Stories of Rainbow and Lucky

Selling Lucky by Jacob Abbott, 1860.

This is the fourth book in the Stories of Rainbow and Lucky series. I’ve already started covering this series, and I have to do all five books in a row because the series is set up like a mini-series. That is, none of the books in the series can stand alone; they are all installments of one, longer story. They only make sense together.

It’s an unusual series from the mid-19th century, written on the eve of the American Civil War, by a white author with a young black hero. Rainbow is a teenage black boy who, in the previous installments of the story, is hired by a young carpenter, Handie, who is just a few years older than he is to help him with a job in another town, working on renovating a farm house that Handie has inherited. The rest of the series follows the two young men, particularly Rainbow, through their adventures leaving their small town for the first time, learning life lessons, and even dealing with difficult topics like racism. Lucky is a horse who belongs to a neighbor of Handie’s new farm, and Rainbow has befriended him.

The story is unusual for this time period because it was uncommon for black people to be the heroes of books and for topics like racism to be discussed directly. It’s also important to point out that our black hero is not a slave, he is not enslaved at any point in the series, and the series has a happy ending for him. People don’t always treat him right, but he does have friends and allies, and he manages to deal with the adversity he faces and builds a future for himself. Keep in mind along the way that there are a lot of pun names in this series and that people’s names are often clues to their characters.

This particular installment in the series focuses on the horse, Lucky. Lucky’s owner has decided to sell him, and she asks Handie and Rainbow to take Lucky from the town of Southerton to Boston to sell him. Along the way, they have encounters with thieves and further trouble with racism. However, the story ends happily for both Rainbow and Lucky.

This book is easily available to read online in your browser through NINETEENTH-CENTURY AMERICAN CHILDREN & WHAT THEY READ, I’m going to do a detailed summary below. If you’d rather read it yourself before you read my review, you can go ahead, but some people might want to know what it’s like in more detail.

The Story

The first three books in the series focused on Handie’s inheritance of the Three Pines farm, how he hired Rainbow to help him fix it up, their travels to the farm, and their adventures with their new neighbors there. Now, the summer is over, and they have returned to their own small town, but the adventures aren’t over yet.

It’s October, and since his time working for Handie over the summer as a carpenter’s apprentice, 14-year-old Rainbow’s own carpentry skills have improved, and he has bought himself a set of his own tools. Although Rainbow has faced his share of racism, even from people in his own small town, he is generally well-liked by most people because he is kind, friendly, and a good worker. He is still friends with a little white boy named Solomon, who lives nearby. Solomon looks up to Rainbow like an older brother because Rainbow spends time with him, especially since young Solomon’s father died. Solomon has started helping Rainbow with some of his work projects, as a kind of junior assistant. That’s what they are doing when Handie comes with a letter that he has just received from Southerton, the town where the Three Pines farm is.

During the course of the previous book, they befriended a difficult neighbor named Mrs. Blooman, who is the owner of the spirited colt called Lucky. Rainbow, who loves horses and has a talent for handling animals, made friends with Lucky, and he is still the person who is best able to handle him. Mrs. Blooman has had difficulty handling Lucky herself (which is partly her own fault, as the previous book explains), and she has now decided that she wants to sell Lucky. Since nobody handles Lucky as well as Rainbow does, she wants to hire Rainbow to take Lucky to Boston, find a buyer for him, and arrange the sale.

Rainbow is amazed at the job offer. The trip to Southerton was pretty momentous for him, and Boston is farther than he’s ever been, and he has never handled a horse sale before. Still, the money is good, and Rainbow really does like Lucky. Handie suggests that Rainbow think it over and talk to his mother about it. Rainbow is still a minor under the law, but his mother consents for him to take the job, and Handie accompanies Rainbow to Southerton again to pick up Lucky.

