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Did you know that you can

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vote on upcoming books? Go to

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vote for which book we should

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read next. Hello, it's

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Elizabeth, and I'm excited

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to share with you the

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newest show from slumber studios.

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It's called Sleepy History,

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and it's exactly what

0:26

it sounds like. Intriguing

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stories, intriguing, intriguing,

0:31

Mysteries and events from

0:33

history, delivered in

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a supremely calming atmosphere.

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Explore the legend of

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Eldorado, see what life was like

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for the Roman gladiators, uncover

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the myths and mysteries

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of Stonehenge. You'll find

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interesting but relaxing episodes

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like these on Sleepy

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to know and love.

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from The Sleepy Bookshelf.

1:03

So check it out, and perhaps

1:06

you'll have another

1:08

way to get a good

1:10

night's rest. Just search

1:12

Sleepy History in

1:14

your preferred podcast

1:16

player. Good evening, and

1:19

welcome to the Sleepy

1:21

Bookshelf, where we put down

1:24

our worries from the day

1:26

and pick up a good book.

1:30

I'm Elizabeth, your host,

1:32

and it's lovely to

1:34

have you here with me

1:36

tonight. This evening I

1:38

am excited to be beginning

1:41

a tale of two cities

1:43

by Charles Dickens. Published

1:45

in 1859, it is

1:48

set during the period

1:50

of the French Revolution

1:52

and follows the lives

1:55

of several characters in

1:57

both Paris and London.

2:00

interests the experience of

2:02

these two cities, reflecting

2:04

the stark differences between

2:07

their social classes and

2:09

political climates. It

2:12

explores themes of sacrifice,

2:14

justice, and the effects

2:16

of social and political

2:19

upheaval. If this is your

2:21

first visit to the Sleepy

2:23

Bookshelf, don't worry if you

2:25

drop off before I finish

2:27

this part of the story.

2:30

At the beginning of the

2:32

next episode, I'll give you

2:34

a thorough recap. That way, you

2:36

can rest easy, without worrying

2:39

about missing anything important. Keep

2:41

in mind that all the

2:44

books on this show are

2:46

selected and edited to help

2:48

you fall asleep. We

2:50

keep the plot lines,

2:52

protagonists and antagonists, and

2:55

moments of tension. But

2:57

we remove anything that

3:00

might be startling or

3:03

upsetting to ensure

3:05

you always get a

3:07

good night's rest. That's

3:10

what makes this a

3:12

sleepy big shelf. As

3:14

always, let's take some

3:17

time to put the

3:19

day behind us. Inhale.

3:21

And have a nice,

3:23

big stretch. And on

3:25

your new exhale. and

3:28

allow your limbs to

3:30

fall heavy. Let go

3:32

of any tension

3:35

you are holding

3:37

in your muscles.

3:39

And with each

3:41

exhale, sink deeper

3:43

and deeper into

3:45

your bed. Let's

3:48

take another deep

3:50

breath. Hold it

3:52

for a moment.

3:54

And exhale completely.

3:56

allowing any lingering

3:59

thought. to dissolve into

4:01

the air. Now all

4:03

you need to do

4:05

is listen to the sound

4:07

of my voice as you

4:10

make your way into a

4:12

peaceful sleep. And while you

4:15

do that, I'll turn to

4:17

the first pages of A

4:20

Tale of Two Cities. A

4:34

Tale of Two

4:36

Cities. A story

4:38

of the

4:40

French Revolution

4:43

by Charles

4:45

Dickens. Book the

4:48

First. Recall to

4:51

Life. Chapter One.

4:54

The Period. It

4:57

was the best

4:59

of times. It

5:02

was the worst

5:04

of times. It was

5:07

the age of wisdom.

5:09

It was the

5:12

age of foolishness.

5:15

It was the

5:17

epoch of incredulity.

5:20

It was the season

5:22

of light. It

5:25

was the season

5:27

of darkness. It

5:31

was the spring

5:33

of hope. It was

5:35

the winter of

5:37

despair. We had

5:39

everything before us.

5:42

We were all

5:44

going direct to

5:46

heaven. We were

5:48

all going direct

5:51

the other way. In short,

5:53

the period was

5:56

so far like

5:58

the present. period,

6:00

that some of its

6:03

noisiest authorities insisted on

6:05

its being received for

6:07

good or for evil

6:10

in the superlative degree

6:12

of comparison only. There

6:14

were a king with

6:17

a large jaw and

6:19

a queen with a

6:21

plain face on the

6:23

throne of England. There

6:27

were a king with

6:30

a large jaw, and

6:32

a queen with a

6:34

fair face on the

6:36

throne of France. In

6:39

both countries, it was

6:41

clearer than crystal to

6:43

the lords of the

6:46

state, preserves of loaves,

6:48

and fishes, that things

6:50

in general were settled

6:53

forever. It was the

6:55

year of our lord.

