THE MINISTER IN A MAZE

Before Mr. Dimmesdale reached home, his inner man gave him other evidences of a revolution in the sphere of thought and feeling. In truth, nothing short of a total change of dynasty and moral code, in that interior kingdom, was adequate to for the impulses now communicated to the unfortunate and startled minister. At every step he was incited to do some strange, wild, wicked thing or other, with a sense that it would be at once involuntary and intentional, in spite of himself, yet growing out of a profounder self than that which opposed the impulse. For instance, he met one of his own deacons. The good old man addressed him with the paternal affection and patriarchal privilege which his venerable age, his upright and holy character, and his station in the church, entitled him to use and, coned with this, the deep, almost worshipping respect, which the minister's professional and private claims alike demanded. Never was there a more beautiful example of how the majesty of age and wisdom may comport with the obeisance and respect ened upon it, as from a lower social rank, and inferior order of endowment, towards a higher. Now, during a conversation of some two or three moments between the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale and this excellent and hoary-bearded deacon, it was only by the most careful self-control that the former could refrain from uttering certain blasphemous suggestions that rose into his mind, respecting the communion-supper. He absolutely trembled and turned pale as ashes, lest his tongue should wag itself in utterance of these horrible matters, and plead his own consent for so doing, without his having fairly given it. And, even with this terror in his heart, he could hardly avoid laughing, to imagine how the sanctified old patriarchal deacon would have been petrified by his minister's impiety.
Again, another incident of the same nature. Hurrying along the street, the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale encountered the eldest female member of his church, a most pious and exemplary old dame, poor, widowed, lonely, and with a heart as full of reminiscences about her dead husband and children, and her dead friends of long ago, as a burial-ground is full of storied gravestones. Yet all this, which would else have been such heavy sorrow, was made almost a solemn joy to her devout old soul, by religious consolations and the truths of Scripture, wherewith she had fed herself continually for more than thirty years.

And since Mr. Dimmesdale had taken her in charge, the good grandam's chief earthly comfort—which, unless it had been likewise a heavenly comfort, could have been none at all—was to meet her pastor, whether casually, or of set purpose, and be refreshed with a word of warm, fragrant, heaven-breathing Gospel truth, from his beloved lips, into her dulled, but rapturously attentive ear. But, on this occasion, up to the moment of putting his lips to the old woman's ear, Mr. Dimmesdale, as the great enemy of souls would have it, could recall no text of Scripture, nor aught else, except a brief, pithy, and, as it then appeared to him, unanswerable argument against the immortality of the human soul. The instilment thereof into her mind would probably have caused this aged sister to drop down dead, at once, as by the effect of an intensely poisonous infusion. What he really did whisper, the minister could never afterwards recollect. There was, perhaps, a fortunate disorder in his utterance, which failed to impart any distinct idea to the good widows comprehension, or which Providence interpreted after a method of its own. Assuredly, as the minister looked back, he beheld an expression of divine gratitude and ecstasy that seemed like the shine of the celestial city on her face, so wrinkled and ashy pale.

Again, a third instance. After parting from the old church member, he met the youngest sister of them all. It was a maiden newly-won—and won by the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale's own sermon, on the Sabbath after his vigil—to barter the transitory pleasures of the world for the heavenly hope that was to assume brighter substance as life grew dark around her, and which would gild the utter gloom with final glory. She was fair and pure as a lily that had bloomed in Paradise.

The minister knew well that he was himself enshrined within the stainless sanctity of her heart, which hung its snowy curtains about his image, imparting to religion the warmth of love, and to love a religious purity. Satan, that afternoon, had surely led the poor young girl away from her mother's side, and thrown her into the pathway of this sorely tempted, or—shall we not rather say?—this lost and desperate man.

As she drew nigh, the arch-fiend whispered him to condense into small com, and drop into her tender bosom a germ of evil that would be sure to blossom darkly soon, and bear black fruit betimes.

Such was his sense of power over this virgin soul, trusting him as she did, that the minister felt potent to blight all the field of innocence with but one wicked look, and develop all its opposite with but a word. So—with a mightier struggle than he had yet sustained—he held his Geneva cloak before his face, and hurried onward, making no sign of recognition, and leaving the young sister to digest his rudeness as she might.

