Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus
lake of fire. 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. Then, 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 fields 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. The vegetables in the gardens, the milk and cheese that I saw
placed at the windows of some of the cottages, allured my appetite. 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.
The whole village was roused; some fled, 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 after the palaces I had
beheld in the village. This hovel, however, joined a cottage of a neat
and pleasant appearance; but, after 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 difficulty sit upright in it. No wood, however,
was placed on the earth, which formed the floor, but it was dry; and
although the wind entered it by innumerable chinks, 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 pass
out: all the light I enjoyed came through the sty, and that was
sufficient for me.
"Having thus arranged my dwelling, and carpeted it with clean straw, I
retired; for I saw the figure of a man at a distance, and I remembered
too well my treatment the night before, to trust myself in his power. I
had first, however, provided for my sustenance for that day, by a loaf
of coarse bread, which I purloined, and a cup with which I could drink,
more conveniently than from my hand, of the pure water which flowed by
my retreat. The floor 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 chink, I beheld
a young creature, with a pail on her head, passing before my hovel. The
girl was young, and of gentle demeanour, unlike what I have since found
cottagers and farm-house servants to be. Yet she was meanly dressed, a
coarse 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 filled 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 field 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
filled up with wood. In one of these was a small and almost
imperceptible chink, through which the eye could just penetrate. Through
this crevice a small room was visible, whitewashed and clean, but very
bare of furniture. In one corner, near a small fire, sat an old man,
leaning his head on his hands in a disconsolate attitude. The 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. The 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 pronounced a few sounds,
and the fair creature, leaving her work, knelt at his feet. He raised
her, and smiled with such kindness and affection, 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 after this the young man returned, bearing on his shoulders a load
of wood. The 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
fire; 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 fire. She afterwards continued her work, whilst
the young man went into the garden, and appeared busily employed in
digging and pulling up roots. After he had been employed thus about an
hour, the young woman joined him, and they entered the cottage together.
"The old man had, in the mean time, been pensive; but, on the appearance
of his companions, he assumed a more cheerful air, and they sat down to
eat. The meal was quickly despatched. The 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 figure,
and his features were moulded with the finest symmetry; yet his eyes and
attitude expressed the utmost sadness and despondency. The old man
returned to the cottage; and the youth, with tools different from those
he had used in the morning, directed his steps across the fields.
"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 find 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 finished, 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.
"The family, after having been thus occupied for a short time,
extinguished their lights, and retired, as I conjectured, to rest."
CHAPTER XII.
"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 conduct I might hereafter
think it right to pursue, that for the present I would remain quietly in
my hovel, watching, and endeavouring to discover the motives which
influenced their actions.
"The cottagers arose the next morning before the sun. The young woman
arranged the cottage, and prepared the food; and the youth departed
after the first meal.
"This day was passed in the same routine as that which preceded it. The
young man was constantly employed out of doors, and the girl in various
laborious occupations within. The 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. They performed towards him
every little office of affection and duty with gentleness; and he
rewarded them by his benevolent smiles.
"They were not entirely happy. The young man and his companion often
went apart, and appeared to weep. I saw no cause for their unhappiness;
but I was deeply affected 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? They
possessed a delightful house (for such it was in my eyes) and every
luxury; they had a fire 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 affection and kindness. What did their tears imply? Did they
really express pain? I was at first unable to solve these questions; but
perpetual attention and time explained to me many appearances which were
at first enigmatic.
"A considerable period elapsed before I discovered one of the causes of
the uneasiness of this amiable family: it was poverty; and they suffered
that evil in a very distressing degree. Their 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. They often, I believe, suffered 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.
"This 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 inflicted pain on the cottagers, I
abstained, and satisfied myself with berries, nuts, and roots, which I
gathered from a neighbouring wood.
"I discovered also another means through which I was enabled to assist
their labours. I found that the youth spent a great part of each day in
collecting wood for the family fire; and, during the night, I often took
his tools, the use of which I quickly discovered, and brought home
firing sufficient for the consumption of several days.
"I remember, the first time that I did this, the young woman, when she