When it was quite out of sight, John came back. "We shall never see heragain," he said--"never." He took the reins, mounted the box, and withJoe drove slowly home; but it was not our home now.
CHAPTER IX
EARLSHALL
The next morning after breakfast, Joe put Merrylegs into the mistress'low chaise to take him to the vicarage; he came first and said good-byeto us, and Merrylegs neighed to us from the yard. Then John put thesaddle on Ginger and the leading rein on me, and rode us across thecountry to Earlshall Park, where the Earl of W---- lived. There was avery fine house and a great deal of stabling. We went into the yardthrough a stone gateway, and John asked for Mr. York. It was some timebefore he came. He was a fine-looking, middle-aged man, and his voicesaid at once that he expected to be obeyed. He was very friendly andpolite to John, and after giving us a slight look, he called a groom totake us to our boxes, and invited John to take some refreshment.
We were taken to a light, airy stable, and placed in boxes adjoiningeach other, where we were rubbed down and fed. In about half an hourJohn and York, who was to be our new coachman, came in to see us.
"Now, Manly," he said, after carefully looking at us both, "I can see nofault in these horses; but we all know that horses have theirpeculiarities as well as men, and that sometimes they need differenttreatment. I should like to know if there is anything particular ineither of these that you would like to mention."
"Well," said John, "I don't believe there is a better pair of horses inthe country, and right grieved I am to part with them, but they are notalike. The black one is the most perfect temper I ever knew; I supposehe has never known a hard word or blow since he was foaled, and all hispleasure seems to be to do what you wish; but the chestnut, I fancy,must have had bad treatment; we heard as much from the dealer. She cameto us snappish and suspicious, but when she found what sort of placeours was, it all went off by degrees; for three years I have never seenthe smallest sign of temper, and if she is well treated there is not abetter, more willing animal than she is. But she has naturally a moreirritable constitution than the black horse; flies tease her more;anything wrong in her harness frets her more; and if she were ill-usedor unfairly treated she would not be unlikely to give tit for tat. Youknow that many high-mettled horses will do so."
"Of course," said York, "I quite understand; but you know it is not easyin stables like these to have all the grooms just what they should be. Ido my best, and there I must leave it. I'll remember what you have saidabout the mare." They were going out of the stable, when John stopped,and said, "I had better mention that we have never used the check-reinwith either of them; the black horse never had one on, and the dealersaid it was the gag-bit that spoiled the other's temper."
"Well," said York, "if they come here, they must wear the check-rein. Iprefer a loose rein myself, and his lordship is always very reasonableabout horses; but my lady--that's another thing; she will have style,and if her carriage horses are not reined up tight she wouldn't look atthem. I always stand out against the gag-bit, and shall do so, but itmust be tight up when my lady rides!"
"I am sorry for it," said John; "but I must go now, or I shall lose thetrain."
He came round to each of us to pat and speak to us for the last time;his voice sounded very sad. I held my face close to him; that was all Icould do to say good-bye; and then he was gone, and I have never seenhim since.
The next day Lord W---- came to look at us; he seemed pleased with ourappearance. "I have great confidence in these horses," he said, "fromthe character my friend Gordon has given me of them. Of course they arenot a match in color, but my idea is that they will do very well for thecarriage while we are in the country. Before we go to London I must tryto match Baron; the black horse, I believe, is perfect for riding."
York then told him what John had said about us.
"Well," said he, "you must keep an eye to the mare, and put thecheck-rein easy; I dare say they will do very well with a littlehumoring at first. I'll mention it to your lady."
In the afternoon we were harnessed and put in the carriage and led roundto the front of the house. It was all very grand, and three times aslarge as the old house at Birtwick, but not half so pleasant, if a horsemay have an opinion. Two footmen were standing ready, dressed in drablivery, with scarlet breeches and white stockings. Presently we heardthe rustling sound of silk as my lady came down the flight of stonesteps. She stepped round to look at us; she was a tall, proud-lookingwoman, and did not seem pleased about something, but she said nothing,and got into the carriage. This was the first time of wearing acheck-rein, and I must say, though it certainly was a nuisance not to beable to get my head down now and then, it did not pull my head higherthan I was accustomed to carry it. I felt anxious about Ginger, but sheseemed to be quiet and content.
