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 Words" earlier on 3 April 1852 was considered by the hospital's founders to have been the catalyst for the hospital's success. Dickens, whose philanthropy was well-known, was asked by his friend, the hospital's founder Charles West, to preside over the appeal, and he threw himself into the task, heart and soul. Dickens's public readings secured sufficient funds for an endowment to put the hospital on a sound financial footing—one reading on 9 February 1858 alone raised £3,000. After separating from Catherine, Dickens undertook a series of hugely popular and remunerative reading tours which, together with his journalism, were to absorb