《红字-the scarlet letter(英文版)》

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红字-the scarlet letter(英文版)- 第43部分


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r; lent him unaccustomed physical energy; andhurried him townward at a rapid pace。 The pathway among the woodsseemed wilder; more uncouth with its rude natural obstacles and lesstrodden by the foot of man than he remembered it on his outwardjourney。 But he leaped across the plashy places; thrust himselfthrough the clinging underbrush; climbed the ascent; plunged intothe hollow; and overcame; in short; all the difficulties of the track;with an unweariable activity that astonished him。 He could not butrecall how feebly; and with what frequent pauses for breath; he hadtoiled over the same ground; only two days before。 As he drew near thetown; he took an impression of change from the series of familiarobjects that presented themselves。 It seemed not yesterday; not one;nor two; but many days; or even years ago; since he had quittedthem。 There; indeed; was each former trace of the street; as heremembered it; and all the peculiarities of the houses; with the duemultitude of gable…peaks; and a weather…cock at every point wherehis memory suggested one。 Not the less; however; came thisimportunately obtrusive sense of change。 The same was true as regardedthe acquaintances whom he met; and all the well…known shapes ofhuman life; about the little town。 They looked neither older noryounger now; the beards of the aged were no whiter; nor could thecreeping babe of yesterday walk on his feet to…day; it wasimpossible to describe in what respect they differed from theindividuals on whom he had so recently bestowed a parting glance;and yet the minister's deepest sense seemed to inform him of theirmutability。 A similar impression struck him most remarkably; as hepassed under the walls of his own church。 The edifice had so verystrange; and yet so familiar; an aspect; that Mr。 Dimmesdale's mindvibrated between two ideas; either that he had seen it only in a dreamhitherto; or that he was merely dreaming about it now。  This phenomenon; in the various shapes which it assumed; indicatedno external change; but so sudden and important a change in thespectator of the familiar scene; that the intervening space of asingle day had operated on his consciousness like the lapse ofyears。 The minister's own will; and Hester's will; and the fate thatgrew between them; had wrought this transformation。 It was the sametown as heretofore; but the same minister returned not from theforest。 He might have said to the friends who greeted him; 〃I am notthe man for whom you take me! I left him yonder in the forest;withdrawn into a secret dell; by a mossy tree…trunk; and near amelancholy brook! Go; seek your minister; and see if his emaciatedfigure; his thin cheek; his white; heavy; pain…wrinkled brow; be notflung down there; like a cast…off garment!〃 His friends; no doubt;would still have insisted with him… 〃Thou art thyself the man!〃… butthe error would have been their own; not his。  Before Mr。 Dimmesdale reached home; his inner man gave him otherevidences of a revolution in the sphere of thought and feeling。 Intruth; nothing short of a total change of dynasty and moral code; inthat interior kingdom; was adequate to account for the impulses nowmunicated to the unfortunate and startled minister。 At every stephe was incited to do some strange; wild; wicked thing or other; with asense that it would be at once involuntary and intentional; in spiteof himself; yet growing out of a profounder self than that whichopposed the impulse。 For instance; he met one of his own deacons。The good old man addressed him with the paternal affection andpatriarchal privilege; which his venerable age; his upright and holycharacter; and his station in the Church; entitled him to use; and;conjoined with this; the deep; almost worshipping respect; which theminister's professional and private claims alike demanded。 Never wasthere a more beautiful example of how the majesty of age and wisdommay port with the obeisance and respect enjoined upon it; as from alower social rank; and inferior order of endowment; towards ahigher。 Now; during a conversation of some two or three momentsbetween the Reverend Mr。 Dimmesdale and this excellent andhoary…bearded deacon; it was only by the most careful self…controlthat the former could refrain from uttering certain blasphemoussuggestions that rose into his mind; respecting themunion…supper。 He absolutely trembled and turned pale as ashes;lest his tongue should wag itself; in utterance of these horriblematters; and plead his own consent for so doing; without his havingfairly given it。 