牛津書蟲系列 神秘及幻想故事集 01 The Fall of the House of Usher

The Fall of the House of Usher

鄂榭府崩潰記

It was a grey autumn day and the sky was full of large black clouds.All day I had ridden through flat and uninteresting countryside，but at last，as it began to grow dark，I saw the end of my journey.

這是秋日里灰蒙蒙的一天，空中積滿了大團大團的烏云。整整一天，我騎著馬從平淡、乏味的鄉(xiāng)野間馳過;不過，到天色開始變得昏暝的時候，我終于望見了此行的目的地。

There，in front of me，stood the House of Usher.And at once -I do not know why-a strange feeling of deep gloom came down on me and covered me like a blanket.I looked up at the old house with its high stone walls and narrow windows.I looked around at the thin dry grass and the old dying trees，and an icy hand seemed to take hold of my heart.I felt cold and sick，and could not think of one happy thought to chase away my gloom.

在我眼前，兀然立著鄂榭府。一看見它——不知何故——一種陰悒至極的怪異感覺便降臨在我身上，像一張?zhí)鹤右粯诱肿×宋?。我抬頭仰望這座有著高大的石墻和狹小的窗戶的古舊府第，又環(huán)顧四周稀疏的枯草和垂死的老樹，這時，仿佛有一只冰冷的手抓住了我的心。我覺得奇寒徹骨，渾身乏力，怎么也想不起一件樂事來驅(qū)散心頭的陰悒。

Why，I wondered，did the House of Usher make me feel so sad?I could find no answer.

我真奇怪，為什么鄂榭府會令我感覺如此之差?我百思不得其解。

There was a lake next to the house and I rode my horse up to the edge and stopped.Perhaps from here the house would not seem so sad，so full of gloom.I looked down into the mirror of dark，still water，and saw again the empty，eye-like windows of the house and the dying trees all around it.The feeling of gloom was stronger than ever.

緊挨著宅子有一個湖，我騎馬來到湖邊停祝也許從這個角度看上去，宅子就不顯得那樣黯淡、那樣陰悒了。我低頭朝幽暗、凝止的湖水望去，在倒影中再一次看見了房子上面空蕩的、眼睛似的窗戶，以及四周那些垂死的樹。陰悒的感覺愈發(fā)強烈起來。

It was in this house that I was going to spend the next few weeks.Its owner，Roderick Usher，had been a good friend of mine when I was a boy.I had not seen him for many years， but recently he had sent me a letter-a sad and terrible letter.He wrote that he was ill，ill in body and ill in mind;that he wanted and needed to see me.I was his only friend，the only person who could help him in his illness.

我將在這座府邸里盤桓幾個星期。府邸的主人羅德里克·鄂榭，是我孩提時代的一個好友，我已有好多年沒有見到他了;可是最近他給我來了一封信——一封透著悲哀與恐怖的信。他在信中說他患了病，身體和精神都不正常，還說他急切地要見我。我是他惟一的朋友，只有我能夠幫助他擺脫疾病的折磨。

Although we had been good friends when we were young，I knew very little about him.He had never spoken much about himself，but I knew that he came from a very old family of which he was the last living man.I also knew that in the Usher family there had never been many children and so for hundreds of years the family name，together with the family home，had passed straight from father to son.

雖說我們年少的時候是摯友，但我對他了解得非常少。他極少談及他自己，不過我知道他來自一個歷史特別悠久的世家，而他是這個世家最后一位活在人間的男性。我還知道，在鄂榭家族史上還從未有過子息繁盛的時候，于是，數(shù)百年來，家族的姓氏連同家族的宅第均是由父及于由子及孫一脈單傳。

As I stood by the lake，my feeling of gloom grew and grew.I knew also that underneath my gloom lay fear，and fear does strange things to the mind.I began to imagine that the gloom was not in my mind，but was something real.It was like a mysterious cloud，which seemed to come straight from the dark lake and the dying trees and the old walls of the house.A heavy grey cloud，which carried with it disease and fear.

