Page 848 - ULYSSES
P. 848
Ulysses
triumph Bloom appears, bareheaded, in a crimson velvet mantle
trimmed with ermine, bearing Saint Edward’s staff the orb and
sceptre with the dove, the curtana. He is seated on a milkwhite
horse with long flowing crimson tail, richly caparisoned, with
golden headstall. Wild excitement. The ladies from their balconies
throw down rosepetals. The air is perfumed with essences. The
men cheer. Bloom’s boys run amid the bystanders with branches
of hawthorn and wrenbushes.)
BLOOM’S BOYS:
The wren, the wren,
The king of all birds,
Saint Stephen’s his day
Was caught in the furze.
A BLACKSMITH: (Murmurs) For the honour of God!
And is that Bloom? He scarcely looks thirtyone.
A PAVIOR AND FLAGGER: That’s the famous
Bloom now, the world’s greatest reformer. Hats off!
(All uncover their heads. Women whisper eagerly.)
A MILLIONAIRESS: (Richly) Isn’t he simply
wonderful?
A NOBLEWOMAN: (Nobly) All that man has seen!
A FEMINIST: (Masculinely) And done!
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