I Forbid the Banns! — page 314: what you’re looking at

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

304 “7 FORBID THE BANNS!” easily “put out.” The most trivial matter occasionally affected them in this way, she had heard from some wise women—especially wives—whom she had known in Australia. The dampness of the first match in a box of matches had been known to lay the foundation for a quarrel between a husband and wife that ended only in a family council and a deed of separation. ‘The bursting of a buttonhole had in another case let loose a flood of vituperation in the choicest San Franciscan tongue; while the anger aroused in a third case by the over-frizzling of a slice of bacon was only partially appeased by the destruc- tion of every article of china in the room, and of a mirror as well, She did not believe that Julian was a man who was given to the expression of feeling through the medium of a casual projectile. But surely it would be better for him to break all the mirrors in the house than to speak to her ina tone that implied that she had been guilty of something passing those ordinary irritations of wives, which lead to the destruction of porcelain and the wrecking of furniture. The worst of all was that she could not guess what was the cause of his bitterness. The wife who had told her about the burst buttonhole had at least the satisfaction of looking at the rent linen, and the one who had mentioned the bacon incident could contemplate the overcooked slice, and know that it had brought about the necessity for a visit to the china shop ; but she had nothing tangible in this way to lay hold of to account for Julian’s display of feeling. She felt bewildered at first, then pained, then bewildered again, and then she rang for her maid—the substitute she had obtained in room of the faithless Miriam—to dress her to go forth to where a certain Mrs. Abed Nego—the wife of the distinguished financier—was ‘at home” with “dancing ” in the corner, if the invitation card might be taken to suggest anything. (EOPMMICG LOOKS (EC)