On a Saying of Mencius

That was well said of Mencius: The misfortunes of one are the entertainment of many.

When Prosperity attended the occasions of this person, And his heart smiled within him, He was regarded and received on all sides by his fellows With attitudes of dignity and expressions of mandarin-like solemnity, And his laughing heart could fetch no smile To the faces of those about him.

But when, on a recent manifestation of evil spirits, He was hailed before those in authority And commanded to pay very many taels, For the fault of possessing some morsels of chandu, the Great Tobacco, And his heart was heavy and dark as a raincloud within him, He was received on all sides With attitudes of mirth and expressions of no-gravity.