A Christmas Carol

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come glides toward Scrooge. Scrooge asks the spirit if it is the ghost he was told to expect, but the spirit merely motions for him to follow. Scrooge expresses his willingness to learn whatever the spirit has to teach him. He finds himself with the spirit in the stock exchange (‘Change) at the time that Scrooge would normally expect to be there. He looks around but doesn’t see himself in his usual corner. The spirit directs him to a trio of businessmen of his acquaintance who are discussing a death. One of the men introduces the subject by saying, “Well! […] Old Scratch has got his own at last, hey?” (53). None of the three seems to care in the least about the dead man. One says that he was probably the closest friend to the deceased, given that they used to stop and exchange a few words every time they met.

Next, the ghost brings Scrooge to a rag and bone shop in a poor, run-down part of town. A laundress, a charwoman (cleaning lady), and an undertaker arrive, each carrying a bundle from the home of the dead man.