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
necessary
for
the
completion
of
my
promise
and
quickly
availed
myself
of
the
letters
of
introduction
that
I had brought
with
me,
addressed
to
the
most
distinguished
natural
philosophers.
If
this
journey
had taken
place
during
my
days
of
study
and
happiness,
it
would
have
afforded
me
inexpressible pleasure.
But
a blight had
come
over
my existence,
and
I
only
visited
these
people
for
the
sake
of
the
information
they
might
give
me
on
the
subject
in
which
my
interest
was
so
terribly profound.
Company
was
irksome
to
me;
when
alone, I
could
fill
my
mind
with
the
sights
of
heaven
and
earth;
the
voice
of
Henry
soothed
me,
and
I
could
thus
cheat
myself
into
a
transitory
peace.
But
busy, uninteresting,
joyous
faces brought
back
despair
to
my heart. I
saw
an
insurmountable
barrier
placed
between
me
and
my
fellow
men;
this
barrier
was
sealed
with
the
blood
of
William
and
Justine,
and
to
reflect
on
the
events
connected
with
those
names
filled
my soul
with
anguish.
But
in
Clerval I
saw
the
image
of
my
former
self;
he
was
inquisitive
and
anxious
to
gain
experience
and
instruction.
The
difference
of
manners
which
he
observed
was
to
him
an
inexhaustible source
of
instruction
and
amusement.
He
was
also
pursuing
an
object
he
had
long
had
in
view.
His
design
was
to
visit
India,
in
the
belief
that
he
had
in
his
knowledge
of
its
various
languages,
and
in
the
views
he
had taken
of
its
society,
the
means
of
materially assisting
the
progress
of
European
colonization
and
trade.
In
Britain
only
could
he
further
the
execution
of
his
plan.
He
was
forever busy,
and
the
only
check
to
his
enjoyments
was
my
sorrowful
and
dejected mind. I tried
to
conceal
this
as
much
as
possible,
that
I
might
not
debar
him
from
the
pleasures
natural
to
one
who
was
entering
on
a
new
scene
of
life, undisturbed
by
any
care
or
bitter recollection. I
often
refused
to
accompany
him,
alleging
another
engagement,
that
I
might
remain
alone. I
now
also
began
to
collect
the
materials
necessary
for
my
new
creation,
and
this
was
to
me
like
the
torture
of
single
drops
of
water
continually
falling
on
the
head.
Every
thought
that
was
devoted
to
it
was
an
extreme
anguish,
and
every
word
that
I
spoke
in
allusion
to
it
caused
my
lips
to
quiver,
and
my
heart
to
palpitate.
After
passing
some
months
in
London,
we
received a
letter
from
a
person
in
Scotland
who
had
formerly
been
our
visitor
at
Geneva.
He
mentioned
the
beauties
of
his
native
country
and
asked
us
if
those
were
not
sufficient
allurements
to
induce
us
to
prolong
our
journey
as
far
north
as
Perth,
where
he
resided. Clerval
eagerly
desired
to
accept
this
invitation,
and
I, although I
abhorred
society,
wished
to
view
again
mountains
and
streams
and
all
the
wondrous
works
with
which
Nature
adorns
her
chosen dwelling-places.
We
had
arrived
in
England
at
the
beginning
of
October,
and
it
was
now
February.
We
accordingly determined
to
commence
our
journey
towards
the
north
at
the
expiration
of
another
month.
In
this
expedition
we
did
not
intend
to
follow
the
great
road
to
Edinburgh,
but
to
visit
Windsor, Oxford, Matlock,
and
the
Cumberland
lakes, resolving
to
arrive
at
the
completion
of
this
tour
about
the
end
of
July. I
packed
up
my chemical
instruments
and
the
materials
I had collected, resolving
to
finish my
labours
in
some
obscure
nook
in
the
northern
highlands
of
Scotland.
We
quitted
London
on
the
27th
of
March
and
remained
a
few
days
at
Windsor, rambling
in
its
beautiful forest.
This
was
a
new
scene
to
us
mountaineers;
the
majestic oaks,
the
quantity
of
game,
and
the
herds
of
stately
deer
were
all
novelties
to
us.
From
thence
we
proceeded
to
Oxford.
As
we
entered
this
city
our
minds
were
filled
with
the
remembrance
of
the
events
that
had been
transacted
there
more
than
a
century
and
a
half
before.
