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<v Speaker 1>Story seven of Dubliner's. This is a LibriVox recording. All

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<v Speaker 1>LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information

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<v Speaker 1>or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by

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<v Speaker 1>Bruce Peirie. Dubliner's by James Joyce. Story seven, The boarding House.

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<v Speaker 1>Missus Mooney was a butcher's daughter. She was a woman

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<v Speaker 1>who was quite able to keep things to herself. A

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<v Speaker 1>determined woman, she had married her father's foreman and opened

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<v Speaker 1>a butcher's shop near Spring Gardens. But as soon as

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<v Speaker 1>his father in law was dead, mister Mooney began to

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<v Speaker 1>go to the devil. He drank, plundered the till ran

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<v Speaker 1>headlong into debt. It was no use making him take

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<v Speaker 1>the pledge. He was sure to break out again a

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<v Speaker 1>few days after. By fighting his wife in the presence

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<v Speaker 1>of customers, and by buying bad meat. He ruined his business.

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<v Speaker 1>One night he went for his wife with the cleaver,

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<v Speaker 1>and she had to sleep in a neighbor's house. After

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<v Speaker 1>that they lived apart. She went to the priest and

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<v Speaker 1>got a separation from him with care of the children.

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<v Speaker 1>She would give him neither money, nor food nor house room,

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<v Speaker 1>and so he was obliged to enlist himself as a

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<v Speaker 1>sheriff's man. He was a shabby, stooped, little drunkard with

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<v Speaker 1>a white face and a white mustache, and white eyebrows

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<v Speaker 1>penciled above his little eyes, which were veined and raw,

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<v Speaker 1>and all day long he sat in the bailiff's room

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<v Speaker 1>waiting to be put on a job. Missus Mooney, who

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<v Speaker 1>had taken what remained of her money out of the

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<v Speaker 1>butcher business and set up a boarding house in Hardwick Street,

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<v Speaker 1>was a big, imposing woman. Her house had a floating

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<v Speaker 1>population made up of tourists from Liverpool and the Isle

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<v Speaker 1>of Man and occasionally artistes from the music halls. Its

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<v Speaker 1>resident population was made up of clerks from the city.

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<v Speaker 1>She governed the house cunningly and firmly, knew when to

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<v Speaker 1>give credit, when to be stern, and when to let

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<v Speaker 1>things pass. All the resident young men spoke of her

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<v Speaker 1>as the Madam. Missus Mooney's young men paid fifteen shillings

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<v Speaker 1>a week for board and lodgings, beer or stout at

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<v Speaker 1>dinner excluded. They shared in common tastes and occupations, and

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<v Speaker 1>for this reason they were very chummy with one another.

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<v Speaker 1>They discussed with one another the chances of favorites and outsiders.

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<v Speaker 1>Jack Mooney, the Madam's son, who was clerk to a

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<v Speaker 1>commission agent in Fleet Street, had the reputation of being

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<v Speaker 1>a hard case. He was fond of using soldiers obscenities.

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<v Speaker 1>Usually he came home in the small hours. When he

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<v Speaker 1>met his friends, he always had a good one to

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<v Speaker 1>tell them that he was always sure to be on

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<v Speaker 1>to a good thing thing, that is to say, a

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<v Speaker 1>likely horse or a likely artiste. He was also handy

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<v Speaker 1>with the mits and sang comic songs. On Sunday nights,

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<v Speaker 1>there would often be a reunion in Missus Mooney's front

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<v Speaker 1>drawing room. The music hall artistes would oblige and Sheridan

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<v Speaker 1>played waltzes and polkas and vamped accompaniments. Polly Mooney, the

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<v Speaker 1>Madam's daughter, would also sing. She sang I'm a naughty girl.

