Evening journal., 1892-09-01

expressing. and therefore soothing, The
passion of her life. Like an other joys
she rejected it as sin This morbid
meddGng of conscience with an imma
terial matter betokened, it is TO be
feared, no genuine and steadfast peni-
tence. but something doubtful, some
thing that might be deeply wrong. be
meath.
Her imagination was somewhat af
fected, and had she been of a softer
moral and intellectual fiber would have
been still more SO by the strange and
solitary anguish OF her life. Walking
TO and fro. with those lonely footsteps
n the little world with which she was
outwarlly connected, it now and then
appeared to dester-if altogether fancy
it was nevertheless TOO potent to be re
sisted-she felt or fancied, then, that
the scarlet letter had endowed her with
new sense. She shuddered to believe
yet could not help believing, thatit gave
Ter % sympathetic knowledge Of tie hid
den sin IN other hearts She was terror
stricken by the revelations that were
thus made What were they? Could
thoy be other than the insidiOus whis
pers of tho bad angel, who would fain
have persuaded the struggling woman
MS yet only half his victim, that The ont
ward guiso of purity was bat a lie, and
/ that, if truth were everywhere 20 be
/ shown, a scarlet letter would blaze
forth on many a bosom besides Hester
/ Prynne's? Or must she receive those i'm.
timations. so obscure, yet so distinct, as
truth.
In an her miserable experience there
was nothing else so awful and so loath-
some as this sense. 1t perpleXed rs
well as shocked her by the irreverent
in0pportuneness Of the occasions that
brought it into vivid action. Sometimes
the red infamy upon her breast would
give q sympathetic throb, as she passed
near venerable minister or magistrate
the model Of picty and justice, to whom
that age Of antique reverence looked up
as to moral man in fellowship witt
angels "What evil thing is at handy
would Hester say to herself. Lifting
her reluctant eyes, there would be moth
ing human within the scope Of view
save the form Of this earthly saint
Again, mystic sisterhood would con
tumaciously assert itself, as she met Tn
sanctihed frown Of some matron, who
according to the rumor of all tongue.
had kept cold snow within her bosoI
throughout life.
, That unsunned snow in the matron
bosom and the burning shame on Hestc
Prynnes-what had the two in con
q mon? Or, once more, the electric thri
; would give her warning" Behold, He
ter. here is a companionw-and lOolin
} up she would detect the eyes of a youn
5 maiden CHANGING at the scarlet lett'
3 shyly and aside and quickly avertc
] with q faint, chill crimson in her cheek
g as If her purity were somewhat sullic
D by that momentary glance. O iien
e whose talisman was that fatal symbo
r wouldst thou leave nothing, whether
g youth or age, for this poor sinner to r
we're? Such loss of faith is ever one of Il
S saddest results of sin. Be it accepted
proof that all was not corrupt in th
4 poor victim Of her own frailty and mar
o hard law that Hester Prynne yet stru
o gled 90 believe that no fellow mort
It was guilty like herself
d The vulgar who in those dreary O
r times were always contributing 81
J. tesque horror TO what interested The
Is imaginations had q story about the SCI
l. let letter which we might readily wo
IA up into a terrific legend. They aver
/ that the symbol was not mere scarf
.e cloth tinged in an earthly dye pot, b
le was red hot with Internal fire. and cou
re be seen glowing all alght wheney
sr Hester Prynne walked abroad in t
N night time And we must needs say
ID scared Hcster's bosom SO deeply IL
perhaps there was more truth in {
sr rumor than our modern incredulity m
,e be inclined 70 admit.