Sitting there in the golden sunshine, the blue sky above him, the
blue waters below,--friends whom he loved around him, mirth in every
eye, gaiety on every tongue,--how could Le Gardeur but smile as the
music of the boatmen brought back a hundred sweet associations?
Nay, he laughed, and to the inexpressible delight of Amelie and
Pierre, who watched every change in his demeanor, united in the
chorus of the glorious boat-song.
A few hours of this pleasant voyaging brought the little fleet of
canoes under the high bank, which from its summit slopes away in a
wide domain of forests, park, and cultivated fields, in the midst of
which stood the high-pointed and many-gabled Manor House of Tilly.
Upon a promontory--as if placed there for both a land and sea mark,
to save souls as well as bodies--rose the belfry of the Chapel of
St. Michael, overlooking a cluster of white, old-fashioned cottages,
which formed the village of St. Michael de Tilly.
Upon the sandy beach a crowd of women, children, and old men had
gathered, who were cheering and clapping their hands at the
unexpected return of the lady of the Manor with all their friends
and relatives.
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