I Forbid the Banns! — page 302: what you’re looking at

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

292 “7 FORBID THE BANNS!” “Sir Ecroyd has been good enough to offer to show me his house of precious'things, Julian,” cried Bertha. “That is very good of Sir Ecroyd,” replied Julian pleas- antly—so pleasantly that Sir Ecroyd knew in an instant what wasin his heart. ‘‘ And you have promised to make the pilgrimage to Piccadilly, I hope,’ added Julian. ‘“‘T have said that we shall be delighted,” said Bertha. ‘And so we shall, I am certain,” said Julian. “T trust so,’ said Sir Ecroyd. ‘‘I have made some mis- takes, I dare say of ‘“Oh, no, no,” said Julian, still with transparent pleasant- ness. “ But I do not think I ever bought a poor bit of Sévres,”’ continued the minister, ignoring the interruption and the interrupter. ‘‘And yet I can assure you that those vases are worth the half of my collection. I envy you the posses- sion of a treasure, Mr. Charlton. I trust you are fully acquainted with its variety and value.”’ Charlton looked at the speaker quickly, to try and dis- cover if he meant his words to have a double meaning. But | the face of the cabinet minister was as impenetrable as the face of the Sphinx. He had been looked at too often in exactly the same spirit of earnest inquiry by the occupants of the opposition benches not to be schooled how to meet such a look. ‘“‘T think,’ said Charlton, ‘‘ that -I know the real from the sham, even with the masks—how fond they were of their masks, those designers’’—and he pointed to the fantastic heads with sprouting horns that wreathed themselves into handles for the vases. ‘“ Yes, I fancy I know when I have secured a treasure, Sir Ecroyd.”’ ‘You know my house, of course, Mr. Charlton,” re- marked Sir Ecroyd casually, without giving the least sign that he fancied a little fencing bout had been going on, in which he had wielded one of the rapiers. Gomichbooks (€(0)