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    The Story of Frankenstein
    The Story of Frankenstein
    The Story of Frankenstein
    Ebook119 pages1 hour

    The Story of Frankenstein

    By Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    With his debut nearly two centuries ago, Dr. Frankenstein's monster captured the popular imagination and never let go, haunting even those who have never read this classic of horror fiction. This specially adapted children's edition retains all of the excitement of the original version yet makes the enduring Gothic fable accessible to youngsters.
    The brilliant scientist Dr. Victor Frankenstein indulges his curiosity about the hidden laws of nature when he happens upon the secret to the animation of lifeless matter. Piecing together the detritus of butcher shops and dissecting rooms, the doctor fashions an eight-foot-tall creature whose loathsome appearance fills even his creator with repulsion. Abandoned by his maker, rejected with fear and disgust by everyone he encounters, the enraged and embittered monster goes on a murderous rampage, determined to destroy Frankenstein by striking at those closest to him.
    Since its 1817 publication, this incredible and imaginative fantasy has held generations of readers spellbound. This new, specially abridged edition, enhanced with illustrations by Thea Kliros, will satisfy young readers' appetites for gripping suspense and ghoulish thrills.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDover Publications
    Release dateApr 30, 2012
    ISBN9780486157955
    The Story of Frankenstein
    Author

    Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

    Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin was born in 1797, the daughter of two of the leading radical writers of the age. Her mother died just days after her birth and she was educated at home by her father and encouraged in literary pursuits. She eloped with and subsequently married the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, but their life together was full of hardship. The couple were ruined by disapproving parents and Mary lost three of her four children. Although its subject matter was extremely dark, her first novel Frankenstein (1818) was an instant sensation. Subsequent works such as Mathilda (1819), Valperga (1823) and The Last Man (1826) were less successful but are now finally receiving the critical acclaim that they deserve.

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    Reviews for The Story of Frankenstein

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    • 5/5
      A classic isn't a called a classic because it's a run-of-the-mill type of book. It's a groundbreaking novel/movie/song that inspires people and stays with you forever, and it's likely that it won't be topped in one, two or sometimes three generations. A classic is a classic because it's unique, and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is definitely a classic. The prose is beautiful, the story is gripping and the book itself is absolutely breathtaking. As far as horror is concerned, this is one of those must-have classics that you can revisit every couple of years.

      But we all know the story about Frankenstein and the monster he creates out of body parts. We all know who Igor is and what happens in the end, I mean, if you haven't read the book then you've probably watched one of the movies, right? So, instead of going on and on about the plot we all know about, I'm going to talk about the beautiful book. Seriously, this is one super pretty book. It's in Penguin Books' horror series, recently brought out for horror fans that includes five other fantastic titles (American Supernatural Tales was one of them). This is one pretty edition for one creepy tale ... in other words, you'll freaking love it if you have a thing for horror books. Also, I'm pretty sure it'll be a collectors edition in the not-so-distant future.


      If that doesn't appeal to you, and you need a little something extra, rest assured that I can sweeten the pot for those folks on the edge. Guillermo Del Toro is the series' editor and there's a nice little introduction by him. Yes, he's not all movies all the time, sometimes this horror director makes time for books too!


      So, yes it's pretty, yes it's a great edition and yes, the editing is great. As far as I'm concerned you can donate your other editions of Frankenstein to the less fortunate, because this one just looks so much better on a bookshelf.

