章节正文
to see them badly used; it is a bad plan to aggravate an animal
till he uses his heels; the first time 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;
this is not the first time, nor the second, that he has ill-used that pony,
and I shall stop it. I am much obliged to you, Manly. Good-evening."
So we went on, John chuckling all the way home; then he told James about it,
who laughed and said, "Serve him right. I knew that boy at school;
he took great airs on himself because he was a farmer's son;
he used to swagger about and bully the little boys. Of course,
we elder ones would not have any of that nonsense, and let him know
that in the school and the playground farmers' sons and laborers' sons
were all alike. I well remember one day, just before afternoon school,
I found him at the large window catching flies and pulling off their wings.
He did not see me and I gave him a box on the ears that laid him sprawling
on the floor. Well, angry as I was, I was almost frightened,
he roared and bellowed in such a style. The boys rushed in
from the playground, and the master ran in from the road to see
who was being murdered. Of course I said fair and square at once
what I had done, and why; then I showed the master the flies,
some crushed and some crawling about helpless, and I showed him the wings
on the window sill. I never saw him so angry before;
but as Bill was still howling and whining, like the coward that he was,
he did not give him any more punishment of that kind,
but set him up on a stool for the rest of the afternoon,
and said that he should not go out to play for that week.
Then he talked to all the boys very seriously about cruelty, and said
how hard-hearted and cowardly it was to hurt the weak 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 any one who took pleasure in cruelty
we might know who he belonged to, for the devil was a murderer
from the beginning, and a tormentor to the end. On the other hand,
where we saw people who loved their neighbors, and were kind
to man and beast, we might know that was God's mark."
"Your master never taught you a truer thing," said John;
"there is no religion without love, and people may talk as much as 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 a sham, James, and it won't stand
when things come to be turned inside out."
14 James Howard
Early one morning in December John had just led me into my box
after my daily exercise, and was strapping my cloth on
and James was coming in from the corn chamber with some oats,
when the master came into the stable. He looked rather serious,
and held an open letter in his hand. John fastened the door of my box,
touched his cap, and waited for orders.
"Good-morning, John," said the master. "I want to know
if you have any complaint to make of James."
"Complaint, sir? No, sir."
"Is he industrious at his work and respectful 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 goes out with the horses to exercise them
or to take a message, that he stops about talking to his acquaintances,
or goes into houses where he has no business, leaving the horses outside?"
"No, sir, certainly not; and if anybody has been saying that about James,
I don't believe it, and I don't mean to believe it unless 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 fellow I never had in this stable.
I can trust his word and I can trust his work; he is gentle and clever
with the horses, and I would rather have them in charge with him
than with half the young fellows I know of in laced hats and liveries;
and whoever wants a character of James Howard," said John,
with a decided jerk of his head, "let them come to John Manly."
The master stood all this time grave and attentive,
but as John finished his speech a broad smile spread over his face,
and looking kindly across at James, who all this time had stood still
at the door, he said, "James, my lad, set down the oats and come here;
I am very glad to find that John's opinion of your character
agrees so exactly with my own. John is a cautious man," he said,
with a droll smile, "and it is not always easy to get his opinion
about people, so I thought if 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 come to business. I have a letter from my brother-in-law,
Sir Clifford Williams, of Clifford Hall. He wants me to find him
a trustworthy young groom, about twenty or twenty-one,
who knows his business. His old coachman, who has lived with him
thirty years, is getting feeble, and he wants a man to work with him
and get into his ways, who would be able, when the old man was pensioned off,
to step into his place. He would have eighteen shillings a week at first,
a stable suit, a driving suit, a bedroom over the coachhouse,
and a boy under him. Sir Clifford is a good master,
and if you could get the place it would be a good start for you.
I don't want to part with you, and if you left us I know John would lose
his right hand."
"That I should, sir," said John, "but I would 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 as steady as a man, and is strong,
and well grown, and though he has not had much experience in driving,
he has a light firm hand and a quick eye, and he is very careful,
and I am quite sure no horse of his 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 man
trained by your John I should like him better than any other;'
so, James, lad, think it over, talk to your mother at dinner-time,
and then let me know what you wish."
In a few days after this conversation it was fully settled
that James should go to Clifford Hall, in a month or six weeks,
as it suited his master, and in the meantime he was to get
all the practice in driving that could be given to him. I never knew
the carriage to go out so often 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 the carriage 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 of places the master would go to
in the city on Saturday, and what queer streets we were driven through.
He was sure to go to the railway station just as the train was coming in,
and cabs and carriages, carts and omnibuses were all trying 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 it would not have been
at all difficult for people to run into each other, if they did not
look sharp and keep their wits about them.
