it-" n)ecorati]/ecAtt STEALING AND FRANCINE CLA1UC ART INSTITUTE LIBRAIOT COUNT DE TORRE D!AI> ^liZc^b-e+Ji ^ii<=Wfi. THE ILLUMINATED BOOK OF NEEDLEWORK : COMPRISING KNITTING, NETTING, CROCHET, AND EMBROIDERY. BY MRS. HENRY OWEN, Of Upper Baker Street. ' PRECEDED BY A HISTORY OF NEEDLEWORK, INCLUDING AN ACCOUNT OF THE ANCIENT HISTORICAL TAPESTRIES. EDITED BY THE COUNTESS OF WILTON. LONDON: HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN MDCCCXLVII. TO HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY THE QUEEN DOWAGER, THIS LITTLE WORK, INTENDED TO ILLUSTRATE THE HISTORY AND PROGRESS OF AN ART ENNOBLED BY HER MAJESTY^ PRACTICE, AND BY HER EXAMPLE RECOMMENDED TO THE WOMEN OF ENGLAND, is, BY HER MAJESTY'S MOST GRACIOUS PERMISSION, INSCRIBED WITH THE UTMOST RESPECT, BY HER MAJESTY'S MOST GRATEFUL AND MOST OBEDIENT SERVANT, THE AUTHORESS. PREFACE. If there be one mechanical art of more universal application than all others, and therefore of more universal interest, it is that which is practised with the Needle. From the stateliest denizen of the proudest palace, to the humblest dweller in the poorest cottage, all more or less ply the busy needle ; from the crying infant of a span long and an hour's life, to the silent tenant of " the narrow house," all need its practical services. Yet have the Needle and its beautiful and useful creations hitherto remained without their due meed of praise and record, either in sober prose or sound- ing rhyme, — while their glittering antithesis, the scathing and destroying sword, has been the theme of admiring and exulting record, without limit and without end ! The progress of real civilization is rapidly put- ting an end to this false prestige in favour of the " Destructive M weapon, and as rapidly raising the a 3 VI PREFACE. " Conservative " one in public estimation ; and the time seems at length arrived when that triumph of female ingenuity and industry, iC The Art of Needlework " may be treated as a fitting subject of historical and social record — fitting at least for a female hand. The chief aim of this volume is that of affording a comprehensive record of the most noticeable facts, and an entertaining and instructive gathering toge- ther of the most curious and pleasing associations, connected with " The Art of Needlework/' from the earliest ages to the present day ; avoiding entirely the dry technicalities of the art, yet fur- nishing an acceptable accessory to every work-table — a fitting tenant of every boudoir. The Authoress thinks thus much necessary in explanation of the objects of a work on what may be called a maiden topic ; and she trusts that that leniency in criticism which is usually accorded to the adventurer on an unexplored track will not be withheld from her. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. Page Introductory . . . . .1 CHAPTER II. Early Needlework . . . . .11 CHAPTER HI. Needlework of the Tabernacle . . .23 CHAPTER IV. Needlework of the Egyptians . . .32 CHAPTER V. Needlework of the Greeks and Romans . .41 CHAPTER VI. The Dark Ages— " Shee Schools" . . .56 Vlll CONTENTS. CHAPTER VII. Page Needlework of the Dark Ages . . .64 CHAPTER VIII. The Bayeux Tapestry. — Part I. . .84 CHAPTER IX. The Bayeux Tapestry.— Part II. . .103 CHAPTER X. Needlework of the Times of Romance and Chivalry . 117 CHAPTER XL Tapestry . . . . . .148 CHAPTER XII. Romances worked in Tapestry . . . 1 65 CHAPTER XIII. Needlework in Costume. — Part I. . . .186 CHAPTER XIV. Needlework in Costume. — Part II. . . 209 CHAPTER XV. " The Field of the Cloth of Gold" . . .231 CHAPTER XVI. The Needle 252 CONTENTS. IX CHAPTER XVII. Page Tapestry from the Cartoons . . .273 CHAPTER XVIII. The Days of " Good Queen Bess" . . .282 CHAPTER XIX. The Tapestry of the Spanish Armada ; better known as the Tapestry of the House of Lords . .301 CHAPTER XX. On Stitchery . . . . .312 CHAPTER XXI. " Les Anciennes '^piggeries." Tapestry of St. Mary Hall, Coventry. Tapestry of Hampton Court . 329 CHAPTER XXII. Embroidery . . . . .342 CHAPTER XXIII. Needlework on Books .... 355 CHAPTER XXIV. Needlework of Royal Ladies . . .374 CHAPTER XXV. Modern Needlework .... 395 THE ART OF NEEDLEWORK INTRODUCTION. CHAPTER I. " Le donne son venute in eccellenza Di ciascun 'arte, ove hanno posto cura ; E qualunque all' istorie abbia avvertenza, Ne seute ancor la fama nou oscura. * * # E forse ascosi han lor debiti onori L' invidia, o il non saper degli scrittori." — Ariosto. In all ages woman may lament the ungallant silence of the historian. His pen is the record of sterner actions than are usually the vocation of the gentler sex, and it is only when fair individuals have been by extraneous circumstances thrown out, as it were, on the canvas of human affairs — when they B * INTRODUCTION. have been forced into a publicity little consistent with their natural sphere — that they have become his theme. Consequently those domestic virtues which are woman's greatest pride, those retiring charac- teristics which are her most becoming ornament, those gentle occupations which are her best employ- ment, find no record on pages whose chief aim and end is the blazoning of manly heroism, of royal dis- putations, or of trumpet-stirring records. And if this is the case even with historians of enlightened times,, who have the gallantry to allow woman to be a com- ponent part of creation, we can hardly wonder that in darker days she should be utterly and entirely overlooked. Mohammed asserted that women had no souls; and moreover, that, setting aside the " diviner part," there had only existedybz/r of whom the mundane qualifications entitled them to any degree of appro- bation. Before him, Aristotle had asserted that Nature only formed women when and because she found that the imperfection of matter did not permit her to carry on the world without them. This complimentary doctrine has not wanted sup- porters. (i Des hommes tres sages ont ecrit que la Nature, dont l'intention etle dessein esttoujours de tendre a la perfection, ne produirait s'il etait pos- sible, jamais que des hommes, et que quand il nait une femme c'est un monstre dans Tordre de ses pro- ductions, ne expressement contre sa volonte : ils ajoutent, que, comme on voit naitre un homme aveugle, boiteux, ou avec quelqu'autre defaut na- ture ; et comme on voit a certain arbres des fruits qui ne meurissent jamais; ainsi Tonpeut dire que la INTRODUCTION. 3 femme est un animal produit par accident et par le hasard."* Without touching upon this extreme assertion that woman is but M un monstre," an animal produced by chance, we may observe briefly, that women have ever, with some few exceptions,! been considered as a degraded and humiliated race, until the promulga- tion of the Christian religion elevated them in so- ciety : and that this distinction still exists is evident from the difference at this moment exhibited be- tween the countries professing Mohammedanism and those professing Christianity. Still, though in our happy country it is now pretty generally allowed that women are u des creatures humaines," it is no new remark that they are com- paratively lightly thought of by the " nobler" gen- der. This is absolutely the case even in those coun- tries where civilization and refinement have elevated the sex to a higher grade in society than they ever before reached. Women are courted, flattered, caressed, extolled ; but still the difference is there, and the u lords of the creation " take care that it shall be understood. Their own pursuits — public, * On aurait de la peine a se persuader qu'une pareille opinion eut ete mise gravement en question dans un concile, et qu'on n'eut decide en faveur des femmes qu'apres un assez long examen. Cependant le fait est ties veritable, et ce fut dans le Concile de Macon. Probleme sur les Femmes, ou l'on essaye de prouver que les femmes ne sont point des creatures humaines. — Am- sterdam, 1744. f As, for instance, the ancient Germans, and their offshoots, the Saxons, &c. b2 4 INTRODUCTION. are the theme of the historian — private, of the bio- grapher; nay, the every-day circumstances of life — their "dinners — their speeches — their toasts — and their post coenam eloquence, are noted down for immor- tality : whilst a woman with as much sense, with more eloquence, with lofty principles, enthusiastic feelings, and pure conduct — with sterling virtue to command respect, and the self-denying conduct of a martyr — steals noiselessly through her appointed path in life ; and if she excite a passing comment during her pilgrimage, is quickly lost in oblivion when that pil- grimage hath reached its appointed goal. And this is but as it should be. Woe to that nation whose women, as a habit, as a custom, as a matter of course, seek to intrude on the attributes of the other sex, and in a vain, a foolish, and surely a most unsuccessful pursuit of publicity, or power, or fame, forget the distinguishing, the high, the noble, the lofty, the pure and unearthly vocation of their sex. Every earthly charity, every unearthly virtue, are the legitimate object of woman's pursuit. It is hers to soothe pain, to alleviate suffering, to soften discord, to solace the time-worn spirit on earth, to train the youthful one for heaven. Such is woman's magnificent vocation; and in the peaceful discharge of such duties as these she may be con- tent to steal noiselessly on to her appointed bourne, ' the world forgetting, by the world forgot." But these splendid results are not the effect of great exertions — of sudden, and uncertain, and en- thusiastic efforts. They are the effect of a course, of a system of minor actions and of occupations, in- INTRODUCTION. 5 dividuall-j insignificant in their appearance, and noiseless in their approach. They are like "the gentle., dew from heaven" in their silent unnoted progress, and, like that, are known only by their blessed re- sults. They involve a routine of minor duties which often appear, at first view, little if at all connected with such mighty ends. But such an inference would lead to a false conclusion. It is entirely of insignificant details that the sum of human life is made up ; and any one of those details, how in- significant soever apparently in itself, as a link in the chain of human life is of definite relative value. The preparing of a spoonful of gruel may seem a very insignificant matter ; yet who that stands by the sick-bed of one near and dear to him, and sees the fevered palate relieved, the exhausted frame re- freshed ty it, but will bless the hand that made it ? It is not the independent intrinsic worth of each isolated action of woman which stamps its value — it is their bearing and effect on the mass. It is the daily and hourly accumulation of minute particles which form the vast amount. And if we look for that feminine employment which adds most absolutely to the comforts and the elegancies of life, to what other shall we refer than to needlework ? The hemming of a pocket-hand- kerchief is a trivial thing in itself, yet it is a branch of an art which furnishes a useful, a graceful, and an agreeable occupation to one-half of the human race, and adds very materially to the com- forts of the other half. 6 INTRODUCTION. How sings our own especial Bard? — (i So long as garments shall be made or worne ; So long as hemp, or flax, or sheep shall bear Their linnen wollen fleeces yeare by yeare ; So long as silkwormes, with exhausted spoile Of their own entrailes, for mans gaine shall toyle: Yea, till the world be quite dissolv'd and past, So long, at least, the needle's use shall last." 'T is true, indeed, that as far as necessity, rigidly speaking, is concerned, a very small portion of needlework would suffice ; but it is also true that the very signification of the word necessity is lost, buried amidst the accumulations of ages. We talk habit- ually of mere necessaries, but the fact is, that we have hardly an idea of what merely necessities are. St. Paul, the hermit, when abiding in the wilder- ness, might be reduced to necessities ; and in that noble and exalted instance of high principle referred to by Mr. Wesley,* where a person unknown to others, seeking no praise, and looking to no reward but the applaudings of his own conscience, bought a pennyworth of parsnips weekly, and on them, and them alone, with the water in which they were boiled^ lived, that he might save money to pay his debts. — Surely a man of such incorruptible integrity as this would spend nothing intentionally in superfluities of dress — and yet, mark how many he would have. His shirt would be " curiously wrought," his neck- cloth neatly hemmed ; his coat and waistcoat and trousers would have undergone the usual mysteries of shaping and seaming; his hat would be neatly * Southey's Life ; vol. ii. INTRODUCTION. 