Black Beauty Chapter 35 Summary

Jerry Barker

  • Beauty's beyond thrilled with his master. Jerry Barker sings songs, treats people well, and is generally a decent and kind human being. Plus his kids are not only sweet but useful in the stable, too.
  • One day, Jerry and Beauty encounter two drunk young men who want to pay extra to rush to the train station. Jerry refuses, saying it's never worth it to do that to a horse, and his colleague Larry takes the fare instead. "Although Jerry was determinedly set against hard driving to please careless people, he always went at a good fair pace, and was not against putting on the steam, as he said, if only he knew why" (35.20), Beauty explains. So basically, no rushing without good reason.
  • Beauty gives an example of a time Jerry is willing to rush: When a kind man slips and falls, making himself late for a train, Jerry promises to try to get the man there on time, and Beauty understands.
  • Beauty then describes the total craziness of trying to rush through London traffic.
  • Jerry and Beauty make it to Victoria Station in time for the train, where they're rewarded with a generous tip—which Jerry doesn't take, because he's just happy to see the man make his train. Yep, Jerry's actually that nice.
  • Jerry's fellow cabbies give him a hard time for being such a nice guy, and Jerry answers that wealth isn't necessary if you're following the word of the Ten Commandments. So he's not only nice, but pious.