zhang53

(b) How is he to be taken?–Here a process of exclusions may help usBy road, by rail, by water?

1-There are endless difficulties, especially in leaving the city

(x) There are peopleAnd people are curious, and investigateA hint, a surmise, a doubt as to what might be in the box, would destroy him

(y) There are, or there may be, customs and octroi officers to pass

(z) His pursuers might followThis is his highest fearAnd in order to prevent his being betrayed he has repelled, so far as he can, even his victim, me!

2-There is no one in charge of the boxIt would have to take its chance of being delayed, and delay would be fatal, with enemies on the trackTrue, he might escape at nightBut what would he be, if left in a strange place with no refuge that he could fly to? This is not what he intends, and he does not mean to risk it-Here is the safest way, in one respect, but with most danger in anotherOn the water he is powerless except at nightEven then he can only summon fog and storm and snow and his wolvesBut were he wrecked, the living water would engulf him, helpless, and he would indeed be lostHe could have the vessel drive to land, but if it were unfriendly land, wherein he was not free to move, his position would still be desperate

We know from the record that he was on the water, so what we have to do is to ascertain what water

The first thing is to realize exactly what he has done as yetWe may, then, get a light on what his task is to be-We must differentiate between what he did in London as part of his general plan of action, when he was pressed for moments and had to arrange as best he could-We must see, as well as we can surmise it from the facts we know of, what he has done here

As to the first, he evidently intended to arrive at Galatz, and sent invoice to Varna to deceive us lest we should ascertain his means of exit from EnglandHis immediate and sole purpose then was to escapeThe proof of this, is the letter of instructions sent to Immanuel Hildesheim to clear and take away the box before sunriseThere is also the instruction to Petrof SkinskyThese we must only guess at, but there must have been some letter or message, since Skinsky came to Hildesheim

That, so far, his plans were successful we knowThe Czarina Catherine made a phenomenally quick journeySo much so that Captain Donelson’s suspicions were arousedBut his superstition united with his canniness played the Count’s game for him, and he ran with his favouring wind through fogs and all till he brought up blindfold at GalatzThat the Count’s arrangements were well made, has been provedHildesheim cleared the box, took it off, and gave it to SkinskySkinsky took it, and here we lose the trailWe only know that the box is somewhere on the water, moving alongThe customs and the octroi, if there be any, have been avoided

Now we come to what the Count must have done after his arrival, on land, at Galatz

The box was given to Skinsky before shop sunrise

“And indeed, indeed, sir,” said Arthur warmly”I shall in all ways trust youI know and believe you have a very noble heart, and you are Jack’s friend, and you were hersYou shall do what you like

The Professor cleared his throat a couple of times, as though about to speak, and finally said, “May I ask you something now?”

“Certainly

“You know that MrsWestenra left you all her property?”

“No, poor dearI never thought of it

“And as it is all yours, you have a right to deal with it as you willI want you to give me permission to read all Miss Lucy’s papers and lettersBelieve me, it is no idle curiosityI have a motive of which, be sure, she would have approvedI took them before we knew that all was yours, so that no strange hand might touch them, no strange eye look through words into her soulI shall keep them, if I mayEven you may not see them yet, but I shall keep them safeNo word shall be lost, and in the good time I shall give them back to youIt is a hard thing that I ask, but you will do it, will you not, for Lucy’s sake?”

Arthur spoke out heartily, like his old self, “DrVan Helsing, you may do what you willI feel that in saying this I am doing what my dear one would have approvedI shall not trouble you with questions till the time comes

The old Professor stood up as he said solemnly, “And you are rightThere will be pain for us all, but it will not be all pain, nor will this pain be the lastWe and you too, you most of all, dear boy, will have to pass through the bitter water before we reach the sweetBut we must be brave of heart and unselfish, and do our duty, and all will be well!”

