"The Ghosts of Departed Usurers," or "The Phantoms," from Dickens's "A Christmas Carol" (1843)

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The Ghosts of Departed Usurers, or, The Phantoms—

John Leech

1843

Wood engraving dropped into letterpress

9.5 x 6.3 cm vignetted

Dickens's A Christmas Carol, first edition (1843), page 37.

Leech's illustration reveals to Scrooge what he will become after death, a mere spectre, unable to intervene for good in the lives of people less fortunate than himself. A woman, whom he would have ignored prior to this night of ghostly visitations, attempts to find shelter in a building opposite. The ghosts of the departed usurers are agitated because their insubstantial condition prohibits them from alleviating the poor woman's suffering; hence, Leech includes area-railings between the spirits and the pauper to draw the line between the visible and the "invisible" world.

[Click on image to enlarge it.]

Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.

[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned the image and (2) link your document to this URL.] Image courtesy of Toronto bibliophile and Dickens collector Dan Callinescu.

Passage Illustrated

The apparition walked backward from him; and at every step it took, the window raised itself a little, so that when the spectre reached it, it was wide open. 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 (they might be guilty governments) 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 door-step. 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. [36-37]

Reference

Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol. London: Chapman and Hall, 1843.

Last modified 5 March 2014