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<h1>The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Vampyre,
<br>A Tale, by John
Polidori</h1>
<pre>
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Title: The Vampyre, a Tale
Author: John Polidori
Release Date: July, 2004 [EBook #6087]
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, THE VAMPYRE, A TALE ***
</pre>
<p align="center">THE</p>
<h3 align="center">VAMPYRE;</h3>
<h4 align="center">A Tale</h4>
<hr>
<p align="center"><font size="-2">THE</font></p>
<h3 align="center">VAMPYRE;</h3>
<h3 align="center">A Tale.</h3>
<h3 align="center">By John William Polidori</h3>
<hr width="25%">
<p align="center">LONDON:</p>
<p align="center"><font size="-1">PRINTED FOR SHERWOOD, NEELY,
AND JONES,<br>
PATERNOSTER-ROW.</font></p>
<hr width="5%">
<p align="center">1819.</p>
<p align="center"><font size="-2">[Entered at Stationers' Hall,
March 27, 1819.]</font></p>
<hr>
<p align="center"><font size="-2">Gillet, Printer, Crown Court,
Fleet Street, London.</font></p>
<hr>
<p align="center">EXTRACT</p>
<p align="center"><font size="-2">OF A</font></p>
<p align="center">LETTER TO THE EDITOR.</p>
<hr>
<p align="center">EXTRACT OF A LETTER</p>
<p align="center"><font size="-1">FROM GENEVA.</font></p>
<hr width="20%">
<p>" I breathe freely in the neighbourhood of this lake; the
ground upon which I tread has been subdued from the earliest
ages; the principal objects which immediately strike my eye,
bring to my recollection scenes, in which man acted the hero and
was the chief object of interest. Not to look back to earlier
times of battles and sieges, here is the bust of
Rousseau—here is a house with an inscription denoting that
the Genevan philosopher first drew breath under its roof. A
little out of the town is Ferney, the residence of Voltaire;
where that wonderful, though certainly in many respects
contemptible, character, received, like the hermits of old, the
visits of pilgrims, not only from his own nation, but from the
farthest boundaries of Europe. Here too is Bonnet's abode, and, a
few steps beyond, the house of that astonishing woman Madame de
Stael: perhaps the first of her sex, who has really proved its
often claimed equality with, the nobler man. We have before had
women who have written interesting-novels and poems, in which
their tact at observing drawing-room characters has availed them;
but never since the days of Heloise have those faculties which
arc peculiar to man, been developed as the possible inheritance
of woman. Though even here, as in the case of Heloise, our sex
have not been backward in alledging the existence of an Abeilard
in the person of M. Schlegel as the inspirer of her works. But to
proceed: upon the same side of the lake, Gibbon, Bonnivard,
Bradshaw, and others mark, as it were, the stages for our
progress; whilst upon the other side there is one house, built by
Diodati, the friend of Milton, which has contained within its
walls, for several months, that poet whom we have so often read
together, and who—if human passions remain the same, and
human feelings, like. chords, on being swept by nature's impulses
shall vibrate as before---will be placed by posterity in the
first rank of our English Poets. You must have heard, or the
Third Canto of Childe Harold will have informed you, that Lord
Byron resided many months in this neighbourhood. I went with some
friends a few days ago, after having seen Ferney, to view this
mansion. I trod the floors with the same feelings of awe and
respect as we did, together, those of Shakespeare's dwelling at
Stratford. I sat down in a chair of the saloon, and satisfied
myself that I was resting on what he had made his constant scat.
I found a servant there who had lived with him; she, however,
gave me but little information. She pointed out his bed-chamber
upon the same level as the saloon and dining-room, and informed
me that he retired to rest at three, got up at two, and employed
himself a long time over his toilette; that he never went to
sleep without a pair of pistols and a dagger by his side, and
that he never eat animal food. He apparently spent some part of
every day upon the lake in an English boat. There is a balcony
from the saloon which looks upon the lake and the mountain Jura;
and I imagine, that it must have been hence, he contemplated the
storm BO magnificently described in the Third Canto; for you have
from here a most extensive view of all the points he has therein
depicted. I can fancy him like the scathed pine, whilst all
around was sunk to repose, still waking to observe, what gave but
a weak image of the storms which had desolated his own
breast.</p>
<table summary="vampy">
<tr>
<td>
<p>The sky is changed!—and such a change; Oh, night!<br>
And storm and darkness, ye are wond'rous strong,<br>
Yet lovely in your strength, as is the light<br>
Of a dark eye in woman! Far along<br>
>From peak to peak, the rattling crags among,<br>
Leaps the lire thunder! Not from one lone cloud,<br>
But every mountain now hath found a tongue,<br>
And Jura answers thro' her misty shroud,<br>
Back to the joyous Alps who call to her aloud!</p>
<p>And this is in the night:—Most glorious night!<br>
Thou wer't not sent for slumber! let me be<br>
A sharer in thy far and fierce delight,—<br>
A portion of the tempest and of me!<br>
How the lit lake shines a phosphoric sea,<br>
And the big rain comet dancing to the earth!<br>
And now again 'tis black,—and now the glee<br>
Of the loud hills shakes with its mountain mirth,<br>
As if they did rejoice o'er a young; earthquake's birth,</p>
<p>Now where the swift Rhine cleaves his way between<br>
Heights which appear, as lovers who have parted<br>
In haste, whose mining depths so intervene,<br>
That they can meet no more, tho' broken hearted;<br>
Tho' in their souls which thus each other thwarted,<br>
Love was the very root of the fond rage<br>
Which blighted their life's bloom, and then departed—<br>
Itself expired, but leaving; them an age<br>
Of years all winter—war within themselves to wage.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<br>
<br>
<p>I went clown to the little port, if I may use the expression,
wherein his vessel used to lay, and conversed with the cottager,
who had the care of it. You may smile, but I have my pleasure in
thus helping my personification of the individual I admire, by
attaining to the knowledge of those circumstances which were
daily around him. I have made numerous enquiries in the town
concerning him, but can learn nothing. He only went into society
there once, when M. Pictet took him to the house of a lady to
spend the evening. They say he is a very singular man, and seem
to think him very uncivil. Amongst other things they relate, that
having invited M. Pictet and Bonstetten to dinner, he went on the
lake to Chillon, leaving a gentleman who travelled with him to
receive them and make his apologies. Another evening, being
invited to the house of Lady D------ H------, he promised to
attend, but upon approaching the windows of her ladyship's villa,
and perceiving the room to be full of company, he set down his
friend, desiring him to plead his excuse, and immediately
returned home. This will serve as a contradiction to the report
which yon tell me is current in England, of his having been
avoided by his countrymen on the continent. The case happens to
be directly the reverse, as he has been generally sought by them,
though on most occasions, apparently without success. It is said,
indeed, that upon paying his first visit at Coppet, following the
servant who had announced his name, he was surprised to meet a
lady carried oat fainting; but before he had been seated many
minutes, the same lady, who had been so affected at the sound of
his name, returned and conversed with him a considerable time---
such is female curiosity and affectation! He visited Coppet
frequently, and of course associated there with several of his
countrymen, who evinced no reluctance to moot him whom his
enemies alone would represent as au outcast.</p>
<p>Though I have been so unsuccessful in this town, 1 have been
more fortunate in my enquiries elsewhere. There is a society
three or four miles from Geneva, the centre of which is the
Countess of Breuss, a Russian lady, well acquainted with the
<i>agrémens de la Société</i>, and who has
collected them round herself at her mansion. It was chiefly here,
I find, that the gentleman who travelled with Lord Byron, as
physician, sought for society. He used almost every day to cross
the lake by himself, in one of their flat-bottomed boats, and
return after passing the evening with his friends, about eleven
or twelve at night, often whilst the storms were raging in the
circling summits of the mountains around. As he became intimate,
from long acquaintance, with several of the families in this
neighbourhood, I have gathered from their accounts some excellent
traits of his lordship's character, which I will relate to you at
some future opportunity. I must, however, free him from one
imputation attached to him--- of having in his house two sisters
as the partakers of his revels. This is, like many other charges
which have been brought against his lordship, entirely destitute
of truth. His only companion was the physician I have already
mentioned. The report originated from the following circumstance:
Mr. Percy Bysshe Shelly, a gentleman well known for extravagance
of doctrine, and for his daring, in their profession, even to
sign himself with the title of AΘεος
in the Album at Chamouny, having taken a house below, in which he
resided with Miss M. W. Godwin and Miss Clermont, (the daughters
of the celebrated Mr. Godwin) they were frequently visitors at
Diodati, and were often seen upon the lake with his Lordship,
which gave rise to the report, the truth of which is here
positively denied.</p>
<p>Among other things which the lady, from whom I procured these
anecdotes, related to me, she mentioned tho outline of a ghost
story by Lord Byron. It appears that one evening Lord B., Mr. P.
