nearly closed , with perhaps two shutters down , or one ; but through those gaps such glimpses ! It was not alone that the scales descending on the counter made a merry sound , or that the twine and roller parted company so briskly , or that the canisters were rattled up and down like juggling tricks , or even that the blended scents of tea and coffee were so grateful to the nose , or even that the raisins were so plentiful and rare , the almonds so extremely white , the sticks of cinnamon so long and straight , the other spices so delicious , the candied fruits so caked and spotted with molten sugar as to make the coldest lookers-on feel faint , and subsequently bilious . Nor was it that the figs were moist and pulpy , or that the French plums blushed in modest tartness from their highly-decorated boxes , or that everything was good to eat and in its Christmas dress ; but the customers were all so hurried and so eager in the hopeful promise of the day , that they tumbled up against each other at the door , crashing their wicker baskets wildly , and left their purchases upon the counter , and came running back to fetch them , and committed hundreds of the like mistakes , in the best humour possible ; while the Grocer and his people were so frank and fresh , that the polished hearts with which they fastened their aprons behind might have been their own , worn outside for general inspection , and for Christmas daws to peck at if they chose . But soon the steeples called good people all to church and chapel , and away they came , flocking through the streets in their best clothes , and with their gayest faces . And at the same time there emerged , from scores of by-streets , lanes , and nameless turnings , innumerable people , carrying their dinners to the bakers ' shops . The sight of these poor revellers appeared to interest the Spirit very much , for he stood with Scrooge beside him in a baker 's doorway , and , taking off the covers as their bearers passed , sprinkled incense on their dinners from his torch . And it was a very uncommon kind of torch , for once or twice , when there were angry words between some dinner-carriers who had jostled each other , he shed a few drops of water on them from it , and their good-humour was restored directly . For they said , it was a shame to quarrel upon Christmas-day . And so it was ! God love it , so it was ! In time the bells ceased , and the bakers were shut up ; and yet there was a genial shadowing forth of all these dinners , and the progress of their cooking , in the thawed blotch of wet above each baker 's oven ; where the pavement smoked as if its stones were cooking too . `` Is there a peculiar flavour in what you sprinkle from your torch ? '' asked Scrooge . `` There is . My own . '' `` Would it apply to any kind of dinner on this day ? '' asked Scrooge . `` To any kindly given . To a poor one most . '' `` Why to a poor one most ? ''
asked XXXXX .
Christmas-day Grocer Scrooge by-streets dinner-carriers figs left lookers-on raisins scents