Occasionally he stirs and a faint spark of life
seems to struggle in his sunken eyes. His lips move feebly. You
bend over to catch his dying words. "Have--you--got --the ring?"
he whispers. "Yes," you reply. "Everything's fine. You look
great, too, old man." The sound of the organ reaches your ears.
The groom groans. "Have you got the ring?" he says.
Meanwhile the ushers have been performing their duty of showing
the invited guests to the various pews. A correctly trained usher
will always have ready some cheery word or sprightly bit of
conversation to make the guests feel perfectly at home as he
conducts them to their seats. "It's a nice day, isn't it?" is
suggested as a perfectly safe and yet not too unusual topic of
conversation. This can be varied by remarking, "Isn't it a nice
day?" or in some cases, where you do not wish to appear too
forward, "Is it a nice day, or isn't it?" An usher should also
remember that although he has on a cutaway, he is neither a
floor-walker nor a bond salesman, and remarks such as "Something
in a dotted Swiss?" or "Third aisle over--second pew--next the
ribbon goods," are decidedly non au fait.
The first two pews on each side of the center aisle are always
reserved for members of the immediate family, but it is a firmly
established custom that the ushers shall seat in these "family
pews" at least three people with whom the family are barely on
speaking terms.
Pages:
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53