The constitutional union., 1861-02-22
THE HISTORY OF THE SHA WL.

-NOIu Dy OHS WHO KNOWS now 10 wear It. most graceful of feminine wrappers, was un. known in the realm of fashion when the grand-mothers of the present generation moved therein. It is true that the negotiators sent by Hippo Saib to the French Govern ment when he was meditating that onslaught on the English which ended in his discomit- ure and death, left behind them few cash mere shawls, as parting gifts to their Parisian acquaintances; but they were regarded as mere customary curiosties, and put not in their right use, but made to do duty as dress. ing-gowns and dcarpets. The ladies are indebted to the Emperor Bonaparte for the beautiful addition to their toilet. His famous Egyp- tian expedition was the means of introducing the Indian loom into European society. No sooner had the shawl been adopted by Madame Emile Gaudin, the reigning Parisian beauty, than it became the rage. Two and and three thousand francs were cheerfully paid for second hand cashmeres, that had seen service as turbans on the heads of the Mogul soldiery, girded the supple waist of Bayaderes, or robed the person of pagan priests; but the excellence of the fabric, and the durability of the dyes, allowed them to be cleaned with impunity. However, as soon as the shawl was fairly established in popularity, the Leyant traders took care there should be no lack of new ones, and large trade was soon opened with India.
 The shawl manufacture is supposed to have originated in the valley of Cashmere, but at what date IS unknown; but ever since the first British factories were established in India, Cashmere shawls have constituted one of the most valuable branches of commerce. In the time of the Mogul empire, thirty thousand looms were kept busily occupied in Cashmere under the Affghans, the number fell to eight cen thousand, and at the present time six thousand looms are adequate to support the demand for those beautiful products.
 The material used in this important 1nanu- facture is the wool of the common goat ( Co., preahircuS,) reared at an elevation of fourteen thousand feet above the level of the sea, the cold, dry table land being the only habitant in which the goat yields the soft wool required. Each goat yields annually about two pounds of woolly hair, of which is kemp or coarse hair, used for counterpanes or carpets, the remainder being beautiful rich and soft down, which, after being carefully separated, from the kemp, fiber by fber Gan operation of such delicacy than one man or woman IS occupied twelve hours in preparing one ounce of wool, is washed in rice starch, and sold at the rate of three rupees weight for one rupee. There are two colorS-one, ashy gray, which Is usually woven in its natural line; the oth- CT, white, which, of course, is easily dyed-a process jealously guarded by the Hindoos, who desire to keep to themselves the secret of the harmonious hues which have bafied all imitators. There have long been established in Delhi and Lahore, shawl manutactories under the direction of Cashmerians, but they have not succeeded in equaling the produc- tion at headquarters, especially i'll the hneness of the fabric, which the natives attribute to u1IU qtsoIfUy ---l----;4b which +bn vaIua of Cashmere is irrigated.
 The gold and silver thread, used in the embroidery, is chiefly made at Borhampoor in the Deccan A piece, purest ore, is beaten into cylindrical form about the circumfer- ence of a thick reed; this is again beaten out in length till it will pass through hole one- eighth of an inch in diameter; 1t is then drawn through gradually diminishing orifces, till 1t Is reduced to the thickness of bobbin- thread, and then wound on ree.s working on pivots, the ends being passed through still finer holes, and affixed to a large reel, which, being set in rapid motion, attenuates the threads still more. The next process is to fatten it on steel anvil, and by an ingeni- ous process, cover silk thread with the beaten out metal, which thus forms wire that will not tarnish. It Is said that if lump of silver glded before drawn into wire, 1t will undergo the hammering, winding and draw ing out and yet retain its gliding intact. The Indian looms are of the rudest and most primitive description, the warp being supplied by two sticks, and the wool entirely worked in by hand-a slow and tedious pro- cess, but one that admits of an exactness and neatness of finish setting the rivalry of ma chinery at defiance The weaver's wages are from three to four cents day--a wages to make one wonder at the value set upon Cash mere shawls, if we did not remember that as many as thirty, or even forty men will expend | two years labor upon single shawl, and that before 1t reaches the purchaser, its price has been augmented fifty per cent. by taxation i The borders are made in several pieces, some 1 times as many as twenty, and afterwards sewn together, so as to form the pattern. Every stitch being worked by hand, is distinct in itself, and may be pulled out without disturb ing the remainder-an infallable test of the genuine Indian production.
 | Shawls are made of various textures sizes, and forms, adapted to the several markets, the softest and most delicate being saved for export to Turkey, They are commonly made in two sizes, long and square, the frst-named measuring one hundred and twenty-six inches by forty-tour; the latter being from sixty
 three to seventy-two inches square. From Cashmere alone there is exported annually an average value of 1,800000 rupees. Of late years, the patterns have become more intri- cate and richer than ever. China crape shawls are made entirely of silk, the ground or foundation being manufactured at Nankin, and then forwarded to Canton to have the pattern embroidered This Is done by two needlemen working together; one presses the silk downward, while the other from be- low passes it up, third workman changing the silk for them when necessary but how the fastening on and off Is performed, is a trade mystery yet preserved by the Chinese.
 ANOTHER "WHAT IS IT 2" - Captain King, commander of merchant vessel trad ing between the Sandwich Islands and Japan,