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hit Survey. April is Earth

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of Better for you and the

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planet. Hello, it's Elizabeth.

1:22

And I'm excited to share with

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you the newest show from

1:27

Slumber Studios. It's called

1:29

Sleepy History, and it's

1:32

exactly what it sounds like.

1:34

Intriguing stories, people,

1:36

mysteries and events

1:38

from history, delivered

1:40

in a supremely calming

1:43

atmosphere. Explore the

1:45

legend of Eldorado, see what

1:47

life was like for the

1:50

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1:52

myths and mysteries of Stonehenge.

1:55

You'll find interesting

1:57

but relaxing episodes like

1:59

these. on Sleepy History

2:01

and the same great

2:03

production quality you've come

2:06

to know and love

2:08

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2:10

So check it out and

2:12

perhaps you'll have another

2:15

way to get a good

2:17

night's rest. Just search Sleepy

2:19

History in your preferred

2:21

podcast player. Good evening

2:24

and welcome to the

2:26

Sleepy Bookshelf. where we

2:29

put down our worries

2:31

from the day and

2:33

pick up a good

2:35

book. I'm Elizabeth, your

2:38

host. Thank you so

2:40

much for joining us

2:42

tonight. This evening we

2:45

are continuing with a

2:47

tale of two cities.

2:49

But before we do,

2:52

close your eyes and take

2:54

a deep breath in. Exhale

3:00

slowly. Letting go

3:02

of the day.

3:05

Try to stretch

3:07

your arms above

3:10

your head. Feeling

3:12

the lengthening through

3:15

your body. Breathe

3:17

in deeply. And

3:19

as you exhale,

3:22

release any

3:24

tension. Now

3:29

stretch your legs

3:32

out, pointing your

3:34

toes and feeling

3:37

the calm stretch

3:39

through your body.

3:42

Let your body

3:44

settle sinking into

3:47

the bed, feeling

3:49

completely supported. And

3:52

with each breath,

3:54

sink deeper into

3:57

peace. letting

4:01

go of everything.

4:03

You are safe,

4:05

calm, and ready

4:08

for restful sleep.

4:10

Monsieur Defarge tried

4:12

to speak gently

4:14

with the old

4:17

shoemaker as he

4:19

sat bent over

4:21

his work and

4:23

the shoemaker dutifully

4:26

responded, but barely

4:28

looked up. Then

4:31

Defarge introduced Mr. Lorry

4:33

and again the old

4:36

prisoner paused only for

4:38

a moment before resuming

4:41

his work. When Mr.

4:43

Lorry asked his name,

4:46

he responded, 105 North

4:48

Tower. Mr. Lorry sat

4:51

next to him, called

4:53

him Monsieur Manette. and

4:56

asked him if he

4:58

recognised him. Then Miss

5:01

Manette approached. He appeared

5:03

bewildered and took a

5:06

piece of cloth from

5:08

around his neck, opening

5:11

it out. It contained

5:13

a few long strands

5:16

of golden hair, which

5:18

he compared to her

5:21

own. He explained the

5:23

guards had allowed him.

5:25

when they found them

5:28

on him after arriving

5:30

in the prison. She

5:33

gently explained who she

5:35

was, and that they

5:38

would take him home

5:40

to England, where she

5:43

would look after him,

5:45

and they both broke

5:48

down, his head in

5:50

her arms. She asked

5:53

Mr. Lorry to make

5:55

the preparations for them

5:58

to leave France immediately.

6:00

agreed and Lori reluctantly

6:03

left Miss Manette alone

6:05

with her father, returning

6:08

with traveling papers, cloaks,

6:10

food and drink. Monsieur

6:13

Defage had arranged a

6:15

carriage which waited outside

6:18

and he drove them

6:20

out of Paris, past

6:23

the soldiers at the

6:25

city gates and into

6:27

the city. This

6:33

evening we pick up

6:35

five years later. So

6:37

just lie back and

6:39

relax as I turn

6:42

to the next pages

6:44

of A Tale of

6:46

Two Cities. The

7:05

Second, The Golden

7:08

Thread. Chapter One.

7:10

Five years later.

7:12

Telsns Bank by

7:15

Temple Bar was

7:17

an old-fashioned place.

7:19

Even in the

7:22

year one thousand

7:24

seven hundred and

7:26

eighty. It was

7:29

very small. Very

7:31

dark. Very dark.

7:33

Very ugly, very

7:36

incimodious. It was

7:38

an old-fashioned place

7:40

moreover in the

7:42

moral attribute that

7:45

the partners in

7:47

the house were

7:49

proud of its

7:52

smallness, proud of

7:54

its darkness, proud

7:56

of its ugliness.

8:00

proud of its

8:02

incommodiousness. They were

8:04

even boastful of

8:06

its eminence in

8:08

those particulars, and

8:10

were fired by

8:12

an express conviction

8:15

that, if it

8:17

were less objectionable,

8:19

it would be

8:21

less respectable. This

8:23

was no passive

8:25

belief, but an

8:28

active weapon which

8:30

they flashed. at

8:32

more convenient places

8:34

of business. Telsons,

8:36

they said, wanted

8:38

no elbow room.

