Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1883-10-13
FRANK KENSTEIN
Or
THE MODERN PRoMETHEUS
BY MRS. M. w. SHELLEY.
CHAPTER XIX.

sat OiIC CNculiIS III lily IdUOTdtO-
ry; the sun had set, and the moon
was just rising from the sea had
not sufficient light for my employ
ment, and / remained idle i'm a
pause of consideration of whether
/ should leave my labor for the
night, or hasten its conclusion by
an unremitting attention to it. AS
| sat, train of reflection occurred
to me, which led me to consider the
effects of what / was now doing.
Three years before, / was engaged
in the same manner, and had Gre
ated fiend whose unparalleled
barbarity had desolated my heart,
and filled it forever with the bitter
est remorse. was now aboiat to
form another being, of whose dis
positions / was alike ignorant she
might become ten thousand times
more malignant than her mate, and
delight, for its own sake, in muir
der and wretchedness. He had
sworn to quit the neighbOrhood of
man, and hide himself in deserts !;
but she had not; and she, who i'm
all probability was to become a
thinking and reasoning animal,
might refuse to comply with a
compact made before her creation.
They might even hate each other;
the creature who already lived,
loathed his own deformity and
might he not receive greater alb
hOrrence for it when it came before
his eyes in the female form? She
also might turn with disgust from
him to the superior beauty of man;
she might quit him, and he be
again alone, eXasperated by the
fresh prOvOcation of being deserted
by one of his own species.
Even if they were to leave Eu-
rope, and inhabit the deserts of
the new world, yet one of the first
results OF those sympathes for
which the demon thirsted would be
children, and race of devils would
be prOpagated upon the earth, who
might make the very existence of
the species of man Il condition pre-
carious and full of terror. Had /
right, for my own benefit, to intiict
this curse upon everlasting genera
tiOns? ! had before been moved
by the sOphisms of the being [ had
created had been struck sense
less by his fiendish threats; but
now, for the first time, the wicked
ness of my promise burst upon me;
1 shuddered to think that future
ages might curse me as their pest,
whose seltishness had not hesitated
to buy its own peace at the price,
perhaps, of the existence of the
whole human race.
trembied, and my heart failed
within me when, ON looking up,
saw by the light of the moon the
demon at the easement. A ghastly
grin wrinkled his lips as be gaZed
on me, where | sat fulfilling the
task which he allotted to me. Yes;
he had followed me in my travels;
he had lOitered in forests, hid him
self in caves, or taken refuge in
wide and desert heaths and he
now came to mark my progress,
and claim the fulfillment of my
promise.
AS | looked on him, his counte-
nance expressed the utmost extent
of malice and treachery. / thought
with sensation of madness on my
promise of creating another like to
him, and. trembling with passion,
tore to peices the thing on which l
was engaged. The wretch saw me
destroy the creature on whose fu-
ture existence he depended for hap
piness, and, with a howl of devil
ish despair and revenge, withdrew.
left the room, and, locking the
door, made a solemn VOW in my
own heart never to resume my la
bOrs; and then, with trembling
steps, l sought my own apartment.
l was alone; none were near me to
dissipate the gloom, and relieve me
from the sickening oppression of the
most terrible reveries.
Several hours passed, and / re-
mafned near my window, gazing
on the sea; it was almost motion
less, for the winds were huShed, and
all nature repOsed under the eye of
the quiet moon. a few fishing
vessels alone specked the water,
and now and then the gentle breeze
waited the sound of voices, as the
fishermen called to one another. |
felt the silence, although / was
hardly conscious of it's extreme
profundity, until my ear was sud-
denly arrested by the padding of
oars, near the shore. and a person |
landed close to my house.
In few minutes after, | heard
the creaking of my door, as if some
one endeavOred to open it softly. / |
trembled from head TO foot 1 felt |
Il presentiment of who it was, and |
wished to rouse one of the peasants |
who dWelt in a cottage not far from
mine; but l was overcome by the |
sensation Of helplessness- often
felt i'm frightful dreams, when you |
i'm vain endeavOr to fly from an
impending danger--and was rooted
to the spot.
Presently | heard the sound of
footsteps along the passage the door
opened, and the wretch whom l
dreaded appeared. Shutting the |
door, he approached me, and said,
in smOthered voice.
"YOu have destroyed the work
which you began what is it you
intend? Do you dare to break your
promise? / have endured toll and |
misery; left Switzerland with you
crept along the shores Ofthe Rhine
among its willow islands, and over
the SUBMITS of its hills. / have |
dwelt many months in the heaths
of England, and among the deserts
of Scotland. have endured in
cOlculable fatigue and cold and hun
ger; do you dare destroy my
hopes ?"
"Begone! l do break my prom
ise; never will / create another like |
yourself, equal in deformity and
wickedness.
"Slaye, l before reasoned with |
you, but you have proved yourself |
unworthy of my cOndescensiOn. Re
member that ! have power; you |
believe yourself miserable, but l |
can make you so wretched that the
light of day will be hateful to you.
You are my creator, but am your
master f; obey. :"
6 The hour of my weakness is
past, and the period of your power
is arrived. Your threats cannot
move me to do an act of wicked
ness but they confirm me i'm a res
olution of not creating you a COM
panion in vice. Shall /, i'm cool
blood, set loose upon the earth a
demon, whose delight is in death
and wretchedness Begone! / am
firm, and your words will only ex-
asperate my rage"
The monster saw my determi-
nation in my face, and gnashed his
teeth in the impotence of anger.
"Shall each man." cried he, "find a
wife for his bosom. and each beast
hox,o h;e ,Noafo ond ho alo,,o0