Sayfa 260 / 483

"Cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live? Why, in that instant,

did I not extinguish the spark of existence which you had so

wantonly bestowed? I know not; despair had not yet taken

possession of me; my feelings were those of rage and revenge. I

could with pleasure have destroyed the cottage and its

inhabitants and have glutted myself with their shrieks and

misery.

"When night came I quitted my retreat and wandered in the wood;

and now, no longer restrained by the fear of discovery, I gave

vent to my anguish in fearful howlings. I was like a wild beast

that had broken the toils, destroying the objects that obstructed

me and ranging through the wood with a stag-like swiftness. Oh!

What a miserable night I passed! The cold stars shone in mockery,

and the bare trees waved their branches above me; now and then

the sweet voice of a bird burst forth amidst the universal

stillness. All, save I, were at rest or in enjoyment; I, like the

arch-fiend, bore a hell within me, and finding myself

unsympathised with, wished to tear up the trees, spread havoc and

destruction around me, and then to have sat down and enjoyed the

ruin.