Another Stage Coach Journey

In the second book in the series, Handie and Rainbow traveled to Southerton by stage coach, and now, they’re making the same trip again with the same driver, Trigget. Since Trigget is a friend of theirs, they once again ride on top of the stage coach with him, so they can talk along the way, instead of riding inside. Trigget says that they have to stop to pick up another passenger, a young man who is bound for college. Trigget is disparaging of college-educated young men because he thinks that college makes them conceited. However, when college-boy William joins them, he turns out to be more friendly and personable than Trigget thought. Instead of sitting inside the coach, he decides that he would also like to ride on top and chat with them. The author/narrator uses this opportunity to point out that pre-conceived notions about what people are like are often wrong, and you can’t entirely depend on another person’s assessment of what someone else is like:

“Indeed, I think it may be laid down as a general rule, that if you hear a specially unfavorable account of any person whom you do not know, you will find, when you come to get acquainted with him, that he does not more than half deserve the ill account which was given of him. On the other hand, when you hear any one who is a stranger to you very extravagantly commended for certain excellent qualities which he is supposed to possess, you will find, if you come to know him intimately, that he is, after all, not so remarkable as you had been led to expect. People are very prone to exaggerate both the faults and the excellencies of those of whom they speak, by way of making what they say more striking and interesting to those who hear it.”

As they start their journey, Handie and Rainbow catch up with the changes in Trigget’s life since they last saw him. Trigget has gotten married and bought a house. He tells them about the house he bought, which used to belong to another person they also knew. The house needs some fixing up, but Trigget considers it a good deal that was beneficial to both himself and the selling. 

William protests that no deal can be beneficial to both the buyer and seller at the same time because, to his way of thinking, what defines a beneficial deal is the price of what is being sold. If the price is lower than the value of the product, the deal is beneficial to the buyer, and if the price is higher than the value of the product, the deal is beneficial to the seller. Since the price can’t be both higher and lower than the value of the product at the same time, William can’t see how the deal could benefit both the buyer and seller at the same time. (My first thought was, what if the price is neither higher nor lower but simply is the value of the product? However, there are other logical fallacies in William’s argument, as the narrator and the character point out.) The other characters debate the general idea of what makes a deal beneficial, putting forth the idea that the value of anything for sale can be difficult to pinpoint because value may be based on non-tangible aspects of the deal. For example, the same house may be worth more to one person than to another because, aside from the value of the physical aspects of the house, the house may be better suited to the circumstances of the buyer than to the seller, making the buyer view the house as being worth more than the seller might think of it. Rainbow listens to this discussion with interest because he will soon be arranging the sale of Lucky, and he wants the deal he makes to be beneficial to everyone involved.

After they get to Southerton, Rainbow receives instructions for how he can find a buyer and arrange a sale. It will take about four days of travel to reach Boston from Southerton, and Mrs. Blooman is providing money for his traveling expenses. Rainbow will go there on horseback, riding Lucky, and after he sells Lucky, he will return by train. (Unless he fails to sell Lucky, in which case, he is to ride Lucky back to Southerton.) When he gets to Boston, Rainbow is to present Lucky to the owner of a particular stable, Mr. Miles, and this stable-owner will help him to find a buyer for Lucky, if he doesn’t want Lucky himself. Rainbow also has the option to sell Lucky before reaching Boston, provided that he can find a suitable buyer who is willing to pay an acceptable price. 

Handie also gives Rainbow a letter of introduction to present to Mr. Miles, verifying his identity and that he is working for Mrs. Blooman and arranging the sale of Lucky on her behalf. Handie also presents Rainbow with a “certificate”, which he obtained on Rainbow’s behalf from the selectmen of their town before they left home. The “certificate”, as Handie describes it, is a “sort of universal letter of introduction.” This story is set long before drivers’ licenses and other, modern forms of identification, so from a modern standpoint, it performs the functions of an ID card with an added statement on the nature of the subject’s character. The certificate verifies Rainbow’s identity, the fact that is a citizen of his town, that he is known to his town’s leaders, and that he has a good character and can be considered trustworthy, for the benefit of everyone who needs to know any of that. It is signed by the selectmen (the town’s leaders) and says:

“This may certify that the bearer of this, commonly called Rainbow, colored boy, is well known to us, and to all the people of this town, and that he is a boy of excellent character. He is honest, truthful, and trustworthy. He speaks the truth and keeps his promises, and he needs no watching. He is accordingly hereby recommended, as a safe and reliable boy, to all who may have any dealings with him.”

