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[Aetat. 24-25 ] J O Y C E 231I have often confessed to you surprise that there should be anything exceptionalin my writing and it is only at moments when I leave down somebodyelse's book that it seems to me not so unlikely after all. Sometimesthinking of Ireland it seems to me that I have been unnecessarily harsh. Ihave reproduced (in Dubliners at least) none of the attraction of the cityfor I have never felt at my ease in any city since I left it except in Paris. Ihave not reproduced its ingenuous insularity and its hospitality. The latter'virtue' so far as I can see does not exist elsewhere in Europe. I have notbeen just to its beauty: for it is more beautiful naturally in my opinionthan what I have seen of England, Switzerland, France, Austria or Italy.And yet I know how useless these reflections are, For were I to rewrite thebook as G. R.* suggests 'in another sense' (where the hell does he get themeaningless phrases he uses) I am sure I should find again what you callthe Holy Ghost sitting in the ink-bottle and the perverse devil of my literaryconscience sitting on the hump of my pen. And after all Two Gallants—withthe Sunday crowds and the harp in Kildare street and Lenehan—isan Irish landscape. 42With such mixed blame and praise for his stories, he waited irritablyduring August and September for Grant Richards's finaldecision aboutthem. At the end of September Richards wrote that he could not nowpublish Dubliners, but would like to publish Joyce's autobiographical noveland then do the stories later. 43Joyce went to the British consul andsecured from him the name of an international lawyer, St. Lo Malet,whom he next consulted about Richards's breach of contract. 44St. LoMalet advised him to try Richards again by letter, but Richards, on October19, reaffirmed his decision over Joyce's protests. Even though Joyce,in his desperation, was now ready to suppress 'Two Gallants' and 'A LittleCloud' and to modify two passages in 'Counterparts' and 'Grace,' Richardsdid not want the book. St. Lo Malet wrote the Society of Authorson October 22, asking if they would help an unnamed young man. TheSociety, after requiring a guinea for membership, found it could do nothing.For another pound St. Lo Malet helped Joyce to compose somelegalistic letters to Richards, but again advised him against going to law.Joyce ended by offering the book, on November 20, to John Long. Whenhis brother tried to encourage him to keep writing, he replied angrily onSeptember 18, i have written quite enough and before I do any more inthat line I must see some reason why—I am not a literary Jesus Christ.'In this mood of dissatisfaction, he not only felt Dubliners was tooharsh, but thought Chamber Music too soft, (i am not a poet,' he wouldtell Padraic Colum in 1909. ) 45Yet this book was to find a publisher first.When Richards failed him, Joyce wrote to Arthur Symons^ to whom heowed his firstintroduction to Richards. He had not been in touch withSymons since sending him a copy of 'The Holy Office,' and was halfsurprisedto receive one of Symons's prompt and generous replies. As for* Grant Richards.