The next day we were again at the door, and the footmen as before; weheard the silk dress rustle, and the lady came down the steps, and in animperious voice, she said, "York, you must put those horses' headshigher, they are not fit to be seen."
York got down, and said very respectfully, "I beg your pardon, my lady,but these horses have not been reined up for three years, and my lordsaid it would be safer to bring them to it by degrees; but, if yourladyship pleases, I can take them up a little more." "Do so," shesaid.
York came round to our heads and shortened the rein himself, one hole, Ithink. Every little makes a difference, be it for better or worse, andthat day we had a steep hill to go up. Then I began to understand what Ihad heard of. Of course, I wanted to put my head forward and take thecarriage up with a will as we had been used to do; but no, I had to pullwith my head up now, and that took all the spirit out of me, and thestrain came on my back and legs. When we came in, Ginger said, "Now yousee what it is like; but this is not bad, and if it does not get muchworse than this I shall say nothing about it, for we are very welltreated here; but if they strain me up tight, why, let 'em look out! Ican't bear it, and I won't."
Day by day, hole by hole, our bearing-reins were shortened, and insteadof looking forward with pleasure to having my harness put on, as I usedto do, I began to dread it. Ginger too seemed restless, thought she saidvery little. The worst was yet to come.
CHAPTER X
A STRIKE FOR LIBERTY
One day my lady came down later than usual, and the silk rustled morethan ever. "Drive to the Duchess of B----'s," she said, and then after apause, "Are you never going to get those horses' heads up, York? Raisethem at once, and let us have no more of this humoring nonsense."
York came to me first, while the groom stood at Ginger's head. He drewmy head back and fixed the rein so tight that it was almostintolerable; then he went to Ginger, who was impatiently jerking herhead up and down against the bit, as was her way now. She had a goodidea of what was coming, and the moment York took the rein off theturret in order to shorten it, she took her opportunity, and reared upso suddenly that York had his nose roughly hit and his hat knocked off;the groom was nearly thrown off his legs. At once they both flew to herhead, but she was a match for them, and went on plunging, rearing, andkicking in a most desperate manner; at last she kicked right over thecarriage pole and fell down, after giving me a severe blow on my nearquarter. There is no knowing what further mischief she might have done,had not York sat himself down flat on her head to prevent herstruggling, at the same time calling out, "Unbuckle the black horse! Runfor the winch and unscrew the carriage pole! Cut the trace here,somebody, if you can't unhitch it!" The groom soon set me free fromGinger and the carriage, and led me to my box. He just turned me in as Iwas, and ran back to York. I was much excited by what had happened, andif I had ever been used to kick or rear I am sure I should have done itthen; but I never had, and there I stood, angry, sore in my leg, my headstill strained up to the terret on the saddle, and no power to get itdown. I was very miserable, and felt much inclined to kick the firstperson who came near me.
Before long, however, Ginger was led in by two grooms, a good dealknocked about and bruised. Yo
rk came with her and gave us orders, andthen came to look at me. In a moment he let down my head.
"Confound these check-reins!" he said to himself; "I thought we shouldhave some mischief soon. Master will be sorely vexed. But here, if awoman's husband can't rule her, of course a servant can't; so I wash myhands of it, and if she can't get to the Duchess' garden party I can'thelp it."
York did not say this before the men; he always spoke respectfully whenthey were by. Now he felt me all over, and soon found the place above myhock where I had been kicked. It was swelled and painful; he ordered itto be sponged with hot water, and then some lotion was put on.
Lord W--- was much put out when he learned what had happened; he blamedYork for giving way to his mistress, to which he replied that in futurehe would much prefer to receive his orders only from his lordship. Ithought York might have stood up better for his horses, but perhaps I amno judge.
