to the grave by which it men s courses will certain ends to which if in they must lead said but if the courses be departed from the ends will change say it is thus with what you show me the spirit was immovable as ever crept towards it trembling as he went and following the finger read upon the stone of the neglected grave his own name am that man who lay upon the bed he cried upon his knees the finger pointed from the grave to him and back again no spirit oh no no the finger still was there � a christmas he cried tight clutching at its robe hear me i i am not the man i was i will not be the man i must have been but for this intercourse why show me this if i am past all � hope for the first time the hand appeared to shake good spirit he pursued as down upon the ground he fell before it your nature for me and me assure me i yet may change these shadows you have shown me by x an altered life the kind hand trembled l will honor in my heart and try to keep it all the year i will live in the past the present and the future the spirits of all three shall strive within me i will not shut out the lessons that they teach oh tell me i may away the � writing on this stone v in his agony he caught the hand it sought to free itself but he was strong in his entreaty and detained it the spirit stronger yet him holding up his hands in one last prayer to have his fate reversed he saw an alteration in the phantom s hood and dress it shrunk and down into a the end op it five the end of it tes and the was his own the bed was his own the room was his own best and happiest of all the time before him was his own to make amends in i will live in the past the present and the future repeated as he scrambled out of bed the spirits of all three shall strive within me oh jacob heaven and the christmas time be praised for this i say it on my knees old jacob on my knees he was so fluttered and so glowing with his good intentions that his broken voice scarcely answer to his call he had been sobbing violently in his conflict with the spirit and his face was wet with tears they are not torn down cried folding one of hia bed in his arms they are not torn down rings and all they are here i am here the shadows of the things that would have been may be they will be i know they will his hands were busy with his garments all this time turning them inside out putting them on down tearing them them making them parties to every kind of extravagance i don t know what to do cried laughing and crying in the same breath and making a perfect on of himself with his i am as light as a feather i am as happy as an angel i am as merry as of i am as giddy as a christmas a drunken man a merry christmas to everybody a happy new year to all the world here i he had into the sitting room and was now standing there perfectly there s the that the was in cried starting off again and going round the fire place there s the door by which the ghost of jacob entered there s the comer where the ghost of christmas present sat i there s the window where i saw the wandering spirits it s all right it s all true it all happened ha ha ha really for a man who had been out of practice for so many years it was a splendid laugh a most illustrious laugh the father of a long long line of brilliant laughs i don t know what day of the month it is i don t know how long i ve been among the spirits i don t know anything i m quite a baby never mind i don t care i d rather be a baby here he was checked in his by the churches ringing out the he had ever heard clash hammer bell bell hammer oh glorious glorious running to the window he opened it and put out his head no fog no mist clear bright jovial stirring cold cold cold for the blood to dance to golden sunlight heavenly sky sweet fresh air merry bells oh glorious glorious what s to day cried calling down to a boy in sunday clothes who perhaps had in to look about him eh returned the boy with all his might of wonder � what s to day my fine fellow said to day replied the boy why christmas day it s christmas day said to himself i haven t it the spirits have done it all in one night they can the end op it they like of course they can of course they wn my fine fellow returned the boy t o you know the s in the next street but one at comer inquired i should hope i did replied the lad an intelligent boy said a remarkable boy do you know whether they ve sold the prize turkey that was longing up there not the little prize turkey the big one v what the one as big as me returned the boy what a delightful boy said it s a pleasure to talk to him yes my buck it s hanging there now replied the boy � is it said go and buy it walk er exclaimed the boy no no said i am in earnest go 