Hear,hear。Prolongedapplause。Zut!NomdeDieu!
OfcourseI’maBritisher,Haines’voicesaid,andIfeelasone。
Idon’twanttoseemycountryfallintothehandsofGermanjewseither。
That’sournationalproblem,I’mafraid,justnow。
Twomenstoodatthevergeofthecliff,watching:businessman,boatman。
She’smakingforBullockharbour。
Theboatmannoddedtowardsthenorthofthebaywithsomedisdain。
There’sfivefathomsoutthere,hesaid。It’llbesweptupthatwaywhenthetidecomesinaboutone。It’sninedaystoday。
Themanthatwasdrowned。Asailveeringabouttheblankbaywaitingforaswollenbundletobobup,rollovertothesunapuffyface,saltwhite。HereIam。
Theyfollowedthewindingpathdowntothecreek。BuckMulliganstoodonastone,inshirtsleeves,hisunclippedtieripplingoverhisshoulder。
Ayoungmanclingingtoaspurofrocknearhimmovedslowlyfrogwisehisgreenlegsinthedeepjellyofthewater。
Isthebrotherwithyou,Malachi?
DowninWestmeath。WiththeBannons。
Stillthere?IgotacardfromBannon。Sayshefoundasweetyoungthingdownthere。Photogirlhecallsher。
Snapshot,eh?Briefexposure。
BuckMulligansatdowntounlacehisboots。Anelderlymanshotupnearthespurofrockablowingredface。Hescrambledupbythestones,waterglisteningonhispateandonitsgarlandofgreyhair,waterrillingoverhischestandpaunchandspillingjetsoutofhisblacksaggingloincloth。
BuckMulliganmadewayforhimtoscramblepastand,glancingatHainesandStephen,crossedhimselfpiouslywithhisthumbnailatbrowandlipsandbreastbone。
Seymour’sbackintown,theyoungmansaid,graspingagainhisspurofrock。Chuckedmedicineandgoinginforthearmy。
Ah,gotoGod,BuckMulligansaid。
Goingovernextweektostew。YouknowthatredCarlislegirl,Lily?
Yes。
Spooningwithhimlastnightonthepier。Thefatherisrottowithmoney。
Issheupthepole?
BetteraskSeymourthat。
Seymourableedingofficer,BuckMulligansaid。
Henoddedtohimselfashedrewoffhistrousersandstoodup,sayingtritely:
Redheadedwomenbucklikegoats。
Hebrokeoffinalarm,feelinghissideunderhisflappingshirt。
Mytwelfthribisgone,hecried。I’mtheUebermensch。ToothlessKinchandI,thesupermen。
Hestruggledoutofhisshirtandflungitbehindhimtowherehisclotheslay。
Areyougoinginhere,Malachi?
Yes。Makeroomin!hebed。
Theyoungmanshovedhimselfbackwardthroughthewaterandreachedthemiddleofthecreekintwolongcleanstrokes。Hainessatdownonastone,smoking。
Areyounotcomingin?BuckMulliganasked。
Lateron,Hainessaid。Notonmybreakfast。Stephenturnedaway。
I’mgoing,Mulligan,hesaid。
Giveusthatkey,Kinch,BuckMulligansaid,tokeepmychemiseflat。
Stephenhandedhimthekey。BuckMulliganlaiditacrosshisheapedclothes。
Andtwopence,hesaid,forapint。Throwitthere。
Stephenthrewtwopenniesonthesoftheap。Dressing,undressing。BuckMulliganerect,withjoinedhandsbeforehim,saidsolemnly:
HewhostealethfromthepoorlendethtotheLord。ThusspakeZarathustra。
Hisplumpbodyplunged。
We’llseeyouagain,Hainessaid,turningasStephenwalkedupthepathandsmilingatwildIrish。
Hornofabull,hoofofahorse,smileofaSaxon。
TheShip,BuckMulligancried。Halftwelve。
Good,Stephensaid。
Hewalkedalongtheupwardcurvingpath。Liliatarutilantium。
Turniacircumdet。
IubilantiumtevirginumThepriest’sgreynimbusinanichewherehedresseddiscreetly。Iwillnotsleepheretonight。HomealsoIcannotgo。
Avoice,sweettonedandsustained,calledtohimfromthesea。Turningthecurvehewavedhishand。Itcalledagain。Asleekbrownhead,aseal’s,faroutonthewater,round。
Usurper。
JOYCE:Ulysses,NestorNestorYOU,COCHRANE,WHATCITYSENTFORHIM?
