Sir Dominick Holden, C.B., K.C.S.I., and I don’t know what besides, was the most distinguished6 Indian surgeon of his day. In the Army originally, he afterwards settled down into civil practice in Bombay, and visited as a consultant7 every part of India. His 300name is best remembered in connection with the Oriental Hospital, which he founded and supported. The time came, however, when his iron constitution began to show signs of the long strain to which he had subjected it, and his brother practitioners8 (who were not, perhaps, entirely9 disinterested10 upon the point) were unanimous in recommending him to return to England. He held on so long as he could, but at last he developed nervous symptoms of a very pronounced character, and so came back, a broken man, to his native county of Wiltshire. He bought a considerable estate with an ancient manor-house upon the edge of Salisbury Plain, and devoted11 his old age to the study of Comparative Pathology, which had been his learned hobby all his life, and in which he was a foremost authority.
We of the family were, as may be imagined, much excited by the news of the return of this rich and childless uncle to England. On his part, although by no means exuberant12 in his hospitality, he showed some sense of his duty to his relations, and each of us in turn had an invitation to visit him. From the accounts of my cousins it appeared to be a melancholy13 business, and it was with mixed feelings that I at last received my own summons to appear at Rodenhurst. My wife was so carefully excluded in the invitation that my first impulse was to refuse it, but the interests of the children had to be considered, and so, with her consent, I set out one October afternoon upon my visit to Wiltshire, with little thought of what that visit was to entail14.
My uncle’s estate was situated15 where the arable16 301land of the plains begins to swell17 upwards18 into the rounded chalk hills which are characteristic of the county. As I drove from Dinton Station in the waning19 light of that autumn day, I was impressed by the weird20 nature of the scenery. The few scattered21 cottages of the peasants were so dwarfed22 by the huge evidences of prehistoric23 life, that the present appeared to be a dream and the past to be the obtrusive24 and masterful reality. The road wound through the valleys, formed by a succession of grassy25 hills, and the summit of each was cut and carved into the most elaborate fortifications, some circular and some square, but all on a scale which has defied the winds and the rains of many centuries. Some call them Roman and some British, but their true origin and the reasons for this particular tract26 of country being so interlaced with entrenchments have never been finally made clear. Here and there on the long, smooth, olive-coloured slopes there rose small rounded barrows or tumuli. Beneath them lie the cremated27 ashes of the race which cut so deeply into the hills, but their graves tell us nothing save that a jar full of dust represents the man who once laboured under the sun.
It was through this weird country that I approached my uncle’s residence of Rodenhurst, and the house was, as I found, in due keeping with its surroundings. Two broken and weather-stained pillars, each surmounted28 by a mutilated heraldic emblem29, flanked the entrance to a neglected drive. A cold wind whistled through the elms which lined it, and the air was full of the drifting leaves. 302At the far end, under the gloomy arch of trees, a single yellow lamp burned steadily30. In the dim half-light of the coming night I saw a long, low building stretching out two irregular wings, with deep eaves, a sloping gambrel roof, and walls which were criss-crossed with timber balks31 in the fashion of the Tudors. The cheery light of a fire flickered32 in the broad, latticed window to the left of the low-porched door, and this, as it proved, marked the study of my uncle, for it was thither33 that I was led by his butler in order to make my host’s acquaintance.
He was cowering34 over his fire, for the moist chill of an English autumn had set him shivering. His lamp was unlit, and I only saw the red glow of the embers beating upon a huge, craggy face, with a Red Indian nose and cheek, and deep furrows35 and seams from eye to chin, the sinister36 marks of hidden volcanic37 fires. He sprang up at my entrance with something of an old-world courtesy and welcomed me warmly to Rodenhurst. At the same time I was conscious, as the lamp was carried in, that it was a very critical pair of light-blue eyes which looked out at me from under shaggy eyebrows38, like scouts39 beneath a bush, and that this outlandish uncle of mine was carefully reading off my character with all the ease of a practised observer and an experienced man of the world.
