I Forbid the Banns! — page 330: what you’re looking at

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

CHAPTER XLIV. ON THE DISADVANTAGES OF ELECTRIC LIGHT. HARLIE BARHAM could not be said to contribute materially to the success of Mme. Abed Nego’s “ At Home.” Dancing had commenced in the ballroom, but he would not dance. He was devoting a night to the dis- covery of Mr. Betstein. He had, of course, no positive assurance that Mr. Betstein was the origin of Bertha’s sud- den appearance at the doorway of the Oriental room, but he had his own suspicions on the subject; and he knew that Mr. Betstein’s peculiarities of articulation would be accepted by all reasonable people as strong presumptive evidence that he was quite equal to insulting a lady. He went through the Cairo doorway at once, and strolled casually among the divans, most of which were now occu- pied. Mr. Betstein was not to be seen among any of the groups in this interesting apartment, nor was he in either the ballroom, the supper room, or where the claret cup and ices were to be had. There were many apartments.in Mr. Abed Nego’s mansion, but Charlie did not think that he could honorably pursue his search after Mr. Betstein to the kitchens or the bedrooms, though he was quite satisfied that Mr. Betstein would not shrink from the attempt to conceal himself in either the upper or the lower apartments. He spent more than an hour in the search through the rooms before he went out to the electric lit grounds, where the Green Scandinavian Band was making the air melodious. After all, he felt that it would be much more satisfactory for him to come across Mr. Betstein in the open air, One 320 Gomichooks (E(0)