Black Beauty (14 page)

I never knew a better man than my new master. He was kind and
good, and as strong for the right as John Manly; and so
good-tempered and merry that very few people could pick a quarrel
with him. He was very fond of making little songs, and singing them
to himself. One he was very fond of was this:

"Come, father and mother,

And sister and brother,

Come, all of you, turn to

And help one another."

And so they did; Harry was as clever at stable-work as a much
older boy, and always wanted to do what he could. Then Polly and
Dolly used to come in the morning to help with the cab—to brush and
beat the cushions, and rub the glass, while Jerry was giving us a
cleaning in the yard, and Harry was rubbing the harness. There used
to be a great deal of laughing and fun between them, and it put
Captain and me in much better spirits than if we had heard scolding
and hard words. They were always early in the morning, for Jerry
would say:

"If you in the morning

Throw minutes away,

You can't pick them up

In the course of a day.

You may hurry and scurry,

And flurry and worry,

You've lost them forever,

Forever and aye."

He could not bear any careless loitering and waste of time; and
nothing was so near making him angry as to find people, who were
always late, wanting a cab horse to be driven hard, to make up for
their idleness.

One day two wild-looking young men came out of a tavern close by
the stand, and called Jerry.

"Here, cabby! look sharp, we are rather late; put on the steam,
will you, and take us to the Victoria in time for the one o'clock
train? You shall have a shilling extra."

"I will take you at the regular pace, gentlemen; shillings don't
pay for putting on the steam like that."

Larry's cab was standing next to ours; he flung open the door,
and said, "I'm your man, gentlemen! take my cab, my horse will get
you there all right;" and as he shut them in, with a wink toward
Jerry, said, "It's against his conscience to go beyond a jog-trot."
Then slashing his jaded horse, he set off as hard as he could.
Jerry patted me on the neck: "No, Jack, a shilling would not pay
for that sort of thing, would it, old boy?"

Although Jerry was determinedly set against hard driving, to
please careless people, he always went a good fair pace, and was
not against putting on the steam, as he said, if only he knew
why.

I well remember one morning, as we were on the stand waiting for
a fare, that a young man, carrying a heavy portmanteau, trod on a
piece of orange peel which lay on the pavement, and fell down with
great force.

Jerry was the first to run and lift him up. He seemed much
stunned, and as they led him into a shop he walked as if he were in
great pain. Jerry of course came back to the stand, but in about
ten minutes one of the shopmen called him, so we drew up to the
pavement.

"Can you take me to the South-Eastern Railway?" said the young
man; "this unlucky fall has made me late, I fear; but it is of
great importance that I should not lose the twelve o'clock train. I
should be most thankful if you could get me there in time, and will
gladly pay you an extra fare."

"I'll do my very best," said Jerry heartily, "if you think you
are well enough, sir," for he looked dreadfully white and ill.

"I must go," he said earnestly, "please to open the door, and
let us lose no time."

The next minute Jerry was on the box; with a cheery chirrup to
me, and a twitch of the rein that I well understood.

"Now then, Jack, my boy," said he, "spin along, we'll show them
how we can get over the ground, if we only know why."

It is always difficult to drive fast in the city in the middle
of the day, when the streets are full of traffic, but we did what
could be done; and when a good driver and a good horse, who
understand each other, are of one mind, it is wonderful what they
can do. I had a very good mouth—that is I could be guided by the
slightest touch of the rein; and that is a great thing in London,
among carriages, omnibuses, carts, vans, trucks, cabs, and great
wagons creeping along at a walking pace; some going one way, some
another, some going slowly, others wanting to pass them; omnibuses
stopping short every few minutes to take up a passenger, obliging
the horse that is coming behind to pull up too, or to pass, and get
before them; perhaps you try to pass, but just then something else
comes dashing in through the narrow opening, and you have to keep
in behind the omnibus again; presently you think you see a chance,
and manage to get to the front, going so near the wheels on each
side that half an inch nearer and they would scrape. Well, you get
along for a bit, but soon find yourself in a long train of carts
and carriages all obliged to go at a walk; perhaps you come to a
regular block-up, and have to stand still for minutes together,
till something clears out into a side street, or the policeman
interferes; you have to be ready for any chance—to dash forward if
there be an opening, and be quick as a rat-dog to see if there be
room and if there be time, lest you get your own wheels locked or
smashed, or the shaft of some other vehicle run into your chest or
shoulder. All this is what you have to be ready for. If you want to
get through London fast in the middle of the day it wants a deal of
practice.

Jerry and I were used to it, and no one could beat us at getting
through when we were set upon it. I was quick and bold and could
always trust my driver; Jerry was quick and patient at the same
time, and could trust his horse, which was a great thing too. He
very seldom used the whip; I knew by his voice, and his click,
click, when he wanted to get on fast, and by the rein where I was
to go; so there was no need for whipping; but I must go back to my
story.

