thatway
.
Not
that
way
.
’Tis
kep’
down
that
way
.
I’m
a
weaver
,
I
were
in
a
fact’ry
when
a
chilt
,
but
I
ha’
gotten
een
to
see
wi’
and
eern
to
year
wi’
.
I
read
in
th’
papers
every
’Sizes
,
every
Sessions
—
and
you
read
too
—
I
know
it
!
—
with
dismay
—
how
th’
supposed
unpossibility
o’
ever
getting
unchained
from
one
another
,
at
any
price
,
on
any
terms
,
brings
blood
upon
this
land
,
and
brings
many
common
married
fok
to
battle
,
murder
,
and
sudden
death
.
Let
us
ha’
this
,
right
understood
.
Mine’s
a
grievous
case
,
an’
I
want
—
if
yo
will
be
so
good
—
t’
know
the
law
that
helps
me.’
‘Now
,
I
tell
you
what
!
’
said
Mr.
Bounderby
,
putting
his
hands
in
his
pockets
.
‘There
is
such
a
law.’
Stephen
,
subsiding
into
his
quiet
manner
,
and
never
wandering
in
his
attention
,
gave
a
nod
.
‘But
it’s
not
for
you
at
all
.
It
costs
money
.
It
costs
a
mint
of
money.’
‘How
much
might
that
be
?
’
Stephen
calmly
asked
.
‘Why
,
you’d
have
to
go
to
Doctors’
Commons
with
a
suit
,
and
you’d
have
to
go
to
a
court
of
Common
Law
with
a
suit
,
and
you’d
have
to
go
to
the
House
of
Lords
with
a
suit
,
and
you’d
have
to
get
an
Act
of
Parliament
to
enable
you
to
marry
again
,
and
it
would
cost
you
(
if
it
was
a
case
of
very
plain
sailing
)
,
I
suppose
from
a
thousand
to
fifteen
hundred
pound
,
’
said
Mr.
Bounderby
.
‘Perhaps
twice
the
money.’
‘There’s
no
other
law
?
’
‘Certainly
not.’
‘Why
then
,
sir
,
’
said
Stephen
,
turning
white
,
and
motioning
with
that
right
hand
of
his
,
as
if
he
gave
everything
to
the
four
winds
,
‘’
tis
a
muddle
.
’Tis
just
a
muddle
a’toogether
,
an’
the
sooner
I
am
dead
,
the
better.’
(
Mrs.
Sparsit
again
dejected
by
the
impiety
of
the
people
.
)
‘Pooh
,
pooh
!
Don’t
you
talk
nonsense
,
my
good
fellow
,
’
said
Mr.
Bounderby
,
‘about
things
you
don’t
understand
;
and
don’t
you
call
the
Institutions
of
your
country
a
muddle
,
or
you’ll
get
yourself
into
a
real
muddle
one
of
these
fine
mornings
.
The
institutions
of
your
country
are
not
your
piece-work
,
and
the
only
thing
you
have
got
to
do
,
is
,
to
mind
your
piece-work
.
You
didn’t
take
your
wife
for
fast
and
for
loose
;
but
for
better
for
worse
.
If
she
has
turned
out
worse
—
why
,
all
we
have
got
to
say
is
,
she
might
have
turned
out
better.’
‘’Tis
a
muddle
,
’
said
Stephen
,
shaking
his
head
as
he
moved
to
the
door
.
‘’Tis
a’
a
muddle
!
’
‘Now
,
I’ll
tell
you
what
!
’
Mr.
Bounderby
resumed
,
as
a
valedictory
address
.
‘With
what
I
shall
call
your
unhallowed
opinions
,
you
have
been
quite
shocking
this
lady
:
who
,
as
I
have
already
told
you
,
is
a
born
lady
,
and
who
,
as
I
have
not
already
told
you
,
has
had
her
own
marriage
misfortunes
to
the
tune
of
tens
of
thousands
of
pounds
—
tens
of
Thousands
of
Pounds
!
’
(
he
repeated
it
with
great
relish
)
.
‘Now
,
you
have
always
been
a
steady
Hand
hitherto
;
but
my
opinion
is
,
and
so
I
tell
you
plainly
,
that
you
are
turning
into
the
wrong
road
.
You
have
been
listening
to
some
mischievous
stranger
or
other
—
they’re
always
about
—
and
the
best
thing
you
can
do
is
,
to
come
out
of
that
.
Now
you
know
;
’
here
his
countenance
expressed
marvellous
acuteness
;
‘I
can
see
as
far
into
a
grindstone
as
another
man
;
farther
than
a
good
many
,
perhaps
,
because
I
had
my
nose
well
kept
to
it
when
I
was
young
.
I
see
traces
of
the
turtle
soup
,
and
venison
,
and
gold
spoon
in
this
.
Yes
,
I
do
!
’
cried
Mr.
Bounderby
,
shaking
his
head
with
obstinate
cunning
.
‘By
the
Lord
Harry
,
I
do
!
’
With
a
very
different
shake
of
the
head
and
deep
sigh
,
Stephen
said
,
‘Thank
you
,
sir
,
I
wish
you
good
day.’
So
he
left
Mr.
Bounderby
swelling
at
his
own
portrait
on
the
wall
,
as
if
he
were
going
to
explode
himself
into
it
;
and
Mrs.
Sparsit
still
ambling
on
with
her
foot
in
her
stirrup
,
looking
quite
cast
down
by
the
popular
vices
.
CHAPTER
XII
THE
OLD
WOMAN
Old
Stephen
descended
the
two
white
steps
,
shutting
the
black
door
with
the
brazen
door-plate
,
by
the
aid
of
the
brazen
full-stop
,
to
which
he
gave
a
parting
polish
with
the
sleeve
of
his
coat
,
observing
that
his
hot
hand
clouded
it
.
He
crossed
the
street
with
his
eyes
bent
upon
the
ground
,
and
thus
was
walking
sorrowfully
away
,
when
he
felt
a
touch
upon
his
arm
.
It
was
not
the
touch
he
needed
most
at
such
a
moment
—
the
touch
that
could
calm
the
wild
waters
of
his
soul
,
as
the
uplifted
hand
of
the
sublimest
love
and
patience
could
abate
the
raging
of
the
sea
—
yet
it
was
a
woman’s
hand
too
.
It
was
an
old
woman
,
tall
and
shapely
still
,
though
withered
by
time
,
on
whom
his
eyes
fell
when
he
stopped
and
turned
.
She
was
very
cleanly
and
plainly
dressed
,
had
country
mud
upon
her
shoes
,
and
was
newly
come
from
a
journey
.
The
flutter
of
her
manner
,
in
the
unwonted
noise
of
the
streets
;
the
spare
shawl
,
carried
unfolded
on
her
arm
;
the
heavy
umbrella
,
and
little
basket
;
the
loose
long-fingered
gloves
,
to
which
her
hands
were
unused
;
all
bespoke
an
old
woman
from
the
country
,
in
her
plain
holiday
clothes
,
come
into
Coketown
on
an
expedition
of
rare
occurrence
.
Remarking
this
at
a
glance
,
with
the
quick
observation
of
his
class
,
Stephen
Blackpool
bent
his
attentive
face
—
his
face
,
which
,
like
the
faces
of
many
of
his
order
,
by
dint
of
long
working
with
eyes
and
hands
in
the
midst
of
a
prodigious
noise
,
had
acquired
the
concentrated
look
with
which
we
are
familiar
in
the
countenances
of
the
deaf
—
the
better
to
hear
what
she
asked
him
.
‘Pray
,
sir
,
’
said
the
old
woman
,
‘didn’t
I
see
you
come
out
of
that
gentleman’s
house
?
’
pointing
back
to
Mr.
Bounderby’s
.
‘I
believe
it
was
you
,
unless
I
have
had
the
bad
luck
to
mistake
the
person
in
following
?
’
‘Yes
,
missus
,
’
returned
Stephen
,
‘it
were
me.’
