Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1892-05-21
CHAPTER VII.
THE I.REcH ANp ms PAT1ENT.

Nf41<AA LII IL.
THE LEIGH AND HIS PATIENT.
One day leaning his forehead
on his hand and his elbow on the sill of
the open window that looked toward
the graveyard, he arthur Dimmesdale)
talked with Roger Chillingworth, while
the old man was examining bundle of
unsightly plants.
"Where," asked he, with a look
askance at them-for it was the clergy
mans popularity that he seldom nova
days looked straightforth at any object,
whether human or nanimate-"where,
my kind doctor, did you gather those
herbs with such dark, fiabby leaf"
Gwen in the graveyard here at hand"
answered the physician, continuing his
employment. They are new to me.
found them growing on a grave which
bore no tombstone or other memorial
of the dead man save these ugly weeds
that have taken upon themselves to
keep him in remembrance. They grew
out of his heart, and typify, it may be,
some hideous secret that was buried
with him, and which he had done bet
ter to confess during his lifetime"
"Perchance." said Mr.. Diminesdale,
she earnestly desired it, but could not"
And wherefore?' rejoined the physi-
clan. Wherefore not, since all the
powers of nature call so earnestly for
the confession of sin that these black
weeds have sprung up out of buried
heart to make manifest an unspoken
crime?''
"That, good sir, is but fantasy of
yours" replied the minister "There
can be, if | forbode Alright, no power,
short of the divine mercy, to disclose,
whether by uttered words or by type or
emblem, the secrets that may be buried
with human heart The heart MAX
ing itself guilty of such secrets must
perforce hold them until the day when
all hidden things shall be revealed. Nor
have so read or interpreted Holy Writ
as to understand that the disclosure of
human thoughts and deeds, then to be
made, is intended as part of the retri-
button. That, surely, were a shallow
view of it. No; these revelations, I'M
less greatly err, are meant merely to
promote the intellectual satisfaction Of
all intelligent beings, who will stand
waiting ON that day to see the dark
| problem of this life made plain. A
| knowledge of mems hearts will be need
| full to the completest solution of that
| problem. And / conceive, moreover,
that the hearts holding such miserable
secrets as you speak of will yield them
up at that last day, not with reluctance,
| but with joy unutterable."
"Then why not reveal them hereY'
asked Roger Chillingworth, glancing
| quietly aside at the minister. "Why
should not the guilty ones sooner avail
themselves of this unutterable solaceY
''They mostly do" said the clergy
man, gripping hard at his breast as il
afflicted with an importunate throb OF
| pain. "Many, many poor soul hath
| given its confidence to me, not only on
the deathbed, but while strong in life
and fair in reputation. And ever after
such an outpouring, oh, what relief
have | witnessed in those sinful
| brethren even as in one who at last
draws free air after long sitting with
I LIS OWA IO4IQlCu DiCdtHs 1lON Lctu IL
be otherwise? Why should a wretched
man, guilty, we will say, of murder,
prefer to keep the dead corpse buried in
his own heart rather than fling it forth
at once and let the universe take care
of it?'
'Yet some men bury their secrets
thus" observed the calm physician.
''True, there are such men," answered
Mr. Dimmesdale "But, not to suggest
more obvious reasons, it may be that
they are kept silent by the very consti.
tuition of their nature, or-can we sup
pose it?-guilty, as they may be, retain
ing nevertheless zeal for Gods glory
and mans welfare, they shrink from
displaying themselves black and filthy
/ in the view Of men, because thencefor-
ward no good can be achieved by them,
no evil of the past be redeemed by bet
4 ter service So, to their own unutter-
able torment, they go about among their
/ fellow creatures looking pure as new
l fallen snow while their hearts are all
speckled and spotted with iniquity of
which they cannot nd themselves"
"These men deceive themselves" said
Roger Chiilingworth. with somewhat
more emphasis than usual, and making a
slight gesture with his foreinger. "They
I fear to take up the shame that rightfnlly
belongs to them. Their love for man,
/ their zeal for Gods service-these holy
impulses may or may not coexist in their
hearts with the evil inmates to which
! their guilt has unbarred the door and
which must needs propagate a hellish
breed within them. But if they seek to
/ glorify God let them not lift heavenward
their unclean handsi If they wonld serve
I their fellow men, let them do it by max
( ing manifest the power and reality Of
conscience in constraining them to PEN
I itential self abasementi Wouldst thou
have me to believe, o wise and pious
/ friend, that false show can be better
can be more for Gods glory and mans
welfare--than Gods own TRUTH Trust
me, such men deceive themselyesr'
ut may be 50" said the young clergy
man indifferently, as waving discus
sion that he considered irrelevant or I'M
seasonable. He had ready faculty, in
deed, of escaping from any topic that
agitated his too sensitive and nervous
/ temperament But, now, would ask
of my well skilled physician whether
In good sooth he deems me to have
profted by his kindly care Of this veal.
! frame Of mines"
Before Roger Chillingworth could
answer thew heard the clear Wild