    • 5/5
      This is the second or third time I've read this and it's just as marvelous as before. A tale within a tale within a tale by a literary mastermind at the height of her genius.
    • 3/5
      This is another one I'd just never gotten around to reading. The story is far from what popular culture has made of it (I confess I was most familiar with the Young Frankenstein version) The monster is much more vocal and interesting. Victor is kind of a weenie and it's all a bit overwrought. I listened to the audiobook from the classic tales podcast and the narrator was pretty good, obviously enjoying all the "begone!s" and "wretchs"
    • 2/5
      Seminal fantasy work, one of the early defining books of fantasy genre. Shame it isn't more readable though I suspect that's just my more modern tastes.
    • 5/5
      Amazing book. It's so much more than I thought it would be. Very interesting!
    • 4/5
      A chilling tale! I read this in high school, which was a while ago, but even thinking about it now gives me the creeps.
    • 5/5
      It's a wonderful, intense and superbly written novel.Don't be afraid to read it even if you don't like the genre.
    • 5/5
      Considered by many to be the first science fiction novel.
    • 3/5
      I have thought, but this being a classic piece of literature, I'm not going to write them down for posterity. That never served me well in lit classes, and I don't foresee it going well on the internet.
    • 2/5
      Disappointing, especially for such a highly regarded "classic". 5% action, 95% describing how everyone *feels* about what just happened.
    • 3/5
      I love this book so much more than any of the movie adaptations I've ever seen (actually, for anyone seeking horror and thrill in a story, this may be a huge disappointment), but in comparison to other novels of that genre and time period it's far from being flawless.I love the ideas in this story - the idea that one has to take responsibility for their creations, the idea that a being can be as gentle and good as a lamb, it will inevitably become a monster if it experiences nothing but rejection, the idea that just because something is scientifically possible doesn't mean that it should be done. Despite all the Romantic dressing up in this novel that makes it very clearly a product of its age, these premises are still modern and relevant.My gripe is with the characters. I'm aware that this is probably the 21st century reader in me, but - gods almighty, that Victor is a pathetic, self-absorbed piece of selfpity, full of "woe is me", much more fixated on his own emotions and tragic history than on the danger he has released carelessly on the world and without much reflection about his own role in this disaster. All his relationships seem shallow and superficial, and the only woman with a meaningful role in the story gets classically fridged to give him the final push.One day I'll have to read an adaptation from the wretch's point of view. His actions, reactions and justifications seem so much more interesting than Victor's.
    • 5/5
      Frankenstein is one of my all-time favorite books, but it's important to understand why people like my enjoy it. If you haven't read the book, it may not be what you think.I love Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. To be clear, she is not the best author ever. Some aspects of her writing are a little juvenile and at times ever downright boring. Even though she herself was a woman, her female characters tend to be somewhat shallow and idealistic. Nevertheless, Shelley has a unique and gifted mind that is almost even prophetic in character. Her novel "The Last Man," for example, is one of the first to imagine the extinction of the human race, which is now a real possibility and an important area of thought. Similarly, Frankenstein is not altogether novel, since it builds heavily on earlier Romantic language, concepts, and images especially from Goethe and Mary's husband Percy Shelley. Nevertheless, she outdoes them by imagining in a prophetic way what the technological creation of new life could mean for the human person.With this in mind, let's be clear that Frankenstein is NOT a scary book, NOT about some dim-witted or pathetic monster, and NOT a source of cheap chills and thrills. It is first and foremost about the scientist who creates the monster. He does so out of a genius that unites both modern science and premodern thinking. Specifically how he makes the monster is beside the point; Shelley is secretive on this matter so that we do not get lost. It is not evident, for example, that he makes it from corpses; he uses corpses for study, but he seems to fashion the monster directly.The principle point of the book, therefore, is the emotion of Frankenstein as he comes to terms with his own creation. That which he fashioned to be beautiful, wonderful, superior to humanity turns out in fact to be hideous, ugly, and terrifying. The monster is superior to his maker in intelligence and power but not morality, and this forces Frankenstein to face his own unworthiness as a creator.Thus while Frankenstein the book is born out of Romantic ideas about the genius, the excellence of humanity, and the transcendence of the Promethean man--the one who dares to challenge the gods by taking upon himself the act of creation--it also profoundly serves as a counterpoint to the same Romantic spirit. This new Prometheus turns out to be a mere, weak man, who cannot quite come to terms with what he has created. Thus like her book "The Last Man," Shelley poses a vital question: Is humanity really still the gem of creation, or will the transcending force of nature ultimately leave us behind in the dust from whence we came?Frankenstein is thus a book that every reader of English should engage at some time. It would help, however, to have some familiarity with Romanticism (see an encyclopedia) and to spend some time reading some poems by other Romantic writers such as Percy Shelley. A brief look into Mary Wollstonecraft's Shelley biography might help as well, since I would argue that she is deeply shaped by the continual tragedies of her life, including the loss of her mother at an early age and a complex relationship with her father.
    • 4/5
      My sympathies are with the monster. Victor von Frankenstein was a responsibility-avoiding, self-absorbed jerk!
    • 4/5
      As an eight year old child, I found myself in love with horror films. It was a Scholastic Press survey of horror cinema for children which appeared to crystallize this fascination. It was terrible time for a kid. We had moved twice in four years and my mom had left. My dad was traveling for work and a series of housekeepers and sitters were keeping the home fires burning. It is no surprise that I was reading all the time and staying up too late watching inappropriate films on television. That said, I was never drawn to Frankenstein.

