Chapter 1 Canterville Chase

Chapter 1

Canterville Chase

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People told Mr Otis not to buy Canterville Chase because it had a ghost.

An old-fashioned way of saying great-aunt.

Lord Canterville explains all the reasons why his family will not live in the house.

16 Everyone told Mr Hiram B. Otis, the American politician, that he was doing a very stupid thing buying Canterville Chase, as it was haunted*. Lord Canterville himself, who was a man of honour*, felt it his duty to mention the fact to Mr Otis when they were agreeing the sale.

‘We have not wanted to live in the place ourselves,’ said Lord Canterville, ‘since my grand-aunt, the Doweger Duchess* of Bolton, was so frightened by two skeleton* hands on her shoulders as she was dressing for dinner that she was never the same again. I have to tell you, Mr Otis, that several living members of my family have seen the ghost. The local priest, the Rev. Augustus Dampier, of Cambridge University has seen it too. After the Duchess’ unlucky accident, none of our younger servants* would stay with us, and the strange noises from the corridor and the library kept my wife awake at night.’

‘My Lord,’ answered the politician, ‘I will take the furniture and the ghost. I have come from a modern

haunted (adj.) a place where there are ghosts honour (n.) knowing the right thing to do Dowager Duchess (n.) rich, woman who gets a title or land after her husband dies skeleton (n.) all the bones of the human body together servant (n.) a person who works in a big, rich house

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country, where we have everything that money can buy. If there were such a thing as a ghost in Europe, we’d have it at home in a very short time in one of our public museums, or on the road as a show.’

‘I’m afraid that the ghost exists,’ said Lord Canterville, smiling, ‘though nobody may yet have taken it back to your country. It has been well known for three centuries, since 1584 in fact, and always appears before the death of any member of our family.’

‘Well, so does the family doctor, Lord Canterville. But there is no such thing, sir, as a ghost, and I guess the British aristocracy* cannot stop the laws of nature.’

‘You are certainly very natural in America,’ answered Lord Canterville, who did not quite understand Mr Otis, ‘and if you don’t mind a ghost in the house, that’s all right. Only you must remember I warned you.’

A few weeks after this, the sale was complete, and the Otis family went to Canterville Chase.

Mrs Otis was a celebrated New York belle before she married. She was now a very good-looking, middle-aged woman, with fine eyes and an excellent face. And she was healthy and full of energy.

Mrs Otis was English in every way, an excellent example of the fact that we have everything in common* with America these days, except, of course, the language.

aristocracy (n.) the highest social group in some societies in common with (exp.) the same as

Mr Otis explains why he doesn’t believe in ghosts and Lord Canterville explains why he does.

‘I guess’ is an American way of saying ‘I suppose’.

The family are on their way to Canterville Chase and we meet Mrs Otis for the first time.

‘Belle’ a way of saying beautiful, young, society ladies in the past.

‘Fine’ here is the old-fashioned way of saying grand like a Lady.

This is a famous saying by Oscar Wilde, which shows how different American and British English is.

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