All raised their thighs and eyed with disfavour the mildewed buttonless leather of the seats. Mr Dedalus, twisting his nose, frowned downward and said:
—Unless I’m greatly mistaken. What do you think, Martin?
—It struck me too, Martin Cunningham said.
Mr Bloom set his thigh down. Glad I took that bath. Feel my feet quite clean. But I wish Mrs Fleming had darned these socks better.
Mr Dedalus sighed resignedly.
—After all, he said, it’s the most natural thing in the world.
—Did Tom Kernan turn up? Martin Cunningham asked, twirling the peak of his beard gently.
—Yes, Mr Bloom answered. He’s behind with Ned Lambert and Hynes.
—And Corny Kelleher himself? Mr Power asked.
—At the cemetery, Martin Cunningham said.
—I met M’Coy this morning, Mr Bloom said. He said he’d try to come.
The carriage halted short.
—What’s wrong?
—We’re stopped.
—Where are we?
Mr Bloom put his head out of the window.
—The grand canal, he said.
Gasworks. Whooping cough they say it cures. Good job Milly never got it. Poor children! Doubles them up black and blue in convulsions. Shame really. Got off lightly with illnesses compared. Only measles. Flaxseed tea. Scarlatina, influenza epidemics. Canvassing for death. Don’t miss this chance. Dogs’ home over there. Poor old Athos! Be good to Athos, Leopold, is my last wish. Thy will be done. We obey them in the grave. A dying scrawl. He took it to heart, pined away. Quiet brute. Old men’s dogs usually are.
annotation:
the dearly departed Luckimius Keetinpetteh and Hollymandius Fleetofoot
At this point the men in the carriage are crossing their second bridge. As I was reading the Cliffs Notes I read that they cross a total of 4 rivers on their way to the cemetery. This is a parallel of the 4 rivers crossed by Odysseus in Hades on his way to save Elpenor.
Bloom recalls his father’s death and being entrusted via his father’s suicide note with the care of Athos his dog, apparently named after the Musketeer but, according to joyceproject.com (source page ) and reiterated in Cliffs Notes, a parallel to Odysseus’s dog Argos. In the Greek story, Argos recognizes the disguised Odysseus and promptly dies. Since I patterned Bloom’s cat after my former cat friend “Lucky” I decided to pattern Athos after my dog friend “Hollymandius Fleetofoot” or “Holly”. She’s a greyhound.