登陆注册
5419700000243

第243章

I know you then.You have renounced the Devil, And have become a penitent confessor, The Lord be praised! Go on, I'll follow you.

Wait only till I fetch my horse, that stands Tethered among the trees, not far from here.

TITUBA.

Let me get up behind you, reverend sir.

MATHER.

The Lord forbid! What would the people think, If they should see the Reverend Cotton Mather Ride into Salem with a Witch behind him?

The Lord forbid!

TITUBA.

I do not need a horse!

I can ride through the air upon a stick, Above the tree-tops and above the houses, And no one see me, no one overtake me.

[Exeunt.

SCENE II.-- A room at JUSTICE HATHORNE'S.A clock in the corner.

Enter HATHORNE and MATHER.

HATHORNE.

You are welcome, reverend sir, thrice welcome here Beneath my humble roof.

MATHER.

I thank your Worship.

HATHORNE.

Pray you be seated.You must be fatigued With your long ride through unfrequented woods.

They sit down.

MATHER.

You know the purport of my visit here,--

To be advised by you, and counsel with you, And with the Reverend Clergy of the village, Touching these witchcrafts that so much afflict you;And see with mine own eyes the wonders told Of spectres and the shadows of the dead, That come back from their graves to speak with men.

HATHORNE.

Some men there are, I have known such, who think That the two worlds--the seen and the unseen, The world of matter and the world of spirit--Are like the hemispheres upon our maps, And touch each other only at a point.

But these two worlds are not divided thus, Save for the purposes of common speech, They form one globe, in which the parted s as All flow together and are intermingled, While the great continents remain distinct.

MATHER.

I doubt it not.The spiritual world Lies all about us, and its avenues Are open to the unseen feet of phantoms That come and go, and we perceive them not, Save by their influence, or when at times A most mysterious Providence permits them To manifest themselves to mortal eyes.

HATHORNE.

You, who are always welcome here among us, Are doubly welcome now.We need your wisdom, Your learning in these things to be our guide.

The Devil hath come down in wrath upon us, And ravages the land with all his hosts.

MATHER.

The Unclean Spirit said, "My name is Legion!"Multitudes in the Valley of Destruction!

But when our fervent, well-directed prayers, Which are the great artillery of Heaven, Are brought into the field, I see them scattered And driven like autumn leaves before the wind.

HATHORNE.

You as a Minister of God, can meet them With spiritual weapons: but, alas!

I, as a Magistrate, must combat them With weapons from the armory of the flesh.

MATHER.

These wonders of the world invisible,--

These spectral shapes that haunt our habitations,--The multiplied and manifold afflictions With which the aged and the dying saints Have their death prefaced and their age imbittered,--Are but prophetic trumpets that proclaim The Second Coming of our Lord on earth.

The evening wolves will be much more abroad, When we are near the evening of the world.

HATHORNE.

When you shall see, as I have hourly seen, The sorceries and the witchcrafts that torment us, See children tortured by invisible spirits, And wasted and consumed by powers unseen, You will confess the half has not been told you.

MATHER.

It must be so.The death-pangs of the Devil Will make him more a Devil than before;And Nebuchadnezzar's furnace will be heated Seven times more hot before its putting out.

HATHORNE.

Advise me, reverend sir.I look to you For counsel and for guidance in this matter.

What further shall we do?

MATHER.

Remember this, That as a sparrow falls not to the ground Without the will of God, so not a Devil Can come down from the air without his leave.

We must inquire.

HATHORNE.

Dear sir, we have inquired;

Sifted the matter thoroughly through and through, And then resifted it.

MATHER.

If God permits These Evil Spirits from the unseen regions To visit us with surprising informations, We must inquire what cause there is for this, But not receive the testimony borne By spectres as conclusive proof of guilt In the accused.

HATHORNE.

Upon such evidence We do not rest our case.The ways are many In which the guilty do betray themselves.

MATHER.

Be careful.Carry the knife with such exactness, That on one side no innocent blood be shed By too excessive zeal, and on the other No shelter given to any work of darkness.

HATHORNE.

For one, I do not fear excess of zeal.

What do we gain by parleying with the Devil?

You reason, but you hesitate to act!

Ah, reverend sir! believe me, in such cases The only safety is in acting promptly.

'T is not the part of wisdom to delay In things where not to do is still to do A deed more fatal than the deed we shrink from.

You are a man of books and meditation, But I am one who acts.

MATHER.

God give us wisdom In the directing of this thorny business, And guide us, lest New England should become Of an unsavory and sulphurous odor In the opinion of the world abroad!

The clock strikes.

I never hear the striking of a clock Without a warning and an admonition That time is on the wing, and we must quicken Our tardy pace in journeying Heavenward, As Israel did in journeying Canaan-ward!

They rise.

HATHORNE.

Then let us make all haste; and I will show you In what disguises and what fearful shapes The Unclean Spirits haunt this neighborhood, And you will pardon my excess of zeal.

MATHER.

Ah, poor New England! He who hurricanoed The house of Job is making now on thee One last assault, more deadly and more snarled With unintelligible circumstances Than any thou hast hitherto encountered!

[Exeunt.

