helookedatJem“ofhisattentionstoMaryBarton。Thisyoungman,Wilson,hasheardofthem,yousee。““Thepersonwhotoldmesaidclearlysheneitherhad,norwouldtellMary’sfather,“interposedJem。“Idon’tbelievehe’deverheardofit;heweren’tamantokeepstillinsuchamatter,ifhehad。““Besides,“saidJob,“thereasonhegaveonhisdeath-bed,sotospeak,wasenough;’speciallytothosewhoknewhim。““Youmeanhisfeelingsregardingthetreatmentoftheworkmenbythemasters;
youthinkheactedfrommotivesofrevenge,inconsequenceofthepartmysonhadtakeninputtingdownthestrike?““Well,sir,“repliedJob,“it’shardtosay:JohnBartonwasnotamantotakecounselwithpeople;nordidhemakemanywordsabouthisdoings。
SoIcanonlyjudgefromhiswayofthinkingandtalkingingeneral,neverhavingheardhimbreatheasyllableconcerningthismatterinparticular。
YouseeheweresadlyputabouttomakegreatrichesandgreatpovertysquarewithChrist’sGospel“——Jobpaused,inordertotryandexpresswhatwasclearenoughinhisownmind,astotheeffectproducedonJohnBartonbythegreatandmockingcontrastspresentedbythevarietiesofhumancondition。Beforehecouldfindsuitablewordstoexplainhismeaning,MrCarsonspoke。“YoumeanhewasanOwenite;allforequalityandcommunityofgoods,andthatkindofabsurdity。““No,no!JohnBartonwasnofool。Noneedtotellhimthatwereallmenequalto-night,somewouldgetthestartbyrisinganhourearlierto-morrow。
Noryetdidhecareforgoods,norwealth;nomanless,sothathecouldgetdailybreadforhimandhis;butwhathurthimsore,andrankledinhimaslongasIknewhimand,sir,itranklesinmanyapoorman’sheartfarmorethanthewantofanycreature-comforts,andputsastingintostarvationitself,wasthatthosewhoworefinerclothes,andeatbetterfood,andhadmoremoneyintheirpockets,kepthimatarm’slength,andcarednotwhetherhisheartwassorryorglad;whetherhelivedordied,——whetherhewasboundforheavenorbell。Itseemedhardtohimthataheapofgoldshouldparthimandhisbrothersofarasunder。Forhewasalovingmanbeforehegrewmadwithseeingsuchashewasslighted,asifChristHimselfhadnotbeenpoor。Atonetime,I’veheardhimsay,hefeltkindlytowardseveryman,richorpoor,becausehethoughttheywereallmenalike。Butlatterlyhegrewaggravatedwiththesorrowsandsufferingthathesawandwhichhethoughtthemastersmighthelpiftheywould。““That’sthenotionyou’veallofyougot,“saidMrCarson。Now,howintheworldcanwehelpit?Wecannotregulatethedemandforlabour。Nomanorsetofmencandoit。ItdependsoneventswhichGodalonecancontrol。
Whenthereisnomarketforourgoods,wesufferjustasmuchasyoucando。““Notasmuch,I’msure,sir;thoughI’mnotgiventoPoliticalEconomy,Iknowthatmuch。I’mwantinginlearning,I’maware;butIcanusemyeyes。Ineverseethemastersgettingthinandhaggardforwantoffood;
