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722 ,J A M E S1939-1941New York. Joyce sent a copy to Miss Weaver with a letter reminding herof the order she had sent him thirteen years before:*MadamWith reference to a commission given to me some time ago by yourgood self I have pleasure in informing you that the order in question hasnow been duly executed as per instructions furnished on your behalf bythe Rev. James Cropper M.A., late c/o Penrith, England. 1 have thereforethis day delivered the goods and trust that the same will be found satisfactory.Assuring you of my appreciation of your esteemed patronageI am, Madam,Your obedient servantJames Joyce 54 May 1939The Joyces and Jolases had a small party, and Nora said, 'Well, Jim, Ihaven't read any of your books but I'll have to some day because theymust be good considering how well they sell.' 6Joyce complained thatthe price was too high this time, and wrote grimly to Georg Goyert,'Perhaps I still have a future as a streetsinger—behind me.' 7He complainedto Beckett about his financial situation, which would make itnecessary for him to teach again. Beckett found out there was a positionopen as lecturer in Italian at the University of Capetown. Joyce thoughtit over for a few days, then, having heard thunderstorms were frequentthere, gave it up. 8He devoured the reviews of Finnegans Wake, but quickly grew disappointedand even morose. As each one was read he listened intently, thensighed. Some were tentative, saying this presumably great book wouldrequire study; others were cavalier, dismissing it as madness; and othersimpudent, assuming it was an interminably protracted bad joke. Joycewas infuriated by the Irish Times, which listed the work among booksreceived as by Sean O'Casey, and O'Casey, as indignant with Ireland asJoyce, wrote him: i know many of Dublin's Literary Clique dislike me,and they hate you (why, God only knows), so that "misprint" was a bitof a joke.' 9He wished he had the power to write such an 'amazing book,'he said, and his autobiography demonstrates by its strong Joycean influencethat he meant it. One review that unexpectedly pleased Joyce wasthat by Oliver Gogarty in the Observer for May 7, 1939. Gogarty calledit 'the most colossal leg pull in literature since Macpherson's Ossian,' butacknowledged Joyce's 'indomitable spirit' and his book's 'magnitude.' Joycesaid to Budgen that Gogarty, being an athlete, knew the value of being a'stayer.' 10• See p. 582