He wore a sprinkling of powder upon his head, as if to make himself look benevolent; but if that were his purpose, he would perhaps have done better to powder his countenance also, for there was something in its very wrinkles, and in his cold restless eye, which seemed to tell of cunning that would announce itself in spite of him. ~ Nicholas Nickleby
Night, like a giant, fills
Night, like a giant, fills the church, from pavement to roof, and holds dominion through the silent hours. Pale dawn again comes peeping through the windows: and, giving place to day, sees night withdraw into the vaults, and follows it, and drives it out, and hides among the dead. ~ Dombey and Son
You Have No Idea
You have no idea what it is to have anybody wonderful fond of you, unless you have been got down and rolled upon by the lonely feelings that I have mentioned as having once got the better of me. ~ Doctor Marigold’s Prescriptions
Charles Darnay seemed to stand
Charles Darnay seemed to stand in a company of the dead. Ghosts all! The ghost of beauty, the ghost of stateliness, the ghost of elegance, the ghost of pride, the ghost of frivolity, the ghost of wit, the ghost of youth, the ghost of age, all waiting their dismissal from the desolate shore, all turning on him eyes that were changed by the death they had died in coming there. ~ A Tale of Two Cities
Ah, Miss Harriet, it would
“Ah, Miss Harriet, it would do us no harm to remember oftener than we do, that vices are sometimes only virtues carried to excess!” ~ Dombey and Son
She dotes on poetry sir
“She dotes on poetry, sir. She adores it; I may say that her whole soul and mind are wound up, and entwined with it. She has produced some delightful pieces, herself, sir. You may have met with her `Ode to an Expiring Frog,’ sir.” ~ The Pickwick Papers
Any man may be in
“Any man may be in good spirits and good temper when he’s well dressed. There ain’t much credit in that.” ~ Martin Chuzzlewit
These words will never see
These words will never see the light, if ever, until my heart is dust; until her bright spirit has returned to the regions of which, when imprisoned here, it surely retained some unusual glimpse of remembrance; until all the pulses that ever beat around us shall have long been quiet; until all the fruits of all the tiny victories and defeats achieved in our little breasts shall have withered away. ~ George Silverman’s Explanation
Captain Cuttle like all mankind
Captain Cuttle, like all mankind, little knew how much hope had survived within him under discouragement, until he felt its death-shock. ~ Dombey and Son
Treachery don’t come natural to
“Treachery don’t come natural to beaming youth; but trust and pity, love and constancy,–they do, thank God!” ~ Mrs. Lirriper’s Legacy