我站在湖邊，心頭陰悒的感覺一刻強似一刻。我同樣清楚，這陰悒之情的下面暗伏著恐懼，而恐懼又以古怪的方式作用于我的頭腦。我開始猜測這陰悒并不在我頭腦中，而是某種真實的東西。它宛如一團神秘的云氣，似乎是從幽暗的湖水、垂死的樹和宅子破舊的墻垣中間徑直升騰而起的。那是團沉重的鉛云，飽含著疾病與恐怖。

This was a dream，I told myself，and I looked more carefully at the building in front of me.It was，indeed，very old and I noticed that every stone had cracks and holes in it.But there was nothing really wrong with the building.No stones were missing.The only thing that I noticed was a very small crack which started at the top of the building and continued all the way down into the dark waters of the lake.

我告訴自己這是個夢，又更加仔細地打量眼前的這棟建筑。的確，它已經(jīng)非常破舊了，我注意到每一塊石頭上都有裂隙和孔洞。但是建筑本身又沒有真正的殘損，它一塊石頭也不缺。惟一引起我注意的是一道非常細小的裂縫，它從房子的頂部開始出現(xiàn)，然后一路向下延伸，直插入幽暗的湖水之中。

I went up to the front of the house.A servant took my horse and I stepped into the large hall.Another servant led me silently upstairs.On the walls there were many strange，dark pictures which made me feel nervous.I remembered these pictures from my earlier visits to the house when I was a child.But the feelings that the pictures gave me on this visit were new to me.

我來到宅子的正面。一個仆人牽走了我的坐騎，我跨進了大廳。另一個仆人默默地領(lǐng)著我上了樓。墻壁上掛著許多幅怪異、晦暗的畫，讓我十分緊張。我記得當(dāng)年我還是個孩子、來這座府第里做客時就見過這些畫，但是這次來訪，它們給我的感覺卻是前所未有的。

On the stairs we met the family doctor.He had a strange look on his face，a look that I did not like .I hurried on，and finally the servant opened a door and took me into the study.

在樓梯上我遇見了家庭醫(yī)生，他臉上現(xiàn)出一副刁鉆古怪的神情，這神情我很不喜歡。我急忙走了上去;終于，仆人打開門，引我走進了書房。

The room was large and long，with high narrow windows，which let in only a little light Shadows lay in all the corners of the room and around the dark pieces of furniture.There were-many books and a few guitars，but there was no life，no happiness in the room.Deep gloom filled the air.

房間又大又長，窗戶又高又窄，只能容許一點點天光射入，屋子的所有角落以及一件件深色的家具四周都是陰影。屋里擺放著好多書籍和幾把吉他，但是毫無生氣，毫無快樂可言。空氣中滿是濃重的陰悒氛圍。

When Usher saw me，he got up and welcomed me warmly.I thought he was just being polite，but as I looked into his face，I could see that he was pleased to see me.We sat down，but he did not speak at first，and for a few moments I watched him in surprise and fear.He had changed so much since our last meeting!He had the same pale thin face，the same eyes，large and clear，and the same thin lips and soft hair.But now his skin was too white，his eyes too large and bright，and he seemed a different man.He frightened me.And his long wild hair looked like a ghostly cloud around his head.

鄂榭一看見我，便起身熱情洋溢地表示歡迎。我起初還以為他這只不過是做出來的殷勤態(tài)度，可是待我朝他臉上望去，才知道他見到我是真心歡喜。我們坐了下來，但他一開始并未開口講話;有幾分鐘我就這樣看著他，心里既吃驚又害怕。從我們上一次見面到現(xiàn)在，他已經(jīng)發(fā)生了多么大的變化呀!他的臉頰還是那樣蒼白、瘦削，眼睛還是那樣大而清澈，嘴唇還是那樣薄，頭發(fā)還是那樣柔軟。但是現(xiàn)在，他的皮膚變得太慘白，眼睛變得太大太亮;他看上去已經(jīng)完全是另一個人了。他把我嚇壞了。還有他那一頭亂糟糟的長發(fā)，好似幽靈般的愁云一樣繚繞在他腦袋上。

I noticed that my friend was very nervous and that his feelings changed very quickly.Sometimes he talked a lot，then he suddenly became silent and did not say a word for many hours.At other times he found it difficult to think，and his voice was heavy and slow，like the voice of a man who had drunk too much.

我發(fā)現(xiàn)我的朋友極度神經(jīng)質(zhì)，情緒變化無常。有時他長篇大論地講話，而后就會突然間變得沉默寡言，幾個小時一語不發(fā)。還有的時候他覺得想問題特別困難，于是他說話的聲音就變得粗重、遲緩，好像是一個飲酒過量的人發(fā)出來的。

He told me why he had wanted to see me，and how he hoped to feel better now that I was with him.He had，he explained，a strange illness which had been in his family for a long time.It was a nervous illness which made him feel everything much more strongly than other people.He could only eat food that was almost tasteless.He had to choose his clothes very carefully because most of them hurt his skin.He could not have flowers in his room because their smell was too strong for him.Light hurt his eyes，and most sounds hurt his ears except the soft sound of guitars.

他向我講述了他為何急于見到我，以及他如何希望現(xiàn)在有我相陪伴，他的情況會好轉(zhuǎn)些。他解釋道，他得的是一種怪病，這種病已經(jīng)在他的家族中肆虐好久了。這種神經(jīng)過敏癥搞得他對一切事物都比其他人敏感得多。他只能吃那些幾乎完全寡淡無味的食物，只能萬分小心地挑選衣物，因為大多數(shù)面料都會傷害他的皮膚。他不能忍受屋里擺放花卉，因為花卉的香氣對他來說太濃烈了。光線會刺傷他的眼睛，大部分聲音會刺傷他的耳朵——只有柔和的吉他彈奏聲他還能接受。

Worst of all，he was a prisoner of his own fear.‘I shall die，’he used to say，‘because of this fear，I'm not afraid of danger.What frightens me is fear itself.At the moment I am fighting against fear，but sooner or later I won't be able to fight any more.’

最糟糕的是，他成了自己的恐懼的囚徒。“我要死了，”他常常說，“死于這種恐懼。我并不害怕危險。令我喪膽的是恐懼本身。此刻我在同恐懼搏斗，但遲早我會喪失這奮力搏斗的能力。”

During long conversations with Usher I learnt more about his strange illness.He was sure that it came from the House of Usher itself.He had not left the house for many years and he had become，he thought，as sad as the house itself.The gloom of its grey walls and its dark silent lake had become his own.

在與鄂榭的長談中，我對他的怪病有了更多的了解。他堅信這個病癥來自鄂榭府本身。他已有多年未離開這座宅子了，于是他想，他已經(jīng)變得跟宅子自身一樣悲哀了。它那灰色的石墻與暗黑、凝止的湖水間所蘊藏的陰悒業(yè)已化作他個人的愁苦心緒。

He also believed that much of his sadness was because his dear sister was seriously ill.He had one sister，Madeleine，the only other person in his family who was still living，but each day she seemed a little nearer to death.

他還相信他身染怪病在很大程度上是由于他親愛的妹妹病得十分嚴重。他有一個妹妹，名叫瑪?shù)铝?，是他家族中另一位僅存于陽世間的成員，然而似乎每過一天，她就要朝著死神邁近一小步。

‘Her death，’Usher said blackly，‘will leave me alone in the world，the last of all the Ushers.’

“她這一死，”鄂榭悶悶不樂地說道，“就將把我，鄂榭家族的末代孑遺，獨自撇在這世界上了。”

While he was speaking，Madeleine passed slowly through the back of the long room and，without noticing me，disappeared.As I looked at her，my eyes felt heavy with.sleep，and I had a strange feeling of fear.I looked across at Usher.He had covered his face with his hands，but I could see that he had become even paler，and that he was crying silently.

他正說著，瑪?shù)铝諒倪@長長的房間的遠端緩緩走了過去，她并沒有注意到我，便不見了影子。我盯著她，兩眼昏昏欲睡，然后心頭涌起一陣莫名其妙的惶恐。我再轉(zhuǎn)臉看鄂榭，只見他已用雙手掩面，不過我仍能看到他的臉色變得更加蒼白，而且他正在無聲地哭泣。

Lady Madeleine's illness was a mysterious one which no doctor could understand.Every day she became weaker and thinner，and sometimes went into a sleep which was more like death than sleep.For years she had fought bravely against her illness，but on the night of my arrival she went to bed and did not get up from it again.‘You will probably not see her again alive，’Usher said to me，shaking his head sadly.

