Scrooge was at first inclined to be surprised that the Spirit should attach importance to conversations apparently so trivial; but feeling assured that they must have some hidden purpose, he set himself to consider what it was likely to be. They could scarcely be supposed to have any bearing on the death of Jacob, his old partner…. Nor could he think of any one immediately connected with himself, to whom he could apply them. But nothing doubting that… they had some latent moral for his own improvement, he resolved to treasure up every word he heard…