7 bound round the edge ; his stockings woven or knitted ; his shoes soled and stitched and tied ; nei- ther must we debar him a pocket-handkerchief and a pair of gloves. And see what this man — as great, nay, a greater anchoret in his way than St. Paul, for he had the world and its temptations all around, while the saint had fled from both — yet see what he thought absolutely requisite in lieu of the sheepskin which was St. Paul's wardrobe. See what was re - quired " to cover and keep warm" in the eighteenth century, — nay, not even to "keep warm," for we did not allow either great-coat or comforter. See then what was required merely to "cover," and then say whether the art of needlework is a trivial one. Could we, as in days of yore, when sylphs and fairies deigned to mingle with mortals, and shed their gracious influence on the scenes and actions of every-day life — could we, by some potent spell or by some fitting oblation, propitiate the Genius of Needlework, induce her to descend from her hidden shrine,, and indulge her votaries with a glimpse of her radiant self — what a host of varied remi- niscences would that glimpse conjure up in our minds, as — - " guided by historic truth, We trod the long extent of backward time ! She was twin born with necessity, the first neces- sity the world had ever known, but she quickly left this stern and unattractive companion, and followed many leaders in her wide and varied range. She became the handmaiden of Fancy ; she adorned the train of Magnificence ; she waited upon Pomp ; she 8 INTRODUCTION. decorated Religion ; she obeyed Charity ; she served Utility ; she aided Pleasure ; she pranked out Fun ; and she mingled with all and every circumstance of life. Many changes and chances has it been her lot to behold. At one time honoured and courted, she was the acknowledged and cherished guest of the royal and noble. Then in gorgeous drapery, begem- med with brilliants, bedropped with gold, she reigned supreme in hall and palace ; or in silken tissue girt she adorned the high-born maidens bower what time the " deeds of knighthood " were ff in solemn canto 17 told. In still more rich array, in kingly purple, in regal tissue, in royal magnificence, she stood within the altar's sacred pale ; and her robes, rich in Tyrian dye, and glittering with Ophir's gold, swept the hallowed pavement. When battle aroused the land she inspirited the host. When the banner was un- furled she pointed to the device which sent its mes- sage home to every heart ; she displayed the cipher on the hero's pennon which nerved him sooner to relinquish life than it ; she entwined those initials in the scarf, the sight of which struck fresh ardour into his breast. But she fell into disrepute, and was rejected from the halls of the noble. Still was she ever busy, ever occupied, and not only were her services freely given to all who required them, but given with such winning grace that she required but to be once known to be ever loved — so exquisitely did she adapt herself to the peculiarities of all. With flowing ringlets and silken robe, carolling gaily as she worked, you would see her pinking the INTRODUCTION. v ruffles of the Cavalier, and ever and anon adding to their piquancy by some new and dainty device : then you would behold her with smoothly plaited hair, and sad-coloured garment of serge, and looks like a November day, hemming the bands of a Roundhead, and withal adding numerous layers of starch. With grave and sedate aspect she would shape and sew the uncomely raiment of a Genevan divine ; with neat-handed alacrity she would prepare the grave and becoming garments of the Anglican Church, though perhaps a gentle sigh would escape, a sigh of regret for the stately and glowing vestments of old : for they did honour to the house of God, not because they were stately and glowing, but because they were offerings of our best. In all the sweet charities of domestic life she has ever been a participant. Often and again has she fled the splendid court, the glittering ball-room, and taken her station at the quiet hearth of the gentle and home-loving matron. She has lightened the weariness of many a solitary vigil, and she has heightened the enjoyment of many a social gossip. Nor even while courted and caressed in courts and palaces did Needlework absent herself from the habitations of the poor. Oh no, she was their fami- liar friend, the daily and hourly companion of their firesides. And when she experienced, as all do experience, the fickleness of court favour, she was cherished and sheltered there. And there she re- mained, happy in her utility, till again summoned by royal mandate to resume her station near the throne. The illustrious and excellent lady who lately filled the British throne, and who reigned still more b3 10 INTRODUCTION. surely in the hearts of Englishwomen, and who has most graciously permitted us to place her honoured name on these pages, allured Needlework from her long seclusion, and reinstated her in her once familiar place among the great and noble. Fair reader ! you see that this gentle dame Needle- work is of ancient lineage, of high descent, of courtly habits : will you not permit me to make you somewhat better acquainted ? Pray travel onward with me to her shrine. The way is not toilsome, nor is the track rugged ; but, (i Where the silver fountains wander, Where the golden streams meander^ amid the sunny meads and flower-bestrewn paths of fancy and taste — there will she beguile us. Do not then, pray do not, forsake me. II CHAPTER I. EARLY NEEDLEWORK. " The use of sewing is exceeding old, As in the sacred text it is enrold : Our parents first in Paradise began." — John Taylor. " The rose was in rich bloom on Sharon's plain, When a young mother, with her first-born, thence W 7 ent up to Sion ; for the boy was vow'd Unto the Temple service. By the hand She led him ; and her silent soul the while, Oft as the dewy laughter of his eye Met her sweet serious glance, rejoic'd to think That aught so pure, so beautiful, was hers, To bring before her God." — Hemans. In speaking of the origin of needlework it will be necessary to define accurately what we mean by the term " needlework ;" or else, when we assert that Eve was the first sempstress, we may be taken to task by some critical antiquarian, because we may not be able precisely to prove that the frail and beautiful mother of mankind made use of a little weapon of polished steel, finely pointed at one end and bored at the other, and " warranted not to cut in the eye." Assuredly we do not mean to assert 12 EARLY NEEDLEWORK. that she did use such an instrument; most proba- bly — we would almost venture to say most certainly — she did not. But then again the cynical critic would attack us : — "■ You say that Eve was the first professor of needlework, and yet you disclaim the use of a needle for her." No, good sir, we do not. Like other profound investigators and original commentators, we do not annihilate one hypothesis ere we are prepared with another, " ready cut and dried," to rise, like any fabled phoenix, on the ashes of its predecessor. It is not long since we were edified by a conversation which we heard, or rather overheard, between two sexagenarians — both well versed in antiquarian lore, and neither of them deficient in antiquarian tena- city of opinion — respecting some theory which one of them wanted to establish about some aborigines. The concluding remark of the conversation — and we opined that it might as well have formed the com- mencement — was — " If you want to lay down facts, you must follow history; if you want to establish a system, it is quite easy to place the people where you like." So, if I wished to " establish a system," I could easily make Eve work with a " superfine drill-eyed needle :" but this is not my object. It seems most probable that Eve's first needle was a thorn : * Before man's fall the rose was born, St. Ambrose sayes, without the thorn ; But, for man's fault, then was the thorn, Without the fragrant rosebud, bom.' 9 Why thorns should spring up at the precise mo- EARLY NEEDLEWORK. 13 merit of the fall is difficult to account for in a world where everything has its use, except we suppose that they were meant for needles : and general analogy leads us to this conclusion ; for in almost all existing records of people in what we are pleased to call a " savage' state, we find that women make use of this primitive instrument, or a fish-bone. u Avant Tinvention des aiguilles d'acier, on a du se servir, a leur defaut, d'epincs, ou d'aretes de poissons, ou d'os d'animaux." And as Eve's first specimen of needlework was certainly completed before the sacrifice of any living thing, we may safely infer that the latter implements w r ere not familiar to her. The Cimbrian inhabitants of Britain passed their time in weaving baskets, or in sewing together for garments the skins of animals taken in the chase, while they used as needles for uniting these simple habiliments small bones of fish or animals rudely sharpened at one end ; and needles just of the same sort were used by the inhabitants of the Sandwich Islands, when the cele- brated Captain Cook first visited them. Proceed w T e to the material of the first needlework. " They sewed themselves fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons." Thus the earliest historical record ; and thus the most esteemed poetical commentator. * Those leaves They gather'd, broad as Amazonian targe, And, with what skill they had, together sew'd, To gird their waist." It is supposed that the leaves alluded to here were 14 EARLY NEEDLEWORK. those of the banian tree, of which the leaves, says Sir James Forbes/ are large, soft, and of a lively green ; the fruit a small bright scarlet fig. The Hindoos are peculiarly fond of this tree ; they con- sider its long duration, its outstretching arms, and overshadowing beneficence, as emblems of the Deity, and almost pay it divine honours. The Brahmins, who thus " find a fane in every sacred grove," spend much of their time in religious solitude, under the shade of the banian-tree ; they plant it near the dewals, or Hindoo temples ; and in those vil- lages where there is no structure for public worship, they place an image under one of these trees, and there perform morning and evening sacrifice. The size of some of these trees is stupendous. Sir James Forbes mentions one which has three hundred and fifty large trunks, the smaller ones exceeding three thousand ; and another, whereunder the chief of the neighbourhood used to encamp in magnificent style ; having a saloon, dining-room, drawing-room, bed- chambers, bath, kitchen, and every other accommo- dation, all in separate tents ; yet did this noble tree cover the whole, together with his carriages, horses, camels, guards, and attendants ; while its spreading branches afforded shady spots for the tents of his friends, with their servants and cattle. And in the march of an army it has been known to shelter seven thousand men. Such is the banian-tree, the pride of Hindustan : which Milton refers to as the one which served " our general mother" for her first essay in the art of needlework. EARLY NEEDLEWORK. 15 { ' Both together went Into the thickest wood ; there soon they chose The fig-tree ; not that tree for fruit renovvn'd, But such as at this day, to Indians known, In Malabar or Deccan spreads her arms, Branching so broad and long, that in the ground The bended twigs take root, and daughters grow About the mother tree, a pillar'd shade High overarch'd, and echoing walks between : There oft the Indian herdsman, shunning heat, Shelters in cool, and tends his pasturing herds At loopholes cut through thickest shade : Those leaves They gather'd, broad as Amazonian targe ; And, with what skill they had, together sew'd, To gird their waist." Some of the most interesting incidents in Holy Writ turn on the occupation of needlework ; slight sketches, nay, hardly so much, but mere touches which engage all the gentler, and purer, and holier emotions of our nature. For instance : the beloved child of the beautiful mother of Israel, for whom Jacob toiled fourteen years, which were but as one day for the love he bare her — this child, so eagerly coveted by his mother, so devotedly loved by his father,, and who was destined hereafter to wield the destinies of such a mighty empire — had a token, a peculiar token, bestowed on him of his father's overwhelming love and affection. And what was it? " A coat of many colours ;" probably including some not in general use, and obtained by an elaborate process. Entering himself into the minutiae of a concern, which, however insignificant in itself, was valuable in his eyes as giving pleasure to his boy, the fond father selects pieces of various-coloured cloth, and sets female hands, the most expert of his household, to join them together in the form of a coat. 16 EARLY NEEDLEWORK. But, alas ! to whom should he intrust the task ? She whose fingers would have revelled in it, Rachel the mother, was no more ; her warm heart was cold, her busy fingers rested in the tomb. Would his sister, would Dinah execute the work ? No ; it was but too probable that she shared in the jealousy of her brothers. No matter. The father apportions the task to his handmaidens, and himself superin- tends the performance. With pleased eye he watches its progress, and with benignant smile he invests the happy and gratified child with the glowing raiment. This elaborate piece of work, the offering of pa- ternal affection to please a darling child, was pro- bably the simple and somewhat clumsy original of those which were afterwards embroidered and sub- sequently woven in various colours, and which came to be regarded as garments of dignity and appro- priated to royalty ; as it is said of Tamar that " she had a garment of divers colours upon her : for with such robes were the king's daughters that were virgins apparelled. " It is even now customary in India to dress a favourite or beautiful child in a coat of various colours tastefully sewed together; and it may not perhaps be very absurd to refer even to so ancient an origin as Joseph's coat of many colours the superstition now prevalent in some countries, which teaches that a child clothed in a garment of many colours is safe from the blasting of malicious tongues or the machinations of evil spirits. In the Book of Samuel we read, " And Hannah, his mother, made him a little coat/' This seems a trivial incident enough, yet how interesting is the EARLY NEEDLEWORK. 