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black beauty by anna sewellchapter 01. my early home the first place that i can well rememberwas a large pleasant meadow with a pond of clear water in it.some shady trees leaned over it, and rushes and water-lilies grew at the deep end. over the hedge on one side we looked into aplowed field, and on the other we looked over a gate at our master's house, whichstood by the roadside; at the top of the meadow was a grove of fir trees, and at the bottom a running brook overhung by a steepbank.
while i was young i lived upon my mother'smilk, as i could not eat grass. in the daytime i ran by her side, and atnight i lay down close by her. when it was hot we used to stand by thepond in the shade of the trees, and when it was cold we had a nice warm shed near thegrove. as soon as i was old enough to eat grass mymother used to go out to work in the daytime, and come back in the evening. there were six young colts in the meadowbesides me; they were older than i was; some were nearly as large as grown-uphorses. i used to run with them, and had great fun;we used to gallop all together round and
round the field as hard as we could go. sometimes we had rather rough play, forthey would frequently bite and kick as well as gallop. one day, when there was a good deal ofkicking, my mother whinnied to me to come to her, and then she said:"i wish you to pay attention to what i am going to say to you. the colts who live here are very goodcolts, but they are cart-horse colts, and of course they have not learned manners. you have been well-bred and well-born; yourfather has a great name in these parts, and
your grandfather won the cup two years atthe newmarket races; your grandmother had the sweetest temper of any horse i ever knew, and i think you have never seen mekick or bite. i hope you will grow up gentle and good,and never learn bad ways; do your work with a good will, lift your feet up well whenyou trot, and never bite or kick even in play." i have never forgotten my mother's advice;i knew she was a wise old horse, and our master thought a great deal of her.her name was duchess, but he often called her pet.
our master was a good, kind man.he gave us good food, good lodging, and kind words; he spoke as kindly to us as hedid to his little children. we were all fond of him, and my motherloved him very much. when she saw him at the gate she wouldneigh with joy, and trot up to him. he would pat and stroke her and say, "well,old pet, and how is your little darkie?" i was a dull black, so he called me darkie;then he would give me a piece of bread, which was very good, and sometimes hebrought a carrot for my mother. all the horses would come to him, but ithink we were his favorites. my mother always took him to the town on amarket day in a light gig.
there was a plowboy, dick, who sometimescame into our field to pluck blackberries from the hedge. when he had eaten all he wanted he wouldhave what he called fun with the colts, throwing stones and sticks at them to makethem gallop. we did not much mind him, for we couldgallop off; but sometimes a stone would hit and hurt us. one day he was at this game, and did notknow that the master was in the next field; but he was there, watching what was goingon; over the hedge he jumped in a snap, and catching dick by the arm, he gave him such
a box on the ear as made him roar with thepain and surprise. as soon as we saw the master we trotted upnearer to see what went on. "bad boy!" he said, "bad boy! to chase thecolts. this is not the first time, nor the second,but it shall be the last. there--take your money and go home; i shallnot want you on my farm again." so we never saw dick any more. old daniel, the man who looked after thehorses, was just as gentle as our master, so we were well off. >
black beauty by anna sewellchapter 02. the hunt before i was two years old a circumstancehappened which i have never forgotten. it was early in the spring; there had beena little frost in the night, and a light mist still hung over the woods and meadows. i and the other colts were feeding at thelower part of the field when we heard, quite in the distance, what sounded likethe cry of dogs. the oldest of the colts raised his head,pricked his ears, and said, "there are the hounds!" and immediately cantered off,followed by the rest of us to the upper
part of the field, where we could look overthe hedge and see several fields beyond. my mother and an old riding horse of ourmaster's were also standing near, and seemed to know all about it. "they have found a hare," said my mother,"and if they come this way we shall see the hunt."and soon the dogs were all tearing down the field of young wheat next to ours. i never heard such a noise as they made.they did not bark, nor howl, nor whine, but kept on a "yo! yo, o, o! yo! yo, o, o!" atthe top of their voices. after them came a number of men onhorseback, some of them in green coats, all
galloping as fast as they could. the old horse snorted and looked eagerlyafter them, and we young colts wanted to be galloping with them, but they were soonaway into the fields lower down; here it seemed as if they had come to a stand; the dogs left off barking, and ran about everyway with their noses to the ground. "they have lost the scent," said the oldhorse; "perhaps the hare will get off." "what hare?" i said. "oh! i don't know what hare; likely enoughit may be one of our own hares out of the
woods; any hare they can find will do forthe dogs and men to run after;" and before long the dogs began their "yo! yo, o, o!" again, and back they came altogether atfull speed, making straight for our meadow at the part where the high bank and hedgeoverhang the brook. "now we shall see the hare," said mymother; and just then a hare wild with fright rushed by and made for the woods. on came the dogs; they burst over the bank,leaped the stream, and came dashing across the field followed by the huntsmen.six or eight men leaped their horses clean over, close upon the dogs.
the hare tried to get through the fence; itwas too thick, and she turned sharp round to make for the road, but it was too late;the dogs were upon her with their wild cries; we heard one shriek, and that wasthe end of her. one of the huntsmen rode up and whipped offthe dogs, who would soon have torn her to pieces. he held her up by the leg torn andbleeding, and all the gentlemen seemed well pleased. as for me, i was so astonished that i didnot at first see what was going on by the brook; but when i did look there was a sadsight; two fine horses were down, one was
struggling in the stream, and the other wasgroaning on the grass. one of the riders was getting out of thewater covered with mud, the other lay quite still. "his neck is broke," said my mother."and serve him right, too," said one of the colts.i thought the same, but my mother did not join with us. "well, no," she said, "you must not saythat; but though i am an old horse, and have seen and heard a great deal, i neveryet could make out why men are so fond of this sport; they often hurt themselves,
often spoil good horses, and tear up thefields, and all for a hare or a fox, or a stag, that they could get more easily someother way; but we are only horses, and don't know." while my mother was saying this we stoodand looked on. many of the riders had gone to the youngman; but my master, who had been watching what was going on, was the first to raisehim. his head fell back and his arms hung down,and every one looked very serious. there was no noise now; even the dogs werequiet, and seemed to know that something was wrong.
they carried him to our master's house.i heard afterward that it was young george gordon, the squire's only son, a fine, tallyoung man, and the pride of his family. there was now riding off in all directionsto the doctor's, to the farrier's, and no doubt to squire gordon's, to let him knowabout his son. when mr. bond, the farrier, came to look atthe black horse that lay groaning on the grass, he felt him all over, and shook hishead; one of his legs was broken. then some one ran to our master's house andcame back with a gun; presently there was a loud bang and a dreadful shriek, and thenall was still; the black horse moved no more.
my mother seemed much troubled; she saidshe had known that horse for years, and that his name was "rob roy"; he was a goodhorse, and there was no vice in him. she never would go to that part of thefield afterward. not many days after we heard the church-bell tolling for a long time, and looking over the gate we saw a long, strange blackcoach that was covered with black cloth and was drawn by black horses; after that came another and another and another, and allwere black, while the bell kept tolling, tolling.they were carrying young gordon to the churchyard to bury him.
he would never ride again.what they did with rob roy i never knew; but 'twas all for one little hare. black beauty by anna sewellchapter 03. my breaking in i was now beginning to grow handsome; mycoat had grown fine and soft, and was bright black.i had one white foot and a pretty white star on my forehead. i was thought very handsome; my masterwould not sell me till i was four years old; he said lads ought not to work likemen, and colts ought not to work like
horses till they were quite grown up. when i was four years old squire gordoncame to look at me. he examined my eyes, my mouth, and my legs;he felt them all down; and then i had to walk and trot and gallop before him. he seemed to like me, and said, "when hehas been well broken in he will do very well." my master said he would break me inhimself, as he should not like me to be frightened or hurt, and he lost no timeabout it, for the next day he began. every one may not know what breaking in is,therefore i will describe it.
it means to teach a horse to wear a saddleand bridle, and to carry on his back a man, woman or child; to go just the way theywish, and to go quietly. besides this he has to learn to wear acollar, a crupper, and a breeching, and to stand still while they are put on; then tohave a cart or a chaise fixed behind, so that he cannot walk or trot without dragging it after him; and he must go fastor slow, just as his driver wishes. he must never start at what he sees, norspeak to other horses, nor bite, nor kick, nor have any will of his own; but always dohis master's will, even though he may be very tired or hungry; but the worst of all
is, when his harness is once on, he mayneither jump for joy nor lie down for weariness.so you see this breaking in is a great thing. i had of course long been used to a halterand a headstall, and to be led about in the fields and lanes quietly, but now i was tohave a bit and bridle; my master gave me some oats as usual, and after a good deal of coaxing he got the bit into my mouth,and the bridle fixed, but it was a nasty thing! those who have never had a bit in theirmouths cannot think how bad it feels; a
great piece of cold hard steel as thick asa man's finger to be pushed into one's mouth, between one's teeth, and over one's tongue, with the ends coming out at thecorner of your mouth, and held fast there by straps over your head, under yourthroat, round your nose, and under your chin; so that no way in the world can you get rid of the nasty hard thing; it is verybad! yes, very bad! at least i thought so; but i knew my mother always wore one whenshe went out, and all horses did when they were grown up; and so, what with the nice oats, and what with my master's pats, kindwords, and gentle ways, i got to wear my
bit and bridle. next came the saddle, but that was not halfso bad; my master put it on my back very gently, while old daniel held my head; hethen made the girths fast under my body, patting and talking to me all the time; then i had a few oats, then a littleleading about; and this he did every day till i began to look for the oats and thesaddle. at length, one morning, my master got on myback and rode me round the meadow on the soft grass. it certainly did feel queer; but i must sayi felt rather proud to carry my master, and
as he continued to ride me a little everyday i soon became accustomed to it. the next unpleasant business was putting onthe iron shoes; that too was very hard at first. my master went with me to the smith'sforge, to see that i was not hurt or got any fright. the blacksmith took my feet in his hand,one after the other, and cut away some of the hoof.it did not pain me, so i stood still on three legs till he had done them all. then he took a piece of iron the shape ofmy foot, and clapped it on, and drove some
nails through the shoe quite into my hoof,so that the shoe was firmly on. my feet felt very stiff and heavy, but intime i got used to it. and now having got so far, my master wenton to break me to harness; there were more new things to wear. first, a stiff heavy collar just on myneck, and a bridle with great side-pieces against my eyes called blinkers, andblinkers indeed they were, for i could not see on either side, but only straight in front of me; next, there was a small saddlewith a nasty stiff strap that went right under my tail; that was the crupper.
