A Tale of Two Cities A story of the French Revolution by Charles Dickens - Chapter II The Mail

Chapter II

The Mail

It was the Dover road that lay, on a Friday night late in November, before the first of the persons with whom this history has business. The Dover road lay, as to him, beyond the Dover mail, as it lumbered up Shooter's Hill. He walked up hill in the mire by the side of the mail, as the rest of the passengers did; not because they had the least relish for walking exercise, under the circumstances, but because the hill, and the harness, and the mud, and the mail, were all so heavy, that the horses had three times already come to a stop, besides once drawing the coach across the road, with the mutinous intent of taking it back to Blackheath. Reins and whip and coachman and guard, however, in combination, had read that article of war which forbade a purpose otherwise strongly in favour of the argument, that

A Tale of Two Cities A story of the French Revolution by Charles Dickens

Chapter I

The Period

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

There were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a plain face, on the throne of England; there were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a fair face, on the throne of France. In both countries it was clearer than crystal to the lords of the

English Idiom You Need To Know - Part6

"I'm used to it like an eel to skinning"

Meaning:

"It's nothing new to me. I did it many times" "talk/bore somebody's head off" Meaning: "to bore somebody with talking" "not a quarter as good as .." Meaning: "incomparably less valuable than .." "Jack of all trades (and master of none)" Meaning: "a person who can do many things (but who rather has not

English Idiom You Need To Know - Part5

"sweep somebody off his/her feet"

Meaning:

"to make somebody suddenly fall in crazy love with one" "smell a rat" Meaning: "to feel that something bad is in the offing" "stick one's neck out" Meaning: "to say something despite the risk of troubles" "spike somebody's gun" Meaning: "to preempt somebody's attack by taking away power" "give somebody more rope" Meaning: "to give somebody more

English Idiom - Part4

"let somebody off the hook"

Meaning:

"to let somebody wriggle out at the very last moment (e.g. Saddam Hussein and the Soviet peace plan in the Gulf War 1990-1991)" "idle stories" Meaning: "senseless and untrue gossip"

English Idiom - Part3

"gunboat diplomacy"

Meaning:

"diplomacy backed by the threat of force" "A pretty pair of shoes." Meaning: "This deal seems to be very attractive." "You could have knocked me (down) with a feather." Meaning: "I was literally weakened with shock and surprise." "put/stare somebody out of

English Idiom - Part2

"(The) show must go on."

Meaning:

"Whatever happens, life must continue as before (e.g. independent of somebody's death)"

"separate the man from the myth" Meaning: "analyse the true features of a man as opposed to rumors (e.g. about Marx)"

English Idiom You Must Know

"in the doldrums"

Meaning:

"in the state of unhappiness and inactivity"

"cast pearls before swine" Meaning: