"A throng of bearded men, in sad-colored garments and gray steeple-crowned hats, intermixed with women, some wearing hoods, and others bareheaded, was assembled in front of a wooden edifice, the door of which was heavily timbered with oak, and studded with iron spikes."
This is explaining the Puritans. Hawthorne is setting up the tone of the story. He describes this as a dark, colorless place. Puritans belive that that they were chosen by God for a special purpose and they have to base their lives around God. They originally came to start a utopia of human virtue and happiness. But the first thing they do is set up a cemetery and prison. They wanted to have a city of god. If they did not follow these religious vows, they were thought to worship the devil. They are said to be dressed in "sad-colored gowns." This goes along with the way they are living their lives, they are all about god and nothing else. It was sinful to dress in elaborate clothes.
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