Sitot qu’on le touche il resonne.
De Beranger.
DURING the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary1 tract2 of country; and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy3 House of Usher4. I know not how it was — but, with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded5 my spirit. I say insufferable; for the feeling was unrelieved by any of that half-pleasurable, because poetic6, sentiment, with which the mind usually receives even the sternest natural images of the desolate7 or terrible. I looked upon the scene before me — upon the mere8 house, and the simple landscape features of the domain9 — upon the bleak10 walls — upon the vacant eye-like windows — upon a few rank sedges — and upon a few white trunks of decayed trees — with an utter depression of soul which I can compare to no earthly sensation more properly than to the after-dream of the reveller11 upon opium12 — the bitter lapse13 into everyday life-the hideous14 dropping off of the reveller upon opium — the bitter lapse into everyday life — the hideous dropping off of the veil. There was an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart — an unredeemed dreariness15 of thought which no goading16 of the imagination could torture into aught of the sublime17. What was it — I paused to think — what was it that so unnerved me in the contemplation of the House of Usher? It was a mystery all insoluble; nor could I grapple with the shadowy fancies that crowded upon me as I pondered. I was forced to fall back upon the unsatisfactory conclusion, that while, beyond doubt, there are combinations of very simple natural objects which have the power of thus affecting us, still the analysis of this power lies among considerations beyond our depth. It was possible, I reflected, that a mere different arrangement of the particulars of the scene, of the details of the picture, would be sufficient to modify, or perhaps to annihilate19 its capacity for sorrowful impression; and, acting20 upon this idea, I reined21 my horse to the precipitous brink22 of a black and lurid23 tarn24 that lay in unruffled lustre25 by the dwelling26, and gazed down — but with a shudder27 even more thrilling than before — upon the remodelled28 and inverted29 images of the gray sedge, and the ghastly tree-stems, and the vacant and eye-like windows.
Nevertheless, in this mansion30 of gloom I now proposed to myself a sojourn31 of some weeks. Its proprietor32, Roderick Usher, had been one of my boon33 companions in boyhood; but many years had elapsed since our last meeting. A letter, however, had lately reached me in a distant part of the country — a letter from him — which, in its wildly importunate34 nature, had admitted of no other than a personal reply. The MS. gave evidence of nervous agitation35. The writer spoke36 of acute bodily illness — of a mental disorder37 which oppressed him — and of an earnest desire to see me, as his best, and indeed his only personal friend, with a view of attempting, by the cheerfulness of my society, some alleviation38 of his malady39. It was the manner in which all this, and much more, was said — it the apparent heart that went with his request — which allowed me no room for hesitation40; and I accordingly obeyed forthwith what I still considered a very singular summons.
Although, as boys, we had been even intimate associates, yet really knew little of my friend. His reserve had been always excessive and habitual42. I was aware, however, that his very ancient family had been noted43, time out of mind, for a peculiar44 sensibility of temperament45, displaying itself, through long ages, in many works of exalted46 art, and manifested, of late, in repeated deeds of munificent47 yet unobtrusive charity, as well as in a passionate49 devotion to the intricacies, perhaps even more than to the orthodox and easily recognisable beauties, of musical science. I had learned, too, the very remarkable50 fact, that the stem of the Usher race, all time-honoured as it was, had put forth41, at no period, any enduring branch; in other words, that the entire family lay in the direct line of descent, and had always, with very trifling51 and very temporary variation, so lain. It was this deficiency, I considered, while running over in thought the perfect keeping of the character of the premises52 with the accredited53 character of the people, and while speculating upon the possible influence which the one, in the long lapse of centuries, might have exercised upon the other — it was this deficiency, perhaps, of collateral54 issue, and the consequent undeviating transmission, from sire to son, of the patrimony55 with the name, which had, at length, so identified the two as to merge56 the original title of the estate in the quaint57 and equivocal appellation58 of the “House of Usher” — an appellation which seemed to include, in the minds of the peasantry who used it, both the family and the family mansion.
I have said that the sole effect of my somewhat childish experiment — that of looking down within the tarn — had been to deepen the first singular impression. There can be no doubt that the consciousness of the rapid increase of my superstition59 — for why should I not so term it? — served mainly to accelerate the increase itself. Such, I have long known, is the paradoxical law of all sentiments having terror as a basis. And it might have been for this reason only, that, when I again uplifted my eyes to the house itself, from its image in the pool, there grew in my mind a strange fancy — a fancy so ridiculous, indeed, that I but mention it to show the vivid force of the sensations which oppressed me. I had so worked upon my imagination as really to believe that about the whole mansion and domain there hung an atmosphere peculiar to themselves and their immediate60 vicinity-an atmosphere which had no affinity61 with the air of heaven, but which had reeked62 up from the decayed trees, and the gray wall, and the silent tarn — a pestilent and mystic vapour, dull, sluggish63, faintly discernible, and leaden-hued.
Shaking off from my spirit what must have been a dream, I scanned more narrowly the real aspect of the building. Its principal feature seemed to be that of an excessive antiquity65. The discoloration of ages had been great. Minute fungi66 overspread the whole exterior67, hanging in a fine tangled68 web-work from the eaves. Yet all this was apart from any extraordinary dilapidation69. No portion of the masonry70 had fallen; and there appeared to be a wild inconsistency between its still perfect adaptation of parts, and the crumbling71 condition of the individual stones. In this there was much that reminded me of the specious72 totality of old wood-work which has rotted for long years in some neglected vault73, with no disturbance74 from the breath of the external air. Beyond this indication of extensive decay, however, the fabric75 gave little token of instability. Perhaps the eye of a scrutinising observer might have discovered a barely perceptible fissure76, which, extending from the roof of the building in front, made its way down the wall in a zigzag77 direction, until it became lost in the sullen78 waters of the tarn.
Noticing these things, I rode over a short causeway to the house. A servant in waiting took my horse, and I entered the Gothic archway of the hall. A valet, of stealthy step, thence conducted me, in silence, through many dark and intricate passages in my progress to the studio of his master. Much that I encountered on the way contributed, I know not how, to heighten the vague sentiments of which I have already spoken. While the objects around me — while the carvings79 of the ceilings, the sombre tapestries80 of the walls, the ebon blackness of the floors, and the phantasmagoric armorial trophies81 which rattled82 as I strode, were but matters to which, or to such as which, I had been accustomed from my infancy83 — while I hesitated not to acknowledge how familiar was all this — I still wondered to find how unfamiliar84 were the fancies which ordinary images were stirring up. On one of the staircases, I met the physician of the family. His countenance85, I thought, wore a mingled86 expression of low cunning and perplexity. He accosted87 me with trepidation88 and passed on. The valet now threw open a door and ushered89 me into the presence of his master.
