Introduction：The tale opens with the unnamed narrator arriving at the house of his friend，Roderick Usher，having received a letter from him in a distant part of the country plaining of an illness and asking for his fort。It is revealed that Usher’s twin sister，Madeline，is also ill，suffering from a strange disease。This house turns out to be a haunted house of mysterious sickness and an unstable personality。
1 During the whole of a dull，dark，and soundless day in the autumnof the year，when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens，I had been passing alone，on horseback，through a singularly dreary tract of countryand at length found myself，as the shades of the evening drew on，within view of the melancholy House of Usher。I know not how it was—but，with the first glimpse of the building，a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit。I say insufferablefor the feeling was unrelieved by any of that half-pleasurable，because poetic，sentiment，with which the mind usually receives even the sternest natural images of the desolate or terrible。I looked upon the scene before me—uponthe mere house，and the simple landscape features of the domain—upon the bleak walls—upon the vacant eye-like windows—upon a few rank sedges—and upon a few white trunks of decayed trees—with an utter depression of soul which I can pare to no earthly sensation more properly than to the after-dream of the revellerupon opium—the bitter lapse into everyday life—the hideous dropping off of the veil。There was an iciness，a sinking，a sickening of the heart—an unredeemed dreariness of thought which no goading of the imagination could torture into aught of the sublime。
What was it—I paused to think—what was it that so unnerved me in the contemplation of the House of Usher？It was a mystery all insolublenor could I grapple with the shadowy fancies that crowded upon me as I pondered。I was forced to fall back upon the unsatisfactory conclusion，that while，beyond doubt，there are binations of very simple natural objects which havethe power of thus affecting us，still the analysis of this power lies among considerations beyond our depth。It was possible，I reflected，that a mere different arrangement of the particulars of the scene，of the details of the picture，would be sufficient to modify，or perhaps to annihilate its capacity for sorrowfulimpressionand，acting upon this idea，I reined my horse to the precipitous brink of a black and lurid tarn that lay in unruffled luster by the dwelling，and gazed down—but with a shudder even more thrilling than before—upon the remodelled and inverted images of thegray sedge，and the ghastly tree-stems，and the vacant and eye-like windows。
評注：該小說是典型的哥特式恐怖小說。哥特小說多以中世紀的城堡、修道院、廢墟或荒野為背景，描寫謀殺、迫害等籠罩著神秘氣氛的詭異故事。在小說的第1段中，坡細致地刻畫了小說的背景，極力營造一種恐怖氣氛。坡一貫強調總體性效果，因此所選的每一個詞都是為了突出“恐怖”，如dull，dark，soundless，oppressively，alone，dreary，melancholy 等等。
singularly：adv。異乎尋常地
dreary：adj。沉悶的
tract：n。廣闊的地麵
at length：詳細地
unrelieved：adj。未被減輕的
stern：adj。嚴厲的
desolate：adj。荒涼的
bleak：adj。荒涼的
rank：adj。繁茂的
sedge：n。[植]莎草
reveller：n。飲酒狂歡者
lapse：n。下降
hideous：adj。醜惡的
iciness：n。冰冷
unredeem：v。不能贖回
goad：v。驅策
aught：n。零
sublime：n。莊嚴
unnerve：v。使失去勇氣
contemplation：n。沉思
insoluble：adj。不能解決的
grapple：v。格鬥
annihilate：v。消滅
rein：v。勒住馬，止住
precipitous：adj。陡峭的
brink：n。（峭岸、崖的）邊緣
lurid：adj。<罕>可怕的
tarn：n。小湖
unruffled：adj。不起皺的
luster：n。光彩
shudder：n。戰栗
thrilling：adj。毛骨悚然的
remodel：v。重新塑造
2 Nevertheless，in this mansion of gloom I now proposed to myself asojourn ofsome weeks。Its proprietor，Roderick Usher，had been one of my boon panions in boyhoodbut many years had elapsed since our last meeting。Aletter，however，had lately reached me in a distant part of the country—a letter from him—which，in its wildly importunate nature，had admitted of no other than a personal reply。The MS。gave evidence of nervous agitation。The writerspoke of acute bodily illness，of a mental disorder，which oppressed him，and of an earnest desire to see me，as his best，and indeed his only personal friend，with a view of attempting，by the cheerfulness of my society，some alleviation of his malady。It was the manner in which all this，and much more，was said—it was the apparent heart that went with his request—which allowed me no room for hesitationand I accordingly obeyed forthwith what I still considered a very singular summons。