17 scene which this simple mention conjures up ! With all the earnest fervour of that separated race who hoped each one to be the honoured instrument of bringing a Saviour into the world, Hannah, then childless, prayed that this reproach might be taken from her, Her prayer was heard, her son was born ; and in holy gratitude she reared him, not for wealth, for fame, for worldly honour, or even for her own domestic comfort, — but, from his birth, and before his birth ; she devoted him as the servant of the Most High. She indulged herself with his presence only till her maternal cares had fitted him for duty ; and then, with a tearful eye it might be, and a fal- tering footstep, but an unflinching resolution, she devoted him to the altar of her God. But never did his image leave her mind : never amid the fair scions which sprang up and bloomed around her hearth did her thoughts forsake her first-born; and yearly, when she went up to the Tabernacle with Elkanah her husband, did she take him "a little coat" which she had made. We may fancy her quiet happy thoughts when at this employment ; we may fancy the eager earnest ques- tionings of the little group by whom she was sur- rounded ; the wondering about their absent brother ; the anxious catechisings respecting his whereabouts ; and, above all, the admiration of the new garment itself, and the earnest criticisms on it; especially if in form and fashion it should somewhat differ from their own. And then arrives the moment when the garment is committed to its envelope ; and the mother, weeping to part from her little ones, yet longing to see her absent boy, receives their adieux 18 EARLY NEEDLEWORK. and their thousand reminiscences, and sets forth on her journey. Again she treads the hallowed courts, again she meekly renews her vows, and again a mother's long- ings, a mother's hopes are quenched in the full enjoy- ment of a mother's love. Beautiful and good, the blessing of Heaven attending him, and throwing a beam of light on his fair brow, the pure and holy child appears like a seraph administering at that altar to which he had been consecrated a babe, and at which his ministry was sanctioned even by the voice of the Most High himself, when in the solemn stillness of midnight he breathed his wishes into the heart of the child, and made him, infant as he was, the medium of his- communications to one grown hoary in the service of the altar. The solemn duties ended, Hannah invests her hopeful boy with the little coat, whilst her willing fingers lingeringly perform their office, as if loth to quit a task in which they so much delight. And then with meek step and grateful heart she wends her homeward way, and meditates tranquilly on the past interview, till the return of another year finds her again on her pilgrimage of love — the joyful bearer of another " little coat." And a high tribute is paid to needlework in the history of Dorcas, w r ho was restored to life by the apostle St. Peter, by whom " all the widows stood weeping, and showing the coats and garments which Dorcas made while she was with them." " In these were read The monuments of Dorcas dead : These were thy acts, and thou shalt have These hung as honours o'er thy grave : EARLY NEEDLEWORK. 19 And after us, distressed, Should fame be dumb, Thy very tomb Would cry out, Thou art blessed ! w But it is not merely as an object of private and domestic utility that needlework is referred to in the Bible. It was applied early to the service of the Tabernacle, and the directions concerning it are very clear and specific ; but before this time, and most probably as early as the time of Abraham, rich and valuable raiment of needlework was accounted of as part of the bona fide property of a wealthy man. When the patriarch's steward sought Rebekah for the wife of Isaac, he " brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment" This "raiment" consisted, in all likelihood, of garments embroidered with gold, the handiwork, it may be, of the female slaves of the patriarch ; such garments being in very great esteem from the earliest ages, and being then, as now, a component portion of those presents or offerings without which one personage hardly thought of approaching another. Fashion in those days was not quite the chame- leon-hued creature that she is at present ; nor were the fabrics on which her fancy was displayed quite so light and airy : their gold was gold — not silk covered with gilded silver ; and consequently the raiment of those days, in-wrought with slips of gold beaten thin and cut into spangles or strips, and sewed on in various patterns, sometimes intermingled with precious stones, would carry its own intrinsic value with it. 20 EARLY NEEDLEWORK. This " raiment" descended from father to son, as a chased goblet arid a massy wrought urn does now ; and was naturally and necessarily inventoried as a portion of the property. The practice of making pre- sents of garments is still quite usual amongst the eas- tern nations ; and to such an excess was it carried with regard to those who, from their calling or any other circumstance, were in public favour, that, so late as the ninth century, Bokteri, an illustrious poet of Cufah, had so many presents made him, that at his death he was found possessed of a hundred complete suits of clothes, two hundred shirts, and five hun- dred turbans. Horace, speaking of Lucullus (who had pillaged Asia, and first introduced Asiatic* refinements among the Romans), says that, some persons hav- ing waited on him to request the loan of a hundred suits out of his wardrobe for the Roman stage, he exclaimed — " A hundred suits! how is it possible for me to furnish such a number ? However, I will look over them and send you what I have." — After some time he writes a note and tells them he had five thousand, to the whole or part of which they were welcome. In all the eastern world formerly, and to a great * Persia had great wardrobes, where there were always many hundred habits, sorted, ready for presents, and the intendant of the wardrobe Sent them to those persons for whom they were designed by the sovereign; more than forty tailors were always employed in this service. In Turkey they do not attend so much to the richness as to the number of the dresses, giving more or fewer according to the dignity of the persons to whom they are presented, or the marks of favour the prince would confer on his guests. EARLY NEEDLEWORK. 21 extent now, the arraying a person in a rich dress is considered a very high compliment, and it was one of the ancient modes of investing with the highest degree of subordinate power. Thus was Joseph arrayed by Pharaoh, and Mordecai by Ahasuerus We all remember what important effects are pro- duced by splendid robes in "The Tale of the Wonder- ful Lamp," and in many other of those fascinating tales (which are allowed to be rigidly correct in the delineations of eastern life). They were doubtless esteemed the richest part of the spoil after a battle, as we find the mother of Sisera apportioning them as his share, and reiterating her delighted anticipations of the "raiment of needlework" which should be his : " a prey of divers colours, of divers colours of needlework, of divers colours of needlework on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil." Job has many allusions to raiment as an essential part of " treasures" in the East ; and our Saviour refers to the same when he desires his hearers not to lay up for themselves " treasures" on earth, where moth and rust corrupt. St. James even more ex- plicitly : " Go to now, ye rich men ; weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your gold and silver is cankered, and your garments are moth-eaten. The first notice we have of gold-wire or thread being used in embroidery is in Exodus, in the direc- tions given for the embroidery of the priests* gar- ments : from this it appears that the metal was still used alone, being beaten fine and then rounded. This art the Hebrews probably learnt from the Egyptians, by whom it was carried to such an as- 22 EARLY NEEDLEWORK. tonishing degree of nicety, that they could either weave it in or work it on their finest linen. And doubtless the productions of the Hebrews now must have equalled the most costly and intricate of those of Egypt. This the adornments of the Taber- nacle testify. 23 CHAPTER III NEEDLEWORK OF THE TABERNACLE. " The cedars wave on Lebanon, But Judah's statelier maids are gone/ — Byron. Gorgeous and magnificent must have been the spectacle presented by that ancient multitude of Israel, as they tabernacled in the wilderness of Sinai. These steril solitudes are now seldom trodden by the foot of man, and the adventurous traveller who toils up their rugged steeps can scarce picture to himself a host sojourning there, so wild, so barren is the place, so fearful are the precipices, so dismal the ravines. On the spot where " Moses talked with God" the grey and mouldering remnants of a con- vent attest the religious veneration and zeal of some of whom these ruins are the only memorial ; and near them is a small chapel dedicated to the Virgin, while religious hands have crowned even the summit of the steep ascent by "a house of prayer ;" and at the foot of the sister peak, Horeb, is an ancient Greek convent, founded by the Em- peror Justinian 1400 years ago, which is occupied still by some harmless recluses, the monotony of whose lives is only broken by the few and far be- 24 NEEDLEWORK OF THE TABERNACLE. tween visits of the adventurous traveller, or the more frequent and startling interruptions of the wild Arabs on their predatory expeditions. But neither church nor temple of any sort, nor inquiring traveller, nor prowling Arab, varied the tremendous grandeur of the scene, when the Israel- itish host encamped there. Weary and toilsome had been the pilgrimage from the base of the moun- tain where the desolation was unrelieved by a trace of vegetation, to the upper country or wilderness, called more particularly, " the Desert of Sinai," where narrow intersecting valleys, not destitute of verdure, cherished perhaps the lofty and refreshing palm. Here in the ravines, in the valleys, and amid the clefts of the rocks, clustered the hosts of Israel, while around them on every side arose lofty summits and towering precipices, where the eye that sought to scan their fearful heights was lost in the far-off dimness. Far, far around, spread this savage wilderness, so frowning, and dreary, and desolate, that any curious explorer beyond the precincts of the camp would quickly return to the home which its vicinity afforded even there. Clustered closely as bees in a hive were the tents of the wandering race, yet with an order and a uni- formity which even the unpropitious nature of the locality was not permitted to break ; for, separated into tribes, each one, though sufficiently connected for any object of kindness or brotherhood, for public worship, or social intercourse, was inalienably dis- tinct. And in the midst, extending from east to west, a length of fifty-five feet, was reared the splendid NEEDLEWORK OF THE TABERNACLE. 25 Tabernacle. For God had said, ei Let them make me a Sanctuary, that I may dwell among them ;" and behold, " they came, both men and women, as many as were willing-hearted, and brought brace- lets, and earrings,, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold ; and every man that offered, offered an offering of gold unto the Lord. And every man with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet* and fine linen, and goats' hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers' skins, brought them. Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the Lord's offering : and every man with whom was found shittim-wood for any work of the service brought it. And all the women that were wise-hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen. And all the women whose hearts stirred them up in wisdom spun goats' hair. And the rulers brought onyx- stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate ; and spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet in- cense." And all these materials, which the u willing- hearted" offered in such abundance that proclama- tion was obliged to be made through the camp to stop their influx, had been wrought under the superintendence of Bezaleel and Aholiab, who were divinely inspired for the task ; and the Tabernacle was now completed, with the exception of some of the finest needlework, which had not yet received the finishing touches. But what was already done bore ample testimony 26 NEEDLEWORK OF THE TABERNACLE. to the skill, the taste, and the industry of the " wise- hearted" daughters of Israel. The outer covering of the Tabernacle, or that which lay directly over the framework of boards of which it was con- structed, and hung from the roof down the sides and west end, was formed of tabash skins ; over this was another covering of ram-skins dyed red; a Hanging made of goats' hair, such as is still used in the tents of the Bedouin Arabs, had been spun and woven by the matrons of the congregation, to hang over the skins; and these substantial dra- peries were beautifully concealed by a first or inner covering of fine linen. On this the more youthful women had embroidered figures of cherubim in scarlet, purple, and light blue, entwined with gold. They had made also sacerdotal vestments, the " coats of fine linen'' worn by all the priests, which, when old, were unravelled, and made into wicks burnt in the feast of tabernacles. They had made the "girdles of needlework," which were long, very long pieces of fine twined linen (carried several times round the body), and were embroidered with flowers in blue, and purple, and scarlet : the " robe of the ephod" also for the high priest,, of light blue, and elaborately wrought round the bottom in pome- granates ; and the plain ephods for the priests. But now the sun was declining in the western sky, and the busy artificers of all sorts were relaxing from the toil of the day. In a retired spot, apart from the noise of the camp, paced one in solitary meditation. Stalwart he was in frame, majestic in bearing; he trod the earth like one of her princes; but the loftiness of his NEEDLEWORK OF THE TABERNACLE. 