24 And now，some days of bitter grief having elapsed，an observablechange came over the features of the mental disorder of my friend。His ordinary manner hadvanished。His ordinary occupations were neglected or forgotten。He roamed from chamber to chamber with hurried，unequal，and objectless step。The pallor of hiscountenance had assumed，if possible，a more ghastly hue—but the luminousnessof his eye had utterly gone out。The once occasional huskiness of his tone was heard no moreand a tremulous quaver，as if of extreme terror，habitually characterized his utterance。There were times，indeed，when I thought his unceasinglyagitated mind was laboring with some oppressive secret，to divulge which he struggled for the necessary courage。At times，again，I was obliged to resolve all into the mere inexplicable vagaries of madness，for I beheld himgazing upon vacancy for long hours，in an attitude of the profoundest attention，as if listening to some imaginary sound。It was no wonder that his condition terrified—thatit infected me。I felt creeping upon me，by slow yet certain degrees，the wild influences of his own fantastic yet impressive superstitions。
entombment：n。埋葬
encoffin：v。放入棺材
smother：v。窒息
feudal：adj。封建製度的
bustible：adj。易燃的
sheathe：v。覆蓋
hinge：n。（門、蓋等的）鉸鏈
tressel：n。腳手架
unscrewed：adj。沒有螺緊的
tenant：n。這裏指棺材裏的瑪德琳妹妹
divining：adj。推測的
intelligible：adj。可理解的
mockery：n。嘲笑
lingering：adj。延遲的
toil：n。辛苦，苦工
roam：v。漫遊
huskiness：n。粗嘎聲
tremulous：adj。震顫的
laboring：adj。從事勞動的，痛苦的
divulge：v。泄露
vagary：n。奇特行為
25 It was，especially，upon retiring to bed late in the night of the seventh or eighth day after the placing of the lady Madeline within the donjon，that I experienced the full power of such feelings。Sleep came not near my couch—whilethe hours waned and waned away。I struggled to reason off the nervousness which had dominion over me。I endeavored to believe that much，if not all of what I felt，was due to the bewildering influence of the gloomy furniture of the room—of the dark and tattered draperies，which，tortured into motion by the breath of a rising tempest，swayed fitfully to and fro upon the walls，and rustled uneasily about the decorations of the bed。But my efforts were fruitless。An irrepressible tremor gradually pervaded my frameand，at length，there sat upon my very heart an incubus of utterly causeless alarm。Shaking this off with a gasp and a struggle，I uplifted myself upon the pillows，and，peering earnestly within the intense darkness of the chamber，harkened—I know not why，except that an instinctive spirit prompted me—to certain low and indefinite sounds which came，through the pauses of the storm，at long intervals，I knew not whence。Overpowered by an intense sentiment of horror，unaccountable yet unendurable，I threw on my clothes with haste（for I felt that I should sleep no more during the night），andendeavored to arouse myself from the pitiable condition into which I had fallen，by pacing rapidly to and fro through the apartment。
26 I had taken but few turns in this manner，when a light step on an adjoiningstaircase arrested my attention。I presently recognised it as that of Usher。Inan instant afterward he rapped，with a gentle touch，at my door，and entered，bearing a lamp。His countenance was，as usual，cadaverously wan—but，moreover，there was a species of mad hilarity in his eyes—an evidently restrained hysteria in his whole demeanor。His air appalled me—but anything was preferable tothe solitude which I had so long endured，and I even weled his presence as arelief。
27 “And you have not seen it？”he said abruptly，after having stared about him for some moments in silence—“you have not then seen it？—but，stay！youshall。”Thus speaking，and having carefully shaded his lamp，he hurried to oneof the casements，and threw it freely open to the storm。
donjon：n。中世紀城堡的主樓
wane：v。消逝
dominion：n。支配
drapery：n。（供裝飾用的）織物
irrepressible：adj。鎮壓不住的
incubus：n。夢魘
gasp：n。喘息
harken：v。傾聽
instinctive：adj。本能的
prompt：v。促使
unaccountable：adj。無法解釋的
adjoining：adj。鄰接的
rap：v。敲，拍
hilarity：n。歡樂
hysteria：n。歇斯底裏
demeanor：n。行為
solitude：n。孤獨
casement：n。[建築]窗扉