‘Have
you
—
you’ll
excuse
an
old
woman’s
curiosity
—
have
you
seen
the
gentleman
?
’
‘Yes
,
missus.’
‘And
how
did
he
look
,
sir
?
Was
he
portly
,
bold
,
outspoken
,
and
hearty
?
’
As
she
straightened
her
own
figure
,
and
held
up
her
head
in
adapting
her
action
to
her
words
,
the
idea
crossed
Stephen
that
he
had
seen
this
old
woman
before
,
and
had
not
quite
liked
her
.
‘O
yes
,
’
he
returned
,
observing
her
more
attentively
,
‘he
were
all
that.’
‘And
healthy
,
’
said
the
old
woman
,
‘as
the
fresh
wind
?
’
‘Yes
,
’
returned
Stephen
.
‘He
were
ett’n
and
drinking
—
as
large
and
as
loud
as
a
Hummobee.’
‘Thank
you
!
’
said
the
old
woman
,
with
infinite
content
.
‘Thank
you
!
’
He
certainly
never
had
seen
this
old
woman
before
.
Yet
there
was
a
vague
remembrance
in
his
mind
,
as
if
he
had
more
than
once
dreamed
of
some
old
woman
like
her
.
She
walked
along
at
his
side
,
and
,
gently
accommodating
himself
to
her
humour
,
he
said
Coketown
was
a
busy
place
,
was
it
not
?
To
which
she
answered
‘Eigh
sure
!
Dreadful
busy
!
’
Then
he
said
,
she
came
from
the
country
,
he
saw
?
To
which
she
answered
in
the
affirmative
.
‘By
Parliamentary
,
this
morning
.
I
came
forty
mile
by
Parliamentary
this
morning
,
and
I’m
going
back
the
same
forty
mile
this
afternoon
.
I
walked
nine
mile
to
the
station
this
morning
,
and
if
I
find
nobody
on
the
road
to
give
me
a
lift
,
I
shall
walk
the
nine
mile
back
to-night
.
That’s
pretty
well
,
sir
,
at
my
age
!
’
said
the
chatty
old
woman
,
her
eye
brightening
with
exultation
.
‘’Deed
’tis
.
Don’t
do’t
too
often
,
missus.’
‘No
,
no.
Once
a
year
,
’
she
answered
,
shaking
her
head
.
‘I
spend
my
savings
so
,
once
every
year
.
I
come
regular
,
to
tramp
about
the
streets
,
and
see
the
gentlemen.’
‘Only
to
see
’em
?
’
returned
Stephen
.
‘That’s
enough
for
me
,
’
she
replied
,
with
great
earnestness
and
interest
of
manner
.
‘I
ask
no
more
!
I
have
been
standing
about
,
on
this
side
of
the
way
,
to
see
that
gentleman
,
’
turning
her
head
back
towards
Mr.
Bounderby’s
again
,
‘come
out
.
But
,
he’s
late
this
year
,
and
I
have
not
seen
him
.
You
came
out
instead
.
Now
,
if
I
am
obliged
to
go
back
without
a
glimpse
of
him
—
I
only
want
a
glimpse
—
well
!
I
have
seen
you
,
and
you
have
seen
him
,
and
I
must
make
that
do.’
Saying
this
,
she
looked
at
Stephen
as
if
to
fix
his
features
in
her
mind
,
and
her
eye
was
not
so
bright
as
it
had
been
.
With
a
large
allowance
for
difference
of
tastes
,
and
with
all
submission
to
the
patricians
of
Coketown
,
this
seemed
so
extraordinary
a
source
of
interest
to
take
so
much
trouble
about
,
that
it
perplexed
him
.
But
they
were
passing
the
church
now
,
and
as
his
eye
caught
the
clock
,
he
quickened
his
pace
.
He
was
going
to
his
work
?
the
old
woman
said
,
quickening
hers
,
too
,
quite
easily
.
Yes
,
time
was
nearly
out
.
On
his
telling
her
where
he
worked
,
the
old
woman
became
a
more
singular
old
woman
than
before
.
‘An’t
you
happy
?
’
she
asked
him
.
‘Why
—
there’s
awmost
nobbody
but
has
their
troubles
,
missus.’
He
answered
evasively
,
because
the
old
woman
appeared
to
take
it
for
granted
that
he
would
be
very
happy
indeed
,
and
he
had
not
the
heart
to
disappoint
her
.
He
knew
that
there
was
trouble
enough
in
the
world
;
and
if
the
old
woman
had
lived
so
long
,
and
could
count
upon
his
having
so
little
,
why
so
much
the
better
for
her
,
and
none
the
worse
for
him
.
‘Ay
,
ay
!
You
have
your
troubles
at
home
,
you
mean
?
’
she
said
.
‘Times
.
Just
now
and
then
,
’
he
answered
,
slightly
.
‘But
,
working
under
such
a
gentleman
,
they
don’t
follow
you
to
the
Factory
?
’
No
,
no
;
they
didn’t
follow
him
there
,
said
Stephen
.
All
correct
there
.
Everything
accordant
there
.
(
He
did
not
go
so
far
as
to
say
,
for
her
pleasure
,
that
there
was
a
sort
of
Divine
Right
there
;
but
,
I
have
heard
claims
almost
as
magnificent
of
late
years
.
)
They
were
now
in
the
black
by-road
near
the
place
,
and
the
Hands
were
crowding
in
.
The
bell
was
ringing
,
and
the
Serpent
was
a
Serpent
of
many
coils
,
and
the
Elephant
was
getting
ready
.
The
strange
old
woman
was
delighted
with
the
very
bell
.
It
was
the
beautifullest
bell
she
had
ever
heard
,
she
said
,
and
sounded
grand
!
She
asked
him
,
when
he
stopped
good-naturedly
to
shake
hands
with
her
before
going
in
,
how
long
he
had
worked
there
?
‘A
dozen
year
,
’
he
told
her
.
‘I
must
kiss
the
hand
,
’
said
she
,
‘that
has
worked
in
this
fine
factory
for
a
dozen
year
!
’
And
she
lifted
it
,
though
he
would
have
prevented
her
,
and
put
it
to
her
lips
.
What
harmony
,
besides
her
age
and
her
simplicity
,
surrounded
her
,
he
did
not
know
,
but
even
in
this
fantastic
action
there
was
a
something
neither
out
of
time
nor
place
:
a
something
which
it
seemed
as
if
nobody
else
could
have
made
as
serious
,
or
done
with
such
a
natural
and
touching
air
.
He
had
been
at
his
loom
full
half
an
hour
,
thinking
about
this
old
woman
,
when
,
having
occasion
to
move
round
the
loom
for
its
adjustment
,
he
glanced
through
a
window
which
was
in
his
corner
,
and
saw
her
still
looking
up
at
the
pile
of
building
,
lost
in
admiration
.
Heedless
of
the
smoke
and
mud
and
wet
,
and
of
her
two
long
journeys
,
she
was
gazing
at
it
,
as
if
the
heavy
thrum
that
issued
from
its
many
stories
were
proud
music
to
her
.
She
was
gone
by
and
by
,
and
the
day
went
after
her
,
and
the
lights
sprung
up
again
,
and
the
Express
whirled
in
full
sight
of
the
Fairy
Palace
over
the
arches
near
:
little
felt
amid
the
jarring
of
the
machinery
,
and
scarcely
heard
above
its
crash
and
rattle
.
Long
before
then
his
thoughts
had
gone
back
to
the
dreary
room
above
the
little
shop
,
and
to
the
shameful
figure
heavy
on
the
bed
,
but
heavier
on
his
heart
.
Machinery
slackened
;
throbbing
feebly
like
a
fainting
pulse
;
stopped
.
The
bell
again
;
the
glare
of
light
and
heat
dispelled
;
the
factories
,
looming
heavy
in
the
black
wet
night
—
their
tall
chimneys
rising
up
into
the
air
like
competing
Towers
of
Babel
.
