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.So the mother and little Pearl were admitted into thehall of entrance.With many variations, suggested by thenature of his building materials, diversity of climate, and adifferent mode of social life, Governor Bellingham hadplanned his new habitation after the residences ofgentlemen of fair estate in his native land.Here, then, wasa wide and reasonably lofty hall, extending through the155 of 394 The Scarlet Letterwhole depth of the house, and forming a medium ofgeneral communication, more or less directly, with all theother apartments.At one extremity, this spacious roomwas lighted by the windows of the two towers, whichformed a small recess on either side of the portal.At theother end, though partly muffled by a curtain, it was morepowerfully illuminated by one of those embowed hallwindows which we read of in old books, and which wasprovided with a deep and cushion seat.Here, on thecushion, lay a folio tome, probably of the Chronicles ofEngland, or other such substantial literature; even as, inour own days, we scatter gilded volumes on the centretable, to be turned over by the casual guest.The furnitureof the hall consisted of some ponderous chairs, the backsof which were elaborately carved with wreaths of oakenflowers; and likewise a table in the same taste, the wholebeing of the Elizabethan age, or perhaps earlier, andheirlooms, transferred hither from the Governor s paternalhome.On the table in token that the sentiment of oldEnglish hospitality had not been left behind stood a largepewter tankard, at the bottom of which, had Hester orPearl peeped into it, they might have seen the frothyremnant of a recent draught of ale.156 of 394 The Scarlet LetterOn the wall hung a row of portraits, representing theforefathers of the Bellingham lineage, some with armouron their breasts, and others with stately ruffs and robes ofpeace.All were characterised by the sternness and severitywhich old portraits so invariably put on, as if they werethe ghosts, rather than the pictures, of departed worthies,and were gazing with harsh and intolerant criticism at thepursuits and enjoyments of living men.At about the centre of the oaken panels that lined thehall was suspended a suit of mail, not, like the pictures, anancestral relic, but of the most modern date; for it hadbeen manufactured by a skilful armourer in London, thesame year in which Governor Bellingham came over toNew England.There was a steel head-piece, a cuirass, agorget and greaves, with a pair of gauntlets and a swordhanging beneath; all, and especially the helmet andbreastplate, so highly burnished as to glow with whiteradiance, and scatter an illumination everywhere aboutupon the floor.This bright panoply was not meant formere idle show, but had been worn by the Governor onmany a solemn muster and draining field, and hadglittered, moreover, at the head of a regiment in thePequod war.For, though bred a lawyer, and accustomedto speak of Bacon, Coke, Noye, and Finch, as his157 of 394 The Scarlet Letterprofessional associates, the exigenties of this new countryhad transformed Governor Bellingham into a soldier, aswell as a statesman and ruler.Little Pearl, who was as greatly pleased with thegleaming armour as she had been with the glitteringfrontispiece of the house, spent some time looking intothe polished mirror of the breastplate. Mother, cried she, I see you here.Look! look!Hester looked by way of humouring the child; and shesaw that, owing to the peculiar effect of this convexmirror, the scarlet letter was represented in exaggeratedand gigantic proportions, so as to be greatly the mostprominent feature of her appearance.In truth, she seemedabsolutely hidden behind it.Pearl pointed upwards also, ata similar picture in the head-piece; smiling at her mother,with the elfish intelligence that was so familiar anexpression on her small physiognomy.That look ofnaughty merriment was likewise reflected in the mirror,with so much breadth and intensity of effect, that it madeHester Prynne feel as if it could not be the image of herown child, but of an imp who was seeking to mould itselfinto Pearl s shape. Come along, Pearl, said she, drawing her away, Come and look into this fair garden.It may be we shall158 of 394 The Scarlet Lettersee flowers there; more beautiful ones than we find in thewoods.Pearl accordingly ran to the bow-window, at thefurther end of the hall, and looked along the vista of agarden walk, carpeted with closely-shaven grass, andbordered with some rude and immature attempt atshrubbery.But the proprietor appeared already to haverelinquished as hopeless, the effort to perpetuate on thisside of the Atlantic, in a hard soil, and amid the closestruggle for subsistence, the native English taste forornamental gardening.Cabbages grew in plain sight; and apumpkin-vine, rooted at some distance, had run across theintervening space, and deposited one of its giganticproducts directly beneath the hall window, as if to warnthe Governor that this great lump of vegetable gold was asrich an ornament as New England earth would offer him.There were a few rose-bushes, however, and a number ofapple-trees, probably the descendants of those planted bythe Reverend Mr.Blackstone, the first settler of thepeninsula; that half mythological personage who ridesthrough our early annals, seated on the back of a bull.Pearl, seeing the rose-bushes, began to cry for a redrose, and would not be pacified.159 of 394 The Scarlet Letter Hush, child hush! said her mother, earnestly. Donot cry, dear little Pearl! I hear voices in the garden.TheGovernor is coming, and gentlemen along with him.In fact, adown the vista of the garden avenue, a numberof persons were seen approaching towards the house.Pearl, in utter scorn of her mother s attempt to quiet her,gave an eldritch scream, and then became silent, not fromany motion of obedience, but because the quick andmobile curiosity of her disposition was excited by theappearance of those new personages.160 of 394 The Scarlet LetterVIII.THE ELF-CHILD ANDTHE MINISTERGovernor Bellingham, in a loose gown and easy capsuch as elderly gentlemen loved to endue themselves with,in their domestic privacy walked foremost, and appearedto be showing off his estate, and expatiating on hisprojected improvements.The wide circumference of anelaborate ruff, beneath his grey beard, in the antiquatedfashion of King James s reign, caused his head to look nota little like that of John the Baptist in a charger
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