A Christmas Carol

As the clerk opened the door to let Scrooge's nephew out, he let in two other people. They were well-dressed gentleman and stood with their hats off in Scrooge's office. They had books and papers in their hands.
"Scrooge and Marley's, I believe?" said one of the gentlemen, looking at the list. "Am I speaking to Mr Scrooge or to Mr Marley?"
"Mr Marley is dead," answered Scrooge. "He died sevenyears ago this very night."
"Oh! - At this happy season of the year, Mr Scrooge," said the gentleman, taking up his pen, "we usually try to do something for the poor. They are suffering greatly at this present time. Many thousands are cold and have no food, and many have no home to go to."
"Are there no prisons?" asked Scrooge.
"There are plenty of prisons," said the gentleman, putting down his pen."Are there no workhouses for the poor?"
"There are," said the gentleman. "I wish that so many were not needed."
"I was afraid from what you said that something had happened to stop the prisons and workhouses doing their usual work," said Scrooge."I am glad to hear that there are still prisons and workhouses."
"Prisons and workhouses can't really make people merry at Christmas time," said thegentleman. "A few of us are asking people to give money to buy some food and drink for the poor. How much will you give us?"
"Nothing!" said Scrooge. "I don't make merry myself at Christmas time, and I won't give money to make lazy people merry. Good afternoon, gentlemen!"
Seeing that they were wasting their time, the gentlemen went out of the room.

The fog became thicker. The darkness became darker.The cold became colder. At last the hour for shutting up the office arrived. Scrooge got down from his chair. The Clerk put out his candle and put on his hat.
"You'll want to be at home all day tomorrow, I suppose?" said Scrooge.
"Yes, sir, if you don't mind."
"I do mind," said Scrooge. It is not fair or just. If i were to pay you fifteen pence less for that wasted day, you would think that I wasbeing unjust to you."
The clerk smiled.
"And yet," said Scrooge, "you don't think it unjust to me when I have to pay you for a day on which you do not work."
"It's only once a year," said the clerk.
"That is not a good reason for stealing fifteen pence from my pocket every twenty-fifth of December," said Scrooge. "But I suppose you must have the whole day. Be here early the next morning."
Scroogewent out, and the clerk shut up the office and ran home to Camden Town as fast as he could, to play with his children.
Scrooge had dinner in a cheap eating-house and then went home. He had rooms in a house which had once been Marley’s. They were dark and uncomfortable rooms in an old house in a dark courtyard. All the rest of the rooms in the house were offices. No one lived there except Scrooge.He unlocked the door, went in and lit a candle, then went upstairs to his rooms. Before he shut his heavy door he walked through his rooms to see that everything was all right. He went into the sitting-room, the bedroom, the store-room. Everything was all right. There was nobody under the table, nobody under the bed. There was a small fire burning in the fireplace. He shut the door of his roomsand locked it, then went and sat down by the fire. There was a noise down below as if some person was pulling a heavy chain. The noise came up the stairs straight towards his door. “It’s humbug!” said Scrooge. “I won’t believe it!”
Something came through the heavy door and came into the room. The dying fire sprang up in the fireplace.
It was Marley – Marley dressed as he had always dressed when hewas alive. The chain was wound round him – a chain loaded with money-boxes, keys, boxes of account books, business papers and money bags. Scrooge, as he looked at him, could see through his body. He could see the two buttons on the back of Marley’s coat.
“Well?” said Scrooge in his cold voice, “what do you want?”
“A lot!”
Yes, it was Marley’s voice.
“Who are you?” Scrooge wanted to know.
“Ask me...