Ginger was never put into the carriage again, but when she was well ofher bruises one of Lord W----'s younger sons said he should like to haveher; he was sure she would make a good hunter. As for me, I was obligedstill to go in the carriage, and had a fresh partner called Max; he hadalways been used to the tight rein. I asked him how it was he bore it.
"Well," he said, "I bear it because I must; but it is shortening mylife, and it will shorten yours too, if you have to stick to it."
"Do you think," I said, "that our masters know how bad it is for us?"
"I can't say," he replied, "but the dealers and the horse-doctors knowit very well. I was at a dealer's once, who was training me and anotherhorse to go as a pair; he was getting our heads up, and he said, alittle higher and a little higher every day. A gentleman who was thereasked him why he did so. 'Because,' said he, 'people won't buy themunless we do. The fashionable people want their horses to carry theirheads high and to step high. Of course, it is very bad for the horses,but then it is good for trade. The horses soon wear up, and they comefor another pair.' That," said Max, "is what he said in my hearing, andyou can judge for yourself."
What I suffered with that rein for four months in my lady's carriagewould be hard to describe; but I am quite sure that, had it lasted muchlonger, either my health or my temper would have given way. Beforethat, I never knew what it was to foam at the mouth, but now the actionof the sharp bit on my tongue and jaw, and the constrained position ofmy head and throat, always caused me to froth at the mouth more or less.Some people think it very fine to see this, and say, "What fine,spirited creatures!" But it is just as unnatural for horses as for mento foam at the mouth; it is a sure sign of some discomfort, and shouldbe attended to. Besides this, there was a pressure on my windpipe, whichoften made my breathing very uncomfortable; when I returned from mywork, my neck and chest were strained and painful, my mouth and tonguetender, and I felt worn and depressed.
In my old home I always knew that John and my master were my friends;but here, although in many ways I was well treated, I had no friend.York might have known, and very likely did know, how that rein harassedme; but I suppose he took it as a matter of course that could not behelped; at any rate, nothing was done to relieve me.
CHAPTER XI
A HORSE FAIR
No doubt a horse fair is a very amusing place to those who have nothingto lose; at any rate, there is plenty to see.
Long strings of young horses out of the country, fresh from the marshes,and droves of shaggy little Welsh ponies, no higher than Merrylegs; andhundreds of cart horses of all sorts, some of them with their long tailsbraided up and tied with scarlet cord; and a good many like myself,handsome and high-bred, but fallen into the middle class, through someaccident or blemish, unsoundness of wind, or some other complaint. Therewere some splendid animals quite in their prime, and fit for anything,they were throwing out their legs and showing off their paces in highstyle, as they were trotted out with a leading rein, the groom runningby the side. But round in the background there were a number of poorthings, sadly broken down with hard work, with their knees knucklingover and their hind legs swinging out at every step; and there were somevery dejected-looking old horses, with the under-lip hanging down andthe ears lying back heavily, as if there was no more pleasure in life,and no more hope; there were some so thin you might see all their ribs,and some with old sores on their backs and hips. These were sad sightsfor a horse to look upon, who knows not but he may come to the samestate. I was put with some useful-looking horses, and a good manypeople came to look at us. The gentlemen always turned from me when theysaw my broken knees; though the man who had me swore it was only a slipin the stall.
The first thing was to pull my mouth open, then to look at my eyes, thenfeel all the way down my legs and give me a hard feel of the skin andflesh, and then try my paces. It was wonderful what a difference therewas in the way these things were done. Some did it in a rough, off-handway, as if one was only a piece of wood; while others would take theirhands gently over one's body, with a pat now and then, as much as tosay, "By your leave." Of course, I judged a good deal of the buyers bytheir manners to myself.
