Black Beauty

Old Captain and His Successor. 175and for several days I did not get out, and Jerry earnednothing:. The first time we went to the stand after theaccident, the Governor came up to hear how Captain was." He'll never get over it," said Jerry, "At least not formy work, so the farrier said this morning. He says he maydo for carting and that sort of work. It has put me out verymuch. Carting, indeed ! I've seen what horses come to atthat work round London. I only wish that all the drunkardscould be put in a lunatic asylum, instead of being allowed torun foul of sober people. If they would break their oivnbones, and smash their oivn carts and lame their ozvn horses,that would be their own affair and we might let them alone,but it seems to me that the innocent always suffer ;and thenthey talk about compensation ! You can't make compensation;there's all the trouble, and vexation, and loss of time^besides losing a good horse that's like an old friend—it'snonsense talking of compensation! IftJieres one devil thatI should like to see in the bottojnless pit more than another^ ifsthe drunk devil.""I say, Jerry," said the Governor, " you are treadingpretty hard on my toes, you know ; I am not so good as youare, more shame for me ; I wish I was."" Well," said Jerry, " why don't you cut with it. Governor.^You are too good a man to be slave of such a thing."" I'm a great fool, Jerry, but I tried it once for two daysand I thought I should have died ; how did you do .-*"" I had hard work at it for several weeks you see I never;did get drunk, but I found that I was not my own master, andthat when the craving came on it was hard work to say * no.'I saw that one of us must knock under, the drink devil orJerry Barker, and I said that it should not be Jerry BarkerGod helping me ; but it was a struggle, and I wanted all thehelp that I could get, for till I tried to break the habit I didnot know how strong it was ; but then Polly took such pains