The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1893-06-02

siYe force that the poor babe uttered
another cry Of pain. But the mother
did not seem to hear il.
At his arrival in the market place,
and some time before she saw him, the
stranger had bent his eyes on Hester
Prynne. It was carelessly at first, like
a man chiefly accustomed to look in
ward and to whom external matters are
of little value and import unless they
bear relation to something within his
mind. Very soon, however, his look
became keen and penetrating. A with
ing horror twisted itself across his fea-
lures, like snake gliding swiftly over
them and making one little pause, with
all its wreathed intervolutions In open
sight. His face darkened with solue
powerful emotion, which nevertheless
he SO instantaneously controlled by an
effort of his will that save at a single
moment its expression might have
passed for calmness. After brief space
the CONFUSION grew almost impercepti-
BILE and finally subsidized into the depths
of his nature. When he found the eyes
of Hester Prynne fastened on his own
and saw that she appeared to recognize
him, he slowly and calmly raised his fin
ger, made gesture with it in the air
and laid it on his lips
Then, touching the shoulder of a
townsman who stood next to him, he
addressed him in formal and courteous
manner.
81 pray you, good sir, said he, ''who
is this woman-and wherefore is she
here set up to public shame?"
"You must needs be a stranger in this
region, friend" answered the towns
man, looking curious1y at the questioner
and his savage companion, ''else you
would surely have heard of Mistress
Hester Prynne and her evil doings. She
hath raised a great scandal, promise
you, in cody Master Dimmesdale's
church"
''You say truly" replied the other. Il
am a stranger and have been wanderer
sorely against my will. have met with
grievous mishaps by sea and land, and
have been long held in bonds among the
heather folk to the southwark, and am
now brought hither by this Indian to be
redeemed out of my captivity. Will it
please you, therefore, to tell me of Hes
ter Prynne's-have l her name rightly
of this woman's offenses and what has
brought her to yonder scaffold?"
''Truly, friend, and methinks it must
gladden. your heart, after your troubles
and sojourn in the Wilderness said the
townsman, ''to find yourself at length
in land where iniquity is searched out
and punished in the sight of rulers and
people, as here in our godly New Eng
land. Yonder woman, sir, you must
know, was the wife of a certain learned
man, English by birth, but who had
long dwelt in Amsterdam, whence,
some good time agone, he was minded
to cross over and cast in his lot with us
of the Massachusetts,. To this purpose
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
a 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-I conceive you" said the
stranger, with bitter smile. $50 learned
a 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 or
four months old, should iudge-which
Mistress Prynne is holding in her arms?''
"Of truth, friend, that matter re-
maineth riddle; and the Daniel who
shall expound it is yet a-wanting," an
swered the towns1nan. Madam Hester
absolutely refuseth to speak, and the
magistrates have laid their heads to
gether in vain. Peradventure, 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"
cit behOoves him well, if he be still
in life," responded the townsman.
''Now, good sir, our Massachusetts,
magistracy, bethinking themselves that
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 Prynne to stand only
space of three hours on the platform of
the pillory and then and thereafter, for
the remainder of her natural life, to
wear mark of shame upon her bosom"
ga wise sentence" remarked the
stranger, gravely bowling his head.
''Thus she win be a living sermon
against sin until the ignominious letter
be engraved upon her tombstone. It
inks me, nevertheless, that the partner
of her iniquity should not, at least, stand
on the scaffold by her side. But he viii
be nown-he viii be known-he VIII
be hownY'
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
a fixed gaze toward the stranger; SO
fixed a gaze that at moments Of intense
absorption all other objects In the visi--
bic 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 infa1ny on her