The room in which I found myself was very large and lofty. The windows were long, narrow, and pointed90, and at so vast a distance from the black oaken floor as to be altogether inaccessible91 from within. Feeble gleams of encrimsoned light made their way through the trellised panes92, and served to render sufficiently93 distinct the more prominent objects around the eye, however, struggled in vain to reach the remoter angles of the chamber94, or the recesses95 of the vaulted96 and fretted97 ceiling. Dark draperies hung upon the walls. The general furniture was profuse98, comfortless, antique, and tattered99. Many books and musical instruments lay scattered100 about, but failed to give any vitality101 to the scene. I felt that I breathed an atmosphere of sorrow. An air of stern, deep, and irredeemable gloom hung over and pervaded all.
Upon my entrance, Usher arose from a sofa on which he had been lying at full length, and greeted me with a vivacious102 warmth which had much in it, I at first thought, of an overdone103 cordiality — of the constrained104 effort of the ennuye man of the world. A glance, however, at his countenance, convinced me of his perfect sincerity105. We sat down; and for some moments, while he spoke not, I gazed upon him with a feeling half of pity, half of awe106. Surely, man had never before so terribly altered, in so brief a period, as had Roderick Usher! It was with difficulty that I could bring myself to admit the identity of the wan107 being before me with the companion of my early boyhood. Yet the character of his face had been at all times remarkable. A cadaverousness of complexion108; an eye large, liquid, and luminous109 beyond comparison; lips somewhat thin and very pallid110, but of a surpassingly beautiful curve; a nose of a delicate Hebrew model, but with a breadth of nostril111 unusual in similar formations; a finely moulded chin, speaking, in its want of prominence112, of a want of moral energy; hair of a more than web-like softness and tenuity; these features, with an inordinate113 expansion above the regions of the temple, made up altogether a countenance not easily to be forgotten. And now in the mere exaggeration of the prevailing114 character of these features, and of the expression they were wont115 to convey, lay so much of change that I doubted to whom I spoke. The now ghastly pallor of the skin, and the now miraculous116 lustre of the eve, above all things startled and even awed117 me. The silken hair, too, had been suffered to grow all unheeded, and as, in its wild gossamer118 texture119, it floated rather than fell about the face, I could not, even with effort, connect its Arabesque120 expression with any idea of simple humanity.
In the manner of my friend I was at once struck with an incoherence — an inconsistency; and I soon found this to arise from a series of feeble and futile121 struggles to overcome an habitual trepidancy — an excessive nervous agitation. For something of this nature I had indeed been prepared, no less by his letter, than by reminiscences of certain boyish traits, and by conclusions deduced from his peculiar physical conformation and temperament. His action was alternately vivacious and sullen. His voice varied123 rapidly from a tremulous indecision (when the animal spirits seemed utterly124 in abeyance) to that species of energetic concision125 — that abrupt126, weighty, unhurried, and hollow-sounding enunciation127 — that leaden, self-balanced and perfectly128 modulated129 guttural utterance130, which may be observed in the lost drunkard, or the irreclaimable eater of opium, during the periods of his most intense excitement.
It was thus that he spoke of the object of my visit, of his earnest desire to see me, and of the solace131 he expected me to afford him. He entered, at some length, into what he conceived to be the nature of his malady. It was, he said, a constitutional and a family evil, and one for which he despaired to find a remedy — a mere nervous affection, he immediately added, which would undoubtedly132 soon pass off. It displayed itself in a host of unnatural133 sensations. Some of these, as he detailed134 them, interested and bewildered me; although, perhaps, the terms, and the general manner of the narration135 had their weight. He suffered much from a morbid136 acuteness of the senses; the most insipid138 food was alone endurable; he could wear only garments of certain texture; the odours of all flowers were oppressive; his eyes were tortured by even a faint light; and there were but peculiar sounds, and these from stringed instruments, which did not inspire him with horror.
To an anomalous139 species of terror I found him a bounden slave. “I shall perish,” said he, “I must perish in this deplorable folly140. Thus, thus, and not otherwise, shall I be lost. I dread141 the events of the future, not in themselves, but in their results. I shudder at the thought of any, even the most trivial, incident, which may operate upon this intolerable agitation of soul. I have, indeed, no abhorrence142 of danger, except in its absolute effect — in terror. In this unnerved-in this pitiable condition — I feel that the period will sooner or later arrive when I must abandon life and reason together, in some struggle with the grim phantasm, FEAR.”
I learned, moreover, at intervals143, and through broken and equivocal hints, another singular feature of his mental condition. He was enchained by certain superstitious144 impressions in regard to the dwelling which he tenanted, and whence, for many years, he had never ventured forth — in regard to an influence whose supposititious force was conveyed in terms too shadowy here to be re-stated — an influence which some peculiarities146 in the mere form and substance of his family mansion, had, by dint147 of long sufferance, he said, obtained over his spirit-an effect which the physique of the gray walls and turrets148, and of the dim tarn into which they all looked down, had, at length, brought about upon the morale149 of his existence.
He admitted, however, although with hesitation, that much of the peculiar gloom which thus afflicted150 him could be traced to a more natural and far more palpable origin — to the severe and long-continued illness — indeed to the evidently approaching dissolution-of a tenderly beloved sister — his sole companion for long years — his last and only relative on earth. “Her decease,” he said, with a bitterness which I can never forget, “would leave him (him the hopeless and the frail) the last of the ancient race of the Ushers151.” While he spoke, the lady Madeline (for so was she called) passed slowly through a remote portion of the apartment, and, without having noticed my presence, disappeared. I regarded her with an utter astonishment152 not unmingled with dread — and yet I found it impossible to account for such feelings. A sensation of stupor153 oppressed me, as my eyes followed her retreating steps. When a door, at length, closed upon her, my glance sought instinctively155 and eagerly the countenance of the brother — but he had buried his face in his hands, and I could only perceive that a far more than ordinary wanness156 had overspread the emaciated157 fingers through which trickled158 many passionate tears.
