I Forbid the Banns! — page 164: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

154 “7 FORBID THE BANNS!/” that I should be doing what is right in taking you away without the delay of a moment.”’ ‘It cannot be, dearest,’’ she said, shaking her head. “‘I want you to be quite certain—as Iam. You have not been thinking as I have on this matter. Perhaps even when you were sitting alone last night you came to the conclusion that I was wrong and that you were right.’’ He looked at her without a word for some moments. ‘“‘T came to the conclusion that you are part of my life,” said he after a pause. ‘‘Apart from you my life would be miserably incomplete. Let me take you away at once.”’ ‘‘T will be here to-morrow, and the next day, and the day after that, and you can be with me every day, and show me if London is really so very much finer than Sydney; so far I prefer Sydney.’’ ‘‘Then if you are dressed and waiting for me here at one o'clock to-morrow, I shall come for you and show you some- thing of the place, leaving you here once more in the even- ing.’’ : “That will be delightful,’’ said she. ‘‘Do not come before one o’clcok—my dresses are promised for noon, and it will take me quite an hour dressing.’’ ‘‘T will say half-past one—that will give you some margin. For Heaven’s sake do not hurry in your dressing, dearest.”’ ‘You needn’t impress that on me,’’ shecried, with spar- kling eyes. ‘‘I know what it means to be properly dressed in London. An open carriage stopped near us where we were blocked on our way here. Itcontained an elderly lady with avery thin nose, and two younger ones, each with a nose exactly like their mother’s. They wore yi “Thank you,’’ said Julian, who had now fully recovered his spirits. ‘‘I dine at eight, and it is now just seven. I won't ask you to compress your description into so ridicu- lously short a space as an hour. Good-by, dearest—rather au revotr.’’ (EO LMMICELVOOLKS (EC)