...Mulveys was the first when

I was in bed that morning and Mrs Rubio brought it in with the co

ffee she stood there standing when I asked her to hand me and I p

ointing at them I couldnt think of the word a hairpin to open it wi

th ah horquilla disobliging old thing and it staring her in the fac

e with her switch of false hair on her and vain about her appeara

nce ugly as she was near 80 or a 100 her face a mass of wrinkles w

ith all her religion domineering because she never could get over

the Atlantic fleet coming in half the ships of the world and the Un

ion Jack flying with all her carabineros because 4 drunken Englis

h sailors took all the rock from them and because I didnt run into

mass often enough in Santa Maria to please her with her shawl up

on her except when there was a marriage on with all her miracles

of the saints and her black blessed virgin with the silver dress an

d the sun dancing 3 times on Easter Sunday morning and when th

e priest was going by with the bell bringing the vatican to the dy

ing blessing herself for his Majestad an admirer he signed it I ne

ar jumped out of my skin I wanted to pick him up when I saw him

following me along the Calle Real in the shop window then he tip

ped me just in passing but I never thought hed write making an a

ppointment I had it inside my petticoat bodice all day reading it u

p in every hole and corner while father was up at the drill instru

cting to find out by the handwriting or the language of stamps si

nging I remember shall I wear a white rose and I wanted to put on

the old stupid clock to near the time he was the first man kissed m

e under the Moorish wall my sweetheart when a boy it never ente

red my head what kissing meant till he put his tongue in my mou

th his mouth was sweetlike young I put my knee up to him a few t

imes to learn the way what did I tell him I was engaged for for fu

n to the son of a Spanish nobleman named Don Miguel de la Flora

and he believed me that I was to be married to him in 3 years tim

e theres many a true word spoken in jest there is a flower that bl

oometh a few things I told him true about myself just for him to b

e imagining the Spanish girls he didnt like I suppose one of them

wouldnt have him I got him excited he crushed all the flowers on

my bosom he brought me he couldnt count the pesetas and the pe

rragordas till I taught him Cappoquin he came from he said on th

e black water but it was too short then the day before he left May

yes it was May when the infant king of Spain was born Im always l

ike that in the spring Id like a new fellow every year up on the tip

top under the rockgun near OHaras tower I told him it was struck

by lightning and all about the old Barbary apes they sent to Claph

am without a tail careering all over the show on each others back

Mrs Rubio said she was a regular old rock scorpion robbing the ch

ickens out of Inces farm and throw stones at you if you went anea

r he was looking at me I had that white blouse on open in the fron

t to encourage him as much as I could without too openly they we

re just beginning to be plump I said I was tired we lay over the fir

tree cove a wild place I suppose it must be the highest rock in exi

stence the galleries and casemates and those frightful rocks and S

aint Michaels cave with the icicles or whatever they call them ha

nging down and ladders all the mud plotching my boots Im sure t

hats the way down the monkeys go under the sea to Africa when t

hey die the ships out far like chips that was the Malta boat passin

g yes the sea and the sky you could do what you liked lie there for

ever he caressed them outside they love doing that its the roundn

ess there I was leaning over him with my white ricestraw hat to t

ake the newness out of it the left side of my face the best my blou

se open for his last day transparent kind of shirt he had I could s

ee his chest pink he wanted to touch mine with his for a moment b

ut I wouldnt let him he was awfully put out first for fear you neve

r know consumption or leave me with a child embarazada that old

servant Ines told me that one drop even if it got into you at all aft

er I tried with the Banana but I was afraid it might break and get l

ost up in me somewhere because they once took something down o

ut of a woman that was up there for years covered with limesalts t

heyre all mad to get in there where they come out of youd think t

hey could never go far enough up and then theyre done with you i

n a way till the next time yes because theres a wonderful feeling t

here so tender all the time how did we finish it off yes O yes I pul

led him off into my handkerchief pretending not to be excited but

I opened my legs I wouldnt let him touch me inside my petticoat b

ecause I had a skirt opening up the side I tormented the life out o

f him first tickling him I loved rousing that dog in the hotel rrrss

sstt awokwokawok his eyes shut and a bird flying below us he was

shy all the same I liked him like that moaning I made him blush a

little when I got over him that way when I unbuttoned him and to

ok his out and drew back the skin it had a kind of eye in it theyre a

ll Buttons men down the middle on the wrong side of them Molly d

arling he called me what was his name Jack Joe Harry Mulvey was

it yes I think a lieutenant he was rather fair he had a laughing kin

d of a voice so I went round to the whatyoucallit everything was wh

atyoucallit moustache had he he said hed come back Lord its just l

ike yesterday to me and if I was married hed do it to me and I pro

mised him yes faithfully Id let him block me now flying perhaps h

es dead or killed or a captain or admiral its nearly 20 years if I sa

id firtree cove he would if he came up behind me and put his hand

s over my eyes to guess who I might recognise him hes young still

about 40 perhaps hes married some girl on the black water and is

quite changed they all do they havent half the character a woman

has she little knows what I did with her beloved husband before h

e ever dreamt of her in broad daylight too in the sight of the whol

e world you might say they could have put an article about it in th

e Chronicle I was a bit wild after when I blew out the old bag the b

iscuits were in from Benady Bros and exploded it Lord what a ban

g all the woodcocks and pigeons screaming coming back the same

way that we went over middle hill round by the old guardhouse an

d the jews burialplace pretending to read out the Hebrew on them

I wanted to fire his pistol he said he hadnt one he didnt know wha

t to make of me with his peak cap on that he always wore crooked a

s often as I settled it straight H M S Calypso swinging my hat that

old Bishop that spoke off the altar his long preach about womans h

igher functions about girls now riding the bicycle and wearing pe

ak caps and the new woman bloomers God send him sense and me

more money I suppose theyre called after him I never thought tha

t would be my name Bloom when I used to write it in print to see h

ow it looked on a visiting card or practising for the butcher and ob

lige M Bloom youre looking blooming Josie used to say after I mar

ried him well its better than Breen or Briggs does brig or those aw

ful names with bottom in them Mrs Ramsbottom or some other kin

d of a bottom Mulvey I wouldnt go mad about either or suppose I d

ivorced him Mrs Boylan my mother whoever she was might have gi

ven me a nicer name the Lord knows after the lovely one she had L

unita Laredo the fun we had running along Williss road to Europa p

oint twisting in and out all round the other side of Jersey they we

re shaking and dancing about in my blouse like Millys little ones n

ow when she runs up the stairs I loved looking down at them I was

jumping up at the pepper trees and the white poplars pulling the l

eaves off and throwing them at him he went to India he was to wri

te the voyages those men have to make to the ends of the world an

d back its the least they might get a squeeze or two at a woman wh

ile they can going out to be drowned or blown up somewhere I wen

t up Windmill hill to the flats that Sunday morning with captain Ru

bios that was dead spyglass like the sentry had he said hed have on

e or two from on board I wore that frock from the B Marche paris a

nd the coral necklace the straits shining I could see over to Moroc

co almost the bay of Tangier white and the Atlas mountain with sn

ow on it and the straits like a river so clear Harry Molly darling I w

as thinking of him on the sea all the time after at mass when my pe

tticoat began to slip down at the elevation weeks and weeks I kept

the handkerchief under my pillow for the smell of him there was no

decent perfume to be got in that Gibraltar only that cheap peau dE

spagne that faded and left a stink on you more than anything else I

wanted to give him a memento he gave me that clumsy Claddagh ri

ng for luck that I gave Gardner going to south Africa where those B

oers killed him with their war and fever but they were well beaten a

ll the same as if it brought its bad luck with it like an opal or pearl

still it must have been pure 18 carrot gold because it was very heav

y but what could you get in a place like that the sandfrog shower fr

om Africa and that derelict ship that came up to the harbour Marie

the Marie whatyoucallit no he hadnt a moustache that was Gardner

yes I can see his face cleanshaven Frseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeefrong

that train again weeping tone once in the dear deaead days beyond

re call close my eyes breath my lips forward kiss sad look eyes open

piano ere oer the world the mists began I hate that istsbeg comes l

oves sweet sooooooooooong Ill let that out full when I get in front o

f the footlights again Kathleen Kearney and her lot of squealers Mi

ss This Miss That Miss Theother lot of sparrowfarts skitting around

talking about politics they know as much about as my backside any

thing in the world to make themselves someway interesting Irish ho

memade beauties soldiers daughter am I ay and whose are you boo

tmakers and publicans I beg your pardon coach I thought you were a

wheelbarrow theyd die down dead off their feet if ever they got a ch

ance of walking down the Alameda on an officers arm like me on th

e bandnight my eyes flash my bust that they havent passion God he

lp their poor head I knew more about men and life when I was 15 th

an theyll all know at 50 they dont know how to sing a song like that

Gardner said no man could look at my mouth and teeth smiling like

that and not think of it I was afraid he mightnt like my accent first h

e so English all father left me in spite of his stamps Ive my mother

s eyes and figure anyhow he always said theyre so snotty about the

mselves some of those cads he wasnt a bit like that he was dead go

ne on my lips let them get a husband first thats fit to be looked at a

nd a daughter like mine or see if they can excite a swell with mone

y that can pick and choose whoever he wants like Boylan to do it 4 o

r 5 times locked in each others arms or the voice either I could hav

e been a prima donna only I married him comes looooves old deep d

own chin back not too much make it double My Ladys Bower is too l

ong for an encore about the moated grange at twilight and vaunted

rooms yes Ill sing Winds that blow from the south that he gave afte

r the choirstairs performance Ill change that lace on my black dres

s to show off my bubs and Ill yes by God Ill get that big fan mended

make them burst with envy my hole is itching me always when I thi

nk of him I feel I want to I feel some wind in me better go easy not

wake him have him at it again slobbering after washing every bit of

myself back belly and sides if we had even a bath itself or my own r

oom anyway I wish hed sleep in some bed by himself with his cold f

eet on me give us room even to let a fart God or do the least thing b

etter yes hold them like that a bit on my side piano quietly sweeeee

theres that train far away pianissimo eeeee one more song that wa

s a relief wherever you be let your wind go free who knows if that p

ork chop I took with my cup of tea after was quite good with the he

at I couldnt smell anything off it Im sure that queerlooking man in

the porkbutchers is a great rogue I hope that lamp is not smoking f

ill my nose up with smuts better than having him leaving the gas o

n all night I couldnt rest easy in my bed in Gibraltar even getting u

p to see why am I so damned nervous about that though I like it in t

he winter its more company O Lord it was rotten cold too that wint

er when I was only about ten was I yes I had the big doll with all th

e funny clothes dressing her up and undressing that icy wind skeet

ing across from those mountains the something Nevada sierra nev

ada standing at the fire with the little bit of a short shift I had up t

o heat myself I loved dancing about in it then make a race back into

bed Im sure that fellow opposite used to be there the whole time wa

tching with the lights out in the summer and I in my skin hopping a

round I used to love myself then stripped at the washstand dabbing

and creaming only when it came to the chamber performance I put

out the light too so then there were 2 of us goodbye to my sleep for

this night anyhow I hope hes not going to get in with those medica

ls leading him astray to imagine hes young again coming in at 4 in

the morning it must be if not more still he had the manners not to

wake me what do they find to gabber about all night squandering m

oney and getting drunker and drunker couldnt they drink water the

n he starts giving us his orders for eggs and tea and Findon haddy a

nd hot buttered toast I suppose well have him sitting up like the ki

ng of the country pumping the wrong end of the spoon up and dow

n in his egg wherever he learned that from and I love to hear him f

alling up the stairs of a morning with the cups rattling on the tray a

nd then play with the cat she rubs up against you for her own sake

I wonder has she fleas shes as bad as a woman always licking and l

ecking but I hate their claws I wonder do they see anything that we

cant staring like that when she sits at the top of the stairs so long a

nd listening as I wait always what a robber too that lovely fresh pl

aice I bought I think Ill get a bit of fish tomorrow or today is it Fri

day yes I will with some blancmange with black currant jam like lo

ng ago not those 2 lb pots of mixed plum and apple from the Londo

n and Newcastle Williams and Woods goes twice as far only for the

bones I hate those eels cod yes Ill get a nice piece of cod Im alway

s getting enough for 3 forgetting anyway Im sick of that everlastin

g butchers meat from Buckleys loin chops and leg beef and rib ste

ak and scrag of mutton and calfs pluck the very name is enough or

a picnic suppose we all gave 5/- each and or let him pay it and invi

te some other woman for him who Mrs Fleming and drove out to th

e furry glen or the strawberry beds wed have him examining all the

horses toenails first like he does with the letters no not with Boyla

n there yes with some cold veal and ham mixed sandwiches there a

re little houses down at the bottom of the banks there on purpose b

ut its as hot as blazes he says not a bank holiday anyhow I hate tho

se ruck of Mary Ann coalboxes out for the day Whit Monday is a cu

rsed day too no wonder that bee bit him better the seaside but Id n

ever again in this life get into a boat with him after him at Bray tel

ling the boatman he knew how to row if anyone asked could he ride

the steeplechase for the gold cup hed say yes then it came on to ge

t rough the old thing crookeding about and the weight all down my

side telling me pull the right reins now pull the left and the tide al

l swamping in floods in through the bottom and his oar slipping ou

t of the stirrup its a mercy we werent all drowned he can swim of c

ourse me no theres no danger whatsoever keep yourself calm in hi

s flannel trousers Id like to have tattered them down off him befor

e all the people and give him what that one calls flagellate till he w

as black and blue do him all the good in the world only for that lon

gnosed chap I dont know who he is with that other beauty Burke o

ut of the City Arms hotel was there spying around as usual on the

slip always where he wasnt wanted if there was a row on youd vom

it a better face there was no love lost between us thats 1 consolat

ion I wonder what kind is that book he brought me Sweets of Sin b

y a gentleman of fashion some other Mr de Kock I suppose the peo

ple gave him that nickname going about with his tube from one wo

man to another I couldnt even change my new white shoes all ruin

ed with the saltwater and the hat I had with that feather all blowy

and tossed on me how annoying and provoking because the smell o

f the sea excited me of course the sardines and the bream in Catal

an bay round the back of the rock they were fine all silver in the fi

shermens baskets old Luigi near a hundred they said came from Ge

noa and the tall old chap with the earrings I dont like a man you h

ave to climb up to to get at I suppose theyre all dead and rotten lon

g ago besides I dont like being alone in this big barracks of a place

at night I suppose Ill have to put up with it I never brought a bit of

