Hainesisgone,hesaid。
Ishe?
IwasshowinghimJubainville’sbook。He’squiteenthusiastic,don’tyouknow,aboutHyde’sLovesongsofConnacht。Icouldn’tbringhimintohearthediscussion。He’sgonetoGill’stobuyit。Boundtheeforth,mybooklet,quickTogreetthecallouspublic。
Writ,Iween,’twasnotmywishInleanunlovelyEnglish。Thepeatsmokeisgoingtohishead,JohnEglintonopined。
WefeelinEngland。Penitentthief。Gone。Ismokedhisbaccy。Greentwinklingstone。Anemeraldsetintheringofthesea。
Peopledonotknowhowdangerouslovesongscanbe,theauriceggofRussellwarnedoccultly。Themovementswhichworkrevolutionsintheworldarebornoutofthedreamsandvisionsinapeasant’sheartonthehillside。Forthemtheearthisnotanexploitablegroundbutthelivingmother。Therarefiedairoftheacademyandthearenaproducethesixshillingnovel,themusichallsong,FranceproducesthefinestflowerofcorruptioninMallarmé;butthedesirablelifeisrevealedonlytothepoorofheart,thelifeofHomer’sPh&;Aelig;acians。
FromthesewordsMrBestturnedanunoffendingfacetoStephen。
Mallarmé;,don’tyouknow,hesaid,haswrittenthosewonderfulprosepoemsStephenMacKennausedtoreadtomeinParis。TheoneaboutHamlet。Hesays:ilsepromè;ne,lisantaulivredelui-mê;me,don’tyouknow,readingthebookofhimself。HedescribesHamletgiveninaFrenchtown,don’tyouknow,aprovincialtown。Theyadvertisedit。
Hisfreehandgraciouslywrotetinysignsinair。HAMLET
ouLEDISTRAIT
Piè;cedeShakespeareHerepeatedtoJohnEglinton’snewgatheredfrown:
Pié;cedeShakespeare,don’tyouknow。It’ssoFrench,theFrenchpointofview。Hamletou……
Theabsentmindedbeggar,Stephenended。
JohnEglintonlaughed。
Yes,Isupposeitwouldbe,hesaid。Excellentpeople,nodoubt,butdistressinglyshortsightedinsomematters。
Sumptuousandstagnantexaggerationofmurder。
AdeathsmanofthesoulRobertGreenecalledhim,Stephensaid。Notfornothingwasheabutcher’ssonwieldingthesleddedpoleaxeandspittinginhispalm。Ninelivesaretakenoffforhisfather’sone,OurFatherwhoartinpurgatory。KhakiHamletsdon’thesitatetoshoot。ThebloodbolteredshamblesinactfiveisaforecastoftheconcentrationcampsungbyMrSwinburne。
Cranly,Ihismuteorderly,followingbattlesfromafar。WhelpsanddamsofmurderousfoeswhomnoneButwehadspared……BetweentheSaxonsmileandyankeeyawp。Thedevilandthedeepsea。
HewillhaveitthatHamletisaghoststory,JohnEglintonsaidforMrBest’sbehoof。LikethefatboyinPickwickhewantstomakeourfleshcreep。List!List!OList!Myfleshhearshim:creeping,hears。Ifthoudidstever……Whatisaghost?Stephensaidwithtinglingenergy。Onewhohasfadedintoimpalpabilitythroughdeath,throughabsence,throughchangeofmanners。
ElizabethanLondonlayasfarfromStratfordascorruptParisliesfromvirginDublin。Whoistheghostfromlimbopatrum,returningtotheworldthathasforgottenhim?WhoiskingHamlet?
JohnEglintonshiftedhissparebody,leaningbacktojudge:
Lifted。
ItisthishourofadayinmidJune,Stephensaid,beggingwithaswiftglancetheirhearing。Theflagisupontheplayhousebythebankside。
ThebearSackersongrowlsinthepitnearit,Parisgarden。CanvasclimberswhosailedwithDrakechewtheirsausagesamongthegroundlings。
Localcolour。Workinallyouknow。Makethemaccomplices。
Shakespearehasleftthehuguenot’shouseinSilverstreetandwalksbytheswanmewsalongtheriverbank。Buthedoesnotstaytofeedthepenchivyinghergameofcygnetstowardstherushes。TheswanofAvonhasotherthoughts。
Compositionofplace。IgnatiusLoyola,makehastetohelpme!
