The herald., 1896-02-16
n ehH Tiff EaOzCa G e
TWO COSTLY TREASURES

that they got into the store for the par
ticular purpose of stealing six yards of
lace. Now, why burglars should 60 to
all that trouble and run all that risk
for the sake of six yards of lace seems
on the surface deep mystery.
When the theft was reported at
headquarters the reason was made
plain. The little bit of lace was worth
more than fifty times it's weight in
gold. Twenty years ago it cost exactly
$1,000 yard. or $4,000 for the piece.
Today its value is between $4,000 and
$4,000.
For some years the fashion of wear
ing costly laces has been allowed to die
out, perhaps because SO few women
could afford to indulge in it, no matter
how great the riches of their husbands
or fathers. The wife of the ordinary
one-time millionaire can no more af-
ford to accumulate costly laces than
much poorer woman, for the simple
reason that it would consume her hus-
bands entire fortune in very short
time. It has been fad OF royalty for
numberless years, but the kings and
queens epend other peoples money, 30
they can afford to be luxurious.
An effort is making now to rehabili-
tate the lace wearing fashion, and if it
be successful it will draw very sharp
distinguishing line between million
aires and multi-millionaires. The wo-
men members of families who have
been rich for many generations will
have an advantage over others, as in
the days of their grandmothers and
great-grandmothers the ownership Of
fine laces WAS a social necessity.
The Astor collection o. laces, for in
stance, is very fine, and ranks with any
of the private collections abroad. At
the time the laces of the Empress Eu-
genie were sold at auction, the Astors
were heavy buyers. They pooled with
the Vanderbilts and the Rothschilds so
as to avoid bidding against one an
other. These three great families Sc
lected All agent to do the buying, and
at the termination of the sale the pur-
chases we're divided into thirds. Eu
genie, of course, was not a gamer by
this, but che could we'll afford the loss.
The six yards above mentioned were
part of the pool" purchase ct this sale.
and were subsequently, sold by Mrs.
William II. Vanderbilt to Mrs. Corning,
the present owner.
There are many pretty legends of the
origin of lace making, and one of the
prettiest is the story Of the Venetian
sailor who, on the eve of sea voyage,
gave to the woman he loved piece of
beautiful seaweed, to keep while he
was absent, in memory of him. He
sailed away, and the girl cared for his
gift with constant devotion, SUPER
stitiously fancying that upon it's pres
ervation depended the safety of her
lover or the endurance of his love for
her. Therefore, when she discovered
that the seeweed was slowly drying I'D
and falling to pieces, she caught the
fine leaves and branches with thread
against piece of linen and thus in
vented lace.
Too much confidence must not be
placed in this pretty legend, however,
for some fine examples of the lace
makers art have been traced back to
the period of about one thousand years
before Christ. While the art is an
ancient one, the finer qualities did not
appear until after the fifteenth CEN
tury. The most celebrated lace collec-
tions are those OF the South Kensing-
ton Museum in London, and the
Bruges Museum, although the Cluny
Museum in Paris contains inestimable
specimens of antique lace.
French women are notably fond of
laces, and valuable piece Is handed
down from one generation to another
with almost religious care. The ia
nous Honiton set of Queen Victoria is
~ such incalculable value that her
majesty has worn it only four times
at har own and other royal weddings.