Table of contents
Dracula
CHAPTER I JONATHAN HARKER’S JOURNAL
CHAPTER II JONATHAN HARKER’S JOURNAL—continued
CHAPTER III JONATHAN HARKER’S JOURNAL—continued
CHAPTER IV JONATHAN HARKER’S JOURNAL—continued
CHAPTER V
CHAPTER VI MINA MURRAY’S JOURNAL
CHAPTER VII CUTTING FROM “THE DAILYGRAPH,” 8 AUGUST
CHAPTER VIII MINA MURRAY’S JOURNAL
CHAPTER IX
CHAPTER X
CHAPTER XI
CHAPTER XII DR. SEWARD’S DIARY
CHAPTER XIII DR. SEWARD’S DIARY—continued.
CHAPTER XIV MINA HARKER’S JOURNAL
CHAPTER XV DR. SEWARD’S DIARY—continued.
CHAPTER XVI DR. SEWARD’S DIARY—continued
CHAPTER XVII DR. SEWARD’S DIARY—continued
CHAPTER XVIII DR. SEWARD’S DIARY
CHAPTER XIX JONATHAN HARKER’S JOURNAL
CHAPTER XX JONATHAN HARKER’S JOURNAL
CHAPTER XXI DR. SEWARD’S DIARY
CHAPTER XXII JONATHAN HARKER’S JOURNAL
CHAPTER XXIII DR. SEWARD’S DIARY
CHAPTER XXIV DR. SEWARD’S PHONOGRAPH DIARY, SPOKEN BY VAN HELSING
CHAPTER XXV DR. SEWARD’S DIARY
CHAPTER XXVI DR. SEWARD’S DIARY
CHAPTER XXVII MINA HARKER’S JOURNAL
NOTE
Dracula's Guest
PREFACE
Dracula's Guest
The Judge's House
The Squaw
The Secret of the Growing Gold
The Gipsy Prophecy
The Coming of Abel Behenna
The Burial of the Rats
A Dream of Red Hands
Crooken Sands
The Jewel of Seven Stars
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Chapter VII
Chapter VIII
Chapter IX
Chapter X
Chapter XI
Chapter XII
Chapter XIII
Chapter XIV
Chapter XV
Chapter XVI
Chapter XVII
Chapter XVIII
Chapter XIX
The Lady of the Shroud
FROM “THE JOURNAL OF OCCULTISM”MID-JANUARY, 1907.
BOOK I: THE WILL OF ROGER MELTON
BOOK II: VISSARION
BOOK III: THE COMING OF THE LADY
BOOK IV: UNDER THE FLAGSTAFF
BOOK V: A RITUAL AT MIDNIGHT
BOOK VI: THE PURSUIT IN THE FOREST
BOOK VII: THE EMPIRE OF THE AIR
BOOK VIII: THE FLASHING OF THE HANDJAR
BOOK IX: BALKA
Footnotes
The Lair of the White Worm
CHAPTER I—ADAM SALTON ARRIVES
CHAPTER II—THE CASWALLS OF CASTRA REGIS
CHAPTER III—DIANA’S GROVE
CHAPTER IV—THE LADY ARABELLA MARCH
CHAPTER V—THE WHITE WORM
CHAPTER VI—HAWK AND PIGEON
CHAPTER VII—OOLANGA
CHAPTER VIII—SURVIVALS
CHAPTER IX—SMELLING DEATH
CHAPTER X—THE KITE
CHAPTER XI—MESMER’S CHEST
CHAPTER XII—THE CHEST OPENED
CHAPTER XIII—OOLANGA’S HALLUCINATIONS
CHAPTER XIV—BATTLE RENEWED
CHAPTER XV—ON THE TRACK
CHAPTER XVI—A VISIT OF SYMPATHY
CHAPTER XVII—THE MYSTERY OF “THE GROVE”
CHAPTER XVIII—EXIT OOLANGA
CHAPTER XIX—AN ENEMY IN THE DARK
CHAPTER XX—METABOLISM
CHAPTER XXI—GREEN LIGHT
CHAPTER XXII—AT CLOSE QUARTERS
CHAPTER XXIII—IN THE ENEMY’S HOUSE
CHAPTER XXIV—A STARTLING PROPOSITION
CHAPTER XXV—THE LAST BATTLE
CHAPTER XXVI—FACE TO FACE
CHAPTER XXVII—ON THE TURRET ROOF
CHAPTER XXVIII—THE BREAKING OF THE STORM
The Man
FORE-GLIMPSE
CHAPTER I—STEPHEN
CHAPTER II—THE HEART OF A CHILD
CHAPTER III—HAROLD
CHAPTER IV—HAROLD AT NORMANSTAND
CHAPTER V—THE CRYPT
CHAPTER VI—A VISIT TO OXFORD
CHAPTER VII—THE NEED OF KNOWING
CHAPTER VIII—THE T-CART
CHAPTER IX—IN THE SPRING
CHAPTER X—THE RESOLVE
CHAPTER XI—THE MEETING
CHAPTER XII—ON THE ROAD HOME
CHAPTER XIII—HAROLD’S RESOLVE
CHAPTER XIV—THE BEECH GROVE
CHAPTER XV—THE END OF THE MEETING
CHAPTER XVI—A PRIVATE CONVERSATION
CHAPTER XVII—A BUSINESS TRANSACTION
CHAPTER XVIII—MORE BUSINESS
CHAPTER XIX—A LETTER
CHAPTER XX—CONFIDENCES
CHAPTER XXI—THE DUTY OF COURTESY
CHAPTER XXII—FIXING THE BOUNDS
CHAPTER XXIII—THE MAN
CHAPTER XXIV—FROM THE DEEPS
CHAPTER XXV—A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD
CHAPTER XXVI—A NOBLE OFFER
CHAPTER XXVII—AGE’S WISDOM
CHAPTER XXVIII—DE LANNOY
CHAPTER XXIX—THE SILVER LADY
CHAPTER XXX—THE LESSON OF THE WILDERNESS
CHAPTER XXXI—THE LIFE-LINE
CHAPTER XXXII—‘TO BE GOD AND ABLE TO DO THINGS’
CHAPTER XXXIII—THE QUEEN’S ROOM
CHAPTER XXXIV—WAITING
CHAPTER XXXV—A CRY
CHAPTER XXXVI—LIGHT
CHAPTER XXXVII—GOLDEN SILENCE
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Dracula
CHAPTER I JONATHAN HARKER’S JOURNAL