salt in even when we moved in the confusion musical academy he w

as going to make on the first floor drawingroom with a brassplate o

r Blooms private hotel he suggested go and ruin himself altogether

the way his father did down in Ennis like all the things he told fath

er he was going to do and me but I saw through him telling me all t

he lovely places we could go for the honeymoon Venice by moonlig

ht with the gondolas and the lake of Como he had a picture cut out

of some paper of and mandolines and lanterns O how nice I said wh

atever I liked he was going to do immediately if not sooner will you

be my man will you carry my can he ought to get a leather medal wi

th a putty rim for all the plans he invents then leaving us here all d

ay youd never know what old beggar at the door for a crust with his

long story might be a tramp and put his foot in the way to prevent m

e shutting it like that picture of that hardened criminal he was call

ed in Lloyds Weekly news 20 years in jail then he comes out and mu

rders an old woman for her money imagine his poor wife or mother

or whoever she is such a face youd run miles away from I couldnt r

est easy till I bolted all the doors and windows to make sure but its

worse again being locked up like in a prison or a madhouse they ou

ght to be all shot or the cat of nine tails a big brute like that that w

ould attack a poor old woman to murder her in her bed Id cut them

off him so I would not that hed be much use still better than nothi

ng the night I was sure I heard burglars in the kitchen and he wen

t down in his shirt with a candle and a poker as if he was looking f

or a mouse as white as a sheet frightened out of his wits making as

much noise as he possibly could for the burglars benefit there isnt

much to steal indeed the Lord knows still its the feeling especially

now with Milly away such an idea for him to send the girl down the

re to learn to take photographs on account of his grandfather inste

ad of sending her to Skerrys academy where shed have to learn no

t like me getting all at school only hed do a thing like that all the s

ame on account of me and Boylan thats why he did it Im certain the

way he plots and plans everything out I couldnt turn round with he

r in the place lately unless I bolted the door first gave me the fidge

ts coming in without knocking first when I put the chair against th

e door just as I was washing myself there below with the glove get o

n your nerves then doing the loglady all day put her in a glasscase w

ith two at a time to look at her if he knew she broke off the hand of

f that little gimcrack statue with her roughness and carelessness b

efore she left that I got that little Italian boy to mend so that you c

ant see the join for 2 shillings wouldnt even teem the potatoes for y

ou of course shes right not to ruin her hands I noticed he was alwa

ys talking to her lately at the table explaining things in the paper a

nd she pretending to understand sly of course that comes from his

side of the house he cant say I pretend things can he Im too hones

t as a matter of fact and helping her into her coat but if there was

anything wrong with her its me shed tell not him I suppose he thin

ks Im finished out and laid on the shelf well Im not no nor anythin

g like it well see well see now shes well on for flirting too with Tom

Devans two sons imitating me whistling with those romps of Murra

y girls calling for her can Milly come out please shes in great dem

and to pick what they can out of her round in Nelson street riding

Harry Devans bicycle at night its as well he sent her where she is s

he was just getting out of bounds wanting to go on the skatingrink

and smoking their cigarettes through their nose I smelt it off her d

ress when I was biting off the thread of the button I sewed on to th

e bottom of her jacket she couldnt hide much from me I tell you on

ly I oughtnt to have stitched it and it on her it brings a parting an

d the last plumpudding too split in 2 halves see it comes out no ma

tter what they say her tongue is a bit too long for my taste your blo

use is open too low she says to me the pan calling the kettle blackb

ottom and I had to tell her not to cock her legs up like that on show

on the windowsill before all the people passing they all look at her

like me when I was her age of course any old rag looks well on you

then a great touchmenot too in her own way at the Only Way in the

Theatre royal take your foot away out of that I hate people touchin

g me afraid of her life Id crush her skirt with the pleats a lot of tha

t touching must go on in theatres in the crush in the dark theyre a

lways trying to wiggle up to you that fellow in the pit at the Gaiety

for Beerbohm Tree in Trilby the last time Ill ever go there to be sq

uashed like that for any Trilby or her barebum every two minutes t

ipping me there and looking away hes a bit daft I think I saw him a

fter trying to get near two stylishdressed ladies outside Switzers w

indow at the same little game I recognised him on the moment the

face and everything but he didnt remember me yes and she didnt e

ven want me to kiss her at the Broadstone going away well I hope s

hell get someone to dance attendance on her the way I did when s

he was down with the mumps and her glands swollen wheres this a

nd wheres that of course she cant feel anything deep yet I never c

ame properly till I was what 22 or so it went into the wrong place a

lways only the usual girls nonsense and giggling that Conny Conn

olly writing to her in white ink on black paper sealed with sealing

wax though she clapped when the curtain came down because he l

ooked so handsome then we had Martin Harvey for breakfast dinn

er and supper I thought to myself afterwards it must be real love i

f a man gives up his life for her that way for nothing I suppose the

re are a few men like that left its hard to believe in it though unle

ss it really happened to me the majority of them with not a partic

le of love in their natures to find two people like that nowadays fu

ll up of each other that would feel the same way as you do theyre u

sually a bit foolish in the head his father must have been a bit que

er to go and poison himself after her still poor old man I suppose

he felt lost shes always making love to my things too the few old r

ags I have wanting to put her hair up at 15 my powder too only rui

n her skin on her shes time enough for that all her life after of co

urse shes restless knowing shes pretty with her lips so red a pity t

hey wont stay that way I was too but theres no use going to the fa

ir with the thing answering me like a fishwoman when I asked to g

o for a half a stone of potatoes the day we met Mrs Joe Gallaher at

the trottingmatches and she pretended not to see us in her trap wi

th Friery the solicitor we werent grand enough till I gave her 2 dam

n fine cracks across the ear for herself take that now for answerin

g me like that and that for your impudence she had me that exaspe

rated of course contradicting I was badtempered too because how

was it there was a weed in the tea or I didnt sleep the night before

cheese I ate was it and I told her over and over again not to leave k

nives crossed like that because she has nobody to command her as

she said herself well if he doesnt correct her faith I will that was t

he last time she turned on the teartap I was just like that myself t

hey darent order me about the place its his fault of course having

the two of us slaving here instead of getting in a woman long ago a

m I ever going to have a proper servant again of course then shed s

ee him coming Id have to let her know or shed revenge it arent the

y a nuisance that old Mrs Fleming you have to be walking round af

ter her putting the things into her hands sneezing and farting into

