The modern suburban2 extensions of ’Combe are devouring3 the rustic4 lanes far in the rear, and the natural wildness of Devonian landscape, that seems so untamable, is being pitifully bridled5. New terraces of cheap houses climbing unimaginable steeps, deploy6 their battalions7 of “desirable residences” over the hills: each house with its pretentious8 name—“Hatfield,” “Blenheim,” “Burghley,” maybe—their sponsors, without humour themselves, the cause of much satiric9 humour in others who chance by them. You must pass many such on the way to Chambercombe (originally Champernowne’s Combe), one of the places no visitor to Ilfracombe is bidden to miss seeing; Chambercombe being a still rustic valley where there even yet nestles an ancient farmhouse10, formerly11 a manor-house of a branch of the Champernowne family, and long enjoying a rather vague and ineffectual reputation as a “haunted house.”
Suddenly, passing “Champernowne Terrace,” the uttermost outpost of ’Combe, and a bankrupted mineral-water factory, you come to the opening of124 Chambercombe; a road steeply descending12, hollow, rutty, with tall hedgerow elms—in a word, Devonian. Down at the bottom, the eye rests gratefully upon a steep-roofed old whitewashed13 building, enclosed within high and thick courtyard walls, and approached through a gateway14: the old home of those North Devon Champernownes, extinct, equally with their South Devon namesakes of Modbury, long generations ago. For many years it has been a farmhouse, and in all this time its uncertain legendary15 fame has grown, so that now, by dint16 of its nearness to the town, and of the constant stream of curious visitors who plagued the very life out of the farming folk, the present occupants have taken Opportunity by both hands and exploit the legend to commercial ends; as the notice, with a generous profusion17 of capital letters displayed at the gateway, discloses. Tea and refreshments18 may, you read, be obtained, and even lodgings19 had, at Chambercombe Farm, “With its Haunted Room And Coat of Arms Shown To Visitors.”
CHAMBERCOMBE.
It is the only instance in which this explorer has observed ghostly associations so thoroughly20 exploited; but, truth to tell, they are of the vaguest. When a “ghost story” has many and diverse variants21, you instinctively23 discredit24 every one, and here the versions are many. Most of them, also, are irreconcilable25 with the hard, uncompromising, indisputable facts of building construction. For example, the most popular variant22, that which tells how, at some period unnamed,125 the farmer discovered by accident the “haunted room,” is wildly wrong in describing the appearance the house now wears, and has always worn. According to this precious effort of a disordered imagination, the farmer was seated one summer evening in the courtyard, lazily smoking his pipe and thinking, with the typical farmer’s usual dissatisfaction upon matters agricultural, while his wife was down at Ilfracombe (or rather, “down tu’ Cume,” as we say in these parts) selling her poultry26, butter, and eggs. While thus occupied, he suddenly bethought him of a hole in the roof, through which the rain leaked into his wife’s store-room. He had promised her he would see to it, and, as he went rather in fear126 of his “missus,” faced his chair round suddenly and contemplated27 seeing to the business before her return. Now the store-room window was the only one with a parapet in front, and therefore easily distinguishable from the other four that looked down from the roof on to the courtyard. But now (he had never before thought of counting them) he totted up five windows. This was odd! He reckoned up: “Our Sal’s bedroom—window lighting28 passage—store-room—our bedroom: total four windows accounted for. What unsuspected chamber1 did the fifth light? He settled that by calling some half-dozen of his farm-hands. Together, with pick and spade, they entered the house and ascended29 the stairs, and commenced operations on the staircase wall, at a likely spot, where blows resounded30 hollow. Soon the cob wall went down before the onslaught, and presently the farmer and his men found themselves in a long, low room, hung with moth-eaten, mouldering31 tapestry32, whose every thread exhaled33 the moist rank odour of forgotten years; black festoons of ancient cobwebs in the rattling34 casement35 and round the carved work of the open cornice; carved oak chairs, wardrobe, and round table, black too, and rickety, dust-covered, and worm-eaten; the white ashes of a wood fire on a cracked hearthstone, and a bed, whose embroidered36 hangings were drawn37 closely around the oaken posts.”
The farmer’s wife had by this time returned home, and was seen and heard in the choking dust, urging her astonished husband, “if he were a127 man,” to “dra’ them cuttens.” Thus impelled38, he drew them—with a trembling hand, be sure of that—and there, resting on the bed, was disclosed an ancient skeleton. The woman fainted and her husband carried her out. That night he saw to it that the mysterious room was again securely walled up.
THE “HAUNTED HOUSE” OF CHAMBERCOMBE
This is all very well, as an effort of the imagination, but it does not, by any means, bear relation to the facts of the case. As the accompanying illustrations of the old farmhouse show, there is not, nor could there have been, a parapet, and there are but three windows in the roof. Moreover, the “Haunted Room”—so to style it—is really only an ancient hiding-hole (and a not very cleverly constructed hiding-hole either) at the head of the staircase; a dark and cramped128 cranny without a window, and too small ever to have contained a bed. The next most popular story is to the effect that the skeleton of some unhappy foreigner, murdered in long past years by wreckers, was found here; but the two most plausible39 theories are that this was either a smugglers’ store, or the hiding-place, in an era of religious persecution40, of Roman Catholic recusants.
