Frankenstein's Bride (39 page)

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 neighborhood of civilized 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 harbor, 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. “Maybe 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.

C H A PT E R 2 1

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 selected by the magistrate, he deposed that he had been out fishing the
night before with his son and brother-in-law, Daniel Nugent, when, about ten o'clock, they observed a strong northerly blast
rising, and they accordingly put in for port. It was a very dark night, as the moon had not yet risen; they did not land at
the harbor, but, as they had been accustomed, at a creek about two miles below. He walked on first, carrying a part of the
fishing tackle, and his companions followed him at some distance. As he was proceeding along the sands, he struck his foot
against something and fell at his length on the ground. His companions came up to assist him, and by the light of their lantern
they found that he had fallen on the body of a man, who was to all appearance dead. Their first supposition was that it was
the corpse of some person who had been drowned and was thrown on shore by the waves, but on examination they found that the
clothes were not wet and even that the body was not then cold. They instantly carried it to the cottage of an old woman near
the spot and endeavored, but in vain, to restore it to life. It appeared to be a handsome young man, about five and twenty
years of age. He had apparently been strangled, for there was no sign of any violence except the black mark of fingers on
his neck.

The first part of this deposition did not in the least interest me, but when the mark of the fingers was mentioned I remembered
the murder of my brother and felt myself extremely agitated; my limbs trembled, and a mist came over my eyes, which obliged
me to lean on a chair for support. The magistrate observed me with a keen eye and of course drew an unfavorable augury from
my manner.

The son confirmed his father's account, but when Daniel Nugent was called he swore positively that just before the fall of
his companion, he saw a boat, with a single man in it, at a short distance from the shore; and as far as he could judge by
the light of a few stars, it was the same boat in which I had just landed. A woman deposed that she lived near the beach and
was standing at the door of her cottage, waiting for the return of the fishermen, about an hour before she heard of the discovery
of the body, when she saw a boat with only one man in it push off from that part of the shore where the corpse was afterwards
found.

Another woman confirmed the account of the fishermen having brought the body into her house; it was not cold. They put it
into a bed and rubbed it, and Daniel went to the town for an apothecary, but life was quite gone.

Several other men were examined concerning my landing, and they agreed that, with the strong north wind that had arisen during
the night, it was very probable that I had beaten about for many hours and had been obliged to return nearly to the same spot
from which I had departed. Besides, they observed that it appeared that I had brought the body from another place, and it
was likely that as I did not appear to know the shore, I might have put into the harbor ignorant of the distance of the town
of —— from the place where I had deposited the corpse.

Mr. Kirwin, on hearing this evidence, desired that I should be taken into the room where the body lay for interment, that
it might be observed what effect the sight of it would produce upon me. This idea was probably suggested by the extreme agitation
I had exhibited when the mode of the murder had been described. I was accordingly conducted, by the magistrate and several
other persons, to the inn. I could not help being struck by the strange coincidences that had taken place during this eventful
night; but, knowing that I had been conversing with several persons in the island I had inhabited about the time that the
body had been found, I was perfectly tranquil as to the consequences of the affair. I entered the room where the corpse lay
and was led up to the coffin. How can I describe my sensations on beholding it? I feel yet parched with horror, nor can I
reflect on that terrible moment without shuddering and agony. The examination, the presence of the magistrate and witnesses,
passed like a dream from my memory when I saw the lifeless form of Henry Clerval stretched before me. I gasped for breath,
and throwing myself on the body, I exclaimed, “Have my murderous machinations deprived you also, my dearest Henry, of life?
Two I have already destroyed; other victims await their destiny; but you, Clerval, my friend, my benefactor—”

The human frame could no longer support the agonies that I endured, and I was carried out of the room in strong convulsions.

