He reviewed his position as a Milton manufacturer. The strike a

year and a half ago,--or more, for it was now untimely wintry

weather, in a late spring,--that strike, when he was young, and

he now was old--had prevented his completing some of the large

orders he had then on hand. He had locked up a good deal of his

capital in new and expensive machinery, and he had also bought

cotton largely, for the fulfilment of these orders, taken under

contract. That he had not been able to complete them, was owing

in some degree to the utter want of skill on the part of the

Irish hands whom he had imported; much of their work was damaged

and unfit to be sent forth by a house which prided itself on

turning out nothing but first-rate articles. For many months, the

embarrassment caused by the strike had been an obstacle in Mr.

Thornton's way; and often, when his eye fell on Higgins, he could

have spoken angrily to him without any present cause, just from

feeling how serious was the injury that had arisen from this

affair in which he was implicated. But when he became conscious

of this sudden, quick resentment, he resolved to curb it. It

would not satisfy him to avoid Higgins; he must convince himself

that he was master over his own anger, by being particularly

careful to allow Higgins access to him, whenever the strict rules

of business, or Mr. Thornton's leisure permitted. And by-and-bye,

he lost all sense of resentment in wonder how it was, or could

be, that two men like himself and Higgins, living by the same

trade, working in their different ways at the same object, could

look upon each other's position and duties in so strangely

different a way. And thence arose that intercourse, which though

it might not have the effect of preventing all future clash of

opinion and action, when the occasion arose, would, at any rate,

enable both master and man to look upon each other with far more

charity and sympathy, and bear with each other more patiently and

kindly. Besides this improvement of feeling, both Mr. Thornton

and his workmen found out their ignorance as to positive matters

of fact, known heretofore to one side, but not to the other.

But now had come one of those periods of bad trade, when the

market falling brought down the value of all large stocks; Mr.

Thornton's fell to nearly half. No orders were coming in; so he

lost the interest of the capital he had locked up in machinery;

indeed, it was difficult to get payment for the orders completed;

yet there was the constant drain of expenses for working the

business. Then the bills became due for the cotton he had

purchased; and money being scarce, he could only borrow at

exorbitant interest, and yet he could not realise any of his

property. But he did not despair; he exerted himself day and

night to foresee and to provide for all emergencies; he was as

calm and gentle to the women in his home as ever; to the workmen

in his mill he spoke not many words, but they knew him by this

time; and many a curt, decided answer was received by them rather

with sympathy for the care they saw pressing upon him, than with

the suppressed antagonism which had formerly been smouldering,

and ready for hard words and hard judgments on all occasions.

'Th' measter's a deal to potter him,' said Higgins, one day, as

he heard Mr. Thornton's short, sharp inquiry, why such a command

had not been obeyed; and caught the sound of the suppressed sigh

which he heaved in going past the room where some of the men were

working. Higgins and another man stopped over-hours that night,

unknown to any one, to get the neglected piece of work done; and

Mr. Thornton never knew but that the overlooker, to whom he had

given the command in the first instance, had done it himself.




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