Letter from Charles Dickens, London, to Captain Basil Hall, 1840 December 28 : autograph manuscript signed.

Thanking Hall for a copy of his book Patchwork, a collection of travel stories; saying that he is reading it eagerly and has already read a section called "The Gallows and the Guillotine," comparing English and French methods of execution; writing that he has "strong doubts whether any public execution is salutary in its effect upon that class of spectators for whose behoof and example it is especially intended;" praising Hall's descriptions and commenting particularly on his account of a letter written by one of the associates of Arthur Thistlewood on the eve of his execution for high treason, for his participation in the Cato Street Conspiracy; acknowledging Hall's "high commendation" of the work he himself is finishing up; saying that he looks forward to sending him the new volume of Master Humphrey's Clock and all the volumes to follow, and he hopes to see him the next time he comes to London.