(
Kept in shorthand.
)3 May.
Bistritz. —Left
Munich at 8:35 P. M., on 1st May, arriving at Vienna early next
morning; should have arrived at 6:46, but train was an hour late.
Buda-Pesth seems a wonderful place, from the glimpse which I got of
it from the train and the little I could walk through the streets.
I
feared to go very far from the station, as we had arrived late and
would start as near the correct time as possible. The impression I
had was that we were leaving the West and entering the East; the
most
western of splendid bridges over the Danube, which is here of noble
width and depth, took us among the traditions of Turkish
rule.We
left in pretty good time, and came after nightfall to Klausenburgh.
Here I stopped for the night at the Hotel Royale. I had for dinner,
or rather supper, a chicken done up some way with red pepper, which
was very good but thirsty. (
Mem. , get recipe
for Mina.) I asked the waiter, and he said it was called “paprika
hendl,” and that, as it was a national dish, I should be able to
get it anywhere along the Carpathians. I found my smattering of
German very useful here; indeed, I don’t know how I should be able
to get on without it.Having
had some time at my disposal when in London, I had visited the
British Museum, and made search among the books and maps in the
library regarding Transylvania; it had struck me that some
foreknowledge of the country could hardly fail to have some
importance in dealing with a nobleman of that country. I find that
the district he named is in the extreme east of the country, just
on
the borders of three states, Transylvania, Moldavia and Bukovina,
in
the midst of the Carpathian mountains; one of the wildest and least
known portions of Europe. I was not able to light on any map or
work
giving the exact locality of the Castle Dracula, as there are no
maps
of this country as yet to compare with our own Ordnance Survey
maps;
but I found that Bistritz, the post town named by Count Dracula, is
a
fairly well-known place. I shall enter here some of my notes, as
they
may refresh my memory when I talk over my travels with Mina.In
the population of Transylvania there are four distinct
nationalities:
Saxons in the South, and mixed with them the Wallachs, who are the
descendants of the Dacians; Magyars in the West, and Szekelys in
the
East and North. I am going among the latter, who claim to be
descended from Attila and the Huns. This may be so, for when the
Magyars conquered the country in the eleventh century they found
the
Huns settled in it. I read that every known superstition in the
world
is gathered into the horseshoe of the Carpathians, as if it were
the
centre of some sort of imaginative whirlpool; if so my stay may be
very interesting. (
Mem. , I must ask
the Count all about them.)I
did not sleep well, though my bed was comfortable enough, for I had
all sorts of queer dreams. There was a dog howling all night under
my
window, which may have had something to do with it; or it may have
been the paprika, for I had to drink up all the water in my carafe,
and was still thirsty. Towards morning I slept and was wakened by
the
continuous knocking at my door, so I guess I must have been
sleeping
soundly then. I had for breakfast more paprika, and a sort of
porridge of maize flour which they said was “mamaliga,” and
egg-plant stuffed with forcemeat, a very excellent dish, which they
call “impletata.” (
Mem. , get recipe
for this also.) I had to hurry breakfast, for the train started a
little before eight, or rather it ought to have done so, for after
rushing to the station at 7:30 I had to sit in the carriage for
more
than an hour before we began to move. It seems to me that the
further
east you go the more unpunctual are the trains. What ought they to
be