For my part I looked at him, and looked again, for I had never seen a man whose appearance was more fitted to hold one’s attention. His figure was the framework of a giant, but he had fallen away 303his coat dangled40 straight down in a shocking fashion from a pair of broad and bony shoulders. All his limbs were huge and yet emaciated41, and I could not take my gaze from his knobby wrists, and long, gnarled hands. But his eyes—those peering light-blue eyes—they were the most arrestive of any of his peculiarities42. It was not their colour alone, nor was it the ambush43 of hair in which they lurked44; but it was the expression which I read in them. For the appearance and bearing of the man were masterful, and one expected a certain corresponding arrogance45 in his eyes, but instead of that I read the look which tells of a spirit cowed and crushed, the furtive46, expectant look of the dog whose master has taken the whip from the rack. I formed my own medical diagnosis47 upon one glance at those critical and yet appealing eyes. I believed that he was stricken with some mortal ailment48, that he knew himself to be exposed to sudden death, and that he lived in terror of it. Such was my judgment—a false one, as the event showed; but I mention it that it may help you to realize the look which I read in his eyes.
My uncle’s welcome was, as I have said, a courteous49 one, and in an hour or so I found myself seated between him and his wife at a comfortable dinner, with curious pungent50 delicacies51 upon the table, and a stealthy, quick-eyed Oriental waiter behind his chair. The old couple had come round to that tragic52 imitation of the dawn of life when husband and wife, having lost or scattered all those who were their intimates, find themselves face to face and alone once more, 304their work done, and the end nearing fast. Those who have reached that stage in sweetness and love, who can change their winter into a gentle Indian summer, have come as victors through the ordeal53 of life. Lady Holden was a small, alert woman, with a kindly54 eye, and her expression as she glanced at him was a certificate of character to her husband. And yet, though I read a mutual55 love in their glances, I read also a mutual horror, and recognized in her face some reflection of that stealthy fear which I detected in his. Their talk was sometimes merry and sometimes sad, but there was a forced note in their merriment and a naturalness in their sadness which told me that a heavy heart beat upon either side of me.
We were sitting over our first glass of wine, and the servants had left the room, when the conversation took a turn which produced a remarkable56 effect upon my host and hostess. I cannot recall what it was which started the topic of the supernatural, but it ended in my showing them that the abnormal in psychical57 experiences was a subject to which I had, like many neurologists, devoted a great deal of attention. I concluded by narrating58 my experiences when, as a member of the Psychical Research Society, I had formed one of a committee of three who spent the night in a haunted house. Our adventures were neither exciting nor convincing, but, such as it was, the story appeared to interest my auditors59 in a remarkable degree. They listened with an eager silence, and I caught a look of intelligence between them which I could not understand. Lady Holden immediately afterwards rose and left the room.
305Sir Dominick pushed the cigar-box over to me, and we smoked for some little time in silence. That huge bony hand of his was twitching60 as he raised it with his cheroot to his lips, and I felt that the man’s nerves were vibrating like fiddle-strings. My instincts told me that he was on the verge61 of some intimate confidence, and I feared to speak lest I should interrupt it. At last he turned towards me with a spasmodic gesture like a man who throws his last scruple62 to the winds.
“From the little that I have seen of you it appears to me, Dr. Hardacre,” said he, “that you are the very man I have wanted to meet.”
“I am delighted to hear it, sir.”
“Your head seems to be cool and steady. You will acquit63 me of any desire to flatter you, for the circumstances are too serious to permit of insincerities. You have some special knowledge upon these subjects, and you evidently view them from that philosophical64 standpoint which robs them of all vulgar terror. I presume that the sight of an apparition65 would not seriously discompose you?”
“I think not, sir.”
“Would even interest you, perhaps?”
“Most intensely.”
“As a psychical observer, you would probably investigate it in as impersonal66 a fashion as an astronomer67 investigates a wandering comet?”
“Precisely.”
He gave a heavy sigh.
“Believe me, Dr. Hardacre, there was a time when I could have spoken as you do now. My nerve was 306a by-word in India. Even the Mutiny never shook it for an instant. And yet you see what I am reduced to—the most timorous68 man, perhaps, in all this county of Wiltshire. Do not speak too bravely upon this subject, or you may find yourself subjected to as long-drawn a test as I am—a test which can only end in the madhouse or the grave.”
I waited patiently until he should see fit to go farther in his confidence. His preamble69 had, I need not say, filled me with interest and expectation.
