sight o\" the little ones clemming. ay, clemming! five shilling a weekmay do well enough for thee, wi\" but two mouths to fill, and one on \"ema wench who can welly earn her own meat. but it\"s clemming to us. an\"

i tell thee plain--if hoo dies as i\"m \"feard hoo will afore we\"ve getten th\"

five per cent, i\"ll fling th\" money back i\" th\" master\"s face, and say, \"bedomned to yo\"; be domned to th\" whole cruel world o\" yo\"; that could naleāve me th\" best wife that ever bore childer to a man!\" an\" look thee,lad, i\"ll hate thee, and th\" whole pack o\" th\" union. ay, an\" chase yo\"

through heāven wi\" my hatred,--i will, lad! i will,--if yo\"re leading meastray i\" this matter. thou saidst, nicholas, on wednesday sennight--andit\"s now tuesday i\" th\" second week--that afore a fortnight we\"d ha\" themasters ing a-begging to us to take back our\" work, at our ownwage--and time\"s nearly up,--and there\"s our lile jack lying a-bed, tooweak to cry, but just every now and then sobbing up his heart for wanto\" food,--our lile jack, i tell thee, lad! hoo\"s never looked up sin\" hewere born, and hoo loves him as if he were her very life,--as he is,--for ireckon he\"ll ha\" cost me that precious price,--our lile jack, who wakenedme each morn wi\" putting his sweet little lips to my great rough fou\"

face, a-seeking a smooth place to kiss,--an\" he lies clemming.\" here the

deep sobs choked the poor man, and nicholas looked up, with eyesbrimful of tears, to margaret, before he could gain courage to speak.

\"hou\"d up, man. thy lile jack shall na\" clem. i ha\" getten brass, and we\"llgo buy the chap a sup o\" milk an\" a good four-pounder this very minute.

what\"s mine\"s thine, sure enough, i\" thou\"st i\" want. only, dunnot loseheart, man!\" continued he, as he fumbled in a tea-pot for what money hehad. \"i lay yo\" my heart and soul we\"ll win for a\" this: it\"s but bearing onone more week, and yo just see th\" way th\" masters \"ll e round,praying on us to e back to our mills. an\" th\" union,--that\"s to say, i-willtake care yo\"ve enough for th\" childer and th\" missus. so dunnot turnfaint-heart, and go to th\" tyrants a-seeking work.\"

the man turned round at these words,--turned round a face so white,and gaunt, and tear-furrowed, and hopeless, that its very calm forcedmargaret to weep.

\"yo\" know well, that a worser tyrant than e\"er th\" masters were says\"clem to death, and see \"em a\" clem to death, ere yo\" dare go again th\"

union.\" yo\" know it well, nicholas, for a\" yo\"re one on \"em. yo\" may bekind hearts, each separate; but once banded together, yo\"ve no more pityfor a man than a wild hunger-maddened wolf.\"

nicholas had his hand on the lock of the door--he stopped and turnedround on boucher, close following:

\"so help me god! man alive--if i think not i\"m doing best for thee, andfor all on us. if i\"m going wrong when i think i\"m going right, it\"s theirsin, who ha\" left me where i am, in my ignorance. i ha\" thought till mybrains ached,--beli\" me, john, i hāve. an\" i say again, there\"s no help forus but hāving faith i\" th\" union. they\"ll win the day, see if they dunnot!\"

not one word had margaret or bessy spoken. they had hardly utteredthe sighing, that the eyes of each called to the other to bring up from thedepths of her heart. at last bessy said,\"i never thought to hear father call on god again. but yo\" heard him say,\"so help me god!\"\"

\"yes!\" said margaret. \"let me bring you what money i can spare,--let mebring you a little food for that poor man\"s children. don\"t let them knowit es from any one but your father. it will be but little.\"