第76章
加入书架 A- A+
点击下载App,搜索"ULYSSES",免费读到尾

  AVOICETurncoat!UptheBoers!WhobooedJoeChamberlain?

  BLOOMHishandontheshoulderofthefirstwatch。MyolddadtoowasaJ。P。I’masstaunchaBritisherasyouare,sir。IfoughtwiththecoloursforkingandcountryintheabsentmindedwarunderGeneralGoughintheparkandwasdisabledatSpionKopandBloemfontein,wasmentionedindispatches。Ididallawhitemancould。Withquietfeeling。

  JimBludso。Holdhernozzleagainthebank。

  FIRSTWATCHProfessionortrade。

  BLOOMWell,Ifollowaliteraryoccupation。Author-journalist。InfactwearejustbringingoutacollectionofprizestoriesofwhichIamtheinventor,somethingthatisanentirelynewdeparture。IamconnectedwiththeBritishandIrishpress。Ifyouringup……

  MylesCrawfordstridesoutjerkily,aquillbetweenhisteeth。Hisscarletbeakblazeswithintheaureoleofhisstrawhat。HedanglesahankofSpanishonionsinonehandandholdswiththeotherhandatelephonereceivernozzletohisear。

  MYLESCRAWFORDHiscock’swattleswagging。Hello,seventyseveneightfour。Hello。Freeman’sUrinalandWeeklyArsewiperhere。ParalyseEurope。Youwhich?Bluebags?Whowrites?IsitBloom?

  MrPhilipBeaufoy,palefaced,standsinthewitnessbox,inaccuratemorningdress,outbreastpocketwithpeakofhandkerchiefshowing,creasedlavendertrousersandpatentboots。HecamesalaceportfoliolabelledMatcham’sMasterstrokes。

  BEAUFOYDrawls。No,youaren’t,notbyalongshotifIknowit。Idon’tseeit,that’sall。Noborngentleman,noonewiththemostrudimentarypromptingsofagentlemanwouldstooptosuchparticularlyloathsomeconduct。Oneofthose,mylord。Aplagiarist。Asoapysneakmasqueradingasaliterateur。It’sperfectlyobviousthatwiththemostinherentbasenesshehascribbedsomeofmybestsellingbooks,reallygorgeousstuff,aperfectgem,thelovepassagesinwhicharebeneathsuspicion。TheBeaufoybooksofloveandgreatpossessionswithwhichyourlordshipisdoubtlessfamiliar,areahouseholdwordthroughoutthekingdom。

  BLOOMMurmurswithhangdogmeekness。ThatbitaboutthelaughingwitchhandinhandItakeexceptionto,ifImay……?

  BEAUFOYHislipupcurled,smilessuperciliouslyonthecourt。

  Youfunnyass,you!You’retoobeastlyawfullyweirdforwords!Idon’tthinkyouneedoverexcessivelydisincommodateyourselfinthatregard。

  MyliteraryagentMrJ。B。Pinkerisinattendance。Ipresume,mylord,weshallreceivetheusualwitnesses’fees,shan’twe?Weareconsiderablyoutofpocketoverthisballypressmanjohnny,thisjackdawofRheims,whohasnotevenbeentoauniversity。

  BLOOMIndistinctly。Universityoflife。Badart。

  BEAUFOYShouts。It’sadamnablyfoullieshowingthemoralrottennessoftheman!Heextendshisportfolio。Wehaveheredamningevidence,thecorpusdelicti,mylord,aspecimenofmymaturerworkdisfiguredbythehallmarkofthebeast。

  AVOICEFROMTHEGALLERYMoses,Moses,kingofthejews,WipedhisarseintheDailyNews。BLOOMBravely。Overdrawn。

  BEAUFOYYoulowcad!Yououghttobeduckedinthehorsepond,yourotter!

  Tothecourt。Why,lookattheman’sprivatelife!Leadingaquadrupleexistence!Streetangelandhousedevil。Notfittobementionedinmixedsociety。Thearchconspiratoroftheage。

  BLOOMTothecourt。Andhe,abachelor,how。

  FIRSTWATCHTheKingversusBloom。CallthewomanDriscoll。

  THECRIERMaryDriscoll,scullerymaid!

  MaryDriscoll,aslipshodservantgirl,approaches。Shehasabucketonthecrookofherarmandascouringbrushinherhand。

  SECONDWATCHAnother!Areyouoftheunfortunateclass?

  MARYDRISCOLLIndignantly。I’mnotabadone。Ibeararespectablecharacterandwasfourmonthsinmylastplace。Iwasinasituation,sixpoundsayearandmychanceswithFridaysout,andIhadtoleaveowingtohiscarryingson。

  FIRSTWATCHWhatdoyoutaxhimwith?

