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。