in China?All day
long we seemed to dawdle through a country which was full of beauty
of every kind. Sometimes we saw little towns or castles on the top
of
steep hills such as we see in old missals; sometimes we ran by
rivers
and streams which seemed from the wide stony margin on each side of
them to be subject to great floods. It takes a lot of water, and
running strong, to sweep the outside edge of a river clear. At
every
station there were groups of people, sometimes crowds, and in all
sorts of attire. Some of them were just like the peasants at home
or
those I saw coming through France and Germany, with short jackets
and
round hats and home-made trousers; but others were very
picturesque.
The women looked pretty, except when you got near them, but they
were
very clumsy about the waist. They had all full white sleeves of
some
kind or other, and most of them had big belts with a lot of strips
of
something fluttering from them like the dresses in a ballet, but of
course there were petticoats under them. The strangest figures we
saw
were the Slovaks, who were more barbarian than the rest, with their
big cow-boy hats, great baggy dirty-white trousers, white linen
shirts, and enormous heavy leather belts, nearly a foot wide, all
studded over with brass nails. They wore high boots, with their
trousers tucked into them, and had long black hair and heavy black
moustaches. They are very picturesque, but do not look
prepossessing.
On the stage they would be set down at once as some old Oriental
band
of brigands. They are, however, I am told, very harmless and rather
wanting in natural self-assertion.It
was on the dark side of twilight when we got to Bistritz, which is
a
very interesting old place. Being practically on the frontier—for
the Borgo Pass leads from it into Bukovina—it has had a very stormy
existence, and it certainly shows marks of it. Fifty years ago a
series of great fires took place, which made terrible havoc on five
separate occasions. At the very beginning of the seventeenth
century
it underwent a siege of three weeks and lost 13,000 people, the
casualties of war proper being assisted by famine and
disease.Count
Dracula had directed me to go to the Golden Krone Hotel, which I
found, to my great delight, to be thoroughly old-fashioned, for of
course I wanted to see all I could of the ways of the country. I
was
evidently expected, for when I got near the door I faced a
cheery-looking elderly woman in the usual peasant dress—white
undergarment with long double apron, front, and back, of coloured
stuff fitting almost too tight for modesty. When I came close she
bowed and said, “The Herr Englishman?” “Yes,” I said,
“Jonathan Harker.” She smiled, and gave some message to an
elderly man in white shirt-sleeves, who had followed her to the
door.
He went, but immediately returned with a letter:—“
My Friend.—Welcome to the Carpathians. I am anxiously expecting
you. Sleep well tonight. At three tomorrow the diligence will start
for Bukovina; a place on it is kept for you. At the Borgo Pass my
carriage will await you and will bring you to me. I trust that your
journey from London has been a happy one, and that you will enjoy
your stay in my beautiful land.“
Your friend,“Dracula.”4
May. —I found
that my landlord had got a letter from the Count, directing him to
secure the best place on the coach for me; but on making inquiries
as
to details he seemed somewhat reticent, and pretended that he could
not understand my German. This could not be true, because up to
then
he had understood it perfectly; at least, he answered my questions
exactly as if he did. He and his wife, the old lady who had
received
me, looked at each other in a frightened sort of way. He mumbled
out
that the money had been sent in a letter, and that was all he knew.
