and the parade had to
be abandoned, and the people instructed to assemble at the exposition
building at their own convenience, _which they also did_, in such great
numbers that before the hour of opening the exercises every seat and
standing place in the great auditorium were occupied. Many came from
distant towns, cities and states; a special train brought nearly one
thousand from St. Paul, with marshals, music and banners; the general
council of the Lutheran Church, then assembled in Minneapolis, came in a
body and occupied seats on the platform to the right of Cappa's Seventh
New York Regiment Band, while the Swedish chorus of one hundred and
fifty voices, under Prof. Norman, occupied the platform to the left.

The platforms were decorated with numerous society banners, and the
colors of Sweden were seen everywhere. The lofty pillars reaching to the
roof were wrapped in alternate stripes of blue and yellow, the national
colors of Sweden, and side by side and uppermost were the stars and
stripes. A large picture of the old Swedes Church in Wilmington,
Delaware, built in 1698, was hung in front of the speakers' platform,
and attracted general attention.

As chairman of the committee of arrangements I had the honor to act as
presiding officer of the day. The government of Sweden was represented
by Consul Sahlgaard, with other distinguished guests, and the historical
society of Delaware by Maj. Geo. Q. White. As near as can be estimated
there were fully fifteen thousand people present, and the interest
manifested by that vast audience can best be understood from the fact
that thousands stood upon their feet during the whole proceedings, which
lasted three hours.

[Illustration: OLD SWEDES CHURCH AT WILMINGTON.]

The festivities commenced at two o'clock in the afternoon with a musical
selection by Cappa's band, at the close of which the audience was
welcomed by myself in the following words:

"The discovery of America was the greatest event which had taken place
from the days of Christ till it was made, but the settlement of
America by the right kind of people was, in its beneficial effects
upon the human race, a matter of still greater importance. It seems
like an order of Divine Providence that this new world was left in its
natural or savage state during all the dark centuries of schooling and
experiments in Asia, Africa and Europe, in order that it might remain
a virgin soil for the higher civili