The Firm of Happiness, Limited

Norman Cameron

The Firm of Happiness, Limited was one to astonish the stars,

More like a thriving town than a multiple store--- a hotchpotch

Of markets and playrooms and chapels and brothels and baths and bars,

As smoothly running and closely packed as the works of a watch.

Nobody finally understood the cause of the crash.

Some spoke of Nemesis; others rumoured, vaguely, of course,

That a gang of directors jad simply robbed the firm of its cash,

Or that some ironical Jew was selling it short on the Bourse.

Whatever the reason, the firm of a sudden began to fail.

The floor were undusted at corners, the commissionaries were unshaved,

The girls were anxious and raucous, the comedians’ jokes were stale.

The customers noticed the difference---to judge from the way they behaved.

When Happiness closed its doors, the Corporation of the city

Were distressed to see so vast a property left alone

To moulder and waste; in a mingled impulse of thrift and pity

They decided to buy the empty building, and floated a loan.

Now nobody knows what to do with this monstrous hulk we have bought.

At the last Corporation meeting one alderman, half in jest,

Spoke of turning it into a barracks.Meanwhile there’s the dreary thought

That we ratepayers have to keep paying the burdensome interest.

幸福有限責(zé)任公司

諾爾曼?卡麥隆

幸福有限責(zé)任公司震驚星辰，

像百貨公司，更像興旺的城鎮(zhèn)--

集市、游樂(lè)、酒吧、妓院、教堂、澡堂無(wú)所不包，

排列精密正如鐘表運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)有條不紊。

對(duì)它的倒閉人們始終不懂個(gè)中奧妙，

是上天懲罰還是人為災(zāi)禍各有傳聞;

或者敗在卷走資金的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)集團(tuán)?

或者毀于股市將它拋售的猶太商人?

公司突然開(kāi)始崩潰，不管是何原因，

管理委員面容不整，地上角落布滿灰塵;

不安的小姐聲音嘶啞，笑星遭到厭棄，

顧客察覺(jué)到這一切變化，不再登門(mén)。

公司巨大的資產(chǎn)閑置、發(fā)霉，

看到這副景象市政機(jī)關(guān)實(shí)在痛心;

他們決定籌集貸款買(mǎi)下空樓，

既是為了節(jié)儉也是出于憐憫。

買(mǎi)下巨大的空樓無(wú)人知道如何處理，

用作工棚吧，市政會(huì)上議員的玩笑半假半真。

我們這些納稅人還得為它繼續(xù)支付利息，

想到這一點(diǎn)人人感到非常郁悶。