It
was
here
that
Charles
I. had
collected
his
forces.
This
city
had
remained
faithful
to
him,
after
the
whole
nation
had forsaken
his
cause
to
join
the
standard
of
Parliament
and
liberty.
The
memory
of
that
unfortunate
king
and
his
companions,
the
amiable
Falkland,
the
insolent
Goring,
his
queen,
and
son, gave a
peculiar
interest
to
every
part
of
the
city
which
they
might
be
supposed
to
have
inhabited.
The
spirit
of
elder
days
found a dwelling here,
and
we
delighted
to
trace
its
footsteps.
If
these
feelings had
not
found
an
imaginary
gratification,
the
appearance
of
the
city
had
yet
in
itself
sufficient
beauty
to
obtain
our
admiration.
The
colleges
are
ancient
and
picturesque;
the
streets
are
almost
magnificent;
and
the
lovely
Isis,
which
flows
beside
it
through
meadows
of
exquisite
verdure,
is
spread
forth
into
a
placid
expanse
of
waters,
which
reflects
its
majestic
assemblage
of
towers,
and
spires,
and
domes, embosomed
among
aged trees. I
enjoyed
this
scene,
and
yet
my enjoyment
was
embittered
both
by
the
memory
of
the
past
and
the
anticipation
of
the
future. I
was
formed
for
peaceful happiness.
During
my
youthful
days
discontent
never
visited
my mind,
and
if
I
was
ever
overcome
by
ennui,
the
sight
of
what
is
beautiful
in
nature
or
the
study
of
what
is
excellent
and
sublime
in
the
productions
of
man
could
always
interest
my
heart
and
communicate
elasticity
to
my spirits.
But
I
am
a blasted tree;
the
bolt
has
entered
my soul;
and
I felt
then
that
I
should
survive
to
exhibit
what
I
shall
soon
cease
to
be—a
miserable
spectacle
of
wrecked humanity,
pitiable
to
others
and
intolerable
to
myself.
We
passed
a
considerable
period
at
Oxford, rambling
among
its
environs
and
endeavouring
to
identify
every
spot
which
might
relate
to
the
most
animating
epoch
of
English
history.
Our
little
voyages
of
discovery
were
often
prolonged
by
the
successive
objects
that
presented
themselves.
We
visited
the
tomb
of
the
illustrious
Hampden
and
the
field
on
which
that
patriot
fell.
For
a
moment
my soul
was
elevated
from
its
debasing
and
miserable
fears
to
contemplate
the
divine
ideas
of
liberty
and
self
sacrifice
of
which
these
sights
were
the
monuments
and
the
remembrancers.
For
an
instant
I
dared
to
shake
off
my
chains
and
look
around
me
with
a
free
and
lofty spirit,
but
the
iron had
eaten
into
my flesh,
and
I sank again,
trembling
and
hopeless,
into
my
miserable
self.
We
left
Oxford
with
regret
and
proceeded
to
Matlock,
which
was
our
next
place
of
rest.
The
country
in
the
neighbourhood
of
this
village
resembled,
to
a
greater
degree,
the
scenery
of
Switzerland;
but
everything
is
on
a
lower
scale,
and
the
green
hills
want
the
crown
of
distant
white
Alps
which
always
attend
on
the
piny
mountains
of
my
native
country.
We
visited
the
wondrous
cave
and
the
little
cabinets
of
natural
history,
where
the
curiosities
are
disposed
in
the
same
manner
as
in
the
collections
at
Servox
and
Chamounix.
The
latter
name
made
me
tremble
when
pronounced
by
Henry,
and
I hastened
to
quit
Matlock,
with
which
that
terrible
scene
was
thus
associated.
From
Derby,
still
journeying
northwards,
we
passed
two
months
in
Cumberland
and
Westmorland. I
could
now
almost
fancy
myself
among
the
Swiss
mountains.
The
little
patches
of
snow
which
yet
lingered
on
the
northern
sides
of
the
mountains,
the
lakes,
and
the
dashing
of
the
rocky
streams
were
all
familiar
and
dear
sights
to
me.
Here
also
we
made
some
acquaintances,
who
almost
contrived
to
cheat
me
into
happiness.
