章节正文
My master knew very little about horses, but he treated me well,
and I should have had a good and easy place but for circumstances
of which he was ignorant. He ordered the best hay with plenty of oats,
crushed beans, and bran, with vetches, or rye grass,
as the man might think needful. I heard the master give the order,
so I knew there was plenty of good food, and I thought I was well off.
For a few days all went on well. I found that my groom
understood his business. He kept the stable clean and airy,
and he groomed me thoroughly; and was never otherwise than gentle.
He had been an hostler in one of the great hotels in Bath.
He had given that up, and now cultivated fruit and vegetables for the market,
and his wife bred and fattened poultry and rabbits for sale.
After awhile it seemed to me that my oats came very short; I had the beans,
but bran was mixed with them instead of oats, of which there were very few;
certainly not more than a quarter of what there should have been.
In two or three weeks this began to tell upon my strength and spirits.
The grass food, though very good, was not the thing to keep up my condition
without corn. However, I could not complain, nor make known my wants.
So it went on for about two months; and I wondered that my master
did not see that something was the matter. However, one afternoon
he rode out into the country to see a friend of his, a gentleman farmer,
who lived on the road to Wells.
This gentleman had a very quick eye for horses; and after he had
welcomed his friend he said, casting his eye over me:
"It seems to me, Barry, that your horse does not look so well as he did
when you first had him; has he been well?"
"Yes, I believe so," said my master; "but he is not nearly so lively
as he was; my groom tells me that horses are always dull and weak
in the autumn, and that I must expect it."
"Autumn, fiddlesticks!" said the farmer. "Why, this is only August;
and with your light work and good food he ought not to go down like this,
even if it was autumn. How do you feed him?"
My master told him. The other shook his head slowly,
and began to feel me over.
"I can't say who eats your corn, my dear fellow, but I am much mistaken
if your horse gets it. Have you ridden very fast?"
"No, very gently."
"Then just put your hand here," said he, passing his hand over my neck
and shoulder; "he is as warm and damp as a horse just come up from grass.
I advise you to look into your stable a little more.
I hate to be suspicious, and, thank heaven, I have no cause to be,
for I can trust my men, present or absent; but there are mean scoundrels,
wicked enough to rob a dumb beast of his food. You must look into it."
And turning to his man, who had come to take me, "Give this horse
a right good feed of bruised oats, and don't stint him."
"Dumb beasts!" Yes, we are; but if I could have spoken I could have
told my master where his oats went to. My groom used to come every morning
about six o'clock, and with him a little boy, who always had a covered basket
with him. He used to go with his father into the harness-room,
where the corn was kept, and I could see them, when the door stood ajar,
fill a little bag with oats out of the bin, and then he used to be off.
Five or six mornings after this, just as the boy had left the stable,
the door was pushed open, and a policeman walked in, holding the child tight
by the arm; another policeman followed, and locked the door on the inside,
saying, "Show me the place where your father keeps his rabbits' food."
The boy looked very frightened and began to cry; but there was no escape,
and he led the way to the corn-bin. Here the policeman found
another empty bag like that which was found full of oats in the boy's basket.
Filcher was cleaning my feet at the time, but they soon saw him,
and though he blustered a good deal they walked him off to the "lock-up",
and his boy with him. I heard afterward that the boy was not held
to be guilty, but the man was sentenced to prison for two months.
31 A Humbug
My master was not immediately suited, but in a few days my new groom came.
He was a tall, good-looking fellow enough; but if ever there was a humbug
in the shape of a groom Alfred Smirk was the man. He was very civil to me,
and never used me ill; in fact, he did a great deal of stroking and patting
when his master was there to see it. He always brushed my mane and tail
with water and my hoofs with oil before he brought me to the door,
to make me look smart; but as to cleaning my feet or looking to my shoes,
or grooming me thoroughly, he thought no more of that
than if I had been a cow. He left my bit rusty, my saddle damp,
and my crupper stiff.
