Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

               Chapter 23
   
         Dimmesdale was full of energy while
      giving his powerful sermon.  It might
      have been thought his pain and
      suffering had come to an end.  In a
      way, it had because a short time later
      he passed away.
         Before he died, however, he revealed
      he had sinned with Hester, and he was
      the father of Pearl.  At the
      commencement of his revelation,
      Chillingworth tried to stop him, calling
      him a madman, and saying he could
      still be saved from his ignominy. 
      Dimmesdale dismissed Chillingworth
      as a tempter, had Hester help him onto
      the scaffold, and allowed the people of
      the colony to "behold the sinner."
         He asked for and received a kiss
      from Pearl.  Then, through his dying
      words he told Hester there was no other
      option to his death; God decided all.