The Fruit of the Tree Book 1 Chapter 8

In which John Amherst, a man of practical idealism and genuine sympathy, accompanies Mrs. Westmore on a sobering tour of the mills, unveiling the harsh realities behind her genteel world and awakening a profound, if tentative, connection between them. Their shared encounter with the injured workers and the grinding noise of the machinery brings to light the vast gulf between employer and employed, and kindles in Mrs. Westmore the first flicker of compassion for those whose lives sustain her comforts.