  MARYDRISCOLLHemadeacertainsuggestionbutIthoughtmoreofmyselfaspoorasIam。

  BLOOMInhousejacketofripplecloth,flanneltrousers,heellessslippers,unshaven,hishairrumpledsoftly。Itreatedyouwhite。

  Igaveyoumementoes,smartemeraldgartersfaraboveyourstation。IncautiouslyItookyourpartwhenyouwereaccusedofpilfering。There’samediuminallthings。Playcricket。

  MARYDRISCOLLExcitedly。AsGodislookingdownonmethisnightifeverIlaidahandtothemoysters!

  FIRSTWATCHTheoffencecomplainedof?Didsomethinghappen?

  MARYDRISCOLLHesurprisedmeintherereofthepremises,yourhonour,whenthemissuswasoutshoppingonemorningwitharequestforasafetypin。HeheldmeandIwasdiscolouredinfourplacesasaresult。Andheinterferedtwicewithmyclothing。

  BLOOMShecounterassaulted。

  MARYDRISCOLLScornfully。Ihadmorerespectforthescouringbrush,soIhad。Iremonstratedwithhim,yourlord,andheremarked:Keepitquiet!

  Generallaughter。

  GEORGESFOTTRELLClerkofthecrownandpeace,resonantly。

  Orderincourt!Theaccusedwillnowmakeabogusstatement。

  Bloom,pleadingnotguiltyandholdingafullblownwaterlily,beginsalongunintelligiblespeech。Theywouldhearwhatcounselhadtosayinhisstirringaddresstothegrand-jury。Hewasdownandoutbut,thoughbrandedasablacksheep,ifhemightsayso,hemeanttoreform,toretrievethememoryofthepastinapurelysisterlywayandreturntonatureasapurelydomesticanimal。Asevenmonths’child,hehadbeencarefullybroughtupandnurturedbyanagedbedriddenparent。Theremighthavebeenlapsesofanerringfatherbuthewantedtoturnoveranewleafandnow,whenatlonglastinsightofthewhippingpost,toleadahomelylifeintheeveningofhisdays,permeatedbytheaffectionatesurroundingsoftheheavingbosomofthefamily。AnacclimatisedBritisherhehadseenthatsummerevefromthefootplateofanenginecaboftheLooplinerailwaycompanywhiletherainrefrainedfromfallingglimpses,asitwere,throughthewindowsoflovefulhouseholdsinDublincityandurbandistrictofscenestrulyruralofhappinessofthebetterlandwithDockrell’swallpaperatoneandninepenceadozen,innocentBritishbornbairnslispingprayerstotheSacredInfant,youthfulscholarsgrapplingwiththeirpensums,modelyoungladiesplayingonthepianoforteoranonallwithfervourrecitingthefamilyrosaryroundthecracklingYulelogwhileintheboreensandgreenlanesthecolleenswiththeirswainsstrolledwhattimesthestrainsoftheorgantonedmelodeonBritanniametalboundwithfouractingstopsandtwelvefoldbellows,asacrifice,greatestbargainever……

  Renewedlaughter。Hemumblesincoherently。Reporterscomplainthattheycannothear。

  LONGHANDANDSHORTHANDWithoutlookingupfromtheirnotebooks。

  Loosenhisboots。

  PROFESSORMACHUGHFromthepresstable,coughsandcalls。Coughitup,man。Getitoutinbits。

  ThecrossexaminationproceedsreBloomandthebucket。Alacebucket。

  BloomhimselfBoweltrouble。InBeaverstreet。Gripe,yes。Quitebad。A

  plasterersbucket。Bywalkingstifflegged。Suffereduntoldmisery。Deadlyagony。Aboutnoon。Loveorburgundy。Yes,somespinach。Crucialmoment。

  Hedidnotlookinthebucket。Nobody。Ratheramess。Notcompletely。ATitbitsbacknumber。

  Uproarandcatcalls。Bloom,inatornfrockcoatstainedwithwhitewash,dingedsilkhatsidewaysonhishead,astripofsticking-plasteracrosshisnose,talksinaudibly。

  J。J。O’MOLLOYInbarrister’sgreywigandstuffgown,speakingwithavoiceofpainedprotest。Thisisnoplaceforindecentlevityattheexpenseofanerringmortaldisguisedinliquor。WearenotinabeargardennoratanOxfordragnoristhisatravestyofjustice。Myclientisaninfant,apoorforeignimmigrantwhostartedscratchasastowawayandisnowtryingtoturnanhonestpenny。Thetrumpedupmisdemeanourwasduetoamomentaryaberrationofheredity,broughtonbyhallucination,suchfamiliaritiesastheallegedguiltyoccurrencebeingquitepermittedinmyclient’snativeplace,thelandofthePharaoh。Primafacie,Iputittoyouthattherewasnoattemptatcarnallyknowing。IntimacydidnotoccurandtheoffencecomplainedofbyDriscoll,thathervirtuewassolicited,wasnotrepeated。Iwoulddealinespecialwithatavism。

