第46章

byNathanielHawthorne

ONEAFTERNOON，Whenthesunwasgoingdown，amotherandherlittle

boysatatthedooroftheircottage，talkingabouttheGreatStone

Face。Theyhadbuttolifttheireyes，andthereitwasplainlyto

beseen，thoughmilesaway，withthesunshinebrighteningallits

features。

AndwhatwastheGreatStoneFace？

Embosomedamongstafamilyofloftymountains，therewasavalley

sospaciousthatitcontainedmanythousandinhabitants。Someofthese

goodpeopledweltinloghuts，withtheblackforestallaround

them，onthesteepanddifficulthill-sides。Othershadtheirhomesin

comfortablefarm-houses，andcultivatedtherichsoilonthegentle

slopesorlevelsurfacesofthevalley。Others，again，were

congregatedintopopulousvillages，wheresomewild，highlandrivulet，

tumblingdownfromitsbirthplaceintheuppermountainregion，had

beencaughtandtamedbyhumancunning，andcompelledtoturnthe

machineryofcottonfactories。Theinhabitantsofthisvalley，in

short，werenumerous，andofmanymodesoflife。Butallofthem，

grownpeopleandchildren，hadakindoffamiliaritywiththeGreat

StoneFace，althoughsomepossessedthegiftofdistinguishingthis

grandnaturalphenomenonmoreperfectlythanmanyoftheirneighbors。

TheGreatStoneFace，then，wasaworkofNatureinhermoodof

majesticplayfulness，formedontheperpendicularsideofamountain

bysomeimmenserocks，whichhadbeenthrowntogetherinsucha

positionas，whenviewedataproperdistance，preciselytoresemble

thefeaturesofthehumancountenance。Itseemedasifanenormous

giant，oraTitan，hadsculpturedhisownlikenessontheprecipice。

Therewasthebroadarchoftheforehead，ahundredfeetinheight；

thenose，withitslongbridge；andthevastlips，which，ifthey

couldhavespoken，wouldhaverolledtheirthunderaccentsfromone

endofthevalleytotheother。Trueitis，thatifthespectator

approachedtoonear，helosttheoutlineofthegiganticvisage，and

coulddiscernonlyaheapofponderousandgiganticrocks，piledin

chaoticruinoneuponanother。Retracinghissteps，however，the

wondrousfeatureswouldagainbeseen；andthefurtherhewithdrew

fromthem，themorelikeahumanface，withallitsoriginal

divinityintact，didtheyappear；until，asitgrewdiminthe

distance，withthecloudsandglorifiedvaporofthemountains

clusteringaboutit，theGreatStoneFaceseemedpositivelytobe

alive。

Itwasahappylotforchildrentogrowuptomanhoodor

womanhoodwiththeGreatStoneFacebeforetheireyes，forallthe

featureswerenoble，andtheexpressionwasatoncegrandandsweet，

asifitweretheglowofavast，warmheart，thatembracedall

mankindinitsaffections，andhadroomformore。Itwasan

educationonlytolookatit。Accordingtothebeliefofmany

people，thevalleyowedmuchofitsfertilitytothisbenignaspect

thatwascontinuallybeamingoverit，illuminatingtheclouds，and

infusingitstendernessintothesunshine。

Aswebeganwithsaying，amotherandherlittleboysatattheir

cottagedoor，gazingattheGreatStoneFace，andtalkingaboutit。

Thechild’snamewasErnest。

“Mother，saidhe，whiletheTitanicvisagesmiledonhim，“Iwish

thatitcouldspeak，foritlookssoverykindlythatitsvoicemust

needsbepleasant。IfIweretoseeamanwithsuchaface，Ishould

lovehimdearly。”

“Ifanoldprophecyshouldcometopass。”answeredhismother，

“wemayseeaman，sometimeorother，withexactlysuchafaceas

that。”

“Whatprophecydoyoumean，dearmother？”eagerlyinquired

Ernest。“Praytellmeallaboutit！”

Sohismothertoldhimastorythatherownmotherhadtoldtoher，

whensheherselfwasyoungerthanlittleErnest；astory，notof

thingsthatwerepast，butofwhatwasyettocome；astory，

nevertheless，soveryold，thateventheIndians，whoformerly

inhabitedthisvalley，hadhearditfromtheirforefathers，towhom，

astheyaffirmed，ithadbeenmurmuredbythemountainstreams，and

whisperedbythewindamongthetree-tops。Thepurportwas，that，at

somefutureday，achildshouldbebornhereabouts，whowasdestined

tobecomethegreatestandnoblestpersonageofhistime，andwhose

counte