There was one man, I thought, if he would buy me, I should be happy. Hewas not a gentleman. He was rather a small man, but well made, and quickin all his motions. I knew in a moment, by the way he handled me, thathe was used to horses; he spoke gently, and his gray eye had a kindly,cheery look in it. It may seem strange to say--but it is true all thesame--that the clean, fresh smell there was about him made me take tohim; no smell of old beer and tobacco, which I hated, but a fresh smellas if he had come out of a hayloft. He offered twenty-three pounds forme; but that was refused, and he walked away. I looked after him, but hewas gone, and a very hard-looking, loud-voiced man came. I wasdreadfully afraid he would have me; but he walked off. One or two morecame who did not mean business. Then the hard-faced man came back againand offered twenty-three pounds. A very close bargain was being driven,for my salesman began to think he should not get all he asked, and mustcome down; but just then the gray-eyed man came back again. I could nothelp reaching out my head toward him. He stroked my face kindly. "Well,old chap," he said, "I think we should suit each other. I'll givetwenty-four for him."
"Say twenty-five, and you shall have him." "Twenty-four then," said myfriend, in a very decided tone, "and not another sixpence--yes, or no?"
"Done," said the salesman; "and you may depend upon it there's amonstrous deal of quality in that horse, and if you want him for cabwork he's a bargain."
The money was paid on the spot, and my new master took my halter, andled me out of the fair to an inn, where he had a saddle and bridleready. He gave me a good feed of oats, and stood by while I ate it,talking to himself and talking to me. Half an hour after, we were on ourway to London, through pleasant lanes and country roads, until we cameinto the great thoroughfare, on which we traveled steadily, till in thetwilight we reached the great city. The gas lamps were already lighted;there were streets and streets crossing each other, for mile upon mile.I thought we should never come to the end of them. At last, in passingthrough one, we came to a long cab stand, when my rider called out in acheery voice, "Good-night, Governor!"
"Hallo!" cried a voice. "Have you got a good one?"
"I think so," replied my owner.
"I wish you luck with him."
"Thank ye, Governor," and he rode on. We soon turned up one of theside-streets, and about half-way up that we turned into a very narrowstreet, with rather poor-looking houses on one side, and what seemed tobe coach-houses and stables on the other.
My owner pulled up at one of the houses and whistled. The door flewopen, and a young woman, followed by a little girl and boy, ran out.There was a very lively greeting as my rider dismounted. "Now, then,Harry, my boy, open the gates, and mother will bring us the lantern."
The next minute they were all round me in the stable yard. "Is hegentle, father?" "Yes, Dolly, as gentle as your own kitten; come and pathim." At once the little hand was patting about all over my shoulderwithout fear. How good it felt!
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"Let me get him a bran mash while you rub him down," said the mother."Do, Polly, it's just what he wants; and I know you've got a beautifulmash ready for me."
I was led into a comfortable, clean-smelling stall with plenty of drystraw, and after a capital supper, I lay down, thinking I was going tobe happy.
CHAPTER XII
A LONDON CAB HORSE
My new master's name was Jeremiah Barker, but as every one called himJerry, I shall do the same. Polly, his wife, was just as good a match asa man could have. She was a plump, trim, tidy little woman, with smooth,dark hair, dark eyes, and a merry little mouth. The boy was nearlytwelve years old, a tall, frank, good-tempered lad; and little Dorothy(Dolly they called her) was her mother over again, at eight years old.They were all wonderfully fond of each other; I never knew such a happy,merry family before or since. Jerry had a cab of his own, and twohorses, which he drove and attended to himself. His other horse was atall, white, rather large-boned animal, called Captain. He was old now,but when he was young he must have been splendid; he had still a proudway of holding his head and arching his neck; in fact, he was ahigh-bred, fine-mannered, noble old horse, every inch of him. He told methat in his early youth he went to the Crimean War; he belonged to anofficer in the cavalry, and used to lead the regiment.
The next morning, when I was well-groomed, Polly and Dolly came into theyard to see me and make friends. Harry had been helping his father sincethe early morning, and had stated his opinion that I should turn out "aregular brick." Polly brought me a slice of apple, and Dolly a piece ofbread, and made as much of me as if I had been the Black Beauty of oldentime. It was a great treat to be petted again and talked to in a gentlevoice, and I let them see as well as I could that I wished to befriendly. Polly thought I was very handsome, and a great deal too goodfor a cab, if it was not for the broken knees.