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There was no
hope for him this time: it was the third stroke. Night after night I had
passed the house (it was vacation time) and studied the lighted square of
window: and night after night I had found it lighted in the same way,
faintly and evenly. If he was dead, I thought, I would see the reflection
of candles on the darkened blind, for I knew that two candles must be set
at the head of a corpse. He had often said to me: I am not long for this
world and I had thought his words idle. Now I knew they were true. Every
night as I gazed up at the window I said softly to myself the word
paralysis. It had always sounded strangely in my ears, like the word gnomon
in the Euclid and the word simony in the Catechism. But now it sounded to
me like the name of some maleficent and sinful being. It filled me with
fear, and yet I longed to be nearer to it and to look upon its deadly work.
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riverrun,
past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius
vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs.
Sir Tristram, violer d'amores, fr'over the short sea,
had passencore rearrived from North Armorica on this side the scraggy isthmus
of Europe Minor to wielderfight his penisolate war: had topsawyer's rocks
by the stream Oconee exaggerated themselse to Laurens County's gorgios
while they went doublin their mumper all the time: nor avoice from afire
bellowsed mishe mishe to tauftauf thuartpeatrick: not yet, though venissoon
after, had a kidscad buttended a bland old isaac: not yet, though all's
fair in vanessy, were sosie sesthers wroth with twone nathandjoe. Rot a
peck of pa's malt had Jhem or Shen brewed by arclight and rory end to the
regginbrow was to be seen ringsome on the aquaface.
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