The Chimes by Charles Dickens

Psst!  This is my 100th blog entry.

Ever had one of those days when it is hard to believe in a loving god, or thought that the good ol' days were surely better than the present day with its trial and troubles, or that those worse off than you have no one to blame but themselves?

Poor Toby (Trotty) Veck is assailed by such thoughts in his mid-winter gloom. Trotty is a ticket-porter (an errand runner) who stands outside a certain church in all seasons waiting for customers; but today is New Year's Eve - "a breezy, goose-skinned, blue-nosed, stoney-toed, tooth-chattering" day - and things are going hard for him.

Two things Trotty relies on to cheer him is his love for his only child Meg, and the voices of the church bells, the Chimes, that seem to sing encouragement to him when things are bleak.  This very night, however, when the Chimes are rung, Trotty hears their voices summoning him to them.  He obeys the call, and climbing the church's narrow belfry stairs, comes before the Chimes and their attendant spirits.  It is not a benign meeting, and things go badly for Trotty. Or do they?

The Chimes is the second of the five Christmas novellas that Dickens wrote, the first being A Christmas Carol, the third being The Cricket on the Hearth.  Like its predecessor, The Chimes is a morality tale: Trotty must learn the lessons of hope, faith, and charity.  As in its predecessor, the lessons are doled out by a supernatural agency.  Unlike its predecessor, The Chimes is not a work touched by, shall we say, genius.  The storytelling is marred by extended soliloquies and a lack of action.

Even so, at least once a year we can set aside some time to think about what is what. Christmas-time is as good a time as any.  And in the new year, perhaps we can take up Dickens' challenge and work for a kinder and more understanding world.

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year, everyone.