chapter 62

-chapter 62-

After an interval I arose, and as if by instinct, crawled into the room

where the corpse of my beloved lay.  There were women weeping around; I

hung over it and joined my sad tears to theirs; all this time no

distinct idea presented itself to my mind, but my thoughts rambled to

various subjects, reflecting confusedly on my misfortunes and their

cause.  I was bewildered, in a cloud of wonder and horror.  The death

of William, the execution of Justine, the murder of Clerval, and lastly

of my wife; even at that moment I knew not that my only remaining

friends were safe from the malignity of the fiend; my father even now

might be writhing under his grasp, and Ernest might be dead at his

feet.  This idea made me shudder and recalled me to action.  I started

up and resolved to return to Geneva with all possible speed.

There were no horses to be procured, and I must return by the lake; but the

wind was unfavourable, and the rain fell in torrents. However, it was

hardly morning, and I might reasonably hope to arrive by night. I hired men

to row and took an oar myself, for I had always experienced relief from

mental torment in bodily exercise. But the overflowing misery I now felt,

and the excess of agitation that I endured rendered me incapable of any

exertion. I threw down the oar, and leaning my head upon my hands, gave way

to every gloomy idea that arose. If I looked up, I saw scenes which were

familiar to me in my happier time and which I had contemplated but the day

before in the company of her who was now but a shadow and a recollection.

Tears streamed from my eyes. The rain had ceased for a moment, and I saw

the fish play in the waters as they had done a few hours before; they had

then been observed by Elh. Nothing is so painful to the human mind as

a great and sudden change. The sun might shine or the clouds might lower,

but nothing could appear to me as it had done the day before. A fiend had

snatched from me every hope of future happiness; no creature had ever been

so miserable as I was; so frightful an event is single in the history of

man.

But why should I dwell upon the incidents that followed this last

overwhelming event? Mine has been a tale of horrors; I have reached their

_acme_, and what I must now relate can but be tedious to you. Know

that, one by one, my friends were snatched away; I was left desolate. My

own strength is exhausted, and I must tell, in a few words, what remains of

my hideous narration.

I arrived at Geneva. My father and Ernest yet lived, but the former sunk

under the tidings that I bore. I see him now, excellent and venerable old

man! His eyes wandered in vacancy, for they had lost their charm and their

delight—his Elh, his more than daughter, whom he doted on with

all that affection which a man feels, who in the decline of life, having

few affections, clings more earnestly to those that remain. Cursed, cursed

be the fiend that brought misery on his grey hairs and doomed him to waste

in wretchedness! He could not live under the horrors that were accumulated

around him; the springs of existence suddenly gave way; he was unable to

rise from his bed, and in a few days he died in my arms.

What then became of me?  I know not; I lost sensation, and chains and

darkness were the only objects that pressed upon me.  Sometimes,

indeed, I dreamt that I wandered in flowery meadows and pleasant vales

with the friends of my youth, but I awoke and found myself in a

dungeon.  Melancholy followed, but by degrees I gained a clear

conception of my miseries and situation and was then released from my

prison.  For they had called me mad, and during many months, as I

understood, a solitary cell had been my habitation.

Liberty, however, had been a useless gift to me, had I not, as I

awakened to reason, at the same time awakened to revenge.  As the

memory of past misfortunes pressed upon me, I began to reflect on their

cause—the monster whom I had created, the miserable dæmon whom I had

sent abroad into the world for my destruction.  I was possessed by a

maddening rage when I thought of him, and desired and ardently prayed

that I might have him within my grasp to wreak a great and signal

revenge on his cursed head.

Nor did my hate long confine itself to useless wishes; I began to

reflect on the best means of securing him; and for this purpose, about

a month after my release, I repaired to a criminal judge in the town

and told him that I had an accusation to make, that I knew the

destroyer of my family, and that I required him to exert his whole

authority for the apprehension of the murderer.

The magistrate listened to me with attention and kindness. “Be

assured, sir,” said he, “no pains or exertions on my part shall

be spared to discover the villain.”

“I thank you,” replied I; “listen, therefore, to the

deposition that I have to make. It is indeed a tale so strange that I

should fear you would not credit it were there not something in truth

which, however wonderful, forces conviction. The story is too connected to

be mistaken for a dream, and I have no motive for falsehood.” My

manner as I thus addressed him was impressive but calm; I had formed in my

own heart a resolution to pursue my destroyer to death, and this purpose

quieted my agony and for an interval reconciled me to life. I now related

my history briefly but with firmness and precision, marking the dates with

accuracy and never deviating into invective or exclamation.

The magistrate appeared at first perfectly incredulous, but as I continued

he became more attentive and interested; I saw him sometimes shudder with

horror; at others a lively surprise, unmingled with disbelief, was painted

on his countenance.

（1063）

今日短语

1. by instinct本能地

2. in torrents倾盆大雨地

3. give way to 让步于

4. revenge on… 向……复仇

5. make an accusation 提出控告

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