The streets were very full that day, but we got on pretty well
as far as the bottom of Cheapside, where there was a block for
three or four minutes. The young man put his head out and said
anxiously, "I think I had better get out and walk; I shall never
get there if this goes on."

"I'll do all that can be done, sir," said Jerry; "I think we
shall be in time. This block-up cannot last much longer, and your
luggage is very heavy for you to carry, sir."

Just then the cart in front of us began to move on, and then we
had a good turn. In and out, in and out we went, as fast as
horseflesh could do it, and for a wonder had a good clear time on
London Bridge, for there was a whole train of cabs and carriages
all going our way at a quick trot, perhaps wanting to catch that
very train. At any rate, we whirled into the station with many
more, just as the great clock pointed to eight minutes to twelve
o'clock.

"Thank God! we are in time," said the young man, "and thank you,
too, my friend, and your good horse. You have saved me more than
money can ever pay for. Take this extra half-crown."

"No, sir, no, thank you all the same; so glad we hit the time,
sir; but don't stay now, sir, the bell is ringing. Here, porter!
take this gentleman's luggage—Dover line twelve o'clock
train—that's it," and without waiting for another word Jerry
wheeled me round to make room for other cabs that were dashing up
at the last minute, and drew up on one side till the crush was
past.

"'So glad!' he said, 'so glad!' Poor young fellow! I wonder what
it was that made him so anxious!"

Jerry often talked to himself quite loud enough for me to hear
when we were not moving.

On Jerry's return to the rank there was a good deal of laughing
and chaffing at him for driving hard to the train for an extra
fare, as they said, all against his principles, and they wanted to
know how much he had pocketed.

"A good deal more than I generally get," said he, nodding slyly;
"what he gave me will keep me in little comforts for several
days."

"Gammon!" said one.

"He's a humbug," said another; "preaching to us and then doing
the same himself."

"Look here, mates," said Jerry; "the gentleman offered me half a
crown extra, but I didn't take it; 'twas quite pay enough for me to
see how glad he was to catch that train; and if Jack and I choose
to have a quick run now and then to please ourselves, that's our
business and not yours."

"Well," said Larry, "you'll never be a rich man."

"Most likely not," said Jerry; "but I don't know that I shall be
the less happy for that. I have heard the commandments read a great
many times and I never noticed that any of them said, 'Thou shalt
be rich'; and there are a good many curious things said in the New
Testament about rich men that I think would make me feel rather
queer if I was one of them."

"If you ever do get rich," said Governor Gray, looking over his
shoulder across the top of his cab, "you'll deserve it, Jerry, and
you won't find a curse come with your wealth. As for you, Larry,
you'll die poor; you spend too much in whipcord."

"Well," said Larry, "what is a fellow to do if his horse won't
go without it?"

"You never take the trouble to see if he will go without it;
your whip is always going as if you had the St. Vitus' dance in
your arm, and if it does not wear you out it wears your horse out;
you know you are always changing your horses; and why? Because you
never give them any peace or encouragement."

"Well, I have not had good luck," said Larry, "that's where it
is."

"And you never will," said the governor. "Good Luck is rather
particular who she rides with, and mostly prefers those who have
got common sense and a good heart; at least that is my
experience."

Governor Gray turned round again to his newspaper, and the other
men went to their cabs.

One morning, as Jerry had just put me into the shafts and was
fastening the traces, a gentleman walked into the yard. "Your
servant, sir," said Jerry.

"Good-morning, Mr. Barker," said the gentleman. "I should be
glad to make some arrangements with you for taking Mrs. Briggs
regularly to church on Sunday mornings. We go to the New Church
now, and that is rather further than she can walk."

"Thank you, sir," said Jerry, "but I have only taken out a
six-days' license,* and therefore I could not take a fare on a
Sunday; it would not be legal."

* A few years since the annual charge for a cab license was very
much reduced, and the difference between the six and seven days'
cabs was abolished.

"Oh!" said the other, "I did not know yours was a six-days' cab;
but of course it would be very easy to alter your license. I would
see that you did not lose by it; the fact is, Mrs. Briggs very much
prefers you to drive her."

"I should be glad to oblige the lady, sir, but I had a
seven-days' license once, and the work was too hard for me, and too
hard for my horses. Year in and year out, not a day's rest, and
never a Sunday with my wife and children; and never able to go to a
place of worship, which I had always been used to do before I took
to the driving box. So for the last five years I have only taken a
six-days' license, and I find it better all the way round."

"Well, of course," replied Mr. Briggs, "it is very proper that
every person should have rest, and be able to go to church on
Sundays, but I should have thought you would not have minded such a
short distance for the horse, and only once a day; you would have
all the afternoon and evening for yourself, and we are very good
customers, you know."

