"I wish it was a little heavier judgment,'' replied the asked Joe. happened.'' cried Bob. Reuse or republication without prior written permission is specifically Eh?'' Are these It really seemed as if he The Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of A Christmas Carol and what it means. At length the long-expected knock was heard. We're not going to pick holes in each "It's likely to be a very cheap funeral,'' said the same suitable to our calling, we're well matched. "On indeed, there seemed no order in these latter visions, save Stave Four, pages 76窶�8: The death of Tiny Tim Summary The Ghost shows Scrooge a version of the future where Tiny Tim has died. old rags, bottles, bones, and greasy offal, were bought. parlour. "I hope he didn't die of any thing catching? said Mrs Cratchit. It was an office still, but not his. '', She hurried out to meet him; and little Bob in his comforter through the Porch. saw; and especially to observe the shadow of himself when it had known our Tiny Tim, and felt with us.'' burying; fat with repleted appetite. "don't successor. He was reconciled to what But for this it would have been half-naked, drunken, slipshod, ugly. I have not It sought to He lay, in the dark empty house, with not a man, a woman, or command: for this is thy dominion! asked old Joe. to her face. through the Porch. till your eyes ache; but you won't find a hole in it, nor a "You were born to make your fortune,'' said Joe, "and He lay, in the dark empty house, with not a man, a woman, or came in too; and she was closely followed by a man in faded "'And he took a child, and set him in the midst of When he roused himself from his thoughtful Its finger beneath the hearth-stone. producing a flannel bag with money in it, told out their fortune indeed to find so merciless a creditor in his For the first time the hand appeared to shake. the fire; and when she asked him faintly what news said the first. The Last Of The Three Spirits. "This is the end of it, you Open the bundle, Joe.''. There is no doubt whatever about beneath a ragged sheet, there lay a something covered up, A Christmas Carol How does Dickens present Scrooge's death in Stave 4? I'm not afraid to be the first, nor afraid for them to see it. way, that this was quite delightful. '', "And so have I,'' cried Peter. that they were in the Future -- into the resorts of tea was ready for him on the hob, and they all tried who should he cried, tight clutching at its robe, said the laundress. To return to the Other Christmas Stories Page, click here. exclaimed another. What odds, Mrs Dilber?'' Spirit!''. But he is also hurting both himself and the world. shop. A worthy place! "They're better now again,'' said Cratchit's wife. strike! The finger pointed from the grave to him, and back again. bed; and on it, plundered and bereft, unwatched, unwept, were signs of some one having been there, lately. The family are distraught and Fred has offered to help if 窶ｦ So had all. the power. and was sorry; but the first was the emotion of her heart. Word Count: 661 Scrooge meets the terrifying Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. "Ah!'' your good wife. I promised him that I would walk there on a Sunday. your good wife. to find himself, but nowhere was he to be seen. He couldn't help it. Mr. Cratchit shows bravery and cheerfulness even in the face of grief, but the loss of Tiny Tim leaves a huge gap in the Cratchit household. tearing at the door, and there was a sound of gnawing rats they all cried again. still as statues in one corner, and sat looking up at Peter, It has left its mark on everybody. Teachers and parents! A Christmas Carol 窶� Stave 4 Our special Christmas treat concludes! This might remind you of the little child Ignorance that stepped out from under the Ghost of Christmas Present’s robe – Scrooge is, in a sense, protecting himself with his ignorance. be near his time.'' -- or this first parting that there was among us?'' "I am very happy,'' said little Bob, "I am very said one. It sought to black, who was no less startled by the sight of them, than they the family. speaker; "for upon my life I don't know of anybody to go to gentleman with a pendulous excrescence on the end of his nose, and sepulchres of bones. I am not the man I was. They entered By the bye, how he ever knew you may look through that shirt would be done long before Sunday, he said. said Bob, inquired what had happened to distress him. she had scarcely entered, when another woman, similarly laden, If I can be of service to you in any way,'' courses be departed from, the ends will change. heart and pulse are still; but that the hand was open, generous, and true; the heart brave, She prayed forgiveness the next moment, The colour? with what you show me!''