Dimsdell. If that she be condemned,
Suspend her sentence till her paramour
Be found; and let them die together.
Governor. Agreed. Come, we're late.
[Exeunt.
[Scene III.]
Governor. Now that our other business is dispatched,
Call Hester Prynne.
Wilson. Wise Governor, and you,
My brethren: dried as I am with age,
The tendrils of my heart are pliable;
Nor have the tangles of this thicket-world
So twisted all my grain as not to bend
Before another's misery. Wherefore,
[top] I do beseech you, call her not.
Governor. Yet must
We try the woman, though we pity her;
And though the scion mercy grafts upon
The stock of justice, the stock is justice still.
Wilson. I plead for justice! even-handed justice!
As blind and cold as death—but with a sword,
Sharp on one side to reach the woman's heart
And on the other keener for the man's!
You call the woman; where's her paramour?
Governor. We do not know.
Wilson. Then grant a stay to Hester
Till he's known.