When I asked him if he knew Count Dracula, and could tell me
anything
of his castle, both he and his wife crossed themselves, and, saying
that they knew nothing at all, simply refused to speak further. It
was so near the time of starting that I had no time to ask any one
else, for it was all very mysterious and not by any means
comforting.Just
before I was leaving, the old lady came up to my room and said in a
very hysterical way:“
Must you go? Oh! young Herr, must you go?” She was in such an
excited state that she seemed to have lost her grip of what German
she knew, and mixed it all up with some other language which I did
not know at all. I was just able to follow her by asking many
questions. When I told her that I must go at once, and that I was
engaged on important business, she asked again:“
Do you know what day it is?” I answered that it was the fourth of
May. She shook her head as she said again:“
Oh, yes! I know that! I know that, but do you know what day it is?”
On my saying that I did not understand, she went on:“
It is the eve of St. George’s Day. Do you not know that to-night,
when the clock strikes midnight, all the evil things in the world
will have full sway? Do you know where you are going, and what you
are going to?” She was in such evident distress that I tried to
comfort her, but without effect. Finally she went down on her knees
and implored me not to go; at least to wait a day or two before
starting. It was all very ridiculous but I did not feel
comfortable.
However, there was business to be done, and I could allow nothing
to
interfere with it. I therefore tried to raise her up, and said, as
gravely as I could, that I thanked her, but my duty was imperative,
and that I must go. She then rose and dried her eyes, and taking a
crucifix from her neck offered it to me. I did not know what to do,
for, as an English Churchman, I have been taught to regard such
things as in some measure idolatrous, and yet it seemed so
ungracious
to refuse an old lady meaning so well and in such a state of mind.
She saw, I suppose, the doubt in my face, for she put the rosary
round my neck, and said, “For your mother’s sake,” and went out
of the room. I am writing up this part of the diary whilst I am
waiting for the coach, which is, of course, late; and the crucifix
is
still round my neck. Whether it is the old lady’s fear, or the many
ghostly traditions of this place, or the crucifix itself, I do not
know, but I am not feeling nearly as easy in my mind as usual. If
this book should ever reach Mina before I do, let it bring my
good-bye. Here comes the coach!5
May. The Castle.
—The grey of the morning has passed, and the sun is high over the
distant horizon, which seems jagged, whether with trees or hills I
know not, for it is so far off that big things and little are
mixed.
I am not sleepy, and, as I am not to be called till I awake,
naturally I write till sleep comes. There are many odd things to
put
down, and, lest who reads them may fancy that I dined too well
before
I left Bistritz, let me put down my dinner exactly. I dined on what
they called “robber steak”—bits of bacon, onion, and beef,
seasoned with red pepper, and strung on sticks and roasted over the
fire, in the simple style of the London cat’s meat! The wine was
Golden Mediasch, which produces a queer sting on the tongue, which
is, however, not disagreeable. I had only a couple of glasses of
this, and nothing else.When
I got on the coach the driver had not taken his seat, and I saw him
talking with the landlady. They were evidently talking of me, for
every now and then they looked at me, and some of the people who
were
sitting on the bench outside the door—which they call by a name
meaning “word-bearer”—came and listened, and then looked at me,
most of them pityingly. I could hear a lot of words often repeated,
queer words, for there were many nationalities in the crowd; so I
quietly got my polyglot dictionary from my bag and looked them out.