3 Although，as boys，we had been even intimate associates，yet I really knew little of my friend。His reserve had been always excessive and habitual。I was aware，however，that his very ancient family had been noted，time out of mind，for a peculiar sensibility of temperament，displaying itself，through long ages，in many works of exalted art，and manifested，of late，in repeated deeds of munificent yet unobtrusive charity，as well as in a passionate devotion to the intricacies，perhaps even more than to the orthodox and easily recognizable beauties，of musical science。I had learned，too，the very remarkable fact，that the stem of the Usher race，all time-honored as it was，had put forth，at no period，any enduring branchin other words，that the entire family lay in the direct line of descent，and had always，with very trifling and very temporary variation，so lain。It was this deficiency，I considered，while running over in thought the perfect keeping of the character of the premises with the accredited characterof the people，and while speculating upon the possible influence which the one，in the long lapse of centuries，might have exercised upon the other—it was this deficiency，perhaps，of collateral issue，and the consequentundeviating transmission，from sire to son，of the patrimony with the name，which had，at length，so identified the two as to merge the original title of the estate in the quaint and equivocal appellation ofthe“House of Usher”—an appellation which seemed to include，in the minds of the peasantry who used it，boththe family and the family mansion。
propose：v。打算
sojourn：n。逗留
proprietor：n。所有者
boon：adj。快樂的，慷慨的
elapse：v。（時間）過去，消逝
wildly：adv。野生地
importunate：adj。（人）纏擾不休的
agitation：n。動搖，震動
alleviation：n。緩和
malady：n。疾病
accordingly：adv。因此，從而
summons：n。召喚
intimate：adj。親密的
associate：n。合作人，夥伴
reserve：n。保留、節製
excessive：adj。過多的
temperament：n。氣質，性情
exalted：adj。高貴的
manifest：v。表現
munificent：adj。寬宏的
unobtrusive：adj。謙虛的
intricacy：n。複雜
orthodox：adj。正統的
descent：n。血統
premise：n。前提
accredited：adj。可信任的
speculate：v。思索
lapse：n。流逝
collateral：adj。間接的
undeviating：adj。不離正道的
transmission：n。傳承
sire：n。（男性）祖先
patrimony：n。祖傳的財物
quaint：adj。離奇有趣的
equivocal：adj。意義不明確的
appellation：n。名稱
peasantry：n。農民
4 I have said that the sole effect of my somewhat childish experiment—that of looking down within the tarn—had been to deepen the first singular impression。There can be no doubt that the consciousness of the rapid increase of my superstition—for why should I not so term it？—served mainly to accelerate the increase itself。Such，I have long known，is the paradoxical law of all sentiments having terror as a basis。And it might have been for this reason only，that，when I again uplifted my eyes to the house itself，from its image in the pool，there grew in my mind a strange fancy—a fancy so ridiculous，indeed，that I but mention it to show the vivid force of the sensations which oppressed me。I had so worked upon my imagination as really to believe that about the whole mansion and domain there hung an atmosphere peculiar to themselves and their immediate vicinity—an atmosphere which had no affinity with the air of heaven，but which had reeked up from the decayed trees，and the gray wall，andthe silent tarn—a pestilent and mystic vapor，dull，sluggish，faintly discernible，and leaden-hued。