28 The impetuous fury of the entering gust nearly lifted us from our feet。It was，indeed，a tempestuous yet sternly beautiful night，and one wildly singular in its terror and its beauty。A whirlwind had apparently collected its force in our vicinityfor there were frequent and violent alterations in the direction of the windand the exceeding density of the clouds（which hung so low as to press upon the turrets of the house）did not prevent our perceiving the life-likevelocity with which they flew careering from all points against each other，without passing away into the distance。I say that even their exceeding density did not prevent our perceiving this—yet we had no glimpse of the moon or stars—nor was there any flashing forth of the lightning。But the under surfaces of the huge masses of agitated vapor，as well as all terrestrial objects immediately around us，were glowing in the unnatural light of a faintly luminous and distinctly visible gaseous exhalation which hung about and enshrouded the mansion。
29 “You must not—you shall not behold this！”said I，shudderingly，to Usher，as I led him，with a gentle violence，from the window to a seat。“These appearances，which bewilder you，are merely electrical phenomena not unmon—or it may be that they have their ghastly origin in the rank miasma ofthe tarn。Let us close this casement—the air is chilling and dangerous to your frame。Here is one of your favorite romances。I will read，and you shall listen—and so we will pass away this terrible night together。”
impetuous：adj。猛烈的
tempestuous：adj。有暴風雨的
whirlwind：n。旋風
velocity：n。速度，速率
terrestrial：adj。陸地的
gaseous：adj。氣體的
exhalation：n。呼出
enshroud：v。掩蓋
miasma：n。瘴氣30The antique volume which I had taken up was the Mad Trist of Sir Launcelot Canningbut I had called it a favorite of Usher’s more in sad jest than in earnestfor，in truth，there is little in its uncouth and unimaginative prolixity which could have had interest for the lofty and spiritual ideality of my friend。It was，however，the only book immediately at handand I indulged a vague hopethat the excitement which now agitated the hypochondriac，might find relief（for the history of mental disorder is full of similar anomalies）even in the extremeness of the folly which I should read。Could I have judged，indeed，by the wild overstrained air of vivacity with which he harkened，or apparently harkened，to the words of the tale，I might well have congratulated myself upon the successof my design。
31 I had arrived at that well-known portion of the story where Ethelred，the hero of the Trist，having sought in vain for peaceable admission into the dwelling of the hermit，proceeds to make good an entrance by force。Here，it will be remembered，the words of the narrative run thus：
32 “And Ethelred，who was by nature of a doughty heart，and who was now mighty withal，on account of the powerfulness of the wine which he had drunken，waited no longer to hold parley with the hermit，who，in sooth，was of an obstinate andmaliceful turn，but，feeling the rain upon his shoulders，and fearing the rising of the tempest，uplifted his mace outright，and，with blows，made quickly roomin the plankings of the door for his gauntletedhandand now pulling therewithsturdily，he so cracked，and ripped，and tore all asunder，that the noise of the dry and hollow-sounding wood alarummed and reverberated throughout the forest。”
antique：adj。古時的
jest：n。笑話
uncouth：adj。笨拙的
prolixity：n。冗長
anomaly：n。不規則
overstrained：adj。應變過度的
vivacity：n。活潑
hermit：n。隱士
doughty：adj。勇敢的
withal：adv。此外
in sooth：實際
obstinate：adj。頑固的
maliceful：adj。惡意的
mace：n。權杖
outright：adv。立刻地
planking：n。厚板
gauntleted：adj。戴騎士手套的
sturdily：adv。堅強地
asunder：adv。（向不同方向）分開
alarum：v。警報
reverberate：v。反響
