er the men learn
this and take to other means of gaining a livelihood the better. Still
the prices that I can give are of course very low, just enough to keep
them from starvation, and we must hope that ere long new mills will
be erected in which the present hand workers will gradually find
employment."

Hardly less warm than the satisfaction that the announcement that Sankey
was about to give out work to all the hand looms excited in the villages
round Marsden, was that which Abijah felt at the news.

Hitherto she had kept to herself the disapprobation which she felt
at Ned's using the new machinery. She had seen in her own village the
sufferings that had been caused by the change, and her sympathies were
wholly with the Luddites, except of course when they attempted anything
against the life and property of her boy. Strong in the prejudices of
the class among whom she had been born and reared, she looked upon
the new machinery as an invention of the evil one to ruin the working
classes, and had been deeply grieved at Ned's adoption of its use.
Nothing but the trouble in which he was could have compelled her to keep
her opinion on the subject to herself.

"I am main glad, Maister Ned. I b'lieve now as we may find out about
that other affair. I never had no hope before, it warn't likely as
things would come about as you wanted, when you was a-flying in the
face of providence by driving poor folks to starvation with them noisy
engines of yours; it warn't likely, and I felt as it was wrong to hope
for it. I said my prayers every night, but it wasn't reasonable to
expect a answer as long as that mill was a-grinding men to powder."

"I don't think it was as bad as all that, Abijah. In another ten years
there will be twice as many hands employed as ever there were, and there
is no saying how large the trade may not grow."

Abijah shook her head as if to imply her belief that an enlargement of
trade by means of these new machines would be clearly flying in the face
of providence, however, she was too pleased at the news that hand work
was to be resumed in the district to care about arguing the question.
Even the invalid upstairs took a feeble interest in the matter when
Abijah told her that Master Ned had arranged to give work to scores of
starving people through the winter.

As a rule Abijah never mentioned his name to her mistress, for it was
always the signal for a flood of tears, and caused an excitement and
agitat