Page 920 - ULYSSES

Ulysses

BELLO: (Cuttingly) Their heelmarks will stamp the
Brusselette carpet you bought at Wren’s auction. In their
horseplay with Moll the romp to find the buck flea in her
breeches they will deface the little statue you carried home

in the rain for art for art’ sake. They will violate the secrets
of your bottom drawer. Pages will be torn from your
handbook of astronomy to make them pipespills. And they
will spit in your ten shilling brass fender from Hampton
Leedom’s.
BLOOM: Ten and six. The act of low scoundrels. Let
me go. I will return. I will prove ...
A VOICE: Swear!
(Bloom clenches his fists and crawls forward, a bowieknife
between his teeth.)
BELLO: As a paying guest or a kept man? Too late.
You have made your secondbest bed and others must lie
in it. Your epitaph is written. You are down and out and
don’t you forget it, old bean.
BLOOM: Justice! All Ireland versus one! Has nobody
...? (He bites his thumb)
BELLO: Die and be damned to you if you have any
sense of decency or grace about you. I can give you a rare
old wine that’ll send you skipping to hell and back. Sign a
will and leave us any coin you have! If you have none see

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