At the next moment I was conscious that a bell had been rung in the
chancel; that the organ had stopped; that the coughing and hemming in
the church had ceased; that somebody was saying "Stand here, my lord";
that Lord Raa, with a nervous laugh, was asking "Here?" and taking a
place by my side; that the lighted altar, laden with flowers, was in
front of me; and that the Bishop in his vestments, Father Dan in his
surplice and white stole, and a clerk carrying a book and a vessel of
holy water were beginning the service.
Surely never was there a sadder ceremony. Never did any girl under
similar circumstances feel a more vivid presentiment of the pains and
penalties that follow on a forced and ill-assorted marriage. And yet
there came to me in the course of the service such a startling change of
thought as wiped out for a while all my sadness, made me forget the
compulsion that had been put upon me, and lifted me into a realm of
spiritual ecstasy.
The Bishop began with a short litany which asked God's blessing on the
ceremony which was to join together two of His children in the bonds of
holy wedlock.
Pages:
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267