Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1876-03-15
eomething About Point Lace.

Biackacood's Magazine thus talks pref
tily concerning Venetian point-lace: II
was made to last forever, and for centu-
ries some of it has lasted nor does there
seem any reason why a piece of we'll
wrought geOmetricial lace, or of that
wonderful point de Venise en- relief, OF
which a gondola might be made, SO
strong is it with its tiers upon tiers OF
stitches and its ribs of massive outline
I like the beams of q ship, should not Last
forever. The lighter kinds of point de
| Venise, however, might have been
wrought by Venus herself, that Aphro-
dite who came out of the sea, and per-
haps brought them with her, for aught
we can tell, with all their tangled re-
collections of sea-weed and shells, and
the feathery growths that lie down un-
der the waves. After the somewhat icy
regularity of the geometrical patterns,
there is a whole sea-story in the Vene-
tian designs. Mrs. BURY Palliser tells
a pretty legend of how young Usher
man on the lagunes brought to his be-
trothed, as she sat working her punt, on
the marble steps of some landing-place,
bit of the delicate white sea-weed
called Merradid's ldee, and how she won
dered and puzzled over it, and at last
shaped it into her work, and made its
tangses the foundation of new devel-
opment. The story deserves to be true,
as the examples given in Mrs. Palliser's IS
instructive and popular book will show
the reader, supposing him (or her) to
have no more precious specimen at
hand. NJ. Seguin's illustrations are
much larger, and, of course. for that
very reason, more satisfactory; but M.
Sequin's book is perhaps too luxurious
and costly TO be accessible. and the
smallest pictures represent with perfect
clearness the lovely tangle Of curved
and clinging lines, laden with indescri-
bable buildings-half flower, half leaf
| let, half water bubble-with small star
ry specks thrown in between, and irreg-
u,ar lines OF connection, all fretted with
( little spines and pricks like those which
the children offer you on the blazing
edge Of the Lido, salt from the Adriat-
ic. There could not be better illus
tration of the possibilities OF realistic de-
corative work. Sea-weed and shells
dabbed down with blank flatness of inn
itation would constitute ornament Of a
very primitive and unrefined class but
look into the delicate tracery of the f.
nest point de Venise-dream-face too ex-
quisite, one would think, TO be worked
by any but fairy fingers-and you will
find it all there, the blobs of the sea-
weed, the star-fish at the bottom, the
spines and curves of the shells. Even
that little honor of sea-horse (what is
its name p which We picked up that
scorching fiery day when the blue roll
of the wave Tapped over the thirsty
sands, apparently on higher level than
they-even that riny grOtesque monster
CLEANS at us out of the delicate cOnfu-
sion. 1t seems almost matter of TACT TO
say that the stiff patterns of the earlier
art have suffered sea-change into
something rich and strange" The hea-
vier point de Venise-that which Is in
relief, aud which, with crOchet-stitches
and thick cotton, young ladies not long
ago took to copying, is almost more salt
water than We like. Nothing more
boldly decorative, more splendid in line
and mass could well be. But it is not
so much the lovely rarities of the sea-
bottom that it suggests to US, but odd
monsters with dull big eyes and mighty
I limbs. Visions of the octopus come be-
fore our started vision. Forgive us, gal
liant NJ. Seguin, gentle Mrs. Palliser,
and all We knights and ladies who are
amateurs and connOisseurs! but it is
true. Even the delight of possessing II
would scarcely make up for the night
mare horror of being devOured by ones
own collar! We admire, but shudder
at the suggestive monsters