Speaker 1: Story fourteen of Dubliner's by James Joyce. This is a
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Speaker 1: Dubliners by James Joyce, Story fourteen Grace. Two gentlemen who
Speaker 1: were in the lavatory at the time tried to lift
Speaker 1: him up, but he was quite helpless. He lay curled
Speaker 1: up at the foot of the stairs down which he
Speaker 1: had fallen. They succeeded in turning him over. His hat
Speaker 1: had rolled a few yards away, and his clothes were
Speaker 1: smeared with the filth and ooze of the floor on
Speaker 1: which he had lain face downwards. His eyes were closed,
Speaker 1: and he breathed with a grunting noise. A thin stream
Speaker 1: of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. These
Speaker 1: two gentlemen and one of the curates carried him up
Speaker 1: the stairs and laid him down again on the floor
Speaker 1: of the bar. In two minutes he was surrounded by
Speaker 1: a ring of men. The manager of the bar asked
Speaker 1: everyone who he was and who was with him. No
Speaker 1: one knew who he was, but one of the curates
Speaker 1: said he had served the gentleman with a small rum.
Speaker 1: Was he by himself? Asked the manager, No, sir, there
Speaker 1: was two gentlemen with him, and where are they? No
Speaker 1: one knew? A voice said, give him air, he's fainted.
Speaker 1: The ring of onlookers distended and closed again elastically. A
Speaker 1: dark metal of blood had formed itself near the man's
Speaker 1: head on the tassellated floor. The manager, alarmed by the
Speaker 1: gray pallor of the man's face, sent for a policeman.
Speaker 1: His collar was unfastened and his necktie undone. He opened
Speaker 1: eyes for an instant, sighed, and closed them again. One
Speaker 1: of the gentlemen who had carried him upstairs held a
Speaker 1: dinged silk hat in his hand. The manager asked, repeatedly,
Speaker 1: did no one know who the injured man was? Or
Speaker 1: where had his friends gone? The door of the bar opened,
Speaker 1: and an immense constable entered. A crowd which had followed
Speaker 1: him down the laneway collected outside the door, struggling to
Speaker 1: look in through the glass panels. The manager at once
Speaker 1: began to narrate what he knew. The constable, a young
Speaker 1: man with thick, immobile features, listened. He moved his head
Speaker 1: slowly to right and left, and from the manager to
Speaker 1: the person on the floor, as if he feared to
Speaker 1: be the victim of some delusion. Then he drew off
Speaker 1: his glove, produced a small book from his waist, licked
Speaker 1: the lead of his pencil, and made ready to indict.
Speaker 1: He asked, in a suspicious provincial accent, who is the man?
Speaker 1: What's his name and address? A young man in a
Speaker 1: cycling suit cleared his way through the ring of bystanders.
Speaker 1: He knelt down promptly beside the injured man and called
Speaker 1: for water. The constable knelt down also to help. The
Speaker 1: young man washed the blood from the injured man's mouth,
Speaker 1: and then called for some brandy. The constable repeated the
Speaker 1: order in an authoritative voice until a curate came running
Speaker 1: with the gloves. The brandy was forced down the man's throat.
Speaker 1: In a few seconds, he opened his eyes and looked
Speaker 1: about him. He looked at the circle of faces, and then, understanding,
Speaker 1: strove to rise to his feet. You're all right now,
Speaker 1: asked the young man in the cycling suit. Shah, it's nothing,
Speaker 1: said the injured man, trying to stand up. He was
Speaker 1: helped to his feet. The manager said something about a hospital,
Speaker 1: and some of the bystanders gave advice. The battered silk
Speaker 1: hat was placed on the man's head. The constable asked,
Speaker 1: where do you live? The man, without answering, began to
Speaker 1: twirl the ends of his mustache. He made light of
Speaker 1: his accident. It was nothing, he said, only a little accident.
Speaker 1: He spoke very thickly. Where do you live, repeated the constable.
Speaker 1: The man said they were to get a cab for him.
Speaker 1: While the point was being debated, a tall, agile gentleman
Speaker 1: of fair complexion wearing a long yellow ulster, came from
Speaker 1: the far end of the bar. Seeing the spectacle, he
Speaker 1: called out, hallo, Tom, old man, what's the trouble. Shah's nothing,
Speaker 1: said the man. The newcomer surveyed the deplorable figure before him,
Speaker 1: and then turned to the constable, saying, it's all right, Constable,
Speaker 1: I'll see him home. The constable touched his helmet and answered,
Speaker 1: all right, mister Power, Come now, Tom, said mister Power,
Speaker 1: taking his friend by the arm, no bones broken, What
Speaker 1: can you walk? The young man in the cycling suit
Speaker 1: took the man by the other arm, and the crowd divided.
Speaker 1: How did you get yourself into this mess? Asked mister Power.
Speaker 1: The gentleman fell down the stairs, said the young man.
Speaker 1: I ay i ah, I hear, sir, said the injured man,
Speaker 1: not at all, we have lull not now, not now.
Speaker 1: The three men left the bar and the crowd sifted
Speaker 1: through the doors to the laneway. The manager brought the
Speaker 1: constable to the stairs to inspect the scene of the accident.
Speaker 1: They agreed that the gentleman must have missed his footing.
Speaker 1: The customers returned to the counter, and a curate set
Speaker 1: about removing the traces of blood from the floor. When
Speaker 1: they came out into Grafton Street, mister Power whistled for
Speaker 1: an outsider. The injured man said again as well as
Speaker 1: he could. I heyy well, oh i'd see here. I
Speaker 1: hull ome again. I ay e is Kernan. The shock
Speaker 1: and the incipient pain had partly sobered him. Don't mention it,
Speaker 1: said the young man. They shook hands. Mister Kernan was
Speaker 1: hoisted on to the car, and while mister Power was
Speaker 1: giving directions to the car man, he expressed his gratitude
Speaker 1: to the young man and regretted that they could not
Speaker 1: have a little drink together another time, said the young man.
Speaker 1: The car drove off towards Westmoreland Street. As it passed
Speaker 1: Belfast Office, the clock showed half past nine. A keen
Speaker 1: east wind hit them, blowing from the mouth of the river.
