A Tale of Two Cities

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of...

With drooping heads and tremulous tails, they mashed their way through the thick mud, floundering...

The stillness consequent on the cessation of the rumbling and labouring of the coach, added to the...

Jerry, left alone in the mist and darkness, dismounted meanwhile, not only to ease his spent horse,...

While he trotted back with the message he was to deliver to the night watchman in his box at the...

Yet even when his eyes were opened on the mist and rain, on the moving patch of light from the...

The Concord bed chamber being always assigned to a passenger by the mail, and passengers by the...

A bottle of good claret after dinner does a digger in the red coals no harm, otherwise than as it...

Miss Manette, I am a man of business. I have a business charge to acquit myself of. In your...

After this odd description of his daily routine of employment, Mr. Lorry flattened his flaxen wig...

Thats right, thats right. Courage. Business. You have business before you; useful business. Miss...

There was an immediate dispersal for these restoratives, and she softly laid the patient on a sofa,...

And now that the cloud settled on Saint Antoine, which a momentary gleam had driven from his sacred...

This wine shop keeper was a bull necked, martial looking man of thirty, and he should have been of...

The keeper of the wine shop stopped to strike the wall with his hand, and mutter a tremendous...

With an admonitory gesture to keep them back, he stooped, and looked in through the crevice in the...

He had put up a hand between his eyes and the light, and the very bones of it seemed transparent....

Darkness had fallen on him in its place. He looked at the two, less and less attentively, and his...

She had laid her head upon my shoulder, that night when I was summoned out she had a fear of my...

When the quiet of the garret had been long undisturbed, and his heaving breast and shaken form had...

In the submissive way of one long accustomed to obey under coercion, he ate and drank what they...

Tellsons Bank by Temple Bar was an old fashioned place, even in the year one thousand seven hundred...

Mr. Crunchers apartments were not in a savoury neighbourhood, and were but two in number, even if a...

Exceedingly red eyed and grim, as if he had been up all night at a party which had taken anything...

Ah. returned the man, with a relish; hell be drawn on a hurdle to be half hanged, and then hell be...

The accused, who was and who knew he was being mentally hanged, beheaded, and quartered, by...

Mr. Attorney General had to inform the jury, that the prisoner before them, though young in years,...

Possibly, but indeed I dont know, although they stood whispering very near to me. because they...

A singular circumstance then arose in the case. The object in hand being to show that the prisoner...

They were not agreed, and wished to retire. My Lord perhaps with George Washington on his mind...

It would have been difficult by a far brighter light, to recognise in Doctor Manette, intellectual...

The friends of the acquitted prisoner had dispersed, under the impression which he himself had...

I neither want any thanks, nor merit any, was the careless rejoinder. It was nothing to do, in the...

Sydney Carton, idlest and most unpromising of men, was Stryvers great ally. What the two drank...

The old Sydney Carton of old Shrewsbury School, said Stryver, nodding his head over him as he...

When his host followed him out on the staircase with a candle, to light him down the stairs, the...

There ought to have been a tranquil bark in such an anchorage, and there was. The Doctor occupied...

Here again. Mr. Lorrys inquiries into Miss Prosss personal history had established the fact that...

Notwithstanding Miss Prosss denial of her own imagination, there was a perception of the pain of...

Doctor Manette received him kindly, and so did Lucie. But, Miss Pross suddenly became afflicted...

The night was so very sultry, that although they sat with doors and windows open, they were...

The great bell of Saint Pauls was striking one in the cleared air, when Mr. Lorry, escorted by...

For, the rooms, though a beautiful scene to look at, and adorned with every device of decoration...

He was a man of about sixty, handsomely dressed, haughty in manner, and with a face like a fine...

It is extraordinary to me, said he, that you people cannot take care of yourselves and your...

So cowed was their condition, and so long and hard their experience of what such a man could do to...

Few children were to be seen, and no dogs. As to the men and women, their choice on earth was...

She looked an old woman, but was young. Her manner was one of passionate grief; by turns she...

The great door clanged behind him, and Monsieur the Marquis crossed a hall grim with certain old...

I have come back, sir, as you anticipate, pursuing the object that took me away. It carried me into...

And has left me, answered the nephew, bound to a system that is frightful to me, responsible for...