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<v Speaker 1>You needn't sham you know I am. Polly was a

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<v Speaker 1>slim girl of nineteen. She had light, soft hair and

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<v Speaker 1>small full mouth. Her eyes, which were gray with a

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<v Speaker 1>shade of green through them, had a habit of glancing

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<v Speaker 1>upwards when she spoke with anyone, which made her look

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<v Speaker 1>like a little perverse madonna. Missus Mooney had first sent

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<v Speaker 1>her daughter to be a typist in a corn factor's office,

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<v Speaker 1>but as a disreputable sheriff Smell used to come every

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<v Speaker 1>other day to the office asking to be allowed to

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<v Speaker 1>say a word to his daughter. She had taken her

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<v Speaker 1>daughter home again and set her to do housework. As

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<v Speaker 1>Polly was very lively, the intention was to give her

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<v Speaker 1>the run of the young men. Besides, young men like

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<v Speaker 1>to feel that there is a young woman not very

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<v Speaker 1>far away. Polly, of course flirted with the young men,

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<v Speaker 1>but missus Mooney, who was a shrewd judge, knew that

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<v Speaker 1>the young men were only passing the time away, none

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<v Speaker 1>of them meant business. Things went on so for a

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<v Speaker 1>long time, and missus Mooney began to think of sending

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<v Speaker 1>Polly back to typewriting. When she noticed that something was

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<v Speaker 1>going on between Polly and one of the young men,

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<v Speaker 1>she watched the pair and kept her own counsel. Polly

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<v Speaker 1>knew she was being watched, but still her mother's persistent

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<v Speaker 1>silence could not be misunderstood. There had been no open

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<v Speaker 1>complicity between mother and Dawe, no open understanding, But though

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<v Speaker 1>people in the house began to talk of the affair.

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<v Speaker 1>Still Missus Mooney did not intervene. Polly began to grow

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<v Speaker 1>a little strange in her manner, and the young man

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<v Speaker 1>was evidently perturbed. At last, when she judged it to

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<v Speaker 1>be the right moment, Missus Mooney intervened. She dealt with

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<v Speaker 1>moral problems as a cleaver deals with meat, and in

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<v Speaker 1>this case she had made up her mind. It was

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<v Speaker 1>a bright Sunday morning of early summer, promising heat, but

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<v Speaker 1>with a fresh breeze blowing. All the windows of the

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<v Speaker 1>boarding house were open, and the lace curtains ballooned gently

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<v Speaker 1>towards the street beneath the raised sashes. The belfry of

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<v Speaker 1>George's Church sent out constant peals and worshippers, sinkly or

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<v Speaker 1>in groups, traversed the little circus before the church, revealing

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<v Speaker 1>their purpose by their self contained demeanor, no less than

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<v Speaker 1>by the little volumes in their gloved hands. Breakfast was

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<v Speaker 1>over in the boarding house, and the table of the

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<v Speaker 1>breakfast room was covered with plates on which lay yellow

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<v Speaker 1>streaks of eggs, with morsels of bacon fat and bacon rind.

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<v Speaker 1>Missus Mooney sat in the straw arm chair and watched

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<v Speaker 1>the servant Mary remove the breakfast things. She made Mary

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<v Speaker 1>collect the crusts and pieces of broken bread to help

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<v Speaker 1>make Tuesday's bread pudding. When the table was cleared the

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<v Speaker 1>broken bread, collected, the sugar and butter safe under lock

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<v Speaker 1>and key, she began to reconstruct the interview which she

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<v Speaker 1>had had the night before with Polly. Things were as

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<v Speaker 1>she had suspected. She had been frank in her questions,

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<v Speaker 1>and Polly had been frank in her answers. Both had

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<v Speaker 1>been somewhat awkward. Of course, she had been made awkward

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<v Speaker 1>by her not wishing to receive the news in too

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<v Speaker 1>cavalier a fashion, or to seem to have connived, And

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<v Speaker 1>Polly had been made awkward, not merely because a usions

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<v Speaker 1>of that kind always made her awkward, but also because

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<v Speaker 1>she did not wish it to be thought that, in

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<v Speaker 1>her wise innocence, she had divined the intention behind her

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<v Speaker 1>mother's tolerance. Missus Mooney glanced instinctively at the little gilt

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<v Speaker 1>clock on the mantelpiece as soon as she became aware

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<v Speaker 1>through her reverie that the bells of George's Church had

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<v Speaker 1>stopped ringing it was seventeen minutes past eleven. She would

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<v Speaker 1>have lots of time to have the matter out with

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<v Speaker 1>mister Darrin and then catch short twelve at Marlborough Street.