8:40

Telsons wanted no

8:43

light. Telsons wanted

8:45

no embellishment. Noakes

8:47

and coes might,

8:49

or Snook's brothers

8:51

might. But Telsons,

8:53

thank heaven. Any

8:58

one of these partners

9:00

would have disinherited his

9:02

son on the question

9:04

of rebuilding Telsons. In

9:06

this respect, the house

9:08

was much on par

9:10

with the country, which

9:13

did very often disinherit

9:15

its sons for suggesting

9:17

improvements in laws and

9:19

customs that had long

9:21

been highly objectionable, but

9:23

were only the more

9:25

respectable. Thus

9:29

it had come to

9:32

pass that Telsons was

9:34

the triumphant perfection of

9:36

inconvenience. After bursting opened

9:38

a door of idiotic

9:40

obstinacy, with a weak

9:42

rattle in its throat,

9:44

you fell into Telsons

9:47

down two steps and

9:49

came to your senses

9:51

in a miserable little

9:53

shop, with two little

9:55

counters, where the oldest

9:57

of men made your

10:00

check shake as if

10:02

the wind rustled it

10:04

while they examined the

10:06

signature by the dingiest

10:08

of windows which were

10:10

always under a shower

10:13

bath of mud from

10:15

Fleet Street and which

10:17

were made the dingyer

10:19

by their own iron

10:21

bars proper and their

10:23

heavy shadow of temple

10:26

bar. If

10:29

your business necessitated you're

10:31

seeing the house, you

10:33

were put into a

10:36

species of condemned hold

10:38

at the back, where

10:40

you meditated on a

10:42

misspent life, until the

10:45

house came with its

10:47

hands in its pockets,

10:49

and you could hardly

10:51

blink at it in

10:54

the dismal twilight. Your

10:56

money came out of...

10:58

All went into, wormy

11:00

old wooden drawers, particles

11:03

of which flew up

11:05

your nose and down

11:07

your throat when they

11:09

were opened and shut.

11:12

Your banknotes had a

11:14

musty odor, as if

11:16

they were fast decomposing

11:18

into rags again. Your

11:21

plate was stowed away

11:23

among the neighbouring cesspools.

11:25

and evil communications corrupted

11:27

its good polish in

11:29

a day or two.

11:32

Your deeds got into

11:34

extemporised strong rooms made

11:36

of kitchens and sculleries

11:38

and fretted all the

11:41

fat out of their

11:43

parchments into the banking

11:45

house air. Your lighter

11:47

boxes of family papers

11:50

went upstairs into a

11:52

barmicide room. that always

11:54

had a great dining

11:56

table in it and

11:59

never had a dinner.

12:01

And where, even in

12:03

the year 1780, the

12:05

first letters written to

12:08

you by your old

12:10

love, or by your

12:12

little children, were but

12:14

newly released from the

12:17

horror of being augled

12:19

through the windows, by

12:21

their heads, exposed on

12:23

temple bar, with an

12:26

insensate brutality, and ferocity

12:28

worthy of obscenia. or

12:30

shanty. But indeed, at

12:32

that time, putting to

12:34

death was a recipe

12:37

much in vogue with

12:39

all trades and professions,

12:41

and not least of

12:43

all with Telsons. Death

12:46

is nature's remedy for

12:48

all things, and why

12:50

not legislations? Accordingly, the

12:52

forger was put to

12:55

death. The utterer of

12:57

a bad note was

12:59

put to death. The

13:01

unlawful opener of a

13:04

letter was put to

13:06

death. The po'oiner of

13:08

40 shillings and sixpence

13:10

was put to death.

13:13

The holder of a

13:15

horse at Tellson's door,

13:17

who made off with

13:19

it, was put to

13:22

death. The coiner of

13:24

a bad shilling, was

13:26

put to death. The

13:30

sounders of three-fourths of

13:32

the notes in the

13:34

whole gamut of crime

13:36

were put to death.

13:38

Not that it did

13:40

the least good in

13:42

the way of prevention.

13:44

It might almost have

13:46

been worth remarking that

13:48

the fact was exactly

13:50

the reverse. But it

13:53

cleared off as to

13:55

this world, the trouble

13:57

of each particular case,

13:59

and left nothing else

14:01

connected with it to

14:03

be looked after. Thus.

