E!

T R A CT O F A LET T ER

FR OM G E N E VA .

[ breathe freely in the neighbou rhood of

this lake the ground upo n w hi ch I tre ad has
bee n subdued from the earliest ages ; the
principal objects which immediately strike
my eye bring to my recollection scenes in
, ,

which m an acted the hero and was the chief

o
bject of interes t N ot t o l oo k back to earl ier
.

times o f battles and sieges here i s the bust of

,

Rouss eau here is a house with an in scri pti o n

denoting that the G enevan phil o sopher rst
drew breath u nder its roo f A littl e out of .

the town is F erney the residence of V oltaire

,

where that wonderful though certainly , in

many respects con temptible character re , ,

ce i ve d like the hermits of old

,
the vis its of ,

pilgrim s , n ot on ly fro m his own nati on but ,

fro m the farthe st boun dari e s o f

viii E x trac t of a L e tte r from G e n e va .

H ere too is B on net s abode and a few st e ps

, ,

beyond the house of th at astonishing woman

,

Ma dan i e de Stael : perhaps the

'

fi rst of her
sex who has real ly proved its often clai m ed
,

equality with the nobler man We have before

.

had wo m en who have w ritten interesting

novels and poems in which their tact at oh ,

serv ing drawing room characters has availed-

them ; but never since the days of Heloise have

those faculties which are peculiar to man been ,

developed as the po ssible inheritan ce of

woman . Though even here as in the case ,

of H e loise our sex have not been backward

,

in al le dging the existence of an

-
A b e il a rd in
the pers o n of M Schlegel as the inspirer of her
.

works But to p roc e e d : upo n the same s ide

'

of the lake G ibbon B o n n i v a rd B radshaw

.
, , , ,

and othe rs mark as it were the stages for o u r

, ,

progress ; whilst upon the other side there

is one house built by D io da ti the friend of
, ,

M ilton w hich has contained within its walls

, ,

fo r several mon ths that poet whom we have ,

so often read together and who if hum an ,

.

p assio n s remain the s ame and human feelings , ,

 E x trac t of a L e tte r fro m Ge n e va . ix

li ke chords on be ing swept by natu re s
,
im

p u lses shall vibrate as before - w i ll be pla ced

by po sterity in the rst ran k of our English
P oets Y o u must have heard or the Third
.
,

Canto of Childe Harold will have informed

you that
,
Lo rd B yron resided many m onths
i n this neighbo u rhood . I w e nt with some
friends a few days ago , aft er having s e e n
F erney ,
to view this mansion I trod the .

oors with t he same feelings of a w e and

respec t as we did together those of Shak
, ,

speare s dwell ing at Stratford I sat down

.

in a chair of the saloon and satised myself ,

that I was resting on what he had ma de his

constant seat . I found a servant there who
had l ived with him ; she however gave me , ,

but little information She po i nted out his

.

bed chamber upon the same level as the

-

saloon a nd dining room and informed me

-
,

that he retired to rest at three got up at two , ,

and employed himself a long time o ver his .

toilette ; tha t he never went to sleep without

a pair o f pistols and a dagger by hi s side and ,

that he never e a t an imal food . H e appare n tly

x E x tra ct of a L e tte r from Ge n e va .

in an E nglish
boat
. There is a balcony from
the salo o n which looks u pon the lak e an d the

mountain ! ura ; an d I im agine that it must ,

have been hence ,he contemplated the storm

so magn icently d escribed in the Third
"

for you have from here most

s

Can to ; a

extensive view of all the points he has therein

depicted . I can fancy hi m like the scathed
pine whilst all aro u nd was sunk to repose
, ,

still wak ing to observe what gave but a weak ,

imag e of the sto rms which had desola ted hi s

own bre ast .

sky is ha g d
T he d such a cha g
c n O h i ght !
e - an n e , n

A d st rn d dark ss y
o m wo d
an us str g ne , e are n

ro on ,

Y t l v ly i y ur str gth as is th li ght

e o e n o en , e

Of a dark ey i w ! F l g e n om an ar a o n

Fr p ak t p ak th rattli g crag s a
om e o ge , e n m on ,

L aps th liv thu d r ! N t fr

e e e l l ud n e o om on e on e c o ,

B t v ryu u tai w hath f u d a to g

e e m o n n no o n n u e,

A d ! ura a sw rs thr h
n is ty shr ud
n e o

er m o ,

B a k t th j y u s Alps w h call t h al ud !
c o e o o o o er o

Ah
a this is i th igh t M s t gl ri us ight !
n e n z o o o n

T h u w rt ts t f slu b r ! l t b

o e no en or m e e m e e

A shar r i thy far n d m e d li ght

e n a a e ,
 E x tra ct of Le tte r from Gen e v a
.

a . xi
A po r ti t p st d f !
on of the em e an o m e

H w th li t l k shi s a ph sph ric

o e a e ne o o se a,

A d th b ig rai c
n e s de u ci g to th arth !
n om e n e e

A d w a g ai tis black d ow th gl

n ne n an n e ee

Of th l d hills shak s w ith its

e ou u tai m irth e m o n n ,

As if th y di d r j ic
e a y u g e arthquak s birth
e o

e o er o n e

,

N w w he
o th s w i ft R hi
re l av s his w yb t w
e ne c e e a e een

H ig hts w hich app ar as l v rs w h h v p rt d

e e , o e o a e a e

I hast w h s
n e i i g d p ths i t rve
, o e m n n e so n e ne,

T hat th y et no r th br k h art d ;
can m e e m o e, o

o en e e

Th i th ir s uls w hich thus ach th r th w art d

o n e o e o e e ,

L v w
o e th v ry r
as t f th f d rag
e e oo o e on e

Which blight d th ir l if s bl e d th e d part d e

oom , an en e e

I ts lf pi r e
e d b ut l avi g th
ex , g e n em an a e

Of ye ars all w i t r w w i thi th

n e s l v s t w ag
ar n em e e o e.

I went down to the little po rt if I may use ,

the expression wherein hi s vessel used to lay , ,

and conversed with the cottager who had the ,

care of it Y o u m ay smile, but I have my

.

pleas ure in thus helping my personication of

the individu al I admire by attain ing to the ,

kn o wledge of tho se circumstan ces which

were daily around him I have made n u .

m e rou s enquiri es in the town conce rn in g him ,

b u t can learn n othin g H e on ly wen t in to .

So ciety there on ce when , M Picte t . too k him

 x n E x tra ct of a L e tte r from Ge n e va .

to the house of a lady to spend the evenin g .

They say he is a very s in g

ular man and ,

seem to think him very uncivil Amongst .

other things they relate that having invited ,

M P ictet and B onstette n to dinner , he

.

went on the lake to Chillon leavin g a gen ,

tl e m an who travelled with him to receive

them and make his apologies . Another even
e house of
~

ing being invited to

,
th Lady

D H he promised to attend ,

but upon approaching the wi ndows of

her ladyship s villa , and perceiving the
room to be ful l of company he set do wn hi s ,

friend desiring him to plead his excuse and

, ,

immediately returned home This will serve .

as a contradiction to the report whi ch you

tell me is current in E ngland of his having ,

been avoided by his c ou ntrymen on the con

tin e n t The case happens to be directly the
.

reverse ,
as he has been generally s ought
by them though on most occasions appa
, ,

re n tly wi thout suc c ess I t is said indeed

.
, ,

that upo n paying his rst visit at Coppet fol ,

lowing the servant who had an nounced hi s

 E x trac t of a L e tter from G e n e va .

name he was surpri se d to m

, ee t a l ady carried
out fainting ; but before he ha d been seated
many m inutes the same lady who had been
, ,

so affected at the sound of his name returned ,

and convers e d with him a considerable time

He
'

su ch is female c u riosity and a e c tati on !

visited (30t and of course as

soc i a te d there with several of his countrymen ,

w ho
ev inced no reluctan ce to mee t hi m who m
his enemies alone would repre sent as an out
cast .

Tho u gh I have been so unsuccessfu l in this

to w u , l have been more fortunate in my eu

u i ri e s elsewhe re There is a society three

q .

or fou rmil es from G eneva the centre of which ,

i s the Coun tess of B re u s s a R us s ian lady , ,

Well ac quainted w i th the a grem en s d e laS o;

ci t
'

i t, an d who has c ol lected them round her

'

her man sion It w as chiey here I

'
'

s e lf a t .
,

nd that the gentleman who travelled with

,

Lo rd Byron as physician sought for so ciety

, ,
.

He used almost every day to cro ss the lake by

'

hi mself in on e of their at bot tomed boats

,
-
,

an d re turn after pas sing the eve ni n g with

xiv
hi s friends ,
abo ut eleven o r twelve at n i ght ;
often whilst the storms were raging .
in the
circling summits o f the mou n tain s around
As he became intimate from lon g a cquaint ,

ance with several of the f amilies in this

,
.

nei ghbo urho od I have gathered fro m their

"

ac co unts s o me excellent traits o f his lordship s

character , w hie h I will relate to you at some

future oppo rtu nity . I must however free , ,

him from on e . i m pu ta ti on attac hed to him

o f having in his house two sisters as the
partakers of his revels . This i s, like many
o ther charges which have been brought against
his lordship entirely destitute of truth His
,
.
.

o nly compani o n was the physician I have

already mentioned The report originate d .

from the following circumstance : M r P ercy .