6:57

1775. Spiritual revelations were

7:00

conceded to England at

7:02

that favoured period, as

7:04

at this Mrs. Southcott

7:06

had recently attained her

7:09

five-and-twentieth blessed birthday, of

7:11

whom a prophetic, private

7:13

in the lifeguards had

7:16

heralded the sublime appearance

7:18

by announcing that arrangements

7:20

were for the swallowing

7:23

up of London and

7:25

Westminster. Even the cock-lane

7:27

ghost had been laid

7:30

only around a dozen

7:32

of years, after wrapping

7:34

out its messages, as

7:36

the spirits of this

7:39

very year last past,

7:41

supernaturally deficient in originality,

7:43

wrapped out theirs. Mere

7:46

messages in the earthly

7:48

order of events. had

7:50

lately come to the

7:53

English crown and people

7:55

from a Congress of

7:57

British subjects in America.

8:00

which, strange to relate,

8:02

have proved more important

8:04

to the human race

8:07

than any communications yet

8:09

received through any of

8:11

the chickens of the

8:13

Cock Lane brood. France,

8:15

less favoured on the

8:17

whole as to matters

8:20

spiritual than her sister

8:22

of the shield and

8:24

trident, rolled with exceeding

8:26

smoothness downhill. making paper

8:28

money and spending it.

8:30

Under the guidance of

8:33

her Christian pastors, she

8:35

entertained herself besides, with

8:37

such humane achievements, as

8:39

sentencing a youth, to

8:41

be tortured and executed

8:43

in such a way,

8:46

because he had not

8:48

kneeled down in the

8:50

rain, to do honour

8:52

to a dirty procession

8:54

of monks which passed

8:57

within his view. at

8:59

a distance of some

9:01

50 or 60 yards.

9:03

It is likely enough

9:05

that, rooted in the

9:07

woods of France and

9:10

Norway, there were growing

9:12

trees when that sufferer

9:14

was put to death,

9:16

already marked by the

9:18

woodmen, fate, to come

9:20

down and be soared

9:23

into boards, to make

9:25

a certain movable framework

9:27

with a sack. and

9:29

a knife in it,

9:31

terrible in history. It

9:33

is likely enough that

9:36

in the rough outhouses

9:38

of some tillers of

9:40

the heavy lands adjacent

9:42

to Paris, there were

9:44

sheltered from the weather

9:46

that very day, rude

9:49

carts bespattered with rustic

9:51

mire, snuffed about by

9:53

pigs, and roosted him

9:55

by poultry. Which the

9:57

farmer dare? had already

9:59

set apart to be

10:02

his tumbrels of the

10:04

revolution. But that woodman

10:06

and that farmer, though

10:08

they work unceasingly, worked

10:10

silently, and no one

10:12

had them as they

10:15

went about with muffled

10:17

tread, the rather for

10:19

as much as to

10:21

entertain any suspicion that

10:23

they were awake, was

10:25

to be a theestical

10:28

and traitorous. In

10:32

England, there was scarcely

10:34

an amount of order

10:36

and protection to justify

10:39

much national boasting. Daring

10:41

burglaries by armed men

10:43

and highway robberies took

10:45

place in the capital

10:47

itself every night. Families

10:49

were publicly cautioned not

10:52

to go out of

10:54

town without removing their

10:56

furniture to upholsterers' warehouses

10:58

for security. The

11:00

highwayman in the dark was

11:03

a city tradesman in the

11:05

light, and being recognised and

11:07

challenged by his fellow tradesman,

11:10

whom he stopped in his

11:12

character of, the captain, gallantly

11:14

shot him and rode away.

11:17

The male was waylaid by

11:19

seven robbers, and the guard

11:21

shot three dead, and then

11:24

got shot dead himself himself

11:26

by the other four. in

11:29

consequence of the failure of

11:31

his ammunition. After which, the

11:33

male was robbed in peace.

11:36

That magnificent potential, the Lord

11:38

Mayor of London, was made

11:40

to stand and deliver on

11:43

Turnham Green by one highwayman,

11:45

who despoiled the illustrious creature

11:47

in sight of all his

11:50

retinue. Prisoners in London gals

11:52

fought battles with their tankies.

11:54

and the majesty of the

11:57

law fired blunderbusses in among

11:59

them, loaded with rounds of

12:01

shots and ball. Thieves snipped

12:04

off diamond crosses from the

12:06

necks of noble lords at

12:08

court drawing rooms. Musketeers went

12:11

into St. Giles' to search

12:13

for contraband goods, and the

12:16

mob fired on the musketeers,

12:18

and the musketeers fired on

12:20

the musketeers, and the musketeers

12:23

fired on the musketeers, and

12:25

the musketeers fired on the

12:27

mob fired on the mob.

12:30

and nobody thought any

12:32

of these occurrences much

12:34

out of the common

12:36

way. In the midst

12:38

of them, the hangman,

12:40

ever busy and ever

12:43

worse than useless, was

12:45

in constant requisition. Now

12:47

stringing up long rows

12:49

of miscellaneous criminals. Now

12:51

hanging a house breaker

12:53

on Saturday, who had

12:55

been taken on Tuesday.

12:57

now burning people in

12:59

the hand at Newgate

13:01

by the dozen, and

13:03

now burning pamphlets at

13:05

the door of Westminster

13:07

Hall, today taking the

13:10

life of an atrocious

13:12

murderer, and tomorrow of

13:14

a wretched pilferer who

13:16

had robbed a farmer's

13:18

boy of sixpence. All

13:20

these things, and a

13:22

thousand like them, came

13:24

to pass in and

13:26

close upon, a dear

13:28

old year, one thousand

13:30

seven hundred and seventy-five.

13:32

Enviring by them, while

13:34

the woodman and the

13:37

farmer worked, unheeded those

13:39

two of the large

13:41

jaws, and those other

13:43

two of the plain

13:45

and the fair faces,

13:47

trod with stirring up,

13:49

and carried their divine

13:51

rights with a high

13:53

hand. Thus

13:56

did the year 1,773.

13:58

5. Conduct their greatnesses

14:00

and myriads of small

14:03

creatures. The creatures of

14:05

this chronicle among the

14:07

rest along the roads

14:09

that lay before them.

14:12

Chapter 2. The Mail

14:14

It was the Dover

14:16

Road. that lay on

14:19

a Friday night late

14:21

in November before the

14:23

first of the persons

14:25

with whom this history

14:28

has business. The Dover

14:30

Road lay as close

14:32

to him beyond the

14:34

Dover Mail as it

14:37

lumbered up Shooter's Hill.

14:39

He walked uphill in

14:41

the mire by the

14:43

side of the mail

14:46

as the rest of

14:48

the passengers did. Not

14:50

because they had the

14:53

least relish for walking

14:55

exercise, under the circumstances,

14:57

but because the hill

14:59

and the harness and

15:02

the mud and the

15:04

male were all so

15:06

heavy that the horses

15:08

had three times already

15:11

come to a stop.

15:13

Besides once, drawing the

15:15

coach across the road

15:17

with the mutinous intent

15:20

of taking it back

15:22

to Blackheath. Reigns

15:25

and whip, and coachman

15:27

and guard, however, in

15:29

combination, had read that

15:31

article of war, which

15:34

forbade a purpose otherwise

15:36

strongly in favour of

15:38

the argument, that some

15:40

brute animals are endured

15:42

with reason, and the

15:44

team had capitulated and

15:46

returned to their duty.

15:48

With drooping heads and

15:50

tremulous tales, They mashed

15:52

their way through the

15:54

thick mud, floundering and...

15:56

and stumbling between miles,

15:59

as if they were

16:01

falling to pieces at

16:03

the larger joints. As

16:05

often as the driver

16:07

rested them and brought

16:09

them to a stand

16:11

with a wary, whoo,

16:13

and so then. The

16:15

leader nearly violently shook

16:17

his head and everything

16:19

upon it, like an

16:21

unusually emphatic horse, denying

16:24

that the coach could

16:26

be got up the

16:28

hill. Whenever

16:30

the leader made this

16:32

rattle, the passenger started,

16:34

as a nervous passenger

16:37

might, and was disturbed

16:39

in mind, there was

16:41

a steaming mist in

16:43

all the hollows, and

16:45

it had roamed in

16:47

its fallownness up the

16:49

hill, like an evil

16:51

spirit, seeking rest and

16:53

finding none. A clammy.