B. Shelly, the two ladies and the gentleman before alluded to,
after having perused a German work, which was entitled
Phantasmagoriana, began relating ghost stories; when his lordship
having recited the beginning of Christabel, then unpublished, the
whole took so strong a hold of Mr. Shelly's mind, that he
suddenly started up and ran out of the room. The physician and
Lord Byron followed, and discovered him leaning against a
mantle-piece, with cold drops of perspiration trickling down his
face. After having given him something to refresh him, upon
enquiring into the cause of his alarm, they found that his wild
imagination having pictured to him the bosom of one of the ladies
with eyes (which was reported of a lady in the neighbourhood
where he lived) he was obliged to leave the room in order to
destroy the impression. It was afterwards proposed, in the course
of conversation, that each of the company present should write a
tale depending upon some supernatural agency, which was
undertaken by Lord B., the physician, and Miss M. W. Godwin.<b><a
href="#footnote1">*</a></b> My friend, the lady above referred
to, had in her possession the outline of each of these stories; I
obtained them as a great favour, and herewith Forward them to
you, as I was assured you would feel as much curiosity as myself,
to peruse the <i>ebauches</i> of so great a genius, and those
immediately under his influence. "</p>
<hr width="60%">
<a name="footnote1"></a>
<p><b>*</b> Since published under the title of "Frankenstein; or,
The Modern Prometheus."</p>
<hr>
<h3 align="center">THE VAMPYRE.</h3>
<hr>
<h3 align="center">INTRODUCTION.</h3>
<hr width="15%">
<p>THE superstition upon which this tale is founded is very
general in the East. Among the Arabians it appears to be common:
it did not, however, extend itself to the Greeks until after the
establishment of Christianity; and it has only assumed its
present form since the division of the Latin and Greek churches;
at which time, the idea becoming prevalent, that a Latin body
could not corrupt if buried in their territory, it gradually
increased, and formed the subject of many wonderful stories,
still extant, of the dead rising from their graves, and feeding
upon the blood of the young and beautiful. In the West it spread,
with some slight variation, all over Hungary, Poland, Austria,
and Lorraine, where the belief existed, that vampyres nightly
imbibed a certain portion of the blood of their victims, 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 flow from all the passages of their bodies,
and even from the very pores of their skins.</p>
<p>In the London Journal, of March, 1732, is a curious, and, of
course, <i>credible</i> account of a particular case of
vampyrism, which is stated to have occurred at Madreyga, in
Hungary. It appears, that upon an examination of the
commander-in-chief and magistrates of the place, they positively
and unanimously affirmed, that, about five years before, a
certain Heyduke, named Arnold Paul, had been heard to say, that,
at Cassovia, on the frontiers of the Turkish Servia, he had been
tormented by a vampyre, but had found a way to rid himself of the
evil, by eating some of the earth out of the vampyre's grave, and
rubbing himself with his blood. This precaution, however, did not
prevent him from becoming a vampyre<b><a href=
"#footnote1">*</a></b> himself; for, about twenty or thirty days
after his death and burial, many persons complained of having
been tormented by him, and a deposition was made, that four
persons had been deprived of life by his attacks. To prevent
further mischief, the inhabitants having consulted their
Hadagni,<b><a href="#footnote2">†</a></b> took up tho
body, and found it (as is supposed to be usual in cases of
vampyrism) fresh, and entirely free from corruption, and emitting
at the mouth, nose, and ears, pure and florid blood. Proof having
been thus obtained, they resorted to the accustomed remedy. A
stake was driven entirely through the heart and body of Arnold
Paul, at which he is reported to have cried out as dreadfully as
if he had been alive. This done, they cut off his head, burned
his body, and threw the ashes into his grave. The same measures
were adopted with the corses of those persons who had previously
died from vampyrism, lest they should, in their turn, become
agents upon others who survived them.</p>
<a name="footnote1"></a>
<p><font size="-2">* The universal belief is, that a person
tucked by a vampyre becomes a vampyre himself, and sucks in his
turn.</font></p>
<a name="footnote2"></a>
<p><font size="-2">† Chief bailiff.</font></p>
<p>This monstrous rodomontade is here related, because it seems
better adapted to illustrate the subject of the present
observations than any other instance which could be adduced. In
many parts of Greece it is considered as a sort of punishment
after death, for some heinous crime committed whilst in
existence, that the deceased is not only doomed to vampyrise, but
compelled to confine his infernal visitations solely to those
beings he loved most while upon earth—those to whom he was
bound by ties of kindred and affection. ---A supposition alluded
to in the "Giaour."</p>
<table summary="vampy2">
<tr>
<td>
<p>But first on earth, as Vampyre sent,<br>
Thy corse shall from its tomb be rent;<br>
Then ghastly haunt the native place,<br>
And suck the blood of all thy race;<br>
There from thy <i>daughter, sister, wife</i>,<br>
At midnight drain the stream of life;<br>
<i>Yet loathe the banquet which perforce</i><br>
Must feed thy livid living corse,<br>
Thy victims, ere they yet expire,<br>
Shall know the demon for their sire;<br>
As cursing thee, thou cursing them,<br>
Thy flowers are withered on the stem.<br>
But one that for <i>thy crime</i> must fall,<br>
The youngest, best beloved of all,<br>
Shall bless thee with a <i>father's</i> name—<br>
That word shall wrap thy heart in flame!<br>
Yet thou must end thy task and mark<br>
Her cheek's last tinge—her eye's last spark,<br>
And the last glassy glance must view<br>
Which freezes o'er its lifeless blue;<br>
Then with unhallowed hand shall tear<br>
The tresses of her yellow hair,<br>
Of which, in life a lock when shorn<br>
Affection's fondest pledge was worn—<br>
But now is borne away by thee<br>
Memorial of thine agony!<br>
Yet with thine own best blood shall drip;<br>
Thy gnashing tooth, and haggard lip;<br>
Then stalking to thy sullen grave,<br>
Go—and with Gouls and Afrits rave,<br>
Till these in horror shrink away<br>
>From spectre more accursed than they.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>Mr. Southey has also introduced in his wild but beautiful poem
of " Thalaba, " the vampyre corse of the Arabian maid Oneiza, who
is represented as having returned from the grave for the purpose
of tormenting him she best loved whilst in existence. But this
cannot be supposed to have resulted from the sinfulness of her
life, she being pourtrayed throughout the whole of the tale as a
complete type of purity and innocence. The veracious Tournefort
gives a long account in his travels of several astonishing cases
of vampyrism, to which he pretends to have been an eyewitness;
and Calmet, in his great work upon this subject, besides a
variety of anecdotes, and 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.</p>
<p>Many curious and interesting notices on this singularly
horrible superstition might be added; though the present may
suffice for the limits of a note, necessarily devoted to
explanation, and which may now be concluded by merely remarking,
that though the term Vampyre is the one in most general
acceptation, there are several others synonimous with it, made
use of in various parts of the world: as Vroucolocha,
Vardoulacha, Goul, Broucoloka, &c.</p>
<hr>
<h3 align="center">THE VAMPYRE.</h3>
<hr width="15%">
<p>IT happened that in the midst of the dissipations attendant
upon a London winter, there appeared at the various parties of
the leaders of the <i>ton</i> a nobleman, more remarkable for his
singularities, than his rank. He gazed upon the mirth around him,
as if he could not participate therein. Apparently, the light
laughter of the fair only attracted his attention, that he might
by a look quell it, and throw fear into those breasts where
thoughtlessness reigned. Those who felt this sensation of awe,
could not explain whence it arose: some attributed it to the dead
grey eye, which, fixing upon the object's face, did not seem to
penetrate, and at one glance to pierce through to the inward
workings of the heart; but fell upon the cheek with a leaden ray
