Quotation from: Ulysses

Written by: James Joyce


EN ROUTE to his taciturn and, not to put too fine a point on it, not yet
perfectly sober companion Mr Bloom who at all events was in complete
possession of his faculties, never more so, in fact disgustingly sober,
spoke a word of caution re the dangers of nighttown, women of ill fame
and swell mobsmen, which, barely permissible once in a while though not
as a habitual practice, was of the nature of a regular deathtrap for
young fellows of his age particularly if they had acquired drinking
habits under the influence of liquor unless you knew a little jiujitsu
for every contingency as even a fellow on the broad of his back could
administer a nasty kick if you didn't look out. Highly providential was
the appearance on the scene of Corny Kelleher when Stephen was blissfully
unconscious but for that man in the gap turning up at the eleventh hour
the finis might have been that he might have been a candidate for the
accident ward or, failing that, the bridewell and an appearance in the
court next day before Mr Tobias or, he being the solicitor rather, old
Wall, he meant to say, or Mahony which simply spelt ruin for a chap when
it got bruited about. The reason he mentioned the fact was that a lot of
those policemen, whom he cordially disliked, were admittedly unscrupulous
in the service of the Crown and, as Mr Bloom put it, recalling a case or
two in the A division in Clanbrassil street, prepared to swear a hole
through a ten gallon pot. Never on the spot when wanted but in quiet
parts of the city, Pembroke road for example, the guardians of the law
were well in evidence, the obvious reason being they were paid to protect
the upper classes. Another thing he commented on was equipping soldiers
with firearms or sidearms of any description liable to go off at any time
which was tantamount to inciting them against civilians should by any
chance they fall out over anything. You frittered away your time, he very
sensibly maintained, and health and also character besides which, the
squandermania of the thing, fast women of the DEMIMONDE ran away with a
lot of l.s.d. into the bargain and the greatest danger of all was who you
got drunk with though, touching the much vexed question of stimulants, he
relished a glass of choice old wine in season as both nourishing and
bloodmaking and possessing aperient virtues (notably a good burgundy
which he was a staunch believer in) still never beyond a certain point
where he invariably drew the line as it simply led to trouble all round
to say nothing of your being at the tender mercy of others practically.
Most of all he commented adversely on the desertion of Stephen by all his
pubhunting CONFRERES but one, a most glaring piece of ratting on the part
of his brother medicos under all the circs.

PREVIOUS GROUP HOME SITE HOME NEXT
Old Dominion University CS Dept
Designed by Joan A. Smith for the CRATE project
Created: 2007-2-22T12:35:29Z
Part of the CratePreservation Project
Change Tag: ~~ 0 ~~
Part of a series of experiments in web preservation under the direction of Michael L. Nelson, Ph.D.