little brothers and sisters who were waiting in the nursery, as he had often waited, till the pudding came. The deep low collar and the Eton jacket made him feel queer and oldish: and that morning when his mother had brought him down to the parlour, dressed for mass, his father had cried. That was because he was thinking of his own father. And uncle Charles had said so too.

Mr Dedalus covered the dish and began to eat hungrily. Then he said:

----Poor old Christy, he's nearly lopsided now with roguery.

----Simon, said Mrs Dedalus, you haven't given Mrs Riordan any sauce.

Mr Dedalus seized the sauceboat.

----Haven't I? he cried. Mrs Riordan, pity the poor blind.

Dante covered her plate with her hands and said:

----No, thanks.

Mr Dedalus turned to uncle Charles.

----How are you off, sir?

----Right as the mail, Simon.

----You, John?

----I'm all right. Go on yourself.

----Mary? Here, Stephen, here's something to make your hair curl.

He poured sauce freely over Stephen's plate and set the boat again on the table. Then he asked uncle Charles was it tender. Uncle Charles could not speak because his mouth was full but he nodded that it was.

----That was a good answer our friend made to the canon. What? said Mr Dedalus.

----I didn't think he had that much in him, said Mr Casey.

----I'll pay you your dues, father, when you cease turning the house of God into a pollingbooth.