The Chimes

The Chimes is a novella written by Charles Dickens and first published in 1844. It is another Dickens story set at Christmas time.

Trotty Veck is a humble and disillusioned messenger who has lost faith in humanity and believes that poverty is the result of his unworthiness. He believes that the poor are born to suffer and that their fate cannot be changed. All this comes to a head on the eve of New Year's Day.

As he reflects on this, Trotty finds himself in the church, where the echoes of the bells ring out. Then Trotty is visited by the spirits associated with the bells, who, through a series of visions, show Trotty the result of the lack of hope and try to change his vision and help him regain faith in humanity.

"There are not many people—and as it is desirable that a story-teller and a story-reader should establish a mutual understanding as soon as possible, I beg it to be noticed that I confine this observation neither to young people nor to little people, but extend it to all conditions of people: little and big, young and old: yet growing up, or already growing down again—there are not, I say, many people who would care to sleep in a church."