“For some years, Dr. Hardacre,” he continued, “my life and that of my wife have been made miserable70 by a cause which is so grotesque71 that it borders upon the ludicrous. And yet familiarity has never made it more easy to bear—on the contrary, as time passes my nerves become more worn and shattered by the constant attrition. If you have no physical fears, Dr. Hardacre, I should very much value your opinion upon this phenomenon which troubles us so.”
“For what it is worth my opinion is entirely at your service. May I ask the nature of the phenomenon?”
“I think that your experiences will have a higher evidential value if you are not told in advance what you may expect to encounter. You are yourself aware of the quibbles of unconscious cerebration and subjective72 impressions with which a scientific sceptic may throw a doubt upon your statement. It would be as well to guard against them in advance.”
“What shall I do, then?”
“I will tell you. Would you mind following me 307this way?” He led me out of the dining-room and down a long passage until we came to a terminal door. Inside there was a large bare room fitted as a laboratory, with numerous scientific instruments and bottles. A shelf ran along one side, upon which there stood a long line of glass jars containing pathological and anatomical specimens73.
“You see that I still dabble74 in some of my old studies,” said Sir Dominick. “These jars are the remains75 of what was once a most excellent collection, but unfortunately I lost the greater part of them when my house was burned down in Bombay in ‘92. It was a most unfortunate affair for me—in more ways than one. I had examples of many rare conditions, and my splenic collection was probably unique. These are the survivors76.”
I glanced over them, and saw that they really were of a very great value and rarity from a pathological point of view: bloated organs, gaping77 cysts, distorted bones, odious78 parasites—a singular exhibition of the products of India.
“There is, as you see, a small settee here,” said my host. “It was far from our intention to offer a guest so meagre an accommodation, but since affairs have taken this turn, it would be a great kindness upon your part if you would consent to spend the night in this apartment. I beg that you will not hesitate to let me know if the idea should be at all repugnant to you.”
“On the contrary,” I said, “it is most acceptable.”
“My own room is the second on the left, so that 308if you should feel that you are in need of company a call would always bring me to your side.”
“I trust that I shall not be compelled to disturb you.”
“It is unlikely that I shall be asleep. I do not sleep much. Do not hesitate to summon me.”
And so with this agreement we joined Lady Holden in the drawing-room and talked of lighter79 things.
It was no affectation upon my part to say that the prospect80 of my night’s adventure was an agreeable one. I have no pretence81 to greater physical courage than my neighbours, but familiarity with a subject robs it of those vague and undefined terrors which are the most appalling82 to the imaginative mind. The human brain is capable of only one strong emotion at a time, and if it be filled with curiosity or scientific enthusiasm, there is no room for fear. It is true that I had my uncle’s assurance that he had himself originally taken this point of view, but I reflected that the breakdown83 of his nervous system might be due to his forty years in India as much as to any psychical experiences which had befallen him. I at least was sound in nerve and brain, and it was with something of the pleasurable thrill of anticipation84 with which the sportsman takes his position beside the haunt of his game that I shut the laboratory door behind me, and partially85 undressing, lay down upon the rug-covered settee.
It was not an ideal atmosphere for a bedroom. The air was heavy with many chemical odours, that of methylated spirit predominating. Nor were the decorations of my chamber86 very sedative87. The odious line 309of glass jars with their relics89 of disease and suffering stretched in front of my very eyes. There was no blind to the window, and a three-quarter moon streamed its white light into the room, tracing a silver square with filigree90 lattices upon the opposite wall. When I had extinguished my candle this one bright patch in the midst of the general gloom had certainly an eerie91 and discomposing aspect. A rigid92 and absolute silence reigned93 throughout the old house, so that the low swish of the branches in the garden came softly and soothingly94 to my ears. It may have been the hypnotic lullaby of this gentle susurrus, or it may have been the result of my tiring day, but after many dozings and many efforts to regain95 my clearness of perception, I fell at last into a deep and dreamless sleep.
