Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1892-09-02

Quit ll tttnIINh Nl N lt-nA tuNt- uAN ]
specimens s6,l oXtant in the streets Of /
our older towns. now moss grown
% decay. and melancholy at /
heart with the many sorrowful or joyful
remembered or forgotten
that have happened and passed away
within their dusky chambers Then,
however. there was the freshness Of thc
passing year on its exterior, and the
cheerfulness, cleaning forth from the
mnny windows, of o human habita-
ton into which death had never en-
Tered
They approached the door, which was
II an arched form and flanled on each
side by narrow tower or projectio If
the ediiice in both of which were lattice
windows, with wooden shutters TO close
over them at need Lifting the iron
hammer that hung at the portal, Eester
Prynne gave o summons, which was an
wered 10y one Of the governors bond
.ervants, free born Englishman, bat
low a seven years slave During that
term he was to be the property Of his
mastor. and as much commodity of
bargain and sale as an OK, or joint stool
The serf wore the blue coat, which was
the customary garb Of serving men of
nat period and long before in the old
hereditary halls Of England
'ls the worshipful Governor Belling-
nam Within" inquired Hester
Yea. forsooth. replied the bond serv-
ant, staring with wide open eyes at the
scarlet letter which, being newcomer
ID the country, he had never before seen.
Yea, his honorable worship is within.
But lac hath cody minister OF two with
him. and likewise q leech. Ye may not
see his worship now"
Nevertheless, l viii enter" answered
| Hcstcr prynue, and the bond servant,
perhaps Judging from the decision Of her
air and the gliJtering symbol in her
bosom that she was great lady IN tho
| land, offered no opposition"
So the mother and little Pearl We're
admitted into the hall Of entrance With
marS- variations suggested by the nature
Of his building materials, diversity Of
! climate and a different mode Of social
! life. Governor Bellingham had planned
/ his new habitation after the residences
! of gentlemen Of fair estate in his native
land. Here. then. was a wide and rea-
sonably lofty hall, extending through the
whole depth Of the house and forming q
| medium of general communication, more
or less directly, with all the other apart
/ ments.
At about the center Of the oak panels
that lined the hall was suspended a suit
Of mail, rot Ike the pictures-an ances
trial relic-but Of the most modern date
for It had been manufactured by a skill
ful armorer in London the same year II
which Governor Bellingham came ovel
= to New England. There was a steel head
niece, a cuirass, a gorget and greaves
with a pair Of gauntlets and a swor.
| hanging beneath, all. and especially The
/ helmet and breastplate so highly bur
/ nished as to glow with white radianc'
| md scatter an illumination everywher'
kabout upon the floor. This bright pane
ply was not meant for mere idle show
| but had been worn by the governor OF
many solemn muster and training field
and had glitsered, moreover, at the hea'
IF q regiment in the Pequod war. For
though bred lawyer and accustomed
70 speak Of Bacon, Coke, Noye and hincl
as his professional associates, the exi
gencios Of this new country had trans
formed Governor Bellingham into a sol
lier as well as a statesman and ruler
Little Pearl, who was as great
pleased with the cleaning armor as sh
had been with the glittering frontispiec
| Of the house, spent some time loolin
INTO the polished mirror Of the breast
plate.
Mother" cried she, 81 see you here
Look Lookr .''-
Hester looked, by way Of humorin
the child, and she saw that, owing
the peculiar effect Of this convex mirrol
the scarlet letter was represented in e.
aggerated and gigantic proportions,
as TO be greatly the most prominent fe'
ture of her appearance. In truth, st
seemed absolutely hidden behind i
2e ri pointed upward also, ct a simil'
Neture in the headpiece, smiling at he
mother with the elhsh intelligence tn
was SO familiar an expression on h'
small physiognomy- That look
I naughty merFiment was likewise reflec
S ed in the mirror with so much breadi
and intensity Of effect that it made &c
4 ter Prynne feel as if it could not be Il
, image of her own child, but of an in
! who was seeking to mold itself in
I PEARLS shape
Come along. Pearl, said she, dra7
ing her away. Come and look in
this fair garden 1t may be we shs
9 see flowers there, moro beautiful on
u than we find ia the woods
, Pearl accordingly ran to the bow vi
+ dow at the farther end Of the hall a.
@ looked along the vista of a garden wal
carpeted with closely shaver grass ~
n bordered with some rude and immatu
attempt at shrubbery. But the propr
10 tor appeared already TO have reli
uuished as hopeless the effort TO perp'
It uate on this side Of the Atlantic, in
hard soil and amid the close struggle
], subsistence, the native English taste
d ornamental gardening. Cabbagos gre
y in plain sight, and a pumpkin VII
10 rooted at some distance, had run acre
"a the intervening space and deposited O
N