heard horses speak of it, but had never myself had experience of the
evil; this was a badly-lighted stable; there was only one very small
window at the end, and the consequence was that the stalls were almost
dark.
Besides the depressing effect this had on my spirits, it very much
weakened my sight, and when I was suddenly brought out of the darkness
into the glare of daylight it was very painful to my eyes. Several times
I stumbled over the threshold, and could scarcely see where I was going.
I believe, had I stayed there very long, I should have become purblind,
and that would have been a great misfortune, for I have heard men say
that a stone-blind horse was safer to drive than one which had imperfect
sight, as it generally makes them very timid. However, I escaped without
any permanent injury to my sight, and was sold to a large cab owner.
47 Hard Times
My new master I shall never forget; he had black eyes and a hooked nose,
his mouth was as full of teeth as a bull-dog's, and his voice was as
harsh as the grinding of cart wheels over graveled stones. His name was
Nicholas Skinner, and I believe he was the man that poor Seedy Sam drove
for.
I have heard men say that seeing is believing; but I should say that
feeling is believing; for much as I had seen before, I never knew till
now the utter misery of a cab-horse's life.
Skinner had a low set of cabs and a low set of drivers; he was hard on
the men, and the men were hard on the horses. In this place we had no
Sunday rest, and it was in the heat of summer.
Sometimes on a Sunday morning a party of fast men would hire the cab for
the day; four of them inside and another with the driver, and I had to
take them ten or fifteen miles out into the country, and back again;
never would any of them get down to walk up a hill, let it be ever
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