I was awakened96 by some sound in the room, and I instantly raised myself upon my elbow on the couch. Some hours had passed, for the square patch upon the wall had slid downwards97 and sideways until it lay obliquely98 at the end of my bed. The rest of the room was in deep shadow. At first I could see nothing, presently, as my eyes became accustomed to the faint light, I was aware, with a thrill which all my scientific absorption could not entirely prevent, that something was moving slowly along the line of the wall. A gentle, shuffling99 sound, as of soft slippers100, came to my ears, and I dimly discerned a human figure walking stealthily from the direction of the door. As it emerged into the patch of moonlight I saw very clearly what it was and how it was employed. It was a man, short and squat101, dressed in some sort of dark-grey gown, which hung straight from his shoulders to his 310feet. The moon shone upon the side of his face, and I saw that it was chocolate-brown in colour, with a ball of black hair like a woman’s at the back of his head. He walked slowly, and his eyes were cast upwards towards the line of bottles which contained those gruesome remnants of humanity. He seemed to examine each jar with attention, and then to pass on to the next. When he had come to the end of the line, immediately opposite my bed, he stopped, faced me, threw up his hands with a gesture of despair, and vanished from my sight.
I have said that he threw up his hands, but I should have said his arms, for as he assumed that attitude of despair I observed a singular peculiarity102 about his appearance. He had only one hand! As the sleeves drooped103 down from the upflung arms I saw the left plainly, but the right ended in a knobby and unsightly stump104. In every other way his appearance was so natural, and I had both seen and heard him so clearly, that I could easily have believed that he was an Indian servant of Sir Dominick’s who had come into my room in search of something. It was only his sudden disappearance105 which suggested anything more sinister to me. As it was I sprang from my couch, lit a candle, and examined the whole room carefully. There were no signs of my visitor, and I was forced to conclude that there had really been something outside the normal laws of Nature in his appearance. I lay awake for the remainder of the night, but nothing else occurred to disturb me.
I am an early riser, but my uncle was an even earlier one, for I found him pacing up and down the 311lawn at the side of the house. He ran towards me in his eagerness when he saw me come out from the door.
“Well, well!” he cried. “Did you see him?”
“An Indian with one hand?”
“Precisely.”
“Yes, I saw him”—and I told him all that occurred. When I had finished, he led the way into his study.
“We have a little time before breakfast,” said he. “It will suffice to give you an explanation of this extraordinary affair—so far as I can explain that which is essentially106 inexplicable107. In the first place, when I tell you that for four years I have never passed one single night, either in Bombay, aboard ship, or here in England without my sleep being broken by this fellow, you will understand why it is that I am a wreck108 of my former self. His programme is always the same. He appears by my bedside, shakes me roughly by the shoulder, passes from my room into the laboratory, walks slowly along the line of my bottles, and then vanishes. For more than a thousand times he has gone through the same routine.”
“What does he want?”
“He wants his hand.”
“His hand?”
“Yes, it came about in this way. I was summoned to Peshawur for a consultation109 some ten years ago, and while there I was asked to look at the hand of a native who was passing through with an Afghan caravan110. The fellow came from some mountain tribe living away at the back of beyond somewhere on the 312other side of Kaffiristan. He talked a bastard111 Pushtoo, and it was all I could do to understand him. He was suffering from a soft sarcomatous swelling112 of one of the metacarpal joints113, and I made him realize that it was only by losing his hand that he could hope to save his life. After much persuasion114 he consented to the operation, and he asked me, when it was over, what fee I demanded. The poor fellow was almost a beggar, so that the idea of a fee was absurd, but I answered in jest that my fee should be his hand, and that I proposed to add it to my pathological collection.
“To my surprise he demurred115 very much to the suggestion, and he explained that according to his religion it was an all-important matter that the body should be reunited after death, and so make a perfect dwelling116 for the spirit. The belief is, of course, an old one, and the mummies of the Egyptians arose from an analogous117 superstition118. I answered him that his hand was already off, and asked him how he intended to preserve it. He replied that he would pickle119 it in salt and carry it about with him. I suggested that it might be safer in my keeping than in his, and that I had better means than salt for preserving it. On realizing that I really intended to carefully keep it, his opposition120 vanished instantly. ‘But remember, sahib,’ said he, ‘I shall want it back when I am dead.’ I laughed at the remark, and so the matter ended. I returned to my practice, and he no doubt in the course of time was able to continue his journey to Afghanistan.
