A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Part 5.
Watch on KineScope.
Suddenly they were standing at the door of an office in the city. It was Christmas again.
‘I know this place very well! And there’s old Mr Fezziwig – alive again! Oh, dear old Fezziwig!’
Mr Fezziwig was a fat, happy man with a red face. He was working at a desk.
‘Hey! Ebenezer! Dick!’ he shouted. ‘Stop your work!’
Scrooge, now a young man, came in with his friend Dick.
‘It’s Christmas Eve, boys! We must celebrate!’ said Fezziwig. ‘Let’s stop work and close the office.’
So they put away all the books and papers and made a big fire. Then a man came in and started to play the violin. Mrs Fezziwig and the three Miss Fezziwigs arrived, and then a lot of young people came, and everybody began to dance to the music. Then there were games and more dances; cake and hot wine and more dances. And there was lots of roast beef and beer, and mince pies too. It was a wonderful party. At eleven o’clock everybody said ‘Merry Christmas!’ and the party finished. While Scrooge was watching all this, he laughed and sang and wanted to dance. He remembered it all and enjoyed it very much.
‘You and Dick and everybody loved Mr Fezziwig,’ the Ghost said to him. ‘But why? That party was a very small thing. It cost only three or four pounds. So why did you all love him so much?’
‘A small thing!’ answered Scrooge. ‘No! Fezziwig was our manager, so he could make us happy or unhappy. He could make our work easy or hard. He gave us a lot of happiness – and that was like a fortune in money!’
Then Scrooge looked sadly at the Ghost.
‘What are you thinking about?’ it asked.
‘I… was thinking that I would like to speak to my clerk now…’
‘Come, there isn’t much time,’ said the Ghost. ‘We must be quick.’
At that moment the scene vanished and they were standing in the open air. Scrooge saw a man of about forty. It was himself again, and his face showed the first signs of the problems of business and a passion for money. He was sitting next to a young girl dressed in black. It was his fiancee Belle. She was crying quietly.
‘You love something more than me, Ebenezer,’ she said.
‘Oh? What?’
‘Money. You are afraid of life, you are afraid of the world, and so you do only one thing: make money. Then you feel more secure. Money is your passion now.’
‘No,’ he said angrily. ‘My feelings for you haven’t changed, Belle!’
‘But you have changed. When you promised to marry me, you were a different person.’
‘I was a boy,’ he said.
‘And so my love is nothing to you now. You aren’t happy with me and you don’t want to marry me.’
‘I’ve never said that.’
‘Not in words, no – but I know it’s true. I haven’t got any money so you don’t want me. Well, you’re free to go. I hope you will be happy.’ And Belle went sadly away.
‘Spirit!’ Scrooge cried. ‘Don’t show me anymore! Take me home!’
‘There’s one more scene.’
‘No! No more! I don’t want to see it!’
But suddenly they were in a room where a beautiful young girl was sitting near a big fire. Next to her sat her mother. This was Belle, now older. The room was full of children and there was a lot of noise. But Belle and her daughter liked it, and the daughter began to play with the children. Then the father came in with a lot of Christmas presents. He gave them to the children and they laughed and shouted happily. Finally, they went to bed and the house was quiet. The father sat by the fire with his wife and daughter. Scrooge looked at them and thought: ‘How sad that don’t have a wife and daughter!’
‘Belle,’ said the husband to his wife. ‘I saw your old friend this afternoon.’
‘Who was it? Mr Scrooge?’
‘Yes. I passed his office window and he was there. He hasn’t got a friend in the world. His old partner Marley is dying.’
‘Spirit, take me away!’ said Scrooge.
‘These things happened,’ the Ghost answered, ‘and they cannot be changed.’
‘Please take me back! I can’t watch this anymore!’
At that moment the Spirit disappeared and Scrooge was in his bedroom again. He felt very tired, so he got into bed and fell asleep.