I Forbid the Banns! — page 95: what you’re looking at

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

ON A REVELATION. 85 a trifle under twelve thousand pounds a year, Charlton did not laugh ; on the contrary, he became extremely serious. During the next few days there were enacted aboard the Carnarvon Castle several scenes of a remarkable character. Mrs. Howard, and the two other matrons of the main, took occasion to inform every man among the first-class passen- gers, that the father of that pretty Miss Lancaster—they could now afford to allow that she was pretty, her looks being, as they considered, far more than counterbalanced by her parental misfortune—had been working out his time at a place called Botany Bay. On receiving this information each of the men had become, as was only natural, as well as decent, extremely grave ; but, being men, they were skeptical on the subject of the disabilities of a girl whom they regarded as unusually pretty. ‘They had consequently gone inturn to Charlton to ask him what was his opinion regarding the amount of credence to be given to the story of Miss Lancaster’s parent- age. Also because they were men some of them rather hoped that Charlton would be so shocked by the story that he would allow Miss Lancaster more time in future to devote to themselves. Charlton did not hesitate to tell everyman who came to him the true story of the late Mr. Lancaster’s term of penal servitude; and the result was that while all the ladies looked grave, and, with true delicacy of feeling, were careful to abstain from introducing any topic which suggested, how- ever remotely, penal servitude, and which consequently might wound the susceptibilities of Miss Lancaster, the men were brutally, and quite unnecessarily, careless in their remarks regarding such topics. Captain Waring was actu- ally heard to chant a vulgar song supposed to be sung by a convict, the chorus being a farewell to Great Britain, as the singer declared he was“ going to Australia at her Majesty’s expense.” EOMMICLOOlKS. EC)