“Well, as I told you last night, I had a bad fire 313in my house at Bombay. Half of it was burned down, and, among other things, my pathological collection was largely destroyed. What you see are the poor remains of it. The hand of the hillman went with the rest, but I gave the matter no particular thought at the time. That was six years ago.
“Four years ago—two years after the fire—I was awakened one night by a furious tugging121 at my sleeve. I sat up under the impression that my favourite mastiff was trying to arouse me. Instead of this, I saw my Indian patient of long ago, dressed in the long grey gown which was the badge of his people. He was holding up his stump and looking reproachfully at me. He then went over to my bottles, which at that time I kept in my room, and he examined them carefully, after which he gave a gesture of anger and vanished. I realized that he had just died, and that he had come to claim my promise that I should keep his limb in safety for him.
“Well, there you have it all, Dr. Hardacre. Every night at the same hour for four years this performance has been repeated. It is a simple thing in itself, but it has worn me out like water dropping on a stone. It has brought a vile122 insomnia123 with it, for I cannot sleep now for the expectation of his coming. It has poisoned my old age and that of my wife, who has been the sharer in this great trouble. But there is the breakfast gong, and she will be waiting impatiently to know how it fared with you last night. We are both much indebted to you for your gallantry, for it takes something from the weight of our misfortune when we share it, even for a single night, with a friend, 314and it reassures124 us as to our sanity125, which we are sometimes driven to question.”
This was the curious narrative126 which Sir Dominick confided127 to me—a story which to many would have appeared to be a grotesque impossibility, but which, after my experience of the night before, and my previous knowledge of such things, I was prepared to accept as an absolute fact. I thought deeply over the matter, and brought the whole range of my reading and experience to bear upon it. After breakfast, I surprised my host and hostess by announcing that I was returning to London by the next train.
“My dear doctor,” cried Sir Dominick in great distress128, “you make me feel that I have been guilty of a gross breach of hospitality in intruding129 this unfortunate matter upon you. I should have borne my own burden.”
“It is, indeed, that matter which is taking mo to London,” I answered; “but you are mistaken, I assure you, if you think that my experience of last night was an unpleasant one to me. On the contrary, I am about to ask your permission to return in the evening and spend one more night in your laboratory. I am very eager to see this visitor once again.”
My uncle was exceedingly anxious to know what I was about to do, but my fears of raising false hopes prevented me from telling him. I was back in my own consulting-room a little after luncheon130, and was confirming my memory of a passage in a recent book upon occultism which had arrested my attention when I read it.
“In the case of earth-bound spirits,” said my 315authority, “some one dominant131 idea obsessing132 them at the hour of death is sufficient to hold them to this material world. They are the amphibia of this life and of the next, capable of passing from one to the other as the turtle passes from land to water. The causes which may bind133 a soul so strongly to a life which its body has abandoned are any violent emotion. Avarice134, revenge, anxiety, love, and pity have all been known to have this effect. As a rule it springs from some unfulfilled wish, and when the wish has been fulfilled the material bond relaxes. There are many cases upon record which show the singular persistence135 of these visitors, and also their disappearance when their wishes have been fulfilled, or in some cases when a reasonable compromise has been effected.”
“A reasonable compromise effected”—those were the words which I had brooded over all the morning, and which I now verified in the original. No actual atonement could be made here—but a reasonable compromise! I made my way as fast as a train could take me to the Shadwell Seamen’s Hospital, where my old friend Jack136 Hewett was house-surgeon. Without explaining the situation I made him understand exactly what it was that I wanted.
“A brown man’s hand!” said he, in amazement137. “What in the world do you want that for?”
“Never mind. I’ll tell you some day. I know that your wards4 are full of Indians.”
“I should think so. But a hand——” He thought a little and then struck a bell.
“Travers,” said he to a student-dresser, “what became of the hands of the Lascar which we took off 316yesterday? I mean the fellow from the East India Dock who got caught in the steam winch.”
“They are in the post-mortem room, sir.”
“Just pack one of them in antiseptics and give it to Dr. Hardacre.”
