The Legend of Celine, the White Lady
THE LEGEND OF CELINE, THE WHITE LADY
In French Canada no legend is more tragic than that of Celine,
A beautiful Quebec maiden who, long ago, fell in love with Alain.
He came galloping by on his white horse, a handsome young marine -
They wanted marriage and happily prepared their wedding plan.
They would go to the church in a horse-drawn carriage
They would buy the tidal watermill near their house by the river
Next to Montmorency Falls : a small whitewashed cottage
With garden and daisy flowers; and he would become the miller.
But one day Francois was called to military action in a war terrible-
Every evening, pallid and wan, she searched by the river for her lover in vain.
Her beloved lost his life in battle, and Celine's bridal grief was inconsolable.
“Alain,” she called, convinced in her heart that they would meet again.
After a year Celine could stand her painful loss no more - the searching, the calls.
One ashen moonlit night, in her immaculate pearl-blossom wedding gown
She ran to the river, climbed onto the white horses of the misty Montmorency Falls.
And disappeared into mystery, as the swirling ivory-silver waves swept down.
Calling his name, she slipped into the foamflowers. Her snowy bride’s dress
Was transformed into the falls’ watery cascade, and her long wedding-veil floated away
And became a smaller waterfall nearby, as she swooned in the mist’s caress,
Listening to the soft loving words she heard Alain say.
On moonlit evenings the maiden in white is still seen through the misty cloud
Of shimmering water cascading like daisy petals off the falls in their course:
They say that his name can be heard in the surf and spume of the torrent loud
“Alain, my life-love, wait for me on your white horse. . . . .”
……………………………
NOTE:
This is a well-known legend about the tragic love story of the White Lady of Montmorency
Falls. The waterfalls ( Les Chutes de Montmorency) are located between Quebec City and Ile
d'Orleans, on the St. Lawrence River. These spectacular foamy falls are well worth a
visit. Their height is 50% greater than Niagara; and the nearby ancient city of Quebec is
unique in North America.
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