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We present the second of three parts of the short story "The Fall of the House of Usher1," by Edgar Allan Poe. The story was originally2 adapted and recorded by the U.S. Department of State.
Roderick Usher, whom I had known3 as a boy, was now ill and had asked me to come to help him. When I arrived I felt something strange and fearful4 about the great old stone house, about the lake in front of it, and about Usher himself. He appeared not like a human being, but like a spirit that had come back from beyond the grave5. It was an illness, he said, from which he would surely6 die. He called his sickness fear. “I have,” he said, “no fear of pain, but only the fear of its result — of terror7. I feel that the time will soon arrive when I must lose my life, and my mind, and my soul, together, in some last battle with that horrible8 enemy: fear!”
I learned9 also, but slowly, and through broken words with doubtful10 meaning, another strange fact about the condition of Usher’s mind. He had certain sick fears about the house in which he lived, and he had not stepped out of it for many years. He felt that the house, with its gray walls and the quiet lake around it, had somehow through the long years gotten a strong hold on his spirit.
He said, however, that much of the gloom which lay so heavily on him was probably caused by something more plainly to be seen — by the long-continued illness — indeed, the coming death — of a dearly loved sister — his only company for many years. Except for himself, she was the last member of his family on earth. “When she dies,” he said, with a sadness which I can never forget, “when she dies, I will be the last of the old, old family — the House of Usher.”
While he spoke11, the lady Madeline (for so she was called) passed slowly through a distant part of the room, and without seeing that I was there, went on. I looked at her with a complete and wondering surprise and with some fear — and yet I found I could not explain to myself such feelings. My eyes followed her. When she came to a door and it closed behind her, my eyes turned to the face of her brother — but he had put his face in his hands, and I could see only that the thin fingers through which his tears were flowing were whiter than ever before.
The illness of the lady Madeline had long been beyond the help of her doctors. She seemed to care about nothing. Slowly her body had grown thin and weak, and often for a short period she would fall into a sleep like the sleep of the dead. So far she had not been forced to stay in bed; but by the evening of the day I arrived at the house, the power of her destroyer (as her brother told me that night) was too strong for her. I learned that my one sight of her would probably be the last I would have — that the lady, at least while living, would be seen by me no more.
For several days following, her name was not spoken by either Usher or myself; and during this period I was busy with efforts to lift my friend out of his sadness and gloom. We painted and read together; or listened, as if in a dream, to the wild music he played. And so, as a warmer and more loving friendship grew between us, I saw more clearly the uselessness of all attempts to bring happiness to a mind from which only darkness came, spreading upon all objects in the world its never-ending gloom.
I shall always remember the hours I spent with the master of the House of Usher. Yet I would fail in any attempt to give an idea of the true character of the things we did together. There was a strange light over everything. The paintings which he made me tremble12, though I know not why. To tell of them is beyond the power of written words. If ever a man painted an idea, that man was Roderick Usher. For me at least there came out of his pictures a sense of fear and wonder.
One of these pictures may be told, although weakly, in words. It showed the inside of a room where the dead might be placed, with low walls, white and plain. It seemed to be very deep under the earth. There was no door, no window; and no light or fire burned; yet a river of light flowed through it, filling it with a horrible, ghastly brightness13.
I have spoken of that sickly condition of the senses, which made most music painful for Usher to hear. The notes he could listen to with pleasure were very few. It was this fact, perhaps, that made the music he played so different from most music. But the wild beauty of his playing could not be explained.
The words of one of his songs, called “The Haunted14 Palace,” I have easily remembered. In it I thought I saw, and for the first time, that Usher knew very well that his mind was weakening15. This song told of a great house where a king lived — a palace — in a green valley, where all was light and color and beauty, and the air was sweet. In the palace were two bright windows through which people in that happy valley could hear music and could see smiling ghosts — spirits — moving around the king. The palace door was of the richest materials, in red and white; through it came other spirits whose only duty was to sing in their beautiful voices about how wise their king was.
But a dark change came, the song continued, and now those who enter the valley see through the windows, in a red light, shapes that move to broken music; while through the door, now colorless, a ghastly river of ghosts, laughing but no longer smiling, rushes out forever.
