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My father made no reproach in his letters and only took notice of my silence by inquiring into my occupations more particularly than before . Winter , spring , and summer passed away during my labours ; but I did not watch the blossom or the expanding leaves — sights which before always yielded me supreme delight — so deeply was I engrossed in my occupation . The leaves of that year had withered before my work drew near to a close , and now every day showed me more plainly how well I had succeeded . But my enthusiasm was checked by my anxiety , and I appeared rather like one doomed by slavery to toil in the mines , or any other unwholesome trade than an artist occupied by his favourite employment . Every night I was oppressed by a slow fever , and I became nervous to a most painful degree ; the fall of a leaf startled me , and I shunned my fellow creatures as if I had been guilty of a crime . Sometimes I grew alarmed at the wreck I perceived that I had become ; the energy of my purpose alone sustained me : my labours would soon end , and I believed that exercise and amusement would then drive away incipient disease ; and I promised myself both of these when my creation should be complete . Chapter 5 It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils . With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony , I collected the instruments of life around me , that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet . It was already one in the morning ; the rain pattered dismally against the panes , and my candle was nearly burnt out , when , by the glimmer of the half - extinguished light , I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open ; it breathed hard , and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs . How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe , or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavoured to form ? His limbs were in proportion , and I had selected his features as beautiful . Beautiful ! Great God ! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath ; his hair was of a lustrous black , and flowing ; his teeth of a pearly whiteness ; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes , that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun - white sockets in which they were set , his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips . The different accidents of life are not so changeable as the feelings of human nature . I had worked hard for nearly two years , for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body . For this I had deprived myself of rest and health . I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation ; but now that I had finished , the beauty of the dream vanished , and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart . Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created , I rushed out of the room and continued a long time traversing my bed - chamber , unable to compose my mind to sleep .
Назад Сторінка 30 з 150 Сторінка 30 з 150 Вперед Читайте далі з перекладом Створіть безкоштовний акаунт: 7 днів Pro, далі 20 перекладів слів на день або платний тариф.
