I Forbid the Banns! — page 128: what you’re looking at

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

CHAPTER XVIII. ON THE THAMES. ULIAN CHARLTON certainly meant to adhere to the | resolution which he had formed in regard to Bertha and her principles. He felt that his resolution was a right one, even though he was ready also to acknowledge that her principles were founded upon the truth. She regarded from such an exalted standpoint that spiritual passion—if he might venture to call it a passion—known as love, she could not bring herself to consent to subject it to the indig- nity implied by the ceremony of marriage—the “‘ manacles of the Church,” as she called it. It would be an affront to this love, which was a union of souls, to make it the subject of vows spoken in the presence of witnesses. Were she to do so she would be consenting to regard it from a material standpoint, divested of all its spirituality. It would be an insult to a man who had made certain statements, to insist on his taking an oath to their accuracy. It would be an insult toa man who had lived a life of temperance to insist on his “signing the pledge.” It would be an insult to her- self, loving Julian as she did, to insist on her taking a vow before a number of witnesses to continue loving him. She did not care what the world would say. ‘The world was usually wrong. The world had killed all its noblest teach- ers, but their truths had survived and truth would prevail in the end, if only people were not afraid of the opinion of the world. She believed that there were thousands of men and women who thought with her on this subject. They only needed to be given an example and they would all follow it. She meant to be an example to them. She meant to be the 118 Gomichbooks.co m