27 demeanour was forgotten when you looked on the surpassing benignity of his countenance. Each accidental passer hushed his footsep and lowered his voice as he approached ; more, as it should seem, from involuntary awe and reverence than from any understood prohibition. But with some of these loiterers a child of some four or five summers, in earnest chase after a brilliant fly, whose golden wings glittered in the sunlight, heedlessly pursued it even to the very path of the Solitary, and to the interruption of his walk. Hastily, and somewhat peremptorily, the father calls him away. The stranger looks up, and casting a glance around, from an eye to whose brilliance that of the eagle would look dim, he for the first time sees the little intruder. Gently placing a hand on the child's head, " Bless thee/' he said, in a voice whose every tone was melody : " Bless thee, little one ; the blessing of the God of Israel be upon thee," and calmly resumed his walk. The child, as if awed, mutely returned to his friends, who, after casting a glance of reverence and admiration, returned to the camp. Here, scattered all around, are groups occupied in those varied kinds of busy idleness which will na- turally engage the moments of an intelligent multi- tude at the close of an active day. Here a knot of men in the pride of manhood, whose flashing eyes have lost none of their fire, whose raven locks are yet not varied by a single silver line, are talking poli- tics — such politics as the warlike men of Israel would talk, when discoursing of the promised land and the hostile hosts through whose serried ranks they must 28 NEEDLEWORK OF THE TABERNACLE. cut their intrepid way thither, and whom, impatient of all delay, they burn to engage. Here were elder ones, " whose natural force " was in some degree " abated," and who were lamenting the decree, how- ever justly incurred, which forbade them to lay their bones in the land of their lifelong hope; and here was a patriarch, bowed down with the weight of years, whose silver hairs lay on his shoulders, whose snow-white beard flowed upon his breast, who as he leaned upon his staff was recounting to his rapt au- ditors the dealing of Jehovah with his people in ancient days ; how the Most High visited his father Abraham, and had sworn unto Jacob that his seed should be brought out of captivity, and revisit the promised land. " And behold," said the old man, "it will now come to pass." But what is passing in that detached portion of the camp? who sojourn in yonder tents which attract more general attention than all the others, and in which all ages and degrees seem interested ? Now a group of females are there, eagerly conversing ; anon a Hebrew mother leads her youthful and beau- tiful daughter, and seems to incite her to remain there ; now a hoary priest enters, and in a few mo- ments returns pondering ; and anon a trio of more youthful Levites with pleased and animated counte- nances return from the same spot. On a sudden is every eye turned thitherward ; for he who just now paced the solitary glade — none other than the chosen leader of God's host, the ma- jestic lawgiver, the meekest and the mightiest of all created beings — he likewise wends his way to these attractive tents, With him enters Aaron, a vener- NEEDLEWORK OF THE TABERNACLE. 29 able man, with hoary beard and flowing white robes ; and follow him a majestic-looking female who was wont to lead the solemn dance — Miriam the sister of Aaron ; and a youth of heroic bearing, in the spring- time of that life whose maturity was spent in leading the chosen race to conquest in the promised land. With proud and pleased humility did the fair in- mates of those tents, the most accomplished of Israel's daughters, display to their illustrious visitors the " fine needlework" to which their time and talents had been for a long season devoted, and which was now on the eve of completion. The " holy gar- ments " which God had commanded to be made " for glory and for beauty ;" the pomegranates on the hem of the high priest's robe, wrought in blue and purple and scarlet ; the flowers on his (< girdle of needlework," glowing as in life; the border on the ephod, in which every varied colour was shaded off into a rich and delicate tracery of gold ; and above all, that exquisite work, the most beautiful of all their productions — the veil which separated the " Holy of Holies," the place where the Most High vouchsafed his especial presence, where none but the high priest might presume to enter, and he but once a year, from the remaining portions of the Tabernacle. This beautiful hanging was of fine white linen, but the original fabric was hardly discernible amid the gorgeous tracery with which it was inwrought. The whole surface was covered with a profusion of flowers,, intermixed with fanciful devices of every sort, except such as might represent the forms of animals — these were rigidly excluded. Cherubims seemed to be hovering around and grasping its gorgeous folds ; SO NEEDLEWORK OF THE TABERNACLE. and if tradition and history be to be credited, this drapery merited, if ever the production of the needle did merit, the epithet which English talent has since rendered classical, "Needleioork Sublime" Long, despite the advancing shades of evening, would the visitors have lingered untired to comment upon this beautiful production, but one said, lt Be- hold!" and immediately all, following the direction of his outstretched arm , looked towards the Tabernacle. There a thin spiral flame is seen to gleam palely through the pillar of smoke ; but perceptibly it in- creases, and even while the eye is fixed it waxes stronger and brighter, and quickly though gradu- ally the smoke has melted away, and a tall vivid flame of fire is in its place. Higher and taller it aspires : its spiral flame waxes broader and broader, ascends higher and higher, gleams brighter and brighter, till it mingles in the very vault of heaven, with the beams of the setting sun which bathe in crimson fire the summits of Sinai. In the eastern sky the stars gleam brightly in the pure transparent atmosphere ; and ere long the moon casts pale radiant beams adown the dark ravines, and utters her wondrous lore to the silent hills and the gloomy waste. The sounds of toil are hushed ; the weary labourer seeks repose ; the toil- worn wanderer is at rest: the murmuring sounds of domestic life sink lower and lower ; the breath of prayer becomes fainter and fainter ; the voice of praise, the evensong of Israel, comes stealing through the calm of evening, and now dies softly away. Nought is heard but the password of the sentinels ; the far-off shriek of the bat as it flaps its NEEDLEWORK OF THE TABERNACLE. 31 wings beneath the shadow of some fearful precipice ; or the scream of the eagle, which, wheeling round the lofty summits of the mountain, closes in less and lesser circles, till, as the last faint gleam of evening is lost in the dark horizon, it drops into its eyrie. The moon and the stars keep their eternal watch; the beacon-light of God's immediate presence flames unchanged by time or chance. It may be that the appointed earthly shepherd of that chosen flock passes the still hours of night and solitude in commu- nion with his God; but silence is over the wilderness, and the children of Israel are at rest. 32 CHAPTER IV. NEEDLEWORK OF THE EGYPTIANS. " How is thy glory, Egypt, pass'd away ! Weep, child of ruin, o'er thy humbled name ! The wreck alone that marks thy deep decay Now tells the story of thy former fame!" There can be little doubt that the Jewish maidens were beholden to their residence in Egypt for that perfectness of finish in embroidery which was dis- played so worthily in the service of the Tabernacle. Egypt was at this time the seat of science, of art, and learning; for it was thought the highest summary which could be given of Moses' acquirements to say that he was skilled in all the learning of the Egyp- tians. By the researches of the curious, new proofs are still being brought to light of the perfection of their skill in various arts, and we are not with- out testimony that the practice of the lighter and more ornamental bore progress with that of the stupendous and magnificent. Of these lighter pur- suits we at present refer only to the art of needle- work. The Egyptian women were treated with courtesy, with honour, and even with deference : indeed, some historians have gone so far as to say that the women NEEDLEWORK OF THE EGYPTIANS. 33 transacted public business, to the exclusion of the men, who were engaged in domestic occupations. This misapprehension may have arisen from the fact of men being at times engaged at the loom, which in all other countries was then considered as exclusively a feminine occupation ; spinning, how- ever, was principally, if not entirely, confined to women, who had attained to such perfection in the pretty and valuable art, that, though the Egyptian yarn was all spun by the hand, some of the linen made from it was so exquisitely fine as to be called " woven air." And there are some instances recorded by historians which seem fully to bear out the appella- tion. For example : so delicate were the threads used for nets, that some of these nets would pass through a mans ring, and one person could carry a sufficient number of them to surround a whole wood. Amasis king of Egypt presented a linen corslet to the Rhodians of which the threads were each com- posed of 365 fibres ; and he presented another to the Lacedemonians, richly wrought with gold ; and each thread of this corslet, though itself very fine, was composed of 360 other threads all distinct. Nor did these beautiful manufactures lack the addition of equally beautiful needlework. Though the gold thread used at this time was, as we have intimated, solid metal, still the Egyptians had at- tained to such perfection in the art of moulding it, that it was fine enough not merely to embroider, but even to interweave with the linen. The linen corslet of Amasis, presented, as we have remarked, to the Lacedemonians, surpassingly fine as was the mate- rial, was worked with a needle in figures of animals c3 34 NEEDLEWORK OF THE EGYPTIANS. in gold thread, and from the description given of the texture of the linen we may form some idea of the exquisite tenuity of the gold wire which was used to ornament it. Corslets of linen of a somewhat stronger texture than this one, which was doubtless meant for merely ornamental wear, were not uncommon amongst the ancients. The Greeks made thoraces of hide, hemp, linen, or twisted cord. Of the latter there are some curious specimens in the interesting museum of the United Service Club. Alexander had a double thorax of linen ; and Iphicrates ordered his soldiers to lay aside their heavy metal cuirass, and go to battle in hempen armour. And among the arms painted in the tomb of Rameses III. at Thebes is a piece of defensive armour, a sort of coat or cover- ing for the body, made of rich stuff, and richly em- broidered with the figures of lions and other animals. The dress of the Egyptian ladies of rank was rich and somewhat gay : in its general appearance not very dissimilar from the gay chintzes of the present day, but of more value as the material was usually linen ; and though sometimes stamped in patterns, and sometimes interwoven with gold threads, was much more usually worked with the needle. The richest and most elegant of these were of course se- lected to adorn the person of the queen ; and when in the holy book the royal Psalmist is describing the dress of a bride, supposed to have been Pharaoh's daughter, and that she shall be brought to the king "in raiment of needlework,' 1 he says, as proof of the gorge- ousness of her attire, 'her clothing is of wrought gold." This is supposed to mean a garment richly NEEDLEWORK OF THE EGYPTIANS. 35 embroidered with the needle in figures in gold thread, after the manner of Egyptian stitchery. Perhaps no royal lady was ever more magnificently dowered than the queen of Egypt; her apparel might well be gorgeous. Diodorus says that when Mceris, from whom the lake derived its name, and who was supposed to have made the canal, had ar- ranged the sluices for the introduction of the water, and established everything connected with it, he as- signed the sum annually derived from this source as a dowry to the queen for the purchase of jewels, ointments, and other objects connected with the toilette. The provision was certainly very liberal, being a talent every day, or upwards of £70,700 a year ; and when this formed only a portion of the pin-money of the Egyptian queens, to whom the re- venues of the city of Anthylla, famous for its wines, were given for their dress, it is certain they had no reason to complain of the allowance they enjoyed. The Egyptian needlewomen were not solely oc- cupied in the decoration of their persons. The deities were robed in rich vestments, in the preparation of which the proudest in the land felt that they were worthily occupied. This was a source of great gain to the priests, both in this and other countries, as, after decorating the idol gods for a time, these rich offer- ings were their perquisites, who of course encouraged this notable sort of devotion. We are told that it was carried so far that some idols had both winter and summer garments. Tokens of friendship consisting of richly embroi- dered veils, handkerchiefs, &c., were then, as now, 36 NEEDLEWORK OF THE EGYPTIANS' passing from one fair hand to another, as pledges of affection; and as the last holy office of love, the be- reaved mother, the desolate widow, or the maiden whose budding hopes were blighted by her lover's untimely death, might find a fanciful relief to her sorrows by decorating the garment which was to en- shroud the spiritless but undecaying form. The chief proportion of the mummy-cloths which have been so ruthlessly torn from these outraged relics of humanity are coarse ; but some few have been found delicately and beautifully embroidered ; and it is not unnatural to suppose that this difference was the result of feminine solicitude and undying affection. The embroidering of the sails of vessels too was pursued as an article of commerce, as well as for the decoration of native pleasure-boats. The ordinary sails were white ; but the king and his grandees on all gala occasions made use of sails richly em- broidered-with the phoenix, with flowers, and various other emblems and fanciful devices. Many also were painted, and some interwoven in checks and stripes. The boats used in sacred festivals upon the Nile were decorated with appropriate symbols, ac- cording to the nature of the ceremony or the deity in whose service they were engaged ; and the edges of the sails were finished with a coloured hem or border, wdiich would occasionally be variegated with slight embroidery. Shakspeare's description of the barge of Cleopatra when she embarked on the river Cydnus to meet Antony, poetical as it is, seems to be rigidly correct in detail. NEEDLEWORK OF THE EGYPTIANS. 