I
must say they were not cheering to me, for amongst them were
“Ordog”—Satan, “pokol”—hell, “stregoica”—witch,
“vrolok” and “vlkoslak”—both of which mean the same thing,
one being Slovak and the other Servian for something that is either
were-wolf or vampire. (
Mem. , I must ask
the Count about these superstitions)When
we started, the crowd round the inn door, which had by this time
swelled to a considerable size, all made the sign of the cross and
pointed two fingers towards me. With some difficulty I got a
fellow-passenger to tell me what they meant; he would not answer at
first, but on learning that I was English, he explained that it was
a
charm or guard against the evil eye. This was not very pleasant for
me, just starting for an unknown place to meet an unknown man; but
every one seemed so kind-hearted, and so sorrowful, and so
sympathetic that I could not but be touched. I shall never forget
the
last glimpse which I had of the inn-yard and its crowd of
picturesque
figures, all crossing themselves, as they stood round the wide
archway, with its background of rich foliage of oleander and orange
trees in green tubs clustered in the centre of the yard. Then our
driver, whose wide linen drawers covered the whole front of the
box-seat—“gotza” they call them—cracked his big whip over his
four small horses, which ran abreast, and we set off on our
journey.I soon lost
sight and recollection of ghostly fears in the beauty of the scene
as
we drove along, although had I known the language, or rather
languages, which my fellow-passengers were speaking, I might not
have
been able to throw them off so easily. Before us lay a green
sloping
land full of forests and woods, with here and there steep hills,
crowned with clumps of trees or with farmhouses, the blank gable
end
to the road. There was everywhere a bewildering mass of fruit
blossom—apple, plum, pear, cherry; and as we drove by I could see
the green grass under the trees spangled with the fallen petals. In
and out amongst these green hills of what they call here the
“Mittel
Land” ran the road, losing itself as it swept round the grassy
curve, or was shut out by the straggling ends of pine woods, which
here and there ran down the hillsides like tongues of flame. The
road
was rugged, but still we seemed to fly over it with a feverish
haste.
I could not understand then what the haste meant, but the driver
was
evidently bent on losing no time in reaching Borgo Prund. I was
told
that this road is in summertime excellent, but that it had not yet
been put in order after the winter snows. In this respect it is
different from the general run of roads in the Carpathians, for it
is
an old tradition that they are not to be kept in too good order. Of
old the Hospadars would not repair them, lest the Turk should think
that they were preparing to bring in foreign troops, and so hasten
the war which was always really at loading point.Beyond
the green swelling hills of the Mittel Land rose mighty slopes of
forest up to the lofty steeps of the Carpathians themselves. Right
and left of us they towered, with the afternoon sun falling full
upon
them and bringing out all the glorious colours of this beautiful
range, deep blue and purple in the shadows of the peaks, green and
brown where grass and rock mingled, and an endless perspective of
jagged rock and pointed crags, till these were themselves lost in
the
distance, where the snowy peaks rose grandly. Here and there seemed
mighty rifts in the mountains, through which, as the sun began to
sink, we saw now and again the white gleam of falling water. One of
my companions touched my arm as we swept round the base of a hill
and
opened up the lofty, snow-covered peak of a mountain, which seemed,
as we wound on our serpentine way, to be right before us:—“
Look! Isten szek!”—“God’s seat!”—and he crossed himself
reverently.As we
wound on our endless way, and the sun sank lower and lower behind
us,
the shadows of the evening began to creep round us. This was
emphasised by the fact that the snowy mountain-top still held the
sunset, and seemed to glow out with a delicate cool pink. Here and
there we passed Cszeks and Slovaks, all in picturesque attire, but
I
noticed that goitre was painfully prevalent. By the roadside were
many crosses, and as we swept by, my companions all crossed
themselves. Here and there was a peasant man or woman kneeling
before
a shrine, who did not even turn round as we approached, but seemed
in
the self-surrender of devotion to have neither eyes nor ears for
the
outer world. There were many things new to me: for instance,
hay-ricks in the trees, and here and there very beautiful masses of
weeping birch, their white stems shining like silver through the
delicate green of the leaves. Now and again we passed a
leiter-wagon—the ordinary peasant’s cart—with its long,
snake-like vertebra, calculated to suit the inequalities of the
road.
On this were sure to be seated quite a group of home-coming
peasants,
the Cszeks with their white, and the Slovaks with their coloured,
sheepskins, the latter carrying lance-fashion their long staves,
with
axe at end. As the evening fell it began to get very cold, and the
growing twilight seemed to merge into one dark mistiness the gloom
of
the trees, oak, beech, and pine, though in the valleys which ran
deep
between the spurs of the hills, as we ascended through the Pass,
the
dark firs stood out here and there against the background of
late-lying snow. Sometimes, as the road was cut through the pine
woods that seemed in the darkness to be closing down upon us, great
masses of greyness, which here and there bestrewed the trees,
produced a peculiarly weird and solemn effect, which carried on the
thoughts and grim fancies engendered earlier in the evening, when
the
falling sunset threw into strange relief the ghost-like clouds
which
amongst the Carpathians seem to wind ceaselessly through the
valleys.
