صفحة 68 من 483

Delighted and surprised, I embraced her, but as I imprinted the

first kiss on her lips, they became livid with the hue of death;

her features appeared to change, and I thought that I held the

corpse of my dead mother in my arms; a shroud enveloped her form,

and I saw the grave-worms crawling in the folds of the flannel. I

started from my sleep with horror; a cold dew covered my

forehead, my teeth chattered, and every limb became convulsed;

when, by the dim and yellow light of the moon, as it forced its

way through the window shutters, I beheld the wretch-the

miserable monster whom I had created. He held up the curtain of

the bed; and his eyes, if eyes they may be called, were fixed on

me. His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds,

while a grin wrinkled his cheeks. He might have spoken, but I did

not hear; one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, but

I escaped and rushed downstairs.