The disease of the lady Madeline had long baffled the skill of her physicians. A settled apathy159, a gradual wasting away of the person, and frequent although transient affections of a partially160 cataleptical character, were the unusual diagnosis161. Hitherto she had steadily162 borne up against the pressure of her malady, and had not betaken herself finally to bed; but, on the closing in of the evening of my arrival at the house, she succumbed163 (as her brother told me at night with inexpressible agitation) to the prostrating164 power of the destroyer; and I learned that the glimpse I had obtained of her person would thus probably be the last I should obtain — that the lady, at least while living, would be seen by me no more.
For several days ensuing, her name was unmentioned by either Usher or myself: and during this period I was busied in earnest endeavours to alleviate165 the melancholy of my friend. We painted and read together; or I listened, as if in a dream, to the wild improvisations of his speaking guitar. And thus, as a closer and still intimacy166 admitted me more unreservedly into the recesses of his spirit, the more bitterly did I perceive the futility167 of all attempt at cheering a mind from which darkness, as if an inherent positive quality, poured forth upon all objects of the moral and physical universe, in one unceasing radiation of gloom.
I shall ever bear about me a memory of the many solemn hours I thus spent alone with the master of the House of Usher. Yet I should fail in any attempt to convey an idea of the exact character of the studies, or of the occupations, in which he involved me, or led me the way. An excited and highly distempered ideality threw a sulphureous lustre over all. His long improvised168 dirges169 will ring forever in my cars. Among other things, I hold painfully in mind a certain singular perversion170 and amplification171 of the wild air of the last waltz of Von Weber. From the paintings over which his elaborate fancy brooded, and which grew, touch by touch, into vaguenesses at which I shuddered172 the more thrillingly, because I shuddered knowing not why; — from these paintings (vivid as their images now are before me) I would in vain endeavour to educe122 more than a small portion which should lie within the compass of merely written words. By the utter simplicity173, by the nakedness of his designs, he arrested and overawed attention. If ever mortal painted an idea, that mortal was Roderick Usher. For me at least — in the circumstances then surrounding me — there arose out of the pure abstractions which the hypochondriac contrived174 to throw upon his canvas, an intensity175 of intolerable awe, no shadow of which felt I ever yet in the contemplation of the certainly glowing yet too concrete reveries of Fuseli.
One of the phantasmagoric conceptions of my friend, partaking not so rigidly177 of the spirit of abstraction, may be shadowed forth, although feebly, in words. A small picture presented the interior of an immensely long and rectangular vault or tunnel, with low walls, smooth, white, and without interruption or device. Certain accessory points of the design served well to convey the idea that this excavation178 lay at an exceeding depth below the surface of the earth. No outlet179 was observed in any portion of its vast extent, and no torch, or other artificial source of light was discernible; yet a flood of intense rays rolled throughout, and bathed the whole in a ghastly and inappropriate splendour.
I have just spoken of that morbid condition of the auditory nerve which rendered all music intolerable to the sufferer, with the exception of certain effects of stringed instruments. It was, perhaps, the narrow limits to which he thus confined himself upon the guitar, which gave birth, in great measure, to the fantastic character of his performances. But the fervid180 facility of his impromptus181 could not be so accounted for. They must have been, and were, in the notes, as well as in the words of his wild fantasias (for he not unfrequently accompanied himself with rhymed verbal improvisations), the result of that intense mental collectedness and concentration to which I have previously182 alluded183 as observable only in particular moments of the highest artificial excitement. The words of one of these rhapsodies I have easily remembered. I was, perhaps, the more forcibly impressed with it, as he gave it, because, in the under or mystic current of its meaning, I fancied that I perceived, and for the first time, a full consciousness on the part of Usher, of the tottering184 of his lofty reason upon her throne. The verses, which were entitled “The Haunted Palace,” ran very nearly, if not accurately185, thus:
I.
In the greenest of our valleys,
By good angels tenanted,
Once fair and stately palace —
Radiant palace — reared its head.
In the monarch186 Thought’s dominion187 —
It stood there!
Never seraph188 spread a pinion189
Over fabric half so fair.
II.
Banners yellow, glorious, golden,
On its roof did float and flow;
(This — all this — was in the olden
Time long ago)
And every gentle air that dallied190,
In that sweet day,
Along the ramparts plumed191 and pallid,
A winged odour went away.
III.
Wanderers in that happy valley
Through two luminous windows saw
Spirits moving musically
To a lute’s well-tuned law,
Round about a throne, where sitting
(Porphyrogene!)
In state his glory well befitting,
The ruler of the realm was seen.
IV.
And all with pearl and ruby192 glowing
Was the fair palace door,
Through which came flowing, flowing, flowing
And sparkling evermore,
A troop of Echoes whose sweet duty
Was but to sing,
In voices of surpassing beauty,
The wit and wisdom of their king.
V.
But evil things, in robes of sorrow,
Assailed193 the monarch’s high estate;
(Ah, let us mourn, for never morrow
Shall dawn upon him, desolate!)
And, round about his home, the glory
That blushed and bloomed
Is but a dim-remembered story
Of the old time entombed.
VI.
And travellers now within that valley,
Through the red-litten windows, see
Vast forms that move fantastically
To a discordant194 melody;
While, like a rapid ghastly river,
Through the pale door,
A hideous throng195 rush out forever,
And laugh — but smile no more.
I well remember that suggestions arising from this ballad196 led us into a train of thought wherein there became manifest an opinion of Usher’s which I mention not so much on account of its novelty, (for other men have thought thus,) as on account of the pertinacity197 with which he maintained it. This opinion, in its general form, was that of the sentience198 of all vegetable things. But, in his disordered fancy, the idea had assumed a more daring character, and trespassed199, under certain conditions, upon the kingdom of inorganization. I lack words to express the full extent, or the earnest abandon of his persuasion200. The belief, however, was connected (as I have previously hinted) with the gray stones of the home of his forefathers201. The conditions of the sentience had been here, he imagined, fulfilled in the method of collocation of these stones — in the order of their arrangement, as well as in that of the many fungi which overspread them, and of the decayed trees which stood around — above all, in the long undisturbed endurance of this arrangement, and in its reduplication in the still waters of the tarn. Its evidence — the evidence of the sentience — was to be seen, he said, (and I here started as he spoke,) in the gradual yet certain condensation202 of an atmosphere of their own about the waters and the walls. The result was discoverable, he added, in that silent, yet importunate and terrible influence which for centuries had moulded the destinies of his family, and which made him what I now saw him — what he was. Such opinions need no comment, and I will make none.
