A Tale of Two Cities
Book the Third: The Track of a Storm—Chapter 13: Fifty-Two
by Charles Dickens
Carton visits Darnay before his execution.
Carton visits Darnay before his execution.
A husband gives his wife a mirror, and when she is on her deathbed, she gives it to her daughter. The daughter thinks she sees her mother’s soul in it and spends much time staring into it after her father remarries. The stepmother begins resenting the daughter’s relationship with her father and starts to hate her; she thinks the daughter is doing black magic to curse her, and she tells the father of it. The father confronts the daughter, and he finally realizes that the daughter is innocent and is simply still brokenhearted over her mother’s death. The stepmother is moved by the daughter’s story to renounce her hate, and the father, stepmother, and daughter finally become a happy family.
Buck's pampered existence comes to a sudden and unexpected end.
Tom Eaves gives his opinion. Lord Steyne is troubled by his son's situation, but continues to distract himself with lavish parties.
The narrator describes his journey to visit “the Old Sugar Mill”, a collection of ruins north of New Smyrna.
A biography of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz.
Elizabeth reminisces about Mrs. Anne Garland and her family.
Horace Tarbox is known as a prodigy. He sees a plan for his life, until he meets Marcia Meadow. The knock at his door changes all the plans he thought he had.
Mr. Watson finds Holmes in an opium den when looking for a friend who had been missing. Holmes is studying a case in which a man disappeared from the upstairs room of the den. All that was found was a deformed man with a limp and traces of the man’s blood and clothes with no apparent violence.
The Harkers join forces with the others. They share all that they know, and discover more information about Dracula’s connections with the area and plans for the future.
The majestic procession passes through the marketplace. Hester is disheartened to see the richness and power of Puritan tradition displayed with such pomp. News about Chillingworth worries Hester about her future.
After she is taken in by the Rivers siblings, Jane spends three days recuperating in bed. On the fourth day, she feels well again and follows the smell of baking bread into the kitchen, where she finds Hannah. Jane criticizes Hannah for judging her unfairly when she asked for help, and Hannah apologizes. Hannah tells the story of Mr. Rivers, the siblings’ father, who lost most of the family fortune in a bad business deal. In turn, Diana and Mary were forced to work as governesses—they are only at Marsh End (or Moor House) now because their father died three weeks ago. Jane then relates some of her own story and admits that Jane Elliott is not her real name. St. John promises to find her a job.
A visit from Will's relatives causes great discomfort for Carol. Carol becomes pregnant, eventually giving birth to a son, Hugh.
Darnay is arrested after arriving in Paris and is held "in secret".
In an aristocratic residences of Marseilles, Monsieur de Villefort is celebrating his betrothal when he is interrupted by a servant informing him of a Bonapartist plot discovery, including the arrest of Edmond Dantes.
Jane has heard that it is a bad omen to dream of children, and now she has dreams on seven consecutive nights involving babies. She learns that her cousin John Reed has committed suicide, and that her aunt, Mrs. Reed, has suffered a stroke and is nearing death. Jane goes to Gateshead, where she is reunited with Bessie. She also sees her cousins Eliza and Georgiana. Eliza is plain and plans to enter a convent, while Georgiana is as beautiful as ever. Ever since Eliza ruined Georgiana’s hopes of eloping with a young man, the two sisters have not gotten along. Jane tries to patch things up with Mrs. Reed, but the old woman is still full of hostility toward her late husband’s favorite. One day, Mrs. Reed gives Jane a letter from her father’s brother, John Eyre. He declares that he wishes to adopt Jane and bequeath her his fortune. The letter is three years old; out of malice, Mrs. Reed did not forward it to Jane when she received it. In spite of her aunt’s behavior, Jane tries once more to smooth relations with the dying woman. But Mrs. Reed refuses, and, at midnight, she dies.
Mr. Sedley gets his house in order. Jos makes a promise to his father and Amelia. Dobbin makes a declaration to Amelia, but is disappointed with her reaction.
The second spirit takes Ebenezor to the Cratchit home.
News of George's fate reaches the elder Osbourne. George's final wishes are not honored. Amelia, accompanied by Dobbin, returns home.
The story of Seth Richmond and his friendship with George Willard.
Luzhin accusations of theft anger Katerina, whose attempt to clear Sonia's name only further implicates her. Lebezyatnikov's appearance signals an end to Luzhin's deceptive plan. The Marmeladovs are evicted.
Marjorie's attempts to improve Bernice's social skills has unexpected consequences.
A discussion of dreams and how they can affect the dreamer.
David and Tommy Traddles are called to the Micawber home.
A minor incident at the barn dance has dire consequences for Fern Mullins. Fern, confident she will be fired, resigns and leaves town.