i hated the crupper; to have my long taildoubled up and poked through that strap was almost as bad as the bit. i never felt more like kicking, but ofcourse i could not kick such a good master, and so in time i got used to everything,and could do my work as well as my mother. i must not forget to mention one part of mytraining, which i have always considered a very great advantage. my master sent me for a fortnight to aneighboring farmer's, who had a meadow which was skirted on one side by therailway. here were some sheep and cows, and i wasturned in among them.
i shall never forget the first train thatran by. i was feeding quietly near the pales whichseparated the meadow from the railway, when i heard a strange sound at a distance, andbefore i knew whence it came--with a rush and a clatter, and a puffing out of smoke-- a long black train of something flew by,and was gone almost before i could draw my breath. i turned and galloped to the further sideof the meadow as fast as i could go, and there i stood snorting with astonishmentand fear. in the course of the day many other trainswent by, some more slowly; these drew up at
the station close by, and sometimes made anawful shriek and groan before they stopped. i thought it very dreadful, but the cowswent on eating very quietly, and hardly raised their heads as the black frightfulthing came puffing and grinding past. for the first few days i could not feed inpeace; but as i found that this terrible creature never came into the field, or didme any harm, i began to disregard it, and very soon i cared as little about the passing of a train as the cows and sheepdid. since then i have seen many horses muchalarmed and restive at the sight or sound of a steam engine; but thanks to my goodmaster's care, i am as fearless at railway
stations as in my own stable. now if any one wants to break in a younghorse well, that is the way. my master often drove me in double harnesswith my mother, because she was steady and could teach me how to go better than astrange horse. she told me the better i behaved the betteri should be treated, and that it was wisest always to do my best to please my master;"but," said she, "there are a great many kinds of men; there are good thoughtful men like our master, that any horse may beproud to serve; and there are bad, cruel men, who never ought to have a horse or dogto call their own.
besides, there are a great many foolishmen, vain, ignorant, and careless, who never trouble themselves to think; thesespoil more horses than all, just for want of sense; they don't mean it, but they doit for all that. i hope you will fall into good hands; but ahorse never knows who may buy him, or who may drive him; it is all a chance for us;but still i say, do your best wherever it is, and keep up your good name." black beauty by anna sewellchapter 04. birtwick park at this time i used to stand in the stableand my coat was brushed every day till it
shone like a rook's wing. it was early in may, when there came a manfrom squire gordon's, who took me away to the hall.my master said, "good-by, darkie; be a good horse, and always do your best." i could not say "good-by", so i put my noseinto his hand; he patted me kindly, and i left my first home.as i lived some years with squire gordon, i may as well tell something about the place. squire gordon's park skirted the village ofbirtwick. it was entered by a large iron gate, atwhich stood the first lodge, and then you
trotted along on a smooth road betweenclumps of large old trees; then another lodge and another gate, which brought youto the house and the gardens. beyond this lay the home paddock, the oldorchard, and the stables. there was accommodation for many horses andcarriages; but i need only describe the stable into which i was taken; this wasvery roomy, with four good stalls; a large swinging window opened into the yard, whichmade it pleasant and airy. the first stall was a large square one,shut in behind with a wooden gate; the others were common stalls, good stalls, butnot nearly so large; it had a low rack for hay and a low manger for corn; it was
called a loose box, because the horse thatwas put into it was not tied up, but left loose, to do as he liked.it is a great thing to have a loose box. into this fine box the groom put me; it wasclean, sweet, and airy. i never was in a better box than that, andthe sides were not so high but that i could see all that went on through the iron railsthat were at the top. he gave me some very nice oats, he pattedme, spoke kindly, and then went away. when i had eaten my corn i looked round. in the stall next to mine stood a littlefat gray pony, with a thick mane and tail, a very pretty head, and a pert little nose.i put my head up to the iron rails at the
top of my box, and said, "how do you do? what is your name?"he turned round as far as his halter would allow, held up his head, and said, "my nameis merrylegs. i am very handsome; i carry the youngladies on my back, and sometimes i take our mistress out in the low chair.they think a great deal of me, and so does james. are you going to live next door to me inthe box?" i said, "yes." "well, then," he said, "i hope you aregood-tempered; i do not like any one next
door who bites." just then a horse's head looked over fromthe stall beyond; the ears were laid back, and the eye looked rather ill-tempered.this was a tall chestnut mare, with a long handsome neck. she looked across to me and said:"so it is you who have turned me out of my box; it is a very strange thing for a coltlike you to come and turn a lady out of her own home." "i beg your pardon," i said, "i have turnedno one out; the man who brought me put me here, and i had nothing to do with it; andas to my being a colt, i am turned four
years old and am a grown-up horse. i never had words yet with horse or mare,and it is my wish to live at peace." "well," she said, "we shall see.of course, i do not want to have words with a young thing like you." i said no more.in the afternoon, when she went out, merrylegs told me all about it."the thing is this," said merrylegs. "ginger has a bad habit of biting andsnapping; that is why they call her ginger, and when she was in the loose box she usedto snap very much. one day she bit james in the arm and madeit bleed, and so miss flora and miss
jessie, who are very fond of me, wereafraid to come into the stable. they used to bring me nice things to eat,an apple or a carrot, or a piece of bread, but after ginger stood in that box theydared not come, and i missed them very much. i hope they will now come again, if you donot bite or snap." i told him i never bit anything but grass,hay, and corn, and could not think what pleasure ginger found it. "well, i don't think she does findpleasure," says merrylegs; "it is just a bad habit; she says no one was ever kind toher, and why should she not bite?
of course, it is a very bad habit; but i amsure, if all she says be true, she must have been very ill-used before she camehere. john does all he can to please her, andjames does all he can, and our master never uses a whip if a horse acts right; so ithink she might be good-tempered here. you see," he said, with a wise look, "i amtwelve years old; i know a great deal, and i can tell you there is not a better placefor a horse all round the country than this. john is the best groom that ever was; hehas been here fourteen years; and you never saw such a kind boy as james is; so that itis all ginger's own fault that she did not
stay in that box." black beauty by anna sewellchapter 05. a fair start the name of the coachman was john manly; hehad a wife and one little child, and they lived in the coachman's cottage, very nearthe stables. the next morning he took me into the yardand gave me a good grooming, and just as i was going into my box, with my coat softand bright, the squire came in to look at me, and seemed pleased. "john," he said, "i meant to have tried thenew horse this morning, but i have other
business. you may as well take him around afterbreakfast; go by the common and the highwood, and back by the watermill and theriver; that will show his paces." "i will, sir," said john. after breakfast he came and fitted me witha bridle. he was very particular in letting out andtaking in the straps, to fit my head comfortably; then he brought a saddle, butit was not broad enough for my back; he saw it in a minute and went for another, whichfitted nicely. he rode me first slowly, then a trot, thena canter, and when we were on the common he
gave me a light touch with his whip, and wehad a splendid gallop. "ho, ho! my boy," he said, as he pulled meup, "you would like to follow the hounds, i think." as we came back through the park we met thesquire and mrs. gordon walking; they stopped, and john jumped off."well, john, how does he go?" "first-rate, sir," answered john; "he is asfleet as a deer, and has a fine spirit too; but the lightest touch of the rein willguide him. down at the end of the common we met one ofthose traveling carts hung all over with baskets, rugs, and such like; you know,sir, many horses will not pass those carts
quietly; he just took a good look at it, and then went on as quiet and pleasant ascould be. they were shooting rabbits near thehighwood, and a gun went off close by; he pulled up a little and looked, but did notstir a step to right or left. i just held the rein steady and did nothurry him, and it's my opinion he has not been frightened or ill-used while he wasyoung." "that's well," said the squire, "i will tryhim myself to-morrow." the next day i was brought up for mymaster. i remembered my mother's counsel and mygood old master's, and i tried to do
exactly what he wanted me to do.i found he was a very good rider, and thoughtful for his horse too. when he came home the lady was at the halldoor as he rode up. "well, my dear," she said, "how do you likehim?" "he is exactly what john said," he replied;"a pleasanter creature i never wish to mount.what shall we call him?" "would you like ebony?" said she; "he is asblack as ebony." "no, not ebony.""will you call him blackbird, like your uncle's old horse?"
"no, he is far handsomer than old blackbirdever was." "yes," she said, "he is really quite abeauty, and he has such a sweet, good- tempered face, and such a fine, intelligenteye--what do you say to calling him black beauty?" "black beauty--why, yes, i think that is avery good name. if you like it shall be his name;" and soit was. when john went into the stable he toldjames that master and mistress had chosen a good, sensible english name for me, thatmeant something; not like marengo, or pegasus, or abdallah.
they both laughed, and james said, "if itwas not for bringing back the past, i should have named him rob roy, for i neversaw two horses more alike." "that's no wonder," said john; "didn't youknow that farmer grey's old duchess was the mother of them both?" i had never heard that before; and so poorrob roy who was killed at that hunt was my brother!i did not wonder that my mother was so troubled. it seems that horses have no relations; atleast they never know each other after they are sold.
john seemed very proud of me; he used tomake my mane and tail almost as smooth as a lady's hair, and he would talk to me agreat deal; of course i did not understand all he said, but i learned more and more to know what he meant, and what he wanted meto do. i grew very fond of him, he was so gentleand kind; he seemed to know just how a horse feels, and when he cleaned me he knewthe tender places and the ticklish places; when he brushed my head he went as carefully over my eyes as if they were hisown, and never stirred up any ill-temper. james howard, the stable boy, was just asgentle and pleasant in his way, so i
thought myself well off. there was another man who helped in theyard, but he had very little to do with ginger and me.a few days after this i had to go out with ginger in the carriage. i wondered how we should get on together;but except laying her ears back when i was led up to her, she behaved very well. she did her work honestly, and did her fullshare, and i never wish to have a better partner in double harness. when we came to a hill, instead ofslackening her pace, she would throw her
weight right into the collar, and pull awaystraight up. we had both the same sort of courage at ourwork, and john had oftener to hold us in than to urge us forward; he never had touse the whip with either of us; then our paces were much the same, and i found it very easy to keep step with her whentrotting, which made it pleasant, and master always liked it when we kept stepwell, and so did john. after we had been out two or three timestogether we grew quite friendly and sociable, which made me feel very much athome. as for merrylegs, he and i soon becamegreat friends; he was such a cheerful,
plucky, good-tempered little fellow that hewas a favorite with every one, and especially with miss jessie and flora, who used to ride him about in the orchard, andhave fine games with him and their little dog frisky.our master had two other horses that stood in another stable. one was justice, a roan cob, used forriding or for the luggage cart; the other was an old brown hunter, named sir oliver;he was past work now, but was a great favorite with the master, who gave him the run of the park; he sometimes did a littlelight carting on the estate, or carried one
of the young ladies when they rode out withtheir father, for he was very gentle and could be trusted with a child as well asmerrylegs. the cob was a strong, well-made, good-tempered horse, and we sometimes had a little chat in the paddock, but of course icould not be so intimate with him as with ginger, who stood in the same stable. black beauty by anna sewellchapter 06. liberty i was quite happy in my new place, and ifthere was one thing that i missed it must not be thought i was discontented; all whohad to do with me were good and i had a
light airy stable and the best of food. what more could i want?why, liberty! for three years and a half of my life i hadhad all the liberty i could wish for; but now, week after week, month after month,and no doubt year after year, i must stand up in a stable night and day except when i am wanted, and then i must be just assteady and quiet as any old horse who has worked twenty years.straps here and straps there, a bit in my mouth, and blinkers over my eyes. now, i am not complaining, for i know itmust be so.
