Also,withoutbeingactuallypositive,itstruckhimagreatfieldwastobeopenedupinthelineofopeningupnewroutestokeeppacewiththetimesaproposoftheFishguard-Rosslareroutewhich,itwasmooted,wasoncemoreonthetapisintheCircumlocutiondepartmentswiththeusualquantityofredtapeanddillydallyingofeffetefogeydomanddunderheadsgenerally。Agreatopportunitytherecertainlywasforpushandenterprisetomeetthetravellingneedsofthepublicatlarge,theaverageman,i。e。Brown,RobinsonandCo。
Itwasasubjectofregretandabsurdaswellonthefaceofitandnosmallblametoourvauntedsocietythatthemaninthestreet,whenthesystemreallyneededtoningup,foramatterofacoupleofpaltrypounds,wasdebarredfromseeingmoreoftheworldtheylivedininsteadofbeingalwayscoopedupsincemyoldstick-in-the-mudtookmeforawife。
Afterall,hangit,theyhadtheirelevenandmorehumdrummonthsofitandmeritedaradicalchangeofvenueafterthegrindofcitylifeinthesummertime,forchoice,whenDameNatureisatherspectacularbest,constitutingnothingshortofanewleaseoflife。Therewereequallyexcellentopportunitiesforvacationistsinthehomeisland,delightfulsylvanspotsforrejuvenation,offeringaplethoraofattractionsaswellasabracingtonicforthesysteminandaroundDublinanditspicturesqueenvirons,even,Poulaphouca,towhichtherewasasteamtram,butalsofartherawayfromthemaddingcrowd,inWicklow,rightlytermedthegardenofIreland,anidealneighbourhoodforelderlywheelmen,solongasitdidn’tcomedown,andinthewildsofDonegal,whereifreportspoketrue,thecoupd’ilwasexceedinglygrand,thoughthelastnamedlocalitywasnoteasilygetatablesothattheinfluxofvisitorswasnotasyetallthatitmightbeconsideringthesignalbenefitstobederivedfromit,whileHowthwithitshistoricassociationsandotherwise,SilkenThomas,GraceO’Malley,GeorgeIV,rhododendronsseveralhundredfeetabovesealevelwasafavouritehauntwithallsortsandconditionsofmen,especiallyinthespringwhenyoungmensfancy,thoughithaditsowntollofdeathsbyfallingoffthecliffsbydesignoraccidentally,usually,bytheway,ontheirleftleg,itbeingonlyaboutthreequartersofanhour’srunfromthepillar。Becauseofcourseuptodatetouristtravellingwasasyetmerelyinitsinfancy,sotospeak,andtheaccommodationleftmuchtobedesired。Interestingtofathom,itseemedtohim,fromamotiveofcuriositypureandsimple,waswhetheritwasthetrafficthatcreatedtherouteorvice-versaorthetwosidesinfact。HeturnedbacktheothersideofthecardpictureandpasseditalongtoStephen。
IseenaChineseonetime,relatedthedoughtynarrator,thathadlittlepillslikeputtyandheputtheminthewaterandtheyopened,andeverypillwassomethingdifferent。Onewasaship,anotherwasahouse,anotherwasaflower。Cooksratsinyoursoup,heappetisinglyadded,theChinesedoes。
Possiblyperceivinganexpressionofdubiosityontheirfaces,theglobetrotterwentonadheringtohisadventures。
AndIseenamankilledinTriestebyanItalianchap。Knifeinhisback。Knifelikethat。
Whilstspeakingheproducedadangerouslookingclaspknife,quiteinkeepingwithhischaracter,andhelditinthestrikingposition。
Inaknockingshopitwascountofatryonbetweentwosmugglers。
Fellowhidbehindadoor,comeupbehindhim。Likethat。PreparetomeetyourGod,sayshe。Chuck!Itwentintohisbackuptothebutt。
Hisheavyglance,drowsilyroamingabout,kindofdefiedtheirfurtherquestionsevenshouldtheybyanychancewantto。That’sagoodbitofsteel,repeatedhe,examininghisformidablestiletto。
Afterwhichharrowingdé;nouementsufficienttoappalthestoutesthesnappedthebladetoandstowedtheweaponinquestionawayasbeforeinhischamberofhorrors,otherwisepocket。
They’regreatforthecoldsteel,somebodywhowasevidentlyquiteinthedarksaidforthebenefitofthemall。Thatwaswhytheythoughttheparkmurdersoftheinvincibleswasdonebyforeignersonaccountofthemusingknives。
Atthisremark,passedobviouslyinthespiritofwhereignoranceisbliss,MrBloomandStephen,eachinhisownparticularway,bothinstinctivelyexchangedmeaningglances,inareligioussilenceofthestrictlyentrenousvarietyhowever,towardswhereSkin-the-Goat,aliasthekeeper,wasdrawingspurtsofliquidfromhisboileraffair。