Speaker 1: Mister Kernan was huddled together with cold. His friend asked
Speaker 1: him to tell how the act incident had happened. I can't,
Speaker 1: and he answered, I hung it har show. The other
Speaker 1: leaned over the well of the car and peered into
Speaker 1: mister Kernan's mouth, but could not see. He struck a match, and,
Speaker 1: sheltering it in the shell of his hands, peered again
Speaker 1: into the mouth, which mister Kernan opened obediently. The swaying
Speaker 1: movement of the car brought the match to and from
Speaker 1: the open mouth. The lower teeth and gums were covered
Speaker 1: with clotted blood, and a minute piece of the tongue
Speaker 1: seemed to have been bitten off. The match was blown out.
Speaker 1: That's ugly, said mister power Shah. It's nothing, said mister Kernan,
Speaker 1: closing his mouth and pulling the collar of his filthy
Speaker 1: coat across his neck. Mister Kernan was a commercial traveler
Speaker 1: of the old school, which believed in the dignity of
Speaker 1: its calling. He had never been seen in the city
Speaker 1: without a silk hat of some decency and a pair
Speaker 1: of gaiters. By grace of these two articles of clothing,
Speaker 1: he said, a man could always pass Muster. He carried
Speaker 1: on the tradition of his Nonapoleon, the Great Black White,
Speaker 1: whose memory he evoked at times by legend and mimicry.
Speaker 1: Modern business methods had spared him only so far as
Speaker 1: to allow him a little office in Crow Street, on
Speaker 1: the window blind of which was written the name of
Speaker 1: his firm with the address London E. C. On the
Speaker 1: mantel piece of his little office, a little leaden battalion
Speaker 1: of canisters was drawn up, and on the table before
Speaker 1: the window stood four or five china bowls, which were
Speaker 1: usually half full of a black liquid. From these bowls,
Speaker 1: mister Kernan tasted tea. He took a mouthful, drew it up,
Speaker 1: saturated his palate with it, and then spat it forth
Speaker 1: into the grate. Then he paused to judge. Mister Power,
Speaker 1: a much younger man, was employed in the Royal Irish
Speaker 1: Constabulary office in Dublin Castle. The arc of his social
Speaker 1: rise intersected the ark of his friend's decline. But mister
Speaker 1: Kernan's decline was mitigated by the fact that certain of
Speaker 1: those friends who had known him at his highest point
Speaker 1: of success still esteemed him as a character. Mister Power
Speaker 1: was one of these friends. His inexplicable debts were a
Speaker 1: byword in his circle. He was a debonair young man.
Speaker 1: The car halted before a small house on the glass
Speaker 1: Nevin Road, and mister Kernan was helped into the house.
Speaker 1: His wife put him to bed, while mister Power sat
Speaker 1: downstairs in the kitchen, asking the children where they went
Speaker 1: to school and what book they were in. The children,
Speaker 1: two girls and a boy, conscious of their father's helplessness
Speaker 1: and of their mother's absence, began some horseplay with him.
Speaker 1: He was surprised at their manners and at their accents,
Speaker 1: and his brow grew thoughtful. After a while, Missus Cernan
Speaker 1: entered the kitchen, exclaiming, such a sight. Oh, he'll do
Speaker 1: for himself one day, and that's the holy alls of it.
Speaker 1: He's been drinking since Friday. Mister Power was careful to
Speaker 1: explain to her that he was not responsible, that he
Speaker 1: had come on the scene by the merest accident. Missus Ernan,
Speaker 1: remembering mister Power's good offices during domestic quarrels, as well
Speaker 1: as many small but opportune loans. Said, Oh, you needn't
Speaker 1: tell me that, mister Power. I know you're a friend
Speaker 1: of his, not like some of the others he does
Speaker 1: be with. They're all right, so long as he has
Speaker 1: money in his pocket to keep him out from his
Speaker 1: wife and family. Nice friends. Who is he with to night,
Speaker 1: I'd like to know. Mister Power shook his head but
Speaker 1: said nothing. I'm so sorry. She continued that I've nothing
Speaker 1: in the house to offer you, but if you wait
Speaker 1: a minute, I'll send round to Fogerty's at the corner.
Speaker 1: Mister Power stood up. We were waiting for him to
Speaker 1: come with the money. He never seems to think he
Speaker 1: has a home at all. Oh, now, missus Kernan said,
Speaker 1: mister Power, we'll make him turn over a new leaf.
Speaker 1: I'll talk to Martin. He's the man. We'll come here
Speaker 1: one of these knights and talk it over. She saw
Speaker 1: him to the door. The car man was stamping up
Speaker 1: and down the footpath and swinging his arms to warm himself.
Speaker 1: It's very kind of you to bring him home, she said.
Speaker 1: Not at all, said mister Power. He got up on
Speaker 1: the car as it drove off. He raised his hat
Speaker 1: to her gaily, we'll make a new man of him,
Speaker 1: said good night, Missus Kernan. Missus Kernan's puzzled eyes watched
Speaker 1: the car till it was out of sight. Then she
Speaker 1: withdrew them, went into the house and emptied her husband's pockets.
Speaker 1: She was an active, practical woman of middle age. Not
Speaker 1: long before she had celebrated her silver wedding and renewed
Speaker 1: her intimacy with her husband by waltzing with him to
Speaker 1: mister Power's accompaniment. In her days of courtship, mister Kernan
Speaker 1: had seemed to her a not ungallant figure, and she
Speaker 1: still hurried to the chapel door whenever a wedding was reported,
Speaker 1: and seeing the bridal pair, recalled with vivid pleasure how
Speaker 1: she had passed out of the Star of the Sea
Speaker 1: Church in Sandymount, leaning on the arm of a jovial,
Speaker 1: well fed man who was dressed smartly in a frock
Speaker 1: coat and lavender trousers, and carried a silk hat gracefully
Speaker 1: balanced upon his other arm. After three weeks she had
Speaker 1: found a wife's life irksome, and later on, when she
Speaker 1: was beginning to find it unbearable. She had become a mother.
