Part 1, Section 2 (pages 26-39) Summary

Montgomery arrives at Holyhead in Wales in rain, as he expected. He has already broken into his duty free alcohol, and the sunset is "lavishly laid on" as he sails to Ireland. He is startled to hear the Irish accents, thinking them a caricature of themselves.

Montgomery refers to Dun Laoghaire on the Irish coast by the old name of Kingstown, which his father always called it when he was a child. His father used to bring him here on Sunday afternoons and give him a shilling. His father "sloped off," leaving the young Montgomery to his own devices. His mother never accompanied them on these visits. He knows now that they were an excuse for his father to meet with his mistress. He describes his father as slight, with a neat frame and pale features. He...