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. . . .

For den gangen betalte folk for å overvære skuespillet i Old Baily, akkurat som de betalte for å overvære skuespillet i Bedlam - den eneste forskjellen besto i prisen. Den førstnevnte underholdningen var meget dyrere. Derfor var alle dørene til Old Baily strengt bevoktet - bortsett fra de gjestfrie dørene som forbryterne passerte gjennom. De sto alltid på vidt gap.