  Therehavebeencasesofshipwreckandsomnambulisminmyclient’sfamily。

  Iftheaccusedcouldspeakhecouldataleunfoldoneofthestrangestthathaveeverbeennarratedbetweenthecoversofabook。Hehimself,mylord,isaphysicalwreckfromcobbler’sweakchest。HissubmissionisthatheisofMongolianextractionandirresponsibleforhisactions。

  Notallthere,infact。

  BLOOMBarefoot,pigeonbreasted,inlascar’svestandtrousers,apologetictoesturnedin,openshistinymole’seyesandlooksabouthimdazedly,passingaslowhandacrosshisforehead。Thenhehitcheshisbeltsailorfashionandwithashrugoforientalobeisancesalutesthecourt,pointingonethumbheavenward。Himmakeevellymucheefinenight。Hebeginstoliltsimply。Lilipoolilchile,Blingeepigfootevlynight。

  Payeetwoshilly……Heishowleddown。

  J。J。O’MOLLOYHotlytothepopulace。Thisisalonehandfight。

  ByHades,Iwillnothaveanyclientofminegaggedandbadgeredinthisfashionbyapackofcursandlaughinghyenas。TheMosaiccodehassupersededthelawofthejungle。IsayitandIsayitemphaticallywithoutwishingforonemomenttodefeattheendsofjustice,accusedwasnotaccessorybeforetheactandprosecutrixhasnotbeentamperedwith。Theyoungpersonwastreatedbydefendantasifshewerehisveryowndaughter。BloomtakesJ。J。O’Molloy’shandandraisesittohislips。Ishallcallrebuttingevidencetoproveuptothehiltthatthehiddenhandisagainatitsoldgame。WhenindoubtpersecuteBloom。Myclient,aninnatelybashfulman,wouldbethelastmanintheworldtodoanythingungentlemanlywhichinjuredmodestycouldobjecttoorcastastoneatagirlwhotookthewrongturningwhensomedastard,responsibleforhercondition,hadworkedhisownsweetwillonher。Hewantstogostraight。IregardhimasthewhitestmanIknow。HeisdownonhisluckatpresentowingtothemortgagingofhisextensivepropertyatAgendathNetaiminfarawayAsiaMinor,slidesofwhichwillnowbeshown。ToBloom。Isuggestthatyouwilldothehandsomething。

  BLOOMApennyinthepound。

  ThemirageofthelakeofKinnerethwithblurredcattlecroppinginsilverhazeisprojectedonthewall。MosesDlugacz,ferreteyedalbino,inbluedungarees,standsupinthegallery,holdingineachhandanorangecitronandaporkkidney。

  DLUGACZHoarsely。Bleibtreustrasse,Berlin,W。13。

  J。J。O’Molloystepsontoalowplinthandholdsthelapelofhiscoatwithsolemnity。Hisfacelengthens,growspaleandbearded,withsunkeneyes,theblotchesofphthisisandhecticcheekbonesofJohnF。Taylor。

  Heapplieshishandkerchieftohismouthandscrutinisesthegallopingtideofrosepinkblood。

  J。J。O’MOLLOYAlmostvoicelessly。Excuseme,Iamsufferingfromaseverechill,haverecentlycomefromasickbed。Afewwellchosenwords。Heassumestheavinehead,foxymoustacheandproboscidaleloquenceofSeymourBushe。Whentheangel’sbookcomestobeopenedifaughtthatthepensivebosomhasinauguratedofsoultransfiguredandofsoultransfiguringdeservestoliveIsayaccordtheprisoneratthebarthesacredbenefitofthedoubt。Apaperwithsomethingwrittenonitishandedintocourt。

  BLOOMIncourtdress。Cangivebestreferences。MessrsCallan,Coleman。MrWisdomHelyJ。P。MyoldchiefJoeCuffe。MrV。B。Dillon,ex-lordmayorofDublin。Ihavemovedinthecharmedcircleofthehighest。QueensofDublinSociety。Carelessly。Iwasjustchattingthisafternoonattheviceregallodgetomyoldpals,sirRobertandladyBall,astronomerroyal,atthelevee。SirBob,Isaid

点击下载App,搜索"ULYSSES",免费读到尾