that weighed upon the skin it could not pass. His peculiarities
caused him to be invited to every house; all wished to see him,
and those who had been accustomed to violent excitement, and now
felt the weight of <i>ennui</i>, were pleased at having something
in their presence capable of engaging their attention. In spite
of the deadly hue of his face, which never gained a warmer tint,
either from the blush of modesty, or from the strong emotion of
passion, though its form and outline were beautiful, many of the
female hunters after notoriety attempted to win his attentions,
and gain, at least, some marks of what they might term affection:
Lady Mercer, who had been the mockery of every monster shewn in
drawing-rooms since her marriage, threw herself in his way, and
did all but put on the dress of a mountebank, to attract his
notice:--- though in vain:--- when she stood before him, though
his eyes were apparently fixed upon her's, still it seemed as if
they were unperceived;---even her unappalled impudence was
baffled, and she left, the field. But though the common adultress
could not influence even the guidance of his eyes, it was not
that the female sex was indifferent to him: yet such was the
apparent caution with which he spoke to the virtuous wife and
innocent daughter, that few knew he ever addressed himself to
females. He had, however, the reputation of a winning tongue; and
whether it was that it even overcame the dread of his singular
character, or that they were moved by his apparent hatred of
vice, he was as often among those females who form the boast of
their sex from their domestic virtues, as among those who sully
it by their vices.</p>
<p>About the same time, there came to London a young gentleman of
the name of Aubrey: he was an orphan left with an only sister in
the possession of great wealth, by parent» who died while
he was yet in childhood. Left also to himself by guardians, who
thought it their duty merely to take care of his fortune, while
they relinquished the more important charge of his mind to the
care of mercenary subalterns, he cultivated more his imagination
than his judgment. He had, hence, that high romantic feeling of
honour and candour, which daily ruins so many milliners'
apprentices. He believed all to sympathise with virtue, and
thought that vice was thrown in by Providence merely for the
picturesque effect 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 irregular folds and various
coloured patches. Me thought, in fine, that the dreams of poets
were the realities of life. He was handsome, frank, and rich: for
these reasons, upon his entering into the gay circles, many
mothers surrounded him, striving which should describe with least
truth their languishing or romping favourites: the daughters at
the same time, by their brightening countenances when he
approached, and by their sparkling eyes, when he opened his lips,
soon led him into false notions of his talents and his merit.
Attached as lie was to the romance of his solitary hours, he was
startled at finding, that, except in the tallow and wax candles
that flickered, not from the presence of a ghost, but from want
of snuffing, there was no foundation in real life for any of that
congeries of pleasing pictures and descriptions contained in
those volumes, from which he had formed his study. Finding,
however, some compensation in his gratified vanity, he was about
to relinquish his dreams, when the extraordinary being we have
above described, crossed him in his career.</p>
<p>He watched him; and the very impossibility of forming an idea
of the character of a man entirely absorbed in himself, who gave
few other signs of his observation of external objects, than the
tacit assent to their existence, implied by the avoidance of
their contact: allowing his imagination to picture every thing
that flattered its propensity to extravagant ideas, he soon
formed this object into the hero of a romance, and determined to
observe the offspring of his fancy, rather than the person before
him. He became acquainted with him, paid him attentions, and so
far advanced upon his notice, that his presence was always
recognised. He gradually learnt that Lord Ruthven's affairs were
embarrassed, and soon found, from the notes of preparation in
— Street, that he was about to travel. Desirous of gaining
some information respecting this singular character, who, till
now, had only whetted his curiosity, he hinted to his guardians,
that it was time for him to perform the tour, which for many
generations has been thought necessary to enable the young to
take some rapid steps in the career of vice towards putting
themselves upon an equality with the aged, and not allowing them
to appear as if fallen from the skies, whenever scandalous
intrigues are mentioned as the subjects of pleasantry or of
praise, according to the degree of skill shewn in carrying them
on. They consented: and Aubrey immediately mentioning his
intentions to Lord Ruthven, was surprised to receive from him a
proposal to join him. Flattered by such a mark of esteem from
him, who, apparently, had nothing in common with other men, he
gladly accepted it, and in a few days they hail passed the
circling waters.</p>
<p>Hitherto, Aubrey had had no opportunity of studying Lord
Ruthven's character, and now he found, that, though many more of
his actions were exposed to his view, the results offered
different conclusions from (lie apparent motives to his conduct.
His companion was profuse in his liberality; ---the idle, the
vagabond, and the beggar, received from his hand more than enough
to relieve their immediate wants. But Aubrey could not avoid
remarking, that it was not upon the virtuous, reduced to
indigence by the misfortunes attendant even upon virtue, that he
bestowed his alms; ---these were sent from the door with hardly
suppressed sneers; but when the profligate came to ask something,
not to relieve his wants, but to allow him to wallow in his lust,
or to sink him still deeper in his iniquity, he was sent away
with rich charity. This was, however, attributed by him to the
greater importunity of the vicious, which generally prevails over
the retiring bashfulness of the virtuous indigent. There was one
circumstance about the charity of his Lordship, which was still
more impressed upon his mind: all those upon whom it was
bestowed, inevitably found that there was a curse upon it, for
they were all either led to the scaffold, or sunk to the lowest
and the most abject misery. At Brussels and other towns through
which they passed, Aubrey was surprized at the apparent eagerness
with which his companion sought for the centres of all
fashionable vice; there he entered into all the spirit of the
faro table: he betted, and always gambled with success, except
where the known sharper was his antagonist, and then he lost even
more than he gained; but it was always with the same unchanging
face, with which he generally watched the society around: it was
not, however, so when he encountered the rash youthful novice, or
the luckless father of a numerous family; then his very wish
seemed fortune's law---this apparent abstractedness of mind was
laid aside, and his eyes sparkled with more fire than that of the
cat whilst dallying with lire half-dead mouse. In every town, he
left the formerly affluent youth, torn from the circle he
adorned, cursing, in the solitude of a dungeon, the fate that had
drawn him within the reach of this fiend; whilst many a father
sat frantic, amidst the speaking looks of mute hungry children,
without a single farthing of his late immense wealth, wherewith
to buy even sufficient to satisfy their present craving. Yet he
took no money from tho gambling table; but immediately lost, to
the ruiner of many, the last gilder he had just snatched from the
convulsive grasp of the innocent: this might but be the result of
a certain degree of knowledge, which was not, however, capable of
combating the cunning of the more experienced. Aubrey often
wished to represent this to his friend, and beg him to resign
that charity and pleasure which proved the ruin of all, and did
not tend to his own profit; ---but he delayed it---for each day
ho hoped his friend would give him some opportunity of speaking
frankly and openly to him; however, this never occurred. Lord
Ruthven in his carriage, and amidst the various wild and rich
scenes of nature, was always the same: his eye spoke less than
his lip; and though Aubrey was near the object of his curiosity,
he obtained no greater gratification from it than the constant
excitement of vainly wishing to break that mystery, which to his