Our books — the books which, for years, had formed no small portion of the mental existence of the invalid203 — were, as might be supposed, in strict keeping with this character of phantasm. We pored together over such works as the Ververt et Chartreuse of Gresset; the Belphegor of Machiavelli; the Heaven and Hell of Swedenborg; the Subterranean204 Voyage of Nicholas Klimm by Holberg; the Chiromancy205 of Robert Flud, of Jean D’Indagine, and of De la Chambre; the Journey into the Blue Distance of Tieck; and the City of the Sun of Campanella. One favourite volume was a small octavo edition of the Directorium Inquisitorum, by the Dominican Eymeric de Gironne; and there were passages in Pomponius Mela, about the old African Satyrs and AEgipans, over which Usher would sit dreaming for hours. His chief delight, however, was found in the perusal206 of an exceedingly rare and curious book in quarto Gothic — the manual of a forgotten church — the Vigilae Mortuorum secundum Chorum Ecclesiae Maguntinae.
I could not help thinking of the wild ritual of this work, and of its probable influence upon the hypochondriac, when, one evening, having informed me abruptly207 that the lady Madeline was no more, he stated his intention of preserving her corpse208 for a fortnight, (previously to its final interment,) in one of the numerous vaults209 within the main walls of the building. The worldly reason, however, assigned for this singular proceeding210, was one which I did not feel at liberty to dispute. The brother had been led to his resolution (so he told me) by consideration of the unusual character of the malady of the deceased, of certain obtrusive48 and eager inquiries211 on the part of her medical men, and of the remote and exposed situation of the burial-ground of the family. I will not deny that when I called to mind the sinister212 countenance of the person whom I met upon the stair case, on the day of my arrival at the house, I had no desire to oppose what I regarded as at best but a harmless, and by no means an unnatural, precaution.
At the request of Usher, I personally aided him in the arrangements for the temporary entombment. The body having been encoffined, we two alone bore it to its rest. The vault in which we placed it (and which had been so long unopened that our torches, half smothered214 in its oppressive atmosphere, gave us little opportunity for investigation) was small, damp, and entirely215 without means of admission for light; lying, at great depth, immediately beneath that portion of the building in which was my own sleeping apartment. It had been used, apparently216, in remote feudal217 times, for the worst purposes of a donjon-keep, and, in later days, as a place of deposit for powder, or some other highly combustible218 substance, as a portion of its floor, and the whole interior of a long archway through which we reached it, were carefully sheathed219 with copper220. The door, of massive iron, had been, also, similarly protected. Its immense weight caused an unusually sharp grating sound, as it moved upon its hinges.
Having deposited our mournful burden upon tressels within this region of horror, we partially turned aside the yet unscrewed lid of the coffin213, and looked upon the face of the tenant145. A striking similitude between the brother and sister now first arrested my attention; and Usher, divining, perhaps, my thoughts, murmured out some few words from which I learned that the deceased and himself had been twins, and that sympathies of a scarcely intelligible222 nature had always existed between them. Our glances, however, rested not long upon the dead — for we could not regard her unawed. The disease which had thus entombed the lady in the maturity223 of youth, had left, as usual in all maladies of a strictly224 cataleptical character, the mockery of a faint blush upon the bosom225 and the face, and that suspiciously lingering smile upon the lip which is so terrible in death. We replaced and screwed down the lid, and, having secured the door of iron, made our way, with toll226, into the scarcely less gloomy apartments of the upper portion of the house.
And now, some days of bitter grief having elapsed, an observable change came over the features of the mental disorder of my friend. His ordinary manner had vanished. His ordinary occupations were neglected or forgotten. He roamed from chamber to chamber with hurried, unequal, and objectless step. The pallor of his countenance had assumed, if possible, a more ghastly hue64 — but the luminousness227 of his eye had utterly gone out. The once occasional huskiness of his tone was heard no more; and a tremulous quaver, as if of extreme terror, habitually228 characterized his utterance. There were times, indeed, when I thought his unceasingly agitated229 mind was labouring with some oppressive secret, to divulge230 which he struggled for the necessary courage. At times, again, I was obliged to resolve all into the mere inexplicable231 vagaries232 of madness, for I beheld233 him gazing upon vacancy234 for long hours, in an attitude of the profoundest attention, as if listening to some imaginary sound. It was no wonder that his condition terrified-that it infected me. I felt creeping upon me, by slow yet certain degrees, the wild influences of his own fantastic yet impressive superstitions235.
It was, especially, upon retiring to bed late in the night of the seventh or eighth day after the placing of the lady Madeline within the donjon, that I experienced the full power of such feelings. Sleep came not near my couch — while the hours waned236 and waned away. I struggled to reason off the nervousness which had dominion over me. I endeavoured to believe that much, if not all of what I felt, was due to the bewildering influence of the gloomy furniture of the room — of the dark and tattered draperies, which, tortured into motion by the breath of a rising tempest, swayed fitfully to and fro upon the walls, and rustled237 uneasily about the decorations of the bed. But my efforts were fruitless. An irrepressible tremour gradually pervaded my frame; and, at length, there sat upon my very heart an incubus238 of utterly causeless alarm. Shaking this off with a gasp239 and a struggle, I uplifted myself upon the pillows, and, peering earnestly within the intense darkness of the chamber, hearkened — I know not why, except that an instinctive154 spirit prompted me — to certain low and indefinite sounds which came, through the pauses of the storm, at long intervals, I knew not whence. Overpowered by an intense sentiment of horror, unaccountable yet unendurable, I threw on my clothes with haste (for I felt that I should sleep no more during the night), and endeavoured to arouse myself from the pitiable condition into which I had fallen, by pacing rapidly to and fro through the apartment.
I had taken but few turns in this manner, when a light step on an adjoining staircase arrested my attention. I presently recognised it as that of Usher. In an instant afterward240 he rapped, with a gentle touch, at my door, and entered, bearing a lamp. His countenance was, as usual, cadaverously wan — but, moreover, there was a species of mad hilarity241 in his eyes — an evidently restrained hysteria in his whole demeanour. His air appalled242 me — but anything was preferable to the solitude243 which I had so long endured, and I even welcomed his presence as a relief.
