MAMALUJO

    So And there they were too listening in as hard as they could to the solans [& the sycamores and the mistlethrushes] and all the birds all four of them listening they were the big four the four master waves of Erin all listening four there was old Tom Matt Gregory and then besides old Tom Matt there was old Phelius Marcus O'Hogan Lyons the four waves and oftentimes they used to be saying grace together right [enough] here now we are the four of us old Tom Matt Gregory and old Phelius Marcus Lyons and old Jeremy Luke Tarpey the four of us and sure thank God there are no more of us and sure now you won't go & leave out old Jeff O'Gorman Johnny MacDougall the four of us and no more of us and so now pass the fish for the Lord's Christ' sake amen the way they used to be saying grace before fish for auld lang syne there they were spraining their ears listening and listening to all the kissening with their eyes glistening all the four when he was kiddling & cuddling his colleen not the collen no the colleen bawn cuddling her and kissing her with his pogue like arrah na pogue Pogue the dear annual they all four memembored [how] they used to be cuddling and kissing under the mistlethrush and listening in the good old bygone days Dion Boucicault of in Arrah na Pogue when they knew the man on the door in one of those centuries when they were all four collegians in the queen's colleges it brought it all back again as fresh as ever Matt and Marcus and now there he was and his Arrah na Pogue before the four of them and now thank God there were no more of them and he poguing and poguing they were listening with their watering mouths watering so pass the pogue for Christ sake Amen listening & watering all the four Luke and Johnny MacDougall for anything at all of the bygone times for a cup of kindness yet for four big tumblers of woman squash with them all four listening and spraining their ears and all their mouths making water
     Ah well sure that's the way up and there up was poor Matt Gregory up leaning on his staff of memory and Gregory and up the others and now really & truly they were four dear old heladies and they looked as so nice and respectable with their grey half tall hat and tailormade frock coat and then they had their fathom glasses to find out all the fathoms and their tall hats just now like Lord the marquess of Powerscourt only for all the saltwater or the auctioneer there near in front of the place near that street [Thingmote, [Essex, Sackville?]] the statue of Mrs Daniel Dan O'Connell [behind] Trinity College that arranges all the auctions of the valuable houses Smith like the auctioneer Smith or not Smith that sells all the fine houses & mansions James H North J.P. Mike North James the auctioneer the jaypee in Hoggin Green going to the horse show with all the people over from England and American visitors all over in his grey half tall hat how do you and his fathom glasses how do you do Mr James to find out all the horses. And now that reminds me of poor Marcus Lyons and poor Johnny and the four of us and there they were now listening right enough the four saltwater widowers and all they could remember remembore long long ago with Mullaly Lally when my heart knew no care the landing of Sir Arthur Casement in 1132 and the coronation of Brian by the his grace bishop James H J.P. Bishop Senior [in his shovel hat] and then there was the drowning of Pharoah and they were all drowned in the sea the red sea and then poor Martin Cunningham out of the castle when he was drowned off Dunleary in the red sea and thank God there are no more of us. [Ay, ay. So he was.] and then there was the Flemish Armada all scattered and all drowned off the coast of Cunningham and Saint Patrick & St Kevin [& Lapoleon] our first marents and all they remembered remembored and then there was the French fleet in 1132 landing under general Boche in his grey tall shovel hat and there he was cuddling and poguing her in Arranapogue Arrahnapogue behind the queen's colleges behind the man century on the door in alice's street. And then they used to give the grandest lectures by the picture postcard [under the sycamores] in Roman history in to all the four collegians green [& the old Senate] in the four trinity colleges Killorcure and Killthemall and Killeachother and Killkelly-on-the-Flure those were the four great history colleges of the Jane Andersdaughter University for auld lang syne all the Roman history of the spirit of nature as divinely developed in time all history past and present and present and absent and past and present and future arma virumque romano. Ah dearo a dear how it all came back to