exalted imagination began to assume the appearance of something
supernatural.</p>
<p>They soon arrived at Rome, and Aubrey for a time lost sight of
his companion; he left him in daily attendance upon the morning
circle of an Italian countess, whilst he went in search of the
memorials of another almost deserted city. Whilst he was thus
engaged, letters arrived from England, which he opened with eager
impatience; the first was from his sister, breathing nothing but
affection; the others were from his guardians, the latter
astonished him; if it had before entered into his imagination
that there was an evil power resident in his companion, these
seemed to give him sufficient reason for the belief. His
guardians insisted upon his immediately leaving his friend, and
urged, that his character was dreadfully vicious, for that the
possession of irresistible powers of seduction, rendered his
licentious habits more dangerous to society. It had been
discovered, that his contempt for the adultress had not
originated in hatred of her character; but that he had required,
to enhance his gratification, that his victim, the partner of his
guilt, should be hurled from the pinnacle of unsullied virtue,
down to the lowest abyss of infamy and degradation: in fine, that
all those females whom he had sought, apparently on account of
their virtue, had, since his departure, thrown even the mask
aside, and had not scrupled to expose the whole deformity of
their vices to the public gaze.</p>
<p>Aubrey determined upon leaving one, whose character had not
yet shown a single bright point on which to rest the eye. He
resolved to invent some plausible pretext for abandoning him
altogether, purposing, in the mean while, to watch him more
closely, and to let no slight circumstances pass by unnoticed. He
entered into the same circle, and soon perceived, that his
Lordship was endeavouring to work upon the inexperience of the
daughter of the lady whose house he chiefly frequented. In Italy,
it is seldom that an unmarried female is met with in society; he
was therefore obliged to carry on his plans in secret; but
Aubrey's eye followed him in all his windings, and soon
discovered that an assignation had been appointed, which would
most likely end in the ruin of an innocent, though thoughtless
girl. Losing no time, he entered the apartment of Lord Ruthven,
and abruptly asked him his intentions with respect to the lady,
informing him at the same time that he was aware of his being
about to meet her that very night. Lord Ruthven answered, that
his intentions were such as he supposed all would have upon such
an occasion; and upon being pressed whether he intended to marry
her, merely laughed. Aubrey retired; and, immediately writing a
note, to say, that from that moment he must decline accompanying
his Lordship in the remainder of their proposed tour, ho ordered
his servant to seek other apartments, and calling upon tho mother
of the lady, informed her of all he knew, not only with regard to
her daughter, but also concerning the character of his Lordship.
The assignation was prevented. Lord Ruthven next day merely sent
his servant to notify his complete assent to a separation; but
did not hint any suspicion of his plans having been foiled by
Aubrey's interposition.</p>
<p>Having left Rome, Aubrey directed his steps towards Greece,
and crossing the Peninsula, soon found himself at Athens. He then
fixed his residence in the house of a Greek; and soon occupied
himself in tracing the faded records of ancient glory upon
monuments that apparently, ashamed of chronicling the deeds of
freemen only before slaves, had hidden themselves beneath the
sheltering soil or many coloured lichen. Under the same roof as
himself, existed a being, so beautiful and delicate, that she
might have formed the model for a painter, wishing; to pourtray
oil canvass the promised hope of the faithful in Mahomet's
paradise, save that her eyes spoke too much mind for any one to
think she could belong to those who had no souls. As she danced
upon the plain, or tripped along the mountain's side, one would
have thought the gazelle a poor type of her beauties; for who
would have exchanged her eye, apparently the eye of animated
nature, for that sleepy luxurious look of the animal suited but
to the taste of an epicure. The light step of Ianthe often
accompanied Aubrey in his search after antiquities, and often
would the unconscious girl, engaged in the pursuit of a Kashmere
butterfly, show the whole beauty of her form, floating as it were
upon the wind, to the eager gaze of him, who forgot the letters
he had just decyphered upon an almost effaced tablet, in tho
contemplation of her sylph-like figure. Often would her tresses
falling, as she flitted around, exhibit in the sun's ray such
delicately brilliant and swiftly fading hues, its might well
excuse the forgetfulness of the antiquary, who let escape from
his mind the very object he had before thought of vital
importance to the proper interpretation of a passage in
Pausanias. But why attempt to describe charms which all feel, but
none can appreciate?---It was innocence, youth, and beauty,
unaffected by crowded drawing-rooms and stifling- balls. Whilst
he drew those remains of which lie wished to preserve a memorial
for his future hours, she would stand by, and watch the magic
effects of his pencil, in tracing the scenes of her native place;
she would then describe to him the circling dance upon the open
plain, would paint, to him in all the glowing colours of youthful
memory, the marriage pomp she remembered viewing in her infancy;
and then, turning to subjects that had evidently made a greater
impression upon her mind, would tell him all the supernatural
tales of her nurse. Her earnestness and apparent belief of what
she narrated, excited the interest even of Aubrey; and often as
she told him the tale of the living vampyre, who had passed years
amidst his friends, and dearest ties, forced every year, by
feeding upon the life of a lovely female to prolong his existence
for the ensuing months, his blood would run cold, whilst he
attempted to laugh her out of such idle and horrible fantasies;
> but lathe cited to him the names of old men, who had at last
detected one living among themselves, after several of their near
relatives and children had been found marked with the stamp of
the fiend's appetite,; and when she found him so incredulous, she
begged of him to believe her, for it had been, remarked, that
those who had dared to question their existence, always had some
proof given, which obliged them, with grief and heartbreaking, to
confess it was true. She detailed to him the traditional
appearance of these monsters, and his horror was increased, by
hearing a pretty accurate description of Lord Ruthven; he,
however, still persisted in persuading her, that there could be
no truth in her fears, though at the same time he wondered at the
many coincidences which had all tended to excite a belief in the
supernatural power of Lord Ruthven.</p>
<p>Aubrey began to attach himself more and more to Ianthe; her
innocence, so contrasted with all the affected virtues of the
women among whom he had sought for his vision of romance, won his
heart; and while he ridiculed the idea of a young man of English
habits, marrying an uneducated Greek girl, still he found himself
more and more attached to the almost fairy form before him. He
would tear himself at times from her, and, forming a plan for
some antiquarian research, he would depart, determined not to
return until his object was attained; but he always found it
impossible to fix his attention upon the ruins around him, whilst
in his mind he retained an image that seemed alone the rightful
possessor of his thoughts. Ianthe was unconscious of his love,
and was ever the same frank infantile being he had find: known.
She always seemed to part from him with reluctance; but it was
because she had no longer any one with whom she could visit her
favourite haunts, whilst her guardian was occupied in sketching
or uncovering some fragment which had yet escaped the destructive
hand of time. She had appealed to her parents on the subject of
Vampyres, and they both, with several present, affirmed their
existence, pale with horror at the very name. Soon after, Aubrey
determined to proceed upon one of his excursions, which was to
detain him for a few hours; when they heard the name of the
place, they all at once begged of him not to return at night, as
he must necessarily pass through a wood, where no Greek would
ever remain, after the day had closed, upon any consideration.
