Page 91 - a-portrait-of-the-artist-as-a-young-man

a tall overcoated figure and a hard hat. Heron did not trou-
ble himself about an introduction but said instead:
—I was just telling my friend Wallis what a lark it would
be tonight if you took off the rector in the part of the school-
master. It would be a ripping good joke.
Heron made a poor attempt to imitate for his friend
Wallis the rector’s pedantic bass and then, laughing at his
failure, asked Stephen to do it.
—Go on, Dedalus, he urged, you can take him off rip-
pingly. HE THAT WILL NOT HEAR THE CHURCHA
LET HIM BE TO THEEA AS THE HEATHENA AND
THE PUBLICANA.
The imitation was prevented by a mild expression of
anger from Wallis in whose mouthpiece the cigarette had
become too tightly wedged.
—Damn this blankety blank holder, he said, taking it
from his mouth and smiling and frowning upon it tolerant-
ly. It’s always getting stuck like that. Do you use a holder?
—I don’t smoke, answered Stephen.
—No, said Heron, Dedalus is a model youth. He doesn’t
smoke and he doesn’t go to bazaars and he doesn’t flirt and
he doesn’t damn anything or damn all.
Stephen shook his head and smiled in his rival’s flushed
and mobile face, beaked like a bird’s. He had often thought
it strange that Vincent Heron had a bird’s face as well as a
bird’s name. A shock of pale hair lay on the forehead like a
ruffled crest: the forehead was narrow and bony and a thin
hooked nose stood out between the close-set prominent eyes
which were light and inexpressive. The rivals were school

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