Ihardlyeverseethemmakingmuchchangeintheirwayofliving,thoughIdon’tdoubtthey’vegottodoitinbadtimes。Butit’sinthingsforshowtheycutshort;whileforsuchasme,it’sinthingsforlifewe’vetostint。Forsure,sir,you’llownit’scometoahardpasswhenamanwouldgiveaughtintheworldforworktokeephischildrenfromstarving,andcan’tgetabit,ifhe’seversowillingtolabour。I’mnotuptotalkingasJohnBartonwouldhavedone,butthat’scleartomeatanyrate。““Mygoodman,justlistentome。Twomenliveinasolitude,oneproducesloavesofbread,theothercoats,——orwhatyouwill。Now,woulditnotbehardifthebread-producerwereforcedtogivebreadforthecoats,whetherhewantedthemornot,inordertofurnishemploymenttotheother;
thatisthesimpleformofthecase;you’veonlytomultiplythenumbers。
Therewillcometimesofgreatchangesintheoccupationofthousands,whenimprovementsinmanufacturesandmachineryaremade。It’sallnonsensetalking,——itmustbeso!“JobLeghponderedafewmoments。“It’strueitwasasoretimeforthehand-loomweaverswhenpower-loomscameinthemnew-fangledthingsmakeaman’slifelikealottery;andyetI’llnevermisdoubtthatpower-looms,anrailways,andallsuch-likeinventionsarethegiftsofGod。Ihavelivedlongenough,too,toseethatitispartofHisplantosendsufferingtobringoutahighergood;butsurelyit’salsopartofHisplanthatasmuchoftheburdenofthesufferingascanbe,shouldbelightenedbythosewhomitisHispleasuretomakehappy,andcontentintheirowncircumstances。Ofcourse,itwouldtakeadealmorethoughtandwisdomthanme,oranyothermanhas,tosettleoutofhandhowthisshouldbedone。ButI’mclearaboutthis,whenGodgivesablessingtobeenjoyed,Hegivesitwithadutytobedone;andthedutyofthehappyistohelpthesufferingtobeartheirwoe。““Stillfactshaveproved,andaredailyroving,howmuchbetteritisforeverymantobeindependentofhelp,andself-reliant,“saidMrCarson,thoughtfully。“Youcanneverworkfactsasyouwouldfixedquantities,andsay,giventwofacts,andtheproductissoandso。Godhasgivenmenfeelingsandpassionswhichcannotbeworkedintotheproblem,becausetheyareforeverchanginganduncertain。Godhasalsomadesomeweak;notinanyoneway,butinall。Oneisweakinbody,anotherinmind,anotherinsteadinessofpurpose,afourthcan’ttellrightfromwrong,andsoon;orifhecantelltheright,hewantsstrengthtoholdbyit。Nowtomythinking,themthatisstronginanyofGod’sgiftsismeanttohelptheweak,——behangedtothefacts!Iaskyourpardon,sir;Ican’trightlyexplainthemeaningthatisinme。I’mlikeatapaswontrun,butkeepslettingitoutdropbydrop,sothatyouhavenonotionoftheforceofwhat’swithin。“Joblookedandfeltverysorrowfulatthewantofpowerinhiswords,whilethefeelingwithinhimwassostrongandclear。“Whatyousayisverytrue,nodoubt,“repliedMrCarson;“buthowwouldyoubringittobearuponthemasters’conduct,——onmyparticularcase?“
addedhe,gravely。“I’mnotlearnedenoughtoargue。ThoughtscomeintomyheadthatImsureareastrueasGospel,thoughmaybetheydon’tfolloweachotherliketheQ。E。D。ofaProposition。Themastershasitontheirownconscience,——youhaveitonyours,sir,toanswerfortoGod,whetheryou’vedone,andaredoingallinyourpowertolightentheevilsthatseemalwaystohangonthetradesbywhichyoumakeyourfortunes。It’snobusinessofmine,thankGod。JohnBartontookthequestioninhand,andhisanswertoitwasNO!