瑪?shù)铝招〗愕牟“Y極為古怪，哪個醫(yī)生都瞧不出個名堂來。她一天比一天衰弱，一天比一天單薄，有時候一覺睡去，與其說是睡著了，還不如說是死掉了更形象。多年以來她同病魔進行了勇敢的斗爭，誰知就在我到來的那天夜里，她上了床，并且就此臥床不起。“你可能再也不會見到她活著了，”鄂榭悲哀地搖著頭，對我說。

During the next few days Usher and I never spoke about his sister.We spent a lot of time painting and reading together，and sometimes he played on his guitar.I tried very hard to help my friend，but I realized that his sadness was too deep.It was a black gloom that covered everything that belonged to his world;sometimes，indeed，he seemed close to the edge of madness.

此后的數(shù)日內(nèi)鄂榭和我一直絕口不提他的妹妹。我們花了好多時間一起畫畫，一起讀書，有時他還操起吉他彈上一曲。我盡了極大的努力去幫助我的朋友，但是卻發(fā)現(xiàn)悲哀在他心中已如此根深蒂固。那黑魆魆的陰悒籠罩著屬于他的世界的每一樣?xùn)|西;說實在的，有時候他似乎已接近了瘋狂的邊緣。

He painted strange pictures，and sang mysterious songs with wild words.His ideas，too，were strange，and he had one idea thst seemed more important to him than all the others.He was quite sure that all things，plants，trees，even stones，were able to feel.

他畫了一些古怪的畫，唱了一些神秘的歌曲，歌詞中盡是些狂野的字眼兒。還有，他腦子里的念頭也很古怪，其中有一個想法好像比其他想法對他來說更重要。他相當(dāng)肯定地認為，萬事萬物，花草，樹木，甚至石頭，都是有感知能力的。

‘The House of Usher itself，’he told me，‘is like a living thing.When the walls were first built，life went into the stones themselves and year after year it has grown stronger.Even the air around the walls and above the lake has its own life，and belongs to the house.Don't you see，’he cried，‘how the stones and the air have shaped the lives of the Usher family?’

“鄂榭府本身，”他對我說道，“就好像是一個活物。當(dāng)墻壁最初被壘起來的時候，生命便進入了這些石頭，此后年復(fù)一年，逐漸成長壯大。哪怕是圍繞著石墻、聚集在湖面上的空氣，也有它自己的生命，它是屬于這宅子的。你難道沒看見嗎，”他嚷道，“那石頭、那空氣是如何塑造了鄂榭家族的眾多生靈的?”

These ideas were too fantastic for me，and I could not answer him.

這些看法對我來說簡直太離奇了，我都不知該怎么回答他才好。

One evening I was reading quietly when my friend told me，in very few words，that the Lady Madeleine had died.He had decided，he said，to keep her body for a fortnight in one of the vaults under the house，before it went to its last resting-place.This was because his sister's illness had been a mysterious one，and her doctors wanted to learn more about it.He asked me to help him and I agreed.

一天傍晚，我正在安安靜靜地看書，我的朋友非常簡短地告訴我，瑪?shù)铝招〗阋呀?jīng)故去了。他說，他已經(jīng)決定在宅子下面的一間地窖里停尸兩個星期，然后再將其送往最后的長眠之地，理由是他妹妹的病很古怪，醫(yī)生們還想再研究研究。他請求我?guī)兔α侠硪幌?，我答?yīng)了。

Together we carried the body in its coffin down to the vaults under the house.The vault that he had chosen was a long way down，but was under the part of the house where I slept.It had once been a prison，and was small，dark，and airless，with a heavy metal door.

我們兩個一起抬著盛了尸體的棺材，向下來到房子底部的地窖里。他選定的那間地窖要向下走很長一段才到，但它的正上方恰巧是我的寢室那一帶。它從前曾經(jīng)做過牢房，又小又黑，叫人透不過氣來，還裝著一扇沉重的鐵門。

We put the coffin down and then gently lifted up the cover to look at the dead woman for the last time.As I looked down at her face，I realized how much Usher's sister looked like him.My friend then said a few quiet words and I learnt that he and his sister had been born on the same day.Each had known the other's mind without the need for words.

