Men said of him about the city that night that it was the peacefullest man's face ever beheld there. If they could have read his thought, if he could have spoken it in words it would have been these:
"I see the lives, for which I lay down mine, peaceful and happy in that England I shall see no more. I see Lucie and Darnay with a child that bears my name, and I see that I shall hold a place in their hearts for ever. I see her weeping for me on the anniversary of this day. I see the blot I threw upon my name faded away, and I know that till they die neither shall be more honored in the soul of the other than I am honored in the souls of both. It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known!"
BLEAK HOUSE
Published 1852–1853
| Scene: | London and the Country |
| Time: | 1832 to 1852 |
CHARACTERS
| Mr. Jarndyce | Master of Bleak House | |
| Mr. Boythorn | His friend | |
| Sir Leicester Dedlock | An aged nobleman | |
| Mr. Boythorn's neighbor | ||
| Lady Dedlock | His wife | |
| Mr. Tulkinghorn | His lawyer | |
| Captain Hawdon | A dissipated and poverty-stricken copyist in London, known as "Nemo" | |
| Esther Summerson | Mr. Jarndyce's ward | |
| In reality a daughter of Captain Hawdon and Lady Dedlock | ||
| Ada Clare Richard Carstone | Wards of Mr. Jarndyce | |
| Vholes | Richard's lawyer | |
| Mrs. Rouncewell | Sir Leicester's housekeeper | |
| "Mr. George" | Proprietor of a London shooting-gallery | |
| Her son | ||
| Hortense | Lady Dedlock's French maid | |
| Miss Flite | A little, old, demented woman | |
| Mrs. Jellyby | A lady greatly interested in the welfare of the heathen | |
| Caddy Jellyby | Her daughter | |
| Harold Skimpole | A trifler with life, preferring to live at other people's expense | |
| Allan Woodcourt | A young surgeon | |
| Grandfather Smallweed | A money-lender | |
| Mrs. Smallweed | His crazy wife | |
| Mr. Turveydrop | The proprietor of a dancing school and a model of deportment | |
| Prince Turveydrop | His son. Later, Caddy's husband | |
| Joe | A crossing sweeper | |
| Krook | A dealer in rags and old bottles | |
| "Lady Jane" | His cat | |