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. I freely forgive you now.May God forgiveus both.We are not, Hester, the worst sinners in theworld.There is one worse than even the polluted priest!That old man s revenge has been blacker than my sin.Hehas violated, in cold blood, the sanctity of a human heart.Thou and I, Hester, never did so! Never, never! whispered she. What we did had aconsecration of its own.We felt it so! We said so to eachother.Hast thou forgotten it? Hush, Hester! said Arthur Dimmesdale, rising fromthe ground. No; I have not forgotten!They sat down again, side by side, and hand clasped inhand, on the mossy trunk of the fallen tree.Life had neverbrought them a gloomier hour; it was the point whithertheir pathway had so long been tending, and darkeningever, as it stole along and yet it unclosed a charm thatmade them linger upon it, and claim another, and another,and, after all, another moment.The forest was obscure293 of 394 The Scarlet Letteraround them, and creaked with a blast that was passingthrough it.The boughs were tossing heavily above theirheads; while one solemn old tree groaned dolefully toanother, as if telling the sad story of the pair that satbeneath, or constrained to forbode evil to come.And yet they lingered.How dreary looked the forest-track that led backward to the settlement, where HesterPrynne must take up again the burden of her ignominyand the minister the hollow mockery of his good name!So they lingered an instant longer.No golden light hadever been so precious as the gloom of this dark forest.Here seen only by his eyes, the scarlet letter need not burninto the bosom of the fallen woman! Here seen only byher eyes, Arthur Dimmesdale, false to God and man,might be, for one moment true!He started at a thought that suddenly occurred to him. Hester! cried he, here is a new horror! RogerChillingworth knows your purpose to reveal his truecharacter.Will he continue, then, to keep our secret?What will now be the course of his revenge? There is a strange secrecy in his nature, replied Hester,thoughtfully; and it has grown upon him by the hiddenpractices of his revenge.I deem it not likely that he will294 of 394 The Scarlet Letterbetray the secret.He will doubtless seek other means ofsatiating his dark passion. And I! how am I to live longer, breathing the sameair with this deadly enemy? exclaimed ArthurDimmesdale, shrinking within himself, and pressing hishand nervously against his heart a gesture that had growninvoluntary with him. Think for me, Hester! Thou artstrong.Resolve for me! Thou must dwell no longer with this man, saidHester, slowly and firmly. Thy heart must be no longerunder his evil eye! It were far worse than death! replied the minister. Buthow to avoid it? What choice remains to me? Shall I liedown again on these withered leaves, where I cast myselfwhen thou didst tell me what he was? Must I sink downthere, and die at once? Alas! what a ruin has befallen thee! said Hester, withthe tears gushing into her eyes. Wilt thou die for veryweakness? There is no other cause! The judgment of God is on me, answered theconscience-stricken priest. It is too mighty for me tostruggle with! Heaven would show mercy, rejoined Hester, hadstthou but the strength to take advantage of it.295 of 394 The Scarlet Letter Be thou strong for me! answered he. Advise me whatto do. Is the world, then, so narrow? exclaimed HesterPrynne, fixing her deep eyes on the minister s, andinstinctively exercising a magnetic power over a spirit soshattered and subdued that it could hardly hold itself erect. Doth the universe lie within the compass of yonder town,which only a little time ago was but a leaf-strewn desert, aslonely as this around us? Whither leads yonder forest-track? Backward to the settlement, thou sayest! Yes; but,onward, too! Deeper it goes, and deeper into thewilderness, less plainly to be seen at every step; until somefew miles hence the yellow leaves will show no vestige ofthe white man s tread.There thou art free! So brief ajourney would bring thee from a world where thou hastbeen most wretched, to one where thou mayest still behappy! Is there not shade enough in all this boundlessforest to hide thy heart from the gaze of RogerChillingworth? Yes, Hester; but only under the fallen leaves! repliedthe minister, with a sad smile. Then there is the broad pathway of the sea! continuedHester. It brought thee hither.If thou so choose, it willbear thee back again.In our native land, whether in some296 of 394 The Scarlet Letterremote rural village, or in vast London or, surely, inGermany, in France, in pleasant Italy thou wouldst bebeyond his power and knowledge! And what hast thou todo with all these iron men, and their opinions? They havekept thy better part in bondage too long already! It cannot be! answered the minister, listening as if hewere called upon to realise a dream. I am powerless to go.Wretched and sinful as I am, I have had no other thoughtthan to drag on my earthly existence in the sphere whereProvidence hath placed me.Lost as my own soul is, Iwould still do what I may for other human souls! I darenot quit my post, though an unfaithful sentinel, whosesure reward is death and dishonour, when his dreary watchshall come to an end! Thou art crushed under this seven years weight ofmisery, replied Hester, fervently resolved to buoy him upwith her own energy. But thou shalt leave it all behindthee! It shall not cumber thy steps, as thou treadest alongthe forest-path: neither shalt thou freight the ship with it,if thou prefer to cross the sea.Leave this wreck and ruinhere where it hath happened.Meddle no more with it!Begin all anew! Hast thou exhausted possibility in thefailure of this one trial? Not so! The future is yet full oftrial and success.There is happiness to be enjoyed! There297 of 394 The Scarlet Letteris good to be done! Exchange this false life of thine for atrue one.Be, if thy spirit summon thee to such a mission,the teacher and apostle of the red men.Or, as is more thynature, be a scholar and a sage among the wisest and themost renowned of the cultivated world.Preach! Write!Act! Do anything, save to lie down and die! Give up thisname of Arthur Dimmesdale, and make thyself another,and a high one, such as thou canst wear without fear orshame [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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. I freely forgive you now.May God forgiveus both.We are not, Hester, the worst sinners in theworld.There is one worse than even the polluted priest!That old man s revenge has been blacker than my sin.Hehas violated, in cold blood, the sanctity of a human heart.Thou and I, Hester, never did so! Never, never! whispered she. What we did had aconsecration of its own.We felt it so! We said so to eachother.Hast thou forgotten it? Hush, Hester! said Arthur Dimmesdale, rising fromthe ground. No; I have not forgotten!They sat down again, side by side, and hand clasped inhand, on the mossy trunk of the fallen tree.Life had neverbrought them a gloomier hour; it was the point whithertheir pathway had so long been tending, and darkeningever, as it stole along and yet it unclosed a charm thatmade them linger upon it, and claim another, and another,and, after all, another moment.The forest was obscure293 of 394 The Scarlet Letteraround them, and creaked with a blast that was passingthrough it.The boughs were tossing heavily above theirheads; while one solemn old tree groaned dolefully toanother, as if telling the sad story of the pair that satbeneath, or constrained to forbode evil to come.And yet they lingered.How dreary looked the forest-track that led backward to the settlement, where HesterPrynne must take up again the burden of her ignominyand the minister the hollow mockery of his good name!So they lingered an instant longer.No golden light hadever been so precious as the gloom of this dark forest.Here seen only by his eyes, the scarlet letter need not burninto the bosom of the fallen woman! Here seen only byher eyes, Arthur Dimmesdale, false to God and man,might be, for one moment true!He started at a thought that suddenly occurred to him. Hester! cried he, here is a new horror! RogerChillingworth knows your purpose to reveal his truecharacter.Will he continue, then, to keep our secret?What will now be the course of his revenge? There is a strange secrecy in his nature, replied Hester,thoughtfully; and it has grown upon him by the hiddenpractices of his revenge.I deem it not likely that he will294 of 394 The Scarlet Letterbetray the secret.He will doubtless seek other means ofsatiating his dark passion. And I! how am I to live longer, breathing the sameair with this deadly enemy? exclaimed ArthurDimmesdale, shrinking within himself, and pressing hishand nervously against his heart a gesture that had growninvoluntary with him. Think for me, Hester! Thou artstrong.Resolve for me! Thou must dwell no longer with this man, saidHester, slowly and firmly. Thy heart must be no longerunder his evil eye! It were far worse than death! replied the minister. Buthow to avoid it? What choice remains to me? Shall I liedown again on these withered leaves, where I cast myselfwhen thou didst tell me what he was? Must I sink downthere, and die at once? Alas! what a ruin has befallen thee! said Hester, withthe tears gushing into her eyes. Wilt thou die for veryweakness? There is no other cause! The judgment of God is on me, answered theconscience-stricken priest. It is too mighty for me tostruggle with! Heaven would show mercy, rejoined Hester, hadstthou but the strength to take advantage of it.295 of 394 The Scarlet Letter Be thou strong for me! answered he. Advise me whatto do. Is the world, then, so narrow? exclaimed HesterPrynne, fixing her deep eyes on the minister s, andinstinctively exercising a magnetic power over a spirit soshattered and subdued that it could hardly hold itself erect. Doth the universe lie within the compass of yonder town,which only a little time ago was but a leaf-strewn desert, aslonely as this around us? Whither leads yonder forest-track? Backward to the settlement, thou sayest! Yes; but,onward, too! Deeper it goes, and deeper into thewilderness, less plainly to be seen at every step; until somefew miles hence the yellow leaves will show no vestige ofthe white man s tread.There thou art free! So brief ajourney would bring thee from a world where thou hastbeen most wretched, to one where thou mayest still behappy! Is there not shade enough in all this boundlessforest to hide thy heart from the gaze of RogerChillingworth? Yes, Hester; but only under the fallen leaves! repliedthe minister, with a sad smile. Then there is the broad pathway of the sea! continuedHester. It brought thee hither.If thou so choose, it willbear thee back again.In our native land, whether in some296 of 394 The Scarlet Letterremote rural village, or in vast London or, surely, inGermany, in France, in pleasant Italy thou wouldst bebeyond his power and knowledge! And what hast thou todo with all these iron men, and their opinions? They havekept thy better part in bondage too long already! It cannot be! answered the minister, listening as if hewere called upon to realise a dream. I am powerless to go.Wretched and sinful as I am, I have had no other thoughtthan to drag on my earthly existence in the sphere whereProvidence hath placed me.Lost as my own soul is, Iwould still do what I may for other human souls! I darenot quit my post, though an unfaithful sentinel, whosesure reward is death and dishonour, when his dreary watchshall come to an end! Thou art crushed under this seven years weight ofmisery, replied Hester, fervently resolved to buoy him upwith her own energy. But thou shalt leave it all behindthee! It shall not cumber thy steps, as thou treadest alongthe forest-path: neither shalt thou freight the ship with it,if thou prefer to cross the sea.Leave this wreck and ruinhere where it hath happened.Meddle no more with it!Begin all anew! Hast thou exhausted possibility in thefailure of this one trial? Not so! The future is yet full oftrial and success.There is happiness to be enjoyed! There297 of 394 The Scarlet Letteris good to be done! Exchange this false life of thine for atrue one.Be, if thy spirit summon thee to such a mission,the teacher and apostle of the red men.Or, as is more thynature, be a scholar and a sage among the wisest and themost renowned of the cultivated world.Preach! Write!Act! Do anything, save to lie down and die! Give up thisname of Arthur Dimmesdale, and make thyself another,and a high one, such as thou canst wear without fear orshame [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]