Anotherlegendisthatofthetwomaidensisters.AlegendIamafraiditmaybe,inthemostdiscreditablemeaningoftheterm;orperhapssomethingworse—amereyesterday'sfiction.Butitisastoryofsomevitality,andisworthyofaplaceintheEdinburghcalendar.Thispairinhabitedasingleroom;fromthefacts,itmusthavebeendouble-bedded;anditmayhavebeenofsomedimensions:butwhenallissaid,itwasasingleroom.Hereourtwospinstersfellout—onsomepointofcontroversialdivinitybelike(也许):butfelloutsobitterlythattherewasneverawordspokenbetweenthemblackorwhitefromthatdayforward,foilwouldhavethoughttheywouldseparate:butno;whetherfromlackofmeans,ortheScottishfearofscandal,theycontinuedtokeephousetogetherwheretheywere.Achalklinedrawnuponthefloorseparatedtheirtwodomains;itbisected(切成两部分)thedoorwayandthefireplace,sothateachcouldgooutandin,anddohercooking,withoutviolatingtheterritoryoftheother. So,foryears,theycoexistedinahatefulsilence;theirmeals,theirablutions,theirfriendlyvisitors,exposedtoanunfriendlyscrutiny;andatnight,inthedarkwatches,eachcouldhearthebreathingofherenemy.Neverdidfourwallslookdownuponanuglierspectaclethanthesesistersrivallinginunsisterliness.HereisacanvasforHawthornetohaveturnedintoacabinetpicture—hehadaPuritanicvein.whichwouldhavefittedhimtotreatthisPuritanichorror;hecouldhaveshownthemtousintheirsicknessesandattheirhideoustwindevotions,thumbingapairofgreatBibles,orprayingaloudforeachother'spenitencewithmarrowy(多髓的，有力的)emphasis;noweach,withkiltedpetticoat,atherowncornerofthefireonsometempestuousevening;nowsittingeachatherwindow,lookingoutuponthesummerlandscapeslopingfarbelowthemtowardsthefirth(峡湾)field-pathswheretheyhadwanderedhandinhand;or,asageandinfirmitygrowuponthemandprolongedtheirtoilettes,andtheirbandsbegantotrembleandtheirheadstonodinvoluntarily,growingonlythemoresteeledinenmitywithyears;untilonefineday,ataword,alook,avisitortheapproachofdeath,theirheartswouldmeltandthechalkboundarybeoversteppedforever.
另外一个传奇是关于两位少女姐妹的。说它是传奇，可能真是对这一词语“传奇”的糟蹋，甚至更糟——它恐怕也仅是昨日的一个小故事。但这个故事确有些活力，并值得记录在爱丁堡日历上。这对姐妹住在一间房里，照实说，房间里应该有两张床，并且床与床之间应该有一定的距离，但不管怎么说，这也只是一间单人房。或许是对神学问题有争议，两姐妹吵架了，她们吵得那么凶，从那天起就没有说过一句话。如果你觉得她俩分开了，你就大错特错了。也许是不知道如何分开，也许是出于苏格兰式地对流言蜚语的恐惧，他们依然同住在原来那间房。她们用粉笔在地板上划分出两个区域，并把过道和壁炉也分成两部分，这样，她们出门进门也好，做饭也好，任何人都不会妨碍到另一个人。 就这样，她们在厌恶中彼此共同生活过了几年。她们彼此用不友善的眼光注视着对方进餐，洗浴，接待友好来访的朋友；在晚上，在黑乎乎的注视中，她们又彼此听着自己敌人的呼吸声。两姐妹如此不顾姐妹情意而针锋相对，没有那间房看到过比这更为丑陋的景象了。本可以通过霍桑用这张油画转变为一张陈列于室内的小照片——霍桑拥有一张清教的面纱，这张面纱本能允许他去论述这清教的恐惧；他能够在她们生病之时，在她们紧紧抓住这种可怕的同胞之情之时，以摆弄《圣经》或互相大声地强调似的为对方忏悔的方式展现给我们这些；现在，在某个暴风雨的晚上，她们穿着褶裙，坐在自己壁炉的一角，或各自坐在自己的窗前，看着夏日的景色滑落到她们曾手牵手走过的峡湾，或在慢慢变老，慢慢虚弱，慢慢加长裙摆的过程中，在她们衣服的饰带开始颤抖，脑袋不自禁的点头，随着时间变得越来越僵硬的时候，总之，直到某一天，一个眼神，一次看望或者是死亡，她们的心将融化，而粉笔标出的界限也会永远消失。
