The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-03-03

In the summer of 1916, Lord Byron
shelley, Mrs. Shelley MARY Godwinl
ana an italian prince named Polidorj
were living in Switzerland near Lake
Geneva. As the season was unusually
rainy. the four We're obliged to spend
much of their time within the house
conVersing on various topics of in
ter'4 t. One evening a stray volume
OF ghost-stories led them to discuss the
supernatural, and to express theories
ABOUT the value of the horrible in
notion. Lord Byron proposed that each
IL the -FOUR should write a tale involv-
ing the element of terror; and for some
time after they amused themselves
with weaving plots of strange and
fantastic stories
Mrs. Shelley was the only one of the
company who actually carried out the
proposal or Lord Byron She con-
ceived, one night, in a sort of dream
the idea which she finally developed in
the gruesome narrative which she en-
titled "Frankenstein; or, the Modern
Prometheus' 1t was based upon a
theory held by DR.. Erastus Darwin,
the father of the famous Darwin, to
the effect that human science might
be able to give life to inanimate OBJ
Jects. Starting with this thought, Mrs.
shelley developed the story of how a
student name Frankenstein fitted to-
gether limbs and other members pro.
cured from dissecting-rooms, and final
iy endued this monstrous creature
with lie. The tale goes on to tell how
the dreadful being haunted and pur-
sued its creator, until at last it drove
him to despair and death.
Frankenstein,' in spite of some
irrelevant and tedious passages, has
taken its place among the most power
full of purely imaginative works. 1t
has also furnished an apt phrase to
describe the act of one who calls into
existence any force or movement which
he is unable tc control. Such a person
is called Frankenstein, and the
creation which finally works his own
destruction is styled a Frankenstein's
monster.
We here reprint one of the most
striking passages of this book-that
which narrates how Frankenstein
labored to produce his monster, and
how he shrank in terror and disgust
from the being that he had made live
at the very moment when life entered
it's misshappen form.
After days and nights of incredible
labor and fatigue, 1 succeeded in dis
covering the cause of generation and
life; nay, more, became myself cap
able of bestowing animation upon life
less matter.
The establishment which I had at
first experienced on this discovery soon
gave place to delight and rapture.
After so much time spent in painful
labor, to arrive at cree at the sum-
NIT of my desires was tSe most grati-|
tying contamination of my tolls. But
this discovery was so great and over
whelming that all the steps by which
I had been progressively led to it were
obliterated, and I beheld only the re-
suit.
What had been the study and desire
of the wisest men since the creation
of the world was now within my grasp.
Not that. like a magic scene, it all
opened upon me at once: the informa,
ton I had obtained was of a nature
rather to direct my endeavors &c soon
as should point them toward the
object of my search than to exhibit
that object already accomplished.
was like the Arabian who had been
buried with the dead and found pas
sage to life aided only by one glimmer-
ing, and seemingly Intellectual. light.
1 see by your eagerness, and the
wonder and hope which your eyes ex-
press my friend. that You expect to
be informed of the secret with which
I am acquainted; that cannot be: listen
patiently until the end of my story,
and you will easily perceive why l am
reserved upon that subject. / will not
lead you on, unguarded and ardent as
1 then was, to your destruction and
infallible misery. Learn from me, Ii
not by my precepts, at least by my ex-
ample, how dangerous is the acquire
ment of knowledge. and how mucn
that man is who believes his
native town to be the world than he
who aspires to become greater than
his nature will allow.
when I found so astonishing pow