Rainbow puts these important papers in his wallet. Then, he and Handie further discuss the arrangements with Mrs. Blooman. Rainbow wants to know if he needs to arrange a contract or memorandum in writing about their arrangements, but Handie says that this is unnecessary for this type of job. He says that women acting on their own don’t like to arrange contracts in writing like that, but he will act as a witness of the agreement between them, in case there is any dispute later. Handie is a good witness because, while he does care about Rainbow’s welfare and success as a friend, he has no legal or financial claims on the business between him and Mrs. Blooman. Neither of them thinks that there will be any difficult over the arrangement, but it’s important to consider these things, just in case.

The Journey Begins

Before they leave on the trip to Boston, Rainbow talks to Lucky about how he is going to be sold. Rainbow is sad about that because he likes Lucky and doesn’t expect to see him again after the sale. He thinks these few days that they’ll have together while they’re traveling will be their last time together.

Rainbow says that he wishes Handie would buy Lucky and let Rainbow train him and rent him. Trigget has told Rainbow that, if he can get a horse, he will hire Rainbow to carry mail, so if Handie bought Lucky, Rainbow could pay to rent him out of the wages he would earn as a mail carrier. Handie says that he wishes he could buy Lucky, so they could have that arrangement, but the problem is that Handie doesn’t have enough money to buy him and can’t borrow any more right now. He’s already working off a loan from the first book in the series, and he doesn’t think he can take on such a large expense right now. If Handie and Rainbow can’t buy Lucky themselves, they’re just going to have to let someone else buy him.

Rainbow sets out with Lucky the next day. Because he is riding Lucky to Boston, Handie is not going with him, and he is traveling completely alone for the first time. When they first start out, Lucky assumes that they are just going on one of the routine errands around the town, and as they keep going further and further, he starts getting more uneasy. He keeps wanting to turn back and looks for an opportunity to run away and go home. He almost gets away from Rainbow when they stop to eat, but Rainbow stops him and manages to calm him enough that he can get control of Lucky again.

As Rainbow continues his travels, he gets some questions about his horse from curious people he meets. A couple of them make offers to buy him or suggestions about where he might find a buyer, but none of them leads to anything. Some people make jokes or call him names, but Rainbow ignores them. At one point, he helps a boy with an injured foot, and the boy’s grateful mother gives him supper. She offers to let him spend the night, but he says that he wants to get further before the day ends.

Eventually, he stops at a cheap tavern and asks for a room. They say that he can stay the night, and he puts Lucky in their barn for the night. A black woman working in the kitchen gives Rainbow dinner and says that she will make up a bed for him, but Rainbow says that he would rather sleep in the barn to be near Lucky. It’s a good thing that he does because he overhears a couple of suspicious men he saw earlier talking about stealing his horse (and using some derogatory language about him while they do it). At first, they consider taking Lucky out of the barn that night, but then, they think about how people at the tavern have seen them and might identify them. Instead, they talk about waylaying Rainbow and Lucky further down the road, in the woods. After the men leave, Rainbow talks to Lucky, reassuring him. He also makes a pun about their use of the word “black” to describe him, saying to Lucky that these men seem like the real “black fellows.” (I think he’s referring to “black” in the old-fashioned, literary sense of “evil or sinister”, in this case. These sinister men are “black” in different way than Rainbow is, and it’s a much worse way.) Forewarned of their plans, Rainbow takes steps to make sure that the men can’t get into the barn again that night, and he foils their plans to steal Lucky the next day.

After this experience, Rainbow decides that traveling through smaller towns and country roads is too risky. He thinks that he might be safer from thieves if he sticks to better-traveled roads and bigger towns. When he comes to a larger town, he rents a room at a tavern for the night, and he is approached by a man who calls himself Mr. Truman. Mr. Truman is interested in buying Lucky, and he invites Rainbow to come to his room later to discuss it. The author/narrator informs readers immediately that Mr. Truman is a criminal, so there is no suspense about that, but there is some suspense about how or whether Rainbow will realize it in time to avoid being cheated by him or turning Lucky over to him.

