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红字-the scarlet letter(英文版)-第6部分

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ts… had gone equally to oblivion; and that; moreover; withoutserving a purpose in their day; as these heaped…up papers had; and…saddest of all… without purchasing for their writers the fortablelivelihood which the clerks of the Custom…House had gained by theseworthless scratchings of the pen! Yet not altogether worthless;perhaps; as materials of local history。 Here; no doubt; statisticsof the former merce of Salem might be discovered; and memorialsof her princely merchants… old King Derby; old Billy Gray; old SimonForrester; and many another magnate in his day… whose powdered head;however; was scarcely in the tomb; before his mountain…pile ofwealth began to dwindle。 The founders of the greater part of thefamilies which now pose the aristocracy of Salem might here betraced; from the petty and obscure beginnings of their traffic; atperiods generally much posterior to the Revolution; upward to whattheir children look upon as long…established rank。  Prior to the Revolution; there is a dearth of records; the earlierdocuments and archives of the Custom…House having; probably; beencarried off to Halifax; when all the King's officials acpaniedthe British army in its flight from Boston。 It has often been a matterof regret with me; for; going back; perhaps; to the days of theProtectorate; those papers must have contained many references toforgotten or remembered men; and to antique customs; which wouldhave affected me with the same pleasure as when I used to pick upIndian arrow…heads in the field near the Old Manse。  But; one idle and rainy day; it was my fortune to make a discoveryof some little interest。 Poking and burrowing into the heaped…uprubbish in the corner; unfolding one and another document; and readingthe names of vessels that had long ago foundered at sea or rotted atthe wharves; and those of merchants; never heard of now on 'Change;nor very readily decipherable on their mossy tombstones; glancing atsuch matters with the saddened; weary; half…reluctant interest whichwe bestow on the corpse of dead activity… and exerting my fancy;sluggish with little use; to raise up from these dry bones an image ofthe old town's brighter aspect; when India was a new region; andonly Salem knew the way thither… I chanced to lay my hand on a smallpackage; carefully done up in a piece of ancient yellow parchment。This envelope had the air of an official record of some period longpast; when clerks engrossed their stiff and formal chirography on moresubstantial materials than at present。 There was something about itthat quickened an instinctive curiosity; and made me undo the fadedred tape; that tied up the package; with the sense that a treasurewould here be brought to light。 Unbending the rigid folds of theparchment cover; I found it to be a mission; under the hand andseal of Governor Shirley; in favour of one Jonathan Pue; as Surveyorof his Majesty's Customs for the port of Salem; in the Province ofMassachusetts Bay。 I remembered to have read (probably in Felt'sAnnals) a notice of the decease of Mr。 Surveyor Pue; about fourscoreyears ago; and likewise; in a newspaper of recent times; an account ofthe digging up of his remains in the little graveyard of St。 Peter'sChurch; during the renewal of that edifice。 Nothing; if I rightly callto mind; was left of my respected predecessor; save an imperfectskeleton; and some fragments of apparel; and a wig of majesticfrizzle; which; unlike the head that it once adorned; was in verysatisfactory preservation。 But; on examining the papers which theparchment mission served to envelop; I found more traces of Mr。Pue's mental part; and the internal operations of his head; than thefrizzled wig had contained of the venerable skull itself。  They were documents; in short; not official; but of a privatenature; or; at least; written in his private capacity; andapparently with his own hand。 I could account for their being includedin the heap of Custom…House lumber only by the fact; that Mr。 Pue'sdeath had happened suddenly; and that these papers; which heprobably kept in his official desk; had never e to the knowledge ofhis heirs; or were supposed to relate to the business of therevenue。 On the transfer of the archives to Halifax; this package;proving to be of no public concern; was left behind; and hadremained ever since unopened。  The ancient Surveyor… being little molested; I suppose; at thatearly day; with business pertaining to his office… seems to havedevoted some of his many leisure hours to researches as a localantiquarian; and other inquisitions of a similar nature。 Thesesupplied material for petty activity to a mind that would otherwisehave been eaten up with rust。 A portion of his facts; by…the…bye;did me good service in the preparation of the article entitled 〃MAINSTREET;〃 included in the present volume。 The remainder may perhapsbe applied to purposes equally valuable; hereafter; or notimpossibly may be worked up; so far as they go; into a regular historyof Salem; should my veneration for the natal soil ever impel me toso pious a task。 Meanwhile; they shall be at the mand of anygentleman; inclined; and petent; to take the unprofitable labouroff my hands。 