And bide the end ! '' `` Have they no refuge or resource ? '' cried Scrooge . `` Are there no prisons ? '' said the Spirit , turning on him for the last time with his own words . `` Are there no workhouses ? '' The bell struck Twelve . Scrooge looked about him for the Ghost , and saw it not . As the last stroke ceased to vibrate , he remembered the prediction of old Jacob Marley , and , lifting up his eyes , beheld a solemn Phantom , draped and hooded , coming like a mist along the ground towards him . STAVE FOUR THE LAST OF THE SPIRITS The Phantom slowly , gravely , silently approached . When it came near him , Scrooge bent down upon his knee ; for in the very air through which this Spirit moved it seemed to scatter gloom and mystery . It was shrouded in a deep black garment , which concealed its head , its face , its form , and left nothing of it visible , save one outstretched hand . But for this , it would have been difficult to detach its figure from the night , and separate it from the darkness by which it was surrounded . He felt that it was tall and stately when it came beside him , and that its mysterious presence filled him with a solemn dread . He knew no more , for the Spirit neither spoke nor moved . `` I am in the presence of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come ? '' said Scrooge . The Spirit answered not , but pointed onward with its hand . `` You are about to show me shadows of the things that have not happened , but will happen in the time before us , '' Scrooge pursued . `` Is that so , Spirit ? ''
The upper portion of the garment was contracted for an instant XXXXX its folds , as if the Spirit had inclined its head .
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