Nature shall mind her own affairs,
I will attend my proper cares,
In rain or sun or frost."
And the days went busily forward and John though he counted off day by
day was happy. Every loom he had was busy overtime. His manufactured
goods, woven in such stress and sorrow, were selling well, his cotton
sheds were filling rapidly. Men and women were beginning to sing at
their work again, for as one result of the day John spent with Harlow,
his lordship had opened a plain, good, and very cheap furniture store,
where the workers in cotton factories could renew on easy installments
the furniture they had sold for a mouthful of bread. It was known only
as "The Hatton Furniture Store" and John Hatton, while denying any share
in its business, stood as guarantee for its honesty, and no one was
afraid to open an account there. It really seemed as if Hatton village
had never before been so busy, so hopeful, and so full of life. The
factory bell had never sounded so cheerful. The various societies and
civic brotherhood meetings never had been so crowded and so cordial.
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