'Yes, indeed he should if he is still alive,' replied the townsman. 'Our magistrates, you see, decided to be merciful. she is obviously guilty of adultery, and the usual punishment for adultery is death. But Mistress Prynneis young and good-looking, and her husband is probably at the bottom of the sea. So, in their mercy, thr magistrates have ordered her to stand on the scaffold for three hours, and to wear the scarlet "A" for adultery for the rest of her life.'