1 1 <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> 2 2 <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> 3 3 <head> 4 4 <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> 5 5 <title>A Christmas Carol</title> 6 6 <link rel="stylesheet" href="carol.css" type="text/css" /> 7 7 <script src="Scripts/jquery-1.4.1-vsdoc.js" type="text/javascript"></script> 8 8 <script type="text/javascript"> 9 9 //DRY原则：Don't Repeat Yourself 10 10 //通用的bind方法绑定事件 11 11 //1.启用large按钮 12 12 13 13 //$(document).ready(function () { 14 14 // $('#switcher-large').bind('click', function () { 15 15 // $('body').addClass('large'); 16 16 // }); 17 17 //}); 18 18 19 19 20 20 21 21 //2.启用其它两个default和narrow按钮 22 22 //$(document).ready(function(){ 23 23 // $('#switcher-large').bind('click', function () { 24 24 // //体现jQuery的一个特点，连缀 25 25 // $('body').removeClass('narrow').addClass('large'); 26 26 // }); 27 27 // $('#switcher-default').bind('click',function(){ 28 28 // $('body').removeClass('large').removeClass('narrow'); 29 29 // }); 30 30 // $('#switcher-narrow').bind('click',function(){ 31 31 // $('body').removeClass('large').addClass('narrow'); 32 32 // }); 33 33 //}); 34 34 35 35 36 36 //3.加入当前按钮突出显示功能，this的使用 37 37 //$(document).ready(function(){ 38 38 // $('#switcher-large').click(function(){ 39 39 // $('body').removeClass('narrow').addClass('large'); 40 40 // $('#switcher .button').removeClass('selected'); 41 41 // //this是dom的对象，包装成jQuery对象 42 42 // $(this).addClass('selected'); 43 43 // //this.setAttribute('class', 'selected'); 44 44 // //this.className = 'selected'; 45 45 // }); 46 46 47 47 // $('#switcher-default').bind('click',function(){ 48 48 // $('body').removeClass('large').removeClass('narrow'); 49 49 // $('#switcher .button').removeClass('selected'); 50 50 // $(this).addClass('selected'); 51 51 // }); 52 52 53 53 // $('#switcher-narrow').click(function(){ 54 54 // $('body').removeClass('large').addClass('narrow'); 55 55 // $('#switcher .button').removeClass('selected'); 56 56 // $(this).addClass('selected'); 57 57 // }); 58 58 //}); 59 59 60 60 61 61 //4.提取相同代码 62 62 //$(document).ready(function(){ 63 63 // $('#switcher-large').bind('click',function(){ 64 64 // $('body').removeClass('narrow').addClass('large'); 65 65 // //$('#switcher .button').removeClass('selected'); 66 66 // //$(this).addClass('selected'); 67 67 // }); 68 68 // $('#switcher-default').bind('click',function(){ 69 69 // $('body').removeClass('large').removeClass('narrow'); 70 70 // //$('#switcher .button').removeClass('selected'); 71 71 // //$(this).addClass('selected'); 72 72 // }); 73 73 // $('#switcher-narrow').bind('click',function(){ 74 74 // $('body').removeClass('large').addClass('narrow'); 75 75 // //$('#switcher .button').removeClass('selected'); 76 76 // //$(this).addClass('selected'); 77 77 // }); 78 78 // $('#switcher .button').bind('click',function(){ 79 79 // $('#switcher .button').removeClass('selected'); 80 80 // $(this).addClass('selected');//把this包装成了jQuery对象 81 81 // }); 82 82 //}); 83 83 84 84 85 85 86 86 //5.进一步简化 87 87 //$(document).ready(function () { 88 88 // $('#switcher-large').bind('click', function () { 89 89 // //不给removeClass传参，也就是不指移除哪一个类，这样就全干掉了。 90 90 // $('body').removeClass().addClass('large'); 91 91 // }); 92 92 // $('#switcher-default').bind('click', function () { 93 93 // $('body').removeClass(); 94 94 // }); 95 95 // $('#switcher-narrow').bind('click', function () { 96 96 // $('body').removeClass().addClass('narrow'); 97 97 // }); 98 98 // $('#switcher .button').bind('click', function () { 99 99 // $('#switcher .button').removeClass('selected'); 100 100 // $(this).addClass('selected'); 101 101 // }); 102 102 //}); 103 103 104 104 //6.使用javascript Dom API来进一步简化代码 105 105 //$(document).ready(function () { 106 106 // $('#switcher .button').bind('click', function () { 107 107 // $('body').removeClass(); 108 108 // if (this.id == 'switcher-narrow') { 109 109 // $('body').addClass('narrow'); 110 110 // } 111 111 // else if (this.id == 'switcher-large') { 112 112 // $('body').addClass('large'); 113 113 // } 114 114 // $('#switcher .button').removeClass('selected'); 115 115 // $(this).addClass('selected'); 116 116 // }); 117 117 //}); 118 118 119 119 120 120 121 121 //7.简写的事件 122 122 //$(document).ready(function () { 123 123 // $('#switcher .button').click(function () { 124 124 // $('body').removeClass(); 125 125 // if (this.id == 'switcher-narrow') { 126 126 // $('body').addClass('narrow'); 127 127 // } 128 128 // else if (this.id == 'switcher-large') { 129 129 // $('body').addClass('large'); 130 130 // } 131 131 // $('#switcher .button').removeClass('selected'); 132 132 // $(this).addClass('selected'); 133 133 // }); 134 134 //}); 135 135 136 136 137 137 //下面的7和9同时打开。 138 138 //9.显示隐藏转换器，复合事件的使用 139 139 //$(document).ready(function () { 140 140 // //toggle交替，有点像hover,当点#switcher h3时会交替的执行两个函数参数 141 141 // $('#switcher h3').toggle( 142 142 // function () { 143 143 // $('#switcher .button').addClass('hidden'); 144 144 // }, 145 145 // function () { 146 146 // $('#switcher .button').removeClass('hidden'); 147 147 // } 148 148 // ); 149 149 //}); 150 150 151 151 152 152 153 153 //10.toggleClass //7和10同时打开。9关掉 154 154 //toggleClass交替的替换类。如果有hidden这个类就去掉，如果没有就加上 155 155 //$(document).ready(function () { 156 156 // $('#switcher h3').click(function () { 157 157 // $('#switcher .button').toggleClass('hidden'); 158 158 // }); 159 159 //}); 160 160 161 161 //11.突出显示可单击的项， hover方法的使用，鼠标移到目标元素上时，执行第一个函数参数，移走时执行第二个函数参数 162 162 $(document).ready(function () { 163 163 $('#switcher .button').hover( 164 164 function () { 165 165 $(this).addClass('hover'); 166 166 }, 167 167 function () { 168 168 $(this).removeClass('hover'); 169 169 } 170 170 ); 171 171 }); 172 172 173 173 //12事件冒泡的负作用，扩大Switcher隐藏显示单击范围 174 174 //关掉10 175 175 //$(document).ready(function () { 176 176 // $('#switcher').click(function () { 177 177 // $('#switcher .button').toggleClass('hidden'); 178 178 // }); 179 179 //}); 180 180 181 181 //13用事件对象解决冒泡的负作用 关掉12 182 182 //$(document).ready(function () { 183 183 // $('#switcher').click(function (event) { 184 184 // //target目标，event是事件。合起来就是事件对象的目标，比如你点了一个div,那这个div就是目标对象。当事件向上传导时，target就会变成你点的div的父元素。 185 185 // //注意，这里我们选中的是#switcher,一个大框，在switcher绑定的click事件，所以this就是switcher，如果你点了button，target是button但不是this. 