When Rainbow meets with Mr. Truman later about Lucky, Mr. Truman agrees to the price that Mrs. Blooman wants for Lucky. Rainbow is pleased about finding a potential buyer who is willing to pay the right price, and he shows Mr. Truman the papers he has to prove that he is authorized to sell the horse. Mr. Truman asks Rainbow if he will return to Southerton immediately after selling Lucky, and Rainbow says that his plan is to take the train back. Mr. Truman suggests that they meet the next morning at the local train station, shortly before the train to Southerton will leave, to carry out the sale of Lucky, and Rainbow agrees.

However, after leaving Mr. Truman’s room, Rainbow begins to have some doubts about the deal and Mr. Truman himself. On the one hand, he was pleased to get an agreement to buy Lucky so easily, but on the other hand, he realizes that he doesn’t really know anything about Mr. Truman. Maybe Mr. Truman won’t show up to the train station at all to buy Lucky, or if he does, maybe he won’t bring the amount of money he agreed to pay or the money could be counterfeit. Because they agreed to meet shortly before the train will leave, Rainbow realizes that he won’t have much time to count the money or verify that money is real before the train leaves. Maybe that’s part of Mr. Truman’s plan.

Rainbow decides to ask the staff at the tavern what they know about Mr. Truman, but nobody there is able to tell them much. He’s just a man who arrived at the tavern recently and rented a room. Nobody there knows much about him, his background, or his business. Rainbow feels a little more uneasy, and he decides that, when they meet at the train station, he will ask the man who runs the ticket office to help him count the money and verify that the money is good because he figures that the person who sells the train tickets is accustomed to handling money and will know if there’s anything wrong with Mr. Truman’s payment.

When Rainbow arrives at the train station the next day, he finds the ticket seller, shows him his identification papers, and explains to him about the sale of Lucky and that he would like him to observe the sale and verify Mr. Truman’s payment to him. The ticket seller, Mr. Jones, seems intrigued by his request. He and some other men in the station’s freight office discuss Mr. Truman, and none of them know of anyone by that name in this town. Mr. Jones asks Rainbow some further questions about where he met Mr. Truman and what he knows about him. Although Rainbow doesn’t know it, there has been talk in this town about counterfeiters, and there has been some bad money found in the town. What Rainbow says about Mr. Truman awakens some suspicions that Mr. Jones and the other men have had about the origins of the bad money. Mr. Jones and the other men explain to Rainbow what they know about counterfeit money being spread in the town. They agree to witness the sale of Lucky, but they give Rainbow specific instructions about what to do and say so that Mr. Truman won’t sense their suspicions about him too soon and run away before they have evidence against him.

When Mr. Truman comes to buy Lucky, he seems unsettled when Rainbow calls Mr. Jones over to count and verify the money. Mr. Truman tries to make an excuse about wanting to talk to someone so he can leave, but the other men stop him, and he is arrested by an officer. Rainbow is astonished that his vague suspicions about Mr. Truman were correct and that Mr. Truman is an even worse criminal that he thought. He is also relieved that he didn’t go through with selling Lucky to this man. Rainbow offers to pay Mr. Jones for his help in observing the sale and stopping him from making a bad deal, but Mr. Jones says that isn’t necessary. After all, Rainbow has also provided a service by helping to expose the counterfeiter who has been spreading bad money all over town. As a reward for helping to catch the counterfeiter, Mr. Jones provides Rainbow with a pass for himself and a place for Lucky in the horse-box on the next train to Boston, saving them time and money on their journey. He even makes Rainbow’s ticket a round-trip ticket so that he can return to Southerton by train when his business in Boston is concluded.

Going to Boston

Lucky, being a horse, finds the train ride upsetting and disorienting. At first, Rainbow isn’t sure which car he should enter or where he should sit on the train, but the brakeman tells him he can sit wherever he likes because “they don’t pay any attention to color on this road, except it be the color of their money.” In other words, this train isn’t racially segregated; all they care about is whether or not the passengers have bought tickets. The brakeman explains more about how hard his work is as a brakeman, which is very hard for the money is paid. Nobody pays him enough to care about passengers’ race as well. Rainbow asks him why he stays in the job, since it sounds pretty demanding, and the brakeman says that it was hard enough to just get this job; getting another, different job would be even harder.