Bysshe Shelly a gentleman well known for

,
,

extravagance o f doctri n e and for his dari n g

, ,

in their profession even to sign himself with , .

the title o f AG
5 0; in the Al bum at Cham o un y ,

"

havi ng taken a ho use below in whi ch he ,

resided with M iss M W G odwin and . . M iss

Clerm on t (the daughters

,
. . o f the ce le brate d
 E x trac t o
f a L e tte r from Ge n e v a . x v

M r G odwin )
. they were fre quen tly visitors at
D i oda ti , and were ofte n seen upo n the lake
with his Lordship which gave ri se to the ,

report the truth of which is here po sitively

,

Amon g other thi ngs whi ch the lad y , fro m

w ho m I pro c u red these anecdotes related to ,

me 8 t m e n tion e d the outl in e of a ghost story

,

by Lo rd Byron It appears that one evening

.

L ord B M r P B Shelly the two ladies an d

. . . .
, .

the gentleman before alluded to after havin g ,

se d a G erman work which was entitled

p e ru ,

Phan tas m agori an a ,

be gan relating ghost sto
ries ; when his lords hip havin g recited the
be ginning of Chri stabel then unpublished , ,

the whole took so strong a hold of M r Shelly s .

mind that he suddenly started up and ran out

,

o f the room The physician and Lo rd

.

Byro n followed and discovered him leaning ,

ag ainst a mantle piece with cold drops of -

,

perspiration trickling down his face After .

havi ng given him something to refresh

him upo n enquirin g i nto the cause of his
,

alarm they foun d that his wi ld imagin ation

,
 x vi E x trac t of a L e tte r fro m G e n e va .

having pictured to him the bosom of one of

the ladies with eyes (which was reported of

a lady in the neighbourhoo d where he lived )
he was obliged to leave the ro o m in order to
destroy the impression It was afterwards .

proposed in the c o urse of c o nversation that

,
!

each of the compan y present should write a

tal e depending upon s o me supern atu ral agency ,

which was undertaken by L ord B .

,
the phy
s i c i an , and M iss M W G o dwin . . .
! My friend ,

the lady above referred to had in her pos ,

session the outline of each of these stories ; I

.

obtained them as a great favour and herewith ,

forward them to you as I was assure d yo u ,

would feel as much cu ri o sity as m yself to ,

peruse the e ba u che s of so great a genius ; an d

tho se immediately under hi s inuence .

!

i c publ ish d u de rthe titl

S n e e n e of F ra nke n s te i n ; or, T he

Mod r n Prom th s
e e eu
"
.
! ! I N T RO D UC TI ON .

belief existed that vampyre s nightly im bibed

,

a certain portion of the blood of their vict i ms ,

who became emaciated lost their strength , ,

and speedily died of consumptions ; whilst

these human blood suckers fattened and -

their veins became distended to such a state

of repletion as to cause the blood to ow from
,

all the passages of their bodies and even from ,

the ve ry pores of their ski n s .

In the Lon don ! ournal of ,

M arch , 1 7 3 2, is
a curious and of course
, , , c re d i bl e account of
a particular case of v am pyri s m ,
which is stated
to have occurred at Ma dre yga in Hungary , .

It appears that upo n an examination of

, the
commander - ih - chief and magistrates of the
place , they positively and unanimously af

rmed that about ve yea rs before

, , , a certai n
Heyd u ke named Arnold P aul had been heard
, ,
i

to sa y that a t C as s ov i a on the frontiers o f

, , ,

the Turkish Servia he ,

had been to rmented
by a vampyre but had found a way to rid
,

himself of the evil by eating some , o f the

earth out of the vampyre s gra ve and rubbing
,

himsel f with his blood . This precaution ,

 i N T R O D U CT I O N . xx i
however did not prevent him from becoming
,

a vampyre himself ; for about twenty or ,

thi rty day s after his death and burial many ,

persons complained of having been tormented

by him and a depo sition was m ade that four
, ,

persons had been deprived of life by hi s at

tac ks .

To prevent further m ischief the inha ,

b i tan ts havi ng consulted their H ad agn i fl too k

up the body and found it (as is supposed to

,

be usu al in cases of v am p yri sm

) fresh ,
an d en

ti re l y free from corruption ,

and emitting at the
mouth nose an d ears pure and orid blood
, , ,
.

P roof having been thus obtained they resorted ,

to the accustomed remedy . A stak e was

dri ven entirely through the heart and bo dy of
Arnold P aul at which he is reporte d to have
,

cried out as dreadfully as if he had been alive .

Thi s done they cut ,

o ff his head burned his ,

bod y and threw the ashes into his grave

,
.

The same measures were ad opted with the

T he u iv rsal b li ef is that a p rs s ck d by a va pyr

n e e , e on u e m e

b c s a va pyr him s lf n d s cks i his tur

e om e m e e , a u n n.

1 Chi e f baili ff .
xxii m r a o n u cr i o n .

corses of those persons who had previously [

died from v a m p yri s m lest they should in , ,

their turn become agents upon others who

,

survived them .

This monstrous rodomontade is here re

lated because it seems better adapted to

,

illustrate the subj ect of the present observa

tions than an y other instance which could be
adduced In many parts of G reece it is
'

considered as a sort of puni shment after death ,

fo rsome heinous crim e commi tted whilst in

existence that the deceased is not only doomed
'

to v am
p yri s e , but compelled to conn e hi s .

infernal visitations solely to those beings he

loved most while upon earth those to whom
-

he was bound by ties of kindred and affection .

supposition alluded to in the G iaour

!
- A .

rs t a th as V a pyr s t
'

Bu t on e r , m e en ,

T hy rs shall fr o
co t te bb r t; m i s om e en

Th ghastly hau t th na ti v plac

en n e e e,

A d su k th b l d f all thy ra
n c e oo o ce

Th fr thy d ght i t f
e re om au e r, s s e r, w i e ,

At id ight drai th st a f lif ;

m n n e re m o e

Ye t l oa the the ba n qu e t w hi ch p e r orce f

Must f d t hy l i vid l i vi g c rs
ee n o e,
 m ra o n u c r i o n

. xxiii
Thy victi th y y t pi e
m s, e re e e ex r ,

S hall k w th dno f th ir si r ;
e e m on or e e

A s u si g th th u p ursi g th
c r n e e, o n em ,

T hy w rs o w ith
e d th st are e re on e em .

B t
u that f thy i
on e ust f ll
or cr m e m a ,

T h y u g st b t b l v d f all
e o n e , es e o e o ,

S hall bl ss th w ith a f th
e ee a a

er s n m e

T hat w d shall w rap thy h rt i a

or ea n m e

Y t th u ust
e o d thy t k
m d enk as an m ar

H er ch k s l st ti g h y s l st sp ark
ee

a n e- er e e

a ,

A d th last glassy gla

n e ust vi w n ce m e

Which fr s its lif l ss blu

e ez e

o er e e e

Th en w ith u hall w d ha d shall t ar

n o e n e

T h tr ss s f h y ll w h i
e e e o er e o a r,

Of w hi h i lifc l k w h sh r
, n e a oo en o n

A ti
'

ec f d st pl dg w w r
on s on

e e e as o n

B t
u w i bo r
no aw ay by th
s ne ee

M em o ri l f thi ag y !
a o ne on

Y t w ith thi
e w b st bl d shall dri p;
ne o n e oo

T hy g ashi g t th
n d ha ggard l i p ;
n oo , an

Th t lki g t thy sull

en s a n grav o en e,

(l n d w ith G ul
o a d Afrits rav o e an e,

T i ll th s i h rr r shri k aw ay
e e n o o n
,

Fr sp ctr m r accurs d tha th y

om e e o e e n e .

introduced in hi s
'

Mr . Southey .
has al s o

w il d

f the Arabian aid On e i z a , who

'

m
p
yre co rs e o
x xiv I N T RO D U CT I O N .

i s represented as having returned from the

grave for the purpose of tormenting him she
best l oved whilst in existence . B ut this
cannot be supposed to have resulted from the
sin fulness of her life ,
she bein g pourtrayed
throughout the whole of the tale as a complete
type of purity an d innocence . The veracious
Tournefort gives a l o ng account in his travels
of several astonishing cases of v am i
py s m
r ,
to

which he pretends to have been an eye

witness and C al m e t, in his great work upo n
this subj ect besides a variety of an ecdotes
, ,

an d traditionary narratives illustrative of its

effects has put forth some learned dissertations
, ,

tending to prove it to be a classical as well as ,

barbarian error .