i only mean to say that for a young horsefull of strength and spirits, who has been used to some large field or plain where hecan fling up his head and toss up his tail and gallop away at full speed, then round and back again with a snort to hiscompanions--i say it is hard never to have a bit more liberty to do as you like. sometimes, when i have had less exercisethan usual, i have felt so full of life and spring that when john has taken me out toexercise i really could not keep quiet; do what i would, it seemed as if i must jump, or dance, or prance, and many a good shakei know i must have given him, especially at
the first; but he was always good andpatient. "steady, steady, my boy," he would say;"wait a bit, and we will have a good swing, and soon get the tickle out of your feet." then as soon as we were out of the village,he would give me a few miles at a spanking trot, and then bring me back as fresh asbefore, only clear of the fidgets, as he called them. spirited horses, when not enough exercised,are often called skittish, when it is only play; and some grooms will punish them, butour john did not; he knew it was only high spirits.
still, he had his own ways of making meunderstand by the tone of his voice or the touch of the rein. if he was very serious and quitedetermined, i always knew it by his voice, and that had more power with me thananything else, for i was very fond of him. i ought to say that sometimes we had ourliberty for a few hours; this used to be on fine sundays in the summer-time.the carriage never went out on sundays, because the church was not far off. it was a great treat to us to be turned outinto the home paddock or the old orchard; the grass was so cool and soft to our feet,the air so sweet, and the freedom to do as
we liked was so pleasant--to gallop, to lie down, and roll over on our backs, or tonibble the sweet grass. then it was a very good time for talking,as we stood together under the shade of the large chestnut tree. black beauty by anna sewellchapter 07. ginger one day when ginger and i were standingalone in the shade, we had a great deal of talk; she wanted to know all about mybringing up and breaking in, and i told her.
"well," said she, "if i had had yourbringing up i might have had as good a temper as you, but now i don't believe iever shall." "why not?" i said."because it has been all so different with me," she replied. "i never had any one, horse or man, thatwas kind to me, or that i cared to please, for in the first place i was taken from mymother as soon as i was weaned, and put with a lot of other young colts; none of them cared for me, and i cared for none ofthem.
there was no kind master like yours to lookafter me, and talk to me, and bring me nice things to eat. the man that had the care of us never gaveme a kind word in my life. i do not mean that he ill-used me, but hedid not care for us one bit further than to see that we had plenty to eat, and shelterin the winter. a footpath ran through our field, and veryoften the great boys passing through would fling stones to make us gallop. i was never hit, but one fine young coltwas badly cut in the face, and i should think it would be a scar for life.
we did not care for them, but of course itmade us more wild, and we settled it in our minds that boys were our enemies. we had very good fun in the free meadows,galloping up and down and chasing each other round and round the field; thenstanding still under the shade of the trees. but when it came to breaking in, that was abad time for me; several men came to catch me, and when at last they closed me in atone corner of the field, one caught me by the forelock, another caught me by the nose and held it so tight i could hardly draw mybreath; then another took my under jaw in
his hard hand and wrenched my mouth open,and so by force they got on the halter and the bar into my mouth; then one dragged me along by the halter, another floggingbehind, and this was the first experience i had of men's kindness; it was all force.they did not give me a chance to know what they wanted. i was high bred and had a great deal ofspirit, and was very wild, no doubt, and gave them, i dare say, plenty of trouble,but then it was dreadful to be shut up in a stall day after day instead of having my liberty, and i fretted and pined and wantedto get loose.
you know yourself it's bad enough when youhave a kind master and plenty of coaxing, but there was nothing of that sort for me. "there was one--the old master, mr. ryder--who, i think, could soon have brought me round, and could have done anything withme; but he had given up all the hard part of the trade to his son and to another experienced man, and he only came at timesto oversee. his son was a strong, tall, bold man; theycalled him samson, and he used to boast that he had never found a horse that couldthrow him. there was no gentleness in him, as therewas in his father, but only hardness, a
hard voice, a hard eye, a hard hand; and ifelt from the first that what he wanted was to wear all the spirit out of me, and just make me into a quiet, humble, obedientpiece of horseflesh. 'horseflesh'! yes, that is all that he thought about,"and ginger stamped her foot as if the very thought of him made her angry.then she went on: "if i did not do exactly what he wanted hewould get put out, and make me run round with that long rein in the training fieldtill he had tired me out. i think he drank a good deal, and i amquite sure that the oftener he drank the
worse it was for me. one day he had worked me hard in every wayhe could, and when i lay down i was tired, and miserable, and angry; it all seemed sohard. the next morning he came for me early, andran me round again for a long time. i had scarcely had an hour's rest, when hecame again for me with a saddle and bridle and a new kind of bit. i could never quite tell how it came about;he had only just mounted me on the training ground, when something i did put him out oftemper, and he chucked me hard with the rein.
the new bit was very painful, and i rearedup suddenly, which angered him still more, and he began to flog me. i felt my whole spirit set against him, andi began to kick, and plunge, and rear as i had never done before, and we had a regularfight; for a long time he stuck to the saddle and punished me cruelly with his whip and spurs, but my blood was thoroughlyup, and i cared for nothing he could do if only i could get him off.at last after a terrible struggle i threw him off backward. i heard him fall heavily on the turf, andwithout looking behind me, i galloped off
to the other end of the field; there iturned round and saw my persecutor slowly rising from the ground and going into thestable. i stood under an oak tree and watched, butno one came to catch me. the time went on, and the sun was very hot;the flies swarmed round me and settled on my bleeding flanks where the spurs had dugin. i felt hungry, for i had not eaten sincethe early morning, but there was not enough grass in that meadow for a goose to liveon. i wanted to lie down and rest, but with thesaddle strapped tightly on there was no comfort, and there was not a drop of waterto drink.
the afternoon wore on, and the sun got low. i saw the other colts led in, and i knewthey were having a good feed. "at last, just as the sun went down, i sawthe old master come out with a sieve in his hand. he was a very fine old gentleman with quitewhite hair, but his voice was what i should know him by among a thousand. it was not high, nor yet low, but full, andclear, and kind, and when he gave orders it was so steady and decided that every oneknew, both horses and men, that he expected to be obeyed.
he came quietly along, now and then shakingthe oats about that he had in the sieve, and speaking cheerfully and gently to me:'come along, lassie, come along, lassie; come along, come along.' i stood still and let him come up; he heldthe oats to me, and i began to eat without fear; his voice took all my fear away. he stood by, patting and stroking me whilei was eating, and seeing the clots of blood on my side he seemed very vexed. 'poor lassie! it was a bad business, a badbusiness;' then he quietly took the rein and led me to the stable; just at the doorstood samson.
i laid my ears back and snapped at him. 'stand back,' said the master, 'and keepout of her way; you've done a bad day's work for this filly.'he growled out something about a vicious brute. 'hark ye,' said the father, 'a bad-temperedman will never make a good-tempered horse. you've not learned your trade yet, samson.' then he led me into my box, took off thesaddle and bridle with his own hands, and tied me up; then he called for a pail ofwarm water and a sponge, took off his coat, and while the stable-man held the pail, he
sponged my sides a good while, so tenderlythat i was sure he knew how sore and bruised they were.'whoa! my pretty one,' he said, 'stand still, stand still.' his very voice did me good, and the bathingwas very comfortable. the skin was so broken at the corners of mymouth that i could not eat the hay, the stalks hurt me. he looked closely at it, shook his head,and told the man to fetch a good bran mash and put some meal into it.how good that mash was! and so soft and healing to my mouth.
he stood by all the time i was eating,stroking me and talking to the man. 'if a high-mettled creature like this,'said he, 'can't be broken by fair means, she will never be good for anything.' "after that he often came to see me, andwhen my mouth was healed the other breaker, job, they called him, went on training me;he was steady and thoughtful, and i soon learned what he wanted." black beauty by anna sewellchapter 08. ginger's story continued the next time that ginger and i weretogether in the paddock she told me about
her first place. "after my breaking in," she said, "i wasbought by a dealer to match another chestnut horse. for some weeks he drove us together, andthen we were sold to a fashionable gentleman, and were sent up to london. i had been driven with a check-rein by thedealer, and i hated it worse than anything else; but in this place we were reined fartighter, the coachman and his master thinking we looked more stylish so. we were often driven about in the park andother fashionable places.
you who never had a check-rein on don'tknow what it is, but i can tell you it is dreadful. "i like to toss my head about and hold itas high as any horse; but fancy now yourself, if you tossed your head up highand were obliged to hold it there, and that for hours together, not able to move it at all, except with a jerk still higher, yourneck aching till you did not know how to bear it. besides that, to have two bits instead ofone--and mine was a sharp one, it hurt my tongue and my jaw, and the blood from mytongue colored the froth that kept flying
from my lips as i chafed and fretted at thebits and rein. it was worst when we had to stand by thehour waiting for our mistress at some grand party or entertainment, and if i fretted orstamped with impatience the whip was laid on. it was enough to drive one mad.""did not your master take any thought for you?"i said. "no," said she, "he only cared to have astylish turnout, as they call it; i think he knew very little about horses; he leftthat to his coachman, who told him i had an irritable temper! that i had not been well
broken to the check-rein, but i should soonget used to it; but he was not the man to do it, for when i was in the stable,miserable and angry, instead of being smoothed and quieted by kindness, i gotonly a surly word or a blow. if he had been civil i would have tried tobear it. i was willing to work, and ready to workhard too; but to be tormented for nothing but their fancies angered me.what right had they to make me suffer like that? besides the soreness in my mouth, and thepain in my neck, it always made my windpipe feel bad, and if i had stopped there long iknow it would have spoiled my breathing;
but i grew more and more restless and irritable, i could not help it; and i beganto snap and kick when any one came to harness me; for this the groom beat me, andone day, as they had just buckled us into the carriage, and were straining my head up with that rein, i began to plunge and kickwith all my might. i soon broke a lot of harness, and kickedmyself clear; so that was an end of that place. "after this i was sent to tattersall's tobe sold; of course i could not be warranted free from vice, so nothing was said aboutthat.
my handsome appearance and good paces soonbrought a gentleman to bid for me, and i was bought by another dealer; he tried mein all kinds of ways and with different bits, and he soon found out what i couldnot bear. at last he drove me quite without a check-rein, and then sold me as a perfectly quiet horse to a gentleman in the country; he wasa good master, and i was getting on very well, but his old groom left him and a newone came. this man was as hard-tempered and hard-handed as samson; he always spoke in a rough, impatient voice, and if i did notmove in the stall the moment he wanted me, he would hit me above the hocks with his
stable broom or the fork, whichever hemight have in his hand. everything he did was rough, and i began tohate him; he wanted to make me afraid of him, but i was too high-mettled for that,and one day when he had aggravated me more than usual i bit him, which of course put him in a great rage, and he began to hit meabout the head with a riding whip. after that he never dared to come into mystall again; either my heels or my teeth were ready for him, and he knew it. i was quite quiet with my master, but ofcourse he listened to what the man said, and so i was sold again.