Since the train is about to leave, Rainbow gets on and looks around for an open seat. There are some ladies on board who have filled up some vacant seats with their parcels. Rainbow doesn’t want to disturb them, but a well-dressed young man, looking for a seat himself and seeing Rainbow’s difficulty in finding a place to sit, says that he will find a place for them both. Because the young man is handsome and charming, he is able to convince a young lady to allow him to put her parcels in the upper rack so that he and Rainbow can have the seats she was using for them. When the young man tells a story about how it is wrong to take more than a person has paid for, such as taking up multiple seats when she has only paid for just one, he tells it so charmingly and not in a directly accusing way, that the lady isn’t offended by it. The young man indicates that he thinks that men do this less often on trains than ladies because they are more acquainted with the transactional nature of train travel.

When Rainbow says that this is his first time traveling by train, the man lets Rainbow have the window seat so he can enjoy the view. Rainbow finds the view whizzing past the window as disorienting as Lucky does, although he enjoys it much more. As he watches the scenery moving past, he wonders why it seems like objects that are closer to the train move by faster than ones that are further away. He is tempted to ask the young man about it, but before he can think how to ask the question, the young man gets up from his seat.

When the train reaches Boston, Rainbow reclaims Lucky from the horse-box, and they set out to find Mr. Miles’s stables. Rainbow tries to ask a newsboy for directions, but the newsboy makes fun of him instead, teasing him about his race, “Say, Pompey, how came you both to be so black, you and your horse? Did he catch it of you, or did you catch it of him?” Rainbow ignores him and finds someone else to ask.

Getting around in Boston is tricky, especially for a person who has never been to the city before. A butcher tells Rainbow that the full instructions would be too complicated for him to understand and remember all at once, so he advises Rainbow to take it in steps. He gives Rainbow a part of the directions to his destination, the first street he needs to go down and the first turn he needs to make, and then advises him to ask the next person he sees when he has gone that far. Rainbow continues to ask directions of people in this way, and through a series of questions and answers and getting lost a couple of times, he gradually makes progress and finds his destination.

When Rainbow finds Mr. Miles’s stable, he shows Mr. Miles his papers and explains why he has brought Lucky there. Mr. Miles has one of his workers put Lucky in the stables, and he talks to Rainbow about his journey. He is impressed by the story about how he helped catch the counterfeiter, and he shows Rainbow to a restaurant where he can buy some dinner before they take a look at Lucky and discuss finding a buyer for him. When Rainbow returns, Mr. Miles examines Lucky carefully, and he is pleased with Lucky’s condition. He thinks that he won’t have any trouble finding a buyer for Lucky who will be willing to pay the price that Mrs. Blooman requests.

Soon, a man and a young boy come to the stables, and the boy is immediately fascinated with Lucky. The boy, called Johnny, says that he would like to ride Lucky, and Rainbow offers to take him for a ride because he has taken other boys for rides on Lucky before. The man, who is called Colonel Hammond (often simply called “the colonel”), agrees that Johnny can have a ride with Rainbow. While they have their ride, the colonel talks to Mr. Miles about Rainbow and Lucky. 

The colonel agrees that Lucky seems like a fine young horse, and he would consider buying him, but he already owns many other horses and doesn’t need another one. He is impressed with how well Rainbow handles Lucky and how well he works with young Johnny and asks Mr. Miles what he knows about him. Mr. Miles shows the colonel the identification papers that Rainbow provided to him, and the colonel is pleased with the statement about Rainbow’s character. He asks Mr. Miles about Rainbow’s plans while he is in the city. Mr. Miles doesn’t quite know about Rainbow’s plans, although he knows that he will probably be there for another day or two while they’re looking for a buyer for Lucky. Mr. Miles is planning to offer Rainbow a place to stay among the hostlers in the stable. The colonel says that he would like to invite Rainbow to stay at his house.

The colonel asks Rainbow if he would be willing to drive young Johnny home in the chaise and tells him that, if he would be willing to stay at his house while he’s in Boston, he would be welcome. Rainbow is happy to take Johnny home, and the colonel says that he if goes to the side door of the house and asks for Phebe, she will take care of him. Rainbow takes Johnny home and then drives the chaise back to the stable. He asks Mr. Miles if he should accept the colonel’s offer to stay with him, and Mr. Miles says that would be a good idea. The colonel is a wealthy man with a good reputation.