As a final disposition; I contemplate depositing themwith the Essex Historical Society。  But the object that most drew my attention; in the mysteriouspackage; was a certain affair of fine red cloth; much worn andfaded。 There were traces about it of gold embroidery; which;however; was greatly frayed and defaced; so that none; or very little;of the glitter was left。 It had been wrought; as was easy to perceive;with wonderful skill of needlework; and the stitch (as I am assured byladies conversant with such mysteries)… gives evidence of a nowforgotten art; not to be recovered even by the process of pickingout the threads。 This rag of scarlet cloth… for time; and wear; anda sacrilegious moth; had reduced it to little other than a rag… oncareful examination; assumed the shape of a letter。 It was the capitalletter A。 By an accurate measurement; each limb proved to be preciselythree inches and a quarter in length。 It had been intended; therecould be no doubt; as an ornamental article of dress; but how it wasto be worn; or what rank; honour; and dignity; in by…past times;were signified by it; was a riddle which (so evanescent are thefashions of the world in these particulars) I saw little hope ofsolving。 And yet it strangely interested me。 My eyes fastenedthemselves upon the old scarlet letter; and would not be turned aside。Certainly; there was some deep meaning in it; most worthy ofinterpretation; and which; as it were; streamed forth from themystic symbol; subtly municating itself to my sensibilities; butevading the analysis of my mind。  While thus perplexed… and cogitating; among other hypotheses;whether the letter might not have been one of those decorationswhich the white men used to contrive; in order to take the eyes ofIndians… I happened to place it on my breast。 It seemed to me… thereader may smile; but must not doubt my word… it seemed to me; then;that I experienced a sensation not altogether physical; yet almost so;as of burning heat; and as if the letter were not of red cloth; butred…hot iron。 I shuddered; and involuntarily let it fall upon thefloor。  In the absorbing contemplation of the scarlet letter; I had hithertoneglected to examine a small roll of dingy paper; around which ithad been twisted。 This I now opened; and had the satisfaction to find;recorded by the old Surveyor's pen; a reasonably pleteexplanation of the whole affair。 There were several foolscap sheets;containing many particulars respecting the life and conversation ofone Hester Prynne; who appeared to have been rather a noteworthypersonage in the view of our ancestors。 She had flourished duringthe period between the early days of Massachusetts and the close ofthe seventeenth century。 Aged persons; alive in the time of Mr。Surveyor Pue; and from whose oral testimony he had made up hisnarrative; remembered her; in their youth; as a very old; but notdecrepit woman; of a stately and solemn aspect。 It had been her habit;from an almost immemorial date; to go about the country as a kind ofvoluntary nurse; and doing whatever miscellaneous good she might;taking upon herself; likewise; to give advice in all matters;especially those of the heart; by which means; as a person of suchpropensities inevitably must; she gained from many people thereverence due to an angel; but; I should imagine; was looked upon byothers as an intruder and a nuisance。 Prying further into themanuscript; I found the record of other doings and sufferings ofthis singular woman; for most of which the reader is referred to thestory entitled 〃THE SCARLET LETTER〃; and it should be bornecarefully in mind; that the main facts of that story are authorisedand authenticated by the document of Mr Surveyor Pue。 The originalpapers; together with the scarlet letter itself… a most curious relic…are still in my possession; and shall be freely exhibited towhomsoever; induced by the great interest of the narrative; may desirea sight of them。 I must not be understood as affirming; that; in thedressing up of the tale; and imagining the motives and modes ofpassion that influenced the characters who figure in it; I haveinvariably confined myself within the limits of the old Surveyor'shalf…a…dozen sheets of foolscap。 On the contrary; I have allowedmyself; as to such points; nearly or altogether as much license asif the facts had been entirely of my own invention。 What I contend foris the authenticity of the outline。  This incident recalled my mind; in some degree; to its old track。There seemed to be here the groundwork of a tale。 It impressed me asif the ancient Surveyor; in his garb of a hundred years gone by; andwearing his immortal wig… which was buried with him; but did notperish in the grave… had met me in the deserted chamber of theCustom…House。 In his port was the dignity of one who had borne hisMajesty's mission; and who was therefore illuminated by a ray ofthe splendour that shone so dazzlingly about the throne。 How unlike;alas! the hang…dog look of a republican official; who; as theservant of the people; feels himself less than the least; and belowthe lowest of his masters。 With his own ghostly hand; the obscurelyseen but majestic figure had imparted t
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