The Project Gutenberg eBook, Sketches by Boz, by Charles Dickens

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Title: Sketches by Boz
illustrative of everyday life and every-day people

Author: Charles Dickens

Release Date: December 6, 2009 [eBook #882]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SKETCHES BY BOZ***

Transcribed from the 1903 Chapman and Hall edition by David Price, email
ccx074@pglaf.org

SKETCHES BY BOZ

Illustrative of Every-Day Life
and Every-Day People

* * * * *

By CHARLES DICKENS

* * * * *

_With Illustrations by George Cruickshank and Phiz_

* * * * *

LONDON: CHAPMAN & HALL, LD.
NEW YORK: CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
1903

PREFACE

The whole of these Sketches were written and published, one by one, when
I was a very young man. They were collected and republished while I was
still a very young man; and sent into the world with all their
imperfections (a good many) on their heads.

They comprise my first attempts at authorship--with the exception of
certain tragedies achieved at the mature age of eight or ten, and
represented with great applause to overflowing nurseries. I am conscious
of their often being extremely crude and ill-considered, and bearing
obvious marks of haste and inexperience; particularly in that section of
the present volume which is comprised under the general head of Tales.

But as this collection is not originated now, and was very leniently and
favourably received when it was first made, I have not felt it right
either to remodel or expunge, beyond a few words and phrases here and
there.

OUR PARISH

CHAPTER I--THE BEADLE. THE PARISH ENGINE. THE SCHOOLMASTER

How much is conveyed in those two short words--'The Parish!' And with
how many tales of distress and misery, of broken fortune and ruined
hopes, too often of unrelieved wretchedness a