Margaret Hale and John Thornton

＊＊   It was the day they left for London for the wedding.  Passengers and porters came and went on the platform at Milton Station.  There was the steam from the train, mixed with coal dust, drifting in the air. Margaret and John were walking on the platform. Dixon followed to see them off.  As he opened the compartment door, Dixon looked radiant and said: "It's your time, Miss Margaret." “ Dixon, you should come on this train with us. ” She faced her servant, who replied laughing. "I wouldn't be so insensitive.  “ A train coming from the south entered on the other side of the platform.  Margaret looked at the train, which made her remember the day her family arrived at Milton.   “ We ’ ll be on the streets … in a strange place. ” “ We will manage, Mother. It ’ s not another planet. ” The sound of metal scraping against metal echoed over and over again. The billowing smoke obscured their vision for a moment. A thin whistle signaled the train to stop. "O...

Between you and me: One night, a woman who identified herself as Mrs. Gaskell appeared at my bedside and began to tell me a story below (in Japanese). I hastened to write it down! A Tale of Tom Ⅰ　（ introduction → development → turn → conclusion） 1871 June. A worker alighted at Milton station. Tom Higgins, who was seven years old when John Thornton and Margaret Hale got married,  is now a young man of 25. It was more than a decade since he left home to serve in  a textile wholesaler  at the age of 13.  Tom lives with his adoptive father, Nicholas who retired a few years ago. His children (Mary and the adopted children) have their own families. Mary and his younger sister Susanna (a daughter of  Boucher) work in the communal kitchen at Thornton's Mill. Susanna has recently married and her husband has also started working there.  Tom also started working at Marlborough Mill. The manufacturer, John Thornton, has more mills than ever before and has become a lea...