Now Oneleigh stands in a wide isolation2, in the midst of a dark gathering3 of old whispering cedars4. They nod their heads together when the North Wind comes, and nod again and agree, and furtively5 grow still again, and say no more awhile. The North Wind is to them like a nice problem among wise old men; they nod their heads over it, and mutter about it all together. They know much, those cedars, they have been there so long. Their grandsires knew Lebanon, and the grandsires of these were the servants of the King of Tyre and came to Solomon's court. And amidst these black-haired children of grey-headed Time stood the old house of Oneleigh. I know not how many centuries had lashed6 against it their evanescent foam8 of years; but it was still unshattered, and all about it were the things of long ago, as cling strange growths to some sea-defying rock. Here, like the shells of long-dead limpets, was armour9 that men encased themselves in long ago; here, too, were tapestries10 of many colours, beautiful as seaweed; no modern flotsam ever drifted hither, no early Victorian furniture, no electric light. The great trade routes that littered the years with empty meat tins and cheap novels were far from here. Well, well, the centuries will shatter it and drive its fragments on to distant shores. Meanwhile, while it yet stood, I went on a visit there to my brother, and we argued about ghosts. My brother's intelligence on this subject seemed to me to be in need of correction. He mistook things imagined for things having an actual existence; he argued that second-hand11 evidence of persons having seen ghosts proved ghosts to exist. I said that even if they had seen ghosts, this was no proof at all; nobody believes that there are red rats, though there is plenty of first-hand evidence of men having seen them in delirium12. Finally, I said I would see ghosts myself, and continue to argue against their actual existence. So I collected a handful of cigars and drank several cups of very strong tea, and went without my dinner, and retired13 into a room where there was dark oak and all the chairs were covered with tapestry14; and my brother went to bed bored with our argument, and trying hard to dissuade15 me from making myself uncomfortable. All the way up the old stairs as I stood at the bottom of them, and as his candle went winding16 up and up, I heard him still trying to persuade me to have supper and go to bed.
It was a windy winter, and outside the cedars were muttering I know not what about; but I think that they were Tories of a school long dead, and were troubled about something new. Within, a great damp log upon the fireplace began to squeak17 and sing, and struck up a whining18 tune19, and a tall flame stood up over it and beat time, and all the shadows crowded round and began to dance. In distant corners old masses of darkness sat still like chaperones and never moved. Over there, in the darkest part of the room, stood a door that was always locked. It led into the hall, but no one ever used it; near that door something had happened once of which the family are not proud. We do not speak of it. There in the firelight stood the venerable forms of the old chairs; the hands that had made their tapestries lay far beneath the soil, the needles with which they wrought20 were many separate flakes21 of rust22. No one wove now in that old room—no one but the assiduous ancient spiders who, watching by the deathbed of the things of yore, worked shrouds23 to hold their dust. In shrouds about the cornices already lay the heart of the oak wainscot that the worm had eaten out.
Surely at such an hour, in such a room, a fancy already excited by hunger and strong tea might see the ghosts of former occupants. I expected nothing less. The fire flickered24 and the shadows danced, memories of strange historic things rose vividly25 in my mind; but midnight chimed solemnly from a seven-foot clock, and nothing happened. My imagination would not be hurried, and the chill that is with the small hours had come upon me, and I had nearly abandoned myself to sleep, when in the hall adjoining there arose the rustling26 of silk dresses that I had waited for and expected. Then there entered two by two the high-born ladies and their gallants of Jacobean times. They were little more than shadows—very dignified27 shadows, and almost indistinct; but you have all read ghost stories before, you have all seen in museums the dresses of those times—there is little need to describe them; they entered, several of them, and sat down on the old chairs, perhaps a little carelessly considering the value of the tapestries. Then the rustling of their dresses ceased.
Well—I had seen ghosts, and was neither frightened nor convinced that ghosts existed. I was about to get up out of my chair and go to bed, when there came a sound of pattering in the hall, a sound of bare feet coming over the polished floor, and every now and then a foot would slip and I heard claws scratching along the wood as some four-footed thing lost and regained28 its balance. I was not frightened, but uneasy. The pattering came straight towards the room that I was in, then I heard the sniffing29 of expectant nostrils30; perhaps 'uneasy' was not the most suitable word to describe my feelings then. Suddenly a herd31 of black creatures larger than bloodhounds came galloping32 in; they had large pendulous33 ears, their noses were to the ground sniffing, they went up to the lords and ladies of long ago and fawned34 about them disgustingly. Their eyes were horribly bright, and ran down to great depths. When I looked into them I knew suddenly what these creatures were, and I was afraid. They were the sins, the filthy35, immortal36 sins of those courtly men and women.
