There was plenty of width for that , and room to spare ; which is perhaps the reason why Scrooge thought he saw a locomotive hearse going on before him in the gloom . Half-a-dozen gas-lamps out of the street would n't have lighted the entry too well , so you may suppose that it was pretty dark with Scrooge 's dip . Up Scrooge went , not caring a button for that . Darkness is cheap , and Scrooge liked it . But , before he shut his heavy door , he walked through his rooms to see that all was right . He had just enough recollection of the face to desire to do that . Sitting-room , bedroom , lumber-room . All as they should be . Nobody under the table , nobody under the sofa ; a small fire in the grate ; spoon and basin ready ; and the little saucepan of gruel -LRB- Scrooge had a cold in his head -RRB- upon the hob . Nobody under the bed ; nobody in the closet ; nobody in his dressing-gown , which was hanging up in a suspicious attitude against the wall . Lumber-room as usual . Old fire-guard , old shoes , two fish baskets , washing-stand on three legs , and a poker . Quite satisfied , he closed his door , and locked himself in ; double locked himself in , which was not his custom . Thus secured against surprise , he took off his cravat ; put on his dressing-gown and slippers , and his nightcap ; and sat down before the fire to take his gruel . It was a very low fire indeed ; nothing on such a bitter night . He was obliged to sit close to it , and brood over it , before he could extract the least sensation of warmth from such a handful of fuel . The fire-place was an old one , built by some Dutch merchant long ago , and paved all round with quaint Dutch tiles , designed to illustrate the Scriptures . There were Cains and Abels , Pharaoh 's daughters , Queens of Sheba , Angelic messengers descending through the air on clouds like feather beds , Abrahams , Belshazzars , Apostles putting off to sea in butter-boats , hundreds of figures to attract his thoughts ; and yet that face of Marley , seven years dead , came like the ancient Prophet 's rod , and swallowed up the whole . If each smooth tile had been a blank at first , with power to shape some picture on its surface from the disjointed fragments of his thoughts , there would have been a copy of old Marley 's head on every one . `` Humbug ! ''
said XXXXX ; and walked across the room .
Abels Abrahams Belshazzars Scrooge cravat first gas-lamps lumber-room nightcap washing-stand