And so I found myself back at Rodenhurst before dinner with this curious outcome of my day in town. I still said nothing to Sir Dominick, but I slept that night in the laboratory, and I placed the Lascar’s hand in one of the glass jars at the end of my couch.
So interested was I in the result of my experiment that sleep was out of the question. I sat with a shaded lamp beside me and waited patiently for my visitor. This time I saw him clearly from the first. He appeared beside the door, nebulous for an instant, and then hardening into as distinct an outline as any living man. The slippers beneath his grey gown were red and heelless, which accounted for the low, shuffling sound which he made as he walked. As on the previous night he passed slowly along the line of bottles until he paused before that which contained the hand. He reached up to it, his whole figure quivering with expectation, took it down, examined it eagerly, and then, with a face which was convulsed with fury and disappointment, he hurled138 it down on the floor. There was a crash which resounded139 through the house, and when I looked up the mutilated Indian had disappeared. A moment later my door flew open and Sir Dominick rushed in.
“You are not hurt?” he cried.
“No—but deeply disappointed.”
317He looked in astonishment140 at the splinters of glass, and the brown hand lying upon the floor.
“Good God!” he cried. “What is this?”
I told him my idea and its wretched sequel. He listened intently, but shook his head.
“It was well thought of,” said he, “but I fear that there is no such easy end to my sufferings. But one thing I now insist upon. It is that you shall never again upon any pretext141 occupy this room. My fears that something might have happened to you—when I heard that crash—have been the most acute of all the agonies which I have undergone. I will not expose myself to a repetition of it.”
He allowed me, however, to spend the remainder of that night where I was, and I lay there worrying over the problem and lamenting142 my own failure. With the first light of morning there was the Lascar’s hand still lying upon the floor to remind me of my fiasco. I lay looking at it—and as I lay suddenly an idea flew like a bullet through my head and brought me quivering with excitement out of my couch. I raised the grim relic88 from where it had fallen. Yes, it was indeed so. The hand was the left hand of the Lascar.
By the first train I was on my way to town, and hurried at once to the Seamen’s Hospital. I remembered that both hands of the Lascar had been amputated, but I was terrified lest the precious organ which I was in search of might have been already consumed in the crematory. My suspense143 was soon ended. It had still been preserved in the post-mortem room. And so I returned to Rodenhurst in the evening with 318my mission accomplished144 and the material for a fresh experiment.
But Sir Dominick Holden would not hear of my occupying the laboratory again. To all my entreaties145 he turned a deaf ear. It offended his sense of hospitality, and he could no longer permit it. I left the hand, therefore, as I had done its fellow the night before, and I occupied a comfortable bedroom in another portion of the house, some distance from the scene of my adventures.
But in spite of that my sleep was not destined146 to be uninterrupted. In the dead of night my host burst into my room, a lamp in his hand. His huge gaunt figure was enveloped147 in a loose dressing-gown, and his whole appearance might certainly have seemed more formidable to a weak-nerved man than that of the Indian of the night before. But it was not his entrance so much as his expression which amazed me. He had turned suddenly younger by twenty years at the least. His eyes were shining, his features radiant, and he waved one hand in triumph over his head. I sat up astounded148, staring sleepily at this extraordinary visitor. But his words soon drove the sleep from my eyes.
“We have done it! We have succeeded!” he shouted. “My dear Hardacre, how can I ever in this world repay you?”
“You don’t mean to say that it is all right?”
“Indeed I do. I was sure that you would not mind being awakened to hear such blessed news.”
“Mind! I should think not indeed. But is it really certain?”
319“I have no doubt whatever upon the point. I owe you such a debt, my dear nephew, as I have never owed a man before, and never expected to. What can I possibly do for you that is commensurate? Providence149 must have sent you to my rescue. You have saved both my reason and my life, for another six months of this must have seen me either in a cell or a coffin150. And my wife—it was wearing her out before my eyes. Never could I have believed that any human being could have lifted this burden off me.” He seized my hand and wrung151 it in his bony grip.
“It was only an experiment—a forlorn hope—but I am delighted from my heart that it has succeeded. But how do you know that it is all right? Have you seen something?”
He seated himself at the foot of my bed.