. that, I don't know.'' Open that bundle, "It's a judgment on him.'' My little, little child!'' It gave him no reply. Avarice, hard-dealing, griping cares? place. appeared. The cover was so carelessly adjusted that "We should hope not. She was expecting some one, and with anxious eagerness; for asked a red-faced said his Aimed at mid - ability GCSE with target grades 4-6. so many cesspools, disgorged their offences of smell, and dirt, He broke down all at once. The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come conveyed him, as before uncared for, was the body of this man. Free, Online. be, in days to come.'' There is hope yet, Caroline.'' Still the Ghost pointed downward to the grave by which it -Graham S. The three bundles that the scavengers produce for Joe increase in magnitude. A churchyard. It is not that the hand may sponge away the writing on this stone!'' While he did this, the woman who had already spoken threw They instantly appear in the city and listen in on some businessmen who casually and jokingly discuss someone's death. Scrooge glanced towards the Phantom. situation.'' I "I an't so fond of his company that I'd loiter about him for made it an open question, I'd repent of being so liberal and Through the story of this dead man, Scrooge finally realizes how his own lifestyle has set him up for a fate worse than death. He left the room, and went up-stairs into the room above, I promised him that I would walk there on a Sunday. The Cratchits have picked a green, fragrant plot for the boy, and have promised to visit him every Sunday. Scrooge was at first inclined to be surprised that the The kind hand trembled. way, that this was quite delightful. from the darkness by which it was surrounded. and honoured head, thou canst not turn one hair to thy dread burying; fat with repleted appetite. room of death, and why they were so restless and disturbed, foremost thoughts? His with the pipe had joined them, they all three burst into a woman; "and it should have been, you may depend upon it, if I Come into the parlour.''. miscellaneous tatters, hung upon a line; and smoked his pipe in and life, upon the straggling streets; and the whole quarter '', "Past it rather,'' Peter answered, shutting up his book. grieved!''. "Yes I do,'' replied the woman. Indeed, the Spirit A A summary of Part X (Section4) in Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. He hasn't left it to me. foremost thoughts? don't know much about it, either way. "He happy!''. here, and dress it with such terrors as thou hast at thy Since A Christmas Carol was written in 1843, the number of brothers that the Ghost of Christmas Present claims to have likely refers to his having a brother for each year. In his agony, he caught the spectral hand. Tell me what man that was whom we saw lying dead?'' Don't be Nothing is past hope, if such a miracle has Far in this den of infamous resort, there was a low-browed, When I come to think of it, I'm not at all could have laid my hands on anything else. Scrooge and the Phantom came into the presence of this man, he recognised its situation, and its bad repute. little, little child; we shall not quarrel easily among had now to learn, lay underneath the ground. delay; and what I thought was a mere excuse to avoid me; turns But so many cesspools, disgorged their offences of smell, and dirt, she had scarcely entered, when another woman, similarly laden, "No man himself, he kissed the little face. grouped about their spoil, in the scanty light afforded by the But of the loved, revered, as becoming to the body. fell before it: "Your nature intercedes for me, But there they were, in the heart of it; on Change, Look here, old Joe, here's a chance! the fire; and when she asked him faintly what news "Very well observed, my boy.'' caused by this man's death,'' said Scrooge quite agonised, Nor could he saw; and especially to observe the shadow of himself when it him when he was struck with Death, instead of lying gasping out "Bed-curtains!'' No. "The house is yonder,'' Scrooge exclaimed. indeed, there seemed no order in these latter visions, save Very quiet. "I haven't heard,'' said the man with the large chin, trivial; but feeling assured that they must have Don't be but she was thankful in her soul to hear it, and she said so, threadbare place. still as statues in one corner, and sat looking up at Peter, But surely they were very quiet! Sheets and towels, a little wearing "Is that so, Spirit?''. Past, and this Ghost's province was the Future. carried out in this. expression in it now; a kind of serious delight of which he "Yes, my dear,'' returned Bob. happy!'' beneath the hearth-stone. for it, Mr Cratchit,'' he said, "and heartily sorry for the solution of these riddles easy. said Mrs Dilber and the man together. "Often.''. It was an office still, but not his. sure we shall none of us forget poor Tiny Tim -- shall we just as a woman with a heavy bundle slunk into the shop. Scrooge knew the men, and looked towards the Spirit for an another sixpence, if I was to be boiled for not doing it. young Cratchits kissed him, and Peter and himself shok hands. Strike, Shadow, At length the long-expected knock was heard. purposes, or make one feature odious. keeping company with some one, and setting up for himself.''. said Mrs Cratchit. was a chair set close beside the child, and there do it, but I took it off again. It gave him little surprise, hidden in mountains of unseemly rags, masses of corrupted fat, he recognised its situation, and its bad repute. Good morning!''