He
had
spoken
to
Rachael
only
last
night
,
it
was
true
,
and
had
walked
with
her
a
little
way
;
but
he
had
his
new
misfortune
on
him
,
in
which
no
one
else
could
give
him
a
moment’s
relief
,
and
,
for
the
sake
of
it
,
and
because
he
knew
himself
to
want
that
softening
of
his
anger
which
no
voice
but
hers
could
effect
,
he
felt
he
might
so
far
disregard
what
she
had
said
as
to
wait
for
her
again
.
He
waited
,
but
she
had
eluded
him
.
She
was
gone
.
On
no
other
night
in
the
year
could
he
so
ill
have
spared
her
patient
face
.
O
!
Better
to
have
no
home
in
which
to
lay
his
head
,
than
to
have
a
home
and
dread
to
go
to
it
,
through
such
a
cause
.
He
ate
and
drank
,
for
he
was
exhausted
—
but
he
little
knew
or
cared
what
;
and
he
wandered
about
in
the
chill
rain
,
thinking
and
thinking
,
and
brooding
and
brooding
.
No
word
of
a
new
marriage
had
ever
passed
between
them
;
but
Rachael
had
taken
great
pity
on
him
years
ago
,
and
to
her
alone
he
had
opened
his
closed
heart
all
this
time
,
on
the
subject
of
his
miseries
;
and
he
knew
very
well
that
if
he
were
free
to
ask
her
,
she
would
take
him
.
He
thought
of
the
home
he
might
at
that
moment
have
been
seeking
with
pleasure
and
pride
;
of
the
different
man
he
might
have
been
that
night
;
of
the
lightness
then
in
his
now
heavy-laden
breast
;
of
the
then
restored
honour
,
self-respect
,
and
tranquillity
all
torn
to
pieces
.
He
thought
of
the
waste
of
the
best
part
of
his
life
,
of
the
change
it
made
in
his
character
for
the
worse
every
day
,
of
the
dreadful
nature
of
his
existence
,
bound
hand
and
foot
,
to
a
dead
woman
,
and
tormented
by
a
demon
in
her
shape
.
He
thought
of
Rachael
,
how
young
when
they
were
first
brought
together
in
these
circumstances
,
how
mature
now
,
how
soon
to
grow
old
.
He
thought
of
the
number
of
girls
and
women
she
had
seen
marry
,
how
many
homes
with
children
in
them
she
had
seen
grow
up
around
her
,
how
she
had
contentedly
pursued
her
own
lone
quiet
path
—
for
him
—
and
how
he
had
sometimes
seen
a
shade
of
melancholy
on
her
blessed
face
,
that
smote
him
with
remorse
and
despair
.
He
set
the
picture
of
her
up
,
beside
the
infamous
image
of
last
night
;
and
thought
,
Could
it
be
,
that
the
whole
earthly
course
of
one
so
gentle
,
good
,
and
self-denying
,
was
subjugate
to
such
a
wretch
as
that
!
Filled
with
these
thoughts
—
so
filled
that
he
had
an
unwholesome
sense
of
growing
larger
,
of
being
placed
in
some
new
and
diseased
relation
towards
the
objects
among
which
he
passed
,
of
seeing
the
iris
round
every
misty
light
turn
red
—
he
went
home
for
shelter
.
CHAPTER
XIII
RACHAEL
A
candle
faintly
burned
in
the
window
,
to
which
the
black
ladder
had
often
been
raised
for
the
sliding
away
of
all
that
was
most
precious
in
this
world
to
a
striving
wife
and
a
brood
of
hungry
babies
;
and
Stephen
added
to
his
other
thoughts
the
stern
reflection
,
that
of
all
the
casualties
of
this
existence
upon
earth
,
not
one
was
dealt
out
with
so
unequal
a
hand
as
Death
.
The
inequality
of
Birth
was
nothing
to
it
.
For
,
say
that
the
child
of
a
King
and
the
child
of
a
Weaver
were
born
to-night
in
the
same
moment
,
what
was
that
disparity
,
to
the
death
of
any
human
creature
who
was
serviceable
to
,
or
beloved
by
,
another
,
while
this
abandoned
woman
lived
on
!
From
the
outside
of
his
home
he
gloomily
passed
to
the
inside
,
with
suspended
breath
and
with
a
slow
footstep
.
He
went
up
to
his
door
,
opened
it
,
and
so
into
the
room
.
Quiet
and
peace
were
there
.
Rachael
was
there
,
sitting
by
the
bed
.
She
turned
her
head
,
and
the
light
of
her
face
shone
in
upon
the
midnight
of
his
mind
.
She
sat
by
the
bed
,
watching
and
tending
his
wife
.
That
is
to
say
,
he
saw
that
some
one
lay
there
,
and
he
knew
too
well
it
must
be
she
;
but
Rachael’s
hands
had
put
a
curtain
up
,
so
that
she
was
screened
from
his
eyes
.
Her
disgraceful
garments
were
removed
,
and
some
of
Rachael’s
were
in
the
room
.
Everything
was
in
its
place
and
order
as
he
had
always
kept
it
,
the
little
fire
was
newly
trimmed
,
and
the
hearth
was
freshly
swept
.
It
appeared
to
him
that
he
saw
all
this
in
Rachael’s
face
,
and
looked
at
nothing
besides
.
While
looking
at
it
,
it
was
shut
out
from
his
view
by
the
softened
tears
that
filled
his
eyes
;
but
not
before
he
had
seen
how
earnestly
she
looked
at
him
,
and
how
her
own
eyes
were
filled
too
.
She
turned
again
towards
the
bed
,
and
satisfying
herself
that
all
was
quiet
there
,
spoke
in
a
low
,
calm
,
cheerful
voice
.
‘I
am
glad
you
have
come
at
last
,
Stephen
.
You
are
very
late.’
‘I
ha’
been
walking
up
an’
down.’
‘I
thought
so
.
But
’tis
too
bad
a
night
for
that
.
The
rain
falls
very
heavy
,
and
the
wind
has
risen.’
The
wind
?
True
.
It
was
blowing
hard
.
Hark
to
the
thundering
in
the
chimney
,
and
the
surging
noise
!
To
have
been
out
in
such
a
wind
,
and
not
to
have
known
it
was
blowing
!
‘I
have
been
here
once
before
,
to-day
,
Stephen
.
Landlady
came
round
for
me
at
dinner-time
.
There
was
some
one
here
that
needed
looking
to
,
she
said
.
And
‘deed
she
was
right
.
All
wandering
and
lost
,
Stephen
.
Wounded
too
,
and
bruised.’
He
slowly
moved
to
a
chair
and
sat
down
,
drooping
his
head
before
her
.
‘I
came
to
do
what
little
I
could
,
Stephen
;
first
,
for
that
she
worked
with
me
when
we
were
girls
both
,
and
for
that
you
courted
her
and
married
her
when
I
was
her
friend
—
’
He
laid
his
furrowed
forehead
on
his
hand
,
with
a
low
groan
.
‘And
next
,
for
that
I
know
your
heart
,
and
am
right
sure
and
certain
that
’tis
far
too
merciful
to
let
her
die
,
or
even
so
much
as
suffer
,
for
want
of
aid
.
Thou
knowest
who
said
,
“
Let
him
who
is
without
sin
among
you
cast
the
first
stone
at
her
!
”
There
have
been
plenty
to
do
that
.
Thou
art
not
the
man
to
cast
the
last
stone
,
Stephen
,
when
she
is
brought
so
low.’
‘O
Rachael
,
Rachael
!
’
‘Thou
hast
been
a
cruel
sufferer
,
Heaven
reward
thee
!
’
she
said
,
in
compassionate
accents
.
‘I
am
thy
poor
friend
,
with
all
my
heart
and
mind.’
The
wounds
of
which
she
had
spoken
,
seemed
to
be
about
the
neck
of
the
self-made
outcast
.