“And you have not seen it?” he said abruptly, after having stared about him for some moments in silence — “you have not then seen it? — but, stay! you shall.” Thus speaking, and having carefully shaded his lamp, he hurried to one of the casements245, and threw it freely open to the storm.
The impetuous fury of the entering gust246 nearly lifted us from our feet. It was, indeed, a tempestuous247 yet sternly beautiful night, and one wildly singular in its terror and its beauty. A whirlwind had apparently collected its force in our vicinity; for there were frequent and violent alterations248 in the direction of the wind; and the exceeding density250 of the clouds (which hung so low as to press upon the turrets of the house) did not prevent our perceiving the life-like velocity251 with which they flew careering from all points against each other, without passing away into the distance. I say that even their exceeding density did not prevent our perceiving this — yet we had no glimpse of the moon or stars — nor was there any flashing forth of the lightning. But the under surfaces of the huge masses of agitated vapour, as well as all terrestrial objects immediately around us, were glowing in the unnatural light of a faintly luminous and distinctly visible gaseous252 exhalation which hung about and enshrouded the mansion.
“You must not — you shall not behold253 this!” said I, shudderingly254, to Usher, as I led him, with a gentle violence, from the window to a seat. “These appearances, which bewilder you, are merely electrical phenomena255 not uncommon256 — or it may be that they have their ghastly origin in the rank miasma257 of the tarn. Let us close this casement244; — the air is chilling and dangerous to your frame. Here is one of your favourite romances. I will read, and you shall listen; — and so we will pass away this terrible night together.”
The antique volume which I had taken up was the “Mad Trist” of Sir Launcelot Canning; but I had called it a favourite of Usher’s more in sad jest than in earnest; for, in truth, there is little in its uncouth258 and unimaginative prolixity259 which could have had interest for the lofty and spiritual ideality of my friend. It was, however, the only book immediately at hand; and I indulged a vague hope that the excitement which now agitated the hypochondriac, might find relief (for the history of mental disorder is full of similar anomalies) even in the extremeness of the folly which I should read. Could I have judged, indeed, by the wild over-strained air of vivacity260 with which he hearkened, or apparently hearkened, to the words of the tale, I might well have congratulated myself upon the success of my design.
I had arrived at that well-known portion of the story where Ethelred, the hero of the Trist, having sought in vain for peaceable admission into the dwelling of the hermit261, proceeds to make good an entrance by force. Here, it will be remembered, the words of the narrative262 run thus:
“And Ethelred, who was by nature of a doughty263 heart, and who was now mighty264 withal, on account of the powerfulness of the wine which he had drunken, waited no longer to hold parley265 with the hermit, who, in sooth, was of an obstinate266 and maliceful turn, but, feeling the rain upon his shoulders, and fearing the rising of the tempest, uplifted his mace267 outright268, and, with blows, made quickly room in the plankings of the door for his gauntleted hand; and now pulling there-with sturdily, he so cracked, and ripped, and tore all asunder269, that the noise of the dry and hollow-sounding wood alarumed and reverberated270 throughout the forest.
At the termination of this sentence I started, and for a moment, paused; for it appeared to me (although I at once concluded that my excited fancy had deceived me) — it appeared to me that, from some very remote portion of the mansion, there came, indistinctly, to my ears, what might have been, in its exact similarity of character, the echo (but a stifled271 and dull one certainly) of the very cracking and ripping sound which Sir Launcelot had so particularly described. It was, beyond doubt, the coincidence alone which had arrested my attention; for, amid the rattling272 of the sashes of the casements, and the ordinary commingled273 noises of the still increasing storm, the sound, in itself, had nothing, surely, which should have interested or disturbed me. I continued the story:
“But the good champion Ethelred, now entering within the door, was sore enraged274 and amazed to perceive no signal of the maliceful hermit; but, in the stead thereof, a dragon of a scaly275 and prodigious276 demeanour, and of a fiery277 tongue, which sate278 in guard before a palace of gold, with a floor of silver; and upon the wall there hung a shield of shining brass279 with this legend enwritten —
Who entereth herein, a conqueror280 hath bin18;
Who slayeth the dragon, the shield he shall win;
And Ethelred uplifted his mace, and struck upon the head of the dragon, which fell before him, and gave up his pesty breath, with a shriek281 so horrid282 and harsh, and withal so piercing, that Ethelred had fain to close his ears with his hands against the dreadful noise of it, the like whereof was never before heard.”
Here again I paused abruptly, and now with a feeling of wild amazement283 — for there could be no doubt whatever that, in this instance, I did actually hear (although from what direction it proceeded I found it impossible to say) a low and apparently distant, but harsh, protracted284, and most unusual screaming or grating sound — the exact counterpart of what my fancy had already conjured285 up for the dragon’s unnatural shriek as described by the romancer.
Oppressed, as I certainly was, upon the occurrence of the second and most extraordinary coincidence, by a thousand conflicting sensations, in which wonder and extreme terror were predominant, I still retained sufficient presence of mind to avoid exciting, by any observation, the sensitive nervousness of my companion. I was by no means certain that he had noticed the sounds in question; although, assuredly, a strange alteration249 had, during the last few minutes, taken place in his demeanour. From a position fronting my own, he had gradually brought round his chair, so as to sit with his face to the door of the chamber; and thus I could but partially perceive his features, although I saw that his lips trembled as if he were murmuring inaudibly. His head had dropped upon his breast — yet I knew that he was not asleep, from the wide and rigid176 opening of the eye as I caught a glance of it in profile. The motion of his body, too, was at variance286 with this idea — for he rocked from side to side with a gentle yet constant and uniform sway. Having rapidly taken notice of all this, I resumed the narrative of Sir Launcelot, which thus proceeded:
“And now, the champion, having escaped from the terrible fury of the dragon, bethinking himself of the brazen287 shield, and of the breaking up of the enchantment288 which was upon it, removed the carcass from out of the way before him, and approached valorously over the silver pavement of the castle to where the shield was upon the wall; which in sooth tarried not for his full coming, but fell down at his feet upon the silver floor, with a mighty great and terrible ringing sound.”