186 186 // //event.target == this这个判断就让我们在点按钮时不去隐藏Switcher，因为点按钮时，目标是button而不是this(this在这里是Swithcer) 187 187 // //alert(this.id); 188 188 // //alert(event.target.id); 189 189 // if (event.target == this) { 190 190 // $('#switcher .button').toggleClass('hidden'); 191 191 // } 192 192 // }); 193 193 //}); 194 194 195 195 196 196 197 197 198 198 199 199 ////14用事件对象解决冒泡的负作用:停止事件传播,可以关掉13,7 200 200 //扩大switcher按钮范围 201 201 //7.1 202 202 $(document).ready(function () { 203 203 $('#switcher').click(function () { 204 204 //$('#switcher .button').toggleClass('hidden'); 205 205 }); 206 206 }); 207 207 ////7.2 208 208 $(document).ready(function () { 209 209 $('#switcher .button').click(function (event) { 210 210 $('body').removeClass(); 211 211 if (this.id == 'switcher-narrow') { 212 212 $('body').addClass('narrow'); 213 213 } 214 214 else if (this.id == 'switcher-large') { 215 215 $('body').addClass('large'); 216 216 } 217 217 $('#switcher .button').removeClass('selected'); 218 218 $(this).addClass('selected'); 219 219 //stopPropagation()停止事件传播，也就是当我们点button时，它上面的所有祖先元素将没有机会去响应click事件。 220 220 //event.stopPropagation();//执行15时注释这行 221 221 }); 222 222 }); 223 223 224 224 //15 is方法的使用 注释掉 7.1和7.2代码中的最后一行 225 225 $(document).ready(function () { 226 226 $('#switcher').click(function (event) { 227 227 //$(event.target).is('.button'):看一下事件的目标对象是不是button,我们这里取反了。也就是不是button时满足 228 228 if (!$(event.target).is('.button')) { 229 229 230 230 $('#switcher .button').toggleClass('hidden'); 231 231 } 232 232 }); 233 233 }); 234 234 235 235 236 236 237 237 238 238 239 239 240 240 241 241 //18 自动激发事件(trigger:会触发一个对象上的事件，比如click，当trigger一执行时就好象真的有人点了那个对象一样，事件就激发了) 242 242 243 243 $(document).ready(function () { 244 244 245 245 $('#switcher').trigger('click'); 246 246 }); 247 247 248 248 249 249 </script> 250 250 </head> 251 251 <body> 252 252 253 253 <div id="container"> 254 254 <p id="reBindSwitcher">重新绑定Switcher</p> 255 255 <div id="switcher"> 256 256 <h3>Style Switcher</h3> 257 257 <div class="button selected" id="switcher-default"> 258 258 Default 259 259 </div> 260 260 <div class="button" id="switcher-narrow"> 261 261 Narrow Column 262 262 </div> 263 263 <div class="button" id="switcher-large"> 264 264 Large Print 265 265 </div> 266 266 </div> 267 267 <div id="header"> 268 268 <h2>A Christmas Carol</h2> 269 269 <h2 class="subtitle">In Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas</h2> 270 270 <div class="author"> 271 271 by Charles Dickens 272 272 </div> 273 273 </div> 274 274 <div class="chapter" id="chapter-preface"> 275 275 <h3 class="chapter-title">Preface</h3> 276 276 <p> 277 277 I HAVE endeavoured in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which 278 278 shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the 279 279 season, or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly, and no one wish to lay 280 280 it. 281 281 </p> 282 282 <p> 283 283 Their faithful Friend and Servant, 284 284 </p> 285 285 <p> 286 286 C. D. 287 287 </p> 288 288 <p> 289 289 December, 1843. 290 290 </p> 291 291 </div> 292 292 <div class="chapter" id="chapter-1"> 293 293 <h3 class="chapter-title">Stave I: Marley's Ghost</h3> 294 294 <p> 295 295 MARLEY was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register 296 296 of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief 297 297 mourner. Scrooge signed it: and Scrooge's name was good upon 'Change, for anything 298 298 he chose to put his hand to. Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail. 299 299 </p> 300 300 <p> 301 301 Mind! I don't mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly 302 302 dead about a door-nail. I might have been inclined, myself, to regard a coffin-nail 303 303 as the deadest piece of ironmongery in the trade. But the wisdom of our ancestors 304 304 is in the simile; and my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Country's 305 305 done for. You will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was 306 306 as dead as a door-nail. 307 307 </p> 308 308 <p> 309 309 Scrooge knew he was dead? Of course he did. How could it be otherwise? Scrooge and 310 310 he were partners for I don't know how many years. Scrooge was his sole executor, 311 311 his sole administrator, his sole assign, his sole residuary legatee, his sole friend, 312 312 and sole mourner. And even Scrooge was not so dreadfully cut up by the sad event, 313 313 but that he was an excellent man of business on the very day of the funeral, and 314 314 solemnised it with an undoubted bargain. 315 315 </p> 316 316 <p> 317 317 The mention of Marley's funeral brings me back to the point I started from. There 318 318 is no doubt that Marley was dead. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing 319 319 wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate. If we were not perfectly convinced 320 320 that Hamlet's Father died before the play began, there would be nothing more remarkable 321 321 in his taking a stroll at night, in an easterly wind, upon his own ramparts, than 322 322 there would be in any other middle-aged gentleman rashly turning out after dark 323 323 in a breezy spot—say Saint Paul's Churchyard for instance— literally 324 324 to astonish his son's weak mind. 325 325 </p> 326 326 <p> 327 327 Scrooge never painted out Old Marley's name. There it stood, years afterwards, above 328 328 the warehouse door: Scrooge and Marley. The firm was known as Scrooge and Marley. 329 329 Sometimes people new to the business called Scrooge Scrooge, and sometimes Marley, 330 330 but he answered to both names. It was all the same to him. 331 331 </p> 332 332 <p> 333 333 Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grind-stone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, 334 334 grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from 335 335 which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and 336 336 solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed 337 337 nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips 338 338 blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty rime was on his head, 339 339 and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin. He carried his own low temperature always 340 340 about with him; he iced his office in the dog-days; and didn't thaw it one degree 341 341 at Christmas. 342 342 </p> 343 343 <p> 344 344 External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. No warmth could warm, no 345 345 wintry weather chill him. No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow 346 346 was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty. Foul weather 347 347 didn't know where to have him. The heaviest rain, and snow, and hail, and sleet, 348 348 could boast of the advantage over him in only one respect. They often "came down" 349 349 handsomely, and Scrooge never did. 350 350 </p> 351 351 <p> 352 352 Nobody ever stopped him in the street to say, with gladsome looks, "My dear Scrooge, 353 353 how are you? When will you come to see me?" No beggars implored him to bestow a 354 354 trifle, no children asked him what it was o'clock, no man or woman ever once in 355 355 all his life inquired the way to such and such a place, of Scrooge. Even the blind 356 356 men's dogs appeared to know him; and when they saw him coming on, would tug their 357 357 owners into doorways and up courts; and then would wag their tails as though they 358 358 said, "No eye at all is better than an evil eye, dark master!" 