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Yet one duty remained to me, the recollection of which finally

triumphed over my selfish despair. It was necessary that I should

return without delay to Geneva, there to watch over the lives of

those I so fondly loved and to lie in wait for the murderer, that

if any chance led me to the place of his concealment, or if he

dared again to blast me by his presence, I might, with unfailing

aim, put an end to the existence of the monstrous image which I

had endued with the mockery of a soul still more monstrous. My

father still desired to delay our departure, fearful that I could

not sustain the fatigues of a journey, for I was a shattered

wreck-the shadow of a human being. My strength was gone. I was a

mere skeleton, and fever night and day preyed upon my wasted

frame.