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long as they didn’t indulge in recriminations and come to
blows.
From inside information extending over a series of years
Mr Bloom was rather inclined to poohpooh the suggestion
as egregious balderdash for, pending that consummation
devoutly to be or not to be wished for, he was fully cog-
nisant of the fact that their neighbours across the channel,
unless they were much bigger fools than he took them for,
rather concealed their strength than the opposite. It was
quite on a par with the quixotic idea in certain quarters
that in a hundred million years the coal seam of the sis-
ter island would be played out and if, as time went on, that
turned out to be how the cat jumped all he could person-
ally say on the matter was that as a host of contingencies,
equally relevant to the issue, might occur ere then it was
highly advisable in the interim to try to make the most of
both countries even though poles apart. Another little in-
teresting point, the amours of whores and chummies, to put
it in common parlance, reminded him Irish soldiers had as
often fought for England as against her, more so, in fact.
And now, why? So the scene between the pair of them, the
licensee of the place rumoured to be or have been Fitzhar-
ris, the famous invincible, and the other, obviously bogus,
reminded him forcibly as being on all fours with the con-
fidence trick, supposing, that is, it was prearranged as the
lookeron, a student of the human soul if anything, the oth-
ers seeing least of the game. And as for the lessee or keeper,
who probably wasn’t the other person at all, he (B.) couldn’t
help feeling and most properly it was better to give people