At length Diamond grew tired of singing, and began to talk
to the baby instead. And as soon as he stopped singing, the
cabman began to wake up. His brain was a little clearer now, his
temper a little smoother, and his heart not quite so dirty.
He began to listen and he went on listening, and heard Diamond
saying to the baby something like this, for he thought the
cabman was asleep:
"Poor daddy! Baby's daddy takes too much beer and gin, and
that makes him somebody else, and not his own self at all.
Baby's daddy would never hit baby's mammy if he didn't take too
much beer. He's very fond of baby's mammy, and works from
morning to night to get her breakfast and dinner and supper,
only at night he forgets, and pays the money away for
beer. And they put nasty stuff in beer, I've heard my daddy say,
that drives all the good out, and lets all the bad in. Daddy
says when a man takes a drink, there's a thirsty devil creeps
into his inside, because he knows he will always get enough
there. And the devil is always crying out for more drink, and
that makes the man thirsty, and so he drinks more and more, till
he kills himself with it. And then the ugly devil creeps out of
him, and crawls about on his belly, looking for some other
cabman to get into, that he may drink, drink, drink.
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