"Done," said the salesman; "and you may depend upon it
there's a monstrous deal of quality in that horse, and if you want him

for cab work he's a bargain."
The money was paid on the spot, and my new master took my halter,

and led me out of the fair to an inn, where he had a saddle and bridle ready.
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 our way to London, through pleasant lanes and country roads,

until we came into the great London thoroughfare, on which
we traveledsteadily, till in the twilight we reached the great city.

The gas lamps were already lighted; there were streets to the right,
and streets to the left, and streets crossing each other, for mile upon mile.

I thought we should never come to the end of them. At last,
in passing through one, we came to a long cab stand, when my rider called out

in a cheery voice, "Good-night, governor!"
"Halloo!" cried a voice. "Have you got a good one?"

"I think so," replied my owner.
"I wish you luck with him."

"Thank you, governor," and he rode on. We soon turned up
one of the side streets, and about halfway up that we turned into

a very narrow street, with rather poor-looking houses on one side,
and what seemed to be coach-houses and stables on the other.

My owner pulled up at one of the houses and whistled. The door flew open,
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 standing round me in a small stable-yard.

"Is he gentle, father?"
"Yes, Dolly, as gentle as your own kitten; come and pat him."

At once the little hand was patting about all over my shoulder without fear.
How good it felt!

"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 beautiful mash

ready for me."
"Sausage dumpling and apple turnover!" shouted the boy,

which set them all laughing. I was led into a comfortable,
clean-smelling stall, with plenty of dry straw, and after a capital supper

I lay down, thinking I was going to be happy.
33 A London Cab Horse

Jeremiah Barker was my new master's name, but as every one called him Jerry,
I shall do the same. Polly, his wife, was just as good a match

as a 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 twelve 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 two horses, which he drove and attended to himself.
His other horse was a tall, 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 proud way of holding his head

and arching his neck; in fact, he was a high-bred, fine-mannered,
noble old horse, every inch of him. He told me that in his early youth

he went to the Crimean War; he belonged to an officer in the cavalry,
and used to lead the regiment. I will tell more of that hereafter.

The next morning, when I was well-groomed, Polly and Dolly came into the yard
to see me and make friends. Harry had been helping his father

since the early morning, and had stated his opinion that I should turn out
a "regular brick". Polly brought me a slice of apple,

and Dolly a piece of bread, and made as much of me as if I had been
the "Black Beauty" of olden time. It was a great treat to be petted again

and talked to in a gentle voice, and I let them see as well as I could
that I wished to be friendly. Polly thought I was very handsome,

and a great deal too good for a cab, if it was not for the broken knees.
"Of course there's no one to tell us whose fault that was," said Jerry,

"and as long as I don't know I shall give him the benefit of the doubt;
for a firmer, neater stepper I never rode. We'll call him `Jack',

after the old one -- shall we, Polly?"
"Do," she said, "for I like to keep a good name going."

Captain went out in the cab all the morning. Harry came in after school
to feed me and give me water. In the afternoon I was put into the cab.

Jerry took as much pains to see if the collar and bridle fitted comfortably
as if he had been John Manly over again. When the crupper

was let out a hole or two it all fitted well. There was no check-rein,
no curb, nothing but a plain ring snaffle. What a blessing that was!

After driving through the side street we came to the large cab stand
where Jerry had said "Good-night". On one side of this wide street

were high houses with wonderful shop fronts, and on the other
was an old church and churchyard, surrounded by iron palisades.

Alongside these iron rails a number of cabs were drawn up,
waiting for passengers; bits of hay were lying about on the ground;

some of the men were standing together talking; some were sitting
on their boxes reading the newspaper; and one or two

were feeding their horses with bits of hay, and giving them a drink of water.
We pulled up in the rank at the back of the last cab. Two or three men

came round and began to look at me and pass their remarks.
"Very good for a funeral," said one.

"Too smart-looking," said another, shaking his head in a very wise way;
"you'll find out something wrong one of these fine mornings,

or my name isn't Jones."
"Well," said Jerry pleasantly, "I suppose I need not find it out till it

finds me out, eh? And if so, I'll keep up my spirits a little longer."
Then there came up a broad-faced man, dressed in a great gray coat

with great gray cape and great white buttons, a gray hat,
and a blue comforterloosely tied round his neck; his hair was gray, too;

but he was a jolly-looking fellow, and the other men made way for him.
He looked me all over, as if he had been going to buy me;

and then straightening himself up with a grunt, he said,
"He's the right sort for you, Jerry; I don't care what you gave for him,

he'll be worth it." Thus my character was established on the stand.
This man's name was Grant, but he was called "Gray Grant",

or "Governor Grant". He had been the longest on that stand
of any of the men, and he took it upon himself to settle matters

and stop disputes. He was generally a good-humored, sensible man;
but if his temper was a little out, as it was sometimes

when he had drunk too much, nobody liked to come too near his fist,
for he could deal a very heavy blow.