Hisinscrutableface,whichwasreallyaworkofart,aperfectstudyinitself,beggaringdescription,conveyedtheimpressionthathedidn’tunderstandonejotofwhatwasgoingon。Funnyvery。
Thereensuedasomewhatlengthypause。Onemanwasreadingbyfitsandstartsastainedbycoffeeeveningjournal;another,thecardwiththenativeschozade;another,theseaman’sdischarge。MrBloom,sofarashewaspersonallyconcerned,wasjustponderinginpensivemood。
Hevividlyrecollectedwhentheoccurrencealludedtotookplaceaswellasyesterday,somescoreofyearspreviously,inthedaysofthelandtroubleswhenittookthecivilisedworldbystorm,figurativelyspeaking,earlyintheeighties,eightyonetobecorrect,whenhewasjustturnedfifteen。
Ay,boss,thesailorbrokein。Giveusbackthempapers。
Therequestbeingcompliedwith,heclawedthemupwithascrape。
HaveyouseentheRockofGibraltar?MrBloominquired。
Thesailorgrimaced,chewing,inawaythatmightbereadasyes,ay,orno。
Ah,you’vetouchedtheretoo,MrBloomsaid,Europapoint,thinkinghehad,inthehopethattherovermightpossiblybysomereminiscencesbuthefailedtodoso,simplylettingspurtajetofspewintothesawdust,andshookhisheadwithasortoflazyscorn。
Whatyearwouldthatbeabout?MrBloominterpolated。Canyourecalltheboats?
Oursoi-disantsailormunchedheavilyawhile,hungrily,beforeanswering。
I’mtiredofallthemrocksinthesea,hesaid,andboatsandships。
Saltjunkallthetime。
Tired,seemingly,heceased。Hisquestioner,perceivingthathewasnotlikelytogetagreatdealofchangeoutofsuchawilyoldcustomer,felltowoolgatheringontheenormousdimensionsofthewaterabouttheglobe。Sufficeittosaythat,asacasualglanceatthemaprevealed,itcoveredfullythreefourthsofitandhefullyrealisedaccordinglywhatitmeant,torulethewaves。Onmorethanoneoccasion-adozenatthelowest-neartheNorthBullatDollymounthehadremarkedasuperannuatedoldsalt,evidentlyderelict,seatedhabituallynearthenotparticularlyredolentseaonthewall,staringquiteobliviouslyatitanditathim,dreamingoffreshwoodsandpasturesnewassomeonesomewheresings。Anditlefthimwonderingwhy。Possiblyhehadtriedtofindoutthesecretforhimself,flounderingupanddowntheantipodesandallthatsortofthingandoverandunder-well,notexactlyunder,temptingthefates。
Andtheoddsweretwentytoniltherewasreallynosecretaboutitatall。Nevertheless,withoutgoingintotheminutiaeofthebusiness,theeloquentfactremainedthattheseawasthereinallitsgloryandinthenaturalcourseofthingssomebodyorotherhadtosailonitandflyinthefaceofprovidencethoughitmerelywenttoshowhowpeopleusuallycontrivedtoloadthatsortofonusontotheotherfellowlikethehellideaandthelotteryandinsurance,whichwererunonidenticallythesamelinessothatforthatveryreason,ifnoother,lifeboatSundaywasaverylaudableinstitutiontowhichthepublicatlarge,nomatterwhereliving,inlandorseaside,-isthecasemightbe,havingitbroughthometothemlikethat,shouldextenditsgratitudealsototheharbourmastersandcoastguardservicewhohadtomantheriggingandpushoffandoutamidtheelements,whatevertheseason,whendutycalledIrelandexpectsthateverymanandsoon,andsometimeshadaterribletimeofitinthewintertimenotforgettingtheIrishlights,Kishandothers,liabletocapsizeatanymomentroundingwhichheoncewithhisdaughterhadexperiencedsomeremarkablychoppy,nottosaystormy,weather。
TherewasafellowsailedwithmeintheRover,theoldseadog,himselfarover,proceeded。Wentashoreandtookupasoftjobasgentleman’svaletatsixquidamonth。ThemarehistrousersI’veonmeandhegavemeanoilskinandthatjackknife。I’mgameforthatjob,shavingandbrushup。
Ihateroamingabout。There’smysonnow,Danny,runofftoseaandhismothergothimtookinadraper’sinCorkwherehecouldbedrawingeasymoney。
Whatageishe?queriedonehearerwho,bytheway,seenfromtheside,boreadistantresemblancetoHenryCampbell,thetownclerk,awayfromthecarkingcaresofoffice,unwashed,ofcourse,andinaseedygetupandastrongsuspicionofnosepaintaboutthenasalappendage。
Why,thesailoransweredwithaslowpuzzledutterance。MysonDanny?