"the same dealer heard of me, and said hethought he knew one place where i should do well. ''twas a pity,' he said, 'that such a finehorse should go to the bad, for want of a real good chance,' and the end of it wasthat i came here not long before you did; but i had then made up my mind that men were my natural enemies and that i mustdefend myself. of course it is very different here, butwho knows how long it will last? i wish i could think about things as youdo; but i can't, after all i have gone through."
"well," i said, "i think it would be a realshame if you were to bite or kick john or james.""i don't mean to," she said, "while they are good to me. i did bite james once pretty sharp, butjohn said, 'try her with kindness,' and instead of punishing me as i expected,james came to me with his arm bound up, and brought me a bran mash and stroked me; and i have never snapped at him since, and iwon't either." i was sorry for ginger, but of course iknew very little then, and i thought most likely she made the worst of it; however, ifound that as the weeks went on she grew
much more gentle and cheerful, and had lost the watchful, defiant look that she used toturn on any strange person who came near her; and one day james said, "i do believethat mare is getting fond of me, she quite whinnied after me this morning when i hadbeen rubbing her forehead." "ay, ay, jim, 'tis 'the birtwick balls',"said john, "she'll be as good as black beauty by and by; kindness is all thephysic she wants, poor thing!" master noticed the change, too, and one daywhen he got out of the carriage and came to speak to us, as he often did, he strokedher beautiful neck. "well, my pretty one, well, how do thingsgo with you now?
you are a good bit happier than when youcame to us, i think." she put her nose up to him in a friendly,trustful way, while he rubbed it gently. "we shall make a cure of her, john," hesaid. "yes, sir, she's wonderfully improved;she's not the same creature that she was; it's 'the birtwick balls', sir," said john,laughing. this was a little joke of john's; he usedto say that a regular course of "the birtwick horseballs" would cure almost anyvicious horse; these balls, he said, were made up of patience and gentleness, firmness and petting, one pound of each tobe mixed up with half a pint of common
sense, and given to the horse every day. black beauty by anna sewellchapter 09. merrylegs mr. blomefield, the vicar, had a largefamily of boys and girls; sometimes they used to come and play with miss jessie andflora. one of the girls was as old as miss jessie;two of the boys were older, and there were several little ones. when they came there was plenty of work formerrylegs, for nothing pleased them so much as getting on him by turns and riding himall about the orchard and the home paddock,
and this they would do by the hourtogether. one afternoon he had been out with them along time, and when james brought him in and put on his halter he said: "there, you rogue, mind how you behaveyourself, or we shall get into trouble." "what have you been doing, merrylegs?"i asked. "oh!" said he, tossing his little head, "ihave only been giving those young people a lesson; they did not know when they had hadenough, nor when i had had enough, so i just pitched them off backward; that wasthe only thing they could understand." "what!" said i, "you threw the childrenoff?
i thought you did know better than that! did you throw miss jessie or miss flora?"he looked very much offended, and said: "of course not; i would not do such a thingfor the best oats that ever came into the stable; why, i am as careful of our youngladies as the master could be, and as for the little ones it is i who teach them toride. when they seem frightened or a littleunsteady on my back i go as smooth and as quiet as old pussy when she is after abird; and when they are all right i go on again faster, you see, just to use them to it; so don't you trouble yourself preachingto me; i am the best friend and the best
riding-master those children have. it is not them, it is the boys; boys," saidhe, shaking his mane, "are quite different; they must be broken in as we were broken inwhen we were colts, and just be taught what's what. the other children had ridden me about fornearly two hours, and then the boys thought it was their turn, and so it was, and i wasquite agreeable. they rode me by turns, and i galloped themabout, up and down the fields and all about the orchard, for a good hour. they had each cut a great hazel stick for ariding-whip, and laid it on a little too
hard; but i took it in good part, till atlast i thought we had had enough, so i stopped two or three times by way of ahint. boys, you see, think a horse or pony islike a steam-engine or a thrashing-machine, and can go on as long and as fast as theyplease; they never think that a pony can get tired, or have any feelings; so as the one who was whipping me could notunderstand i just rose up on my hind legs and let him slip off behind--that was all.he mounted me again, and i did the same. then the other boy got up, and as soon ashe began to use his stick i laid him on the grass, and so on, till they were able tounderstand--that was all.
they are not bad boys; they don't wish tobe cruel. i like them very well; but you see i had togive them a lesson. when they brought me to james and told himi think he was very angry to see such big sticks.he said they were only fit for drovers or gypsies, and not for young gentlemen." "if i had been you," said ginger, "i wouldhave given those boys a good kick, and that would have given them a lesson." "no doubt you would," said merrylegs; "butthen i am not quite such a fool (begging your pardon) as to anger our master or makejames ashamed of me.
besides, those children are under my chargewhen they are riding; i tell you they are intrusted to me. why, only the other day i heard our mastersay to mrs. blomefield, 'my dear madam, you need not be anxious about the children; myold merrylegs will take as much care of them as you or i could; i assure you i would not sell that pony for any money, heis so perfectly good-tempered and trustworthy;' and do you think i am such anungrateful brute as to forget all the kind treatment i have had here for five years, and all the trust they place in me, andturn vicious because a couple of ignorant
boys used me badly? no, no! you never had a good place wherethey were kind to you, and so you don't know, and i'm sorry for you; but i can tellyou good places make good horses. i wouldn't vex our people for anything; ilove them, i do," said merrylegs, and he gave a low "ho, ho, ho!" through his nose,as he used to do in the morning when he heard james' footstep at the door. "besides," he went on, "if i took tokicking where should i be? why, sold off in a jiffy, and no character,and i might find myself slaved about under a butcher's boy, or worked to death at someseaside place where no one cared for me,
except to find out how fast i could go, or be flogged along in some cart with three orfour great men in it going out for a sunday spree, as i have often seen in the place ilived in before i came here; no," said he, shaking his head, "i hope i shall nevercome to that." black beauty by anna sewellchapter 10. a talk in the orchard ginger and i were not of the regular tallcarriage horse breed, we had more of the racing blood in us. we stood about fifteen and a half handshigh; we were therefore just as good for
riding as we were for driving, and ourmaster used to say that he disliked either horse or man that could do but one thing; and as he did not want to show off inlondon parks, he preferred a more active and useful kind of horse. as for us, our greatest pleasure was whenwe were saddled for a riding party; the master on ginger, the mistress on me, andthe young ladies on sir oliver and merrylegs. it was so cheerful to be trotting andcantering all together that it always put us in high spirits.
i had the best of it, for i always carriedthe mistress; her weight was little, her voice was sweet, and her hand was so lighton the rein that i was guided almost without feeling it. oh! if people knew what a comfort to horsesa light hand is, and how it keeps a good mouth and a good temper, they surely wouldnot chuck, and drag, and pull at the rein as they often do. our mouths are so tender that where theyhave not been spoiled or hardened with bad or ignorant treatment, they feel theslightest movement of the driver's hand, and we know in an instant what is requiredof us.
my mouth has never been spoiled, and ibelieve that was why the mistress preferred me to ginger, although her paces werecertainly quite as good. she used often to envy me, and said it wasall the fault of breaking in, and the gag bit in london, that her mouth was not soperfect as mine; and then old sir oliver would say, "there, there! don't vex yourself; you have the greatest honor; amare that can carry a tall man of our master's weight, with all your spring andsprightly action, does not need to hold her head down because she does not carry the lady; we horses must take things as theycome, and always be contented and willing
so long as we are kindly used." i had often wondered how it was that siroliver had such a very short tail; it really was only six or seven inches long,with a tassel of hair hanging from it; and on one of our holidays in the orchard i ventured to ask him by what accident it wasthat he had lost his tail. "accident!" he snorted with a fierce look,"it was no accident! it was a cruel, shameful, cold-blooded act! when i was young i was taken to a placewhere these cruel things were done; i was tied up, and made fast so that i could notstir, and then they came and cut off my
long and beautiful tail, through the fleshand through the bone, and took it away. "how dreadful!"i exclaimed. "dreadful, ah! it was dreadful; but it wasnot only the pain, though that was terrible and lasted a long time; it was not only theindignity of having my best ornament taken from me, though that was bad; but it was this, how could i ever brush the flies offmy sides and my hind legs any more? you who have tails just whisk the flies offwithout thinking about it, and you can't tell what a torment it is to have themsettle upon you and sting and sting, and have nothing in the world to lash them offwith.
i tell you it is a lifelong wrong, and alifelong loss; but thank heaven, they don't do it now." "what did they do it for then?" saidginger. "for fashion!" said the old horse with astamp of his foot; "for fashion! if you know what that means; there was not a well-bred young horse in my time that had not his tail docked in that shameful way, just as if the good god that made us did notknow what we wanted and what looked best." "i suppose it is fashion that makes themstrap our heads up with those horrid bits that i was tortured with in london," saidginger.
