Read Ebook: Madame Sans-Gêne Tome 3 Le Roi de Rome by Lepelletier Edmond Moreau Mile Sardou Victorien

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Ebook has 344 lines and 13139 words, and 7 pages

Sunday was as fair as the most exacting traveler could wish. The large party scattered during the forenoon, most of them going to church. Randolph and Tom, with the girls, left the hotel early and walked for a mile or more through the streets of the city.

Their walk soon brought them to a lofty granite building with two square towers--the cathedral of Notre Dame.

People were flocking in at the doors, and the young Americans went with them.

It was like entering a great, dimly-lighted cavern. All the walls and pillars and ceiling were glowing with soft, dark crimson and golden colors. The church was crowded with worshipers, not only on the main floor, but in two immense galleries, one above the other. At the further end was the high altar and the figure of the crucified Saviour, beneath which the priests were conducting the service of the Roman Catholic Church. One could just hear their deep voices, mingling with the music of the choir and organ.

In front of the travelers was a swarthy Indian, with long, glossy black hair. Little children knelt on the marble pavement in the midst of the crowd. Members of wealthy French families passed down the aisle to their pews. All around were poor people, many of them following the service with their prayer-books.

Leaving Notre Dame, the Percivals turned their steps to St. George's Church near the hotel, where there was an Episcopal service, and a good sermon by a bluff, hearty Scotchman, one of whose phrases clung to Tom's memory for many a day.

"If you know of anything you ought to do," said the good rector, "don't sit down and think about it, but do ut!"

"'Do ut!'" repeated Tom to himself as he left the church with the rest. "That's a good motto for me, any way. 'Do ut!'"

A quiet drive around Mount Royal--giving them a glorious view of Montreal--filled the afternoon.

As they looked down on the multitude of roofs and steeps, Mr. Percival reminded them that it was the chief city of Canada, with a population about half as large as that of Boston. In 1535 it was a little Indian village called Hochelaga, which was in that year visited by Jacques Cartier. Two hundred and fifty years ago, the French established a trading-post here, and its business has grown, until to-day its docks are lined with warehouses, its river front shows the black hulls of great ocean steamers, and railroads converge from east, west and south.

We will close this first chapter with an extract from Kittie's letter to Susie Martin, written late Monday afternoon.

DEAR SUE:

Bess has written you about our starting away from Boston day before yesterday, and the splendid ride we had, and the showers, and everything. We are getting to like that quiet Mr. Selborne a good deal. His sister is dreadfully afraid of everything, and keeps saying, "O, Ross!" whenever he does anything out of the primmest kind of behavior. I guess we girls shock her awfully; but perhaps she needs electricity treatment; she isn't strong, you know, poor thing.

This afternoon we all went out to Lachine in a queer little train of cars, and then went on board a big steamer for the return trip down the river. Such a scramble for good places! It was really wonderful, dear, going down those rapids. You felt the great ship settle under your feet, and once we headed so straight for a rock in the middle of the river that I said "Ow!" right out loud. The other passengers didn't laugh much, either, and even Tom, poor fellow, really looked white.

Well, we have repacked our trunks which we sha'n't open again until we reach some sort of a queer place called Banff, next Saturday. We go on board our train again at half-past seven. Bess and I are expecting lots of fun in our compartment. I do hope we shall see you in Portland....

Affectionately, KITTIE M. PERCIVAL.

FOREST AND PRAIRIE.

It was a merry party that assembled in the Windsor Station, Monday evening. No sooner had they found their places in the "Kamloops" than out they jumped again, and began promenading up and down the long platform.

"Let's see what the names of the other cars are," said Fred; and Bess, thereupon, called them out, as they walked beside the train: "'Calgary,' 'Nepigon,' 'Toronto,' 'Missanabie.'"

"What do they mean?" inquired Kittie.

"Why, they're names of Alaskan chieftains," replied Randolph.

"'Kamloops' was the old head one, then," added Tom.

But Mr. Houghton, who was everywhere at once, superintending the embarkation, caught the words and explained that the names were those of cities and towns on the line of the Canadian Pacific.

"All aboard!" came the now familiar call, and away went the train, out into the night, bound for the far West.

The Percivals and their neighbors sang for a while, adding several new college songs to their previous r?pertoire, and then the head of the family announced that it was time to retire. The porter, William, had already arranged the drawing-room, and amid a chorus of "Good-nights," Mr. and Mrs. Percival withdrew.

"Now, William," said Randolph, "make up Number Three and Five for the ladies."

"And Four, for the gentlemen," added the irrepressible Tom.

Kittie and Bess soon disappeared behind their curtains, and the rest having followed suit shortly afterward, there was silence--for about three minutes. Then came the sound of a bump, and a delighted chuckle from Tom, in the upper berth.

"Coming right up through, Ran?" the girls heard him ask. "I thought the train was off the track."

"You laugh much more, and I'll get up there, somehow"--

"Boys, boys," came Fred Seacomb's voice. "Don't quarrel."

"Say, Fred" , "lend me your eyeglasses, will you? I've lost my pillow."

At this point Miss Adelaide became fearfully thirsty, and putting her head out between her curtains, timidly called across to her brother to "please get her a drink of water."

The Reverend Rossiter, who was just settling himself for a nap, dressed again, and staggered off down the car, returning with the welcome draught.

"Anybody else want any?" he asked good-naturedly.

Everybody was thirsty, and the clergyman's ministrations with his cups of cold water did not cease until he had made several journeys to the ice tank.

During the night the heavy train rumbled steadily along over two hundred and fifty miles of iron rails, and when Randolph awoke next morning, he found they were at Chalk River, a small town on the frontiers of the great forest wilderness of inner Canada, where a fifteen-minute stop was made.

Breakfast was served in the dining-car. Our friends secured seats close together, and made a jolly meal of it.

"Curious," observed Fred, "to eat a breakfast twenty miles long!"

"That suits me!" laughed Tom, helping himself to griddle cakes.

"But it's so pretty outside that I can't stop to eat," exclaimed Adelaide, with a nice little flush in her cheeks.

She had lived a very quiet, home-keeping life, the girls found. Everything was new and strange and wonderful to her.

"I should say somebody had been pretty careless with their camp-fires," Randolph remarked, as they passed mile after mile of burned timber land, an hour or two later.

Mr. Houghton told them that thousands upon thousands of acres of forest near the railroad had been ruined in this way.

"Why," asked Randolph, "how long has this railroad been built?"

Mr. Houghton thereupon gave them a brief account of the Canadian Pacific, one of the marvels of modern engineering.

"A railway from Canada to the Pacific," he said, "laid all the way on British soil, was long the dream of public-spirited Canadians and Englishmen. On the confederation of the British Provinces in 1867, it became a real necessity."

"I don't see why," put in Tom.

"The Queen must have a means of transporting troops, arms and ammunition from the home stores to the extremities of her dominion. Suppose her Pacific cities, existing and to be built, should be attacked by a foreign power. She can now throw fifty thousand men across the Continent in four days; or in less than a fortnight from Liverpool."

"I should think it must have been a tough job to get through this wilderness," said Randolph, glancing out of the window at the wild district through which they were passing.

"Much of the route lay through unexplored country. All about Lake Superior the engineers found a vast rocky region which opposed them at every step. You'll see for yourselves to-morrow. Beyond Red River for a thousand miles stretched a great plain, known only to the Indian and fur trader; then came the mountains, range after range, in close succession, and all unexplored."

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