我們把棺材放下，然后輕輕地掀開棺蓋，想最后看一眼死者。我低頭朝鄂榭的妹妹臉上望去，這才發(fā)現(xiàn)他們兄妹二人是多么相像。然后我的朋友沉著地說了幾句話，我終于得知他們二人是同日出生的孿生兄妹，彼此間無須言語交流便能心意相通。

We could not look at her for long.Her strange illness had left her with a soft pink colour on her face，and that unchanging half-smile on her lips which is so terrible in death.We put back the cover of the coffin，fixed it down well，and after locking the heavy door of the vault，went back upstairs into the gloomy house.

我們對死者不敢久看。她的怪病使得她臉上微微泛出一抹粉紅，嘴唇上掛著一絲若有若無、凝定不變的微笑;這笑容出現(xiàn)在死人臉上，可真叫人毛骨悚然。我們將棺蓋重新蓋上，仔細釘牢，又鎖好了地窖那沉甸甸的屋門，才爬上樓梯，回到陰悒的宅子里。

After some days of deep unhappiness，I saw that my friend's illness of the mind was growing worse.He did not paint or read any more.He moved slowly from room to room，never knowing what to do.His face became paler，the light disappeared from his eyes，and his voice often shook with fear when he spoke.Sometimes I thought he was trying to tell me some terrible secret.At other times I thought he was going mad.He used to sit for hours，looking at nothing，listening to nothing-except the sounds in his own mind.I myself began to know real fear.I felt my friend's terror，his deep gloom，slowly taking hold of my own mind.

無比沉痛的幾天過去，我發(fā)現(xiàn)我的朋友精神錯亂的病情有所加重。他不再畫畫，也不再讀書，只是在一個又一個房間里徘徊，腳步遲緩，漫無目的。他的臉色更加蒼白了，光芒已從他眼中消失，一說起話來，他的聲音便常常因恐懼而發(fā)抖。有時候我想他是企圖向我透露什么可怕的秘密，有時候我以為他要發(fā)瘋了。他往往一坐就是幾個小時，什么也沒在看，什么也沒在聽——聽的只是他自己頭腦里的聲音。我自己開始體會到真正的恐懼了。我感到我的朋友的惶恐，他那致命的陰悒，正在慢慢攫住我的心。

About seven or eight days after we had put Lady Madeleine's coffin in the vault，I went to bed but could not sleep.Hour after hour I lay there，fighting the fear and gloom that filled my mind.Outside，there was a storm which was growing wilder，and my room was full of shadows and the dark shapes of the gloomy furniture.I tried to calm myself，but I only became more frightened.

我們把瑪?shù)铝招〗愕墓撞奶У降亟岩院?，時間過了大約有七八天。這天晚上我上了床，卻無法入眠，就一個鐘頭一個鐘頭地躺在那兒，同自己滿腦子的恐懼和陰悒作著斗爭。窗外風(fēng)雨大作，并且愈發(fā)狂放不羈;我的臥室內(nèi)則滿是影子以及陰森森的家具暗黑的輪廓。我盡量使自己平靜下來，誰知卻越來越心驚肉跳。

Suddenly，my body shook with a new terror.

突然間，我的身體由于新的一波恐懼襲來而打起了寒戰(zhàn)。

I sat up in bed and listened hard.Yes，I could hear some low sounds，coming not from the storm outside，but from somewhere inside the house.Quickly，I put on my clothes and started walking up and down the room，trying to shake off my terrible fear.

我從床上坐起，努力地諦聽著周圍的響動。是的，我能聽見某種低沉的聲音，不是來自外面的暴風(fēng)雨，而是從宅子內(nèi)部的什么地方發(fā)出來的。我迅速地穿上衣服，開始在房間里來來回回地踱步，希望以此擺脫掉我那不可救藥的恐懼。

Then I heard a knock on my door and Usher came in.His face was as white as it had always been，and there was a kind of madness in his eyes.The look on his face frightened me terribly，but at the same time I was pleased not to be alone any more.