No sooner had these syllables289 passed my lips, than — as if a shield of brass had indeed, at the moment, fallen heavily upon a floor of silver became aware of a distinct, hollow, metallic290, and clangorous, yet apparently muffled291 reverberation292. Completely unnerved, I leaped to my feet; but the measured rocking movement of Usher was undisturbed. I rushed to the chair in which he sat. His eyes were bent293 fixedly294 before him, and throughout his whole countenance there reigned295 a stony296 rigidity297. But, as I placed my hand upon his shoulder, there came a strong shudder over his whole person; a sickly smile quivered about his lips; and I saw that he spoke in a low, hurried, and gibbering murmur221, as if unconscious of my presence. Bending closely over him, I at length drank in the hideous import of his words.
“Not hear it? — yes, I hear it, and have heard it. Long — long — long — many minutes, many hours, many days, have I heard it — yet I dared not — oh, pity me, miserable298 wretch299 that I am! — I dared not — I dared not speak! We have put her living in the tomb! Said I not that my senses were acute? I now tell you that I heard her first feeble movements in the hollow coffin. I heard them — many, many days ago — yet I dared not — I dared not speak! And now — to-night — Ethelred — ha! ha! — the breaking of the hermit’s door, and the death-cry of the dragon, and the clangour of the shield! — say, rather, the rending300 of her coffin, and the grating of the iron hinges of her prison, and her struggles within the coppered archway of the vault! Oh whither shall I fly? Will she not be here anon? Is she not hurrying to upbraid301 me for my haste? Have I not heard her footstep on the stair? Do I not distinguish that heavy and horrible beating of her heart? MADMAN!” here he sprang furiously to his feet, and shrieked302 out his syllables, as if in the effort he were giving up his soul — “MADMAN! I TELL YOU THAT SHE NOW STANDS WITHOUT THE DOOR!”
As if in the superhuman energy of his utterance there had been found the potency303 of a spell — the huge antique panels to which the speaker pointed, threw slowly back, upon the instant, ponderous304 and ebony jaws305. It was the work of the rushing gust — but then without those doors there DID stand the lofty and enshrouded figure of the lady Madeline of Usher. There was blood upon her white robes, and the evidence of some bitter struggle upon every portion of her emaciated frame. For a moment she remained trembling and reeling to and fro upon the threshold, then, with a low moaning cry, fell heavily inward upon the person of her brother, and in her violent and now final death-agonies, bore him to the floor a corpse, and a victim to the terrors he had anticipated.
From that chamber, and from that mansion, I fled aghast. The storm was still abroad in all its wrath306 as I found myself crossing the old causeway. Suddenly there shot along the path a wild light, and I turned to see whence a gleam so unusual could wi have issued; for the vast house and its shadows were alone behind me. The radiance was that of the full, setting, and blood-red moon which now shone vividly307 through that once barely-discernible fissure of which I have before spoken as extending from the roof of the building, in a zigzag direction, to the base. While I gazed, this fissure rapidly widened — there came a fierce breath of the whirlwind — the entire orb137 of the satellite burst at once upon my sight — my brain reeled as I saw the mighty walls rushing asunder — there was a long tumultuous shouting sound like the voice of a thousand waters — and the deep and dank tarn at my feet closed sullenly308 and silently over the fragments of the “HOUSE OF USHER.”
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
dreary
|
|
| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
tract
|
|
| n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
melancholy
|
|
| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
usher
|
|
| n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
pervaded
|
|
| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
poetic
|
|
| adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
desolate
|
|
| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
domain
|
|
| n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
bleak
|
|
| adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
reveller
|
|
| n.摆设酒宴者，饮酒狂欢者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
12
opium
|
|
| n.鸦片；adj.鸦片的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
lapse
|
|
| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
hideous
|
|
| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
dreariness
|
|
| 沉寂，可怕，凄凉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
goading
|
|
| v.刺激( goad的现在分词 )；激励；（用尖棒）驱赶；驱使（或怂恿、刺激）某人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
sublime
|
|
| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
bin
|
|
| n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
annihilate
|
|
| v.使无效；毁灭；取消 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
acting
|
|
| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
reined
|
|
| 勒缰绳使（马）停步( rein的过去式和过去分词 )； 驾驭； 严格控制； 加强管理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
brink
|
|
| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
lurid
|
|
| adj.可怕的；血红的；苍白的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
tarn
|
|
| n.山中的小湖或小潭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
lustre
|
|
| n.光亮，光泽；荣誉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
dwelling
|
|
| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
shudder
|
|
| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
remodelled
|
|
| v.改变…的结构[形状]( remodel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
inverted
|
|
| adj.反向的，倒转的v.使倒置，使反转( invert的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
mansion
|
|
| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
sojourn
|
|
| v./n.旅居，寄居；逗留 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
proprietor
|
|
| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
boon
|
|
| n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
importunate
|
|
| adj.强求的；纠缠不休的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
agitation
|
|
| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
spoke
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
disorder
|
|
| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
alleviation
|
|
| n. 减轻，缓和，解痛物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
malady
|
|
| n.病，疾病(通常做比喻) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
hesitation
|
|
| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
habitual
|
|
| adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
noted
|
|
| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
peculiar
|
|
| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
temperament
|
|
| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
exalted
|
|
| adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
munificent
|
|
| adj.慷慨的，大方的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
obtrusive
|
|
| adj.显眼的；冒失的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
passionate
|
|
| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
remarkable
|
|
| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
trifling
|
|
| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
premises
|
|
| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
accredited
|
|
| adj.可接受的；可信任的；公认的；质量合格的v.相信( accredit的过去式和过去分词 )；委托；委任；把…归结于 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
collateral
|
|
| adj.平行的；旁系的；n.担保品 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
patrimony
|
|
| n.世袭财产，继承物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
merge
|
|
| v.(使)结合，(使)合并，(使)合为一体 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
quaint
|
|
| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
appellation
|
|
| n.名称，称呼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
superstition
|
|
| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
immediate
|
|
| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
affinity
|
|
| n.亲和力，密切关系 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
reeked
|
|
| v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的过去式和过去分词 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
sluggish
|
|
| adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
hue
|
|
| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
antiquity
|
|
| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
fungi
|
|
| n.真菌，霉菌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
exterior
|
|
| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
tangled
|
|
| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
dilapidation
|
|
| n.倒塌；毁坏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
masonry
|
|
| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
crumbling
|
|
| adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
specious
|
|
| adj.似是而非的；adv.似是而非地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
vault
|
|
| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
disturbance
|
|
| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
fabric
|
|
| n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
fissure
|
|
| n.裂缝；裂伤 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
