；　would　whisper　long　of　what　had　passed　there；and　no　mortal　be　the　wiser。　And　the　melancholy　brook　would　add　thisother　tale　to　the　mystery　with　which　its　little　heart　was　alreadyoverburdened；　and　whereof　it　still　kept　up　a　murmuring　babble；　withnot　a　whit　more　cheerfulness　of　tone　than　for　ages　heretofore。 XX。 THE　MINISTER　IN　A　MAZE。 AS　the　minister　departed；　in　advance　of　Hester　Prynne　and　littlePearl；　he　threw　a　backward　glance；　half　expecting　that　he　shoulddiscover　only　some　faintly　traced　features　or　outline　of　the　motherand　the　child；　slowly　fading　into　the　twilight　of　the　woods。　Sogreat　a　vicissitude　in　his　life　could　not　at　once　be　received　as　real。But　there　was　Hester；　clad　in　her　grey　robe；　still　standing　beside　thetree…trunk；　which　some　blast　had　overthrown　a　long　antiquity　ago；and　which　time　had　ever　since　been　covering　with　moss；　so　that　thesetwo　fated　ones；　with　earth's　heaviest　burden　on　them；　might　theresit　down　together；　and　find　a　single　hour's　rest　and　solace。　And　therewas　Pearl；　too；　lightly　dancing　from　the　margin　of　the　brook…　now　thatthe　intrusive　third　person　was　gone…　and　taking　her　old　place　by　hermother's　side。　So　the　minister　had　not　fallen　asleep；　and　dreamed！ In　order　to　free　his　mind　from　this　indistinctness　and　duplicityof　impression；　which　vexed　it　with　a　strange　disquietude；　herecalled　and　more　thoroughly　defined　the　plans　which　Hester　andhimself　had　sketched　for　their　departure。　It　had　been　determinedbetween　them；　that　the　Old　World；　with　its　crowds　and　cities；offered　them　a　more　eligible　shelter　and　concealment　than　the　wilds　ofNew　England；　or　all　America；　with　its　alternatives　of　an　Indianwigwam；　or　the　few　settlements　of　Europeans；　scattered　thinly　alongthe　seaboard。　Not　to　speak　o