Tarentum,sir。
Verygood。Well?
Therewasabattle,sir。
Verygood。Where?
Theboy’sblankfaceaskedtheblankwindow。
Fabledbythedaughtersofmemory。Andyetitwasinsomewayifnotasmemoryfabledit。Aphrase,then,ofimpatience,thudofBlake’swingsofexcess。Iheartheruinofallspace,shatteredglassandtopplingmasonry,andtimeonelividfinalflame。What’sleftusthen?
Iforgottheplace,sir。279B。C。
Asculum,Stephensaid,glancingatthenameanddateinthegorescarredbook。
Yes,sir。Andhesaid:Anothervictorylikethatandwearedonefor。
Thatphrasetheworldhadremembered。Adulleaseofthemind。Fromahillaboveacorpsestrewnplainageneralspeakingtohisofficers,leaneduponhisspear。Anygeneraltoanyofficers。Theylendear。
You,Armstrong,Stephensaid。WhatwastheendofPyrrhus?
EndofPyrrhus,sir?
Iknow,sir。Askme,sir,Comynsaid。
Wait。You,Armstrong。DoyouknowanythingaboutPyrrhus?
AbagoffigrollslaysnuglyinArmstrong’ssatchel。Hecurledthembetweenhispalmsatwhilesandswallowedthemsoftly。Crumbsadheredtothetissuesofhislips。Asweetenedboy’sbreath。Welloffpeople,proudthattheireldestsonwasinthenavy。VicoRoad,Dalkey。
Pyrrhus,sir?Pyrrhus,apier。
Alllaughed。Mirthlesshighmaliciouslaughter。Armstronglookedroundathisclassmates,sillygleeinprofile。Inamomenttheywilllaughmoreloudly,awareofmylackofruleandofthefeestheirpapaspay。
Tellmenow,Stephensaid,pokingtheboy’sshoulderwiththebook,whatisapier。
Apier,sir,Armstrongsaid。Athingoutinthewaves。Akindofbridge。Kingstownpier,sir。
Somelaughedagain:mirthlessbutwithmeaning。Twointhebackbenchwhispered。Yes。Theyknew:hadneverlearnednoreverbeeninnocent。All。
Withenvyhewatchedtheirfaces。Edith,Ethel,Gerty,Lily。Theirlikes:
theirbreaths,too,sweetenedwithteaandjam,theirbraceletstitteringinthestruggle。
Kingstownpier,Stephensaid。Yes,adisappointedbridge。Thewordstroubledtheirgaze。
How,sir?Comynasked。Abridgeisacrossariver。
ForHaines’schapbook。No-oneheretohear。Tonightdeftlyamidwilddrinkandtalk,topiercethepolishedmailofhismind。Whatthen?Ajesteratthecourtofhismaster,indulgedanddisesteemed,winningaclementmaster’spraise。Whyhadtheychosenallthatpart?Notwhollyforthesmoothcaress。Forthemtoohistorywasatalelikeanyothertoooftenheard,theirlandapawnshop。
HadPyrrhusnotfallenbyabeldam’shandinArgosorJuliusCaesarnotbeenknifedtodeath?Theyarenottobethoughtaway。Timehasbrandedthemandfetteredtheyarelodgedintheroomoftheinfinitepossibilitiestheyhaveousted。Butcanthosehavebeenpossibleseeingthattheyneverwere?Orwasthatonlypossiblewhichcametopass?Weave,weaverofthewind。
Tellusastory,sir。
Oh,do,sir,aghoststory。
Wheredoyoubegininthis?Stephenasked,openinganotherbook。
Weepnomore,Comynsaid。
Goonthen,Talbot。
Andthehistory,sir?