Speaker 1: The part of mother prisons to her no insuperable difficulties,
Speaker 1: and for twenty five years she had kept house shrewdly
Speaker 1: for her husband. Her two eldest sons were launched. One
Speaker 1: was in a draper's shop in Glasgow and the other
Speaker 1: was clerk to a tea merchant in Belfast. They were
Speaker 1: good sons, wrote regularly and sometimes sent home money. The
Speaker 1: other children were still at school. Mister Kernan sent a
Speaker 1: letter to his office next day and remained in bed.
Speaker 1: She made beef tea for him and scolded him roundly.
Speaker 1: She accepted his frequent intemperance as part of the climate.
Speaker 1: Healed him dutifully whenever he was sick, and always tried
Speaker 1: to make him eat a breakfast. There were worse husbands.
Speaker 1: He had never been violent since the boys had grown up,
Speaker 1: and she knew that he would walk to the end
Speaker 1: of Thomas Street and back again to book even a
Speaker 1: small order. Two nights after his friends came to see him,
Speaker 1: she brought them up to his bedroom, the air of
Speaker 1: which was impregnated with a personal odor, and gave them
Speaker 1: chairs at the fire. Mister Kernan's tongue, the occasional stinging
Speaker 1: pain of which had made him somewhat irritable during the day,
Speaker 1: became more polite. He sat propped up in bed by pillows,
Speaker 1: and the little color in his puffy cheeks made them
Speaker 1: resemble warm cinders. He apologized to his guests for the
Speaker 1: disorder of the room, but at the same time looked
Speaker 1: at them a little proudly with a veteran's pride. He
Speaker 1: was quite unconscious that he was the victim of a
Speaker 1: plot which his friends mister Cunningham, mister mc coy and
Speaker 1: mister Power had disclosed to missus Kernan in the parlor.
Speaker 1: The idea had been mister Powers, but its development was
Speaker 1: entrusted to mister Cunningham. Mister Kernan came of Protestant stock,
Speaker 1: and though he had been converted to the Catholic faith
Speaker 1: at the time of his marriage, he had not been
Speaker 1: in the pale of the church for twenty years. He
Speaker 1: was fond moreover of giving side thrusts at Catholicism. Mister
Speaker 1: Cunningham was the very man for such a case. He
Speaker 1: was an elder colleague of mister Power. His own domestic
Speaker 1: life was very high. People had great sympathy with him,
Speaker 1: for it was known that he had married an unpresentable
Speaker 1: woman who was an incurable drunkard. He had set up
Speaker 1: house for her six times, and each time she had
Speaker 1: pawned the furniture on him. Every One had respect for
Speaker 1: poor Martin Cunningham. He was a thoroughly sensible man, influential
Speaker 1: and intelligent. His blade of human knowledge, natural astuteness, particularized
Speaker 1: by long association with cases in the police courts, had
Speaker 1: been tempered by brief immersions in the waters of general philosophy.
Speaker 1: He was well informed. His friends bowed to his opinions,
Speaker 1: and considered that his face was like Shakespeare's. When the
Speaker 1: plot had been disclosed to her, Missus Kernan had said,
Speaker 1: I leave it all in your hands, mister Cunningham. After
Speaker 1: a quarter of a century of married life, she had
Speaker 1: very few illusions left. Religion for her was a habit,
Speaker 1: and she suspected that a man of her husband's age
Speaker 1: would not change greatly before death. She was tempted to
Speaker 1: see a curious appropriateness in his accident, and but that
Speaker 1: she did not wish to seem bloody minded, would have
Speaker 1: told the gentleman that mister cernan's tongue would not suffer
Speaker 1: by being shortened. However, mister Cunningham was a capable man,
Speaker 1: and religion was religion. The scheme might do good, and
Speaker 1: at least it could do no harm. Her beliefs were
Speaker 1: not extravagant. She believed steadily in the Sacred Heart as
Speaker 1: the most generally useful of all Catholic devotions, and approved
Speaker 1: of the sacraments. Her faith was bounded by her kitchen,
Speaker 1: but if she was put to it, she could believe
Speaker 1: also in the Banshee and in the Holy Ghost. The
Speaker 1: gentleman began to talk of the accident. Mister Cunningham said
Speaker 1: that he had once known a similar case. A man
Speaker 1: of seventy had bitten off a piece of his tongue
Speaker 1: during an epileptic fit, and the tongue had filled in again,
Speaker 1: so that no one could see a trace of the bite. Well,
Speaker 1: I'm not seventy, said the invalid God forbid, said mister Cunningham.
Speaker 1: It doesn't pain you, now, asked mister mc coy. Mister
Speaker 1: mc coy had been at one time a tenor of
Speaker 1: some reputation. His wife, who had been a soprano, still
Speaker 1: taught young children to play the piano at low terms.
Speaker 1: His line of life had not been the shortest distance
Speaker 1: between two points, and for short periods he had been
Speaker 1: driven to live by his wits. He had been a
Speaker 1: clerk in the Midland Railway, a canvasser for advertisements for
Speaker 1: the Irish Times and for the Freeman's Journal, a town
Speaker 1: traveler for a coal firm on commission, a private inquiry agent,
Speaker 1: a clerk in the office of the sub Sheriff, and
Speaker 1: he had recently become secretary to the city Coroner. His
Speaker 1: new office made him professionally interested in mister Kernan's case.
Speaker 1: Pain not much, answered mister Keernan. But it's so sickening.
Speaker 1: I feel as if I wanted to wretch off. That's
Speaker 1: the booze, said mister Cunningham. Firmly, No, said mister Cernan.
Speaker 1: I think I caught cold on the car. There's something
Speaker 1: keeps coming into my throat phlegm or mucus, said mister
Speaker 1: mc coy. It keeps coming like from down in my
Speaker 1: throat sickening. Yes, yes, said mister mc coy, that's the thorax.
Speaker 1: He looked at mister Cunningham and mister Power at the
Speaker 1: same time with an air of challenge. Mister Cunningham nodded
Speaker 1: his head rapidly, and mister Power said, Ah, well, all's well,
Speaker 1: that ends well. I'm very much obliged to you, old man,
Speaker 1: said the invalid. Mister Power waved his hand. Those other
Speaker 1: two fellows I was with? Who were you with, asked
Speaker 1: mister Cunningham. A chap. I don't know his name, damn
Speaker 1: it now, what's his name? Little chap with sandy hair?
