Christmas Carol 14 recto

14

to put his hands in his breeches pockets. Pondering [in his ??????? ??????, for all his ?ight]on what the Ghost had said, he did so now,
but without raising his lifting up his eyes, or getting off his knees. [so that he looked]

“You must have been slow very slow about it, Jacob,” Scrooge observed — [rather?]
[????? [????] ?????????????? ????? ????????]in a business-like manner, though with humility [???? ???? for all that] and deference.

“Slow! About what?” [???? [??????] ???????]the Ghost repeated.

“Seven years dead,” said mused Scrooge. “And travelling all the time?”

“The whole time,” said the Ghost. “No rest, no peace. Incessant torture of
remorse.”

“You travel fast?” said Scrooge.

“On the wings of the wind,” replied the Ghost.

“You might get over have got over a [????]great quantity of ground in seven years,” said
Scrooge.

The Ghost, on hearing this, set up another cry, and clanked his chain so
hideously in the dead silence of the night, that the Ward would have been
justified in indicting him for a nuisance.

“Oh, captive, bound and double-ironed,” cried the phantom, “not to know, that
ages of incessant labour by immortal creatures for this earth, must pass into eternity
before the good of which it is susceptible is all
developed—not to know that any Christian Spirit working kindly in its
little sphere, whatever it may be, will find its mortal life too short for its vast
means of usefulness—not to know that no space of
regret [in the ??? ???????? ??????????] can make amends for one Life’s [neglected and?]opportunities misused!—Yet such was I!
Oh! Such was I!” [myself! And now]

“But you were always an excellent a good man of business, Jacob,” faultered Scrooge who now began to apply this to himself. said Scrooge,

“Business!” cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again.
“Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business;
charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my
trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive Ocean of my business!”

It held up its chain at arm’s length as if that
were the cause of all its unavailing grief; and flung it heavily upon
the ground again.

“At this time of the rolling year,” the spectre said, “I suffer
most: why did I walk through crowds of fellow-beings
with my eyes turned down, and never raise them to that blessed star
which led the wise men to a poor abode? Were there no
poor homes to which its light would have conducted me!”

Scrooge was very much dismayed to hear the spectre going on at