Our talk of this song led to another strange idea in Usher’s mind. He believed that plants could feel and think, and not only plants, but rocks and water as well. He believed that the gray stones of his house, and the small plants growing on the stones, and the decaying16 trees, had a power over him that made him what he was.
Our books — the books which, for years, had fed the sick man’s mind — were, as might be supposed, of this same wild character. Some of these books Usher sat and studied for hours. His chief delight17 was found in reading one very old book, written for some forgotten church, telling of the Watch over the Dead.
At last, one evening he told me that the lady Madeline was alive no more. He said he was going to keep her body for a time in one of the many vaults19 inside the walls of the building. The worldly reason he gave for this was one with which I felt I had to agree. He had decided20 to do this because of the nature of her illness, because of the strange interest and questions of her doctors, and because of the great distance to the graveyard21 where members of his family were placed in the earth.
We two carried her body to its resting place. The vault18 in which we placed it was small and dark, and in ages past it must have seen strange and bloody22 scenes. It lay deep below that part of the building where I myself slept. The thick door was of iron23, and because of its great weight made a loud, hard sound when it was opened and closed. As we placed the lady Madeline in this room of horror24 I saw for the first time the great likeness25 between brother and sister, and Usher told me then that they were twins — they had been born on the same day. For that reason the understanding between them had always been great, and the tie that held them together very strong.
We looked down at the dead face one last time, and I was filled with wonder. As she lay there, the lady Madeline looked not dead but asleep — still soft and warm — though to the touch cold as the stones around us.
Words in This Story
grave – n. a hole in the ground for burying a dead body
doubtful – adj. uncertain or unsure about something
tremble – v. to shake slightly because you are afraid, nervous, or excited
ghastly – adj. very shocking26 or horrible
palace – n. the official home of a king, queen, president, or other official
ghost – n. the soul of a dead person thought of as living in an unseen world or as appearing to living people
church – n. a building that is used for Christian27 religious28 services
vault – n. a locked room where money or valuable things are kept
graveyard – n. a place where people are buried; cemetery29
horror – n. a very strong feeling of fear, dread, and shock
收听单词发音 |
1
usher
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| n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员 | |
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2
originally
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| adv.本来，原来，最初，就起源而论，独创地 | |
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3
known
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| adj.大家知道的；知名的，已知的 | |
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fearful
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| adj.惧怕的，担心的；可怕的，吓人的 | |
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grave
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| n.墓穴，坟墓，雕刻工，抑音；adj.庄重的，严肃的，重大的，低沉的；vt.雕刻 | |
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surely
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| adv.确实地，无疑地；必定地，一定地 | |
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terror
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| n.恐怖；可怖的人(事) | |
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horrible
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| adj.可怕的，极可憎的，极可厌的 | |
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learned
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| adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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doubtful
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| adj.难以预测的，未定的；怀疑的，可疑的 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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12
tremble
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| n.战栗，颤抖；vi.战栗，忧虑，微动 | |
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13
brightness
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| n.明亮，亮度，聪颖，光泽度，灯火通明 | |
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14
haunted
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| adj.闹鬼的；受到折磨的；令人烦恼的v.“haunt”的过去式和过去分词 | |
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15
weakening
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| v.（使）削弱， （使）变弱( weaken的现在分词 )；消震 | |
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16
decaying
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| v.（使）腐烂，腐朽( decay的现在分词 )；衰败，衰退，衰落 | |
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17
delight
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| n.高兴，愉快；vt.给（某人）乐趣；使愉快；vi.喜爱 | |
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18
vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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vaults
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| n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 )；地下室；撑物跳高；墓穴 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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graveyard
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| n.坟场 | |
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bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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23
iron
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| n.铁，熨斗，坚强，烙铁，镣铐；vt.烫平，熨，用铁包；vi. 烫衣服 | |
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24
horror
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| n.惊骇，恐怖，惨事，极端厌恶 | |
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25
likeness
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| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
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26
shocking
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| adj.令人气愤的；令人震惊的 | |
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27
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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religious
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| adj.宗教性的，虔诚的，宗教上的；n.修道士，出家人 | |
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cemetery
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| n.坟墓，墓地，坟场 | |
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