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396 J A M E S [ 1915-1916 ]Zionism, which was already taking hold among European Jews; but whenone day Weiss commented on the possibility of a Jewish state, Joycewryly remarked, 'That's all very well, but believe me, a warship with acaptain named Kanalgitter and his aide named Captain Afterduft wouldbe the funniest thing the old Mediterranean has ever seen.'*Through Weiss Joyce met Rudolf Goldschmidt, a grain merchant, andGoldschmidt introduced him to the circle of his friends. These men werewell-to-do and they agreed readily to take lessons in English from Joyce,in some instances not because they wanted to learn the language butbecause they wanted to help him discreetly. (He would have been quiteopen to indiscreet help.) By November 1915, Joyce inscribed a copy ofDubliners to Goldschmidt 'with gratitude,' 16and he had good reason.For his sympathetic pupils often paid for lessons they never took, andClaud W. Sykes later remarked that Joyce was sometimes humorouslyindignant if a pupil insisted upon having the lessons he had paid for. Therelationship of teacher and pupil frequently turned into friendship, aswith Victor Sax, Edmund Brauchbar, and Georges Borach. With all three,Joyce's lessons went far afield. Once with Sax he proposed that they writelimericks for their lesson that day, and after overseeing the productionsof Sax in this form he turned out two of his own:There is a young gallant named SaxWho is prone to hayfever attacksFor the prime of the yearTo Cupid so dearStretches maidens—and men!—on their backs.The second was a parody of the Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy:There's a monarch who knows no reposeFor he's dressed in a dual trunk hoseAnd ever there itchesSome part of his breeches;How he stands it the Lord only knows. 17He continued to be friendly with these men for the rest of his life, and itwas Brauchbar who, twenty-five years later, put up half the surety so thatJoyce and his family might return to Zurich from occupied France duringthe second World War. /Two other pupils of Joyce were the Bliznakoff sisters, Olga and Vela,who came to Zurich from Trieste shortly after he did. Their father, MarcoBliznakoff, had been Bulgarian consul in Trieste, and could not remainin the Austrian zone. His wife was sister to Signora Schmitz, so Joycehad often seen them before. He remembered one example of the consul'sbehavior which he told Weiss with much amusement: Marco took histen-year-old son Boris to a country place near Trieste, and there gave'About Zionism Bloom says, 'Nothing doing. Still an idea behind it.' Ulysses (60 [72]).