AndJackyCaffreyshoutedtolook,therewasanotherandsheleanedbackandthegarterswerebluetomatchonaccountofthetransparentandtheyallsawitandshoutedtolook,lookthereitwasandsheleanedbackeversofartoseethefireworksandsomethingqueerwasflyingaboutthroughtheair,asoftthingtoandfro,dark。AndshesawalongRomancandlegoingupoverthetreesup,up,and,inthetensehush,theywereallbreathlesswithexcitementasitwenthigherandhigherandshehadtoleanbackmoreandmoretolookupafterit,high,high,almostoutofsight,andherfacewassuffusedwithadivine,anentrancingblushfromstrainingbackandhecouldseeherotherthingstoo,nainsookknickers,thefabricthatcaressestheskin,betterthanthoseotherpettiwidth,thegreen,fourandeleven,onaccountofbeingwhiteandshelethimandshesawthathesawandthenitwentsohighitwentoutofsightamomentandshewastremblingineverylimbfrombeingbentsofarbackhehadafullviewhighupaboveherkneeno-oneevernotevenontheswingorwadingandshewasn’tashamedandhewasn’teithertolookinthatimmodestwaylikethatbecausehecouldn’tresistthesightofthewondrousrevealmenthalfofferedlikethoseskirt-dancersbehavingsoimmodestbeforegentlemenlookingandhekeptonlooking,looking。Shewouldfainhavecriedtohimchokingly,heldouthersnowyslenderarmstohimtocome,tofeelhislipslaidonherwhitebrowthecryofayounggirl’slove,alittlestrangledcry,wrungfromher,thatcrythathasrungthroughtheages。AndthenarocketsprangandbangshotblindandO!thentheRomancandleburstanditwaslikeasighofO!andeveryonecriedO!O!inrapturesanditgushedoutofitastreamofraingoldhairthreadsandtheyshedandah!
theywereallgreenydewystarsfallingwithgolden,Osolively!Ososoft,sweet,soft!
Thenallmeltedawaydewilyinthegreyair:allwassilent。Ah!Sheglancedathimasshebentforwardquickly,apatheticlittleglanceofpiteousprotest,ofshyreproachunderwhichhecolouredlikeagirl。Hewasleaningbackagainsttherockbehind。LeopoldBloomforitishe
standssilent,withbowedheadbeforethoseyoungguilelesseyes。Whatabrutehehadbeen!Atitagain?Afairunsulliedsoulhadcalledtohimand,wretchthathewas,howhadheanswered?Anuttercadhehadbeen。
Heofallmen!Buttherewasaninfinitestoreofmercyinthoseeyes,forhimtooawordofpardoneventhoughhehaderredandsinnedandwandered。
Shouldagirltell?No,athousandtimesno。Thatwastheirsecret,onlytheirs,aloneinthehidingtwilightandtherewasnonetoknowortellsavethelittlebatthatflewsosoftlythroughtheeveningtoandfroandlittlebatsdon’ttell。
CissyCaffreywhistled,imitatingtheboysinthefootballfieldtoshowwhatagreatpersonshewas:andthenshecried:
Gerty!Gerty!We’regoing。Comeon。Wecanseefromfartherup。
Gertyhadanidea,oneoflove’slittleruses。Sheslippedahandintoherkerchiefpocketandtookoutthewaddingandwavedinreplyofcoursewithoutlettinghimandthenslippeditback。Wonderifhe’stoofarto。
Sherose。Wasitgoodbye?No。Shehadtogobuttheywouldmeetagain,there,andshewoulddreamofthattillthen,tomorrow,ofherdreamofyestereve。Shedrewherselfuptoherfullheight。Theirsoulsbetinalastlingeringglanceandtheeyesthatreachedherheart,fullofastrangeshining,hungenrapturedonhersweetflowerlikeface。Shehalfsmiledathimwanly,asweetforgivingsmile,asmilethatvergedontears,andthentheyparted。
SlowlywithoutlookingbackshewentdowntheunevenstrandtoCissy,toEdy,toJackyandTommyCaffrey,tolittlebabyBoardman。Itwasdarkernowandtherewerestonesandbitsofwoodonthestrandandslippyseaweed。
ShebalkedwithacertainquietdignitycharacteristicofherbutwithcareandveryslowlybecauseGertyMacDowellwas……
Tightboots?No。She’slame!O!
