Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1886-03-25
svaua,,sakst'a.


a notion Of what a puzzle it is
to find the best things in the
world.
If Scotland makes the poor
est linens, why do we buy in
Scotland at all ? That's a fair
question. 1t shall have a fair
answer. Money goes further
in Scotland. That's theanswer.
But shortly we shall be saying
that money goes further yet
in Germany. So it does.
Every statement one can
make must take account of
local peculiarities. For bril-
liant low-grade linens we go
to Scotland; for homely low
grade linens to Germany.
They who look to appearance
prefer the Scotch; they who
care only for money and linen
prefer the German.
We are speaking roughly
of linen characteristics by
countries. Every word must
be taken with limitations.
Barnsley is a famous linen
town in England. No word
in all the linen world stands
higher than Barnsley. No
shams in Barnsley. There
are many linen-weavers and
bleachers there. Not one of
them all has furnished the
ancient name. 1t stands for
the most substantial virtues
of linen-the very ones to be
looked for in sheetings. But
we have no English linen
sheeting-no Barnsley. Why
not ? Too famous. Costs too
much. Costs more than it's
worth. We shouldn't be max
ing good use of your money
in buying Barnsley linen
sheeting.
Flemish beats Barnsley the
minute you look at the costs
of the two.
4 And French beats Flemish.
If you want to see in a sheet
ing substantial fibre of flax in
) almost its natural state, look
/. at French. The fibre is true,
not overtime; the thread whe-
Their large or small is round
and full; the weaving done by
hand-no better or worse for
that's firm and close; the
, bleach is a natural bleach.
) Good flax to begin with, made
at every stage with a practical
> homely skill and finished not
!. at all, not even its round
threads pressed to fairness.
r One must indeed be hard to
please who isn't satisfied to
8 sleep on good French sheeting.
What Of Irish? Extrava-
: giant; but with a different sort
: of extravaganza from that OF
! Barnsley, Ireland grows the
9 finest flax in the world, so far
as the world has been tried.
n The Irish climate does its part
5 of bleaching better than any
= other climate. Irish skill in
g every sort of linen work is
n ahead of other skill. With a
single exception 1.-THE sheerest
!. linen handkerchiefs spun and
5 woven by hand in France) the
5 finest, most artistic, most elab-
!, crate, perfect of linen work is
a done in Ireland.
/; There are splendid damasks
t from Dresden, pure in fibre,
: exquisitely fine, wrought with
surprising skill and bleached
: to perfection. Linen facilities,
. science, arts, skill, production,
s are growing out OF the print
9 tive stage in all the linen coun-
2 tries. Ireland ao'as the pioneer;
d she as the leader of linen
Z luxury. All the belongings Of
8 linen industry grow there more
!. luxuriantly than anywhere else.
i We are told, a piano factory
!. has its habit of making the
n parts of that delicate instru-
9 ment; makes them well or i'll;
: persists in making just SO well
y or just SO i'll; doesn't change
its habit; resists all effort to
change it. The workmen are
2 schooled to their tasks. The
!. foremen exact so much and