They described it as the resort of the vampyres in their
nocturnal orgies, and denounced the most heavy evils as impending
upon him who dared to cross their path. Aubrey made light of
their representations, and tried to laugh them out of the idea;
but when he saw them shudder at his daring thus to mock a
superior, infernal power, the very name of which apparently made
their blood freeze, he was silent.</p>
<p>Next morning Aubrey set off upon his excursion unattended; he
was surprised to observe the melancholy face of his host, and was
concerned to find that his words, mocking the belief of those
horrible fiends, had inspired them with such terror. When he was
about to depart, Ianthe came to the side of his horse, and
earnestly begged of him to return, ore night allowed the power of
these beings to be put in action;---he promised. He was, however,
so occupied in his research, that lie 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 mass, and pour all their rage upon the devoted
country. ---He at last, however, mounted his horse, determined to
make up by speed for his delay: but it was too late. Twilight, in
these southern climates, is almost unknown; immediately the sun
sets, night begins: and ere he had advanced far, the power of the
storm was above---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 dreadful rapidity through the
entangled forest. The animal at last, through fatigue, stopped,
and he found, 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 and brushwood which surrounded it.
Dismounting, he approached, hoping to find some one to guide him
to the town, or at least trusting to obtain shelter from the
pelting of the storm. As he approached, the thunders, for a
moment silent, allowed him to hear the dreadful shrieks of a
woman mingling with the stifled, exultant mockery of a laugh,
continued in one almost unbroken sound;---he was startled: but,
roused by the thunder which again rolled over his head, he, with
a sudden effort, forced open the door of the hut. He found
himself in utter darkness: the sound, however, guided him. He was
apparently unperceived; for, though he called, still the sounds
continued, and no notice was taken of him. He found himself in
contact with some one, whom he immediately seized; when a voice
cried, "Again baffled!" to which a loud laugh succeeded; and he
felt himself grappled by one whose strength seemed superhuman:
determined to sell his life as dearly as he could, he struggled;
but it was in vain: he was lifted from his feet and hurled with
enormous force against the ground: ---his enemy threw himself
upon him, and kneeling upon his breast, had placed his hands upon
his throat --- when the glare of many torches penetrating through
the hole that gave light in the day, disturbed him;---he
instantly rose, and, leaving his prey, rushed through the door,
and in a moment the crashing of the brandies, as he broke through
the wood, was no longer heard. The storm was now still; and
Aubrey, incapable of moving, was soon heard by those without.
They entered; the light of their torches fell upon the mud walls,
and the thatch loaded on every individual straw with heavy flakes
of soot. At the desire of Aubrey they searched for her who had
attracted him by her cries; he was again left in darkness; but
what was his horror, when the light of the torches once more
burs; upon him, to perceive the airy form of his fair conductress
brought in a lifeless corse. He shut his eyes, hoping that it was
but a vision arising from his disturbed imagination; but he again
saw the same form, when he unclosed them, stretched by his side.
There was no colour upon her cheek, not even upon her lip; yet
there was a stillness about her face that seemed almost as
attaching as the life that once dwelt there:--- upon her neck and
breast was blood, and upon her throat were the marks of teeth
having opened the vein:---to this the men pointed, crying,
simultaneously struck with horror, " A Vampyre! a Vampyre!" A
litter was quickly formed, and Aubrey was laid by the side of her
who had lately been to him the object of so many bright and fairy
visions, now fallen with the flower of life that had died within
her. He knew not what his thoughts were---his mind was benumbed
and seemed to shun reflection, and take refuge in vacancy---he
held almost unconsciously in his hand a naked dagger of a
particular construction, which had been found in the hut. They
were soon met by different parties who had been engaged in the
search of her whom a mother had missed. Their lamentable cries,
as they approached the city, forewarned the parents of some
dreadful catastrophe. ---To describe their grief would be
impossible; but when they ascertained the cause of their child's
death, they looked at Aubrey, and pointed to the corse. They were
inconsolable; both died broken-hearted.</p>
<p>Aubrey being put to bed was seized with a most violent fever,
and was often delirious; in these intervals he would call upon
Lord Ruthven and upon Ianthe---by some unaccountable combination
he seemed to beg of his former companion to spare the being he
loved. At other times he would imprecate maledictions upon his
head, and curse him as her destroyer. Lord Ruthven, chanced at
this time to arrive at Athens, and, from whatever motive, upon
hearing of the state of Aubrey, immediately placed himself in the
same house, and became his constant attendant. When the latter
recovered from his delirium, he was horrified and startled at the
sight of him whose image he had now combined with that of a
Vampyre; but Lord Ruthven, by his kind words, implying almost
repentance for the fault that had caused their separation, and
still more by the attention, anxiety, and care which he showed,
soon reconciled him to his presence. His lordship seemed quite
changed; he no longer appeared that apathetic being who had so
astonished Aubrey; but as soon as his convalescence began to be
rapid, he again gradually retired into the same state of mind,
and Aubrey perceived no difference from the former man, except
that at times he was surprised to meet his gaze fixed intently
upon him, with a smile of malicious exultation playing upon his
lips: he knew not why, but this smile haunted him. During the
last stage of the invalid's recovery, Lord Ruthven was apparently
engaged in watching the tideless waves raised by the cooling
breeze, or in marking the progress of those orbs, circling, like
our world, the moveless sun;---indeed, he appeared to wish to
avoid the eyes of all.</p>
<p>Aubrey's mind, by this shock, was much weakened, and that
elasticity of spirit which had once so distinguished him now
seemed to have fled for ever. He was now as much a lover of
solitude and silence as Lord Ruthven; but much as he wished for
solitude, his mind could not find it in the neighbourhood of
Athens; if he sought it amidst the ruins he had formerly
frequented, Ianthe's form stood by his side---if he sought it in
the woods, her light step would appear wandering amidst the
underwood, in quest of the modest violet; then suddenly turning
round, would show, to his wild imagination, her pale face and
wounded throat, with a meek smile upon her lips. He determined to
fly scenes, every feature of which created such bitter
associations in his mind. He proposed to Lord Ruthven, to whom he
held himself bound by the tender care he-had taken of him during
his illness, that they should visit those parts of Greece neither
had yet seen. They travelled in every direction, and sought 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 gazed upon. They heard much of robbers, but they
gradually began to slight these reports, which they imagined were
only the invention of individuals, whose interest it was to
excite the generosity of those whom they defended from pretended
dangers. In consequence of thus neglecting the advice of the
inhabitants, on one occasion they travelled with only a few
guards, more to serve as guides than as a defence. Upon entering,
however, a narrow defile, at the bottom of which was the bed of a
torrent, with large masses of rock brought down from the
neighbouring precipices, they had reason to repent their
negligence; for scarcely were tho whole of the party engaged in
the narrow pass, when they were startled by the whistling of
bullets close to their heads, and by the echoed report of several
guns. In an instant their guards had left them, and, placing
themselves behind rocks, had begun to fire in the direction
whence the report came. Lord Ruthven and Aubrey, imitating their
example, retired for a moment behind the sheltering turn of the
defile: but ashamed of being thus detained by a foe, who with
insulting shouts bade them advance, and being exposed to
unresisting slaughter, if any of the robbers should climb above
and take them in the rear, they determined at once to rush
forward in search of the enemy. Hardly had they lost the shelter
of the rock, when Lord Ruthven received a shot in the shoulder,
which brought him to the ground. Aubrey hastened to his
assistance; and, no longer heeding the contest or his own peril,
was soon surprised by seeing the robbers' faces around him---his
guards having, upon Lord Ruthven's being wounded, immediately
thrown up their arms and surrendered.</p>
<p>By promises of great reward, Aubrey soon induced them to
convey his wounded friend to a neighbouring cabin; and having
agreed upon a ransom, he was no more disturbed by their
presence---they being content merely to guard the entrance till
their comrade should return with the promised sum, for which he
had an order. Lord Ruthven's strength rapidly decreased; in two
days mortification ensued, and death seemed advancing with hasty
steps. His conduct and appearance had not changed; he seemed as
unconscious of pain as he had been of the objects about him: but
towards the close of the last evening, his mind became apparently
uneasy, and his eye often fixed upon Aubrey, who was induced to
offer his assistance with more than usual
earnestness—"Assist me! you may save me---you may do more
than that---I mean not my life, I heed the death of my existence
as little as that of the passing day; but you may save my honour,
your friend's honour."---"How? tell me how? I would do any
thing," replied Aubrey. ---"I need but little---my life ebbs
apace---I cannot explain the whole---but if you would conceal all
you know of me, my honour were free from stain in the world's
mouth---and if my death were unknown for some time in
England---I---I---but life."---" It shall not be known."---"Swear
!" cried the dying man, raising himself with exultant violence, "
Swear by all your soul reveres, by all your nature fears, swear
that, for a year and a day you will not impart your knowledge of
my crimes or death to any living being in any way, whatever may
happen, or whatever you may see. "---His eyes seemed bursting
from their sockets: " I swear !" said Aubrey; he sunk laughing
upon his pillow, and breathed no more.</p>
<p>Aubrey retired to rest, but did not sleep; the many
circumstances attending his acquaintance with this man rose upon
his mind, and he knew not why; when he remembered his oath a cold
shivering came over him, as if from the presentiment of something
horrible awaiting him. Rising early in the morning, he was about
to enter the hovel in which he had left the corpse, when a robber
met him, and informed him that it was no longer there, having
been conveyed by himself and comrades, upon his retiring, to the
pinnacle of a neighbouring mount, according to a promise they had
given his lordship, that it should be exposed to the first cold
ray of the moon that rose after his death. Aubrey astonished, and
taking several of the men, determined to go and bury it upon the
spot where it lay. But, when he had mounted to the summit he
found no trace of either the corpse or the clothes, though the
robbers swore they pointed out the identical rock: on which they
had laid the body. For a time his mind was bewildered in
conjectures, but he at last returned, convinced that they had
buried the corpse for the sake of the clothes.</p>
<p>Weary of a country in which he had met with such terrible
misfortunes, and in which all apparently conspired to heighten
that superstitious melancholy that had seized upon his mind, he
resolved to leave it, and soon arrived at Smyrna. While waiting
for a vessel to convey him to Otranto, or to Naples, he occupied
himself in arranging those effects be had with him belonging to
Lord Ruthven. Amongst other things there was a case containing
several weapons of offence, more or less adapted to ensure the
death of the victim. There were several daggers and ataghans.
