After that he blessed us, the responses coming from the voices of the unseen singers in the darkness.
After a long ritual of prayer and blessing, sung in triplicate, the priest took the crowns of flowers, and put one on the head of each, crowning me first, and with the crown tied with gold.

Then he signed and blessed us each thrice.

The guides, who stood behind us, exchanged our crowns thrice, as they had exchanged the rings; so that at the last, as I was glad to see, my wife wore the crown of gold, and I that of silver.
Then there came, if it is possible to describe such a thing, a hush over even that stillness, as though some form of added solemnity were to be gone through.

I was not surprised, therefore, when the priest took in his hands the great golden chalice.

Kneeling, my wife and I partook together thrice.
When we had risen from our knees and stood for a little while, the priest took my left hand in his right, and I, by direction of my guide, gave my right hand to my wife.