第10部分(第4/7 頁)

he　rude　market…place　of　the　Puritansettlement；　with　all　the　townspeople　assembled　and　levelling　theirstern　regards　at　Hester　Prynne…　yes；　at　herself…　who　stood　on　thescaffold　of　the　pillory；　an　infant　on　her　arm；　and　the　letter　A；　inscarlet；　fantastically　embroidered　with　gold　thread；　upon　her　bosom！ Could　it　be　true？　She　clutched　the　child　so　fiercely　to　herbreast；　that　it　sent　forth　a　cry；　she　turned　her　eyes　downward　atthe　scarlet　letter；　and　even　touched　it　with　her　finger；　to　assureherself　that　the　infant　and　the　shame　were　real。　Yes！…　these　wereher　realities…　all　else　had　vanished！ III。 THE　RECOGNITION。 FROM　this　intense　consciousness　of　being　the　object　of　severe　anduniversal　observation；　the　wearer　of　the　scarlet　letter　was　atlength　relieved；　by　discerning；　on　the　outskirts　of　the　crowd；　afigure　which　irresistibly　took　possession　of　her　thoughts。　AnIndian；　in　his　native　garb；　was　standing　there；　but　the　red　men　werenot　so　infrequent　visitors　of　the　English　settlements；　that　one　ofthem　would　have　attracted　any　notice　from　Hester　Prynne；　at　such　atime；　much　less　would　he　have　excluded　all　other　objects　and　ideasfrom　her　mind。　By　the　Indian's　side；　and　evidently　sustaining　apanionship　with　him；　stood　a　white　man；　clad　in　a　strangedisarray　of　civilised　and　savage　costume。 He　was　small　in　stature；　with　a　furrowed　visage；　which；　as　yet；could　hardly　be　termed　aged。　There　was　a　remarkable　intelligence　inhis　features；　as　of　a　person　who　had　so　cultivated　his　mental　partthat　it　could　not　fail　to　mould　the　physical　to　itself；　and　beemanifest　by　unmistakable　tokens。　Although；　by　a　seemingly　carelessarrangement　of　his　heterogeneous　garb；　he　had　endeavoured　to　concealor　abate　the　peculiarity；　it　was　sufficiently　evident　to