She ransacked her conscience—which was full of harmless little matters, like her pocket or her work-bag—and took herself to task, poor thing! for a thousand imaginary faults, and went about her household duties with swollen eyelids the next morning.

Before the minister had time to celebrate his victory over this last temptation, he was conscious of another impulse, more ludicrous, and almost as horrible.

It was—we blush to tell it—it was to stop short in the road, and teach some very wicked words to a knot of little Puritan children who were playing there, and had but just begun to talk. Denying himself this freak, as unworthy of his cloth, he met a drunken seaman, one of the ship's crew from the Spanish Main. And here, since he had so valiantly forborne all other wickedness, poor Mr. Dimmesdale longed at least to shake hands with the tarry black-guard, and recreate himself with a few improper jests, such as dissolute sailors so abound with, and a volley of good, round, solid, satisfactory, and heaven-defying oaths! It was not so much a better principle, as partly his natural good taste, and still more his buckramed habit of clerical decorum, that carried him safely through the latter crisis.
"What is it that haunts and tempts me thus?" cried the minister to himself, at length, pausing in the street, and striking his hand against his forehead.

EL MINISTRO PERDIDO EN UN LABERINTO

Antes de que el Sr. Dimmesdale llegara a su morada, su ser ntimo le dio otras pruebas de que una revolucin se haba operado en su modo de pensar y de sentir. a la verdad, solo a una revolucin de esa naturaleza, completa y total, podan atribuirse los impulsos que agitaban al infortunado ministro. a cada paso se senta movido del deseo de hacer algo extrao, inusitado, violento o perverso, con la conviccin de que sera a la vez involuntario e intencional y a despecho de s mismo, pero emanando de un sentimiento ms profundo que el que se opona al impulso. Por ejemplo, se encontr con uno de los diconos de su iglesia, buen anciano que le salud con el afecto paternal y el aire patriarcal a que tena derecho por sus aos, sus virtudes y su posicin, y al mismo tiempo con el profundo respeto, casi veneracin, que el carcter pblico y privado del ministro reclamaban. Nunca se vi un ejemplo ms hermoso de cmo la majestad y sabidura de los aos pueden hermanarse a la obediencia y respeto que una categora social e inteligencia inferiores deben a una persona superior en esas cualidades. Pues bien, durante una conversacin de unos pocos momentos entre el Reverendo Sr. Dimmesdale y este excelente y anciano dicono, solo merced a la ms cuidadosa circunspeccin y casi hacindose violencia, evit el ministro proferir ciertas reflexiones herticas que se le ocurrieron sobre varios puntos religiosos. Temblaba y palideca temiendo que sus labios, a despecho de s mismo, emitiesen algunos de los horribles pensamientos que le cruzaban por la mente. Y sin embargo, aunque con el corazn lleno de tal terror, no pudo menos de sonreirse al imaginar lo estupefacto que se habra quedado el santo varn y patriarcal dicono ante la impiedad de su ministro.
Referiremos otro incidente de igual naturaleza. Yendo a toda prisa por la calle, el Reverendo Sr. Dimmesdale tropez de manos a boca con uno de los ms antiguos de su iglesia, una anciana seora, la ms piadosa y ejemplar que pueda darse: pobre, viuda, sola, y con el corazn todo lleno de reminiscencias de su marido y de sus hijos, ya muertos, as como de sus amigos fallecidos tambin haca tiempo. Sin embargo, todo esto, que de otro modo habra sido un dolor intenso, se haba casi convertido para esta alma piadosa en un goce solemne, gracias a los consuelos religiosos y a las verdades de las Sagradas Escrituras, con que puede decirse que se haba nutrido continuamente por espacio de ms de treinta aos. Desde que el Reverendo Sr. Dimmesdale la tom a su cargo, el principal consuelo terrenal de la buena seora consista en ver a su pastor espiritual, ya de propsito deliberado, ya por casualidad, y sentir confortada el alma con una palabra que respirase las