San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-06-25
THE SCARLET LETTER
.Py NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE.


told me in the natural recoil of my heat
at the first sight of him, and as often as
/ have seen him since? Why did i not
understand? o Hester Prynne, thou
little. little knowest all the horror of
this. thing! And the shame!-the indel-
icacy!-the horrible ugliness of this ex-
posture of sick and guilty heart to the
very, eye that would gloat over til Wo-
man, woman, thon are accountable for
this! cannot forgive thee!'
Thou shalt forgive mer' cried Hester,
flinging herself on the fallen leaves be-
side him. Let God punish. Thou
shalt forgiven
With sudden and desperate tenderness
she threw her arms around him and
pressed his head against her bosom, lit
tie caring though his cheek rested on
the scarlet letter He would have re-
leased himself. but ;strove in vain to do
SO. Hester would not set him free lest
he should look her sternly in the face.
All the world had frowned on her-for
seven Dong years had it frowned upon
this lonely woman-and still she bore it
all, nor ever once turned away her firm
sad eyes. Heaven likewise had frownad
upon her and she had not died. But the
frown Of this pale, weak, sinful and sor-
row stricken man was what Hester could
not bear and live.
wilt thou yet forgive me?" she re-
peated over and over again. wilt thou
not frown2 Wilt thou forgive?"
81 do forgive You, Hester" replied the
minister at length, with a deep utter
anee out of an abyss of sadness, but TO
anger 81 freely forgive yen now. May
God forgive us both! We are not, Hes
ter, the worst sinners in the worl :.
There is one worse than even the pei
luted priest. That old mans revenge
has been blacker than my sin. He has
violated, in cold blood, the sanetity of
human heart Thou and l. Hester,
never did So"
Never, never!' whispered she.
"What we did had conservation of its
own. We felt it so! We said SO 10
each other! Hast thou forgotten K.
"Hush, Hester!" said Arthur Dimmes-
dale, rising from the ground. mo: ]
have not forgotten"
They sat down again. side by side and
hand clasped in hand, on the messy
trunk of the fallen tree. Life had never
brought them gloomier hour. 1t was
the point whittier their pathway had SO
long been tending and darkening ever
as it stole along, and yet it inclosed q
charm that made them linger upon it
and claim another and another and after
all another moment. The forest was
obscure around them and creaked with
a blast that was passing through u.
The boughs were tossing heavily above
their heads, while one solemn old tree
groaned dolefully to another, as if te]'.
ing the sad story of the pair that sat BE-
meath or constrained to forebode evil to
come.
And yet they fingered. How dreary
looked the forest track that led back
ward to the settlement, where Hester
Prynne must take up again the burden
of her ignominy and the minister the
hollow mockery of his good name. So
they fingered an instant longer. No
golden light had ever been so precious
as the gloom of this dark forest. Here,
seen only by his eyes, the scarlet letter
need not burn into the bosom of the
fallen woman! Here, seen only by her
eyes, Arthur Dimmesdale, false to God
and man, might be for one moment
true!
He started at thought that suddenly
occurred to him.
chester" cried he, "here is new hor-
TOR! Roger Chillingworth knows your
purpose to reveal his true character.
Will he continue, then, to keep our Sc
cret? What will now be the course of
his revenge?"
''There is strange secrecy in his ma
ture," replied Hester thoughtfully, "and
it has grown upon him by the hidden
practices of his revenge. / deem it not
likely that he will betray the secret.
He will doubtless seek other means of
satiating his dark passion"
"And I-how am l to live longer,
breathing the same air with this deadly
enemy" exclaimed Arthur Dimmesdale,
shrinking within himself and pressing
his hand nervously against his heart, a
gesture that had grown involuntary
with him, Think for me, Hester:
Thou art strong. Resolve for me!'
Thou must dwell no longer with this
man." said Hester slowly and firmly.
Thy heart must be no longer under his
evil eyer
at were far worse than deathr' re.
piled the minister. But how TO avoid
it? What choice remains to me? Shall
] lie down again on these withered
leaves, where cast myself when thou
didst tell me what he was? Must sink
l,x.-,, 4l,In,.x, and din ne 1,nIo1,