Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1883-08-18

rest Tor so long space, were now
become hell 10 me; and th'
change was so rapid, the overthrow
80 complete!
7 Morning, dismal and wet, n
length dawned, and discovered tC
my sleepless and aching eyes the
church of Ingolstadt, its white
steeple and clock, which Indicated
the sixth hour. The porter opened
the gates of the court, which had
that night been my asylum, aud /
issued into the streets, pacing them
with quick steps, as if l sought. to
avoid the wretch, whom / feared
every turn of the street would pre-
sent to my view. | did not dare
return to the apartment which ]
| inhabited, but felt impelled TO hur-
ry on, although wetted by the rain,
which poured from black and
cOmfortlesS sky.
| continued walking in this man
ner for some time, endeavoring by
bodily exercise, to ease the load
that weighed upon my mind. |
| traversed the streets, without auy
| clear conception OF where | was, or
what | was doing. My heart palpi-
tated in the sickness of fear, and /
hurried on with irregular steps, not
daring to look about me -
Like one who, on lonely road,
Doth walk in fear and dread,
And, having once turned round, walks on,
And turns no more his head;
Because he knows a frightful fiend
Doth close behind him tread.
Continuing thus, / came at length
opposite to the inn at which the
various diligences and carriages
usually stopped. Here paused, l
know not why; but l remained
some minutes with my eyes fixed
on a coach that was coming toward
me from the other end of the street.
AS it drew nearer, | observed that
it was the Swiss diligence it stop
ped just where l was standing and
on the door being opened, ! perceiv-
ed Henry Clerval, who, on seeing
me, instantly sprung out. My
dear Frankenstein," exclaimed he,
show glad l am to see you! how
fortunate that you should be here
at the very moment of my allight-
ing !" . .. ... ..
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. recol-
lection. ] grasped his hand, and in
a moment forgot my horror and
misfortune; | felt suddenly, and
for the first time during many
months, calm and serene joy. l
welcomed my friend, therefore, in
the most cordial manner, and we
walked toward my college. Clerval
continued talking for some time
about our mutual friends, and his
own good fortune III being permit
ted to come to Ing0lstadt. You
may easily believe" said he, chow
great was the difficulty to persuade
my father that it was not absolutely
necessary for merchant not to un-
derstand anything except book
keeping and, indeed, / believe |
left him incredulouS to the last, for
his constant answer to my unwea-
ried entreaties was the same as that
of the Dutch schOOlmaster in the
Vicar of Wakefield: Il have ten
thousand florins year without
Greek, l eat heartily without Greek.
But his affection for me at length
oVercame his dislike of learning,
and he has permitted me to take =
voyage of discovery to the land of
knowledge"
at gives me the greatest delight
to see you; but tell me how you
left my father, brothers, and Eliza
BETH"
every well, and very happy,
only little uneasy that they hear
from you SO seldom. BY the bye,
l mean TO lecture you little upon
their account myself. But, my
dear Frankenstein," continued he,
stopping short and gazing full in
my face, 81 did not before remark
how very i'll you appear 80 thin
and pale, you look as if you had
been watching for several nights
"You have guessed right; l have
lately been SO deeply engaged in
one occupation that have not al
lowed myself sufficient rest, rs you
see; but | hope, l sincerely hope,
that all these employmentS are
now at an end, and / am at length
free"
| trembled excessively; i could
not endure to think OF, and far less
to allude to the occurrences OF the
preceding night. | walked with
quick pace, and we soon arrived at
my college. / then reflected, and
the thought made me shiver, that
the creature whom / had left in my
apartment might still be there,
alive, and walking about. | dread
ed to behold this monster; but |
feared still more that Henry should
see him. Entreating him, there
fore to remain a few minutes at the
bottom of the stairs, / darted up
toward my own room. My hand
was already on the lock of the door
before l recollected myself l then
paused, and cold shivering came
over me. / threw the door forcibly
open, as children are accustomed to
do when they expect spec
ter to stand in waiting for them on
the other side; but nothing appear
ed. / stepped fearfully in; the
was empty; and my
bedroom was also freed from its
hideous guest. | could hardly be-
lieve that so great a good fortune
could have befallen me; but, when
| became assured that my enemy
had indeed fled, / clapped my
hands for joy, and ran down to
Clerval.
We ascended into my room, and
the servant presently brought
breakfast; but ! was unable TO con-
tain myself. 1t was not JOY only
that possessed me; / felt my flesh
tingle with excess of sensitiveness,
and my pulse beat rapidly. | was
unable to- remain for Il single In
slant in the same place; / jumped
over the chairs, clapped my hands
and laughed aloud. Clerval at first
attributed my unusual spirits to joy
at his arrival ; but when he obscrv-
ed me more attentively, he saw
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 Gods sake, is the mat
ter? DO moi laugh in that manner.
How i'll you are! What is the cause
of all this ?"
ado not ask me, cried l, putting
my hands before my eyes, for |
thought 1 saw the dreaded specter
glide into the room; she can tell.
Oh, save me F.! save me" l imag-
ined that the monster seized me;
/ struggled furiously, and fell down
in n fit.
Poor Clerval! what must have
been his feelings? A meeting,