5 Shaking off from my spirit what must have been a dream，I scannedmore narrowly the real aspect of the building。Its principal feature seemed to be that of an excessive antiquity。The discoloration of ages had been great。Minute fungi overspread the whole exterior，hanging in a fine tangled web-work from the eaves。Yet all this was apart from any extraordinary dilapidation。No portion of the masonry had fallenand there appeared to be a wild inconsistency between its still perfect adaptation of parts，and the crumbling condition of the individual stones。In this there was much that reminded me of the specious totality of old wood-work which has rotted for long years in some neglected vault，with no disturbance from the breath of the external air。Beyond this indication of extensive decay，however，the fabric gave little token of instability。Perhaps the eye of a scrutinizing observer might have discovered a barely perceptiblefissure，which，extending from the roof of the building in front，made its way down the wall ina zigzag direction，until it became lost in the sullen waters of the tarn。
評注：在第4段和第5段中，坡運用大量筆墨來刻畫厄舍古屋的陳舊、落魄、神秘。滿目瘡痍的古屋象征著這個貴族家族的腐朽沒落。古屋的裂縫象征著羅德裏克隨時可能喪失的理智和他分裂的人格。
consciousness：n。意識
superstition：n。迷信
accelerate：v。加速
paradoxical：adj。似是而非的
vicinity：n。鄰近
affinity：n。密切關係
reek：v。散發
pestilent：adj。致命的
sluggish：adj。行動遲緩的
discernible：adj。可辨別的
scan：v。審視
feature：n。特征
antiquity：n。古代
discoloration：n。變色，汙點
minute：adj。微小的
fungi：n。（複）真菌類
exterior：n。表麵
tangled：adj。纏結的
eave：n。屋簷
dilapidation：n。荒廢
adaptation：n。適應
crumbling：n。碎片
specious：adj。華而不實的
totality：n。全體
vault：n。拱頂
fabric：n。建築物，構造
token：n。象征
scrutinize：v。細察
fissure：n。裂縫
6 Noticing these things，I rode over a short causeway to the house。A servant in waiting took my horse，and I entered the Gothic archway of the hall。A valet，of stealthy step，thence conducted me，in silence，through manydark and intricate passages in my progress to the studio of his master。Much that I encounteredon the way contributed，I know not how，to heighten the vague sentiments of which I have already spoken。While the objects around me—while the carvings of the ceilings，the somber tapestries of the walls，the ebon blackness of the floors，and the phantasmagoric armorial trophies whichrattled as I strode，were but matters to which，or to such as which，I had been accustomed from my infancy—while I hesitated not to acknowledge how familiar was all this—I still wondered to find how unfamiliar were the fancies which ordinary images were stirring up。On one of the staircases，I met the physician of the family。His countenance，I thought，wore a mingled expression of low cunning and perplexity。He accosted me with trepidation and passed on。The valet now threw open a door and ushered me into the presence of his master。
7 The room in which I found myself was very large and lofty。The windows were long，narrow，and pointed，and at so vast a distance from the black oaken floor as to be altogether inaccessible from within。Feeble gleams of encrimsoned lightmade their way through the trellissed panes，and served to render sufficiently distinct the more prominent objects aroundthe eye，however，struggled in vain to reach the remoter angles of the chamber，or the recesses of the vaulted and fretted ceiling。Dark draperies hung upon the walls。The general furniture was profuse，fortless，antique，and tattered。Many books and musical instruments lay scattered about，but failed to give any vitality to the scene。I felt that I breathed an atmosphere of sorrow。An air of stern，deep，and irredeemable gloom hung over and pervaded all。
causeway：n。人行道
Gothic：adj。哥特式的
archway：n。拱門
valet：n。（男人的）貼身男仆
stealthy：adj。掩人耳目的
studio：n。畫室
encounter：v。遇到
heighten：v。提高，升高
carving：n。雕刻品
ceiling：n。天花板
somber：adj。昏暗的
tapestry：n。掛毯
ebon：n。烏木
phantasmagoric：adj。幻影似的
armorial：adj。家徽的
trophy：n。戰利品
rattle：v。發出哢嗒哢嗒聲
mingle：v。（使）混合
perplexity：n。困惑
accost：v。對……說話，搭話
trepidation：n。顫抖
usher：v。引導
lofty：adj。高高的
inaccessible：adj。難以接近的
encrimson：v。使成鮮紅色
render：v。致使
prominent：adj。卓越的
recess：n。（牆壁等的）凹陷處
vaulted：adj。拱狀的
fretted：adj。腐蝕的
drapery：n。幃帳
profuse：adj。極其豐富的
antique：adj。古時的
tattered：adj。破爛的
scattered：adj。分散的
vitality：n。生命力
stern：adj。嚴厲的
irredeemable：adj。不可救藥的
