第3章

Buthehadasayingaboutourclericalfriends，thathewouldneverletoneofthemputhistwofeetunderhismahogany。

Dantebrokeinangrily:——

Ifweareapriest-riddenraceweoughttobeproudofit!TheyaretheappleofGod"seye。Touchthemnot，saysChrist，fortheyaretheappleofMyeye——

Andcanwenotloveourcountrythen？askedMrCasey。Arewenottofollowthemanthatwasborntoleadus？——

Atraitortohiscountry!repliedDante。Atraitor，anadulterer!

Thepriestswererighttoabandonhim。ThepriestswerealwaysthetruefriendsofIreland——

Werethey，faith？saidMrCasey。

Hethrewhisfistonthetableand，frowningangrily，protrudedonefingerafteranother——

Didn"tthebishopsofIrelandbetrayusinthetimeoftheunionwhenBishopLaniganpresentedanaddressofloyaltytotheMarquessCornwallis？

Didn"tthebishopsandpriestsselltheaspirationsoftheircountryin1829inreturnforcatholicemancipation？Didn"ttheydenouncethefenianmovementfromthepulpitandintheconfessionbox？Anddidn"ttheydishonourtheashesofTerenceBellewMacManus？

HisfacewasglowingwithangerandStephenfelttheglowrisetohisowncheekasthespokenwordsthrilledhim。MrDedalusutteredaguffawofcoarsescorn——

O，byGod，hecried，IforgotlittleoldPaulCullen!AnotherappleofGod"seye!

DantebentacrossthetableandcriedtoMrCasey:——

Right!Right!Theywerealwaysright!Godandmoralityandreligioncomefirst。

MrsDedalus，seeingherexcitement，saidtoher:——

MrsRiordan，don"texciteyourselfansweringthem——

Godandreligionbeforeeverything!Dantecried。Godandreligionbeforetheworld。

MrCaseyraisedhisclenchedfistandbroughtitdownonthetablewithacrash——

Verywellthen，heshoutedhoarsely，ifitcomestothat，noGodforIreland!——

John!John!criedMrDedalus，seizinghisguestbythecoatsleeve。

Dantestaredacrossthetable，hercheeksshaking。MrCaseystruggledupfromhischairandbentacrossthetabletowardsher，scrapingtheairfrombeforehiseyeswithonehandasthoughheweretearingasideacobweb——

NoGodforIreland!hecried。WehavehadtoomuchGodInIreland。

AwaywithGod!——

Blasphemer!Devil!screamedDante，startingtoherfeetandalmostspittinginhisface。

UncleCharlesandMrDedaluspulledMrCaseybackintohischairagain，talkingtohimfrombothsidesreasonably。Hestaredbeforehimoutofhisdarkflamingeyes，repeating:——

AwaywithGod，Isay!

Danteshovedherchairviolentlyasideandleftthetable，upsettinghernapkin-ringwhichrolledslowlyalongthecarpetandcametorestagainstthefootofaneasy-chair。MrsDedalusrosequicklyandfollowedhertowardsthedoor。AtthedoorDanteturnedroundviolentlyandshouteddowntheroom，hercheeksflushedandquiveringwithrage:——

Deviloutofhell!Wewon!Wecrushedhimtodeath!Fiend!

Thedoorslammedbehindher。

MrCasey，freeinghisarmsfromhisholders，suddenlybowedhisheadonhishandswithasobofpain——

PoorParnell!hecriedloudly。Mydeadking!

Hesobbedloudlyandbitterly。

Stephen，raisinghisterror-strickenface，sawthathisfather"seyeswerefulloftears。

Thefellowstalkedtogetherinlittlegroups。

Onefellowsaid:——

TheywerecaughtneartheHillofLyons——

Whocaughtthem？——

MrGleesonandtheminister。Theywereonacar。Thesamefellowadded:——

Afellowinthehigherlinetoldme。

Flemingasked:——

Butwhydidtheyrunaway，tellus？——

Iknowwhy，CecilThundersaid。Becausetheyhadfeckedcashoutoftherector"sroom——

Whofeckedit？——

Kickham"sbrother。Andtheyallwentsharesinit——

Butthatwasstealing。Howcouldtheyhavedonethat？——

Afatlotyouknowaboutit，Thunder!Wellssaid。Iknowwhytheyscut——

Telluswhy——

Iwastoldnotto，Wellssaid——

O，goon，Wells，allsaid。Youmighttellus。Wewon"tletitout。

Stephenbentforwardhisheadtohear。Wellslookedroundtoseeifanyonewascoming。Thenhesaidsecretly:——

