Page 983 - ANNA KARENINA

Anna Karenina

‘Blessed be the name of the Lord,’ the solemn syllables
rang out slowly one after another, setting the air quivering
with waves of sound.
‘Blessed is the name of our God, from the beginning, is

now, and ever shall be,’ the little old priest answered in a
submissive, piping voice, still fingering something at the
lectern. And the full chorus of the unseen choir rose up,
filling the whole church, from the windows to the vaulted
roof, with broad waves of melody. It grew stronger, rested
for an instant, and slowly died away.
They prayed, as they always do, for peace from on high
and for salvation, for the Holy Synod, and for the Tsar;
they prayed, too, for the servants of God, Konstantin and
Ekaterina, now plighting their troth.
‘Vouchsafe to them love made perfect, peace and help,
O Lord, we beseech Thee,’ the whole church seemed to
breathe with the voice of the head deacon.
Levin heard the words, and they impressed him. ‘How
did they guess that it is help, just help that one wants?’ he
thought, recalling all his fears and doubts of late. ‘What do
I know? what can I do in this fearful business,’ he thought,
‘without help? Yes, it is help I want now.’
When the deacon had finished the prayer for the
Imperial family, the priest turned to the bridal pair with a

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