She
dressed
them
now
,
still
without
showing
her
.
She
steeped
a
piece
of
linen
in
a
basin
,
into
which
she
poured
some
liquid
from
a
bottle
,
and
laid
it
with
a
gentle
hand
upon
the
sore
.
The
three-legged
table
had
been
drawn
close
to
the
bedside
,
and
on
it
there
were
two
bottles
.
This
was
one
.
It
was
not
so
far
off
,
but
that
Stephen
,
following
her
hands
with
his
eyes
,
could
read
what
was
printed
on
it
in
large
letters
.
He
turned
of
a
deadly
hue
,
and
a
sudden
horror
seemed
to
fall
upon
him
.
‘I
will
stay
here
,
Stephen
,
’
said
Rachael
,
quietly
resuming
her
seat
,
‘till
the
bells
go
Three
.
’Tis
to
be
done
again
at
three
,
and
then
she
may
be
left
till
morning.’
‘But
thy
rest
agen
to-morrow’s
work
,
my
dear.’
‘I
slept
sound
last
night
.
I
can
wake
many
nights
,
when
I
am
put
to
it
.
’Tis
thou
who
art
in
need
of
rest
—
so
white
and
tired
.
Try
to
sleep
in
the
chair
there
,
while
I
watch
.
Thou
hadst
no
sleep
last
night
,
I
can
well
believe
.
To-morrow’s
work
is
far
harder
for
thee
than
for
me.’
He
heard
the
thundering
and
surging
out
of
doors
,
and
it
seemed
to
him
as
if
his
late
angry
mood
were
going
about
trying
to
get
at
him
.
She
had
cast
it
out
;
she
would
keep
it
out
;
he
trusted
to
her
to
defend
him
from
himself
.
‘She
don’t
know
me
,
Stephen
;
she
just
drowsily
mutters
and
stares
.
I
have
spoken
to
her
times
and
again
,
but
she
don’t
notice
!
’Tis
as
well
so
.
When
she
comes
to
her
right
mind
once
more
,
I
shall
have
done
what
I
can
,
and
she
never
the
wiser.’
‘How
long
,
Rachael
,
is
’t
looked
for
,
that
she’ll
be
so
?
’
‘Doctor
said
she
would
haply
come
to
her
mind
to-morrow.’
His
eyes
fell
again
on
the
bottle
,
and
a
tremble
passed
over
him
,
causing
him
to
shiver
in
every
limb
.
She
thought
he
was
chilled
with
the
wet
.
‘No
,
’
he
said
,
‘it
was
not
that
.
He
had
had
a
fright.’
‘A
fright
?
’
‘Ay
,
ay
!
coming
in
.
When
I
were
walking
.
When
I
were
thinking
.
When
I
—
’
It
seized
him
again
;
and
he
stood
up
,
holding
by
the
mantel-shelf
,
as
he
pressed
his
dank
cold
hair
down
with
a
hand
that
shook
as
if
it
were
palsied
.
‘Stephen
!
’
She
was
coming
to
him
,
but
he
stretched
out
his
arm
to
stop
her
.
‘No
!
Don’t
,
please
;
don’t
.
Let
me
see
thee
setten
by
the
bed
.
Let
me
see
thee
,
a’
so
good
,
and
so
forgiving
.
Let
me
see
thee
as
I
see
thee
when
I
coom
in
.
I
can
never
see
thee
better
than
so
.
Never
,
never
,
never
!
’
He
had
a
violent
fit
of
trembling
,
and
then
sunk
into
his
chair
.
After
a
time
he
controlled
himself
,
and
,
resting
with
an
elbow
on
one
knee
,
and
his
head
upon
that
hand
,
could
look
towards
Rachael
.
Seen
across
the
dim
candle
with
his
moistened
eyes
,
she
looked
as
if
she
had
a
glory
shining
round
her
head
.
He
could
have
believed
she
had
.
He
did
believe
it
,
as
the
noise
without
shook
the
window
,
rattled
at
the
door
below
,
and
went
about
the
house
clamouring
and
lamenting
.
‘When
she
gets
better
,
Stephen
,
’tis
to
be
hoped
she’ll
leave
thee
to
thyself
again
,
and
do
thee
no
more
hurt
.
Anyways
we
will
hope
so
now
.
And
now
I
shall
keep
silence
,
for
I
want
thee
to
sleep.’
He
closed
his
eyes
,
more
to
please
her
than
to
rest
his
weary
head
;
but
,
by
slow
degrees
as
he
listened
to
the
great
noise
of
the
wind
,
he
ceased
to
hear
it
,
or
it
changed
into
the
working
of
his
loom
,
or
even
into
the
voices
of
the
day
(
his
own
included
)
saying
what
had
been
really
said
.
Even
this
imperfect
consciousness
faded
away
at
last
,
and
he
dreamed
a
long
,
troubled
dream
.
He
thought
that
he
,
and
some
one
on
whom
his
heart
had
long
been
set
—
but
she
was
not
Rachael
,
and
that
surprised
him
,
even
in
the
midst
of
his
imaginary
happiness
—
stood
in
the
church
being
married
.
While
the
ceremony
was
performing
,
and
while
he
recognized
among
the
witnesses
some
whom
he
knew
to
be
living
,
and
many
whom
he
knew
to
be
dead
,
darkness
came
on
,
succeeded
by
the
shining
of
a
tremendous
light
.
It
broke
from
one
line
in
the
table
of
commandments
at
the
altar
,
and
illuminated
the
building
with
the
words
.
They
were
sounded
through
the
church
,
too
,
as
if
there
were
voices
in
the
fiery
letters
.
Upon
this
,
the
whole
appearance
before
him
and
around
him
changed
,
and
nothing
was
left
as
it
had
been
,
but
himself
and
the
clergyman
.
They
stood
in
the
daylight
before
a
crowd
so
vast
,
that
if
all
the
people
in
the
world
could
have
been
brought
together
into
one
space
,
they
could
not
have
looked
,
he
thought
,
more
numerous
;
and
they
all
abhorred
him
,
and
there
was
not
one
pitying
or
friendly
eye
among
the
millions
that
were
fastened
on
his
face
.
He
stood
on
a
raised
stage
,
under
his
own
loom
;
and
,
looking
up
at
the
shape
the
loom
took
,
and
hearing
the
burial
service
distinctly
read
,
he
knew
that
he
was
there
to
suffer
death
.
In
an
instant
what
he
stood
on
fell
below
him
,
and
he
was
gone
.
—
Out
of
what
mystery
he
came
back
to
his
usual
life
,
and
to
places
that
he
knew
,
he
was
unable
to
consider
;
but
he
was
back
in
those
places
by
some
means
,
and
with
this
condemnation
upon
him
,
that
he
was
never
,
in
this
world
or
the
next
,
through
all
the
unimaginable
ages
of
eternity
,
to
look
on
Rachael’s
face
or
hear
her
voice
.
Wandering
to
and
fro
,
unceasingly
,
without
hope
,
and
in
search
of
he
knew
not
what
(
he
only
knew
that
he
was
doomed
to
seek
it
)
,
he
was
the
subject
of
a
nameless
,
horrible
dread
,
a
mortal
fear
of
one
particular
shape
which
everything
took
.
Whatsoever
he
looked
at
,
grew
into
that
form
sooner
or
later
.
The
object
of
his
miserable
existence
was
to
prevent
its
recognition
by
any
one
among
the
various
people
he
encountered
.
Hopeless
labour
!
If
he
led
them
out
of
rooms
where
it
was
,
if
he
shut
up
drawers
and
closets
where
it
stood
,
if
he
drew
the
curious
from
places
where
he
knew
it
to
be
secreted
,
and
got
them
out
into
the
streets
,
the
very
chimneys
of
the
mills
assumed
that
shape
,
and
round
them
was
the
printed
word
.
The
wind
was
blowing
again
,
the
rain
was
beating
on
the
house-tops
,
and
the
larger
spaces
through
which
he
had
strayed
contracted
to
the
four
walls
of
his
room
.