How demure37 she was, the lady that sat near me on an old-world chair—how demure she was, and how fair, to have beside her with its jowl upon her lap a sin with such cavernous red eyes, a clear case of murder. And you, yonder lady with the golden hair, surely not you—and yet that fearful beast with the yellow eyes slinks from you to yonder courtier there, and whenever one drives it away it slinks back to the other. Over there a lady tries to smile as she strokes the loathsome38 furry39 head of another's sin, but one of her own is jealous and intrudes40 itself under her hand. Here sits an old nobleman with his grandson on his knee, and one of the great black sins of the grandfather is licking the child's face and has made the child its own. Sometimes a ghost would move and seek another chair, but always his pack of sins would move behind him. Poor ghosts, poor ghosts! how many flights they must have attempted for two hundred years from their hated sins, how many excuses they must have given for their presence, and the sins were with them still—and still unexplained. Suddenly one of them seemed to scent7 my living blood, and bayed horribly, and all the others left their ghosts at once and dashed up to the sin that had given tongue. The brute41 had picked up my scent near the door by which I had entered, and they moved slowly nearer to me sniffing along the floor, and uttering every now and then their fearful cry. I saw that the whole thing had gone too far. But now they had seen me, now they were all about me, they sprang up trying to reach my throat; and whenever their claws touched me, horrible thoughts came into my mind and unutterable desires dominated my heart. I planned bestial42 things as these creatures leaped around me, and planned them with a masterly cunning. A great red-eyed murder was among the foremost of those furry things from whom I feebly strove to defend my throat. Suddenly it seemed to me good that I should kill my brother. It seemed important to me that I should not risk being punished. I knew where a revolver was kept; after I had shot him, I would dress the body up and put flour on the face like a man that had been acting43 as a ghost. It would be very simple. I would say that he had frightened me—and the servants had heard us talking about ghosts. There were one or two trivialities that would have to be arranged, but nothing escaped my mind. Yes, it seemed to me very good that I should kill my brother as I looked into the red depths of this creature's eyes. But one last effort as they dragged me down—'If two straight lines cut one another,' I said, 'the opposite angles are equal. Let AB, CD, cut one another at E, then the angles CEA, CEB equal two right angles (prop. xiii.). Also CEA, AED equal two right angles.'
I moved towards the door to get the revolver; a hideous44 exultation45 arose among the beasts. 'But the angle CEA is common, therefore AED equals CEB. In the same way CEA equals DEB. QED.' It was proved. Logic46 and reason re-established themselves in my mind, there were no dark hounds of sin, the tapestried47 chairs were empty. It seemed to me an inconceivable thought that a man should murder his brother.
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1
hazardous
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| adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的 | |
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isolation
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| n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离 | |
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3
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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4
cedars
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| 雪松，西洋杉( cedar的名词复数 ) | |
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furtively
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| adv. 偷偷地, 暗中地 | |
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6
lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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7
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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8
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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armour
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| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
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10
tapestries
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| 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 ) | |
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11
second-hand
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| adj.用过的，旧的，二手的 | |
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12
delirium
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| n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋 | |
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13
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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14
tapestry
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| n.挂毯，丰富多采的画面 | |
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15
dissuade
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| v.劝阻，阻止 | |
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16
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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17
squeak
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| n.吱吱声，逃脱；v.（发出）吱吱叫，侥幸通过；（俚）告密 | |
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18
whining
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| n. 抱怨，牢骚 v. 哭诉，发牢骚 | |
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19
tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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20
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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21
flakes
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| 小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人 | |
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22
rust
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| n.锈；v.生锈；(脑子)衰退 | |
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23
shrouds
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| n.裹尸布( shroud的名词复数 )；寿衣；遮蔽物；覆盖物v.隐瞒( shroud的第三人称单数 )；保密 | |
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24
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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25
vividly
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| adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地 | |
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26
rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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27
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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28
regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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29
sniffing
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| n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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30
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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31
herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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32
galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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33
pendulous
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| adj.下垂的；摆动的 | |
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34
fawned
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| v.（尤指狗等）跳过来往人身上蹭以示亲热( fawn的过去式和过去分词 )；巴结；讨好 | |
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35
filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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36
immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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37
demure
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| adj.严肃的；端庄的 | |
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38
loathsome
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| adj.讨厌的，令人厌恶的 | |
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39
furry
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| adj.毛皮的；似毛皮的；毛皮制的 | |
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40
intrudes
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| v.侵入，侵扰，打扰( intrude的第三人称单数 )；把…强加于 | |
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41
brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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42
bestial
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| adj.残忍的；野蛮的 | |
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43
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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44
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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45
exultation
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| n.狂喜，得意 | |
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46
logic
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| n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性 | |
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47
tapestried
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| adj.饰挂绣帷的，织在绣帷上的v.用挂毯（或绣帷）装饰( tapestry的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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