Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1883-10-13


i have declared my resolution t
you, and / am no coward to benz
beneath words. Leave me; L an
ineXorable."
at is well. ! go but remember
shall be with you on your wedding
night"
| started forward. and exclaimed
william before you sign my death
warrant, be sure that you are your
self safe"
would have seized him: but h,
eluded me, and quilted the house
with precipitation; in Il few mo
ments | saw him in his boat, which
shot across the waters with an ar
rowy sWiftness, and was soon los
amid the waves.
All was again silent; but hi,
words rung in my ears. | burned
with rage to pursue the murderel
of my peace, and precipitate hin
into the ocean. | walked up anC
down my room hastily and per
turbed, while my Imagination con
jured up thousand images to tor
ment and sting me. Why had ]
not followed him, and closed with
him in mortal strife? But / had
suffered him to depart, and he had
directed his course toward the main.
land. / shuddered to think who
might be the next victim sacrificed
to his insatiaterevenge. And then
] thought again of his words
aOiU be aOith yOu on your ace0ldi,lg-
night" That, then, WAS the period
tor the fulfillment OF my destiny,
In that hour | should die, and al
once satisfy and extinguish his NAL
ice. The prospect did not move Inc
to fear; yet when l thought of my
beloved EliZabeth-of her tears and
endless sorrow, when she, should
find her lover so barbarouslyS snatch
ed from her,-tears, the first had
shed for many months, streamed
from my eyes, and resolved not to
fall before my enemy without a bit
ter struggle.
The night passed away, and the
sun rose from the ocean; my feel
ings became calmer, if it may be
called calmness, when the violence
of rage sinks into the depth of dis
pair. | left the house, the hOrrid
scene OF the last nights contention,
and walked on the beach of the sea,
which | almost regarded as a. insu-
perable barrier between me and my
fellow creatures nay, a wish that
such should prove the fact stole
pass my life OH that barren rock
YEARLY, it is true, but uninterrupt-
ed by any sudden shock of misery. II
| returned, it was to be sacrificed
or to see those whom / most loved
die under the grasp of a demon
whom had myself created,
/ walked about the isle like rest
less specter, separated from all it
loved, and miserable in the separa-
tion. When 1t became noon, and
the sun rose higher, l lay down on
the grass, and was OverpoWered by
a deep sleep. | had been awake the
whole of the proceeding night my
nerves were agitated, and my eyes
intiammed by watching and misery
The sleep into which | now sank
refreshed me; and when / awoke,
| again, felt as if belonged to il
race OF human beings like myself,
and began to reflect upon what
had passed with greater cOmpOSure;
yet still the words of the fiend rung
in my ears like death-knell, they
appeared like dream, yet distinct
and oppressive AS a reality.
The sun had far descended, and l
still sat on the shore, satisfying my
appetite, which had become raven
Gus, with an Oaten cake, when i
saw fishing boat land close to me,
and one of the men brought me a
packet; it contained letters form
Geneva, and one from Clerval, en-
treating me to join him. He said
that nearly year had elapsed since
we had quilted Switzerland, and
France was yet unvisited. He en-
treated me, therefore, to leave my
solitary isle, and meet him at Perth
in week from that time, when
we might arrange the plan of our
future proceedings. This letter
in a degree recalled me to life, and
l determined to quit my island at
the expiration of two days.
Yet, before | departed, there was
a task to perform, on which shud-
dered to reflect; | must pack my
chemical Instruments; and for that
purpose | must enter the room
which had been the scene of my
odious work, and / must handle
those utensils, the sight of which
was sickening to me. The next
at daybreak, | summon
eel sufficient courage, and unlocked
the door of my laboratory. The
of the half finished Great
ure, whom | had destroyed, lay
on the floor, and almost
felt as if | had mangled the living
flesh of a human being. paused
collect myself, and then enteresl
the chamber. With trembling hand
| conveyed the instruments out Of
the room; but / reflected that /
ought not to leave the relics of my
work to excite the horror and sus-
piciOn of the peasants, and | accOr-
dinghy put them into basket, with
a great quantity of stones, and,
laying them up, determined to
throw them into the sea that very
night and in the meantime sat
upon the beach, employed in clean
ing and arranging my chemical
Nothing could be more complete
than the alteration that had taken
place in my feelings since the night
of the appearance OF the demon. I
had before regarded my promise
with gloomy despair, as thing
that, with whatever consequences,
must be fulfilled; but / now felt
as if film had been taken from
before my eyes, and that l, for the
first time, saw clearly. The idea of
my labOrs did not reflect
that voluntary act of mine could
avert it. ] had resolved in my own
mind that to create another like the
Iiend / had first made would be an
act of the basest and most atrOcious
selfishness and banIshed from my
mind every thought that could lead
to a different conclusion.
Between two and three in the
morning, the moon rose; and /
then, putting my basket aboard
little skiff, sailed out about four
miles from the shore. The scene
was perfectly solitary; a few boats
were returning toward land, but l
sailed away from them. / felt as if
was about the commission of a
dreadful crime, and avoided with
'huddering anxiety any encounter
with my fehow creatures. AT one
lime the moon, which had before
been clear, was suddenly overspread
)y IA thick cloud, and / took advan-
age of the moment of darkness, and
cast my basket into the sea; lis
.ened to the gurgling sound as it