Thenhegrewbitterandangry,andmad;andinhismadnesshedidagreatsin,andwroughtagreatwoe;andrepentedhimwithtearsofblood,andwillgothroughhispenancehumblyandmeeklyint’otherplace,I’llbebound。Ineverseedsuchbitterrepentanceashisthatlastnight。“Therewasasilenceofmanyminutes。MrCarsonhadcoveredhisface,andseemedutterlyforgetfuloftheirpresence;andyettheydidnotliketodisturbhimbrisingtoleavetheroom。Atlastthesaid,withoutmeetingtheirsympatheticeyes,“Thankyoubothforcoming,——andforspeakingcandidlytome。Ifear,Legh,neitheryounorIhaveconvincedeachother,astothepower,orwantofpowerinthemasters,toremedytheevilsthemencomplainof。““I’mloathtovexyou,sir,justnow;butitwasnotthewantofpowerIwastalkingon;whatweallfeelsharpestisthewantofinclinationtotryandhelptheevilswhichcomelikeblightsattimesoverthemanufacturingplaces,whileweseethemasterscanstopworkandnotsuffer。Ifwesawthemasterstryforoursakestofindaremedy,——eveniftheywerelongaboutit,——eveniftheycouldfindnohelp,andattheendofallcouldonlysay,’Poorfellows,ourheartsaresoreforye;we’vedoneallwecould,andcan’tfindacure,——we’dbearuplikementhroughbadtimes。
Nooneknowstilltheyhavetried,whatpowerofbearingliesinthem,ifoncetheybelievethatmenarecaringfortheirsorrowsandwillhelpiftheycan。Iffellow-creaturescangivenoughtbuttearsandbravewords,wetakeourtrialsstraightfromGod,andweknowenoughofHislovetoputourselvesblindintoHishands。Yousay,ourtalkhasdonenogood。
Isayithas。Iseetheviewyoutakeofthingsfromtheplacewhereyoustand。Icanrememberthat,whenthetimecomesforjudgingyou;Isha’ntthinkanylonger,doesheactrightonmyviewsofathing,butdoesheactrightonhisown。ithasdonemegoodinthatway。I’manoldman,andmayneverseeyouagain;butI’llprayforyou,andthinkonyouandyourtrials,bothofyourgreatwealth,andofyourson’scrueldeath,manyandmanyadaytocome;andI’llaskGodtoblessbothtoyounowandforevermore,Amen!Farewell!“Jemhadmaintainedamanlyanddignifiedreserveeversincehehadmadehisopenstatementofallheknew。Nowboththemenrose,andbowedlow,lookingatMrCarsonwiththedeephumaninteresttheycouldnotfailtotakeinonewhohadenduredandforgivenadeepinjury;andwhostruggledhard,asitwasevidenthedid,tobearuplikeamanunderhisaffliction。Hebowedlowinreturntothem。Thenhesuddenlycameforwardandshookthembythehand;andthus,withoutawordmore,theyparted。Therearestagesinthecontemplationandenduranceofgreatsorrow,whichendowmenwiththesameearnestnessandclearnessofthoughtthatinsomeofoldtooktheformofProphecy。Tothosewhohavelargecapabilityoflovingandsuffering,unitedwithgreatpoweroffirmendurance,therecomesatimeintheirwoe,whentheyareliftedoutofthecontemplationoftheirindividualcaseintoasearchinginquiryintothenatureoftheircalamity,andtheremedyifremedytherebewhichmaypreventitsrecurrencetoothersaswellastothemselves。Hencethebeautiful,nobleeffortswhicharefromtimetotimebroughttolight,asbeingcontinuouslymadebythosewhohaveoncehungonthecrossofagony,inorderthatothersmaynotsufferastheyhavedone;
oneofthegrandestendswhichsorrowcanaccomplish;thesuffererwrestlingwithGod’smessengeruntilablessingisleftbehind,notforonealonebutforgenerations。IttooktimebeforethesternnatureofMrCarsonwascompelledtotherecognitionofthissecretofcomfort,andthatsamesternnesspreventedhisreapinganybenefitinpublicestimationfromtheactionsheperformed;
forthecharacterismoreeasilychangedthanthehabitsandmannersoriginallyformedbythatcharacter,andtohisdyingdayMrCarsonwasconsideredhardandcoldbythosewhoonlycasuallysawhim,orsuperficiallyknewhim。Butthosewhowereadmittedintohisconfidencewereaware,thatthewishthatlaynearesttohisheartwasthatnonemightsufferfromthecausefromwhichhehadsuffered;thataperfectunderstanding,andcompleteconfidenceandlove,mightexistbetweenmastersandmen;thatthetruthmightberecognizedthattheinterestsofoneweretheinterestsofall,and,assuch,requiredtheconsiderationanddeliberationofall;thathenceitwasmostdesirabletohaveeducatedworkers,capableofjudging,notmeremachinesofignorantmen;andtohavethemboundtotheiremployersbythetiesofrespectandaffection,notbymeremoneybargainsalone;
inshort,toacknowledgetheSpiritofChristastheregulatinglawbetweenbothparties。ManyoftheimprovementsnowinpracticeinthesystemofemploymentinManchester,owetheirorigintoshortearnestsentencesspokenbyMrCarson。
Manyandmanyyettobecarriedintoexecution,taketheirbirthfromthatstern,thoughtfulmindwhichsubmittedtobetaughtbysuffering。
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