I Forbid the Banns! — page 308: what you’re looking at

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

298 “7 FORBID THE BANNS!” to spread abroad the principles upon which her life with him was founded. She did not seek for an opportunity to prove to the people whom she met that the ceremony of marriage was an insult to that mystic love which alone should form the foundation for marriage. Bertha found that what were her principles were the theories of quite a number of persons with whom she came in contact, and who were also regarded as interesting to society. They called themselves Free Lovers, and they were all very respectable people. She noticed that all the women who had made a name for themselves by promul- gating these theories of love and spiritual marriage and affinity—this word was largely made use of by these ladies—were themselves snugly married according to the law of the land—all except one. She was unmarried. She was also angular, elderly, and spectacled. She divided her time equally in discussing the questions appertaining to woman's sufferings and woman’s suffrage. The sufferings related to marriage, the suffrage to something else. No one had offered to take her at her word in regard to her theories of free love. She remained free as the air, and quite as unwholesome as that of London. Not one of this band of theorizers had made her theories the principles of her life. Bertha perceived this very clearly, and she felt that they were little better than jigurantes. ‘They were posing for the sake of effect as Original thinkers. She alone had had the courage to act in accordance with her convictions. _ She listened passively while these sham Free Lovers dis- coursed on the subject of their theories. Some declared that the emancipation of woman was at the point of being achieved through the universal acceptance of the spiritual marriage ; others talked of the glorious future that awaited those women who had never met with their affinity on earth, but who were perfectly certain that they would meet Gomichbookssco