第21章

Whatisit？MrBloomasked。

ArecentlydiscoveredfragmentofCicero’s，professorMacHughansweredwithpompoftone。Ourlovelyland。ShortbuttothePointWhoseland？MrBloomsaidsimply。

Mostpertinentquestion，theprofessorsaidbetweenhischews。Withanaccentonthewhose。

DanDawson’sland，MrDedalussaid。

Isithisspeechlastnight？MrBloomasked。

NedLambertnodded。

Butlistentothis，hesaid。

ThedoorknobhitMrBloominthesmallofthebackasthedoorwaspushedin。

Excuseme，J。J。O’Molloysaid，entering。

MrBloommovednimblyaside。

Ibegyours，hesaid。

Goodday，Jack。

Comein。Comein。

Goodday。

Howareyou，Dedalus？

Well。Andyourself？

J。J。O’Molloyshookhishead。SadCleverestfellowatthejuniorbarheusedtobe。Declinepoorchap。Thathecticflushspellsfinisforaman。Touchandgowithhim。What’sinthewind，Iwonder。Moneyworry。

Oragainifwebutclimbtheserriedmountainpeaks。

You’relookingextra。

Istheeditortobeseen？J。J。O’Molloyasked，lookingtowardstheinnerdoor。

Verymuchso，professorMacHughsaid。Tobeseenandheard。He’sinhissanctumwithLenehan。

J。J。O’MolloystrolledJotheslopingdeskandbegantoturnbackthepinkpagesofthefile。

Practicedwindling。Amighthavebeen。Losingheart。Gambling。Debtsofhonour。Reapingthewhirlwind。UsedtogetgoodretainersfromD。andT。

Fitzgerald。Theirwigstoshowtheirgreymatter。BrainsontheirsleevelikethestatueinGlasnevin。BelievehedoessomeliteraryworkfortheExpresswithGabrielConroy。Wellreadfellow。MylesCrawfordbeganontheIndependent。Funnythewaythosenewspapermenveeraboutwhentheygetwindofanewopening。Weathercocks。Hotandcoldinthesamebreath。Wouldn’tknowwhichtobelieve。Onestorygoodtillyouhearthenext。Goforoneanotherbaldheadedinthepapersandthenallblowsover。Hailfellowwellmetthenextmoment。

Ah，listentothisforGod’ssake，NedLambertpleaded。Oragainifwebutclimbtheserriedmountainpeaks……

Bombast！theprofessorbrokeintestily。Enoughoftheinflatedwindbag！

Peaks，NedLambertwenton，toweringhighonhigh，tobatheoursouls，asitwere……

Bathehislips，MrDedalussaid。BlessedandeternalGod！Yes？Ishetakinganythingforit？

As’twere，inthepeerlesspanoramaofIreland’sportfolio，unmatched，despitetheirwellpraisedprototypesinothervauntedprizeregions，forverybeauty，ofboskygroveandundulatingplainandlusciouspasturelandofvernalgreen，steepedinthetranscendenttranslucentglowofourmildmysteriousIrishtwilight……HisNativeDoricThemoon，professorMacHughsaid。HeforgotHamlet。

Thatmantlesthevistafarandwideandwaittilltheglowingorbofthemoonshinesforthtoirradiatehersilvereffulgence。

O！MrDedaluscried，givingventtoahopelessgroan，shiteandonions！

That’lldo，Ned。Lifeistooshort。

Hetookoffhissilkhatand，blowingoutimpatientlyhisbushymoustache，welshcombedhishairwithrakingfingers。

NedLamberttossedthenewspaperaside，chucklingwithdelight。AninstantafterahoarsebarkoflaughterburstoverprofessorMacHugh’sunshavenblack-spectacledface。

DoughyDaw！hecried。WhatWetherupsaidAllveryfinetojeeratitnowincoldprintbutitgoesdownlikehotcakethatstuff。Hewasinthebakerylinetoowasn’the？WhytheycallhimDoughyDaw。Featheredhisn