Speaker 1: And who else? Harford? Hum said mister Cunningham. When mister
Speaker 1: Cunningham made that remark, people were silent. It was known
Speaker 1: that the speaker had secret sources of information. In this case,
Speaker 1: the monosyllable had a moral intention. Mister Harford sometimes formed
Speaker 1: one of a little detachment which left the city shortly
Speaker 1: afternoon on Sunday, with the purpose of arriving as soon
Speaker 1: as possible at some public house on the outskirts of
Speaker 1: the city, where its members duly qualified themselves as bonafide travelers.
Speaker 1: But his fellow travelers had never consented to overlook his origin.
Speaker 1: He had begun life as an obscure financier by lending
Speaker 1: small sums of money to workmen at eusurious interest. Later
Speaker 1: on he had become the partner of a very fat,
Speaker 1: short gentleman, mister Goldberg in the Liffey Lone Bank. Though
Speaker 1: he had never embraced more than the Jewish ethical code,
Speaker 1: his fellow Catholics, whenever they had smarted in person or
Speaker 1: by proxy under his exactions, spoke of him bitterly as
Speaker 1: an Irish Jew and an illiterate, and saw divine disapproval
Speaker 1: of usury made manifest through the person of his idiot son.
Speaker 1: At other times they remembered his good points. I wonder
Speaker 1: where did he go to, said mister Kernan. He wished
Speaker 1: the details of the incident to remain vague. He wished
Speaker 1: his friends to think that there had been some mistate,
Speaker 1: that mister Harford and he had missed each other. His friends,
Speaker 1: who knew quite well mister Harford's manners in drinking, were silent.
Speaker 1: Mister Power said again, all's well, that ends well. Mister
Speaker 1: Kernan changed the subject at once. That was a decent
Speaker 1: young chap, that medical fellow, he said. Only for him, Oh,
Speaker 1: only for him, said mister Power. It might have been
Speaker 1: a case of seven days without the option of a fine. Yes, yes,
Speaker 1: said mister Kennan, trying to remember. I remember now there
Speaker 1: was a policeman, decent young fellow, he seemed. How did
Speaker 1: it happen at all? It happened that you were peluthered, Tom,
Speaker 1: said mister Cunningham. Gravely true, Bill, said mister Kennan, equally gravely.
Speaker 1: I suppose you squared the constable, Jack, said mister mc coy.
Speaker 1: Mister Power did not relish the use of his Christian name.
Speaker 1: He was not straight laced, but he could not forget
Speaker 1: that mister mc coy had recently made a crusade in
Speaker 1: search of Valise's and Portmanteaus to enable missus mc coy
Speaker 1: to fulfill in sagenary engagements in the country. More than
Speaker 1: he resented the fact that he had been victimized, he
Speaker 1: resented such low playing of the game. He answered the
Speaker 1: question therefore, as if mister Ernan had asked it. The
Speaker 1: narrative made mister Cernan indignant. He was keenly conscious of
Speaker 1: his citizenship, wished to live with his city on terms
Speaker 1: mutually honorable, and resented any affront put upon him by
Speaker 1: those whom he called country bumpkins. Is this what we
Speaker 1: pay rates for? He asked to feed and clothe these
Speaker 1: ignorant bostumes and learn nothing else. Mister Cunningham laughed. He
Speaker 1: was a castle official only during office hours. How could
Speaker 1: they be anything else, Tom, he said. He assumed a
Speaker 1: thick provincial accent and said, in a tone of command,
Speaker 1: sixty five, catch your cabbage. Everyone laughed. Mister mc coy,
Speaker 1: who wanted to enter the conversation by any door, pretended
Speaker 1: that he had never heard the story. Mister Cunningham said,
Speaker 1: it is supposed, they say, you know, to take place
Speaker 1: in the depot where they get these thundering big country
Speaker 1: fellows Omron's you know, to drill. The sergeant makes them
Speaker 1: stand in a row against the wall and hold up
Speaker 1: their plates. He illustrated the story by grotesque gestures. At dinner.
Speaker 1: You know, then he has a bloody big bowl of
Speaker 1: cabbage before him on the table, and a bloody big
Speaker 1: spoon like a shovel. He takes up a wad of
Speaker 1: cabbage on the spoon and pegs it across the room,
Speaker 1: and the poor devils have to try and catch it
Speaker 1: on their plates. Sixty five catch your cabbage. Every one
Speaker 1: laughed again, but mister Curnant was somewhat indignant. Still. He
Speaker 1: talked of writing letters to the papers. These yahoos coming
Speaker 1: up here, he said, think they can boss the people.
Speaker 1: I needn't tell you Martin what kind of men they are.
Speaker 1: Mister Cunningham gave a qualified assent. It's like everything else
Speaker 1: in this world, he said. You get some badmins and
Speaker 1: you get some good ones. Oh, yes, you get some
Speaker 1: good ones, I admit, said mister Cernan. Satisfied. It's better
Speaker 1: to have nothing to say to them, said mister mc coy.
Speaker 1: That's my opinion. Missus Kernan entered the room, and, placing
Speaker 1: a tray on the table, said help yourselves, gentlemen. Mister
Speaker 1: Power stood up to officiate, offering her his chair. She
Speaker 1: declined it, saying she was ironing downstairs, and, after having
Speaker 1: exchanged a nod with mister Cunningham behind mister Power's back,
Speaker 1: prepared to leave the room. Her husband called out to her,
Speaker 1: and have you nothing for me? Ducky Oh you the
Speaker 1: back of my hand to you, said missus Cernan, tartly.
Speaker 1: Her husband called after her, nothing for poor little hubby.
Speaker 1: He assumed such a comical face and voice that the
Speaker 1: distribution of the bottles of stout took place amid general merriment.
Speaker 1: The gentlemen drank from their glasses, set the glasses again
Speaker 1: on the table, and paused. Then mister Cunningham turned towards
Speaker 1: mister Power and said, casually, on Thursday night, you said,
Speaker 1: Jack Thursday, Yes, said mister Power. Right, oh, said mister Cunningham. Promptly.
Speaker 1: We can meet in mc cauley's, said mister mc coy
Speaker 1: that'll be the most convenient place. But we mustn't be late,
Speaker 1: said mister Power, earnestly, because it is sure to be
Speaker 1: crammed to the doors. We can meet at half seven,
Speaker 1: said mister mc coy. Right, oh, said mister Cunningham. Half
Speaker 1: seven at mc cauley's be it. There was a short silence.
