STAVE 2: THE FIRST OF THE THREE SPIRITS

When Scrooge awoke, it was so dark that he could barely distinguish the transparent window from the opaque walls of his chamber.

Then the curtains of his bed were drawn aside by a hand; and Scrooge found himself face to face with a strange figure -- like a child: yet also like an old man. Its hair was white with age; yet the face had not a wrinkle. The arms were muscular. It wore a tunic of the purest white, trimmed with summer flowers, and held a branch of fresh green holly in its hand. From the crown of its head sprung a bright clear light, by which all this was visible; and which could be darkened with a cap, which it now held under its arm.

"Are you the Spirit, sir, whose coming was foretold to me. " asked Scrooge.

"I am the Ghost of Telecommuting Past. "

Shaking uncontrollably, Scrooge begged him to cover his head.

"What. " exclaimed the Ghost, " would you have me extinguish the light I only now am beginning to give? Is it not enough that you are among those who helped stitch together this cap, and forced me to wear it for so many years? "

Scrooge reverently disclaimed any intention to offend , or willfully darken the Spirit’s light. and meekly inquired what brought him to this bedroom at such an hour.

"Your welfare. " said the Ghost. "Rise. and walk with me. "

He rose: but finding that the Spirit made towards the window, clasped his robe in supplication.

"I am mortal, " Scrooge began, "and liable to fall. "

"But a touch of my hand, " said the Spirit, 'and you will rise above more than this. "

They passed through the wall, and landed on an open country road, far from the city. It was a clear, cold, winter day, with snow on the ground.

"Good Heaven! " said Scrooge, clasping his hands together, as he looked about him. "I grew up around here. "

As they walked along the road, Scrooge recognized every gate, post, and tree. At a little market-town, they saw shaggy ponies trotting towards them with boys on their backs, all in great spirits, and off in the distance, a school building.

"The school is not quite deserted, " said the Ghost. "A solitary child, neglected by his friends, is still there. "

Scrooge knew it, and sobbed.

They left the road and soon approached the old school building. Inside, they saw a long, bare, melancholy room, where a lonely boy was reading near a feeble fire, longing to be home with his family, but trapped here by the need to complete his assignments before he could leave. Scrooge sat down and wept to see his poor forgotten self as he used to be.

The Ghost smiled thoughtfully, and waved its hand: saying as it did so, "Let us see another Christmas. "

Now they were in a busy city. The Ghost stopped at a certain warehouse door, and asked "Do you know this place? "

"Know it? " answered Scrooge. "I was apprenticed here. "

They went in, and Scrooge cried out: "Why, it's old Fezziwig. Bless his heart; it's Fezziwig alive again. "

Old Fezziwig looked at the clock, which showed seven. He rubbed his hands; adjusted his capacious waistcoat; laughed merrily, and called out:

"Yo ho, there. Ebenezer. Dick. "

Scrooge's former self, now grown a young man, came briskly in, accompanied by his fellow apprentice.

"Dick Wilkins. " said Scrooge to the Ghost. " There he is. He was very much attached to me. Poor Dick. Dear, dear. "

"Yo ho, my boys. " said Fezziwig. "No more work tonight. Christmas Eve, you know. "

Fezziwig brought out a pair of leather-bound notebooks, and handed them to the boys. "In here, " he told them, "you shall from now on do your work for me. Wherever you go with this notebook, there shall be your desk, and your inkwell. From now on, neither of you need come to this office every day. When the weather is bad, the roads are jammed, or you’re taken abed with an illness, you can continue to do your work for me just as if you were here. "

"And what do you call this miraculous process, Master Fezziwig, " said Dick.

"Telecommuting, " replied the merry gentleman. "If it sounds good for you, it’s as good for me, and better. Now let’s be off with you, and don’t come back until you’ve accomplished several good days’ worth of work! "

Watching all this, Scrooge felt his heart and soul enter the scene. He remembered and enjoyed every moment. At length he became conscious that the Ghost was looking full upon him, the light on its head shining very clear.