Whilst turning them over, and examining their curious forms, what
was his surprise at finding a sheath apparently ornamented in the
same style as the dagger discovered in the fatal hut---he
shuddered---hastening to gain further proof, he found the weapon,
and his horror may be imagined when he discovered that it fitted,
though peculiarly shaped, the sheath he held in his hand. His
eyes seemed to need no further certainty---they seemed gazing to
be bound to the dagger; yet still he wished to disbelieve; but
the particular form, the same varying tints upon the haft and
sheath were alike in splendour on both, and left no room for
doubt; there were also drops of blood on each.</p>
<p>He left Smyrna, and on his way home, at Rome, his first
inquiries were concerning the lady he had attempted to snatch
from Lord Ruthven's seductive arts. Her parents were in distress,
their fortune ruined, and she had not been heard of since the
departure of his lordship. Aubrey's mind became almost broken
under so many repeated horrors; he was afraid that this lady had
fallen a victim to the destroyer of Ianthe. He became morose and
silent; and his only occupation consisted in urging the speed of
the postilions, as if he were going to save the life of some one
he held dear. He arrived at Calais; a breeze, which seemed
obedient to his will, soon wafted him to the English shores; and
he hastened to the mansion of his fathers, and there, for a
moment, appeared to lose, in the embraces and caresses of his
sister, all memory of the past. If she before, by her infantine
caresses, had gained his affection, now that the woman began to
appear, she was still more attaching as a companion.</p>
<p>Miss Aubrey had not that winning grace which gains the gaze
and applause of the drawing-room assemblies. There was none of
that light brilliancy which only exists in the heated atmosphere
of a crowded apartment. Her blue eye was never lit up by the
levity of the mind beneath. There was a melancholy charm about it
which did not seem to arise from misfortune, but from some
feeling within, that appeared to indicate a soul conscious of a
brighter realm. Her step was not that light footing, which strays
where'er a butterfly or a colour may attract---it was sedate and
pensive. When alone, her face was never brightened by the smile
of joy; but when her brother breathed to her his affection, and
would in her presence forget those griefs she knew destroyed his
rest, who would have exchanged her smile for that of the
voluptuary? It seemed as if those eyes,---that face were then
playing in the light of their own native sphere. She was yet only
eighteen, and had not been presented to the world, it having been
thought by her guardians more fit that her presentation should be
delayed until her brother's return from the continent, when he
might be her protector. It was now, therefore, resolved that the
next drawing-room, which was fast approaching, should be the
epoch of her entry into the "busy scene. " Aubrey would rather
have remained in the mansion of his fathers, and fed upon the
melancholy which overpowered him. He could not fed interest about
the frivolities of fashionable strangers, when his mind had been
so torn by the events he had witnessed; but he determined to
sacrifice his own comfort to the protection of his sister. They
soon arrived in town, and prepared for the next day, which had
been announced as a drawing-room.</p>
<p>The crowd was excessive---a drawing-room had not been held for
a long time, and all who were anxious to bask in the smile of
royalty, hastened thither. Aubrey was there with his sister.
While he was standing in a corner by himself, heedless of all
around him, engaged in the remembrance that the first time he had
seen Lord Ruthven was in that very place---he felt himself
suddenly seized by the arm, and a voice he recognized too well,
sounded in his ear---" Remember your oath. " He had hardly
courage to turn, fearful of seeing a spectre that would blast
him, when he perceived, at a little distance, the same figure
which had attracted his notice on this spot upon his first entry
into society. He gazed till his limbs almost refusing to bear
their weight, he was obliged to take the arm of a friend, and
forcing a passage through the crowd, he threw himself into his
carriage, and was driven home. He paced the room with hurried
steps, and fixed his hands upon his head, as if he were afraid
his thoughts were bursting from his brain. Lord Ruthven again
before him---circumstances started up in dreadful array---the
dagger---his oath.---He roused himself, he could not believe it
possible---the dead rise again!---He thought his imagination had
conjured up the image, his mind was resting upon. It was
impossible that it could be real— ---he determined,
therefore, to go again into society; for though he attempted to
ask concerning Lord Ruthven, the name hung upon his lips, and he
could not succeed in gaining information. He went a few nights
after with lib sister to the assembly of a near relation. Leaving
her under the protection of a matron, ho retired into a recess,
and there gave himself up to his own devouring thoughts.
