He to whom we have made brief reference watches the ceremonial with some
interest. That he is a stranger is evident, and this, coupled with his
striking appearance, is, we grieve to say, a fact which occupies the
attention of many a fair devotee there present far more than it should,
remembering the time and place. That it engrosses a sufficient share of
that of the young lady in the front seat we grieve still more to be
obliged to chronicle, remembering that she is an occupant of the Rectory
pew. But the stranger does not reciprocate the general attention of
which he is the object, for he has an eye for but one face amid that
assembly of faces. Stay, though; another there attracts his interest to
a tolerably vivid degree, and it is that of no less a personage than the
celebrating priest himself; a strikingly handsome man of lofty stature,
and whose forking grey beard descends, like that of Aaron, even to the
skirts of his embroidered clothing--or nearly so. And in the
countenance of this imposing ecclesiastic he detects a strong family
likeness to the lovely brunette who first attracted his eye.
The service, magnificent in its artistic adjuncts, and impressive in its
well-ordered ceremonial, proceeds. The stately altar, aglow with lights
and gorgeous draperies; the solemn chant of the celebrant and jubilant
response from choir and organ; the ever-changing postures and
picturesque groupings; clouds of incense and the silvery ringing of
bells at the culmination of the solemnity--all go to make up an imposing
whole. But it is over at last. Choristers, acolytes and priests retire
amid a stirring voluntary from the great organ, and the sunlight,
intercepted and subdued by lancets of stained glass, falls in a hundred
changing gleams upon the now empty chancel.
The occupants of the Rectory pew linger in their seats, and while the
other two are busy gathering up their books and sunshades preparatory to
a move, the girl whom we have noticed, turning half round, scans the
departing congregation. As she does so she meets the stranger's glance
and there is a meaning in it which renders her slightly confused--
perhaps a little angry.
"Now, Olive dear, we'd better go," whispers a remonstrant voice. With a
start and a half blush the girl recollects herself, and the three haste
to follow in the wake of the now thinning crowd, which is streaming out
through the west door.
"Ah-h! what a relief to be outside again!" exclaimed she who had been
addressed as "Olive," as the three girls wended their way beneath the
tall feathery elms which shaded the churchyard walk. "I declare I
thought it was never going to end."
"Hush, dear I don't talk like that," answered the eldest of the three,
with a slightly scared look around. "If anyone were to hear you, what
would be said?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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