Thus, there had come to the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale--as to most
men, in their various spheres, though seldom recognised until
they see it far behind them--an epoch of life more brilliant and
full of triumph than any previous one, or than any which could
hereafter be. He stood, at this moment, on the very proudest
eminence of superiority, to which the gifts or intellect, rich
lore, prevailing eloquence, and a reputation of whitest
sanctity, could exalt a clergyman in New England's earliest
days, when the professional character was of itself a lofty
pedestal. Such was the position which the minister occupied, as
he bowed his head forward on the cushions of the pulpit at the
close of his Election Sermon. Meanwhile Hester Prynne was
standing beside the scaffold of the pillory, with the scarlet
letter still burning on her breast!
Now was heard again the clamour of the music, and the measured
tramp of the military escort issuing from the church door. The
procession was to be marshalled thence to the town hall, where a
solemn banquet would complete the ceremonies of the day.
Once more, therefore, the train of venerable and majestic
fathers were seen moving through a broad pathway of the people,
who drew back reverently, on either side, as the Governor and
magistrates, the old and wise men, the holy ministers, and all
that were eminent and renowned, advanced into the midst of them.
When they were fairly in the marketplace, their presence was
greeted by a shout. This--though doubtless it might acquire
additional force and volume from the child-like loyalty which
the age awarded to its rulers--was felt to be an irrepressible
outburst of enthusiasm kindled in the auditors by that high
strain of eloquence which was yet reverberating in their ears.
Each felt the impulse in himself, and in the same breath, caught
it from his neighbour. Within the church, it had hardly been
kept down; beneath the sky it pealed upward to the zenith. There
were human beings enough, and enough of highly wrought and
symphonious feeling to produce that more impressive sound than
the organ tones of the blast, or the thunder, or the roar of the
sea; even that mighty swell of many voices, blended into one
great voice by the universal impulse which makes likewise one
vast heart out of the many. Never, from the soil of New England
had gone up such a shout! Never, on New England soil had stood
the man so honoured by his mortal brethren as the preacher!
How fared it with him, then? Were there not the brilliant
particles of a halo in the air about his head? So etherealised
by spirit as he was, and so apotheosised by worshipping
admirers, did his footsteps, in the procession, really tread
upon the dust of earth?
As the ranks of military men and civil fathers moved onward, all
eyes were turned towards the point where the minister was seen
to approach among them. The shout died into a murmur, as one
portion of the crowd after another obtained a glimpse of him.
How feeble and pale he looked, amid all his triumph! The
energy--or say, rather, the inspiration which had held him up,
until he should have delivered the sacred message that had
brought its own strength along with it from heaven--was
withdrawn, now that it had so faithfully performed its office.
The glow, which they had just before beheld burning on his
cheek, was extinguished, like a flame that sinks down hopelessly
among the late decaying embers. It seemed hardly the face of a
man alive, with such a death-like hue: it was hardly a man with
life in him, that tottered on his path so nervously, yet
tottered, and did not fall!