I slept on a sofa in Arthur’s room that nightVan Helsing did not go to bed at allHe went to and fro, as if patroling the house, and was never out of sight of the room where Lucy lay in her coffin, strewn with the wild garlic flowers, which sent through the odour of lily and rose, a heavy, overpowering smell into the night

MINA HARKER’S JOURNAL

22 September-In the train to ExeterIt seems only yesterday that the last entry was made, and yet how much between then, in Whitby and all the world before me, Jonathan away and no news of him, and now, married to Jonathan, Jonathan a solicitor, a partner, rich, master of his business, MrHawkins dead and buried, and Jonathan with another attack that may harm himSome day he may ask me about itI am rusty in my shorthand, see what unexpected prosperity does for us, so it may be as well to freshen it up again with an exercise anyhow

The service was very simple and very solemnThere were only ourselves and the servants there, one or two old friends of his from Exeter, his London agent, and a gentleman representing Sir John Paxton, the President of the Incorporated Law SocietyJonathan and I stood hand in hand, and we felt that our best and dearest friend was gone from us

We came back to town quietly, taking a bus to Hyde Park CornerJonathan thought it would interest me to go into the Row for a while, so we sat downBut there were very few people there, and it was sad-looking and desolate to see so many empty chairsIt made us think of the empty chair at homeSo we got up and walked down shop Piccadilly

Let dinner wait an hour,” and I went on with my workI had just finished MrsHarker’s diary, when she came inShe looked sweetly pretty, but very sad, and her eyes were flushed with cryingThis somehow moved me muchOf late I have had cause for tears, God knows! But the relief of them was denied me, and now the sight of those sweet eyes, brightened by recent tears, went straight to my heartSo I said as gently as I could, “I greatly fear I have distressed you

“Oh, no, not distressed me,” she replied”But I have been more touched than I can say by your griefThat is a wonderful machine, but it is cruelly trueIt told me, in its very tones, the anguish of your heartIt was like a soul crying out to Almighty GodNo one must hear them spoken ever again! See, I have tried to be usefulI have copied out the words on my typewriter, and none other need now hear your heart beat, as I did

“No one need ever know, shall ever know,” I said in a low voiceShe laid her hand on mine and said very gravely, “Ah, but they must!”

“Must! But why?” I asked

“Because it is a part of the terrible story, a part of poor Lucy’s death and all that led to itBecause in the struggle which we have before us to rid the earth of this terrible monster we must have all the knowledge and all the help which we can getI think that the cylinders which you gave me contained more than you intended me to knowBut I can see that there are in your record many lights to this dark mysteryYou will let me help, will you not? I know all up to a certain point, and I see already, though your diary only took me to 7 September, how poor Lucy was beset, and how her terrible doom was being wrought outJonathan and I have been working day and night since Professor Van Helsing saw usHe is gone to Whitby to get more information, and he will be here tomorrow to help usWe need have no secrets amongst usWorking together and with absolute trust, we can surely be stronger than if some of us were in the dark

She looked at me so appealingly, and at the same time manifested such courage and resolution in her bearing, that I gave in at once to her wishes”You shall,” I said, “do as you like in the matterGod forgive me if I do wrong! There are terrible things yet to learn of, but if you have so far traveled on the road to poor Lucy’s death, you will not be content, I know, to remain in the darkNay, the end, the very end, may give you a gleam of peaceCome, there is dinnerWe must keep one another strong for what is before usWe have a cruel and dreadful taskWhen you have eaten you shall learn the rest, and I shall answer any questions you ask, if there be anything which you do not understand, though it was apparent to us who were present

MINA HARKER’S JOURNAL

29 September-After dinner I came with DrHe brought back the phonograph from my room, and I took a chair, and arranged the phonograph so that I could touch it without getting up, and showed me how to stop it in case I should want to pauseThen he very thoughtfully took a chair, with his back to me, so that I might be as free as possible, and began to readI put the forked metal to my ears and listened

When the terrible story of Lucy’s death, and all that followed, was done, I lay back in my chair powerlessFortunately I am not of a fainting shop disposition

And as he spoke, he fawned on me like a dog

I asked him what it was, and he said, with a sort of rapture in his voice and bearing, “A kitten, a nice, little, sleek playful kitten, that I can play with, and teach, and feed, and feed, and feed!”