M anycurious an d interesting no tices on

this singul arlyhorrible superstition might be
added ; thpu gh the present may s u fce for
w
,

the limits of a hote , n ecessarily devoted to ex

plan ation , an d which m a
yn ow be c o ncluded by
m e re l y re m a rki n that though the term V am
g ,

pyre is the on e in most general acceptation ,

 I N T R OD U CTI ON . ! ! V

there several others syn on i m ou s with it ,

made use of in various parts of the world

as Vrou col ocha ,
V ardou la cha Go u l B ronco
,

loka & c
,
.
 28 TH E V A MPYRE .

ing upon the obj ect s face did not seem to ,

penetrate and at one glance to pierce through

,

to the inward workings of the heart but fell

u pon the cheek with a leaden ray that weighed

upon the skin it could not pass ; His peculi

a ri tie s caused him to be i nvited to every house
all wished to see him and those who had been
,

accustomed to violent excitement and now felt ,

the weight of ennu i , were pleased at havin g

something in their presence capable of e n ga g
ing their attention . In spite of the deadly hu e
of his face which never gained a warmer tint
, ,

either from the blush of modesty or fr om the ,

strong em otion of passion though its form ,

an d outline were be au tifu l many of the female

,

hunters af ter n ot o riety attempted to win hi s

a ttentions and gain at least s o me marks of

, , ,

what they might term affection Lady M ercer ,

who had been the m ockery of every m onster
shew n in drawing r o o m s since her marriage
-
,

threw herself in his way , an d did al l but

p u t on the dr ess of a m o unteba nk to attract , .

hi s n otice though in vain : when she

 TH E V A MPYRE . 29

pare n tly fixed upon her s still it seemed as if

,

they were unperceived even her unappalled

-

impudence was baffled and she le ft the field

,
.

B ut though the common adultress could not

i nuence even the guidance of his eyes it was ,
,

not that the fem al e sex was indi fferent to him

yet such was the apparent caution with which
he spoke to the virtuous w ife and innocent
daugh ter that few knew he ever addressed
,

hi mself to females He had however the

.
, ,

reputation of a winning tongue and whether

it was that it even overcame the dread of his
singu lar character or that they were moved
,

by his apparent hatred of vice he was as often ,

among those fem al es who form the bo ast of

their sex from their domestic virtues as among ,

those who sully it by their vices .

About the same ti m e there c am e to Lo ndon

,

a young gentlem an of the name of Aubrey

he was an o rphan left with an on ly si ster in
the possession of great wealth by parents w ho ,

di ed while he was yet in childhood . Left

al so to himself by guardi an s who thought it

,

their duty me rely t o take care of his fortun e ,

 30 TH E V A MPYRE .

'

while they relinquished the more important

charge of his min d to the care of mercenary
al te rn s , he cultivated more his im ag ination
sm
fp
than his j udgment He had hence that high
.
, ,

romantic feeling of honour and candour which ,

ruins so many milliners apprentice s .

He believed all to sympathise with virtue and ,

thought that vice was thrown in by P rovidence

merely for the picturesque e ffect of the scene as ,

we see in romances he thought that the misery

of a cottage merely consisted in the vesting of
clothes which were as warm but which were
, ,

better adapted to the painter s eye by their ir
regular folds and v ari ou s c olo u re d patches He
'

thought in ne that the dreams of poets were

, ,

the real ities of life He was handsome frank

.
, ,

and rich for these reas o ns upon his entering ,

into the gay circles m an y mothers surro u nded

,

him striving which should describe with least

,
. .
,

truth their languishing or romping favourites

the daughters .
at the same time by their
.

, ,

brightening cou nten ances when he approached

and by their sparkl ing eyes when he opened ,

his lips s oon led him i nto fals e noti on s of his

,
 TH E V A M PYR E . 31

talents and his merit . Attached as he was to

the romance of his so litary hours he ,
w as

s tartled at nding that ex cept in the ta llaw

, ,

an candles that i cke re d not fro m the

d wax ,
-

presence of a ghost but fro m want of s n u fn g

, ,

there was n o foundation in real life fo r an y o f

'

that congeries of pleasin g p i c ture s a n d de

contained in those volu mes from

s c rip ti o n s ,

which he had formed hi s study F inding ,

however some compensation in his gratied

,

vanity he was about to relinquish his dreams

, ,

when the extraordinary being we have abo ve

d escribed , c rossed him in his ca reer .

o '

He watched him and the veryi m possibility

o

of fo rming an idea of the chara cter o f a man

.

entirely absorbed in himself who gave few ,

.

other sign s of his observati o n o f extern al ob '

je c ts than the tac it assent to their existence

, ,

implied by the avoidance of their contact

a llowing his imagination to picture every thing
that attered its propensity to extravagant
ideas he soon form e d this obj ect i n to the hero
,

of a romance an d determined to observe the

,

offspri ng of his fan cy rather than ,

the person
 82 TH E V A MPYRE
-
.

before him . He became acquai ntedwith hi m ,

paid him at ten tions and so far advanced upon

,

hi s notice that his presence was

, 8 re

c o gn is ed . H e gradually learn t that Lord

R uthve n s affairs were embarrassed and soon ,

found from the notes o f preparation in

,

Street that he was about to travel

, Desirous .

of ga in i n g some i n formation respecting this

singu l ar character who till now had o n ly

, , ,

whetted his curiosity he hinted to his guard ,

ians that it was time for him to perform the

,

tour which for many

, g enera tions has been
thought nec e ssary to enable the young to take
some rapid steps in the career of vice towards
putti n g the mselves upon an equality with the
aged and , n ot allowin g them to appear as if
falle n from the skies whenever scandalous
,

intrigues are mentioned as the subj ects of

pleas antry or of i a c c o rdin t o the de ;

p ra s e , g
gree of skill shewn in carrying them on .

They consen ted : a n d Aubrey immediately

m entioning hi s inte n tions to L ord Ruthven ,

was surpr is e d to receive from him a proposal

.

to join h i m . F l atte re d by such a m ark of

 TH E V A MPYRE . 33

esteem from him who apparently had nothing , , ,

in common with other men he gladly accepted ,

it and
, in a few days they had passed the
circlin g waters .

Hitherto Aubrey had had no opportunity of

,

tu dyi n g Lo rd

Ruthven s character and n o w ,

he fo u nd that though many more of his action s

, ,

we re expo sed to his view the results o ffered

, ,

di fferent conclusions from the apparent mo

tiv e s to his conduct H is companion w a s .

profuse i n his liberality the i dle the vaga - ~

bond and the beggar received from his hand

, , !

m o re than enough to relieve their immediate

wan ts . But Aubrey c o uld not avoid remark
ing that it was not upo n the virtuous reduced
, ,

to in digence by the misfortunes attendant even

upon virtue that he bestowed his alms
!

these were se nt from the door with hardly sup

.

pre s sed sneers but when the p ro i g a te came

to ask someth in g not to relieve his wants ; but ,

to a llow hi m to wall ow in his lust or to sink ,

him s till de e pe r in his iniquity he was sent ,

away with rich charity This was how ever .

, ,

attribu t e d by him to the grea te r i m po rtunity of

34 TH E V A M PYRE .

the vici ous which generall y prevails over the

,

retiring bas hfulness o f the virtu o us i n dige n t .

T he re w as on e circumstan ce abo ut the charity

of his Lords hip which was still m o re
,
-
im
press e d u pon his m in d all tho se up o n who m
it was bes towed i n evitably fou n d that there
,

was a curse upon it for they were all either

,

led to the scaffold o r sun k t o the lowest

,
an d

the mo st abj ect m is e ry At Brussels and o ther

.

tow n s thr o ugh which they passed Aubrey was ,

surpri z ed at the a pparent e agerness with

which his co m pan i on sou ght for the c e n tres of
al l
fashionable vice there he en tered i n to all
the spirit of the faro table : he betted and ,

always gambled wi th success except where ,

the known sharper was his antago nist an d ,

then he lost even m o re than he gained but it

was al ways with the same unchanging face ,

with which he generally watched the s ociety

aro und : it was n ot ho wever s o when be
, ,

enco un te red the rash you thfu l n ov i ce o r the ,

luckless father of a n umero us family then hi s

v e ryw i s hs ee m e d
'

fo rtune s law - this apparent
ab s tmcte dn e s s of m i n d w as laid aside ,
an d his
36 .
TH E V A MPYRE .

to him ; however this neve r occurred

, . Lord
R uthven in his carriage .
, an d am i ds t t he

various wild and rich scen es of nature was ,

al w ays the same his eye spo ke less than hi s

lip a nd though Aubrey was n ear the obj ect
of his curiosity , he . o b ta i n e d no
g re ate r
g ra

t i c a tio n from it than the c on s tan t e xcitement

o f vainly wishing to break that myste ry which

to hi s exal ted im agi n ation began t o assume

the appearance o f somethin g supern atural .

