ce into the church, and there received the pair about to be
made happy, to whom he delivered a lighted taper, making, at the same
time, the sign of the cross thrice on their foreheads, and conducted
them to the upper part of the nave. Incense was scattered before them,
while maids, splendidly attired, walked between the paranymphy, or
bridegroom and bride. The Greek church requires not the presence of
either of the parents of the bride on such an occasion. Is it to spare
them the pain of voluntarily surrendering every authority over their
child to one who is a stranger to her blood? I stood by the side of the
table on which were deposited the rings, and before which the priest
halted at the conclusion of a litany, wherein the choristers assisted,
and from which he pronounced, in a loud and impressive voice, the
following prayer, his face being turned towards the sanctuary, and the
bride and bridegroom placed immediately behind him, holding their
lighted tapers:--

"O Eternal God! thou who didst collect together the scattered atoms by
wonderous union, and didst join them by an indissoluble tie, who didst
bless Isaac and Rebecca, and made them heirs of thy promise; give thy
blessing unto these thy servants, and guide them in every good work: for
thou art the merciful God, the lover of mankind, and to thee we offer up
our praise, now and for ever, even unto ages of ages."

The import of this beautiful invocation was at the time, interpreted to
me by a friend well acquainted with the whole service and office of
espousals, the language of which he assured me was all equally
impressive. The priest, next turning round to the couple, blessed them,
and taking the rings from the table, gave one to each, beginning with
the man, and proclaiming aloud that they stood betrothed, "now and for
ever, even unto ages of ages," which declaration he repeated thrice to
them, while they mutually exchanged the rings an equal number of times.
The rings were now again surrendered to the priest, who crossed the
forehead of the couple with them, and put them on the fore-finger
of the right hand of each; and turning to the sanctuary, read another
impressive part of the service, in which an allusion is made to all the
circumstances in the Holy Testament, where a ring is mentioned as the
pledge of union, honour, and power; and prayed the Lord "to bless the
espousals of thy servants, Anna Ivanowna and Nicholai Demetrivich, and
confirm them in thy hol