And; even with this terror in his heart; he couldhardly avoid laughing; to imagine how the sanctified old patriarchaldeacon would have been petrified by his minister's impiety。  Again; another incident of the same nature。 Hurrying along thestreet; the Reverend Mr。 Dimmesdale encountered the eldest femalemember of his church; a most pious and exemplary old dame; poor;widowed; lonely; and with a heart as full of reminiscences about herdead husband and children; and her dead friends of long ago; as aburial…ground is full of storied gravestones。 Yet all this; whichwould else have been such heavy sorrow; was made almost a solemn joyto her devout old soul; by religious consolations and the truths ofScripture; wherewith she had fed herself continually for more thanthirty years。 And; since Mr。 Dimmesdale had taken her in charge; thegood grandam's chief earthly fort… which; unless it had beenlikewise a heavenly fort; could have been none at all… was tomeet her pastor; whether casually; or of set purpose; and be refreshedwith a word of warm; fragrant; heaven…breathing Gospel truth; from hisbeloved lips; into her dulled; but rapturously attentive ear。 But;on this occasion; up to the moment of putting his lips to the oldwoman's ear; Mr。 Dimmesdale; as the great enemy of souls would haveit; could recall no text of Scripture; nor aught else; except a brief;pithy; and; as it then appeared to him; unanswerable argumentagainst the immortality of the human soul。 The instilment thereof intoher mind would probably have caused this aged sister to drop downdead; at once; as by the effect of an intensely poisonous infusion。What he really did whisper; the minister could never afterwardsrecollect。 There was; perhaps; a fortunate disorder in hisutterance; which failed to impart any distinct idea to the goodwidow's prehension; or which Providence interpreted after amethod of its own。 Assuredly; as the minister looked back; he beheldan expression of divine gratitude and ecstasy that seemed like theshine of the celestial city on her face; so wrinkled and ashy pale。  Again; a third instance。 After parting from the old church…member;he met the youngest sister of them all。 It was a maiden newly won… andwon by the Reverend Mr。 Dimmesdale's own sermon; on the Sabbathafter his vigil; to barter the transitory pleasures of the world forthe heavenly hope; that was to assume brighter substance as lifegrew dark around her; and which would gild the utter gloom withfinal glory。 She was fair and pure as a lily that had bloomed inParadise。 The minister knew well that he was himself enshrinedwithin the stainless sanctity of her heart; which hung its snowycurtains about his image; imparting to religion the warmth of love;and to love a religious purity。 Satan; that afternoon; had surelyled the poor young girl away from her mother's side; and thrown herinto the pathway of this sorely tempted; or… shall we not rather say?…this lost and desperate man。 As she drew nigh; the arch…fiendwhispered him to condense into small pass and drop into hertender bosom a germ of evil that would be sure to blossom darkly soon;and bear black fruit betimes。 Such was his sense of power over thisvirgin soul; trusting him as she did; that the minister felt potent toblight all the field of innocence with but one wicked look; anddevelop all its opposite with but a word。 So… with a mightier strugglethan he had yet sustained… he held his Geneva cloak before his face;and hurried onward; making no sign of recognition; and leaving theyoung sister to digest his rudeness as she might。 She ransacked herconscience… which was full of harmless little matters; like herpocket; or her workbag… and took herself to task; poor thing! for athousand imaginary faults; and went about her household duties withswollen eyelids the next morning。  Before the minister had time to celebrate his victory over this lasttemptation; he was conscious of another impulse; more ludicrous; andalmost as horrible。 It was… we blush to tell it… it was to stopshort in the road; and teach some very wicked words to a knot oflittle Puritan children who were playing there; and had but just begunto talk。 Denying himself this freak; as unworthy of his cloth; hemet a drunken seaman; one of the ship's crew from the Spanish Main。And here; since he had so valiantly forborne all other wickedness;poor Mr。 Dimmesdale longed; at least to shake hands with the tarryblackguard; and recreate himself with a few improper jests; such asdissolute sailors so abound with; and a volley of good; round;solid; satisfactory; and heaven…defying oaths! It was not so much abetter principle; as partly his natural good taste; and still more hisbuckramed habit of clerical decorum; that carried him safely throughthe latter crisis。  〃What is it that h
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