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by Oscar Wilde (Author)
A menos que se sea rico, no sirve de nada ser una persona encantadora. Lo rom ntico es privilegio de los ricos, no profesi n de los desempleados. Los pobres debieran ser pr cticos y prosaicos. Vale m s tener una renta permanente que ser fascinante. Estas son las grandes verdades de la vida moderna que Hughie Erskine nunca comprendi . Pobre Hughie Intelectualmente, hemos de admitir, no era muy notable. Nunca dijo en su vida una cosa brillante, ni siquiera una cosa mal intencionada. Pero era, en cambio, asombrosamente bien parecido, con su pelo casta o rizado, su perfil bien recortado y sus ojos grises. Era tan popular entre los hombres como entre las mujeres, y ten a todas las cualidades, menos la de hacer dinero. Hughie Erskine is in love and wants to marry, but the girl's father will not allow it, since Erskine has no money. Erskine's friend, Alan Trevor is a painter, and he visits him at his studio one day to find him with a pitiable beggar-the model for his painting. Erskine only has one coin, which he depends on for transportation, but he decides he can walk for a couple weeks and gives the beggar the coin. The beggar is in reality an immensely wealthy baron, having a portrait of himself as a beggar done for fun. He is so impressed by Erskine's generosity that he gives him 10,000, enough for the girl's father to consent to his proposal.