"of course it is," said he; "to my mind,fashion is one of the wickedest things in the world. now look, for instance, at the way theyserve dogs, cutting off their tails to make them look plucky, and shearing up theirpretty little ears to a point to make them both look sharp, forsooth. i had a dear friend once, a brown terrier;'skye' they called her. she was so fond of me that she never wouldsleep out of my stall; she made her bed under the manger, and there she had alitter of five as pretty little puppies as need be; none were drowned, for they were a
valuable kind, and how pleased she was withthem! and when they got their eyes open and crawled about, it was a real pretty sight;but one day the man came and took them all away; i thought he might be afraid i shouldtread upon them. but it was not so; in the evening poor skyebrought them back again, one by one in her mouth; not the happy little things thatthey were, but bleeding and crying pitifully; they had all had a piece of their tails cut off, and the soft flap oftheir pretty little ears was cut quite off. how their mother licked them, and howtroubled she was, poor thing! i never forgot it.
they healed in time, and they forgot thepain, but the nice soft flap, that of course was intended to protect the delicatepart of their ears from dust and injury, was gone forever. why don't they cut their own children'sears into points to make them look sharp? why don't they cut the end off their nosesto make them look plucky? one would be just as sensible as the other. what right have they to torment anddisfigure god's creatures?" sir oliver, though he was so gentle, was afiery old fellow, and what he said was all so new to me, and so dreadful, that i founda bitter feeling toward men rise up in my
mind that i never had before. of course ginger was very much excited; sheflung up her head with flashing eyes and distended nostrils, declaring that men wereboth brutes and blockheads. "who talks about blockheads?" saidmerrylegs, who just came up from the old apple-tree, where he had been rubbinghimself against the low branch. "who talks about blockheads? i believe that is a bad word.""bad words were made for bad things," said ginger, and she told him what sir oliverhad said. "it is all true," said merrylegs sadly,"and i've seen that about the dogs over and
over again where i lived first; but wewon't talk about it here. you know that master, and john and jamesare always good to us, and talking against men in such a place as this doesn't seemfair or grateful, and you know there are good masters and good grooms beside ours,though of course ours are the best." this wise speech of good little merrylegs,which we knew was quite true, cooled us all down, especially sir oliver, who was dearlyfond of his master; and to turn the subject i said, "can any one tell me the use ofblinkers?" "no!" said sir oliver shortly, "becausethey are no use." "they are supposed," said justice, the roancob, in his calm way, "to prevent horses
from shying and starting, and getting sofrightened as to cause accidents." "then what is the reason they do not putthem on riding horses; especially on ladies' horses?" said i. "there is no reason at all," said hequietly, "except the fashion; they say that a horse would be so frightened to see thewheels of his own cart or carriage coming behind him that he would be sure to run away, although of course when he is riddenhe sees them all about him if the streets are crowded. i admit they do sometimes come too close tobe pleasant, but we don't run away; we are
used to it, and understand it, and if wenever had blinkers put on we should never want them; we should see what was there, and know what was what, and be much lessfrightened than by only seeing bits of things that we can't understand. of course there may be some nervous horseswho have been hurt or frightened when they were young, who may be the better for them;but as i never was nervous, i can't judge." "i consider," said sir oliver, "thatblinkers are dangerous things in the night; we horses can see much better in the darkthan men can, and many an accident would never have happened if horses might havehad the full use of their eyes.
some years ago, i remember, there was ahearse with two horses returning one dark night, and just by farmer sparrow's house,where the pond is close to the road, the wheels went too near the edge, and the hearse was overturned into the water; boththe horses were drowned, and the driver hardly escaped. of course after this accident a stout whiterail was put up that might be easily seen, but if those horses had not been partlyblinded, they would of themselves have kept further from the edge, and no accidentwould have happened. when our master's carriage was overturned,before you came here, it was said that if
the lamp on the left side had not gone out,john would have seen the great hole that the road-makers had left; and so he might, but if old colin had not had blinkers on hewould have seen it, lamp or no lamp, for he was far too knowing an old horse to runinto danger. as it was, he was very much hurt, thecarriage was broken, and how john escaped nobody knew." "i should say," said ginger, curling hernostril, "that these men, who are so wise, had better give orders that in the futureall foals should be born with their eyes set just in the middle of their foreheads,
instead of on the side; they always thinkthey can improve upon nature and mend what god has made." things were getting rather sore again, whenmerrylegs held up his knowing little face and said, "i'll tell you a secret: ibelieve john does not approve of blinkers; i heard him talking with master about itone day. the master said that 'if horses had beenused to them, it might be dangerous in some cases to leave them off'; and john said hethought it would be a good thing if all colts were broken in without blinkers, aswas the case in some foreign countries. so let us cheer up, and have a run to theother end of the orchard; i believe the
wind has blown down some apples, and wemight just as well eat them as the slugs." merrylegs could not be resisted, so webroke off our long conversation, and got up our spirits by munching some very sweetapples which lay scattered on the grass. black beauty by anna sewellchapter 11. plain speaking the longer i lived at birtwick the moreproud and happy i felt at having such a our master and mistress were respected andbeloved by all who knew them; they were good and kind to everybody and everything;not only men and women, but horses and donkeys, dogs and cats, cattle and birds;
there was no oppressed or ill-used creaturethat had not a friend in them, and their servants took the same tone. if any of the village children were knownto treat any creature cruelly they soon heard about it from the hall. the squire and farmer grey had workedtogether, as they said, for more than twenty years to get check-reins on thecart-horses done away with, and in our parts you seldom saw them; and sometimes, if mistress met a heavily laden horse withhis head strained up she would stop the carriage and get out, and reason with thedriver in her sweet serious voice, and try
to show him how foolish and cruel it was. i don't think any man could withstand ourmistress. i wish all ladies were like her.our master, too, used to come down very heavy sometimes. i remember he was riding me toward home onemorning when we saw a powerful man driving toward us in a light pony chaise, with abeautiful little bay pony, with slender legs and a high-bred sensitive head andface. just as he came to the park gates thelittle thing turned toward them; the man, without word or warning, wrenched thecreature's head round with such a force and
suddenness that he nearly threw it on itshaunches. recovering itself it was going on, when hebegan to lash it furiously. the pony plunged forward, but the strong,heavy hand held the pretty creature back with force almost enough to break its jaw,while the whip still cut into him. it was a dreadful sight to me, for i knewwhat fearful pain it gave that delicate little mouth; but master gave me the word,and we were up with him in a second. "sawyer," he cried in a stern voice, "isthat pony made of flesh and blood?" "flesh and blood and temper," he said;"he's too fond of his own will, and that won't suit me."
he spoke as if he was in a strong passion.he was a builder who had often been to the park on business. "and do you think," said master sternly,"that treatment like this will make him fond of your will?" "he had no business to make that turn; hisroad was straight on!" said the man roughly. "you have often driven that pony up to myplace," said master; "it only shows the creature's memory and intelligence; how didhe know that you were not going there again?
but that has little to do with it. i must say, mr. sawyer, that a moreunmanly, brutal treatment of a little pony it was never my painful lot to witness, andby giving way to such passion you injure your own character as much, nay more, than you injure your horse; and remember, weshall all have to be judged according to our works, whether they be toward man ortoward beast." master rode me home slowly, and i couldtell by his voice how the thing had grieved him. he was just as free to speak to gentlemenof his own rank as to those below him; for
another day, when we were out, we met acaptain langley, a friend of our master's; he was driving a splendid pair of grays ina kind of break. after a little conversation the captainsaid: "what do you think of my new team, mr.douglas? you know, you are the judge of horses inthese parts, and i should like your opinion." the master backed me a little, so as to geta good view of them. "they are an uncommonly handsome pair," hesaid, "and if they are as good as they look i am sure you need not wish for anythingbetter; but i see you still hold that pet
scheme of yours for worrying your horsesand lessening their power." "what do you mean," said the other, "thecheck-reins? oh, ah! i know that's a hobby of yours; well, thefact is, i like to see my horses hold their heads up." "so do i," said master, "as well as anyman, but i don't like to see them held up; that takes all the shine out of it. now, you are a military man, langley, andno doubt like to see your regiment look well on parade, 'heads up', and all that;but you would not take much credit for your
drill if all your men had their heads tiedto a backboard! it might not be much harm on parade, exceptto worry and fatigue them; but how would it be in a bayonet charge against the enemy,when they want the free use of every muscle, and all their strength thrownforward? i would not give much for their chance ofvictory. and it is just the same with horses: youfret and worry their tempers, and decrease their power; you will not let them throwtheir weight against their work, and so they have to do too much with their joints and muscles, and of course it wears them upfaster.
you may depend upon it, horses wereintended to have their heads free, as free as men's are; and if we could act a littlemore according to common sense, and a good deal less according to fashion, we should find many things work easier; besides, youknow as well as i that if a horse makes a false step, he has much less chance ofrecovering himself if his head and neck are fastened back. and now," said the master, laughing, "ihave given my hobby a good trot out, can't you make up your mind to mount him, too,captain? your example would go a long way."
"i believe you are right in theory," saidthe other, "and that's rather a hard hit about the soldiers; but--well--i'll thinkabout it," and so they parted. black beauty by anna sewellchapter 12. a stormy day one day late in the autumn my master had along journey to go on business. i was put into the dog-cart, and john wentwith his master. i always liked to go in the dog-cart, itwas so light and the high wheels ran along so pleasantly. there had been a great deal of rain, andnow the wind was very high and blew the dry
leaves across the road in a shower.we went along merrily till we came to the toll-bar and the low wooden bridge. the river banks were rather high, and thebridge, instead of rising, went across just level, so that in the middle, if the riverwas full, the water would be nearly up to the woodwork and planks; but as there were good substantial rails on each side, peopledid not mind it. the man at the gate said the river wasrising fast, and he feared it would be a bad night. many of the meadows were under water, andin one low part of the road the water was
halfway up to my knees; the bottom wasgood, and master drove gently, so it was no matter. when we got to the town of course i had agood bait, but as the master's business engaged him a long time we did not startfor home till rather late in the afternoon. the wind was then much higher, and i heardthe master say to john that he had never been out in such a storm; and so i thought,as we went along the skirts of a wood, where the great branches were swaying about like twigs, and the rushing sound wasterrible. "i wish we were well out of this wood,"said my master.
"yes, sir," said john, "it would be ratherawkward if one of these branches came down upon us." the words were scarcely out of his mouthwhen there was a groan, and a crack, and a splitting sound, and tearing, crashing downamong the other trees came an oak, torn up by the roots, and it fell right across theroad just before us. i will never say i was not frightened, fori was. i stopped still, and i believe i trembled;of course i did not turn round or run away; i was not brought up to that.john jumped out and was in a moment at my head.