A fever succeeded to this. I lay for two months on the point of death; my ravings, as I afterwards heard, were frightful;
I called myself the murderer of William, of Justine, and of Clerval. Sometimes I entreated my attendants to assist me in the
destruction of the fiend by whom I was tormented; and at others I felt the fingers of the monster already grasping my neck,
and screamed aloud with agony and terror. Fortunately, as I spoke my native language, Mr. Kirwin alone understood me; but
my gestures and bitter cries were sufficient to affright the other witnesses. Why did I not die? More miserable than man ever
was before, why did I not sink into forgetfulness and rest? Death snatches away many blooming children, the only hopes of
their doting parents; how many brides and youthful lovers have been one day in the bloom of health and hope, and the next
a prey for worms and the decay of the tomb! Of what materials was I made that I could thus resist so many shocks, which, like
the turning of the wheel, continually renewed the torture?

But I was doomed to live and in two months found myself as awaking from a dream, in a prison, stretched on a wretched bed,
surrounded by jailers, turnkeys, bolts, and all the miserable apparatus of a dungeon. It was morning, I remember, when I thus
awoke to understanding; I had forgotten the particulars of what had happened and only felt as if some great misfortune had
suddenly overwhelmed me; but when I looked around and saw the barred windows and the squalidness of the room in which I was,
all flashed across my memory and I groaned bitterly.

This sound disturbed an old woman who was sleeping in a chair beside me. She was a hired nurse, the wife of one of the turnkeys,
and her countenance expressed all those bad qualities which often characterize that class. The lines of her face were hard
and rude, like that of persons accustomed to see without sympathizing in sights of misery. Her tone expressed her entire indifference;
she addressed me in English, and the voice struck me as one that I had heard during my sufferings. “Are you better now, sir?”
said she.

I replied in the same language, with a feeble voice, “I believe I am; but if it be all true, if indeed I did not dream, I
am sorry that I am still alive to feel this misery and horror.”

“For that matter,” replied the old woman, “if you mean about the gentleman you murdered, I believe that it were better for
you if you were dead, for I fancy it will go hard with you! However, that's none of my business; I am sent to nurse you and
get you well; I do my duty with a safe conscience; it were well if everybody did the same.”

I turned with loathing from the woman who could utter so unfeeling a speech to a person just saved, on the very edge of death;
but I felt languid and unable to reflect on all that had passed. The whole series of my life appeared to me as a dream; I
sometimes doubted if indeed it were all true, for it never presented itself to my mind with the force of reality.

As the images that floated before me became more distinct, I grew feverish; a darkness pressed around me; no one was near
me who soothed me with the gentle voice of love; no dear hand supported me. The physician came and prescribed medicines, and
the old woman prepared them for me; but utter carelessness was visible in the first, and the expression of brutality was strongly
marked in the visage of the second. Who could be interested in the fate of a murderer but the hangman who would gain his fee?

These were my first reflections, but I soon learned that Mr. Kirwin had shown me extreme kindness. He had caused the best
room in the prison to be prepared for me (wretched indeed was the best); and it was he who had provided a physician and a
nurse. It is true, he seldom came to see me, for although he ardently desired to relieve the sufferings of every human creature,
he did not wish to be present at the agonies and miserable ravings of a murderer. He came, therefore, sometimes to see that
I was not neglected, but his visits were short and with long intervals.

One day, while I was gradually recovering, I was seated in a chair, my eyes half open and my cheeks livid like those in death.
I was overcome by gloom and misery and often reflected I had better seek death than desire to remain in a world which to me
was replete with wretchedness. At one time I considered whether I should not declare myself guilty and suffer the penalty
of the law, less innocent than poor Justine had been. Such were my thoughts when the door of my apartment was opened and Mr.
Kirwin entered. His countenance expressed sympathy and compassion; he drew a chair close to mine and addressed me in French,
“I fear that this place is very shocking to you; can I do anything to make you more comfortable?”

“I thank you, but all that you mention is nothing to me; on the whole earth there is no comfort which I am capable of receiving.”

“I know that the sympathy of a stranger can be but of little relief to one borne down as you are by so strange a misfortune.
But you will, I hope, soon quit this melancholy abode, for doubtless evidence can easily be brought to free you from the criminal
charge.”

“That is my least concern; I am, by a course of strange events, become the most miserable of mortals. Persecuted and tortured
as I am and have been, can death be any evil to me?”