Sometimes the hills were so steep that, despite our driver’s haste,
the horses could only go slowly. I wished to get down and walk up
them, as we do at home, but the driver would not hear of it. “No,
no,” he said; “you must not walk here; the dogs are too fierce”;
and then he added, with what he evidently meant for grim
pleasantry—for he looked round to catch the approving smile of the
rest—“and you may have enough of such matters before you go to
sleep.” The only stop he would make was a moment’s pause to light
his lamps.When it
grew dark there seemed to be some excitement amongst the
passengers,
and they kept speaking to him, one after the other, as though
urging
him to further speed. He lashed the horses unmercifully with his
long
whip, and with wild cries of encouragement urged them on to further
exertions. Then through the darkness I could see a sort of patch of
grey light ahead of us, as though there were a cleft in the hills.
The excitement of the passengers grew greater; the crazy coach
rocked
on its great leather springs, and swayed like a boat tossed on a
stormy sea. I had to hold on. The road grew more level, and we
appeared to fly along. Then the mountains seemed to come nearer to
us
on each side and to frown down upon us; we were entering on the
Borgo
Pass. One by one several of the passengers offered me gifts, which
they pressed upon me with an earnestness which would take no
denial;
these were certainly of an odd and varied kind, but each was given
in
simple good faith, with a kindly word, and a blessing, and that
strange mixture of fear-meaning movements which I had seen outside
the hotel at Bistritz—the sign of the cross and the guard against
the evil eye. Then, as we flew along, the driver leaned forward,
and
on each side the passengers, craning over the edge of the coach,
peered eagerly into the darkness. It was evident that something
very
exciting was either happening or expected, but though I asked each
passenger, no one would give me the slightest explanation. This
state
of excitement kept on for some little time; and at last we saw
before
us the Pass opening out on the eastern side. There were dark,
rolling
clouds overhead, and in the air the heavy, oppressive sense of
thunder. It seemed as though the mountain range had separated two
atmospheres, and that now we had got into the thunderous one. I was
now myself looking out for the conveyance which was to take me to
the
Count. Each moment I expected to see the glare of lamps through the
blackness; but all was dark. The only light was the flickering rays
of our own lamps, in which the steam from our hard-driven horses
rose
in a white cloud. We could see now the sandy road lying white
before
us, but there was on it no sign of a vehicle. The passengers drew
back with a sigh of gladness, which seemed to mock my own
disappointment. I was already thinking what I had best do, when the
driver, looking at his watch, said to the others something which I
could hardly hear, it was spoken so quietly and in so low a tone; I
thought it was “An hour less than the time.” Then turning to me,
he said in German worse than my own:—“
There is no carriage here. The Herr is not expected after all. He
will now come on to Bukovina, and return to-morrow or the next day;
better the next day.” Whilst he was speaking the horses began to
neigh and snort and plunge wildly, so that the driver had to hold
them up. Then, amongst a chorus of screams from the peasants and a
universal crossing of themselves, a calèche, with four horses,
drove
up behind us, overtook us, and drew up beside the coach. I could
see
from the flash of our lamps, as the rays fell on them, that the
horses were coal-black and splendid animals. They were driven by a
tall man, with a long brown beard and a great black hat, which
seemed
to hide his face from us. I could only see the gleam of a pair of
very bright eyes, which seemed red in the lamplight, as he turned
to
us. He said to the driver:—“
You are early to-night, my friend.” The man stammered in
reply:—“
The English Herr was in a hurry,” to which the stranger
replied:—“
That is why, I suppose, you wished him to go on to Bukovina. You
cannot deceive me, my friend; I know too much, and my horses are
swift.” As he spoke he smiled, and the lamplight fell on a
hard-looking mouth, with very red lips and sharp-looking teeth, as
white as ivory. One of my companions whispered to another the line
from Burger’s “Lenore”:—“
Denn die Todten reiten schnell”—(“For
the dead travel fast.”)The
strange driver evidently heard the words, for he looked up with a
gleaming smile. The passenger turned his face away, at the same
time
putting out his two fingers and crossing himself. “Give me the
Herr’s luggage,” said the driver; and with exceeding alacrity my
bags were handed out and put in the calèche. Then I descended from
the side of the coach, as the calèche was close alongside, the
driver helping me with a hand which caught my arm in a grip of
steel;
his strength must have been prodigious. Without a word he shook his
reins, the horses turned, and we swept into the darkness of the
Pass.