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<v Speaker 1>She was sure she would win. To begin with, she

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<v Speaker 1>had all the weight of social opinion on her side.

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<v Speaker 1>She was an outraged mother. She had allowed him to

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<v Speaker 1>live beneath her roof, assuming that he was a man

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<v Speaker 1>of honor, and he had simply abused her hospitality. He

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<v Speaker 1>was thirty four or thirty five years of age, so

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<v Speaker 1>that youth could not be pleaded as his excuse, nor

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<v Speaker 1>could ignorance be his excuse. Since he was a man

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<v Speaker 1>who had seen something of the world. He had simply

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<v Speaker 1>taken advantage of Polly's youth and inexperience. That was evident.

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<v Speaker 1>The question was what reparation would he make. There must

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<v Speaker 1>be reparation made in such a case. It is all

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<v Speaker 1>very well for the man. He can go his ways

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<v Speaker 1>as if nothing had happened, having had his moment of pleasure.

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<v Speaker 1>But the girl has to bear the brunt. Some mothers

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<v Speaker 1>would be content to patch up such an affair for

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<v Speaker 1>a sum of money. She had known cases of it,

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<v Speaker 1>but she would not do so. For her. Only one

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<v Speaker 1>reparation could make up for the loss of her daughter's

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<v Speaker 1>honor marriage. She counted all her cards again before sending

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<v Speaker 1>Mary up to mister Dorn's room to say that she

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<v Speaker 1>wished to speak with him. She felt sure she would win.

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<v Speaker 1>He was a serious young man, not rakish or loud

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<v Speaker 1>voiced life like the others. If it had been mister

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<v Speaker 1>Sheridan or mister Mead or Bantam Lyons, her task would

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<v Speaker 1>have been much harder. She did not think he would

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<v Speaker 1>face publicity. All the lodgers in the house knew something

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<v Speaker 1>of the affair. Details had been invented by some. Besides,

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<v Speaker 1>he had been employed for thirteen years in a great

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<v Speaker 1>Catholic wine merchant's office, and publicity would mean for him

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<v Speaker 1>perhaps the loss of his job, Whereas if he agreed,

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<v Speaker 1>all might be well. She knew he had a good screw,

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<v Speaker 1>for one thing, and she suspected he had a bit

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<v Speaker 1>of stuff put By nearly the half hour, she stood

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<v Speaker 1>up and surveyed herself in the pier glass. The decisive

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<v Speaker 1>expression of her great florid face satisfied her, and she

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<v Speaker 1>thought of some mothers she knew who could not get

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<v Speaker 1>their daughters off their hands. Mister Doran was very anxious, indeed,

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<v Speaker 1>this Sunday morning. He had made two attempts to shave,

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<v Speaker 1>but his hand had been so unsteady that he had

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<v Speaker 1>been obliged to desist three days. Reddish beard fringed his jaws,

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<v Speaker 1>and every two or three minutes a mist gathered on

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<v Speaker 1>his glasses, so that he had to take them off

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<v Speaker 1>and polish them with his pocket handkerchief. The recollection of

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<v Speaker 1>his confession of the night before was a cause of

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<v Speaker 1>acute pain to him. The priest had drawn out every

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<v Speaker 1>ridiculous detail of the affair, and in the end had

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<v Speaker 1>so magnified his sin that he was almost thankful at

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<v Speaker 1>being afforded a loophole of reparation. The harm was done.

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<v Speaker 1>What could he do now but marry her or run away.

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<v Speaker 1>He could not brazen it out. The affair would be

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<v Speaker 1>sure to be talked of, and his employer would be

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<v Speaker 1>certain to hear of it. Dublin is such a small city.