Theplaybegins。Aplayercomesonundertheshadow,madeupinthecastoffmailofacourtbuck,awellsetmanwithabassvoice。Itistheghost,theking,akingandnoking,andtheplayerisShakespearewhohasstudiedHamletalltheyearsofhislifewhichwerenotvanityinordertoplaythepartofthespectre。HespeaksthewordstoBurbage,theyoungplayerwhostandsbeforehimbeyondtherackofcerecloth,callinghimbyaname:Hamlet,Iamthyfather’sspiritbiddinghimlist。Toasonhespeaks,thesonofhissoul,theprince,youngHamletandtothesonofhisbody,HamnetShakespeare,whohasdiedinStratfordthathisnamesakemayliveforever。
IsitpossiblethatthatplayerShakespeare,aghostbyabsence,andinthevestureofburiedDenmark,aghostbydeath,speakinghisownwordstohisownson’snamehadHamnetShakespearelivedhewouldhavebeenprinceHamlet’stwinisitpossible,Iwanttoknow,orprobablethathedidnotdraworforeseethelogicalconclusionofthosepremises:
youarethedispossessedson:Iamthemurderedfather:yourmotheristheguiltyqueen。AnnShakespeare,bornHathaway?
Butthispryingintothefamilylifeofagreatman,Russellbeganimpatiently。
Artthouthere,truepenny?
Interestingonlytotheparishclerk。Imean,wehavetheplays。
ImeanwhenwereadthepoetryofKingLearwhatisittoushowthepoetlived?Asforliving,ourservantscandothatforus,Villiersdel’Islehassaid。Peepingandpryingintogreenroomgossipoftheday,thepoet’sdrinking,thepoet’sdebts。WehaveKingLear:anditisimmortal。
MrBest’sfaceappealedto,agreed。Flowoverthemwithyourwavesandwithyourwaters,Mananaan,MananaanMacLir……Hownow,sirrah,thatpoundhelentyouwhenyouwerehungry?
Marry,Iwantedit。
Takethouthisnoble。
Goto!YouspentmostofitinGeorginaJohnson’sbed,clergyman’sdaughter。
Agenbiteofinwit。
Doyouintendtopayitback?
O,yes。
When?Now?
Well……no。
When,then?
Ipaidmyway。Ipaidmyway。
Steadyon。He’sfrombeyantBoynewater。Thenortheastcorner。Youoweit。
Wait。Fivemonths。Moleculesallchange。IamotherInow。OtherIgotpound。
Buzz。Buzz。
ButI,entelechy,formofforms,amIbymemorybecauseundereverchangingforms。
Ithatsinnedandprayedandfasted。
AchildConmeesavedfrompandies。
I,IandI。I。
Doyoumeantoflyinthefaceofthetraditionofthreecenturies?
JohnEglinton’scarpingvoiceasked。Herghostatleasthasbeenlaidforever。Shedied,forliteratureatleast,beforeshewasborn。
Shedied,Stephenretorted,sixtysevenyearsaftershewasborn。
Shesawhimintoandoutoftheworld。Shetookhisfirstembraces。Sheborehischildrenandshelaidpenniesonhiseyestokeephiseyelidsclosedwhenhelayonhisdeathbed。
Mother’sdeathbed。Candle。Thesheetedmirror。Whobroughtmeintothisworldliesthere,bronzelidded,underfewcheapflowers。Liliatarutilantium。
Iweptalone。
JohnEglintonlookedinthetangledglowwormofhislamp。
TheworldbelievesthatShakespearemadeamistake,hesaid,andgotoutofitasquicklyandasbesthecould。
Bosh!Stephensaidrudely。Amanofgeniusmakesnomistakes。Hiserrorsarevolitionalandaretheportalsofdiscovery。
Portalsofdiscoveryopenedtoletinthequakerlibrarian,softcreakfooted,bald,earedandassiduous。
Ashrew,JohnEglintonsaidshrewdly,isnotausefulportalofdiscovery,oneshouldimagine。WhatusefuldiscoverydidSocrateslearnfromXanthippe?
Dialectic,Stephenanswered:andfromhismotherhowtobringthoughtsintotheworld。WhathelearntfromhisotherwifeMyrtoabsitnomen!
Socratididion’sEpipsychidion,noman,notawoman,willeverknow。Butneitherthemidwife’slorenorthecaudlecturessavedhimfromthearchonsofSinnFeinandtheirnogginofhemlock。
ButAnnHathaway?MrBest’squietvoicesaidforgetfully。Yes,weseemtobeforgettingherasShakespearehimselfforgother。
Hislookwentfrombrooder’sbeardtocarper’sskull,toremind,tochidethemnotunkindly,thentothebaldpinklollardcostard,guiltlessthoughmaligned。
Hehadagoodgroatsworthofwit,Stephensaid,andnotruantmemory。
HecarriedamemoryinhiswalletashetrudgedtoRomevillewhistlingThegirlIleftbehindme。IftheearthquakedidnottimeitweshouldknowwheretoplacepoorWat,sittinginhisform,thecryofhounds,thestuddedbridleandherbluewindows。Thatmemory,VenusandAdonis,layinthebedchamberofeverylight-of-loveinLondon。IsKatharinetheshrewillfavoured?Hortensiocallsheryoungandbeautiful。DoyouthinkthewriterofAntonyandCleopatra,apassionatepilgrim,hadhiseyesinthebackofhisheadthathechosetheugliestdoxyinallWarwickshiretoliewithal?Good:heleftherandgainedtheworldofmen。Buthisboywomenarethewomenofaboy。Theirlife,thought,speecharelentthembymales。
Hechosebadly?Hewaschosen,itseemstome。IfothershavetheirwillAnnhathaway。Bycock,shewastoblame。Sheputthecometheronhim,sweetandtwentysix。ThegreyeyedgoddesswhobendsovertheboyAdonis,stoopingtoconquer,asprologuetotheswellingact,isaboldfacedStratfordwenchwhotumblesinacornfieldaloveryoungerthanherself。
Andmyturn?When?
