在世界皇家剧院的一间潮湿的葬礼更衣室里，一个演员闷闷不乐地坐在那里，他的行头摊开了。他在圣诞节期间来到镇上，冒着寒冷的呼吸，上演他最喜欢的哑剧《丑角生与死》。他戴着一顶飘逸的白色假发，戴着一顶怪异的、不可思议的头盖帽，在一双空裤子上挂着一长串仁慈的胡须。为了抚平他那可怕的面容，他模仿演员的艺术，——一件飘逸的长棉袍。他的肋骨嘎嘎作响。他喊道:“继续——开始，开始!”打开石灰灯——我穿着欢乐的圣诞服装，在我最喜欢的哑剧里!”幕布拉开了——舞台一片漆黑——时间和年夜匆匆流逝——时间就像广告中的庸医——旧年即将逝去。时间的魔杖一挥，瞧!古老的圣诞摊位被掀开，小孩子们咯咯地笑着叫着，笑着拍着手。 The cruel old scoundrel brightens up At the death of the Olden Year, And he waves a gorgeous golden cup, And bids the world good cheer. The little ones hail the festive King, - No thought can make them sad. Their laughter comes with a sounding ring, They clap and crow like mad! They only see in the humbug old A holiday every year, And handsome gifts, and joys untold, And unaccustomed cheer. The old ones, palsied, blear, and hoar, Their breasts in anguish beat - They've seen him seventy times before, How well they know the cheat! They've seen that ghastly pantomime, They've felt its blighting breath, They know that rollicking Christmas-time Meant Cold and Want and Death, - Starvation - Poor Law Union fare - And deadly cramps and chills, And illness - illness everywhere, And crime, and Christmas bills. They know Old Christmas well, I ween, Those men of ripened age; They've often, often, often seen That Actor off the stage! They see in his gay rotundity A clumsy stuffed-out dress - They see in the cup he waves on high A tinselled emptiness. Those aged men so lean and wan, They've seen it all before, They know they'll see the charlatan But twice or three times more. And so they bear with dance and song, And crimson foil and green, They wearily sit, and grimly long For the Transformation Scene.