15 The Old Hostler
After this it was decided by my master and mistress 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, but James drove so carefully
and thoughtfully that we were not at all harassed. He never forgot to
put on the brake as we went downhill, nor to take it off at the right place.
He kept our feet on the smoothest part of the road, and if the uphill
was very long, he set the carriage wheels a little across the road,
so as not to run back, and gave us a breathing. All these little things
help a horse very much, particularly if he gets kind words into the bargain.
We stopped once or twice on the road, and just as the sun was going down
we reached the town where we were to spend the night. We stopped at
the principal hotel, which was in the market-place; it was a very large one;
we drove under an archway into a long 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 a yellow stripedwaistcoat. I never saw a man unbuckle harness
so quickly as he did, and with a pat and a good word he led me
to a long stable, with six or eight stalls in it, and two or three horses.
The other man brought Ginger; James stood by while we were
rubbed down and cleaned.
I never was cleaned so lightly and quickly as by that little old man.
When he had done James stepped up and felt me over, as if he thought
I could not be thoroughly done, but he found my coat as clean and smooth
as silk.
"Well," he said, "I thought I was pretty quick, and our John quicker still,
but you do beat all I ever saw for being quick and thorough
at the same time."
"Practice makes perfect," said the crooked little hostler,
"and 'twould be a pity if it didn't; forty years' practice, and not perfect!
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 the habit of being quick
it is just as easy as being slow; easier, I should say;
in fact it don't agree with my health to be hulking about over a job
twice as long as it need take. Bless you! I couldn't whistle
if I crawled over my work as some folks do! You see,
I have been about horses ever since I was twelve years old,
in huntingstables, and racing stables; and being small, ye see,
I was jockey for several years; but at the Goodwood, ye see,
the turf was very slippery and my poor Larkspur got 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 downright pleasure
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 twenty minutes, and I'll tell you what sort of a groom he has had.
Look at this one, pleasant, quiet, turns about just as you want him,
holds up his feet to be cleaned out, or anything else you 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 of you; 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 or shy; if they are high-mettled
it makes them vicious or dangerous; their tempers are mostly 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 they will 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 what I see."
"He is Squire Gordon, of Birtwick Park, the other side the Beacon Hills,"
said James.
"Ah! so, so, I have heard tell of him; fine judge of horses, ain't he?
the best rider in the county."
"I believe he is," said James, "but he rides 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 just like him."
"Pity! pity!" said the old man; "'twas a bad place to leap, if I remember;
a thin fence at top, a steep bank down to the stream, wasn't it?
No chance for a horse to see where he is going. Now, I am for bold riding
as much as any man, but still there are some leaps that only
a very knowing old huntsman has any right to take. A man's life
till he uses his heels; the first time 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;
this is not the first time, nor the second, that he has ill-used that pony,
and I shall stop it. I am much obliged to you, Manly. Good-evening."
So we went on, John chuckling all the way home; then he told James about it,
who laughed and said, "Serve him right. I knew that boy at school;
he took great airs on himself because he was a farmer's son;
he used to swagger about and bully the little boys. Of course,
we elder ones would not have any of that nonsense, and let him know
that in the school and the playground farmers' sons and laborers' sons
were all alike. I well remember one day, just before afternoon school,
I found him at the large window catching flies and pulling off their wings.
He did not see me and I gave him a box on the ears that laid him sprawling
on the floor. Well, angry as I was, I was almost frightened,
he roared and bellowed in such a style. The boys rushed in
from the playground, and the master ran in from the road to see
who was being murdered. Of course I said fair and square at once
what I had done, and why; then I showed the master the flies,
some crushed and some crawling about helpless, and I showed him the wings
on the window sill. I never saw him so angry before;
but as Bill was still howling and whining, like the coward that he was,
he did not give him any more punishment of that kind,
but set him up on a stool for the rest of the afternoon,
and said that he should not go out to play for that week.
Then he talked to all the boys very seriously about cruelty, and said
how hard-hearted and cowardly it was to hurt the weak 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 any one who took pleasure in cruelty
we might know who he belonged to, for the devil was a murderer
from the beginning, and a tormentor to the end. On the other hand,
where we saw people who loved their neighbors, and were kind
to man and beast, we might know that was God's mark."
"Your master never taught you a truer thing," said John;
"there is no religion without love, and people may talk as much as 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 a sham, James, and it won't stand
when things come to be turned inside out."
14 James Howard
Early one morning in December John had just led me into my box
after my daily exercise, and was strapping my cloth on
and James was coming in from the corn chamber with some oats,
when the master came into the stable. He looked rather serious,
and held an open letter in his hand. John fastened the door of my box,
touched his cap, and waited for orders.
"Good-morning, John," said the master. "I want to know
if you have any complaint to make of James."
"Complaint, sir? No, sir."
