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A Little Girl in Old Quebec By: Amanda Minnie Douglas (1831-1916) |
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By AMANDA M. DOUGLAS
A. L. BURT COMPANY
PUBLISHERS NEW YORK Copyright, 1906
BY DODD, MEAD & COMPANY
CONTENTS
I. A WILD ROSE II. THE JOY OF FRIENDSHIP III. SUMMER TIME IV. A HUSBAND V. CHANGING ABOUT VI. FINDING AMUSEMENTS VII. JOURNEYING TO A FAR COUNTRY VIII. WHAT ROSE DID NOT LIKE IX. ABOUT MARRIAGES X. MILADI AND M. DESTOURNIER XI. A FEAST OF SUMMER XII. A LOVER IN EARNEST XIII. FROM A GIRL'S HEART XIV. A WAY OVER THORNS XV. HELD IN AN ENEMY'S GRASP XVI. A LOVER OF THE WILDERNESS XVII. THE PASSING OF OLD QUEBEC
A LITTLE GIRL IN OLD QUEBEC
CHAPTER I A WILD ROSE
Ralph Destournier went gayly along, whistling a merry French song that
was nearly all chorus, climbing, slipping, springing, wondering in his
heart as many a man did then what had induced Samuel de Champlain to
dream out a city on this craggy, rocky spot. Yet its wildness had an
impressive grandeur. Above the island of Orleans the channel narrowed,
and there were the lovely green heights of what was to be Point Levis,
more attractive, he thought, than these frowning cliffs. The angle
between the St. Charles and St. Lawrence gave an impregnable site for a
fortress, and Champlain was a born soldier with a quick eye to seize on
the possibility of defence. On the space between the cliffs and the water a few wooden buildings,
rough hewn, marked the site of the lower town. A wall had been erected,
finished with a gallery, loopholed for musketry, and within this were
the beginnings of a town that was to be famous for heroic deeds, for men
of high courage, for quaintness that perpetuates old stories which are
perfect romances yet to day after the lapse of three centuries. There was a storehouse quite well fortified, there was a courtyard with
some fine walnut trees, and a few gardens stretching out with pleasant
greenery, while doves were flying about in wide circles, a reminder of
home. Ralph Destournier had a spirit of adventure and Champlain was a
great hero to him. Coming partly of Huguenot stock he had fewer chances
at home, and he believed there was more liberty in the new world, a
better outlook for a restless, eager mind. He went on climbing over the sun baked cliffs, while here and there in a
depression where rain could linger there were patches of verdure, trees
that somehow maintained a footing. How unlike the level old seaport town
where he had passed a good part of his youth, considered his
grandfather's heir, when in the turn of fortune's wheel the sturdy old
Huguenot had been killed in battle and his estates confiscated. Something stirred up above him, not any small animal either. It crackled
the bushes and moved about with a certain agility. Could it be a deer?
He raised his gun. Then a burst of song held him in amaze. It was not a bird, though it
seemed to mock several of them. There were no especial words or rhymes,
but the music thrilled him. He strode upward. Out of a leafy bower
peered a face, child or woman, he could not tell at first, a crown of
light, loose curling hair and two dark, soft merry eyes, a cherry red
mouth and dimpled chin. "Hello! How did you get up there?" he asked in his astonishment. Indians
sometimes lurked about. "I climbed. You did not suppose I flew?" The tone was merry rather than saucy, and taking a few steps nearer, he
saw she was quite a child. But she wore no cap and she shook the
wind blown hair aside with a dainty gesture. There was a fearlessness
about her that charmed him. "And you live here?" "Not here in the woods no. But down in the town. Down there by the
garden, M'sieu Hébert and the General. And Maman has one. But I hate
working in it. So I ran away. Do you know what will happen to me when I
go back?" "No, what?" with a sense of amusement. "Perhaps you will get no supper!" "I shall be whipped... Continue reading book >>
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Genres for this book |
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Fiction |
History |
Teen/Young adult |
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