I was not unprepared for this request, for I had noticed how his pets went on increasing in size and vivacity, but I did not care that his pretty family of tame sparrows should be wiped out in the same manner as the flies and spidersSo I said I would see about it, and asked him if he would not rather have a cat than a kitten

His eagerness betrayed him as he answered, “Oh, yes, I would like a cat! I only asked for a kitten lest you should refuse me a catNo one would refuse me a kitten, would they?”

I shook my head, and said that at present I feared it would not be possible, but that I would see about itHis face fell, and I could see a warning of danger in it, for there was a sudden fierce, sidelong look which meant killingThe man is an undeveloped homicidal maniacI shall test him with his present craving and see how it will work out, then I shall know more-I have visited him again and found him sitting in a corner broodingWhen I came in he threw himself on his knees before me and implored me to let him have a cat, that his salvation depended upon it

I was firm, however, and told him that he could not have it, whereupon he went without a word, and sat down, gnawing his fingers, in the corner where I had found himI shall see him in the morning early-Visited Renfield very early, before attendant went his roundsFound him up and humming a tuneHe was spreading out his sugar, which he had saved, in the window, and was manifestly beginning his fly catching again, and beginning it cheerfully and with a good grace

I looked around for his birds, and not seeing them, asked him where they wereHe replied, without turning round, that they had all flown awayThere were a few feathers about the room and on his pillow a drop of bloodI said nothing, but went and told the keeper to report to me if there were anything odd about him during the day-The attendant has just been to see me to say that Renfield has been very sick and has disgorged a whole lot of feathers”My belief is, doctor,” he said, “that he has eaten his birds, and that he just took and ate them raw!”

11 pm-I gave Renfield a strong opiate tonight, enough to make even him sleep, and took away his pocketbook to look at itThe thought that has been buzzing about my brain lately is complete, and the theory proved

My homicidal maniac is of a peculiar kindI shall have to invent a new classification for him, and call him a zoophagous (life-eating) maniacWhat he desires is to absorb as many lives as he can, and he has laid himself out to achieve it in a cumulative wayHe gave many flies to one spider and many spiders to one bird, and then wanted a cat to eat the many birdsWhat would have been his later steps?

It would almost be worth while to complete the experimentIt might be done if there were only a sufficient causeMen sneered at vivisection, and yet look at its results today! Why not advance science in its most difficult and vital aspect, the knowledge of the brain?

Had I even the secret of one such mind, did I hold the key to the fancy of even one lunatic, I might advance my own branch of science to a pitch compared with which Burdon-Sanderson’s physiology or Ferrier’s brain knowledge would be as nothingIf only there were a sufficient cause! I must not think too much of this, or I may be temptedA good cause might turn the scale with me, for may not I too be of an exceptional brain, congenitally?

How well the man reasonedLunatics always do within their own scopeI wonder at how many lives he values a man, or if at only oneHe has closed the account most accurately, and today begun a new recordHow many of us begin a new record with each day of our lives?

To me it seems only yesterday that my whole life ended with my new hope, and that truly I began a new recordSo it shall be until the Great Recorder sums me up and closes my ledger account with a balance to profit or loss

Oh, Lucy, Lucy, I cannot be angry with you, nor can I be angry with my friend whose happiness is yours, but I must only wait on hopeless and workWork! Work!

If I could have as strong a cause as my poor mad friend there, a good, unselfish cause to make me work, that would be indeed happiness