"Yes, sir, that is true, and I am grateful for all favors, I am
sure; and anything that I could do to oblige you, or the lady, I
should be proud and happy to do; but I can't give up my Sundays,
sir, indeed I can't. I read that God made man, and he made horses
and all the other beasts, and as soon as He had made them He made a
day of rest, and bade that all should rest one day in seven; and I
think, sir, He must have known what was good for them, and I am
sure it is good for me; I am stronger and healthier altogether, now
that I have a day of rest; the horses are fresh too, and do not
wear up nearly so fast. The six-day drivers all tell me the same,
and I have laid by more money in the savings bank than ever I did
before; and as for the wife and children, sir, why, heart alive!
they would not go back to the seven days for all they could
see."

"Oh, very well," said the gentleman. "Don't trouble yourself,
Mr. Barker, any further. I will inquire somewhere else," and he
walked away.

"Well," says Jerry to me, "we can't help it, Jack, old boy; we
must have our Sundays."

"Polly!" he shouted, "Polly! come here."

She was there in a minute.

"What is it all about, Jerry?"

"Why, my dear, Mr. Briggs wants me to take Mrs. Briggs to church
every Sunday morning. I say I have only a six-days' license. He
says, 'Get a seven-days' license, and I'll make it worth your
while;' and you know, Polly, they are very good customers to us.
Mrs. Briggs often goes out shopping for hours, or making calls, and
then she pays down fair and honorable like a lady; there's no
beating down or making three hours into two hours and a half, as
some folks do; and it is easy work for the horses; not like tearing
along to catch trains for people that are always a quarter of an
hour too late; and if I don't oblige her in this matter it is very
likely we shall lose them altogether. What do you say, little
woman?"

"I say, Jerry," says she, speaking very slowly, "I say, if Mrs.
Briggs would give you a sovereign every Sunday morning, I would not
have you a seven-days' cabman again. We have known what it was to
have no Sundays, and now we know what it is to call them our own.
Thank God, you earn enough to keep us, though it is sometimes close
work to pay for all the oats and hay, the license, and the rent
besides; but Harry will soon be earning something, and I would
rather struggle on harder than we do than go back to those horrid
times when you hardly had a minute to look at your own children,
and we never could go to a place of worship together, or have a
happy, quiet day. God forbid that we should ever turn back to those
times; that's what I say, Jerry."

"And that is just what I told Mr. Briggs, my dear," said Jerry,
"and what I mean to stick to. So don't go and fret yourself, Polly"
(for she had begun to cry); "I would not go back to the old times
if I earned twice as much, so that is settled, little woman. Now,
cheer up, and I'll be off to the stand."

Three weeks had passed away after this conversation, and no
order had come from Mrs. Briggs; so there was nothing but taking
jobs from the stand. Jerry took it to heart a good deal, for of
course the work was harder for horse and man. But Polly would
always cheer him up, and say, "Never mind, father, never, mind.

"'Do your best,

And leave the rest,

'Twill all come right

Some day or night.'"

It soon became known that Jerry had lost his best customer, and
for what reason. Most of the men said he was a fool, but two or
three took his part.

"If workingmen don't stick to their Sunday," said Truman,
"they'll soon have none left; it is every man's right and every
beast's right. By God's law we have a day of rest, and by the law
of England we have a day of rest; and I say we ought to hold to the
rights these laws give us and keep them for our children."

"All very well for you religious chaps to talk so," said Larry;
"but I'll turn a shilling when I can. I don't believe in religion,
for I don't see that your religious people are any better than the
rest."

"If they are not better," put in Jerry, "it is because they are
not religious. You might as well say that our country's laws are
not good because some people break them. If a man gives way to his
temper, and speaks evil of his neighbor, and does not pay his
debts, he is not religious, I don't care how much he goes to
church. If some men are shams and humbugs, that does not make
religion untrue. Real religion is the best and truest thing in the
world, and the only thing that can make a man really happy or make
the world we live in any better."

"If religion was good for anything," said Jones, "it would
prevent your religious people from making us work on Sundays, as
you know many of them do, and that's why I say religion is nothing
but a sham; why, if it was not for the church and chapel-goers it
would be hardly worth while our coming out on a Sunday. But they
have their privileges, as they call them, and I go without. I shall
expect them to answer for my soul, if I can't get a chance of
saving it."

Several of the men applauded this, till Jerry said:

"That may sound well enough, but it won't do; every man must
look after his own soul; you can't lay it down at another man's
door like a foundling and expect him to take care of it; and don't
you see, if you are always sitting on your box waiting for a fare,
they will say, 'If we don't take him some one else will, and he
does not look for any Sunday.' Of course, they don't go to the
bottom of it, or they would see if they never came for a cab it
would be no use your standing there; but people don't always like
to go to the bottom of things; it may not be convenient to do it;
but if you Sunday drivers would all strike for a day of rest the
thing would be done."

"And what would all the good people do if they could not get to
their favorite preachers?" said Larry.

"'Tis not for me to lay down plans for other people," said
Jerry, "but if they can't walk so far they can go to what is
nearer; and if it should rain they can put on their mackintoshes as
they do on a week-day. If a thing is right it can be done, and if
it is wrong it can be done without; and a good man will find a way.
And that is as true for us cabmen as it is for the
church-goers."