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 a chapter on Charles Dickens, who was not amused by what Powell had written. One item that seemed to have annoyed him was the assertion that he had based the character of Paul Dombey ("Dombey and Son") on Thomas Chapman, one of the principal partners at John Chapman & Co. Dickens immediately sent a letter to Lewis Gaylord Clark, editor of the New York literary magazine "The Knickerbocker", saying that Powell was a forger and thief. Clark published the letter in the "New-York Tribune", and several other papers picked up on the story. Powell began proceedings to sue these publications,