I Forbid the Banns! — page 349: what you’re looking at

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

ON THE PLUNGE. 339 His eyes followed her. How beautiful she looked! There was no woman in the room who could compare with her. Fora moment he felt proud of her; but in another instant that cold doubt returned to him. He felt, when looking at her, as aman might feel who is in possession of a certain charming property, but who knows that he has no title-deeds, and that, consequently, he may be turned adrift at any moment. What is the noblest property in the world to anyone so long as the title-deeds are in the possession of someone else ? What was all the grace of that woman to him so long as he felt that she was bound to him by no tie that was recognized by the law? That was precisely what his relationship with her amounted to. | Then the Green Scandinavians passed from the “ Lucre- zia’’ selection to one from “ Rigoletto.” ‘Il segreto per esser felice’’ had dwindled into “La donna é mobile.” The cynical phrases with the mocking laughter came to his ears. The assurance that “la donna é mobile” was not com- forting to him in his present mood. If woman was fickle how could he ever hope to retain Bertha, so long as there was no bond between them ? Then, like many other men suffering from a like malady, he gave a sort of ‘it-will-all-be-the-same-in-a-hundred- years ’”’ laugh, and plunged. It ison record that some men, in the absence of the title-deeds of the estates on which they were living, began. a steady course of drinking, with a view to avert their thoughts from the subject of those same title deeds. Others have been known to take to pigeon shooting at Hurling- ham. Several have commenced throwing away their money in the maddest way, while others have endeavored to accom- plish this purpose by means of backing horses to win certain races. The fruit of that counterfeit’ tree of knowledge (€(0) CONNIELIOOKS