Suddenly, like a voice from the spirit world, the faint chime of the
bells of Charlebourg floated on the evening breeze: it was the
Angelus, calling men to prayer and rest from their daily labor.
Sweetly the soft reverberation floated through the forests, up the
hill-sides, by plain and river, entering the open lattices of
Chateau and cottage, summoning rich and poor alike to their duty of
prayer and praise. It reminded men of the redemption of the world
by the divine miracle of the incarnation announced by Gabriel, the
angel of God, to the ear of Mary blessed among women.
The soft bells rang on. Men blessed them, and ceased from their
toils in field and forest. Mothers knelt by the cradle, and uttered
the sacred words with emotions such as only mothers feel. Children
knelt by their mothers, and learned the story of God's pity in
appearing upon earth as a little child, to save mankind from their
sins. The dark Huron setting his snares in the forest and the
fishers on the shady stream stood still. The voyageur sweeping his
canoe over the broad river suspended his oar as the solemn sound
reached him, and he repeated the angel's words and went on his way
with renewed strength.
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