16:55

and intensely cold mist,

16:57

it made its slow

16:59

way through the air,

17:01

in ripples that visibly

17:04

followed and overspread one

17:06

another, as the waves

17:08

of an unwholesome sea

17:10

might do. It was

17:12

dense enough to shut

17:14

out everything from the

17:16

light of the coach

17:18

lamps, but these its

17:20

own workings and a

17:22

few yards of roadings,

17:24

and the reek of

17:26

the laboring horses steamed

17:28

into it as if

17:30

they had made it

17:33

all. Two other passengers

17:35

besides the one were

17:37

plodding up the hill

17:39

by the side of

17:41

the mail. All three

17:43

were wrapped to the

17:45

cheekburns and over the

17:47

ears and wore jack

17:49

boots. Not one of

17:51

the three could have

17:53

said from anything he

17:55

saw. What either of

17:57

the other two was

17:59

like and each was

18:02

hidden under almost as

18:04

many wrappers from the

18:06

eyes of the mind

18:08

as from the eyes

18:10

of the body of

18:12

his two companions. In

18:14

those days travelers were

18:16

very shy of being

18:18

confidential on short notice

18:20

for anybody on the

18:22

road might be a

18:24

robber or in league

18:26

with robbers. As to

18:28

the latter when every

18:31

posting house and ale

18:33

house could produce somebody

18:35

in the captain's pay,

18:37

ranging from the landlord

18:39

to the lowest stable

18:41

non-descript, it was the

18:43

likeliest thing upon the

18:45

cards. So the guard

18:47

of the Dover Mail

18:49

thought to himself that

18:51

Friday night in November,

18:53

1775, lumbering up Shooter's

18:55

Hill, as he stood

18:58

on his own particular

19:00

perch behind the male,

19:02

beating his feet and

19:04

keeping an eye and

19:06

hand on the arm

19:08

chest before him, where

19:10

a loaded blunderbuss lay

19:12

at the top of

19:14

six or eight loaded

19:16

horse pistols deposited on

19:18

a substratum of cutlass.

19:20

The Dover Mail... was

19:22

in its usual genial

19:24

position that the guard

19:27

suspected the passengers. The

19:29

passengers suspected one another

19:31

and the guard. They

19:33

all suspected everybody else,

19:35

and the coachman was

19:37

sure of nothing but

19:39

the horses, as to

19:41

which cattle he could

19:43

with a clear conscience

19:45

have taken his oath

19:47

on the two testaments

19:49

that they were not

19:51

fit for the journey.

19:54

Whoa, whoa said the coachman

19:57

so then one more pole

19:59

and you're at the top

20:02

and be damned here, for

20:04

I've had trouble enough to

20:07

get you to it." Joe?

20:09

Aloha, the guard replied. What

20:12

o'clock do you make it,

20:14

Joe? Ten minutes, good past

20:17

eleven. My blood, ejaculated the

20:19

vexed coachman. And not a

20:22

top of shooters yet? Yes.

20:24

Yeah. Get on with you.

20:29

The emphatic horse, cut short

20:32

by the whip in the

20:34

most decided negative, made a

20:37

decided scramble for it, and

20:39

the three other horses followed

20:42

suit. Once more, the Dover

20:44

Mail struggled on, with the

20:47

jackboots of its passengers squashing

20:49

along by its side. They

20:52

had stopped when the coach

20:54

had stopped. and they kept

20:57

close company with it. If

20:59

any one of the three

21:02

had had the hardyhood to

21:04

propose to take another walk

21:07

on a little ahead into

21:09

the mist and darkness, he

21:12

would have put himself in

21:14

a fair way of getting

21:17

shot instantly as a highwayman.

21:19

The last burst carried the

21:22

mail to the summer to

21:24

the hill. The horses stopped

21:27

to breathe again, and the

21:29

guard got down to skid

21:31

the wheel for the descent

21:34

and opened the coach door

21:36

to let the passengers in.

21:39

"'Sho!' cried the coachman in

21:41

a warning voice, looking down

21:44

from his box. "'What do

21:46

you say, Tom?' They both

21:49

listened. "'He says a horse

21:51

at a counter coming up,

21:54

Joe.' Or you

21:56

say a horse is a

21:59

gallop tome. Pretend the... guard

22:01

leaving his hold of the

22:03

door and mounting nimbly to

22:06

his place. Gentlemen and the

22:08

king's name all of you.

22:11

With this hurried adjuration he

22:13

cocked his blunderbuss and stood

22:15

on the offensive. The passenger

22:18

booked by this history was

22:20

on the coach step getting

22:23

in. The two other passengers

22:25

were close behind him and

22:27

about to follow. He

22:30

remained on the step, half

22:33

in the coach and half

22:35

out. They remained in the

22:38

road below him. They all

22:40

looked from the coachman to

22:43

the guard, and from the

22:45

guard to the coachman, and

22:47

listened. The coachman looked back,

22:50

and the guard looked back,

22:52

and even the emphatic leader

22:55

pricked up its ears and

22:57

looked back, without contradicting. The

23:01

stillness, consequent on the

23:03

cessation of the rumbling

23:05

and laboring of the

23:07

coach, added to the

23:09

stillness of the night,

23:11

made it very quiet

23:13

indeed. The panting of

23:15

the horses communicated a

23:17

tremulous motion to the

23:19

coach, as if it

23:21

were in a state

23:23

of agitation. The hearts

23:25

of the passengers beat

23:27

loud enough perhaps to

23:29

be heard, but at

23:32

any rate. The quiet

23:34

pause was audibly expressive

23:36

of people out of

23:38

breath and holding the

23:40

breath and having the

23:42

pulses quickened by expectation.