The
delight
of
Clerval
was
proportionably
greater
than
mine;
his
mind
expanded
in
the
company
of
men
of
talent,
and
he
found
in
his
own
nature
greater
capacities
and
resources
than
he
could
have
imagined
himself
to
have
possessed
while
he
associated
with
his
inferiors. "I
could
pass my
life
here," said
he
to
me; "and
among
these
mountains
I
should
scarcely
regret
Switzerland
and
the
Rhine."
But
he
found
that
a traveller's
life
is
one
that
includes
much
pain
amidst
its
enjoyments.
His
feelings
are
forever
on
the
stretch;
and
when
he
begins
to
sink
into
repose,
he
finds
himself
obliged
to
quit
that
on
which
he
rests
in
pleasure
for
something
new,
which
again
engages
his
attention,
and
which
also
he
forsakes
for
other
novelties.
We
had
scarcely
visited
the
various
lakes
of
Cumberland
and
Westmorland
and
conceived
an
affection
for
some
of
the
inhabitants
when
the
period
of
our
appointment
with
our
Scotch
friend
approached,
and
we
left
them
to
travel on.
For
my
own
part
I
was
not
sorry. I had
now
neglected my
promise
for
some
time,
and
I
feared
the
effects
of
the
daemon's disappointment.
He
might
remain
in
Switzerland
and
wreak
his
vengeance
on
my relatives.
This
idea
pursued
me
and
tormented
me
at
every
moment
from
which
I
might
otherwise
have
snatched
repose
and
peace. I
waited
for
my letters
with
feverish
impatience;
if
they
were
delayed
I
was
miserable
and
overcome
by
a
thousand
fears;
and
when
they
arrived
and
I
saw
the
superscription
of
Elizabeth
or
my father, I
hardly
dared
to
read
and
ascertain
my fate. Sometimes I
thought
that
the
fiend
followed
me
and
might
expedite
my remissness
by
murdering
my companion.
When
these
thoughts
possessed me, I
would
not
quit
Henry
for
a moment,
but
followed
him
as
his
shadow,
to
protect
him
from
the
fancied
rage
of
his
destroyer. I felt
as
if
I had committed
some
great
crime,
the
consciousness
of
which
haunted
me. I
was
guiltless,
but
I had
indeed
drawn
down
a
horrible
curse
upon
my head,
as
mortal
as
that
of
crime. I
visited
Edinburgh
with
languid
eyes
and
mind;
and
yet
that
city
might
have
interested
the
most
unfortunate being. Clerval
did
not
like
it
so
well
as
Oxford,
for
the
antiquity
of
the
latter
city
was
more
pleasing
to
him.
But
the
beauty
and
regularity
of
the
new
town
of
Edinburgh,
its
romantic castle
and
its
environs,
the
most
delightful
in
the
world, Arthur's Seat, St. Bernard's Well,
and
the
Pentland
Hills
compensated
him
for
the
change
and
filled
him
with
cheerfulness
and
admiration.
But
I
was
impatient
to
arrive
at
the
termination
of
my journey.
We
left
Edinburgh
in
a week, passing
through
Coupar, St. Andrew's,
and
along
the
banks
of
the
Tay,
to
Perth,
where
our
friend
expected
us.
But
I
was
in
no
mood
to
laugh
and
talk
with
strangers
or
enter
into
their
feelings
or
plans
with
the
good
humour
expected
from
a guest;
and
accordingly I
told
Clerval
that
I
wished
to
make
the
tour
of
Scotland alone. "Do you," said I, "enjoy yourself,
and
let
this
be
our
rendezvous. I
may
be
absent a
month
or
two;
but
do
not
interfere
with
my motions, I
entreat
you;
leave
me
to
peace
and
solitude
for
a
short
time;
and
when
I return, I
hope
it
will
be
with
a lighter heart,
more
congenial
to
your
own
temper."
Henry
wished
to
dissuade
me,
but
seeing
me
bent
on
this
plan,
ceased
to
remonstrate.
He
entreated
me
to
write
often. "I had
rather
be
with
you,"
he
said, "in
your
solitary
rambles,
than
with
these
Scotch
people,
whom
I
do
not
know; hasten, then, my
dear
friend,
to
return,
that
I
may
again
feel
myself
somewhat
at
home,
which
I cannot
do
in
your
absence."