33 At the termination of this sentence I started，and for a moment，pausedfor it appeared to me（although I at once concluded that my excited fancy had deceived me）—it appeared to me that，from some very remote portion of the mansion，there came，indistinctly，to my ears，what might have been，inits exact similarity of character，the echo（but a stifled and dull one certainly）of the very cracking and ripping sound which Sir Launcelot had so particularly described。Itwas，beyond doubt，the coincidence alone which had arrested my attentionfor，amid the rattling of the sashes of the casements，and the ordinary mingled noises of the still increasing storm，the sound，in itself，had nothing，surely，which should have interested or disturbed me。I continued the story：
34 “But the good champion Ethelred，now entering within the door，was sore enraged and amazed to perceive no signal of the maliceful hermitbut，in the stead thereof，a dragon of a scaly and prodigious demeanor，and of a fiery tongue，which sate in guard before a palace of gold，with afloor of silverand upon the wall there hung a shield of shining brass with this legend enwritten—
Who entereth herein，a conqueror hath bin
Who slayeth the dragon，the shield he shall win
35 And Ethelred uplifted his mace，and struck upon the head of the dragon，which fell before him，and gave up his pesty breath，with a shriek so horrid and harsh，and withal so piercing，that Ethelred had fain to close his ears with his hands against the dreadful noise of it，the like whereof was never before heard。
36 Here again I paused abruptly，and now with a feeling of wild amazement—for there could be no doubt whatever that，in this instance，I did actually hear（although from what direction it proceeded I found it impossible to say）a low and apparently distant，but harsh，protracted，and most unusual screaming or grating sound—the exact counterpart of what my fancy had already conjured up for the dragon’s unnatural shriek as described by the romancer。
termination：n。終止
indistinctly：adv。朦朧地
stifled：adj。低沉的
sash：n。門扣
mingle：v。混合
sore：adv。痛苦地
enrage：v。激怒
scaly：adj。有鱗的
prodigious：adj。巨大的
demeanor：n。行為，風度
fiery：adj。火焰的
sate：[古]sit的過去式和過去分詞
in guard：看守
shield：n。盾狀物
conqueror：n。征服者
hath：has
bin：n。箱櫃
slay：v。<書>殺，殺死
shriek：n。尖叫
whereof：adv。關於那事（人，物）
protracted：adj。延長的
37 Oppressed，as I certainly was，upon the occurrence of this second and most extraordinary coincidence，by a thousand conflicting sensations，in which wonderand extreme terror were predominant，I still retained sufficient presence of mind to avoid exciting，by any observation，the sensitive nervousness of my panion。I was by no means certain that he had noticed the sounds in questionalthough，assuredly，a strange alteration had，during the last few minutes，taken place in his demeanor。From a position fronting my own，he had gradually brought round his chair，so as to sit with his face to the door of the chamberand thus Icould but partially perceive his features，although I saw that his lips trembled as if he were murmuring inaudibly。His head had dropped upon his breast—yetI knew that he was not asleep，from the wide and rigid opening of the eye，as Icaught a glance of it in profile。The motion of his body，too，was at variance with this idea—for he rocked from side to side with a gentle yet constant anduniform sway。Having rapidly taken notice of all this，I resumed the narrative of Sir Launcelot，which thus proceeded：
38 “And now，the champion，having escaped from the terrible fury of the dragon，bethinking himself of the brazen shield，and ofthe breaking up of the enchantment which was upon it，removed the carcass from out of the way before him，and approached valorously over the silver pavement of the castle to where the shield was upon the wallwhich in sooth tarried not for his full ing，but fell downat his feet upon the silver floor，with a mighty great and terrible ringing sound。”
39 No sooner had these syllables passed my lips，than—as if a shield of brass had indeed，at the moment，fallen heavily upon a floor of silver—I became aware of a distinct，hollow，metallic，and clangorous，yet apparently muffled reverberation。Completely unnerved，I leaped to my feetbut the measured rocking movement of Usher was undisturbed。I rushed to the chair in which he sat。His eyes were bent fixedly before him，and throughout his whole countenance there reigned a stony rigidity。But，as I laid my hand upon his shoulder，there came a strong shudder over his whole persona sickly smile quivered about his lipsand Isaw that he spoke in a low，hurried，and gibbering murmur，as if unconscious ofmy presence。Bending closely over him，I at length drank in the hideous import of his words。