MINA MURRAY’S JOURNAL

26 shop July

I then

inquired whether he thought the experiment worth making He

answered, that he did not, for that he should think it would

certainly not succeed

A few days after, I proposed the same question to Sir Humphry

Davy He at once said, “they will become water, of course;” and

on my inquiring whether he thought the experiment worth making,

he observed that it was a good experiment, but one which it was

hardly necessary to make, as it must succeed

These were off-hand answers, which it might perhaps be hardly

fair to have recorded, had they been of persons of less eminent

talent: and it adds to the curiosity of the circumstance to

mention, that I believe DrWollaston’s reason for supposing no

union would take place, arose from the nature of the electrical

relations of the two gases remaining unchanged, an objection

which did not weigh with the philosopher whose discoveries had

given birth to it

[The result of the experiment appeared, and still appears to me,

to be of the highest importance; and I will shortly state the

views with which it was connected The next great discovery in

chemistry to definite proportions, will be to find means of

forming all the simple unions of one atom with one, with two, or

with more of say other substance: and it occurred to me that the

gaseous bodies presented the fairest chance of success; and that

if wishing, for instance, to unite four atoms of one substance

with one of another, we could, by mechanical means, reduce the

mixed gases to the same specific gravity as the substance would

possess which resulted from their union, then either that such

union would actually take place, or the particles of the two

substances would be most favourably situated for the action of

caloric, electricity, or other causes, to produce the

combination It would indeed seem to follow, that if combination

should take place under such circumstances, then the most

probable proportion in which the atoms would unite, should be

that which furnished a fluid of the least specific gravity: but

until the experiments are made, it is by no means certain that

other combinations might not be produced

The singular minuteness of the particles of bodies submitted by

DrWollaston to chemical analysis, has excited the admiration of

all those who have had the good fortune to witness his

experiments; and the methods he employed deserve to be much more

widely known

It appears to me that a great mistake exists on the subject It

has been adduced as one of those facts which prove the

extraordinary acuteness of the bodily senses of the individual,

–a circumstance which, if it were true, would add but little to

his philosophical character; I am, however, inclined to view it

in a far different light, and to see in it one of the natural

results of the admirable precision of his knowledge

During the many opportunities I have enjoyed of seeing his minute

experiments, I remember but one instance in which I noticed any

remarkable difference in the acuteness of his bodily faculties,

either of his hearing, his sight, or of his sense of smell, from

those of other persons who possessed them in a good degreeSouth’s observatory, and the object was, the

