James Joyce's Ulysses: A Dublin Tour
10. Wandering Rocks

Section 5: Boylan goes shopping

     The blond girl in Thornton's bedded the wicker basket with rustling fibre. Blazes Boylan handed her the bottle swathed in pink tissue paper and a small jar.
     --Put these in first, will you? he said.
     --Yes, sir, the blond girl said, and the fruit on top.
     --That'll do, game ball, Blazes Boylan said.
     She bestowed fat pears neatly, head by tail, and among them ripe shamefaced peaches.
     Blazes Boylan walked here and there in new tan shoes about the fruitsmelling shop, lifting fruits, young juicy crinkled and plump red tomatoes, sniffing smells.(218)

Thornton's used to be in Grafton Street, a bit further up from here.

Section 6: Stephen meets his music teacher

     --Ma! Almidano Artifoni said.
     He gazed over Stephen's shoulder at Goldsmith's knobby poll.
     Two carfuls of tourists passed slowly, their women sitting fore, gripping frankly the handrests. Pale faces. Men's arms frankly round their stunted forms. They looked from Trinity to the blind columned porch of the bank of Ireland where pigeons roocoocooed. ...
     By the stern stone hand of Gratton, bidding halt, an Inchicore tram unloaded straggling Highland soldiers of a band. (219)

Stephen and Artifoni are outside Trinity College. The statue of the Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith can be seen on the right of the entrance. (The statue on the left is of Edmund Burke.) The Bank of Ireland opposite Trinity formerly housed the Irish parliament. Outside it on College Green is a statue of Henry Gratton, a key figure in loosening the English hold on Irish politics in the late eighteenth century.

 Section 7: Boylan's offices in D'Olier Street
 
     Miss Dunne hid the Capel street library copy of The Woman in White far back in her drawer and rolled a sheet of gaudy notepaper into her typewriter. (220)

McCarthy lists 15 D'Olier Street (just on the south side of the O'Connell Bridge) as a probable site for Boylan's office. Here it is, under the Irish Times sign, and the clock.

Section 9: Lenehan and M'Coy en route to the Ormond Hotel
Section 10: Bloom at the bookstall
Section 14: Simon Dedalus, Bob Cowley and Ben Dollard

     They passed Dan Lowry's musichall where Marie Kendall, charming soubrette, smiled on them from a poster a dauby smile. (223)

Dan Lowry's--then the Empire and now the Olympia--is the oldest theatre in Dublin. It's in Dame Street, just down from Dublin Castle and the City Hall. Martin Cunningham will be able to see it on his right as he comes downhill from the castle in section 15. Just a little bit further on to the right at 33 Dame Street was the Dublin Bread Company's tearoom (now demolished), where Mulligan and Haines have tea in section 16 of this chapter.
 

     They went up the steps and under Merchant's arch. A darkbacked figure scanned books on the hawker's cart.
     --There he is, Lenehan said.
     --Wonder what he is buying. M'Coy said, glancing behind.
     --Leopoldo or the Bloom is on the Rye, Lehehan said.
     --He's dead nuts on sales, M'Coy said. I was with him one day and he bought a book from an old one in Liffey street for two bob. There were fine plates in it worth double the money, the stars and the moon and comets with long tails. Astronomy it was about. (224)

The figure is indeed Bloom, as the next section will confirm. McCoy and Lenehan would be coming down the alley towards the camera here. When we get back to Eccles Street in "Eumaeus", we shall find the book on Bloom's shelves:

A Handbook of Astronomy (cover, brown leather, detached, 5 plates, antique letterpress long primer, author's footnotes nonpareil, marginal clues brevier, captions small pica). (661)
 

Behind the camera in the previous shot is Wellington Quay, on the Liffey, with the Ha'penny Bridge, the oldest bridge in Dublin. This shot shows the Ha'penny Bridge from the other side of the Liffey, with Merchant's Arch at its far end. To the left of the camera is the Ormond Quay Hotel, which is the main location for the next chapter, Sirens.