359 359 </p> 360 360 <p> 361 361 But what did Scrooge care! It was the very thing he liked. To edge his way along 362 362 the crowded paths of life, warning all human sympathy to keep its distance, was 363 363 what the knowing ones call "nuts" to Scrooge. 364 364 </p> 365 365 <p> 366 366 Once upon a time—of all the good days in the year, on Christmas Eve—old 367 367 Scrooge sat busy in his counting-house. It was cold, bleak, biting weather: foggy 368 368 withal: and he could hear the people in the court outside, go wheezing up and down, 369 369 beating their hands upon their breasts, and stamping their feet upon the pavement 370 370 stones to warm them. The city clocks had only just gone three, but it was quite 371 371 dark already— it had not been light all day—and candles were flaring 372 372 in the windows of the neighbouring offices, like ruddy smears upon the palpable 373 373 brown air. The fog came pouring in at every chink and keyhole, and was so dense 374 374 without, that although the court was of the narrowest, the houses opposite were 375 375 mere phantoms. To see the dingy cloud come drooping down, obscuring everything, 376 376 one might have thought that Nature lived hard by, and was brewing on a large scale. 377 377 </p> 378 378 <p> 379 379 The door of Scrooge's counting-house was open that he might keep his eye upon his 380 380 clerk, who in a dismal little cell beyond, a sort of tank, was copying letters. 381 381 Scrooge had a very small fire, but the clerk's fire was so very much smaller that 382 382 it looked like one coal. But he couldn't replenish it, for Scrooge kept the coal-box 383 383 in his own room; and so surely as the clerk came in with the shovel, the master 384 384 predicted that it would be necessary for them to part. Wherefore the clerk put on 385 385 his white comforter, and tried to warm himself at the candle; in which effort, not 386 386 being a man of a strong imagination, he failed. 387 387 </p> 388 388 <p> 389 389 "A merry Christmas, uncle! God save you!" cried a cheerful voice. It was the voice 390 390 of Scrooge's nephew, who came upon him so quickly that this was the first intimation 391 391 he had of his approach. 392 392 </p> 393 393 <p> 394 394 "Bah!" said Scrooge, "Humbug!" 395 395 </p> 396 396 <p> 397 397 He had so heated himself with rapid walking in the fog and frost, this nephew of 398 398 Scrooge's, that he was all in a glow; his face was ruddy and handsome; his eyes 399 399 sparkled, and his breath smoked again. 400 400 </p> 401 401 <p> 402 402 "Christmas a humbug, uncle!" said Scrooge's nephew. "You don't mean that, I am sure?" 403 403 </p> 404 404 <p> 405 405 "I do," said Scrooge. "Merry Christmas! What right have you to be merry? What reason 406 406 have you to be merry? You're poor enough." 407 407 </p> 408 408 <p> 409 409 "Come, then," returned the nephew gaily. "What right have you to be dismal? What 410 410 reason have you to be morose? You're rich enough." 411 411 </p> 412 412 <p> 413 413 Scrooge having no better answer ready on the spur of the moment, said, "Bah!" again; 414 414 and followed it up with "Humbug." 415 415 </p> 416 416 <p> 417 417 "Don't be cross, uncle!" said the nephew. 418 418 </p> 419 419 <p> 420 420 "What else can I be," returned the uncle, "when I live in such a world of fools 421 421 as this? Merry Christmas! Out upon merry Christmas! What's Christmas time to you 422 422 but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, 423 423 but not an hour richer; a time for balancing your books and having every item in 424 424 'em through a round dozen of months presented dead against you? If I could work 425 425 my will," said Scrooge indignantly, "every idiot who goes about with 'Merry Christmas' 426 426 on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly 427 427 through his heart. He should!" 428 428 </p> 429 429 <p> 430 430 "Uncle!" pleaded the nephew. 431 431 </p> 432 432 <p> 433 433 "Nephew!" returned the uncle sternly, "keep Christmas in your own way, and let me 434 434 keep it in mine." 435 435 </p> 436 436 <p> 437 437 "Keep it!" repeated Scrooge's nephew. "But you don't keep it." 438 438 </p> 439 439 <p> 440 440 "Let me leave it alone, then," said Scrooge. "Much good may it do you! Much good 441 441 it has ever done you!" 442 442 </p> 443 443 <p> 444 444 "There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not 445 445 profited, I dare say," returned the nephew. "Christmas among the rest. But I am 446 446 sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round—apart 447 447 from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to 448 448 it can be apart from that—as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant 449 449 time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women 450 450 seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people 451 451 below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another 452 452 race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never 453 453 put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, 454 454 and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!" 455 455 </p> 456 456 <p> 457 457 The clerk in the Tank involuntarily applauded. Becoming immediately sensible of 458 458 the impropriety, he poked the fire, and extinguished the last frail spark for ever. 459 459 </p> 460 460 <p> 461 461 "Let me hear another sound from you," said Scrooge, "and you'll keep your Christmas 462 462 by losing your situation! You're quite a powerful speaker, sir," he added, turning 463 463 to his nephew. "I wonder you don't go into Parliament." 464 464 </p> 465 465 <p> 466 466 "Don't be angry, uncle. Come! Dine with us to-morrow." 467 467 </p> 468 468 <p> 469 469 Scrooge said that he would see him—yes, indeed he did. He went the whole length 470 470 of the expression, and said that he would see him in that extremity first. 471 471 </p> 472 472 <p> 473 473 "But why?" cried Scrooge's nephew. "Why?" 474 474 </p> 475 475 <p> 476 476 "Why did you get married?" said Scrooge. 477 477 </p> 478 478 <p> 479 479 "Because I fell in love." 480 480 </p> 481 481 <p> 482 482 "Because you fell in love!" growled Scrooge, as if that were the only one thing 483 483 in the world more ridiculous than a merry Christmas. "Good afternoon!" 484 484 </p> 485 485 <p> 486 486 "Nay, uncle, but you never came to see me before that happened. Why give it as a 487 487 reason for not coming now?" 488 488 </p> 489 489 <p> 490 490 "Good afternoon," said Scrooge. 