The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1873-09-02
Something about Lace.

hand 1t is not only true that 1t Is So.
but that for obvious reasons it must al
ways continue inferior. In lace.maklng
it is essential that the ends of the threads
be loose Now, until machine has been
devised which will pick up these loose
ends as a Devonshro lace-maker or a
Belgian nun does, it is useless to expect
from the automatic machine the soitncss
and elasticity, the evenness OF thread or
grace of pattern, which come from in
telligent fingers. | do not desire to snub
the machinc.made gimps and fringes that
give a style to English aud American
ladies dresses, which the traveller misses
so much as he proceeds through Europe
toward the East; but they are not lace.
There are but four real classes of lace,
although the specialtes Of different coun-
tries are innumerable. Point pillow,
drawn and applique are the generic kinds
of lace proper, and the name OF each to
woman's understanding, designates how
it is made. Point.laco, indeed, meaning
lace made by the needles point is untrue
to its name, since it is partly piiow-twist-
ed but pillow lace, drawn lace. and
applique lace are what their names indi-
cate.
OF drawn lace and applique lace no
description il needed. or pillow lace
the usual method Of work is thus : Upon
the pillow, which is nearly gobuar, a
piece Of stiff parchment is stretched, hav'
ing a number of holes forming the pattern
Through these holes pins are stuck, and
threads wound upon bobbins are woven
around the pins and twisted in complex
ways around each other. These thread:
now form the skeleton. The mcshes are
bound together At every two or three
turns of the thread it is twisted around
its own cord and then again around it,
neighbors' cords. The figure Of the
meshes depends upon the number Of turns
made before the twist is changed from
one cord to another. II is a most tedi
Gus process. Attention cannot be divert
ed. Thought must be upon the work
Memory is severely taxed. The mistake
of single twist becomes fatal to the
whole piece.
There are certain peculiar conditions
necessary to the production ofperfect lace
These are, first, the quality of thread
second, the abundance Of female labor
and third, the Roman Catholic religion
Belgium, better than all other European
countries, possesses the three. Her threaC
has not, and never had a rival; her peas
ant girls, redcheeked pictures Of perfect
health, arc proverbially industrious; ant
her upper and lower classes are Catholic
devotees In the vestries of the ole
churches Of Flemish land there is wealth
Of lace Upon sacerdotal vestmtnts that il
beyond estimate. 1t has been collecting
ever siDce Isabela's days, was wrough
as a labor Of love by nuns and other holy
ladies, and appears upon the gorgcou
apparel Of ecclesiastical dignitaries OF
great days Of the church But in al
the world there is no such collection o
every description Of lace as at the Vati
can. From France and England. iron
Spain. Portugal, Austria and Italy. poin
d'Espague and point Alencon, Valen
ciennes and Hamilton. Brussels, Genoese
Argentan and one knows not what. nav
been coming as gus 10 tne cnurch thes
500 years. There are II large room
used exclusively as wardrobes for lace
in the papal palace.
Though great deal Of old lace ha
come down in families and in ecclesiasti
cal establishments, aud though lace, Il
an hcir-loom, is guarded as watchiully a
diamonds, no doubt much has been lost
1t has been the fashion at times, i
different parts of the world, to bury tn
dead of distinguished families in thci
lace. This was particularly the case u
Corfu. To this day, there are to b
found in shops these specimens of antiqu
lace of elegant workmanship, conspicuou
for darkness of color and sepulchri
smell.
Honiton lace, made only in Dcvo'
! shire, England, has never been iavorit
, in the United States. Two handkerchief
contributed by an American gentlema
visiting in London to the New York san
l tary in 1868, could scarcely be dispose
of at cost. About the middle of the la
. century this lace was made in such pc
: fection that it rlvaled Brussels But Il
e lace.makers introduced set Of hideo
patterns "Out Of their own heads" the
y said, patterns Of boars' heads and pc
c cocks tails; Of kettles and frying pam
(; Of churches and castles. Leaves al
a flowers, graceful compositions Of the o
school, were abandoned, and the end W
: an utter depression of the trade. To I
r vive the best days of Honiton once agai
Queen Victoria ordered her wedding Lac
composed Of sprigs,to be made in Devo
n shire, and paid for it Gl000 The brij
= dress of each of her married daughtt
has been made also Of llonitou point, t
10 } atterns being the national fioNris. III
t encouragement, together with the II,
d business of restoring old lace, has on
again set Devonshire industry on its le,
OF the value of old laces it is impos
c. bic to speak with accuracy. The be
to furniture, made Of point d'Alancon
the Empress Maria Louise, cost Napole
First 100000 francs The founce viii
Eugene wore at her wedding which h
v taken 36 women Is months to compile
IS, cost $4,000 francs. The emperor ga
US her dress also for which he paid 7
on 600 francs. In the exhibition of Is
r was a dress Of this lace which it had
I'd ken 40 women seven years to compile
nd and which was valued at $4,000 f au
IS, There is Brussels lace stole, worn OF
VS. by the archbishop in the Maines' cat
he dral that is said to be the largest q
S; finest specimen in the world. 1t cost
IT. labor of 73 nuns ii ears. What II
d. be the worth OF that stole p asked Ia
,le who bad been admiring its marvel'
he beauty. In money, madame, do J
M mean p asked the veger, in reply. Y
to monsieur The church. madame S
zee the veger, 'reekons tho value Of the g