      The father of some neighborhood friends used to proclaim the superiority of all the Universal films, especially to the hyper-gore films of the late 70s. I could agree with Bela Lugosi or Claude Rains (as the Invisible Man) but I wasn't moved by Lon Cheney Jr's Wolf Man or the lump of clay which was Frankenstein's monster. It remains elusive to distinguish.

      It was with muted hopes that I finally read Frankenstein this past week. I was pleasantly surprised by the rigid plot which slowly shifts, allowing the Madness of the Fallen to Reap Vengeance on the Creator (and vice versa). Sure, it is laden with symbols and encoded thoughts on Reason, Science and Class. Frankenstein remains an engaging novel by a teenager, one doomed by fate. It is prescient and foreboding. Highly recommended.
    • 5/5
      Despite its 19th century style and vocabulary this story still horrifies, partly because the gruesome details are left to the imagination. Victor Frankenstein does not reveal how he reanimates the creature. Stephen King would have spent several bloody chapters arranging the guts and brains and eyeballs. The motion picture image of the creature is only supported by Shelley’s description of the watery yellow eyes and the straight black lips. The pearly white teeth, lustrous flowing black hair, limbs in proportion, and beautiful features give a more godlike aspect to the monster. The violence is barely described. A dead body with finger prints on its throat. An execution. Some screams and sticks and stones to drive the creature out of a cottage. Even the death of Victor’s fiancee is but a muffled scream in a distant bedroom and a body on the bed. The true horror is symbolic, mythical, ethical, and metaphysical. Mary Shelley describes the consequences of hubris in prose while her husband gives a similar image poetically in Ozymandias. “Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair.”
    • 4/5
      Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.
      I have to admit, I was somewhat weary of this book. Despite its short page count, it is very wordy and has long, large paragraphs, and that made the prospect of reading this rather daunting. However, I swallowed my pride and did it, and was greatly rewarded.

      I do know that for the sympathy of one living being, I would make peace with all. I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other.
      Frankenstein and his creature are both so interesting and complex; they're also both so pitiful. So much of their anguish and sorrow could have been avoided if not for human pride. They are both agents of horror and destruction in both action and inaction, and that made for a really interesting story.

      Besides that, it's extremely quotable.

      Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it.
      I was amazed at how Hollywood has continuously gotten the story wrong, so much so that this book felt entirely unique and the twists were effective. I don't know whether I should scorn or love Hollywood for their utter failure to accurately adapt this book into a faithful film. On one hand, this book deserves a great movie. On the other, the plot integrity of a very old book was maintained. The television show Penny Dreadful had a Frankenstein story line that was remarkably close to the source material considering, and the few big changes it made were justified in the larger story.

      I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous.
      The themes in this were amazing! I love complex characters and dark, ambiguous morality in my literature. To be completely honest, I sympathized with Frankenstein way more than the monster, which I hadn't thought I would going into it. I loved both characters though.

      Overall, it's a great book with an awesome story, and everyone should read it.
    • 5/5
      Why did I wait so long to read this? An excellent novel and highly recommended. Wonderful.
    • 3/5
      The Good: The quality of this story, in terms of the ideas it contains and the philosophical musings it provokes, is far greater than that of the various movie versions.The Bad: The quality of the writing is not always equal to the quality of the story. This is very much a book written by a relatively young woman, trying to impress a literary scene with her abilities. The dialogue is very weak at times, and there are strange moments when Frankenstein collapses into a fever that last months and months, just to give his creation time to explore the world he finds himself in.The Ugly: Yes, the creature is ugly and terrible, but also very, very interesting. This thinking, moralising monster is much more worthy of our attention than the giant imbecile that haunts the cinema. Reading the story, one also wonders if the general public (or the press) has it right in describing genetically modified food as 'Frankenfoods'. The monster is only evil when he suffers the evil of society around him; he has an overwhelming capacity for love and for good.
    • 4/5
      This book was excellently written and very philosophical, and way depressing. It's also very worth reading.
    • 5/5
      Quality!

