I Forbid the Banns! — page 201: what you’re looking at

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

j ON THE TYPE OF THE FAITHFUL. IQI symbol of the circle. I got it translated for the benefit of such jgnoramuses as myself who cannot at amoment’s notice read off a text from the Koran. It means: ‘Without begin- ning—without end—earthly completeness—a type of the faithful.’ I bought it from one of the faithful at Teheran. I also detected that one of the faithful using false balances in weighing it. Here, I place it upon your finger; are you sure that is the right one?’’ ‘“Do you fancy there is a civilized girl who doesn’t know which is her wedding finger, as they call it?’’ cried Bertha, offering him a dainty digit, delicately white, with a pink, almond shaped tip. ‘‘T suppose there is no such girl,”’ said he musingly, with his eyes fixed upon the Arabic characters on the inner rim of thering. ‘‘I suppose not; only I thought that you te “Why should I be different from other girls?’’ she said. ‘Tam daily coming to learn that I am in no way different from any of the race. I may have thought at one time that we had little in common; but now—with the exception of that one prejudice—I am in no way different from other girls.’’ ‘‘And that one prejudice,’’ said he, ‘‘is what other girls hold dearer than their religion—dearer than love itself— almost as dear as—let us say diamonds.”’ “That is where—thank God—I differ from them,’’ cried the girl. ‘‘You heard what I sang last night. ‘Love. shall be Lord—Love shall be Lord—Love shall be Lord!’ With other girls the words should be, ‘Marriage is Lord’—perhaps ‘Diamonds are Lord.’ Ah, if women were but faithful to their own hearts what a world of joy it would be! Perhaps you and I shall live to see that great good brought about. We shall yet live to see the false gods dethroned—that Baal of society lying in the dust. Women have been too long worshiping the form of marriage, and taking no thought for the reality, which is love. Let them take to worship- CONNIELIOOKS (€(@)