Youknowthealtarwinetheykeepinthepressinthesacristy？——

Yes——

Well，theydrankthatanditwasfoundoutwhodiditbythesmell。

Andthat"swhytheyranaway，ifyouwanttoknow。

Andthefellowwhohadspokenfirstsaid:——

Yes，that"swhatIheardtoofromthefellowinthehigherline。

Thefellowsallweresilent。Stephenstoodamongthem，afraidtospeak，listening。Afaintsicknessofawemadehimfeelweak。Howcouldtheyhavedonethat？Hethoughtofthedarksilentsacristy。Thereweredarkwoodenpressestherewherethecrimpedsurpliceslayquietlyfolded。Itwasnotthechapelbutstillyouhadtospeakunderyourbreath。Itwasaholyplace。Herememberedthesummereveninghehadbeentheretobedressedasboatbearer，theeveningoftheProcessiontothelittlealtarinthewood。Astrangeandholyplace。Theboythatheldthecenserhadswungitliftedbythemiddlechaintokeepthecoalslighting。Thatwascalledcharcoal:andithadburnedquietlyasthefellowhadswungitgentlyandhadgivenoffaweaksoursmell。Andthenwhenallwerevestedhehadstoodholdingouttheboattotherectorandtherectorhadputaspoonfulofincenseinitandithadhissedontheredcoals。

Thefellowsweretalkingtogetherinlittlegroupshereandthereontheplayground。Thefellowsseemedtohimtohavegrownsmaller:thatwasbecauseasprinterhadknockedhimdownthedaybefore，afellowoutofsecondofgrammar。Hehadbeenthrownbythefellow"smachinelightlyonthecinderpathandhisspectacleshadbeenbrokeninthreepiecesandsomeofthegritofthecindershadgoneIntohismouth。

Thatwaswhythefellowsseemedtohimsmallerandfartherawayandthegoalpostssothinandfarandthesoftgreyskysohighup。Buttherewasnoplayonthefootballgroundsforcricketwascoming:andsomesaidthatBarneswouldbeprofandsomesaiditwouldbeFlowers。Andallovertheplaygroundstheywereplayingroundersandbowlingtwistersandlobs。

Andfromhereandfromtherecamethesoundsofthecricketbatsthroughthesoftgreyair。Theysaid:pick，pack，pock，puck:littledropsofwaterinafountainslowlyfallinginthebrimmingbowl。

Athy，whohadbeensilent，saidquietly:——

Youareallwrong。

Allturnedtowardshimeagerly——

Why？——

Doyouknow？——

Whotoldyou？——

Tellus，Athy。

AthypointedacrosstheplaygroundtowhereSimonMoonanwaswalkingbyhimselfkickingastonebeforehim——

Askhim，hesaid。

Thefellowslookedthereandthensaid:——

Whyhim？——

Isheinit？

Athyloweredhisvoiceandsaid:——

Doyouknowwhythosefellowsscut？Iwilltellyoubutyoumustnotletonyouknow——

Tellus，Athy。Goon。Youmightifyouknow。

Hepausedforamomentandthensaidmysteriously:——

TheywerecaughtwithSimonMoonanandTuskerBoyleinthesquareonenight。

Thefellowslookedathimandasked:——

Caught？——

Whatdoing？

Athysaid:——

Smugging。

Allthefellowsweresilent:andAthysaid:——

Andthat"swhy。

Stephenlookedatthefacesofthefellowsbuttheywerealllookingacrosstheplayground。Hewantedtoasksomebodyaboutit。Whatdidthatmeanaboutthesmugginginthesquare？Whydidthefivefellowsoutofthehigherlinerunawayforthat？Itwasajoke，hethought。SimonMoonanhadniceclothesandonenighthehadshownhimaballofcreamysweetsthatthefellowsofthefootballfifteenhadrolleddowntohimalongthecarpetinthemiddleoftherefectorywhenhewasatthedoor。ItwasthenightofthematchagainsttheBectiveRangers；andtheballwasmadejustlikearedandgreenappleonlyitopenedanditwasfullofthecreamysweets。AndonedayBoylehadsaidthatartelephanthadtwotuskersinsteadoftwotusksandthatwaswhyhewascalledTuskerBoylebutsomefellowscalledhimLadyBoylebecausehewasalwaysathisnails，paringthem。