Perceiving, at last, that many were leaving, he roused himself,
and entering another room, found his sister surrounded by
several, apparently in earnest conversation; he attempted to pass
and get near her, when one, whom he requested to move, turned
round, and revealed to him those features he most abhorred. He
sprang forward, seized his sister's arm, and, with hurried step,
forced her towards the street: at the door he found himself
impeded by the crowd of servants who were waiting for their
lords; and while he was engaged in passing them, he again heard
that voice whisper close to him—"Remember your
oath!"—He did not dare to turn, but, hurrying his sister,
soon reached home.</p>
<p>Aubrey became almost distracted. If before his mind had been
absorbed by one subject, how much more completely was it
engrossed, now that the certainty of the monster's living again
pressed upon his thoughts. His sister's attentions were now
unheeded, and it was in vain that she intreated him to explain to
her what had caused his abrupt conduct. He only uttered a few
words, and those terrified her. The more he thought, the more he
was bewildered. His oath startled him;—was he then to allow
this monster to roam, bearing ruin upon his breath, amidst all he
held dear, and not avert its progress? His very sister might have
been touched by him. But even if he were to break his oath, and
disclose his suspicions, who would believe him? He thought of
employing his own hand to free the world from such a wretch; but
death, he remembered, had been already mocked. For days he
remained in this state; shut up in his room, he saw no one, and
eat only when his sister came, who, with eyes streaming with
tears, besought him, for her sake, to support nature. At last, no
longer capable of bearing stillness and solitude, he left his
house, roamed from street to street, anxious to fly that image
which haunted him. His dress became neglected, and he wandered,
as often exposed to the noon-day sun as to the midnight damps. He
was no longer to be recognized; at first he returned with the
evening to the house; but at last he laid him down to rest
wherever fatigue overtook him. His sister, anxious for his
safety, employed people to follow him; but they were soon
distanced by him who fled from a pursuer swifter than any---from
thought. His conduct, however, suddenly changed. Struck with the
idea that he left by his absence the whole of his friends, with a
fiend amongst them, of whose presence they were unconscious, he
determined to enter again into society, and watch him closely,
anxious to forewarn, in spite of his oath, all whom Lord Ruthven
approached with intimacy. But when he entered into a room, his
haggard and suspicious looks were so striking, his inward
shudderings so visible, that his sister was at last obliged to
beg of him to abstain from seeking, for her sake, a society which
affected him so strongly. When, however, remonstrance proved
unavailing, the guardians thought proper to interpose, and,
fearing that his mind was becoming alienated, they thought it
high time to resume again that trust which had been before
imposed upon them by Aubrey's parents.</p>
<p>Desirous of saving him from the injuries and sufferings he had
daily encountered in his wanderings, and of preventing him from
exposing to the general eye those marks of what they considered
folly, they engaged a physician to reside in the house, and take
constant care of him. He hardly appeared to notice it, so
completely was his mind absorbed by one terrible subject. His
incoherence became at last so great, that he was confined to his
chamber. There he would often lie for days, incapable of being
roused. He had become emaciated, 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
sometimes start, and, seizing her hands, with looks that severely
affliced her, he would desire her not to touch him. " Oh, do not
touch him---if your love for me is aught, do not go near him!"
When, however, she inquired to whom he referred, his only answer
was, "True! true! and again he sank into a state, whence not even
she could rouse him. This lasted many months: gradually, however,
as the year was passing, his incoherences became less frequent,
and his mind threw off a portion of its gloom, whilst his
guardians observed, that several times in the day he would count
upon his fingers a definite number, and then smile.</p>
<p>The time had nearly elapsed, when, upon the last day of the
year, one of his guardians entering his room, began to converse
with his physician upon the melancholy circumstance of Aubrey's
being in so awful a situation, when his sister was going next day
to be married. Instantly Aubrey's attention was attracted; he
asked anxiously to whom. Glad of this mark of returning
intellect, of which they feared he had been deprived, they
mentioned the name of the Earl of Marsden. Thinking this was a
young Earl whom he had met with in society, Aubrey seemed
pleased, and astonished them still more by his expressing his
intention to be present tit the nuptials, and desiring to see his
sister. They answered not, but in a few minutes his sister was
with him. He was apparently again capable of being affected by
the influence of her lovely smile; for he pressed her to his
breast, and kissed her check, wet with tears, flowing at the
thought of her brother's being once more alive to the feelings of
affection. He began to speak with all his wonted warmth, and to
congratulate her upon her marriage with a person so distinguished
for rank and every accomplishment; when he suddenly perceived a
locket upon her breast; opening it, what was his surprise at
beholding the features of the monster who had so long influenced
his life. He seized the portrait in a paroxysm of rage, and
trampled it under foot. Upon her asking him why he thus destroyed
the resemblance of her future husband, he looked as if he did not
understand her---then seizing her hands, and gazing on her with a
frantic expression of countenance, he bade her swear that she
would never wed this monster, for he----But he could not
advance---it seemed as if that voice again bade him remember his
oath---he turned suddenly round, thinking Lord Ruthven was near
him but saw no one. In the meantime the guardians and physician,
who had heard the whole, and thought this was but a return of his
disorder, entered, and forcing him from Miss Aubrey, desired her
to leave him. He fell upon his knees to them, he implored, he
begged of them to delay but for one day. They, attributing this
to the insanity they imagined had taken possession of his mind,
endeavoured to pacify him, and retired.</p>
<p>Lord Ruthven had called the morning after the drawing-room,
and had been refused with every one else. When he heard of
Aubrey's ill health, he readily understood himself to be the
cause of it; but when he learned that he was deemed insane, his
exultation and pleasure could hardly be concealed from those
among whom he had gained this information. He hastened to the
house of his former companion, and, by constant attendance, and
the pretence of great affection for the brother and interest in
his fate, he gradually won the car of Miss Aubrey. Who could
resist his power? His tongue had dangers and toils to
recount—could speak of himself as of an individual having
no sympathy with any being on the crowded earth, save with her to
whom he addressed himself;—could tell how, since he knew
her, his existence, had begun to seem worthy of preservation, if
it were merely that he might listen to her soothing
accents;—in fine, he knew so well how to use the serpent's
art, or such was the will of fate, that he gained her affections.
The title of the elder branch falling at length to him, lie
obtained an important embassy, which served as an excuse for
hastening the marriage, (in spite of her brother's deranged
state,) which was to take place the very day before his departure
for the continent.</p>
<p>Aubrey, when he was left by the physician and his guardians,
attempted to bribe the servants, but in vain. He asked for pen
and paper; it was given him; be wrote a letter to his sister,
conjuring her, as she valued her own happiness, her own honour,
and the honour of those now in the grave, who once held her 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 promised they would deliver it; but
giving it to the physician, he thought it better not to harass
any more the mind of Miss Aubrey by, what he considered, the
ravings of a maniac. Night passed on without rest to the busy
inmates of the house; and Aubrey heard, with a horror that may
more easily be conceived than described, the notes of busy
preparation. Morning came, and the sound of carriages broke upon
his ear. Aubrey grew almost frantic. The curiosity of the
servants at last overcame their vigilance, they gradually stole
away, leaving him in the custody of an helpless old woman. He
seized the opportunity, with one bound was out of the room, and
in a moment found himself in the apartment where all were nearly
assembled. Lord Ruthven was the first to perceive him: lie
immediately approached, and, taking his arm by force, hurried him
from the room, speechless with rage. When on the staircase, Lord
Ruthven whispered in his ear—" Remember your oath, and
know, if not my bride to day, your sister is dishonoured. Women
are frail!" So saying, he pushed him towards his attendants, who,
roused by the old woman, had come in search of him. Aubrey could
no longer support himself; his rage not finding vent, had broken
a blood-vessel, and he was conveyed to bed. This was not
mentioned to his sister, who was not present when he entered, as
the physician was afraid of agitating her. The marriage was
solemnized, and the bride and bridegroom left London.</p>
<p>Aubrey's weakness increased; the effusion of blood produced
symptoms of the near approach of death. He desired his sister's
guardians might be called, and when the midnight hour had struck,
he related composedly what the reader has perused—he died
immediately after.</p>
<p>The guardians hastened to protect Miss Aubrey; but when they
arrived, it was too late. Lord Ruthven had disappeared, and
Aubrey's sister had glutted the thirst of a VAMPYRE!</p>
<hr>
<p align="center">EXTRACT OF A LETTER,</p>
<p align="center"><font size="-1">CONTAINING AN
ACCOUNT</font></p>
<p align="center"><font size="-2">OF</font></p>
<p align="center"><font size="+1">LORD BYRON'S
RESIDENCE</font></p>
<p align="center"><font size="-2">IN THE</font></p>
<p align="center">ISLAND OF MITYLENE.</p>
<hr>
<p align="center">ACCOUNT</p>
<p align="center"><font size="-2">OF</font></p>
<p align="center"><font size="+1">LORD BYRON'S RESIDENCE,
&c.</font></p>
<hr width="20%">
<p align="center"><font size="-1">"The world was all before him,
where to choose his place of rest, and Providence his
guide."</font></p>
<p>IN Sailing through the Grecian Archipelago, on board one of
his Majesty's vessels, in the year 1812, we put into the harbour
of Mitylene, in the island of that name. The beauty of this
place, and the certain supply of cattle and vegetables always to
be had there, induce many British vessels to visit it---both men
of war and merchantmen; and though it lies rather out of the
track for ships bound to Smyrna, its bounties amply repay for the
deviation of a voyage. We landed; as usual, at the bottom of the
bay, and whilst the men were employed in watering, and the purser
bargaining for cattle with the natives, the clergyman and myself
took a ramble to the cave called Homer's School, and other
places, where we had been before. On the brow of Mount Ida (a
small monticule so named) we met with and engaged a young Greek
as our guide, who told us he had come from Scio with an English
lord, who left the island four days previous to our arrival in
his felucca. "He engaged me as a pilot, " said the Greek, " and
would have taken me with him; but I did not choose to quit
Mitylene, where I am likely to get married. He was an odd, but a
very good man. The cottage over the hill, facing the river,
belongs to him, and he has left an old man in charge of it: he
gave Dominick, the wine-trader, six hundred zechines for it,
(about 250<i>l</i>. English currency,) and has resided there
about fourteen months, though not constantly; for he sails in his
felucca very often to the different islands. "</p>
<p>This account excited our curiosity very much, and we lost no
time in hastening to the house where out countryman had resided.