     They crossed to the metal bridge and went along Wellington quay by the river wall. (224)

Meanwhile, in section 14, Simon Dedalus and Bob Cowley meet outside Reddy and Daughter's, an antique shop close to the Ormond Hotel, which is just behind the camera and to the right in this photo.

     --I know, Mr Dedalus said, nodding. Poor old bockedy Ben! He's always doing a good turn for someone. Hold hard!
     He put on his glasses and gazed towards the metal bridge an instant.
     --There he is, by God, he said, arse and pockets.
     Ben Dollard's loose blue cutaway and square hat above large slops crossed the quay in full gate from the metal bridge. He came towards them at an amble, scratching actively behind his coattails.
     As he came nearer Mr Dedalus greeted:
     --Hold that fellow with the bad trousers. (234)

Section 11: Dilly at the auctionrooms

     Stephen's sister Dilly is still where Bloom last saw her around 1.00, in front of Dillon's auctionrooms, as more of the Dedaluses' furnishings are sold off.

     The lacquey by the door of Dillon's auctionrooms shook his handbell twice again and viewed himself in the chalked mirror of the cabinet.
     Dilly Dedalus, listening by the curbstone, heard the beats of the bell, the cries of the auctioneer within. Five and nine. Those lovely curtains. Five shillings. Cosy curtains. Selling new at two guineas. Any advance on five shillings? Going for five shillings.
     The lacquey lifted his handbell and shook it:
     --Barang! (227)

Section 13: Stephen meets Dilly

Stephen has come from Westmoreland Street (which runs between Trinity College and the O'Connell Bridge) down Fleet Street.

Turning right down Bedford Row towards the Liffey, he browses the shopwindows and a bookcart, only to meet Dilly, who has just spent the two pennies she managed to get out of their father.

     He took the coverless book from her hand. Chardenal's French primer.
     --What did you buy that for? he asked. To learn French?
     --She nodded, reddening andclosing tight her lips.
     Show no surprise. Quite natural.
     --Here, Stephen said. It's all right. Mind Maggy doesn't pawn it on you. I suppose all my books are gone.
     --Some, Dilly said. We had to.
     She is drowning. Agenbite. Save her. Agenbite. (233)

Section 15: Martin Cunningham comes from the Castle

     --The youngster will be all right, Martin Cunningham said, as they passed out of the Castleyard gate.
     The policeman touched his forehead.
     --God bless you, Martin Cunningham said cheerily. ...
     --Yes, Martin Cunningham said, fingering his beard. I wrote to Father Conmee and laid the whole case before him (236)

Martin Cunningham has been seeing to the welfare of Paddy Dignam's family, after having been to the funeral that morning. He comes out of Dublin Castle via the Castleyard Gate with Mr Power and John Wyse Nolan.
 

Turning around 180° from the previous photo, we see the eighteenth-century Dublin City Hall.

     On the steps of the City Hall Councillor Nanetti, descending, hailed Alderman Cowley and Councillor Abraham Lyon ascending. (236)
 

Cunningham and his companions walk down beside the City Hall to Dame Street. This is what they would see today from that corner, looking down Parliament Street, into which they turn.

Looking back to the City Hall from Parliament Street, this is what they would see. From Kavanagh's bar in Parliament Street, they hear the viceregal cavalcade pass.

     Clatter of horsehoofs sounded from the air.
     --What's that? Martin Cunningham said.
     All turned where they stood; John Wyse Nolan came down again. From the cool shadow of the doorway he saw the horses pass Parliament street, harness and glossy pasterns in sunlight shimmering. Gaily they went past before his cool unfriendly eyes, not quickly. In saddles of the leaders, leaping leaders, rode outriders.
     --What was that? Martin Cunningham asked, as they went on up the staircase.
     --The lord lieutenant general and general governor of Ireland, John Wyse Nolan answered from the stairfoot. (238)

The contents of these pages are © 2004, Tony Thwaites, The University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia 4072

email me