37 Enobarbus. — I will tell you. The barge she sat in, like a burnish'd throne, Burn'd on the water : the poop was beaten gold ; Purple the sails, and so perfumed, that The winds were love-sick with them : the oars were silver; Which to the tune of flutes kept stroke, and made The water, which they beat, to follow faster, As amorous of their strokes. For her own person, It beggar'd all description : she did lie In her pavilion (cloth of gold, of tissue), O'erpicturing that Venus, where we see The fancy outwork nature ; on each side her Stood pretty dimpled boys, like smiling Cupids, With diverse-colour' d fans, whose wind did seem To glow the delicate cheeks which they did cool, And what they undid, did. Agrippa. — O, rare for Antony ! Enobarbus. — Her gentlewomen, like the Nereides, So many mermaids, tended her i' the eyes, ^ And made their bends adornings ; at the helm A seeming mermaid steers ; the silken tackle Swell with the touches of those flower-soft hands, That yarely frame the office. From the barge A strange invisible perfume hits the sense Of the adjacent wharfs. The city cast Her people out upon her ; and Antony, Bethroned in the market-place, did sit alone, Whistling to the air; which, but for vacancy, Had gone to gaze on Cleopatra too, And made a gap in nature. It is said that the silver oars, u which to the tune of flutes kept stroke," were pierced with holes of different sizes, so mechanically contrived, that the water, as it flowed through them at every stroke, produced a harmony in concord with that of the flutes and lyres on board. Such a description as the foregoing gives a more vivid idea than any grave declaration, of the elegant luxury of the Egyptians. 38 KEEDLEWORK OF THE EGYPTIANS. It were easy to collect instances from the Bible in which mention is made of Egyptian embroidery, but one verse (Ezek. xxvii. 7), when the prophet is addressing the Tyrians, specifically points to the subject on which we are speaking : " Fine linen, with broidered work from Egypt, was that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail," &c. A common but beautiful style of embroidery was to draw out entirely the threads of linen which formed the weft, and to re-form the body of the material, and vary its appearance, by working in various stitches and with different colours on the warp alone. Chairs and fauteuils of the most elegant form, made of ebony and other rare woods, inlaid with ivory, were in common use amongst the ancient Egyptians. These were covered, as is the fashion in the present day, with every variety of rich stuff, stamped leather, &c. : but many were likewise em- broidered with different coloured wools, with silk and gold thread. The couches too, which in the daytime had a rich covering substituted for the night bedding, gave ample scope for the display of the inventive genius and persevering industry of the busy-fingered Egyptian ladies. We have given sufficient proof that the Egyptian females were accomplished in the art of needlework, and we may naturally infer that they were fond of it. It is a gentle and a social occupation, and usefully employs the time, whilst it does not inter- fere with the current of the thoughts or the flow of conversation. The Egyptians were an intelligent and an animated race; and the sprightly jest or NEEDLEWORK OF THE EGYPTIANS. 39 the lively sally would be interspersed with the graver details of thoughtful and reflective conver- sation, or would give some point to the dull routine of mere womanish chatter. It seems almost im- possible to have lived amidst the stupendous mag- nificence of Egypt in days of yore, without the mind assimilating itself in some degree to the greatness with which it was surrounded. The vast deserts, the stupendous mountains, the river Nile — the single and solitary river which in itself sufficed the needs of a mighty empire — these majestic monuments of nature seemed as emblems to which the people should fashion, as they did fashion, their pyramids, their tombs, their sphynxes, their mighty reservoirs, and their colossal statues. And we can hardly suppose that such ever- visible objects should not, during the time of their creation, have some elevating influence on the weakest mind; and that therefore frivolity of conversation amongst the Egyptian ladies was rather the exception than the rule. But a modern author has amused himself, and exercised some ingenuity in attempting to prove the contrary : — " Many similar instances of a talent for caricature are observable in the compositions of Egyptian artists who executed the paintings on the tombs ; and the ladies are not spared. We are led to infer that they were not deficient in the talent of conver- sation; and the numerous subjects they proposed are shown to have been examined with great anima- tion. Among these the question of dress was not forgotten, and the patterns or the value of trinkets were discussed with proportionate interest. The 40 NEEDLEWORK OF THE EGYPTIANS. maker of an earring, or the shop where it was purchased, were anxiously inquired; each compared the workmanship, the style, and the materials of those she wore, coveted 'her neighbour's, or pre- ferred her own ; and women of every class vied with each other in the display of f jewels of silver and jewels of gold,' in the texture of their ' raiment,' the neatness of their sandals, and the arrangement or beauty of their plaited hair." We are too much indebted to this author's in- teresting volumes to quarrel with him for his ungal- lant exposition of a very simple painting; but we beg to place in juxtaposition with the above (though otherwise somewhat out of its place) an extract from a work by no means characterised by unnecessary complacency to the fair sex. " ' Cet homme passe sa vie a forger des nouvelles,' me dit alors un gros Athenien qui etait assis aupres de moi. ' II ne s'occupe que de choses qui ne le touchent point. Pour moi, mon interieur me suffit. J'ai une femme que j'aime beaucoup;' et il me fit Peloge de sa femme. ' Hier je ne pus pas souper avec elle, j'etais prie chez un de mes amis;' et il me fit la description du repas. ' Je me retirai chez moi assez content. Mais j'ai fait cette nuit un r£ve qui m'inquiete ;' et il me raconta son reve. Ensuite il me dit pesamment que la ville fourmillait d'etrangers; que les homines d'aujourd'hui ne valaient pas ceux d'autrefois; que les denrees etaient a bas prix ; qu'on pourrait esperer une bonne recolte, s'il venait a pleuvoir. Apres m'avoir de- mande le quantieme du mois, il se leva pour aller souper avec sa femme." 41 CHAPTER V. NEEDLEWORK OF THE GREEKS AND ROMANS. Supreme Sits the virtuous housewife, The tender mother — O'er the circle presiding, And prudently guiding ; The girls gravely schooling The boys wisely ruling ; Her hands never ceasing From labours increasing ; And doubling his gains With her orderly pains. With piles of rich treasure the storehouse she spreads, And winds round the loud-whirring spindle her threads: She winds — till the bright-polish'd presses are full Of the snow-white linen and glittering wool : Blends the brilliant and solid in constant endeavour, And resteth never." J. H. Merivale. It was an admitted opinion amongst the classical nations of antiquity, that no less a personage than Minerva herself, " a maiden affecting old fashions and formality," visited earth to teach her favourite nation the mysteries of those implements which are called "the arms of every virtuous woman;" viz. the distaff and spindle. In the use of these the Grecian dames were particularly skilled ; in fact, 42 NEEDLEWORK OF THE GREEKS AND ROMANS. spinning, weaving, needlework, and embroidery, formed the chief occupation of those whose rank exon- erated them, even in more primitive days, from the menial drudgery of a household. The Greek females led exceedingly retired lives, being far more charily admitted to a share of the recreations of the nobler sex than we of these privi- leged days. The ancient Greeks were very mag- nificent — very: magnificent senators, magnificent warriors, magnificent men ; but they were a people trained from the cradle for exhibition and publicity ; domestic life was quite cast into the shade. Con- sequently and necessarily their women were thrown to greater distance, till it happened, naturally enough, that they seemed to form a distinct com- munity; and apartments the most distant and secluded that the mansion afforded were usually assigned to them. Of these, in large establishments, certain ones weie always appropriated to the labours of the needle. " Je ne dirai" (says the sarcastic author of Ana- charsis) " qu'un mot sur l'education des filles. Suivant le difference des etats, elles apprennent a lire, ecrire, coudre, filer, preparer la laine dont on fait les vete- mens, et veiller aux soins du menage. En general, les meres exhortent leurs filles a se conduire avec sagesse ; mais elle insistent beaucoup plus sur la ne- cessite de se tenir droites, d'effacer leurs epaules, de serrer leur sein avec un large ruban, d'etre extr£me- ment sobres, et de prevenir, par toutes sortes de moyens, un embonpoint qui nuirait a l'elegance de la taille et a la grace des mouvemens." Homer, the great fountain of ancient lore, scarcely NEEDLEWORK OF THE GREEKS AND ROMANS- 43 throughout his whole work names a female, Greek or Trojan, but as connected naturally and indisso- lubly with this feminine occupation — needlework. Thus, when Chryses implores permission to ransome his daughter, Agamemnon wrathfully replies — " I will not loose thy daughter, till old age Find her far distant from her native soil, Beneath my roof in Argos, at her task Of tissue-work." And Iris, the " ambassadress of Heaven," finds Helen in her own recess — « weaving there a gorgeous web, Inwrought with fiery conflicts, for her sake Wag'd by contending nations/' Hector foreseeing the miseries consequent upon the destruction of Troy„ says to Andromache — (i But no grief So moves me as my grief for thee alone, Doom'd then to follow some imperious Greek, A weeping captive, to the distant shores Of Argos ; there to labour at the loom For a taskmistress." And again he says to her — " Hence, then, to our abode ; there weave or spin, And task thy maidens." And afterwards — (C Andromache, the while, Knew nought, nor even by report had leam'd Her Hector's absence in the field alone. She in her chamber at the palace-top A splendid texture wrought, on either side All dazzling bright with flow'rs of various hues." 44 NEEDLEWORK OF THE GREEKS AND ROMANS. Though u Penelope's web" is become a proverb, it would be unpardonable here to omit specific men- tion of it. Antinous thus complains of her : — " Elusive of the bridal day, she gives Fond hope to all, and all with hope deceives. Did not the Sun, through heaven's wide azure roli'd, For three long years the royal fraud behold ? While she, laborious in delusion, spread The spacious loom, and mix'd the various thread ; Where, as to life the wondrous figures rise. Thus spoke th' inventive queen with artful sighs: — * Though cold in death Ulysses breathes no more, Cease yet a while to urge the bridal hour; Cease, till to great Laertes I bequeath A tank of grief, his ornaments of death. Lest, when the Fates his royal ashes claim, The Grecian matrons taint my spotless fame : W^hen he, whom living mighty realms obey'd, Shall want in death a shroud to grace his shade.' Thus she : At once the generous train complies, Nor fraud mistrusts in virtue's fair disguise. The work she plied ; but, studious of delay, By night revers'd the labours of the day. While thrice the Sun his annual journey made, The conscious lamp the midnight fraud survey 'd ; Unheard, unseen, three years her arts prevail ; The fourth, her maid unfolds th' amazing tale. We saw, as unperceiv'd we took our stand, The backward labours of her faithless hand. Then urg'd, she perfects her illustrious toils ; A wondrous monument of female wiles." The Greek costume was rich and elegant ; and though, from our familiarity with colourless statues, we are apt to suppose it gravely uniform in its hue, such was not the fact; for the tunic was often adorned with ornamental embroidery of all sorts. The toga was the characteristic of Roman costume : this gradually assumed variations from its primitive NEEDLEWORK OF THE GREEKS AND ROMANS. 45 simplicity of hue, until at length the triumphant general considered even the royal purple too unpre- tending, unless set off by a rich embroidery of gold. The first embroideries of the Romans were but bands of stuff, cut or twisted, which they put on the dresses: the more modest used only one band; others two, three, four, up to seven ; and from the number of these the dresses took their names, always drawn from the Greek : molores, dilores, trilores, tetralores, &c. Pliny seems to be the authority whence most writers derive their accounts of ancient garments and needlework. " The coarse rough wool with the round great haire hath been of ancient time highly commended and accounted of in tapestrie worke : for even Homer himself witnesseth that they of the old world used the same much, and tooke great delight therein. But this tapestrie is set out with colours in France after one sort, and among the Parthians after another. M. Varro write th that within the temple of Sangus there continued unto the time that he wrote his booke the wooll that lady Tanaquil, other- wise named Caia Cecilia, spun ; together with her distaff and spindle : as also within the chapel of Fortune, the very roiall robe or mantle of estate, made in her own hands after the manner of water chamlot in wave worke, which Servius Tullius used to weare. And from hence came the fashion and custome at Rome, that when maidens were to be wedded, there attended upon them a distaffe, dressed and trimmed with kombed wooll, as also a spindle and yearne upon it. The said Tanaquil was the 46 NEEDLEWORK OF THE GREEKS AND ROMANS. first that made the coat or cassocke woven right out all through ; such as new beginners (namely young souldiers, barristers, and fresh brides) put on under their white plaine gowns, without any guard of purple. The waved water chamelot was from the beginning esteemed the richest and bravest wearing. And from thence came the branched damaske in broad workes. Fenestella writeth that in the latter time of Augustus Caesar they began at Eome to use their gownes of cloth shorne, as also with a curled nap. — As for those robes which are called crebrse and papaveratse, wrought thicke with floure worke, resembling pop- pies, or pressed even and smooth, they be of greater antiquitie : for even in the time of Lucilius the poet Torquatus was noted and reproved for wearing them. The long robes embrodered before, called prsetextae, were devised first by the Tuscanes. The Trabeae w T ere roiall robes, and I find that kings and princes only ware them. In Homer's time also they used garments embrodered with imagerie and floure, work, and from thence came the triumphant robes. As for embroderie itselfe and needle-worke, it was the Phrygians invention : and hereupon embro- derers in Latine bee called phrygiones. And in the same Asia king Attalus was the first that devised cloth of gold : and thence come such colours to be called Attalica. In Babylon they used much to weave their cloth of divers colours, and this was a great wear- ing amongst them, and cloths so wrought were called Babylonica. To weave cloth of tissue with twisted threeds both in woofe and warpe, and the same of sundrie colours, was the invention of Alexandria ; NEEDLEWORK OF THE GREEKS AND ROMANS. 