"Frankenstein" by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Chapter 1

Beaufort had taken effectual measures to conceal himself, and it was ten months before my father discovered his abode.

But Caroline Beaufort possessed a mind of an uncommon mould, and her courage rose to support her in her adversity.

This, to my mother, was more than a duty; it was a necessity, a passion—remembering what she had suffered, and how she had been relieved—for her to act in her turn the guardian angel to the afflicted.

The apparition was soon explained.

Her father grew worse; her time was more entirely occupied in attending him; her means of subsistence decreased; and in the tenth month her father died in her arms, leaving her an orphan and a beggar.

He strove to shelter her, as a fair exotic is sheltered by the gardener, from every rougher wind and to surround her with all that could tend to excite pleasurable emotion in her soft and benevolent mind.

Much as they were attached to each other, they seemed to draw inexhaustible stores of affection from a very mine of love to bestow them upon me.

My mother's tender caresses and my father's smile of benevolent pleasure while regarding me are my first recollections.

Her brow was clear and ample, her blue eyes cloudless, and her lips and the moulding of her face so expressive of sensibility and sweetness that none could behold her without looking on her as of a distinct species, a being heaven-sent, and bearing a celestial stamp in all her features.

His property was confiscated; his child became an orphan and a beggar.

She procured plain work; she plaited straw and by various means contrived to earn a pittance scarcely sufficient to support life.

Everything was made to yield to her wishes and her convenience.

He bitterly deplored the false pride which led his friend to a conduct so little worthy of the affection that united them.

During one of their walks a poor cot in the foldings of a vale attracted their notice as being singularly disconsolate, while the number of half-clothed children gathered about it spoke of penury in its worst shape.

Perhaps during former years he had suffered from the late-discovered unworthiness of one beloved and so was disposed to set a greater value on tried worth.

This man, whose name was Beaufort, was of a proud and unbending disposition and could not bear to live in poverty and oblivion in the same country where he had formerly been distinguished for his rank and magnificence.

Beaufort had taken effectual measures to conceal himself, and it was ten months before my father discovered his abode.

When I was about five years old, while making an excursion beyond the frontiers of Italy, they passed a week on the shores of the Lake of Como.

The interval was, consequently, spent in inaction; his grief only became more deep and rankling when he had leisure for reflection, and at length it took so fast hold of his mind that at the end of three months he lay on a bed of sickness, incapable of any exertion.

He was respected by all who knew him for his integrity and indefatigable attention to public business.

Much as they were attached to each other, they seemed to draw inexhaustible stores of affection from a very mine of love to bestow them upon me.

They consulted their village priest, and the result was that Elizabeth Lavenza became the inmate of my parents' house—my more than sister—the beautiful and adored companion of all my occupations and my pleasures.

He came like a protecting spirit to the poor girl, who committed herself to his care; and after the interment of his friend he conducted her to Geneva and placed her under the protection of a relation.

One of his most intimate friends was a merchant who, from a flourishing state, fell, through numerous mischances, into poverty.

But when he entered, misery and despair alone welcomed him.

This man, whose name was Beaufort, was of a proud and unbending disposition and could not bear to live in poverty and oblivion in the same country where he had formerly been distinguished for his rank and magnificence.

My mother had much desired to have a daughter, but I continued their single offspring.

During one of their walks a poor cot in the foldings of a vale attracted their notice as being singularly disconsolate, while the number of half-clothed children gathered about it spoke of penury in its worst shape.

He passed his younger days perpetually occupied by the affairs of his country; a variety of circumstances had prevented his marrying early, nor was it until the decline of life that he became a husband and the father of a family.

She procured plain work; she plaited straw and by various means contrived to earn a pittance scarcely sufficient to support life.

She procured plain work; she plaited straw and by various means contrived to earn a pittance scarcely sufficient to support life.

With his permission my mother prevailed on her rustic guardians to yield their charge to her.

Beaufort had saved but a very small sum of money from the wreck of his fortunes, but it was sufficient to provide him with sustenance for some months, and in the meantime he hoped to procure some respectable employment in a merchant's house.

When my father returned from Milan, he found playing with me in the hall of our villa a child fairer than pictured cherub—a creature who seemed to shed radiance from her looks and whose form and motions were lighter than the chamois of the hills.

I, their eldest child, was born at Naples, and as an infant accompanied them in their rambles.

The interval was, consequently, spent in inaction; his grief only became more deep and rankling when he had leisure for reflection, and at length it took so fast hold of his mind that at the end of three months he lay on a bed of sickness, incapabl

As the circumstances of his marriage illustrate his character, I cannot refrain from relating them.

During the two years that had elapsed previous to their marriage my father had gradually relinquished all his public functions; and immediately after their union they sought the pleasant climate of Italy, and the change of scene and interest attendant on a tour through that land of wonders, as a restorative for her weakened frame.

During the two years that had elapsed previous to their marriage my father had gradually relinquished all his public functions; and immediately after their union they sought the pleasant climate of Italy, and the change of scene and interest attendant on

The passionate and almost reverential attachment with which all regarded her became, while I shared it, my pride and my delight.

She found a peasant and his wife, hard working, bent down by care and labour, distributing a scanty meal to five hungry babes.

He strove to shelter her, as a fair exotic is sheltered by the gardener, from every rougher wind and to surround her with all that could tend to excite pleasurable emotion in her soft and benevolent mind.

Her father grew worse; her time was more entirely occupied in attending him; her means of subsistence decreased; and in the tenth month her father died in her arms, leaving her an orphan and a beggar.

Beaufort had saved but a very small sum of money from the wreck of his fortunes, but it was sufficient to provide him with sustenance for some months, and in the meantime he hoped to procure some respectable employment in a merchant's house.

The four others were dark-eyed, hardy little vagrants; this child was thin and very fair.