San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-06-13

to ,crsss over and cast in his lot with Us
he sent his wife before him, remaining
himself to look after some necessary af-
fairs. Marry, good sir, in some two
years or less, that the woman has been
,dweller here in Boston, no tidings
have come of this learned gentleman,
Master Prynne, and his young wife,
look you, being left to her own mis-
guidance
"Ah!-ahai-l conceive yen" said the
stranger, witha bitter smile. $50 learned
man as you speak of should have
learned this, too, in his books. And
who, by your favor, sir, may be the ia
ther of yonder babe-it is some three OF
four months old, should judge-whicb
Mistress Prynne is holding in her arms?
.Of a truth, friend, that matter re-
maineth riddle; and the Daniel who
shall expound it is yet a-wanting," an
swered the townsman. Madam Hester
absolutely refuseth to speak, and the
magistrates have laid their heads to.
gether in vain. Peradventnre, the
guilty one stands looking ON at this sad
spectacle, unknown of man, and forget
ting that God sees him."
THE learned man." observed the
stranger, with another smile, ''should
come himself to look into the mystery
ut behooyes him well, if he be still
in life." responded the townsman.
Now, good sir, our Massachusetts,
....,~;o+roox ba+b;nl- :pr +ha,ncalx,ae tbo+
this woman is youthful and fair, and
doubtless was strongly tempted to her
fall, and that, moreover, as is most
likely, her husband may be at the bot
tom of the sea, they have not been bold
to put in force the extremity of our
righteous law against her. The penalty
thereof is death. But in their great
mercy and tenderness of heart they have
doomed Mistress Prynno to stand only a
space of three hours on the platform OF
the pillory and then and thereafter, fol
the remainder of her natural life, to
wear mark of shame upon her BOSOM
"a wise sentence" remarked the
stranger, gravely bowling his head.
Thus she will be a living sermon
against sin until the ignominious letter
be engraved upon her tombstone. II
inks me, nevertheless, that the partner
of her iniquity should not, at least, stand
on the scatfold by her side. But he will
be known-he will be known-he will
be known
He bowed courteously to the com.
municative townsman and, whispering
a few words to his Indian attendant,
they both made their way through the
crowd.
While this passed, Hester Prynne had
been standing ON her pedestal still with
fixed gaze toward the stranger: SO
fixed a gaze that at moments of intense
absorption all other objects in the visi.
BILE world seemed tovanish, leaving only
him and her. Such an interview per-
haps would have been more terrible than
even to meet him as she now did, with
the hot, midday sun burning down upon
her face and lighting up its shame;
with the scarlet token of infamy on her
breast; with the sin born infant in her
arms with whole people, drawn forth
as to festival, staring at the features
that should have been seen only in the
quiet CLEAN of the ireside, in the happy
shadow of home or beneath matron-
ly veil at church. Dreadful as it was,
she was conscious of shelter in the
presence of these thousand witnesses.
1t was better to stand thus, with SO
many betwixt him and her, than to greet
him face to face, they two alone. She
fed for refuge, as it were, to the public
exposure, and dreaded the moment when
its protection should be withdrawn from
her. Involved in these thoughts, she
scarcely heard voice behind her until
it had repeated her name more than
once in loud and solemn tone, audible
to the whole multitude.
"Hearken unto me, Hester Prynner
said the voice.
1t has already been noticed that direct
ly over the platform on which Hester
Prynne stood was kind of balcony or
open gallery appended to the meeting
house. 1t was the place whence procla-
nations were wont to be made, amid
an assemblage of the magistracy, with
all the ceremonial that attended such
| public observances in those days. Here,
to witness the scene which we are de-
| scribing, sat Governor Bellingham him
self, with four sergeants about his chair,
bearing halberds, as a guard of honor.
! He wore a dark feather in his hat, a bor-
| der of embroidery on his cloak and a
black velvet tunic beneath-a gentleman
advanced in years with hard expert.
ence written in his wrinkles. He was
not i'll fitted 70 be the head and repre-
sentative of community which owed its