"Never mind all that prosing of
Blackstone's, about the husband being of years of discretion,
and the wife under twelve. Abominable wretch! the wife under
twelve! Skip to the third incapacity, if there is one."
"'The third incapacity,'" Allan went on, "'is want of reason.'"
Neelie immediately made a third entry on the side of "Good":
"Allan and I are both perfectly reasonable. Skip to the next
page."
Allan skipped. "'A fourth incapacity is in respect of proximity
of relationship.'"
A fourth entry followed instantly on the cheering side of the
pocket-book: "He loves me, and I love him--without our being
in the slightest degree related to each other. Any more?" asked
Neelie, tapping her chin impatiently with the end of the pencil.
"Plenty more," rejoined Allan; "all in hieroglyphics. Look here:
'Marriage Acts, 4 Geo. IV., c. 76, and 6 and 7 Will. IV., c. 85
(_q_).' Blackstone's intellect seems to be wandering here. Shall
we take another skip, and see if he picks himself up again on the
next page?"
"Wait a little," said Neelie; "what's that I see in the middle?"
She read for a minute in silence, over Allan's shoulder, and
suddenly clasped her hands in despair.
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