XXIV. THAT OF THE FAIRY GRANDMOTHER AND THE COMPANY PROMOTER.

 A Company Promoter was Septimus Sharpe,

And the subject is he of this ditty;

He'd his name—nothing more—

Painted on the glass door

Of an office high up on the toppermost floor

Of a house in Throgmorton Street, City.

The Companies which he had promoted, so far,

Had not—so to speak,—been successes.

As a matter of fact,

He had often to act

In a manner requiring considerable tact¹

To—financially—keep out of messes.

One day there appeared—Sharpe could never tell how,—

In a costume unusually airy,

A young lady. "Dear me!

How surprising!" said he.

"Now, who upon earth can this young person be?

Is it possible? Why! it's a Fairy!"

"You are right, Septimus," said the Fairy—"quite right,

For, in fact, I'm your Fairy Grandmother!"

Sharpe had to confess,

"I already possess

Two grandmothers. But," said he, "nevertheless,

In your case, I will welcome another.

 

"Especially if, Fairy Grandmother dear,

Your intentions are—pardon me,—golden.

I'll be pleased, if my till—

Or my coffers—you'll fill,

As,—like a good fairy,—I've no doubt you will;

Then to you I'll be greatly beholden."

The Fairy she smiled, as, quite sweetly, she said:

"You're mistaken, my dear young relation.

There's no fairy displays

In these up-to-date days,

Her powers in such crude and old-fashioned ways—

No! I bring you An Imagination.

"But exercise It, and you quickly will find

From your pathway all troubles are banished²!"

She waved a small wand,

With a look sad yet fond,

Then, into the far and the distant "beyond"

Sharpe's good Grandmother suddenly vanished.

The spell she had cast very quickly began

In his brain to engender³ a vision.

He imagined a Mine

Filled with gold, pure and fine,

And a lovely Prospectus⁴ began to design

Every item worked out with precision.

He imagined Big Dividends⁵; profits galore;

And some Dukes he imagined Directors.

And "the Public should share,"

He went on to declare,

"In such wealth as should cause the whole nation to stare."

There were Thousands—in Shares—for Projectors⁶.

Then he went on imagining mine after mine,

With Prospectuses⁷ most high-faluting.

And the Public they fought

For the Shares he had brought

To the Market (they "safer than houses" were thought);

And each day some new Company was mooting⁸.

* * *

 

(Extra Special.)

That he grew passing rich is a matter of course.

All his wealth to his wife he made over.

* * *

There has been a great smash;

Company's gone with a crash.

Gone also, I hear, has the shareholders⁹' cash.

But, Septimus Sharpe—he's in clover.

1 tact   

n.机敏，圆滑，得体

参考例句：

• She showed great tact in dealing with a tricky situation.她处理棘手的局面表现得十分老练。
• Tact is a valuable commodity.圆滑老练是很有用处的。

2 banished   

v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was banished to Australia, where he died five years later. 他被流放到澳大利亚，五年后在那里去世。
• He was banished to an uninhabited island for a year. 他被放逐到一个无人居住的荒岛一年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 engender   

v.产生，引起

参考例句：

• A policy like that tends to engender a sense of acceptance,and the research literature suggests this leads to greater innovation.一个能够使员工产生认同感的政策，研究表明这会走向更伟大的创新。
• The sense of injustice they engender is a threat to economic and political security.它们造成的不公平感是对经济和政治安全的威胁。

4 prospectus   

n.计划书；说明书；慕股书

参考例句：

• An order form was included with the prospectus.订单附在说明书上。
• The prospectus is the most important instrument of legal document.招股说明书是上市公司信息披露制度最重要法律文件。

5 dividends   

红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金

参考例句：

• Nothing pays richer dividends than magnanimity. 没有什么比宽宏大量更能得到厚报。
• Their decision five years ago to computerise the company is now paying dividends. 五年前他们作出的使公司电脑化的决定现在正产生出效益。

6 projectors   

电影放映机，幻灯机( projector的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Energy projectors fired and peeled off the ships' armor in a flash. 能量投射器开火然后在一阵闪光后剥离了飞船的装甲。
• All classrooms equipped with computers, projectors, video and audio booth, broadcasting equipment. 全部教室配备电脑、投影仪、视频展台和音响、广播设备。

7 prospectuses   

n.章程，简章，简介( prospectus的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Forms and prospectuses will be available at53 bank branches. 申请表和招股书可于五十三家银行分行索取。 来自互联网
• Galaxy Yintai fiscal dividend securities investment funds to update placement prospectuses. 银河银泰理财分红证券投资基金更新招募说明书。 来自互联网

8 mooting   

v.提出…供讨论( moot的现在分词 )

参考例句：

9 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任