# Quote — Charles Dickens, Barnaby Rudge

> "What have I done?" reasoned poor Joe. "Silence sir!" returned his father, "what do you mean by talking, when you see people that are more than two or three times your age, sitting still and silent and not dreaming of saying a word?" "Why that's the proper time for me to talk, isn't it?" said Joe rebelliously. "The proper time sir!" retorted his father, "the proper time's no time. ...The proper time's no time sir," repeated John Willet; "when I was your age I never talked, I never wanted to talk, I listened and improved myself, that's what I did."

- Author: [Charles Dickens](https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-dickens.md)
- Book: [Barnaby Rudge](https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-dickens/barnaby-rudge.md)
- Source: [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Barnaby_Rudge#Quotes) ([CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/))
- Quote page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-dickens/barnaby-rudge/what-have-i-done

## More from this book

> The men who learn endurance, are they who call the whole world brother.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-dickens/barnaby-rudge/the-men-who.md)

> "I’m of as gen-teel a calling, brother, as any man in England—as light a business as any gentleman could desire." "Was you ‘prenticed to it?" asked Mr Tappertit. "No. Natural genius," said Mr Dennis. "No ‘prenticing. It come by natur’. Muster Gashford knows my calling. Look at that hand of mine—many and many a job that hand has done, with a neatness and dexterity, never known afore. When I look at that hand," said Mr Dennis, shaking it in the air, "and remember the helegant bits of work it has turned off, I feel quite molloncholy to think it should ever grow old and feeble. But sich is life!"

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-dickens/barnaby-rudge/im-of-as-gen-teel.md)

> ‘See the hangman when it comes home to him!’ cried Hugh again, as they bore him away—‘Ha ha ha! Courage, bold Barnaby, what care we? Your hand! They do well to put us out of the world, for if we got loose a second time, we wouldn’t let them off so easy, eh? Another shake! A man can die but once. If you wake in the night, sing that out lustily, and fall asleep again. Ha ha ha!’

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-dickens/barnaby-rudge/see-the-hangman.md)