科学怪人 Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen We spent some months in London. Clerval was planning to visit India. He hoped to be able to help the progress of European colonization and trade there. He spoke several of the languages of India and was interested in the people. In London there were many men who could help him. I spoke to the English scientist, then I began collecting the materials for my creation. I hated the thought of beginning this awful work. After some months, we received a letter from a person in Scotland who invited us to visit him.We left London in March and travelled slowly north. We stayed in Oxford then in Matlock.We spent two months in Cumberland and Westmorland, which were almost like the Swiss mountains. The snow on the northern sides of the mountains, the lakes, and the rivers made us feel at home. Then we went on to Scotland. I was not sorry. It was now many months since I had made my promise, and I was afraid of the monster's disappointment. Sometimes I feared that he might hurt my family. At other times I thought he would punish me by murdering Clerval. I felt as if I had committed some great crime. When we got to Perth in Scotland, I told Clerval that I wished to travel alone for a month or two.' Enjoy your visit,' I told him, 'we will meet here when I return.' Henry did not want me to go. He told me to write to him often and to come back as soon as possible. After I left Clerval, I travelled north. I was sure that the monster had followed me. I went to one of the smallest islands of Orkney. On the whole island there were only three miserable huts, and one of them was empty. I rented it and moved in with my instruments and materials. There I worked every morning. In the evenings I walked by the sea. As my work proceeded it became more and more hateful to me. Sometimes I did not work for two or three days. At other times I worked day and night, hoping to finish it quickly. The things I had to do often made me feel sick, but I continued to work.