The Burial of the Rats
By Bram Stoker
Still behind me came my relentless pursuers. Far away, below me, I saw the same dark mass as before but now grown closer and greater. My heart gave an incredible thrill of delight, for I knew that it must be the fortress of Bicetre, and with new courage, I ran on. I had heard that between each and all of the protecting forts of Paris, there are strategic ways and deep sunk roads where soldiers marching should be sheltered from an enemy.
I knew that if I could gain this road, I would be safe, but I could not see any sign of it in the darkness, so, in blind hope of striking it, I ran on. I came to the edge of a deep cut and found that down below me ran a road guarded on each side by a ditch of water fenced on either side by a straight, high wall. Getting fainter and dizzier, I ran on; the ground got more broken-more and more still, till I staggered and fell, and rose again, and ran on in the blind anguish of the hunted.
Again, the thought of Alice nerved me. I would not be lost and wreck her life: I would fight and struggle for life to the bitter end. With a great effort, I caught the top of the wall. As I scrambled like a catamount, I drew myself up and felt a hand touch the sole of my foot. I was now on a sort of causeway, and I saw a dim light before me. Blind and dizzy, I ran on, staggered, and fell, rising, covered with dust and blood.
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Bram Stoker
Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who wrote the 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula.
Biography.
During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and business manager of the West End’s Lyceum Theatre, which Irving owned. In his early years, Stoker worked as a theatre critic for an Irish newspaper and wrote stories and commentaries. He also enjoyed travelling, particularly to Cruden Bay in Scotland, where he wrote two novels.
During another visit to the English coastal town of Whitby, Stoker drew inspiration for writing Dracula. He died on 20 April 1912 due to locomotor ataxia and was cremated in north London. Since his death, his magnum opus Dracula has become one of the best-known works in English literature, and the novel has been adapted for numerous films, short stories, and plays. Stoker was born on 8 November 1847 at 15 Marino Crescent, Clontarf, in Dublin, Ireland. The park adjacent to the house is now known as Bram Stoker Park.
His parents were Abraham Stoker (1799–1876) from Dublin and Charlotte Mathilda Blake Thornley (1818–1901), who was raised in County Sligo. Stoker was the third of seven children, the eldest of whom was Sir Thornley Stoker, 1st Baronet Abraham, and Charlotte were members of the Church of Ireland Parish of Clontarf and attended the parish church with their children, who were baptized there. Abraham was a senior civil servant.
Bram Stoker