Alfred Smirk considered himself very handsome; he spent a great deal of time
about his hair, whiskers and necktie, before a little looking-glass
in the harness-room. When his master was speaking to him it was always,
"Yes, sir; yes, sir" -- touching his hat at every word;
and every one thought he was a very nice young man and that Mr. Barry
was very fortunate to meet with him. I should say he was the laziest,
most conceited fellow I ever came near. Of course, it was a great thing
not to be ill-used, but then a horse wants more than that.
I had a loose box, and might have been very comfortable if he had not been
too indolent to clean it out. He never took all the straw away,
and the smell from what lay underneath was very bad;
while the strong vapors that rose made my eyes smart and inflame,
and I did not feel the same appetite for my food.
One day his master came in and said, "Alfred, the stable smells
rather strong; should not you give that stall a good scrub
and throw down plenty of water?"
"Well, sir," he said, touching his cap, "I'll do so if you please, sir;
but it is rather dangerous, sir, throwing down water in a horse's box;
they are very apt to take cold, sir. I should not like to do him an injury,
but I'll do it if you please, sir."
"Well," said his master, "I should not like him to take cold;
but I don't like the smell of this stable. Do you think the drains
are all right?"
"Well, sir, now you mention it, I think the drain does sometimes
send back a smell; there may be something wrong, sir."
"Then send for the bricklayer and have it seen to," said his master.
"Yes, sir, I will."
The bricklayer came and pulled up a great many bricks,
but found nothing amiss; so he put down some lime and charged the master
five shillings, and the smell in my box was as bad as ever.
But that was not all: standing as I did on a quantity of moist straw
my feet grew unhealthy and tender, and the master used to say:
"I don't know what is the matter with this horse; he goes very fumble-footed.
I am sometimes afraid he will stumble."
"Yes, sir," said Alfred, "I have noticed the same myself,
when I have exercised him."
Now the fact was that he hardly ever did exercise me,
and when the master was busy I often stood for days together
without stretching my legs at all, and yet being fed just as high
as if I were at hard work. This often disordered my health,
and made me sometimes heavy and dull, but more often restless and feverish.
He never even gave me a meal of green food or a bran mash,
which would have cooled me, for he was altogether as ignorant
as he was conceited; and then, instead of exercise or change of food,
I had to take horse balls and draughts; which, beside the nuisance
of having them poured down my throat, used to make me feel ill
and uncomfortable.
One day my feet were so tender that, trotting over some fresh stones
with my master on my back, I made two such serious stumbles that,
as he came down Lansdown into the city, he stopped at the farrier's,
and asked him to see what was the matter with me. The man took up my feet
one by one and examined them; then standing up and dusting his hands
one against the other, he said:
"Your horse has got the `thrush', and badly, too; his feet are very tender;
it is fortunate that he has not been down. I wonder your groom has not
seen to it before. This is the sort of thing we find in foul stables,
where the litter is never properly cleaned out. If you will
send him here to-morrow I will attend to the hoof, and I will direct your man
how to apply the liniment which I will give him."
The next day I had my feet thoroughly cleansed and stuffed with tow
soaked in some strong lotion; and an unpleasant business it was.
The farrier ordered all the litter to be taken out of my box day by day,
and the floor kept very clean. Then I was to have bran mashes,
a little green food, and not so much corn, till my feet were well again.
With this treatment I soon regained my spirits; but Mr. Barry was
so much disgusted at being twice deceived by his grooms that he determined
to give up keeping a horse, and to hire when he wanted one.
I was therefore kept till my feet were quite sound, and was then sold again.
Part III
32 A Horse Fair
No doubt a horse fair is a very amusing place to those who have
nothing to 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;
and hundreds of cart horses of all sorts, some of them with their long tails
braided up and tied with scarlet cord; and a good many like myself,
handsome and high-bred, but fallen into the middle class, through some
accident or blemish, unsoundness of wind, or some other complaint.
There were some splendid animals quite in their prime, and fit for anything;
they were throwing out their legs and showing off their paces in high style,
as they were trotted out with a leading rein, the groom running by the side.
