DUBLINERS
by James Joyce
Contents
| The Sisters |
| An Encounter |
| Araby |
| Eveline |
| After the Race |
| Two Gallants |
| The Boarding House |
| A Little Cloud |
| Counterparts |
| Clay |
| A Painful Case |
| Ivy Day in the Committee Room |
| A Mother |
| Grace |
| The Dead |
THE SISTERS
There was no hope for him this time: it was the third stroke. Night after nightI had passed the house (it was vacation time) and studied the lighted square ofwindow: and night after night I had found it lighted in the same way, faintlyand evenly. If he was dead, I thought, I would see the reflection of candles onthe darkened blind for I knew that two candles must be set at the head of acorpse. He had often said to me: “I am not long for this world,”and I had thought his words idle. Now I knew they were true. Every night as Igazed up at the window I said softly to myself the word paralysis. It hadalways sounded strangely in my ears, like the word gnomon in the Euclid and theword simony in the Catechism. But now it sounded to me like the name of somemaleficent and sinful being. It filled me with fear, and yet I longed to benearer to it and to look upon its deadly work.
Old Cotter was sitting at the fire, smoking, when I came downstairs to supper.While my aunt was ladling out my stirabout he said, as if returning to someformer remark of his:
“No, I wouldn’t say he was exactly ... but there was somethingqueer ... there was something uncanny about him. I’ll tell you myopinion....”
He began to puff at his pipe, no doubt arranging his opinion in his mind.Tiresome old fool! When we knew him first he used to be rather interesting,talking of faints and worms; but I soon grew tired of him and his endlessstories about the distillery.
“I have my own theory about it,” he said. “I think it was oneof those ... peculiar cases.... But it’s hard to say....”
He began to puff again at his pipe without giving us his theory. My uncle sawme staring and said to me:
“Well, so your old friend is gone, you’ll be sorry to hear.”
“Who?” said I.
“Father Flynn.”
“Is he dead?”
“Mr Cotter here has just told us. He was passing by the house.”
I knew that I was under observation so I continued eating as if the news hadnot interested me. My uncle explained to old Cotter.
“The youngster and he were great friends. The old chap taught him a greatdeal, mind you; and they say he had a great wish for him.”
“God have mercy on his soul,” said my aunt pious