the pots well of course shes old she cant help it a good job I found

that rotten old smelly dishcloth that got lost behind the dresser I k

new there was something and opened the area window to let out th

e smell bringing in his friends to entertain them like the night he w

alked home with a dog if you please that might have been mad espe

cially Simon Dedalus son his father such a criticiser with his glass

es up with his tall hat on him at the cricket match and a great big h

ole in his sock one thing laughing at the other and his son that got

all those prizes for whatever he won them in the intermediate ima

gine climbing over the railings if anybody saw him that knew us I w

onder he didnt tear a big hole in his grand funeral trousers as if th

e one nature gave wasnt enough for anybody hawking him down in

to the dirty old kitchen now is he right in his head I ask pity it was

nt washing day my old pair of drawers might have been hanging up

too on the line on exhibition for all hed ever care with the ironmou

ld mark the stupid old bundle burned on them he might think was s

omething else and she never even rendered down the fat I told her

and now shes going such as she was on account of her paralysed hu

sband getting worse theres always something wrong with them dise

ase or they have to go under an operation or if its not that its drink

and he beats her Ill have to hunt around again for someone every d

ay I get up theres some new thing on sweet God sweet God well whe

n Im stretched out dead in my grave I suppose Ill have some peace I

want to get up a minute if Im let wait O Jesus wait yes that thing ha

s come on me yes now wouldnt that afflict you of course all the pok

ing and rooting and ploughing he had up in me now what am I to do

Friday Saturday Sunday wouldnt that pester the soul out of a body u

nless he likes it some men do God knows theres always something w

rong with us 5 days every 3 or 4 weeks usual monthly auction isnt i

t simply sickening that night it came on me like that the one and on

ly time we were in a box that Michael Gunn gave him to see Mrs Ken

dal and her husband at the Gaiety something he did about insuranc

e for him in Drimmies I was fit to be tied though I wouldnt give in w

ith that gentleman of fashion staring down at me with his glasses a

nd him the other side of me talking about Spinoza and his soul that

s dead I suppose millions of years ago I smiled the best I could all i

n a swamp leaning forward as if I was interested having to sit it ou

t then to the last tag I wont forget that wife of Scarli in a hurry sup

posed to be a fast play about adultery that idiot in the gallery hissi

ng the woman adulteress he shouted I suppose he went and had a w

oman in the next lane running round all the back ways after to mak

e up for it I wish he had what I had then hed boo I bet the cat itself

is better off than us have we too much blood up in us or what O pat

ience above its pouring out of me like the sea anyhow he didnt mak

e me pregnant as big as he is I dont want to ruin the clean sheets I

just put on I suppose the clean linen I wore brought it on too damn

it damn it and they always want to see a stain on the bed to know y

oure a virgin for them all thats troubling them theyre such fools to

o you could be a widow or divorced 40 times over a daub of red ink

would do or blackberry juice no thats too purply O Jamesy let me up

out of this pooh sweets of sin whoever suggested that business for

women what between clothes and cooking and children this damne

d old bed too jingling like the dickens I suppose they could hear us

away over the other side of the park till I suggested to put the quilt

on the floor with the pillow under my bottom I wonder is it nicer in

the day I think it is easy I think Ill cut all this hair off me there sca

lding me I might look like a young girl wouldnt he get the great suc

kin the next time he turned up my clothes on me Id give anything t

o see his face wheres the chamber gone easy Ive a holy horror of it

s breaking under me after that old commode I wonder was I too hea

vy sitting on his knee I made him sit on the easychair purposely wh

en I took off only my blouse and skirt first in the other room he wa

s so busy where he oughtnt to be he never felt me I hope my breath

was sweet after those kissing comfits easy God I remember one tim

e I could scout it out straight whistling like a man almost easy O Lo

rd how noisy I hope theyre bubbles on it for a wad of money from s

ome fellow Ill have to perfume it in the morning dont forget I bet h

e never saw a better pair of thighs than that look how white they ar

e the smoothest place is right there between this bit here how soft

like a peach easy God I wouldnt mind being a man and get up on a l

ovely woman O Lord what a row youre making like the jersey lily ea

sy easy O how the waters come down at Lahore who knows is there

anything the matter with my insides or have I something growing i

n me getting that thing like that every week when was it last I Whit

Monday yes its only about 3 weeks I ought to go to the doctor only i

t would be like before I married him when I had that white thing co

ming from me and Floey made me go to that dry old stick Dr Collin

s for womens diseases on Pembroke road your vagina he called it I

suppose thats how he got all the gilt mirrors and carpets getting ro

und those rich ones off Stephens green running up to him for ever

y little fiddlefaddle her vagina and her cochinchina theyve money o

f course so theyre all right I wouldnt marry him not if he was the la

st man in the world besides theres something queer about their ch

ildren always smelling around those filthy bitches all sides asking m

e if what I did had an offensive odour what did he want me to do bu

t the one thing gold maybe what a question if I smathered it all ove

r his wrinkly old face for him with all my compriments I suppose he

d know then and could you pass it easily pass what I thought he wa

s talking about the rock of Gibraltar the way he put it thats a very n

ice invention too by the way only I like letting myself down after in

the hole as far as I can squeeze and pull the chain then to flush it n

ice cool pins and needles still theres something in it I suppose I al

ways used to know by Millys when she was a child whether she had w

orms or not still all the same paying him for that how much is that

doctor one guinea please and asking me had I frequent omissions w

here do those old fellows get all the words they have omissions wit

h his shortsighted eyes on me cocked sideways I wouldnt trust him

too far to give me chloroform or God knows what else still I liked h

im when he sat down to write the thing out frowning so severe his n

ose intelligent like that you be damned you lying strap O anything n

o matter who except an idiot he was clever enough to spot that of c

ourse that was all thinking of him and his mad crazy letters my Pre

cious one everything connected with your glorious Body everything

underlined that comes from it is a thing of beauty and of joy for ev

er something he got out of some nonsensical book that he had me a

lways at myself 4 and 5 times a day sometimes and I said I hadnt ar

e you sure O yes I said I am quite sure in a way that shut him up I k

new what was coming next only natural weakness it was he excited

me I dont know how the first night ever we met when I was living

in Rehoboth terrace we stood staring at one another for about 10

minutes as if we met somewhere I suppose on account of my bein

g jewess looking after my mother he used to amuse me the things

he said with the half sloothering smile on him and all the Doyles s

aid he was going to stand for a member of Parliament O wasnt I th

e born fool to believe all his blather about home rule and the land

league sending me that long strool of a song out of the Huguenots

