Lord George Gordon had beards and wore head coverings. He would often, in keeping with Jewish "chesed" (laws of mercy and charity), go into other parts of the prison to comfort prisoners by speaking with them and playing the violin. In keeping with "tzedaka" (charity) laws, he gave what little money he could to those in need. Charles Dickens, in his novel "Barnaby Rudge", which centres around the Gordon Riots, describes Gordon as a true "tzadik" (pious man) among the prisoners: On 28 January 1793, Lord George Gordon's sentence expired and he had to appear to give claim to his future good behaviour.
Charles Dickens 1860s to 'do the slums' and, in company, Dickens visited opium dens in Shadwell, where he witnessed an elderly addict known as "Laskar Sal", who formed the model for the "Opium Sal" subsequently featured in his mystery novel, "Edwin Drood". After Dickens had regained sufficient strength, he arranged, with medical approval, for a final series of readings to partially make up to his sponsors what they had lost due to his illness. There were to be 12 performances, running between 11 January and 15 March 1870, the last at 8:00 pm at St. James's Hall in London. Although in grave