The Charles Dickens Letters Project

To HUGH EVANS,1 3 MARCH 1851

Text from facsimile on eBay, 2003.

Devonshire Terrace, London

Third March 1851.

Dear Sir

I regret to say, in reply to your letter, that my engagements preclude the possibility of my having the pleasure of complying with the request of The Young Mens’ Early Closing Association of Bristol.2

Hugh Evans Esquire.

Faithfully Yours

CHARLES DICKENS

• 1. Not identified
• 2. The Early Closing Association, founded 1842 and based at 35 Ludgate Hill, London, aimed to reduce “within reasonable limits” the hours of employment in industrial life, which included offices, banks and the wholesale trade, besides manufactures (Saturday Half-Holidays, and Earlier Payment of Wages, 1856, p. 2). In freeing evening hours for recreation and self-instruction, the Association stressed educational and moral development. Widely spread through branches and associated bodies, the Association had strong support from Young Men’s Christian Associations and church and chapel groups. It also advocated the Saturday Half-Holiday and the earlier payment of wages, often not distributed until late Saturday night.