to sing in French to be more classy O beau pays de la Touraine tha

t I never even sang once explaining and rigmaroling about religio

n and persecution he wont let you enjoy anything naturally then m

ight he as a great favour the very 1st opportunity he got a chance i

n Brighton square running into my bedroom pretending the ink go

t on his hands to wash it off with the Albion milk and sulphur soap

I used to use and the gelatine still round it O I laughed myself sick

at him that day I better not make an alnight sitting on this affair t

hey ought to make chambers a natural size so that a woman could s

it on it properly he kneels down to do it I suppose there isnt in all

creation another man with the habits he has look at the way hes sl

eeping at the foot of the bed how can he without a hard bolster its

well he doesnt kick or he might knock out all my teeth breathing w

ith his hand on his nose like that Indian god he took me to show on

e wet Sunday in the museum in Kildare street all yellow in a pinafo

re lying on his side on his hand with his ten toes sticking out that h

e said was a bigger religion than the jews and Our Lords both put t

ogether all over Asia imitating him as hes always imitating everybo

dy I suppose he used to sleep at the foot of the bed too with his big

square feet up in his wifes mouth damn this stinking thing anyway

wheres this those napkins are ah yes I know I hope the old press do

esnt creak ah I knew it would hes sleeping hard had a good time so

mewhere still she must have given him great value for his money o

f course he has to pay for it from her O this nuisance of a thing I h

ope theyll have something better for us in the other world tying ou

rselves up God help us thats all right for tonight now the lumpy old

jingly bed always reminds me of old Cohen I suppose he scratched h

imself in it often enough and he thinks father bought it from Lord N

apier that I used to admire when I was a little girl because I told hi

m easy piano O I like my bed God here we are as bad as ever after 1

6 years how many houses were we in at all Raymond terrace and On

tario terrace and Lombard street and Holles street and he goes abo

ut whistling every time were on the run again his huguenots or the

frogs march pretending to help the men with our 4 sticks of furnitu

re and then the City Arms hotel worse and worse says Warden Daly

that charming place on the landing always somebody inside prayin

g then leaving all their stinks after them always know who was in t

here last every time were just getting on right something happens

or he puts his big foot in it Thoms and Helys and Mr Cuffes and Dr

immies either hes going to be run into prison over his old lottery t

ickets that was to be all our salvations or he goes and gives impud

ence well have him coming home with the sack soon out of the Fre

eman too like the rest on account of those Sinner Fein or the freem

asons then well see if the little man he showed me dribbling along

in the wet all by himself round by Coadys lane will give him much c

onsolation that he says is so capable and sincerely Irish he is inde

ed judging by the sincerity of the trousers I saw on him wait there

s Georges church bells wait 3 quarters the hour wait two oclock we

ll thats a nice hour of the night for him to be coming home at to an

ybody climbing down into the area if anybody saw him Ill knock him

off that little habit tomorrow first Ill look at his shirt to see or Ill s

ee if he has that French letter still in his pocketbook I suppose he t

hinks I dont know deceitful men all their 20 pockets arent enough

for their lies then why should we tell them even if its the truth th

ey dont believe you then tucked up in bed like those babies in the A

ristocrats Masterpiece he brought me another time as if we hadnt

enough of that in real life without some old Aristocrat or whateve

r his name is disgusting you more with those rotten pictures child

ren with two heads and no legs thats the kind of villainy theyre alw

ays dreaming about with not another thing in their empty heads th

ey ought to get slow poison the half of them then tea and toast for

him buttered on both sides and newlaid eggs I suppose Im nothing

any more when I wouldnt let him lick me in Holles street one nigh

t man man tyrant as ever for the one thing he slept on the floor ha

lf the night naked the way the jews used when somebody dies belon

ged to them and wouldnt eat any breakfast or speak a word wantin

g to be petted so I thought I stood out enough for one time and let

him he does it all wrong too thinking only of his own pleasure his t

ongue is too flat or I dont know what he forgets that wethen I dont

Ill make him do it again if he doesnt mind himself and lock him do

wn to sleep in the coalcellar with the blackbeetles I wonder was it h

er Josie off her head with my castoffs hes such a born liar too no h

ed never have the courage with a married woman thats why he wan

ts me and Boylan though as for her Denis as she calls him that for

lornlooking spectacle you couldnt call him a husband yes its some

little bitch hes got in with even when I was with him with Milly at t

he College races that Hornblower with the childs bonnet on the top

of his nob let us into by the back way he was throwing his sheeps e

yes at those two doing skirt duty up and down I tried to wink at hi

m first no use of course and thats the way his money goes this is t

he fruits of Mr Paddy Dignam yes they were all in great style at the

grand funeral in the paper Boylan brought in if they saw a real off

icers funeral thatd be something reversed arms muffled drums the

poor horse walking behind in black L Boom and Tom Kernan that d

runken little barrelly man that bit his tongue off falling down the m

ens W C drunk in some place or other and Martin Cunningham and

the two Dedaluses and Fanny MCoys husband white head of cabbag

e skinny thing with a turn in her eye trying to sing my songs shed w

ant to be born all over again and her old green dress with the lown

eck as she cant attract them any other way like dabbling on a rain

y day I see it all now plainly and they call that friendship killing a

nd then burying one another and they all with their wives and fam

ilies at home more especially Jack Power keeping that barmaid he

does of course his wife is always sick or going to be sick or just ge

tting better of it and hes a goodlooking man still though hes getti

ng a bit grey over the ears theyre a nice lot all of them well theyre

not going to get my husband again into their clutches if I can help

it making fun of him then behind his back I know well when he goe

s on with his idiotics because he has sense enough not to squande

r every penny piece he earns down their gullets and looks after hi

s wife and family goodfornothings poor Paddy Dignam all the same

Im sorry in a way for him what are his wife and 5 children going to

do unless he was insured comical little teetotum always stuck up i

n some pub corner and her or her son waiting Bill Bailey wont you

please come home her widows weeds wont improve her appearanc

e theyre awfully becoming though if youre goodlooking what men w

asnt he yes he was at the Glencree dinner and Ben Dollard base ba

rreltone the night he borrowed the swallowtail to sing out of in Ho

lles street squeezed and squashed into them and grinning all over

his big Dolly face like a wellwhipped childs botty didnt he look a b

almy ballocks sure enough that must have been a spectacle on the

stage imagine paying 5/- in the preserved seats for that to see him

trotting off in his trowlers and Simon Dedalus too he was always t

urning up half screwed singing the second verse first the old love

is the new was one of his so sweetly sang the maiden on the hawth

orn bough he was always on for flirtyfying too when I sang Marita

na with him at Freddy Mayers private opera he had a delicious glo

