Illustrator Scripting :: How To Set Character Attributes On A Range Of Characters At Once

Illustrator Version CS3-CC
Preferred scripting: Visual Basic (VBScript)
 
In the Adobe Illustrator CS5 Scripting Reference (VBScript), I see the following code for setting character attributes.
 
iCount = textRef.Characters.Count
i = 1
Dim charRef
Do While (i < (iCount + 1))
dSize = dSize * 1.1
textRef.TextRange.Characters(i).CharacterAttributes.HorizontalScale = dSize
textRef.TextRange.Characters(i).CharacterAttributes.VerticalScale = dSize
i = i + 1
Loop
 
Is there a way to set character attributes on a range of characters at once?
 
Iterating through the characters one by one is really slow, especially in higher versions of Illustrator (like CS6).
 
I want to be able to set character attributes, for example, from the third character to the sixth character of a paragraph textrange.
 
Basically, I want to do something like itembyrange in InDesign scripting.