Reading Help DRACULA by Bram Stoker Ch.1-12
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` Arthur went off with him, casting back a longing look on Lucy's face, `
` which lay in her pillow, almost whiter than the lawn. She lay quite `
` still, and I looked around the room to see that all was as it should `
` be. I could see that the Professor had carried out in this room, as `
` in the other, his purpose of using the garlic. The whole of the `
` window sashes reeked with it, and round Lucy's neck, over the silk `
` handkerchief which Van Helsing made her keep on, was a rough chaplet `
` of the same odorous flowers. `
` `
` Lucy was breathing somewhat stertorously, and her face was at its `
` worst, for the open mouth showed the pale gums. Her teeth, in the `
` dim, uncertain light, seemed longer and sharper than they had been in `
` the morning. In particular, by some trick of the light, the canine `
` teeth looked longer and sharper than the rest. `
` `
` I sat down beside her, and presently she moved uneasily. At the same `
` moment there came a sort of dull flapping or buffeting at the window. `
` I went over to it softly, and peeped out by the corner of the blind. `
` There was a full moonlight, and I could see that the noise was made by `
` a great bat, which wheeled around, doubtless attracted by the light, `
` although so dim, and every now and again struck the window with its `
` wings. When I came back to my seat, I found that Lucy had moved `
` slightly, and had torn away the garlic flowers from her throat. I `
` replaced them as well as I could, and sat watching her. `
` `
` Presently she woke, and I gave her food, as Van Helsing had `
` prescribed. She took but a little, and that languidly. There did not `
` seem to be with her now the unconscious struggle for life and strength `
` that had hitherto so marked her illness. It struck me as curious that `
` the moment she became conscious she pressed the garlic flowers close `
` to her. It was certainly odd that whenever she got into that `
` lethargic state, with the stertorous breathing, she put the flowers `
` from her, but that when she waked she clutched them close, There was `
` no possibility of making any mistake about this, for in the long hours `
` that followed, she had many spells of sleeping and waking and repeated `
` both actions many times. `
` `
` At six o'clock Van Helsing came to relieve me. Arthur had then fallen `
` into a doze, and he mercifully let him sleep on. When he saw Lucy's `
` face I could hear the hissing indraw of breath, and he said to me in a `
` sharp whisper. "Draw up the blind. I want light!" Then he bent down, `
` and, with his face almost touching Lucy's, examined her carefully. He `
` removed the flowers and lifted the silk handkerchief from her throat. `
` As he did so he started back and I could hear his ejaculation, "Mein `
` Gott!" as it was smothered in his throat. I bent over and looked, `
` too, and as I noticed some queer chill came over me. The wounds on `
` the throat had absolutely disappeared. `
` `
` For fully five minutes Van Helsing stood looking at her, with his face `
` at its sternest. Then he turned to me and said calmly, "She is `
` dying. It will not be long now. It will be much difference, mark me, `
` whether she dies conscious or in her sleep. Wake that poor boy, and `
` let him come and see the last. He trusts us, and we have promised `
` him." `
` `
` I went to the dining room and waked him. He was dazed for a moment, `
` but when he saw the sunlight streaming in through the edges of the `
` shutters he thought he was late, and expressed his fear. I assured `
` him that Lucy was still asleep, but told him as gently as I could that `
` both Van Helsing and I feared that the end was near. He covered his `
` face with his hands, and slid down on his knees by the sofa, where he `
` remained, perhaps a minute, with his head buried, praying, whilst his `
` shoulders shook with grief. I took him by the hand and raised him up. `
` "Come," I said, "my dear old fellow, summon all your fortitude. It `
` will be best and easiest for her." `
` `
` When we came into Lucy's room I could see that Van Helsing had, with `
` his usual forethought, been putting matters straight and making `
` everything look as pleasing as possible. He had even brushed Lucy's `
` hair, so that it lay on the pillow in its usual sunny ripples. When `
` we came into the room she opened her eyes, and seeing him, whispered `
` softly, "Arthur! Oh, my love, I am so glad you have come!" `
` `
` He was stooping to kiss her, when Van Helsing motioned him back. `
` "No," he whispered, "not yet! Hold her hand, it will comfort her `
` more." `
` `
` So Arthur took her hand and knelt beside her, and she looked her best, `
` with all the soft lines matching the angelic beauty of her eyes. Then `
` gradually her eyes closed, and she sank to sleep. For a little bit `
` her breast heaved softly, and her breath came and went like a tired `
` child's. `
` `
` And then insensibly there came the strange change which I had noticed `
` in the night. Her breathing grew stertorous, the mouth opened, and `
` the pale gums, drawn back, made the teeth look longer and sharper than `
` ever. In a sort of sleep-waking, vague, unconscious way she opened `
` her eyes, which were now dull and hard at once, and said in a soft, `
` voluptuous voice, such as I had never heard from her lips, "Arthur! `
` Oh, my love, I am so glad you have come! Kiss me!" `
` `
` Arthur bent eagerly over to kiss her, but at that instant Van Helsing, `
