*** All these mirrors and lusters, according to Mr. Watson, the annalist, were borrowed from the citizens, and were all sent hack with the ornaments on. Mr. Watson derived much information on these points from Mrs. L, the "queen of the Mischianza." The shell and flaming heart on the wings sent forth Chinese fountains, succeeded by fire-pots. Fame appeared at top, spangled with stars, and from her trumpet blowing the following device in letters of light: Les Lauriers sont immortels. A sauteur of rockets, bursting from the pediment, concluded the feu d'artifice... "At twelve supper was announced, and large folding-doors, hitherto artfully concealed, being suddenly thrown open, discovered a magnificent saloon of two hundred and ten feet by forty, and twenty-two feet in height, with three alcoves on each side, which served for side-boards. The ceiling was the segment of a circle, and the sides were painted of a light straw color, with vine leaves and festoons of flowers, some in a bright, some in a darkish green. Fifty-six large pier-glasses, ornamented with green silk artificial flowers and ribbons; one hundred branches, with three lights in each, trimmed in the same manner as the mirrors; eighteen lusters, each with twenty-four lights, suspended from the ceiling, and ornamented as the branches; three hundred wax tapers, disposed along the supper-tables; four hundred and thirty covers; twelve hundred dishes; twenty-four black slaves in Oriental dresses, with silver collars and bracelets, ranged in two lines, and bending to the ground as the general and admiral approached the saloon; all these, forming together the most brilliant assemblage of gay objects, and appearing at once as we entered by an easy descent, exhibited a coup d'oil beyond description magnificent. ** "Toward the end of supper, the herald of the Blended Rose, in his habit of ceremony, attended by his trumpets, entered the saloon, and proclaimed the king's health, the queen, and the royal family; the army and navy, with their respective commanders; the knights and their ladies; the ladies in general. Each of these toasts was followed by a flourish of music. After supper we returned to the ball-room, and continued to dance till four o'clock. ** "Such, my friend, is the description, though a very faint one, of the most splendid entertainment, I believe, ever given by an army to their general. But what must be more grateful to Sir William Howe is the spirit and motive from which it was given. He goes from this to-morrow; but as I understand, he means to stay a day or two with his brother on board the Eagle, at Billingsport. I shall not seal this letter till I see him depart from Philadelphia [[[Major Andrè's Description of the Mischianza.]]] {304}The _Wharton Mansion-house_, [Illustration: 9314] with its beautiful lawns and noble trees, the scene of the wicked folly of the enemies of freedom in the midst of a suffering people, has long since dis-