47 and such clothes and garments were called Polymita, But Fraunce devised the scutchion, square, or lozenge damaske worke. Metellus Scipio, among other challenges and imputations laid against Capito reproached and accused him for this: — 'That his hangings and furniture of his dining chamber, being Babylonian work or cloth of Arras, were sold for 800,000 sesterces ; and such like of late days stood Prince Nero in 400,000 sesterces, i. e. forty millions/ The embrodered long robes of Servius Tullius, wherewith he covered and arraied all over the image of Fortune, by him dedicated, remained whole and sound until the end of Sejanus. And a wonder it was that they neither fell from the image nor were motheaten in 560 yeares." * It was long before silk was in general use, even for patrician garments. It has been supposed that the famous Median vest, invented by Semiramis, was silken, which might account for its great fame in the west. Be this as it may, it was so very graceful, that the Medes adopted it after they had conquered Asia; and the Persians followed their example. In the time of the Romans the price of silk was weight for weight with gold, and the first persons who brought silk into Europe were] the Greeks of Alexander's army. Under Tiberius it was forbidden to be worn by men ; and it is said that the Emperor Aurelian even refused the earnest request of his empress for a silken dress, on the plea of its extravagant cost. Heliogabalus was the first man that ever wore a robe entirely of silk. He had also a tunic woven of gold threads ; such * Book viii. chap. 46. 48 NEEDLEWORK OF THE GREEKS AND ROMANS. gold thread as we referred to in a prior chapter, as consisting of the metal alone beaten out and rounded, without any intermixture of silk or woollen. Tarquinius Priscus had also a vest of this gorgeous description, as had likewise Agrippina. Goldthread and wire continued to be made entirely of metal probably until the time of Aurelian, nor have there been any instances found in Herculaneum and Pompeii of the silken thread with a gold coating. These examples will suffice to show that it was not usually the material of the ancient garments which gave them so high a value, but the orna- mental embellishments with which they were after- wards invested by the needle. The Medes and Babylonians seem to have been most highly celebrated for their stuffs and tapestries of various sorts which were figured by the needle ; the Egyptians certainly rivalled, though they did not surpass them ; and the Greeks seem also to have attained a high degree of excellence in this pretty art. The epoch of embroidery amongst the Romans went as far back as Tarquin, to whom the Etrus- cans presented a tunic of purple enriched with gold, and a mantle of purple and other colours, ei tels qu'en portoient les rois de Perse et de Lydie." But soon luxury banished the wonted austerity of Rome ; and when Caesar first showed himself in a habit embroidered and fringed, this innovation appeared scandalous to those who had not been alarmed at any of his real and important inno- vations. We have referred in a former chapter to the NEEDLEWORK OF THE GREEKS AND ROMANS. 49 practice of sending garments as presents, as marks of respect and friendship, or as propitiatory or de- precatory offerings. And the illustrious ladies of the classical times had such a prophetical talent of preparation, that they were ever found possessed, when occasion required, of store of garments richly embroidered by their own fair fingers, or under their auspices. Of this there are numerous ex- amples in Homer. When Priam wishes to redeem the body of Hec- tor, after preparing other propitiatory gifts, a he open'd wide the sculpt ur'd lids Of various chests, whence mantles twelve he took Of texture beautiful ; twelve single cloaks ; As many carpets, with as many robes ; To which he added vests an equal store." When Telemachus is about to leave Menelaus — i( The beauteous queen revolv'd with careful eyes Her various textures of unnumber'd dyes, And chose the largest ; with no vulgar art Her own fair hands embroider'd every part : Beneath the rest it lay divinely bright, Like radiant Hesper o'er the gems of night." That much of this work was highly beautiful may be inferred from the description of the robe ol Ulysses : — u In the rich woof a hound, Mosaic drawn, Bore on full stretch, and seiz'd a dappled fawn ; Deep in the neck his fangs indent their hold ; They pant and struggle in the moving gold." And this robe, Penelope says, " In happier hours her artful hand employ'd." To invest a visitor with an embroidered robe was D 50 NEEDLEWORK OF THE GREEKS AND ROMANS. considered the very highest mark of honour and regard. When Telemachus is at the magnificent court of Menelaus — « a bright damsel train attend the guests With liquid odours and embroidered vests" " Give to the stranger guest a stranger's dues: Bring gold, a pledge of love ; a talent bring, A vest, a robe* 9 in order roll'd The robes, the vests are rang'd, and heaps of gold: And adding a rich dress inwrought with art, A gift expressive of her bounteous heart, Thus spoke (the queen) to Ithacus." When Cambyses wished to attain some point from an Ethiopian prince, he forwarded, amongst other presents, a rich vest. The Ethiopian, taking the garment, inquired what it was, and how it was made ; but its glittering tracery did not decoy the unsophisticated prince. When Xerxes arrived at Acanthos, he interchanged the rites of hospitality with the people, and presented several with Median vests. Probably our readers will remember the circumstance of Alexander making the mother of Darius a present of some rich vestures, probably of woollen fabrics, and telling her that she might make her grandchildren learn the art of weaving them; at which the royal lady felt insulted and deeply hurt, as it was considered ignominious by the Persian women to work in wool. Hearing of her misapprehension, Alexander himself waited on her, and in the gentlest and most respectful terms told the illustrious captive that, far from meaning NEEDLEWORK OF THE GREEKS AND ROMANS. 51 any offence, the custom of his own country had misled him ; and that the vestments he had offered were not only a present from his royal sisters, but wrought by their own hands. Outre as appear some of the flaring patterns of the present day, the boldest of them must be quiet and unattractive compared with those we read of formerly, when not only human figures, but birds and animals, were wrought not merely on hangings and carpets but on wearing apparel. Ciampini gives various instances.* What changes, says he, do not a long course of years produce ! Who now, except in the theatre, or at a carnival or masquerade (spectaculis ac rebus ludiciis), would endure garments inscribed with verses and titles, and painted with various figures? Nevertheless, it is plain that such garments were constantly used in ancient times. To say nothing of Homer, who assigns to Ulysses a tunic variegated with figures of animals ; to say nothing of the Massagetse, whom Herodotus relates painted animals on their garments with the juice of herbs ; we also read of these garments (though then con- sidered very antiquated) being used under the Caesars of Rome. They say that Alcisthenes the Sybarite had a garment of such magnificence that when he exhi- bited it in the Temple of Juno at Lacinium, where all Italy was congregated, it attracted universal attention. It was purchased from the Carthagi- nians, by Dionysius the elder, for 120 talents. It was twenty-two feet in breadth, of a purple ground, * Ciampini, Vetera Monimenta, cap. xiii. d2 52 NEEDLEWORK OF THE GREEKS AND ROMANS. with animals wrought all over, except in the middle, where were Jupiter, Juno, Themis, Minerva, Apollo, Venus : on one sleeve it had a figure of Alcisthenes, on the other of his city Sybaris. That this description is not exaggerated may be inferred from the following passage from a homily on Dives and Lazarus by a Bishop of Amuasan in Pontus, given by Ciampini. " They have here no bounds to this foolish art, for no sooner was invented the useless art of weav- ing in figures in a kind of picture, such as animals of all sorts, than (rich persons) procure flowered garments, and also those variegated with an infinite number of images, both for themselves, their wives, and children Whensoever thus clothed they go abroad, they go, as it were, painted all over, and pointing out to one another with the finger the pictures on their garments. "For there are lions and panthers, and bears and bulls, and dogs and woods, and rocks and hunts- men ; and, in a word, everything that can be thought of, all drawn to the life: for it was neces- sary, forsooth, that not only the walls of their houses should be painted, but their coats (tunica) also, and likewise the cloak (pallium) which covers it. " The more pious of these gentry take their sub- jects from the Gospel history : e. g. Christ himself with his disciples, or one of the miracles, is depicted. In this manner you shall see the marriage of Cana and the waterpots ; the paralytic carrying his bed on his shoulders; the blind man cured by clay; the woman with the issue of blood taking hold of the border (of Christ's garment) ; the harlot falling at NEEDLEWORK OF THE GREEKS AND ROMANS. 53 the feet of Jesus ; Lazarus coming from the tomb; and they fancy there is great piety in all this, and that putting on such garments must be pleasing to God." The palmated garment was figured with palm- leaves, and was a triumphal or festive garment. It is referred to in an epistle of Gratian to Augustus : i( I have sent thee a palmated garment, in which the name of our divine parent Constantine is inter- woven." In allusion to these lettered garments Ausonius celebrates Sabina (textrice simul ac poetria), whose name thus lives when those of more important per- sonages are forgotten : — They who both wefts and verses weave, The first to thee, O chaste Minerva, leave ; The latter to the Muses they devote : To me, Sabina, it appears a sin To separate two things so near akin, So I have wrote thy verses on my coat.* And again : Whether the Tyrian robe your praise demand, Or the neat verse upon the edge descried, Know both proceed from the same skilful hand: In both these arts Sabina takes a pride.f It is imagined that the embroidered vestments * .r ': ...~- :.i £ j. :r. E:::::.::::.:-v the a w h sf ai d and ungainly aspect of these, in comparison with the !_-_': r-^ .r j L":::i. ":_z: - :'::: ::' .s zT :. . :._; ^ :-zLzz:- : : :z....:;y M ahammed prohibited his folio vers from delineating the form of men or »f™»H in their pictorial embellishments of whaierer sort. : - : - I.: -- ■;•:: = :: I .I-; v • i 7 - - 154 TAPESTRY. grooms of the chamber. And if these functionaries had not, to use a proverbial expression, " heads on their shoulders," ridiculous or perplexing blunders were not unlikely to arise. Of the latter we have an instance recorded by the Due de Sully. " The King (Henry IV.) had not yet quitted Monceaux, when the Cardinal of Florence, who had so great a hand in the treaty of the Vervins, passed through Paris, as he came back from Picardy, and to return from thence to Rome, after he had taken leave of his Majesty. The king sent me to Paris to receive him, commanding me to pay him all ima- ginable honours. He had need of a person near the Pope, so powerful as this Cardinal, who after- wards obtained the Pontificate himself: I therefore omitted nothing that could answer His Majesty's intentions ; and the legate, having an inclination to see St. Germain-en-Laye, I sent orders to Momier, the keeper of the castle, to hang the halls and chambers with the finest tapestry of the Crown. Momier executed my orders with great punctuality, but with so little judgment, that for the legate's chamber he chose a suit of hangings made by the Queen of Navarre; very rich, indeed, but which represented nothing but emblems and mottos against the Pope and the Roman Court as satirical as they were ingenious. The prelate endeavoured to pre- vail upon me to accept a place in the coach that was to carry him to St. Germain, which I refused, being- desirous of getting there before him, that I might see whether everything was in order ; with which I was very well pleased. I saw the blunder of the keeper, and reformed it immediately. The legate TAPESTRY. 155 would not have failed to look upon such a mistake as a formed design to insult him, and to have repre- sented it as such to the Pope. Reflecting afterwards, that no difference in religion could authorise such sarcasms, I caused all those mottos to be effaced."* In the sixteeenth centuryj a sort of hanging was introduced, which, partaking of the nature both of tapestry and painting on the walls, was a formidable rival to the former. Shakspeare frequently alludes to these a painted cloths." For instance, when Fal- staff persuades Hostess Quickly, not only to with- draw her arrest, but also to make him a further loan : she says — "By this heavenly ground I tread on, I must be fain to pawn both my plate and the tapestry of my dining chambers ! " Falstaff answers — " Glasses, glasses is the only drinking, and for thy walls a pretty slight drollery r , or the story of the Prodigal, or a German Hunting in water-work, is worth a thousand of these fly-bitten tapestries. Let it be ten pounds if thou canst. If it were not for thy humours, there is not a better wench in Eng- land ! Go wash thy face and draw thy action." In another passage of the play he says that his troops are "as ragged as Lazarus in i he painted cloth." There are now at Hampton Court eight large pieces or hangings of this description; being "The Triumphs of Julius Caesar," in water-colours, on * Sully's Memoirs. We have, in a subsequent chapter, a more fuil account of this Tapestry. + Gent's Mag., 1830. 