Saving
that
the
fire
had
died
out
,
it
was
as
his
eyes
had
closed
upon
it
.
Rachael
seemed
to
have
fallen
into
a
doze
,
in
the
chair
by
the
bed
.
She
sat
wrapped
in
her
shawl
,
perfectly
still
.
The
table
stood
in
the
same
place
,
close
by
the
bedside
,
and
on
it
,
in
its
real
proportions
and
appearance
,
was
the
shape
so
often
repeated
.
He
thought
he
saw
the
curtain
move
.
He
looked
again
,
and
he
was
sure
it
moved
.
He
saw
a
hand
come
forth
and
grope
about
a
little
.
Then
the
curtain
moved
more
perceptibly
,
and
the
woman
in
the
bed
put
it
back
,
and
sat
up
.
With
her
woful
eyes
,
so
haggard
and
wild
,
so
heavy
and
large
,
she
looked
all
round
the
room
,
and
passed
the
corner
where
he
slept
in
his
chair
.
Her
eyes
returned
to
that
corner
,
and
she
put
her
hand
over
them
as
a
shade
,
while
she
looked
into
it
.
Again
they
went
all
round
the
room
,
scarcely
heeding
Rachael
if
at
all
,
and
returned
to
that
corner
.
He
thought
,
as
she
once
more
shaded
them
—
not
so
much
looking
at
him
,
as
looking
for
him
with
a
brutish
instinct
that
he
was
there
—
that
no
single
trace
was
left
in
those
debauched
features
,
or
in
the
mind
that
went
along
with
them
,
of
the
woman
he
had
married
eighteen
years
before
.
But
that
he
had
seen
her
come
to
this
by
inches
,
he
never
could
have
believed
her
to
be
the
same
.
All
this
time
,
as
if
a
spell
were
on
him
,
he
was
motionless
and
powerless
,
except
to
watch
her
.
Stupidly
dozing
,
or
communing
with
her
incapable
self
about
nothing
,
she
sat
for
a
little
while
with
her
hands
at
her
ears
,
and
her
head
resting
on
them
.
Presently
,
she
resumed
her
staring
round
the
room
.
And
now
,
for
the
first
time
,
her
eyes
stopped
at
the
table
with
the
bottles
on
it
.
Straightway
she
turned
her
eyes
back
to
his
corner
,
with
the
defiance
of
last
night
,
and
moving
very
cautiously
and
softly
,
stretched
out
her
greedy
hand
.
She
drew
a
mug
into
the
bed
,
and
sat
for
a
while
considering
which
of
the
two
bottles
she
should
choose
.
Finally
,
she
laid
her
insensate
grasp
upon
the
bottle
that
had
swift
and
certain
death
in
it
,
and
,
before
his
eyes
,
pulled
out
the
cork
with
her
teeth
.
Dream
or
reality
,
he
had
no
voice
,
nor
had
he
power
to
stir
.
If
this
be
real
,
and
her
allotted
time
be
not
yet
come
,
wake
,
Rachael
,
wake
!
She
thought
of
that
,
too
.
She
looked
at
Rachael
,
and
very
slowly
,
very
cautiously
,
poured
out
the
contents
.
The
draught
was
at
her
lips
.
A
moment
and
she
would
be
past
all
help
,
let
the
whole
world
wake
and
come
about
her
with
its
utmost
power
.
But
in
that
moment
Rachael
started
up
with
a
suppressed
cry
.
The
creature
struggled
,
struck
her
,
seized
her
by
the
hair
;
but
Rachael
had
the
cup
.
Stephen
broke
out
of
his
chair
.
‘Rachael
,
am
I
wakin’
or
dreamin’
this
dreadfo’
night
?
’
‘’Tis
all
well
,
Stephen
.
I
have
been
asleep
,
myself
.
’Tis
near
three
.
Hush
!
I
hear
the
bells.’
The
wind
brought
the
sounds
of
the
church
clock
to
the
window
.
They
listened
,
and
it
struck
three
.
Stephen
looked
at
her
,
saw
how
pale
she
was
,
noted
the
disorder
of
her
hair
,
and
the
red
marks
of
fingers
on
her
forehead
,
and
felt
assured
that
his
senses
of
sight
and
hearing
had
been
awake
.
She
held
the
cup
in
her
hand
even
now
.
‘I
thought
it
must
be
near
three
,
’
she
said
,
calmly
pouring
from
the
cup
into
the
basin
,
and
steeping
the
linen
as
before
.
‘I
am
thankful
I
stayed
!
’Tis
done
now
,
when
I
have
put
this
on
.
There
!
And
now
she’s
quiet
again
.
The
few
drops
in
the
basin
I’ll
pour
away
,
for
’tis
bad
stuff
to
leave
about
,
though
ever
so
little
of
it.’
As
she
spoke
,
she
drained
the
basin
into
the
ashes
of
the
fire
,
and
broke
the
bottle
on
the
hearth
.
She
had
nothing
to
do
,
then
,
but
to
cover
herself
with
her
shawl
before
going
out
into
the
wind
and
rain
.
‘Thou’lt
let
me
walk
wi’
thee
at
this
hour
,
Rachael
?
’
‘No
,
Stephen
.
’Tis
but
a
minute
,
and
I’m
home.’
‘Thou’rt
not
fearfo’
;
’
he
said
it
in
a
low
voice
,
as
they
went
out
at
the
door
;
‘to
leave
me
alone
wi’
her
!
’
As
she
looked
at
him
,
saying
,
‘Stephen
?
’
he
went
down
on
his
knee
before
her
,
on
the
poor
mean
stairs
,
and
put
an
end
of
her
shawl
to
his
lips
.
‘Thou
art
an
Angel
.
Bless
thee
,
bless
thee
!
’
‘I
am
,
as
I
have
told
thee
,
Stephen
,
thy
poor
friend
.
Angels
are
not
like
me
.
Between
them
,
and
a
working
woman
fu’
of
faults
,
there
is
a
deep
gulf
set
.
My
little
sister
is
among
them
,
but
she
is
changed.’
She
raised
her
eyes
for
a
moment
as
she
said
the
words
;
and
then
they
fell
again
,
in
all
their
gentleness
and
mildness
,
on
his
face
.
‘Thou
changest
me
from
bad
to
good
.
Thou
mak’st
me
humbly
wishfo’
to
be
more
like
thee
,
and
fearfo’
to
lose
thee
when
this
life
is
ower
,
and
a’
the
muddle
cleared
awa’
.
Thou’rt
an
Angel
;
it
may
be
,
thou
hast
saved
my
soul
alive
!
’
She
looked
at
him
,
on
his
knee
at
her
feet
,
with
her
shawl
still
in
his
hand
,
and
the
reproof
on
her
lips
died
away
when
she
saw
the
working
of
his
face
.
‘I
coom
home
desp’rate
.
I
coom
home
wi’out
a
hope
,
and
mad
wi’
thinking
that
when
I
said
a
word
o’
complaint
I
was
reckoned
a
unreasonable
Hand
.
I
told
thee
I
had
had
a
fright
.
It
were
the
Poison-bottle
on
table
.
I
never
hurt
a
livin’
creetur
;
but
happenin’
so
suddenly
upon
’t
,
I
thowt
,
“
How
can
I
say
what
I
might
ha’
done
to
myseln
,
or
her
,
or
both
!
”
’
She
put
her
two
hands
on
his
mouth
,
with
a
face
of
terror
,
to
stop
him
from
saying
more
.
He
caught
them
in
his
unoccupied
hand
,
and
holding
them
,
and
still
clasping
the
border
of
her
shawl
,
said
hurriedly
:
‘But
I
see
thee
,
Rachael
,
setten
by
the
bed
.
I
ha’
seen
thee
,
aw
this
night
.
In
my
troublous
sleep
I
ha’
known
thee
still
to
be
there
.
