The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1895-08-01
BUB Of TIE UNIVERSE
The "Better Half" Still Lingers in
Boston.

The bridal vail worn by the Princess Helene
OF Orleans must be marvel of dainty lace
work. 1t was wrought by the most skillfnl
workers at Bayeux, and Is scarf Of the finest
white Chantilly lace fully four yards long.
The lower edge has a broad floral border the
pattern decreasing in size till the portion worn
on the head consists merely of fragile mesh
work. The center is quite plain, but on tho
part which fell over the train two grace
full branches uniting in wreath Of flowers.
The novelty of the design is that in the center
of the wreath embroidered in heraldic col
ors the arms of the two families in point
d'Alencon. On side is the white cross of
Savoy in silver, and on the other tho golden
lilies of the House of Orleans a field azure
The crown of the Princes of Savoy surmounts
the whole. The effect of the colors in the midst
of the fne foamy lace is described as sngularly
beautiful.
Old-fashioned counterpanes or woven quilts
make very artistic portieros and are in great de-
mand for this service. The proper thing to do
is to rummage around in the attic and find one
that has been woven by some industrious ances-
tress who designed it for the spare-roOm bed,
and who would have regarded its use as cur
tain as neither decent nor righteous. For folks
who have 10 grandmothers nor attics, there are
the ordinary honeycomb quilts, woven most
daintily in rose or pale. blue and white. They
arc sold for reasonable prices, aud are good
substitute for the old-time ones.
Handweaving is not entirely a lost art
among our country women, despite the quick
ness and cheapness with which factories can
make smooth, durable cloth. One may oc-
casonaly happen upon loom worked By some
thrifty woman to her own and her neighbors'
profit and it is sight to be remembered. In
q drive over Virginia road one Summer day
on the edge of village | came across queer
old barn-ike building, square, with wide doors
and plenty of windows, and with molly h0cks
ranged along the walks. There was one big.
square room, and the sun dawned clear across
it and out the windows again with nothing to
stop its merriment.
In one corner. occupying a fourth of the
room, was a big loom and a cheerful mistress
stood beside and wore q many-colored fabric.
Her accustomed fingers darted the shuttle in
and out. she pushed each thread firmly in place
as she added it to the wool. and with her foot
she raised and lowered the warp threads. 1t
looked like marvellous dexterity to see her
manage the three parts of the process so
smoothly and easily, but she had been weaving
ali her life and it was no more strange to her
than washing or cooking With her old
fashion industry she her neghbors'
dusty rags into carpets, blssfully unconscious
of the terrors of bacteria and germs that would
have scared modern women from the work.
aud not knowing that, as she stood there at the
loom she reminded one that for centuries upon
centuries woman had been devising ways of
weaving covering for herself and for man, in
venting and working to perfect tho process.
From the time she FIRST twisted two grasses to-
gether until she had this loom the whole in
dustry of weaving was in the w0mans hands.
Naked, she clothed herself and her family;
without shelter, she made for herself a roof;
she contrived baskets to help her in carrying,
and wove rugs and blankets for the greater
comfort of her family. When she had virtually
perfected the processes, then man took them up,
and within the last half century has created
the immense factories with their intricate
machinery and all their problems of work and
wages. Now scarcely n girl knows the ordi-
nary methods of weaving. so entirely separate
are they from her studies aud work.
The woman in her sunny room weaving
seemed to weave brightness into her fabrics
Carpets were her least pleasant task. The rags
were usually dingy and rotten and difficult to
use. Given bundle of stout, clean strips, and
she wove them into arabesques and lines that
proved the lurking artist in her.
Blankets were her highest professional joy
Patterns blossomed forth clearly and neatly,
and did credit to her ideas of symmetry. One
narrow blue-and-white counterpart woven in
squares, where now the blue ami now the white
predomnated, was not unlike in beauty to
bit of Delft pottery.
.ss
There are some little "NewWomen in Boston
who can give points on the manufacture and