The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1886-09-08
THE CITY OF LACES.
Glance mt the Industry Of the Of,
Town of Nottingham.

Should You sail out of the bay Of
New York for Liverpool, you would
lind dozen or so pert shrcwd men
Of leisure, of good breeding and appar.
ent fortune, among your companions
or fellow-voyagers, going directly TO
Nottingham, Motifs, Eng, to buy lacas
Every great New York house IN this
line sends out special purchaser an
nually, remember crossing over with
a man who was making his twenty
sixth voyage. The voyage was made
notable and was subject of comment
because this time he was going over
free of cost, it being the custom of the
ships company to carry free and IS
often as he may please any one who
makes so many as twenty-five voyages
on that line.
And these lace buyers get large SILL
aries. From some sufficient reason
they must not only be shrewd and well
informed men, but they are supposed
to be gentlemen. Some of the grent
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 Vene-
tan lace, and there is no deception
about the sale of it there at all. The
Government of England would not al
low that. But these goods are made
in imitation of Venetian, Spanish or
French laces and are so sold. The
fraud, if fraud it is, occurs on this side.
Nothing in the history of all the in
dustries 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 ncreas-
ing violence, by the Government. This
great industry here 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 the 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 the
ground. In case of invasion or con.
quest, these cave jewellers would re.
treat underground and defy pursuit.
1t is the boast of the people of Noting.
ham that their ancestors were never
really conquered by any one. 1t is
said that William the Conqueror even
diverted the Trent and threw it against
the mouths of these caves, trying to
drown them out like rats. But they
remained in their caves all the time
secure. And whether the story is true
or not 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 the distance of four miles
to Newstead Abbey underground. And
this you can readily understand, is why
Robin Hood and his ''merrie good
men" were enabled to die in their beds,
or, rather, in their caves, instead of on
the gallows.
The weaving of laces came abou
here in this way: The half or wholly
savage women sitting at the mouths
of the 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 bet
ter work than any other women in
Western Europe. And then their i'm
munity from conquest and consequent
uninterruption in their peculiar in
dustry fastened it here and kept it well
forward.
The crusaders-brave old savages,
you see their crude effigies In stone
lying cross-legged in any one of the
forty or fifty little churches you dis
cover 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 higher civilization than
blowing and reaping implements;
they brought back, among other
things, Venetian lace, French and
Spanish. And it was then that these
weavers at the mouths of caves began
to make Venetian lace and Spanish
lace, and so on, for the ladies, and gen
tlemen, too, at court. So, you see
this industry here has solid founda.
ton. There are lace-makers in Not
tingham who claim that their ancestors
of thousand yeals ago were lace
makers there on the sandstone bank:
of the Trent
Of course, every thing now is done
by machinery here. AS you approach
this city on a hill you see thousands o.
lofty chimneys. A cloud of smoke ant
steam, not heavy and offensive. like
Birmingham or Manchester, however
hangs perpetugly over this very
wealthy and most prosperous city o
lace-makers AS you get out of the
car, you see lowering about the station
or passing about here and there, man,
and many a black-eyed girl, making i
perilous stopping place for a Cali
fornian with heart in him. They ar,
lace-makerS and their numbers reacl
to nearly hundred thousand. They
are beautiful to degree. They hav,
dark and wondrously brilliant eyes
They are children of the ancient ant
unconquered black Britons, who wadet
into the sea to receive the invadin!
Romans on their lances. joaquin MI
Ter, IN ~ y. Independent.
Financial Ability.
Stranger Ito citizem-Who is tina
man riding along yonder?