But round in the background there were a number of poor things,
sadly broken down with hard work, with their knees knuckling over
and their hind legs swinging out at every step, and there were some
very dejected-looking old horses, with the under lip hanging down
and the ears lying back heavily, as if there were 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 sights
for a horse to look upon, who knows not but he may come to the same state.
There was a great deal of bargaining, of running up and beating down;
and if a horse may speak his mind so far as he understands,
I should say there were more lies told and more trickery at that horse fair
than a clever man could give an account of. I was put with
two or three other strong, useful-looking horses, and a good many people
came to look at us. The gentlemen always turned from me
when they saw my broken knees; though the man who had me
swore it was only a slip in the stall.
The first thing was to pull my mouth open, then to look at my eyes,
then feel all the way down my legs, and give me a hard feel
of the skin and flesh, and then try my paces. It was wonderful
what a difference there was in the way these things were done.
Some did it in a rough, offhand way, as if one was only a piece of wood;
while others would take their hands gently over one's body,
with a pat now and then, as much as to say, "By your leave."
Of course I judged a good deal of the buyers by their manners to myself.
There was one man, I thought, if he would buy me, I should be happy.
He was not a gentleman, nor yet one of the loud, flashy sort
that call themselves so. He was rather a small man, but well made,
and quick in all his motions. I knew in a moment by the way he handled me,
that he 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 the same -- that the clean, fresh smell there was about him
made me take to him; no smell of old beer and tobacco, which I hated,
but a fresh smell as if he had come out of a hayloft.
He offered twenty-three pounds for me, but that was refused,
and he walked away. I looked after him, but he was gone,
and a very hard-looking, loud-voiced man came. I was dreadfully afraid
he would have me; but he walked off. One or two more came
who did not mean business. Then the hard-faced man came back again
and 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 must come down; but just then the gray-eyed man came back again.
I could not help 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 give twenty-four for him."
"Say twenty-five and you shall have him."
"Twenty-four ten," said my friend, in a very decided tone,
"and not another sixpence -- yes or no?"
and I should have had a good and easy place but for circumstances
of which he was ignorant. He ordered the best hay with plenty of oats,
crushed beans, and bran, with vetches, or rye grass,
as the man might think needful. I heard the master give the order,
so I knew there was plenty of good food, and I thought I was well off.
For a few days all went on well. I found that my groom
understood his business. He kept the stable clean and airy,
and he groomed me thoroughly; and was never otherwise than gentle.
He had been an hostler in one of the great hotels in Bath.
He had given that up, and now cultivated fruit and vegetables for the market,
and his wife bred and fattened poultry and rabbits for sale.
After awhile it seemed to me that my oats came very short; I had the beans,
but bran was mixed with them instead of oats, of which there were very few;
certainly not more than a quarter of what there should have been.
In two or three weeks this began to tell upon my strength and spirits.
The grass food, though very good, was not the thing to keep up my condition
without corn. However, I could not complain, nor make known my wants.
So it went on for about two months; and I wondered that my master
did not see that something was the matter. However, one afternoon
he rode out into the country to see a friend of his, a gentleman farmer,
who lived on the road to Wells.
This gentleman had a very quick eye for horses; and after he had
welcomed his friend he said, casting his eye over me:
"It seems to me, Barry, that your horse does not look so well as he did
when you first had him; has he been well?"
"Yes, I believe so," said my master; "but he is not nearly so lively
as he was; my groom tells me that horses are always dull and weak
in the autumn, and that I must expect it."
"Autumn, fiddlesticks!" said the farmer. "Why, this is only August;
and with your light work and good food he ought not to go down like this,
even if it was autumn. How do you feed him?"
My master told him. The other shook his head slowly,
and began to feel me over.
"I can't say who eats your corn, my dear fellow, but I am much mistaken
if your horse gets it. Have you ridden very fast?"
"No, very gently."
"Then just put your hand here," said he, passing his hand over my neck
and shoulder; "he is as warm and damp as a horse just come up from grass.
I advise you to look into your stable a little more.
I hate to be suspicious, and, thank heaven, I have no cause to be,
for I can trust my men, present or absent; but there are mean scoundrels,
wicked enough to rob a dumb beast of his food. You must look into it."
