第33章

HowmuchdidIspend？O，afewshillings。

Foraplumpofpressmen。Humourwetanddry。

Wit。Youwouldgiveyourfivewitsforyouth’sproudliveryhepranksin。Lineamentsofgratifieddesire。

Therebemanymo。Takeherforme。Inpairingtime。Jove，acoolruttimesendthem。Yea，turtledoveher。

Eve。Nakedwheatbelliedsin。Asnakecoilsher，fangin’skiss。

Doyouthinkitisonlyaparadox，thequakerlibrarianwasasking。

Themockerisnevertakenseriouslywhenheismostserious。

Theytalkedseriouslyofmocker’sseriousness。

BuckMulligan’sagainheavyfaceeyedStephenawhile。Then，hisheadwagging，hecamenear，drewafoldedtelegramfromhispocket。Hismobilelipsread，smilingwithnewdelight。

Telegram！hesaid。Wonderfulinspiration！Telegram！Apapalbull！

Hesatonacorneroftheunlitdesk，readingaloudjoyfully：

Thesentimentalistishewhowouldenjoywithoutincurringtheimmensedebtorshipforathingdone。Signed：Dedalus。Wheredidyoulaunchitfrom？Thekips？No。CollegeGreen。Haveyoudrunkthefourquid？

Theauntisgoingtocallonyourunsubstantialfather。Telegram！MalachiMulligan，theShip，lowerAbbeystreet。O，youpeerlessmummer！O，youpriestifiedkinchite！

Joyfullyhethrustthemessageandenvelopeintoapocketbutkeenedinquerulousbrogue：

It’swhatI’mtellingyou，misterhoney，it’squeerandsickwewere，Hainesandmyself，thetimehimselfbroughtitin。’Twasmurmurwedidforagalluspotionwouldrouseafriar，I’mthinking，andhelimpwithleching。AndweonehourandtwohoursandthreehoursinConnery’ssittingcivilwaitingforpintsapiece。

Hewailed！

Andwetobethere，mavrone，andyoutobeunbeknownstsendingusyourconglomerationsthewaywetohaveourtonguesoutayardlonglikethedrouthyclericsdobefaintingforapussful。

Stephenlaughed。Quickly，warningfullyBuckMulliganbentdown：

ThetramperSyngeislookingforyou，hesaid，tomurderyou。HeheardyoupissedonhishalldoorinGlasthule。He’soutinpampootiestomurderyou。

Me！Stephenexclaimed。Thatwasyourcontributiontoliterature。

BuckMulligangleefullybentback，laughingtothedarkeavesdroppingceiling。

Murderyou！helaughed。

HarshgargoylefacethatwarredagainstmeoverourmessofhashoflightsinrueSaint-André；-des-Arts。Inwordsofwordsforwords，palabras。OisinwithPatrick。FaunmanhemetinClamartwoods，brandishingawinebottle，C’estvendredisaint！MurtheringIrish。Hisimage，wandering，hemet。Imine。Imetafooli’theforest。

MrLyster，anattendantsaidfromthedoorajar……inwhicheveryonecanfindhisown。SoMrJusticeMaddeninhisDiaryofMasterWilliamSilencehasfoundthehuntingterms……Yes？

Whatisit？

There’sagentlemanhere，sir，theattendantsaid，comingforwardandofferingacard。FromtheFreeman。HewantstoseethefilesoftheKilkennyPeopleforlastyear。

Certainly，certainly，certainly。Isthegentleman？……

Hetooktheeagercard，glanced，notsaw，laiddown，unglanced，looked，asked，creaked，asked：

Ishe？……Othere！

Briskinagalliardhewasoffandout。Inthedaylitcorridorhetalkedwithvolublepainsofzeal，indutybound，mostfair，mostkind，mosthonestbroadbrim。

Thisgentleman？Freeman’sJournal？KilkennyPeople？Tobesure。Goodday，sir。Kilkenny……Wehavecertainly……

Apatientsilhouettewaited，listening。

Alltheleadingprovincial……NorthernWhig，CorkExaminerEnniscorthyGuardian，1903……Willyouplease？……Evans，conductthisgentleman……

Ifyoujustfollowtheatten……Orpleaseallowme……Thisway……Please，sir……

Voluble，dutiful，heledthewaytoalltheprovincialpapers，abowingdarkfigurefollowinghishastyheels。

Thedoorclosed。

Thesheeny！BuckMulligancried。

Hejumpedupandsnatchedthecard。

What’shisname？IkeyMoses？Bloom。

Herattledon。

Jehovah，collectorofprepuces，isnomore。IfoundhimoverinthemuseumwhenIwenttohailthefoambornAphrodite。TheGreekmouththathasneverbeentwistedinprayer。Everydaywemustdohomagetoher。Lifeoflife，t