"Is he industrious at his work and respectful 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 goes out with the horses to exercise them
or to take a message, that he stops about talking to his acquaintances,
or goes into houses where he has no business, leaving the horses outside?"
"No, sir, certainly not; and if anybody has been saying that about James,
I don't believe it, and I don't mean to believe it unless 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 fellow I never had in this stable.
I can trust his word and I can trust his work; he is gentle and clever
with the horses, and I would rather have them in charge with him
than with half the young fellows I know of in laced hats and liveries;
and whoever wants a character of James Howard," said John,
with a decided jerk of his head, "let them come to John Manly."
The master stood all this time grave and attentive,
but as John finished his speech a broad smile spread over his face,
and looking kindly across at James, who all this time had stood still
at the door, he said, "James, my lad, set down the oats and come here;
I am very glad to find that John's opinion of your character
agrees so exactly with my own. John is a cautious man," he said,
with a droll smile, "and it is not always easy to get his opinion
about people, so I thought if 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 come to business. I have a letter from my brother-in-law,
Sir Clifford Williams, of Clifford Hall. He wants me to find him
a trustworthy young groom, about twenty or twenty-one,
who knows his business. His old coachman, who has lived with him
thirty years, is getting feeble, and he wants a man to work with him
and get into his ways, who would be able, when the old man was pensioned off,
to step into his place. He would have eighteen shillings a week at first,
a stable suit, a driving suit, a bedroom over the coachhouse,
and a boy under him. Sir Clifford is a good master,
and if you could get the place it would be a good start for you.
I don't want to part with you, and if you left us I know John would lose
his right hand."
"That I should, sir," said John, "but I would 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 as steady as a man, and is strong,
and well grown, and though he has not had much experience in driving,
he has a light firm hand and a quick eye, and he is very careful,
and I am quite sure no horse of his 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 man
trained by your John I should like him better than any other;'
so, James, lad, think it over, talk to your mother at dinner-time,
and then let me know what you wish."
In a few days after this conversation it was fully settled
that James should go to Clifford Hall, in a month or six weeks,
as it suited his master, and in the meantime he was to get
all the practice in driving that could be given to him. I never knew
the carriage to go out so often 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 the carriage 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 of places the master would go to
in the city on Saturday, and what queer streets we were driven through.
He was sure to go to the railway station just as the train was coming in,
and cabs and carriages, carts and omnibuses were all trying 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 it would not have been
at all difficult for people to run into each other, if they did not
look sharp and keep their wits about them.
15 The Old Hostler
After this it was decided by my master and mistress 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, but James drove so carefully
and thoughtfully that we were not at all harassed. He never forgot to
put on the brake as we went downhill, nor to take it off at the right place.
He kept our feet on the smoothest part of the road, and if the uphill
was very long, he set the carriage wheels a little across the road,
so as not to run back, and gave us a breathing. All these little things
help a horse very much, particularly if he gets kind words into the bargain.
We stopped once or twice on the road, and just as the sun was going down
we reached the town where we were to spend the night. We stopped at
the principal hotel, which was in the market-place; it was a very large one;
we drove under an archway into a long 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 a yellow stripedwaistcoat. I never saw a man unbuckle harness
so quickly as he did, and with a pat and a good word he led me
to a long stable, with six or eight stalls in it, and two or three horses.
The other man brought Ginger; James stood by while we were
rubbed down and cleaned.
I never was cleaned so lightly and quickly as by that little old man.
When he had done James stepped up and felt me over, as if he thought
I could not be thoroughly done, but he found my coat as clean and smooth
as silk.
"Well," he said, "I thought I was pretty quick, and our John quicker still,
but you do beat all I ever saw for being quick and thorough
at the same time."
"Practice makes perfect," said the crooked little hostler,
"and 'twould be a pity if it didn't; forty years' practice, and not perfect!
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 the habit of being quick
it is just as easy as being slow; easier, I should say;
in fact it don't agree with my health to be hulking about over a job
twice as long as it need take. Bless you! I couldn't whistle
if I crawled over my work as some folks do! You see,
I have been about horses ever since I was twelve years old,
in huntingstables, and racing stables; and being small, ye see,
I was jockey for several years; but at the Goodwood, ye see,
the turf was very slippery and my poor Larkspur got 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 downright pleasure
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 twenty minutes, and I'll tell you what sort of a groom he has had.
Look at this one, pleasant, quiet, turns about just as you want him,
holds up his feet to be cleaned out, or anything else you 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 of you; 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 or shy; if they are high-mettled
it makes them vicious or dangerous; their tempers are mostly 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 they will 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 what I see."
"He is Squire Gordon, of Birtwick Park, the other side the Beacon Hills,"
said James.
"Ah! so, so, I have heard tell of him; fine judge of horses, ain't he?
the best rider in the county."