接著我聽見敲門聲，鄂榭走了進來。他的臉上一如既往地泛著慘白，眼里有一種瘋狂的神色。他的這副尊容把我嚇得要死，但與此同時，我又慶幸不必一個人待著了。

For some moments he looked around without saying a word.Then，suddenly，‘Have you not seen it? No?Then wait.You must see it.’He hurried to the window and opened it.

他一語不發(fā)，四下里看了一陣子，然后突然說道：“你難道沒有看到?沒有?那就等著吧。你準(zhǔn)會看到的。”他急匆匆地走到窗前，把窗子打開。

The wind from the violent storm outside crashed into the room，nearly knocking us to the floor.It was，indeed，a wild，but strangely beautiful night.The wind seemed to be going in circles around the house，and huge，heavy black clouds chased each other，first this way，then that way.We could see no moon and no stars，but a pale ghostly light lay around the house.

一股勁風(fēng)從外面大逞淫威的雷暴中吹出，轟地一聲撞進房間里面，差點兒將我們掀翻在地。說老實話，這可真是一個狂暴而又美麗異常的夜?？耧L(fēng)似乎打著旋兒在宅子四周肆虐，一團團碩大的、沉重的烏云相互追逐著，忽而這里，忽而那里。我們看不到月亮也看不到星星，只見一片鬼樣的慘白光輝浮動在宅子周圍。

‘You mustn't，no，you must not watch this，’I cried to Usher.I pushed him gently away from the window and to a seat.‘It's only a storm，and the cold night air will be dangerous to your health.Let's close the window and read together.Look，here's one of your favourite books.I will read to you，and you can listen，and so we will pass this terrible night together.’

“不，你不能，你不能看這個!”我朝鄂榭嚷道，并將他從窗子旁輕輕推開，推到椅子上坐下。“這只不過是一場暴風(fēng)雨而已。再說，夜里的冷空氣對你的身體是有害的。咱們把窗子關(guān)上，一道讀讀書吧，瞧，這書就是你最愛讀的一本。我來給你念，你光聽著就成;這樣我們就可以一道打發(fā)掉這恐怖的夜晚了。”

The book which I had picked up was The Sad，Mad Life of Sir Launcelot Canning.It was not really one of US her's favourite books，but it was the only one that I had near me，so I started to read it.It was a wild，fantastic story，but I hoped that my reading would make Usher calmer and less afraid.He listened to me，indeed，but with a kind of mad seriousness that I found frightening.

我隨手拾起的這本書是蘭斯洛特·坎寧爵士的《悲慘、瘋狂的一生》。它其實并不是鄂榭最愛讀的一本書，然而，它是我在手邊唯一能找到的書，于是我便開始念了起來。書里講的是一個瘋狂、離奇的故事，不過我希望我這么一念會讓鄂榭平靜些，不再害怕。的確，他倒是在聽我念書，然而我發(fā)現(xiàn)他聽的時候帶著一股瘋狂的一本正經(jīng)的勁頭，嚇?biāo)廊肆恕?/p>

I read for a while and reached the place in the book where Ethelred broke down the door of the old man's house.

我念了一會兒，就到了書中描述艾特爾瑞德破門而入、硬闖老人住處的那一段。

Now Ethelred decided he could wait outside in the storm no longer.He lifted his heavy stick and beat against the wood-en door until he had made a hole.Then with his hands he pulled the door to pieces.The noise of the dry wood cracking and breaking could be heard all through the forest.

現(xiàn)在艾特爾瑞德打定主意，他再也不能站在門外、淋著大雨等下去了。他舉起重重的大棒子朝木門砸去，最后砸出一個洞。然后他用雙手一拽，屋門即成碎片。干木頭噼里啪啦碎裂的聲音響遍了整個樹林。

As I finished reading this sentence，I jumped in my seat and then sat very still.I thought that I had heard，from somewhere far away in the house，the same noise of cracking and breaking wood.But I could not hear it clearly，and the noise of the storm was much louder.I continued reading：

我念完這個句子后，在座位上跳了一下，然后又穩(wěn)穩(wěn)地坐定了。我覺得自己聽見了這座府邸遠處呆個地方傳來一陣與那木頭噼里啪啦的碎裂聲完全相同的聲音;但我聽得不是太真切，況且暴風(fēng)雨的聲音要大得多。我繼續(xù)念道：

Ethelred entered the house but could not see the old man.Then the house disappeared and he saw a dragon，with fire coming out of its mouth.Ethelred lifted his heavy stick and brought it crashing down on the dragon's head.As the dragon fell dying to the ground，it gave a terrible cry-a long，hard，unnatural scream.