He’dbeabouteighteennow,wayIfigureit。
TheSkibbereenfatherhereupontoreopenhisgreyoruncleananyhowshirtwithhistwohandsandscratchedawayathischestonwhichwastobeseenanimagetattooedinblueChineseink,intendedtorepresentananchor。
TherewasliceinthatbunkinBridgwater,heremarked。Sureasnuts。
Imustgetawashtomorrowornextday。It’sthemblackladsIobjectsto。Ihatethosebuggers。Sucksyourblooddry,theydoes。
Seeingtheywerealllookingathischest,heaccommodatinglydraggedhisshirtmoreopensothat,ontopofthetimehonouredsymbolofthemariner’shopeandrest,theyhadafullviewofthefigure16andayoungman’ssidefacelookingfrowninglyrather。
Tattoo,theexhibitorexplained。ThatwasdonewhenwewerelyingbecalmedoffOdessaintheBlackSeaunderCaptainDaltonFellowthenameofAntoniodonethat。Thereheishimself,aGreek。
Didithurtmuchdoingit?oneaskedthesailor。
Thatworthy,however,wasbusilyengagedincollectingroundthesomewayinhis。Squeezingor……
Seehere,hesaid,showingAntonio。Thereheis,cursingthemate。
Andthereheisnow,headded。Thesamefellow,pullingtheskinwithhisfingers,somespecialknackevidently,andhelaughingatayarn。
AndinpointoffacttheyoungmannamedAntonio’slividfacedidactuallylooklikeforcedsmilingandthecuriouseffectexcitedtheunreservedadmirationofeverybody,includingSkin-the-Goatwhothistimestretchedover。
Ay,ay,sighedthesailor,lookingdownonhismanlychest。He’sgonetoo。Atebysharksafter。Ay,ay。
Heletgooftheskinsothattheprofileresumedthenormalexpressionofbefore。
Neatbitofwork,longshoremanonesaid。
Andwhat’sthenumberfor?loafernumbertwoqueried。
Eatenalive?athirdaskedthesailor。
Ay,ay,sighedagainthelatterpersonage,morecheerilythistime,withsomesortofahalfsmile,forabriefdurationonly,inthedirectionofthequestioneraboutthenumber。AGreekhewas。
Andthenheadded,withrathergallowsbirdhumour,consideringhisallegedend:AsbadasoldAntonio,Forheleftmeonmyownio。Thefaceofastreetwalker,glazedandhaggardunderablackstrawhat,peeredaskewroundthedooroftheshelter,palpablyreconnoitringonherownwiththeobjectofbringingmoregristtohermill。MrBloom,scarcelyknowingwhichwaytolook,turnedawayonthemoment,flusterfiedbutoutwardlycalm,andpickingupfromthetablethepinksheetoftheAbbeystreetorganwhichthejarvey,ifsuchhewas,hadlaidaside,hepickeditupandlookedatthepinkofthepaperthoughwhypink?HisreasonforsodoingwasherecognisedonthemomentroundthedoorthesamefacehehadcaughtafleetingglimpseofthatafternoononOrmondQuay,thepartiallyidioticfemale,namely,ofthelane,whoknewtheladyinthebrowncostumedoesbewithyouMrsB。,andbeggedthechanceofhiswashing。Alsowhywashing,whichseemedrathervaguethannot?
Yourwashing。Still,candourcompelledhimtoadmitthathehadwashedhiswife’sundergarmentswhensoiledinHollesStreetandwomenwouldanddidtooaman’ssimilargarmentsinitialledwithBewleyandDraper’smarkinginkherswere,thatisiftheyreallylovedhim,thatistosay。Loveme,lovemydirtyshirt。Still,justthen,beingontenterhooks,hedesiredthefemale’sroommorethanhercompanysoitcameasagenuinereliefwhenthekeepermadeherarudesigntotakeherselfoff。RoundthesideoftheEveningTelegraphhejustcaughtafleetingglimpseofherfaceroundthesideofthedoorwithakindofdementedglassygrinshowingthatshewasnotexactlyallthere,viewingwithevidentamusementthegroupofgazersroundSkipperMurphy’snauticalchestandthentherewasnomoreofher。
Thegunboat,thekeepersaid。
Itbeatsme,MrBloomconfidedtoStephen,medicallyIamspeaking,howawretchedcreaturelikethatfromtheLockHospital,reekingwithdisease,canbebarefacedenoughtosolicitorhowanymaninhissobersenses,ifhevalueshishealthintheleast。Unfortunatecreature!Ofcourse,Isupposesomemanisultimatelyresponsibleforhercondition。
Stillnomatterwhatthecauseisfrom