morning and a shout of welcome greeted him. Then at some signal the
looms resumed their noisy work and the women lifted the chorus from some
opera which they had been singing at John's entrance, and "t' master's
visit" was over.

He went next to his office, and Jonathan brought his daybook and
described, in particular detail, the commercial occurrences which had
made the mills' history during his absence. Not all of them were
satisfactory, and John passed nothing by as trivial. Where interferences
had been made with his usual known methods, he rebuked and revoked them;
and in one case where Jonathan had disobeyed his order he insisted on an
apology to the person injured by the transaction.

"I told Clough," he said, "that he should have what credit would put him
straight. You, Jonathan, have been discounting and cutting him down on
yarns. You had no authority to do this. I don't like it. It cannot be."

"Well, sir, I was looking out for you. Clough will never straight
himself. Yarns are yarns, and yarns are up in the market; we can use all
we hev ourselves. Clough hes opinions not worth a shilling's credit.
They are all wrong, sir."

"His opinions may be wrong, his life is right."

"Why, sir, he's nothing but a Radical or a Socialist."

"Jonathan, I don't bring politics into business."

"You're right, sir. When I see any of our customers bothering with
politics, I begin to watch for their names in t' bankruptcy list. Your