STEPHEN (Choking with fright, remorse and horror.) They said I killed you, mother. He offended your memory. Cancer did it, not I. Destiny. THE MOTHER (A green rill of bile trickling from a side of her mouth.) You sang that song to me. Love’s bitter mystery. STEPHEN (Eagerly.) Tell me the word, mother, if you know now. The word known to all men. THE MOTHER Who saved you the night you jumped into the train at Dalkey with Paddy Lee? Who had pity for you when you were sad among the strangers? Prayer is all powerful. Prayer for the suffering souls in the Ursuline manual, and forty days’ indulgence.
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