"A small matter, " said the Ghost, " to make these silly folks so full of gratitude. "

"Small. " echoed Scrooge, "but appreciated nonetheless. "

The Spirit signed to him to listen to the two apprentices, who were pouring out their hearts in praise of Fezziwig. When they finished, he asked of Scrooge: "Why should they be so enraptured. He has spent but a few pounds of your mortal money on these notebooks. Is that so much that he deserves this praise. "

"It isn't the money, " said Scrooge, heated by the remark, and speaking unconsciously like his former, not his latter, self. "It isn't that, Spirit. He has the power to render us happy or unhappy; to make our service light or burdensome; a pleasure or a toil. Although his power lies in things impossible to count up like money, what of it? The happiness he gives, is quite as great as if it cost a fortune. "

He felt the Spirit's glance, and stopped.

"What is the matter. " asked the Ghost.

"Nothing in particular, " said Scrooge.

"Something, I think. " the Ghost insisted.

"No, " said Scrooge, " No. I should like to be able to say a word or two to my clerk just now. That's all. "

As he spoke, his former self turned down the lamps; whereupon Scrooge and the Ghost again stood side by side in the open air.

"My time grows short, " observed the Spirit. "Quick. "

This was not addressed to Scrooge, nor to any one whom he could see, but it produced an immediate effect. For again Scrooge saw himself. He was older now; a man in the prime of life. His face had not the harsh and rigid lines of later years; but it had begun to wear the signs of care and avarice. There was an eager, greedy, restless motion in the eye, which showed the passion that had taken root, and where the shadow of the growing tree would fall.

He was not alone, but sat by the side of a fair young girl in a morning dress: in whose eyes there were tears, which sparkled in the light that shone out of the Ghost of Telecommuting Past.

"It matters little, " she said, softly. "To you, very little. Another idol has displaced me; and if it can cheer and comfort you in time to come, as I would have tried to do, I have no just cause to grieve. "

"What Idol has displaced you. " he rejoined.

"A golden one. "

"This is the way of the world. " he replied. "There is nothing more difficult to bear than failure; and nothing so despised as the pursuit of success. "

"Yes, but you have forgotten that success is not measured in hours worked, but in results achieved, " she answered, gently.

"What of it? " he retorted. "Even if I have changed in this way, I am not changed towards you. "

She shook her head.

"Am I? "

"Our betrothal is an old one. It was made when you were another man. "

"I was a boy, " he said impatiently.

"But that boy became a hard man who counts the toil of others, rather than the achievements. We hoped for happiness when we were one in heart. Now that we are so different, our marriage would be a misery. Having observed this, I can only release you. "

"Have I ever sought release? "

"In words. No. Never. "

"In what, then? "

"In your changed nature; your altered spirit. You have forgotten your capacity to love. If we had never been betrothed, " said the girl, looking sadly upon him; " tell me, would you seek me out and try to win me now. Ah, no. "

He seemed to wince a little, in spite of himself. With a struggle, he said: "I see you think I would not. "

"I would prefer to think otherwise if I could, " she answered, "But a Truth like this is irresistible. How can I accept that you would choose a poor, dowry--ess girl -- you who cannot trust a person out of your sight five minutes. No, it could not work between us. And so with a heart still full of love for the man you once were, I release you. "

He was about to speak; but with her head turned from him, she resumed.

"You may have pain in this. Remembering who you were half makes me hope you will. But I’m sure you will dismiss it before long and forget we ever loved. May you be happy in the life you have chosen. "

She left him, and he sat, forlorn.

"Spirit. " said the older Scrooge, " show me no more. Conduct me home. Why do you delight in torturing me? "

He turned upon the Ghost, and seeing that it looked upon him with a face containing fragments of all the faces that had ever reported to him, Scrooge wrestled with it.

"Leave me. Take me back. Haunt me no longer. "

With no visible resistance, the Spirit of Telecommuting Past was undisturbed by Scrooge’s best efforts until the old man observed that its light was burning high and bright. Connecting that with its influence over him, Scrooge seized the extinguisher-cap from under its arm, and by a sudden action pressed it down upon its head.

But as hard as Scrooge pressed down, he could not hide the light, which streamed out in an unbroken flood upon the ground. The effort to shut out that light became exhausting, and overcome by an irresistible drowsiness; Scrooge felt his hands relax. He barely had time to reel into his own bed before he sank into a heavy sleep.

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