rious voice Phoebe dearest goodbye sweetheart sweetheart he alw

ays sang it not like Bartell DArcy sweet tart goodbye of course he h

ad the gift of the voice so there was no art in it all over you like a

warm showerbath O Maritana wildwood flower we sang splendidly

though it was a bit too high for my register even transposed and h

e was married at the time to May Goulding but then hed say or do s

omething to knock the good out of it hes a widower now I wonder w

hat sort is his son he says hes an author and going to be a univers

ity professor of Italian and Im to take lessons what is he driving a

t now showing him my photo its not good of me I ought to have go

t it taken in drapery that never looks out of fashion still I look yo

ung in it I wonder he didnt make him a present of it altogether an

d me too after all why not I saw him driving down to the Kingsbrid

ge station with his father and mother I was in mourning thats 11 y

ears ago now yes hed be 11 though what was the good in going into

mourning for what was neither one thing nor the other the first c

ry was enough for me I heard the deathwatch too ticking in the wa

ll of course he insisted hed go into mourning for the cat I suppose

hes a man now by this time he was an innocent boy then and a dar

ling little fellow in his lord Fauntleroy suit and curly hair like a p

rince on the stage when I saw him at Mat Dillons he liked me too I

remember they all do wait by God yes wait yes hold on he was on t

he cards this morning when I laid out the deck union with a young

stranger neither dark nor fair you met before I thought it meant h

im but hes no chicken nor a stranger either besides my face was tu

rned the other way what was the 7th card after that the 10 of spade

s for a journey by land then there was a letter on its way and scand

als too the 3 queens and the 8 of diamonds for a rise in society yes

wait it all came out and 2 red 8s for new garments look at that and d

idnt I dream something too yes there was something about poetry i

n it I hope he hasnt long greasy hair hanging into his eyes or stand

ing up like a red Indian what do they go about like that for only get

ting themselves and their poetry laughed at I always liked poetry w

hen I was a girl first I thought he was a poet like lord Byron and no

t an ounce of it in his composition I thought he was quite different

I wonder is he too young hes about wait 88 I was married 88 Milly i

s 15 yesterday 89 what age was he then at Dillons 5 or 6 about 88 I s

uppose hes 20 or more Im not too old for him if hes 23 or 24 I hope

hes not that stuckup university student sort no otherwise he would

nt go sitting down in the old kitchen with him taking Eppss cocoa a

nd talking of course he pretended to understand it all probably he t

old him he was out of Trinity college hes very young to be a profess

or I hope hes not a professor like Goodwin was he was a potent pro

fessor of John Jameson they all write about some woman in their po

etry well I suppose he wont find many like me where softly sighs of

love the light guitar where poetry is in the air the blue sea and the

moon shining so beautifully coming back on the nightboat from Tar

ifa the lighthouse at Europa point the guitar that fellow played was

so expressive will I ever go back there again all new faces two glan

cing eyes a lattice hid Ill sing that for him theyre my eyes if hes an

ything of a poet two eyes as darkly bright as loves own star arent th

ose beautiful words as loves young star itll be a change the Lord kn

ows to have an intelligent person to talk to about yourself not alwa

ys listening to him and Billy Prescotts ad and Keyess ad and Tom th

e Devils ad then if anything goes wrong in their business we have t

o suffer Im sure hes very distinguished Id like to meet a man like t

hat God not those other ruck besides hes young those fine young m

en I could see down in Margate strand bathingplace from the side o

f the rock standing up in the sun naked like a God or something an

d then plunging into the sea with them why arent all men like that t

hered be some consolation for a woman like that lovely little statue

he bought I could look at him all day long curly head and his shoul

ders his finger up for you to listen theres real beauty and poetry fo

r you I often felt I wanted to kiss him all over also his lovely young

cock there so simple I wouldnt mind taking him in my mouth if nob

ody was looking as if it was asking you to suck it so clean and white

he looks with his boyish face I would too in 1/2 a minute even if som

e of it went down what its only like gruel or the dew theres no dang

er besides hed be so clean compared with those pigs of men I supp

ose never dream of washing it from 1 years end to the other the mo

st of them only thats what gives the women the moustaches Im sur

e itll be grand if I can only get in with a handsome young poet at my

age Ill throw them the 1st thing in the morning till I see if the wish

card comes out or Ill try pairing the lady herself and see if he com

es out Ill read and study all I can find or learn a bit off by heart if I

knew who he likes so he wont think me stupid if he thinks all wome

n are the same and I can teach him the other part Ill make him fee

l all over him till he half faints under me then hell write about me l

over and mistress publicly too with our 2 photographs in all the pa

pers when he becomes famous O but then what am I going to do ab

out him though no thats no way for him has he no manners nor no r

efinement nor no nothing in his nature slapping us behind like tha

t on my bottom because I didnt call him Hugh the ignoramus that d

oesnt know poetry from a cabbage thats what you get for not keepi

ng them in their proper place pulling off his shoes and trousers th

ere on the chair before me so barefaced without even asking permi

ssion and standing out that vulgar way in the half of a shirt they we

ar to be admired like a priest or a butcher or those old hypocrites i

n the time of Julius Caesar of course hes right enough in his way to

pass the time as a joke sure you might as well be in bed with what w

ith a lion God Im sure hed have something better to say for himsel

f an old Lion would O well I suppose its because they were so plum

p and tempting in my short petticoat he couldnt resist they excite m

yself sometimes its well for men all the amount of pleasure they ge

t off a womans body were so round and white for them always I wis

hed I was one myself for a change just to try with that thing they h

ave swelling up on you so hard and at the same time so soft when y

ou touch it my uncle John has a thing long I heard those cornerboy

s saying passing the comer of Marrowbone lane my aunt Mary has a

thing hairy because it was dark and they knew a girl was passing it

didnt make me blush why should it either its only nature and he pu

ts his thing long into my aunt Marys hairy etcetera and turns out t

o be you put the handle in a sweepingbrush men again all over the

y can pick and choose what they please a married woman or a fast w

idow or a girl for their different tastes like those houses round beh

ind Irish street no but were to be always chained up theyre not goi

ng to be chaining me up no damn fear once I start I tell you for the

ir stupid husbands jealousy why cant we all remain friends over it i

nstead of quarrelling her husband found it out what they did togeth

er well naturally and if he did can he undo it hes coronado anyway

whatever he does and then he going to the other mad extreme abou

t the wife in Fair Tyrants of course the man never even casts a 2nd

thought on the husband or wife either its the woman he wants and h

e gets her what else were we given all those desires for Id like to k

now I cant help it if Im young still can I its a wonder Im not an old