艾特爾瑞德進了那房子，卻不見老人的蹤影。然后，房子消失，他看見一條惡龍，口中噴吐著火舌。艾特爾瑞德舉起大棒子朝惡龍頭上砰地一聲砸去。惡龍倒在地上，垂死之際發(fā)出一聲哀嚎——這聲長嚎尖厲刺耳，慘絕人寰。

Here again I stopped suddenly.I was sure that I could hear a cry.It was low and far away，but it was a long screaming sound-just like the one described in the book.

到這里我再一次戛然而止。我敢肯定我聽見了一聲嚎叫。叫聲很低，離得很遠，但那的確是一聲長長的尖叫——就像書中寫到的那聲哀嚎一樣。

Although I was feeling so nervous，I tried hard to hide my terror.I was not sure if Usher had heard the sounds that I had heard.In the last few minutes he had moved and was now sitting with his face towards the door.But I could see that his lips were shaking and his body was moving gently from side to side.I continued reading the story：

雖然我感到極度緊張，但我還是盡力掩飾住自己的驚恐。我拿不準(zhǔn)鄂榭是否聽到了我聽到的那些聲音。在過去的幾分鐘里，他已經(jīng)有所動作，現(xiàn)在正面對房門坐著。但我仍能看見他的嘴唇在發(fā)抖，他的身體左一下右一下地微微搖擺著。我接著念那個故事：

And now Ethelred，after he had killed the dragon，turned and saw in front of him a palace of gold with tall gates of shining silver in the walls.Bravely，Ethelred ran towards the palace，but the shining silver gates did not wait for his coming and fell to the ground at his feet with a great and terrible ringing sound.

殺掉惡龍以后，現(xiàn)在艾特爾瑞德轉(zhuǎn)過身來，看見他面前立著一座金子的宮殿，宮墻上嵌著一扇扇光閃閃的銀質(zhì)大門。艾特爾瑞德勇敢地向?qū)m殿跑去，但還沒等他跑近，那些閃光的銀質(zhì)大門便倒在他腳邊的地上，發(fā)出巨大的、可怖的、鐘磬齊鳴般的轟響。

As I read these words，I heard clearly the loud，heavy sound of metal falling.I jumped to my feet，but Usher sat in his seat and did not move.I ran towards him.He was looking straight in front of him and his face was like stone.As I placed my hand on his arm，his body began to shake.A sickly smile came over his lips，and he spoke in a low hurried voice.He did not seem to realize that I was there.I put my head close to his to catch his words.

我念到這些詞句時，清晰地聽見金屬器物倒地的沉重的巨響。我一躍而起，但鄂榭坐在座位上一動不動。我朝他奔過去。他正直勾勾地瞪視著前方，臉龐好像石頭一樣。我把一只手放在他胳膊上，這時他的身體開始發(fā)抖，一絲慘淡的笑容出現(xiàn)在他的嘴唇上。然后他開口了，聲音又低又急，似乎沒有意識到我的存在。我低頭湊近他的腦袋，去捕捉那些詞句。

‘Don't I hear it?-yes，I hear it，and I have heard it.For many minutes，many hours，many days I have heard it-but I was too frightened，too frightened to speak.We have put her alive into her coffin!Did I not tell you that I could hear even the softest sound?I tell you now that I heard her move in the coffin.I heard the sounds many days ago，but my terror was too great-I could not speak!And now tonight-when you read about Ethelred breaking the old man's door，about the cry of the dragon，and the falling of the gates-it was，in fact，the breaking of her coffin，the scream of metal as she broke open the vault，and the ringing crash as the metal door fell to the floor!Oh，where can I escape to?Is she hurrying towards me at this very minute?Is that her angry footstep that I can hear on the stairs?Can I hear the heavy and terrible beating of her heart?MADMAN!’

