This eBook is designed and published by Planet pdf. For more free

Ulysses 

109 

of

 1305 

Following the pointing of her finger he took up a leg 

of her soiled drawers from the bed. No? Then, a twisted 

grey garter looped round a stocking: rumpled, shiny sole. 

—No: that book. 

Other stocking. Her petticoat. 

—It must have fell down, she said. 

He felt here and there. Voglio e non vorrei. Wonder if 

she pronounces that right: voglio. Not in the bed. Must 

have slid down. He stooped and lifted the valance. The 

book, fallen, sprawled against the bulge of the 

orangekeyed chamberpot. 

—Show here, she said. I put a mark in it. There’s a 

word I wanted to ask you. 

She swallowed a draught of tea from her cup held by 

nothandle and, having wiped her fingertips smartly on the 

blanket, began to search the text with the hairpin till she 

reached the word. 

—Met him what? he asked. 

—Here, she said. What does that mean? 

He leaned downward and read near her polished 

thumbnail. 

—Metempsychosis? 

—Yes. Who’s he when he’s at home? 

---

Ulysses 

110 

of

 1305 

—Metempsychosis, he said, frowning. It’s Greek: from 

the Greek. That means the transmigration of souls. 

—O, rocks! she said. Tell us in plain words. 

He smiled, glancing askance at her mocking eyes. The 

same young eyes. The first night after the charades. 

Dolphin’s Barn. He turned over the smudged pages. Ruby: 

the Pride of the Ring. Hello. Illustration. Fierce Italian with 

carriagewhip. Must be Ruby pride of the on the floor 

naked. Sheet kindly lent. The monster Maffei desisted and 

flung his victim from him with an oath. Cruelty behind it all. 

Doped animals. Trapeze at Hengler’s. Had to look the 

other way. Mob gaping. Break your neck and we’ll break 

our sides. Families of them. Bone them young so they 

metamspychosis. That we live after death. Our souls. That 

a man’s soul after he dies. Dignam’s soul ... 

—Did you finish it? he asked. 

—Yes, she said. There’s nothing smutty in it. Is she in 

love with the first fellow all the time? 

—Never read it. Do you want another? 

—Yes. Get another of Paul de Kock’s. Nice name he 

has. 

She poured more tea into her cup, watching it flow 

sideways. 

---

Ulysses 

111 

of

 1305 

Must get that Capel street library book renewed or 

they’ll write to Kearney, my guarantor. Reincarnation: 

that’s the word. 

—Some people believe, he said, that we go on living in 

another body after death, that we lived before. They call it 

reincarnation. That we all lived before on the earth 

thousands of years ago or some other planet. They say we 

have forgotten it. Some say they remember their past lives. 

The sluggish cream wound curdling spirals through her 

tea. Bette remind her of the word: metempsychosis. An 

example would be better. An example? 

The Bath of the Nymph over the bed. Given away with 

the Easter number of Photo Bits: Splendid masterpiece in 

art colours. Tea before you put milk in. Not unlike her 

with her hair down: slimmer. Three and six I gave for the 

frame. She said it would look nice over the bed. Naked 

nymphs: Greece: and for instance all the people that lived 

then. 

He turned the pages back. 

—Metempsychosis, he said, is what the ancient Greeks 

called it. They used to believe you could be changed into 

an animal or a tree, for instance. What they called nymphs, 

for example. 

---

Ulysses 

112 

of

 1305 

Her spoon ceased to stir up the sugar. She gazed 

straight before her, inhaling through her arched nostrils. 

—There’s a smell of burn, she said. Did you leave 

anything on the fire? 

—The kidney! he cried suddenly. 

He fitted the book roughly into his inner pocket and, 

stubbing his toes against the broken commode, hurried 

out towards the smell, stepping hastily down the stairs 

with a flurried stork’s legs. Pungent smoke shot up in an 

angry jet from a side of the pan. By prodding a prong of 

the fork under the kidney he detached it and turned it 

turtle on its back. Only a little burnt. He tossed it off the 

pan on to a plate and let the scanty brown gravy trickle 

over it. 

Cup of tea now. He sat down, cut and buttered a slice 

of the loaf. He shore away the burnt flesh and flung it to 

the cat. Then he put a forkful into his mouth, chewing 

with discernment the toothsome pliant meat. Done to a 

turn. A mouthful of tea. Then he cut away dies of bread, 

sopped one in the gravy and put it in his mouth. What 

was that about some young student and a picnic? He 

creased out the letter at his side, reading it slowly as he 

chewed, sopping another die of bread in the gravy and 

raising it to his mouth. 

---

Ulysses 

113 

of

 1305 

 

 Dearest Papli 

Thanks ever so much for the lovely birthday present. It 

suits me splendid. Everyone says I am quite the belle in 

my new tam. I got mummy’s Iovely box of creams and am 

writing. They are lovely. I am getting on swimming in the 

photo business now. Mr Coghlan took one of me and 

Mrs. Will send when developed. We did great biz 

yesterday. Fair day and all the beef to the heels were in. 

We are going to lough Owel on Monday with a few 

friends to make a scrap picnic. Give my love to mummy 

and to yourself a big kiss and thanks. I hear them at the 

piano downstairs. There is to be a concert in the Greville 

Arms on Saturday. There is a young student comes here 

some evenings named Bannon his cousins or something 

are big swells and he sings Boylan’s (I was on the pop of 

writing Blazes Boylan’s) song about those seaside girls. Tell 

him silly Milly sends my best respects. I must now close 

with fondest love 

Your fond daughter, MILLY. 

P. S. Excuse bad writing am in hurry. Byby. M. 

Fifteen yesterday. Curious, fifteenth of the month too. 

Her first birthday away from home. Separation. 

Remember the summer morning she was born, running to 

---