14:05

Thus. Tell soon. in

14:07

its day, like greater

14:09

places of business, that,

14:11

if the heads laid

14:13

low before it had

14:15

been ranged on temple

14:18

bar, instead of being

14:20

privately disposed of, they

14:22

would probably have excluded

14:24

what little light the

14:26

ground had, in a

14:28

rather significant manner. Cramped

14:30

in all kinds of

14:32

dim cupboards and hutches

14:34

at Telsens. the oldest

14:36

of men carried on

14:38

the business gravely. When

14:40

they took a young

14:43

man into Tellson's London

14:45

house, they kept him

14:47

hid somewhere till he

14:49

was old. They kept

14:51

him in a dark

14:53

place, like a cheese,

14:55

until he had the

14:57

full Tellson flavor and

14:59

blue mold upon him.

15:01

Then only... was he

15:03

permitted to be seen

15:06

spectacularly pouring over large

15:08

books and casting his

15:10

britches and gaiters into

15:12

the general weight of

15:14

the establishment. Outside Telsons,

15:16

never by any means

15:18

in it, unless called

15:20

in, was an odd

15:22

jobman, an occasional porter

15:24

and messenger. who served

15:26

as the live sign

15:28

of the house. He

15:31

was never absent during

15:33

business hours, unless upon

15:35

an errand, and then

15:37

he was represented by

15:39

his son, a grisly

15:41

urchin of twelve, who

15:43

was his express image.

15:45

People understood that Telsins,

15:47

in a stately way,

15:49

tolerated the odd job

15:51

man. The

15:54

house had always tolerated

15:56

some person in that

15:58

capacity, and time and

16:00

tide. had drifted this

16:02

person to the post.

16:05

His surname was Cruncher,

16:07

and on the youthful

16:09

occasion of his renouncing,

16:11

by proxy, the works

16:13

of darkness, in the

16:16

easterly parish church of

16:18

Hamstitch, he had received

16:20

the added appellation of

16:22

Cherry. The scene was

16:24

Mr. Cruncher's private lodging.

16:27

in hanging sword alley,

16:29

whitefriars. The time, half

16:31

past seven of the

16:33

clock, on a windy

16:35

March morning. Anna Domini,

16:38

1780. Mr. Cruncher himself

16:40

always spoke of the

16:42

year of our lord

16:44

as Anna Domino's. Apparently

16:47

under the impression that

16:49

the Christian era dated

16:51

from the invention of

16:53

a popular game. by

16:55

a lady who had

16:58

bestowed her name upon

17:00

it. Mr. Crunch's apartments

17:02

were not in a

17:04

savory neighborhood and were

17:06

but two in number.

17:09

Even if a closet

17:11

with a single pane

17:13

of glass in it

17:15

might be counted as

17:17

one. But they were

17:20

very decently kept. Early

17:22

as it was on

17:24

the windy March morning.

17:26

The room in which

17:29

he lay a bed

17:31

was already scrubbed throughout,

17:33

and between the cups

17:35

and saucers arranged for

17:37

breakfast and the lumbering

17:40

deal table, a very

17:42

clean white cloth, was

17:44

spread. Mr. Cruncher reposed

17:46

under a patchwork counterpane,

17:48

like a harlequin at

17:51

home. At first... He

17:53

slept heavily. But by

17:55

degrees, big began to

17:57

roll and surge in

17:59

bed, until he rose

18:02

above the surface, with

18:04

his spiky hair, looking

18:06

as if it must

18:08

tear the sheets to

18:10

ribbons, at which juncture

18:13

he exclaimed, in a

18:15

voice of dire exasperation,

18:17

Buss may if she

18:19

ain't out it again.

18:22

A woman of orderly

18:24

and industrious appearance. rose

18:26

from her knees in

18:28

a corner with sufficient

18:30

haste and trepidation to

18:33

show that she was

18:35

the person referred to.

18:37

What? said Mr. Cruncher,

18:39

looking out of bed

18:41

for a boot. You're

18:44

out it again, ain'tcha?

18:46

After hailing the morn

18:48

with this second salutation,

18:50

he threw a boot

18:52

at the woman as

18:55

a third. was

18:58

a very muddy boot and

19:00

may introduce the old circumstance

19:02

connected with Mr. Cruncher's domestic

19:05

economy, that whereas he often

19:07

came home after banking hours

19:09

with clean boots. He often

19:12

got up next morning to

19:14

find the same boots covered

19:16

with clay. What? said Mr.

19:19

Cruncher. Baring his apostrophe after

19:21

missing his mark. What are

19:23

you up to, agorowator? I

19:26

was only saying my prayers.

19:28

Saying your prayers. You're a

19:30

nice woman. What do you

19:33

mean about flopping yourself down

19:35

and praying against me? I

19:37

was not praying against you.

19:40

I was praying for you.

19:42

You weren't. And if you

19:44

were, I won't be too

19:47

deliberately with... Yeah. Your mother's

19:49

a nice woman, young Jerry.

19:51

Going and praying against your

19:54

father's prosperity. You've got a

19:56

dutiful mother, you have... my

19:58

son. You've got a religious

20:01

mother you have my boy.

