Produced by A. Light, Linda Bowser, and David Widger
BLACK BEAUTY
The Autobiography of a Horse
by Anna Sewell [English Quaker -- 1820-1878.]
[Note: 'Black Beauty' was originally published in 1877. This etext wastranscribed from an American edition of 1911. Some small correctionswere made, after being confirmed against other sources.]
To my dear and honored Mother, whose life, no less than her pen, has been devoted to the welfare of others, this little book is affectionately dedicated.
Contents
Part I
Chapter 01 My Early Home 02 The Hunt 03 My Breaking In 04 Birtwick Park 05 A Fair Start 06 Liberty 07 Ginger 08 Ginger's Story Continued 09 Merrylegs 10 A Talk in the Orchard 11 Plain Speaking 12 A Stormy Day 13 The Devil's Trade Mark 14 James Howard 15 The Old Hostler 16 The Fire 17 John Manly's Talk 18 Going for the Doctor 19 Only Ignorance 20 Joe Green 21 The Parting
Part II
22 Earlshall 23 A Strike for Liberty 24 The Lady Anne, or a Runaway Horse 25 Reuben Smith 26 How it Ended 27 Ruined and Going Downhill 28 A Job Horse and His Drivers 29 Cockneys 30 A Thief 31 A Humbug
Part III
32 A Horse Fair 33 A London Cab Horse 34 An Old War Horse 35 Jerry Barker 36 The Sunday Cab 37 The Golden Rule 38 Dolly and a Real Gentleman 39 Seedy Sam 40 Poor Ginger 41 The Butcher 42 The Election 43 A Friend in Need 44 Old Captain and His Successor 45 Jerry's New Year
Part IV
46 Jakes and the Lady 47 Hard Times 48 Farmer Thoroughgood and His Grandson Willie 49 My Last Home
Black Beauty
Part I
01 My Early Home
The first place that I can well remember was a large pleasant meadowwith a pond of clear water in it. Some shady trees leaned over it, andrushes and water-lilies grew at the deep end. Over the hedge on one sidewe looked into a plowed field, and on the other we looked over a gateat our master's house, which stood by the roadside; at the top of themeadow was a grove of fir trees, and at the bottom a running brookoverhung by a steep bank.
While I was young I lived upon my mother's milk, as I could not eatgrass. In the daytime I ran by her side, and at night I lay down closeby her. When it was hot we used to stand by the pond in the shade of thetrees, and when it was cold we had a nice warm shed near the grove.
As soon as I was old enough to eat grass my mother used to go out towork in the daytime, and come back in the evening.
There were six young colts in the meadow besides me; they were olderthan I was; some were nearly as large as grown-up horses. I used to runwith them, and had great fun; we used to gallop all together round andround the field as hard as we could go. Sometimes we had rather roughplay, for they would frequently bite and kick as well as gallop.
One day, when there was a good deal of kicking, my mother whinnied to meto come to her, and then she said:
"I wish you to pay attention to what I am going to say to you. The coltswho live here are very good colts, but they are cart-horse colts, andof course they have not learned manners. You have been well-bredand well-born; your father has a great name in these parts, andyour grandfather won the cup two years at the Newmarket races; yourgrandmother had the sweetest temper of any horse I ever knew, and Ithink you have never seen me kick or bite. I hope you will grow upgentle and good, and never learn bad ways; do your work with a goodwill, lift your feet up well when you trot, and never bite or kick evenin play."
I have never forgotten my mother's advice; I knew she was a wise oldhorse, 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, andkind words; he spoke as kindly to us as he did to his little children.We were all fond of him, and my mother loved him very much. When she sawhim at the gate she would neigh with joy, and trot up to him. He wouldpat and stroke her and say, "Well, old Pet, and how is your littleDarkie?" I was a dull black, so he called me Darkie; then he would giveme a piece of bread, which was very good, and sometimes he brought acarrot for my mother. All the horses would come to him, but I think wewere his favorites. My mother always took him to the town on a marketday in a light gig.
There was a plowboy, Dick, who sometimes came into our field to pluckblackberries from the hedge. When he had eaten all he wanted he wouldhave what he called fun with the colts, throwing stones and sticks atthem to make them gallop. We did not much mind him, for we could gallopoff; but sometimes a stone would hit and hurt us.
One day he was at this game, and did not know that the master was in thenext field; but he was there, watching what was going on; over the hedgehe jumped in a snap, and catching Dick by the arm, he gave him such abox on the ear as made him roar with the pain and surprise. As soon aswe saw the master we trotted up nearer to see what went on.
"Bad boy!" he said, "bad boy! to chase the colts. This is not the firsttime, nor the second, but it shall be the last. There--take your moneyand go home; I shall not want you on my farm again." So we never sawDick any more. Old Daniel, the man who looked after the horses, was justas gentle as our master, so we were well off.