shrivelled hag before my time living with him so cold never emb

racing me except sometimes when hes asleep the wrong end of me

not knowing I suppose who he has any man thatd kiss a womans b

ottom Id throw my hat at him after that hed kiss anything unnat

ural where we havent 1 atom of any kind of expression in us all o

f us the same 2 lumps of lard before ever Id do that to a man pfoo

h the dirty brutes the mere thought is enough I kiss the feet of y

ou senorita theres some sense in that didnt he kiss our halldoor y

es he did what a madman nobody understands his cracked ideas b

ut me still of course a woman wants to be embraced 20 times a da

y almost to make her look young no matter by who so long as to be

in love or loved by somebody if the fellow you want isnt there som

etimes by the Lord God I was thinking would I go around by the qu

ays there some dark evening where nobodyd know me and pick up a

sailor off the sea thatd be hot on for it and not care a pin whose I w

as only do it off up in a gate somewhere or one of those wildlookin

g gipsies in Rathfarnham had their camp pitched near the Bloomfi

eld laundry to try and steal our things if they could I only sent mi

ne there a few times for the name model laundry sending me back

over and over some old ones odd stockings that blackguardlooking

fellow with the fine eyes peeling a switch attack me in the dark an

d ride me up against the wall without a word or a murderer anybod

y what they do themselves the fine gentlemen in their silk hats th

at K C lives up somewhere this way coming out of Hardwicke lane t

he night he gave us the fish supper on account of winning over the

boxing match of course it was for me he gave it I knew him by his g

aiters and the walk and when I turned round a minute after just to

see there was a woman after coming out of it too some filthy prost

itute then he goes home to his wife after that only I suppose the h

alf of those sailors are rotten again with disease O move over your

big carcass out of that for the love of Mike listen to him the winds

that waft my sighs to thee so well he may sleep and sigh the great S

uggester Don Poldo de la Flora if he knew how he came out on the c

ards this morning hed have something to sigh for a dark man in so

me perplexity between 2 7s too in prison for Lord knows what he d

oes that I dont know and Im to be slooching around down in the ki

tchen to get his lordship his breakfast while hes rolled up like a mu

mmy will I indeed did you ever see me running Id just like to see m

yself at it show them attention and they treat you like dirt I dont c

are what anybody says itd be much better for the world to be gover

ned by the women in it you wouldnt see women going and killing o

ne another and slaughtering when do you ever see women rolling a

round drunk like they do or gambling every penny they have and lo

sing it on horses yes because a woman whatever she does she know

s where to stop sure they wouldnt be in the world at all only for us

they dont know what it is to be a woman and a mother how could t

hey where would they all of them be if they hadnt all a mother to l

ook after them what I never had thats why I suppose hes running w

ild now out at night away from his books and studies and not livin

g at home on account of the usual rowy house I suppose well its a p

oor case that those that have a fine son like that theyre not satisfi

ed and I none was he not able to make one it wasnt my fault we cam

e together when I was watching the two dogs up in her behind in t

he middle of the naked street that disheartened me altogether I su

ppose I oughtnt to have buried him in that little woolly jacket I kn

itted crying as I was but give it to some poor child but I knew well

Id never have another our 1st death too it was we were never the s

ame since O Im not going to think myself into the glooms about th

at any more I wonder why he wouldnt stay the night I felt all the t

ime it was somebody strange he brought in instead of roving aroun

d the city meeting God knows who nightwalkers and pickpockets h

is poor mother wouldnt like that if she was alive ruining himself f

or life perhaps still its a lovely hour so silent I used to love comin

g home after dances the air of the night they have friends they can

talk to weve none either he wants what he wont get or its some wo

man ready to stick her knife in you I hate that in women no wonde

r they treat us the way they do we are a dreadful lot of bitches I su

ppose its all the troubles we have makes us so snappy Im not like t

hat he could easy have slept in there on the sofa in the other room

I suppose he was as shy as a boy he being so young hardly 20 of me

in the next room hed have heard me on the chamber arrah what ha

rm Dedalus I wonder its like those names in Gibraltar Delapaz Del

agracia they had the devils queer names there father Vilaplana of

Santa Maria that gave me the rosary Rosales y OReilly in the Calle

las Siete Revueltas and Pisimbo and Mrs Opisso in Governor stree

t O what a name Id go and drown myself in the first river if I had a

name like her O my and all the bits of streets Paradise ramp and B

edlam ramp and Rodgers ramp and Crutchetts ramp and the devils

gap steps well small blame to me if I am a harumscarum I know I a

m a bit I declare to God I dont feel a day older than then I wonder c

ould I get my tongue round any of the Spanish como esta usted mu

y bien gracias y usted see I havent forgotten it all I thought I had o

nly for the grammar a noun is the name of any person place or thi

ng pity I never tried to read that novel cantankerous Mrs Rubio le

nt me by Valera with the questions in it all upside down the two w

ays I always knew wed go away in the end I can tell him the Spanis

h and he tell me the Italian then hell see Im not so ignorant what

a pity he didnt stay Im sure the poor fellow was dead tired and wa

nted a good sleep badly I could have brought him in his breakfast

in bed with a bit of toast so long as I didnt do it on the knife for b

ad luck or if the woman was going her rounds with the watercress

and something nice and tasty there are a few olives in the kitchen

he might like I never could bear the look of them in Abrines I cou

ld do the criada the room looks all right since I changed it the oth

er way you see something was telling me all the time Id have to in

troduce myself not knowing me from Adam very funny wouldnt it

Im his wife or pretend we were in Spain with him half awake with

out a Gods notion where he is dos huevos estrellados senor Lord t

he cracked things come into my head sometimes itd be great fun s

upposing he stayed with us why not theres the room upstairs emp

ty and Millys bed in the back room he could do his writing and stu

dies at the table in there for all the scribbling he does at it and if

he wants to read in bed in the morning like me as hes making the

breakfast for 1 he can make it for 2 Im sure Im not going to take i

n lodgers off the street for him if he takes a gesabo of a house lik

e this Id love to have a long talk with an intelligent welleducated

person Id have to get a nice pair of red slippers like those Turks w

ith the fez used to sell or yellow and a nice semitransparent mor

ning gown that I badly want or a peachblossom dressing jacket li

ke the one long ago in Walpoles only 8/6 or 18/6 Ill just give him o

ne more chance Ill get up early in the morning Im sick of Cohens o

ld bed in any case I might go over to the markets to see all the ve

getables and cabbages and tomatoes and carrots and all kinds of s

plendid fruits all coming in lovely and fresh who knows whod be t

he 1st man Id meet theyre out looking for it in the morning Mamy

Dillon used to say they are and the night too that was her massgo

ing Id love a big juicy pear now to melt in your mouth like when I

used to be in the longing way then Ill throw him up his eggs and t