Rainbow returns to the colonel’s house again and asks for Phebe. Phebe is a black woman who works for the colonel, and she is expecting him. The two of them talk about Rainbow’s journey to Boston, and Rainbow also tells her about his home town. Then, Phebe suggests that he visit the colonel’s stable to see his horses. The colonel’s private stable is relatively small, much smaller than Mr. Miles’s stable, and there are two horses there. The colonel owns more horses than these two, but he boards the others with Mr. Miles. Rainbow is pleased with the stable and horses, and he helps the man who works in the stable until it’s time for supper.

Rainbow has supper with Phebe, and Colonel Hammond has another servant deliver the message that he would like to see Phebe in the library after supper. Phebe goes to talk to Colonel Hammond, and then, she tells Rainbow that Colonel Hammond would like to talk to him about Lucky.

When Colonel Hammond speaks to Rainbow, he says that he has an idea about buying Lucky on speculation. He thinks that Lucky is worth the price Mrs. Blooman is currently asking but that he might worth more in the future. Earlier, Rainbow had confided in Phebe that, if he had the money, Rainbow would buy Lucky himself so he could get the job carrying mail. Phebe told Colonel Hammond about Rainbow’s wish, so Colonel Hammond proposes that he buy Lucky on Rainbow’s behalf, with the idea that Rainbow will pay him back later, with interest. That way, Rainbow can have the horse and get the job he wants right now, and the colonel will gain a profit on his investment later. Rainbow is concerned about his ability to repay the debt, and the colonel tells him that he can pay in installments after he has started earning money from his new job. Colonel Hammond believes that it’s a safe investment because he thinks that Rainbow is trustworthy and will repay the debt in time, and if he can’t, for some reason, Colonel Hammond would have the horse, which is a good horse. To further secure the deal, Colonel Hammond says that they should buy insurance for the horse, in case Lucky gets sick or killed in an accident.

Rainbow is thrilled with Colonel Hammond’s proposal, although he is so overwhelmed that he isn’t sure how to respond at first. Colonel Hammond says that he can take some time to think it over, and Rainbow decides to write a letter to Handie Level about the deal, to see if he thinks this is a good arrangement. Colonel Hammond says that’s fine, and since it will take a couple of days to get a reply to the letter, he would be willing to have Rainbow stay in his house until the reply comes. Colonel Hammond provides Rainbow with a written proposal of the agreement between them to study and to describe to Handie.

When Handie’s reply arrives, Handie advises Rainbow to accept the deal with Colonel Hammond. Handie has spoken to Trigget, and Trigget is still willing to offer Rainbow the job of carrying the mail. Rainbow tells Colonel Hammond that he has decided to accept his offer, and they complete the transaction. Since Rainbow still has a return pass to Southerton for the train, he decides to use it for himself and to use some of his remaining money to pay for Lucky to travel by train, which shortens their journey considerably and saves them money finding places to stay on the way.

The return trip to Southerton takes only hours by rail rather than days by the road. In Southerton, he gives Mrs. Blooman the money for Lucky, and the next day, he and Lucky leave for Rainbow’s home town. Once he gets there, he accepts the job from Trigget. The author/narrator tells us that Rainbow performs the job well, although there are difficulties along the way, which we get to hear about in the final installment of the series.

My Reactions

Overall, I liked the story. I was a little concerned for Lucky’s welfare along the way, even though I already knew that Rainbow was going to end up as his owner eventually because I already knew the general course of the series. I just wasn’t sure exactly how that would happen. I was relieved that nothing really bad happened to the horse along the way because I always get upset with stories where bad things happen to animals.

