Anna Karenina - Part 5

"Kitty, mind you're the first to step on the carpet," said

Countess Nordston, coming up. "You're a nice person!" she said

to Levin.

"Aren't you frightened, eh?" said Marya Dmitrievna, an old aunt.

"Are you cold? You're pale. Stop a minute, stoop down," said

Kitty's sister, Madame Lvova, and with her plump, handsome arms

she smilingly set straight the flowers on her head.

Dolly came up, tried to say something, but could not speak,

cried, and then laughed unnaturally.

Kitty looked at all of them with the same absent eyes as Levin.

Meanwhile the officiating clergy had got into their vestments,

and the priest and deacon came out to the lectern, which stood in

the forepart of the church. The priest turned to Levin saying

something. Levin did not hear what the priest said.

"Take the bride's hand and lead her up," the best man said to

Levin.

It was a long while before Levin could make out what was expected

of him. For a long time they tried to set him right and made him

begin again--because he kept taking Kitty by the wrong arm or

with the wrong arm--till he understood at last that what he had

to do was, without changing his position, to take her right hand

in his right hand. When at last he had taken the bride's hand in

the correct way, the priest walked a few paces in front of them

and stopped at the lectern. The crowd of friends and relations

moved after them, with a buzz of talk and a rustle of skirts.

Someone stooped down and pulled out the bride's train. The

church became so still that the drops of wax could be heard

falling from the candles.

The little old priest in his ecclesiastical cap, with his long

silvery-gray locks of hair parted behind his ears, was fumbling

with something at the lectern, putting out his little old hands

from under the heavy silver vestment with the gold cross on the

back of it.

Stepan Arkadyevitch approached him cautiously, whispered

something, and making a sign to Levin, walked back again.

The priest lighted two candles, wreathed with flowers, and

holding them sideways so that the wax dropped slowly from them he

turned, facing the bridal pair. The priest was the same old man

that had confessed Levin. He looked with weary and melancholy

eyes at the bride and bridegroom, sighed, and putting his right

hand out from his vestment, blessed the bridegroom with it, and

also with a shade of solicitous tenderness laid the crossed

fingers on the bowed head of Kitty. Then he gave them the

candles, and taking the censer, moved slowly away from them.