` who, like me, had been startled by her voice, swooped upon him, and `
` catching him by the neck with both hands, dragged him back with a fury `
` of strength which I never thought he could have possessed, and `
` actually hurled him almost across the room. `
` `
` "Not on your life!" he said, "not for your living soul and hers!" And `
` he stood between them like a lion at bay. `
` `
` Arthur was so taken aback that he did not for a moment know what to do `
` or say, and before any impulse of violence could seize him he realized `
` the place and the occasion, and stood silent, waiting. `
` `
` I kept my eyes fixed on Lucy, as did Van Helsing, and we saw a spasm `
` as of rage flit like a shadow over her face. The sharp teeth clamped `
` together. Then her eyes closed, and she breathed heavily. `
` `
` Very shortly after she opened her eyes in all their softness, and `
` putting out her poor, pale, thin hand, took Van Helsing's great brown `
` one, drawing it close to her, she kissed it. "My true friend," she `
` said, in a faint voice, but with untellable pathos, "My true friend, `
` and his! Oh, guard him, and give me peace!" `
` `
` "I swear it!" he said solemnly, kneeling beside her and holding up his `
` hand, as one who registers an oath. Then he turned to Arthur, and `
` said to him, "Come, my child, take her hand in yours, and kiss her on `
` the forehead, and only once." `
` `
` Their eyes met instead of their lips, and so they parted. Lucy's eyes `
` closed, and Van Helsing, who had been watching closely, took Arthur's `
` arm, and drew him away. `
` `
` And then Lucy's breathing became stertorous again, and all at once it `
` ceased. `
` `
` "It is all over," said Van Helsing. "She is dead!" `
` `
` I took Arthur by the arm, and led him away to the drawing room, where `
` he sat down, and covered his face with his hands, sobbing in a way `
` that nearly broke me down to see. `
` `
` I went back to the room, and found Van Helsing looking at poor Lucy, `
` and his face was sterner than ever. Some change had come over her `
` body. Death had given back part of her beauty, for her brow and `
` cheeks had recovered some of their flowing lines. Even the lips had `
` lost their deadly pallor. It was as if the blood, no longer needed `
` for the working of the heart, had gone to make the harshness of death `
` as little rude as might be. `
` `
` "We thought her dying whilst she slept, And sleeping when she died." `
` `
` `
` I stood beside Van Helsing, and said, "Ah well, poor girl, there is `
` peace for her at last. It is the end!" `
` `
` He turned to me, and said with grave solemnity, "Not so, alas! Not `
` so. It is only the beginning!" `
` `
` When I asked him what he meant, he only shook his head and answered, `
` "We can do nothing as yet. Wait and see." `
` `
` `
` `
` `
` `
`
` Arthur went off with him, casting back a longing look on Lucy's face, `
` which lay in her pillow, almost whiter than the lawn. She lay quite `
` still, and I looked around the room to see that all was as it should `
` be. I could see that the Professor had carried out in this room, as `
` in the other, his purpose of using the garlic. The whole of the `
` window sashes reeked with it, and round Lucy's neck, over the silk `
` handkerchief which Van Helsing made her keep on, was a rough chaplet `
` of the same odorous flowers. `
` `
` Lucy was breathing somewhat stertorously, and her face was at its `
` worst, for the open mouth showed the pale gums. Her teeth, in the `
` dim, uncertain light, seemed longer and sharper than they had been in `
` the morning. In particular, by some trick of the light, the canine `
` teeth looked longer and sharper than the rest. `
` `
` I sat down beside her, and presently she moved uneasily. At the same `
` moment there came a sort of dull flapping or buffeting at the window. `
` I went over to it softly, and peeped out by the corner of the blind. `
` There was a full moonlight, and I could see that the noise was made by `
` a great bat, which wheeled around, doubtless attracted by the light, `
` although so dim, and every now and again struck the window with its `
` wings. When I came back to my seat, I found that Lucy had moved `
` slightly, and had torn away the garlic flowers from her throat. I `
` replaced them as well as I could, and sat watching her. `
` `
` Presently she woke, and I gave her food, as Van Helsing had `
` prescribed. She took but a little, and that languidly. There did not `
` seem to be with her now the unconscious struggle for life and strength `
` that had hitherto so marked her illness. It struck me as curious that `
` the moment she became conscious she pressed the garlic flowers close `
` to her. It was certainly odd that whenever she got into that `
` lethargic state, with the stertorous breathing, she put the flowers `
` from her, but that when she waked she clutched them close, There was `
` no possibility of making any mistake about this, for in the long hours `
` that followed, she had many spells of sleeping and waking and repeated `
` both actions many times. `
` `
` At six o'clock Van Helsing came to relieve me. Arthur had then fallen `
` into a doze, and he mercifully let him sleep on. When he saw Lucy's `
` face I could hear the hissing indraw of breath, and he said to me in a `
` sharp whisper. "Draw up the blind. I want light!" Then he bent down, `
` and, with his face almost touching Lucy's, examined her carefully. He `
` removed the flowers and lifted the silk handkerchief from her throat. `