They soon arrived at Ro me and Aubreyfor ,

a time lost sight of his c o mpan ion he left him

in daily attendan ce upon the m o rning circle of
.

an Itali an count e ss whilst he went in search of

, .

the memori al s o f an other al m o s t de se rte d c ity '

W hils t he was thu s en gaged letters arrived ,

from E ngland which he opened with eager

,

impatience the rst was from his sister ,

,

breathing nothing but affection ; the others

were from his guardians the la tter astonished ,

hi m if it had before entered into his imagina

tion that there was an evil power resident in .

his companion these seemed to give him .

lm os t sufficie n t reas o n fo r the belief: Hi s

 ru n v s m rv n n x 37

guardian s insisted upon his immediately leav

i n g his frien d and urged that his character
.

, ,

was dreadft vicious for that the po ssession

,

of irresistible po wers of seduction rendered his ,

licentious habits more dan gerous to soc iety .

It had been d iscove red that his contempt fo r ,

the adul tress had not originated in hatr ed of

her character ; but that he had required to ,

enhance his gratication t hat his victim the , ,

partner of his guilt shou ld be hurled from the

,

pinnacle of unsullied virtue down to the

'

lowest abyss of infam y an d de gradation : in ~

ne that all those fe m al es whom he had

'

sought apparently on ac count of their virt ue

, ,

had since
,
hi s departure thrown even the ,

mas k aside ,
an d had not scrupled to expose

the whole deformity o f their vice s to the pu blic

Au brey determi ned upo n l eaving one whos e ,

character had not yet shown a single bright

poin t on which to rest the eye He resolved .

to invent so me plausible pretext for aban don

ing him al to ge the r pu rp o s i n g in the mean
,
.

while to watch hi m
, m o re cl os ely , an d -
to
88 ru n V AM PYR E .

let sli ght circumstanc es pass by

"

no u rn.

noticed . He entered i n to the s ame circle ,

and soon perceived , that his Lordship was

endeavouring to work upon the inexperience
of the daughter of the lady whose house he

chiey frequented In Ital y it is seldom ,

that an unmarried fem al e i s met with in

society he was therefore obliged to carry o n
hi s plans i n secret

; but Aubrey s eye followed
hi m in al l his windingsand soo n discovered ,

that an assignation had b een appointed which ,

would most likely end in the ruin of an in

n oc ent though thou ghtl e s s girl Losing n o

, .

ti me he entered the apartment of Lord

,
'

R uthven ,
and abruptly asked hi m his i n te n
tions with respect to the lady in formi n g him ,

at the same time t hat he w as aware of his

being about to meet her that very n ight .

Lo rd R uthve n an sw ered that his intention s

'
'

were such as be supp o sed all woul d have upon

such an occasion ; and upo n being pressed
whether he intended to marry her merely ,

laughed . Aubrey retire d ; and im m ediate ly ,

riti n g a n o te t o say that fro m that m o me n t

w , ,
 ru n V A MPYRE . 39

he must declin e accompan yi n g hi s Lo rdship

in the remainder of their p ropos e d to ur he ,

ordered his servant to seek other apartments ,

and cal li ng upon the mother of the lady ,

inform ed her o f all he kn ew not only with

.
,

regard to her daughter but also concern in g ,

the character of hi s Lordship . The assigna

tion was prevented Lo rd R uthven next day
.

merely sent his servant to notify his complete

as sen t to a separat ion ; but did n ot hint an y

s u spicion of his plans having been foiled by

Aubrey s interpo sition .

Having left Rome ,

Aubre y directed his
steps towards G re ece , an d crossing the P e
n in s u l a , s oo n found hi m self at Athens . He
then xed his residence in the house of a
Greek ; an d soon occupied himself in tracin g
the faded records of ancient glory upo n m o nu
ments that apparently , a shamed of chronicli n g
the deeds of freemen only before slaves had ,

hidden themselves beneath the sheltering s o il

or many c oloured lichen . Under the same
roo f as him s e lf, ex i s te d a bein g so beautiful
,

an d delicate tha t
, she m i ght have fo rm e d the
40 ru n . V A MPYRE .

m odel for a painter wishing to po urtray , . on

c an vass the p romised hope of the f aithful in

'
!

M ahomet s paradise save that her eyes s p oke
,

to o much mind for any one to think she coul d

belong to those who had no souls As She
'

.
.

dan ce d m p on the plain o r trip p e d al ong the ,

:

m ountain s si de one would h ave thought the

,

gazelle a poor type of her beauties for who

would have exchanged her eye apparently ,

the eye of anima ted nature for that sleepy

. ,

l u xurious look of the a ni m al suited but t o

the taste of an epicure . The light step of

Ianthe often accompanied Aubrey i n his

s earch after an tiquities a n d often would the ,

u nconscious girl engaged in the pursuit, of

a ! ashmere buttery show the whole beauty ,

of her form oating as it w ere upon the wind ,

,

to the eager gaze of him who forgot the letters

.
,

he had j ust de cyphe re d upon an al most e ffaced

tablet in the conte mplation of her sylph like
,
-

gure . O ften would her tresses falling as she ,

i tte d around exhibit in the sun s ray such
,
.

d icately
el brilliant and swi ftly f adi ng hues ,

m i ht well excus e the f o rge tfu ln e s s of the

ns g
j
 TH E V AM PYRE . 41

tiquary who l et escape from his mind the

'

an ,

very object he had before thou ght of vital i m

portance to the proper interpretat ion of a
pas sage in P ausanias B ut why attempt to .

describe charms w hi ch al l feel but none can

,

appreciate I t was innocence youth and

-
, ,

beauty,unaffected by c rowded dra w i n g roo ms -

and stifling ball s Whilst he drew those re

.

mains o f which he wished to preserve a me

mori al for his future hours she would stand ,

by , an d watch the magic effects f his

o

pencil in tracing the scenes of her native

,

plaice ; she would then describe to him the

.

circling dance upo n the ope n plain Would ,

paint to him in all the glowing colours of

youthfu l memory the marriage pomp she ,

remembered viewing in her infan cy ; and

then turning to subjects that had evi dently
,

p
'

made g a impressio u on
re a te r
n her mind ,

would tell him all the s u pe rn a tu ra l tal e s of

'

her nur se Her earnestness and apparent

.

belief of what she narrated excited the ,

interest e v eh of Aubrey ; and often as she

told him the tal e of the livi n g vampyre who ,

 42 TH E V A MPYR E .

.had pas sed ye ars amidst his friends , an d

de a rest ties forced every year by feedi n g

, ,

up on the li fe o f a lovely female to prolong

his existence for the en suing months his .
,

blood w ou l d run c old whilst he attem pted to

,

laugh her out f such idle and horrible

fantasies ; but I an the cited to hi m the

names of old men who had at last detected
,

one li ving am ong themselves ,

after seve ral
of their near relatives and children had been

found marked with the stamp of the e n d s

appetite and when she found him s o in

credulous she begged of him to believe her
, ,

for i t ha d been remarked , that those w ho

had dared to question their existence , al ways
ha ds o me proo f given which obl iged the m , ,

with grief and hea rtbr eaking to con fess it ,

was true . She detailed to him the traditiona l

app e aran ce o f these m on sters , an d hi s horror
w as i n cre as ed by hearing a pretty accurate
,

description o f Lo rd R uthven ; he however

,
, ,

s till persisted i n pers uadi n g her that there ,

could be n o truth i n her fears th o ugh at the ,

s am e ti m e he w on dered at the m an y co in ci
44 TH E V AM PY RE .

she had no longer any on e with who m s he

could visit her favourite haunts whil st her ,

guardian was occupied in sketching or nu

covering some fragment wh i ch had yet

escaped the destructive hand of time She .

had appealed to her parents on the subject of

V ampyres and they both with several present
,
.
, ,

af rmed their existence p al e with horror at

,

the very name . Soon after , Aubrey deter

mined to proceed upon one of his excursions
whi ch was to detain him for a few hours ;

when they heard the name of the place they .

al l at once be gged of him not to retu rn a t

'

night as he m ust necessarily pass through a

,

wood where no Greek would ever remain

, ,

after the dayhad clos e d upon an y c on sidera

,

t ion They de s cribed it as the resort o f the

.

vampyres in their n o cturn al orgies , and de

n o u n ce d the most heavy evils as impending

upon him who dared to cro ss their path .
.

Aubrey m ade light of their representa tions ,

and tried to laugh them out of the idea ; b u t

when he saw them shudder at his daring
.

thus to m ock a superi o r in fern al po wer

,
.

,
the
 ru n v s m rr an . 45

v ery nam e of which apparently made their

blood freeze he was silent , .

N ext morning Aubrey set o ff . upon his

excursion unatte nded ; he was surpri sed to
obs erve the melancholy face of his ho st and ,

was concerned to nd that his words mocking ,

the belief of those horrible ends had i nsp i red ,

them with such terror . When he was about

to depart Ianthe came to the side of his horse
, ,

and earnestly be gged of him to return ere ,

night allowed the power of these beings to

be put in action he promised He was- .
,

however so occupied in hi s research that he

, ,

did not perceive that day light would soon -

end and that in the horizon there was one of

,

those specks which in the warmer climates , ,

so rapidly gather into a tremendous mas s and ,

pour all their rage upon the devoted country .