We were kindly received by an old man, who conducted us over the
mansion. It consisted of four apartments on the ground-floor---an
entrance hall, a drawing-room, a sitting parlour, and a bed-room,
with a spacious closet annexed. They were all simply decorated:
plain green-stained walls, marble tables on either side, a large
myrtle in the centre, and a small fountain beneath, which could
be made to play through the branches by moving a spring fixed in
the side of a small bronze Venus in a leaning posture; a large
couch or sofa completed the furniture. In the hall stood half a
dozen English cane chairs, and an empty book-case: there were no
mirrors, nor a single painting. The bedchamber had merely a large
mattress spread on the floor, with two stuffed cotton quilts and
a pillow---the common bed throughout Greece. In the sitting-room
we observed a marble recess, formerly, the old man told us,
filled with books and papers, which were then in a large seaman's
chest in the closet: it was open, but we did not think ourselves
justified in examining the contents. On the tablet of the recess
lay Voltaire's, Shakspeare's, Boileau's, and Rousseau's works
complete; Volney's Ruins of Empires; Zimmerman, in the German
language; Klopstock's Messiah; Kotzebue's novels; Schiller's play
of the Robbers; Milton's Paradise Lost, an Italian edition,
printed at Parma in 1810; several small pamphlets from the Greek
press at Constantinople, much torn, but no English book of any
description. Most of these books were filled with marginal notes,
written with a pencil, in Italian and Latin. The Messiah was
literally scribbled all over, and marked with slips of paper, on
which also were remarks.</p>
<p>The old man said: " The lord had been reading these books the
evening before he sailed, and forgot to place them with the
others; but, " said he, " there they must lie until 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 trouble of taking care of it, except
twenty zechines which I pay to an aged Armenian who resides in a
small cottage in the wood, and whom the lord brought here from
Adrianople; I don't know for what reason. "</p>
<p>The appearance of the house externally was pleasing. The
portico in front was fifty paces long and fourteen broad, and the
fluted marble pillars with black plinths and fret-work cornices,
(as it is now customary in Grecian architecture,) were
considerably higher than the roof. The roof, surrounded by a
light stone balustrade, was covered by a fine Turkey carpet,
beneath an awning of strong coarse linen. Most of the house-tops
are thus furnished, as upon them the Greeks pass their evenings
in smoking, drinking light wines, such as " lachryma christi, "
eating fruit, and enjoying the evening breeze.</p>
<p>On the left hand as we entered the house, a small streamlet
glided away, grapes, oranges and limes were clustering together
on its borders, and under the shade of two large myrtle bushes, a
marble scat with an ornamental wooden back was placed, on which
we were told, the lord passed many of his evenings and nights
till twelve o'clock, reading, writing, and talking to himself. "
I suppose, " said the old man, "<i>praying</i>" for he was very
devout, and always attended our church twice a week, besides
Sundays. "</p>
<p>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 Calcla,
covered with olive and myrtle trees in bloom, and on the summit
of which an ancient Greek temple appeared in majestic decay. A
small stream issuing 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 lofty chesnut and palm-trees, several small islands were
distinctly observed, studding the light blue wave with spots of
emerald green. I seldom enjoyed a view more than I did this; but
our enquiries were fruitless as to the name of the person who had
resided in this romantic solitude: none knew his name but
Dominick, his banker, who had gone to Candia. " The Armenian, "
said our conductor, " could tell, but I am sure he will
not,"---"And cannot you tell, old friend?" said I---" If I can, "
said he, " I dare not. " We had not time to visit the Armenian,
but on our return to the town we learnt several particulars of
the isolated lord. He had portioned eight young girls when he was
last upon the island, and even <i>danced</i> with them at the
nuptial feast. He gave a cow to one man, horses to others, and
cotton and silk to the girls who live by weaving these articles.
He also bought a new boat for a fisherman who had lost his own in
a gale, and he often gave Greek Testaments to the poor children.
In short, he appeared to us, from all we collected, to have been
a very eccentric and benevolent character. One circumstance we
learnt, which our old friend at the cottage thought proper not to
disclose. He had a most beautiful daughter, with whom the lord
was often seen walking on the sea-shore, and he had bought her a
piano-forte, and taught her himself the use of it.</p>
<p>Such was the information with which we departed from the
peaceful isle of Mitylene; our imaginations all on the rack,
guessing who this rambler in Greece could be. He had money it was
evident: he had philanthropy of disposition, and all those
eccentricities which mark peculiar genius. Arrived at Palermo,
all our doubts were dispelled. Falling in company with Mr.
FOSTER, the architect, a pupil of WYATT'S, who had been
travelling in Egypt and Greece, " The individual, " said he, "
about whom you are so anxious, is Lord Byron; I met him in my
travels on the island of Tenedos, and I also visited him at
Mitylene. " We had never then heard of his lordship's fame, as we
had been some years from home; but "Childe Harolde" being put
into our hands we recognized the recluse of Calcla in every page.
Deeply did we regret not having been more curious in our
researches at the cottage, but we consoled ourselves with the
idea of returning to Mitylene on some future day; but to me that
day will never return. I make this statement, believing it not
quite uninteresting, and in justice to his lordship's good name,
which has been grossly slandered. He has been described as of an
unfeeling disposition, averse to associating with human nature,
or contributing in any way to sooth its sorrows, or add to its
pleasures. The fact is directly the reverse, as may be plainly
gathered from these little anecdotes. All the finer feelings of
the heart, so elegantly depicted in his lordship's poems, seem to
have their seat in his bosom. Tenderness, sympathy, and charity
appear to guide all his actions: and his courting the repose of
solitude is an additional reason for marking him as a being on
whose heart Religion hath set her seal, and over whose head
Benevolence hath thrown her mantle. No man can read the preceding
pleasing "traits" without feeling proud of him as a countryman.
With respect to his loves or pleasures, I do not assume a right
to give an opinion. Reports are ever to be received with caution,
particularly when directed against man's moral integrity; and he
who dares justify himself before that awful tribunal where all
must appear, alone may censure the errors of a fellow-mortal.
Lord Byron's character is worthy of his genius. To do good in
secret, and shun the world's applause, is the surest testimony of
a virtuous heart and self-approving conscience.</p>
<p align="center"><font size="-1">THE END</font></p>
<pre>
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