When he watched them moving about amid the din and flames and white-hot metal, he thought of Vulcan and Mount AEtna, and thus threw over them the enchantments of the old Roman age.

But in their real life the men disappointed him.
They were vulgar and quarrelsome; the poorest Highland gillie had a vein of poetry in his nature, but these iron-workers were painfully matter of fact; they could not even understand a courtesy unless it took the shape of a glass of whiskey.
It was evident to the laird that the new life was very distasteful to his heir; it was evident to the dominie that it was developing the worst sides of Colin's character.

Something of this he pointed out to Helen one morning.

Helen and he had lately become great friends, indeed, they were co-workers together in all the new labors which the dominie's conscience had set him.

The laird had been too busy and anxious about other matters to interfere as yet with this alliance, but he promised himself he would do so very soon.