第37部分(第1/7 页)

Prynne　andlittle　Pearl　came　into　the　market…place。　It　was　already　throngedwith　the　craftsmen　and　other　plebeian　inhabitants　of　the　town；　inconsiderable　numbers；　among　whom；　likewise；　were　many　rough　figures；whose　attire　of　deer…skins　marked　them　as　belonging　to　some　of　theforest　settlements；　which　surrounded　the　little　metropolis　of　thecolony。 On　this　public　holiday；　as　on　all　other　occasions；　for　seven　yearspast；　Hester　was　clad　in　a　garment　of　coarse　grey　cloth。　Not　more　byits　hue　than　by　some　indescribable　peculiarity　in　its　fashion；　ithad　the　effect　of　making　her　fade　personally　out　of　sight　and　outline；while；　again；　the　scarlet　letter　brought　her　back　from　this　twilightindistinctness；　and　revealed　her　under　the　moral　aspect　of　its　ownillumination。　Her　face；　so　long　familiar　to　the　townspeople；　showedthe　marble　quietude　which　they　were　accustomed　to　behold　there。　It　waslike　a　mask；　or；　rather；　like　the　frozen　calmness　of　a　dead　woman'sfeatures；　owing　this　dreary　resemblance　to　the　fact　that　Hester　wasactually　dead；　in　respect　to　any　claim　of　sympathy；　and　had　departedout　of　the　world　with　which　she　still　seemed　to　mingle。 It　might　be；　on　this　one　day；　that　there　was　an　expression　unseenbefore；　nor；　indeed；　vivid　enough　to　be　detected　now；　unless　somepreternaturally　gifted　observer　should　have　first　read　the　heart；and　have　afterwards　sought　a　corresponding　development　in　thecountenance　and　mien。　Such　a　spiritual　seer　might　have　conceived；that；　after　sustaining　the　gaze　of　the　multitude　through　sevenmiserable　years　as　a　necessity；　a　penance；　and　something　which　itwas　a　stern　religion　to　endure；　she　now；　for　one　last　time　more；encountered　it　freely　and　voluntarily；　in　order　to　convert　what　had　solong　been　agony　into　a　kind　of　triumph。　〃Look　your　last　on　the　scarl