156 TAPESTRY. cloth, and in good preservation. They are by- Andrea Mantegna, and were valued at 1000/. at the time, when, by some strange circumstance, the Car- toons of Raphael were estimated only at 300/. Tapestry was common in the East at a very remote era, when the most grotesque compositions and fantastic combinations were usually displayed on it. Some authors suppose that the Greeks took their ideas of griffins, centaurs, &c, from these Tapestries, which, together with the art of making them, they derived from the East, and at first they closely imitated both the beauties and deformities of their patterns. At length their refined taste improved upon these originals ; and the old gro- tesque combinations were confined to the borders of the hanging, the centre of which displayed a more regular and systematic representation. It has been supposed by some writers that the in- vention of Tapestry, passed from the East into Europe ; but Guicciardini ascribes it to the Nether- landers ; and assuredly the Bayeux Tapestry, the work of the Conqueror's Queen, shows that this art must have acquired much perfection in Europe be- fore the time of the Crusades, which is the time assigned by many for its introduction there. Pro- bably Guicciardini refers to woven Tapestry, which was not practised until the article itself had become, from custom, a thing of necessity. Unintermitting and arduous had been the stitchery practised in the creation of these coveted luxuries long, very long before the loom was taught to give relief to the busy finger. The first ^manufactories of Tapestry of any note TAPESTRY. 157 were those of Flanders, established there long before they were attempted in France or England. The chief of these were at Brussels, Antwerp, Oudenarde, Lisle, Tournay, Bruges, and Valenciennes. At Brussels and Antwerp they succeeded well both in the design and the execution of human figures and animals, and also in landscapes. At Oudenarde the landscape was more imitated, and they did not suc- ceed so well in the figure. The other manufactories, always excepting those of Arras,were inferior to these. The grand era of general manufactories in France must be fixed in the reign of Henry the IV. Amongst others he especially devoted his attention to the manufacture of Tapestry, and that of the Gobelins, since so celebrated, was begun, though futilely, in his reign. His celebrated minister, Sully, was en- tangled in these matters somewhat more than he him- self approved. 1 605. " I laid, by his order, the foundations of the new edifices for his Tapestry weavers, in the horse- market. His Majesty sent for Comans and La Planche, from other countries, and gave them the care and superintendence of these manufactures : the new directors were not long before they made complaints, and disliked their situation, either be- cause they did not find profits equal to their hopes and expectations, or, that having advanced con- siderable sums themselves, they saw no great pro- bability of getting them in again. The king got rid of their importunity by referring them to me."* 1607. "It was a difficult matter to agree upon a price with these celebrated Flemish tapestry workers, which * Sully's Memoirs, vol. ii. 158 TAPESTRY. we had brought into France at so great an expense. At length it was resolved in the presence of Sillery and me, that a 100,000/. should be given them for their establishment. Heniy was very solicitous about the payment of this sum ; ( Having/ said he, * a great desire to keep them, and not to lose the ad- vances we have made.' He would have been better pleased if these people could have been paid out of some other funds than those which he had reserved for himself: however, there was a necessity for satisfy- ing them at any price whatever. His Majesty made use of his authority to oblige De Vienne to sign an acquittal to the undertakers for linen cloth in imita- tion of Dutch Holland. This prince ordered a com- plete set of furniture to be made for him, which he sent for me to examine separately, to know if they had not imposed upon him. These things were not at all in my taste, and I was but a very indifferent judge of them : the price seemed to me to be ex- cessive, as well as the quantity. Henry was of another opinion : after examining the work, and reading my paper, he wrote to me that there was not too much, and that they had not exceeded his orders ; and that he had never seen so beautiful a piece of work before, and that the workman must be paid his demands immediately." * The manufactory languished however, even if it did not become entirely extinct. But it was revived in the reign of Louis XIV., and has since dispersed productions of unequalled delicacy over the civilised world. * Sully's Memoirs, vol. iii. TAPESTRY. 159 It was called " Gobelins," because the house in the suburbs of Paris, where the manufacture is car- ried on, was built by brothers whose names were Giles and John Gobelins, both excellent dyers, and who brought to Paris in the reign of Francis I. the secret of dying a beautiful scarlet colour, still known by their name. In the year 1667 this place, till then called " Go- belines' Folly," changed its name into that of " Ho- tel Royal des Gobelins,'' in consequence of an edict of Louis XIV. M. Colbert having re-established, and with new magnificence enriched and completed the king's palaces, particularly the Louvre and the Tuilleries, began to think of making furniture suit- able to the grandeur of those buildings; with this view he called together all the ablest workmen in the divers arts and manufactures throughout the kingdom ; particularly painters, tapestry makers from Flanders, sculptors, goldsmiths, ebonists, &c, and by liberal encouragement and splendid pensions called others from foreign nations. The king purchased the Gobelins for them to work in, and laws and articles were drawn up, amongst which is one that no other tapestry work shall be imported from any other country. Nor did there need ; for the Gobelins has ever since remained the first manufactory of this kind in the world. The quantity of the finest and noblest works that have been produced by it, and the num- ber of the best workmen bred up therein are incre- dible ; and the present flourishing condition of the arts and manufactures of France is, in great measure, owing thereto. 160 TAPESTRY. Tapestry work in particular is their glory. During the superintendence of M. Colbert, and his successor M. de Louvois, the making of tapestry is said to have been practised to the highest degree of per- fection. The celebrated painter, Le Brun, was appointed chief director, and from his designs were woven magnificent hangings of Alexander's Battles — The Four Seasons — the Four Elements — and a series of the principal actions of the life of Louis XIV. M. de Louvois, during his administration, caused tapestries to be made after the most beautiful originals in the king's cabinet, after Kaphael and Julio Romano, and other celebrated Italian painters. Not the least in- teresting part of the process was that performed by the rentrayeurs, or fine-drawers, who so unite the breadths of the tapestry into one picture that no seam is discernible, but the whole appears like one design. The French have had other considerable manufactories at Auvergne, Felletin and Beauvais, but all sank beneath the superiority of the Gobelins, which indeed at one time outvied the renown of that far-famed town, whose productions gave a title to the whole species, viz., that of Arras. Walpole gives an intimation of the introduction of tapestry weaving into England, so early as the reign of Edward III., "De inquirendo de mystera Tapiciorum, London ; " but usually William Shel- don, Esq., is considered the introducer of it, and he allowed an artist, named Robert Hicks, the use of his manor-house at Burcheston, in Warwickshire ; and in his will, dated 1570, he calls Hicks " the only auter and beginner of tapistry and arras within TAPESTRY. 161 this realm." At his house were four maps of Ox- ford, Worcester, Warwick, and Gloucestershires, executed in tapestry on a large scale, fragments of which are or were among the curiosities of Straw- berry-hill. We meet with little further notice of this establishment. This beautiful art was, however, revived in the reign of James L, and carried to great perfection under the patronage of himself and his martyr son. It received its death blow in common with other equally beautiful and more important pursuits during the triumph of the Commonwealth. James gave £2000 to assist Sir Francis Crane in the establish- ment of the manufactory at Mortlake, in Surry, which was commenced in the year 1619. Towards the end of this reign, Francis Cleyn, or Klein, a native of Rostock, in the duchy of Mecklenburg, w r as employed in forming designs for this institu- tion, which had already attained great perfection. Charles allowed him £100 a year, as appears from Rymer's Foedera : " Know ye that we do give and grant unto Francis Cleyne a certain annuitie of one hundred pounds, by the year, during his natural life." He enjoyed this salary till the civil war, and was in such favour with the king, and in such repu- tation, that on a small painting of him he is described as i( 11 famosissimo pittore Francesco Cleyn, mira- colo del secolo, e molto stimato del re Carlo della gran Britania, 1646." The Tapestry Manufacture at Mortlake was indeed a hobby, both of King James and Prince Charles, and of consequence was patronised by the Court. During Charles the First's romantic expedition to 162 TAPESTRY. Spain, when Prince of Wales, with the Duke of Buckingham, James writes — " I have settled with Sir Francis Crane for my Steenie's business, and I am this day to speak with Fotherby, and by my next, Steenie shall have an account both of his busi- ness, and of Kit's preferment and supply in means ; but Sir Francis Crane desires to know if my Baby will have him to hasten the making- of that suit of Tapestry that he commanded him." * The most superb hangings were wrought here after the designs of distinguished painters ; and Windsor Castle, Hampton Court, Whitehall, St. James's, Non- such, Greenwich, and other royal seats, and many noble mansions were enriched and adorned by its pro- ductions. In the first vear of his reisni, Charles was indebted ,£6000 to the establishment for three suits of gold tapestry ; Five of the Cartoons were wrought here, and sent to Hampton Court, where they still remain. A suit of hangings, representing the Five Senses, executed here, was in the palace at Oatlands, and was sold in 1649 for £270. Rubens sketched eight pieces in Charles the First's reign for tapes- try, to be woven here, of the history of Achilles, in- tended for one of the royal palaces. At Lord II- chester's, at Redlinch, in Somersetshire, was a suit of hangings representing the twelve months in com- partments ; and there are several other sets of the same design. Williams, Archbishop of York, and Lord Keeper, paid Sir Francis Crane £2500 for the Four Seasons. At Knowl, in Kent, was a piece of the same tapestry wrought in silk, containing the por- traits of Vandyck, and St. Francis himself. At * Miscellaneous State Papers, vol. i. No. 26. TAPESTRY. 163 Lord Shrewsbury's (Heythorp, Oxfordshire) are, or were, four pieces of tapestry from designs by Vanderborght, representing the four quarters of the world, expressed by assemblages of the nations in various habits and employments, excepting Europe, which is in masquerade, wrought in chiaroscuro. And at Houghton (Lord Oxford's seat) were beau- tiful hangings containing whole lengths of King James, King Charles, their Queens, and the King of Denmark, with heads of the Royal Children in the borders. These are all mentioned incidentally as the production of the Mortlake establishment. After the death of Sir Francis Crane, his brother Sir Richard sold the premises to Charles I. During the civil wars, this work was seized as the property of the Crown ; and though, after the Restoration, Charles II. endeavoured to revive the manufacture, and sent Verrio to sketch the designs, his intention was not carried into effect. The work, though lan- guishing, was not altogether extinct ; for in Mr. Eve- lyn's very scarce tract intituled (i Mundus Muliebris," printed in 1690, some of this manufacture is amongst the articles to be furnished by a gallant to his mis- tress. One of the first acts of the Protectorate after the death of the king, was to dispose of the pictures, statues, tapestry hangings, and other splendid orna- ments of the royal palaces. Cardinal Mazarine en- riched himself with much of this royal plunder: and some of the splendid tapestry was purchased by the Archduke Leopold. This however found its way again to England, being re-purchased at Brussels for 164 TAPESTRY. £3000 by Frederick, Prince of Wales, father of George III. In 1663 " two well-intended statutes " were made : one for the encouragement of the linen and tapestry manufactures of England, and discouragement of the importation of foreign tapestry : — and the other — start not, fair reader — the other " for regulating the packing of herrings." * * u The rich tapestry and arras hangings which belonged to St. James's Palace, Hampton Court, Whitehall, and other Royal Seats, were purchased for Cromwell : these were inventoried at a sum not exceeding £30,000. One piece of eight parts at Hampton Court was appraised at £8/260 : this related to the History of Abraham. Another of ten parts, representing the History of Julius Caesar, was appraised at £5019." 