23:44

The sound of a

23:46

hoarse at a gallop

23:48

came fast and furiously

23:50

up the hill. So

23:52

ho! The guard sang

23:54

out as loud as

23:56

he could roar. Oh,

23:58

stand there. Stand! They

24:01

shall fire. The pace

24:03

was suddenly checked, and

24:05

with much splashing and

24:08

floundering, a man's voice

24:10

called from the mist.

24:12

Is that the Dover

24:15

Mail? Never you mind

24:17

what it is, the

24:19

guard retorted. What are

24:22

you? Is that the

24:24

Dover Mail? Would you

24:27

want to know? We

24:29

want a passenger if

24:32

it is. What passenger?

24:34

Mr. Jarvis Lorry. Our

24:36

booked passenger showed in

24:38

a moment that it

24:40

was his name. The

24:42

guard, the coachman, and

24:44

the two other passengers,

24:46

eyed him distrustfully. Keep

24:48

where you are, the

24:51

guard called to the

24:53

voice in the mist.

24:55

Because if I shall

24:57

make a mistake, It

24:59

could never be set

25:01

right in your lifetime.

25:03

Gentleman of the name

25:05

of Laurie answers straight.

25:08

What is the matter?

25:10

Asked the passenger then,

25:12

with mildly quavering speech.

25:14

Who wants me? Is

25:16

it Jerry? I don't

25:18

like Jerry's voice if

25:20

it is Jerry. Growled

25:22

the god himself. He's

25:25

horser than suits me

25:27

as Jerry. Yes,

25:29

Mr. Lori. What is the

25:32

matter? A dispatch sent after

25:34

you from over yonder to

25:37

Yanko. I know this messenger

25:39

God, said Mr. Lori, getting

25:41

down into the road, assisted

25:44

from behind more swiftly than

25:46

politely by the other two

25:49

passengers who immediately scrambled into

25:51

the coach, shut the door,

25:54

and pulled up the window,

25:56

and pulled up the window.

25:59

It's he may come close,

26:01

there is nothing wrong. I

26:04

hope they're in, but I

26:06

can't make so nation sure

26:08

of that," said the guard

26:11

in gruff, soliloquy. Hello, you.

26:13

Well, and hello you, said

26:15

Jerry, more hoarsely than before.

26:18

Come on at a foot

26:20

pace. Do you mind me?

26:22

And if you've got holsters,

26:24

that saddle and yorn, don't

26:27

let me see your hand

26:29

going I am. from a

26:31

devil at a quick mistake,

26:34

when I make one it

26:36

takes the form of lead.

26:38

So, now let's look at

26:41

you. The figures of a

26:43

horse and rider came slowly

26:45

through the eddying mist and

26:48

came to the side of

26:50

the male where the passenger

26:52

stood. The rider stooped and

26:55

casting up his eyes at

26:57

the guard. handed the passenger

26:59

a small folded paper. The

27:02

rider's horse was blown, and

27:04

both horse and rider were

27:06

covered with mud, from the

27:08

hoofs of the horse to

27:11

the hat of the man.

27:13

God, said the passenger, in

27:15

a tone of quiet business

27:18

confidence. The watchful guard with

27:20

his right hand at the

27:22

stack of his raised blunderbuss.

27:25

His left hand at the

27:27

barrel and his eye on

27:29

the horseman answered curtly, Sir.

27:32

There is nothing to apprehend.

27:34

I belong to Telsons Bank.

27:36

You must know Telsons Bank

27:39

in London. I'm going to

27:41

Paris on business. A crown

27:43

to drink. May I read

27:46

this? If so be as

27:48

you're quick, sir. He

27:51

opened it in the light

27:53

of the coach lamp on

27:55

that side and read first

27:57

himself and then allowed. Wait

27:59

at Dover. for Mademoiselle. It's

28:01

not long, you see, God.

28:04

Jerry, say that my answer

28:06

was recalled to life. Jerry,

28:08

started in his saddle, as

28:10

a blazon strange answer to,

28:12

said he at his horses,

28:14

take that message back, and

28:17

they will know that I

28:19

received this, as well as

28:21

if I wrote, make the

28:23

best of your way. Good

28:25

night. With

28:28

those words, the passenger opened

28:30

the coach door and got

28:33

in, not at all assisted

28:35

by his fellow passengers, who

28:37

had expeditiously secreted their watches

28:40

and purses in their boots,

28:42

and were now making a

28:45

general pretense of being asleep.