02 The Hunt
Before I was two years old a circumstance happened which I have neverforgotten. It was early in the spring; there had been a little frost inthe night, and a light mist still hung over the woods and meadows. Iand the other colts were feeding at the lower part of the field whenwe heard, quite in the distance, what sounded like the cry of dogs. Theoldest of the colts raised his head, pricked his ears, and said, "Thereare the hounds!" and immediately cantered off, followed by the rest ofus to the upper part of the field, where we could look over the hedgeand 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 weshall see the hunt."
And soon the dogs were all tearing down the field of young wheat nextto ours. I never heard such a noise as they made. They did not bark, norhowl, nor whine, but kept on a "yo! yo, o, o! yo! yo, o, o!" at the topof their voices. After them came a number of men on horseback, some ofthem in green coats, all galloping as fast as they could. The old horsesnorted and looked eagerly after them, and we young colts wanted to begalloping with them, but they were soon away into the fields lowerdown; here it seemed as if they had come to a stand; the dogs left offbarking, and ran about every way with their noses to the ground.
"They have lost the scent," said the old horse; "perhaps the hare willget off."
"What hare?" I said.
"Oh! I don't know what hare; likely enough it may be one of our ownhares out of the woods; any hare they can find will do for the dogs andmen to run after;" and before long the dogs began their "yo! yo, o, o!"again, and back they came altogether at full speed, making straight forour meadow at the part where the high bank and hedge overhang the brook.
"Now we shall see the hare," said my mother; and just then a hare wildwith fright rushed by and made for the woods. On came the dogs; theyburst over the bank, leaped the stream, and came dashing across thefield followed by the huntsmen. Six or eight men leaped their horsesclean over, close upon the dogs. The hare tried to get through thefence; it was too thick, and she turned sharp round to make for theroad, but it was too late; the dogs were upon her
with their wild cries;we heard one shriek, and that was the end of her. One of the huntsmenrode up and whipped off the dogs, who would soon have torn her topieces. He held her up by the leg torn and bleeding, and all thegentlemen seemed well pleased.
As for me, I was so astonished that I did not at first see what wasgoing on by the brook; but when I did look there was a sad sight; twofine horses were down, one was struggling in the stream, and the otherwas groaning 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 say that; but though I am an oldhorse, and have seen and heard a great deal, I never yet could make outwhy men are so fond of this sport; they often hurt themselves, oftenspoil good horses, and tear up the fields, and all for a hare or a fox,or a stag, that they could get more easily some other way; but we areonly horses, and don't know."
While my mother was saying this we stood and looked on. Many of theriders had gone to the young man; but my master, who had been watchingwhat was going on, was the first to raise him. His head fell back andhis arms hung down, and every one looked very serious. There was nonoise now; even the dogs were quiet, and seemed to know that somethingwas wrong. They carried him to our master's house. I heard afterwardthat 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 directions to the doctor's, to thefarrier's, and no doubt to Squire Gordon's, to let him know about hisson. When Mr. Bond, the farrier, came to look at the black horse thatlay groaning on the grass, he felt him all over, and shook his head; oneof his legs was broken. Then some one ran to our master's house and cameback with a gun; presently there was a loud bang and a dreadful shriek,and then all was still; the black horse moved no more.
My mother seemed much troubled; she said she had known that horse foryears, and that his name was "Rob Roy"; he was a good horse, andthere was no vice in him. She never would go to that part of the fieldafterward.
Not many days after we heard the church-bell tolling for a long time,and looking over the gate we saw a long, strange black coach that wascovered with black cloth and was drawn by black horses; after that cameanother and another and another, and all were black, while the bell kepttolling, tolling. They were carrying young Gordon to the churchyard tobury him. He would never ride again. What they did with Rob Roy I neverknew; but 'twas all for one little hare.
03 My Breaking In
I was now beginning to grow handsome; my coat had grown fine and soft,and was bright black. I had one white foot and a pretty white star on myforehead. I was thought very handsome; my master would not sell me tillI was four years old; he said lads ought not to work like men, and coltsought not to work like horses till they were quite grown up.
When I was four years old Squire Gordon came to look at me. He examinedmy eyes, my mouth, and my legs; he felt them all down; and then I hadto walk and trot and gallop before him. He seemed to like me, and said,"When he has been well broken in he will do very well." My master saidhe would break me in himself, as he should not like me to be frightenedor hurt, and he lost no time about it, for the next day he began.
Every one may not know what breaking in is, therefore I will describeit. It means to teach a horse to wear a saddle and bridle, and to carryon his back a man, woman or child; to go just the way they wish, and togo quietly. Besides this he has to learn to wear a collar, a crupper,and a breeching, and to stand still while they are put on; then to havea cart or a chaise fixed behind, so that he cannot walk or trot withoutdragging it after him; and he must go fast or slow, just as his driverwishes. He must never start at what he sees, nor speak to other horses,nor bite, nor kick, nor have any will of his own; but always do hismaster's will, even though he may be very tired or hungry; but the worstof all is, when his harness is once on, he may neither jump for joy norlie down for weariness. So you see this breaking in is a great thing.
