I Forbid the Banns! — page 42: what you’re looking at

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

32 “IT FORBID THE BANNS!” strictly speaking, have showed better taste on his part if he had expressed some little surprise at the young lady's announcement. Itis, after all, not quite polite to saytoa young lady who tells you that her father was a convict, “I’m not in the least surprised to hear it.” And yet if he had not actually said those words, he had at least implied them. There was a little flush upon her face that was not exactly of the tint laid on so delicately by the breeze. ‘‘T beg your pardon,” she said. ‘It is absurd of me to talk to you inthis way. What does it matter to you who my father was ?” ‘Nothing whatever,’ he replied. “It affects me in no way.” ‘“T am glad of that. I did not mean to boast about my father.” Did she actually mean to imply that ‘she believed a cer- tain distinction was conferred upon a young woman who chanced to have a convict for a father? he wondered. “Tam just returning from visiting Australia,’ said he, with some anxiety to turn the conversation into another channel, “and I assure you that I was greatly impressed with all that I heard and saw. You have every reason to be proud of your country.”’ ‘But I’m not,” she cried. ‘I hate it. The people have become civilized into narrow-mindedness. You carried your dress clothes about with you, I suppose.” ‘‘T admit that I did so, wherever it was practicable.” “Then you would get on all right. You should just see the way they look at a man who forgets to put on a dress coat when heis asked to quite a friendly littie dinner.” ‘Why should they look at him so?” “T don't know ; I think they fancy he means to slight them. They are terribly suspicious that everyone they “CONNIE NOOLKS (EO)