The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1883-03-24
The Scarlet Letter.

When Dukes told his bastard
story, people said that no man would
have told it; and when his black
hearted letters were made public, the
indignation was more intense. The
verdict of decent humanity was that
hanging was too good for man who
had en- tered a home to violate its
sanctity. The representations which
he had made to the father concerning
the young girl, coupled with an in
famous proposition, all this WAS looked
upon as aggrayating the yillainy.
The killing of the father was hardly
more murder than the driving the
steel pointed letters into his heart.
People thought of the disgrace TO
the family Of the exposure, and agreed
that it was all as bad as could be.
To how many came the thought
Perhaps the scoundrel lies? He had
made a sha meful confession, hut no
sense Of shame showed in those lines
in which, with the pen of a ready
writer, he ampliiied his confessed in
EQUITIES with redundent phrases. 1t
seemed that he could not confess to
enou.h-eves that looked to lust.ser-
pent advances. retaining in his DEVILS
grasp the SCARED hand and revelng
in his easy conquest, eaves-dropping,
gathering up the title tattle of the
town, cowardly retreat from the ruin
he had wrought. Even though he had
murdered the father. it does not seem
TO have occurred to the townsfolk, or,
for that matter, to anybody else, that
there WAS an unhappy orphaned girl
to whom something was due-at
least a suspension of Judgment; that
perhaps the william had confessed too
much.
Every man whom Dukes named to
show that he was no worse than other
people has made affidavit that with
respect to himself the assassin lied (;
that with respect to the young wo-
man, it was lie that she had been
known as a wanton, and for himself
he believed her to be pure and good
The verdict of the periured jury,
arousing public sentiment to the
highest pitch of Indignation, touched,
also, the finest sensibilities, awoke
all that was kindly human in every
breast; the representations Of the
traducer and assassin were publicly
denounced as fiendish lies, and society
advanced with open arms TO the poor
girl on whom has fallen an avalanche
Of horror.
What if there had been no murder
no clearing by packed and per-
jured jury? Suppose Dukes had
merely talked his shame about The
town. Correct women would have
avoided her, and men careful of re-
putation would have been afraid to
give her countenance. "Give a dog
bad name" is a saving which means
most when applied to a woman she
is convicted without hearing; previ
Gus good character avails little, in
making up the general verdict, n 9th
ing; society brands the convict with
the Scarlet Letter-she can not live
it down, she can not wear it off.
Women, jealous of the good name OF
their sex, resentfil Of any blur upon
their common womanhood, are quick
est to believe and punish. The whis-
pered dagger stabs many pure wo-
man in the dark, and it NAV be that
she knows, not why, only that S he is,
avoided. We hear, believe, and con-
denim the one we think to be wronged,
and have no penalty for the aggres-
sive wrong door
If Dukes had stopped short of MUIR
der it is not probably that he would
have lost anything of his social
standing. Certainly men never ex-
pect to lose, and society encourages
them-gentle women even coddle
them, with the apology that ''may be
he is little wild, but he is always a
gentleman in the company of ladies'
The Scarlet Letter is not for man
but a woman has it stamped upon
her without ceremony and often with
out knowing it is there. Itisn't fair
and itisn't Christi an.-Mte1igencer.