“The institution of marriage will last Estelle’s time, I think,” declared Mr. Churchouse.

“One hopes so heartily—­for her own sake.  One knows very well it’s an obsolescent sort of state, and can’t bear the light of reason, and must be reformed, so that intelligent people can enter it in a self-respecting spirit; but if there is one institution that defies the pioneers, it is marriage.  The law’s far too strong for us there.  And I don’t want to see her misunderstood.”

They parted soon after this speech, and the older man, who had long suspected the fact, now perceived that Raymond was beginning to think of Estelle in new terms and elevating her to another place in his thoughts.

It was the personal standpoint that challenged Ironsyde’s mind.  His old sentiments and opinions respecting the marriage bond took a very different colour before the vision of an Estelle united to himself.  Thus circumstances alter opinions, and the theories he had preached to Sabina went down the wind when he thought of Estelle.  The touchstone of love vitiates as well as purifies thinking.

CHAPTER XI

THE HEMP BREAKER

Ironsyde attached increasing importance to the fullest possible treatment of the raw material before actual spinning, and was not only always on the lookout for the best hemps and flaxes grown, but spared no pains to bring them to the Card and Spread Board as perfect as possible.

To this end he established a Hemp Break, a Hemp Breaker and a Hemp Softener.  The first was a wooden press used to crush the stalks of retted hemp straw, so that the harl came away and left the fibre clean.  The second shortened long hemp, that it might be more conveniently hackled and drawn.  The third served greatly to improve the spinning quality of soft hemps by passing them through a system of callender rollers.  There were no hands available for the breakers and softeners, so Raymond increased his staff.  He also took over ten acres of the North Hill House estate, ploughed up permanent grass, cleaned the ground with a root crop, and then started to renew the vanishing industry of flax growing.  He visited Belgium for the purpose of mastering the modern methods, found the soil of North Hill well suited to the crop, and was soon deeply interested in the enterprise.  He first hoped to ret his flax in the Bride river, as he had seen it retted on the Lys, but was dissuaded from making this trial and, instead, built a hot water rettery.  His experiments did not go unchallenged, and while the women always applauded any change that took strain off their muscles and improved the possibility of rest, the men were indifferent to this advantage.  Mr. Baggs even condemned it.

He came to see the working of the Hemp Breaker, and perceived without difficulty that its operations must directly tend to diminish his own labour.

“You’ll pull tons less of solid weight in a day, Levi,” said Best, “when this gets going.”