Evermore
I
will
see
thee
there
.
I
nevermore
will
see
her
or
think
o’
her
,
but
thou
shalt
be
beside
her
.
I
nevermore
will
see
or
think
o’
anything
that
angers
me
,
but
thou
,
so
much
better
than
me
,
shalt
be
by
th’
side
on’t
.
And
so
I
will
try
t’
look
t’
th’
time
,
and
so
I
will
try
t’
trust
t’
th’
time
,
when
thou
and
me
at
last
shall
walk
together
far
awa’
,
beyond
the
deep
gulf
,
in
th’
country
where
thy
little
sister
is.’
He
kissed
the
border
of
her
shawl
again
,
and
let
her
go
.
She
bade
him
good
night
in
a
broken
voice
,
and
went
out
into
the
street
.
The
wind
blew
from
the
quarter
where
the
day
would
soon
appear
,
and
still
blew
strongly
.
It
had
cleared
the
sky
before
it
,
and
the
rain
had
spent
itself
or
travelled
elsewhere
,
and
the
stars
were
bright
.
He
stood
bare-headed
in
the
road
,
watching
her
quick
disappearance
.
As
the
shining
stars
were
to
the
heavy
candle
in
the
window
,
so
was
Rachael
,
in
the
rugged
fancy
of
this
man
,
to
the
common
experiences
of
his
life
.
CHAPTER
XIV
THE
GREAT
MANUFACTURER
Time
went
on
in
Coketown
like
its
own
machinery
:
so
much
material
wrought
up
,
so
much
fuel
consumed
,
so
many
powers
worn
out
,
so
much
money
made
.
But
,
less
inexorable
than
iron
,
steel
,
and
brass
,
it
brought
its
varying
seasons
even
into
that
wilderness
of
smoke
and
brick
,
and
made
the
only
stand
that
ever
was
made
in
the
place
against
its
direful
uniformity
.
‘Louisa
is
becoming
,
’
said
Mr.
Gradgrind
,
‘almost
a
young
woman.’
Time
,
with
his
innumerable
horse-power
,
worked
away
,
not
minding
what
anybody
said
,
and
presently
turned
out
young
Thomas
a
foot
taller
than
when
his
father
had
last
taken
particular
notice
of
him
.
‘Thomas
is
becoming
,
’
said
Mr.
Gradgrind
,
‘almost
a
young
man.’
Time
passed
Thomas
on
in
the
mill
,
while
his
father
was
thinking
about
it
,
and
there
he
stood
in
a
long-tailed
coat
and
a
stiff
shirt-collar
.
‘Really
,
’
said
Mr.
Gradgrind
,
‘the
period
has
arrived
when
Thomas
ought
to
go
to
Bounderby.’
Time
,
sticking
to
him
,
passed
him
on
into
Bounderby’s
Bank
,
made
him
an
inmate
of
Bounderby’s
house
,
necessitated
the
purchase
of
his
first
razor
,
and
exercised
him
diligently
in
his
calculations
relative
to
number
one
.
The
same
great
manufacturer
,
always
with
an
immense
variety
of
work
on
hand
,
in
every
stage
of
development
,
passed
Sissy
onward
in
his
mill
,
and
worked
her
up
into
a
very
pretty
article
indeed
.
‘I
fear
,
Jupe
,
’
said
Mr.
Gradgrind
,
‘that
your
continuance
at
the
school
any
longer
would
be
useless.’
‘I
am
afraid
it
would
,
sir
,
’
Sissy
answered
with
a
curtsey
.
‘I
cannot
disguise
from
you
,
Jupe
,
’
said
Mr.
Gradgrind
,
knitting
his
brow
,
‘that
the
result
of
your
probation
there
has
disappointed
me
;
has
greatly
disappointed
me
.
You
have
not
acquired
,
under
Mr.
and
Mrs.
M’Choakumchild
,
anything
like
that
amount
of
exact
knowledge
which
I
looked
for
.
You
are
extremely
deficient
in
your
facts
.
Your
acquaintance
with
figures
is
very
limited
.
You
are
altogether
backward
,
and
below
the
mark.’
‘I
am
sorry
,
sir
,
’
she
returned
;
‘but
I
know
it
is
quite
true
.
Yet
I
have
tried
hard
,
sir.’
‘Yes
,
’
said
Mr.
Gradgrind
,
‘yes
,
I
believe
you
have
tried
hard
;
I
have
observed
you
,
and
I
can
find
no
fault
in
that
respect.’
‘Thank
you
,
sir
.
I
have
thought
sometimes
;
’
Sissy
very
timid
here
;
‘that
perhaps
I
tried
to
learn
too
much
,
and
that
if
I
had
asked
to
be
allowed
to
try
a
little
less
,
I
might
have
—
’
‘No
,
Jupe
,
no
,
’
said
Mr.
Gradgrind
,
shaking
his
head
in
his
profoundest
and
most
eminently
practical
way
.
‘No
.
The
course
you
pursued
,
you
pursued
according
to
the
system
—
the
system
—
and
there
is
no
more
to
be
said
about
it
.
I
can
only
suppose
that
the
circumstances
of
your
early
life
were
too
unfavourable
to
the
development
of
your
reasoning
powers
,
and
that
we
began
too
late
.
Still
,
as
I
have
said
already
,
I
am
disappointed.’
‘I
wish
I
could
have
made
a
better
acknowledgment
,
sir
,
of
your
kindness
to
a
poor
forlorn
girl
who
had
no
claim
upon
you
,
and
of
your
protection
of
her.’
‘Don’t
shed
tears
,
’
said
Mr.
Gradgrind
.
‘Don’t
shed
tears
.
I
don’t
complain
of
you
.
You
are
an
affectionate
,
earnest
,
good
young
woman
—
and
—
and
we
must
make
that
do.’
‘Thank
you
,
sir
,
very
much
,
’
said
Sissy
,
with
a
grateful
curtsey
.
‘You
are
useful
to
Mrs.
Gradgrind
,
and
(
in
a
generally
pervading
way
)
you
are
serviceable
in
the
family
also
;
so
I
understand
from
Miss
Louisa
,
and
,
indeed
,
so
I
have
observed
myself
.
I
therefore
hope
,
’
said
Mr.
Gradgrind
,
‘that
you
can
make
yourself
happy
in
those
relations.’
‘I
should
have
nothing
to
wish
,
sir
,
if
—
’
‘I
understand
you
,
’
said
Mr.
Gradgrind
;
‘you
still
refer
to
your
father
.
I
have
heard
from
Miss
Louisa
that
you
still
preserve
that
bottle
.
Well
!
If
your
training
in
the
science
of
arriving
at
exact
results
had
been
more
successful
,
you
would
have
been
wiser
on
these
points
.
I
will
say
no
more.’
He
really
liked
Sissy
too
well
to
have
a
contempt
for
her
;
otherwise
he
held
her
calculating
powers
in
such
very
slight
estimation
that
he
must
have
fallen
upon
that
conclusion
.
Somehow
or
other
,
he
had
become
possessed
by
an
idea
that
there
was
something
in
this
girl
which
could
hardly
be
set
forth
in
a
tabular
form
.
Her
capacity
of
definition
might
be
easily
stated
at
a
very
low
figure
,
her
mathematical
knowledge
at
nothing
;
yet
he
was
not
sure
that
if
he
had
been
required
,
for
example
,
to
tick
her
off
into
columns
in
a
parliamentary
return
,
he
would
have
quite
known
how
to
divide
her
.
In
some
stages
of
his
manufacture
of
the
human
fabric
,
the
processes
of
Time
are
very
rapid
.
Young
Thomas
and
Sissy
being
both
at
such
a
stage
of
their
working
up
,
these
changes
were
effected
in
a
year
or
two
;
while
Mr.
Gradgrind
himself
seemed
stationary
in
his
course
,
and
underwent
no
alteration
.
Except
one
,
which
was
apart
from
his
necessary
progress
through
the
mill
.
