Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlett Letter

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.Each felt the impulse inhimself, and in the same breath, caught it from hisneighbour.Within the church, it had hardly been keptdown; beneath the sky it pealed upward to the zenith.There were human beings enough, and enough of highlywrought and symphonious feeling to produce that moreimpressive sound than the organ tones of the blast, or the373 of 394The Scarlet Letterthunder, or the roar of the sea; even that mighty swell ofmany voices, blended into one great voice by the universalimpulse which makes likewise one vast heart out of themany.Never, from the soil of New England had gone upsuch a shout! Never, on New England soil had stood theman so honoured by his mortal brethren as the preacher!How fared it with him, then? Were there not thebrilliant particles of a halo in the air about his head? Soetherealised by spirit as he was, and so apotheosised byworshipping admirers, did his footsteps, in the procession,really tread upon the dust of earth?As the ranks of military men and civil fathers movedonward, all eyes were turned towards the point where theminister was seen to approach among them.The shoutdied into a murmur, as one portion of the crowd afteranother obtained a glimpse of him.How feeble and palehe looked, amid all his triumph! The energy or say,rather, the inspiration which had held him up, until heshould have delivered the sacred message that had broughtits own strength along with it from heaven waswithdrawn, now that it had so faithfully performed itsoffice.The glow, which they had just before beheldburning on his cheek, was extinguished, like a flame thatsinks down hopelessly among the late decaying embers.It374 of 394The Scarlet Letterseemed hardly the face of a man alive, with such a death-like hue: it was hardly a man with life in him, that totteredon his path so nervously, yet tottered, and did not fall!One of his clerical brethren it was the venerable JohnWilson observing the state in which Mr.Dimmesdalewas left by the retiring wave of intellect and sensibility,stepped forward hastily to offer his support.The ministertremulously, but decidedly, repelled the old man s arm.He still walked onward, if that movement could be sodescribed, which rather resembled the wavering effort ofan infant, with its mother s arms in view, outstretched totempt him forward.And now, almost imperceptible aswere the latter steps of his progress, he had come oppositethe well-remembered and weather-darkened scaffold,where, long since, with all that dreary lapse of timebetween, Hester Prynne had encountered the world signominious stare.There stood Hester, holding little Pearlby the hand! And there was the scarlet letter on her breast!The minister here made a pause; although the music stillplayed the stately and rejoicing march to which theprocession moved.It summoned him onward inward tothe festival! but here he made a pause.Bellingham, for the last few moments, had kept ananxious eye upon him.He now left his own place in the375 of 394The Scarlet Letterprocession, and advanced to give assistance judging, fromMr.Dimmesdale s aspect that he must otherwise inevitablyfall.But there was something in the latter s expression thatwarned back the magistrate, although a man not readilyobeying the vague intimations that pass from one spirit toanother.The crowd, meanwhile, looked on with awe andwonder.This earthly faintness, was, in their view, onlyanother phase of the minister s celestial strength; norwould it have seemed a miracle too high to be wroughtfor one so holy, had he ascended before their eyes, waxingdimmer and brighter, and fading at last into the light ofheaven!He turned towards the scaffold, and stretched forth hisarms. Hester, said he, come hither! Come, my little Pearl!It was a ghastly look with which he regarded them; butthere was something at once tender and strangelytriumphant in it.The child, with the bird-like motion,which was one of her characteristics, flew to him, andclasped her arms about his knees.Hester Prynne slowly,as if impelled by inevitable fate, and against her strongestwill likewise drew near, but paused before she reachedhim.At this instant old Roger Chillingworth thrusthimself through the crowd or, perhaps, so dark,376 of 394The Scarlet Letterdisturbed, and evil was his look, he rose up out of somenether region to snatch back his victim from what hesought to do! Be that as it might, the old man rushedforward, and caught the minister by the arm. Madman, hold! what is your purpose? whispered he. Wave back that woman! Cast off this child All shall bewell! Do not blacken your fame, and perish in dishonour!I can yet save you! Would you bring infamy on yoursacred profession? Ha, tempter! Methinks thou art too late! answered theminister, encountering his eye, fearfully, but firmly. Thypower is not what it was! With God s help, I shall escapethee now!He again extended his hand to the woman of the scarletletter. Hester Prynne, cried he, with a piercing earnestness, in the name of Him, so terrible and so merciful, whogives me grace, at this last moment, to do what for myown heavy sin and miserable agony I withheld myselffrom doing seven years ago, come hither now, and twinethy strength about me! Thy strength, Hester; but let it beguided by the will which God hath granted me! Thiswretched and wronged old man is opposing it with all his377 of 394The Scarlet Lettermight! with all his own might, and the fiend s! Come,Hester come! Support me up yonder scaffold.The crowd was in a tumult.The men of rank anddignity, who stood more immediately around theclergyman, were so taken by surprise, and so perplexed asto the purport of what they saw unable to receive theexplanation which most readily presented itself, or toimagine any other that they remained silent and inactivespectators of the judgement which Providence seemedabout to work.They beheld the minister, leaning onHester s shoulder, and supported by her arm around him,approach the scaffold, and ascend its steps; while still thelittle hand of the sin-born child was clasped in his.OldRoger Chillingworth followed, as one intimatelyconnected with the drama of guilt and sorrow in whichthey had all been actors, and well entitled, therefore to bepresent at its closing scene [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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