XX. THAT OF THE SOCIALIST AND THE EARL.

 It was, I think, near Marble Arch,

Or somewhere in the Park,

A Socialist¹

Once shook his fist

And made this sage² remark:

 

"It is a shime that working men,

The likes of you and me—

Poor, underfed,

Without a bed—

In such a state should be.

"When bloated aristocracy

Grows daily wuss an' wuss.

Why don't the rich

Behave as sich

An' give a bit to us?

"They've carriages and flunkeys,

Estates, an' lots of land.

Why this should be,

My friends," said he,

"I fail to understand.

"Why should they 'ave the bloomin' lot,

When, as I've said before,

It's understood

This man's as good

As that one is—or MORE?

"So what I sez, my friends, sez I,

Is: Down with all the lot,

Unless they share—

It's only fair—

With us what they have got!"

* * *

An Earl, who stood amongst the crowd,

Was very much impressed.

"Dear me," he said,

And smote³ his head,

"I really am distressed⁴.

"To think that all these many years

I've lived so much at ease,

With leisure, rank,

Cash at the bank,

And luxuries like these,

"While, as this honest person says,

Our class is all to blame

That these have naught⁵:

We really ought

To bow our heads in shame.

"My wealth unto this man I'll give,

My title I will drop,

And then I'll go

And live at Bow

And keep a chandler's shop."

* * *

The Socialist he took the wealth

The Earl put in his hands,

And bought erewhile

A house in style

And most extensive lands.

Was knighted (for some charity

Judiciously⁶ bestowed);

Within a year

Was made a Peer;

To fame was on the road.

But do not think that Fortune's smiles

From friends drew him apart,

Or hint that rude

Ingratitude⁷

Could dwell within his heart.

You fear, perhaps, that he forgot

The worthy⁸ Earl. Ah, no!

Household supplies

He often buys

From his shop down at Bow.

1 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

2 sage   

n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的

参考例句：

• I was grateful for the old man's sage advice.我很感激那位老人贤明的忠告。
• The sage is the instructor of a hundred ages.这位哲人是百代之师。

3 smote   

v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Figuratively, he could not kiss the hand that smote him. 打个比方说，他是不能认敌为友。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• \"Whom Pearl smote down and uprooted, most unmercifully.\" 珠儿会毫不留情地将这些\"儿童\"踩倒，再连根拔起。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学

4 distressed   

痛苦的

参考例句：

• He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑，无法回答他们的问题。
• The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。

5 naught   

n.无，零 [=nought]

参考例句：

• He sets at naught every convention of society.他轻视所有的社会习俗。
• I hope that all your efforts won't go for naught.我希望你的努力不会毫无结果。

6 judiciously   

adv.明断地，明智而审慎地

参考例句：

• Let's use these intelligence tests judiciously. 让我们好好利用这些智力测试题吧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His ideas were quaint and fantastic. She brought him judiciously to earth. 他的看法荒廖古怪，她颇有见识地劝他面对现实。 来自辞典例句

7 ingratitude   

n.忘恩负义

参考例句：

• Tim's parents were rather hurt by his ingratitude.蒂姆的父母对他的忘恩负义很痛心。
• His friends were shocked by his ingratitude to his parents.他对父母不孝，令他的朋友们大为吃惊。

8 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。