` As he did so he started back and I could hear his ejaculation, "Mein `
` Gott!" as it was smothered in his throat. I bent over and looked, `
` too, and as I noticed some queer chill came over me. The wounds on `
` the throat had absolutely disappeared. `
` `
` For fully five minutes Van Helsing stood looking at her, with his face `
` at its sternest. Then he turned to me and said calmly, "She is `
` dying. It will not be long now. It will be much difference, mark me, `
` whether she dies conscious or in her sleep. Wake that poor boy, and `
` let him come and see the last. He trusts us, and we have promised `
` him." `
` `
` I went to the dining room and waked him. He was dazed for a moment, `
` but when he saw the sunlight streaming in through the edges of the `
` shutters he thought he was late, and expressed his fear. I assured `
` him that Lucy was still asleep, but told him as gently as I could that `
` both Van Helsing and I feared that the end was near. He covered his `
` face with his hands, and slid down on his knees by the sofa, where he `
` remained, perhaps a minute, with his head buried, praying, whilst his `
` shoulders shook with grief. I took him by the hand and raised him up. `
` "Come," I said, "my dear old fellow, summon all your fortitude. It `
` will be best and easiest for her." `
` `
` When we came into Lucy's room I could see that Van Helsing had, with `
` his usual forethought, been putting matters straight and making `
` everything look as pleasing as possible. He had even brushed Lucy's `
` hair, so that it lay on the pillow in its usual sunny ripples. When `
` we came into the room she opened her eyes, and seeing him, whispered `
` softly, "Arthur! Oh, my love, I am so glad you have come!" `
` `
` He was stooping to kiss her, when Van Helsing motioned him back. `
` "No," he whispered, "not yet! Hold her hand, it will comfort her `
` more." `
` `
` So Arthur took her hand and knelt beside her, and she looked her best, `
` with all the soft lines matching the angelic beauty of her eyes. Then `
` gradually her eyes closed, and she sank to sleep. For a little bit `
` her breast heaved softly, and her breath came and went like a tired `
` child's. `
` `
` And then insensibly there came the strange change which I had noticed `
` in the night. Her breathing grew stertorous, the mouth opened, and `
` the pale gums, drawn back, made the teeth look longer and sharper than `
` ever. In a sort of sleep-waking, vague, unconscious way she opened `
` her eyes, which were now dull and hard at once, and said in a soft, `
` voluptuous voice, such as I had never heard from her lips, "Arthur! `
` Oh, my love, I am so glad you have come! Kiss me!" `
` `
` Arthur bent eagerly over to kiss her, but at that instant Van Helsing, `
` who, like me, had been startled by her voice, swooped upon him, and `
` catching him by the neck with both hands, dragged him back with a fury `
` of strength which I never thought he could have possessed, and `
` actually hurled him almost across the room. `
` `
` "Not on your life!" he said, "not for your living soul and hers!" And `
` he stood between them like a lion at bay. `
` `
` Arthur was so taken aback that he did not for a moment know what to do `
` or say, and before any impulse of violence could seize him he realized `
` the place and the occasion, and stood silent, waiting. `
` `
` I kept my eyes fixed on Lucy, as did Van Helsing, and we saw a spasm `
` as of rage flit like a shadow over her face. The sharp teeth clamped `
` together. Then her eyes closed, and she breathed heavily. `
` `
` Very shortly after she opened her eyes in all their softness, and `
` putting out her poor, pale, thin hand, took Van Helsing's great brown `
` one, drawing it close to her, she kissed it. "My true friend," she `
` said, in a faint voice, but with untellable pathos, "My true friend, `
` and his! Oh, guard him, and give me peace!" `
` `
` "I swear it!" he said solemnly, kneeling beside her and holding up his `
` hand, as one who registers an oath. Then he turned to Arthur, and `
` said to him, "Come, my child, take her hand in yours, and kiss her on `
` the forehead, and only once." `
` `
` Their eyes met instead of their lips, and so they parted. Lucy's eyes `
` closed, and Van Helsing, who had been watching closely, took Arthur's `
` arm, and drew him away. `
` `
` And then Lucy's breathing became stertorous again, and all at once it `
` ceased. `
` `
` "It is all over," said Van Helsing. "She is dead!" `
` `
` I took Arthur by the arm, and led him away to the drawing room, where `
` he sat down, and covered his face with his hands, sobbing in a way `
` that nearly broke me down to see. `
` `
` I went back to the room, and found Van Helsing looking at poor Lucy, `
` and his face was sterner than ever. Some change had come over her `
` body. Death had given back part of her beauty, for her brow and `
` cheeks had recovered some of their flowing lines. Even the lips had `
` lost their deadly pallor. It was as if the blood, no longer needed `
` for the working of the heart, had gone to make the harshness of death `
` as little rude as might be. `
` `
` "We thought her dying whilst she slept, And sleeping when she died." `
` `
` `
` I stood beside Van Helsing, and said, "Ah well, poor girl, there is `
` peace for her at last. It is the end!" `
` `
` He turned to me, and said with grave solemnity, "Not so, alas! Not `
` so. It is only the beginning!" `
` `
` When I asked him what he meant, he only shook his head and answered, `
` "We can do nothing as yet. Wait and see." `
` `
` `
` `
` `
` `
`