20:03

Go in and flopin' herself

20:05

down and praying that the

20:08

bread and butter may be

20:10

snatched out of the mouth

20:13

of her only child." Master

20:15

Cruncher, who was in his

20:17

shirt, took this very ill

20:20

and turning to his mother,

20:22

strongly deprecated any praying away

20:24

of his personal board. And

20:27

what do you suppose you

20:30

conceded female?" said Mr. Cruncher,

20:32

with unconscious inconsistency. That the

20:34

worth of your prayers may

20:36

be. Name the price you

20:38

put your prayers up. They

20:40

only come from the art,

20:43

Jerry. They're worth no more

20:45

than that. No more than

20:47

that, repeated Mr. Cruncher. They

20:49

ain't worth much then. Wherever

20:51

all know. I won't be

20:53

preyed again I tell you.

20:56

I can't have bought it.

20:58

I'm not going to be

21:00

made unlucky by your sneaking.

21:02

If you must go flopping

21:04

yourself Dan, flop in favour

21:06

of your husband and child

21:09

and not in opposition to

21:11

him. If I had any

21:13

but an unnatural wife and

21:15

his poor boy had any

21:17

but an unnatural mother, I

21:19

might have made some money

21:22

last week instead of being

21:24

counterprayed and countermind. and religiously

21:26

circumvented in the worst of

21:28

luck. Fast me, said Mr.

21:30

Cruncher, who all this time

21:32

had been putting on his

21:34

clothes. If I ain't what

21:37

with piety in one blowthing

21:39

and another, been shoes this

21:41

week into as bad luck

21:43

as ever a pulled devil

21:45

of an honest tradesman met

21:47

with. Young Jerry, dress yourself

21:50

my boy. Markly my boots,

21:52

keep an eye upon your

21:54

mother now and then. If

21:56

you see any signs and

21:58

more flopping give me a

22:00

call, for I tell you,

22:03

here he addressed. his wife

22:05

once more. I won't be

22:07

gone again in this manner.

22:09

I'm as rickety as an

22:11

acne coach. I'm as sleepy

22:13

as laudanum. My lines is

22:16

strained to that degree that

22:18

I shouldn't know if it

22:20

wasn't for the pain in

22:22

them which was me and

22:24

which somebody else. I'm on

22:26

the better for we in

22:29

pocket. And it's my suspicion

22:31

that you've been out here

22:33

from morning to night to

22:35

prevent me from being the

22:37

better for it in pocket

22:39

and I won't put up

22:42

with it. Agra Waiter. And

22:44

what do you say now?

22:46

Growling in addition such phrases

22:48

as, Ah yes, you're religious

22:50

too. You won't put yourself

22:52

in opposition to the interest

22:55

of your husband and child,

22:57

would you? Not you? And

22:59

throwing off other sarcastic sparks

23:01

from the whirling grindstone of

23:03

his indignation. Mr. Cruncher betook

23:05

himself to his boot cleaning.

23:08

and his general preparation for

23:10

business. In the meantime, his

23:12

son, whose head was garnished

23:14

with tenderest spikes, and whose

23:16

young eyes stood close by

23:18

one another, as his father's

23:21

did, kept the required watch

23:23

upon his mother. He greatly

23:25

disturbed that poor woman at

23:27

intervals by darting out of

23:29

his sleeping closet. where he

23:31

made his toilette with a

23:34

suppressed cry of, You're going

23:36

to flot, mother! Hello, father!

23:38

And after raising this fictitious

23:40

alarm, darting in again with

23:42

an undutiful grin, Mr. Crunchy's

23:44

temper was not at all

23:47

improved when he came to

23:49

his breakfast, he resented Mrs.

23:51

Crunchy's sane grace, with particular

23:53

animosity. Now, Hagger a

23:55

waiter, what are you up to?

23:58

Let it again. His

24:00

wife explained that she had

24:02

merely asked a blessing. Don't

24:05

do it, said Mr. Crunches,

24:07

looking about as if he

24:09

rather expected to see the

24:11

loaf disappear under the efficacy

24:14

of his wife's petitions. I

24:16

ain't going to be blessed

24:18

out of Eersonome, and I

24:20

won't have Malwittles blessed off

24:23

my table. Keep still. Exceedingly

24:27

red-eyed and grim, as

24:29

if he had been

24:31

up all night at

24:34

a party which had

24:36

taken anything but a

24:38

convivial turn, Jerry Cruncher

24:40

worried his breakfast rather

24:42

than ate it, growling

24:44

over it like any

24:47

four-footed inmate of a

24:49

menagerie. Towards nine o'clock,

24:51

he smothered his ruffled

24:53

aspect. and presenting as

24:55

a respectable and business-like

24:57

in exterior as he

24:59

could overlay his natural

25:02

self with, issued forth

25:04

to the occupation of

25:06

the day. It could

25:08

scarcely be called a

25:10

trade in spite of

25:12

his favourite description of

25:14

himself as an honest

25:17

tradesman. His stock consisted

25:19

of a wooden stool.