28:47

With no more definite purpose

28:49

than to escape the hazard

28:52

of originating any other kind

28:54

of action. with heavier reeds

28:56

of mist, closing grounded as

28:59

it began the descent. The

29:01

guard soon replaced his blunderbuss

29:04

in his armed chest, and

29:06

having looked to the rest

29:08

of its contents, and having

29:11

looked to the supplementary pistols

29:13

that he wore in his

29:15

belt, looked to a smaller

29:18

chest beneath his seat, in

29:20

which there were a few

29:23

smith's tools, a couple of

29:25

torches, and a tinderbox. For

29:28

he was furnished with that

29:31

completeness, and if the coach

29:33

lamps had been blown and

29:35

stormed out, which did occasionally

29:38

happen, he had only to

29:40

shut himself up inside, keep

29:43

the flint and steel sparks

29:45

well off the straw, and

29:47

get a light with tolerable

29:50

safety and ease, if he

29:52

were lucky, in five minutes.

29:54

Tom? Softly over the coat

29:57

roof. Hello Joe? Did you?

29:59

Do you hear the message?

30:01

I did Joe? What do

30:04

you make of it, Tom?

30:06

Nothing at all, Joe? That's

30:08

a coincidence, too. The guard

30:11

mused. Or he made the

30:13

same of it myself. Jerry

30:15

left alone in the mist

30:18

and darkness, dismounted meanwhile, not

30:20

only to ease his spent

30:23

horse, but to wipe the

30:25

mud from his face. and

30:27

shake the wet out of

30:30

his hat brim, which might

30:32

be capable of holding about

30:34

half a gallon. After standing

30:37

with the bridle over his

30:39

heavily splashed arm, until the

30:41

wheels of the mail were

30:44

no longer within hearing, and

30:46

the night was still again,

30:48

he turned to walk down

30:51

the hill. After that there

30:53

gallop from Temple Bar, old

30:55

lady. I won't trust your

30:58

four legs till I get

31:00

you on the level," said

31:03

this horse messenger, glancing it

31:05

his mare. We called to

31:07

life as a blazing strange

31:10

message. Much of that wouldn't

31:12

do for you, Jerry. You'd

31:14

be in a blazing bad

31:17

way if recalling to life

31:19

was coming to fashion, Jerry.

31:26

Chapter 3 The Night

31:29

Shadows A wonderful fact

31:31

to reflect upon that

31:33

every human creature is

31:35

constituted to be that

31:38

profound secret, a mystery

31:40

to every other. A

31:42

solemn consideration when I

31:44

enter a great city

31:46

by night. encloses its

31:49

own secret. That every

31:51

room in every one

31:53

of them encloses its

31:55

own secret, that every

31:57

beating heart in the

32:00

hundreds of thousands of

32:02

breasts there is in

32:04

some of its imaginings

32:06

a secret to the

32:08

heart nearest it. Something

32:11

of the awfulness, even

32:13

of death itself, is

32:15

referable to this. can

32:17

I turn the leaves

32:19

of this dear book

32:22

that I loved and

32:24

vainly hope in time

32:26

to read it all?

32:28

No more can I

32:31

look into the depths

32:33

of this unfathomable water,

32:35

wherein as momentary lights

32:37

glanced into it, I

32:39

have had glimpses of

32:42

buried treasure and other

32:44

things submerged. It was

32:46

appointed that the book

32:48

should shut with a

32:50

spring forever and forever

32:53

when I had but

32:55

read a page. It

32:57

was appointed that the

32:59

water should be locked

33:01

in an eternal frost

33:04

when the light was

33:06

played on its surface

33:08

and I stood in

33:10

ignorance on the shore.

33:13

My friend is dead.

33:15

My neighbour is dead.

33:17

My neighbour is dead.

33:19

My love. The darling

33:21

of my soul is

33:24

dead. It is the

33:26

inexorable consolidation and perpetuation

33:28

of the secret that

33:30

was always in that

33:32

individuality, and which I

33:35

shall carry in mind

33:37

to my life's end.

33:39

In any of the

33:41

burial places of this

33:43

city through which I

33:46

pass, is there a

33:48

sleeper more inscrutable than

33:50

its busy inhabitants are?

33:52

in their inner most

33:55

personality to me, all

33:57

than I am to

33:59

them. As

34:03

to this, his natural and

34:06

not to be alienated inheritance,

34:08

the messenger on horseback had

34:10

exactly the same possessions as

34:12

the king, the first minister

34:15

of state, or the richest

34:17

merchant in London. So, with

34:19

the three passengers shut up

34:21

in the narrow compass of

34:24

one lumbering old male coach,

34:26

there were mysteries to one.