As I looked back I saw the steam from the horses of the coach by
the
light of the lamps, and projected against it the figures of my late
companions crossing themselves. Then the driver cracked his whip
and
called to his horses, and off they swept on their way to Bukovina.
As
they sank into the darkness I felt a strange chill, and a lonely
feeling came over me; but a cloak was thrown over my shoulders, and
a
rug across my knees, and the driver said in excellent
German:—“
The night is chill, mein Herr, and my master the Count bade me take
all care of you. There is a flask of slivovitz (the plum brandy of
the country) underneath the seat, if you should require it.” I did
not take any, but it was a comfort to know it was there all the
same.
I felt a little strangely, and not a little frightened. I think had
there been any alternative I should have taken it, instead of
prosecuting that unknown night journey. The carriage went at a hard
pace straight along, then we made a complete turn and went along
another straight road. It seemed to me that we were simply going
over
and over the same ground again; and so I took note of some salient
point, and found that this was so. I would have liked to have asked
the driver what this all meant, but I really feared to do so, for I
thought that, placed as I was, any protest would have had no effect
in case there had been an intention to delay. By-and-by, however,
as
I was curious to know how time was passing, I struck a match, and
by
its flame looked at my watch; it was within a few minutes of
midnight. This gave me a sort of shock, for I suppose the general
superstition about midnight was increased by my recent experiences.
I
waited with a sick feeling of suspense.Then
a dog began to howl somewhere in a farmhouse far down the road—a
long, agonised wailing, as if from fear. The sound was taken up by
another dog, and then another and another, till, borne on the wind
which now sighed softly through the Pass, a wild howling began,
which
seemed to come from all over the country, as far as the imagination
could grasp it through the gloom of the night. At the first howl
the
horses began to strain and rear, but the driver spoke to them
soothingly, and they quieted down, but shivered and sweated as
though
after a runaway from sudden fright. Then, far off in the distance,
from the mountains on each side of us began a louder and a sharper
howling—that of wolves—which affected both the horses and myself
in the same way—for I was minded to jump from the calèche and run,
whilst they reared again and plunged madly, so that the driver had
to
use all his great strength to keep them from bolting. In a few
minutes, however, my own ears got accustomed to the sound, and the
horses so far became quiet that the driver was able to descend and
to
stand before them. He petted and soothed them, and whispered
something in their ears, as I have heard of horse-tamers doing, and
with extraordinary effect, for under his caresses they became quite
manageable again, though they still trembled. The driver again took
his seat, and shaking his reins, started off at a great pace. This
time, after going to the far side of the Pass, he suddenly turned
down a narrow roadway which ran sharply to the right.Soon
we were hemmed in with trees, which in places arched right over the
roadway till we passed as through a tunnel; and again great
frowning
rocks guarded us boldly on either side. Though we were in shelter,
we
could hear the rising wind, for it moaned and whistled through the
rocks, and the branches of the trees crashed together as we swept
along. It grew colder and colder still, and fine, powdery snow
began
to fall, so that soon we and all around us were covered with a
white
blanket. The keen wind still carried the howling of the dogs,
though
this grew fainter as we went on our way. The baying of the wolves
sounded nearer and nearer, as though they were closing round on us
from every side. I grew dreadfully afraid, and the horses shared my
fear. The driver, however, was not in the least disturbed; he kept
turning his head to left and right, but I could not see anything
through the darkness.Suddenly,
away on our left, I saw a faint flickering blue flame. The driver
saw
it at the same moment; he at once checked the horses, and, jumping
to
the ground, disappeared into the darkness. I did not know what to
do,
the less as the howling of the wolves grew closer; but while I
wondered the driver suddenly appeared again, and without a word
took
his seat, and we resumed our journey. I think I must have fallen
asleep and kept dreaming of the incident, for it seemed to be
repeated endlessly, and now looking back, it is like a sort of
awful
nightmare. Once the flame appeared so near the road, that even in
the
darkness around us I could watch the driver’s motions. He went
rapidly to where the blue flame arose—it must have been very faint,
for it did not seem to illumine the place around it at all—and
gathering a few stones, formed them into some device. Once there
appeared a strange optical effect: when he stood between me and the
flame he did not obstruct it, for I could see its ghostly flicker
all
the same. This startled me, but as the effect was only momentary, I
took it that my eyes deceived me straining through the darkness.
