第31章

Hainesisgone，hesaid。

Ishe？

IwasshowinghimJubainville’sbook。He’squiteenthusiastic，don’tyouknow，aboutHyde’sLovesongsofConnacht。Icouldn’tbringhimintohearthediscussion。He’sgonetoGill’stobuyit。Boundtheeforth，mybooklet，quickTogreetthecallouspublic。

Writ，Iween，’twasnotmywishInleanunlovelyEnglish。Thepeatsmokeisgoingtohishead，JohnEglintonopined。

WefeelinEngland。Penitentthief。Gone。Ismokedhisbaccy。Greentwinklingstone。Anemeraldsetintheringofthesea。

Peopledonotknowhowdangerouslovesongscanbe，theauriceggofRussellwarnedoccultly。Themovementswhichworkrevolutionsintheworldarebornoutofthedreamsandvisionsinapeasant’sheartonthehillside。Forthemtheearthisnotanexploitablegroundbutthelivingmother。Therarefiedairoftheacademyandthearenaproducethesixshillingnovel，themusichallsong，FranceproducesthefinestflowerofcorruptioninMallarmé；butthedesirablelifeisrevealedonlytothepoorofheart，thelifeofHomer’sPh&；Aelig；acians。

FromthesewordsMrBestturnedanunoffendingfacetoStephen。

Mallarmé；，don’tyouknow，hesaid，haswrittenthosewonderfulprosepoemsStephenMacKennausedtoreadtomeinParis。TheoneaboutHamlet。Hesays：ilsepromè；ne，lisantaulivredelui-mê；me，don’tyouknow，readingthebookofhimself。HedescribesHamletgiveninaFrenchtown，don’tyouknow，aprovincialtown。Theyadvertisedit。

Hisfreehandgraciouslywrotetinysignsinair。HAMLET

ouLEDISTRAIT

Piè；cedeShakespeareHerepeatedtoJohnEglinton’snewgatheredfrown：

Pié；cedeShakespeare，don’tyouknow。It’ssoFrench，theFrenchpointofview。Hamletou……

Theabsentmindedbeggar，Stephenended。

JohnEglintonlaughed。

Yes，Isupposeitwouldbe，hesaid。Excellentpeople，nodoubt，butdistressinglyshortsightedinsomematters。

Sumptuousandstagnantexaggerationofmurder。

AdeathsmanofthesoulRobertGreenecalledhim，Stephensaid。Notfornothingwasheabutcher’ssonwieldingthesleddedpoleaxeandspittinginhispalm。Ninelivesaretakenoffforhisfather’sone，OurFatherwhoartinpurgatory。KhakiHamletsdon’thesitatetoshoot。ThebloodbolteredshamblesinactfiveisaforecastoftheconcentrationcampsungbyMrSwinburne。

Cranly，Ihismuteorderly，followingbattlesfromafar。WhelpsanddamsofmurderousfoeswhomnoneButwehadspared……BetweentheSaxonsmileandyankeeyawp。Thedevilandthedeepsea。

HewillhaveitthatHamletisaghoststory，JohnEglintonsaidforMrBest’sbehoof。LikethefatboyinPickwickhewantstomakeourfleshcreep。List！List！OList！Myfleshhearshim：creeping，hears。Ifthoudidstever……Whatisaghost？Stephensaidwithtinglingenergy。Onewhohasfadedintoimpalpabilitythroughdeath，throughabsence，throughchangeofmanners。

ElizabethanLondonlayasfarfromStratfordascorruptParisliesfromvirginDublin。Whoistheghostfromlimbopatrum，returningtotheworldthathasforgottenhim？WhoiskingHamlet？

JohnEglintonshiftedhissparebody，leaningbacktojudge：

Lifted。

ItisthishourofadayinmidJune，Stephensaid，beggingwithaswiftglancetheirhearing。Theflagisupontheplayhousebythebankside。

ThebearSackersongrowlsinthepitnearit，Parisgarden。CanvasclimberswhosailedwithDrakechewtheirsausagesamongthegroundlings。

Localcolour。Workinallyouknow。Makethemaccomplices。

Shakespearehasleftthehuguenot’shouseinSilverstreetandwalksbytheswanmewsalongtheriverbank。Buthedoesnotstaytofeedthepenchivyinghergameofcygnetstowardstherushes。TheswanofAvonhasotherthoughts。

Compositionofplace。IgnatiusLoyola，makehastetohelpme！

Theplaybegins。Aplayercomesonundertheshadow，madeupinthecastoffmailofacourtbuck，awellsetmanwithabassvoice。Itistheghost，theking，akingandnoking，andtheplayerisShakespearewhohasstudiedHamletalltheyearsofhislifewhichwerenotvanityinordertoplaythepartofthespectre。HespeaksthewordstoBurbage，theyoungplayerwhostandsbeforehimbeyondtherackofcerecloth，callinghimbyaname：Hamlet，Iamthyfather’sspiritbiddinghimlist。Toasonhespeaks，thesonofhissoul，theprince，youngHamletandtot