And turning to his man, who had come to take me, "Give this horse
a right good feed of bruised oats, and don't stint him."
"Dumb beasts!" Yes, we are; but if I could have spoken I could have
told my master where his oats went to. My groom used to come every morning
about six o'clock, and with him a little boy, who always had a covered basket
with him. He used to go with his father into the harness-room,
where the corn was kept, and I could see them, when the door stood ajar,
fill a little bag with oats out of the bin, and then he used to be off.
Five or six mornings after this, just as the boy had left the stable,
the door was pushed open, and a policeman walked in, holding the child tight
by the arm; another policeman followed, and locked the door on the inside,
saying, "Show me the place where your father keeps his rabbits' food."
The boy looked very frightened and began to cry; but there was no escape,
and he led the way to the corn-bin. Here the policeman found
another empty bag like that which was found full of oats in the boy's basket.
Filcher was cleaning my feet at the time, but they soon saw him,
and though he blustered a good deal they walked him off to the "lock-up",
and his boy with him. I heard afterward that the boy was not held
to be guilty, but the man was sentenced to prison for two months.
31 A Humbug
My master was not immediately suited, but in a few days my new groom came.
He was a tall, good-looking fellow enough; but if ever there was a humbug
in the shape of a groom Alfred Smirk was the man. He was very civil to me,
and never used me ill; in fact, he did a great deal of stroking and patting
when his master was there to see it. He always brushed my mane and tail
with water and my hoofs with oil before he brought me to the door,
to make me look smart; but as to cleaning my feet or looking to my shoes,
or grooming me thoroughly, he thought no more of that
than if I had been a cow. He left my bit rusty, my saddle damp,
and my crupper stiff.
Alfred Smirk considered himself very handsome; he spent a great deal of time
about his hair, whiskers and necktie, before a little looking-glass
in the harness-room. When his master was speaking to him it was always,
"Yes, sir; yes, sir" -- touching his hat at every word;
and every one thought he was a very nice young man and that Mr. Barry
was very fortunate to meet with him. I should say he was the laziest,
most conceited fellow I ever came near. Of course, it was a great thing
not to be ill-used, but then a horse wants more than that.
I had a loose box, and might have been very comfortable if he had not been
too indolent to clean it out. He never took all the straw away,
and the smell from what lay underneath was very bad;
while the strong vapors that rose made my eyes smart and inflame,
and I did not feel the same appetite for my food.
One day his master came in and said, "Alfred, the stable smells
rather strong; should not you give that stall a good scrub
and throw down plenty of water?"
"Well, sir," he said, touching his cap, "I'll do so if you please, sir;
but it is rather dangerous, sir, throwing down water in a horse's box;
they are very apt to take cold, sir. I should not like to do him an injury,
but I'll do it if you please, sir."
"Well," said his master, "I should not like him to take cold;
but I don't like the smell of this stable. Do you think the drains
are all right?"
"Well, sir, now you mention it, I think the drain does sometimes
send back a smell; there may be something wrong, sir."
"Then send for the bricklayer and have it seen to," said his master.
"Yes, sir, I will."
The bricklayer came and pulled up a great many bricks,
but found nothing amiss; so he put down some lime and charged the master
five shillings, and the smell in my box was as bad as ever.
But that was not all: standing as I did on a quantity of moist straw
my feet grew unhealthy and tender, and the master used to say:
"I don't know what is the matter with this horse; he goes very fumble-footed.
I am sometimes afraid he will stumble."
"Yes, sir," said Alfred, "I have noticed the same myself,
when I have exercised him."
Now the fact was that he hardly ever did exercise me,
and when the master was busy I often stood for days together
without stretching my legs at all, and yet being fed just as high
as if I were at hard work. This often disordered my health,
and made me sometimes heavy and dull, but more often restless and feverish.
He never even gave me a meal of green food or a bran mash,
which would have cooled me, for he was altogether as ignorant
as he was conceited; and then, instead of exercise or change of food,
I had to take horse balls and draughts; which, beside the nuisance
of having them poured down my throat, used to make me feel ill
and uncomfortable.
