I Forbid the Banns! — page 324: what you’re looking at

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

314 “7 FORBID THE BANNS!” locks. It so happened, however, that no one who entered the room seemed to perceive her, and she was forced to listen to the variations on “ Ah, che la morte,” produced by the professor of the musical glasses, and to the vocal accom- paniment of Mr. Betstein’s conversation, punctuated with snuffles, In sheer despair, after ten minutes waiting for a rescuer, she rose and allowed herself to be conducted by Mr. Bet- stein to the room where, he told her, the entertainer was giving his celebrated imitations of popular actors. She felt certain that on the way to the place of entertainment she would meet with Cyril Southcote—for was not Marian there ?—or Sir Ecroyd Fairleigh—for was. the government not anxious to conciliate Mr. Abed Nego? If either of these champions failed to rescue her from Mr. Betstein, she would trust to some of her casual acquaintances to help her. She could not remember having been so long a time at any entertainment without meeting at least a score of friends. But she had never before been at an entertainment in Saxe- Coburg House. The corridor was greatly crowded—so much so that an advance could only"be effected with great inconvenience both to the advancers and those who were advanced upon. Mr. Betstein was not gifted with the instincts of progress— it is to the West, not to the East, that one looks nowadays for the display of such gifts, and Mr. Betstein was clearly of Eastern origin. He tried to force his’ way through the groups, but without success. He was scowled upon by the persons whom he had indiscriminately elbowed aside, and Bertha felt that, she was attracting some attention as the companion of the elbower. ‘Oh, bother it all!” exclaimed Mr. Betstein, when less than halfway down the corridor. ‘I dever cabe id codtact with sucha rude set. Let us stroll id here, Bissus Charltod, till we get a chadce of moving od. It is what Abed Dego Gomichbooksico m