"that was a very near touch," said mymaster. "what's to be done now?" "well, sir, we can't drive over that tree,nor yet get round it; there will be nothing for it, but to go back to the fourcrossways, and that will be a good six miles before we get round to the wooden bridge again; it will make us late, but thehorse is fresh." so back we went and round by thecrossroads, but by the time we got to the bridge it was very nearly dark; we couldjust see that the water was over the middle of it; but as that happened sometimes whenthe floods were out, master did not stop.
we were going along at a good pace, but themoment my feet touched the first part of the bridge i felt sure there was somethingwrong. i dare not go forward, and i made a deadstop. "go on, beauty," said my master, and hegave me a touch with the whip, but i dare not stir; he gave me a sharp cut; i jumped,but i dare not go forward. "there's something wrong, sir," said john,and he sprang out of the dog-cart and came to my head and looked all about.he tried to lead me forward. "come on, beauty, what's the matter?" of course i could not tell him, but i knewvery well that the bridge was not safe.
just then the man at the toll-gate on theother side ran out of the house, tossing a torch about like one mad. "hoy, hoy, hoy! halloo! stop!" he cried."what's the matter?" shouted my master. "the bridge is broken in the middle, andpart of it is carried away; if you come on you'll be into the river." "thank god!" said my master."you beauty!" said john, and took the bridle and gently turned me round to theright-hand road by the river side. the sun had set some time; the wind seemedto have lulled off after that furious blast which tore up the tree.it grew darker and darker, stiller and
stiller. i trotted quietly along, the wheels hardlymaking a sound on the soft road. for a good while neither master nor johnspoke, and then master began in a serious voice. i could not understand much of what theysaid, but i found they thought, if i had gone on as the master wanted me, mostlikely the bridge would have given way under us, and horse, chaise, master, and man would have fallen into the river; andas the current was flowing very strongly, and there was no light and no help at hand,it was more than likely we should all have
been drowned. master said, god had given men reason, bywhich they could find out things for themselves; but he had given animalsknowledge which did not depend on reason, and which was much more prompt and perfect in its way, and by which they had oftensaved the lives of men. john had many stories to tell of dogs andhorses, and the wonderful things they had done; he thought people did not value theiranimals half enough nor make friends of them as they ought to do. i am sure he makes friends of them if evera man did.
at last we came to the park gates and foundthe gardener looking out for us. he said that mistress had been in adreadful way ever since dark, fearing some accident had happened, and that she hadsent james off on justice, the roan cob, toward the wooden bridge to make inquiryafter us. we saw a light at the hall-door and at theupper windows, and as we came up mistress ran out, saying, "are you really safe, mydear? oh! i have been so anxious, fancying allsorts of things. have you had no accident?" "no, my dear; but if your black beauty hadnot been wiser than we were we should all
have been carried down the river at thewooden bridge." i heard no more, as they went into thehouse, and john took me to the stable. oh, what a good supper he gave me thatnight, a good bran mash and some crushed beans with my oats, and such a thick bed ofstraw! and i was glad of it, for i was tired. black beauty by anna sewellchapter 13. the devil's trade mark one day when john and i had been out onsome business of our master's, and were returning gently on a long, straight road,at some distance we saw a boy trying to
leap a pony over a gate; the pony would not take the leap, and the boy cut him with thewhip, but he only turned off on one side. he whipped him again, but the pony turnedoff on the other side. then the boy got off and gave him a hardthrashing, and knocked him about the head; then he got up again and tried to make himleap the gate, kicking him all the time shamefully, but still the pony refused. when we were nearly at the spot the ponyput down his head and threw up his heels, and sent the boy neatly over into a broadquickset hedge, and with the rein dangling from his head he set off home at a fullgallop.
john laughed out quite loud."served him right," he said. "oh, oh, oh!" cried the boy as he struggledabout among the thorns; "i say, come and help me out." "thank ye," said john, "i think you arequite in the right place, and maybe a little scratching will teach you not toleap a pony over a gate that is too high for him," and so with that john rode off. "it may be," said he to himself, "thatyoung fellow is a liar as well as a cruel one; we'll just go home by farmer bushby's,beauty, and then if anybody wants to know you and i can tell 'em, ye see."
so we turned off to the right, and sooncame up to the stack-yard, and within sight of the house. the farmer was hurrying out into the road,and his wife was standing at the gate, looking very frightened. "have you seen my boy?" said mr. bushby aswe came up; "he went out an hour ago on my black pony, and the creature is just comeback without a rider." "i should think, sir," said john, "he hadbetter be without a rider, unless he can be ridden properly.""what do you mean?" said the farmer. "well, sir, i saw your son whipping, andkicking, and knocking that good little pony
about shamefully because he would not leapa gate that was too high for him. the pony behaved well, sir, and showed novice; but at last he just threw up his heels and tipped the young gentleman intothe thorn hedge. he wanted me to help him out, but i hopeyou will excuse me, sir, i did not feel inclined to do so.there's no bones broken, sir; he'll only get a few scratches. i love horses, and it riles me to see thembadly used; it is a bad plan to aggravate an animal till he uses his heels; the firsttime is not always the last." during this time the mother began to cry,"oh, my poor bill, i must go and meet him;
he must be hurt." "you had better go into the house, wife,"said the farmer; "bill wants a lesson about this, and i must see that he gets it; thisis not the first time, nor the second, that he has ill-used that pony, and i shall stopit. i am much obliged to you, manly.good-evening." so we went on, john chuckling all the wayhome; then he told james about it, who laughed and said, "serve him right. i knew that boy at school; he took greatairs on himself because he was a farmer's son; he used to swagger about and bully thelittle boys.
of course, we elder ones would not have anyof that nonsense, and let him know that in the school and the playground farmers' sonsand laborers' sons were all alike. i well remember one day, just beforeafternoon school, i found him at the large window catching flies and pulling off theirwings. he did not see me and i gave him a box onthe ears that laid him sprawling on the floor. well, angry as i was, i was almostfrightened, he roared and bellowed in such a style. the boys rushed in from the playground, andthe master ran in from the road to see who
was being murdered. of course i said fair and square at oncewhat i had done, and why; then i showed the master the flies, some crushed and somecrawling about helpless, and i showed him the wings on the window sill. i never saw him so angry before; but asbill was still howling and whining, like the coward that he was, he did not give himany more punishment of that kind, but set him up on a stool for the rest of the afternoon, and said that he should not goout to play for that week. then he talked to all the boys veryseriously about cruelty, and said how hard-
hearted and cowardly it was to hurt theweak and the helpless; but what stuck in my mind was this, he said that cruelty was the devil's own trade-mark, and if we saw anyone who took pleasure in cruelty we might know who he belonged to, for the devil wasa murderer from the beginning, and a tormentor to the end. on the other hand, where we saw people wholoved their neighbors, and were kind to man and beast, we might know that was god'smark." "your master never taught you a truerthing," said john; "there is no religion without love, and people may talk as muchas they like about their religion, but if
it does not teach them to be good and kind to man and beast it is all a sham--all asham, james, and it won't stand when things come to be turned inside out." black beauty by anna sewellchapter 14. james howard early one morning in december john had justled me into my box after my daily exercise, and was strapping my cloth on and james wascoming in from the corn chamber with some oats, when the master came into the stable. he looked rather serious, and held an openletter in his hand.
john fastened the door of my box, touchedhis cap, and waited for orders. "good-morning, john," said the master. "i want to know if you have any complaintto make of james." "complaint, sir?no, sir." "is he industrious at his work andrespectful to you?" "yes, sir, always.""you never find he slights his work when your back is turned?" "never, sir.""that's well; but i must put another question.
have you no reason to suspect, when he goesout with the horses to exercise them or to take a message, that he stops about talkingto his acquaintances, or goes into houses where he has no business, leaving thehorses outside?" "no, sir, certainly not; and if anybody hasbeen saying that about james, i don't believe it, and i don't mean to believe itunless i have it fairly proved before witnesses; it's not for me to say who has been trying to take away james' character,but i will say this, sir, that a steadier, pleasanter, honester, smarter young fellowi never had in this stable. i can trust his word and i can trust hiswork; he is gentle and clever with the
horses, and i would rather have them incharge with him than with half the young fellows i know of in laced hats and liveries; and whoever wants a character ofjames howard," said john, with a decided jerk of his head, "let them come to johnmanly." the master stood all this time grave andattentive, but as john finished his speech a broad smile spread over his face, andlooking kindly across at james, who all this time had stood still at the door, he said, "james, my lad, set down the oats andcome here; i am very glad to find that john's opinion of your character agrees soexactly with my own.
john is a cautious man," he said, with adroll smile, "and it is not always easy to get his opinion about people, so i thoughtif i beat the bush on this side the birds would fly out, and i should learn what i wanted to know quickly; so now we will cometo business. i have a letter from my brother-in-law, sirclifford williams, of clifford hall. he wants me to find him a trustworthy younggroom, about twenty or twenty-one, who knows his business. his old coachman, who has lived with himthirty years, is getting feeble, and he wants a man to work with him and get intohis ways, who would be able, when the old
man was pensioned off, to step into hisplace. he would have eighteen shillings a week atfirst, a stable suit, a driving suit, a bedroom over the coachhouse, and a boyunder him. sir clifford is a good master, and if youcould get the place it would be a good start for you. i don't want to part with you, and if youleft us i know john would lose his right hand." "that i should, sir," said john, "but iwould not stand in his light for the world.""how old are you, james?" said master.
"nineteen next may, sir." "that's young; what do you think, john?" "well, sir, it is young; but he is assteady as a man, and is strong, and well grown, and though he has not had muchexperience in driving, he has a light firm hand and a quick eye, and he is very careful, and i am quite sure no horse ofhis will be ruined for want of having his feet and shoes looked after." "your word will go the furthest, john,"said the master, "for sir clifford adds in a postscript, 'if i could find a mantrained by your john i should like him
better than any other;' so, james, lad, think it over, talk to your mother atdinner-time, and then let me know what you wish." in a few days after this conversation itwas fully settled that james should go to clifford hall, in a month or six weeks, asit suited his master, and in the meantime he was to get all the practice in drivingthat could be given to him. i never knew the carriage to go out sooften before; when the mistress did not go out the master drove himself in the two-wheeled chaise; but now, whether it was master or the young ladies, or only an
errand, ginger and i were put in thecarriage and james drove us. at the first john rode with him on the box,telling him this and that, and after that james drove alone. then it was wonderful what a number ofplaces the master would go to in the city on saturday, and what queer streets we weredriven through. he was sure to go to the railway stationjust as the train was coming in, and cabs and carriages, carts and omnibuses were alltrying to get over the bridge together; that bridge wanted good horses and good drivers when the railway bell was ringing,for it was narrow, and there was a very
sharp turn up to the station, where itwould not have been at all difficult for people to run into each other, if they did not look sharp and keep their wits aboutthem. black beauty by anna sewellchapter 15. the old hostler after this it was decided by my master andmistress to pay a visit to some friends who lived about forty-six miles from our home,and james was to drive them. the first day we traveled thirty-two miles. there were some long, heavy hills, butjames drove so carefully and thoughtfully
that we were not at all harassed. he never forgot to put on the brake as wewent downhill, nor to take it off at the right place. he kept our feet on the smoothest part ofthe road, and if the uphill was very long, he set the carriage wheels a little acrossthe road, so as not to run back, and gave us a breathing. all these little things help a horse verymuch, particularly if he gets kind words into the bargain. we stopped once or twice on the road, andjust as the sun was going down we reached
the town where we were to spend the night. we stopped at the principal hotel, whichwas in the market-place; it was a very large one; we drove under an archway into along yard, at the further end of which were the stables and coachhouses. two hostlers came to take us out.the head hostler was a pleasant, active little man, with a crooked leg, and ayellow striped waistcoat. i never saw a man unbuckle harness soquickly as he did, and with a pat and a good word he led me to a long stable, withsix or eight stalls in it, and two or three horses.