bethink：v。想起
brazen：adj。黃銅製的
enchantment：n。魔法
carcass：n。（屠宰後）畜體
valorously：adv。勇敢地
tarry：v。等候
metallic：adj。金屬（性）的
clangorous：adj。叮當響的
muffle：v。壓抑（聲音）
gibber：v。喋喋而言
40 “Not hear it？—yes，I hear it，and have heard it。Long—long—long—many minutes，many hours，many days，have I heard it—yet I dared not—oh，pity me，miserable wretch that I am！—I dared not—I dared not speak！We have put her living in the tomb！Said I not that my senses were acute？I now tell you that I heard her first feeble movements in the hollow coffin。I heard them—many，many days ago—yet I dared not—I dared not speak！And now—to-night—Ethelred—ha！ha！—The breaking of the hermit’s door，and the death-cry of the dragon，and the clangor of the shield！—say，rather，the rending of her coffin，and the grating of the iron hinges of her prison，and her struggles within the coppered archway of the vault！Oh whither shall I fly？Will she not be here anon？Is she not hurrying to upbraid me for my haste？Have I not heard her footstep on the stair？Do I not distinguish that heavy and horrible beating of her heart？MADMAN！”here he sprang furiously to his feet，and shrieked out his syllables，as if in the effort he were giving up his soul—“MADMAN！I tell you that she now stands without the door！”
評注：坡的創作特別講究效果的一致性，因此小說中每一個細節都是為了一個效果，即為恐怖服務。從29至40段，敘述者所講的故事中情節也起到了烘托恐怖效果的作用。當他為羅德裏克讀故事時，書中有很多表達聲音的描述與他們聽到的宅內遠處發出的怪異聲不謀而合。就是這些巧合進一步加強了故事的“恐怖”效果，把故事逐步推向高潮。
41 As if in the superhuman energy of his utterance there had been found the potency of a spell—the huge antique panels to which the speaker pointed，threw slowly back，upon the instant，their ponderous and ebony jaws。It was the work of the rushing gust—but then without those doors there DID stand the lofty andenshrouded figure of the lady Madeline of Usher。There was blood upon her whiterobes，and the evidence of some bitter struggle upon every portion of her emaciated frame。For a moment she remained trembling and reeling to and fro upon the threshold，then，with a low moaning cry，fell heavily inward upon the person of her brother，and in her violent and now final death-agonies，bore him to the floor a corpse，and a victim to the terrors he had anticipated。
42 From that chamber，and from that mansion，I fled aghast。The storm was still abroad in all its wrath as I found myself crossing the old causeway。Suddenly there shot along the path a wild light，and I turned to see whence a gleam so unusual could have issuedfor the vast house and its shadows were alone behind me。The radiance was that of the full，setting，and blood-red moon，which now shone vividly through that once barely-discernible fissure of which I have beforespoken as extending from the roof of the building，in a zigzag direction，to the base。While I gazed，this fissure rapidly widened—there came a fierce breath of the whirlwind—the entire orb of the satellite burst at once upon my sight—my brain reeled as I saw the mighty walls rushing asunder—there was a long tumultuous shouting sound like the voice of a thousand waters—and the deep and dank tarn at my feet closed sullenly and silently over the fragments of the“House of Usher”。
rend：v。撕碎
grating：n。摩擦聲
whither：adv。到哪裏
anon：adv。立刻
upbraid：v。責備
haste：n。匆忙
potency：n。力量
ponderous：adj。沉重的
jaw：n。狹窄的入口
enshroud：v。裹著壽衣的
reel：v。搖晃
threshold：n。門檻
aghast：adj。驚駭的
causeway：n。堤道
orb：n。圍牆
tumultuous：adj。喧囂的
dank：adj。陰濕寒冷的
Comprehension Exercises：
1.What drives Usher mad？How can we characterize his madness？
2.What is the function of setting in the story？
3.What is the function of narrator in the story？
埃德加·愛倫·坡（1809—1849）：詩人、小說家、批評家。愛倫·坡的短篇小說頗有影響。他大約寫了70篇短篇小說，收在《述異集》（1840）中。他的小說大致可分為恐怖小說和推理小說。在實踐中，他提出短篇小說創作的理論，其核心是追求一種“總體效果”。在《厄舍古屋的倒塌》中，坡把“恐怖效果”作為追求的對象，把恐怖貫穿於故事始終。他注重每一細節的描寫，每一場景的安排，並以藝術家獨特的手法，對故事進行了精心的策劃和編排，使我們從搖搖欲墜的古屋，灰暗抑鬱的擺設，漆黑陰冷的夜晚，陰森凋零的棺木，血跡斑斑的少女中，從一幅畫，一首詩中感受到恐怖的氣氛。