Eileenhadlongthincoolwhitehandstoobecauseshewasagirl。Theywerelikeivory；onlysoft。

ThatwasthemeaningofTowerofIvorybutprotestantscouldnotunderstanditandmadefunofit。Onedayhehadstoodbesideherlookingintothehotelgrounds。Awaiterwasrunningupatrailofbuntingontheflagstaffandafoxterrierwasscamperingtoandfroonthesunnylawn。Shehadputherhandintohispocketwherehishandwasandhehadfelthowcoolandthinandsoftherhandwas。Shehadsaidthatpocketswerefunnythingstohave:andthenallofasuddenshehadbrokenawayandhadrunlaughingdowntheslopingcurveofthepath。Herfairhairhadstreamedoutbehindherlikegoldinthesun。TowerofIvory。HouseofGold。Bythinkingofthingsyoucouldunderstandthem。

Butwhyinthesquare？Youwenttherewhenyouwantedtodosomething。

Itwasallthickslabsofslateandwatertrickledalldayoutoftinypinholesandtherewasaqueersmellofstalewaterthere。AndbehindthedoorofoneoftheclosetstherewasadrawinginredpencilofabeardedmaninaRomandresswithabrickineachhandandunderneathwasthenameofthedrawing:Balbuswasbuildingawall。Somefellowhaddrawnitthereforacod。Ithadafunnyfacebutitwasverylikeamanwithabeard。Andonthewallofanotherclosettherewaswritteninbackhandinbeautifulwriting:JuliusCaesarwroteTheCalicoBelly。Perhapsthatwaswhytheyweretherebecauseitwasaplacewheresomefellowswrotethingsforcod。ButallthesameitwasqueerwhatAthysaidandthewayhesaidit。Itwasnotacodbecausetheyhadrunaway。Helookedwiththeothersacrosstheplaygroundandbegantofeelafraid。

AtlastFlemingsaid:——

Andwearealltobepunishedforwhatotherfellowsdid？——

Iwon"tcomeback，seeifIdo，CecilThundersaid。Threedays"silenceintherefectoryandsendingusupforsixandeighteveryminute——

Yes，saidWells。AndoldBarretthasanewwayoftwistingthenotesothatyoucan"topenitandfolditagaintoseehowmanyferulaeyouaretoget。Iwon"tcomebacktoo。

Yes，saidCecilThunder，andtheprefectofstudieswasinsecondofgrammarthismorning——

Letusgetuparebellion，Flemingsaid。Willwe？

Allthefellowsweresilent。Theairwasverysilentandyoucouldhearthecricketbatsbutmoreslowlythanbefore:pick，pock。

Wellsasked:——

Whatisgoingtobedonetothem？——

SimonMoonanandTuskeraregoingtobeflogged，Athysaid，andthefellowsinthehigherlinegottheirchoiceoffloggingorbeingexpelled——

Andwhicharetheytaking？askedthefellowwhohadspokenfirst——

AllaretakingexpulsionexceptCorrigan，Athyanswered。He"sgoingtobefloggedbyMrGleeson——

Iknowwhy，CecilThundersaid。Heisrightandtheotherfellowsarewrongbecauseafloggingwearsoffafterabitbutafellowthathasbeenexpelledfromcollegeisknownallhislifeonaccountofit。BesidesGleesonwon"tfloghimhard——

It"sbestofhisplaynotto，Flemingsaid——

Iwouldn"tliketobeSimonMoonanandTuskerCecilThundersaid。

ButIdon"tbelievetheywillbeflogged。Perhapstheywillbesentupfortwicenine——

No，no，saidAthy。They"llbothgetitonthevitalspot。Wellsrubbedhimselfandsaidinacryingvoice:——

Please，sir，letmeoff!