25:21

made out of a

25:23

broken backed chair, cut

25:25

down, which stool young

25:27

Jerry walking at his

25:29

father's side, carried every

25:32

morning to beneath the

25:34

banking house window that

25:36

was the nearest temple

25:38

bar, where, with the

25:40

addition of the first

25:42

handful of straw that

25:45

could be gleaned from

25:47

any passing vehicle, to

25:49

keep the cold and

25:51

wet. from the odd

25:53

jobman's feet. It formed

25:55

the encampment for the

25:57

day. On

26:00

this post of his,

26:03

Mr. Cruncher was as

26:05

well known to Fleet

26:07

Street and the temple

26:09

as the bar itself,

26:12

and was almost as

26:14

in-looking. Encamped at a

26:16

quarter before nine, in

26:18

good time to touch

26:21

his three-cornered hat to

26:23

the oldest of men

26:25

as they passed into

26:28

Tellson's, Jerry took up

26:30

his station on this.

26:32

windy March morning, with

26:34

young Jerry standing beside

26:37

him, when not engaged

26:39

in making forays through

26:41

the bar, to inflict

26:44

bodily and mental injuries

26:46

of an acute description,

26:48

unpassing boys who were

26:50

small enough for this

26:53

amiable purpose. Father and

26:55

son, extremely like each

26:57

other. looking silently on

27:00

at the morning traffic

27:02

in Fleet Street, with

27:04

their two heads as

27:06

near to one another

27:09

as the two eyes

27:11

of each were, bought

27:13

a considerable resemblance to

27:16

a pair of monkeys.

27:18

The resemblance was not

27:20

lessened by the accidental

27:22

circumstance that matured Jerry

27:25

bit and spat out

27:27

straw. while the twinkling

27:29

eyes of the youthful

27:32

Jerry was restlessly watchful

27:34

of him as of

27:36

everything else in Fleet

27:38

Street The head of

27:41

one of the regular

27:43

indoor messengers attached to

27:45

Tellson's establishment was put

27:48

through the door and

27:50

the word was given

27:54

Having thus given his

27:56

parent God's speed, young

27:58

Jerry seated himself on

28:01

the store, entered on

28:03

his reversionary interest in

28:06

the straw, his father

28:08

had been chewing and

28:11

cogitated. Always rusty, his

28:13

fingers is always rusty,

28:16

muttered young Jerry. Let

28:18

us my father get

28:21

all that I am

28:23

rust from. Don't get

28:26

no I am rusty.

28:29

A sight. You know

28:31

Bill Bailey well, no

28:34

doubt, said one of

28:36

the oldest clerks to

28:39

Jerry the messenger. Yes,

28:41

sir, returned Jerry, in

28:44

something of a dogged

28:46

manner. I do know

28:49

the Bailey. Just so.

28:51

And you know Mr.

28:54

Lorry? I know Mr.

28:56

Lorry, sir. Much better

28:59

and I know the

29:01

Bailey. Much better, said

29:04

Jerry. Not unlike a

29:06

reluctant witness at the

29:09

establishment in question. Then

29:11

I, as in all

29:14

his tradesman, wished to

29:16

know the Bailey. Very

29:19

well. Find the door

29:21

where the witnesses go

29:24

in. And show the

29:26

doorkeeper this note for

29:29

Mr. Lorry. He will

29:31

then let you in.

29:33

In the courtser? Into

29:36

the court. Mr. Cruncher's

29:38

eyes seemed to get

29:41

a little closer to

29:43

one another, and to

29:46

interchange the inquiry. What

29:48

do you think of

29:51

this? Am

29:53

I to wait in

29:55

the court, sir? he

29:58

asked as the result

30:00

of that conference. I

30:02

am going to tell

30:05

you. The doorkeeper will

30:07

pass a note to

30:09

Mr. Lorry, and do

30:11

you make any gesture

30:14

that will attract Mr.

30:16

Lorry's attention and show

30:18

him where you stand.

30:20

Then what you have

30:23

to do is to

30:25

remain there until he

30:27

wants you. Is

30:30

that all, sir? That's

30:32

all. He wishes to

30:35

have a messenger at

30:37

hand. That is to

30:40

tell him you are

30:42

there. As the ancient

30:44

clerk deliberately folded and

30:47

superscribed the note, Mr.

30:49

Cruncher, after surveying him

30:52

in silence until he

30:54

came to the blotting

30:57

paper stage, remarked, remarked.

31:00

I suppose they'll be

31:03

trying forgeries this morning.

31:05

treason. That's quaring, said

31:08

Jerry. Barbara's. It is

31:10

the law, remarked the

31:13

ancient clerk, turning his

31:16

surprised spectacles upon him.

31:18

It is the law.

31:21

Shard enough to kill

31:24

him, but he's wary

31:26

out to spow him,

31:29

sir. Not at all,

31:32

retained the ancient clerk.

31:34

Speak well of the

31:37

law. Take care of

31:39

your chest and voice,

31:42

my good friend, and

31:45

leave the law to

31:47

take care of itself.

