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349
The Journal of a Disappointed Man
·
W. N. P. Barbellion
186
Not
infrequently
he
visits
the
East
End
to
Study
"how
the
poor
live,"
he
lectures
at
Toynbee
Hall,
and
calls
the
proletariat
"the
prolly."
In
fact,
he
does
everything
according
to
the
regulations,
being
a
socialist
and
an
agnostic,
a
follower
of
Shaw
and
a
devotee
of
Bunyan.
"Erotic"
he
is
careful
to
pronounce
eròtic
to
show
he
knows
Greek,
and
the
"Duma,"
the
Dumà,
tho'
he
doesn't
know
Russian.
Like
any
don,
he
is
always
ready
to
discuss
and
give
an
opinion
on
any
sub-
supra-
or
circum-lunary
subject
from
bimetallism
to
the
Symphony
as
an
art-form.
"That's
a
dominant
fifth,"
I
said
to
him
the
other
day;
no
answer.
"You
ignorant
devil,"
I
said,
"you
don't
know
what
a
dominant
fifth
is!"
We
made
grimaces
at
one
another.
"Who's
the
Master
of
the
Mint?"
I
asked
him.
"That
is
an
easy
one."
"The
Chancellor
of
the
Exchequer,"
was
the
prompt
reply.
"Oh!
that's
right,"
I
said
sarcastic
and
crestfallen.
"Now
tell
me
the
shortest
verse
in
the
Bible
and
the
date
of
Rameses
II."
We
laughed.
R----
is
a
very
clever
man
and
the
most
extraordinarily
versatile
man
I
know.
He
is
bound
to
make
his
mark.
His
danger
is--too
many
irons
in
the
fire.
Here
are
some
of
his
occupations
and
acquirements:
Art
(etching,
drypoint,
water-colours),
music
(a
charming
voice),
classics,
French,
German,
Italian
(both
speaking
and
reading
knowledge),
biology,
etc.,
etc.
He
is
for
ever
titillating
his
mind
with
some
new
thing.
"For
God's
sake,
do
leave
it
alone--you
simply
rag
your
mind
to
death.
Put
it
out
to
grass--go
thro'
an
annual
season
of
complete
abstinence
from
knowledge--an
intellectual
Lent."
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