Athygrinnedandturnedupthesleevesofhisjacket，saying:Itcan"tbehelped；

Itmustbedone。

SodownwithyourbreechesAndoutwithyourbum。Thefellowslaughed；buthefeltthattheywerealittleafraid。Inthesilenceofthesoftgreyairheheardthecricketbatsfromhereandfromthere:pock。Thatwasasoundtohearbutifyouwerehitthenyouwouldfeelapain。Thepandybatmadeasoundtoobutnotlikethat。Thefellowssaiditwasmadeofwhaleboneandleatherwithleadinside:andhewonderedwhatwasthepainlike。Thereweredifferentkindsofsounds。Alongthincanewouldhaveahighwhistlingsoundandhewonderedwhatwasthatpainlike。Itmadehimshiverytothinkofitandcold:andwhatAthysaidtoo。

Butwhatwastheretolaughatinit？Itmadehimshivery:butthatwasbecauseyoualwaysfeltlikeashiverwhenyouletdownyourtrousers。

Itwasthesameinthebathwhenyouundressedyourself。Hewonderedwhohadtoletthemdown，themasterortheboyhimself。Ohowcouldtheylaughaboutitthatway？

HelookedatAthy"srolled-upsleevesandknucklyinkyhands。HehadrolleduphissleevestoshowhowMrGleesonwouldrolluphissleeves。

ButMrGleesonhadroundshinycuffsandcleanwhitewristsandfattishwhitehandsandthenailsofthemwerelongandpointed。PerhapsheparedthemtoolikeLadyBoyle。Buttheywereterriblylongandpointednails。

Solongandcrueltheywere，thoughthewhitefattishhandswerenotcruelbutgentle。Andthoughhetrembledwithcoldandfrighttothinkofthecruellongnailsandofthehighwhistlingsoundofthecaneandofthechillyoufeltattheendofyourshirtwhenyouundressedyourselfyethefeltafeelingofqueerquietpleasureinsidehimtothinkofthewhitefattishhands，cleanandstrongandgentle。AndhethoughtofwhatCecilThunderhadsaid:thatMrGleesonwouldnotflogCorriganhard。AndFleminghadsaidhewouldnotbecauseitwasbestofhisplaynotto。ButthatwasnotwhyAvoicefromfaroutontheplaygroundcried:——

Allin!

Andothervoicescried:——

Allin!Allin!

Duringthewritinglessonhesatwithhisarmsfolded，listeningtotheslowscrapingofthepens。MrHarfordwenttoandfromakinglittlesignsinredpencilandsometimessittingbesidetheboytoshowhimhowtoholdhispen。Hehadtriedtospellouttheheadlineforhimselfthoughheknewalreadywhatitwasforitwasthelastofthebook。Zealwithoutprudenceislikeashipadrift。Butthelinesoftheletterswerelikefineinvisiblethreadsanditwasonlybyclosinghisrighteyetightandstaringoutofthelefteyethathecouldmakeoutthefullcurvesofthecapital。

ButMrHarfordwasverydecentandnevergotintoawax。Alltheothermastersgotintodreadfulwaxes。Butwhyweretheytosufferforwhatfellowsinthehigherlinedid？Wellshadsaidthattheyhaddrunksomeofthealtarwineoutofthepressinthesacristyandthatithadbeenfoundoutwhohaddoneitbythesmell。Perhapstheyhadstolenamonstrancetorunawaywithandsellitsomewhere。Thatmusthavebeenaterriblesin，togointherequietlyatnight，toopenthedarkpressandstealtheflashinggoldthingintowhichGodwasputonthealtarinthemiddleofflowersandcandlesatbenedictionwhiletheincensewentupincloudsatbothsidesasthefellowswungthecenserandDominicKellysangthefirstpartbyhimselfinthechoir。ButGodwasnotinitofcoursewhentheystoleit。Butstillitwasastrangeandagreatsineventotouchit。Hethoughtofitwithdeepawe；aterribleandstrangesin:itthrilledhimtothinkofitinthesilencewhenthepensscrapedlightly。Buttodrinkthealtarwineoutofthepressandbefoundoutbythesmellwasasintoo:butitwasnotterribleandstrange。Itonlymadeyoufeelalittlesickishonaccountofthesmellofthewine。Becauseonthedaywhenhehadmadehisfirstholycommunioninthechapelhehadshuthiseyesandopenedhismouthandputouthistonguealittle:andwhentherectorhadstoopeddowntogivehimtheholycommunionhehadsmeltafaintwinysmellofftherector"sbreathafterthewineofthemass。Thewordwasbeautiful:wine。ItmadeyouthinkofdarkpurplebecausethegrapesweredarkpurplethatgrewinGreeceoutsidehouseslikewhitetemples。

