There might be some credit in being jolly.

The line suggests that cheerfulness can be a moral achievement rather than a trivial mood. By framing “being jolly” as something that may deserve “credit,” the speaker implies that maintaining good spirits—especially amid hardship, social strain, or personal disappointment—can require effort, generosity, and self-command. In Dickens’s world, where poverty, injustice, and emotional deprivation are common, jollity often functions as a form of resistance: it preserves human warmth and community when circumstances encourage bitterness. The understated phrasing (“might be some credit”) also carries a faint irony, as if answering those who dismiss merriment as shallow; Dickens hints that kindness expressed through conviviality can be ethically meaningful.