dots on the declination circle of his equatorial; but, in this

instance, DrWollaston did not attempt to TEACH ME HOW TO SEE

THEM

He never showed me an almost microscopic wire, which was visible

to his, and invisible to my own eye: even in the beautiful

experiments he made relative to sounds inaudible to certain ears,

he never produced a tone which was unheard by mine, although

sensible to his ear; and I believe this will be found to have

been the case by most of those whose minds had been much

accustomed to experimental inquiries, and who possessed their

faculties unimpaired by illness or by age

It was a much more valuable property on which the success of such

inquiries depended It arose from the perfect attention which he

could command, and the minute precision with which he examined

every object A striking illustration of the fact that an object

is frequently not seen, FROM NOT KNOWING HOW TO SEE IT, rather

than from any defect in the organ of vision, occurred to me some

years since, when on a visit at Slough

Herschel on the dark lines seen in the solar spectrum by

Fraunhofer, he inquired whether I had seen them; and on my

replying in the negative, and expressing a great desire to see

them, he mentioned the extreme difficulty he had had, even with

Fraunhofer’s description in his hand and the long time which it

had cost him in detecting them My friend then added, “I will

prepare the apparatus, and put you in such a position that they

shall be visible, and yet you shall look for them and not find

them: after which, while you remain in the same position, I will

instruct you how to see them, and you shall see them, and not

merely wonder you did not see them before, but you shall find it

impossible to look at the spectrum without seeing them

On looking as I was directed, notwithstanding the previous

warning, I did not see them; and after some time I inquired how

they might be seen, when the prediction of MrHerschel was

completely fulfilled

It was this attention to minute phenomena which DrWollaston

applied with such powerful effect to chemistry In the ordinary

cases of precipitation the cloudiness is visible in a single drop

as well as in a gallon of a solution; and in those cases where

the cloudiness is so slight, as to require a mass of fluid to

render it visible, previous evaporation, quickly performed on

slips of window glass, rendered the solution more concentrated

The true value of this minute chemistry arises from its cheapness

and the extreme rapidity with which it can be accomplished: it

may, in hands like those of Wollaston, be used for discovery, but

not for measure I have thought it more necessary to place this

subject on what I consider its true grounds, for two reasons In

the first place, I feel that injustice has been done to a

distinguished philosopher in attributing to some of his bodily

senses that excellence which I think is proved to have depended

on the admirable training of his intellectual faculties And, in

the next place, if I have established the fact, whilst it affords

us better means of judging of such observations as lay claim to

an accuracy “MORE THAN HUMAN,” it also opens, to the patient

inquirer into truth, a path by which he may acquire powers that

he would otherwise have thought were only the gift of nature to a

favoured few

APPENDIX, No

In presenting to my readers the account of the meeting of men of

science at Berlin, in the autumn of 1828, I am happy to be able

to state, that its influence has been most beneficial, and that

the annual meeting to be held in 1831, will take place at Vienna,

the Emperor of Austria having expressed a wish that every

facility which his capital affords should be given to promote its

objects

It is gratifying to find that a country, which has hitherto been

considered adverse to the progress of knowledge, should become

convinced of its value; and it is sincerely to be hoped, that

every one of the numerous members of the Society will show, by

his conduct, that the paths of science are less likely than any

others to interfere with those of politics

ACCOUNT OF THE GREAT CONGRESS OF PHILOSOPHERS AT BERLIN, ON THE

18TH OF SEPTEMBER 1828 FROM THE EDINBURGH JOURNAL OF SCIENCE,

APRIL, 1829

The existence of a large society of cultivators of the natural

sciences meeting annually at some great capital, or some central

town of Europe, is a circumstance almost unknown to us, and

deserving of our attention, from the important advantages which

may arise from it

About eight years ago, DrOkens, of Munich, suggested a plan for

an annual meeting of all Germans who cultivated the sciences of

medicine and botany The first meeting, of about forty members,

took place at Leipsic, in 1822, and it was successively held at

Halle, Wurtzburg, Frankfort on the Maine, Dresden, Munich, shop and

Berlin

When I got your picture I had Chief-secretary Wang
write up a news item for the newspaperI know you
don’t care to

30
r
show off, but this is something to be proud ofYou
don’t have to hide it When these remarks were added,
Fang paled
“That’s right,” said his mother-in-law”After putting
up so much money, why not get a little honor!”
Fang’s face had already turned red with shame and
indignationBy the time his brother-in-law brought
the newspaper and he had glanced at it, the redness
had passed from the back of his ears and the nape of
his neck down his spine to his very heelsIt was an
early July Shanghai newspaper, with two small
photographs in the educational news columnThe plates
were as blurry as the picture of a ghost taken at a
divining altarThe caption under the first picture
read, “Wen-wan, daughter of Political Councilor Six
Hung-yeh, is returning home with a Ph
The caption under the second picture was twice as
long: “Fang Hung-chien, the gifted son-in-law of Chou
Hou-ch’ing, a prominent local businessman and general
manager of the Gold en Touch Bank, recently received
his doctorate of philosophy from Carleton University
in Germany after pursuing advanced study abroad under
MrChou’s sponsorship at the Universities of London,
Paris, and Berlin in political science, economics,
history, and sociology, in which he made excellent
grades and ranked at the top of his classHe will be
touring several countries before returning home in the
fallIt is said that many major organizations are
vying for him with job off ers~
He wished he could have ripped the paper in two and
seized what’s-his- name, Chief-secretary Wang, by the
throat, just to see how many more of those sickening
cichrs of resum6 writing could still be wrung out of
himNo wonder Miss Six’s brother had said, “I’ve
heard about you for a long time No wonder when his
brother P’eng-t’u heard him say her name was Six, his
brother knew she had a PhAnd at the
time he had even laughed at Miss Six for being so
conventional! The item about himself was in such
supreme bad taste that the stench was enough to make
the reader hold his noseBesides, Miss 5u was a real
PhWhat was he supposed to be? While on the ship he
had never discussed degrees with her, but when she saw
this item, she would conclude that he was a deceitful
braggartWhoever heard of a Carleton University in
Germany? In his letter to his father-in-law he hinted
vaguely that he had received a degreeBut because the
letter had been posted from Germany, his father had
assumed it was a German univer sityWhen those who
knew about sixch things heard of it, they’d laugh
their heads off! He had become a fraud and would never
be able to face people again!
Noticing how her son-in-law kept holdingthe paper
before his face, MrsChou said to her husband with a
smile, “See how pleased Hung-chien isHe’s read the
item several times and still can’t put it down
31
Their son Hsiao-ch’eng said mischievously, “Hung-chien
is getting a close look at that Six Wen-wanHe’s
thinking of marrying her to take Shu-ying’s place
Fang couldn’t help from blurting out, “Don’t talk
nonsense!” and barely managed to stop himself from
flinging the paper to the floorThough he pre vented
his anger from showing on his face, his voice was
hoarse
When the Chous saw his unsmiling countenance and his
pale face, they were a little bewilderedThen
suddenly exchanging glances with each other as though
they understood their son-in-law’s state of mind, they
scolded their son Hsiao-ch’eng in unison, “You deserve
a spankingWho told you to inter rupt when adults are
talking? Your brother Hung-chien just came back to
dayOf course, he’s unhappy at the thoughts of your
sisterYour joking can go too farFrom now on,
you’re to keep your mouth shutHung-chien, we know
you have a kindly naturePay no attention to the
child’s nonsense
Fang Hung-chien again blushed shop crimson