One day my feet were so tender that, trotting over some fresh stones
with my master on my back, I made two such serious stumbles that,
as he came down Lansdown into the city, he stopped at the farrier's,
and asked him to see what was the matter with me. The man took up my feet
one by one and examined them; then standing up and dusting his hands
one against the other, he said:
"Your horse has got the `thrush', and badly, too; his feet are very tender;
it is fortunate that he has not been down. I wonder your groom has not
seen to it before. This is the sort of thing we find in foul stables,
where the litter is never properly cleaned out. If you will
send him here to-morrow I will attend to the hoof, and I will direct your man
how to apply the liniment which I will give him."
The next day I had my feet thoroughly cleansed and stuffed with tow
soaked in some strong lotion; and an unpleasant business it was.
The farrier ordered all the litter to be taken out of my box day by day,
and the floor kept very clean. Then I was to have bran mashes,
a little green food, and not so much corn, till my feet were well again.
With this treatment I soon regained my spirits; but Mr. Barry was
so much disgusted at being twice deceived by his grooms that he determined
to give up keeping a horse, and to hire when he wanted one.
I was therefore kept till my feet were quite sound, and was then sold again.
Part III
32 A Horse Fair
No doubt a horse fair is a very amusing place to those who have
nothing to 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;
and hundreds of cart horses of all sorts, some of them with their long tails
braided up and tied with scarlet cord; and a good many like myself,
handsome and high-bred, but fallen into the middle class, through some
accident or blemish, unsoundness of wind, or some other complaint.
There were some splendid animals quite in their prime, and fit for anything;
they were throwing out their legs and showing off their paces in high style,
as they were trotted out with a leading rein, the groom running by the side.
But round in the background there were a number of poor things,
sadly broken down with hard work, with their knees knuckling over
and their hind legs swinging out at every step, and there were some
very dejected-looking old horses, with the under lip hanging down
and the ears lying back heavily, as if there were 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 sights
for a horse to look upon, who knows not but he may come to the same state.
There was a great deal of bargaining, of running up and beating down;
and if a horse may speak his mind so far as he understands,
I should say there were more lies told and more trickery at that horse fair
than a clever man could give an account of. I was put with
two or three other strong, useful-looking horses, and a good many people
came to look at us. The gentlemen always turned from me
when they saw my broken knees; though the man who had me
swore it was only a slip in the stall.
The first thing was to pull my mouth open, then to look at my eyes,
then feel all the way down my legs, and give me a hard feel
of the skin and flesh, and then try my paces. It was wonderful
what a difference there was in the way these things were done.
Some did it in a rough, offhand way, as if one was only a piece of wood;
while others would take their hands gently over one's body,
with a pat now and then, as much as to say, "By your leave."
Of course I judged a good deal of the buyers by their manners to myself.
There was one man, I thought, if he would buy me, I should be happy.
He was not a gentleman, nor yet one of the loud, flashy sort
that call themselves so. He was rather a small man, but well made,
and quick in all his motions. I knew in a moment by the way he handled me,
that he 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 the same -- that the clean, fresh smell there was about him
made me take to him; no smell of old beer and tobacco, which I hated,
but a fresh smell as if he had come out of a hayloft.
He offered twenty-three pounds for me, but that was refused,
and he walked away. I looked after him, but he was gone,
and a very hard-looking, loud-voiced man came. I was dreadfully afraid
he would have me; but he walked off. One or two more came
who did not mean business. Then the hard-faced man came back again
and 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 must come down; but just then the gray-eyed man came back again.
I could not help 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 give twenty-four for him."
"Say twenty-five and you shall have him."
"Twenty-four ten," said my friend, in a very decided tone,
"and not another sixpence -- yes or no?"
