第53章

“Mensometimesareso。”saidherhusband。

Theafternoonservicewasattendedwithsimilarcircumstances。At

itsconclusion，thebelltolledforthefuneralofayounglady。The

relativesandfriendswereassembledinthehouse，andthemore

distantacquaintancesstoodaboutthedoor，speakingofthegood

qualitiesofthedeceased，whentheirtalkwasinterruptedbythe

appearanceofMr。Hooper，stillcoveredwithhisblackveil。Itwas

nowanappropriateemblem。Theclergymansteppedintotheroomwhere

thecorpsewaslaid，andbentoverthecoffin，totakealastfarewell

ofhisdeceasedparishioner。Ashestooped，theveilhungstraight

downfromhisforehead，sothat，ifhereyelidshadnotbeenclosed

forever，thedeadmaidenmighthaveseenhisface。CouldMr。Hooperbe

fearfulofherglance，thathesohastilycaughtbacktheblack

veil？Apersonwhowatchedtheinterviewbetweenthedeadand

living，scruplednottoaffirm，that，attheinstantwhenthe

clergyman’sfeaturesweredisclosed，thecorpsehadslightly

shuddered，rustlingtheshroudandmuslincap，thoughthe

countenanceretainedthecomposureofdeath。Asuperstitiousoldwoman

wastheonlywitnessofthisprodigy。FromthecoffinMr。Hooper

passedintothechamberofthemourners，andthencetotheheadofthe

staircase，tomakethefuneralprayer。Itwasatenderand

heart-dissolvingprayer，fullofsorrow，yetsoimbuedwith

celestialhopes，thatthemusicofaheavenlyharp，sweptbythe

fingersofthedead，seemedfaintlytobeheardamongthesaddest

accentsoftheminister。Thepeopletrembled，thoughtheybutdarkly

understoodhimwhenheprayedthatthey，andhimself，andallof

mortalrace，mightbeready，ashetrustedthisyoungmaidenhadbeen，

forthedreadfulhourthatshouldsnatchtheveilfromtheirfaces。

Thebearerswentheavilyforth，andthemournersfollowed，saddening

allthestreet，withthedeadbeforethem，andMr。Hooperinhisblack

veilbehind。

“Whydoyoulookback？”saidoneintheprocessiontohispartner。

Ihadafancy。”repliedshe，“thattheministerandthemaiden’s

spiritwerewalkinghandinhand。”

“AndsohadI，atthesamemoment。”saidtheother。

Thatnight，thehandsomestcoupleinMilfordvillageweretobe

joinedinwedlock。Thoughreckonedamelancholyman，Mr。Hooperhad

aplacidcheerfulnessforsuchoccasions，whichoftenexciteda

sympatheticsmilewhereliveliermerrimentwouldhavebeenthrown

away。Therewasnoqualityofhisdispositionwhichmadehimmore

belovedthanthis。Thecompanyattheweddingawaitedhisarrivalwith

impatience，trustingthatthestrangeawe，whichhadgatheredoverhim

throughouttheday，wouldnowbedispelled。Butsuchwasnotthe

result。WhenMr。Hoopercame，thefirstthingthattheireyesrested

onwasthesamehorribleblackveil，whichhadaddeddeepergloomto

thefuneral，andcouldportendnothingbuteviltothewedding。Such

wasitsimmediateeffectonthegueststhatacloudseemedtohave

rolledduskilyfrombeneaththeblackcrape，anddimmedthelightof

thecandles。Thebridalpairstoodupbeforetheminister。Butthe

bride’scoldfingersquiveredinthetremuloushandofthebridegroom，

andherdeathlikepalenesscausedawhisperthatthemaidenwhohad

beenburiedafewhoursbeforewascomefromhergravetobe

married。Ifeveranotherweddingweresodismal，itwasthatfamous

onewheretheytolledtheweddingknell。Afterperformingthe

ceremony，Mr。Hooperraisedaglassofwinetohislips，wishing

happinesstothenew-marriedcoupleinastrainofmildpleasantry

thatoughttohavebrightenedthefeaturesoftheguests，likea

cheerfulgleamfromthehearth。Atthatinstant，catchingaglimpseof

hisfigureinthelooking-glass，theblackveilinvolvedhisown

spiritinthehorrorwithwhichitoverwhelmedallothers。Hisframe

shuddered，hislipsgrewwhite，hespilttheuntastedwineuponthe

carpet，andrushedforthintothedarkness。FortheEarth，too，hadon

herBlackVeil。

Thenextday，thewholevillageof