Then Van Helsing said, placing his hand tenderly on MrsHarker’s head, “And now, Madam Mina, poor dear, dear, Madam Mina, tell us exactly what happenedGod knows that I do not want that you be pained, but it is need that we know allFor now more than ever has all work to be done quick and sharp, and in deadly earnestThe day is close to us that must end all, if it may be so, and now is the chance that we may live and learn

The poor dear lady shivered, and I could see the tension of her nerves as she clasped her husband closer to her and bent her head lower and lower still on his breastThen she raised her head proudly, and held out one hand to Van Helsing who took it in his, and after stooping and kissing it reverently, held it fastThe other hand was locked in that of her husband, who held his other arm thrown round her protectinglyAfter a pause in which she was evidently ordering her thoughts, she began

“I took the sleeping draught which you had so kindly given me, but for a long time it did not actI seemed to become more wakeful, and myriads of horrible fancies began to crowd in upon my mindAll of them connected with death, and vampires, with blood, and pain, and trouble Her husband involuntarily groaned as she turned to him and said lovingly, “Do not fret, dearYou must be brave and strong, and help me through the horrible taskIf you only knew what an effort it is to me to tell of this fearful thing at all, you would understand how much I need your helpWell, I saw I must try to help the medicine to its work with my will, if it was to do me any good, so I resolutely set myself to sleepSure enough sleep must soon have come to me, for I remember no moreJonathan coming in had not waked me, for he lay by my side when next I rememberThere was in the room the same thin white mist that I had before noticedBut I forget now if you know of thisYou will find it in my diary which I shall show you laterI felt the same vague terror which had come to me before and the same sense of some presenceI turned to wake Jonathan, but found that he slept so soundly that it seemed as if it was he who had taken the sleeping draught, and not II tried, but I could not wake himThis caused me a great fear, and I looked around terrifiedThen indeed, my heart sank within meBeside the bed, as if he had stepped out of the mist, or rather as if the mist had turned into his figure, for it had entirely disappeared, stood a tall, thin man, all in blackI knew him at once from the description of the othersThe waxen face, the high aquiline nose, on which the light fell in a thin white line, the parted red lips, with the sharp white teeth showing between, and the red eyes that I had seemed to see in the sunset on the windows of StMary’s Church at WhitbyI knew, too, the red scar on his forehead where Jonathan had struck himFor an instant my heart stood still, and I would have screamed out, only that I was paralyzedIn the pause he spoke in a sort of keen, cutting whisper, pointing as he spoke to Jonathan