- at last however mounte d his horse

He , , ,

determined to make up by speed for his delay

but it was too late Twilight in these southern
.
,

climates is al most unknown ; immediately the

,

su n sets night begins : and ere he

,
had ad

v an ce d far the power of the sto rm

,
w as above
 46 T HE V A MPYRE .

- its echoing thunders had scarcely an interval

of rest its thick heavy rain forced its way
-

through the canopying foliage whilst the blue ,

forked lightning seemed to fall and radiate at

his very feet . Suddenly his horse took fright ,

and he was carried with dreadfu l rapidity

through the entangled forest . The animal at
last through fatigue stopped and he fo u n d
, , , ,

by the glare of lightning that he was in the ,

neighbourhood of a hovel that hardly lifted

itself up from the masses of dead leaves an d
brushwood which surrounded it . Dismount
ing he approached hoping to n d some on e
, ,

to guide him to the town or at leas t trusting ,

to obtain shelter from the pelting of the storm .

As he approached the thunders for a moment

, ,

silent allowed him to hear the dre ad ful shrieks

,

of a woman mingling with the stied exultan t ,

mockery of a laugh continued in ,

on e almost
unbroken sound he was startled : bu t
-
,

-roused by the th u nder which again rolled

over hi s head he with a sudden effort forced
, , ,

open the door o f the bu t H e found himself .

in utter darkn ess the s o u n d ho wever guided

, ,
 ru n V A MPYRE . 47

hi m . H e was apparen tl y unperceived ; for ,

though he call e d still the sounds conti n ued

, ,

and no notice was taken of him He foun d .

himse l f in contact with some On e who m he i m ,

m e d iate ly seized ; when a voice cried , Again

b a i e d to which a loud laugh succeeded ; an d
he felt himself grappl ed by one whose strength
seemed superhuman : determin e d to sell hi s
li fe as dearly as he could he struggled ; but it
,

was in vain : he was li fted from hi s feet and

hurled with en ormous force against the ground
his enemy threw himself upo n him an d
-
,

kneeling upo n his breast had pl ac ed his han ds

,

upo n his throat When the glare of man y

torches penetrating through the hole that gave
li ght in the day dis tu rbed him
,
- he instan tly
rose and leaving his prey rushed throu gh
, , ,
the

door and i n a moment the crashin g of the

,

branches as he bro ke through the wood was

, ,

no longer heard The storm was now still ;

.

and Aubrey in capable of moving was s oo n

, ,

heard by tho se without . They entered ; the

light of their torches fell upon the mud w alls ,

an d the thatch load e d o n every individual straw

48 TH E V AM PYRE
'

with heavy akes of soot . At the desire o f

Aubrey they searched for her who had a ta

t racted him by her cries he was again left in

darkness what was his horror when the
bu t ,

light of the torches once more burst u pon him ,

to perceive the airy form of his fair conductress

brought i n a lifeless corse He shut his eyes
.
,

hoping that it w as but a vision arising from his

disturbed i magination ; bu t he again saw the
same form when he unclosed them stretched
, ,

by his side . There was no colour upon her

cheek n o t even u pon her lip
,
yet there was a
stilln ess about her face that se e med almost as
attaching as the li fe that once dwelt there
upon her neck and breast was blood and upo n ,

her throat were the marks of teeth hav in gop e n e d

the vein to this the men pointed crying
-
, ,

simu l taneously struck with horror A Va m ,

pyre ! a Va m pyre A litter was quickly formed

7)
,

and Aubrey was laid by the side of her who

ha d lately been to him the obj ect of so man y
bright and fairy visions now fallen with the
~
,

ower of li fe that had died withi n her He

kn ew n ot what his thoughts were i -n his mi n d

 T HE V A MPYRE . 49

w as ben umbed an d Se emed to shun re e ction ,

'

an d take refuge in vacancy -a - h held almo st

uncon sciously in his han d a naked dagger of
a particular constru ction Which had been ,
.

found in the hut They were soo n m e t f by

different parties who had been en gaged in

'

the search of her whom a m othe r had n ss e d

"

'
.

Their lamenta bl e cries as they approached the ,

city fo rewarn e d the parents of some dreadfu l

,

catastrophe - To describe their grief would

be impossible ; but when they ascertai ned the
cause of their child s death they loo ked at
'

Aubrey and pointed to the corse They were

, .

in consolabl e ; both died broken hearted - .

Aubrey being put to bed was seized with

a most violent fever and was , o fte n de liri o u s ;

in these in tervals he would call upo n Lord

R uthven an d upon Ianthe b y some unac -

coun table combination he seeme d to beg of his

former c ompanion to spare the be ing he loved .

At other tim es he would imprecate m al ed lotion s

u p o n hi s head an d curse him as her destroyer
'

, .

Lo rd Ruthven chan ced at this tim e to arrive

at Ath e n s , an d, fro m whatever m otive u pon ,

D
50 T HE V AMPYRE .

place d hi mself in the sam e house ,

, an d be cam e
hi s co nstan t atte n dan t . Whe n the latte r
recovered from his delirium he was ho rri e d ,

and sta rtl ed at the sight of him whose image

he had n ow co m bin e d with that of a V ampyre
but Lord Ruthven by his ki n d wo rds implyi n g
, ,

al m ost re pe n tan ce fo r the fault tha t had c aused

their separation , an d still mo re by the a tte nti o n ,

anxiety , an d care whi ch he sho wed , s oon

reco nc iled hi m to his pres en ce . H is lords hip
s eemed quite chan ged ; he no l on ger appeare d
tha t apathetic be ing who had so astonishe d
Aubre y ; but as soo n as . hi s c on val esce n ce
be gan to be rapid he agai n graduall y retired
.
,

into the same state

,
of mind , an d Aubrey
perceived n o di fference from the former m an ,

e x cept that at times he was surpris ed to me et

hi s ga z e xed i n tently upo n hi m wi th a smile ,

of malici ous e xul tation playin g u po n his lips :

he kn ew n o t why but this smil e haun te d hi m
, .

D u rin g the of

las t stage the in v ali d s re cove ry,

Lord R uthven was appare n tly engage d in

watchin g the tidele ss w aves raise d by the .

.
52 TH E VA M PY R E
-
.

visit those parts of Gree c e neither had yet ,

seen They travelled in every direction , an d

.

s ought every spot to which a recollection could

;

be attached : but though they thus hastened ,

from place to place yet they seemed not to ,

.

heed what they ga z ed upon . They heard much

of r obbers but , the yg ra du all y began to slight
these repo rts which they imagined were only
,

the inventi o n of individuals who se interest it ,

was to e x ci te the generosity of those whom

they defended from pretended dangers In
'

.
~

consequ ence of thus neglecting the ad vice of

the inhabitants , on one occasion they travelled
with only a few guards more to serve as

"
~

( guides than as a defen ce .

;
Upon entering ,

h owever, a narrow dele at the bottom ,

of

which w as the bed of a torrent , w i th l a rge '

m asses of rock brought down from the neigh ~

,

b ou ri n g precipices , they had reas o n to repent

fo r scarcely were the whol e
'

their negligence
of the party engaged in the narrow pass when , .

they were startled by the whistling o f bullets

close to their heads and by the e cho ed repo rt
, .

of s everal gun s . In an instan t their gu ard s .

 TH E V A M PYRE . 58

had left them and placing themselves behin d

, ,

rocks had begun to re i n the directi onw he n c e

'

the report came . Lord Ruthven an d Aubrey ,

imitating the ir example retired for a moment ,

behind the sheltering turn of the del e : but

as hamed of being thus detained by a foe who ,

with ins u lting shouts bade them advance and ,

sti n g slaughter if any

'

be in g e x po se d to u n re s i

of the robb e rs should cli mb above and take

' '

them in the rear theydetermi ned at on ce to

ru s h forward 1 11 searchof the enemy Hardly

'

had they l o s t the shelter of the rock when Lord ,

Ruthvenre ce iv ed a shot in the shoulder whi ch

'

brou ght hi m to the ground . Aubrey hastened

to his assistan ce ; and no longer heedi ng the ,

contest or his own peril wa s soon surprised by ,

seeing the robbers faces around h im hi s

"
-

guards having upo n Lord Ruthven s being

'

wounded immediately thrown up their arms

,

an d surrendered .

B y prom i ses of great reward Aubrey s oo n ,

induced them to c onvey his wounded friend

' .

"

to a neighbou rin g cabin and having agreed

'

u pon a ran s om he w as nom o re di sturbed by

,
54 T HE V A MPYRE .

the ir pre sen ce they being con tent merely to

-"

guard the entran ce till their comrade should

return wi th the p romised su m for which he ,

had an o rder Lo rd R uthven s strength rapidl y

.

de crease d ; in two days m orti ca ti o n en sued ,

an d de aths e e m e d advancing w ithhasty steps .