them to hear him there kissing her & cuddling her in his the Roman arms by Cornelius Nepo. [Nepos. Roman Mnepos. Anumque. [epos. Manumque umque.] Queh?] ah dearo dear it was so sorry for the four of us and Mallaly Lally. And that reminds me of Poor Tim Tom Tarpey & Lapoule and the four shehusbands widowers the four waves in their tall shovel hat in Chichester College and thank God they were all summarily divorced by their dear poor shehusbands in the dear bygone days but still they parted on the best of terms. And so they parted. Ay, ay. Ah, well, sure that's the way. ay, ay. by decree absolute well they could remember remembore Mrs Daddy Dowager Justice Squelchman in her [fullbottom] wig & beard in 1132 at the Married Male Offender's Auctioneers' Court in Arrahnapogue. Poor Johnny MacDougall & the four masters because she he was waitin so slow at backscratching all divorced by them four master dear faithful and poor Marcus Powerscourt persecuted by everybody he was by decree absolute all because he broke made wind & water in the pew and because he forgot to remembore to sign an old paper to and hereby make a request to herself in writing on stamped paper parchment before saying his grace before fish and then there was poor Dion Boucicault all divorced drowned too poor Dion before the world [& her husband] because he attempted to well he was a bit bad in his health [he said] with shingles falling on them he ah well now sure we won't be too hard on him as a presbyterian [& he well he went to confession to Mother Evangelist Sweeney] well he ah now there were faults on both sides [well he] attempted some hunnish familiarities after eating a bad crab in the red sea and sure he was deadseasick deadseasickabed [in the hospice for the dying] he ah the poor fellow &... & trying to ______ the nurse's hand & dying ah dearo dearo dear and where do you leave Matt they were all so sorry for poor Matt in his grey frock saltwater hat [too big for him it] and his overalls all falling over him in folds sure he hadn't the energy to pull them old Matt the old matriarch [[that queenly man] sitting there [with his head to the west] in sight of the poorhouse] with his can of tea & two bits of bacon brown loaf [& dilisk waiting for the end to come] God of Heaven when you think of it all divorced by woman squelch and all on account the appearance of his face poor Matt Gregory of the dull brown loaf of his mouth watering by act of parliament. So now pass the face for Christ' sake. Amen. Poor Matt Gregory and so. And all. Poor Martin Cunningham! (Ah God be good to us. Poor Martin Cunningham). Ay. Ay.
    And still and all they were always up thinking of the old auld man syne and up their four masters that were four up beautiful sisters and there they were always counting the lovely periwinkle buttons in the front part of their dresses & up one & up two & up five & up two four and there she was the beautiful four sisters and that was her name and they used to be getting up and were looking for her everywhere in all the fathoms when they couldn't sleep with changing beds and then they had their tentacles and they used to be all night hanging around all the waists of the ships the steamships and their bottlegreen eyes peering in through the steaming windows into the honeymoon cabins on board the big steamers steamadory and the saloon ladies toilet apartments and rubbing off the salty cataract off the windows listening to see all the honeymooners humnimooners hunnishmooners and all the toilet ladies and their familiarities saying their grace before meals steamadory pass the pot jool for Christ sake Amen and watering and there they used to be all trembling and shaking & counting all their peributtons to remember her beautiful name in his dreams poor Gregory and Johnny Doug & poor Greg the four sisters and there she was now the lovely lady asthore as in days of yore of planxty Gregory they used to be always singing round the [wet] fire with [their feet asleep in] their blankets and shawls [and bowls of stale brew bread & milk milky waiting for poor Tarp Mucus [to pass the teeth for Christ sake chokus sake [amenschtrek]]] when they had the [phlegmish] hooping cough [from eating bad cramps and [with a farthing dip]] reading all a word or two about the lakes of Killarney through their green & spentacles and so now they started their singing the steamadory the steamadorion and old Luke for auld luke syne and we she make wail a cupboard cupboar coinerset koiner set for on the pays praze savole hang shanghai.
    Hear. Isolde la belle! Tristan, sad hero, hear!
 
 

David Hayman: Joyce, James / A first-draft version of Finnegans wake