mr bloom and stephen entered the cabman's shelter， an unpretentious wooden structure， where， prior to then， he had rarely， if ever， been before； the former having previously whispered to the latter a few hints anent the keeper of it， said to be the once famous skin-the-goat， fitzharris， the invincible， though he wouldn't vouch for the actual facts， which quite possibly there was not one vestige of truth in. a few moments later saw our two noctambules safely seated in a discreet corner， only to be greeted by stares from the decidedly miscellaneous collection of waifs and strays and other nondescript specimens of the genus homo， already there engaged in eating and drinking， diversified by conversation， for whom they seemingly formed an object of marked curiosity.
-- now touching a cup of coffee， mr bloom ventured to plausibly suggest to break the ice， it occurs to me you ought to sample something in the shape of solid food， say a roll of some description.
accordingly his first act was with characteristic sangfroid to order these commodities quietly. the hoi polloi of jarvies or stevedores， or whatever they were， after a cursory examination， turned their eyes， apparently dissatisfied， away， though one redbearded bibulous individual， a portion of whose hair was greyish， a sailor， probably， still stared for some appreciable time before transferring his rapt attention to the floor.
mr bloom， availing himself of the right of free speech， he having just a bowing acquaintance with the language in dispute though， to be sure， rather in a quandary over voglio， remarked to his protégé in an audible tone of voice， apropos of the battle royal in the street which was still raging fast and furious：
-- beautiful language. i mean for singing purposes. why do you not write your poetry in that language？ bella poetria！ it is so melodious and full. belladonna voglio.
stephen， who was trying his dead best to yawn， if he could， suffering from dead lassitude generally， replied：
-- to fill the ear of a cow elephant. they were haggling over money.