491 491 </p> 492 492 <p> 493 493 "I want nothing from you; I ask nothing of you; why cannot we be friends?" 494 494 </p> 495 495 <p> 496 496 "Good afternoon," said Scrooge. 497 497 </p> 498 498 <p> 499 499 "I am sorry, with all my heart, to find you so resolute. We have never had any quarrel, 500 500 to which I have been a party. But I have made the trial in homage to Christmas, 501 501 and I'll keep my Christmas humour to the last. So A Merry Christmas, uncle!" 502 502 </p> 503 503 <p> 504 504 "Good afternoon!" said Scrooge. 505 505 </p> 506 506 <p> 507 507 "And A Happy New Year!" 508 508 </p> 509 509 <p> 510 510 "Good afternoon!" said Scrooge. 511 511 </p> 512 512 <p> 513 513 His nephew left the room without an angry word, notwithstanding. He stopped at the 514 514 outer door to bestow the greetings of the season on the clerk, who, cold as he was, 515 515 was warmer than Scrooge; for he returned them cordially. 516 516 </p> 517 517 <p> 518 518 "There's another fellow," muttered Scrooge; who overheard him: "my clerk, with fifteen 519 519 shillings a week, and a wife and family, talking about a merry Christmas. I'll retire 520 520 to Bedlam." 521 521 </p> 522 522 <p> 523 523 This lunatic, in letting Scrooge's nephew out, had let two other people in. They 524 524 were portly gentlemen, pleasant to behold, and now stood, with their hats off, in 525 525 Scrooge's office. They had books and papers in their hands, and bowed to him. 526 526 </p> 527 527 <p> 528 528 "Scrooge and Marley's, I believe," said one of the gentlemen, referring to his list. 529 529 "Have I the pleasure of addressing Mr. Scrooge, or Mr. Marley?" 530 530 </p> 531 531 <p> 532 532 "Mr. Marley has been dead these seven years," Scrooge replied. "He died seven years 533 533 ago, this very night." 534 534 </p> 535 535 <p> 536 536 "We have no doubt his liberality is well represented by his surviving partner," 537 537 said the gentleman, presenting his credentials. 538 538 </p> 539 539 <p> 540 540 It certainly was; for they had been two kindred spirits. At the ominous word "liberality," 541 541 Scrooge frowned, and shook his head, and handed the credentials back. 542 542 </p> 543 543 <p> 544 544 "At this festive season of the year, Mr. Scrooge," said the gentleman, taking up 545 545 a pen, "it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision 546 546 for the Poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. Many thousands 547 547 are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, 548 548 sir." 549 549 </p> 550 550 <p> 551 551 "Are there no prisons?" asked Scrooge. 552 552 </p> 553 553 <p> 554 554 "Plenty of prisons," said the gentleman, laying down the pen again. 555 555 </p> 556 556 <p> 557 557 "And the Union workhouses?" demanded Scrooge. "Are they still in operation?" 558 558 </p> 559 559 <p> 560 560 "They are. Still," returned the gentleman, "I wish I could say they were not." 561 561 </p> 562 562 <p> 563 563 "The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?" said Scrooge. 564 564 </p> 565 565 <p> 566 566 "Both very busy, sir." 567 567 </p> 568 568 <p> 569 569 "Oh! I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop 570 570 them in their useful course," said Scrooge. "I'm very glad to hear it." 571 571 </p> 572 572 <p> 573 573 "Under the impression that they scarcely furnish Christian cheer of mind or body 574 574 to the multitude," returned the gentleman, "a few of us are endeavouring to raise 575 575 a fund to buy the Poor some meat and drink, and means of warmth. We choose this 576 576 time, because it is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance 577 577 rejoices. What shall I put you down for?" 578 578 </p> 579 579 <p> 580 580 "Nothing!" Scrooge replied. 581 581 </p> 582 582 <p> 583 583 "You wish to be anonymous?" 584 584 </p> 585 585 <p> 586 586 "I wish to be left alone," said Scrooge. "Since you ask me what I wish, gentlemen, 587 587 that is my answer. I don't make merry myself at Christmas and I can't afford to 588 588 make idle people merry. I help to support the establishments I have mentioned—they 589 589 cost enough; and those who are badly off must go there." 590 590 </p> 591 591 <p> 592 592 "Many can't go there; and many would rather die." 593 593 </p> 594 594 <p> 595 595 "If they would rather die," said Scrooge, "they had better do it, and decrease the 596 596 surplus population. Besides—excuse me—I don't know that." 597 597 </p> 598 598 <p> 599 599 "But you might know it," observed the gentleman. 600 600 </p> 601 601 <p> 602 602 "It's not my business," Scrooge returned. "It's enough for a man to understand his 603 603 own business, and not to interfere with other people's. Mine occupies me constantly. 604 604 Good afternoon, gentlemen!" 605 605 </p> 606 606 <p> 607 607 Seeing clearly that it would be useless to pursue their point, the gentlemen withdrew. 608 608 Scrooge resumed his labours with an improved opinion of himself, and in a more facetious 609 609 temper than was usual with him. 610 610 </p> 611 611 <p> 612 612 Meanwhile the fog and darkness thickened so, that people ran about with flaring 613 613 links, proffering their services to go before horses in carriages, and conduct them 614 614 on their way. The ancient tower of a church, whose gruff old bell was always peeping 615 615 slily down at Scrooge out of a Gothic window in the wall, became invisible, and 616 616 struck the hours and quarters in the clouds, with tremulous vibrations afterwards 617 617 as if its teeth were chattering in its frozen head up there. The cold became intense. 618 618 In the main street, at the corner of the court, some labourers were repairing the 619 619 gas-pipes, and had lighted a great fire in a brazier, round which a party of ragged 620 620 men and boys were gathered: warming their hands and winking their eyes before the 621 621 blaze in rapture. The water-plug being left in solitude, its overflowings sullenly 622 622 congealed, and turned to misanthropic ice. The brightness of the shops where holly 623 623 sprigs and berries crackled in the lamp heat of the windows, made pale faces ruddy 624 624 as they passed. Poulterers' and grocers' trades became a splendid joke: a glorious 625 625 pageant, with which it was next to impossible to believe that such dull principles 626 626 as bargain and sale had anything to do. The Lord Mayor, in the stronghold of the 627 627 mighty Mansion House, gave orders to his fifty cooks and butlers to keep Christmas 628 628 as a Lord Mayor's household should; and even the little tailor, whom he had fined 629 629 five shillings on the previous Monday for being drunk and bloodthirsty in the streets, 630 630 stirred up to-morrow's pudding in his garret, while his lean wife and the baby sallied 631 631 out to buy the beef. 632 632 </p> 633 633 <p> 634 634 Foggier yet, and colder. Piercing, searching, biting cold. If the good Saint Dunstan 635 635 had but nipped the Evil Spirit's nose with a touch of such weather as that, instead 636 636 of using his familiar weapons, then indeed he would have roared to lusty purpose. 