Hi s condu ct and app e aran ce had change d n ot

he seem e d as u n cons cious of pain as he had

been o f the obj ects about him : but to wards
the close of the last evening his m i n d becam e
,

apparently un e as y, and his eye often xed upon

Aubrey who was i n duced t o offer his assistance
,

with mo re tha n u sual earn estn ess Assis t

m e ! you m ay save me - you may do more
than that - I mean not my life , I heed the

d e ath of my existen ce as little as that of the

p assing day ; but you m aysave my honour ,

you r fri en d s honour .
!
2
How ? tell me how "t .

I wo u l d do any thing , replied Aubre y .

-

I
need but little -m
y life ebbs apace -
I can not
e xpla in the whol e - but if you wou ld conceal
l
al you kn ow of me m
y ho n our were free,fr o m
stai n i n the world s m outh an d if my death

-
?

were u n kn o for o ti m e in En glan d - I

y
s m e
 TH E V A MPYRE . 55

- I - but li fe . It shal l not be known .

Swear ! cried the dying man raising himself

!
,

with e x ultant violence Swear by all yo ur ,

soul reveres by al l you r natu re fears swear

, ,

t hat for a year an d a day y o u will not impart

'

yo u r kn owl e dge of my Crimes o r death t o an y

li vi n g bei n g i n any way , w hatever m ay happe n ,

o r whatev er you may see H is eye s seem ed .

!
-

bu rsti n g from their s o ckets I s wear ! !

said Au brey ; he sun k laughing upon hi s

p i ll o w an d breat hed no more

, .

Aubrey reti re d to rest but did not sleep; the ,

m any circumstan ces attending his acquai n t

ance with this m '

an ro se u pon his m i n d
'

, an d he
kn ew not why when he remembered hi s
oath a c old shivering came over him , as if
from the presentiment of something horrible
awaiting him Risin g early i n the mo rn in g
.
,

he was abo ut to enter the hovel in which he

had l eft the corpse when a robber m ,
et hi m ,

and informed him that it was no longer there ,

having been co n veye d by himself and co m

'

rades up o n his retiring to the pi nn acle of a

, ,

n eighbou rin g m ou n t accordi n to a prom i se

, g
56 T HE V A MPYR E .

the yhad given his lordship that it sh ould be ,

exposed to the rst cold ray of the moon that

rose after his death Aubreyastonished and
.
,

taking several of the '

m en , determined to go
and bury it upon the sp ot where it lay But

.
,

when he had m o unted to the s u mmit he found

no ; trace of either the c o rpse or the clothes ,

though the robb ers swore the y p oi n te d o u t the

identic al rock zon fw hi ch they had laid the

"

body For a tim e hi s m i nd w as bewildered i h

' '

. .

conj ecture s b u the a t l as t returned ,convinced

,
'

that they had buried the co rpse for the s ake of

Weary of a country in which he had met

'

with such te rri bl e m i s for

tu n e s , and iri which
al l apparently conspired to heighten that
supe rs titiou s melancholy tha t ha d seized upon
'

his mind he resolved to leave it , and soon

arrived at S m yrn a f While waiting for a

!

vessel to convey him to O tran to or to N aples ; ,

he occup ied jhim s e lf in arranging those e ffects

1
he had with him belon ging to Lo rd R uthven
'

Amongst othe r things there was a case con

tain ing several weapon s of offen ce , m o re , or
 THE V A MPYRE
. 57

less adapted to ensure the death of the victim .

There were several daggers an d ata ghan s a

Whilst turning them over and e x am ining .

,

their curious forms what was his s urprise at

,

ndi ng a sheath apparen tly ornamente d in the

same style as the dagger d iscovered in the
fatal hut - he shuddered - has te n i n g to
gain
'

further p r f,
he
found the w eapon and his
oo -
,
-

horror m ay be imagined when he disc overed

that it tted tho ugh pe culiarly shaped , the

sheath he held in his hand .

.
His eyes seemed
to need no fu rther certa inty - they seemed
gaz ing to be bo u nd to the d agger ; yet still
'

he wished to disbelieve ; but the particular

form the same v aryi n g t i n ts u pon the ba it an d
,

sheath were al ike in splendour on both and le ft ,

no room for doubt there were al so drops of

blood on each
He left Smyrna and on his way home at
, ,

Rome ,
hi s rst inquiries were concerning the
lady he had attempted to snatch from Lord

R uthven s seductive arts

. Her parents were

in distress their fort u n e, ru in e d , ~
an d s he had
n o t b ee n heard of s i n ce the departure of his
 58 TH E V A MPYRE .

lordship . Aubrey s mind bec ame al mos t
broken under so many repeated horrors he
was afraid that this l ady had fall en a victim to
the destroyer of Ianthe He became moros e .

an d silent and his only occupat ion consisted

i n urging the spe ed of the po stilion s as if he ,

were go ing to save the life of some one he held

dear . H e arrived at C al ais a breeze which ,

seemed o bedient to his will s o on wafted him to ,

the En glish shores and he has ten ed to the

m an sion of hi s fathers , an d there , for a
m o ment appeared t o lose
, , in the embraces an d
caresses of hi s sister all memory of the past
,
.

If she be fore by her in fan tine ca resses had

'

, ,

gained his affection ,

n o w that the woman
b egan t o appear , she was sti ll more attachi n g
asa companion .

M iss Aubrey had not that w inn ing grace

which gains the gaze and applause of the
dr awing - e assemblies . There was non e
of that light brilliancy which only exists in the
heated atmosphere of a crowded apartment .

H er bl ue eye was never lit up by the levity o f

the m in d beneath . There was a mel an choly

 60 TH E v AM PY R E .

him He could f ee l i r s a b o u t th
'

t t t f

.
.
no n e e e ,

frivolities of fashio nable strangers when hi s ,

mind had been so torn b ythe events he had

,
- -

witnes sed bu t b e deter m ined to sacrice his

own comfort protection of his sister to f the .

They soon arrived in town an d p re p a re d for

'

,
.

the next day which ha di b e e n ,

an nounced as a
drawin groom -
.

The crowd w as excessive -a drawing room -

had n o t b een heldfor a long time and all w ho -

x i o u s to b as k in the smile of royalty

'

w e re ah
"
'

has te n e d f thi the r . Aubrey was there with hi s

'

sister . While he was standing in a corner by

himself heedl ess of all around him engaged m
, ,

the remembrance that the rst time he had

seen Lord Ruthven was in that very place he - -

felt himself s uddenly seized by the a rm ,and a

'

recognized
h

v o i ce ~
he ,
to o well sounded i n , hi s
.
ear Remember your oath .
!
He had hardly
courage to turn ,fearful of s eeing a spectre
that would blast h i m when he perceived , ,
,

at a little distan c e the same gure which

"

had attracte d hi s

no ti ce on this spot upo n

'
 T HE V A MPYRE . 61

hi s rst en t ry into soc iety H e ga zed till

'

his limbs al most refu sing to bear their weight ,

he was oblige d to take the arm of a friend

'

.
,

and forcing a pass a ge thr ough the c ro w d , ,

,

he threw himself into his carriage an d w as , ,

driven home He p aced the room with

! ' '

hurried s teps and xed his han ds u po n hi s

,

h e ad, as if he w ere afraid hi s tho u ghts were

'

burstin g from hi s brain Lord R uthven . ,

again before him circumstances started up

-

in dreadful array - the dagger - hi s fo a th .

He roused hi mse lf , . he could not believe it

po ssible - the dead rise again -
H tho ught
his imagination j had c on u re d u the image
'

, p
his mind was resting upon It was i m po s
'

sible that it could be : real he determined -

,

therefore to go aga i n i nto society for though

,

he a tte m pte d to ask concerning Lord Ruthven ,

the name hung upo n his lips and he could

"

; ,

not succeed in gaining in form ation He .

'

.went a few nights after with his sister to the

assembly of a n ear relation . Le a ving her -

nder the pro te cti o n of a m atron he retired

'

u ,

i n to a re ce ss , an d there gave him self up to his

62 T HE V AM P Y RE .

ow n de vo uring thoughts . P erceivin g, at last ,

that man y were lea vi n g he rou s ed hi mself,an d ,

e ntering an o ther roo m , fo un d hi s i er sur

s st

c on vers ation ; he attempt ed to pass and get

near he r when on e who m he requeste d to
, ,

m ove turn ed roun d an d reveal ed to him

, ,

thos e feature s he m o st ab horre d

. H e spran g
fo rward , seize d hi s sister s arm an d, with
,

hurri e d step force d he r tow ards the street : at

,

the door he found hims e lf impeded by the cr owd

o f servants wh o were waiting for their lords

an d whi le he was engaged in pas sing the m , he

a gain heard that voic e whisper close to him
Re m ember y o ur oath H e did not dare
to turn but hu rryi n g his
, , si ste r soo n reached
,

Aubrey be cam e al most dis tracte d . If be l

fore his m in d had been ab sorbed by o n e su b

j how much m o r e c o mpletely w as it e m

e ct,

gro s sed n ow that the certainty o f the m on i

,

s te r s livin g again p r essed upon his thou ght s .

