What are the effects and meaning of upon its coming in the dying flame leaped up

The
quote in question appears in Stave 1, and is found on page 18 of my edition. The quote comes
just as Scrooge sees Jacob Marley's ghost come up the stairs and enter the room that Scrooge is
sitting in. Scrooge is a miserly fellow, so his house is not well lit. He uses as few of candles
as possible, and the fire that he is currently keeping is as low and miserly as Scrooge himself.
When Jacob Marley's ghost enters the room, readers are told that the dying flame of the fire or
candle leaped up as if it were crying out it recognized the ghost as Jacob Marley. The flame
then falls back to its normal, low state.

The leaping flame is a nice image
that further highlights how Scrooge probably initially reacted at seeing the ghost. Scrooge is
momentarily shocked by the sight of the ghost. There is probably a wonderful mixture of fear,
surprise, and excitement. Medically speaking, Scrooge probably got a nice dose of adrenaline as
his body prepared for fight or flight; however, Scrooge is a tough old guy. His surprise is
momentary and his heightened emotions are quickly quelled in the same way that the flame died
down. Scrooge returns to his normally cold self just like his fire returned to a state of barely
throwing enough warmth for his body.

. . . he was still
incredulous, and fought against his senses.

How now! said Scrooge, caustic
and cold as ever. What do
you want with me?

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