637 637 The owner of one scant young nose, gnawed and mumbled by the hungry cold as bones 638 638 are gnawed by dogs, stooped down at Scrooge's keyhole to regale him with a Christmas 639 639 carol: but at the first sound of 640 640 </p> 641 641 <div class="poem"> 642 642 <div class="poem-line"> 643 643 "God bless you, merry gentleman! 644 644 </div> 645 645 <div class="poem-line"> 646 646 May nothing you dismay!" 647 647 </div> 648 648 </div> 649 649 <p> 650 650 Scrooge seized the ruler with such energy of action, that the singer fled in terror, 651 651 leaving the keyhole to the fog and even more congenial frost. 652 652 </p> 653 653 <p> 654 654 At length the hour of shutting up the counting-house arrived. With an ill-will Scrooge 655 655 dismounted from his stool, and tacitly admitted the fact to the expectant clerk 656 656 in the Tank, who instantly snuffed his candle out, and put on his hat. 657 657 </p> 658 658 <p> 659 659 "You'll want all day to-morrow, I suppose?" said Scrooge. 660 660 </p> 661 661 <p> 662 662 "If quite convenient, sir." 663 663 </p> 664 664 <p> 665 665 "It's not convenient," said Scrooge, "and it's not fair. If I was to stop half-a-crown 666 666 for it, you'd think yourself ill-used, I'll be bound?" 667 667 </p> 668 668 <p> 669 669 The clerk smiled faintly. 670 670 </p> 671 671 <p> 672 672 "And yet," said Scrooge, "you don't think me ill-used, when I pay a day's wages 673 673 for no work." 674 674 </p> 675 675 <p> 676 676 The clerk observed that it was only once a year. 677 677 </p> 678 678 <p> 679 679 "A poor excuse for picking a man's pocket every twenty-fifth of December!" said 680 680 Scrooge, buttoning his great-coat to the chin. "But I suppose you must have the 681 681 whole day. Be here all the earlier next morning." 682 682 </p> 683 683 <p> 684 684 The clerk promised that he would; and Scrooge walked out with a growl. The office 685 685 was closed in a twinkling, and the clerk, with the long ends of his white comforter 686 686 dangling below his waist (for he boasted no great-coat), went down a slide on Cornhill, 687 687 at the end of a lane of boys, twenty times, in honour of its being Christmas Eve, 688 688 and then ran home to Camden Town as hard as he could pelt, to play at blindman's-buff. 689 689 </p> 690 690 <p> 691 691 Scrooge took his melancholy dinner in his usual melancholy tavern; and having read 692 692 all the newspapers, and beguiled the rest of the evening with his banker's-book, 693 693 went home to bed. He lived in chambers which had once belonged to his deceased partner. 694 694 They were a gloomy suite of rooms, in a lowering pile of building up a yard, where 695 695 it had so little business to be, that one could scarcely help fancying it must have 696 696 run there when it was a young house, playing at hide-and-seek with other houses, 697 697 and forgotten the way out again. It was old enough now, and dreary enough, for nobody 698 698 lived in it but Scrooge, the other rooms being all let out as offices. The yard 699 699 was so dark that even Scrooge, who knew its every stone, was fain to grope with 700 700 his hands. The fog and frost so hung about the black old gateway of the house, that 701 701 it seemed as if the Genius of the Weather sat in mournful meditation on the threshold. 702 702 </p> 703 703 <p> 704 704 Now, it is a fact, that there was nothing at all particular about the knocker on 705 705 the door, except that it was very large. It is also a fact, that Scrooge had seen 706 706 it, night and morning, during his whole residence in that place; also that Scrooge 707 707 had as little of what is called fancy about him as any man in the city of London, 708 708 even including—which is a bold word—the corporation, aldermen, and livery. 709 709 Let it also be borne in mind that Scrooge had not bestowed one thought on Marley, 710 710 since his last mention of his seven years' dead partner that afternoon. And then 711 711 let any man explain to me, if he can, how it happened that Scrooge, having his key 712 712 in the lock of the door, saw in the knocker, without its undergoing any intermediate 713 713 process of change—not a knocker, but Marley's face. 714 714 </p> 715 715 <p> 716 716 Marley's face. It was not in impenetrable shadow as the other objects in the yard 717 717 were, but had a dismal light about it, like a bad lobster in a dark cellar. It was 718 718 not angry or ferocious, but looked at Scrooge as Marley used to look: with ghostly 719 719 spectacles turned up on its ghostly forehead. The hair was curiously stirred, as 720 720 if by breath or hot air; and, though the eyes were wide open, they were perfectly 721 721 motionless. That, and its livid colour, made it horrible; but its horror seemed 722 722 to be in spite of the face and beyond its control, rather than a part of its own 723 723 expression. 724 724 </p> 725 725 <p> 726 726 As Scrooge looked fixedly at this phenomenon, it was a knocker again. 727 727 </p> 728 728 <p> 729 729 To say that he was not startled, or that his blood was not conscious of a terrible 730 730 sensation to which it had been a stranger from infancy, would be untrue. But he 731 731 put his hand upon the key he had relinquished, turned it sturdily, walked in, and 732 732 lighted his candle. 733 733 </p> 734 734 <p> 735 735 He did pause, with a moment's irresolution, before he shut the door; and he did 736 736 look cautiously behind it first, as if he half expected to be terrified with the 737 737 sight of Marley's pigtail sticking out into the hall. But there was nothing on the 738 738 back of the door, except the screws and nuts that held the knocker on, so he said 739 739 "Pooh, pooh!" and closed it with a bang. 740 740 </p> 741 741 <p> 742 742 The sound resounded through the house like thunder. Every room above, and every 743 743 cask in the wine-merchant's cellars below, appeared to have a separate peal of echoes 744 744 of its own. Scrooge was not a man to be frightened by echoes. He fastened the door, 745 745 and walked across the hall, and up the stairs; slowly too: trimming his candle as 746 746 he went. 747 747 </p> 748 748 <p> 749 749 You may talk vaguely about driving a coach-and-six up a good old flight of stairs, 750 750 or through a bad young Act of Parliament; but I mean to say you might have