H is s

ister s attentions were n ow u n heede d ,

an d it w as i n vai n that she in treate d him tot

 THE V AM P Y RE . 63

e xplain to he r wha t had cau sed his abrupt

c on d u ct He only uttered a few words and
.
,

those te rri ed he r . The m ore he thought , the

more he was bewi lde red . H is oath startled

him -
was he the n to all ow this mon s ter to
r oam bearing rui n upo n
,
his breath amids t , 3B

he held dear and not avert its progress ? His

,

ve ry sister might have been tou ched by him :

But even if he were to break his oath and ,

disclose his suspicions who would believ e ,

him ? He thought of employi ng hi s o w n

han d to free the world from s uch a wretch ;

but de ath he reme mbered , , ha d bee n al e ar dy

m oc k ed : F or days he remained in thi s state
sh u t up i n hi s roo m ,
he s a w no o ne and eat only ,

when hi s sis ter came w ho ,w ith eyes st ream ing,

w ith tears besou ght him for ber sake to su p

, , ,

po rt n ature . At la st , no l on ger c apable of

be a ri ng stilln e ss an d sol itude he left hi s hou se , ,

t ow d from street to stree t an xious to y ,

tha t i m age whi ch haun ted him . H is dre ss

ex p ose d to the n oon - day su n as to the m id

ni ght dam ps . He w as no longe r to be

64 THE V A MPYR E .

recognized at rSt he return ed w i tlr the -

evening to the hou s but at last he laid him

down to rest where ver fatigue overtoo k him
"

His sister anxi o us safety employed

, for hi s .

people to follow him ; but they were soon dis '

tan c e d by him who e d from a pursuer

i
' '

swifter tha n any - from tho ught . HIS con

duct , h owever , suddenly chan ged . Struck
with the idea that he left b y hi s absence the
' '
'

whole of his friends with a end amon g st ,

'

whose presence they were nu oc h

scious he determi n ed to enter again into
"

society a nd watch him closely anxi o us to

'

, ,

fore w arn , i n spite o f his oath ,al l who m Lo rd

R uthven pproached with intimacy B ut

a
'

when he entered into a roo m his haggard ,

suspici ous looks were so s trikin g hi s

'

an d : ,

i n w ard s hu dde rings so visible that his sister , .

w as at last obliged to beg of him to a bstain

s e e ki n g, for her sake a s oc i e ty w hi ch
'

from

a ffected hi m so stron gly VVhe n , however

'
'

,
.

remonstrance proved unavailing , the guar

'
'

dians thought pro per to i n te rp o s e and fearing

, ,

that his m in d w as be c om in g ali e n ate dg the y

 TH E VA M PY ii E . 65

thought it high time to resu m e a ga in that

trust which had be e n before imposed upo n
them by Aubrey s parents .

Desirous of saving him from the in juries

and su fferings he had daily encou ntered i n
his wanderings and of preventing hi m from
,

e x po s i ng to the general eye those marks of

what they considered folly they engaged a ,

physician to re side in the house and take ,

constant care of him He hardl y appeared .

to notice it so completely was his mind ab

,

sorbed by one terrible subj ect

. His i n co

he re n c e became at last so great that he was ,

conned to hi s chamber . There he would

often lie for days incapable of being roused
, .

He had become emaciate d his eyes had

attained a glassy lustre the only sign of -

affection and recollection remaining displayed

itself upon the entry of his sister ; then he
would s ometimes start and s eizing her hands , , ,

with looks that severely a fice d her he would ,

desire her not to touch him O h do not .

,

touch hi m- n
if your love for me is aught do ,

n ot go near him ! !
W hen however she , ,

E
66 TH E V AM PYRE
.
.

inquire d t o whom he referred his only answer ,

w as ,

Tru e ! true ! and again he san k into
a state when ce not even she could ro use
,

him Thi s lasted many m on ths : gradu al ly

.
,

h o wever as the year was passing his i n co

, ,

he re n c e s became less frequent and his mind ,

threw o ff a po rtion of its gloom whilst ,

his
guardians o bserved that s e v e ral ti m in the

,
es

day he would cou nt upo n his ngers a denite

number and then smile
,
.

The time had nearly elapsed when upon , ,

the last day o f the ye ar one of , hi s guardians

entering his room began to converse with his
,

physician upon the melancholy circumstance

o f Aubrey s being in so aw ful a situation ,

w hen hi s sister w as go in g ne xt d ay to be

m arried Instan tly Aubrey s attention was
.

attracted ;he asked anxiously to whom G lad .

of this mark of return in g i n tellect of which ,

they feare d he had been deprived they ,

mention ed the name of the E arl of M arsden .

Thinking this was a young E arl whom he

had m et with in society Aubrey seemed ,

ple a s e d , an d asto nished them still more by

68 . T HE V A MPYRE .

never wed this m on ster fo r he ,

- i-n B u t he could
not advan ce it seemed as if that voice again
bade him remember his o ath he turned sud -

de n l y roun d ,
thinking Lo rd R uthven was
near him but saw no o ne In the meanti m e .

the guardians and physician w ho had heard ,

the whole and thought this was but a return of

,

his disorder entered and forcin g him from

, ,

M iss Aub rey d esired her to leave hi m He

,
.

fell upon his knees to them he implored he , ,

be gged of them to delay but for one day .

They attributing this to the insanity they

,
'

i magined had taken possession of his mind ,

endeavoured to pacify him and retired , .

L ord R u thv e m had call ed the mo rning after

the drawing room and had been refused with

-
,

eve ry one else . When he heard of Aubrey s

ill he al th he readily understood hi ms elf to be

,
.

the cause of it but when he learne d that he

w as deemed insane his exul tation and plea
,

sure could hardly be concealed from those

among who m he had gained this information .

He hasten e d to the house of his former com

panion and by constant attendan ce and the
, , ,
 THE V A MPYRE . 69

pretence of great a ffection for the brother and

inte rest in his fate he gradually won the ear
,

of M iss Aubrey W ho could resist his

.

power ? His tongue had dangers and toils

to could
re co u n t spe ak of himself as of a n
individu al having no sympathy with any
being on the crowded earth save with her to ,

who m he addressed himself could tell how

since he knew her his exis tence had begun

,

to seem worthy of pres ervation if it were ,

m erely that he might listen to her soothing

accents i n ne , he knew so well how to
use the serpent s art or such was the will of

,

fate that he gained her a ffections The title

, .

of the elder branch fall ing at length to him he ,

obtai ned an important embassy which s erved ,

as an excuse for hastening the marri age (in ,

spite of her brother s deranged state ) which

,

was to take pl ace the very day before his de

parture for the continent .

Aubrey when he was left by the physician

,

and his guardi an s at tempted to bribe the ser

,

vants but in vain H e as ked for pe n and

,
.
-

paper ; it was given hi m ; he wrote a letter

70 T HE V A MPYR E .

to his sister, conj urin g her as she v al u e d he r ,

'

own happiness ,
her ow n honou r and the ,

hon o ur of those now in the grave who on ce ,

held he r in their arms as their hope and the

hope of their house to delay but for a few ,

hours that marriage , on which he denounced

the most heavy curses . The servants pro

m ise d they wou l d deliver it ; but givi ng it to
the physician he thought it better not to
,

harass any more the mind of M iss Aubrey

.

by what he con sidered the ravings of a

, ,

maniac . N ight passed on without rest to the

busy inmates of the house ; an d Aubrey heard ,

with a horror that may more easily be con

c e iv e d than described the n otes of busy ,
'

preparation . M orning came ,

an d the sou n d
of carriages broke u pon his ear

. Aubrey
grew almost fran tic . The curiosity of the
servants at last ov ercame th e i r v igilance , they
gradually s tole away leaving him in the cus ,

t o dy of an hel pless old woman He seized

the oppo rtunity , w ith one bound was out of

the r oo m , an d in a moment found himself in
the ap artm e n t w he re all were n e arly assem bled .
 T HE V AM PYRE . 71

Lo rd Ruthven Was the rst to pe rceive him

he immediately approached and takin g his , ,

arm by force hurried him from the r oo m

, ,

spe e chle s s with rage When on the stairc ase .

,

Lord R uthven whispered in his ear Re

m ember your oath and kn ow i f not my bride
, ,

to day your sister is dishonoured Women

, .

are frail P So saying he pushed him towards

?
,

his attendants who roused by the old w o man

, , ,

had come in search of hi m Aubrey could .

no longer support himself ; his rage not

n ding vent had bro ken a bl oo d vessel an d
,
-
,

he was conveyed to bed This was not .

mentioned to his sister who was n ot present ,

when he entered as the physician was afraid

,

of agitat in g her The marriage was solemn

.

i z e d an d the bride and bridegr oom left

,

Lo ndon .