31:50

I give you that

31:53

advice. It's a damp,

31:55

sir. What settles on

31:58

my chest and voice.

32:00

said Jay. Jerry took

32:03

the letter. Jerry took

32:06

the letter. and remarking

32:08

to himself with less

32:11

internal deference than he

32:14

made an outward show

32:16

of. You were a

32:19

lean old one too.

32:22

Made his bow, informed

32:24

his son in passing

32:27

of his destination, and

32:29

went his way. They

32:32

hanged at Tyburn in

32:35

those days. So the

32:37

street outside Newgate had

32:40

not obtained one infamous

32:43

notoriety that has since

32:45

attached to it. But

32:48

the gavel was a

32:51

vile place in which

32:53

most kinds of debauchery

32:56

and villainy were practiced,

32:58

and where dire diseases

33:01

were bred, that came

33:04

into court with the

33:06

prisoners, and sometimes rushed

33:09

straight from the dock.

33:12

that my lord chief

33:14

justice himself and pulled

33:17

him off the bench.

33:19

It had more than

33:22

once happened that the

33:25

judge in the black

33:27

cap pronounced his own

33:30

doom as certainly as

33:33

the prisoners and even

33:35

died before him. For

33:38

the rest, the old

33:41

Bailey was famous as

33:43

a kind of deadly

33:46

in-yard from which pale

33:48

travelers set out continually

33:51

in carts and coaches

33:54

on a violent passage

33:56

into the other world.

34:00

traversing some two miles

34:02

and a half of

34:04

public street and road

34:06

and shaming few good

34:09

citizens, if any. So

34:11

powerful is use and

34:13

so desirable to be

34:15

good use in the

34:18

beginning. It was famous,

34:20

too, for the pillory,

34:22

a wise old institution

34:25

that inflicted a punishment.

34:27

of which no one

34:29

could foresee the extent.

34:31

Also for the whipping

34:34

post, another dear old

34:36

institution, very humanizing and

34:38

softening to behold in

34:41

action. Also for extensive

34:43

transactions in blood money,

34:45

another fragment of ancestral

34:47

wisdom, systematically leading to

34:50

the most frightful wisdom,

34:52

systematically leading to the

34:54

most frightful mercenary crimes

34:57

that could be committed

34:59

under heaven. Altogether, the

35:01

old Bailey at that

35:03

date was a choice

35:06

illustration of the precept

35:08

that whatever is is

35:10

right, an aphorism that

35:13

would be as final

35:15

as it is lazy.

35:17

Did it not include

35:19

the troublesome consequence that

35:22

nothing that ever was,

35:24

was wrong? Was wrong?

35:29

Making his way through

35:31

the tainted crowd dispersed

35:33

up and down this

35:35

hideous scene of action,

35:38

with the skill of

35:40

a man accustomed to

35:42

making his way quietly,

35:44

the messenger found out

35:46

the door he sought

35:48

and handed in his

35:50

letter through a trap

35:53

in it. For people,

35:55

then paid to see

35:57

the play at the

35:59

old Bailey, just as

36:01

they paid. Just as

36:03

they paid. to see

36:05

the play in Bedlam.

36:08

Only the former entertainment

36:10

was much dearer. Therefore

36:12

all the old Bailey

36:14

doors were well-guarded, except

36:16

indeed the social doors

36:18

by which the criminals

36:21

got there, and those

36:23

were always left wide

36:25

open. After some delay

36:27

and demure, The door

36:29

grudgingly turned on its

36:31

hinges a very little

36:33

way and allowed Mr.

36:36

Jerry Cruncher to squeeze

36:38

himself into court. What's

36:40

on? He asked in

36:42

a whisper of the

36:44

man he found himself

36:46

next to. Nothing yet.

36:48

What was coming on?

36:51

Trees in case. Quarterim,

36:53

one one. Ah, it's

36:55

a sentence. If he's

36:57

found guilty, do you

36:59

mean to say? Jerry

37:01

added by way of

37:04

proviso, ah, they'll find

37:06

him guilty. Said the

37:08

other one, don't you

37:10

be afraid of that.

37:12

Mr. Crunch's attention was

37:14

here diverted to the

37:16

doorkeeper, whom he saw

37:19

making his way to

37:21

Mr. Lori. with the

37:23

note in his hand.

37:25

Mr. Lorry sat at

37:27

a table among the

37:29

gentlemen in wigs, not

37:32

far from a wigged

37:34

gentleman, the prisoner's council,

37:36

who had a great

37:38

bundle of papers before

37:40

him, and nearly opposite

37:42

another wigged gentleman with

37:44

his hands in his

37:47

pockets, whose whole attention,

37:49

when Mr. Cruncher looked

37:51

at him then. or

37:53

afterwards, seemed to be

37:55

concentrated on the ceiling

37:57

of the court. After

38:01

some gruff coughing and

38:03

rubbing of his chin

38:05

and signing with his

38:07

hand, Jerry attracted the

38:09

notice of Mr. Lorry,

38:11

who had stood up

38:14

to look for him

38:16

and who quietly nodded

38:18

and sat down again.