ea in the moustachecup she gave him to make his mouth bigger I s

uppose hed like my nice cream too I know what Ill do Ill go about r

ather gay not too much singing a bit now and then mi fa pieta Mas

etto then Ill start dressing myself to go out presto non son piu for

te Ill put on my best shift and drawers let him have a good eyeful o

ut of that to make his micky stand for him Ill let him know if thats

what he wanted that his wife is fucked yes and damn well fucked t

oo up to my neck nearly not by him 5 or 6 times handrunning ther

es the mark of his spunk on the clean sheet I wouldnt bother to ev

en iron it out that ought to satisfy him if you dont believe me feel

my belly unless I made him stand there and put him into me Ive a m

ind to tell him every scrap and make him do it out in front of me s

erve him right its all his own fault if I am an adulteress as the thi

ng in the gallery said O much about it if thats all the harm ever we

did in this vale of tears God knows its not much doesnt everybody

only they hide it I suppose thats what a woman is supposed to be t

here for or He wouldnt have made us the way He did so attractive

to men then if he wants to kiss my bottom Ill drag open my drawer

s and bulge it right out in his face as large as life he can stick his

tongue 7 miles up my hole as hes there my brown part then Ill tell

him I want £ 1 or perhaps 30/- Ill tell him I want to buy underclot

hes then if he gives me that well he wont be too bad I dont want to

soak it all out of him like other women do I could often have writt

en out a fine cheque for myself and write his name on it for a cou

ple of pounds a few times he forgot to lock it up besides he wont s

pend it Ill let him do it off on me behind provided he doesnt smea

r all my good drawers O I suppose that cant be helped Ill do the in

different 1 or 2 questions Ill know by the answers when hes like th

at he cant keep a thing back I know every turn in him Ill tighten m

y bottom well and let out a few smutty words smellrump or lick my

shit or the first mad thing comes into my head then Ill suggest ab

out yes O wait now sonny my turn is coming Ill be quite gay and fr

iendly over it O but I was forgetting this bloody pest of a thing pfo

oh you wouldnt know which to laugh or cry were such a mixture of

plum and apple no Ill have to wear the old things so much the bett

er itll be more pointed hell never know whether he did it or not th

ere thats good enough for you any old thing at all then Ill wipe him

off me just like a business his omission then Ill go out Ill have him

eying up at the ceiling where is she gone now make him want me t

hats the only way a quarter after what an unearthly hour I suppos

e theyre just getting up in China now combing out their pigtails fo

r the day well soon have the nuns ringing the angelus theyve nobo

dy coming in to spoil their sleep except an odd priest or two for hi

s night office or the alarmclock next door at cockshout clattering t

he brains out of itself let me see if I can doze off 1 2 3 4 5 what kin

d of flowers are those they invented like the stars the wallpaper in

Lombard street was much nicer the apron he gave me was like that

something only I only wore it twice better lower this lamp and try a

gain so as I can get up early Ill go to Lambes there beside Findlate

rs and get them to send us some flowers to put about the place in c

ase he brings him home tomorrow today I mean no no Fridays an u

nlucky day first I want to do the place up someway the dust grows i

n it I think while Im asleep then we can have music and cigarettes

I can accompany him first I must clean the keys of the piano with m

ilk whatll I wear shall I wear a white rose or those fairy cakes in Li

ptons I love the smell of a rich big shop at 7 1/2d a lb or the other o

nes with the cherries in them and the pinky sugar 11d a couple of l

bs of those a nice plant for the middle of the table Id get that chea

per in wait wheres this I saw them not long ago I love flowers Id lo

ve to have the whole place swimming in roses God of heaven there

s nothing like nature the wild mountains then the sea and the wave

s rushing then the beautiful country with the fields of oats and whe

at and all kinds of things and all the fine cattle going about that wo

uld do your heart good to see rivers and lakes and flowers all sorts

of shapes and smells and colours springing up even out of the ditc

hes primroses and violets nature it is as for them saying theres no

God I wouldnt give a snap of my two fingers for all their learning w

hy dont they go and create something I often asked him atheists or

whatever they call themselves go and wash the cobbles off themsel

ves first then they go howling for the priest and they dying and wh

y why because theyre afraid of hell on account of their bad conscie

nce ah yes I know them well who was the first person in the univer

se before there was anybody that made it all who ah that they dont

know neither do I so there you are they might as well try to stop th

e sun from rising tomorrow the sun shines for you he said the day w

e were lying among the rhododendrons on Howth head in the grey t

weed suit and his straw hat the day I got him to propose to me yes

first I gave him the bit of seedcake out of my mouth and it was leap

year like now yes 16 years ago my God after that long kiss I near lo

st my breath yes he said I was a flower of the mountain yes so we a

re flowers all a womans body yes that was one true thing he said in

his life and the sun shines for you today yes that was why I liked h

im because I saw he understood or felt what a woman is and I knew

I could always get round him and I gave him all the pleasure I coul

d leading him on till he asked me to say yes and I wouldnt answer f

irst only looked out over the sea and the sky I was thinking of so m

any things he didnt know of Mulvey and Mr Stanhope and Hester a

nd father and old captain Groves and the sailors playing all birds f

ly and I say stoop and washing up dishes they called it on the pier a

nd the sentry in front of the governors house with the thing round

his white helmet poor devil half roasted and the Spanish girls laug

hing in their shawls and their tall combs and the auctions in the m

orning the Greeks and the jews and the Arabs and the devil knows w

ho else from all the ends of Europe and Duke street and the fowl m

arket all clucking outside Larby Sharons and the poor donkeys slip

ping half asleep and the vague fellows in the cloaks asleep in the s

hade on the steps and the big wheels of the carts of the bulls and t

he old castle thousands of years old yes and those handsome Moor

s all in white and turbans like kings asking you to sit down in thei

r little bit of a shop and Ronda with the old windows of the posada

s 2 glancing eyes a lattice hid for her lover to kiss the iron and th

e wineshops half open at night and the castanets and the night we

missed the boat at Algeciras the watchman going about serene wit

h his lamp and O that awful deepdown torrent O and the sea the se

a crimson sometimes like fire and the glorious sunsets and the fig

trees in the Alameda gardens yes and all the queer little streets a

nd the pink and blue and yellow houses and the rosegardens and t

he jessamine and geraniums and cactuses and Gibraltar as a girl w

here I was a Flower of the mountain yes when I put the rose in my

hair like the Andalusian girls used or shall I wear a red yes and ho

w he kissed me under the Moorish wall and I thought well as well h

im as another and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes a

nd then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower an

d first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so h

e could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad

and yes I said yes I will Yes.