A New Christmas Carol

Scrooge was undoubtedly getting on in life, to begin with. There is no
doubt whatever about that.

Ten years had gone by since the spirit of old Jacob Marley had visited
him, and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and
Christmas Yet to Come had shown him the error of his mean, niggardly,
churlish ways, and had made him the merriest old boy that ever walked
on 'Change with a chuckle, and was called "Old Medlar" by the young
dogs who never reverenced anybody or anything.

And, not a doubt of it, the young dogs were in the right. Ebenezer
Scrooge was a meddler. He was always ferreting about into other
peoples' business; so that he might find out what good he could do
them. Many a hard man of affairs softened as he thought of Scrooge and
of the old man creeping round to the countinghouse where the hard man
sat in despair, and thought of the certain ruin before him.