Chapter I

by Charles Dickens

　　Treats of the Place Where Oliver Twist Was Born and of theCircumstances Attending His BirthAmong other public buildings in a certain town, which for manyreasons it will be prudent to refrain from mentioning, and towhich I will assign no fictitious name, there is one ancientlycommon to most towns, great or small: to wit, a workhouse; andin this workhouse was born; on a day and date which I need nottrouble myself to repeat, inasmuch as it can be of no possibleconsequence to the reader, in this stage of the business at allevents; the item of mortality whose name is prefixed to the headof this chapter.For a long time after it was ushered into this world of sorrowand trouble, by the parish surgeon, it remained a matter ofconsiderable doubt whether the child would survive to bear anyname at all; in which case it is somewhat more than probable thatthese memoirs would never have appeared; or, if they had, thatbeing comprised within a couple of pages, they would havepossessed the inestimable merit of being the most concise andfaithful specimen of biography, extant in the literature of anyage or country.Although I am not disposed to maintain that the being born in aworkhouse, is in itself the most fortunate and enviablecircumstance that can possibly befall a human being, I do mean tosay that in this particular instance, it was the best thing forOliver Twist that could by possibility have occurred. The factis, that there was considerable difficulty in inducing Oliver totake upon himself the office of respiration,--a troublesomepractice, but one which custom has rendered necessary to our easyexistence; and for some time he lay gasping on a little flockmattress, rather unequally poised between this world and thenext: the balance being decidedly in favour of the latter. Now,if, during this brief period, Oliver had been surrounded bycareful grandmothers, anxious aunts, experienced nurses, anddoctors of profound wisdom, he would most inevitably andindubitably have been killed in no time. There being nobody by,however, but a pauper old woman, who was rendered rather misty byan unwonted allowance of beer; and a parish surgeon who did suchmatters by contract; Oliver and Nature fought out the pointbetween them. The result was, that, after a few struggles,Oliver breathed, sneezed, and proceeded to advertise to theinmates of the workhouse the fact of a new burden having beenimposed upon the parish, by setting up as loud a cry as couldreasonably have been expected from a male infant who had not beenpossessed of that very useful appendage, a voice, for a muchlonger space of time than three minutes and a quarter.As Oliver gave this first proof of the free and proper action ofhis lungs, the patchwork coverlet which was carelessly flung overthe iron bedstead, rustled; the pale face of a young woman wasraised feebly from the pillow; and a faint voice imperfectlyarticulated the words, 'Let me see the child, and die.'The surgeon had been sitting with his face turned towards thefire: giving the palms of his hands a warm and a rubalternately. As the young woman spoke, he rose, and advancing tothe bed's head, said, with more kindness than might have beenexpected of him:'Oh, you must not talk about dying yet.''Lor bless her dear heart, no!' interposed the nurse, hastilydepositing in her pocket a green glass bottle, the contents ofwhich she had been tasting in a corner with evident satisfaction.'Lor bless her dear heart, when she has lived as long as I have,sir, and had thirteen children of her own, and all on 'em deadexcept two, and them in the wurkus with me, she'll know betterthan to take on in that way, bless her dear heart! Think what itis to be a mother, there's a dear young lamb do.'Apparently this consolatory perspective of a mother's prospectsfailed in producing its due effect. The patient shook her head,and stretched out her hand towards the child.The surgeon deposited it in her arms. She imprinted her coldwhite lips passionately on its forehead; passed her hands overher face; gazed wildly round; shuddered; fell back--and died.They chafed her breast, hands, and temples; but the blood hadstopped forever. They talked of hope and comfort. They had beenstrangers too long.'It's all over, Mrs. Thingummy!' said the surgeon at last.'Ah, poor dear, so it is!' said the nurse, picking up the cork ofthe green bottle, which had fallen out on the pillow, as shestooped to take up the child. 'Poor dear!''You needn't mind sending up to me, if the child cries, nurse,'said the surgeon, putting on his gloves with great deliberation.'It's very likely it will be troublesome. Give it a little gruelif it is.' He put on his hat, and, pausing by the bed-side onhis way to the door, added, 'She was a good-looking girl, too;where did she come from?''She was brought here last night,' replied the old woman, 'by theoverseer's order. She was found lying in the street. She hadwalked some distance, for her shoes were worn to pieces; butwhere she came from, or where she was going to, nobody knows.'The surgeon leaned over the body, and raised the left hand. 'Theold story,' he said, shaking his head: 'no wedding-ring, I see.Ah! Good-night!'The medical gentleman walked away to dinner; and the nurse,having once more applied herself to the green bottle, sat down ona low chair before the fire, and proceeded to dress the infant.What an excellent example of the power of dress, young OliverTwist was! Wrapped in the blanket which had hitherto formed hisonly covering, he might have been the child of a nobleman or abeggar; it would have been hard for the haughtiest stranger tohave assigned him his proper station in society. But now that hewas enveloped in the old calico robes which had grown yellow inthe same service, he was badged and ticketed, and fell into hisplace at once--a parish child--the orphan of a workhouse--thehumble, half-starved drudge--to be cuffed and buffeted throughthe world--despised by all, and pitied by none.Oliver cried lustily. If he could have known that he was anorphan, left to the tender mercies of church-wardens andoverseers, perhaps he would have cried the louder.