"The court to go into half morning."

(565.6-567.13)  We left off in yesterday's reading with Mark focusing on HCE's behind.  In today's reading, we move past that.  ALP, who stands in front of HCE and closest to the twins, the sleeping Kevin and the crying Jerry, begins to comfort her trembling son.  As thunder roars in the air, ALP tells Jerry he's only had a nightmare:  "You were dreamend, dear."  There is no panther or phantom in the room, she says.  Nor, she adds, is there a "bad bold faathern," which is maybe a white lie, since HCE is standing behind her.  "Opop opop capallo," she says, trying to cheer him up, and she goes on to tell him that his father will be taking the "lucky load to Lublin" tomorrow to do his business.  "Sonly all in your imagination, dim," she says.  She ends her comforting with a line that tells him the nightmares will wash away once morning has arrived and beautifully ties together the river and dream themes that run throughout the Wake:  "While elvery stream winds seling on for to keep this barrel of bounty rolling and the nightmail afarfrom morning nears."  

A transition that sounds just like a commercial break follows.  "When you're coaching through Lucalised, on the sulphur spa to visit, it's safer to hit than miss it, stop at his inn!" the commercial voice tells us.  It's quite clearly an ad for HCE's pub, where, we learn, we can doze in warmth and enjoy food and drink of questionable quality:  "Cried unions to chip, saltpetre to strew, gallpitch to drink, stonebread to break but it's bully to gulp good blueberry pudding."

Following the interruption, the scene resumes back in the "sleepingchambers" of HCE and ALP.  In a sense, we're slowly zeroing in on that room, moving from a wide shot of the entire house to a closer shot of the parents' bedroom.  As we view the entire house, we see all of the household.  The "court" is in "half morning," both indicating the "relaxed" time of half-mourning and, more pertinently, the halfway point between the evening and the daybreak.  "Soakersoon" (HCE's assistant) is there, as is Kate ("Katya"), who is undressing ("shakenin dowan her droghedars").  The twelve patrons/jurors -- "the "twelve chief barons" -- stand with their arms folded to make sure everything's at peace before they return to their "runameat farums."  The 28 young girls are tending to their hair and lamenting their "sadly ringless hands."  ALP, the "first mutherer," kneels, while the twins sleep.  HCE secretly has a blade drawn (creating a parallel between the plotting Lady Macbeth/Macbeth and ALP/HCE).  Finally, Isabel is doing obeisance to HCE, "first furtherer with drawn brand."  With this roll call complete, the court comes into "full morning."  Perhaps this is a stage direction, after all, for the spotlight falls back upon HCE and ALP as Mark says, "Herein see ye fail not!"

It appears that HCE and ALP are once again trying to have marital relations, as Mark's focus now turns upon a certain "stark pointing pole," which he says he sees "before my misfortune."  We learn the distances from this pole to "the dunleary obelisk," "the general's postoffice," "the Wellington memorial," and "Sara's bridge."  Maybe since the pole belongs to the universal father, HCE, it's meant to be viewed as the center of the universe.  Our narrator tells us that he leers at the scene because he wants to "see a buntingcap of so a pink on the point," or, as McHugh notes, a condom.  Mark tells us that this "buntingcap" is something used by "many burgesses by us, greats and grosses."