Butthefaintsmelloftherector"sbreathhadmadehimfeelasickfeelingonthemorningofhisfirstcommunion。Thedayofyourfirstcommunionwasthehappiestdayofyourlife。AndoncealotofgeneralshadaskedNapoleonwhatwasthehappiestdayofhislife。Theythoughthewouldsaythedayhewonsomegreatbattleorthedayhewasmadeanemperor。Buthesaid:——

Gentlemen，thehappiestdayofmylifewasthedayonwhichImademyfirstholycommunion。

FatherArnallcameinandtheLatinlessonbeganandheremainedstill，leaningonthedeskwithhisarmsfolded。FatherArnallgaveoutthetheme-booksandhesaidthattheywerescandalousandthattheywerealltobewrittenoutagainwiththecorrectionsatonce。ButtheworstofallwasFleming"sthemebecausethepageswerestucktogetherbyablot:andFatherArnallhelditupbyacornerandsaiditwasaninsulttoanymastertosendhimupsuchatheme。ThenheaskedJackLawtontodeclinethenounmareandJackLawtonstoppedattheablativesingularandcouldnotgoonwiththeplural——

Youshouldbeashamedofyourself，saidFatherArnallsternly。You，theleaderoftheclass!

Thenheaskedthenextboyandthenextandthenext。Nobodyknew。FatherArnallbecameveryquiet，moreandmorequietaseachboytriedtoansweritandcouldnot。Buthisfacewasblack-lookingandhiseyeswerestaringthoughhisvoicewassoquiet。ThenheaskedFlemingandFlemingsaidthatthewordhadnoplural。FatherArnallsuddenlyshutthebookandshoutedathim:——

Kneeloutthereinthemiddleoftheclass。YouareoneoftheidlestboysIevermet。Copyoutyourthemesagaintherestofyou。

Flemingmovedheavilyoutofhisplaceandkneltbetweenthetwolastbenches。Theotherboysbentovertheirtheme-booksandbegantowrite。

AsilencefilledtheclassroomandStephen，glancingtimidlyatFatherArnall"sdarkface，sawthatitwasalittleredfromthewaxhewasIn。

WasthatasinforFatherArnalltobeinawaxorwasheallowedtogetintoawaxwhentheboyswereidlebecausethatmadethemstudybetterorwasheonlylettingontobeinawax？Itwasbecausehewasallowed，becauseapriestwouldknowwhatasinwasandwouldnotdoit。Butifhediditonetimebymistakewhatwouldhedotogotoconfession？Perhapshewouldgotoconfessiontotheminister。Andiftheministerdidithewouldgototherector:andtherectortotheprovincial:andtheprovincialtothegeneralofthejesuits。Thatwascalledtheorder:andhehadheardhisfathersaythattheywereallclevermen。Theycouldallhavebecomehigh-uppeopleintheworldiftheyhadnotbecomejesuits。AndhewonderedwhatFatherArnallandPaddyBarrettwouldhavebecomeandwhatMrMcGladeandMrGleesonwouldhavebecomeiftheyhadnotbecomejesuits。Itwashardtothinkwhatbecauseyouwouldhavetothinkoftheminadifferentwaywithdifferentcolouredcoatsandtrousersandwithbeardsandmoustachesanddifferentkindsofhats。

Thedooropenedquietlyandclosed。Aquickwhisperranthroughtheclass:theprefectofstudies。Therewasaninstantofdeadsilenceandthentheloudcrackofapandybatonthelastdesk。Stephen"sheartleaptupinfear——

Anyboyswantflogginghere，FatherArnall？criedtheprefectofstudies。Anylazyidleloafersthatwantflogginginthisclass？

HecametothemiddleoftheclassandsawFlemingonhisknees——

Hoho!hecried。Whoisthisboy？Whyisheonhisknees？Whatisyourname，boy？——

Fleming，sir——

Hoho，Fleming!Anidlerofcourse。Icanseeitinyoureye。Whyisheonhisknees，FatherArnall？——

HewroteabadLatintheme，FatherArnallsaid，andhemissedallthequestionsingrammar——

Ofcoursehedid!criedtheprefectofstudies，ofcoursehedid!

