The reading stopped at "... beliefs and practices." (17.1895)
Summary:
Bloom not only dreams of possessing a fine mansion but also about how much he should pay for it and how to collect the sum of money needed to pay for it. The list of rapid but insecure means he imagines, which will make it possible to purchase the Flowerville immediately is to be read to be enjoyed. He thinks too of a number of practical ideas - some big, some small - which could lead to his amassing wealth. Reclamation of dunams of waste arenary soil, utilization of waste paper, are just two of the ideas. Why on earth would Bloom think of such things at this early morning hour after a very long day? Because, he knows that meditating on such topics would help him to sleep. He had learnt that a man who would live for 70 years spends 20 of them sleeping!
While busy with thoughts, Bloom unlocks a drawer. The drawer holds an assortment of things: a copybook, a Christmas card, mementoes of his parents, letters from Martha, envelopes and notepaper two partly uncoiled rubber preservatives as well as 2 erotic photocards purchased by post from Box 32, P. O., Charing Cross, London, W. C., 1 prospectus of The Wonderworker, the world's greatest remedy for rectal complaints. The prospectus was addressed to Mrs. L. Bloom, the enclosed note starting with Dear Madam.
The second drawer contains many important documents including the birth certificate of Leopold Paula Bloom and an envelope addressed: To My Dear Son Leopold. Seeing the envelope sent to him by his father makes Bloom think of his father, an old man, widower, unkempt of hair, in bed, with head covered, sighing: an infirm dog, Athos. (The name of Odysseus’s dog was Argos. It was so infirm by the time Odysseus finally reached home that all it could do as it saw the master was to wag its tail before dropping dead.) He also feels a bit of remorse because in his young days he (Bloom) had viewed certain beliefs and practices (of his father) with disrespect.
