Chapter 14: XIV

XIV The Great Manufacturer Time went on in Coketown like its own machinery: so much material wrought up, so much fuel consumed, so many powers worn out, so much money made. But, less inexorable than iron, steel, and brass, it brought its varying seasons even into that wilderness of smoke and brick, and made the only stand that ever was made in the place against its direful uniformity. “Louisa is becoming,” said Mr. Gradgrind, “almost a young woman.” Time, with his innumerable horsep…