"Woolworth's Worst"

(70.13-72.25)  I felt like today's reading was the "easiest" I've had in a while (or maybe even as of yet).  Undoubtedly, that's at least partly due to the fact that more than a page of the passage is dedicated to a catalog of names that I'll mention in a moment, but even notwithstanding that, the language seemed more straightforward -- at least on the surface level -- than a lot of other parts of the Wake.

Anyway, the passage picks up with HCE -- here actually mentioned by name, "Humphrey" -- receiving an "unsolicited visitor, Davy or Titus," who must be the Cad.  The visitor (I'll call him the Cad for the rest of today) plops himself down outside HCE's gate and promptly shouts some threats toward HCE, who is tucked safely away inside of his house.  The Cad demands alcohol from HCE, saying in essence that HCE's pub is open to the public for the sale of Irish Whiskey.

At this point, the Cad unleashes a torrent of insults.  HCE compiles "a long list (now feared in part lost)" of these insults.  The list recalls the epic catalogs of Homer and Milton, with Milton being particularly relevant here given the fact that the list is "ind the humours of Milltown."  Interestingly enough, my secondary sources conflict on the question of how many insulting names are in the list.  Tindall counts 113 names, while Campbell and Robinson and McHugh count 111.  I see 112, but I think Campbell/Robinson and McHugh have it right.  There are actually 113 discrete entries in the list, but "You're Welcome to Waterford, signed the Ribbonmen" count as one entry, both because this is the only instance where the word (here, "signed") following a comma is lowercase and because, as noted by McHugh, Waterford was a stronghold of the Ribbonmen.  The clue to how many items are meant to be in the list comes from one of the names:  "And at Number Wan Wan Wan."  One-one-one equals 111.  This means that two more discrete entries have to be combined to form one.  I can't figure it out, but my best guest is the last name, which I'll combine as, "Boawwll's Alocutionist, Deposed."

Here's my top three favorite of the Cad's insulting names from HCE's list:

1. Artist
2. Easyathic Phallusaphist
3. Flunkey Beadle Vamps the Tune Letting on He's Loney (sung to the tune of "Yankee Doodle," as noted by McHugh)

The Cad's barrage lasts from 11:30 until 2:00 pm.  HCE does not "respond a solitary wedgeword," even though he easily could've made a phone call to report the disturbance.  The narrator says that when HCE was finally was shocked in to speech, he explained that he did not fire back at the Cad because the Dominican mission was going on at the time, and HCE felt like their repetition of the Rosary might somehow result in the Cad's reformation.

I particularly enjoyed the passage (again, not only because of the names), and it's one that I think is good for those who haven't read any of the Wake to take a look at to get a taste of the book.  

Tomorrow:  the end of the chapter.