I Forbid the Banns! — page 346: what you’re looking at

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

330 “7 FORBID THE BANNS!” ment, the Nuisance was put up to ask of the same right honorable gentleman a counter-question tending to show that the opposition should be the last people in the world to ask the original question. In the five minutes bickering which followed between the Speaker, the Nuisance, and the inquiring opposition, the head of the department was usually able to escape returning a direct answer to the irritant. The Nuisance had thereby become a jfersona grata with the government, and received invitations to the ordinary departmental entertainments. He had thus almost come to think of himself as an actual member of the government. | Julian watched Bertha talking to the Royal Academti- cian—he had a few pictures still unsold which he thought would serve admirably to indicate to an Australian colony the existing state of English art. (His estimate of their value was certainly a correct one, assuming that a period of decadence in English art has set in.) But while she was talking to the Royal Academician she was also listening while the Nuisance recounted to her his recent triumphs. He had actually been called to order four times in the course of the previous day, which was, of course, Tuesday. Julian watched her while he was giving his advice to Mrs. Cyrus P. Bates regarding the costume. Royalty, it was generally understood, was anxious that Mrs. Cyrus P. Bates should do credit to the greatest republic the world has ever known. Royalty was naturally interested in protect- ing the greatest republic from the possibility of a charge of incompleteness being leveled against it by anyone who might fancy that Mrs. Cyrus P. Bates was nota great social success, in the British drawing roomas well as in the princi- pality of Monte Carlo. The fundamental principle of the forthcoming fancy ball was as graceful as it was original. The characters were not CONNIE IOOKS (€(0)