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<v Speaker 1>Every one knows every one else's business. He felt his

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<v Speaker 1>heart leap warmly in his throat as he heard in

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<v Speaker 1>his excited imagination old mister Leonard calling out in his

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<v Speaker 1>rasping voice, send mister Darrin here, please. All his long

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<v Speaker 1>years of service gone for nothing, all his industry and

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<v Speaker 1>diligence thrown away. As a young man, he had sown

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<v Speaker 1>his wild oats. Of course, he had boasted of his

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<v Speaker 1>free thinking and denied the existence of God to his

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<v Speaker 1>companions in public houses. But that was all past and

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<v Speaker 1>done with. Nearly he still bought a copy of Reynold's

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<v Speaker 1>newspaper every week, but he attended to his religious duties,

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<v Speaker 1>and for nine tenths of the year lived a regular life.

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<v Speaker 1>He had money enough to settle down on. It was

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<v Speaker 1>not that but the family would look down on her.

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<v Speaker 1>First of all, there was her disreputable father, and then

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<v Speaker 1>her mother's boarding house was beginning to get a certain fame.

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<v Speaker 1>He had a notion that he was being had. He

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<v Speaker 1>could imagine his friends talking of the affair and laughing.

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<v Speaker 1>She was a little vulgar sometimes, she said, I seen,

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<v Speaker 1>and if I had of known. But what would grammar matter?

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<v Speaker 1>If you really loved her. He could not make up

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<v Speaker 1>his mind whether to like her or despise her for

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<v Speaker 1>what she had done. Of course, he had done it too.

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<v Speaker 1>His instinct urged him to remain free, not to marry.

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<v Speaker 1>Once you are married, you are done for it said.

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<v Speaker 1>While he was sitting helplessly on the side of the

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<v Speaker 1>bed in shirt and trousers. She tapped lightly at his

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<v Speaker 1>door and entered. She told him all that she had

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<v Speaker 1>made a clean breast of it to her mother, and

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<v Speaker 1>that her mother would speak with him. That morning. She

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<v Speaker 1>cried and threw her arms round his neck, saying, Oh, Bob, bob,

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<v Speaker 1>what am I to do? What am I to do?

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<v Speaker 1>At all? She would put an end to herself, she said.

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<v Speaker 1>He comforted her, feebly, telling her not to cry, that

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<v Speaker 1>it would be all right. Never fear. He felt against

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<v Speaker 1>his shirt the agitation of her bosom. It was not

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<v Speaker 1>altogether his fault that it had happened, he remembered well

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<v Speaker 1>with the curious patient memory of the sulibate. The first

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<v Speaker 1>casual caresses, her dress, her breath, her fingers had given him. Then,

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<v Speaker 1>late one night, as he was undressing for bed, she

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<v Speaker 1>had tapped at his door timidly. She wanted to relight

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<v Speaker 1>her candle at his, for hers had been blown out

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<v Speaker 1>by a gust. It was her bath night. She wore

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<v Speaker 1>a loose, open combing jacket of printed flannel. Her white

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<v Speaker 1>in step shone in the opening of her slippers, and

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<v Speaker 1>the blood glowed warmly behind her. Perfumed skin from her

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<v Speaker 1>hands and wrists too, as she lit and steadied her candle,

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<v Speaker 1>a faint perfume arose. On nights when he came in

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<v Speaker 1>very late, it was she who warmed up his dinner.

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<v Speaker 1>He scarcely knew what he was eating, feeling her beside

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<v Speaker 1>him alone at night in the sleeping house, and her thoughtfulness.