the other man brought ginger; james stoodby while we were rubbed down and cleaned. i never was cleaned so lightly and quicklyas by that little old man. when he had done james stepped up and feltme over, as if he thought i could not be thoroughly done, but he found my coat asclean and smooth as silk. "well," he said, "i thought i was prettyquick, and our john quicker still, but you do beat all i ever saw for being quick andthorough at the same time." "practice makes perfect," said the crookedlittle hostler, "and 'twould be a pity if it didn't; forty years' practice, and notperfect! ha, ha! that would be a pity; and as to being quick, why, bless you! that is
only a matter of habit; if you get into thehabit of being quick it is just as easy as being slow; easier, i should say; in factit don't agree with my health to be hulking about over a job twice as long as it needtake. bless you!i couldn't whistle if i crawled over my work as some folks do! you see, i have been about horses eversince i was twelve years old, in hunting stables, and racing stables; and beingsmall, ye see, i was jockey for several years; but at the goodwood, ye see, the turf was very slippery and my poor larkspurgot a fall, and i broke my knee, and so of
course i was of no more use there.but i could not live without horses, of course i couldn't, so i took to the hotels. and i can tell ye it is a downrightpleasure to handle an animal like this, well-bred, well-mannered, well-cared-for;bless ye! i can tell how a horse is treated. give me the handling of a horse for twentyminutes, and i'll tell you what sort of a groom he has had. look at this one, pleasant, quiet, turnsabout just as you want him, holds up his feet to be cleaned out, or anything elseyou please to wish; then you'll find
another fidgety, fretty, won't move the right way, or starts across the stall,tosses up his head as soon as you come near him, lays his ears, and seems afraid ofyou; or else squares about at you with his heels. poor things!i know what sort of treatment they have had. if they are timid it makes them start orshy; if they are high-mettled it makes them vicious or dangerous; their tempers aremostly made when they are young. bless you! they are like children, train'em up in the way they should go, as the
good book says, and when they are old theywill not depart from it, if they have a chance." "i like to hear you talk," said james,"that's the way we lay it down at home, at our master's.""who is your master, young man? if it be a proper question. i should judge he is a good one, from whati see." "he is squire gordon, of birtwick park, theother side the beacon hills," said james. "ah! so, so, i have heard tell of him; finejudge of horses, ain't he? the best rider in the county."
"i believe he is," said james, "but herides very little now, since the poor young master was killed.""ah! poor gentleman; i read all about it in the paper at the time. a fine horse killed, too, wasn't there?""yes," said james; "he was a splendid creature, brother to this one, and justlike him." "pity! pity!" said the old man; "'twas abad place to leap, if i remember; a thin fence at top, a steep bank down to thestream, wasn't it? no chance for a horse to see where he isgoing. now, i am for bold riding as much as anyman, but still there are some leaps that
only a very knowing old huntsman has anyright to take. a man's life and a horse's life are worthmore than a fox's tail; at least, i should say they ought to be." during this time the other man had finishedginger and had brought our corn, and james and the old man left the stable together. black beauty by anna sewellchapter 16. the fire later on in the evening a traveler's horsewas brought in by the second hostler, and while he was cleaning him a young man witha pipe in his mouth lounged into the stable
to gossip. "i say, towler," said the hostler, "justrun up the ladder into the loft and put some hay down into this horse's rack, willyou? only lay down your pipe." "all right," said the other, and went upthrough the trapdoor; and i heard him step across the floor overhead and put down thehay. james came in to look at us the last thing,and then the door was locked. i cannot say how long i had slept, nor whattime in the night it was, but i woke up very uncomfortable, though i hardly knewwhy. i got up; the air seemed all thick andchoking.
i heard ginger coughing and one of theother horses seemed very restless; it was quite dark, and i could see nothing, butthe stable seemed full of smoke, and i hardly knew how to breathe. the trapdoor had been left open, and ithought that was the place it came through. i listened, and heard a soft rushing sortof noise and a low crackling and snapping. i did not know what it was, but there wassomething in the sound so strange that it made me tremble all over.the other horses were all awake; some were pulling at their halters, others stamping. at last i heard steps outside, and thehostler who had put up the traveler's horse
burst into the stable with a lantern, andbegan to untie the horses, and try to lead them out; but he seemed in such a hurry and so frightened himself that he frightened mestill more. the first horse would not go with him; hetried the second and third, and they too would not stir. he came to me next and tried to drag me outof the stall by force; of course that was no use.he tried us all by turns and then left the stable. no doubt we were very foolish, but dangerseemed to be all round, and there was
nobody we knew to trust in, and all wasstrange and uncertain. the fresh air that had come in through theopen door made it easier to breathe, but the rushing sound overhead grew louder, andas i looked upward through the bars of my empty rack i saw a red light flickering onthe wall. then i heard a cry of "fire!" outside, andthe old hostler quietly and quickly came in; he got one horse out, and went toanother, but the flames were playing round the trapdoor, and the roaring overhead wasdreadful. the next thing i heard was james' voice,quiet and cheery, as it always was. "come, my beauties, it is time for us to beoff, so wake up and come along."
i stood nearest the door, so he came to mefirst, patting me as he came in. "come, beauty, on with your bridle, my boy,we'll soon be out of this smother." it was on in no time; then he took thescarf off his neck, and tied it lightly over my eyes, and patting and coaxing heled me out of the stable. safe in the yard, he slipped the scarf offmy eyes, and shouted, "here somebody! take this horse while i go back for the other."a tall, broad man stepped forward and took me, and james darted back into the stable. i set up a shrill whinny as i saw him go.ginger told me afterward that whinny was the best thing i could have done for her,for had she not heard me outside she would
never have had courage to come out. there was much confusion in the yard; thehorses being got out of other stables, and the carriages and gigs being pulled out ofhouses and sheds, lest the flames should spread further. on the other side the yard windows werethrown up, and people were shouting all sorts of things; but i kept my eye fixed onthe stable door, where the smoke poured out thicker than ever, and i could see flashes of red light; presently i heard above allthe stir and din a loud, clear voice, which i knew was master's:"james howard!
james howard! are you there?" there was no answer, but i heard a crash ofsomething falling in the stable, and the next moment i gave a loud, joyful neigh,for i saw james coming through the smoke leading ginger with him; she was coughingviolently, and he was not able to speak. "my brave lad!" said master, laying hishand on his shoulder, "are you hurt?" james shook his head, for he could not yetspeak. "ay," said the big man who held me; "he isa brave lad, and no mistake." "and now," said master, "when you have gotyour breath, james, we'll get out of this
place as quickly as we can," and we weremoving toward the entry, when from the market-place there came a sound ofgalloping feet and loud rumbling wheels. "'tis the fire-engine! the fire-engine!"shouted two or three voices, "stand back, make way!" and clattering and thunderingover the stones two horses dashed into the yard with a heavy engine behind them. the firemen leaped to the ground; there wasno need to ask where the fire was--it was rolling up in a great blaze from the roof. we got out as fast as we could into thebroad quiet market-place; the stars were shining, and except the noise behind us,all was still.
master led the way to a large hotel on theother side, and as soon as the hostler came, he said, "james, i must now hasten toyour mistress; i trust the horses entirely to you, order whatever you think isneeded," and with that he was gone. the master did not run, but i never sawmortal man walk so fast as he did that night. there was a dreadful sound before we gotinto our stalls--the shrieks of those poor horses that were left burning to death inthe stable--it was very terrible! and made both ginger and me feel very bad. we, however, were taken in and well doneby.
the next morning the master came to see howwe were and to speak to james. i did not hear much, for the hostler wasrubbing me down, but i could see that james looked very happy, and i thought the masterwas proud of him. our mistress had been so much alarmed inthe night that the journey was put off till the afternoon, so james had the morning onhand, and went first to the inn to see about our harness and the carriage, andthen to hear more about the fire. when he came back we heard him tell thehostler about it. at first no one could guess how the firehad been caused, but at last a man said he saw dick towler go into the stable with apipe in his mouth, and when he came out he
had not one, and went to the tap foranother. then the under hostler said he had askeddick to go up the ladder to put down some hay, but told him to lay down his pipefirst. dick denied taking the pipe with him, butno one believed him. i remember our john manly's rule, never toallow a pipe in the stable, and thought it ought to be the rule everywhere. james said the roof and floor had allfallen in, and that only the black walls were standing; the two poor horses thatcould not be got out were buried under the burnt rafters and tiles.
black beauty by anna sewellchapter 17. john manly's talk the rest of our journey was very easy, anda little after sunset we reached the house of my master's friend. we were taken into a clean, snug stable;there was a kind coachman, who made us very comfortable, and who seemed to think a gooddeal of james when he heard about the fire. "there is one thing quite clear, youngman," he said, "your horses know who they can trust; it is one of the hardest thingsin the world to get horses out of a stable when there is either fire or flood.
i don't know why they won't come out, butthey won't--not one in twenty." we stopped two or three days at this placeand then returned home. all went well on the journey; we were gladto be in our own stable again, and john was equally glad to see us. before he and james left us for the nightjames said, "i wonder who is coming in my place.""little joe green at the lodge," said john. "little joe green! why, he's a child!" "he is fourteen and a half," said john."but he is such a little chap!" "yes, he is small, but he is quick andwilling, and kind-hearted, too, and then he
wishes very much to come, and his fatherwould like it; and i know the master would like to give him the chance. he said if i thought he would not do hewould look out for a bigger boy; but i said i was quite agreeable to try him for sixweeks." "six weeks!" said james; "why, it will besix months before he can be of much use! it will make you a deal of work, john." "well," said john with a laugh, "work and iare very good friends; i never was afraid of work yet.""you are a very good man," said james. "i wish i may ever be like you."
"i don't often speak of myself," said john,"but as you are going away from us out into the world to shift for yourself i'll justtell you how i look on these things. i was just as old as joseph when my fatherand mother died of the fever within ten days of each other, and left me and mycripple sister nelly alone in the world, without a relation that we could look tofor help. i was a farmer's boy, not earning enough tokeep myself, much less both of us, and she must have gone to the workhouse but for ourmistress (nelly calls her her angel, and she has good right to do so). she went and hired a room for her with oldwidow mallet, and she gave her knitting and
needlework when she was able to do it; andwhen she was ill she sent her dinners and many nice, comfortable things, and was likea mother to her. then the master he took me into the stableunder old norman, the coachman that was then. i had my food at the house and my bed inthe loft, and a suit of clothes, and three shillings a week, so that i could helpnelly. then there was norman; he might have turnedround and said at his age he could not be troubled with a raw boy from the plow-tail,but he was like a father to me, and took no end of pains with me.
when the old man died some years after istepped into his place, and now of course i have top wages, and can lay by for a rainyday or a sunny day, as it may happen, and nelly is as happy as a bird. so you see, james, i am not the man thatshould turn up his nose at a little boy and vex a good, kind master.no, no! i shall miss you very much, james, but weshall pull through, and there's nothing like doing a kindness when 'tis put in yourway, and i am glad i can do it." "then," said james, "you don't hold withthat saying, 'everybody look after himself, and take care of number one'?"
