Christmas Carol 41 recto

41

sprinklings of the Spirit’s torch at parting; Scrooge had his eye on upon them, and especially on Tiny Tim, until
the last.

[By this time it was getting dark, and snowing pretty fast heavily; and as they Scrooge and the Spirit went
along the streets, the gleaning brightness of roaring the roaring fires in kitchens, parlors, and all sorts of rooms, [were]
was wonderful. Here, the flickering of the blaze shewed preparations for a cosy dinner,
with deep red curtains hot plates [heating] baking through and through before the fire, and
deep red curtains ready to be drawn to shut out cold and darkness. There all the children
of the house were running out into the snow to meet the married sisters, brothers,
cousins, uncles, aunts, and be the first to greet them. Here again,[??ry] were shadows on
the window-blind of children dancing guests assembling in a group; and there,
of people gathered ???? near neighbour’s young damsels a group of handsome girls, all hooded and fur-booted
and all chattering laughing [musically] chattering at once, tripped lightly through the off
[snow] to some near neighbour’s house; where, wo upon the single man who saw
them enter—artful witches; well they knew it—in a glow a bright[-eyed] glow! The ?? ??? single men? ???? inden- The p?? lamplighter [GO BACK!!!]
???sury in one place or another for the ??? ns But But as people going to p??t??? if you had judged from the imp???? numbers of people on their way to friendly gatherings [GO BACK!!!]
you might have thought they that no one was at home to
give them welcome when they got there, instead of every house expecting company,
and piling up its fires half chimney high. Knockings at doors, ringings at Blessings on it, merry ????, how the ???? Ghost exulted!
bells, glowing of lights, How it swung its torch, and bared his [bread] its breadth of breast, and opened his its
capacious hand palm, and floated on, pouring with outpouring, with a generous
hand, his its bright and harmless fire on everything within his its reach! The very
lamplighter, who [went] ran on before ?????, running up and down his dotting dotting the dusky dotting the street with specks of light
and who was dressed to g????t for spend the evening somewhere, and laughed out loudly, as the Spirit
passed: though little knew kenned the Lamplighter than he had any[h?] company but
Christmas ????!

And now, without a word of warning from the Ghost, they stood upon a
bleak and desert [heath] moor, where monstrous masses of rude stone were cast about, as though it were the burial-place of giants
and nothing water spread itself wheresoever ?? it listed— or would have done so, but
for the frost that held held it prisoner—and nothing grew but moss and
furze, and coarse rank grass. [Low] Deep Down in the West the setting sun had
left a streak of fiery red, which which looked [glanced] glared upon the desolation
for an instant, like a sullen eye, and frowning frowning lower and lower, [forever]
lower yet, was lost in the thick gloom of ??? on ??? onward the thick darkness ???? stood ???? ??? as if [GO BACK!!!]
????? pace there a living creature ??nding passed ?? and onward strode ???y, ??ing ??th darkest night.

“What place is this?” asked Scrooge.

“A place where miners live, who labour in the bowel? bowels of the Earth,”
ret returned the Spirit. “But they know me. See!”

A light shone from ?? the window of a hut, or cabin as he spoke; and
swiftly swiftly they advanced towards it. Passing through the wall of mud and stone,
they found a Christmas [Part] ??? ????? cheerful company assembled round a
glowing fire. A father and mother with An old, old man and [urchin child ??] woman, with their family of children, ?? ?ir?rd some and