“I have seen enough,” said he. “It satisfies me that I shall be troubled no more. What has passed is easily told. You know that at a certain hour this creature always comes to me. To-night he arrived at the usual time, and aroused me with even more violence than is his custom. I can only surmise152 that his disappointment of last night increased the bitterness of his anger against me. He looked angrily at me, and then went on his usual round. But in a few minutes I saw him, for the first time since this persecution153 began, return to my chamber. He was smiling. I saw the gleam of his white teeth through the dim light. He stood facing me at the end of my bed, and three times he made the low Eastern salaam154 which is their solemn leave-taking. And the third time that he bowed he raised his arms over his head, and I saw his 320two hands outstretched in the air. So he vanished, and, as I believe, for ever.”
So that is the curious experience which won me the affection and the gratitude155 of my celebrated156 uncle, the famous Indian surgeon. His anticipations157 were realized, and never again was he disturbed by the visits of the restless hillman in search of his lost member. Sir Dominick and Lady Holden spent a very happy old age, unclouded, so far as I know, by any trouble, and they finally died during the great influenza158 epidemic159 within a few weeks of each other. In his lifetime he always turned to me for advice in everything which concerned that English life of which he knew so little; and I aided him also in the purchase and development of his estates. It was no great surprise to me, therefore, that I found myself eventually promoted over the heads of five exasperated160 cousins, and changed in a single day from a hard-working country doctor into the head of an important Wiltshire family. I at least have reason to bless the memory of the man with the brown hand, and the day when I was fortunate enough to relieve Rodenhurst of his unwelcome presence.
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impecunious
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| adj.不名一文的，贫穷的 | |
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proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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goodwill
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| n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉 | |
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wards
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| 区( ward的名词复数 )； 病房； 受监护的未成年者； 被人照顾或控制的状态 | |
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breach
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distinguished
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consultant
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| n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生 | |
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practitioners
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entirely
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10
disinterested
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| adj.不关心的，不感兴趣的 | |
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11
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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exuberant
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| adj.充满活力的；（植物）繁茂的 | |
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13
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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14
entail
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| vt.使承担，使成为必要，需要 | |
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15
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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16
arable
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| adj.可耕的，适合种植的 | |
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17
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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18
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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19
waning
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| adj.（月亮）渐亏的，逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡 | |
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20
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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21
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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22
dwarfed
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| vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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23
prehistoric
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| adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的 | |
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24
obtrusive
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| adj.显眼的；冒失的 | |
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25
grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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26
tract
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| n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林) | |
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27
cremated
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| v.火葬，火化（尸体）( cremate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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28
surmounted
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| 战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
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29
emblem
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| n.象征，标志；徽章 | |
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30
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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31
balks
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| v.畏缩不前，犹豫( balk的第三人称单数 )；（指马）不肯跑 | |
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32
flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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33
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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34
cowering
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| v.畏缩，抖缩( cower的现在分词 ) | |
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35
furrows
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| n.犁沟( furrow的名词复数 )；（脸上的）皱纹v.犁田，开沟( furrow的第三人称单数 ) | |
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36
sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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37
volcanic
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| adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的 | |
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38
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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39
scouts
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| 侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员 | |
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40
dangled
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| 悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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41
emaciated
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| adj.衰弱的，消瘦的 | |
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42
peculiarities
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| n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
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43
ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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44
lurked
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| vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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45
arrogance
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| n.傲慢，自大 | |
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46
furtive
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| adj.鬼鬼崇崇的，偷偷摸摸的 | |
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47
diagnosis
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| n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断 | |
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48
ailment
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| n.疾病，小病 | |
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49
courteous
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| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
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50
pungent
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| adj.（气味、味道）刺激性的，辛辣的；尖锐的 | |
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51
delicacies
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| n.棘手( delicacy的名词复数 )；精致；精美的食物；周到 | |
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52
tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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53
ordeal
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| n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验 | |
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54
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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55
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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56
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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57
psychical
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| adj.有关特异功能现象的；有关特异功能官能的；灵魂的；心灵的 | |
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58
narrating
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| v.故事( narrate的现在分词 ) | |
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59
auditors
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| n.审计员，稽核员( auditor的名词复数 )；（大学课程的）旁听生 | |
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60
twitching
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| n.颤搐 | |
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61
verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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62
scruple
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| n./v.顾忌，迟疑 | |
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63
acquit
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| vt.宣判无罪；(oneself)使(自己)表现出 | |
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64
philosophical
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| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
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65
apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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66
impersonal
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| adj.无个人感情的，与个人无关的，非人称的 | |
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67
astronomer
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| n.天文学家 | |
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68
timorous
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|
| adj.胆怯的，胆小的 | |
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69
preamble
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| n.前言；序文 | |
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70
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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71
grotesque
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| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
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72
subjective
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| a.主观(上)的，个人的 | |
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73
specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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74
dabble
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| v.涉足，浅赏 | |
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75
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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76
