Трек 13_02

There was no mirror, at that date, in my room. The one that you have seen was brought there later on. The night, however, was far gone into the morning; my servants were all fast asleep; and I decided to walk in my new shape as far as my bedroom. I crossed the yard, where the stars must have looked down upon me with wonder, as a kind of creature that even they had never seen before. I crept through the silent passages, a stranger in my own house, and, when I came to my own room, I saw for the first time the appearance of Edward Hyde.

It was clear to me at once that the evil side of my nature was less developed than the good, which, for the moment, it had driven out. Again, in the course of my life, which had been largely a life of effort, goodness and control, the evil had been much less exercised, and so had all the more vigour now. It was because of this, I think, that Edward Hyde was so much smaller and younger than Henry Jekyll. While good shone upon the face of the one, evil was written plainly on the face of the other. Evil, besides, had left upon Hyde’s body a suggestion of deformity and decay. Yet, when I looked upon that ugly image before me, I felt no disgust, but rather a feeling of welcome. It was, in my eyes, a true image of the spirit; it seemed far more real than the divided character I had called my own.

So far, no doubt, I was right. I have noticed, when I wore the shape of Edward Hyde, that none could come near to me without a feeling of horror. This, as I saw it, was because all human beings are made up of good and evil: but Edward Hyde, alone in the ranks of mankind, was pure evil.

I stayed only a moment or two before the mirror. A second experiment had yet to be made. It remained to be seen if I could call back the shape of Dr. Henry Jekyll, or whether I must creep, like a thief in the night, from a house that was no longer mine. Hurrying back to my laboratory, I once more prepared and drank the cup, once more suffered the same pains, and came to myself once more with the character, the larger build and the face of Henry Jekyll.

That night I had come to the crossroads. If I had approached my discovery in a more noble spirit, all might yet have been well. The drug had no ill-effects, but it had shaken the prison-house of my nature, and that which had been shut up within had now been given the chance to go free. The evil within me was quick to seize its chance.

Even at that time, I had not yet conquered the wildness in my nature and my liking for pleasure, as a relief from the dryness of study. As I was not only well known and highly considered, but growing towards an old man, this side of my life held certain dangers for me. It was on this side that my new power tempted me. I had but to drink the cup to throw off the body of the famous doctor, and put on, like a change of clothing, the shape of Edward Hyde. I smiled at the idea. It seemed, at that time, amusing; and I made my preparations with great care.

I took, and furnished, that house in Soho to which Hyde was tracked by the police. I engaged as housekeeper a creature whom I well knew to be silent and wicked at heart. In my own home, I announced to my servants that a Mr. Hyde, whom I described to them, was to have full liberty and power about my house in the square, and was to be obeyed in all things as I was myself. I even called, and made myself a familiar object in my second character. Next, I drew up that will to which you so strongly objected; then, if anything happened to me in the person of Dr. Jekyll, I could enter on that of Edward Hyde without the loss of my riches. And so, having made myself safe from attack-as I thought-I began to take advantage of the powers given to me by my discovery.

Men have often hired others to carry out their crimes, while their own person and reputation sat under shelter. I was the first that ever did so for my own pleasure. I was the first that could walk in the public eye and be respected by all-and then, in a moment, throw off the old, familiar shape and put on a new. And, for me, the safety was complete. Think of it-I did not even exist! Let me but escape into my laboratory, give me but a second or two to swallow the drug that I had always standing ready, and, whatever he had done, Edward Hyde would pass away like the stain of breath upon a mirror. In his place, working quietly at home, would be Henry Jekyll-a man who could afford to laugh at suspicion.