A Tail of Two Palindromes

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoc of belief, it was the epoc of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period. . . . —Charles Dickens