8 Upon my entrance，Usher arose from a sofa on which he had been lying at fulllength，and greeted me with a vivacious warmth which had much in it，I at firstthought of，an overdone cordiality—of the constrained effort ofthe ennuyé man of the world。A glance，however，at his countenance，convinced me of his perfect sincerity。We sat downand for some moments，while he spoke not，I gazed upon him with a feeling half of pity，half of awe。Surely，man had never before soterribly altered，in so brief a period，as had Roderick Usher！It was with difficulty that I could bring myself to admit the identity of the wan being before me with the panion of my early boyhood。Yet the character of his face had beenat all times remarkable。A cadaverousness of plexionan eyelarge，liquid，and luminous beyond parisonlips somewhat thin and very pallid，but of a surpassingly beautiful curvea nose of a delicate Hebrew model，but with a breadth of nostril unusual in similar formationsa finely moulded chin，speaking，in its want of prominence，of a want of moral energyhair of a more than web-like softness and tenuitythese features，with an inordinate expansion above theregions of the temple，made up altogether a countenance not easily to be forgotten。And now in the mere exaggeration of the prevailing character of these features，and of the expression they were wont to convey，lay so muchof change that I doubted to whom I spoke。
The now ghastly pallor of the skin，and the now miraculous lustre of the eye，above all things startled and even awed me。The silken hair，too，had been suffered to grow all unheeded，and as，in its wild gossamer texture，it floated rather than fell about the face，I could not，even with effort，connect its Arabesque expression with any idea of simple humanity。
vivacious：adj。活潑的
cordiality：n。友善，誠摯
ennuye：adj。倦怠的
wan：adj。蒼白的，憔悴的
cadaverous：adj。像屍體的
luminous：adj。明亮的
pallid：adj。蒼白的
surpassingly：adv。卓越地
moulded：adj。有棱角的
want：n。短缺
tenuity：n。薄
inordinate：adj。紊亂的
temple：n。鬢角
countenance：n。麵容
be wont to：習慣於……總是……
pallor：n。（尤指因疾病、恐懼所導致的臉色的）蒼白
unheeded：adj。被忽視的
gossamer：adj。輕飄飄的
texture：n。質地
arabesque：n。阿拉伯式9In the manner of my friend I was at once struck with an incoherence—an inconsistencyand I soon found this to arise from a series of feeble and futile struggles to overe a habitual trepidancy—an excessive nervous agitation。For something of this nature I had indeed been prepared，no less by his letter，than by reminiscences of certain boyish traits，and by conclusions deduced from his peculiar physical conformation and temperament。His action was alternately vivacious and sullen。His voice varied rapidly from a tremulous indecision（when the animal spirits seemed utterly in abeyance）tothat species of energetic concision—that abrupt，weighty，unhurried，and hollow-sounding enunciation—that leaden，self-balanced and perfectly modulated guttural utterance，which may be observed in the lost drunkard，or the irreclaimable eater of opium，during the periods of his most intense excitement。
10 It was thus that he spoke of the object of my visit，of his earnest desire to see me，and of the solace he expected me to afford him。He entered，at some length，into what he conceived to be the nature of his malady。It was，he said，aconstitutional and a family evil，and one for which he despaired to find a remedy—a mere nervous affection，he immediately added，which would undoubtedly soon pass off。It displayed itself in a host of unnatural sensations。Some of these，as he detailed them，interested and bewildered mealthough，perhaps，the terms and the general manner of the narration had their weight。He suffered much from a morbid acuteness of the sensesthe most insipid food was alone endurablehe could wear only garments of certain texturethe odors of all flowers were oppressivehis eyes were tortured by even a faint lightand there were but peculiar sounds，and these from stringed instruments，which did not inspire him withhorror。
評注：坡創作這篇小說是在現代心理學出現之前，但是厄舍的征兆可用現代心理學的術語來解釋。比如說，第10段中，厄舍的表現說明他患有“感官過敏症”，因為他對光、味道、聲音、氣味極度敏感。
incoherence：n。不連貫
inconsistency：n。矛盾
trepidancy：n。驚恐
reminiscence：n。回想
deduce：v。推論出
conformation：n。構造
vivacious：adj。活潑的
sullen：adj。沉沉不樂的
tremulous：adj。震顫的
animal spirits：血氣，元氣
abeyance：n。暫時無效
concision：n。切割
enunciation：n。闡明
abrupt：adj。突然的
modulated：adj。已調整[製]的
guttural：adj。喉音的