It was a folly, with the materiality of this daily life pressing so intrusively upon me, to attempt to fling myself back into another age, or to insist on creating the of a world out of airy matter, when, at every moment, the impalpable beauty of my soap-bubble was broken by the rude contact of some actual circumstance.

The word missing in the blank is ''semblance''.

This text is an extract from the Scarlett Letter's introduction: ''The Custom House''.

Explanation:

In this paragraph, Nathaniel Hawthrone laments his recent, misdirected efforts in public office. This is because while he was serving as Surveyor of Salem Customs he was also trying to worked up the story of the book's protagonist. And this combination of factors led to what the author called his ''mistake'' during the writing process.

Therefore that he used the key word ''semblance'' to make others understand that things did not go as he hoped to.

the article must be ratified by three-fourths (38) of states within a proscribed deadline.

source:

answer; the sons of liberty;