Time
hustled
him
into
a
little
noisy
and
rather
dirty
machinery
,
in
a
by-comer
,
and
made
him
Member
of
Parliament
for
Coketown
:
one
of
the
respected
members
for
ounce
weights
and
measures
,
one
of
the
representatives
of
the
multiplication
table
,
one
of
the
deaf
honourable
gentlemen
,
dumb
honourable
gentlemen
,
blind
honourable
gentlemen
,
lame
honourable
gentlemen
,
dead
honourable
gentlemen
,
to
every
other
consideration
.
Else
wherefore
live
we
in
a
Christian
land
,
eighteen
hundred
and
odd
years
after
our
Master
?
All
this
while
,
Louisa
had
been
passing
on
,
so
quiet
and
reserved
,
and
so
much
given
to
watching
the
bright
ashes
at
twilight
as
they
fell
into
the
grate
,
and
became
extinct
,
that
from
the
period
when
her
father
had
said
she
was
almost
a
young
woman
—
which
seemed
but
yesterday
—
she
had
scarcely
attracted
his
notice
again
,
when
he
found
her
quite
a
young
woman
.
‘Quite
a
young
woman
,
’
said
Mr.
Gradgrind
,
musing
.
‘Dear
me
!
’
Soon
after
this
discovery
,
he
became
more
thoughtful
than
usual
for
several
days
,
and
seemed
much
engrossed
by
one
subject
.
On
a
certain
night
,
when
he
was
going
out
,
and
Louisa
came
to
bid
him
good-bye
before
his
departure
—
as
he
was
not
to
be
home
until
late
and
she
would
not
see
him
again
until
the
morning
—
he
held
her
in
his
arms
,
looking
at
her
in
his
kindest
manner
,
and
said
:
‘My
dear
Louisa
,
you
are
a
woman
!
’
She
answered
with
the
old
,
quick
,
searching
look
of
the
night
when
she
was
found
at
the
Circus
;
then
cast
down
her
eyes
.
‘Yes
,
father.’
‘My
dear
,
’
said
Mr.
Gradgrind
,
‘I
must
speak
with
you
alone
and
seriously
.
Come
to
me
in
my
room
after
breakfast
to-morrow
,
will
you
?
’
‘Yes
,
father.’
‘Your
hands
are
rather
cold
,
Louisa
.
Are
you
not
well
?
’
‘Quite
well
,
father.’
‘And
cheerful
?
’
She
looked
at
him
again
,
and
smiled
in
her
peculiar
manner
.
‘I
am
as
cheerful
,
father
,
as
I
usually
am
,
or
usually
have
been.’
‘That’s
well
,
’
said
Mr.
Gradgrind
.
So
,
he
kissed
her
and
went
away
;
and
Louisa
returned
to
the
serene
apartment
of
the
hair-cutting
character
,
and
leaning
her
elbow
on
her
hand
,
looked
again
at
the
short-lived
sparks
that
so
soon
subsided
into
ashes
.
‘Are
you
there
,
Loo
?
’
said
her
brother
,
looking
in
at
the
door
.
He
was
quite
a
young
gentleman
of
pleasure
now
,
and
not
quite
a
prepossessing
one
.
‘Dear
Tom
,
’
she
answered
,
rising
and
embracing
him
,
‘how
long
it
is
since
you
have
been
to
see
me
!
’
‘Why
,
I
have
been
otherwise
engaged
,
Loo
,
in
the
evenings
;
and
in
the
daytime
old
Bounderby
has
been
keeping
me
at
it
rather
.
But
I
touch
him
up
with
you
when
he
comes
it
too
strong
,
and
so
we
preserve
an
understanding
.
I
say
!
Has
father
said
anything
particular
to
you
to-day
or
yesterday
,
Loo
?
’
‘No
,
Tom
.
But
he
told
me
to-night
that
he
wished
to
do
so
in
the
morning.’
‘Ah
!
That’s
what
I
mean
,
’
said
Tom
.
‘Do
you
know
where
he
is
to-night
?
’
—
with
a
very
deep
expression
.
‘No.’
‘Then
I’ll
tell
you
.
He’s
with
old
Bounderby
.
They
are
having
a
regular
confab
together
up
at
the
Bank
.
Why
at
the
Bank
,
do
you
think
?
Well
,
I’ll
tell
you
again
.
To
keep
Mrs.
Sparsit’s
ears
as
far
off
as
possible
,
I
expect.’
With
her
hand
upon
her
brother’s
shoulder
,
Louisa
still
stood
looking
at
the
fire
.
Her
brother
glanced
at
her
face
with
greater
interest
than
usual
,
and
,
encircling
her
waist
with
his
arm
,
drew
her
coaxingly
to
him
.
‘You
are
very
fond
of
me
,
an’t
you
,
Loo
?
’
‘Indeed
I
am
,
Tom
,
though
you
do
let
such
long
intervals
go
by
without
coming
to
see
me.’
‘Well
,
sister
of
mine
,
’
said
Tom
,
‘when
you
say
that
,
you
are
near
my
thoughts
.
We
might
be
so
much
oftener
together
—
mightn’t
we
?
Always
together
,
almost
—
mightn’t
we
?
It
would
do
me
a
great
deal
of
good
if
you
were
to
make
up
your
mind
to
I
know
what
,
Loo
.
It
would
be
a
splendid
thing
for
me
.
It
would
be
uncommonly
jolly
!
’
Her
thoughtfulness
baffled
his
cunning
scrutiny
.
He
could
make
nothing
of
her
face
.
He
pressed
her
in
his
arm
,
and
kissed
her
cheek
.
She
returned
the
kiss
,
but
still
looked
at
the
fire
.
‘I
say
,
Loo
!
I
thought
I’d
come
,
and
just
hint
to
you
what
was
going
on
:
though
I
supposed
you’d
most
likely
guess
,
even
if
you
didn’t
know
.
I
can’t
stay
,
because
I’m
engaged
to
some
fellows
to-night
.
You
won’t
forget
how
fond
you
are
of
me
?
’
‘No
,
dear
Tom
,
I
won’t
forget.’
‘That’s
a
capital
girl
,
’
said
Tom
.
‘Good-bye
,
Loo.’
She
gave
him
an
affectionate
good-night
,
and
went
out
with
him
to
the
door
,
whence
the
fires
of
Coketown
could
be
seen
,
making
the
distance
lurid
.
She
stood
there
,
looking
steadfastly
towards
them
,
and
listening
to
his
departing
steps
.
They
retreated
quickly
,
as
glad
to
get
away
from
Stone
Lodge
;
and
she
stood
there
yet
,
when
he
was
gone
and
all
was
quiet
.
It
seemed
as
if
,
first
in
her
own
fire
within
the
house
,
and
then
in
the
fiery
haze
without
,
she
tried
to
discover
what
kind
of
woof
Old
Time
,
that
greatest
and
longest-established
Spinner
of
all
,
would
weave
from
the
threads
he
had
already
spun
into
a
woman
.
But
his
factory
is
a
secret
place
,
his
work
is
noiseless
,
and
his
Hands
are
mutes
.
CHAPTER
XV
FATHER
AND
DAUGHTER
Although
Mr.
Gradgrind
did
not
take
after
Blue
Beard
,
his
room
was
quite
a
blue
chamber
in
its
abundance
of
blue
books
.
Whatever
they
could
prove
(
which
is
usually
anything
you
like
)
,
they
proved
there
,
in
an
army
constantly
strengthening
by
the
arrival
of
new
recruits
.
In
that
charmed
apartment
,
the
most
complicated
social
questions
were
cast
up
,
got
into
exact
totals
,
and
finally
settled
—
if
those
concerned
could
only
have
been
brought
to
know
it
.
As
if
an
astronomical
observatory
should
be
made
without
any
windows
,
and
the
astronomer
within
should
arrange
the
starry
universe
solely
by
pen
,
ink
,
and
paper
,
so
Mr.
