SquintinginmockshamesheglanceswithsidelongmeaningatBloom,thentwistsroundtowardshim,pullingherslipfreeofthepoker。Bluefluidagainflowsoverherflesh。Bloomstands,smilingdesirously,twirlinghisthumbs。KittyRickettslickshermiddlefingerwithherspittleandgazinginthemirror,smoothsbotheyebrows。LipotiVirag,basilicogrammate,chutesrapidlydownthroughthechimneyflueandstrutstwostepstotheleftongawkypinkstilts。Heissausagedintoseveralovercoatsandwearsabrownmacintoshunderwhichheholdsarollofparchment。InhislefteyeflashesthemonocleofCashelBoyleO’ConnorFitzmauriceTisdallFarrell。
OnhisheadisperchedanEgyptianpshent。Twoquillsprojectoverhisears。
VIRAGHeelstogetherbows。MynameisViragLipoti,ofSzombathely。
Hecoughsthoughtfully,drily。Promiscuousnakednessismuchinevidencehereabouts,eh?Inadvertentlyherbackviewrevealedthefactthatsheisnotwearingthoseratherintimategarmentsofwhichyouareaparticulardevotee。TheinjectionmarkonthethighIhopeyouperceived?Good。
BLOOMGranpapachi。But……
VIRAGNumbertwoontheotherhand,sheofthecherryrougeandcoiffeusewhite,whosehairowesnotalittletoourtribalelixirofgopherwood,isinwalkingcostumeandtightlystaysedbyhersit,Ishouldopine。Backboneinfront,sotosay。CorrectmebutIalwaysunderstoodthattheactsoperformedbyskittishhumanswithglimpsesoflingerieappealedtoyouinvirtueofitsexhibitionististicicity。Inaword。Hippogriff。AmIright?
BLOOMSheisratherlean。
VIRAGNotunpleasantly。Absolutely!Wellobservedandthosepannierpocketsoftheskirtandslightlypegtopeffectaredevisedtosuggestbunchinessofhip。Anewpurchaseatsomemonstersaleforwhichagullhasbeenmulcted。Meretriciousfinerytodeceivetheeye。Observetheattentiontodetailsofdustspecks。Neverputonyoutomorrowwhatyoucanweartoday。Parallax!Withanervoustwitchofhishead。
Didyouhearmybraingosnap?Pollysyllabax!
BLOOMAnelbowrestinginahand,aforefingeragainsthischeek。
Sheseemssad。
VIRAGCynically,hisweaselteethbaredyellow,drawsdownhislefteyewithafingerandbarkshoarsely。Hoax!Bewareoftheflapperandbogusmournful。Lilyofthealley。Allpossessbachelor’sbuttondiscoveredbyRualdusColombus。Tumbleher。Columbleher。Chameleon。Moregenially。
Wellthen,permitmetodrawyourattentiontoitemnumberthree。Thereisplentyofhervisibletothenakedeye。Observethemassofoxygenatedvegetablematteronherskull。Whatho,shebumps!Theuglyducklingoftheparty,longcastedanddeepinkeel。
BLOOMRegretfully。Whenyoucomeoutwithoutyourgun。
VIRAGWecandoyouallbrands,mild,mediumandstrong。Payyourmoney,takeyourchoice。Howhappycouldyoubewitheither……
BLOOMWith?……
VIRAGHistongueupcurling。Lyum!Look。Herbeamisbroad。
Sheiscoatedwithquiteaconsiderablelayeroffat。Obviouslymammalinweightofbosomyouremarkthatshehasinfrontwelltotheforetwoprotuberancesofveryrespectabledimensions,inclinedtofallinthenoondaysoupplate,whileonherrerelowerdownaretwoadditionalprotuberances,suggestiveofpotentrectumandtumescentforpalpationwhichleavenothingtobedesiredsavecompactness。Suchfleshypartsaretheproductofcarefulnurture。Whencoopfattenedtheirliversreachanelephantinesize。Pelletsofnewbreadwithfennygreekandgumbenjaminswampeddownbypotionsofgreenteaendowthemduringtheirbriefexistencewithnaturalpincushionsofquitecolossalblubber。Thatsuitsyourbook,eh?FleshhotpotsofEgypttohankerafter。Wallowinit。Lycopodium。Histhroattwitches。
Slapbang!Therehegoesagain。
BLOOMThestyeIdislike。
VIRAGArcheshiseyebrows。Contactwithagoldring,theysay。Argumentumadfeminam,aswesaidinoldRomeandancientGreeceintheconsulshipofDiplodocusandIchthyosaurus。FortherestEve’ssovereignremedy。Notforsale。Hireonly。Huguenot。Hetwitches。
Itisafunnysound。
Hecoughsencouragingly。Butpossiblyitisonlyawart。I
presumeyoushallhaverememberedwhatIwillhavetaughtyouonthathead?