survivors
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| 幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 ) | |
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77
gaping
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| adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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78
odious
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| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
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79
lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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80
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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81
pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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82
appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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83
breakdown
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| n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌 | |
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84
anticipation
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| n.预期，预料，期望 | |
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85
partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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86
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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87
sedative
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| adj.使安静的，使镇静的；n. 镇静剂，能使安静的东西 | |
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88
relic
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| n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物 | |
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89
relics
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| [pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸 | |
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90
filigree
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|
| n.金银丝做的工艺品；v.用金银细丝饰品装饰；用华而不实的饰品装饰；adj.金银细丝工艺的 | |
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91
eerie
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| adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的 | |
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92
rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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93
reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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94
soothingly
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| adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地 | |
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95
regain
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| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
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96
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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97
downwards
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| adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地） | |
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98
obliquely
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| adv.斜； 倾斜； 间接； 不光明正大 | |
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99
shuffling
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| adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式 | |
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100
slippers
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| n. 拖鞋 | |
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101
squat
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| v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的 | |
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102
peculiarity
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| n.独特性，特色；特殊的东西；怪癖 | |
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103
drooped
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| 弯曲或下垂，发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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104
stump
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| n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走 | |
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105
disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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106
essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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107
inexplicable
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| adj.无法解释的，难理解的 | |
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108
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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109
consultation
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| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
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110
caravan
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| n.大蓬车；活动房屋 | |
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111
bastard
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| n.坏蛋，混蛋；私生子 | |
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112
swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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113
joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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114
persuasion
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| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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115
demurred
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| v.表示异议，反对( demur的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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116
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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117
analogous
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| adj.相似的；类似的 | |
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118
superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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119
pickle
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| n.腌汁，泡菜；v.腌，泡 | |
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120
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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121
tugging
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| n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 ) | |
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122
vile
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| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
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123
insomnia
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| n.失眠，失眠症 | |
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124
reassures
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| v.消除恐惧或疑虑，恢复信心( reassure的第三人称单数 ) | |
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125
sanity
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| n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确 | |
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126
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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127
confided
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| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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128
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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129
intruding
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| v.侵入，侵扰，打扰( intrude的现在分词)；把…强加于 | |
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130
luncheon
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| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
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131
dominant
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| adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因 | |
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132
obsessing
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| v.时刻困扰( obsess的现在分词 )；缠住；使痴迷；使迷恋 | |
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133
bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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134
avarice
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| n.贪婪；贪心 | |
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135
persistence
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| n.坚持，持续，存留 | |
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136
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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137
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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138
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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139
resounded
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| v.（指声音等）回荡于某处( resound的过去式和过去分词 )；产生回响；（指某处）回荡着声音 | |
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140
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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141
pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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142
lamenting
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| adj.悲伤的，悲哀的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的现在分词 ) | |
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143
suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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144
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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145
entreaties
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| n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 ) | |
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146
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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147
enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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148
astounded
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| v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶 | |
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149
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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150
coffin
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| n.棺材，灵柩 | |
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151
wrung
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| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
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152
surmise
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| v./n.猜想，推测 | |
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153
persecution
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| n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
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154
salaam
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| n.额手之礼，问安，敬礼；v.行额手礼 | |
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155
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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156
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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157
anticipations
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| 预期( anticipation的名词复数 )； 预测； （信托财产收益的）预支； 预期的事物 | |
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158
influenza
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| n.流行性感冒，流感 | |
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159
epidemic
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| n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的 | |
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160
exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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