got a 751 751 hearse up that staircase, and taken it broadwise, with the splinter-bar towards 752 752 the wall and the door towards the balustrades: and done it easy. There was plenty 753 753 of width for that, and room to spare; which is perhaps the reason why Scrooge thought 754 754 he saw a locomotive hearse going on before him in the gloom. Half-a-dozen gas-lamps 755 755 out of the street wouldn't have lighted the entry too well, so you may suppose that 756 756 it was pretty dark with Scrooge's dip. 757 757 </p> 758 758 <p> 759 759 Up Scrooge went, not caring a button for that. Darkness is cheap, and Scrooge liked 760 760 it. But before he shut his heavy door, he walked through his rooms to see that all 761 761 was right. He had just enough recollection of the face to desire to do that. 762 762 </p> 763 763 <p> 764 764 Sitting-room, bedroom, lumber-room. All as they should be. Nobody under the table, 765 765 nobody under the sofa; a small fire in the grate; spoon and basin ready; and the 766 766 little saucepan of gruel (Scrooge had a cold in his head) upon the hob. Nobody under 767 767 the bed; nobody in the closet; nobody in his dressing-gown, which was hanging up 768 768 in a suspicious attitude against the wall. Lumber-room as usual. Old fire-guard, 769 769 old shoes, two fish-baskets, washing-stand on three legs, and a poker. 770 770 </p> 771 771 <p> 772 772 Quite satisfied, he closed his door, and locked himself in; double-locked himself 773 773 in, which was not his custom. Thus secured against surprise, he took off his cravat; 774 774 put on his dressing-gown and slippers, and his nightcap; and sat down before the 775 775 fire to take his gruel. 776 776 </p> 777 777 <p> 778 778 It was a very low fire indeed; nothing on such a bitter night. He was obliged to 779 779 sit close to it, and brood over it, before he could extract the least sensation 780 780 of warmth from such a handful of fuel. The fireplace was an old one, built by some 781 781 Dutch merchant long ago, and paved all round with quaint Dutch tiles, designed to 782 782 illustrate the Scriptures. There were Cains and Abels, Pharaoh's daughters; Queens 783 783 of Sheba, Angelic messengers descending through the air on clouds like feather-beds, 784 784 Abrahams, Belshazzars, Apostles putting off to sea in butter-boats, hundreds of 785 785 figures to attract his thoughts; and yet that face of Marley, seven years dead, 786 786 came like the ancient Prophet's rod, and swallowed up the whole. If each smooth 787 787 tile had been a blank at first, with power to shape some picture on its surface 788 788 from the disjointed fragments of his thoughts, there would have been a copy of old 789 789 Marley's head on every one. 790 790 </p> 791 791 <p> 792 792 "Humbug!" said Scrooge; and walked across the room. 793 793 </p> 794 794 <p> 795 795 After several turns, he sat down again. As he threw his head back in the chair, 796 796 his glance happened to rest upon a bell, a disused bell, that hung in the room, 797 797 and communicated for some purpose now forgotten with a chamber in the highest story 798 798 of the building. It was with great astonishment, and with a strange, inexplicable 799 799 dread, that as he looked, he saw this bell begin to swing. It swung so softly in 800 800 the outset that it scarcely made a sound; but soon it rang out loudly, and so did 801 801 every bell in the house. 802 802 </p> 803 803 <p> 804 804 This might have lasted half a minute, or a minute, but it seemed an hour. The bells 805 805 ceased as they had begun, together. They were succeeded by a clanking noise, deep 806 806 down below; as if some person were dragging a heavy chain over the casks in the 807 807 wine-merchant's cellar. Scrooge then remembered to have heard that ghosts in haunted 808 808 houses were described as dragging chains. 809 809 </p> 810 810 <p> 811 811 The cellar-door flew open with a booming sound, and then he heard the noise much 812 812 louder, on the floors below; then coming up the stairs; then coming straight towards 813 813 his door. 814 814 </p> 815 815 <p> 816 816 "It's humbug still!" said Scrooge. "I won't believe it." 817 817 </p> 818 818 <p> 819 819 His colour changed though, when, without a pause, it came on through the heavy door, 820 820 and passed into the room before his eyes. Upon its coming in, the dying flame leaped 821 821 up, as though it cried, "I know him; Marley's Ghost!" and fell again. 822 822 </p> 823 823 <p> 824 824 The same face: the very same. Marley in his pigtail, usual waistcoat, tights and 825 825 boots; the tassels on the latter bristling, like his pigtail, and his coat-skirts, 826 826 and the hair upon his head. The chain he drew was clasped about his middle. It was 827 827 long, and wound about him like a tail; and it was made (for Scrooge observed it 828 828 closely) of cash-boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds, and heavy purses wrought 829 829 in steel. His body was transparent; so that Scrooge, observing him, and looking 830 830 through his waistcoat, could see the two buttons on his coat behind. 831 831 </p> 832 832 <p> 833 833 Scrooge had often heard it said that Marley had no bowels, but he had never believed 834 834 it until now. 835 835 </p> 836 836 <p> 837 837 No, nor did he believe it even now. Though he looked the phantom through and through, 838 838 and saw it standing before him; though he felt the chilling influence of its death-cold 839 839 eyes; and marked the very texture of the folded kerchief bound about its head and 840 840 chin, which wrapper he had not observed before; he was still incredulous, and fought 841 841 against his senses. 842 842 </p> 843 843 <p> 844 844 "How now!" said Scrooge, caustic and cold as ever. "What do you want with me?" 845 845 </p> 846 846 <p> 847 847 "Much!"—Marley's voice, no doubt about it. 848 848 </p> 849 849 <p> 850 850 "Who are you?" 851 851 </p> 852 852 <p> 853 853 "Ask me who I was." 854 854 </p> 855 855 <p> 856 856 "Who were you then?" said Scrooge, raising his voice. "You're particular, for a 857 857 shade." He was going to say "to a shade," but substituted this, as more appropriate. 858 858 </p> 859 859 <p> 860 860 "In life I was your partner, Jacob Marley." 861 861 </p> 862 862 <p> 863 863 "Can you—can you sit down?" asked Scrooge, looking doubtfully at him. 864 864 </p> 865 865 <p> 866 866 "I can." 867 867 </p> 868 868 <p> 869 869 "Do it, then." 870 870 </p> 871 871 <p> 872 872 Scrooge asked the question, because he didn't know whether a ghost so transparent 873 873 might find himself in a condition to take a chair; and felt that in the event of 874 874 its being impossible, it might involve the necessity of an embarrassing explanation. 