The Chimes

"The Chimes" is a story by Charles Dickens with strong social and moral messages. One New Year's Eve, Trotty, a poor elderly "ticket-porter" or casual messenger, is filled with gloom at the reports of crime and immorality in the newspapers, and wonders whether the working classes are simply evil by nature. His daughter Meg and her long-time fiancé Richard arrive and announce their decision to marry on the next day. Trotty hides his misgivings, but their happiness is dispelled by an encounter with the pompous Alderman Cute, plus a political economist and a young gentleman with a nostalgia, all of whom make Trotty, Meg and Richard feel inferiority…