Gradgrind
,
in
his
Observatory
(
and
there
are
many
like
it
)
,
had
no
need
to
cast
an
eye
upon
the
teeming
myriads
of
human
beings
around
him
,
but
could
settle
all
their
destinies
on
a
slate
,
and
wipe
out
all
their
tears
with
one
dirty
little
bit
of
sponge
.
To
this
Observatory
,
then
:
a
stern
room
,
with
a
deadly
statistical
clock
in
it
,
which
measured
every
second
with
a
beat
like
a
rap
upon
a
coffin-lid
;
Louisa
repaired
on
the
appointed
morning
.
A
window
looked
towards
Coketown
;
and
when
she
sat
down
near
her
father’s
table
,
she
saw
the
high
chimneys
and
the
long
tracts
of
smoke
looming
in
the
heavy
distance
gloomily
.
‘My
dear
Louisa
,
’
said
her
father
,
‘I
prepared
you
last
night
to
give
me
your
serious
attention
in
the
conversation
we
are
now
going
to
have
together
.
You
have
been
so
well
trained
,
and
you
do
,
I
am
happy
to
say
,
so
much
justice
to
the
education
you
have
received
,
that
I
have
perfect
confidence
in
your
good
sense
.
You
are
not
impulsive
,
you
are
not
romantic
,
you
are
accustomed
to
view
everything
from
the
strong
dispassionate
ground
of
reason
and
calculation
.
From
that
ground
alone
,
I
know
you
will
view
and
consider
what
I
am
going
to
communicate.’
He
waited
,
as
if
he
would
have
been
glad
that
she
said
something
.
But
she
said
never
a
word
.
‘Louisa
,
my
dear
,
you
are
the
subject
of
a
proposal
of
marriage
that
has
been
made
to
me.’
Again
he
waited
,
and
again
she
answered
not
one
word
.
This
so
far
surprised
him
,
as
to
induce
him
gently
to
repeat
,
‘a
proposal
of
marriage
,
my
dear.’
To
which
she
returned
,
without
any
visible
emotion
whatever
:
‘I
hear
you
,
father
.
I
am
attending
,
I
assure
you.’
‘Well
!
’
said
Mr.
Gradgrind
,
breaking
into
a
smile
,
after
being
for
the
moment
at
a
loss
,
‘you
are
even
more
dispassionate
than
I
expected
,
Louisa
.
Or
,
perhaps
,
you
are
not
unprepared
for
the
announcement
I
have
it
in
charge
to
make
?
’
‘I
cannot
say
that
,
father
,
until
I
hear
it
.
Prepared
or
unprepared
,
I
wish
to
hear
it
all
from
you
.
I
wish
to
hear
you
state
it
to
me
,
father.’
Strange
to
relate
,
Mr.
Gradgrind
was
not
so
collected
at
this
moment
as
his
daughter
was
.
He
took
a
paper-knife
in
his
hand
,
turned
it
over
,
laid
it
down
,
took
it
up
again
,
and
even
then
had
to
look
along
the
blade
of
it
,
considering
how
to
go
on
.
‘What
you
say
,
my
dear
Louisa
,
is
perfectly
reasonable
.
I
have
undertaken
then
to
let
you
know
that
—
in
short
,
that
Mr.
Bounderby
has
informed
me
that
he
has
long
watched
your
progress
with
particular
interest
and
pleasure
,
and
has
long
hoped
that
the
time
might
ultimately
arrive
when
he
should
offer
you
his
hand
in
marriage
.
That
time
,
to
which
he
has
so
long
,
and
certainly
with
great
constancy
,
looked
forward
,
is
now
come
.
Mr.
Bounderby
has
made
his
proposal
of
marriage
to
me
,
and
has
entreated
me
to
make
it
known
to
you
,
and
to
express
his
hope
that
you
will
take
it
into
your
favourable
consideration.’
Silence
between
them
.
The
deadly
statistical
clock
very
hollow
.
The
distant
smoke
very
black
and
heavy
.
‘Father
,
’
said
Louisa
,
‘do
you
think
I
love
Mr.
Bounderby
?
’
Mr.
Gradgrind
was
extremely
discomfited
by
this
unexpected
question
.
‘Well
,
my
child
,
’
he
returned
,
‘I
—
really
—
cannot
take
upon
myself
to
say.’
‘Father
,
’
pursued
Louisa
in
exactly
the
same
voice
as
before
,
‘do
you
ask
me
to
love
Mr.
Bounderby
?
’
‘My
dear
Louisa
,
no.
No.
I
ask
nothing.’
‘Father
,
’
she
still
pursued
,
‘does
Mr.
Bounderby
ask
me
to
love
him
?
’
‘Really
,
my
dear
,
’
said
Mr.
Gradgrind
,
‘it
is
difficult
to
answer
your
question
—
’
‘Difficult
to
answer
it
,
Yes
or
No
,
father
?
‘Certainly
,
my
dear
.
Because
;
’
here
was
something
to
demonstrate
,
and
it
set
him
up
again
;
‘because
the
reply
depends
so
materially
,
Louisa
,
on
the
sense
in
which
we
use
the
expression
.
Now
,
Mr.
Bounderby
does
not
do
you
the
injustice
,
and
does
not
do
himself
the
injustice
,
of
pretending
to
anything
fanciful
,
fantastic
,
or
(
I
am
using
synonymous
terms
)
sentimental
.
Mr.
Bounderby
would
have
seen
you
grow
up
under
his
eyes
,
to
very
little
purpose
,
if
he
could
so
far
forget
what
is
due
to
your
good
sense
,
not
to
say
to
his
,
as
to
address
you
from
any
such
ground
.
Therefore
,
perhaps
the
expression
itself
—
I
merely
suggest
this
to
you
,
my
dear
—
may
be
a
little
misplaced.’
‘What
would
you
advise
me
to
use
in
its
stead
,
father
?
’
‘Why
,
my
dear
Louisa
,
’
said
Mr.
Gradgrind
,
completely
recovered
by
this
time
,
‘I
would
advise
you
(
since
you
ask
me
)
to
consider
this
question
,
as
you
have
been
accustomed
to
consider
every
other
question
,
simply
as
one
of
tangible
Fact
.
The
ignorant
and
the
giddy
may
embarrass
such
subjects
with
irrelevant
fancies
,
and
other
absurdities
that
have
no
existence
,
properly
viewed
—
really
no
existence
—
but
it
is
no
compliment
to
you
to
say
,
that
you
know
better
.
Now
,
what
are
the
Facts
of
this
case
?
You
are
,
we
will
say
in
round
numbers
,
twenty
years
of
age
;
Mr.
Bounderby
is
,
we
will
say
in
round
numbers
,
fifty
.
There
is
some
disparity
in
your
respective
years
,
but
in
your
means
and
positions
there
is
none
;
on
the
contrary
,
there
is
a
great
suitability
.
Then
the
question
arises
,
Is
this
one
disparity
sufficient
to
operate
as
a
bar
to
such
a
marriage
?
In
considering
this
question
,
it
is
not
unimportant
to
take
into
account
the
statistics
of
marriage
,
so
far
as
they
have
yet
been
obtained
,
in
England
and
Wales
.
I
find
,
on
reference
to
the
figures
,
that
a
large
proportion
of
these
marriages
are
contracted
between
parties
of
very
unequal
ages
,
and
that
the
elder
of
these
contracting
parties
is
,
in
rather
more
than
three-fourths
of
these
instances
,
the
bridegroom
.
It
is
remarkable
as
showing
the
wide
prevalence
of
this
law
,
that
among
the
natives
of
the
British
possessions
in
India
,
also
in
a
considerable
part
of
China
,
and
among
the
Calmucks
of
Tartary
,
the
best
means
of
computation
yet
furnished
us
by
travellers
,
yield
similar
results
.
The
disparity
I
have
mentioned
,
therefore
,
almost
ceases
to
be
disparity
