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Chapter 38 Dolly and a Real Gentleman Winter came in early,
With a great deal of cold and wet.
There was snow or sleet or rain almost every day for weeks,
Changing only for keen driving winds or sharp frosts.
The horses felt it very much.
When it is a dry cold,
A couple of good thick rugs will keep the warm in us,
But when it's soaking rain they soon get wet through and are no good.
Some of the drivers had a waterproof cover to throw over,
Which was a fine thing,
But some of the men were so poor they couldn't protect either themselves or their horses,
And many of them suffered very much that winter.
When we horses had worked half the day,
We went to our dry stables and could rest,
While they had to sit on their boxes,
Sometimes staying out as late as one or two o'clock in the morning.
When the streets were slippery with frost or snow,
That was the worst of all.
One mile of such travelling,
With a weight to draw and no firm footing,
Would take more out of us than four on a good road.
Every nerve and muscle of our bodies is on the strain to keep our balance,
And added to this the fear of falling is more exhausting than anything else.
When the weather was very bad,
Many of the men would go and sit in the tavern close by,
But they often lost a fair in that way,
And couldn't,
As Jerry said,
Be there without spending money.
Jerry never went to the Rising Sun.
There was a coffee shop nearby where he now and then went,
Or he bought of an old man who came to our rank with tins of hot coffee and pies.
It was his opinion spirits and beer made a man colder afterwards,
And that dry clothes,
Good food,
Cheerfulness and a comfortable wife at home were the best things to keep a man warm.
Polly always supplied him with something to eat when he couldn't get home.
Sometimes little Dolly would come to make sure that Father was on the stand,
And if she saw him,
She'd run off at full speed and come back with something in a tin or a basket.
Hot soup or pudding.
It was wonderful how such a little thing could get safely across the street,
Often through thronged with horses and carriages,
But she was a brave little maid who felt it quite an honour to bring Father's first course.
Dolly was a favourite on the stand,
There was not a man who would not have seen her safely across the street if Jerry wasn't there.
One cold winter day,
Dolly bought Jerry a basin of something hot and was standing by him while he ate it.
He'd scarcely begun when a gentleman that was walking towards us very fast held up his umbrella.
Jerry touched his hat in reply,
But the man cried out,
No,
No,
Finish your soup,
My friend,
I've not much time to spare,
But I can wait till you've done.
Now set your little girl safe on the pavement.
Then he seated himself in the cab.
Jerry thanked him kindly and came back to Dolly.
That's a gentleman,
Dolly,
There,
That's a real gent.
He's got time and thought for the comfort of a poor cabman and a little girl.
He finished his soup and set the child across,
Then took his orders to drive to Clapham Rise.
Several times after that,
The same gentleman took our cab.
I think he was very fond of dogs and horses,
For whenever we took him to his own door,
Two or three dogs came bounding out to meet him.
Sometimes he came round and patted me,
Saying,
This horse has got a good master and he deserves it.
It was a very rare thing for anyone to notice the horse had been working for him.
This gentleman was not young,
And there was a forward stoop in his shoulders as if he was always going at something.
His lips were thin and closed shut,
Though they had a very pleasant smile.
His eye was keen and there was something in his jaw and the motion of his head that made me think he was determined in anything he set about.
Anyone would trust his voice,
Though it was just as decided as everything else about him.
One day,
He and another gentleman took our cab.
They stopped at a shop,
And while his friend went in,
He stood at the door.
A little ahead of us on the other side of the street,
A cart with two very fine horses was standing before some wine vaults.
The carter was not with them,
And I cannot tell how long they had been standing,
But they seemed to think they'd waited long enough and got up to move.
The man seemed furious at their having moved,
And with whip and rein,
Punished them brutally.
Our gentleman saw it all and stepped quickly across the street.
If you don't stop that directly,
I'll have you arrested for leaving your horses and for brutal conduct.
The carter,
Who had been clearly drinking,
Poured forth some abusive language,
But he left off knocking the horses about and taking the reins he'd got into his cart.
Meanwhile,
Our friend quietly took out a notebook from his pocket and wrote down the name and address painted on the cart.
What do you want with that?
Growled the carter as he crapped his whip.
A grim smile was the only answer he got.
On returning to the cab,
Our friend was joined by his companion.
I should have thought right you had enough business of your own to look after without troubling yourself about other people's,
He said laughingly.
The gentleman stood still for a moment,
Then throwing his head back,
He said,
Do you know why this world is as bad as it is?
Because people think only about their own business,
And they won't trouble themselves to stand up for someone else.
I like to stand up for the oppressed.
I like to bring the wrongdoer to light.
I never see a wicked thing like this without doing what I can.
And many a master has thanked me for letting him know how his horses have been used.
I wish there was more gentlemen like you,
Sir,
Said Jerry.
They want it badly enough in this city.
After this,
We continued our journey.
And as the gentleman and his friend got out of the cab,
The gentleman said,
My doctrine is this.
If we see cruelty or wrongdoing that we have the power to stop,
And we do nothing about it,
We're sharers in the guilt.