"I believe he is," said James, "but he rides 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 just like him."
"Pity! pity!" said the old man; "'twas a bad place to leap, if I remember;
a thin fence at top, a steep bank down to the stream, wasn't it?
No chance for a horse to see where he is going. Now, I am for bold riding
as much as any man, but still there are some leaps that only
a very knowing old huntsman has any right to take. A man's life
- helpless [´helpləs]
a.无助的，无依靠的 (初中英语单词) - coward [´kauəd] n.胆怯者 a.胆小的 (初中英语单词)
- punishment [´pʌniʃmənt] n.罚，刑罚 (初中英语单词)
- seriously [´siəriəsli] ad.严肃；严重，重大 (初中英语单词)
- beginning [bi´giniŋ] n.开始，开端；起源 (初中英语单词)
- stable [´steibəl] n.马棚 a.稳固的 (初中英语单词)
- complaint [kəm´pleint] n.抱怨；叫屈 (初中英语单词)
- suspect [´sʌspekt, sə´spekt] v.怀疑；觉得 n.嫌疑犯 (初中英语单词)
- character [´kæriktə] n.特性；性质；人物；字 (初中英语单词)
- charge [tʃɑ:dʒ] v.收费；冲锋 n.费用 (初中英语单词)
- feeble [´fi:bəl] a.虚弱的，无力的 (初中英语单词)
- meantime [´mi:ntaim] n.&ad.其间；同时 (初中英语单词)
- carriage [´kæridʒ] n.马车；客车；货运 (初中英语单词)
- mistress [´mistris] n.女主人；情妇；女能手 (初中英语单词)
- driven [´driv(ə)n] drive 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- principal [´prinsəpəl] a.主要的 n.负责人 (初中英语单词)
- lightly [´laitli] ad.轻微地，稍微 (初中英语单词)
- thoroughly [´θʌrəli] ad.完全地，彻底地 (初中英语单词)
- treatment [´tri:tmənt] n.待遇；对待；治疗 (初中英语单词)
- mostly [´məustli] ad.主要地；多半；通常 (初中英语单词)
- squire [skwaiə] n.护卫，侍从；乡绅 (初中英语单词)
- stream [stri:m] n.河 vi.流出；飘扬 (初中英语单词)
- knowing [´nəuiŋ] a.会意的，心照不宣的 (初中英语单词)
- nonsense [´nɔnsəns] n.胡说 int.胡说!废话 (高中英语单词)
- playground [´pleigraund] n.操场；运动场 (高中英语单词)
- cruelty [´kru:əlti] n.残忍；残酷行为 (高中英语单词)
- chamber [´tʃeimbə] n.房间；议院；会议室 (高中英语单词)
- industrious [in´dʌstriəs] a.勤勉的，刻苦的 (高中英语单词)
- saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)
- whoever [hu:´evə] pron.任何人，无论谁 (高中英语单词)
- decided [di´saidid] a.明显的；决定的 (高中英语单词)
- thoughtfully [´θɔ:tfuli] ad.深思地；体贴地 (高中英语单词)
- crooked [´krukid] a.弯曲的；畸形的 (高中英语单词)
- ginger [´dʒindʒə] n.姜；精神，元气 (高中英语单词)
- slippery [´slipəri] a.滑的；不稳固的 (高中英语单词)
- aggravate [´ægrəveit] vt.使加剧；激怒 (英语四级单词)
- cowardly [´kauədli] a.&ad.胆小的(地) (英语四级单词)
- cautious [´kɔ:ʃəs] a.小心的；谨慎的 (英语四级单词)
- coachman [´kəutʃmən] n.赶马车人 (英语四级单词)
- trying [´traiiŋ] a.难堪的；费劲的 (英语四级单词)
- bridge [bridʒ] n.桥(梁)；鼻梁；桥牌 (英语四级单词)
- traveled [´trævəld] a.见面广的；旅客多的 (英语四级单词)
- striped [´straipt] a.有条纹的 (英语四级单词)
- vicious [´viʃəs] a.不道德的；刻毒的 (英语四级单词)
- huntsman [´hʌntsmən] n.猎人；管理猎犬的人 (英语四级单词)
- respectful [ri´spektfəl] a.恭敬的；尊敬人的 (英语六级单词)
- postscript [´pəust,skript] n.(信末的)附言；附录 (英语六级单词)
- waistcoat [´weskət, ´weiskəut] n.背心，马甲 (英语六级单词)
- hunting [´hʌntiŋ] n.打猎 (英语六级单词)
- downright [´daunrait] a.直率的 ad.彻底 (英语六级单词)
- beacon [´bi:kən] n.灯塔；信标 v.照亮 (英语六级单词)
文章标签:名著
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