zigzag
|
|
| n.曲折，之字形；adj.曲折的，锯齿形的；adv.曲折地，成锯齿形地；vt.使曲折；vi.曲折前行 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
sullen
|
|
| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
carvings
|
|
| n.雕刻( carving的名词复数 )；雕刻术；雕刻品；雕刻物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
tapestries
|
|
| n.挂毯( tapestry的名词复数 )；绣帷，织锦v.用挂毯（或绣帷）装饰( tapestry的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
trophies
|
|
| n.（为竞赛获胜者颁发的）奖品( trophy的名词复数 )；奖杯；（尤指狩猎或战争中获得的）纪念品；（用于比赛或赛跑名称）奖 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
rattled
|
|
| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
infancy
|
|
| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
unfamiliar
|
|
| adj.陌生的，不熟悉的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
countenance
|
|
| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
mingled
|
|
| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
accosted
|
|
| v.走过去跟…讲话( accost的过去式和过去分词 )；跟…搭讪；（乞丐等）上前向…乞讨；（妓女等）勾搭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
trepidation
|
|
| n.惊恐，惶恐 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
ushered
|
|
| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
inaccessible
|
|
| adj.达不到的，难接近的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
panes
|
|
| 窗玻璃( pane的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
sufficiently
|
|
| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
chamber
|
|
| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
recesses
|
|
| n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
vaulted
|
|
| adj.拱状的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
fretted
|
|
| 焦躁的，附有弦马的，腐蚀的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
profuse
|
|
| adj.很多的，大量的，极其丰富的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
tattered
|
|
| adj.破旧的，衣衫破的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
scattered
|
|
| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
vitality
|
|
| n.活力，生命力，效力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
vivacious
|
|
| adj.活泼的，快活的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
overdone
|
|
| v.做得过分( overdo的过去分词 )；太夸张；把…煮得太久；（工作等）过度 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
constrained
|
|
| adj.束缚的,节制的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
sincerity
|
|
| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
awe
|
|
| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
107
wan
|
|
| (wide area network)广域网 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
complexion
|
|
| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
luminous
|
|
| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
110
pallid
|
|
| adj.苍白的，呆板的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
111
nostril
|
|
| n.鼻孔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
prominence
|
|
| n.突出；显著；杰出；重要 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
inordinate
|
|
| adj.无节制的；过度的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
114
prevailing
|
|
| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
115
wont
|
|
| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
miraculous
|
|
| adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
117
awed
|
|
| adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
118
gossamer
|
|
| n.薄纱，游丝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
119
texture
|
|
| n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
120
arabesque
|
|
| n.阿拉伯式花饰；adj.阿拉伯式图案的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
121
futile
|
|
| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
122
educe
|
|
| v.引出；演绎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
123
varied
|
|
| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
124
utterly
|
|
| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
125
concision
|
|
| n.简明，简洁 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
126
abrupt
|
|
| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
127
enunciation
|
|
| n.清晰的发音；表明，宣言；口齿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
128
perfectly
|
|
| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
129
modulated
|
|
| 已调整[制]的，被调的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
130
utterance
|
|
| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
131
solace
|
|
| n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
132
undoubtedly
|
|
| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
133
unnatural
|
|
| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
134
detailed
|
|
| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
135
narration
|
|
| n.讲述，叙述；故事；记叙体 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
136
morbid
|
|
| adj.病的；致病的；病态的；可怕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
137
orb
|
|
| n.太阳；星球；v.弄圆；成球形 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
138
insipid
|
|
| adj.无味的，枯燥乏味的，单调的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
139
anomalous
|
|
| adj.反常的；不规则的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
140
folly
|
|
| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
141
dread
|
|
| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
142
abhorrence
|
|
| n.憎恶；可憎恶的事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
143
intervals
|
|
| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
144
superstitious
|
|
| adj.迷信的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
145
tenant
|
|
| n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
146
peculiarities
|
|
| n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
147
dint
|
|
| n.由于，靠；凹坑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
148
turrets
|
|
| （六角）转台( turret的名词复数 )； （战舰和坦克等上的）转动炮塔； （摄影机等上的）镜头转台； （旧时攻城用的）塔车 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
149
morale
|
|
| n.道德准则，士气，斗志 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
150
afflicted
|
|
| 使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
151
ushers
|
|
| n.引座员( usher的名词复数 )；招待员；门房；助理教员v.引，领，陪同( usher的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
152
astonishment
|
|
| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
153
stupor
|
|
| v.昏迷；不省人事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
154
instinctive
|
|
| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
155
instinctively
|
|
| adv.本能地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
156
wanness
|
|
| n.虚弱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
157
emaciated
|
|
| adj.衰弱的，消瘦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
158
trickled
|
|
| v.滴( trickle的过去式和过去分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
159
apathy
|
|
| n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
160
partially
|
|
| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
161
diagnosis
|
|
| n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
162
steadily
|
|
| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
163
succumbed
|
|
| 不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
164
prostrating
|
|
| v.使俯伏，使拜倒( prostrate的现在分词 )；（指疾病、天气等）使某人无能为力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
165
alleviate
|
|
| v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
166
intimacy
|
|
| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
167
futility
|
|
| n.无用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
168
improvised
|
|
| a.即席而作的,即兴的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
169
dirges
|
|
| n.挽歌( dirge的名词复数 )；忧伤的歌，哀歌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
170
perversion
|
|
| n.曲解；堕落；反常 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
171
amplification
|
|
| n.扩大，发挥 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
172
shuddered
|
|
| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
173
simplicity
|
|
| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
174
contrived
|
|
| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
175
intensity
|
|
| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
176
rigid
|
|
| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
177
rigidly
|
|
| adv.刻板地，僵化地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
178
excavation
|
|
| n.挖掘，发掘；被挖掘之地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
179
outlet
|
|
| n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
180
fervid
|
|
| adj.热情的；炽热的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
181
impromptus
|
|
| n.即兴曲( impromptu的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
182
previously
|
|
| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
183
alluded
|
|
| 提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
184
tottering
|
|
| adj.蹒跚的，动摇的v.走得或动得不稳( totter的现在分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
185
accurately
|
|
| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
186
monarch
|
|
| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
187
dominion
|
|
| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
188
seraph
|
|
| n.六翼天使 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
189
pinion
|
|
| v.束缚；n.小齿轮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
190
dallied
|
|
| v.随随便便地对待( dally的过去式和过去分词 )；不很认真地考虑；浪费时间；调情 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
191
plumed
|
|
| 饰有羽毛的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
192
ruby
|
|
| n.红宝石，红宝石色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
193
assailed