The stone faces on the outer walls stared blindly at the black night for three heavy hours; for...

What winds conveyed this hurry to the grizzled mender of roads, already at work on the hill top...

He had loved Lucie Manette from the hour of his danger. He had never heard a sound so sweet and...

But, do not believe, said Darnay, upon whose ear the mournful voice struck with a reproachful...

I give the promise, said the Doctor, without any condition. I believe your object to be, purely and...

Sydney had been working double tides that night, and the night before, and the night before that,...

Now you know all about it, Syd, said Mr. Stryver. I dont care about fortune. she is a charming...

His way taking him past Tellsons, and he both banking at Tellsons and knowing Mr. Lorry as the...

Not exactly so. I mean to tell you, Mr. Stryver, said Mr. Lorry, reddening, that I will hear no...

Accordingly, when Mr. Lorry called that night as late as ten oclock, Mr. Stryver, among a quantity...

He was shown up stairs, and found Lucie at her work, alone. She had never been quite at her ease...

Entreat me to believe it no more, Miss Manette. I have proved myself, and I know better. I distress...

Time was, when a poet sat upon a stool in a public place, and mused in the sight of men. Mr....

The officiating undertakers made some protest against these changes in the ceremonies; but, the...

And mind you. said Mr. Cruncher. No games to morrow. If I, as a honest tradesman, succeed in...

The three went on, and Young Jerry went on, until the three stopped under a bank overhanging the...

The altercation was conducted in a low tone of voice, and terminated in the honest tradesmans...

A suspended interest and a prevalent absence of mind, were perhaps observed by the spies who looked...

I saw him then, messieurs, began the mender of roads, a year ago this running summer, underneath...

Defarge and the three glanced darkly at one another. The looks of all of them were dark, repressed,...

All work is stopped, all assemble there, nobody leads the cows out, the cows are there with the...

Therefore, when Sunday came, the mender of roads was not enchanted though he said he was to find...

When Saint Antoine had again enfolded the Defarges in his dusky wings, and they, having finally...

Yes. But it is your weakness that you sometimes need to see your victim and your opportunity, to...

I think. returned madame, in a high voice. I and my husband have enough to do to keep this wine...

Yes, Miss Manette is going to be married. But not to an Englishman; to one who, like herself, is...

Darkness closed around, and then came the ringing of church bells and the distant beating of the...

Believe it, love. Indeed it is so. Consider how natural and how plain it is, my dear, that it...

I have pictured my daughter, to myself, as perfectly forgetful of me rather, altogether ignorant of...

Doctor Manette was very cheerful at the little supper. They were only three at table, and Miss...

You were, just now; I saw you do it, and I dont wonder at it. Such a present of plate as you have...

The corner being out of the way of the idle and curious, and the preparations having been very...

Two things at once impressed themselves on Mr. Lorry, as important above all others; the first,...

On this second day, Mr. Lorry saluted him cheerfully by his name, and spoke to him on topics that...

It was but the inquiry of his first confusion and astonishment, the answer being obvious. If the...

Now, my dear Manette, said Mr. Lorry, at length, in his most considerate and most affectionate way,...

The occupation resumed under the influence of this passing affliction so happily recovered from,...

When the newly married pair came home, the first person who appeared, to offer his congratulations,...

But I do, and you must take my word for it. Well. If you could endure to have such a worthless...

At first, there were times, though she was a perfectly happy young wife, when her work would slowly...

Mr. Stryver shouldered his way through the law, like some great engine forcing itself through...

Thats right; all safe and well. I dont know why anything should be otherwise than safe and well...

Deep ditches, double drawbridge, massive stone walls, eight great towers, cannon, muskets, fire and...

Jacques Three, with his usual craving on him, and evidently disappointed by the dialogue taking a...

They found it surging and tossing, in quest of Defarge himself. Saint Antoine was clamorous to have...

Madame Defarge, with her arms folded, sat in the morning light and heat, contemplating the wine...

No. They were all by that time choking the Hall of Examination where this old man, ugly and wicked,...

Not before dark night did the men and women come back to the children, wailing and breadless. Then,...

For, in these times, as the mender of roads worked, solitary, in the dust, not often troubling...

But, not for long. Presently, the chateau began to make itself strangely visible by some light of...

Probably, Monsieur Gabelle passed a long night up there, with the distant chateau for fire and...

On a steaming, misty afternoon, Mr. Lorry sat at his desk, and Charles Darnay stood leaning on it,...

Among the talkers, was Stryver, of the Kings Bench Bar, far on his way to state promotion, and,...

With those words, and a final snap of his fingers, Mr. Stryver shouldered himself into Fleet...

The happiness of his own chosen English home, the necessity of being always actively employed, the...

That night it was the fourteenth of August he sat up late, and wrote two fervent letters; one was...

Darnay complied, and was taken back to the guard house, where other patriots in rough red caps were...

They rested on some straw in a loft until the middle of the night, and then rode forward again when...

It is of the utmost importance to me you know, Citizen, even better than I, of how much importance,...

Through the dismal prison twilight, his new charge accompanied him by corridor and staircase, many...

The wicket opened on a stone staircase, leading upward. When they had ascended forty steps the...

He occupied rooms in the Bank, in his fidelity to the House of which he had grown to be a part,...

La Force. Lucie, my child, if ever you were brave and serviceable in your life and you were always...

He closed the lattice again with a fluttering heart, closed the window and the curtain, hastened to...

Noon coming, and the Doctor not returning, and every minutes delay tending to compromise Tellsons,...

The lady in question, whose rooted conviction that she was more than a match for any foreigner, was...

That, hereupon he had ascertained, through the registers on the table, that his son in law was...

And yet, observing the strange law of contradiction which obtains in all such cases, the time was...

She did not greatly alter in appearance. The plain dark dresses, akin to mourning dresses, which...

In all weathers, in the snow and frost of winter, in the bitter winds of spring, in the hot...

A murky red and yellow sky, and a rising mist from the Seine, denoted the approach of darkness. It...

His judges sat upon the Bench in feathered hats; but the rough red cap and tricoloured cockade was...

Doctor Manette was next questioned. His high personal popularity, and the clearness of his answers,...

After grasping the Doctors hand, as he stood victorious and proud before him; after grasping the...

For some months past, Miss Pross and Mr. Cruncher had discharged the office of purveyors; the...

Citizen Doctor, said the first, with his former reluctance, ask no more. If the Republic demands...

Apparently, Mr. Cruncher did, to judge from his looks. He said not a word, however, and Miss Pross,...

The speaker who struck in, was Sydney Carton. He had his hands behind him under the skirts of his...

Mr. Lorry had just finished his dinner, and was sitting before a cheery little log or two of fire...

I think, sir, said the spy, in the meanest manner, as he turned to Mr. Lorry, I may appeal to a...

Humph. I see one thing, said Carton. I hold another card, Mr. Barsad. Impossible, here in raging...

I hope, sir, pleaded the abashed Mr. Cruncher, that a gentleman like yourself wot Ive had the...

It was a long, grieving sound, like a sigh almost like a sob. It attracted Mr. Lorrys eyes to...

Certain small packets were made and given to him. He put them, one by one, in the breast of his...

The night wore out, and, as he stood upon the bridge listening to the water as it splashed the...

Before that unjust Tribunal, there was little or no order of procedure, ensuring to any accused...

Defarge was produced, when the court was quiet enough to admit of his being heard, and rapidly...

The carriage stopped as soon as the driver could rein in his horses, and the same voice called to...

From the time of our alighting at the outer gate which we found locked, and which one of the...

On some hay on the ground, with a cushion thrown under his head, lay a handsome peasant boy a boy...

The boys eyes, which had been fixed on mine, slowly turned to the looker on, and I saw in the two...

When I returned to the bedside of the young woman, I found her raving in precisely the same order...

I had no opportunity of asking her any question, until I had told the brothers she was sinking...

My memory is still accurate, but I cannot write the words of our conversation. I suspect that I am...

It brought me here, it brought me to my grave. When I was clear of the house, a black muffler was...

There was but a gaoler left, along with two of the four men who had taken him last night, and...

Oh, Carton, Carton, dear Carton. cried little Lucie, springing up and throwing her arms...

Sydney Carton paused in the street, not quite decided where to go. At Tellsons banking house at...

Carton followed the lines and words of his paper, with a slow forefinger, and with a studious and...