I ne'er could rightly fix i' my mind which was which; and it spoke on 'em as if they was vartues or vices; and what I wanted for to know were the rights o' men, whether they were rich or poor--so be they only were men."
"But for all that," said Mr. Hale, "and granting to the full the offensiveness, the folly, the unchristianness of Mr. Hamper's way of speaking to you in recommending his friend's book, yet if it told you what he said it did, that wages find their own level, and that the most successful strike can only force them up for a moment, to sink in far greater proportion afterwards, in consequence of that very strike, the book would have told you the truth."

What I wanted for to know were the rights o' men, whether rich or poor.'
'But for all that,' said Mr. Hale, 'and granting to the full the unchristian offensiveness and folly of Mr. Hamper's way of speaking to you, yet if that book told you that wages find their own level, and that the most successful strike can only force them up temporarily, it would have told you the truth.'