Come!
Ryefield,MrBestsaidbrightly,gladly,raisinghisnewbook,gladlybrightly。
Hemurmuredthenwithblondedelightforall:BetweentheacresoftheryeTheseprettycountryfolkwouldlie。Paris:thewellpleasedpleaser。
Atallfigureinbeardedhomespunrosefromshadowandunveileditscooperativewatch。
IamafraidIamdueattheHomestead。
Whitheraway?Exploitableground。
Areyougoing,JohnEglinton’sactiveeyebrowsasked。ShallweseeyouatMoore’stonight?Piperiscoming。
Piper!MrBestpiped。IsPiperback?
PeterPiperpeckedapeckofpickofpeckofpickledpepper。
Idon’tknowifIcan。Thursday。Wehaveourmeeting。IfIcangetawayintime。
YogibogeyboxinDawsonchambers。IsisUnveiled。TheirPalibookwetriedtopawn。CrossleggedunderanumbrelumbershoothethronesanAzteclogos,functioningonastrallevels,theiroversoul,mahamahatma。
Thefaithfulhermetistsawaitthelight,ripeforchelaship,ringroundabouthim。LouisH。Victory。T。CaulfieldIrwin。Lotusladiestendthemi’theeyes,theirpinealglandsaglow。Filledwithhisgodhethrones,Buddhunderplantain。Gulferofsouls,engulfer。Hesouls,shesouls,shoalsofsouls。Engulfedwithwailingcreecries,whirled,whirling,theybewail。InquintessentialtrivialityForyearsinthisfleshcaseashesouldwelt。Theysaywearetohavealiterarysurprise,thequakerlibrariansaid,friendlyandearnest。MrRussell,rumourhasit,isgatheringtogetherasheafofouryoungerpoets’verses。Wearealllookingforwardanxiously。
Anxiouslyheglancedintheconeoflamplightwherethreefaces,lighted,shone。
Seethis。Remember。
Stephenlookeddownonawideheadlesscaubeen,hungonhisashplanthandleoverhisknee。Mycasqueandsword。Touchlightlywithtwoindexfingers。
Aristotle’sexperiment。Oneortwo?Necessityisthatinvirtueofwhichitisimpossiblethatonecanbeotherwise。Argai,onehatisonehat。
Listen。
YoungColumandStarkey。GeorgeRobertsisdoingthecommercialpart。
LongworthwillgiveitagoodpuffintheExpress。O,willhe?I
likedColum’sDrover。Yes,Ithinkhehasthatqueerthing,genius。
Doyouthinkhehasgeniusreally?Yeatsadmiredhisline:AsinwildearthaGrecianvase。Didhe?Ihopeyou’llbeabletocometonight。
MalachiMulliganiscomingtoo。MooreaskedhimtobringHaines。DidyouhearMissMitchell’sjokeaboutMooreandMartyn?ThatMooreisMartyn’swildoats?Awfullyclever,isn’tit?TheyremindoneofdonQuixoteandSanchoPanza。Ournationalepichasyettobewritten,DrSigersonsays。
Mooreisthemanforit。AknightoftheruefulcountenancehereinDublin。
Withasaffronkilt?O’NeillRussell?O,yes,hemustspeakthegrandoldtongue。AndhisDulcinea?JamesStephensisdoingsomecleversketches。
Wearebecomingimportant,itseems。
Cordelia。Cordoglio。Lir’sloneliestdaughter。
Nookshotten。NowyourbestFrenchpolish。
Thankyouverymuch,MrRussell,Stephensaid,rising。IfyouwillbesokindastogivethelettertoMrNorman……
O,yes。Ifheconsidersitimportantitwillgoin。Wehavesomuchcorrespondence。
Iunderstand,Stephensaid。Thanks。
Goodildyou。Thepigs’paper。Bullockbefriending。
SyngehaspromisedmeanarticleforDanatoo。Arewegoingtoberead?Ifeelweare。TheGaelicleaguewantssomethinginIrish。
Ihopeyouwillcomeroundtonight。BringStarkey。
Stephensatdown。
Thequakerlibrariancamefromtheleavetakers。Blushinghismasksaid:
MrDedalus,yourviewsaremostilluminating。
Hecreakedtoandfro,tiptoingupnearerheavenbythealtitudeofachopine,and,coveredbythenoiseofoutgoing,saidlow:
Isityourview,then,thatshewasnotfaithfultothepoet?
Alarmedfaceasksme。Whydidhecome?Courtesyoraninwardlight?
Wherethereisareconciliation,Stephensaid,theremusthavebeenfirstasundering。
Yes。