“Nothing indeed could be more unfortunate and agonizing than the strange chances that have lately occurred. You were thrown,
by some surprising accident, on this shore, renowned for its hospitality, seized immediately, and charged with murder. The
first sight that was presented to your eyes was the body of your friend, murdered in so unaccountable a manner and placed,
as it were, by some fiend across your path.”

As Mr. Kirwin said this, notwithstanding the agitation I endured on this retrospect of my sufferings, I also felt considerable
surprise at the knowledge he seemed to possess concerning me. I suppose some astonishment was exhibited in my countenance,
for Mr. Kirwin hastened to say, “Immediately upon your being taken ill, all the papers that were on your person were brought
me, and I examined them that I might discover some trace by which I could send to your relations an account of your misfortune
and illness. I found several letters, and, among others, one which I discovered from its commencement to be from your father.
I instantly wrote to Geneva; nearly two months have elapsed since the departure of my letter. But you are ill; even now you
tremble; you are unfit for agitation of any kind.”

“This suspense is a thousand times worse than the most horrible event; tell me what new scene of death has been acted, and
whose murder I am now to lament?”

“Your family is perfectly well,” said Mr. Kirwin with gentleness; “and someone, a friend, is come to visit you.”

I know not by what chain of thought the idea presented itself, but it instantly darted into my mind that the murderer had
come to mock at my misery and taunt me with the death of Clerval, as a new incitement for me to comply with his hellish desires.
I put my hand before my eyes, and cried out in agony, “Oh! Take him away! I cannot see him; for God's sake, do not let him
enter!”

Mr. Kirwin regarded me with a troubled countenance. He could not help regarding my exclamation as a presumption of my guilt
and said in rather a severe tone, “I should have thought, young man, that the presence of your father would have been welcome
instead of inspiring such violent repugnance.”

“My father!” cried I, while every feature and every muscle was relaxed from anguish to pleasure. “Is my father indeed come?
How kind, how very kind! But where is he, why does he not hasten to me?”

My change of manner surprised and pleased the magistrate; perhaps he thought that my former exclamation was a momentary return
of delirium, and now he instantly resumed his former benevolence. He rose and quitted the room with my nurse, and in a moment
my father entered it.

Nothing, at this moment, could have given me greater pleasure than the arrival of my father. I stretched out my hand to him
and cried, “Are you, then, safe—and Elizabeth—and Ernest?”

My father calmed me with assurances of their welfare and endeavored, by dwelling on these subjects so interesting to my heart,
to raise my desponding spirits; but he soon felt that a prison cannot be the abode of cheerfulness. “What a place is this
that you inhabit, my son!” said he, looking mournfully at the barred windows and wretched appearance of the room. “You traveled
to seek happiness, but a fatality seems to pursue you. And poor Clerval—”

The name of my unfortunate and murdered friend was an agitation too great to be endured in my weak state; I shed tears.

“Alas! Yes, my father,” replied I; “some destiny of the most horrible kind hangs over me, and I must live to fulfill it, or
surely I should have died on the coffin of Henry.”

We were not allowed to converse for any length of time, for the precarious state of my health rendered every precaution necessary
that could ensure tranquility. Mr. Kirwin came in and insisted that my strength should not be exhausted by too much exertion.
But the appearance of my father was to me like that of my good angel, and I gradually recovered my health.

As my sickness quitted me, I was absorbed by a gloomy and black melancholy that nothing could dissipate. The image of Clerval
was forever before me, ghastly and murdered. More than once the agitation into which these reflections threw me made my friends
dread a dangerous relapse. Alas! Why did they preserve so miserable and detested a life? It was surely that I might fulfill
my destiny, which is now drawing to a close. Soon, oh, very soon, will death extinguish these throbbings and relieve me from
the mighty weight of anguish that bears me to the dust; and, in executing the award of justice, I shall also sink to rest.
Then the appearance of death was distant, although the wish was ever present to my thoughts; and I often sat for hours motionless
and speechless, wishing for some mighty revolution that might bury me and my destroyer in its ruins.