MrBloomwatchedherasshelimpedaway。Poorgirl!That’swhyshe’sleftontheshelfandtheothersdidasprint。Thoughtsomethingwaswrongbythecutofherjib。Jiltedbeauty。Adefectistentimesworseinawoman。Butmakesthempolite。GladIdidn’tknowitwhenshewasonshow。
HotlittledevilallThesame。Wouldn’tmind。Curiositylikeanunoranegressoragirlwithglasses。Thatsquintyoneisdelicate。Nearhermonthlies,Iexpect,makesthemfeelticklish。Ihavesuchabadheadachetoday。WheredidIputtheletter?Yes,allright。Allkindsofcrazylongings。
Lickingpennies。GirlinTranquillaconventthatnuntoldmelikedtosmellrockoil。VirginsgomadintheendIsuppose。Sister?HowmanywomeninDublinhaveittoday?Martha,she。Somethingintheair。That’sthemoon。
Butthenwhydon’tallwomenmenstruateatthesametimewithsamemoon,Imean?Dependsonthetimetheywereborn,Isuppose。Orallstartscratchthengetoutofstep。SometimesMollyandMillytogether。AnyhowIgotthebestofthat。DamnedgladIdidn’tdoitinthebaththismorningoverhersillyIwillpunishyouletter。Madeupforthattramdriverthismorning。
ThatgougerM’Coystoppingmetosaynothing。Andhiswifeengagementinthecountryvalise,voicelikeapickaxe。Thankfulforsmallmercies。Cheaptoo。Yoursfortheasking。Becausetheywantitthemselves。Theirnaturalcraving。Shoalsofthemeveryeveningpouredoutofoffices。Reservebetter。
Don’twantittheythrowitatyou。Catchemalive,O。Pitytheycan’tseethemselves。Adreamofwellfilledhose。Wherewasthat?Ah,yes。MuioscopepicturesinCapelstreet:formenonly。PeepingTom。Willy’shatandwhatthegirlsdidwithit。Dotheysnapshotthosegirlsorisitallafake?Lingeriedoesit。Feltforthecurvesinsideherdeshabillé;。
Excitesthemalsowhenthey’re。I’mallcleancomeanddirtyme。Andtheylikedressingoneanotherforthesacrifice。MillydelightedwithMolly’snewblouse。Atfirst。Putthemallontotakethemalloff。Molly。WhyIboughtherthevioletgarters。Ustoo:thetiehewore,hislovelysocksandturneduptrousers。Heworeapairofgaitersthenightthatfirstwemet。Hislovelyshirtwasshiningbeneathhiswhat?ofjet。Sayawomanlosesacharmwitheverypinshetakesout。Pinnedtogether。OMairylostthepinofher。Dresseduptotheninesforsomebody。Fashionpartoftheircharm。Justchangeswhenyou’reonthetrackofthesecret。Excepttheeast:Mary,Martha:nowasthen。Noreasonableofferrefused。Shewasn’tinahurryeither。Alwaysofftoafellowwhentheyare。Theyneverforgetanappointment。Outonspecprobably。Theybelieveinchancebecauselikethemselves。Andtheothersinclinedtogiveheranodddig。Girlfriendsatschool,armsroundeachother’sneckorwithtenfingerslocked,kissingandwhisperingsecretsaboutnothingintheconventgarden。Nunswithwhitewashedfaces,coolcoifandtheirrosariesgoingupanddown,vindictivetooforwhattheycan’tget。Barbedwire。Besurenowandwritetome。AndI’llwritetoyou。Nowwon’tyou?MollyandJosiePowell。TillMrRightcomesalongthenmeetonceinabluemoon。Tableau!O,lookwhoitisfortheloveofGod!Howareyouatall?Whathaveyoubeendoingwithyourself?Kissanddelightedto,kiss,toseeyou。Pickingholesineachother’sappearance。You’relookingsplendid。Sistersoulsshowingtheirteethatoneanother。Howmanyhaveyouleft?Wouldn’tlendeachotherapinchofsalt。
Ah!
Devilstheyarewhenthat’scomingonthem。Darkdevilishappearance。
Mollyoftentoldmefeelthingsatonweight。Scratchthesoleofmyfoot。
Othatway!O,that’sexquisite!Feelitmyselftoo。Goodtorestonceinaway。Wonderifit’sbadtogowiththemthen。Safeinoneway。Turnsmilk,makesfiddlestringssnap。SomethingaboutwitheringplantsIreadinagarden。Besidestheysayiftheflowerwithersshewearsshe’saflirt。
Allare。DaresayshefeltI。Whenyoufeellikethatyouoftenmeetwhatyoufeel。Likedmeorwhat?Dresstheylookat。Alwaysknowafellowcourting:
collarsandcuffs。Wellcocksandlionsdothesameandstags。Sametimemightpreferatieundoneorsomething。Trousers?SupposeIwhenIwas?
No。Gentlydoesit。Dislikeroughandtumble。Kissinthedarkandnevertell。Sawsomethinginme。Wonderwhat。SoonerhavemeasIamthansomepoetchapwithbearsgrease,plasteryhairlovelockoverhisdexteroptic。
Toaidgentlemaninliterary。Oughttoattendtomyappearancemyage。
Didn’tletherseemeinprofile。Still,youneverknow。Prettygirlsanduglymenmarrying。Beautyandthebeast。BesidesIcan’tbesoifMolly。
Tookoffherhattoshowherhair。Widebrimboughttohideherface,meetingsomeonemightknowher,benddownorcarryabunchofflowerstosmell。
Hairstronginrut。TenbobIgotforMolly’scombingswhenwewereontherocksinHollesstreet。Whynot?Supposehegavehermoney。Whynot?
