Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter


               Chapter 12
   
         The minister went to and stood on the
      same scaffold as Hester Prynne. He
      released a scream which, he thought,
      would bring the people of the colony to
      him so he could admit his guilt. 
      However, it did not.
         Later a laugh he sounded was
      returned by another -- one from Pearl.
      He asked Hester and Pearl to stand with
      him on the scaffold.
         Chillingworth viewed this episode,
      then persuaded Dimmesdale to return
      home.
         The following day, Sunday, a sexton
      met him at church. The sexton said two
      things:  he found the minister’s black
      glove on the scaffold -- probably
      placed there by Satan, and the A-like
      trail of the meteor must have
      represented "Angel" because Winthrop
      had died last night.
Dimmesdale, Hester, and Pearl
are together on the scaffold while
Chillingworth stands to the side.