The first week of my life as a cab horse was very trying.
I had never been used to London, and the noise, the hurry,

the crowds of horses, carts, and carriages that I had to make my way through
made me feel anxious and harassed; but I soon found that I could

perfectly trust my driver, and then I made myself easy and got used to it.
Jerry was as good a driver as I had ever known, and what was better,

he took as much thought for his horses as he did for himself.
He soon found out that I was willing to work and do my best,

and he never laid the whip on me unless it was gentlydrawing the end of it
over my back when I was to go on; but generally I knew this quite well

by the way in which he took up the reins, and I believe his whip
was more frequently stuck up by his side than in his hand.

In a short time I and my master understood each other as well
as horse and man can do. In the stable, too, he did all that he could

for our comfort. The stalls were the old-fashioned style,
too much on the slope; but he had two movable bars fixed across

the back of our stalls, so that at night, and when we were resting,
he just took off our halters and put up the bars, and thus we could

turn about and stand whichever way we pleased, which is a great comfort.
Jerry kept us very clean, and gave us as much change of food as he could,

and always plenty of it; and not only that, but he always gave us plenty
of clean fresh water, which he allowed to stand by us both night and day,

except of course when we came in warm. Some people say that a horse
ought not to drink all he likes; but I know if we are allowed to drink

when we want it we drink only a little at a time, and it does us
a great deal more good than swallowing down half a bucketful at a time,

because we have been left without till we are thirsty and miserable.
Some grooms will go home to their beer and leave us for hours

with our dry hay and oats and nothing to moisten them; then of course
we gulp down too much at once, which helps to spoil our breathing

and sometimes chills our stomachs. But the best thing we had here
was our Sundays for rest; we worked so hard in the week

that I do not think we could have kept up to it but for that day;
besides, we had then time to enjoy each other's company.

It was on these days that I learned my companion's history.
34 An Old War Horse

Captain had been broken in and trained for an army horse;
his first owner was an officer of cavalry going out to the Crimean war.

He said he quite enjoyed the training with all the other horses,
trotting together, turning together, to the right hand or the left,

halting at the word of command, or dashing forward at full speed
at the sound of the trumpet or signal of the officer. He was,

when young, a dark, dappled iron-gray, and considered very handsome.
His master, a young, high-spirited gentleman, was very fond of him,

and treated him from the first with the greatest care and kindness.
He told me he thought the life of an army horse was very pleasant;

but when it came to being sent abroad over the sea in a great ship,
he almost changed his mind.

"That part of it," said he, "was dreadful! Of course we could not walk
off the land into the ship; so they were obliged to put strong straps

under our bodies, and then we were lifted off our legs
in spite of our struggles, and were swung through the air over the water,

to the deck of the great vessel. There we were placed in small close stalls,
and never for a long time saw the sky, or were able to stretch our legs.

The ship sometimes rolled about in high winds, and we were knocked about,
and felt bad enough.

"However, at last it came to an end, and we were hauled up,
and swung over again to the land; we were very glad, and snorted and neighed

for joy, when we once more felt firm ground under our feet.
"We soon found that the country we had come to was very different

from our own and that we had many hardships to endure besides the fighting;
but many of the men were so fond of their horses that they did

everything they could to make them comfortable in spite of snow, wet,
and all things out of order."

"But what about the fighting?" said I, "was not that worse
than anything else?"

"Well," said he, "I hardly know; we always liked to hear the trumpet sound,
and to be called out, and were impatient to start off, though sometimes

we had to stand for hours, waiting for the word of command;
and when the word was given we used to spring forward as gayly and eagerly

as if there were no cannon balls, bayonets, or bullets.
I believe so long as we felt our rider firm in the saddle,

and his hand steady on the bridle, not one of us gave way to fear,
not even when the terrible bomb-shells whirled through the air

and burst into a thousand pieces.
"I, with my noble master, went into many actions together without a wound;

and though I saw horses shot down with bullets, pierced through with lances,
and gashed with fearful saber-cuts; though we left them dead on the field,

or dying in the agony of their wounds, I don't think I feared for myself.
My master's cheery voice, as he encouraged his men, made me feel as if

he and I could not be killed. I had such perfect trust in him that
while he was guiding me I was ready to charge up to the very cannon's mouth.

