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Chapter Fourteen James Howard Early one morning in December,
John had just led me into my box after my daily exercise and was strapping my cloth on,
And James was coming in from the corn chamber with some oats when the master came into the stable.
He looked rather serious and held an open letter in his hand.
John fastened the door of my box,
Touched his cap and waited for orders.
Good morning,
John,
Said the master.
I want to know if you have any complaint to make of James.
Complaint,
Sir?
No,
Sir.
Is he industrious at his work and respectful to you?
Yes,
Sir.
Always.
You never find he slights his work when your back is turned?
Never,
Sir.
That's well,
But I must put another question to you.
Have you no reason to suspect when he goes out with the horses to exercise them or to take a message that he stops about talking to his acquaintances or goes into houses where he has no business leaving the horses outside?
No,
Sir.
Certainly not.
And if anybody's been saying that about James,
I don't believe it,
And I don't mean to believe it unless I've had it fairly proved before witnesses.
It's not for me to say who's been trying to take away James's character,
But I will say this,
Sir,
That a steadier,
Pleasanter,
Honest,
A smarter young fellow I never had in this stable.
I can trust his word,
And I can trust his work.
He's gentle and clever with the horses,
And I'd rather have them in charge with him than with half the young fellows I know of in lay stats and liveries.
And whoever wants a character of James Howard,
Said John with a decided jerk of his head,
Let them come to John Manly.
The master took all this time,
Grave and attentive,
But as John finished his speech,
A broad smile spread over his face.
And looking kindly across at James,
Who all this time had still stood at the door,
He said,
James,
My lad,
Set down the oats and come here.
I'm very glad to find John's opinion of your character agrees so exactly with my own.
John is a cautious man.
He had a droll smile when he said this.
It is not always easy to get John's opinions about people,
So I thought if I beat the bush on this side and birds would fly out,
I should learn what I wanted to know quickly.
So now we'll have to come to business.
I have a letter from my brother-in-law,
Sir Clifford Williams of Clifford Hall.
He wants me to find him a trustworthy young groom,
About twenty or twenty-one,
Who knows his business.
His old coachman,
Who's lived with him thirty years,
Is getting feeble,
And he wants a man to work with him and get into his ways,
Who would be able,
When the old man was pensioned off,
To step into his place.
He would have eighteen shillings a week at first,
A stable suit,
A driving suit,
A bedroom over the coach house,
And a boy under him.
Sir Clifford is a good master,
And if you could get the place,
It would be a good start for you.
I don't want to part with you,
And if you left us,
I know John would lose his right hand.
That I should,
Sir,
Said John,
But I would not stand in his light for the world.
How old are you,
James?
Said Master.
Nineteen next May,
Sir.
That's very young.
What do you think,
John?
Well,
Sir,
It is young,
But he's as steady as any man,
And he's strong,
And well-grown,
And though he has not much experience in driving,
He has a light,
Firm hand and a quick eye,
And he's very careful.
I'm quite sure no horse of his will be ruined for want of having his feet and shoes looked after.
The Master seemed impressed at this.
Your word will go the furthest,
John,
He said.
For Sir Clifford adds in a postscript,
If I could find a man trained by your John,
I should like him better than any other.
So,
James lad,
Think it over,
Talk to your mother at dinner time,
And let me know what you wish.
In a few days after this conversation,
It was fully settled that James should go off to Clifford Hall.
In a month or six weeks,
As it suited his Master,
He was to go,
And in the meantime was to get all the practice in driving that could be given to him.
I never knew the carriage to go out so often before.
When the Mistress did not go out,
The Master drove himself in the two-wheeled chaise.
But now,
Whether it was the Master or the young ladies,
Or only on an errand,
Ginger and I were put in the carriage,
And James drove us.
He was such a pleasant man to us,
And we had no wants and no fears.
At the first,
John rode with James on the box,
Giving him tricks and tips,
Telling him this and that.
And soon after,
James drove alone.
Over time we got to go to lots of different places we had never been before.
It was wonderful which things we saw when the Master would go out into the city on Saturday.
What queer streets we were driven through.
He was sure to go to the railway station just as the train was coming in.
And the cabs and the carriages,
Carts and omnibuses,
Were all trying to get over the bridge together.
It was so exciting.
That bridge needed good horses and good drivers when the railway bell was ringing,
For it was a narrow bridge.
But we were under a masterful hand and felt very safe.
Once,
There was a very sharp turn up to the station,
Where it would not have been at all difficult for people to run into each other.
But James led us through safely,
Unlike some of the other drivers,
Who did not look sharp and keep their wits about them.