Speaker 1: Mister Kenan waited to see whether he would be taken
Speaker 1: into his friend's confidence. Then he asked, what's in the wind.
Speaker 1: Oh it's nothing, said mister Cunningham. It's only a little
Speaker 1: matter that we're arranging about for Thursday the opera, is it,
Speaker 1: said mister Cernan. No, No, said mister Cunningham in an
Speaker 1: evasive tone. It's just a little spiritual matter. Oh, said
Speaker 1: mister Curnan. There was silence again. Then mister Power said,
Speaker 1: point blank, to tell you the truth. Tom, We're going
Speaker 1: to make a retreat. Yes, that's it, said mister Cunningham.
Speaker 1: Jack and I and mc coy here, we're all going
Speaker 1: to wash the pot. He uttered the metaphor with a
Speaker 1: certain homely energy, and, encouraged by his own voice, proceeded,
Speaker 1: You see, we may as well all admit we're a
Speaker 1: nice collection of scoundrels. One and all. I say, one
Speaker 1: and all, he added with gruff charity in turning to
Speaker 1: mister Power. Own up. Now, I own up, said mister Power.
Speaker 1: And I own up, said mister mc coy. So we're
Speaker 1: going to wash the pot together, said mister Cunningham. A
Speaker 1: thought seemed to strike him. He turned suddenly to the
Speaker 1: invalid and said, do you know what Tom has just
Speaker 1: occurred to me? You might join in and we'll have
Speaker 1: a four handed reel. Good idea, said mister Power, the
Speaker 1: four of us together. Mister Kernan was silent. The proposal
Speaker 1: conveyed very little meaning to his mind, but understanding that
Speaker 1: some spiritual agencies were about to concern themselves on his behalf,
Speaker 1: he thought he owed it to his dignity to show
Speaker 1: a stiff neck. He took no part in the conversation
Speaker 1: for a long while, but listened with an air of
Speaker 1: calm enmity while his friends discussed the Jesuits. I haven't
Speaker 1: such a bad opinion of the Jesuits, he said, intervening
Speaker 1: at length. They're an educated order. I believe they mean
Speaker 1: well too. They're the grandest order in the church, Tom,
Speaker 1: said mister Cunningham with enthusiasm. The General of the Jesuits
Speaker 1: stands next to the Pope. There's no mistake about it,
Speaker 1: said mister mc coy. If you want a thing well
Speaker 1: done and no flies about, you go to a Jesuit.
Speaker 1: They're the boyos have influence. I'll tell you a case
Speaker 1: in point. The Jesuits are a fine body of men,
Speaker 1: said mister Power. It's a curious thing, said mister Cunningham
Speaker 1: about the Jesuit Order. Every other order of the Church
Speaker 1: had to be reformed at some time or other, but
Speaker 1: the Jesuit order was never once reformed. It never fell away.
Speaker 1: Is that so, asked mister mc coy. That's a fact,
Speaker 1: said mister cunningham. That's history. Look at their church too,
Speaker 1: said mister Power. Look at the congregation. They have. The
Speaker 1: Jesuits cater for the upper classes, said mister mc coy,
Speaker 1: Of course, said mister Power. Yes, said mister cunan. That's
Speaker 1: why I have a feeling for them. It's some of
Speaker 1: those secular priests, ignorant, umptuous. They're all good men, said
Speaker 1: mister Cunningham, each in his own way. The Irish priesthood
Speaker 1: is honored all the world over. Oh yes, said mister Power,
Speaker 1: Not like some of the other priesthoods on the continent,
Speaker 1: said mister mc coy, unworthy of the name. Perhaps you're right,
Speaker 1: said mister cunnan, relenting. Of course, I'm right, said mister Cunningham.
Speaker 1: I haven't been in the world all this time and
Speaker 1: seen most sides of it without being a judge of character.
Speaker 1: The gentleman drank again, one following another's example. Mister Cernan
Speaker 1: seemed to be weighing something in his mind. He was impressed.
Speaker 1: He had a high opinion of mister Cunningham as a
Speaker 1: judge of character and as a reader of faces. He
Speaker 1: asked for particulars. Oh, it's just a retreat, you know,
Speaker 1: said mister Cunningham. Father Perdon is giving it. It's for
Speaker 1: business men, you know. He won't be too hard on us, Tom,
Speaker 1: said mister Power. Persuasively, Father Perdon. Father Perdon said the invalid.
Speaker 1: Oh you must know him, Tom, said mister Cunningham, stoutly, fine,
Speaker 1: jolly fellow. He's a man of the world like ourselves. Ah, yes,
Speaker 1: I think I know him. Rather, red face tall, that's
Speaker 1: the man. And tell me, Martin, is he a good preacher. No,
Speaker 1: it's not exactly a sermon, you know, it's just kind
Speaker 1: of a friendly talk, you know, in a common sense way,
Speaker 1: mister Kernan deliberated. Mister mc coy said, Father Tom Burke,
Speaker 1: that was the boy. Oh, Father Tom Burke said, mister Cunningham,
Speaker 1: that was a born orator. Did you ever hear him, Tom?
Speaker 1: Did I ever hear him? Said the invalid? Nettled, Rather,
Speaker 1: I heard him. And yet they say he wasn't much
Speaker 1: of a theologian, said mister Cunningham. Is that so, said
Speaker 1: mister mc coy, Oh, of course, nothing wrong, you know,
Speaker 1: only sometimes they say he didn't preach what was quite orthodox. Ah,
Speaker 1: he was a splendid man, said mister mc coy. I
Speaker 1: heard him once. Mister Cernan continued, I forget the subject
Speaker 1: of his discourse. Now Crofton and I were in the
Speaker 1: back of the pit. You know the the body, said
Speaker 1: mister Cunha. Yes, in the back near the door. I
Speaker 1: forget now what. Oh, yes, it was on the Pope,
Speaker 1: the late Pope. I remember it well. Upon my word.
Speaker 1: It was magnificent. The style of the oratory and his voice.