38:20

What's he got to

38:22

do with the case?

38:24

Asked the man he

38:26

had spoken with. Blessed

38:28

if I know, said

38:30

Jerry. What have you

38:32

got to do with

38:34

it then? If a

38:36

person may inquire. Pff

38:38

bless to far know

38:40

that either, said Jerry.

38:42

The entrance of the

38:44

judge and a consequent

38:46

great stir and settling

38:48

down in the court

38:50

stopped the dialogue. Presently,

38:52

the doc became the

38:55

central point of interest.

38:57

Two gowlers who had

38:59

been standing there went

39:01

out and the prisoner

39:03

was brought in and

39:05

put to the bar.

39:07

Everybody present, except the

39:09

one wagged gentleman who

39:11

looked at the ceiling,

39:13

stared at him. All

39:15

the human breath in

39:17

the place rolled at

39:19

him like a sea

39:21

or a wind or

39:23

a fire. Eager faces.

39:25

Eager faces. strained round

39:27

pillars and corners to

39:29

get a sight of

39:31

him. Spectators in back

39:34

rows stood up, not

39:36

to miss a hair

39:38

of him. People on

39:40

the floor of the

39:42

court laid their hands

39:44

on the shoulders of

39:46

the people before them

39:48

to help themselves at

39:50

anybody's cost to a

39:52

view of him. stood

39:54

upon next to nothing

39:56

to see every inch

39:58

of him. Conspicuous

40:03

among these latter, like an

40:05

animated bit of the spiked

40:08

wall of Newgate, Jerry stood,

40:10

aiming at the prisoner the

40:12

beery breath of a wet

40:15

he had taken as he

40:17

came along, and discharging it

40:19

to mingle with the waves

40:22

of other beer and gin

40:24

and tea and coffee and

40:26

whatnot that flowed at him.

40:28

and already broke upon

40:31

the great windows

40:33

behind him in an impure

40:36

mist and rain. The

40:38

object of all this

40:41

staring and blaring was

40:43

a young man of about

40:45

five and twenty, well-grown

40:49

and well-looking, with

40:51

a sun-burned cheek

40:53

and a dark eye. His

40:57

condition was that of a young

40:59

gentleman. He was

41:01

plainly dressed in black or

41:04

very dark grey, and his

41:06

hair, which was long and dark,

41:08

was gathered in a ribbon at

41:11

the back of his neck. More

41:13

to be out of his way

41:15

than for ornament. As an

41:17

emotion of the mind will

41:19

express itself through any

41:21

covering of the body,

41:24

so the paleness of the

41:26

which his situation

41:28

engendered came through the

41:31

brown upon his cheek,

41:33

showing the soul to

41:35

be stronger than the

41:37

sun. He was

41:39

otherwise quite self-possessed,

41:41

bowed to the judge, and

41:44

stood quiet. The sort

41:46

of interest with which

41:49

this man was stared

41:51

and breathed at, was not

41:53

a sort that elevated

41:55

humanity. Had he stood in

41:58

peril of a less horrible... sentence,

42:00

had there been a

42:02

chance of any one

42:04

of its savage details

42:06

being spared, by just

42:09

so much would he

42:11

have lost in his

42:13

fascination. The form that

42:15

was to be doomed

42:17

to be so shamefully

42:19

mangled was the sight,

42:21

the immortal creature that

42:23

was to be so

42:26

butchered and torn asunder,

42:28

yielded the sensation. Whatever

42:31

gloss, the various spectators

42:34

put upon the interest,

42:36

according to their several

42:38

arts and powers of

42:40

self-deceit, the interest was,

42:43

at the root of

42:45

it, ogre-ish. Silence in

42:47

the court. Charles Darnay

42:50

had yesterday pleaded, not

42:52

guilty, to an indictment

42:54

denouncing him. with infinite

42:57

jingle and jangle, for

42:59

that he was a

43:01

false traitor to our

43:04

serene, illustrious, excellent, and

43:06

so forth Prince, our

43:08

Lord the King, by

43:11

reason of its having,

43:13

on divers' occasions, and

43:15

by divers' means and

43:18

ways, assisted Lewis, the

43:20

French King, in his

43:22

wars against our said

43:25

serene, illustrious, elustrious, excellent

43:27

and so forth. That

43:29

was to say by

43:32

coming and going between

43:34

the dominions of our

43:36

said, serene, illustrious, excellent

43:39

and so forth, and

43:41

those of the said

43:43

French Lewis, and wickedly,

43:46

falsely, traitorously and otherwise,

43:48

evil, adverbiously, revealing to

43:50

the said French Lewis.

43:53

What forces are, said

43:55

Serene. illustrious, excellent and

43:57

so forth, had in

44:00

preparation to send to

44:02

Canada and North America.

