You may work a man so that all but the animal in him is gone; and
that grows stronger with physical labour.
"You may work a man till he is a devil. I know it, because I have felt it.
You will never understand the change that came over me. No one but I will
ever know how great it was. But I was never miserable; when I could keep
my oxen from sticking fast, and when I could find a place to lie down in, I
had all I wanted. After I had driven eight months a rainy season came.
For eighteen hours out of the twenty-four we worked in the wet. The mud
went up to the axles sometimes, and we had to dig the wheels out, and we
never went far in a day. My master swore at me more than ever, but when he
had done he always offered me his brandy-flask. When I first came he had
offered it me, and I had always refused; but now I drank as my oxen did
when I gave them water--without thinking. At last I bought brandy for
myself whenever we passed an hotel.
"One Sunday we outspanned on the banks of a swollen river to wait for its
going down. It was drizzling still, so I lay under the wagon on the mud.
There was no dry place anywhere; and all the dung was wet, so there was no
fire to cook food. My little flask was filled with brandy, and I drank
some and went to sleep. When I woke it was drizzling still, so I drank
some more.
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