第10部分(第3/7 頁)

that　revealed　to　Hester　Prynne　the　entire　track　along　which　she　hadbeen　treading；　since　her　happy　infancy。　Standing　on　that　miserableeminence；　she　saw　her　native　village；　in　old　England；　and　her　paternalhome；　a　decayed　house　of　grey　stone；　with　a　poverty…stricken　aspect；but　retaining　a　half…obliterated　shield　of　arms　over　the　portal；　intoken　of　antique　gentility。　She　saw　her　father's　face；　with　its　baldbrow；　and　reverend　white　beard；　that　flowed　over　the　old…fashionedElizabethan　ruff；　her　mother's；　too；　with　the　look　of　heedful　andanxious　love　which　it　always　wore　in　her　remembrance；　and　which；even　since　her　death；　had　so　often　laid　the　impediment　of　a　gentleremonstrance　in　her　daughter's　pathway。　She　saw　her　own　face；glowing　with　girlish　beauty；　and　illuminating　all　the　interior　ofthe　dusky　mirror　in　which　she　had　been　wont　to　gaze　at　it。　There　shebeheld　another　countenance；　of　a　man　well　stricken　in　years；　a　pale；thin；　scholar…like　visage；　with　eyes　dim　and　bleared　by　thelamplight　that　had　served　them　to　pore　over　many　ponderous　books。Yet　those　same　bleared　optics　had　a　strange；　perating　power；　whenit　was　their　owner's　purpose　to　read　the　human　soul。　This　figure　ofthe　study　and　the　cloister；　as　Hester　Prynne's　womanly　fancy　failednot　to　recall；　was　slightly　deformed；　with　the　left　shoulder　atrifle　higher　than　the　right。　Next　rose　before　her；　in　memory'spicture…gallery；　the　intricate　and　narrow　thoroughfares；　the　tall　greyhouses；　the　huge　cathedrals；　and　the　public　edifices；　ancient　indate　and　quaint　in　architecture；　of　a　Continental　city；　where　a　newlife　had　awaited　her；　still　in　connection　with　the　misshapenscholar；　a　new　life；　but　feeding　itself　on　time…worn　materials；　like　atuft　of　green　moss　on　a　crumbling　wall。　Lastly；　in　lieu　of　theseshifting　scenes；　came　back　t