verdades consoladoras del Evangelio, y que saliendo de aquellos labios reverenciados, penetrase en su pobre pero atento odo. Mas en la presente ocasin, al querer el Reverendo Sr. Dimmesdale abrir los labios, no le fue posible recordar un solo texto de las Sagradas Escrituras, y lo nico que pudo decir fue algo breve, enrgico, que segn le pareci a l mismo entonces, vena a ser un argumento irrefutable contra la inmortalidad del alma. La simple insinuacin de semejante idea habra hecho probablemente caer a tierra sin sentido a esta anciana seora, como por efecto de una infusin de veneno intensamente mortfero. Lo que el ministro dijo en realidad, no pudo recordarlo nunca. Tal vez hubo en sus palabras una cierta obscuridad que impidi a la buena viuda comprender exactamente la idea que Dimmesdale quiso expresar, o quizs ella las interpret all a su manera. Lo cierto es, que cuando el ministro volvi la mirada hacia atrs, not en el rostro de la santa mujer una expresin de xtasis y divina gratitud, como si estuviera iluminado por los resplandores de la ciudad divina.
Aun referiremos un tercer ejemplo. Despus de separarse de la anciana viuda, encontr a la ms joven de sus feligreses. Era una tierna doncella a quien el sermn predicado por el Reverendo Sr. Dimmesdale, el da despus de la noche pasada en vela en el tablado, haba hecho trocar los goces transitorios del mundo por la esperanza celestial que ira ganando brillantez a medida que las sombras de la existencia se fueran aumentando, y que finalmente convertira las tinieblas postreras en oleadas de luz gloriosa. Era tan pura y tan bella como un lirio que hubiese florecido en el Paraso. El ministro saba perfectamente que su imagen se hallaba venerada en el santuario inmaculado del corazn de la doncella, que mezclaba su entusiasmo religioso con el dulce fuego del amor, y comunicaba al amor toda la pureza de la religin. De seguro que el enemigo del gnero humano haba apartado aquel da a la joven doncella del lado de su madre, para ponerla al paso de este hombre que podemos llamar perdido y desesperanzado. a medida que la joven se iba acercando al ministro, el maligno espritu le murmur a ste en el odo que condensara en la forma ms breve, y vertiera en el tierno corazn de la virgen, un germen de maldad que pronto producira negras flores y frutos an ms negros. Era tal la conviccin de su influencia sobre esta alma virginal, que de este modo a l se confiaba, que el ministro saba muy bien que le era dado marchitar todo este jardn de inocencia con una sola mirada perversa, o hacerle florecer en virtudes con una sola buena palabra. De consiguiente, despus de sostener consigo mismo una lucha ms fuerte que las que ya haba sostenido, se cubri el rostro con el capote y apresur el paso sin darse por entendido que la haba visto, dejando a la pobre muchacha que interpretase su rudeza como quisiera. Ella escudri su conciencia, llena de pequeas acciones inocentes, y la infeliz se reproch mil faltas imaginarias, y al da siguiente estuvo desempeando sus quehaceres domsticos toda cabizbaja y con ojos llorosos.
Antes de que el ministro hubiera tenido tiempo de celebrar su victoria sobre esta ltima tentacin, experiment otro impulso no ya ridculo, sino casi horrible. Era,—nos avergonzamos de decirlo,—nada menos que detenerse en la calle y ensear algunas palabrotas muy malsonantes a un grupo de nios puritanos, que apenas empezaban a hablar. Habiendo resistido este impulso como completamente indigno del traje que vesta, encontr a un marinero borracho de la tripulacin del buque del Mar de las Antillas de que hemos hablado; y esta vez, despus de haber rechazado tan valerosamente todas las otras perversas tentaciones, el pobre Sr. Dimmesdale dese, al fin, dar un apretn de manos a este tunante alquitranado, y recrearse con algunos de esos chistes de mala ley de que tal acopio tienen los marineros, sazonado todo con una andanada de ternos y juramentos capaces de estremecer el cielo. Detuvironle no tanto sus buenos principios, como su pudor innato y las decorosas costumbres adquiridas bajo su traje de eclesistico.