night the good Sisters made a grand display of sacred transparencies in
their convent windows--rhymes about the age of Saint Peter and the Pope;
the Virgin rescuing the sinking vessel of the Church; Saint Peter seated
on his emblematic rock, with his present successor at his side; and so
forth--all wondered, gaped at and admired by the people, until the great
spectacle of the evening commenced. As soon as night had fairly set in a
hundred fires blazed upon the mountains--far as the eye could reach, for
miles and many miles, one dazzling gigantic illumination. Papal
monograms, crosses, tiaras shone forth in startling proportions. High
up, far from any human habitation, on the verge of the snow, in
clearings of the mountain forests, on Alpine pastures, these fiery
letters had been patiently traced by toiling men and lads. Anton and
Jacobi were not behind-hand, and by means of two hundred little bonfires
had devised the papal initials on the upland common behind the house.
The illumination, however, had not begun to reach its full splendor when
one quick flash of lightning succeeded another, followed by a rolling
artillery of thunder, the precursors of heavy down-pouring rain. In five
minutes the storm had extinguished every bright emblem, and plunged the
illuminated mountains into impenetrable blackness. The weather, grimly
triumphant, drove lads and lasses drenched to their homes. So ended the
festival, but in the morning, in dry clothes, every one had the pleasure
of imagining how beautiful the spectacle would have been but for the
rain.

MARGARET HOWITT.

[TO BE CONTINUED.]

WILMINGTON AND ITS INDUSTRIES.

CONCLUDING PAPER.

[Illustration: OLD SWEDES' CHURCH.]

We have pointed out the metropolis of Delaware as being a distinctly
Northern city, planted in the distinct South. Among other things, this
complication has led to some singularities in its settlement. As a
community regulated by the most liberal traditions of Penn, but placed
under the legal conditions of a slave State, it has held a position
perfectly anomalous. No other spot could be indicated where the
contrasts of North and South came to so sharp an edge; and there are few
where a skilled pen could set down so many curiosities of folk-lore and
confusions of race. The Dutch, the Swedes and the English Quakers formed
the substratum, upon which were poured the _emigres_ of the French
Revolution and the fugitives from Santo Domingo. The latter