"no, indeed," said john, "where should iand nelly have been if master and mistress and old norman had only taken care ofnumber one? why, she in the workhouse and i hoeingturnips! where would black beauty and ginger havebeen if you had only thought of number one? why, roasted to death! no, jim, no! that is a selfish, heathenishsaying, whoever uses it; and any man who thinks he has nothing to do but take careof number one, why, it's a pity but what he had been drowned like a puppy or a kitten, before he got his eyes open; that's what ithink," said john, with a very decided jerk
of his head. james laughed at this; but there was athickness in his voice when he said, "you have been my best friend except my mother;i hope you won't forget me." "no, lad, no!" said john, "and if ever ican do you a good turn i hope you won't forget me."the next day joe came to the stables to learn all he could before james left. he learned to sweep the stable, to bring inthe straw and hay; he began to clean the harness, and helped to wash the carriage. as he was quite too short to do anything inthe way of grooming ginger and me, james
taught him upon merrylegs, for he was tohave full charge of him, under john. he was a nice little bright fellow, andalways came whistling to his work. merrylegs was a good deal put out at being"mauled about," as he said, "by a boy who knew nothing;" but toward the end of thesecond week he told me confidentially that he thought the boy would turn out well. at last the day came when james had toleave us; cheerful as he always was, he looked quite down-hearted that morning. "you see," he said to john, "i am leaving agreat deal behind; my mother and betsy, and you, and a good master and mistress, andthen the horses, and my old merrylegs.
at the new place there will not be a soulthat i shall know. if it were not that i shall get a higherplace, and be able to help my mother better, i don't think i should have made upmy mind to it; it is a real pinch, john." "ay, james, lad, so it is; but i should notthink much of you if you could leave your home for the first time and not feel it. cheer up, you'll make friends there; and ifyou get on well, as i am sure you will, it will be a fine thing for your mother, andshe will be proud enough that you have got into such a good place as that." so john cheered him up, but every one wassorry to lose james; as for merrylegs, he
pined after him for several days, and wentquite off his appetite. so john took him out several mornings witha leading rein, when he exercised me, and, trotting and galloping by my side, got upthe little fellow's spirits again, and he was soon all right. joe's father would often come in and give alittle help, as he understood the work; and joe took a great deal of pains to learn,and john was quite encouraged about him. black beauty by anna sewellchapter 18. going for the doctor one night, a few days after james had left,i had eaten my hay and was lying down in my
straw fast asleep, when i was suddenlyroused by the stable bell ringing very loud. i heard the door of john's house open, andhis feet running up to the hall. he was back again in no time; he unlockedthe stable door, and came in, calling out, "wake up, beauty! you must go well now, if ever you did;" andalmost before i could think he had got the saddle on my back and the bridle on myhead. he just ran round for his coat, and thentook me at a quick trot up to the hall door.the squire stood there, with a lamp in his
"now, john," he said, "ride for your life--that is, for your mistress' life; there is not a moment to lose. give this note to dr. white; give yourhorse a rest at the inn, and be back as soon as you can."john said, "yes, sir," and was on my back in a minute. the gardener who lived at the lodge hadheard the bell ring, and was ready with the gate open, and away we went through thepark, and through the village, and down the hill till we came to the toll-gate. john called very loud and thumped upon thedoor; the man was soon out and flung open
the gate. "now," said john, "do you keep the gateopen for the doctor; here's the money," and off he went again. there was before us a long piece of levelroad by the river side; john said to me, "now, beauty, do your best," and so i did;i wanted no whip nor spur, and for two miles i galloped as fast as i could lay my feet to the ground; i don't believe that myold grandfather, who won the race at newmarket, could have gone faster.when we came to the bridge john pulled me up a little and patted my neck.
"well done, beauty! good old fellow," hesaid. he would have let me go slower, but myspirit was up, and i was off again as fast as before. the air was frosty, the moon was bright; itwas very pleasant. we came through a village, then through adark wood, then uphill, then downhill, till after eight miles' run we came to the town,through the streets and into the market- it was all quite still except the clatterof my feet on the stones--everybody was asleep.the church clock struck three as we drew up at dr. white's door.
john rang the bell twice, and then knockedat the door like thunder. a window was thrown up, and dr. white, inhis nightcap, put his head out and said, "what do you want?" "mrs. gordon is very ill, sir; master wantsyou to go at once; he thinks she will die if you cannot get there.here is a note." "wait," he said, "i will come." he shut the window, and was soon at thedoor. "the worst of it is," he said, "that myhorse has been out all day and is quite done up; my son has just been sent for, andhe has taken the other.
what is to be done? can i have your horse?""he has come at a gallop nearly all the way, sir, and i was to give him a resthere; but i think my master would not be against it, if you think fit, sir." "all right," he said; "i will soon beready." john stood by me and stroked my neck; i wasvery hot. the doctor came out with his riding-whip. "you need not take that, sir," said john;"black beauty will go till he drops. take care of him, sir, if you can; i shouldnot like any harm to come to him."
"no, no, john," said the doctor, "i hopenot," and in a minute we had left john far behind.i will not tell about our way back. the doctor was a heavier man than john, andnot so good a rider; however, i did my very best.the man at the toll-gate had it open. when we came to the hill the doctor drew meup. "now, my good fellow," he said, "take somebreath." i was glad he did, for i was nearly spent,but that breathing helped me on, and soon we were in the park.joe was at the lodge gate; my master was at the hall door, for he had heard us coming.
he spoke not a word; the doctor went intothe house with him, and joe led me to the stable.i was glad to get home; my legs shook under me, and i could only stand and pant. i had not a dry hair on my body, the waterran down my legs, and i steamed all over, joe used to say, like a pot on the fire. poor joe! he was young and small, and asyet he knew very little, and his father, who would have helped him, had been sent tothe next village; but i am sure he did the very best he knew. he rubbed my legs and my chest, but he didnot put my warm cloth on me; he thought i
was so hot i should not like it. then he gave me a pailful of water todrink; it was cold and very good, and i drank it all; then he gave me some hay andsome corn, and thinking he had done right, he went away. soon i began to shake and tremble, andturned deadly cold; my legs ached, my loins ached, and my chest ached, and i felt soreall over. oh! how i wished for my warm, thick cloth,as i stood and trembled. i wished for john, but he had eight milesto walk, so i lay down in my straw and tried to go to sleep.
after a long while i heard john at thedoor; i gave a low moan, for i was in great pain.he was at my side in a moment, stooping down by me. i could not tell him how i felt, but heseemed to know it all; he covered me up with two or three warm cloths, and then ranto the house for some hot water; he made me some warm gruel, which i drank, and then ithink i went to sleep. john seemed to be very much put out. i heard him say to himself over and overagain, "stupid boy! stupid boy! no cloth put on, and i dare say the water was cold,too; boys are no good;" but joe was a good
boy, after all. i was now very ill; a strong inflammationhad attacked my lungs, and i could not draw my breath without pain. john nursed me night and day; he would getup two or three times in the night to come to me.my master, too, often came to see me. "my poor beauty," he said one day, "my goodhorse, you saved your mistress' life, beauty; yes, you saved her life." i was very glad to hear that, for it seemsthe doctor had said if we had been a little longer it would have been too late.john told my master he never saw a horse go
so fast in his life. it seemed as if the horse knew what was thematter. of course i did, though john thought not;at least i knew as much as this--that john and i must go at the top of our speed, andthat it was for the sake of the mistress. black beauty by anna sewellchapter 19. only ignorance i do not know how long i was ill.mr. bond, the horse-doctor, came every day. one day he bled me; john held a pail forthe blood. i felt very faint after it and thought ishould die, and i believe they all thought
so too. ginger and merrylegs had been moved intothe other stable, so that i might be quiet, for the fever made me very quick ofhearing; any little noise seemed quite loud, and i could tell every one's footstepgoing to and from the house. i knew all that was going on.one night john had to give me a draught; thomas green came in to help him. after i had taken it and john had made meas comfortable as he could, he said he should stay half an hour to see how themedicine settled. thomas said he would stay with him, so theywent and sat down on a bench that had been
brought into merrylegs' stall, and put downthe lantern at their feet, that i might not be disturbed with the light. for awhile both men sat silent, and thentom green said in a low voice: "i wish, john, you'd say a bit of a kindword to joe. the boy is quite broken-hearted; he can'teat his meals, and he can't smile. he says he knows it was all his fault,though he is sure he did the best he knew, and he says if beauty dies no one will everspeak to him again. it goes to my heart to hear him. i think you might give him just a word; heis not a bad boy."
after a short pause john said slowly, "youmust not be too hard upon me, tom. i know he meant no harm, i never said hedid; i know he is not a bad boy. but you see, i am sore myself; that horseis the pride of my heart, to say nothing of his being such a favorite with the masterand mistress; and to think that his life may be flung away in this manner is morethan i can bear. but if you think i am hard on the boy iwill try to give him a good word to-morrow- -that is, i mean if beauty is better." "well, john, thank you.i knew you did not wish to be too hard, and i am glad you see it was only ignorance."john's voice almost startled me as he
answered: "only ignorance! only ignorance! how canyou talk about only ignorance? don't you know that it is the worst thingin the world, next to wickedness?--and which does the most mischief heaven onlyknows. if people can say, 'oh! i did not know, idid not mean any harm,' they think it is all right. i suppose martha mulwash did not mean tokill that baby when she dosed it with dalby and soothing syrups; but she did kill it,and was tried for manslaughter." "and serve her right, too," said tom.
"a woman should not undertake to nurse atender little child without knowing what is good and what is bad for it." "bill starkey," continued john, "did notmean to frighten his brother into fits when he dressed up like a ghost and ran afterhim in the moonlight; but he did; and that bright, handsome little fellow, that might have been the pride of any mother's heartis just no better than an idiot, and never will be, if he lives to be eighty yearsold. you were a good deal cut up yourself, tom,two weeks ago, when those young ladies left your hothouse door open, with a frosty eastwind blowing right in; you said it killed a
good many of your plants." "a good many!" said tom; "there was not oneof the tender cuttings that was not nipped off. i shall have to strike all over again, andthe worst of it is that i don't know where to go to get fresh ones.i was nearly mad when i came in and saw what was done." "and yet," said john, "i am sure the youngladies did not mean it; it was only ignorance." i heard no more of this conversation, forthe medicine did well and sent me to sleep,
and in the morning i felt much better; buti often thought of john's words when i came to know more of the world.
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