“‘Silence! If you make a sound I shall take him and dash his brains out before your very eyes’ I was appalled and was too bewildered to do or say anythingWith a mocking smile, he placed one hand upon my shoulder and, holding me tight, bared my throat with the other, saying as he did so, ‘First, a little refreshment to reward my exertionsYou may as well be quietIt is not the first time, or the second, that your veins have appeased my thirst!’ I was bewildered, and strangely enough, I did not want to hinder himI suppose it is a part of the horrible curse that such is, when his touch is on his victimAnd oh, my God, my God, pity me! He placed his reeking lips upon my throat!” Her husband groaned shop again

By this time the gypsies, seeing themselves covered by the Winchesters, and at the mercy of Lord Godalming and DrSeward, had given in and made no further resistanceThe sun was almost down on the mountain tops, and the shadows of the whole group fell upon the snowI saw the Count lying within the box upon the earth, some of which the rude falling from the cart had scattered over himHe was deathly pale, just like a waxen image, and the red eyes glared with the horrible vindictive look which I knew so well

As I looked, the eyes saw the sinking sun, and the look of hate in them turned to triumph

But, on the instant, came the sweep and flash of Jonathan’s great knifeI shrieked as I saw it shear through the throatWhilst at the same moment MrMorris’s bowie knife plunged into the heart

It was like a miracle, but before our very eyes, and almost in the drawing of a breath, the whole body crumbled into dust and passed from our sight

I shall be glad as long as I live that even in that moment of final dissolution, there was in the face a look of peace, such as I never could have imagined might have rested there

The Castle of Dracula now stood out against the red sky, and every stone of its broken battlements was articulated against the light of the setting sun

The gypsies, taking us as in some way the cause of the extraordinary disappearance of the dead man, turned, without a word, and rode away as if for their livesThose who were unmounted jumped upon the leiter wagon and shouted to the horsemen not to desert themThe wolves, which had withdrawn to a safe distance, followed in their wake, leaving us aloneMorris, who had sunk to the ground, leaned on his elbow, holding his hand pressed to his sideThe blood still gushed through his fingersI flew to him, for the Holy circle did not now keep me back; so did the two doctorsJonathan knelt behind him and the wounded man laid back his head on his shoulderWith a sigh he took, with a feeble effort, my hand in that of his own which was unstained

He must have seen the anguish of my heart in my face, for he smiled at me and said, “I am only too happy to have been of service! Oh, God!” he cried suddenly, struggling to a sitting posture and pointing to me”It was worth for this to die! Look! Look!”

The sun was now right down upon the mountain top, and the red gleams fell upon my face, so that it was bathed in rosy lightWith one impulse the men sank on their knees and a deep and earnest “Amen” broke from all as their eyes followed the pointing of his finger

The dying man spoke, “Now God be thanked that all has not been in vain! See! The snow is not more stainless than her forehead! The curse has passed away!”

And, to our bitter grief, with a smile and in silence, he died, a gallant gentleman

NOTE

Seven years ago we all went through the flamesAnd the happiness of some of us since then is, we think, well worth the pain we enduredIt is an added joy to Mina and to me that our boy’s birthday is the same day as that on which Quincey Morris diedHis mother holds, I know, the secret belief that some of our brave friend’s spirit has passed into himHis bundle of names links all our little band of men togetherBut we call him Quincey

In the summer of this year we made a journey to Transylvania, and went over the old ground which was, and is, to us so full of vivid and terrible memoriesIt was almost impossible to believe that the things which we had seen with our own eyes and heard with our own ears were living truthsEvery trace of all that had been was blotted outThe castle stood as before, reared high above a waste of desolation

When we got home we were talking of the old time, which we could all look back on without despair, for Godalming and Seward are both happily marriedI took the papers from the safe where they had been ever since our return so long agoWe were struck with the fact, that in all the mass of material of which the record is composed, there is hardly one authentic documentNothing but a mass of typewriting, except the later notebooks of Mina and Seward and myself, and Van Helsing’s memorandumWe could hardly ask any one, even did we wish to, to accept these as proofs of so wild a shop story