I saw many brave men cut down, many fall mortally wounded from their saddles.
I had heard the cries and groans of the dying, I had cantered over ground

slippery with blood, and frequently had to turn aside to avoid trampling on
wounded man or horse, but, until one dreadful day, I had never felt terror;

that day I shall never forget."
Here old Captain paused for awhile and drew a long breath; I waited,

and he went on.
"It was one autumn morning, and as usual, an hour before daybreak our cavalry

had turned out, ready caparisoned for the day's work, whether it might be
fighting or waiting. The men stood by their horses waiting,

ready for orders. As the light increased there seemed to be some excitement

• saddle [´sædl] n.鞍子 v.装鞍(于) (初中英语单词)
• steadily [´stedili] ad.坚定地；不断地 (初中英语单词)
• twilight [´twailait] n.黎明；黄昏 (初中英语单词)
• lively [´laivli] a.活泼的；热烈的 (初中英语单词)
• standing [´stændiŋ] n.持续 a.直立的 (初中英语单词)
• kitten [´kitn] n.小猫 (初中英语单词)
• regiment [´redʒimənt] n.团；一大群 (初中英语单词)
• collar [´kɔlə] n.衣领；(狗等的)项圈 (初中英语单词)
• blessing [´blesiŋ] n.祝福 (初中英语单词)
• reading [´ri:diŋ] n.(阅)读；朗读；读物 (初中英语单词)
• character [´kæriktə] n.特性；性质；人物；字 (初中英语单词)
• sensible [´sensəbəl] a.感觉得到的 (初中英语单词)
• temper [´tempə] n.韧度 v.锻炼；调和 (初中英语单词)
• anxious [´æŋkʃəs] a.担忧的；渴望的 (初中英语单词)
• willing [´wiliŋ] a.情愿的，乐意的 (初中英语单词)
• gently [´dʒentli] ad.温和地；静静地 (初中英语单词)
• stable [´steibəl] n.马棚 a.稳固的 (初中英语单词)
• old-fashioned [´əuld´feʃənd] a.老式的；过时的 (初中英语单词)
• abroad [ə´brɔ:d] ad.海外；到处；广泛 (初中英语单词)
• vessel [´vesəl] n.容器；船；脉管 (初中英语单词)
• endure [in´djuə] vt.忍耐，忍受；坚持 (初中英语单词)
• waiting [´weitiŋ] n.等候；伺候 (初中英语单词)
• cannon [´kænən] n.大炮 (初中英语单词)
• fearful [´fiəfəl] a.可怕的；担心的 (初中英语单词)
• charge [tʃɑ:dʒ] v.收费；冲锋 n.费用 (初中英语单词)
• dreadful [´dredful] a.可怕的；讨厌的 (初中英语单词)
• awhile [ə´wail] ad.少顷；片刻 (初中英语单词)
• breath [breθ] n.呼吸；气息 (初中英语单词)
• excitement [ik´saitmənt] n.兴奋；骚动；煽动 (初中英语单词)
• salesman [´seilzmən] n.店员；推销员 (高中英语单词)
• monstrous [´mɔnstrəs] a.怪异的；庞大的 (高中英语单词)
• bridle [´braidl] n.(马)笼头；束缚 (高中英语单词)
• pleasantly [´plezntli] ad.令人愉快地；舒适地 (高中英语单词)
• moisten [´mɔisən] v.沾湿；变潮湿 (高中英语单词)
• learned [´lə:nid] a.有学问的，博学的 (高中英语单词)
• cavalry [´kævəlri] n.骑兵(部队) (高中英语单词)
• trumpet [´trʌmpit] n.喇叭；小号 (高中英语单词)
• impatient [im´peiʃənt] a.不耐烦的，急躁的 (高中英语单词)
• traveled [´trævəld] a.见面广的；旅客多的 (英语四级单词)
• cheery [´tʃiəri] a.愉快的；活泼的 (英语四级单词)
• wonderfully [´wʌndəfuli] ad.令人惊讶地；奇妙地 (英语四级单词)
• churchyard [´tʃə:tʃjɑ:d] n.教堂院子 (英语四级单词)
• comforter [´kʌmfətə] n.慰问者；毛围巾；圣灵 (英语四级单词)
• loosely [´lu:sli] ad.松散地 (英语四级单词)
• drawing [´drɔ:iŋ] n.画图；制图；图样 (英语四级单词)
• daybreak [´deibreik] n.黎明，拂晓 (英语四级单词)
• thoroughfare [´θʌrəfeə] n.大路；干道；通道 (英语六级单词)
• holding [´həuldiŋ] n.保持，固定，存储 (英语六级单词)
• whichever [witʃ´evə] a.&pron.无论哪个(些) (英语六级单词)
• dashing [´dæʃiŋ] a.勇猛的；生气勃勃的 (英语六级单词)