THE ALCHEMIST - H.P. Lovecraft

gnarled (樹乾、樹枝)多瘤的; 多節的trees

battlements碉堡上的城垛

turrets角塔, 塔樓

a pride of name that forbids its alleviation by the pursuits of commercial life

tell a gloomy tale of fallen grandeur

the wild ravines溝壑, 深谷[C] and grottos洞穴, 石室of the hillside below

parapets (陽臺、橋邊等的)低矮擋牆或欄杆, 女兒牆

my care and education devolved被轉移, 被移交[(+on/upon)] solely upon one remaining servitor

excluding me from the society of the peasant children

my noble birth placed me above association with such plebeian (古羅馬的)平民, 庶民; 百姓, 普通人; 粗俗的人 company

I spent the hours of my childhood in poring鑽研, 熟讀over the ancient tomes that filled the shadow-haunted library of the chateau

It was perhaps an effect of such surroundings that my mind early acquired a shade of melancholy. Those studies and pursuits which partake帶有某種性質(或特徵)[(+of)] of the dark and occult in nature most strongly claimed my attention.
to piece together disconnected fragments of discourse

impregnable攻不破的, 難以攻陷的; 堅不可摧的

This pair, shunned躲開, 避開, 迴避by all honest folk, were suspected of the most hideous practices.

Yet through the dark natures of the father and son ran one redeeming ray of humanity; the evil old man loved his offspring with fierce intensity, whilst the youth had for his parent a more than filial affection.

the lowly abode of the alchemist

pronounced in dull yet terrible accents the curse

Godfrey, innocent cause of the whole tragedy

seigneur封建領主; 莊園主; 爵爺

I delved探究, 鑽研; 搜索deeper and deeper into the mysteries of the hidden world of black magic.

endeavor to find a spell, that would release my house from its terrible burden.

old Pierre was called to the land beyond (died)

in my utter solitude my mind began to cease its vain protest against the impending doom,

become almost reconciled to the fate

which in youth fear had caused me to shun

Cobwebs in a profusion never before seen by me were spun everywhere

I was resolved at least that it should not find me a cowardly or a passive victim.

I came upon the culminating達到最高點; 達到高潮; 告終

at the foot of the last staircase

impeded妨礙, 阻礙; 阻止my journey

sputter發劈啪聲

repellent令人厭惡的; 令人反感的[(+to)]

fell to my experience one of the most profound and maddening shocks capable of reception by the human mind.

My immediate sensations were incapable of analysis.

produced in my brain a horror of the most acute description.

his hands, long, claw-like, and gnarled (手、指)粗糙的,

profound in expression of understanding, yet inhuman in degree of wickedness. These were now fixed upon me, piercing my soul with their hatred

the wrong perpetrated做(壞事); 犯(罪) by my ancestor

his vengeful curse

Prompted by some preserving instinct of self-defense

averted避開, 移開 f

those words which have ever afterward haunted my days and nights