Welcome to my first blog

I did not see the face, but I knew the man by the neck and the movement of his back and armsIn any case I could not mistake the hands which I had had some many opportunities of studyingI was at first interested and somewhat amused, for it is wonderful how small a matter will interest and amuse a man when he is a prisonerBut my very feelings changed to repulsion and terror when I saw the whole man slowly emerge from the window and begin to crawl down the castle wall over the dreadful abyss, face down with his cloak spreading out around him like great wingsAt first I could not believe my eyesI thought it was some trick of the moonlight, some weird effect of shadow, but I kept looking, and it could be no delusionI saw the fingers and toes grasp the corners of the stones, worn clear of the mortar by the stress of years, and by thus using every projection and inequality move downwards with considerable speed, just as a lizard moves along a wall

What manner of man is this, or what manner of creature, is it in the semblance of man? I feel the dread of this horrible place overpowering meI am in fear, in awful fear, and there is no escape for meI am encompassed about with terrors that I dare not think of-Once more I have seen the count go out in his lizard fashionHe moved downwards in a sidelong way, some hundred feet down, and a good deal to the leftHe vanished into some hole or windowWhen his head had disappeared, I leaned out to try and see more, but without availThe distance was too great to allow a proper angle of sightI knew he had left the castle now, and thought to use the opportunity to explore more than I had dared to do as yetI went back to the room, and taking a lamp, tried all the doorsThey were all locked, as I had expected, and the locks were comparatively newBut I went down the stone stairs to the hall where I had entered originallyI found I could pull back the bolts easily enough and unhook the great chainsBut the door was locked, and the key was gone! That key must be in the Count’s roomI must watch should his door be unlocked, so that I may get it and escapeI went on to make a thorough examination of the various stairs and passages, and to try the doors that opened from themOne or two small rooms near the hall were open, but there was nothing to see in them except old furniture, dusty with age and moth-eatenAt last, however, I found one door at the top of the stairway which, though it seemed locked, gave a little under pressureI tried it harder, and found that it was not really locked, but that the resistance came from the fact that the hinges had fallen somewhat, and the heavy door rested on the floorHere was an opportunity which I might not have again, so I exerted myself, and with many efforts forced it back so that I could enterI was now in a wing of the castle further to the right than the rooms I knew and a storey lower downFrom the windows I could see that the suite of rooms lay along to the south of the castle, the windows of the end room looking out both west and southOn the latter side, as well as to the former, there was a great precipiceThe castle was built on the corner of a great rock, so that on three sides it was quite impregnable, and great windows were placed here where sling, or bow, or culverin could not reach, and consequently light and comfort, impossible to a position which had to be guarded, were securedTo the west was a great valley, and then, rising far away, great jagged mountain fastnesses, rising peak on peak, the sheer rock studded with mountain ash and thorn, whose roots clung in cracks and crevices and crannies of the stoneThis was evidently the portion of the castle occupied by the ladies in bygone days, for the furniture had more an air of comfort than any I had seen

The windows were curtainless, and the yellow moonlight, flooding in through the diamond panes, enabled one to see even colours, whilst it softened the wealth of dust which lay over all and disguised in some measure the ravages of time and mothMy lamp seemed to be of little effect in the brilliant moonlight, but I was glad to have it with me, for there was a dread loneliness in the place which chilled my heart and made my nerves trembleStill, it was better than living alone in the rooms which I had come to hate from the presence of the Count, and after trying a little to school my nerves, I found a soft quietude come over meHere I am, sitting at a little oak table where in old times possibly some fair lady sat to pen, with much thought and many blushes, her ill-spelt love letter, and writing in my diary in shorthand all that has happened since I closed it lastIt is the nineteenth century up-to-date with a vengeanceAnd yet, unless my senses deceive me, the old centuries had, and have, powers of their own which mere “modernity” cannot kill

Later: The morning of 16 shop May