"The Chimes",
by Charles Dickens.

[obi/Charles.Dickens/chimes.txt]


                       THE CHIMES

                     FIRST QUARTER

  There are not many people -- and as it is desirable
that a story-teller and a story-reader should establish
a mutual understanding as soon as possible, I beg it
to be noticed that I confine this observation neither to
young people nor to little people, but extend it to all
conditions of people: little and big, young and old:
yet growing up, or already growing down again -- there
are not, I say, many people who would care to sleep
in a church. I don't mean at sermon-time in warm
weather (when the thing has actually been done, once
or twice), but in the night, and alone. A great multi-
tude of persons will be violently astonished, I know,
by this position, in the broad bold Day. But it
applies to Night. It must be argued by night, and I
will undertake to maintain it successfully on any
gusty winter's night appointed for the purpose, with
any one o . . .