Black Beauty

Beauty’s first impressions of his new family are quickly confirmed: Jerry and Polly have a very loving relationship with one another, and their children, Harry and Dolly. Jerry drives a cab; his other horse is named Captain. They decide to call Beauty “Jack”, and Jerry treats him with great care. On the first morning that Jerry takes his cab out with Black Beauty, the other cab drivers comment on him with interest and curiosity; some are suspicious as to how such a fine-looking horse came to be sold for a low price.

At first, Beauty finds it stressful and overwhelming to drive in the busy London streets, since “I had never been used to London, and the noise, the hurry, the crowds of horses, carts, and carriages […] made me feel anxious and harassed” (123). However, he quickly trusts and likes Jerry, who drives him very kindly and effectively. Jerry also ensures his horses do not work on Sundays; on these days, Beauty gets to know Captain better.

When he was young, Captain was a handsome and well-bred horse, and was trained as an army horse. Captain is sent with his master to fight in the Crimean War (fought between Russia and allied French & British forces between 1854 and 1856); he describes the challenging sea journey, but that he and many of the horses were treated well by their owners. While it was dangerous to be ridden into battle, and Captain recalls seeing both horses and men be wounded and die, he felt confident and brave because of his loyalty to his master. As he reflects, “my master’s cheery voice, as he encouraged his men, made me feel as if he and I could not be killed” (126).

One day, the horses were prepared to enter into battle. Captain noticed that his master seemed more somber than usual, but still very calm and kind. During the last charge, Captain and his master were subjected to heavy enemy fire, and saw many men and horses falling around them. Captain’s master was shot down; Captain was confused and terrified, but another soldier who had lost his own horse mounted him. Captain was able to get to safety, but there were very heavy casualties, and he assumed that his master was killed. Captain continued to serve in other battles, but he never loved anyone as loyally as his first master.

Black Beauty admires Jerry’s kindness, integrity, and conscientiousness. Jerry is very conscious of managing time, and refuses to drive his cab fast because customers are in a rush. This is controversial because many other drivers will rush and push their horses in order to get a higher fare. However, one day, a young man seems very worried and in urgent need of catching a train. Jerry skillfully drives Beauty through heavy London traffic and ensures that the man gets to his train. He later explains that he did not accept any extra money, even though the young man offered it: “’twas quite pay enough for me, to see how glad he was to catch that train” (134).

One day, a customer offers Jerry a contract to regularly drive a woman named Mrs. Briggs to church on Sundays. Jerry explains that his current cab license is only valid for six days a week, and that he therefore cannot legally work on Sundays. The customer suggests that it would be easy for Jerry to obtain a seven day license, (entitling him to work on Sundays), but Jerry declines, explaining that he needs the rest for himself and the horses, and that he values spending time with his family, and attending church services. He further explains that, “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” (137).

Mr. Briggs reluctantly leaves; Jerry feels some hesitation, and calls to Polly to come and speak with him. He asks her if he did the right thing by turning down the contract, especially since the Briggs are good customers, and treat Jerry very well. Polly firmly replies that she never wants to go back to the days when her husband worked seven days a week, and she would rather live with less income; she also anticipates that Harry will soon be old enough to start working.

Nonetheless, Jerry is disappointed that he stops getting work from the Briggs family. Several of the other cab drivers suggest that he made a mistake by putting his religious beliefs ahead of profit, but Jerry stands up for his actions.

A few weeks later, Jerry is returning home when Polly hurries out to see him. She explains that a servant from the Briggs household has come to arrange for Jerry to drive Mrs. Briggs the following day. Although Mr. Briggs was annoyed when Jerry turned down the Sunday work, they have not been able to find any other drivers that they like as much. Jerry and Polly are both pleased to have these lucrative and easy-going customers again.

A few days later, on a Sunday morning, Polly approaches her husband to explain that a woman named Dinah Brown needs to get to a countryside town in order to see her dying mother. Due to the exceptional circumstances, Polly urges Jerry to drive on a Sunday, and he readily agrees. Jerry does arrange to borrow a lighter cart so that the extra work will be less strenuous for Black Beauty. They have a quick and pleasant drive to the country, and once they arrive, Black Beauty is turned free to frolic in a country field. He has a wonderful time, especially since he “had not been in a field since I left poor Ginger at Earlshall” (143).

When winter comes, the cold and wet weather makes work much harder and more unpleasant for both the cab drivers and their horses. However, a kindly elderly man begins to patronize Jerry’s cab regularly; he not only treats Jerry respectfully, but he also takes a kindly interest in Beauty. This is notable because, as Beauty says, “it was a very rare thing for any one to notice the horse that had been working for him […] ninety-nine out of a hundred would as soon think of patting the steam-engine that drew the train” (147). One day, the man also intervenes when a man driving a cart is mistreating his horses, and explains that he feels strongly about intervening when he sees something unethical happening. Jerry praises the man for his integrity.

Black Beauty notes that he feels fortunate that Jerry is both his owner and his driver; many other horses are owned and rented out for profit to the cab drivers. Beauty observes that these horses tend to be less well-treated than the horses owned by the drivers. One day, Beauty hears a driver known as “Seedy Sam” complaining about how hard his life is; because he has to pay to rent his horse and cab, Sam struggles to make any money for himself, and finds it hard to care for his family. Sam admits that this precarity sometimes leads to him mistreating his horses: “when a beast is downright tired, there’s nothing but the whip that will keep his legs agoing […] you must put your wife and children before the horse” (150).

Jerry and the other drivers listen somberly as Sam talks about how overworked and exhausted he is. A few days later, a new driver comes and reports that Sam has fallen ill; the next morning, the cab drivers learn that Sam has died. On his deathbed, Sam talked about how he never had a Sunday’s rest.

One day, a run-down cab pulled by a sickly and thin horse pulls up close to Beauty’s cab. With shock, Black Beauty realizes that the horse is Ginger. He hurries to ask her what has happened. Ginger explains that she spent months recovering at Earlshall, and then was sold to a gentleman. Things went well at first, but she continued to suffer from strain and ill-health, and he sold her. This happened several times, and each time, she was sold for a cheaper price, and into a worse situation.

Ginger is now owned by a man who rents out cab horses; her driver works her very hard, and she never has any rest. Her health is getting worse, and Ginger wishes she could die, and be free of her suffering. She explains to Beauty that despite her initially high spirits, “men are strongest, and if they are cruel and have no feeling, there is nothing that we can do, but just bear it on and on to the end” (154).

Some time later, Black Beauty sees a cart pass by with a dead chestnut horse in it, and suspects it is Ginger. He hopes that she died so that her suffering would have come to an end. 

As he spends more time on the streets of London, Black Beauty observes how often horses are mistreated and handled roughly for no good reason. One day, he sees a young boy who works at a butcher shop beating the pony who pulls his cart. The butcher comes out and rebukes the boy for mistreating the horse, but the boy retorts that the way the business is run is what puts pressure on him. Customers usually want their orders for meat to arrive very quickly, and so the boy is constantly rushed to get to the shop, and then make deliveries promptly. He complains that “if the gentry would think of what they want, and order their meat the day before, there need not be this blow up” (156).

Black Beauty also observes that some horses seem to lead very happy lives, even if their owners only have a modest income. He observes a young boy with his pony, and an elderly man who delivers coal with an old horse, and notes that both obviously take good care of their animals, and that the strong bond between man and horse leads to the horses having happy lives even while working hard.