Near by, but not in any way connected with this hole, is the so-styled Banqueting Room, anciently the principal apartment, now a bedroom; with coved41 ceiling, a plaster pendant, and a band of plaster Renaissance42 ornament43. The shield of arms of the Champernownes, a lion rampant44 within an engrailed bordure, is seen, carved in stone, over the fireplace. The lower rooms are stone-flagged, and in one of them they show you the corner where, according to legend, was the entrance to an underground passage leading to Hele Strand45, a mile distant!—the usual preposterous46 legend. There was possibly a secret way into the valley at the back, just as there is a defensible gateway in the front; for just as the old lords of Chambercombe felt the necessity for defence, they also provided for stealthy retreat when defence should become at last hopeless.
Berrynarbor is one of those easily accessible places that no visitor to Ilfracombe who claims to have done his duty can afford to neglect. The village lies in a valley, three miles away, and, except for a long stretch of allotment gardens, making a streak47 of squalor on the hillside above,129 is a very pretty place. Its church, more imposing48 than that of ’Combe itself, has been zealously49 stripped of much old carving50; but the family pew of the Bassets of Watermouth, with its fireplace and comfortable seats, remains51 to show with what a degree of comfort the squires52, at any rate, took their devotions.
Westcote, so long ago as 1630, recorded the curious epitaph on one Nicholas Harper, with its inevitable54 play upon the name:
Harper, the musique of thy life,
To crowne thy skill hath raysed thee higher,
And placéd thee in angels’ quier:
For though that death hath throwen thee down,
In the chancel is a tablet to the memory of Mary Westcott, who died in 1648. Some curious verses compare her to a marigold:
This Mary-gold lo here doth shew
Marie worth gold lies neer below
Flourish and fade doth in an hour.
The Marygold in sunshine spread
(When cloudie) clos’d doth bow the head
With splendid Sol to set and rise
In life soon nipt, in death fresh growes
With Christ her Lord shall rise againe
When shee shall shine more bright by farre
Than any twinkling radiant starre
Mary enjoys the better part.
130 An anagram follows, in this wise:
Marie Westcott
Mors evicta tuta,
and the representation of a yellow marigold concludes the curious monument. Not the least curious part of it is the fact that these verses do not commemorate60 a girl who died untimely, but a spinster aged61 seventy.
The old farmhouse of Bowden, where Bishop62 Jewell, the apologist of the Anglican Church, was born in 1522, remains. His defence of the newly established church was at the time thought so admirable that it was directed by the Government of Queen Elizabeth to be chained in the parish churches of the kingdom.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
chamber
|
|
| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
suburban
|
|
| adj.城郊的，在郊区的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
devouring
|
|
| 吞没( devour的现在分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
rustic
|
|
| adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
bridled
|
|
| 给…套龙头( bridle的过去式和过去分词 )； 控制； 昂首表示轻蔑（或怨忿等）； 动怒，生气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
deploy
|
|
| v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
battalions
|
|
| n.（陆军的）一营（大约有一千兵士）( battalion的名词复数 )；协同作战的部队；军队；（组织在一起工作的）队伍 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
pretentious
|
|
| adj.自命不凡的，自负的，炫耀的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
satiric
|
|
| adj.讽刺的，挖苦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
farmhouse
|
|
| n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
formerly
|
|
| adv.从前，以前 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
descending
|
|
| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
whitewashed
|
|
| 粉饰，美化，掩饰( whitewash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
gateway
|
|
| n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
legendary
|
|
| adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
dint
|
|
| n.由于，靠；凹坑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
profusion
|
|
| n.挥霍；丰富 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
refreshments
|
|
| n.点心,便餐;(会议后的)简单茶点招 待 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
lodgings
|
|
| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
thoroughly
|
|
| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
variants
|
|
| n.变体( variant的名词复数 )；变种；变型；（词等的）变体 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
variant
|
|
| adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
instinctively
|
|
| adv.本能地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
discredit
|
|
| vt.使不可置信；n.丧失信义；不信，怀疑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
irreconcilable
|
|
| adj.（指人）难和解的，势不两立的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
poultry
|
|
| n.家禽，禽肉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
contemplated
|
|
| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
lighting
|
|
| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
ascended
|
|
| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
resounded
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
mouldering
|
|
| v.腐朽( moulder的现在分词 )；腐烂，崩塌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
tapestry
|
|
| n.挂毯，丰富多采的画面 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
exhaled
|
|
| v.呼出，发散出( exhale的过去式和过去分词 )；吐出（肺中的空气、烟等），呼气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
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： |
|
|
|
|
35
casement
|
|
| n.竖铰链窗；窗扉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
embroidered
|
|
| adj．绣花的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
drawn
|
|
| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
impelled
|
|
| v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
plausible
|
|
| adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
persecution
|
|
| n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
coved
|
|
| v.小海湾( cove的过去分词 )；家伙 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
renaissance
|
|
| n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
ornament
|
|
| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
rampant
|
|
| adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
strand
|
|
| vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
preposterous
|
|
| adj.荒谬的，可笑的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
streak
|
|
| n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
imposing
|
|
| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
zealously
|
|
| adv.热心地；热情地；积极地；狂热地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
carving
|
|
| n.雕刻品，雕花 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
remains
|
|
| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
squires
|
|
| n.地主，乡绅( squire的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
harp
|
|
| n.竖琴；天琴座 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
inevitable
|
|
| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
strife
|
|
| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
gilt
|
|
| adj.镀金的；n.金边证券 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
guise
|
|
| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
virgin
|
|
| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
dart
|
|
| v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
commemorate
|
|
| vt.纪念，庆祝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
aged
|
|
| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
bishop
|
|
| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |