Like all the other evenings, Scrooge dined alone in a sad and empty tavern.
Grumbling at the unnecessary expense of Christmas, he returned early to his house.
He lived by himself in a gloomy old building once owned by his associate Marley.
He turned into the dead-end street that led to his house.
Scrooge's breathing and his footsteps in the snow were the only sounds that broke the silence.