The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1885-03-21

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Joined him. Only by degrees did he real
ize where he was, and that his good grand
midder and Bena had brought him back to
themselves, when none other had dreamt
that he had escaped the fate of his father
and grandfather before him.
History of Gloves.
Gloves do not appear to have been worn
in England before the end of the tenth or
beginning of the eleventh century, and the
manufacture would appear at that time
specially German, as five pairs of gloves
made considerable part of the duty paid
to the English sovereign, Ethelred II.
(979-1016,) by society of German mer-
chants, for protection of their trade in that
country, proof of their great rarity.
Their previous absence is easily accounted
for by the fact that the long sleeves of the
gowns supplied their place by being brought
over the hand, and the cloak or mantle was
made to answer the same purpose 1t is
remarkable that no gloves are visible in the
Bayeux tapestry; not even on the hands
Of Harold, who carries hawk. WAGE,
the Norman poet, tells a story of Raoul
Taisson, Lord of Cinguelis, playfully strik-
ing William Of Normandy with his glove
previous to the battle of Valesdeur, in l.
i047 and in 1866 the gloves of Conan,
Duke of Brittany, were poisoned, at the
instigation, it was strongly suspected, of
the INSCRIPTIONS Duke William aforesaid;
but it is certainly not before the thirteenth
century that gloves became generally worn
in England. At the latter part of that
century the young Normans covered their
hands with gloves too long and wide for
doing anything needful, The efigies of
Henry IL and Richard l. at Fontevraud
display gloves with, jewels on the back of
them and when King Johns coffin was
opened in 1897, at Worcester, jeweled
gloves were found on his hands
Jeweled gloves were also worn by the
dignifed clergy, and appear to have been
Of white silk or linen, and beautifully em-
broidered Those which were worn by
William of Wykeham, and are still pre-
served at New College, Oxford, are of
red silk, with the sacred monogram, sur
rounded by glory, in gold on the backs,
At what time it became the custom to
change the color of the gloves according to
the color Of the vestments is not known.
Gloves had come into general use in the
fourteenth century among the better classes,
who were accustomed to carry them in
their hands 1t is not, however, till the
sixteenth century that we find constant al
lusions to and frequent representations of
them in portraits Gloves were customary
New Fear gifts in the sixteenth century,
but, being more expensive than all could
afford to purchase, money was given instead,
which was called "gloye-money."
The short sleeves of the ladies' dresses
in the reign of Charles II. introduced the
long kid glove, which has now, after an I'M
terval, again become fashionable. Gloves
trimmed with lace are mentioned by Eve
lyn in his description Of a lady S toilet, and
a contemporary poet mentions
Some of chicken-skins for night,
To keep their hands plump soft and white.
Long gloves are seen in the portrait of
Mary, consort, of William ILL.,, and pair
of thread gloves occur in the inventory of
a lady's wardrobe in 1907
Many ancient recipes are extant for the
perfuming of gloves, and in an old French
work published at Lyons in 1867 the pre-
else directions for "Civitte tres exquise
pour parfumer gands ct en- vindre les
mains are given. In these compositions
musk ambergris, and civet were the chief
perfumes, and as they were applied inside
the gloves, combined with sort of oil or
grease, their use at the present day would
be thought intolerable. In the middle of
the last century the gloyers of Paris were
also the chief perfumers, and constituted
considerable community, having statutes
and laws dating back as far as 1870. Per-
fumed skins were imported from Spain and
Italy for the making Of gloves, and were
very expensive and 'fort la mode, but
their powerful odor led to their disuse, and
frangipani and neroli became the only per-
fumes in fashion for gloves. And here
we may remark that frangipani owes its
renown to its inventor, Marquis Frangi-
pani, a member of very ancient and illus
trious family of Rome, and who was mar
shal in the armies of Louis XIII. What
the composition was that gained for the
marquis so much reputation is not now
known, but all sorts of utterly differ
ent perfumes are to this day sold under
that name.
Gloves were frequently held out in promi-
nent places in ancient times at fairs, in token
of friendship to all comers. In the city of
Chester, especially, that being place ia
nous for the manufacture of gloves, it was
the custom for some days before and during
the continuance of the fair to bring out
from the town hall their local emblem of
commerce, a glove, thereby proclaiming
that non-freemen and strangers were per-
mitted to trade within the city, privilege
at all other times enjoyed by the citizens
alone
A pretty little incident connected with
gloves in ancient times is the circumstance
that Charles ~, king of Spain, was so
much under the influence of any lady who
wore white kid gloves, that the use of them
at court was strictly prohibited. Modern
royalty is not so fantastical.
In the time of Louis XIV. of France the
ladies at their toilet thought nothing of
destroying half dozen pairs of gloves be
fore they got one pair to fit. They were
made of white skins, but ornamented with
little ribbons and fine rosettes. English
sewn gloves were in the greatest request,
and it used to be common saying that for
a glove to be good three Kingdoms must
contribute to it-Spain for the leather,
France for the cutting, and England for
the sewing.
Servants are cheap and plenty in Mex
leo, and you are pretty sure to have several
descendants of the Aztec kings about the
house if YOU hire one, for it is the rule that
the whole family accompany the father or
mother who goes out to service. Yonr
cook brings her husband, her children, and
pretty nearly all her relations, and they are
fed from your table and sleep under your
roof. The husband may be shoemaker,
or saloon keeper, or hackman, but he
lives where his wife works. There are
usually rooms enough in the house for
them all, and the only foed they want is
plenty of beans and what is left from your
own table.
Jenny Lind is described as one of the
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