There is a theme in 19th century and early 20th century books that I call “Rich People to the Rescue.” Although themes of hard work and having a good character are prevalent during that period, and the Stories of Rainbow and Lucky have those themes as well, I’ve noticed that the reward that hard-working people often receive in these stories is that some rich person will recognize and reward their hard work and good character. This story follows that same pattern. I liked the part where Rainbow helps to expose the counterfeiter and the kind ticket seller at the train station rewards him with a free train ticket, but I did feel like Colonel Hammond arranging everything for Rainbow at the end was kind of sudden. Colonel Hammond is a wealthy man, and Mr. Miles says that he often makes speculative investments of that kind to promote people or causes he thinks might be worth it. Because Colonel Hammond has plenty of money, it’s a small risk for him to do this, although he is reasonably careful about securing his investment with well-defined terms and insurance. Framing Colonel Hammond’s generosity as a business arrangement rather than pure charity does make it seem a little more realistic to me than those stories where a rich person just automatically buys things for the deserving main characters unconditionally, and I think that’s what the author means when he has Mr. Miles say that what Colonel Hammond does to help people is better than simply giving people money. Colonel Hammond enables people to proceed with useful projects and ventures in a practical and realistic way.

Racism

Racism is a constant theme throughout this series because Rainbow is black. It’s a bold choice for a children’s series written on the eve of the American Civil War. However, I was somewhat surprised that there was less racism in this particular installment of the series than I expected. 

This is the first story in the series where Rainbow is traveling alone instead of under the protection of a white employer. I could see that would make him more vulnerable, and the story does say that young black men who leave home feel more uncertain and vulnerable because they don’t know what kind of reception they might receive from people they meet and they’re aware that it can be nasty. In the first book in the series, the lawyer from their home town even says that there are some places that won’t offer food or accommodation to a black person during their time, which is a difficulty when traveling. At first, I expected to see an example of this with Rainbow traveling alone. However, he is never turned away from taverns or inns where he rents rooms for the night, and he doesn’t seem to have any difficulty finding places to eat. He does meet with thieves and con men along the way, but they’re more general criminals, not targeting him specifically because of his race. There are some random people Rainbow meets on his journey who say rude or derogatory things to him, but that’s about it. Also, nobody has used the n-word since Mrs. Blooman did it in the previous book in the series. I’m just surprised that Rainbow didn’t encounter more problems of that kind or that he wasn’t refused service anywhere.

I’m trying to decide whether Rainbow’s difficulties with racism in the story are more low-key than I expected because that’s more in keeping with the usual daily experienced of the times or if it’s because the author decided to put more emphasis on Rainbow’s adventures with the criminals he encounters. I’m leaning toward the idea that the author wants to put the emphasis on the adventure part of the story and on how Rainbow’s hard work and good character are rewarded in the end. If nobody in his time and location refused service to a black person, the concept of that happening wouldn’t have been mentioned earlier in the series. 

Travel in the 19th Century

The author, Jacob Abbott, likes showing the details of daily life in his time in his stories, and it’s interesting to read about Rainbow’s travels. In this story, we get to see Rainbow take his first train ride, during which we have an interesting observation about the way scenery appears to move thought the train window, and we also get a complaint about ladies with the habit of taking up extra train seats with their parcels and a lesson on why this is a form of theft. I get the feeling that the author has encountered this situation before, and it really annoys him, although he delivers his rebuke as diplomatically as he can.

We also get to see Rainbow eating in a city restaurant rather than the small town or countryside taverns where he has been before. I found the description of the restaurant interesting. It was one of the places where I though that Rainbow might be refused service at first, but he encounters no difficulties there. What particularly fascinated me about the restaurant is that all the food is pre-made and on display for people walking in to select what they want to eat. Foods that don’t need to be kept hot, like pies and sandwiches, are simply laid out on the counter, and hot dishes are kept behind the counter, warmed by “spirit lamps.” It seems almost like modern fast food, being kept warm under heating lamps. Rainbow just tells the restaurant staff what he wants from the foods he sees, and they give it to him. I see the benefits of this system because, especially in an era without microwaves to quickly warm up food, people can’t wait for dishes they just ordered to be cooked from scratch. Things need to be prepared when they come in. I just didn’t expect it to be so similar to the methods we use for modern fast food. I am a little concerned that the foods that are simply laid out on the counter, like sandwiches with cold meat in them are not being kept at a proper temperature, but it may not matter if they are not there for long because customers claim them pretty quickly.