The Frankenstein Papers

LETTER 6

January 27,1783

My Dear Father—

Once more allow me to add my small congratulations to those of the rest of the world, on your great achievement in working out the preliminary peace agreement. Here in London the general sentiment is strongly in favor of peace, and I think that if my true identity should become known today I should be little the worse for it. May we soon be able to exchange letters by the regular post—though I suppose that will hardly be likely to make the delivery any swifter or more certain. The more I travel in the world, the more I come to appreciate, among other things, your achievements as a postmaster.

On to business. I have had more contact with the Saville clan. The lovely Mrs. Saville—her first name is Margaret, by the way—has entertained me once more at tea. Husband Roger, I have been given to understand, is still absent, off somewhere in India. When he is likely to return has not been specified. But wherever Mr. Saville may be, he seems to be at least as interested as his good lady is in Frankenstein's experiments; she says that she has sent Roger a copy of the book, which he found most intriguing, and that he is anxious to converse with anyone who knows anything of the matter. Such a person may be hard to find in India.

The lady tries in many subtle ways to discover all that she can about my own background, and, as she is certainly a charmer, I am continually on my guard not to give much away.

Later_I may have been wrong about the strength of the peace sentiment. There were loiterers in the street near my lodgings, a different man on each occasion, and I now have some suspicions that I am being watched. I intend to use even greater care than usual in dispatching this note.

There is interesting gossip I would ordinarily pass along—about the current London fashions, and so forth, since I know your continuing interest in such matters—but I prefer to keep this message short.

I was fortunately able to see Priestley without going to Birmingham, catching him on one of his periodic visits to London and the Royal Society, and was able to get a word with him alone. I divulged my identity, and presented greetings from you, Father, which he was happy to receive. He sends his warmest regards in return.

He recalls that young Frankenstein visited him in London, in the early spring of 1780, and says that he also heard of the fellow's arrest in Ireland in 1781, and his tragic marriage last summer during the occupation of Geneva by the French—tragic of course because of the bride's murder, by person or persons unknown, on her wedding night. There have been whispers, I am told, of suspicion against the husband himself. But there was no evidence to disprove his story of a mysterious prowler, and no legal steps were taken against him.

Priestley says he did not know quite what to make of Frankenstein at their one meeting. It pleased him also to demonstrate his electrical machine for me—it is made mostly of mahogany and baked wood, and supports four electrical globes, of moderate size, that can be charged simultaneously. The prime conductor is a hollow vessel of polished copper, shaped like a pear. It can produce either negative or positive power, depending upon how the connections are made.

In all, my meeting with the eminent man was interesting, but not very helpful as regards the chief objective of my visit. I expect to gain much more from my association with Mrs. Saville.

Yr Son,

Benjamin Freeman