      At one time this was my favorite classic novel--I've read it 4 times for 4 different classes and it's amazing how many different interpretations are out there regarding the nature of the monster! One professor believed he didn't exist at all--a figment of Victor's imagination or a manifestation of his oedipus complex. The fact that the men at the end witness the existence of the monster is an example of group hysteria. That's my favorite thesis and I wish I could remember the name of my professor that suggested it to give her credit!
      A chilling and complex tale that examines the relationship between man and his creator, feelings of isolation and rejection, and monstrosity. A psychological thriller as much as a horror story. Recommended to lit majors especially!
      By the way, this isn't my copy but one from a library book sale. Mine is so full of notes you can barely read the text anymore...
    • 3/5
      I wanted to like this book more than I did. The story of Frankenstein is in pop-culture enough that I knew pretty well what the book was about. What I didn't expect was how pathetic Frankenstein is, whining about everything and taking almost no responsibility for his own thoughts and actions. He gets awfully dramatic about his early education, as if he could really blame one conversation in his youth for his entire adult obsession over making his monster. Similarly, the monster seems incapable of taking responsibility for his choices and actions, even after he has become the articulate, intelligent creature he is when he starts killing people. I suppose if Frankenstein is a restrained sociopath, and Frankenstein is an expression of his repressed fantasies, maybe it makes some sense, but since Frankenstein narrates most of the story (in his whining style) I found this book to be a slow and not-so enjoyable read.
    • 4/5
      Summary: Victor Frankenstein, the son of a wealthy Geneva family, was encouraged in his pursuit of the study of the natural sciences, and from his reading gleans the idea of creating life from non-life. So he builds a creature from human body parts, and animates it, and is then struck by the horror of what he's done, during which time the monster escapes. It soon learns that it is monstrous, and by hiding in a shed near a house with a family, learns language. It vows vengeance on Frankenstein, for creating it and abandoning it, and proceeds to kill those that Frankenstein loves, and to destroy his every chance for happiness.Review: This was a really fascinating read, and made for a surprisingly intense discussion at book club. I'd grown up with the pop-culture monster image in my head, and I knew enough to know that Frankenstein was the scientist, not the monster (although does his behavior make him the one that's truly monstrous? Discuss.), but I'd never before read the actual book. I was surprised how much of it doesn't match the Hollywood version, and by how much of it's from the monster's point of view - he's very articulate, which surprised me.The prose was really pretty dense - no point in saying once what you can say three times with a bunch of adjectives, I guess - and there was a lot of wailing and (metaphorical) gnashing of teeth and rending of garments, which got a little bit (a lot, actually) tiring. But I liked that it could be read on a number of levels - as a horror story, as a story about scientific ethics, as a story about the human condition and what it really means to be human, so that was all great. I also entertained myself as I was listening by seeing how far I could carry my theory that Frankenstein himself actually was murdering all those people - several times throughout the novel he goes into fits and has a fever from which he doesn't recover for several weeks, and when he does, someone else close to him is dead. It doesn't quite hold up throughout the entire story, but I thought it made an interesting possibility. 3.5 out of 5 stars.Recommendation: I didn't love it, but it's absolutely worth reading, both to get the real scoop on the mad-scientist cliche, and to provide lots of really interesting possibilities for debate with others.
    • 5/5
      The book is different from the movie.How often have we heard and said that? In the case of Frankenstein the differences even more difficult than usual. The classic horror movie with Karloff is, oddly, more true to the essential message of the novel than one might expect—although the plot details are way off.We start with a framing device: Frankenstein has been rescued by a ship’s captain from the frozen waters of the far north. He (Frankenstein) tells his awful (in all senses of the word) tale. Frankenstein’s unhealthy curiosity and hubris lead him to create a “man.” This well-meaning, if bizarre, experiment doesn’t go well. Horror, murder, and mayhem ensue.But this isn’t just a Gothic romance designed to thrill the heart of the innocent reader. Instead it’s a study of what happens to a creature who is feared, hated, and rejected by everyone, including his creator. The reader soon realizes that if the Creature had been afforded even a modicum of compassion and understanding none of the evil would have ensued. This idea is well-realized in the movie from the 1930’s.Frankenstein is often read as a study in hubris and pride; the doctor is seen as impious at best and Saranic at worst. None of this is supported by the text.The book retains its suspense and compulsion to keep turning the pages even on a third or fourth reading. An excellent moral tale, couched in enough melodrama to please any lover of sensational fiction. There’s nothing prurient or gross to keep it from young or sensitive readers. Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      It was good:)
    • 4/5
      This is one of those classics that everyone knows about but that few ever actually read. The actual content of the book is so different from what people believe they know about it that I can't help but think someone (probably long dead by now, and safe from prosecution) has played an elaborate prank on the world, for reasons which will likely remain forever lost to the gentle perturbations of passing time.The story has a nested, tripartite, epistolary structure, being presented as a collection of letters by a young polar explorer named Robert Walton to his sister in England. Within this is nestled the story of the eponymous Dr. Frankenstein, who is found by the explorer and his crew on the pack ice. And comfortably holstered in Dr. Frankenstein's tale is the narrative of the life of Frankenstein's Monster, who relates his story to Frankenstein in the Alps, prior to Walton's discovery of Frankenstein near the North Pole.Mary Shelley was a Romantic, and, like most Romantics, was rather prolix and agitated. The novel maintains a fairly constant emotional tone, leaving the reader feeling a bit drained after only a few pages. All 3 of the narrative voices seem to be constantly on the edge of some unbearable sensation. Sometimes it's joy, but for the vast majority of the work it's despondency, so it's best taken in small doses.It might be easy to take this famous story for granted, but the reader should remember what a novel blend of ideas this was for the time. It's influence has been so thorough that it can be difficult to detect it's presence, but it can be readily perceived in the works of H.P. Lovecraft.
    • 5/5
      total classic book, one of the best books i have ever read and one of my favourite. when i read this i got goosebumps and shivers down my spine it terrified me but i could not put it down. brilliant book. must read for any horror lover.
    • 4/5
      I loved this book and can't believe how differently this story has been portrayed by American culture. Aside from the sheer disbelief that everyone who has not read the book has gotten the story so WRONG, I often found myself getting wrapped up in the eloquence of Shelley's words. The way she described some of the most mundane things was simply beautiful.

