It beckoned Scrooge to approach , which he did . When they were within two paces of each other , Marley 's Ghost held up its hand , warning him to come no nearer . Scrooge stopped . Not so much in obedience as in surprise and fear ; for , on the raising of the hand , he became sensible of confused noises in the air ; incoherent sounds of lamentation and regret ; wailings inexpressibly sorrowful and self-accusatory . The spectre , after listening for a moment , joined in the mournful dirge ; and floated out upon the bleak , dark night . Scrooge followed to the window : desperate in his curiosity . He looked out . The air was filled with phantoms , wandering hither and thither in restless haste , and moaning as they went . Every one of them wore chains like Marley 's Ghost ; some few -LRB- they might be guilty governments -RRB- were linked together ; none were free . Many had been personally known to Scrooge in their lives . He had been quite familiar with one old ghost in a white waistcoat , with a monstrous iron safe attached to its ankle , who cried piteously at being unable to assist a wretched woman with an infant , whom it saw below upon a doorstep . The misery with them all was , clearly , that they sought to interfere , for good , in human matters , and had lost the power for ever . Whether these creatures faded into mist , or mist enshrouded them , he could not tell . But they and their spirit voices faded together ; and the night became as it had been when he walked home . Scrooge closed the window , and examined the door by which the Ghost had entered . It was double locked , as he had locked it with his own hands , and the bolts were undisturbed . He tried to say `` Humbug ! '' but stopped at the first syllable . And being , from the emotion he had undergone , or the fatigues of the day , or his glimpse of the Invisible World , or the dull conversation of the Ghost , or the lateness of the hour , much in need of repose , went straight to bed without undressing , and fell asleep upon the instant . STAVE TWO THE FIRST OF THE THREE SPIRITS When Scrooge awoke it was so dark , that , looking out of bed , he could scarcely distinguish the transparent window from the opaque walls of his chamber .
He was endeavouring XXXXX pierce the darkness with his ferret eyes , when the chimes of a neighbouring church struck the four quarters .
Whether as at by for from that to with within