PONTA DELGADA  , the

capital of an administrative district, comprising the islands of St Michael's and St Mary in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores . Pop . (1900), 17,620 . Ponta Delgada is built on the south coast of St Michael's, in 370 40' N. and 25° 36' W . Its mild climate, and the fine scenery of its mountain background, render it very attractive to visitors; it is the commercial centre, and the most populous city of the archipelago . Besides the cathedral, it contains several interesting churches and monasteries, and an observatory . Formerly its natural inner harbour only admitted vessels of light draught, while larger ships were compelled• to anchor in an open road-stead, which was inaccessible during the prevalence of southerly gales . But great improvements were effected after 186o by the construction of a breakwater 2800 ft. long . PONT-A-MOUSSON, a town of northern France in the department of Meurthe-et-Moselle, 17 M . N.N.W. of Nancy by rail . Pop . (1906), 12,282 .

The Moselle, which is canalized, divides the town into two quarters,

united by a bridge of the late 16th century . The church of St Martin, dating from the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries, has a handsome facade with two towers, and in the interior a choir screen and Holy Sepulchre of the 15th century . The lower ecclesiastical seminary occupies the building of an old Premonstratensian convent . There are several interesting old houses . The town has a communal college and engineering workshops, blast furnaces, and manufactures of lacquered ware, paper, cardboard, cables and iron-ware . Dating from the 9th or loth century, Pont-a-Mousson constituted a lordship, which was made a marquisate in 1354 . It was from 1572 to 1763 the seat of a well-known university .