G.

"V'la l'bon vent!
V'la l'joli vent!
V'la l'bon vent!
Ma mie m'appelle!
V'la l'bon vent!
V'la l'joli vent!
V'la l'bon vent!
Ma mie m'attend!"

The gay chorus of the voyageurs made the shores ring, as they kept
time with their oars, while the silver spray dripped like a shower of
diamonds in the bright sunshine at every stroke of their rapid paddles.
The graceful bark canoes, things of beauty and almost of life, leaped
joyously over the blue waters of the St. Lawrence as they bore the
family of the Lady de Tilly and Pierre Philibert with a train of
censitaires back to the old Manor House.

The broad river was flooded with sunshine as it rolled majestically
between the high banks crowned with green fields and woods in full leaf
of summer. Frequent cottages and villages were visible along the shores,
and now and then a little church with its bright spire or belfry marked
the successive parishes on either hand.

The tide had already forced its way two hundred leagues up from the
ocean, and still pressed irresistibly onward, surging and wrestling
against the weight of the descending stream.

The wind too was favorable. A number of yachts and bateaux spread their
snowy sails to ascend the river with the tide. They were for the most
part laden with munitions of war for the Richelieu on their way to the
military posts on Lake Champlain, or merchandise for Montreal to be
reladen in fleets of canoes for the trading posts up the river of the
Ottawas, the Great Lakes, or, mayhap, to supply the new and far-off
settlements on the Belle Riviere and the Illinois.

The line of canoes swept past the sailing vessels with a cheer. The
light-hearted crews exchanged salutations and bandied jests with each
other, laughing immoderately at the well-worn jokes current upon the
river among the rough voyageurs. A good voyage! a clear run! short
portages and long rests! Some inquired whether their friends had
paid for the bear and buffalo skins they were going to buy, or they
complimented each other on their nice heads of hair, which it was hoped
they would not leave behind as keepsakes with the Iroquois squaws.

The boat-songs of the Canadian voyageurs are unique in character, and
very pleasing when sung by a crew of broad-chested fellows dashing their
light birch-bark canoes over the waters rough or smooth, taking them, as
they take fortune, cheerfully,--sometimes skimming like wil