The Beetle by Richard Marsh (read e books online free txt) đ
Description
The Beetle was published in 1897, the same year as Draculaâand outsold it six to one that year. Like Dracula, the novel is steeped in the evil mysteries of an ancient horror: in this case, a mysterious ancient Egyptian creature bent on revenge.
The story is told through the sequential points of view of a group of middle-class Victorians who find themselves enmeshed in the creatureâs plot. The creature, in the guise of an Egyptian man, appears in London seeking revenge against a popular member of Parliament. They soon find out that it can shape shift into other things, including women; that it can control minds and use hypnosis; and that it wonât stop at anything to get the revenge it seeks. The heroes are soon caught in a whirlwind of chase scenes, underground laboratories, secret cults, and more as they race to foil the creature.
While The Beetle didnât earn the lasting popularity of Stokerâs counterpart, it remains a strange and unique morsel of Victorian sensationalist fiction.
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- Author: Richard Marsh
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As I continued silent, and he yet stared, there came into his tone another noteâ âa note of tendernessâ âa note of which I had not deemed him capable.
âHe is good to look at, Paul Lessinghamâ âis he not good to look at?â
I was aware that, physically, Mr. Lessingham was a fine specimen of manhood, but I was not prepared for the assertion of the fact in such a quarterâ ânor for the manner in which the temporary master of my fate continued to harp and enlarge upon the theme.
âHe is straightâ âstraight as the mast of a shipâ âhe is tallâ âhis skin is white; he is strongâ âdo I not know that he is strongâ âhow strong!â âoh yes! Is there a better thing than to be his wife? his well-beloved? the light of his eyes? Is there for a woman a happier chance? Oh no, not one! His wife!â âPaul Lessingham!â
As, with soft cadences, he gave vent to these unlooked-for sentiments, the fashion of his countenance was changed. A look of longing came into his faceâ âof savage, frantic longingâ âwhich, unalluring though it was, for the moment transfigured him. But the mood was transient.
âTo be his wifeâ âoh yes!â âthe wife of his scorn! the despised and rejected!â
The return to the venom of his former bitterness was rapidâ âI could not but feel that this was the natural man. Though why a creature such as he was should go out of his way to apostrophise, in such a manner, a publicist of Mr. Lessinghamâs eminence, surpassed my comprehension. Yet he stuck to his subject like a leechâ âas if it had been one in which he had an engrossing personal interest.
âHe is a devilâ âhard as the granite rockâ âcold as the snows of Ararat. In him there is none of lifeâs warm bloodâ âhe is accursed! He is falseâ âay, false as the fables of those who lie for love of liesâ âhe is all treachery. Her whom he has taken to his bosom he would put away from him as if she had never beenâ âhe would steal from her like a thief in the nightâ âhe would forget she ever was! But the avenger follows after, lurking in the shadows, hiding among the rocks, waiting, watching, till his time shall come. And it shall come!â âthe day of the avenger!â âay, the day!â
Raising himself to a sitting posture, he threw his arms above his head, and shrieked with a demoniac fury. Presently he became a trifle calmer. Reverting to his recumbent position, resting his head upon his hand, he eyed me steadily; then asked me a question which struck me as being, under the circumstances, more than a little singular.
âYou know his houseâ âthe house of the great Paul Lessinghamâ âthe politicianâ âthe statesman?â
âI do not.â
âYou lie!â âyou do!â
The words came from him with a sort of snarlâ âas if he would have lashed me across the face with them.
âI do not. Men in my position are not acquainted with the residences of men in his. I may, at some time, have seen his address in print; but, if so, I have forgotten it.â
He looked at me intently, for some moments, as if to learn if I spoke the truth; and apparently, at last, was satisfied that I did.
âYou do not know it?â âWell!â âI will show it youâ âI will show the house of the great Paul Lessingham.â
What he meant I did not know; but I was soon to learnâ âan astounding revelation it proved to be. There was about his manner something hardly human; something which, for want of a better phrase, I would call vulpine. In his tone there was a mixture of mockery and bitterness, as if he wished his words to have the effect of corrosive sublimate, and to sear me as he uttered them.
âListen with all your ears. Give me your whole attention. Hearken to my bidding, so that you may do as I bid you. Not that I fear your obedienceâ âoh no!â
He pausedâ âas if to enable me to fully realise the picture of my helplessness conjured up by his jibes.
âYou came through my window, like a thief. You will go through my window, like a fool. You will go to the house of the great Paul Lessingham. You say you do not know it? Well, I will show it you. I will be your guide. Unseen, in the darkness and the night, I will stalk beside you, and will lead you to where I would have you go.â âYou will go just as you are, with bare feet, and head uncovered, and with but a single garment to hide your nakedness. You will be cold, your feet will be cut and bleedingâ âbut what better does a thief deserve? If any see you, at the least they will take you for a madman; there will be trouble. But have no fear; bear a bold heart. None shall see you while I stalk at your side. I will cover you with the cloak of invisibilityâ âso that you may come in safety to the house of the great Paul Lessingham.â
He paused again. What he said, wild and wanton though it was, was beginning to fill me with a sense of the most extreme discomfort. His sentences, in some strange, indescribable way, seemed, as they came from his lips, to warp my limbs; to enwrap themselves about me; to confine me, tighter and tighter, within, as it were, swaddling clothes; to make me more and more helpless. I was already conscious that whatever mad freak he chose to set me on, I should have no option but to carry it through.
âWhen you come to the house, you will stand, and look, and seek for a window convenient for entry. It may be that you will find one open, as
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