Letter
4
success and into every minute detail of the measures I had taken to secure it . I was easily led by the sympathy which he evinced to use the language of my heart , to give utterance to the burning ardour of my soul and to say , with all the fervour that warmed me , how gladly I would sacrifice my fortune , my existence , my every hope , to the furtherance of my enterprise . One man ’ s life or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirement of the knowledge which I sought , for the dominion I should acquire and transmit over the elemental foes of our race . As I spoke , a dark gloom spread over my listener ’ s countenance . At first I perceived that he tried to suppress his emotion ; he placed his hands before his eyes , and my voice quivered and failed me as I beheld tears trickle fast from between his fingers ; a groan burst from his heaving breast . I paused ; at length he spoke , in broken accents : “ Unhappy man ! Do you share my madness ? Have you drunk also of the intoxicating draught ? Hear me ; let me reveal my tale , and you will dash the cup from your lips !” Such words , you may imagine , strongly excited my curiosity ; but the paroxysm of grief that had seized the stranger overcame his weakened powers , and many hours of repose and tranquil conversation were necessary to restore his composure . Having conquered the violence of his feelings , he appeared to despise himself for being the slave of passion ; and quelling the dark tyranny of despair , he led me again to converse concerning myself personally . He asked me the history of my earlier years . The tale was quickly told , but it awakened various trains of reflection . I spoke of my desire of finding a friend , of my thirst for a more intimate sympathy with a fellow mind than had ever fallen to my lot , and expressed my conviction that a man could boast of little happiness who did not enjoy this blessing . “ I agree with you ,” replied the stranger ; “ we are unfashioned creatures , but half made up , if one wiser , better , dearer than ourselves — such a friend ought to be — do not lend his aid to perfectionate our weak and faulty natures . I once had a friend ,