into the woods and collected my own food and fuel for the cottage. When I returned, as often as it was necessary, I cleared their path from the snow and performed those ofces that I had seen done by Felix.

I aferwards found that these labours, performed by an invisible hand, greatly astonished them; and once or twice I heard them, on these occasions, utter the words 'good spirit,' 'wonderful'; but I did not then understand the signifcation of these terms.

'My thoughts now became more active, and I longed to discover the motives and feelings of these lovely creatures; I was inquisitive to know why Felix appeared so miserable and Agatha so sad. I thought (foolish wretch!) that it might be in my power to restore happiness to these deserving people. When I slept or was absent, the forms of the venerable blind father, the gentle Agatha, and the excellent Felix fitted before me. I looked upon them as superior beings who would be the arbiters of my future destiny. I formed in my imagination a thousand pictures of presenting myself to them, and their reception of me. I imagined that they would be disgusted, until, by my gentle demeanour and conciliating words, I should frst win their favour and aferwards their love.

'Tese thoughts exhilarated me and led me to apply with fresh ardour to the acquiring the art of language. My organs were indeed harsh, but supple; and although my voice was very unlike the sof music of their tones, yet I p.r.o.nounced such words as I understood with tolerable ease. It was as the a.s.s and the lap-dog; yet surely the gentle a.s.s whose intentions were afectionate, although his manners were rude, deserved better treatment than blows and execration.

'Te pleasant showers and genial warmth of spring greatly altered the aspect of the earth. Men who before this change seemed to have been hid in caves dispersed themselves and were employed in various arts of cultivation. Te birds sang in more cheerful notes, and the leaves began to bud forth on the trees. Happy, happy earth! Fit habitation for G.o.ds, which, so short a time before, was bleak, damp, and unwholesome. My spirits were elevated by the enchanting appearance of nature; the past was blotted from my memory, the present was tranquil, and the future gilded by bright rays of hope and antic.i.p.ations of joy.'

Chapter 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 fne and the skies cloudless. It surprised me that what before was desert and gloomy should now bloom with the most beautiful fowers and verdure. My senses were gratifed and refreshed by a thousand scents of delight and a thousand sights of beauty.

'It was on one of these days, when my cottagers periodically rested from labour-the old man played on his guitar, and the children listened to him-that I observed the countenance of Felix was melancholy beyond expression; he sighed frequently, and once his father paused in his music, and I conjectured by his manner that he inquired the cause of his son's sorrow. Felix replied in a cheerful accent, and the old man was recommencing his music when someone tapped at the door.

'It was a lady on horseback, accompanied by a countryman as a guide. Te lady was dressed in a dark suit and covered with a thick black veil. Agatha asked a question, to which the stranger only replied by p.r.o.nouncing, in a sweet accent, the name of Felix. Her voice was musical but unlike that of either of my friends. On hearing this word, Felix came up hastily to the lady, who, when she saw him, threw up her veil, and I beheld a countenance of angelic beauty and expression. Her hair of a shining raven black, and curiously braided; her eyes were dark, but gentle, although animated; her features of a regular proportion, and her complexion wondrously fair, each cheek tinged with a lovely pink.

'Felix seemed ravished with delight when he saw her, every trait of sorrow vanished from his face, and it instantly expressed a degree of ecstatic joy, of which I could hardly have believed it capable; his eyes sparkled, as his cheek fushed with pleasure; and at that moment I thought him as beautiful as the stranger. She appeared afected by diferent feelings; wiping a few tears from her lovely eyes, she held out her hand to Felix, who kissed it rapturously and called her, as well as I could distinguish, his sweet Arabian. She did not appear to understand him, but smiled. He a.s.sisted her to dismount, and dismissing her guide, conducted her into the cottage. Some conversation took place between him and his father, and the young stranger knelt at the old man's feet and would have kissed his hand, but he raised her and embraced her afectionately.