Allaprejudice。She’sworthten,fifteen,moreapound。Allthatfornothing。
Boldhand。MrsMarion。DidIforgettowriteaddressonthatletterlikethepostcardIsenttoFlynn?AndthedayIwenttoDrimmie’swithoutanecktie。WranglewithMollyitwasputmeoff。No,Iremember。RichieGoulding。
He’sanother。Weighsonhismind。Funnymywatchstoppedathalfpastfour。
Dust。Sharkliveroiltheyusetocleancoulddoitmyself。Save。Wasthatjustwhenhe,she?
O,hedid。Intoher。Shedid。Done。
Ah!
MrBloomwithcarefulhandrecomposedhiswetshirt。OLord,thatlittlelimpingdevil。BeginstofeelcoldandclammyAftereffectnotpleasant。
Stillyouhavetogetridofitsomeway。Theydon’tcare。Complimentedperhaps。Gohometoniceybreadandmilkyandsaynightprayerswiththekiddies。Well,aren’tthey。Seeherassheisspoilall。Musthavethestagesetting,therouge,costume,position,music。Thenametoo。Amoursofactresses。NellGwynn,MrsBracegirdle,MaudBranscombe。Curtainup。
Moonlightsilvereffulgence。Maidendiscoveredwithpensivebosom。LittlesweetheartcomeandkissmeStillIfeel。Thestrengthitgivesaman。
That’sthesecretofit。GoodjobIletofftherebehindcomingoutofDignam’s。Ciderthatwas。OtherwiseIcouldn’thave。Makesyouwanttosingafter。Lacausesanttaratara。SupposeIspoketoher。Whatabout?Badplanhoweverifyoudon’tknowhowtoendtheconversation。
Askthemaquestiontheyaskyouanother。Goodideaifyou’reinacart。
Wonderfulofcourseifyousay:goodevening,andyouseeshe’sonforit:goodevening。ObutthedarkeveningintheAppianwayInearlyspoketoMrsClinchOthinkingshewas。Whew!GirlinMeathstreetthatnight。
AllthedirtythingsImadehersayallwrongofcourse。Myarksshecalledit。It’ssohardtofindonewho。Aho!Ifyoudon’tanswerwhentheysolicitmustbehorribleforthemtilltheyharden。AndkissedmyhandwhenIgavehertheextratwoshillings。Parrots。Pressthebuttonandthebirdwillsqueak。Wishshehadn’tcalledmesir。Oh,hermouthinthedark!Andyouamarriedmanwithasinglegirl!That’swhattheyenjoy。Takingamanfromanotherwoman。Orevenhearofit。Differentwithme。Gladtogetawayfromotherchap’swife。Eatingoffhiscoldplate。ChapintheBurtontodayspittingbackgumchewedgristle。Frenchletterstillinmypocketbook。
Causeofhalfthetrouble。Butmighthappensometime,Idon’tthink。Comein。Allisprepared。Idreamt。What?Worstisbeginning。Howtheychangethevenuewhenit’snotwhattheylike。Askyoudoyoulikemushroomsbecausesheonceknewagentlemanwho。Oraskyouwhatsomeonewasgoingtosaywhenhechangedhismindandstopped。YetifIwentthewholehog,say:
Iwantto,somethinglikethat。BecauseIdid。Shetoo。Offendher。Thenmakeitup。Pretendtowantsomethingawfully,thencryoffforhersake。
Flattersthem。Shemusthavebeenthinkingofsomeoneelseallthetime。
Whatharm?Mustsinceshecametotheuseofreason,he,heandhe。FirstKissdoesthetrick。Thepropitiousmoment。Somethinginsidethemgoespop。Mushylike,tellbytheireye,onthesly。Firstthoughtsarebest。
Rememberthattilltheirdyingday。Molly,lieutenantMulveythatkissedherundertheMoorishwallbesidethegardens。Fifteenshetoldme。Butherbreastsweredeveloped。Fellasleepthen。AfterGencreedinnerthatwaswhenwedrovehomethefeatherbedmountain。Gnashingherteethinsleep。
Lordmayorhadhiseyeoffhertoo。ValDillon。Apoplectic。
Theresheiswiththemdownthereforthefireworks。Myfireworks。Uplikearocket,downlikeastick。Andthechildren,twinstheymustbe,waitingforsomethingtohappen。Wanttobegrownups。Dressinginmother’sclothes。Timeenough,understandallthewaysoftheworld。Andthedarkonewiththemopheadandtheniggermouth。Iknewshecouldwhistle。Mouthmadeforthat。LikeMolly。WhythathighclasswhoreInJammet’sworeherveilonlytohernose。Wouldyoumind,please,tellingmetherighttime?
I’lltellyoutherighttimeupadarklane。Sayprunesandprismsfortytimeseverymorning,cureforfatlips。Caressingthelittleboytoo。Onlookersseemostofthegame。Ofcoursetheyunderstandbirds,animals,babies。
Intheirline。