875 875 But the ghost sat down on the opposite side of the fireplace, as if he were quite 876 876 used to it. 877 877 </p> 878 878 <p> 879 879 "You don't believe in me," observed the Ghost. 880 880 </p> 881 881 <p> 882 882 "I don't," said Scrooge. 883 883 </p> 884 884 <p> 885 885 "What evidence would you have of my reality beyond that of your senses?" 886 886 </p> 887 887 <p> 888 888 "I don't know," said Scrooge. 889 889 </p> 890 890 <p> 891 891 "Why do you doubt your senses?" 892 892 </p> 893 893 <p> 894 894 "Because," said Scrooge, "a little thing affects them. A slight disorder of the 895 895 stomach makes them cheats. You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, 896 896 a crumb of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potato. There's more of gravy than 897 897 of grave about you, whatever you are!" 898 898 </p> 899 899 <p> 900 900 Scrooge was not much in the habit of cracking jokes, nor did he feel, in his heart, 901 901 by any means waggish then. The truth is, that he tried to be smart, as a means of 902 902 distracting his own attention, and keeping down his terror; for the spectre's voice 903 903 disturbed the very marrow in his bones. 904 904 </p> 905 905 <p> 906 906 To sit, staring at those fixed glazed eyes, in silence for a moment, would play, 907 907 Scrooge felt, the very deuce with him. There was something very awful, too, in the 908 908 spectre's being provided with an infernal atmosphere of its own. Scrooge could not 909 909 feel it himself, but this was clearly the case; for though the Ghost sat perfectly 910 910 motionless, its hair, and skirts, and tassels, were still agitated as by the hot 911 911 vapour from an oven. 912 912 </p> 913 913 <p> 914 914 "You see this toothpick?" said Scrooge, returning quickly to the charge, for the 915 915 reason just assigned; and wishing, though it were only for a second, to divert the 916 916 vision's stony gaze from himself. 917 917 </p> 918 918 <p> 919 919 "I do," replied the Ghost. 920 920 </p> 921 921 <p> 922 922 "You are not looking at it," said Scrooge. 923 923 </p> 924 924 <p> 925 925 "But I see it," said the Ghost, "notwithstanding." 926 926 </p> 927 927 <p> 928 928 "Well!" returned Scrooge, "I have but to swallow this, and be for the rest of my 929 929 days persecuted by a legion of goblins, all of my own creation. Humbug, I tell you! 930 930 humbug!" 931 931 </p> 932 932 <p> 933 933 At this the spirit raised a frightful cry, and shook its chain with such a dismal 934 934 and appalling noise, that Scrooge held on tight to his chair, to save himself from 935 935 falling in a swoon. But how much greater was his horror, when the phantom taking 936 936 off the bandage round its head, as if it were too warm to wear indoors, its lower 937 937 jaw dropped down upon its breast! 938 938 </p> 939 939 <p> 940 940 Scrooge fell upon his knees, and clasped his hands before his face. 941 941 </p> 942 942 <p> 943 943 "Mercy!" he said. "Dreadful apparition, why do you trouble me?" 944 944 </p> 945 945 <p> 946 946 "Man of the worldly mind!" replied the Ghost, "do you believe in me or not?" 947 947 </p> 948 948 <p> 949 949 "I do," said Scrooge. "I must. But why do spirits walk the earth, and why do they 950 950 come to me?" 951 951 </p> 952 952 <p> 953 953 "It is required of every man," the Ghost returned, "that the spirit within him should 954 954 walk abroad among his fellowmen, and travel far and wide; and if that spirit goes 955 955 not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death. It is doomed to wander 956 956 through the world—oh, woe is me!—and witness what it cannot share, but 957 957 might have shared on earth, and turned to happiness!" 958 958 </p> 959 959 <p> 960 960 Again the spectre raised a cry, and shook its chain and wrung its shadowy hands. 961 961 </p> 962 962 <p> 963 963 "You are fettered," said Scrooge, trembling. "Tell me why?" 964 964 </p> 965 965 <p> 966 966 "I wear the chain I forged in life," replied the Ghost. "I made it link by link, 967 967 and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I 968 968 wore it. Is its pattern strange to you?" 969 969 </p> 970 970 <p> 971 971 Scrooge trembled more and more. 972 972 </p> 973 973 <p> 974 974 "Or would you know," pursued the Ghost, "the weight and length of the strong coil 975 975 you bear yourself? It was full as heavy and as long as this, seven Christmas Eves 976 976 ago. You have laboured on it, since. It is a ponderous chain!" 977 977 </p> 978 978 <p> 979 979 Scrooge glanced about him on the floor, in the expectation of finding himself surrounded 980 980 by some fifty or sixty fathoms of iron cable: but he could see nothing. 981 981 </p> 982 982 <p> 983 983 "Jacob," he said, imploringly. "Old Jacob Marley, tell me more. Speak comfort to 984 984 me, Jacob!" 985 985 </p> 986 986 <p> 987 987 "I have none to give," the Ghost replied. "It comes from other regions, Ebenezer 988 988 Scrooge, and is conveyed by other ministers, to other kinds of men. Nor can I tell 989 989 you what I would. A very little more is all permitted to me. I cannot rest, I cannot 990 990 stay, I cannot linger anywhere. My spirit never walked beyond our counting-house—mark 991 991 me!—in life my spirit never roved beyond the narrow limits of our money-changing 992 992 hole; and weary journeys lie before me!" 993 993 </p> 994 994 <p> 995 995 It was a habit with Scrooge, whenever he became thoughtful, to put his hands in 996 996 his breeches pockets. Pondering on what the Ghost had said, he did so now, but without 997 997 lifting up his eyes, or getting off his knees. 998 998 </p> 999 999 <p> 10001000 "You must have been very slow about it, Jacob," Scrooge observed, in a business-like 10011001 manner, though with humility and deference. 10021002 </p> 10031003 <p> 10041004 "Slow!" the Ghost repeated. 10051005 </p> 10061006 <p> 10071007 "Seven years dead," mused Scrooge. "And travelling all the time!" 10081008 </p> 10091009 <p> 10101010 "The whole time," said the Ghost. "No rest, no peace. Incessant torture of remorse." 10111011 </p> 10121012 <p> 10131013 "You travel fast?" said Scrooge. 10141014 </p> 10151015 <p> 10161016 "On the wings of the wind," replied the Ghost. 10171017 </p> 10181018 <p> 10191019 "You might have got over a great quantity of ground in seven years," said Scrooge. 10201020 </p> 10211021 <p> 10221022 The Ghost, on hearing this, set up another cry, and clanked its chain so hideously 10231023 in the dead silence of the night, that the Ward would have been justified in indicting 10241024 it for a nuisance. 