Aubrey s weakn ess increas ed ; the e ffusi on
of blood produced sympto ms of the n ear ap

proach o f death . He desired hi s sister s
guardian s might be called ,
an d when the
midn ight ho ur had s truck he relate d , com
72 TH E V A MPYRE .

p o s edl y what the read er has perused he

di ed imm e di ately after .

The guardians h astened to protect M iss

Aubrey ; but when they arrived it was too ,

late . Lo rd Ruthven had disappeared ;

Aub rey s sister had glutted the thi rst of a
VA MPYRE
 E ! T R A CT or A L ETT E R ,

E

L ORD BY R ON S RESI DENC

IN

I SLA N D OF MITY LEN E.

76 TH E V A MP Y R E .

cave called Ho mer s School and other places

, ,

where w e had been before . O n the brow of

M ount Ida (a sm al l monticule so named ) we
met with and engaged a young G reek as o ur
guide who told us he had come from Scio
,

with an E nglish lord who left the island four ,

days previous to our arrival in his felucca .

He engaged me as a pilot ,
!
said the G reek ,

and wou l d have taken me with him but I

did not choo se to quit M itylene where I am ,

l ikely to get married . He was an odd but a ,

very good man The cottage over the hill

.
,

facin g the river belongs to him and he has

, ,

le ft an old man in charge of it : he gave

Dominick the wine trader six hundred
,
-
,
z e

c hines it (abo ut 25 0l English currency )

. fo r , .
,

and has resided there about fourteen months ,

though n ot constan tly ; for he sails in his .

felucca very often to the di fferent islands .

!

This account excited our curiosity very

much , an d we lost nol ti m e in hastening to
the house where our countryman had resided . .

We were kindly received by an old m an ,

who con ducted over the mansion It

'

u s
'
.
 TH E V A MPYRE . 77

consisted of four apartments on the ground

oo r an entrance hall
- a drawing room a ,
-
,

sitting pa rlour and a bed room with a

,
-
,

spacious closet annexed They were al l .

simply decorate d : plain green stained walls -

,

marble tables on either side a large myrtle in ,

the centre and a smal l fountai n beneath

, ,

which could be m ade to play through the

branches by moving a spri ng xed in the side
of a small bronze V enus in a leaning posture
a large couch or sofa completed the furniture .

In the hall stood half a dozen E nglish cane

chairs and an empty book case : there were
,
-

no mirrors nor a single p a inting The be d

, .

chamber had merely a large mattress spread

-

on the oor with two stuffed cotton quilts

,

and a pill ow the common bed throughout

-

G reece In the sittin g room we ob s e rv e d a

.
-

marble recess formerly the old man told us

, , ,

lled with books and papers which were ,

then in a large seaman s chest in the closet
it was open but we did not thin k ourselves
,

justi e d in examining the conte n ts . O n the

tablet o f the recess lay Voltaire s , S ha ks p e a re

s,

78 L OR D B YRON S RE S ID EN CE m

an d R ou s s e a u

Boileau s ,
i
s w o rks c o mplete

V olney s R uins of E mpires ! immerman in ,

the German language ; ! lopsto ck s M essiah

! o t ze bue s n ovels Schille r s play of the Rob

bers ; M ilton s P aradise Lost an Italian

,

edition printe d at P arm a in 1 8 1 0 ; several

,

small pamphlets from the Greek press at

Constantinople much torn but no , , E nglish
book o f any description . Most of these books
were lled with marginal notes written with ,

a pencil in Italian a nd L atin The M essi ah

,
.

was literal ly scribbled all ove r and mark ed ,

with slips of paper ,

on which a lso were

The old m an said The lord had be en

re adi ng the se books the evening be fore he
sailed and forgot to place them with the
,
~ ~

others ; but said he there they must lie

,
!
,

un t il his return for he is so particular that ,

were I to move one thing without orders he ,

would frown upon me for a week together ;

he is otherways very good . I once did him
a service and I have the produce of this farm
for the tro uble of taki n g care of it e x cept
,
 TH E I S L AN D or M ITY LE N E . 79

t w enty whi ch I pa y to an age d Ar

z e e hi n e s

m e n i an who resides in a sm all cotta ge in the

wood a n d whom the l ord brou g ht here from
,

Ad rianople I don t kn ow for what reason .
!

The appearance of the house externally was

pleasing The po rti c o in front was fty
.

paces long and four teen bro ad and the uted ,

marble pill ars with black plinths and fret work -

cornices (as it is now customary in G recian

,

architecture ) were con siderably higher than

,

the roof The roof surrounded by a light

.
,

stone balustrade was covered by a fi ne

,

Turkey carpet beneath an awning o f strong

,

c oarse linen . M ost of the house to ps are thus -

furnished as upon them the G reeks pas s

,

their evenings in s m oking drinking light ,

wines such as
,
lachryma christi eating ,
!

fru it and enj oying the evening breeze

, .

O n the left hand as we entered the house ,

a small streamlet glided away grape s oranges , ,

and li m es were clustering t ogethe r on its

borde rs and under the shade of tw o large
,

m yrtle bushes a marble seat

, w i than orn a
m en tal w ooden bac k was plac ed , on which
 80 TH E V A MPYRE .

we were told the lord , p ass e d many of his

evenings and nights till twelve o clock read
,

ing writing and talkin g to himself

, , . I
suppose ,
!
said the old man , p ra i
y gn , fo r he
was very devout a n d al w ays atten ded our
.
!
,

church t w i ce a week besides Sundays , .

The view from this seat was what may be '

termed a bird s eye view - .
!
A line of rich
vineyards led the eye to Mount C al cl a covered ,

with olive and myrtle trees in bloom and on

the summit of which an ancient G reek temple

appeared in maj estic decay . As m all stream
i ssuing from the ruins descended in broken
cascades until it was lost in the woods near
,

the mountain s base The sea smooth as

.

glass and an horizon unshadowed by a

,

single cloud terminates the view in front

,

and a little on the left through a vista of ,

l ofty chesnut and pal m trees -

,
several small
islands were distinctly ob served studding the ,

l ight blue wave with spots of emerald green .

I Seldom enj oyed a view more than I did

this ; but our enquiries were fruitless as to .

the n ame of the perso n who had resided in

 TH E I S L A N D o r M IT Y LE N E . 81
'

this roman tic s olitude : none knew his nam e

but Dominick his banker who had gone to
, ,

Can di e The
.

sa id o u r con
ductor ,

could tell but I am sure he will
,

not. A n d cannot you tell old frien d ,

s aid I If I can said he,

!
I dare n ot ,

.

W e had not time to vi s i t the Armenian but ,

on our return to the town we learnt several

particulars of the isolated lord He had .

portioned e ight young girls when he w as last

upon the island and even da n c e d with them
,

at the nuptial feast He gave a cow to one .

man hors es to othe rs and cotton an d silk to

, ,

the girls who live by weaving the se articles

H e also bought a new bo at for a sherm an

who had los t his own i n a gale an d he often ,

gave G reek Testaments to the poor children .

In short he appea red to us fro m all we

, ,

col lec ted to have be en a very eccentri c and

,

be nevol e nt character O ne circumstan ce we .

lea rnt whi ch our old friend at the cotta ge

,

tho ught proper not to disclose He ha d a m o st .

beau ti ful dau ghter w ith who m the lord w as

,

o ften seen wal k ing on the sea shore and he -

,

F

82 L OR D B Y R ON S RE S ID EN CE I N
had bought he r a piano 4m m
-
,
and tau ght he r
hims e lf the use of it .

Such was the

- i n form i o n with w hicda we
de parted from the -
p
. eaceful i sle of M ityl e ne
our im aginati ons all on the ra c k,gu e s s in g who -

this ra m bl e r i n Gre ec e could be . He had

'

m one y i t w as evident he ha d phil an throp y of .

di s po sit ion and all those eccentricities which

,

m ark p e c u l i a r genius Arrived a t Pa l e rm o '

c

,
.

a ll doubts were dispelled F alling in

ou r .

company w i th Mr F O S TER the architect a. .

, ,

pu p il of W Y A T T
s, who had 'be e n trav elli ng in
E gyp t a n d G reece , The individual said he
!
, ,

about whom you are so anxious is , Lo rd

'

E vron I m et him in my travels on the i s l an d

of Tenedos , and [ al s o v i s i te d him at Mi tylene '

W e had never the n he a rd o f his lo rdship i i

f
r .

fame as w e had been some years from home

,
.

but fChil de Harolde being put into our hands

!

we recogniz e d the re cl u se of Cal cla i n every i

page Deeply did we regret n ot havin gbeen

.

more c u riou s i n our researches at the cottage

'
,

but we consoled ourselves .

re turning to M itylene on s o m e fu tu re day ; ' '


84 . LOR D M u on s R E S ID EN CE .

v i rtu ou s he art a n d self

T HE E N D .

G i ll ot, Pri n te r, Crow n -co u rt, Fl ee t-s tre e t

.
 PLEAS E D O N OT R EMO VE
C AR D S OR S LIPS FRO M TH IS POC ! ET

UN IVE R S ITY OF T ORO N T O LIB R A R Y