'I soon perceived that although the stranger uttered articulate sounds and appeared to have a language of her own, she was neither understood by nor herself understood the cottagers. Tey made many signs which I did not comprehend, but I saw that her presence difused gladness through the cottage, dispelling their sorrow as the sun dissipates the morning mists. Felix seemed peculiarly happy and with smiles of delight welcomed his Arabian. Agatha, the ever-gentle Agatha, kissed the hands of the lovely stranger, and pointing to her brother, made signs which appeared to me to mean that he had been sorrowful until she came.

Some hours pa.s.sed thus, while they, by their countenances, expressed joy, the cause of which I did not comprehend.

Presently I found, by the frequent recurrence of some sound which the stranger repeated afer them, that she was endeavouring to learn their language; and the idea instantly occurred to me that I should make use of the same instructions to the same end. Te stranger learned about twenty words at the frst lesson; most of them, indeed, were those which I had before understood, but I profted by the others.

'As night came on, Agatha and the Arabian retired early.

When they separated Felix kissed the hand of the stranger and said, 'Good night sweet Safe.' He sat up much longer, conversing with his father, and by the frequent repet.i.tion of her name I conjectured that their lovely guest was the subject of their conversation. I ardently desired to understand them, and bent every faculty towards that purpose, but found it utterly impossible.

'Te next morning Felix went out to his work, and afer the usual occupations of Agatha were fnished, the Arabian sat at the feet of the old man, and taking his guitar, played some airs so entrancingly beautiful that they at once drew tears of sorrow and delight from my eyes. She sang, and her voice fowed in a rich cadence, swelling or dying away like a nightingale of the woods.

'When she had fnished, she gave the guitar to Agatha, who at frst declined it. She played a simple air, and her voice accompanied it in sweet accents, but unlike the wondrous strain of the stranger. Te old man appeared enraptured and said some words which Agatha endeavoured to explain to Safe, and by which he appeared to wish to express that she bestowed on him the greatest delight by her music.

'Te days now pa.s.sed as peaceably as before, with the sole alteration that joy had taken place of sadness in the countenances of my friends. Safe was always gay and happy; she and I improved rapidly in the knowledge of language, so that in two months I began to comprehend most of the words uttered by my protectors.

'In the meanwhile also the black ground was covered with herbage, and the green banks interspersed with innumerable fowers, sweet to the scent and the eyes, stars of pale radiance among the moonlight woods; the sun became warmer, the nights clear and balmy; and my nocturnal rambles were an extreme pleasure to me, although they were considerably shortened by the late setting and early rising of the sun, for I never ventured abroad during daylight, fearful of meeting with the same treatment I had formerly endured in the frst village which I entered.

'My days were spent in close attention, that I might more speedily master the language; and I may boast that I improved more rapidly than the Arabian, who understood very little and conversed in broken accents, whilst I comprehended and could imitate almost every word that was spoken.

'While I improved in speech, I also learned the science of letters as it was taught to the stranger, and this opened be fore me a wide feld for wonder and delight.

'Te book from which Felix instructed Safe was Volney's Ruins of Empires. I should not have understood the purport of this book had not Felix, in reading it, given very minute explanations. He had chosen this work, he said, because the declamatory style was framed in imitation of the Eastern authors. Trough this work I obtained a cursory knowledge of history and a view of the several empires at present existing in the world; it gave me an insight into the manners, governments, and religions of the diferent nations of the earth. I heard of the slothful Asiatics, of the stupendous genius and mental activity of the Grecians, of the wars and wonderful virtue of the early Romans-of their subsequent degenerating-of the decline of that mighty empire, of chivalry, Christianity, and kings. I heard of the discovery of the American hemisphere and wept with Safe over the hapless fate of its original inhabitants.

'Tese wonderful narrations inspired me with strange feelings. Was man, indeed, at once so powerful, so virtuous and magnifcent, yet so vicious and base? He appeared at one time a mere scion of the evil principle and at another as all that can be conceived of n.o.ble and G.o.dlike. To be a great and virtuous man appeared the highest honour that can befall a sensitive being; to be base and vicious, as many on record have been, appeared the lowest degradation, a condition more abject than that of the blind mole or harmless worm. For a long time I could not conceive how one man could go forth to murder his fellow, or even why there were laws and governments; but when I heard details of vice and bloodshed, my wonder ceased and I turned away with disgust and loathing.