Wheatenmealwithhoneyandnutmeg。
BLOOMReflecting。Wheatenmealwithlycopodiumandsyllabax。
Thissearchingordeal。Ithasbeenanunusuallyfatiguingday,achapterofaccidents。Wait。Imean,wartsbloodspreadswarts,yousaid。
VIRAGSeverely,hisnosehardhumped,hissideeyewinking。
Stoptwirlingyourthumbsandhaveagoodoldthunk。See,youhaveforgotten。
Exerciseyourmnemotechnic。Lacausaè;santa。Tara。Tara。
Aside。Hewillsurelyremember。
BLOOMRosemaryalsodidIunderstandyoutosayorwillpoweroverparasitictissues。ThennaynoIhaveaninkling。Thetouchofadeadhandcures。
Mnemo?
VIRAGExcitedly。Isayso。Isayso。E’enso。Technic。Hetapshisparchmentrollenergetically。Thisbooktellsyouhowtoactwithalldescriptiveparticulars。Consultindexforagitatedfearofaconite,melancholyofmuriatic,priapicpulsatilla。Viragisgoingtotalkaboutamputation。Ouroldfriendcaustic。Theymustbestarved。Snipoffwithhorsehairunderthedennedneck。But,tochangethevenuetotheBulgarandtheBasque,haveyoumadeupyourmindwhetheryoulikeordislikewomeninmalehabiliments?Withadrysnigger。Youintendedtodevoteanentireyeartothestudyofthereligiousproblemandthesummermonthsof1882tosquarethecircleandwinthatmillion。Pomegranate!
Fromthesublimetotheridiculousisbutastep。Pyjamas,letussay?
Orstockingettegussetedknickers,closed?Or,putwethecase,thosecomplicatedcombinations,camiknickers?Hecrowsderisively。Keekeereekee!
Bloomsurveysuncertainlythethreewhores,thengazesattheveiledmauvelight,hearingtheeverflyingmoth。
BLOOMIwantedthentohavenowconcluded。Nightdresswasnever。Hencethis。Buttomorrowisanewdaywillbe。Pastwasistoday。Whatnowiswillthentomorrowasnowwasbepastyester。
VIRAGPromptsintohisearinapig’swhisper。Insectsofthedayspendtheirbriefexistenceinreiteratedcoition,luredbythesmelloftheinferiorlypulchritudinousfemalepossessingextendifiedpudendalverveindorsalregion。PrettyPoll!Hisyellowparrotbeakgabblesnasally。TheyhadaproverbintheCarpathiansinorabouttheyearfivethousandfivehundredandfiftyofourera。OnetablespoonfulofhoneywillattractfriendBruinmorethanhalfadozenbarrelsoffirstchoicemaltvinegar。Bear’sbuzzbothersbees。Butofthisapart。Atanothertimewemayresume。Wewereverypleased,weothers。Hecoughsand,bendinghisbrow,rubshisnosethoughtfullywithascoopinghand。Youshallfindthatthesenightinsectsfollowthelight。Anillusionforremembertheircomplexunadjustableeye。ForalltheseknottypointsseetheseventeenthbookofmyFundamentalsofSexologyortheLovePassionwhichDoctorL。
B。saysisthebooksensationoftheyear。Some,toexample,thereareagainwhosemovementsareautomatic。Perceive。Thatishisappropriatesun。Nightbirdnightsunnighttown。Chaseme,Charley!Buzz!
BLOOMBeeorbluebottletoootherdaybuttingshadowonwalldazedselfthenmewandereddazeddownshirtgoodjobI……
VIRAGHisfaceimpassive,laughsinarichfemininekey。Splendid!
Spanishflyinhisflyormustardplasteronhisdibble。Hegobblesgluttonouslywithturkeywattles。Bubblyjock!Bubblyjock!Wherearewe?OpenSesame!Comethforth!Heunrollshisparchmentrapidlyandreads,hisglowworm’snoserunningbackwardsovertheletterswhichheclaws。Stay,goodfriend。IbringtheethyanswerRedbankoysterswillshortlybeuponus。I’mthebesto’cook。ThosesucculentbivalvesmayhelpusandthetrufflesofPerigord,tubersdislodgedthroughmisteromnivorousporker,wereunsurpassedincasesofnervousdebilityorviragitis。
Thoughtheystinkyettheysting。Hewagsheadwithcacklingraillery。
Jocular。Withmyeyeglassinmyocular。
BLOOMAbsently。Ocularlywoman’sbivalvecaseisworse。Alwaysopensesame。Theclovensex。Whytheyfearvermin,creepingthings。YetEveandtheserpentcontradict。Notahistoricalfact。Obviousanalogytomyidea。Serpentstooaregluttonsforwoman’smilk。Windtheirwaythroughmilesofomnivorousforesttosucksucculentherbreastdry。LikethosebubblyjocularRomanmatronsonereadsofinElephantuliasis。
VIRAGHismouthprojectedinhardwrinkles,eyesstonilyforlornlyclosed,psalmsinoutlandishmonotone。Thatthecowswiththeirthosedistendeduddersthattheyhavebeentheknown……
BLOOMIamgoingtoscream。Ibegyourpardon。Ah?So。Herepeats。
Spontaneouslytoseekoutthesaurian’slairinordertoentrusttheirteatstohisavidsuction。Antmilksaphis。Profoundly。Instinctrulestheworld。Inlife。Indeath。
VIRAGHeadaskew,archeshisbackandhunchedwing-shoulders,peersatthemothoutofblearbulgedeyes,pointsahomingclawandcries。
Who’sGerGer?Who’sdearGerald?O,Imuchfearheshallbemostbadlyburned。Willsomepleashepershonnotnowimpedimentsocatastrophicsmitagitationoffirstclasstablenumpkin?Hemews。Lusspusspusspuss!Hesighs,drawsbackandstaressidewaysdownwithdroppingunderjaw。
Well,well。Hedothrestanon。I’matinytinythingEverflyinginthespringRoundandroundaringaring。
LongagoIwasaking,NowIdothiskindofthingOnthewing,onthewing!