Abornidler!Icanseeitinthecornerofhiseye。

Hebangedhispandybatdownonthedeskandcried:——

Up，Fleming!Up，myboy!

Flemingstoodupslowly——

Holdout!criedtheprefectofstudies。

Flemingheldouthishand。Thepandybatcamedownonitwithaloudsmackingsound:one，two，three，four，five，six——

Otherhand!

Thepandybatcamedownagaininsixloudquicksmacks——

Kneeldown!criedtheprefectofstudies。

Flemingkneltdown，squeezinghishandsunderhisarmpits，hisfacecontortedwithpain；butStephenknewhowhardhishandswerebecauseFlemingwasalwaysrubbingrosinintothem。Butperhapshewasingreatpainforthenoiseofthepandybatwasterrible。Stephen"sheartwasbeatingandfluttering——

Atyourwork，allofyou!shoutedtheprefectofstudies。Wewantnolazyidleloafershere，lazyidlelittleschemers。Atyourwork，Itellyou。FatherDolanwillbeintoseeyoueveryday。FatherDolanwillbeintomorrow。

Hepokedoneoftheboysinthesidewithhispandybat，saying:——

You，boy!WhenwillFatherDolanbeinagain？——

Tomorrow，sir，saidTomFurlong"svoice——

Tomorrowandtomorrowandtomorrow，saidtheprefectofstudies。

Makeupyourmindsforthat。EverydayFatherDolan。Writeaway。You，boy，whoareyou？

Stephen"sheartjumpedsuddenly——

Dedalus，sir——

Whyareyounotwritingliketheothers？——

ImyHecouldnotspeakwithfright——

Whyishenotwriting，FatherArnall？——

Hebrokehisglasses，saidFatherArnall，andIexemptedhimfromwork——

Broke？WhatisthisIhear？Whatisthisyournameis!saidtheprefectofstudies——

Dedalus，sir——

Outhere，Dedalus。Lazylittleschemer。Iseeschemerinyourface。

Wheredidyoubreakyourglasses？

Stephenstumbledintothemiddleoftheclass，blindedbyfearandhaste——

Wheredidyoubreakyourglasses？repeatedtheprefectofstudies——

Thecinder-path，sir——

Hoho!Thecinder-path!criedtheprefectofstudies。Iknowthattrick。

StephenliftedhiseyesinwonderandsawforamomentFatherDolan"swhite-greynotyoungface，hisbaldywhite-greyheadwithfluffatthesidesofit，thesteelrimsofhisspectaclesandhisno-colouredeyeslookingthroughtheglasses。Whydidhesayheknewthattrick？——

Lazyidlelittleloafer!criedtheprefectofstudies。Brokemyglasses!

Anoldschoolboytrick!Outwithyourhandthismoment!

Stephenclosedhiseyesandheldoutintheairhistremblinghandwiththepalmupwards。Hefelttheprefectofstudiestouchitforamomentatthefingerstostraightenitandthentheswishofthesleeveofthesoutaneasthepandybatwasliftedtostrike。Ahotburningstingingtinglingblowliketheloudcrackofabrokenstickmadehistremblinghandcrumpletogetherlikealeafinthefire:andatthesoundandthepainscaldingtearsweredrivenintohiseyes。Hiswholebodywasshakingwithfright，hisarmwasshakingandhiscrumpledburninglividhandshooklikealooseleafintheair。Acrysprangtohislips，aprayertobeletoff。Butthoughthetearsscaldedhiseyesandhislimbsquiveredwithpainandfrightheheldbackthehottearsandthecrythatscaldedhisthroat——

