I Forbid the Banns! — page 52: what you’re looking at

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

42 “7 FORBID THE BANNS!” over by any of the promenaders on the deck. “ Love- making on the Liebig principle.” ‘“ The Liebig principle ?”’ “ Yes—extraordinary compression. Half a dozen oxen boiled down into a half-pint jar—as much love-making as would do duty for six months compressed into half an hour —that’s the Liebig principle.” Charlton laughed quietly and felt for his cigar case. ‘You are, as usual, observing your fellow-creatures,” he remarked as he seated himself on one of the fixed seats. ‘They are entertaining, these fellow-creatures,” said Cyril. ‘That group in the center is particularly entertain- ing. The youth in the mess jacket is a lieutenant of sap- pers. He has been trying to lure Miss Travers away from the side of Mrs. Howard, but he has made no progress as yet. He has just been assuring her that he knows of an extraordinary view of the rocks above the wharf that hecan point out to her if she only steps forward with him. She told him that moonlight views made her feel melancholy— they always suggested to her a churchyard in a book of German prints. Then he offered to show her how phos- phorescent the water is alongside the vessel. It was no use. She never could bear phosphorescent water, she declared —it put her in mind of Burne Jones and the Gros- venor Gallery, she said, by way.of explanation. The sap- per didn’t seem satisfied.” “Odd that he wasn’t satisfied.” “Isn't it? Then I have been noticing how the elderly Sapper has had his eye upon Miss Crawford, but his wife has her eye on him, and every time he has shown a tend- ency to steal away from the group, she has nipped it in the bud. Oh, they are all most entertaining tome! Why, if you only watch the skipper you will find the study to repay you. I heard him narrate in the most liberal spirit, to the stout surgeon major over there, the particulars of that famous run he had in Leicestershire. It actually « ppeared (E©)