The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

1 The Strange Caseof Dr. Jekylland Mr. HydeRobert Louis StevensonTHE Strange case OFDR. Jekyll AND MR. HYDEThe Strange case ofDr. Jekyll and Mr. HydebyRobert Louis StevensonAnthony s Home s Home electronically by Anthony Atkielski, based on various publicly-available electronic andprinted texts of the original work. It is always possible that some errors may have crept into the textaccidentally. Please report and describe any errors you may spot in the text to STUFF READ THIS!By making any use whatsoever of this document, you indicate that you understand, agree to andaccept the following disclaimer, indemnity, and redistribution conditions. If you do not, you maynot make any use of this Atkielski disclaims all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legalfees, and YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE OR UNDER STRICT LIABILITY,OR FOR BREACH OF WARRANTY OR CONTRACT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TOINDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF YOUGIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

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3 Of this text of this work has entered the public publication in any form 1886 First downloadable PDF edition 199805 04 03 02 01 99 98 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 Table of ContentsStory of the Door .. 1 Search for Mr. Hyde .. 7Dr. Jekyll Was Quite at Ease .. 15 The Carew Murder 17 Incident of the Letter .. 21 Incident of Dr. Lanyon .. 25 Incident at the 29 The Last Night .. 31Dr. Lanyon s Narrative .. 42 Henry Jekyll s Full Statement of the 49MR. Utterson the lawyer was a man of a rugged countenancethat was never lighted by a smile; cold, scanty and embarrassedin discourse; backward in sentiment; lean, long, dusty, dreary and yetsomehow lovable. At friendly meetings, and when the wine was to histaste, something eminently human beaconed from his eye; somethingindeed which never found its way into his talk, but which spoke notonly in these silent symbols of the after-dinner face, but more oftenand loudly in the acts of his life.

4 He was austere with himself; drankgin when he was alone, to mortify a taste for vintages; and though heenjoyed the theater, had not crossed the doors of one for twenty he had an approved tolerance for others; sometimes wondering,almost with envy, at the high pressure of spirits involved in their mis-deeds; and in any extremity inclined to help rather than to reprove. Iincline to Cain s heresy, he used to say quaintly: I let my brother goto the devil in his own way. In this character, it was frequently hisfortune to be the last reputable acquaintance and the last good influ-ence in the lives of downgoing men. And to such as these, so long asthey came about his chambers, he never marked a shade of change inhis doubt the feat was easy to Mr. Utterson; for he was undemon-strative at the best, and even his friendship seemed to be founded in asimilar catholicity of good-nature. It is the mark of a modest man toaccept his friendly circle ready-made from the hands of opportunity;and that was the lawyer s way.

5 His friends were those of his own bloodor those whom he had known the longest; his affections, like ivy, werethe growth of time, they implied no aptness in the object. Hence, nodoubt the bond that united him to Mr. Richard Enfield, his distantkinsman, the well-known man about town. It was a nut to crack formany, what these two could see in each other, or what subject theycould find in common. It was reported by those who encounteredthem in their Sunday walks, that they said nothing, looked singularlydull and would hail with obvious relief the appearance of a friend. Forall that, the two men put the greatest store by these excursions, countedthem the chief jewel of each week, and not only set aside occasions ofSTORY OF THE DOOR2 THE Strange case OF DR. Jekyll AND MR. HYDE pleasure, but even resisted the calls of business, that they might enjoythem chanced on one of these rambles that their way led them down aby-street in a busy quarter of London.

6 The street was small and what iscalled quiet, but it drove a thriving trade on the weekdays. The inhab-itants were all doing well, it seemed and all emulously hoping to dobetter still, and laying out the surplus of their grains in coquetry; sothat the shop fronts stood along that thoroughfare with an air of invi-tation, like rows of smiling saleswomen. Even on Sunday, when it veiledits more florid charms and lay comparatively empty of passage, thestreet shone out in contrast to its dingy neighbourhood, like a fire in aforest; and with its freshly painted shutters, well-polished brasses, andgeneral cleanliness and gaiety of note, instantly caught and pleasedthe eye of the doors from one corner, on the left hand going east the line wasbroken by the entry of a court; and just at that point a certain sinisterblock of building thrust forward its gable on the street. It was twostoreys high; showed no window, nothing but a door on the lowerstorey and a blind forehead of discoloured wall on the upper; andbore in every feature, the marks of prolonged and sordid door, which was equipped with neither bell nor knocker, wasblistered and distained.

7 Tramps slouched into the recess and struckmatches on the panels; children kept shop upon the steps; the school-boy had tried his knife on the mouldings; and for close on a genera-tion, no one had appeared to drive away these random visitors or torepair their Enfield and the lawyer were on the other side of the by-street;but when they came abreast of the entry, the former lifted up his caneand pointed. Did you ever remark that door? he asked; and when his compan-ion had replied in the affirmative. It is connected in my mind, addedhe, with a very odd story. Indeed? said Mr. Utterson, with a slight change of voice, andwhat was that? Well, it was this way, returned Mr. Enfield: I was coming homefrom some place at the end of the world, about three o clock of a blackwinter morning, and my way lay through a part of town where there3 STORY OF THE DOORwas literally nothing to be seen but lamps.

8 Street after street and allthe folks asleep street after street, all lighted up as if for a processionand all as empty as a church till at last I got into that state of mindwhen a man listens and listens and begins to long for the sight of apoliceman. All at once, I saw two figures: one a little man who wasstumping along eastward at a good walk, and the other a girl of maybeeight or ten who was running as hard as she was able down a crossstreet. Well, sir, the two ran into one another naturally enough at thecorner; and then came the horrible part of the thing; for the mantrampled calmly over the child s body and left her screaming on theground. It sounds nothing to hear, but it was hellish to see. It wasn tlike a man; it was like some damned Juggernaut. I gave a few halloa,took to my heels, collared my gentleman, and brought him back towhere there was already quite a group about the screaming child.

9 Hewas perfectly cool and made no resistance, but gave me one look, sougly that it brought out the sweat on me like running. The people whohad turned out were the girl s own family; and pretty soon, the doctor,for whom she had been sent put in his appearance. Well, the childwas not much the worse, more frightened, according to the Sawbones;and there you might have supposed would be an end to it. But therewas one curious circumstance. I had taken a loathing to my gentle-man at first sight. So had the child s family, which was only the doctor s case was what struck me. He was the usual cut anddry apothecary, of no particular age and colour, with a strong Edin-burgh accent and about as emotional as a bagpipe. Well, sir, he waslike the rest of us; every time he looked at my prisoner, I saw thatSawbones turn sick and white with desire to kill him. I knew what wasin his mind, just as he knew what was in mine; and killing being out ofthe question, we did the next best.

10 We told the man we could andwould make such a scandal out of this as should make his name stinkfrom one end of London to the other. If he had any friends or anycredit, we undertook that he should lose them. And all the time, as wewere pitching it in red hot, we were keeping the women off him as bestwe could for they were as wild as harpies. I never saw a circle of suchhateful faces; and there was the man in the middle, with a kind ofblack sneering coolness frightened too, I could see that but carryingit off, sir, really like Satan. If you choose to make capital out of this4 THE Strange case OF DR. Jekyll AND MR. HYDE accident, said he, I am naturally helpless. No gentleman but wishesto avoid a scene, says he. Name your figure. Well, we screwed him upto a hundred pounds for the child s family; he would have clearly likedto stick out; but there was something about the lot of us that meantmischief, and at last he struck.