Speaker 1: God hadn't he a voice? The prisoner of the Vatican,
Speaker 1: he called him. I remember Crofton saying to me when
Speaker 1: we came out. But he's an orangeman Crofton, isn't he
Speaker 1: said mister Power. Corse he is, said mister Kernan, and
Speaker 1: a damned decent orangeman too. We went in Butler's in
Speaker 1: Moore Street. Faith was genuinely moved. Tell you the God's truth.
Speaker 1: And I remember well his very words, Kernan, he said.
Speaker 1: We worship at different altars, he said, but our belief
Speaker 1: is the same. Struck me as very well. Put there's
Speaker 1: a good deal in that, said mister Power. There used
Speaker 1: always be crowds of Protestants in the chapel where Father
Speaker 1: Tom was preaching. There's not much difference between us, said
Speaker 1: mister mc coy. We both believe in he hesitated for
Speaker 1: a moment, in the Redeemer. They don't believe in the
Speaker 1: Pope and in the Mother of God. But of course,
Speaker 1: said mister Cunningham, quietly and effectively, our religion is the religion,
Speaker 1: the old original faith. Not a doubt of it, said
Speaker 1: mister Cernan warmly. Missus Cernan came to the door of
Speaker 1: the bedroom and announced, here's a visitor for you. Who
Speaker 1: is it, mister Fogerty, Oh, come in come in a
Speaker 1: pale oval face came forward into the light. The arch
Speaker 1: of its fair trailing mustache was repeated in the fair
Speaker 1: eyebrows looped above pleasantly astonished eyes. Mister Fogerty was a
Speaker 1: modest grocer. He had failed in business in a licensed
Speaker 1: house in the city because his financial condition had constrained
Speaker 1: him to tie himself to second class distillers and brewers.
Speaker 1: He had opened a small shop on Glasnovan Road, where
Speaker 1: he flattered himself. His manners would ingratiate him with the
Speaker 1: housewives of the district. He bore himself with a certain grace,
Speaker 1: complimented little children, and spoke with a neat and unasation.
Speaker 1: He was not without culture. Mister Foggerty brought a gift
Speaker 1: with him, a half pint of special whisky. He inquired
Speaker 1: politely for mister Kernan placed his gift on the table
Speaker 1: and sat down with the company on equal terms. Mister
Speaker 1: Kernan appreciated the gift all the more since he was
Speaker 1: aware that there was a small account for groceries unsettled
Speaker 1: between him and mister Foggerty. He said, I wouldn't doubt you,
Speaker 1: old man, open that jack, will you. Mister Power again officiated,
Speaker 1: glasses were rinsed, and five small measures of whisky were
Speaker 1: poured out. The new influence enlivened the conversation. Mister Foggerty,
Speaker 1: sitting on a small area of the chair, was specially interested.
Speaker 1: Pope Leo the thirteenth, said mister Cunningham was one of
Speaker 1: the delights of the age. His great idea, you know,
Speaker 1: was the union of the Latin and Greek churches. That
Speaker 1: was the aim of his life. I often heard he
Speaker 1: was one of the most intellectual men in Europe, said
Speaker 1: mister Power. I mean, apart from his being Pope. So
Speaker 1: he was, mister Cunningham, if not the most so. His motto,
Speaker 1: you know, as Pope, was lucks upon luck's light upon light.
Speaker 1: No no, said mister Fogerty eagerly, I think you're wrong.
Speaker 1: There it was lucks in Tenebrus, I think light in darkness.
Speaker 1: Oh yes, said mister mc coy Tenebrie. Allow me, said
Speaker 1: mister Cunningham, positively. It was lucks upon lucks and pious
Speaker 1: the ninth. His predecessor's motto was Crooks upon crook's, that is,
Speaker 1: cross upon cross, to show the difference between their two pontificates.
Speaker 1: The inference was allowed. Mister Cunningham continued. Pope Leo, you know,
Speaker 1: was a great scholar and a poet. He had a
Speaker 1: strong face, said mister Cunnan. Yes, said mister Cunningham. He
Speaker 1: wrote Latin poetry. Is that so, said mister Foggerty. Mister
Speaker 1: mc coy tasted his whisky contentedly and shook his head
Speaker 1: with a double intention, saying that's no joke. I can
Speaker 1: tell you we didn't learn that, tom, said mister Power.
Speaker 1: Following mister mc coy's example, when we went to the
Speaker 1: penny a week school, there was many a good man
Speaker 1: went to the penny a week school with a sod
Speaker 1: of turf under his oxter, said mister Cernan sententiously. The
Speaker 1: old system was the best, plain, honest education, None of
Speaker 1: your modern trumpery quite right, said mister Power. No superfluities,
Speaker 1: said mister Fogerty. He enunciated the word and then drank gravely.
Speaker 1: I remember reading, said mister Cunningham, that one of Pope
Speaker 1: Leo's poems was on the invention of the photograph in Latin.
Speaker 1: Of course, on the photograph, exclaimed mister Kernan. Yes, said
Speaker 1: mister Cunningham. He also drank from his glass. Well, you know,
Speaker 1: said mister mc coy. Isn't a photograph wonderful when you
Speaker 1: come to think of it? Of course, said mister Power.
Speaker 1: Great minds con see things. As the poet says, great
Speaker 1: minds are very near to madness, said mister Fogerty. Mister
Speaker 1: Cernan seemed to be troubled in mind. He made an
Speaker 1: effort to recall the Protestant theology on some thorny points,
Speaker 1: and in the end addressed mister Cunningham, tell me, Martin,
Speaker 1: He said, weren't some of the popes, of course, not
Speaker 1: our present man or his predecessor, but some of the
Speaker 1: old popes not exactly, you know, up to the knocker.
Speaker 1: There was a silence. Mister Cunningham said, Oh, of course
Speaker 1: there were some bad lots, but the astounding thing. Is
Speaker 1: this Not one of them, not the biggest drunkard, not
Speaker 1: the most out and out ruffian, Not one of them
Speaker 1: ever preached ex cathedra a word of false doctrine? Now,
Speaker 1: isn't that an astonishing thing? That is, said mister Carnan. Yes,
Speaker 1: because when the Pope speaks ex cathedra, mister Foggerty explained,
Speaker 1: he is infallible. Yes, said mister Cunningham. Oh, I know
Speaker 1: about the infallibility of the Pope. I remember I was
Speaker 1: younger then, Or was it that mister Foggerty interrupted. He
Speaker 1: took up the bottle and helped the others to a
Speaker 1: little more. Mister mc coy, seeing that there was not
Speaker 1: enough to go round, pleaded that he had not finished
Speaker 1: his first measure. The others accepted under protest. The light
Speaker 1: music of whiskey falling into glasses made an agreeable interlude.
