To Mr O-----, Gent. from Dr Ellington
County Londonderry, Dec. 8, 1797, to Mr. O-----.
My dear friend, I have done it; for Mr Crunk of Midbury shall never see the light of day again! I knew I was getting close a few days agone, ah; but I must tell you the whole story, my friend, before you here the last of Mordecai Ellington! I told you, six months agone, that I should build a monster, but you did not believe me; but I have, O-----! See it here! After the dinner-party I proposed that at, I enquired, seriously, for a candidate to stay while I made the monster, and I got two, Mr Puck of Bristol and Mr Crunk of Midbury; their rôles is this you shall soon find out. Mr Crunk was very skeptical, but Mr Puck was a believer in Monsters, and so I let him live. On the first day of their watching, I said to Mr Crunk: ‘You better be careful, Crunk; I do not like skeptical people.’ ‘Bah!’ Said Crunk, and he laughed, and at this moment I grew very maddened at him, but Mr Puck was a good man all the way; now, the second day I said to Puck: ‘Puck, we are going down to the grave-yard; for I need parts to make a monster, as Victor Frankenstein did in that grand novel of Ms Godwin's.’ ‘Yes sir.’ Said young Puck, a bit frighten’dly. We went out that night, and got some first rate body parts, I remember the names on them tomb-stones: ICHABOD MACARTHUR, JAMES WILJOHN, &c, &c; soon our inventory was complete, and we went back to my Manor. Next day Mr Crunk was growing suspicious, as I only let Puck in to my laboratory, and he try'd to see in, and so, hating him even more, I said: ‘Watch out or else Crunk!’ But Crunk was unfased. I had finished the bottom half of the Monster that day, and I congratulat’d Puck for picking such good legs, they were new enough that their clothes had not decompos'd, but old enough to not have warm blood running thro’ their veins. The day after that I start’d to, without Mr Puck, concoct plans to destroy that Mr Crunk, and I finally hit upon one—I should not kill him, but I should tell my Monster to! That night we finished the upper half of the Monster, but we still lackt a Head; for we needed one that had good enough brains to comply to commands, but not to think for it’s self; but then Puck said: ‘I remember a Fool I us’d to know, he could comply to commands tho’, but now he is dead, but he dy'd very recently!’ And so we dug up the Fool’s Head and put it upon the Monster, at exactly mid-night we, using Frankenstein's strategy, hit it with lightning, as it was a raging storm then, and it was alive! Next I said to it: ‘Kill Perceval Crunk!’ ‘Yes, master,’ It said, and soon it had preform’d the murder. ‘Monster,’ said I; ‘we must get away soon; so I shall write a letter to my friend O----- and disclose it all!’ And so, I am your friend,
MORDECAI ELLINGTON.
Conclusion
Next day we found Ellington had fallen off a cliff in Bristol, the Monster also had; and Puck had committ’d suicide in his House, with this note scrawl’d on paper: “God help me, I shall never tell; I ca’n’t now!”