Evening star., 1898-12-24
LEGEND OF TIE LACEMAkER.
How a BruGes Nail Was Visited With
Vision.
From the Boston Herald.

From the Boston Herald.
Her jewels of great price were not the
only things bequeathed to her daughters by
the Empress of Austria. She left fortune
in a collection of laces to the eldest that
has already proved a bone Of contention
between the two ladies. These laces, it is
claimed by connoisseurs. are priceless, and
should never be trusted beyond the walls
of a museum. Should they be seen, how
ever, d fresh impetus might be given to the
industry of lace making, now in Ian
gushing condition. The Queen of the Bel
gians was the first to sound the trumpet Of
alarm about this falling of in Flanders,
the cradle of the art of lace making. As
the legend runs, 1t was Jacqueline. Countess
of Flanders. who was deeply in love with her
noble husband, the handsome Henellck, but
who did not return this tender feeling with
the ardor it deserved He had even made
eyes at the countess maid. Serena, who,
for the sole crime of being beautiful, was
Sent by her mistress to dark and noisome
place of concealment in corner OF the
palace. The room where the poor girl was
confined opened on small, damp garden
and there she would sadly sit and mourn
for her beloved. the equerry Luitpold One
day her eyes filled with tears: she prayed
to the Virgin to come to her rescue, by
some miracle. and then, raising her heavy
eyelids, she beheld a million of white SILKY
threads. so tenuous and arranged In sucn
wonderful patterns that she was lost In ad-
miration before them.
By and by she began to wish she could
initiate the lovely patterns OF good Mary
threads. for evidently they had been placed
there in answer to her supDlicatiOn. AT
last after a month of patient and arduous
toll and many prayers. she achieved piece
of gossamer cobweb-like work that rivaled
the miraculous threads arrayed by her holy
patron. The lace was sent to the countess,
who shed tears of delight at the sight OF so
much beauty. The next step was to send
for the captive and marry her to the equer-
ry. bestowing a sum of money on the happy
pair that would have kept them In comfort
ever after. but independently of the count
ess, they became rich. for the young wo-
man taught her art to seven daughters,
from whom descended all the Bruges lace
makers. This Is a sweet romance. but from
whom did this pious Serena receive the
threads with which she initiated the heav-
enly cobwebs? 1t has been suggested she
unraveled her stockings, and, again, that
she plucked the golden hairs from her head.
but why will folks be SO dreadfully prac-
tical? 1t Is sufficient that the handmade
lace of Flanders Is the most exquisite thing
wrought by human fingers. and the fatal
looms have almost destroyed its art with
their new industry. 1t was the elegant
Marie Antoinette who gave the first blow
to lace making. The splendid lace worn
In profusion at the courts of Louis XIV
and XIV were replaced by the gauzes and
muslns of the queen, and though the
Empress Josephine brought back the fash
ion, 1t has never been the same as then.
The looms have produced perfect, too per-
feet. limitations and cheapened the marvel
Gus labor OF years 1t Is now proposed by
the Belgian queen and some other sover-
eign ladies' to make point of wearing only
handmade lace, and binding themselves
by solemn compact not to allow an inch OF
machine-made lace on their petticoats and