Speaker 1: What's that you were saying, Tom, asked mister mc coy.
Speaker 1: Papal infallibility, said mister Cunningham. That was the greatest scene
Speaker 1: in the whole history of the church. How is that,
Speaker 1: Martin asked mister Power. Mister Cunningham held up two thick
Speaker 1: fingers in the sacred College you know, of cardinals and
Speaker 1: archbishops and bishops. There were two men who held out
Speaker 1: against it, while the others were all for it. The
Speaker 1: whole conclave except these two, was unanimous. No, they wouldn't
Speaker 1: have it, ha, said mister mc coy. And they were
Speaker 1: a German cardinal by the name of Doling or Dowling
Speaker 1: or Dowling was no German. That's a sure five, said
Speaker 1: mister Power, laughing. Well, this great German cardinal, whatever his
Speaker 1: name was, was one, and the other was John mc hail.
Speaker 1: What cried mister cunan, Is it John of two? M
Speaker 1: Are you sure of that? Now, asked mister Foggardy dubiously.
Speaker 1: I thought it was some Italian or American John of
Speaker 1: two m repeated mister Cunningham was the man. He drank,
Speaker 1: and the other gentleman followed his lead. Then he resumed.
Speaker 1: There they were at it, all the cardinals and bishops
Speaker 1: and archbishops from all the ends of the earth, and
Speaker 1: these two fighting dog and devil, until at last the
Speaker 1: Pope himself stood up and declared infallibility a dogma of
Speaker 1: the Church ex cathedra. On the very moment, John Michhail,
Speaker 1: who had been arguing and arguing against it, stood up
Speaker 1: and shouted out with the voice of a lion. Credo,
Speaker 1: I believe, said mister Foggerty. Credo, said mister Cunningham. That
Speaker 1: showed the faith he had. He submitted the moment the
Speaker 1: Pope spoke. And what about Dowling, asked mister mc coy.
Speaker 1: The German cardinal wouldn't submit. He left the church. Mister
Speaker 1: Cunningham's words had built up the vast image of the
Speaker 1: church in the minds of his hearers. His deep, raucous
Speaker 1: voice had thrilled them as it uttered the word of
Speaker 1: belief and submission. When Missus Cernan came into the room,
Speaker 1: drawing her hands, she came into a solemn company. She
Speaker 1: did not disturb the silence, but leaned over the rail
Speaker 1: at the foot of the bed. I once saw John Michail,
Speaker 1: said mister Kennan, and I'll never forget it as long
Speaker 1: as I live. He turned towards his wife to be confirmed.
Speaker 1: I often told you that Missus Ernan nodded. It was
Speaker 1: at the unveiling of Sir John Gray's statue. Edmund Dwyer
Speaker 1: Gray was speaking, blathering away, and here was this old
Speaker 1: fellow crabbed, looking old chap looking at him from under
Speaker 1: his bushy eyebrows. Mister Kernan knitted his brows and, lowering
Speaker 1: his head like an angry bull, glared at his wife. God,
Speaker 1: he exclaimed, resuming his natural face. I never saw such
Speaker 1: an eye in a man's head. It was as much
Speaker 1: as to say, I have you properly taped my lad?
Speaker 1: He had an eye like a hawk. None of the
Speaker 1: grays were any good, said mister Power. There was a
Speaker 1: pause again. Mister Power turned to missus Ernan and said,
Speaker 1: with abrupt joviality, Well, missus Kernan, were going to me
Speaker 1: make your man here a good, holy, pious and god
Speaker 1: fearing Roman Catholic. He swept his arm round the company exclusively.
Speaker 1: We're all going to make a retreat together and confess
Speaker 1: our sins, and God knows we want it badly. I
Speaker 1: don't mind, said mister Curnan, smiling a little nervously. Missus
Speaker 1: Kernan thought it would be wiser to conceal her satisfaction,
Speaker 1: so she said, I pity the poor priest that has
Speaker 1: to listen to your tale. Mister Kernan's expression changed. If
Speaker 1: he doesn't like it, he said bluntly. He can do
Speaker 1: the other thing. I'll just tell him my little tale
Speaker 1: of woe. I'm not such a bad fellow. Mister Cunningham
Speaker 1: intervened promptly. We'll all renounce the devil, he said, together,
Speaker 1: not forgetting his works and pumps. Get behind me, Satan,
Speaker 1: said mister Foggerty, laughing and looking at the others. Mister
Speaker 1: Power said nothing. He felt completely out generaled, but a
Speaker 1: pleased expression flickered across his face. All we have to do,
Speaker 1: said mister Cunningham, is to stand up with lighted candles
Speaker 1: in our hands, and you are baptismal vows. Oh, don't
Speaker 1: forget the candle, tom said mc coy. Whatever you do,
Speaker 1: what said mister Cernan. I must I have a candle?
Speaker 1: Oh yes, said mister Cunningham. No damn it all, said
Speaker 1: mister Cernan. Sensibly. I draw the line there. I'll do
Speaker 1: the job right enough. I'll do the retreat business and
Speaker 1: confession and all that business. But no candles. No damn
Speaker 1: it all. I bar the candles. He shook his head
Speaker 1: with farcical gravity. Listen to that, said his wife. I
Speaker 1: bar the candles, said mister Cernan, conscious of having created
Speaker 1: an effect on his audience, and continuing to shake his
Speaker 1: head to and fro, I bar the magic lantern business.
Speaker 1: Every one laughed heartily. There's a nice Catholic for you,
Speaker 1: said his wife. No candles, repeated mister Ernan, obdurately, that's off.
Speaker 1: The transept of the Jesuit Church in Gardener Street was
Speaker 1: almost full and still at every moment. Gentlemen entered from
Speaker 1: the side door, and, directed by the lay brother, walked
Speaker 1: on tiptoe along the aisles until they found seating accommodation.
