福尔摩斯探案全集哪个版本最好 福尔摩斯探案经典:《恐怖谷》第3章Part1

福尔摩斯探案经典:《恐怖谷》第3章Part1  

Now for a moment I will ask leave to remove my own insignificant personality and to describe events which occurred before we arrived upon the scene by the light of knowledge which came to us afterwards. Only in this way can I make the reader appreciate the people concerned and the strange setting in which their fate was cast.
The village of Birlstone is a small and very ancient cluster of half-timbered cottages on the northern border of the county of Sussex. For centuries it had remained unchanged; but within the last few years its picturesque appearance and situation have attracted a number of well-to-do residents
whose villas peep out from the woods around. These woods are locally supposed to be the extreme fringe of the great Weald forest
which thins away until it reaches the northern chalk downs. A number of small shops have e into being to meet the wants of the increased population; so there seems some prospect that Birlstone may soon grow from an ancient village into a modern town. It is the centre for a considerable area of country
since Tunbridge Wells
the nearest place of importance
is ten or elve miles to the easard
over the borders of Kent.
About half a mile from the town
standing in an old park famous for its huge beech trees
is the ancient Manor House of Birlstone. Part of this venerable building dates back to the time of the first crusade
when Hugo de Capus built a fortalice in the centre of the estate
which had been granted to him by the Red King. This was destroyed by fire in 1543
and some of its smoke-blackened corner stones were used when
in Jacobean times
a brick country house rose upon the ruins of the feudal castle.
The Manor House
with its many gables and its small diamond-paned windows
was still much as the builder had left it in the early seventeenth century. Of the double moats which had guarded its more warlike predecessor
the outer had been allowed to dry up
and served the humble function of a kitchen garden. The inner one was still there
and lay forty feet in breadth
though now only a few feet in depth
round the whole house. A small stream fed it and continued beyond it
so that the sheet of water
though turbid
was never ditchlike or unhealthy. The ground floor windows were within a foot of the surface of the water.
The only approach to the house was over a drawbridge
the chains and windlass of which had long been rusted and broken. The latest tenants of the Manor House had
however
with characteristic energy
set this right
and the drawbridge was not only capable of being raised
but actually was raised every evening and lowered every morning. By thus renewing the custom of the old feudal days the Manor House was converted into an island during the night--a fact which had a very direct bearing upon the mystery which was soon to engage the attention of all England.
The house had been untenanted for some years and was threatening to moulder into a picturesque decay when the Douglases took possession of it. This family consisted of only o individuals--John Douglas and his wife. Douglas was a remarkable man
both in character and in person. In age he may have been about fifty
with a strong-jawed
rugged face
a grizzling moustache
peculiarly keen gray eyes
and a wiry
vigorous figure which had lost nothing of the strength and activity of youth. He was cheery and genial to all
but somewhat offhand in his manners
giving the impression that he had seen life in social strata on some far lower horizon than the county society of Sussex.
Yet
though looked at with some curiosity and reserve by his more cultivated neighbours
he soon acquired a great popularity among the villagers
subscribing handsomely to all local objects
and attending their smoking concerts and other functions
where
having a remarkably rich tenor voice
he was always ready to oblige with an excellent song. He appeared to have plenty of money
which was said to have been gained in the California gold fields
and it was clear from his own talk and that of his wife that he had spent a part of his life in America.