|
|
| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
194
discordant
|
|
| adj.不调和的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
195
throng
|
|
| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
196
ballad
|
|
| n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
197
pertinacity
|
|
| n.执拗，顽固 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
198
sentience
|
|
| n.感觉性；感觉能力；知觉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
199
trespassed
|
|
| （trespass的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
200
persuasion
|
|
| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
201
forefathers
|
|
| n.祖先，先人；祖先，祖宗( forefather的名词复数 )；列祖列宗；前人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
202
condensation
|
|
| n.压缩，浓缩；凝结的水珠 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
203
invalid
|
|
| n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
204
subterranean
|
|
| adj.地下的，地表下的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
205
chiromancy
|
|
| n.手相术 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
206
perusal
|
|
| n.细读，熟读；目测 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
207
abruptly
|
|
| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
208
corpse
|
|
| n.尸体，死尸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
209
vaults
|
|
| n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 )；地下室；撑物跳高；墓穴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
210
proceeding
|
|
| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
211
inquiries
|
|
| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
212
sinister
|
|
| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
213
coffin
|
|
| n.棺材，灵柩 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
214
smothered
|
|
| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
215
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
216
apparently
|
|
| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
217
feudal
|
|
| adj.封建的，封地的，领地的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
218
combustible
|
|
| a. 易燃的,可燃的; n. 易燃物,可燃物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
219
sheathed
|
|
| adj.雕塑像下半身包在鞘中的；覆盖的；铠装的；装鞘了的v.将（刀、剑等）插入鞘( sheathe的过去式和过去分词 )；包，覆盖 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
220
copper
|
|
| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
221
murmur
|
|
| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
222
intelligible
|
|
| adj.可理解的，明白易懂的，清楚的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
223
maturity
|
|
| n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
224
strictly
|
|
| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
225
bosom
|
|
| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
226
toll
|
|
| n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
227
luminousness
|
|
| 透光率 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
228
habitually
|
|
| ad.习惯地，通常地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
229
agitated
|
|
| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
230
divulge
|
|
| v.泄漏(秘密等)；宣布，公布 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
231
inexplicable
|
|
| adj.无法解释的，难理解的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
232
vagaries
|
|
| n.奇想( vagary的名词复数 )；异想天开；异常行为；难以预测的情况 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
233
beheld
|
|
| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
234
vacancy
|
|
| n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
235
superstitions
|
|
| 迷信，迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
236
waned
|
|
| v.衰落( wane的过去式和过去分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
237
rustled
|
|
| v.发出沙沙的声音( rustle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
238
incubus
|
|
| n.负担；恶梦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
239
gasp
|
|
| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
240
afterward
|
|
| adv.后来；以后 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
241
hilarity
|
|
| n.欢乐；热闹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
242
appalled
|
|
| v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
243
solitude
|
|
| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
244
casement
|
|
| n.竖铰链窗；窗扉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
245
casements
|
|
| n.窗扉( casement的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
246
gust
|
|
| n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
247
tempestuous
|
|
| adj.狂暴的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
248
alterations
|
|
| n.改动( alteration的名词复数 )；更改；变化；改变 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
249
alteration
|
|
| n.变更，改变；蚀变 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
250
density
|
|
| n.密集，密度，浓度 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
251
velocity
|
|
| n.速度，速率 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
252
gaseous
|
|
| adj.气体的，气态的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
253
behold
|
|
| v.看，注视，看到 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
254
shudderingly
|
|
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
255
phenomena
|
|
| n.现象 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
256
uncommon
|
|
| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
257
miasma
|
|
| n.毒气；不良气氛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
258
uncouth
|
|
| adj.无教养的，粗鲁的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
259
prolixity
|
|
| n.冗长，罗嗦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
260
vivacity
|
|
| n.快活，活泼，精神充沛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
261
hermit
|
|
| n.隐士，修道者；隐居 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
262
narrative
|
|
| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
263
doughty
|
|
| adj.勇猛的，坚强的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
264
mighty
|
|
| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
265
parley
|
|
| n.谈判 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
266
obstinate
|
|
| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
267
mace
|
|
| n.狼牙棒，豆蔻干皮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
268
outright
|
|
| adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
269
asunder
|
|
| adj.分离的，化为碎片 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
270
reverberated
|
|
| 回响，回荡( reverberate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
271
stifled
|
|
| （使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
272
rattling
|
|
| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
273
commingled
|
|
| v.混合，掺和，合并( commingle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
274
enraged
|
|
| 使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
275
scaly
|
|
| adj.鱼鳞状的；干燥粗糙的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
276
prodigious
|
|
| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
277
fiery
|
|
| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
278
sate
|
|
| v.使充分满足 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
279
brass
|
|
| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
280
conqueror
|
|
| n.征服者，胜利者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
281
shriek
|
|
| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
282
horrid
|
|
| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
283
amazement
|
|
| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
284
protracted
|
|
| adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
285
conjured
|
|
| 用魔术变出( conjure的过去式和过去分词 )； 祈求，恳求； 变戏法； （变魔术般地） 使…出现 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
286
variance
|
|
| n.矛盾，不同 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
287
brazen
|
|
| adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
288
enchantment
|
|
| n.迷惑，妖术，魅力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
289
syllables
|
|
| n.音节( syllable的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
290
metallic
|
|
| adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
291
muffled
|
|
| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
292
reverberation
|
|
| 反响； 回响； 反射； 反射物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
293
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
294
fixedly
|
|
| adv.固定地；不屈地，坚定不移地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
295
reigned
|
|
| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
296
stony
|
|
| adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
297
rigidity
|
|
| adj.钢性，坚硬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
298
miserable
|
|
| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
299
wretch
|
|
| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
300
rending
|
|
| v.撕碎( rend的现在分词 )；分裂；（因愤怒、痛苦等而）揪扯（衣服或头发等）；（声音等）刺破 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
301
upbraid
|
|
| v.斥责，责骂，责备 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
302
shrieked
|
|
| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
303
potency
|
|
| n. 效力，潜能 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
304
ponderous
|
|
| adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
305
jaws
|
|
| n.口部；嘴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
306
wrath
|
|
| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
307
vividly
|
|
| adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
308
sullenly
|
|
| 不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |