At a Reading in Dublin
Title
Description
Speech given before a reading of The Chimes (24 August 1858).
Creator
Dickens, Charles
Source
Saunders’ News-Letter (25 August 1858).
Date
Type
Bibliographic Citation
Dickens, Charles. 'Reading in Dublin' (24 August 1858). Dickens Search. Eds. Emily Bell and Lydia Craig. Accessed [date]. https://dickenssearch.com/speeches/1858-08-24_Speech_Reading_in_Dublin.
Transcription
I have been accustomed to remark in England, when reading the parts of this fancy, that it was written about a dozen years ago, at a time when I was living in Italy, and when some circumstances recorded in the home newspapers – all within the compass of a single week – appeared to me to render the utterance of a few earnest words very necessary. If there be in our United Kingdom, as I hope and believe, less direct need of such utterance now than there was then, so much the better for us all: we have only to assume to-night that a few hints for compassionate and merciful remembrance are never out of date in the Christian calendar.