FANCY'S SHOW-BOX

A MORALITY

By Nathaniel Hawthorne



What is Guilt? A stain upon the soul. And it is a point of vast
interest, whether the soul may contract such stains, in all their depth
and flagrancy, from deeds which may have been plotted and resolved upon,
but which, physically, have never had existence. Must the fleshly hand
and visible frame of man set its seal to the evil designs of the soul, in
order to give them their entire validity against the sinner? Or, while
none but crimes perpetrated are cognizable before an earthly tribunal,
will guilty thoughts,--of which guilty deeds are no more than shadows,--
will these draw down the full weight of a condemning sentence, in the
supreme court of eternity? In the solitude of a midnight chamber, or in
a desert, afar from men, or in a church, while the body is kneeling, the
soul may pollute itself even with those crimes, which we are accustomed
to deem altogether carnal. If this be true, it is a fearful truth.

Let us illustrate the subject by an imaginary example. A venerable
gentleman, one Mr. Smith, who had long been regarded as a pattern of
moral excellence, was warming his aged blood with a glass or two of
generous wine. His children being gone forth about their worldly
business, and his grandchildren at school, he sat alone, in a deep,
luxurious arm-chair, with his feet beneath a richly carved mahogany
table. Some old people have a dread of solitude, and when better company
may not be had, rejoice even to hear the quiet breathing of a babe,