The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1869-11-06
Pins.

LII tue luOrn, nature mas PROVIDED man with
| the pattern and the first idea of the pin. When
Adam and Eve, after. their fall, but before their
expulsion from Eden, made themselves aprons
of fig-trees they doubtless used the thorn in the
construction of their first garments. In the days
OF innocence thers was no use for pins; and it
was probably this fact which caused Byron to
describe Juan, when metamorphosed into Juana,
he or she is unrobing in the seraglio, as
| ".PrcKng her fingers with those cursed pins,
as fa ssr SSn MsIi like sayspssa iS our SINS
| Not to be rashly touched.
The pins thus mathematical by the poet are,
| however, comparatively modern invention. In
! all tho records which we have of mans past his
tory, We find evidence that articles for fastening
clothes always existed, but very unlike the pres
ent In the museums which have been formed
out OF the ruins Of Herculaneum and Pompeii,
not Uricdnihm in England, we find skewers of
fbdne Oh braes; ofeitveS Of gold, which were used
for this purpose La the representations of the
| life of the people found in the Egyptian hero
| glyphics we discern the lusans which they EN-.
ployed for like necessary purpose; but nowhere
did we meet with modern pin. In Struts
illustrations we find ribbons loop-holes, laces
with points and tags, clasps, hooks and eyes, of
every form, size aud yariety-of use, and often
turned to very extraordinary and surprising &C.
count in completing the toilette of the ancient
belle and iadornement of the ancient beau The
modern pin would have been of little use in sus-
tanning that towering head.dress in fastening
that wonderful cloak, in keeping up these curl
ously slashed tunics, or in retaining the stiff
| uprightness Of that extraordinary ruff After
pins into use these eccentrcities of costume
and fashion were destined to give place to other
fashions, in which, perhaps, the modern pin has
played tricks 40 fantastic as its many substitutes
| in the ol1en time. -. E,. ,aIi .
| History. tells US that iron-wire pins were first
| introduced into England in the year 14G0. The
| finer examples Of brass manufacture required a
| queen to procure them. They were brought from
| France by the beautiful Catharine Howard, one
Of the wives whom the great Henry WILL" be-
| headed But though introduced by queen, and
doubtless at first an article exclusively applied to
aristocratio uses, they soon became a measure of
value for things not valued at all. mot worth
a pin is proverb which we find in use soon
after their introduction. Thomas Tusser, who
| wrote about 1850, writing of not very reputa-
bic character, says: sii sa.
| His fetch Is to Fatter, to get what he can
| His purpose once gotten, apin for thee then"
And Shakespeare makes Hamlet show his utter
indifference to live by saying:
lido not set my life at pins fee.'
At the present tille millions of these useful
| articles are wasted in Il year.
We find Plus first mentioned as an article of
commerce i'll u statute of 14S4. From law pass
ed IN the reign of Henry Will, we meet with
some specific description Of the kind of pins made
at least Jf'whnt they ought to have been. For
instance If is declared to be the Legislature that
'no person should put to sale any pins, but only
such as shall be double-headed, and have the
heads soldered fast to the shanks of the pins,
well sh"pen, the points well and round filed,
canted and sharpsned" A pin possessing these
Qualities would not be a bad pin even now
! RU,Ul .1Hericdn.