A Tale of Two Cities

we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, wewere all going direct the other way- in short, the period was so far like the present period, thatsome of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlativedegree of comparison only.There were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a plain face, on the throne of England; therewere a king with a large jaw and a queen with a fair face, on the throne of France. In both countriesit was clearer than crystal to the lords of the State preserves of loaves and fishes, that things ingeneral were settled for ever.It was the year of Our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five. Spiritual revelationswere conceded to England at that favoured period, as at this. Mrs. Southcott had recently attainedher five-and-twentieth blessed birthday, of whom a prophetic private in the Life Guards hadheralded the sublime appearance by announcing that arrangements were made for the swallowing upof London and Westminster. Even the Cock-lane ghost had been laid only a round dozen of years, after rapping out its messages, as the spirits of this very year last past (supernaturally deficient inoriginality) rapped out theirs. Mere messages in the earthly order of events had lately come to theEnglish Crown and People, from a congress of British subjects in America: which, strange to relate, have proved more important to the human race than any communications yet received through anyof the chickens of the Cock-lane broo