34:28

There were mysteries to one

34:30

another. as complete as if

34:33

each had been in his

34:35

own coach and six, or

34:37

his own coach and sixty,

34:39

with the breadth of a

34:41

country between him and the

34:44

next. The messenger rode back

34:46

at an easy trot, stopping

34:48

pretty often at ale houses

34:50

by the way to drink,

34:53

but invincing a tendency to

34:55

keep his own council and

34:57

to keep his hat cocked

34:59

over his eyes. He

35:02

had eyes that assorted very

35:05

well with that decoration, being

35:07

of a surface, black, with

35:09

no depth, in the colour

35:12

or form, and much too

35:14

near together, as if they

35:17

were afraid of being found

35:19

out in something, singly, if

35:21

they were too far apart.

35:24

They had a sinister expression.

35:26

under an old cocked hat

35:29

like a three-cornered spatoon, and

35:31

over a great muffler for

35:33

the chin and throat, which

35:36

descended nearly to the wearer's

35:38

knees. When he stopped for

35:41

a drink, he moved this

35:43

muffler with his left hand,

35:46

only while he poured his

35:48

liquor in with his right.

35:50

As soon as that was

35:53

done, he muffled again. No

35:58

Jerry, no. said the messenger,

36:00

harping on one theme as

36:03

he rode. It wouldn't do

36:05

for you, Jerry. Jerry, you

36:08

honest tradesman, it wouldn't suit

36:10

your line of business. Recalled.

36:12

Boss me if I don't

36:15

think he'd been a-drinking. His

36:17

message perplexed his mind to

36:20

that degree that he was

36:22

feigned several times. to take

36:24

off his hat to scratch

36:27

his head, except on the

36:29

crown, which was raggedly bald,

36:32

he had stiff, black hair,

36:34

standing jaggedly all over it,

36:36

and growing downhill almost to

36:39

his broad, blunt nose. It

36:41

was so like Smith's work,

36:44

so much more like the

36:46

top of a strongly spiked

36:48

wall than a head of

36:51

a head of her head

36:53

of her head of hair

36:56

than a head of her

36:58

head of hair. that the

37:00

best of players at LeapFrog

37:03

might have declined him as

37:05

the most dangerous man in

37:08

the world to go over.

37:10

While he trotted back with

37:12

the message he was to

37:15

deliver to the night watchman

37:17

in his box at the

37:20

door of Talson's bank by

37:22

Temple Bar, who was to

37:24

deliver it to greater authorities

37:27

within. The shadows of the

37:29

night... took such shapes to

37:32

him as arose out of

37:34

the message, and took such

37:36

shapes to the mayor as

37:39

arose out of her private

37:41

topics of uneasiness. They seemed

37:44

to be numerous, for she

37:46

shied at every shadow on

37:48

the road. What time the

37:51

male coach lumbered jolted? rattled

37:53

and bumped upon its tedious

37:56

way with its three fellow

37:58

inscrutables inside. to whom likewise

38:00

the shadows of the night

38:03

revealed themselves in the forms

38:05

of their dozing eyes and

38:08

wandering thoughts suggested. Tellson's bank

38:10

had run upon it in

38:12

the mail as the bank

38:15

passenger with an arm drawn

38:17

through the leathern strap. which

38:20

did what lay in it

38:22

to keep him from pounding

38:24

against the next passenger and

38:27

driving him into his corner

38:29

whenever the coach got a

38:32

special jolt, nodded in his

38:34

place with half shut eyes.

38:36

The little coach windows and

38:39

the coach lamp dimly gleaming

38:41

through them. And the bulky

38:44

bundle of opposite passenger became

38:46

the bank and did a

38:48

great stroke of business. The

38:52

rattle of the harness

38:54

was the chink of

38:56

money, and more drafts

38:58

were honoured in five

39:00

minutes than even Telsons,

39:02

with all its foreign

39:05

and home connection, ever

39:07

paid in thrice the

39:09

time. Then the strong

39:11

rooms underground at Telsons,

39:13

with such of their

39:15

valuable stores and secrets

39:17

as were known to

39:19

the passenger, and it

39:21

was not a little

39:23

that he knew about

39:26

them. opened before him,

39:28

and he went in

39:30

among them with the

39:32

great keys and the

39:34

feebly burning candle, and

39:36

found them safe and

39:38

strong and sound, and

39:40

still, just as he

39:42

had last seen them.

