But no one with a love for the picturesque can close an eye to the fairy-like beauty of Minnehaha, as it pours over a crescent brink in a sheet of gauze, so thin that the wall behind loses little of its distinctness, and the rocks upon which the water breaks are refreshed like the head of a babe at its christening. A lace curtain is not more delicate, and thistle-down is scarcely more dainty, as the illustration shows. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Illustration: FALLS OF ST. ANTHONY.—The principal historical interest attaching to the Falls of St. Anthony is the fact that they were discovered by the famous priest-explorer, Father Hennepin, in 1680. They no longer present the furious aspect that originally characterized them, for the turbulent waters that once dashed over the precipice with a roar that made the earth tremble have been harnessed and made a part of the requirements of modern invention, until they now glide smoothly down sloping tables to the bed of the river below. The channel has also been cut and buttressed until the banks no longer present the features of scenic interest which a score of years ago they possessed. ] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Illustration: THE FAIRIES’ RETREAT, Dells of the Wisconsin.] The eroding fingers of percolating waters have worn the soft rock behind the fall, until a shelf is formed that extends three or four feet beyond the face of the wall. Visitors may therefore pass under this shelf and look outward through the transparent liquid sheet as it pours in a broad but tenuous stream, not unlike valencienne drapery gently agitated. A pathway leads from the falls down a gracefully embowered ravine to spots so temptingly secluded that maidens never wander there that love does not follow; and so many darts have been hurled at wooing swains in this romantic dell that I am almost persuaded to believe that it was not Hiawatha, but Cupid, who came here to get his arrows. [Illustration: WITCHES’ GULCH, Dells of the Wisconsin.] But if Minnehaha is beautiful in spring-time, it is sublime when folded in the crystal arms of winter, a frozen cascade of puffs and snow-balls, hibernating after its season of sporting, awaiting the return of bird, flower and lover. Not far away are lakes of various sizes, like Minnetonka and Great Bear, to which thousands resort when sultry winds blow and the blazing sun of summer-time drives sweltering humanity to such cool retreats. But the beauties of this northern region are not exhausted by lake and waterfall, which though charming, cannot compete for interest with some of the natural marvels that exist in the neighbor State of Wisconsin. [Illustration: WHIRLPOOL CHAMBER, Dells of the Wisconsin.]