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<v Speaker 1>If the night was anyway cold or wet or windy,

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<v Speaker 1>there was sure to be a little tumbler of punch

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<v Speaker 1>ready for him. Perhaps they could be happy together. They

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<v Speaker 1>used to go upstairs together on tiptoe, each with a candle,

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<v Speaker 1>and on the third landing exchange reluctant good nights. They

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<v Speaker 1>used to kiss. He remembered well her eyes, the touch

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<v Speaker 1>of her hand, and his delirium. But delirium passes. He

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<v Speaker 1>echoed her phrase, applying it to himself. What am I

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<v Speaker 1>to do? The instinct of the celibate warned him to

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<v Speaker 1>hold back, But the sin was there. Even his sense

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<v Speaker 1>of honor told him that reparation must be made for

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<v Speaker 1>such a sin. While he was sitting with her on

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<v Speaker 1>the side of the bed, Mary came to the door

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<v Speaker 1>and said that the misses wanted to see him in

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<v Speaker 1>the parlor. He stood up to put on his coat

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<v Speaker 1>and waistcoat, more helpless than ever. When he was dressed,

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<v Speaker 1>he went over to her to comfort her. It would

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<v Speaker 1>be all right. Never fear. He left her crying on

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<v Speaker 1>the bed and moaning softly, Oh my God. Going down

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<v Speaker 1>the stairs, his glasses became so dimmed with moisture that

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<v Speaker 1>he had to take them off and polished them. He

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<v Speaker 1>longed to ascend through the roof and fly away to

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<v Speaker 1>another country where he would never hear again of his trouble.

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<v Speaker 1>And yet a force pushed him downstairs, step by step.

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<v Speaker 1>The implacable faces of his employer and of the madam

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<v Speaker 1>stared upon his discomfiture. On the last flight of stairs,

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<v Speaker 1>he passed Jack Mooney, who was coming up from the

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<v Speaker 1>pantry nursing two bottles of bath. They saluted coldly, and

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<v Speaker 1>the lover's eyes rested for a second or two on

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<v Speaker 1>a thick bulldog face and a pair of thick short arms.

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<v Speaker 1>When he reached the foot of the staircase, he glanced

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<v Speaker 1>up and saw Jack regarding him from the door of

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<v Speaker 1>the return room. Suddenly, he remembered the night when one

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<v Speaker 1>of the music hall artistes, a little blonde Londoner, had

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<v Speaker 1>made a rather free allusion to Polly. The reunion had

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<v Speaker 1>been almost broken up on account of Jack's violence. Everyone

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<v Speaker 1>tried to quiet him. The music hall artiste, a little

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<v Speaker 1>paler than usual, kept smiling and saying that there was

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<v Speaker 1>no harm meant. But Jack kept shouting at him that

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<v Speaker 1>if any fellow tried that sort of game on with

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<v Speaker 1>his sister, he'd bloody well put his teeth down his

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<v Speaker 1>throat so he would. Polly sat for a little time

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<v Speaker 1>on the side of the bed, crying. Then she dried

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<v Speaker 1>her eyes and went over to the looking glass. She

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<v Speaker 1>dipped the end of the towel in the water jug

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<v Speaker 1>and refreshed her eyes with the cool water. She looked

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<v Speaker 1>at herself in profile and readjusted a hairpin above her ear.

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<v Speaker 1>Then she went back to the bed again and sat

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<v Speaker 1>at the foot. She regarded the pillows for a long time,

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<v Speaker 1>and the sight of them awakened in her mind secret,

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<v Speaker 1>amiable memories. She rested the nape of her neck against

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<v Speaker 1>the cool iron bed rail and fell into a reverie.

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<v Speaker 1>There was no longer any perturbation visible on her face.

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<v Speaker 1>She waited on patiently, almost cheerfully without alarm, her memories

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<v Speaker 1>gradually giving place to hopes and visions of the future.

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<v Speaker 1>Her hopes and visions were so intricate that she no

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<v Speaker 1>longer saw the white pillows on which her gaze was fixed,

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<v Speaker 1>or remembered that she was waiting for anything. At last,

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<v Speaker 1>she heard her mother calling. She started to her feet

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<v Speaker 1>and ran to the banisters. Polly, Polly, yes, Mamma, come down,

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<v Speaker 1>dear mister Doran wants to speak to you. Then she

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<v Speaker 1>remembered what she had been waiting for. End of the

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<v Speaker 1>boarding house,