Having
parted
from
my friend, I determined
to
visit
some
remote
spot
of
Scotland
and
finish my
work
in
solitude. I
did
not
doubt
but
that
the
monster
followed
me
and
would
discover
himself
to
me
when
I
should
have
finished,
that
he
might
receive
his
companion.
With
this
resolution
I
traversed
the
northern
highlands
and
fixed
on
one
of
the
remotest
of
the
Orkneys
as
the
scene
of
my labours.
It
was
a
place
fitted
for
such
a work, being
hardly
more
than
a rock
whose
high
sides
were
continually
beaten
upon
by
the
waves.
The
soil
was
barren,
scarcely
affording
pasture
for
a
few
miserable
cows,
and
oatmeal
for
its
inhabitants,
which
consisted
of
five
persons,
whose
gaunt
and
scraggy
limbs
gave tokens
of
their
miserable
fare.
Vegetables
and
bread,
when
they
indulged
in
such
luxuries,
and
even
fresh
water,
was
to
be
procured
from
the
mainland,
which
was
about
five
miles
distant.
On
the
whole
island
there
were
but
three
miserable
huts,
and
one
of
these
was
vacant
when
I arrived.
This
I hired.
It
contained
but
two
rooms,
and
these
exhibited
all
the
squalidness
of
the
most
miserable
penury.
The
thatch
had fallen in,
the
walls
were
unplastered,
and
the
door
was
off
its
hinges. I ordered
it
to
be
repaired, bought
some
furniture,
and
took
possession,
an
incident
which
would
doubtless
have
occasioned
some
surprise
had
not
all
the
senses
of
the
cottagers been benumbed
by
want
and
squalid
poverty.
As
it
was, I
lived
ungazed
at
and
unmolested,
hardly
thanked
for
the
pittance
of
food
and
clothes
which
I gave,
so
much
does
suffering blunt
even
the
coarsest
sensations
of
men.
In
this
retreat
I devoted
the
morning
to
labour;
but
in
the
evening,
when
the
weather
permitted, I walked
on
the
stony
beach
of
the
sea
to
listen
to
the
waves
as
they
roared
and
dashed
at
my feet.
It
was
a
monotonous
yet
ever-changing scene. I
thought
of
Switzerland;
it
was
far
different
from
this
desolate
and
appalling landscape.
Its
hills
are
covered
with
vines,
and
its
cottages
are
scattered
thickly
in
the
plains.
Its
fair
lakes
reflect
a blue
and
gentle
sky,
and
when
troubled
by
the
winds,
their
tumult
is
but
as
the
play
of
a
lively
infant
when
compared
to
the
roarings
of
the
giant
ocean.
In
this
manner
I
distributed
my
occupations
when
I
first
arrived,
but
as
I
proceeded
in
my labour,
it
became
every
day
more
horrible
and
irksome
to
me. Sometimes I
could
not
prevail
on
myself
to
enter
my
laboratory
for
several
days,
and
at
other
times I
toiled
day
and
night
in
order
to
complete my work.
It
was, indeed, a filthy
process
in
which
I
was
engaged.
During
my
first
experiment, a
kind
of
enthusiastic
frenzy had blinded
me
to
the
horror
of
my employment; my
mind
was
intently
fixed
on
the
consummation
of
my labour,
and
my
eyes
were
shut
to
the
horror
of
my proceedings.
But
now
I went
to
it
in
cold blood,
and
my
heart
often
sickened
at
the
work
of
my hands.
Thus
situated,
employed
in
the
most
detestable
occupation,
immersed
in
a
solitude
where
nothing
could
for
an
instant
call
my
attention
from
the
actual
scene
in
which
I
was
engaged, my spirits became unequal; I
grew
restless
and
nervous.
Every
moment
I
feared
to
meet my persecutor. Sometimes I sat
with
my
eyes
fixed
on
the
ground,
fearing
to
raise
them
lest
they
should
encounter
the
object
which
I
so
much
dreaded
to
behold. I
feared
to
wander
from
the
sight
of
my
fellow
creatures
lest
when
alone
he
should
come
to
claim
his
companion.
In
the
mean
time I
worked
on,
and
my
labour
was
already
considerably advanced. I
looked
towards
its
completion
with
a
tremulous
and
eager
hope,
which
I
dared
not
trust
myself
to
question
but
which
was
intermixed
with
obscure
forebodings
of
evil
that
made
my
heart
sicken
in
my bosom.