      I loved the story within a story within a story. I felt it allowed us to not only see the characters as they saw themselves, but also as the respective narrator saw them. Though there were portions that I felt weren't necessary (Chapter 19 read like the most boring travel brochure ever) I appreciated most of it. Frankenstein's overall struggle and loss as a result of his "playing god" was heartbreaking.
    • 4/5
      In "Frankenstein", Victor Frankenstein, a student who attended a science university, discovers how to animate dead flesh. After many months of Victor's tedious work, his monster opens its hideous, yellow eyes. It sickens Victor, who then flees to his home town, Geneva. The creature, noticing he had been abandoned by his creator, seeks revenge by destroying everything that Frankenstein loves. The creature killed Victor's brother, William. A friend,Justine, is convicted for the murder and is executed. The creature being abhorred by everyone, needs a partner to love. He finds Victor and tells him to create another one. He agrees. After starting the gruesome work, he can no longer take it. The monster coming to this knowledge, confronts and tells him and that he will be with him on his wedding night. On the night of his marriage, in a villa by the lake, Victor hears a shill then a dreadful scream, rushing to Elizabeth, he finds her dead and a disfigured human form running on the shore. Victor followed this menace into the Arctic where it was spring and the ice was fragile. Both having a sled and dogs, tread onto the frozen ocean. The heavy monster fell through the ice which was cracked due to an earthquake, but he survived. Victor died on a boat going to England. The demon killed himself when Frankenstein died. This book was interesting and "terroriffic". I would call it historical fiction. I liked this book because I can connect to the places I've been to that were mentioned in this book. I have always wanted to read this book because people said the movie wasn't the same. I liked the way the author gave human emotions to the creature. On the other hand, it was a little bit too long and drawn out. I would recommend this to someone that likes to read suspenseful books.
    • 4/5
      This book draws you in from the very beginning. It was the perfect Halloween read. I can see why it's one of the greats!
    • 4/5
      A scientist creates a creature who then terrorizes the nearby town. The monster learns about the town and the people in it to where he can understand and communicate. This teaches kids no matter ones appearance, we should learn to accept them for who they are and not judge them by what they look like.

    Book preview

    The Story of Frankenstein - Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

    breeze.

    1. The Arctic Ocean Stranger

    St. Petersburg, Russia, December 11,17—My dear sister Margaret,

    I address this journal to you, in England, in the hope that one day you will receive it.

    I am already far north of London; and as I walk in the streets of Petersburg, I feel a cold northern breeze, which has traveled from the regions toward which I am destined to go. I cannot believe that the North Pole is the home of frost and emptiness; it presents itself to my imagination as the region of beauty and delight. There, Margaret, the sun is forever visible. There snow and frost have disappeared; and, sailing over a calm sea, we may sail to a land more wonderful and beautiful than any ever seen. What may not be expected in a country of eternal light? I may there discover the power of magnetism, which attracts the needle of a compass. I shall satisfy my curiosity with the sight of a part of the world never before visited. Think of the benefit I shall bestow on all mankind by discovering near the pole a passage to those other countries.

    My courage is strong; but my hopes waver, and I am often depressed. I am about to proceed on a long and difficult voyage, one that will demand all my strength. I must not only keep up the spirits of my sailors, but also sometimes my own, when theirs are failing.

