or killed or a captain or admiral its nearly
20 years if I said firtree cove he would if he came up behind me and
put his hands over my eyes to guess who I might recognise him hes young
still about 40 perhaps hes married some girl on the black water and is
quite changed they all do they havent half the character a woman has she
little knows what I did with her beloved husband before he ever dreamt
of her in broad daylight too in the sight of the whole world you might
say they could have put an article about it in the Chronicle I was a bit
wild after when I blew out the old bag the biscuits were in from Benady
Bros and exploded it Lord what a bang all the woodcocks and pigeons
screaming coming back the same way that we went over middle hill round
by the old guardhouse and the jews burialplace pretending to read out
the Hebrew on them I wanted to fire his pistol he said he hadnt one he
didnt know what to make of me with his peak cap on that he always wore
crooked as often as I settled it straight H M S Calypso swinging my hat
that old Bishop that spoke off the altar his long preach about womans
higher functions about girls now riding the bicycle and wearing peak
caps and the new woman bloomers God send him sense and me more money I
suppose theyre called after him I never thought that would be my
name Bloom when I used to write it in print to see how it looked on a
visiting card or practising for the butcher and oblige M Bloom youre
looking blooming Josie used to say after I married him well its better
than Breen or Briggs does brig or those awful names with bottom in them
Mrs Ramsbottom or some other kind of a bottom Mulvey I wouldnt go mad
about either or suppose I divorced him Mrs Boylan my mother whoever she
was might have given me a nicer name the Lord knows after the lovely
one she had Lunita Laredo the fun we had running along Williss road to
Europa point twisting in and out all round the other side of Jersey they
were shaking and dancing about in my blouse like Millys little ones now
when she runs up the stairs I loved looking down at them I was jumping
up at the pepper trees and the white poplars pulling the leaves off and
throwing them at him he went to India he was to write the voyages those
men have to make to the ends of the world and back its the least they
might get a squeeze or two at a woman while they can going out to be
drowned or blown up somewhere I went up Windmill hill to the flats
that Sunday morning