第35章

Hecaughthimselfintheact：lookedatall：refrained。

Anattendantfromthedoorwaycalled：

MrLyster！FatherDineenwants……

O！FatherDineen！Directly。

Swiftlyrectlycreakingrectlyrectlyhewasrectlygone。

JohnEglintontouchedthefoil。

Come，hesaid。LetushearwhatyouhavetosayofRichardandEdmund。

Youkeptthemforthelast，didn’tyou？

InaskingyoutorememberthosetwonoblekinsmennuncleRichieandnuncleEdmund，Stephenanswered，IfeelIamaskingtoomuchperhaps。A

brotherisaseasilyforgottenasanumbrella。

Lapwing。

Whereisyourbrother？Apothecaries’hall。Mywhetstone。Him，thenCranly，Mulligan：nowthese。Speech，speech。Butact。Actspeech。Theymocktotryyou。Act。Beactedon。

Lapwing。

Iamtiredofmyvoice，thevoiceofEsau。Mykingdomforadrink。

On。

Youwillsaythosenameswerealreadyinthechroniclesfromwhichhetookthestuffofhisplays。Whydidhetakethemratherthanothers？

Richard，awhoresoncrookback，misbegotten，makeslovetoawidowedAnn(what’sinaname？)，woosandwinsher，awhoresonmerrywidow。Richardtheconqueror，thirdbrother，cameafterWilliamtheconquered。Theotherfouractsofthatplayhanglimplyfromthatfirst。OfallhiskingsRichardistheonlykingunshieldedbyShakespeare’sreverence，theangeloftheworld。WhyistheunderplotofKingLearinwhichEdmundfiguresliftedoutofSidney’sArcadiaandspatchcockedontoaCelticlegendolderthanhistory？

ThatwasWill’sway，JohnEglintondefended。WeshouldnotnowcombineaNorsesagawithanexcerptfromanovelbyGeorgeMeredith。Quevoulez-vous？Moorewouldsay。HeputsBohemiaontheseacoastandmakesUlyssesquoteAristotle。

Why？Stephenansweredhimself。BecausethethemeofthefalseortheusurpingortheadulterousbrotherorallthreeinoneistoShakespeare，whatthepoorisnot，alwayswithhim。Thenoteofbanishment，banishmentfromtheheart，banishmentfromhome，soundsuninterruptedlyfromTheTwoGentlemenofVeronaonwardtillProsperobreakshisstaff，buriesitcertainfathomsintheearthanddrownshisbook。Itdoublesitselfinthemiddleofhislife，reflectsitselfinanother，repeatsitself，protasis，epitasis，catastasis，catastrophe。Itrepeatsitselfagainwhenheisnearthegrave，whenhismarrieddaughterSusan，chipoftheoldblock，isaccusedofadultery。Butitwastheoriginalsinthatdarkenedhisunderstanding，weakenedhiswillandleftinhimastronginclinationtoevil。ThewordsarethoseofmylordsbishopsofMaynooth：anoriginalsinand，likeoriginalsin，committedbyanotherinwhosesinhetoohassinned。Itisbetweenthelinesofhislastwrittenwords，itispetrifiedonhistombstoneunderwhichherfourbonesarenottobelaid。Agehasnotwitheredit。Beautyandpeacehavenotdoneitaway。Itisininfinitevarietyeverywhereintheworldhehascreated，inMuchAdoaboutNothing，twiceinAsyoulikeIt，inTheTempest，inHamlet，inMeasureforMeasure，andinalltheotherplayswhichIhavenotread。

Helaughedtofreehismindfromhismind’sbondage。JudgeEglintonsummedup。

Thetruthismidway，heaffirmed。Heistheghostandtheprince。

Heisallinall。

Heis，Stephensaid。Theboyofactoneisthematuremanofactfive。Allinall。InCymbeline，inOthelloheisbawdandcuckold。Heactsandisactedon。Loverofanidealoraperversion，likeJosé；hekillstherealCarmen。HisunremittingintellectisthehornmadIagoceaselesslywillingthatthemoorinhimshallsuffer。

Cuckoo！Cuckoo！CuckMulligancluckedlewdly。Owordoffear！

Darkdomereceived，reverbed。

AndwhatacharacterisIago！undauntedJohnEglintonexclaimed。

WhenallissaidDumasfils(orisitDumaspè；re？)

isright