After,Stephensaid。Goon,Talbot。
Aswarthyboyopenedabookandproppeditnimblyunderthebreastworkofhissatchel。Herecitedjerksofversewithoddglancesatthetext:Weepnomore,wofulshepherd,weepnomoreForLycidas,yoursorrow,isnotdead,Sunkthoughhebebeneaththewateryfloor……Itmustbeamovementthen,anactualityofthepossibleaspossible。Aristotle’sphraseformeditselfwithinthegabbledversesandfloatedoutintothestudioussilenceofthelibraryofSaintGenevievewherehehadread,shelteredfromthesinofParis,nightbynight。ByhiselbowadelicateSiameseconnedahandbookofstrategy。Fedandfeedingbrainsaboutme:underglowlamps,impaled,withfaintlybeatingfeelers:andinmymind’sdarknessaslothoftheunderworld,reluctant,shyofbrightness,shiftingherdragonscalyfolds。Thoughtisthethoughtofthought。Tranquilbrightness。Thesoulisinamannerallthatis:thesoulistheformofforms。Tranquillitysudden,vast,candescent:formofforms。
Talbotrepeated:ThroughthedearmightofHimthatwalkedthewaves,Throughthedearmight……Turnover,Stephensaidquietly。Idon’tseeanything。
What,sir?Talbotaskedsimply,bendingforward。
Hishandturnedthepageover。Heleanedbackandwentonagainhavingjustremembered。Ofhimthatwalkedthewaves。Herealsooverthesecravenheartshisshadowliesandonthescoffer’sheartandlipsandonmine。
Itliesupontheireagerfaceswhoofferedhimacoinofthetribute。ToCaesarwhatisCaesar’s,toGodwhatisGod’s。Alonglookfromdarkeyes,ariddlingsentencetobewovenonthechurch’slooms。Ay。Riddleme,riddleme,randyro。
Myfathergavemeseedstosow。Talbotslidhisclosedbookintohissatchel。
HaveIheardall?Stephenasked。
Yes,sir。Hockeyatten,sir。
Halfday,sir。Thursday。
Whocananswerariddle?Stephenasked。
Theybundledtheirbooksaway,pencilsclacking,pagesrustling。Crowdingtogethertheystrappedandbuckledtheirsatchels,allgabblinggaily:
Ariddle,sir?Askme,sir。
O,askme,sir。
Ahardone,sir。
Thisistheriddle,Stephensaid。ThecockcrewTheskywasblue:
ThebellsinheavenWerestrikingeleven。
TistimeforthispoorsoulTogotoheaven。Whatisthat?
What,sir?
Again,sir。Wedidn’thear。
Theireyesgrewbiggerasthelineswererepeated。AfterasilenceCochranesaid:
Whatisit,sir?Wegiveitup。
Stephen,histhroatitching,answered:
Thefoxburyinghisgrandmotherunderahollybush。
Hestoodupandgaveashoutofnervouslaughtertowhichtheircriesechoeddismay。
Astickstruckthedoorandavoiceinthecorridorcalled:
Hockey!
Theybrokeasunder,sidlingoutoftheirbenches,leapingthem。Quicklytheyweregoneandfromthelumberroomcametherattleofsticksandclamouroftheirbootsandtongues。
Sargentwhoalonehadlingeredcameforwardslowly,showinganopencopybook。Histangledhairandscraggyneckgavewitnessofunreadinessandthroughhismistyglassesweakeyeslookeduppleading。Onhischeek,dullandbloodless,asoftstainofinklay,dateshaped,recentanddampasasnail’sbed。
Heheldouthiscopybook。ThewordSumswaswrittenontheheadline。
Beneathwereslopingfiguresandatthefootacrookedsignaturewithblindloopsandablot。CyrilSargent:hisnameandseal。
MrDeasytoldmetowritethemoutallagain,hesaid,andshowthemtoyou,sir。
Stephentouchedtheedgesofthebook。Futility。
Doyouunderstandhowtodothemnow?heasked。
Numberseleventofifteen,Sargentanswered。MrDeasysaidIwastocopythemofftheboard,sir。
Canyoudothemyourself?Stephenasked。