Then
for a time there were no blue flames, and we sped onwards through
the
gloom, with the howling of the wolves around us, as though they
were
following in a moving circle.At
last there came a time when the driver went further afield than he
had yet gone, and during his absence, the horses began to tremble
worse than ever and to snort and scream with fright. I could not
see
any cause for it, for the howling of the wolves had ceased
altogether; but just then the moon, sailing through the black
clouds,
appeared behind the jagged crest of a beetling, pine-clad rock, and
by its light I saw around us a ring of wolves, with white teeth and
lolling red tongues, with long, sinewy limbs and shaggy hair. They
were a hundred times more terrible in the grim silence which held
them than even when they howled. For myself, I felt a sort of
paralysis of fear. It is only when a man feels himself face to face
with such horrors that he can understand their true import.All
at once the wolves began to howl as though the moonlight had had
some
peculiar effect on them. The horses jumped about and reared, and
looked helplessly round with eyes that rolled in a way painful to
see; but the living ring of terror encompassed them on every side;
and they had perforce to remain within it. I called to the coachman
to come, for it seemed to me that our only chance was to try to
break
out through the ring and to aid his approach. I shouted and beat
the
side of the calèche, hoping by the noise to scare the wolves from
that side, so as to give him a chance of reaching the trap. How he
came there, I know not, but I heard his voice raised in a tone of
imperious command, and looking towards the sound, saw him stand in
the roadway. As he swept his long arms, as though brushing aside
some
impalpable obstacle, the wolves fell back and back further still.
Just then a heavy cloud passed across the face of the moon, so that
we were again in darkness.When
I could see again the driver was climbing into the calèche, and the
wolves had disappeared. This was all so strange and uncanny that a
dreadful fear came upon me, and I was afraid to speak or move. The
time seemed interminable as we swept on our way, now in almost
complete darkness, for the rolling clouds obscured the moon. We
kept
on ascending, with occasional periods of quick descent, but in the
main always ascending. Suddenly, I became conscious of the fact
that
the driver was in the act of pulling up the horses in the courtyard
of a vast ruined castle, from whose tall black windows came no ray
of
light, and whose broken battlements showed a jagged line against
the
moonlit sky.
CHAPTER II JONATHAN HARKER’S JOURNAL—continued
5 May.
—I must have been asleep, for certainly if I had been fully awake I
must have noticed the approach of such a remarkable place. In the
gloom the courtyard looked of considerable size, and as several
dark
ways led from it under great round arches, it perhaps seemed bigger
than it really is. I have not yet been able to see it by
daylight.When the
calèche stopped, the driver jumped down and held out his hand to
assist me to alight. Again I could not but notice his prodigious
strength. His hand actually seemed like a steel vice that could
have
crushed mine if he had chosen. Then he took out my traps, and
placed
them on the ground beside me as I stood close to a great door, old
and studded with large iron nails, and set in a projecting doorway
of
massive stone. I could see even in the dim light that the stone was
massively carved, but that the carving had been much worn by time
and
weather. As I stood, the driver jumped again into his seat and
shook
the reins; the horses started forward, and trap and all disappeared
down one of the dark openings.I
stood in silence where I was, for I did not know what to do. Of
bell
or knocker there was no sign; through these frowning walls and dark
window openings it was not likely that my voice could penetrate.
The
time I waited seemed endless, and I felt doubts and fears crowding
upon me. What sort of place had I come to, and among what kind of
people? What sort of grim adventure was it on which I had embarked?
Was this a customary incident in the life of a solicitor’s clerk
sent out to explain the purchase of a London estate to a foreigner?
Solicitor’s clerk! Mina would not like that. Solicitor—for just
before leaving London I got word that my examination was
successful;
and I am now a full-blown solicitor! I began to rub my eyes and
pinch
myself to see if I were awake. It all seemed like a horrible
nightmare to me, and I expected that I should suddenly awake, and
find myself at home, with the dawn struggling in through the
windows,
as I had now and again felt in the morning after a day of overwork.
But my flesh answered the pinching test, and my eyes were not to be
deceived. I was indeed awake and among the Carpathians. All I could
do now was to be patient, and to wait the coming of the
morning.
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