    Archangel, Russia, March 28, 17—

    I have hired a vessel and am busy collecting my sailors. But there is one thing I lack. I have no friend, Margaret, with whom to share my joy. I am twenty-eight and as uneducated as many schoolboys. I greatly need a friend who would try to improve my mind.

    Well, these are useless complaints; I shall certainly find no friend on the wide ocean, nor even here in Archangel, on the White Sea, among merchants and seamen.

    It is impossible to describe for you the trembling, half pleasurable and half fearful, with which I am preparing to set out. I am going to unexplored regions of the Arctic Ocean, to the land of mist and snow.

    July 7, 17—

    I am well advanced on my voyage. I am in good spirits; my men are bold and determined, and the floating sheets of ice that pass us do not appear to bother them. We have already reached a very high latitude; but it is the height of summer, and although it is not so warm as in England, the southern gales, which blow us toward those shores I wish to reach, give us a surprising warmth.

    August 5,17—

    So strange an accident has happened that I have to write it all down, although it is very likely that you will see me before these journals can be sent to you.

    Last Monday (July 31) we were nearly surrounded by ice, which closed in the ship on all sides. Our situation was somewhat dangerous, especially as we were enveloped by a very thick fog. We held fast, hoping that some change would take place.

    About two o’clock the mist cleared away, and we beheld, stretched out in every direction, vast plains of ice, which seemed to have no end. Some of my comrades groaned, and I began to grow anxious, when a strange sight suddenly attracted our attention. We saw a low carriage, fixed on a sledge and drawn by dogs, pass on toward the north, at the distance of half a mile; a being that had the shape of a man, but apparently of gigantic stature, sat in the sledge and guided the dogs. We watched the rapid progress of the traveler with our telescopes until he disappeared.

    A being in the shape of a man sat in the sledge and guided the dogs.

    This vision excited our wonder. We were, we believed, many hundred miles from any land; but this sighting of a man seemed to suggest that it was not so distant as we had supposed. Shut in by the ice, however, we could not follow his track.

    Before night the ice broke and freed a path for our ship. We, however, lay to until the morning, fearing to meet in the dark those large loose masses that float about after the breaking up of the ice. I made use of this time to rest for a few hours.

    In the morning, however, as soon as it was light, I went upon the deck and found all the sailors busy on one side of the vessel, apparently talking to someone in the sea. It was, in fact, a sledge, like the one we* had seen before, which had drifted toward us in the night on a large piece of ice. Only one dog remained alive; but there was a human being within it whom the sailors were trying to talk into coming aboard. He was not, as the other traveler seemed to be, a native of some undiscovered island, but a European. When I appeared on deck, the shipmaster said, Here is our captain, and he will not allow you to perish on the open sea.

    On seeing me, the stranger addressed me in English, although with a foreign accent. Before I come on board your vessel, said he, will you have the kindness to inform me where you are going?

    You may guess my surprise on hearing such a question addressed to me from a man on the brink of death and to whom I supposed my vessel would have been salvation. I replied, however, that we were on a voyage of discovery toward the North Pole.

    Upon hearing this, he appeared satisfied and agreed to come on board. Good God! Margaret, if you had seen the man who bargained in this way, your surprise would have been boundless. His arms and legs were nearly frozen, his body thin and worn out. I never saw a man in so wretched a condition. We tried to carry him into the cabin, but as soon as he left the fresh air, he fainted. We brought him back to the deck and restored him by rubbing him with brandy and forcing him to drink a small dose. As soon as he showed signs of life, we wrapped him up in blankets arid placed him near the chimney of the kitchen stove. Slowly he recovered and ate a little soup.

    Two days passed in this way before he was able to speak, and I often feared that his sufferings had stolen his wits. When he had in some degree recovered, I had him moved to my own cabin and attended to him as much as my duty would permit. I never saw a more interesting creature: his eyes have generally a wild expression, but there are moments when, if anyone performs an act of kindness toward him, his whole face lights up with goodness and sweetness. But he is generally sad, and sometimes he gnashes his teeth.

    When my guest was a little recovered, I had great trouble keeping the men from asking him a thousand questions. The lieutenant asked why he had come so far upon the ice in so strange a vehicle.

    The sufferer’s face became gloomy, and he replied, To seek the one who fled from me.

    And did the man you are chasing travel in the same way?

    Yes.

    "Then I fancy we have seen him, for the day before we picked you up, we saw

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