n unequal yoking,
which, if man will not sunder, God will at last, where there is neither
marriage nor giving in marriage, but all are as his angels.

The day appointed for the long-planned excursion to the beautiful Lake
of Tilly came round. A numerous and cheerful water-party left the Manor
House in the bright, cool morning to spend the day gipsying in the
shady woods and quiet recesses of the little lake. They were all there:
Amelie's invitation to her young friends far and near had been eagerly
accepted. Half a dozen boats and canoes, filled with light-hearted
companions and with ample provisions for the day, shot up the narrow
river, and after a rapid and merry voyage, disembarked their passengers
and were drawn up on the shores and islands of the lake.

That bright morning was followed by a sunny day of blue skies, warm yet
breezy. The old oaks wove a carpet of shadows, changing the pattern
of its tissue every hour upon the leaf-strewn floor of the forest.
The fresh pines shed their resinous perfume on every side in the still
shade, but out in the sunshine the birds sang merrily all day.

The groups of merrymakers spent a glorious day of pleasure by the side
of the clear, smooth lake, fishing and junketing on shore, or paddling
their birch canoes over its waters among the little islands which dotted
its surface.

Day was fast fading away into a soft twilight; the shadows which had
been drawing out longer and longer as the sun declined, lay now in all
their length, like bands stretched over the greensward. The breeze went
down with the sun, and the smooth surface of the lake lay like a sheet
of molten gold reflecting the parting glories of the day that still lit
up the western sky.

A few stars began to twinkle here and there--they were not destined to
shine brilliantly to-night, for they would ere long be eclipsed by
the splendor of the full moon, which was just at hand, rising in a
hemisphere of light, which stood like a royal pavilion on the eastern
horizon. From it in a few minutes would emerge the queen of heaven, and
mildly replace the vanishing glory of the day.

The company, after a repast under the trees, rose full of life and
merriment and rearranged themselves into little groups and couples as
chance or inclination led them. They trooped down to the beach to embark
in their canoes for a last joyous cruise round the lake and its fairy
islands, by moonlight, before returning home.

Amid a shower of