10251025 </p> 10261026 <p> 10271027 "Oh! captive, bound, and double-ironed," cried the phantom, "not to know, that ages 10281028 of incessant labour by immortal creatures, for this earth must pass into eternity 10291029 before the good of which it is susceptible is all developed. Not to know that any 10301030 Christian spirit working kindly in its little sphere, whatever it may be, will find 10311031 its mortal life too short for its vast means of usefulness. Not to know that no 10321032 space of regret can make amends for one life's opportunity misused! Yet such was 10331033 I! Oh! such was I!" 10341034 </p> 10351035 <p> 10361036 "But you were always a good man of business, Jacob," faltered Scrooge, who now began 10371037 to apply this to himself. 10381038 </p> 10391039 <p> 10401040 "Business!" cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. "Mankind was my business. 10411041 The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, 10421042 were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the 10431043 comprehensive ocean of my business!" 10441044 </p> 10451045 <p> 10461046 It held up its chain at arm's length, as if that were the cause of all its unavailing 10471047 grief, and flung it heavily upon the ground again. 10481048 </p> 10491049 <p> 10501050 "At this time of the rolling year," the spectre said, "I suffer most. Why did I 10511051 walk through crowds of fellow-beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them 10521052 to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode! Were there no poor 10531053 homes to which its light would have conducted me!" 10541054 </p> 10551055 <p> 10561056 Scrooge was very much dismayed to hear the spectre going on at this rate, and began 10571057 to quake exceedingly. 10581058 </p> 10591059 <p> 10601060 "Hear me!" cried the Ghost. "My time is nearly gone." 10611061 </p> 10621062 <p> 10631063 "I will," said Scrooge. "But don't be hard upon me! Don't be flowery, Jacob! Pray!" 10641064 </p> 10651065 <p> 10661066 "How it is that I appear before you in a shape that you can see, I may not tell. 10671067 I have sat invisible beside you many and many a day." 10681068 </p> 10691069 <p> 10701070 It was not an agreeable idea. Scrooge shivered, and wiped the perspiration from 10711071 his brow. 10721072 </p> 10731073 <p> 10741074 "That is no light part of my penance," pursued the Ghost. "I am here to-night to 10751075 warn you, that you have yet a chance and hope of escaping my fate. A chance and 10761076 hope of my procuring, Ebenezer." 10771077 </p> 10781078 <p> 10791079 "You were always a good friend to me," said Scrooge. "Thank'ee!" 10801080 </p> 10811081 <p> 10821082 "You will be haunted," resumed the Ghost, "by Three Spirits." 10831083 </p> 10841084 <p> 10851085 Scrooge's countenance fell almost as low as the Ghost's had done. 10861086 </p> 10871087 <p> 10881088 "Is that the chance and hope you mentioned, Jacob?" he demanded, in a faltering 10891089 voice. 10901090 </p> 10911091 <p> 10921092 "It is." 10931093 </p> 10941094 <p> 10951095 "I—I think I'd rather not," said Scrooge. 10961096 </p> 10971097 <p> 10981098 "Without their visits," said the Ghost, "you cannot hope to shun the path I tread. 10991099 Expect the first to-morrow, when the bell tolls One." 11001100 </p> 11011101 <p> 11021102 "Couldn't I take 'em all at once, and have it over, Jacob?" hinted Scrooge. 11031103 </p> 11041104 <p> 11051105 "Expect the second on the next night at the same hour. The third upon the next night 11061106 when the last stroke of Twelve has ceased to vibrate. Look to see me no more; and 11071107 look that, for your own sake, you remember what has passed between us!" 11081108 </p> 11091109 <p> 11101110 When it had said these words, the spectre took its wrapper from the table, and bound 11111111 it round its head, as before. Scrooge knew this, by the smart sound its teeth made, 11121112 when the jaws were brought together by the bandage. He ventured to raise his eyes 11131113 again, and found his supernatural visitor confronting him in an erect attitude, 11141114 with its chain wound over and about its arm. 11151115 </p> 11161116 <p> 11171117 The apparition walked backward from him; and at every step it took, the window raised 11181118 itself a little, so that when the spectre reached it, it was wide open. 11191119 </p> 11201120 <p> 11211121 It beckoned Scrooge to approach, which he did. When they were within two paces of 11221122 each other, Marley's Ghost held up its hand, warning him to come no nearer. Scrooge 11231123 stopped. 11241124 </p> 11251125 <p> 11261126 Not so much in obedience, as in surprise and fear: for on the raising of the hand, 11271127 he became sensible of confused noises in the air; incoherent sounds of lamentation 11281128 and regret; wailings inexpressibly sorrowful and self-accusatory. The spectre, after 11291129 listening for a moment, joined in the mournful dirge; and floated out upon the bleak, 11301130 dark night. 11311131 </p> 11321132 <p> 11331133 Scrooge followed to the window: desperate in his curiosity. He looked out. 11341134 </p> 11351135 <p> 11361136 The air was filled with phantoms, wandering hither and thither in restless haste, 11371137 and moaning as they went. Every one of them wore chains like Marley's Ghost; some 11381138 few (they might be guilty governments) were linked together; none were free. Many 11391139 had been personally known to Scrooge in their lives. He had been quite familiar 11401140 with one old ghost, in a white waistcoat, with a monstrous iron safe attached to 11411141 its ankle, who cried piteously at being unable to assist a wretched woman with an 11421142 infant, whom it saw below, upon a door-step. The misery with them all was, clearly, 11431143 that they sought to interfere, for good, in human matters, and had lost the power 11441144 for ever. 11451145 </p> 11461146 <p> 11471147 Whether these creatures faded into mist, or mist enshrouded them, he could not tell. 11481148 But they and their spirit voices faded together; and the night became as it had 11491149 been when he walked home. 11501150 </p> 11511151 <p> 11521152 Scrooge closed the window, and examined the door by which the Ghost had entered. 11531153 It was double-locked, as he had locked it with his own hands, and the bolts were 11541154 undisturbed. He tried to say "Humbug!" but stopped at the first syllable. And being, 11551155 from the emotion he had undergone, or the fatigues of the day, or his glimpse of 11561156 the Invisible World, or the dull conversation of the Ghost, or the lateness of the 11571157 hour, much in need of repose; went straight to bed, without undressing, and fell 11581158 asleep upon the instant. 11591159 </p> 11601160 </div> 11611161 </div> 11621162 </body> 11631163 </html>
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Stella981
2021-10-11
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