39:44

But though the bank

39:46

was almost always with

39:49

him, and though the

39:51

coach, in a confused

39:53

way, like the presence

39:55

of pain under an

39:57

opiate, was always with

39:59

him. There was another

40:01

current of impression that

40:03

never ceased to run

40:05

all through the night.

40:07

He was on his

40:09

way. to dig someone

40:12

out of a grave.

40:14

Now, which of the

40:16

multitude of faces that

40:18

showed themselves before him

40:20

was the true face

40:22

of the buried person.

40:24

The shadows of the

40:26

night did not indicate.

40:28

But they were all

40:30

the faces of a

40:33

man of five and

40:35

forty by years, and

40:37

they differed principally in

40:39

the passions they expressed,

40:41

and in the ghastliness

40:43

of their worn. and

40:45

wasted state. Pride, contempt,

40:47

defiance, stubbornness, submission, lamentation

40:49

succeeded one another. So

40:51

did varieties of sunken

40:53

cheap, cadaverous color, emaciated

40:56

hands and figures. But

40:58

the phase was in

41:00

the main one face.

41:02

and every head was

41:04

prematurely white. A hundred

41:06

times the dozing passenger

41:08

inquired of this specter.

41:10

Buried how long? The

41:12

answer was always the

41:14

same, almost 18 years.

41:17

You had abandoned all

41:19

hope of being dug

41:21

out. Long ago. You

41:23

know that you are

41:25

recalled to life. They

41:28

tell me so. I hope

41:30

you care to live. I

41:33

can't say. Shall I show

41:35

her to you? Will you

41:38

come and see her? The

41:40

answers to this question were

41:43

various and contradictory. Sometimes the

41:45

broken reply was, wait, it

41:48

would kill me if I

41:50

saw her too soon. Sometimes

41:53

it was given in a

41:55

tender rain of tears. And

41:57

then it was, take me

42:00

to her. Sometimes it was

42:02

staring and bewildered. And then

42:05

it was, I don't know

42:07

her. I don't understand. After

42:10

such imaginary discourse, the passenger

42:12

in his fancy would dig

42:15

and dig. Dig now with

42:17

a spade, now with a

42:20

great key, now with his

42:22

hands. to dig this wretched

42:25

creature out. Got out at

42:27

last, with earth hanging about

42:29

his face and hair, he

42:32

would suddenly fan away to

42:34

dust. The passenger would then

42:37

start to himself and lower

42:39

the window to get the

42:42

reality of mist and rain

42:44

on his cheek. Yet even

42:47

when his eyes were opened

42:49

on the mist and rain,

42:52

On the moving patch of

42:54

light from the lamps and

42:57

the hedge at the roadside,

42:59

retreating by jerks, the night

43:01

shadows outside the coach would

43:04

fall into the train of

43:06

the night shadows within. The

43:09

real banking house by Temple

43:11

Bar, the real business of

43:14

the past day, the real

43:16

strong rooms, the real express

43:19

sent after him. And the

43:21

real message returned would all

43:24

be there. Out of the

43:26

midst of them, the ghostly

43:29

face would rise, and he

43:31

would have cost it again.

43:33

Buried how long? Almost 18

43:36

years. I hope you care

43:38

to live. I can't say.

43:41

Dig, dig, dig. until an

43:43

impatient movement from one of

43:46

the two passengers would admonish

43:48

him to pull up the

43:51

window, draw his arms securely

43:53

through the leathern strap, and

43:56

speculate upon the two... slumbering

43:58

forms until his mind lost

44:01

its hold of them and

44:03

they again slid away into

44:05

the bank and the grave.

44:08

Buried how long, almost 18

44:10

years, you had abandoned all

44:13

hope of being dug out

44:15

long ago. The words were

44:18

still in his hearing as

44:20

just spoken. Distinctly in his

44:23

hearing as ever spoken words

44:25

had been in his life,

44:28

when the weary passenger started

44:30

to the consciousness of daylight

44:33

and found that the shadows

44:35

of the night were gone,

44:37

he lowered the window and

44:40

looked out at the rising

44:42

sun. There was a ridge

44:45

of ploughed land with a

44:47

plough upon it where it

44:50

had been left last night,

44:52

when horses were unyoked. beyond

44:56

a quiet coppice wood,

44:58

in which many leaves

45:00

of burning red and

45:03

gold and yellow still

45:05

remained upon the trees.

45:07

Though the earth was

45:10

cold and wet, the

45:12

sky was clear, and

45:14

the sun rose bright,

45:17

placid and beautiful. Eighteen

45:19

years, said the passenger,

45:21

looking at the sun.

45:25

gracious creator of day,

45:27

to be buried alive

45:30

for 18 years. You