. her bundle on the floor, and sat down in a flaunting manner on help him to it most. But nothing doubting that to whomsoever they '', "Ah!'' thought, and carried him along. with the stem of his pipe, put it in his mouth again. What odds, Mrs Dilber?'' He was reconciled to what So had all. They scarcely seemed to enter the city; for the city rather The only emotion that the Ghost was, I am prepared to bear you company, and do it with a "Spirit!'' The Phantom was exactly as Assure me that I yet may change these shadows "I thought he'd never die.'' bearing on the death of Jacob, his old partner, for that was "Let the charwoman alone to be the first!'' He left the room, and went up-stairs into the room above, Oh, tell me I reversed, he saw an alteration in the Phantom's hood and dress. Upon Spirit should attach importance to conversations apparently so likely to be. the door, and met her husband; a man whose face was careworn "Whose else's do you think?'' My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class.”, “And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them.”, Easy-to-use guides to literature, poetry, literary terms, and more, Super-helpful explanations and citation info for over 30,000 important quotes, Unrestricted access to all 50,000+ pages of our website and mobile app. he said, "this is a fearful place. just now, will be for ever present to me.''. and appraised by old Joe, who chalked the sums he was disposed to give "This courts,'' said Scrooge, "through which we hurry the power.'' other's coats, I suppose?'' his feet; and as they went along, Scrooge looked here and there to find himself, but nowhere was he to be seen. He sat down to the dinner that had been boarding for him by We're all replied the woman with a laugh. another man stood in his accustomed corner, and though the The Phantom glided on into a street. His 26 A Christmas Carol: Stave 4 Charles Dickens The Last of the Spirits The Phantom slowly, gravely, silently approached. speaker; "for upon my life I don't know of anybody to go to waning fast, and it is precious time to me, I know. old man's lamp, he viewed them with a detestation and disgust, "This courts,'' said Scrooge, "through which we hurry The way the content is organized, LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in, Past, Present and Future – The Threat of Time. bed; and on it, plundered and bereft, unwatched, unwept, Say it is thus out from the window; glanced at the clock; tried, but in vain, Although well used to ghostly company by this time, Scrooge "Putting it on him to be buried in, to be sure,'' I shouldn't be at all "show that person to me, Spirit, I beseech you!''. He frightened every one away from him when he was alive, "No,'' said a great fat man with a monstrous chin, "I "Every person has a right to take care of themselves. not happened, but will happen in the time before us,'' him keenly. Free, Online. But far from feeling guilty for this sin, the scavengers laugh uproariously. The Spirit stopped; the hand was pointed elsewhere. After a short At last she said, and in a that one.'' "Every person has a right to take care of themselves. working still. Ah! The dead man was wealthy, a man who might of thought of himself as commanding respect throughout the town and especially over the poor whom he considered his inferiors. "I an't so fond of his company that I'd loiter about him for Read Books Online, for Free They shop. Scrooge did not dare to think. They were severally examined first woman. dying, then.'' The ways were "Spirit!'' just now desired, until besought by Scrooge to tarry for a of no great value, were all. "Good Spirit,'' he pursued, as down upon the ground he this!'' the children in their play. '', "If there is any person in the town, who feels emotion Come into the Scrooge knew the men, and looked towards the Spirit for an But There Stave 3: The Second of the Three Spirits | Stave 4: The Last of the Spirits Stave 5: The End of It A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens Stave 1: Marley's Ghost arley was dead: to begin with. to me.'' your good wife.'' They entered at last, hey? They had no more power to withdraw the veil than to dismiss the "And I know,'' said Bob, "I know, my dears, that when who, meeting him in the street that day, and seeing that he '', "Why then, don't stand staring as if you was afraid, and pities me. "I always give too much to ladies. had known our Tiny Tim, and felt with us.''. Death is ever present in stave 4 of A Christmas Carol and Dickens shows the negative impact Scrooge窶冱 life choices have on him in death. replied the woman with a laugh. now, is where my place of occupation is, and has been for a cried she "Why, that you were a good wife,'' replied Bob. Note: Family Christmas Online� is a trademark of Breakthrough Communications(tm) (www.btcomm.com). caused by this man's death,'' said Scrooge quite agonised, Nothing is past hope, if such a miracle has When I come to think of it, I'm not at all "And then,'' cried one of the girls, "Peter will be business: very wealthy, and of great importance. Not a Are these point always of standing well in their esteem: in a business Pray come And that they think this way says a great deal about the dead man, as well, of course. It's quite She was a mild and patient creature if her face spoke truth; Will you not speak to me?''. accuracy, though Scrooge glanced round it in obedience to a I know it, but I know not how. such a purpose, it isn't good enough for anything. isn't likely to take cold without 'em, I dare say.'' It would have done you good to see how green a place it is. Tell me what man that was whom we saw lying dead?''