Otherhand!shoutedtheprefectofstudies。

Stephendrewbackhismaimedandquiveringrightarmandheldouthislefthand。Thesoutanesleeveswishedagainasthepandybatwasliftedandaloudcrashingsoundandafiercemaddeningtinglingburningpainmadehishandshrinktogetherwiththepalmsandfingersinalividquiveringmass。Thescaldingwaterburstforthfromhiseyesand，burningwithshameandagonyandfear，hedrewbackhisshakingarminterrorandburstoutintoawhineofpain。Hisbodyshookwithapalsyoffrightandinshameandragehefeltthescaldingcrycomefromhisthroatandthescaldingtearsfallingoutofhiseyesanddownhisflamingcheeks——

Kneeldown，criedtheprefectofstudies。

Stephenkneltdownquicklypressinghisbeatenhandstohissides。Tothinkofthembeatenandswollenwithpainallinamomentmadehimfeelsosorryforthemasiftheywerenothisownbutsomeoneelse"sthathefeltsorryfor。Andasheknelt，calmingthelastsobsinhisthroatandfeelingtheburningtinglingpainpressedintohissides，hethoughtofthehandswhichhehadheldoutintheairwiththepalmsupandofthefirmtouchoftheprefectofstudieswhenhehadsteadiedtheshakingfingersandofthebeatenswollenreddenedmassofpalmandfingersthatshookhelplesslyintheair——

Getatyourwork，allofyou，criedtheprefectofstudiesfromthedoor。FatherDolanwillbeineverydaytoseeifanyboy，anylazyidlelittleloaferwantsflogging。Everyday。Everyday。

Thedoorclosedbehindhim。

Thehushedclasscontinuedtocopyoutthethemes。FatherArnallrosefromhisseatandwentamongthem，helpingtheboyswithgentlewordsandtellingthemthemistakestheyhadmade。Hisvoicewasverygentleandsoft。ThenhereturnedtohisseatandsaidtoFlemingandStephen:——

Youmayreturntoyourplaces，youtwo。

FlemingandStephenroseand，walkingtotheirseats，satdown。Stephen，scarletwithshame，openedabookquicklywithoneweakhandandbentdownuponit，hisfaceclosetothepage。

Itwasunfairandcruelbecausethedoctorhadtoldhimnottoreadwithoutglassesandhehadwrittenhometohisfatherthatmorningtosendhimanewpair。AndFatherArnallhadsaidthatheneednotstudytillthenewglassescame。ThentobecalledaschemerbeforetheclassandtobepandiedwhenhealwaysgotthecardforfirstorsecondandwastheleaderoftheYorkists!Howcouldtheprefectofstudiesknowthatitwasatrick？Hefeltthetouchoftheprefect"sfingersastheyhadsteadiedhishandandatfirsthehadthoughthewasgoingtoshakehandswithhimbecausethefingersweresoftandfirm:buttheninaninstanthehadheardtheswishofthesoutanesleeveandthecrash。Itwascruelandunfairtomakehimkneelinthemiddleoftheclassthen:andFatherArnallhadtoldthemboththattheymightreturntotheirplaceswithoutmakinganydifferencebetweenthem。HelistenedtoFatherArnall"slowandgentlevoiceashecorrectedthethemes。Perhapshewassorrynowandwantedtobedecent。Butitwasunfairandcruel。Theprefectofstudieswasapriestbutthatwascruelandunfair。Andhiswhite-greyfaceandtheno-colouredeyesbehindthesteel-rimmedspectacleswerecruellookingbecausehehadsteadiedthehandfirstwithhisfirmsoftfingersandthatwastohititbetterandlouder——

It"sastinkingmeanthing，that"swhatitis，saidFleminginthecorridorastheclasseswerepassingoutinfiletotherefectory，topandyafellowforwhatisnothisfault——

Youreallybrokeyourglassesbyaccident，didn"tyou？NastyRocheasked。

StephenfelthisheartfilledbyFleming"swordsanddidnotanswer——

Ofcoursehedid!saidFleming。Iwouldn"tstandit。I"dgoupandtelltherectoronhim——

Yes，saidCecilThundereagerly，andIsawhimliftthepandy-batoverhisshoulderandhe"snotallowedtodothat——

Didtheyhurtyoumuch？NastyRocheasked——

Verymuch，Stephensaid——

Iwouldn"tstandit，Flemingrepeated，fromBaldyheadoranyotherBaldyhead。It"sastinkingmeanlowtrick，that"swhatitis。I"dgostraightuptotherectorandtellhimaboutitafterdinner——