“我沒聽見?——不，我聽見了，我早就聽見了。我聽見好幾分鐘，好幾個鐘頭，好幾天了——但是我太害怕了，害怕得不敢說出來。我們把她活著裝進了棺材!我難道沒有告訴過你，哪怕最輕微的聲音我也聽得見?現(xiàn)在我告訴你，我聽見她在棺材里動彈的聲音，那是好幾天以前的事，可是我太害怕了——我不敢說!到了今天晚上——當(dāng)你念到艾特爾瑞德打破老人的家門，念到惡龍一聲哀嚎，念到大門紛紛倒地的時候——實際上，那是她打破了棺材，是她打開地窖時鐵門發(fā)出的尖叫聲，是那鐵門倒在地上發(fā)出的鐘鳴般轟的一響!噢，我能逃到哪兒去?這一刻她是不是正在急匆匆地趕來找我?我聽見在樓梯上響起的是不是她那憤怒的腳步聲?我能否聽見她那沉重的、可怕的心跳聲?瘋子!”

He jumped up and shouted，screaming out his words like a man dying in terror.‘MADMAN!I TELL YOU THAT AT THIS MINUTE SHE Is STANDING OUTSIDE THIS DOOR!’

他跳起身叫嚷著，像一個在恐懼中奄奄一息的人那樣尖聲喊出來：“瘋子!我告訴你，這一刻她就站在這扇門外!”

AS he screamed these words，the heavy door was thrown open by the strong wind.There，outside the door，dressed in the white clothes of the dead，stood the tall figure of the Lady Madeleine of Usher.There was blood on her hands，her arms，her torn white clothes.Every part of her body showed the marks of her long fight to escape from the coffin.For a moment she stood there shaking，moving slowly from side to side.Then with a low cry she fell heavily onto her brother.And in the moment of her now final death，he fell with her to the floor-a dead man，killed by his own terror.

正當(dāng)他尖叫著這幾句話的時候，沉重的屋門被一陣強風(fēng)吹開了。在門外，立著鄂榭府的瑪?shù)铝招〗愕母叽笊碥|，她身穿雪白的尸衣，滿手、滿胳膊以及撕破的白色尸衣上都是血污。她渾身上下處處都顯露出她為了逃出棺材而長時間苦苦掙扎的痕跡。她在那里站了片刻，顫抖著，身體慢慢地左搖右晃，然后低嚎一聲，重重地摔倒在她哥哥身上。就在她現(xiàn)在終于一命嗚呼的一剎那，他同她一起摔倒在地——一個死人，一個死于自己的恐懼的人。

From that room，and from that house，I ran in horror.Out-side，the storm was still violent and as I ran past the lake，a sudden wild light shone around me.I turned to see where this strange light was coming from.It was the moon，a full，blood-red moon，shining through a narrow crack in the walls of the house.It was the crack which started at the roof of the building and went right down to the ground.As I watched，the crack grew larger，the wind grew wilder-now I could see the full circle of the blood-red moon，and the great walls of the house breaking and falling.There was a long shouting sound，like the voice of a thousand waters，and the deep dark lake closed over the broken pieces of the House of Usher.

我驚恐萬狀，馬上逃出那間屋子，逃出那座宅郟外面，風(fēng)暴依舊猖獗;我跑過湖水，一道怪異的光芒突然照射到我身上。我回過頭，看那古怪的光是從哪兒來的。是月亮，一輪血紅的滿月，正透過宅子墻壁上一道狹窄的裂縫閃耀著光輝。那道裂縫便是自建筑頂部開始、向下一直延伸到地面的那一道。待我望去，那道裂縫變得更寬，風(fēng)也刮得更大了——現(xiàn)在我可以看到整個血紅的滿月。宅邸高大的石墻正在碎裂、倒塌;一陣長長的呼號聲傳來，宛如千股洪流齊瀉;然后，那幽深、晦暗的湖水便吞沒了鄂榭府的一切殘磚碎瓦。