Stave l Vocab

fathoms

6 feet "Scrooge glanced about him on the floor, in the expectation of finding himself surrounded by some fifty or sixty __________ of iron cable: but he could see nothing."

penance

A conversion of heart toward God and away from sin; this includes the intention to change one's life because of hope in divine mercy. It is often characterized by fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. "That is no light part of my __________," pursued the Ghost. "I am here to-night to warn you, that you have yet a chance and hope of escaping my fate."

lamentation

Expression of regret or sorrow "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 _____________ and regret; wailings inexpressibly sorrowful and self-accusatory."

cravat

a cloth, often made of or trimmed with lace, worn about the neck by men especially in the 17th century. "Thus secured against surprise, he took off his ________; put on his dressing-gown and slippers, and his nightcap; and sat down before the fire to take his gruel."

simile

a figure of speech in which two unlike things are being compared using "like or as" "But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the _______; and my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Country's done for. "

dirge

a funeral hymn or mournful speech "The spectre, after listening for a moment, joined in the mournful _______; and floated out upon the bleak, dark night."

spectre

a ghost; phantom; apparition "Scrooge was very much dismayed to hear the ________ going on at this rate, and began to quake exceedingly."

melancholy

a gloomy state of mind, especially when habitual or prolonged "Scrooge took his __________ dinner in his usual __________ tavern; and having read all the newspapers, and beguiled the rest of the evening with his banker's-book, went home to bed."

gruel

a light, usually thin, cooked cereal made by boiling meat, especially oatmeal, in water or milk ""There's the saucepan that the _______ was in!" cried Scrooge, starting off again, and going round the fireplace."

brazier

a metal receptacle for holding live coals or other fuel, as for heating a room " In the main street, at the corner of the court, some laborers were repairing the gas-pipes, and had lighted a great fire in a _______, round which a party of ragged men and boys were gathered: warming their hands and winking their eyes before the blaze in rapture."

knocker

a person or thing that knocks "Now, it is a fact, that there was nothing at all particular about the ________ on the door, except that it was very large."

hob

a projection or shelf at the back or side of a fireplace, used for keeping food warm "Nobody under the table, nobody under the sofa; a small fire in the grate; spoon and basin ready; and the little saucepan of gruel (Scrooge had a cold in his head) upon the ____." a projection or shelf at the back or side of a fireplace, used for k

apparation

a supernatural appearance of a person or thing, especially a ghost; a specter or phantom; wraith "The ________________ 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."

congenial

agreeable, suitable or pleasing in nature or character "Scrooge seized the ruler with such energy of action, that the singer fled in terror, leaving the keyhole to the fog and even more _______ frost."

trifle

an article or thing of very little value "No beggars implored him to bestow a _____, no children asked him what it was o'clock, no man or woman ever once in all his life inquired the way to such and such a place, of Scrooge."

rime

an opaque coating of tiny, white, granular ice sugar, caused by the rapid freezing of supercooled water droplets on impact with an object "A frosty _____ was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin."

countenance

appearance, especially the look or expression of the face "Scrooge's countenance fell almost as low as the Ghost's had done."

executor

carries out, or performs some duty, job, assignment or artistic work "Scrooge was his sole ________, his sole administrator, his sole assign, his sole residuary legatee, his sole friend, and sole mourner."

dismal

causing gloom or dejection, gloomy, dreary, cheerless or melancholy "It was not in impenetrable shadow as the other objects in the yard were, but had a ______ light about it, like a bad lobster in a dark cellar."

incessant

continuing without interruption; ceaseless; unending "The whole time," said the Ghost. "No rest, no peace. _________ torture of remorse."

remorse

deep and painful regret for wrongdoing; compunction. "The whole time," said the Ghost. "No rest, no peace. Incessant torture of __________."

benevolence

desire to do good to others; goodwill; charitableness "The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and ____________, were, all, my business."

veneration

feeling of awe or respect "But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round—apart from the _________ due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that—as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. "

misanthropic

hating man kind The water-plug being left in solitude, its overflowing sullenly congealed, and turned to _____________ ice."

transparent

having the property of transmitting rays of light through its substance so that bodies situated beyond or behind can be distinctly seen. " His body was _____________; so that Scrooge, observing him, and looking through his waistcoat, could see the two buttons on his coat behind."

hideously

horrible or frightful to the senses; repulsive; very ugly "The Ghost, on hearing this, set up another cry, and clanked its chain so ___________ in the dead silence of the night, that the Ward would have been justified in indicting it for a nuisance."

bedlam

insane asylum, madhouse "There's another fellow," muttered Scrooge; who overheard him: "my clerk, with fifteen shillings a week, and a wife and family, talking about a merry Christmas. I'll retire to _________.""

bowels

intestines or guts "Scrooge had often heard it said that Marley had no, but he had never believed it until now."

obscuring

not clear or plain, vague, uncertain or ambiguous "To see the dingy cloud come drooping down, _________ everything, one might have thought that Nature lived hard by, and was brewing on a large scale."

vague

not clearly or explicitly stated or expressed "It thrilled him with a ______ uncertain horror, to know that behind the dusky shroud, there were ghostly eyes intently fixed upon him, while he, though he stretched his own to the utmost, could see nothing but a spectral hand and one great heap of black."

incredulous

not credulous; disinclined or indisposed to believe; skeptical. "Though he looked the phantom through and through, and saw it standing before him; though he felt the chilling influence of its death-cold eyes; and marked the very texture of the folded kerchief bound about its head and chin, which wrapper he had not observed before; he was still ____________, and fought against his senses."

inexplicable

not explicable; incapable of being accounted for or explained "It was with great astonishment, and with a strange, _____________, dread, that as he looked, he saw this bell begin to swing."

immortal

not mortal; not liable or subject to death; undying "Strike, Shadow, strike! And see his good deeds springing from the wound, to sow the world with life ________________!"

ominous

portending evil or harm, foreboding, threatening, inauspicious "At the _________ word "liberality," Scrooge frowned, and shook his head, and handed the credentials back."

palable

readily or plainly seen, heard, perceived; obvious, evident

ruddy

reddish "He had so heated himself with rapid walking in the fog and frost, this nephew of Scrooge's, that he was all in a glow; his face was ______ and handsome; his eyes sparkled, and his breath smoked again."

deference

respectful submission or yielding to the judgment, opinion, will, etc. of another. "You must have been very slow about it, Jacob," Scrooge observed, in a business-like manner, though with humility and ____________."

forbearance

the act of forbearing; a refraining from something. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, ______________, and benevolence, were, all, my business."

himility

the quality or condition of being humble; modest opinion or estimate of one's own importance, rank, etc.

implore

to beg urgently or piteously, as for aid or mercy "No beggars ______ him to bestow a trifle, no children asked him what it was o'clock, no man or woman ever once in all his life inquired the way to such and such a place, of Scrooge."

convey

to carry, bring, or take from one place to another; transport; bear. "It comes from other regions, Ebenezer Scrooge, and is __________ by other ministers, to other kinds of men."

congealed

to change for soft or fluid state, as by cooling or freezing "The water-plug being left in solitude, its overflowing sullenly _________, and turned to misanthropic ice."

grope

to feel about with the hands "The yard was so dark that even Scrooge, who knew its every stone, was fain to __________ with his hands."

bestow

to give "No beggars implored him to ______ a trifle, no children asked him what it was o'clock, no man or woman ever once in all his life inquired the way to such and such a place, of Scrooge."

beguiled

to influence by trickery, flattery, mislead or delude "Scrooge took his melancholy dinner in his usual melancholy tavern; and having read all the newspapers, and ___________ the rest of the evening with his banker's-book, went home to bed."

solmnized

to perform the ceremony of marriage "And even Scrooge was not so dreadfully cut up by the sad event, but that he was an excellent man of business on the very day of the funeral, and ______ it with an undoubted bargain."

obliged

to require or constrain, as by law, command, conscience or force of necessity "He was _______ to sit close to it, and brood over it, before he could extract the least sensation of warmth from such a handful of fuel."

incoherent

without logical or meaningful connection; disjointed; rambling "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; ____________ sounds of lamentation and regret; wailings inexpressibly sorrowful and self-accusatory."