44:04

This much, Jerry, with

44:06

his head becoming more

44:09

and more spiky, as

44:11

the law terms bristled

44:13

it, made out with

44:16

huge satisfaction, and so

44:18

arrived circuitously at the

44:20

understanding that the aforesaid.

44:23

And over and over

44:25

again, Affle said, Charles

44:27

Darnay stood there before

44:30

him upon his trial,

44:32

that the jury was

44:34

swearing in, and that

44:37

Mr. Attorney General was

44:39

making ready to speak.

44:41

The accused, who was,

44:44

and who knew he

44:46

was, being mentally hanged,

44:48

beheaded and quartered by

44:51

everybody there, neither flinched

44:53

from the situation, nor

44:55

assumed any theatrical air

44:58

in it. He was

45:00

quiet and attentive, watched

45:02

the opening proceedings with

45:05

a grave interest, and

45:07

stood with his hands

45:09

resting on the slab

45:12

of wood before him,

45:14

so composedly that they

45:16

had not displaced a

45:19

leaf of the herbs

45:21

with which it was

45:23

strewn. The

45:25

court was all bestrune with

45:28

herbs and sprinkled with vinegar

45:30

as a precaution against gal

45:33

air and gal fever. Over

45:35

the prisoner's head there was

45:38

a mirror to throw the

45:40

lights down upon him. Crowds

45:43

of the wicked and the

45:45

wretched had been reflected in

45:48

it and had passed from

45:50

its surface and this earths

45:53

together. haunted

45:56

in a most ghastly manner

45:58

that abominable place would have

46:01

been if the glass could

46:03

ever have rendered back its

46:06

reflections as the ocean is

46:08

one day to give up

46:11

its dead. Some passing thought

46:13

of the infamy and disgrace

46:16

for which it had been

46:18

reserved may have struck the

46:21

prisoner's mind. Be that as

46:23

it may a change in

46:26

his position making him conscious

46:28

of a bar of light

46:31

across his face. He looked

46:33

up, and when he saw

46:35

the glass, his face flushed,

46:38

and his right hand pushed

46:40

the herbs away. It happened

46:43

that the action turned his

46:45

face to that side of

46:48

the court which was on

46:50

his left. About on a

46:53

level with his eyes, there

46:55

sat in that corner of

46:58

the judge's bench. two persons

47:00

upon whom his look immediately

47:03

rested, so immediately and so

47:05

much to the changing of

47:08

his aspect, that all the

47:10

eyes that were turned upon

47:13

him turned to them. The

47:15

spectators saw in the two

47:18

figures a young lady of

47:20

little more than twenty, and

47:23

a gentleman who was evidently

47:25

her father, who was evidently

47:28

her father. a man of

47:30

a very remarkable appearance in

47:33

respect of the absolute whiteness

47:35

of his hair, and a

47:38

certain indescribable intensity of face,

47:40

not of an active kind,

47:43

but pondering and self-communing. When

47:45

this expression was upon him,

47:48

he looked as if he

47:50

were old. But when it

47:53

was stirred and broken up

47:55

as it was now, in

47:58

a moment... on speaking to

48:00

his daughter, he became a

48:03

handsome man, not past the

48:05

prime of life. His daughter

48:08

had one of her hands

48:10

drawn through his arm as

48:13

she sat by him and

48:15

the other pressed upon it.

48:18

She had drawn close to

48:20

him in her dread of

48:23

the scene and in her

48:25

pity for the prisoner. Her

48:28

forehead had been strikingly expressively

48:30

expressive, of an engrossing terror

48:33

and compassion that saw nothing

48:35

but the peril of the

48:38

accused. This had been so

48:40

very noticeable, so very powerfully

48:43

and naturally shown, that the

48:45

starers who had had no

48:48

pity for him were touched

48:50

by her, and the whisper

48:53

went about, Who are they?

48:58

Jerry, the messenger who had

49:00

made his own observations in

49:02

his own manner and who

49:05

had been sucking the rust

49:07

off his fingers in his

49:09

absorption, stretched his neck to

49:12

hear who they were. The

49:14

crowd about him had pressed

49:16

and passed the inquiry on

49:19

to the nearest attendant, and

49:21

from it had been more

49:23

slowly pressed and passed back.

49:27

At last it got

49:29

to Jerry. Witnesses, which

49:31

sighed against, against what

49:33

sighed, the prisoners. The

49:35

judge, whose eyes had

49:37

gone in the general

49:39

direction, recalled them leaning

49:42

back in his seat

49:44

and looked steadily at

49:46

the man whose life

49:48

was in his hand.

49:50

As Mr. Attorney General

49:52

rose to spin... the

49:54

rope, grind

49:57

the axe, and

49:59

and hammer

50:01

the nails

50:03

into the

50:05

scaffold. scaffold.

51:29

scaffold. scaffold.

55:55

You You

56:32

You