I had of course long been used to a halter and a headstall, and to beled about in the fields and lanes quietly, but now I was to have a bitand bridle; my master gave me some oats as usual, and after a good dealof coaxing he got the bit into my mouth, and the bridle fixed, but itwas a nasty thing! Those who have never had a bit in their mouths cannotthink 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, andover one's tongue, with the ends coming out at the corner of your mouth,and held fast there by straps over your head, under your throat, roundyour nose, and under your chin; so that no way in the world can you getrid of the nasty hard thing; it is very bad! yes, very bad! at least Ithought so; but I knew my mother always wore one when she went out, andall horses did when they were grown up; and so, what with the nice oats,and what with my master's pats, kind words, and gentle ways, I got towear my bit and bridle.
Next came the saddle, but that was not half so bad; my master put iton my back very gently, while old Daniel held my head; he then made thegirths fast under my body, patting and talking to me all the time; thenI had a few oats, then a little leading about; and this he did everyday till I began to look for the oats and the saddle. At length, onemorning, my master got on my back and rode me round the meadow on thesoft grass. It certainly did feel queer; but I must say I felt ratherproud 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 on the iron shoes; that too wasvery hard at first. My master went with me to the smith's forge, to seethat I was not hurt or got any fright. The blacksmith took my feet inhis hand, one after the other, and cut away some of the hoof. It did notpain me, so I stood still on three legs till he had done them all. Thenhe took a piece of iron the shape of my foot, and clapped it on, anddrove some nails through the shoe quite into my hoof, so that the shoewas firmly on. My feet felt very stiff and heavy, but in time I got usedto it.
And now having got so far, my master went on to break me to harness;there were more new things to wear. First, a stiff heavy collar juston my neck, and a bridle with great side-pieces against my eyes calledblinkers, and blinkers indeed they were, for I could not see on eitherside, 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 thecrupper. I hated the crupper; to have my long tail doubled up and pokedthrough that strap was almost as bad as the bit. I never felt more likekicking, but of course I could not kick such a good master, and soin time I got used to everything, and could do my work as well as mymother.
I must not forget to mention one part of my training, which I havealways considered a very great advantage. My master sent me for afortnight to a neighboring farmer's, who had a meadow which was skirtedon one side by the railway. Here were some sheep and cows, and I wasturned in among them.
I shall never forget the first train that ran by. I was feeding quietlynear the pales which separated the meadow from the railway, when I hearda strange sound at a distance, and before I knew whence it came--witha rush and a clatter, and a puffing out of smoke--a long black train ofsomething flew by, and was gone almost before I could draw my breath. Iturned and galloped to the further side of the meadow as fast as I couldgo, and there I stood snorting with astonishment and fear. In the courseof the day many other trains went by, some more slowly; these drew upat the station close by, and sometimes made an awful shriek and groanbefore they stopped. I thought it very dreadful, but the cows wenton eating very quietly, and hardly raised their heads as the blackfrightful thing came puffing and grinding past.
For the first few days I could not feed in peace; but as I found thatthis terrible creature never came into the field, or did me any harm, Ibegan to disregard it, and very soon I cared as little about the passingof a train as the cows and sheep did.
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Since then I have seen many horses much alarmed and restive at the sightor sound of a steam engine; but thanks to my good master's care, I am asfearless at railway stations as in my own stable.
Now if any one wants to break in a young horse well, that is the way.
My master often drove me in double harness with my mother, because shewas steady and could teach me how to go better than a strange horse. Shetold me the better I behaved the better I should be treated, and thatit 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 likeour master, that any horse may be proud to serve; and there are bad,cruel men, who never ought to have a horse or dog to call their own.Besides, there are a great many foolish men, vain, ignorant, andcareless, who never trouble themselves to think; these spoil more horsesthan all, just for want of sense; they don't mean it, but they do it forall that. I hope you will fall into good hands; but a horse never knowswho may buy him, or who may drive him; it is all a chance for us; butstill I say, do your best wherever it is, and keep up your good name."
04 Birtwick Park
At this time I used to stand in the stable and my coat was brushed everyday till it shone like a rook's wing. It was early in May, when therecame a man from Squire Gordon's, who took me away to the hall. My mastersaid, "Good-by, Darkie; be a good horse, and always do your best." Icould not say "good-by", so I put my nose into his hand; he patted mekindly, and I left my first home. As I lived some years with SquireGordon, I may as well tell something about the place.
Squire Gordon's park skirted the village of Birtwick. It was entered bya large iron gate, at which stood the first lodge, and then you trottedalong on a smooth road between clumps of large old trees; then anotherlodge and another gate, which brought you to the house and the gardens.Beyond this lay the home paddock, the old orchard, and the stables.There was accommodation for many horses and carriages; but I need onlydescribe the stable into which I was taken; this was very roomy, withfour good stalls; a large swinging window opened into the yard, whichmade it pleasant and airy.