SCENE III.-- A room in WALCOT'S House.MARY WALCOT seated in an arm-chair.TITUBA with a mirror.

MARY.

Tell me another story, Tituba.

A drowsiness is stealing over me Which is not sleep; for, though I close mine eyes, I am awake, and in another world.

Dim faces of the dead and of the absent Come floating up before me,--floating, fading, And disappearing.

TITUBA.

Look into this glass.

What see you?

MARY.

Nothing but a golden vapor.

同类推荐
  • 明太祖宝训

    明太祖宝训

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 诗人玉屑

    诗人玉屑

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 明伦汇编皇极典帝运部

    明伦汇编皇极典帝运部

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 华清宫

    华清宫

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 论书

    论书

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 神奇的地球现象

    神奇的地球现象

    人类总是充满好奇心,富有求知欲望,不仅对历史积淀的文 化知识和日益发展的科学技术具有浓厚的兴趣,而且对世界上许 许多多的未解之谜都充满了好奇心。这是人类的心理特征,也是 人类社会进步的一种基本动因。从地球到宇宙,从自然到历史, 从科学到艺术,在这许许多多的领域中,无不存在着这样或那样 的“未解之谜”。
  • 钱氏秘传产科方书名试验录

    钱氏秘传产科方书名试验录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 我不是钟馗

    我不是钟馗

    再说一遍,我叫钟魁,不是钟馗,我不会捉鬼。
  • 如果这都不算爱

    如果这都不算爱

    她喜欢了他那么多年,却被自己的妹妹半路杀出来了,将他抢夺了去。直到后来,他知道了来龙去脉,才明白自己非娶不可的人,不是祁玲玲,而是她的姐姐祁子琼!--情节虚构,请勿模仿
  • 起舞弄清影,何似在人间

    起舞弄清影,何似在人间

    一名娇俏可爱的呆萌女大学生,浑身散发着无尽的魅力与夺目的光彩,学霸型的她没有被学习充傻了脑袋,而是在非专业的销售领域大放异彩独当一面,她的清纯可爱吸引了一众优秀的青年青睐,在朋友们的扶持下,她踏踏实实地迈出了每一步,在他们的呵护下,即使成为了商业精英依然可以保存那份完美的纯真。一个人意外的出现打乱了他们原本平静的生活,他们用执着、阳光和勇气终于为自己争来了一片安宁。
  • 奇门遁甲元灵经

    奇门遁甲元灵经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 波斯王军传奇

    波斯王军传奇

    大唐宣宗年间。日已偏西,几匹快马驰骋在长安城内的朱雀大街上,马上骑手个个年轻英俊,神采飞扬。跑在前面的马上端坐着一个文雅的书生,到了十字街口,他勒住马缰,逡巡着回望身后男子,疑惑地问道:“十二郎,你说的地方就在这里么?”身后的年轻人骑着一匹神骏的白马,背负弹弓,身穿浅黄色轻麻衣,襟口随意敞开着,整个人看上去说不出的俊朗洒脱。他点点头,一指右手边:“李公子,我家在靖善坊,再走几步便到了。”李公子显然想打退堂鼓,但没容他开口,其余几骑快马也到了,少年们跳下马来,乱纷纷嚷道:“十二郎家的骏马美酒堪称长安二绝,我们今日怎么可以错过?”“不用说,进门先灌三大碗高昌葡萄酒!”
  • 唐门邪修

    唐门邪修

    一个似是似非武侠大陆,各大势力风起云涌,十年前天魔教魔焰滔天武林上下人人自危,又有五大正派力战魔教,与之分庭抗礼,惊天一战后双方日渐式微,又有白山黑水宫,南疆苗族,蜀中唐门三大邪派蠢蠢欲动,杀手组织阎罗殿又欲复出,翻起滔天杀戮,在这片大陆上出身唐门却叛出唐门的唐枫,又该何去何从
  • 先做女王,再当公主

    先做女王,再当公主

    先做自己的女王,再当别人的公主。这是一本关于不同时代、不同际遇、不同职业的女性,如果寻找独特生命意义的书。有几千年前的妇好、赵飞燕,有地球另一端的香奈儿、简·奥斯丁,还有科学家居里夫人、艺术家蒋英、新凤霞……这些有故事的女人,横跨千年时空,跨越地球纬度,浓缩在一篇篇文章中,与你四目相对、灵魂对话。真正优秀的女子,必定既温柔又坚强。所有经历的低谷、绝望,禁受的无礼、冷遇,抵御的迷茫、慌张,最终会化为筋肉骨血,成为参透生命意义的力量。
  • 洪荒被我打包了

    洪荒被我打包了

    他曾是天宇间作风最出格的界主,曾收八名神女为仆,举世称羡,其后却因故被逼重生。殒落前,他留下了一缕回忆,指引后世的自己如何复仇,如何寻回八神女。然而,这道回忆却被其宿敌所篡改,令他重生后踏上歧路,不但未见有神女恭迎,还要先被这一世的亲生母亲追杀。种种逆境,都注定他今生要继续反套路。若不能按原定计划寻回神女,那就转收美女兵魂,另辟一条修仙道路吧,同样能够变强。知我者,七生报恩,欺我者,百世沉沦!