Speaker 1: The gentlemen were all well dressed and orderly. The light
Speaker 1: of the lamps of the church fell upon an assembly
Speaker 1: of black clothes and white collars, relieved here and there
Speaker 1: by tweeds, on dark mottled pillars of green marble, and
Speaker 1: on lugubrious canvases. The gentlemen sat in the benches, having
Speaker 1: hitched their trousers slightly above their knees and laid their
Speaker 1: hats in security. They sat well back and gazed formally
Speaker 1: at the distant speck of red light which was suspended
Speaker 1: before the high altar. In one of the benches near
Speaker 1: the pulpit, set mister Cunningham and mister Kernan. In the
Speaker 1: bench behind set mister mc coy alone, and in the
Speaker 1: bench behind him sat mister Power and mister Fogerty. Mister
Speaker 1: mc coy had tried unsuccessfully to find a place in
Speaker 1: the bench with the others, and when the party had
Speaker 1: settled down in the form of a quincuncax, he had
Speaker 1: tried unsuccessfully to make comic remarks. As these had not
Speaker 1: been well received, he had desisted. Even he was sensible
Speaker 1: of the decorous atmosphere, and even he began to respond
Speaker 1: to the religious stimulus in a whisper. Mister Cunningham drew
Speaker 1: mister Kernan's attention to mister Harford, the money lender, who
Speaker 1: sat some distance off, and to mister Fanning, the registration
Speaker 1: agent and mayor maker of the city, who was sitting
Speaker 1: immediately under the pulpit beside one of the newly elected
Speaker 1: councilors of the ward. To the right sat Old Michael Grimes,
Speaker 1: the owner of three pawnbroker's shops, and Dan Hogan's nephew,
Speaker 1: who was up for the job in the town Clerk's office.
Speaker 1: Farther in front sat mister Hendrick, the chief reporter of
Speaker 1: the Freeman's Journal, and Poor o' carroll, an old friend
Speaker 1: of mister Kernan's who had been at one time a
Speaker 1: considerable commercial figure. Gradually, as he recognized familiar faces, mister
Speaker 1: Kernan began to feel more at home. His hat, which
Speaker 1: had been rehabilitated by his wife, rested upon his knees.
Speaker 1: Once or twice, he pulled down his cuffs with one hand,
Speaker 1: while he held the brim of his hat lightly but
Speaker 1: firmly with the other hand. A powerful looking figure, the
Speaker 1: upper part of which was draped with a white surplice,
Speaker 1: was observed to be struggling into the pulpit. Simultaneously, the congregation, unsettled,
Speaker 1: produced handkerchiefs and knelt upon them with care. Mister Kernan
Speaker 1: followed the general example. The priest's figure now stood upright
Speaker 1: in the pulpit, two thirds of its bulk crowned by
Speaker 1: a massive red face appearing above the balustrade. Father Perdin
Speaker 1: knelt down, turned towards the red speck of light, and
Speaker 1: covering his face with his hands, prayed. After an interval,
Speaker 1: he uncovered his face and rose. The congregation rose also
Speaker 1: and settled again on its benches. Mister Kernan restored his
Speaker 1: hat to its original position on his knee and presented
Speaker 1: an attentive face to the preacher. The preacher turned back
Speaker 1: each wide sleeve of his surplice with an elaborate large gesture,
Speaker 1: and slowly surveyed the era of faces. Then he said,
Speaker 1: for the children of this world are wiser in their
Speaker 1: generation than the children of light. Wherefore make unto yourselves, friends,
Speaker 1: out of the mammon of iniquity, so that when you die,
Speaker 1: they may receive you into everlasting dwellings. Father Pardon developed
Speaker 1: the text with resonant assurance. It was one of the
Speaker 1: most difficult texts in all the scriptures, he said, to
Speaker 1: interpret properly. It was a text which might seem to
Speaker 1: the casual observer at variance with the lofty morality elsewhere
Speaker 1: preached by Jesus Christ. But he told his hearers the
Speaker 1: text had seemed to him specially adapted for the guidance
Speaker 1: of those whose lot it was to lead the life
Speaker 1: of the world, and yet who wished to lead the
Speaker 1: life not in the manner of worldlings. It was a
Speaker 1: text for business men and professional men. Jesus Christ, with
Speaker 1: his divine understanding of every cranny of our human nature.
Speaker 1: Understood that all men were not called to the religious life,
Speaker 1: that by far the vast majority were forced to live
Speaker 1: in the world, and to a certain extent for the world.
Speaker 1: And in this sentence he designed to give them a
Speaker 1: word of counsel, setting before them as exemplars in the
Speaker 1: religious life, those very worshippers of Mammon, who were of
Speaker 1: all men, the least solicitous in matters religious. He told
Speaker 1: his hearers that he was there that evening for no terrifying,
Speaker 1: no extravagant purpose, but as a man of the world
Speaker 1: speaking to his fellow men. He came to speak to
Speaker 1: business men, and he would speak to them in a
Speaker 1: businesslike way, if he might use the metaphor, He said,
Speaker 1: he was their spiritual accountant. And he wished each and
Speaker 1: every one of his hearers to open his books, the
Speaker 1: books of his spiritual life, and see if they tallied accurately.
Speaker 1: With conscience, Jesus Christ was not a hard task master.
Speaker 1: He understood our little failings, understood the weakness of our
Speaker 1: poor fallen nature, understood the temptations of this life we
Speaker 1: might have had we all had from time to time,
Speaker 1: our temptations. We might have. We all had our failings.
Speaker 1: But one thing only, he said he would ask of
Speaker 1: his hearers, and that was to be straight and manly
Speaker 1: with God. If their accounts tallied in every point, to say, well,
Speaker 1: I have verified my accounts. I find all well, but if,
Speaker 1: as might happen there were some discrepancies, to admit the truth,
Speaker 1: to be frank and say like a man, well, I
Speaker 1: have looked into my accounts. I find this wrong and
Speaker 1: this wrong. But with God's grace, I will rectify this,
Speaker 1: and this I will set right my accounts and of grace.
Speaker 1: By James Joyce, read by Richard Wallace, Liberty, Missouri, ten
Speaker 1: April two thousand nine,