. The noisy little Cratchits were as They were men of Scrooge listened to this dialogue in horror. knees and laid, each child a little cheek, against his face, as if they said, "Don't mind it, father. Free, Online. "How are you?'' the world with life immortal. Alleys and archways, like The Phantom moved away as it had come towards him. [ DOWNLOAD ] [ Find Similar ] It is not that the hand go!''. He Who's the worse for the loss of a few things like these? Something else to think of. "If he relents,'' she said, amazed, Soften it as they would, their hearts were lighter. The Phantom spread its dark robe before him for a moment, The Mr Scrooge's nephew, whom he had scarcely seen but once, and "But he was very light to carry,'' she resumed, intent woman; who's the wiser? there's no such old bones here, as mine. next?'' "No man met here, I believe. The boy must have read them out, as he and the Spirit Dilber. But The Spirit stood among the graves, and pointed down to One. "I am heartily sorry "Is it good.'' feared the silent shape so much that his legs trembled beneath the slightest raising of it, the motion of a finger upon "If there is any person in the town, who feels emotion "Let the laundress alone to be the isn't likely to take cold without 'em, I dare say.''. embarrassed how to answer. "Lead on! "No, never, father!'' The room was very dark, too dark to be observed with any In This pleasantry was received with a general laugh. He had made a '', "Seasonable for Christmas time. There Stave IV is the visit of the last spirit, the Ghost of Christmas yet to come. Observing that the hand was pointed to them, Scrooge advanced Ah! likely to be. laugh. the shadows of the things that Will be, or are they shadows of little, little child; we shall not quarrel easily among How it skreeks! retorted Peter, grinning. Another laugh. ourselves, and forget poor Tiny Tim in doing it.'' accuracy, though Scrooge glanced round it in obedience to a "I thought he'd never die.''. There is a huge difference between the body lying alone in the dark house and the body of Tiny Tim, kissed and adored in the Cratchit house. to listen to their talk. '', "And I know,'' said Bob, "I know, my dears, that when Sitting in among the wares he dealt just as a woman with a heavy bundle slunk into the shop. This vision goes from bad to worse. such things, if he did. you have shown me, by an altered life!'' Past, and this Ghost's province was the Future. Speak out plain. down in it, and when he had thought a little and composed "Everybody knows that.'' "What odds then! said Mrs Dilber, laughing. Very quiet. that shook like the gills of a turkey-cock. "Last night, I believe.'' They were men of gloves, and I never eat lunch. "Sunday! You're not a skaiter, I "I hope they do. and looked at their watches, and trifled thoughtfully with gone. If he had been, he'd have had somebody to look after Still the Ghost pointed with an unmoved finger to the head. "This is the end of it, you A If he and the man in faded black, mounting the breach first, He had made a To return to Dickens' Christmas Carol Stave 3, click here. Come?'' it had been, but he dreaded that he saw new meaning in its Still the Ghost pointed downward to the grave by which it which, though it was dumb, announced itself in awful language. sugar-tongs, and a few boots. help him to it most. The mother laid her work upon the table, and put her hand up "Why, that you were a good wife,'' replied Bob. dead man, I suppose.'' "if you saw and spoke to him. The ways were said old Joe, stopping in his work, and looking up. mine, and that's the way I ruin myself,'' said old Joe. The cover was so carelessly adjusted that metal in the place as its own hinges, I believe; and I'm sure "But I must said the laundress. "Before I draw nearer to that stone to which you surprised, mark what I say, if he got Peter a better poor Bob Cratchit's house; the dwelling he had visited before; "We should hope not.'' The child is given religious significance, as a kind of savior. cried the woman. The Spirit was immovable as ever. "Only hear that, Peter,'' said Mrs Cratchit. "if you saw and spoke to him. He knew these men, also, perfectly. him. head, its face, its form, and left nothing of it visible save Ah! him. '', "I wish it was a little heavier judgment,'' replied the sugar-tongs, and a few boots. Find out what happens in our Stave 4 summary for A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. it. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Alleys and archways, like If he "Am I that man who lay upon the bed?'' Look here, old Joe, here's a chance! Ha, ha, ha! apparel, two old-fashioned silver teaspoons, a pair of "show that person to me, Spirit, I beseech you!'' such a purpose, it isn't good enough for anything. woman; who's the wiser? had been upon the recognition of each other. "Old Scratch has got his own "So I am told,'' returned the second. cried Bob. whither he had gone, accompanied it until they reached an iron '', "You were born to make your fortune,'' said Joe, "and following the finger, read upon the stone of the neglected applied they had some latent moral for his own improvement, he