- ignorant [´ignərənt]
a.无知的，愚昧的 (初中英语单词) - stable [´steibəl] n.马棚 a.稳固的 (初中英语单词)
- thoroughly [´θʌrəli] ad.完全地，彻底地 (初中英语单词)
- otherwise [´ʌðəwaiz] ad.另外 conj.否则 (初中英语单词)
- awhile [ə´wail] ad.少顷；片刻 (初中英语单词)
- complain [kəm´plein] vi.抱怨，叫屈；控诉 (初中英语单词)
- advise [əd´vaiz] vt.忠告；建议；通知 (初中英语单词)
- absent [´æbsənt, əb´sent] a.不在的 vt.使缺席 (初中英语单词)
- spoken [´spəukən] speak的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- policeman [pə´li:smən] n.警察 (初中英语单词)
- guilty [´gilti] a.有罪的；心虚的 (初中英语单词)
- saddle [´sædl] n.鞍子 v.装鞍(于) (初中英语单词)
- fortunate [´fɔ:tʃənət] a.幸运的，侥幸的 (初中英语单词)
- underneath [,ʌndə´ni:θ] ad.&prep.在底下 (初中英语单词)
- appetite [´æpitait] n.欲望；食欲 (初中英语单词)
- standing [´stændiŋ] n.持续 a.直立的 (初中英语单词)
- restless [´restləs] a.没有休息的 (初中英语单词)
- altogether [,ɔ:ltə´geðə] ad.完全；总而言之 (初中英语单词)
- throat [θrəut] n.咽喉；嗓子；出入口 (初中英语单词)
- properly [´prɔpəli] ad.适当地；严格地 (初中英语单词)
- treatment [´tri:tmənt] n.待遇；对待；治疗 (初中英语单词)
- therefore [´ðeəfɔ:] ad.&conj.因此；所以 (初中英语单词)
- scarlet [´skɑ:lit] n.猩红色 a.猩红的 (初中英语单词)
- running [´rʌniŋ] a.奔跑的；流动的 (初中英语单词)
- background [´bækgraund] n.背景；经历；幕后 (初中英语单词)
- account [ə´kaunt] vi.说明 vt.认为 n.帐目 (初中英语单词)
- gently [´dʒentli] ad.温和地；静静地 (初中英语单词)
- tobacco [tə´bækəu] n.烟草(叶)；卷烟 (初中英语单词)
- dreadfully [dredfuli] ad.可怕地；糟透地 (初中英语单词)
- bargain [´bɑ:gin] n.买卖合同 v.议(价) (初中英语单词)
- poultry [´pəultri] n.&v.家禽 (高中英语单词)
- suspicious [sə´spiʃəs] a.可疑的，多疑的 (高中英语单词)
- litter [´litə] n.杂乱 v.乱丢 (高中英语单词)
- unpleasant [ʌn´plezənt] a.不愉快的；不合意的 (高中英语单词)
- amusing [ə´mju:ziŋ] a.有趣的 (高中英语单词)
- hanging [´hæŋiŋ] n.绞刑 a.悬挂着的 (高中英语单词)
- salesman [´seilzmən] n.店员；推销员 (高中英语单词)
- decided [di´saidid] a.明显的；决定的 (高中英语单词)
- ridden [´ridn] ride 的过去分词 (英语四级单词)
- necktie [´nektai] n.领带 (英语四级单词)
- touching [´tʌtʃiŋ] a.动人的 prep.提到 (英语四级单词)
- shaggy [´ʃægi] a.蓬乱的；多粗毛的 (英语四级单词)
- sixpence [´sikspəns] n.六便士(硬币) (英语四级单词)
- cultivated [´kʌltiveitid] a.在耕作的；有教养的 (英语六级单词)
- holding [´həuldiŋ] n.保持，固定，存储 (英语六级单词)
- good-looking [] a.漂亮的，美貌的 (英语六级单词)
- speaking [´spi:kiŋ] n.说话 a.发言的 (英语六级单词)
- conceited [kən´si:tid] a.自负的；自夸的 (英语六级单词)
- blemish [´blemiʃ] n.缺点；污点 vt.沾污 (英语六级单词)
- beating [´bi:tiŋ] n.敲；搅打；失败 (英语六级单词)
文章标签:名著
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