I came at length opposite to the inn at
which the various diligences and carriages usually stopped. Here I paused, I
knew not why; but I remained some minutes with my eyes fixed on a coach that
was coming towards me from the other end of the street. As it drew nearer I
observed that it was the Swiss diligence; it stopped just where I was standing,
and on the door being opened, I perceived Henry Clerval, who, on seeing me,
instantly sprung out. "My dear
Frankenstein," exclaimed he, "how glad I am to see you! How fortunate
that you should be here at the very moment of my alighting!"
Nothing could equal my delight on seeing
Clerval; his presence brought back to my thoughts my father, Elizabeth, and all
those scenes of home so dear to my recollection. I grasped his hand, and in a
moment forgot my horror and misfortune; I felt suddenly, and for the first time
during many months, calm and serene joy. I welcomed my friend, therefore, in
the most cordial manner, and we walked towards my college. Clerval continued talking
for some time about our mutual friends and his own good fortune in being
permitted to come to Ingolstadt. "You may easily believe," said he,
"how great was the difficulty to persuade my father that all necessary
knowledge was not comprised in the noble art of book-keeping ….
"It gives me the greatest delight to
see you; but tell me how you left my father, brothers, and Elizabeth."
"Very well, and very happy, only a
little uneasy that they hear from you so seldom. By the by, I mean to lecture
you a little upon their account myself. But, my dear Frankenstein,"
continued he, stopping short and gazing full in my face, "I did not before
remark how very ill you appear; so thin and pale; you look as if you had been
watching for several nights."
"You have guessed right; I have
lately been so deeply engaged in one occupation that I have not allowed myself
sufficient rest, as you see; but I hope, I sincerely hope, that all these
employments are now at an end and that I am at length free."
I trembled excessively; I could not endure
to think of, and far less to allude to, the occurrences of the preceding night.
I walked with a quick pace, and we soon arrived at my college. I then
reflected, and the thought made me shiver, that the creature whom I had left in
my apartment might still be there, alive and walking about. I dreaded to behold
this monster, but I feared still more that Henry should see him. Entreating
him, therefore, to remain a few minutes at the bottom of the stairs, I darted up towards my own room. My hand
was already on the lock of the door before I recollected myself. I then paused,
and a cold shivering came over me. I threw the door forcibly open, as children
are accustomed to do when they expect a spectre to stand in waiting for them on
the other side; but nothing appeared. I stepped fearfully in: the apartment was
empty, and my bedroom was also freed from its hideous guest. I could hardly believe that so great a good fortune
could have befallen me, but when I became assured that my enemy had indeed fled,
I clapped my hands for joy and ran down to Clerval.
We ascended into my room, and the servant
presently brought breakfast; but I was unable to contain myself. It was not joy
only that possessed me; I felt my flesh tingle
with excess of sensitiveness, and my pulse beat rapidly. I was unable to remain
for a single instant in the same place; I jumped over the chairs, clapped my
hands, and laughed aloud. Clerval at first attributed my unusual spirits to joy
on his arrival, but when he observed me more attentively, he saw a wildness in
my eyes for which he could not account, and my loud, unrestrained, heartless
laughter frightened and astonished him.
"My dear Victor," cried he,
"what, for God's sake, is the matter? Do not laugh in that manner. How ill
you are! What is the cause of all this?"
"Do not ask me," cried I,
putting my hands before my eyes, for I thought I saw the dreaded spectre glide
into the room; "HE can tell. Oh, save me! Save me!" I imagined that
the monster seized me; I struggled furiously and fell down in a fit…
This was the commencement of a nervous
fever which confined me for several months. During all that time Henry was my
only nurse. I afterwards learned that, knowing my father's advanced age and
unfitness for so long a journey, and how wretched my sickness would make
Elizabeth, he spared them this grief by concealing the extent of my disorder….
(Chapter 5, Frankenstein)
Vocabulary
sprung: spring:
move alighting:
dismounting darted: moved
swiftly hideous:
horrible tingle: to
feel a prickling sensation
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