Bing!Herushesagainstthemauveshadeflappingnoisily。Prettyprettyprettyprettyprettyprettypetticoats。
FromleftupperentrancewithtwoslidingstepsHenryFlowercomesforwardtoleftfrontcentre。Hewearsadarkmantleanddroopingplumedsombrero。HecarriesasilverstringedinlaiddulcimerandalongstemmedbambooJacobspipe,itsclaybowlfashionedasafemalehead。Hewearsdarkvelvethoseandsilverbuckledpumps。HehastheromanticSaviour’sfacewithflowinglocks,thinbeardandmoustache。HisspindlelegsandsparrowfeetarethoseofthetenorMario,princeofCandia。Hesettlesdownhisgofferedruffsandmoistenshislipswithapassageofhisamoroustongue。
HENRYInalowdulcetvoice,touchingthestringsofhisguitar。
Thereisaflowerthatbloometh。
Viragtruculent,hisjowlset,staresatthelamp。GraveBloomregardsZoe’sneck。Henrygallantturnswithpendentdewlaptothepiano。
STEPHENTohimself。Playwithyoureyesshut。Imitatepa。Fillingmybellywithhusksofswine。Toomuchofthis。Iwillariseandgotomy。Expectthisisthe。Steve,thouartinaparlousway。MustvisitoldDeasyortelegraph。Ourinterviewofthismorninghasleftonmeadeepimpression。Thoughourages。Willwritefullytomorrow。I’mpartiallydrunk,bytheway。Hetouchesthekeysagain。Minorchordcomesnow。
Yes。Notmuchhowever。
AlmidanoArtifoniholdsoutabatonrollofmusicwithvigorousmoustachework。
ARTIFONICirifletta。Leirovinatutto。
FLORRYSingussomething。Love’soldsweetsong。
STEPHENNovoice。Iamamostfinishedartist。Lynch,didIshowyoutheletteraboutthelute?
FLORRYSmirking。Thebirdthatcansingandwon’tsing。
TheSiamesetwins,PhilipDrunkandPhilipSobertwoOxforddonswithlawnmowers,appearinthewindowembrasure。BotharemaskedwithMatthewArnold’sface。
PHILIPSOBERTakeafool’sadvice。Allisnotwell。Workitoutwiththebuttendofapencil,likeagoodyoungidiot。Threepoundstwelveyougot,twonotes,onesovereign,twocrowns,ifyouthbutknew。Mooney’senville,Mooney’ssurmer,theMoira,Larchet’s,Hollesstreethospital,Burke’s。Eh?Iamwatchingyou。
PHILIPDRUNKImpatiently。Ah,bosh,man。Gotohell!Ipaidmyway。IfIcouldonlyfindoutaboutoctaves。Reduplicationofpersonality。
Whowasittoldmehisname?
Hislawnmowerbeginstopurr。Aha,yes。Zoemousasagapo。
HaveanotionIwasherebefore。WhenwasitnotAtkinsonhiscardIhavesomewhere?Macsomebody。UnmackIhaveit。Hetoldmeabout,holdon,Swinburne,wasit,no?
FLORRYAndthesong?
STEPHENSpiritiswillingbutthefleshisweak。
FLORRYAreyououtofMaynooth?You’relikesomeoneIknewonce。
STEPHENOutofitnow。Tohimself。Clever。
PHILIPDRUNKANDPHILIPSOBERTheirlawnmowerspurringwitharigadoonofgrasshalms。Cleverever。Outofit。Outofit。Bythebyhaveyouthebook,thething,theashplant?Yes,thereit,yes。Clevereveroutofitnow。
Keepincondition。Dolikeus。