Yes，do。Yes，do，saidCecilThunder——

Yes，do。Yes，goupandtelltherectoronhim，Dedalus，saidNastyRoche，becausehesaidthathe"dcomeintomorrowagainandpandyyou——

Yes，yes。Telltherector，allsaid。

Andthereweresomefellowsoutofsecondofgrammarlisteningandoneofthemsaid:——

ThesenateandtheRomanpeopledeclaredthatDedalushadbeenwronglypunished。

Itwaswrong；itwasunfairandcruel；and，ashesatintherefectory，hesufferedtimeaftertimeinmemorythesamehumiliationuntilhebegantowonderwhetheritmightnotreallybethattherewassomethinginhisfacewhichmadehimlooklikeaschemerandhewishedhehadalittlemirrortosee。Buttherecouldnotbe；anditwasunjustandcruelandunfair。

HecouldnoteattheblackishfishfritterstheygotonWednesdaysinlentandoneofhispotatoeshadthemarkofthespadeinit。Yes，hewoulddowhatthefellowshadtoldhim。Hewouldgoupandtelltherectorthathehadbeenwronglypunished。Athinglikethathadbeendonebeforebysomebodyinhistory，bysomegreatpersonwhoseheadwasinthebooksofhistory。AndtherectorwoulddeclarethathehadbeenwronglypunishedbecausethesenateandtheRomanpeoplealwaysdeclaredthatthemenwhodidthathadbeenwronglypunished。ThosewerethegreatmenwhosenameswereinRichmalMagnall"sQuestions。HistorywasallaboutthosemenandwhattheydidandthatwaswhatPeterParley"sTalesaboutGreeceandRomewereallabout。PeterParleyhimselfwasonthefirstpageinapicture。

Therewasaroadoveraheathwithgrassatthesideandlittlebushes:

andPeterParleyhadabroadhatlikeaprotestantministerandabigstickandhewaswalkingfastalongtheroadtoGreeceandRome。

Itwaseasywhathehadtodo。Allhehadtodowaswhenthedinnerwasoverandhecameoutinhisturntogoonwalkingbutnotouttothecorridorbutupthestaircaseontherightthatledtothecastle。Hehadnothingtodobutthat:toturntotherightandwalkfastupthestaircaseandinhalfaminutehewouldbeinthelowdarknarrowcorridorthatledthroughthecastletotherector"sroom。Andeveryfellowhadsaidthatitwasunfair，eventhefellowoutofsecondofgrammarwhohadsaidthataboutthesenateandtheRomanpeople。

Whatwouldhappen？

Heheardthefellowsofthehigherlinestandupatthetopoftherefectoryandheardtheirstepsastheycamedownthematting:PaddyRathandJimmyMageeandtheSpaniardandthePortugueseandthefifthwasbigCorriganwhowasgoingtobefloggedbyMrGleeson。Thatwaswhytheprefectofstudieshadcalledhimaschemerandpandiedhimfornothing:and，straininghisweakeyes，tiredwiththetears，hewatchedbigCorrigan"sbroadshouldersandbighangingblackheadpassinginthefile。ButhehaddonesomethingandbesidesMrGleesonwouldnotfloghimhard:andherememberedhowbigCorriganlookedinthebath。Hehadskinthesamecolourastheturf-colouredbogwaterintheshallowendofthebathandwhenhewalkedalongthesidehisfeetslappedloudlyonthewettilesandateverystephisthighsshookalittlebecausehewasfat。

Therefectorywashalfemptyandthefellowswerestillpassingoutinfile。Hecouldgoupthestaircasebecausetherewasneverapriestoraprefectoutsidetherefectorydoor。Buthecouldnotgo。Therectorwouldsidewiththeprefectofstudiesandthinkitwasaschoolboytrickandthentheprefectofstudieswouldcomeineverydaythesame，onlyitwouldbeworsebecausehewouldbedreadfullywaxyatanyfellowgoinguptotherectorabouthim。Thefellowshadtoldhimtogobuttheywouldnotgothemselves。Theyhadforgottenallaboutit。No，itwasbesttoforgetallaboutitandperhapstheprefectofstudieshadOnlysaidhewouldcomein。No，itwasbesttohideoutofthewaybecausewhenyouweresmallandyoungyoucouldoftenescapethatway。