Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1886-08-04
The City of Laces.

The City of Laces.
Should you sail out of the bay of New
York in early June for Liverpool.
writes joaquin Miller in the Independ-
ent, you would find dozen or so pert,
shrewd men of leisure, of good breed.
ing and apparent fortune, among your
companions or fellow-voYagers, going
directly to Nottingham, Motifs, Eng,
to buy laces. Every great New York
house il this line sends out special
purchaser annually, I remember cross
ing over with man who was making
his Goth voyage. The voyage was made
notable and was made a subject of
comment because this time he was 90
ing over free of cost, it being the Gus
tom of the ships company to carry free
and as often as he may please any one
who makes so many as rs voyages on
that line.
And these lace buyers get large salar-
les. From some sufficient reason they
must not only be shrewd and we'll in
formed men, but they are supposed to
be gentlemen. Some of the great
houses keep resident purchasers in
Nottingham. The trade is something
colossal. For here you buy not only
all kinds of English lace, but you buy
French lace, Spanish lace and Venetian
lace. And there is no deception about
the sale of it there at all. The govern
ment of England would not allow that.
| But these goods are made in imita-
ton of Venetian, Spanish or French
laces and are SO sold. The fraud, if
fraud it is, occurs on this de.
Nothing in the history of all the
industries of the earth is more curious
or notable than the foundation of this
tremendous business here in what was
once the home of Robin Hood, and
where his games were celebrated for
centuries after his death; and, indeed,
till suppressed, because of their in
creasing violence, by the government.
This great industry hero began in this
way.
There is, or was originally, long,
high bank of very soft sandstone on
the north bank of the river Trent,
pointing to the sun. In this soft sand.
stone the early Britons dug caves.
They dug them deep and wide, and
wonderful in construction. 1t is said
that even now the city of caves under
the ground is almost as large as the
broad and populous city on top of
ground. In cases of invasion or con-
quest, these cave jewellers would re-
treat underground and defy pursuit.
1t is the boast of the people of Not
tingham that their ancestors were new
er really conquered by any one. 1t is
said that William, the Conqueror even
diverted the Trent and threw it against
the mouth of these caves, trying to
drown them out like rats. But they re-
NAMED in their caves, all the time Sc
cure. And whether the story is true
or net. the Trent still flows in an old
and artificial channel, when its waters
are high, close along the base of the
great sandstone mountain, which to
this day is pierced with holes that are
said to be endless. 1t is even claimed
that you may make your way all sthe
distance of four miles to Newstead Alb
boy underground. And this, you can
readily understand, is why Robin Hood
and his ''merrie good men" were en-.
abled to die in their beds, or, rather,
in their caves, instead of on the gal
lows.
The weaving of laces came about
here in this way: The half or wholly
savage women sitting at the mouths of
these caves and holding their threads
against the sun with the darkness be-
hind them, could see the fine threads
better and so could do finer and better
work than any other women in western
Europe. and then their immunity
from conquest and consequent unin-
terruption in their peculiar industry
fastened it here and kept it we'll for
ward.
The crusaders--brave old savages,
you see their crude effigies in stone ly-
ing cross-legged in any one of the for
ty or fifty little churches you discover
scattered over the valley of the Trent
as YOU stand on the summit of the
sandstone hills here-these men of the
sword brought back more signs of a
higher civilization than ploughing and
reaping implements-they brought
back, among other things, Venetian
laces, French and Spanish. And it
was then that these weavers at the
mouths of caves began to make Vene-
tian lace and Spanish lace, and go on.
for the ladies, and gentlemen too, at
court. So, you see, this industry here
has solid foundation. There are lace
makers in Nottingham who claim that
their ancestors of a thousand years ago
were lacemakers on the sandstone
banks of the Trent.
OF course, everything now is done
by machinery here. AS you approach
this city on a hill you see thousands of
lofty chimneys. A cloud of smoke
and steam, not heavy and offensive,
like Birmingham or Manchester, how
ever, hangs perpetually over this very
wealthy and most prosperous city of
lace makers. AS you get out of the
car, you see lowering about the sta
ton, or passing about here and there,
many and many black eyed girl, ma
king it q peril0us stopping place for a
Californian with heart in him. They
are lace makers and their numbers
reach to nearly O hundred thousand.
They are beautiful to degree. They
have dark and wondrously brilliant
eyes. They are children of the ancient
and unconquered black Britons, who
waded into the sea to receive the inva-
ding Romans on their lances.
All! beautiful black-eyed and Won
derful little weavers Of lace in Noting
ham. l pause here and wonder if I
have been really not lying to myself
all the time when I said it is the
memory of Neil Gwynne, Robin Hood.
Lord Byron and all the rest that keeps
my heart in Sherwood forest.
Dear, dark eyed weavers of lace,
! ,,,~o1x, Fboro 20 M cho n, q IN to;n ~ xs,ovon
in such delicate webs as yours. And
even if there is, 4 am not the first idle
fly you have caught, pretty and in
dustrious .weavers. And if human
nature holds l can safely set it down
that will not be the last.
| Life Depends onIths Liver.
| Boston Courier: Youth have
come to ask for the hand of your
daughter.