165 CHAPTER XII. ROMANCES WORKED IN TAPESTRY. " And storied loves of knights and courtly dames, Pageants and triumphs, tournaments and games." Rose's Partenopex. It has been a favourite practice of all antiquity to work with the needle representations of those sub- jects in which the imagination and the feelings were most interested. The labours of Penelope, of Helen, and Andromache, are proverbial, and this mode of giving permanency to the actions of illustrious indivi- duals was not confined to the classical nations. The ancient islanders used to work — until the progress of art enabled them to weave the histories of their giants and champions in Tapestry ; and the same thing is recorded of the old Persians ; and this furniture is still in high request among many Oriental nations, especially in Japan and China. The royal palace of Jeddo has profusion of the finest Tapestry ; this in- deed is gorgeous, being wrought with silk, and adorned with pearls, gold, and silver. It was considered a right regal offering from one prince to another. Henry III., King of Castile, sent a present to Timour at Samarcand, of Tapestry 166 ROMANCES WORKED IN TAPESTRY. which was considered to surpass even the works of Asiatic artists in beauty : and when the religious and military orders of some of the princes of France and Burgundy had plunged them into a kind of crusade against the Turkish Sultan Bajazet, and they became his prisoners in the battle of Nicopolis, the King of France sent presents to the Sultan, to induce him to ransom them; amongst which Tapestry represent- ing the battles of Alexander the Great was the most co^~^icuous. Tapestry was not used in the halls of princes alone, "but cut a very conspicuous figure on all occasions of festivity and rejoicing. It was customary at these times to hang ornamental needlework of all sorts from the windows or balconies of the houses of those streets through which a pageant or festal procession was to pass ; and as the houses were then built with the upper stories far overhanging the lower ones, these draperies frequently hung in rich folds to the ground, and must have had, when a street was thus in its whole length appareled and partly roofed by the floating streamers and banners above — somewhat the appearance of a suite of magnificent saloons. " Then the high street gay signs of triumph wore, Covered with shewy cloths of different dye, Which deck the walls, while Sylvan leaves in store, Aud scented herbs upon the pavement lie. Adorned in every window, every door, With carpeting and finest drapery ; But more with ladies fair, and richly drest In costly jewels and in gorgeous vest." When the Black Prince entered London with King John of France, as his prisoner, the outsides of the ROMANCES WORKED IN TAPESTRY. 167 houses were covered with hangings, consisting of battles in tapestry-work. And in tournaments the lists were always deco- rated " with the splendid richness of feudal power. Besides the gorgeous array of heraldic insignia near the Champions' tents, the galleries, which were made to contain the proud and joyous spectators, were covered with tapestry, representing chivalry both in its warlike and its amorous guise : on one side the knight with his bright faulchion smiting away hosts of foes, and on the other side kneeling at the feet of beauty." But the subjects of the tapestry in which our ances- tors so much delighted were not confined to bond fide battles, and the matter-of-fact occurrences of every- day life. Oh no ! The Lives of the Saints were fre- quently pourtrayed with all the legendary accom- paniments which credulity and blind faith could in- vest them with. The (i holy and solitary " St. Cuth- bert would be seen taming the sea- monsters by his word of power : St. Dunstan would be in the very act of seizing the '' handle " of his Infernal Majesty's face with the red-hot pincers ; and St. Anthony in the " howling wilderness," would be reigning omni- potent over a whole legion of sprites. Here was food for the imagination and taste of our notable great- grandmother ! Yet let us do them justice. If some of their religious pieces were imbued even to a ridi- culous result, with the superstitions of the time, there were others, numberless others, scripture pieces, as chaste and beautiful in design, as elaborate in exe- cution. The loom and needle united indeed brought these pieces to the highest perfection, but many a 168 ROMANCES WORKED IN TAPESTRY. meek and saintly Madonna, many a lofty and ener- getic St. Paul, many a subdued and touching Mag- dalene were produced by the unaided industry of the pious needlewoman. Nay, the whole Bible was copied in needlework ; and in a poem of the fifteenth century, by Henry Bradshaw, containing the Life of St. Werburgh, a daughter of the King of the Mer- cians, there is an account " rather historical than le- gendary,"* of many circumstances of the domestic life of the time. Amongst other descriptions is that of the tapestry displayed in the Abbey of Ely, on the occasion of St. Werburgh taking the veil there. This Tapestry belonged to king Wulfer, and was brought to Ely Monastery for the occasion. We subjoin some of the stanzas : — $ " It were full tedyous, to make descrypcyon Of the great tryumphes, and solempne royal te, Belongynge to the feest, the honour and provysyon, By playne declaracyon, upon every partye ; But the sothe to say, withouten ambyguyte, All herbes and flowres, fragraunt, fayre, and swete, Were strawed in halles, and layd under theyr fete. " Clothes of golde and arras f were hanged in the hall Depaynted with pyctures, and hystoryes manyfolde, Well wroughte and craftely, with precious stones all Glysteryng as Phebus, and the beten golde, Lyke an erthly paradyse, pleasaunt to beholde : As for the said moynes,J was not them amonge, But prayenge in her cell, as done all novice yonge. * Warton. f Arras, a very common anachronism. After the production of the arras tapestries, arras became the common name for all tapes- tries : even for those which were wrought before the looms of Arras were in existence. % Moynes — nun. Lady Werburg ROMANCES WORKED IN TAPESTRY. 1G9 " The story of Adam, there was goodly wrought, And of his wyfe Eve, bytwene them the serpent, How they were decey ved, and to theyr peynes brought ; There was Cayn and Ahell, offerynge theyr present, The sacryfyce of A.bell, accepte full evydent: Tuball and Tubalcain were purtrayed in that place, The inventours of musyke and crafte by great grace. 11 Noe and his shyppe was made there curyously Sendynge forthe a raven, whit-he never came again ; And how the dove returned, with a braimche hastely, A token of comforte and peace, to man certayne : Abraham there was, standing upon the mount playne To offer in sacrifice Isaac his dere sone, And how the shepe for hym was offered iu oblacyon. " The twelve sones of Jacob there were in purtrayture, And how into Egypt yonge Josephe was solde, There was imprisoned, by a false conjectour, After in all Egypte, was ruler (as is tolde). There was in pycture Moyses wyse and bolde, Our Lorde apperynge in bushe flammynge as £yre, And nothing thereof brent, lefe, tree, nor spyre.* 11 The ten plages of Egypt were well embost, The chyldren of Israel passyng the reed see, Kynge Pharoo drowned, with all his proude hoost, And how the two table, at the Mounte Synaye Were gyven to Moyses, and how soon to idolatry The people were prone, and punysshed were therefore, How Datan and Abyron, for prydewere full youre."f Then Duke Joshua leading the Israelites ; the division of the promised land; KyngSaull and David, and " prudent Solomon ;" Koboas succeeding; a The good Kynge Esechyas and his generacyon, And so to the Machabus, and dyvers other nacyon." * Spyre — twig, branch. f Yoare — burnt. I 170 ROMANCES WORKED IN TAPESTRY. All these a Theyr noble actes, and tryumphes marcyall, Freshly were browdred in these clothes royall." " But over the hye desse, in the pryncypall place, Where the sayd thre kynges sate crowned all, The best hallynge * hanged, as reason was, Whereon were wrought the nine orders angelicall Dyvyded in thre ierarchyses, not cessynge to call Sanctus, sancius, sanctus, blessed be the Trynite, ' Dominius Deus Sabaoth, three persons in onedeyte," Then followed in order our Blessed Lady, the twelve Apostles, "eche one in his figure/' the four Evangelists " wrought most curyously," all the dis- ciples <( Prechynge and techynge, unto every nacyon, The faythtes t of holy chyrche, for their sa^^cyon.' 1 " Martyrs then followed^ right manifolde ;" Con- fessors " freSsely embrodred in ryche tyshewe and fyne." Saintly virgins " were brothered J the clothes of gold within," and the long array was closed on the other side of the hall by " Noble auncyent storyes, and how the stronge Sampson Subdued his enemyes by his myghty power"; Of Hector of Troye, slayne by fals treason ; Of noble Arthur, kynge of this regyon ; With many other mo, which it is to longe Playnly to expresse this tyme you amonge." But the powers of the chief proportion of needle- women, and of many of the subsequent tapestry looms were devoted to giving permanence to those fables Hallynge—- Tapestry. f Fay tktes— feats, facts. + Brothered — embroidered. ROMANCES WORKED IN TAPESTRY. 171 which, as exhibited in the Romances of Chivalry, formed the very life and delight of our ancestors in that happy season Ere bright Fancy bent to reason ; When the spirit of our stories, Filled the mind with unseen glories ; Told of creatures of the air, Spirits, fairies, goblins rare, Guarding man with tenderest care." These fables, says Warton, were not only perpe- tually repeated at the festivals of our ancestors, but were the constant objects of their eyes. The very walls of their apartments were clothed with romantic history. We have mentioned the history of Alexander in Tapestry as forming an important part of the peace offering of the king of France to Bajazet, and pro- bably there were few princes who did not possess a suit of tapestry on this subject ; a most important one in romance, and consequently a desired one for the loom. There seems an innate propensity in the writers of the Romance of Chivalry to exaggerate, almost to distortion, the achievements of those whose heroic bearing needed no pomp of diction, or wild flow of imagination to illustrate it. Thus Charlemagne, one of the best and greatest of men, appears in romance like one whose thirst for slaughter it requires my- riads of " Paynims " to quench. Arthur, on the contrary, a very (if history tell truth) a very " so-so " sort of a man, having not one tithe of the intellect or the magnanimity of him to whom we have just referred — Arthur is invested in i 2 172 ROMANCES WORKED IN TAPESTRY. romance with a halo of interest and of beauty which is perfectly fascinating; and it seems almost impos- sible to divest oneself of these impressions and to look upon him only in the unattractive light in which history represents him. A person not initiated in romance would suppose that the real actions of Alexander — the subjugator of Greece, the conqueror of Persia, the captor of the great Darius, but the generous protector of his family — might sufficiently immortalize him. By no means. He cuts a considerable figure in many romances ; but in one, appropriated more exclusively to his exploits, he " surpasses himself." The world was conquered : — from north to south, and from east to west his sovereignty w r as acknowledged ; so he forthwith flew up into the air to bring the aerial po- tentates to his feet. But this experiment not an- swering, he descended to the depths of the waters with much better success ; for immediately all their inhabitants, from the whale to the herring, the canni- bal shark, the voracious pike, the majestic sturgeon, the lordly salmon, the rich turbot, and the delicate trout, with all their kith, kin, relations, and allies, the lobster, the crab, and the muscle, " The sounds and seas with all their finny drove " *crowd round him to do him homage : the oyster lays her pearl at his feet, and the coral boughs meekly wave in token of subjection. Doubtless in addition to the legitimate (C battles V these exploits, if not fully displayed, w T ere intimated by symbols in the Tapestry. The Tale of Troy was a very favourite subject for ROMANCES WORKED IN TAPESTRY. 173 Tapestry,, and was found in many noble mansions, especially in France. It has indeed been conjectured, and on sufficient grounds, that the whole Iliad had been wrought in a consecutive series of hangings. Though during the early part of the middle ages Homer himself w r as lost, still the " Tale of Troy divine" was kept alive in two Latin works, which in 1260 formed the basis of a prose romance by a Sicilian. The great original himself however, had become the companion not only of the studious and learned, but also of the fair and fashionable, w T hile yet the Flemish looms were in the zenith of their popularity. This subject formed part of the decoration of Holy- rood House, on the occasion of the marriage of Henry the Seventh's daughter to James, King of Scotland in 1 503. We are told in an ancient record, that the " hangingeof the queene's gret chammer represented the ystory of Troye toune, that the kings grett chammer had one table, wer w T as satt, hys chamer- layne, the grett sqyer, and many others, well served; the which chammer was haunged about with the story of Hercules, together with other ystorys." And at the same solemnity, " in the hall wher the qwene's company w r er satt in lykc as in the other, an wich was haunged of the history of Hercules." The tragic and fearful story of Coucy's heart gave rise to an old metrical English Romance, called the * Knight of Courtesy and the Lady of FagueL' It was entirely represented in tapestry. The inci- dent, a true one, on which it was founded, occurred about 1 180 ; and was thus : — " Some hundred and odd years since, there was I 74 ROMANCES WORKED IN TAPESTRY. in France one Captain Coucy, a gallant gentleman of an ancient extraction, and keeper of Coucy Castle, which is yet standing, and in good repair. He fell in love with a young gentlewoman, and courted her for his wife. There was a reciprocal love between them ; but her parents understanding of it, by way of prevention, they shuffled up a forced match 'twixt her and one Monsieur Faiell who was a great heir : Captain Coucy hereupon quitted France in discon- tent, and went to the wars in Hungary against the Turk ; where he received a mortal wound, not far from Bada. Being carried to his lodging, he lan- guished for some days ; but a little before his death he spoke to an ancient servant of his, that he had many proofs of his fidelity and truth ; but now he had a great business to intrust him with, which he conjured him by all means to do, which was, That after his death, he should get his body to be opened and then to take his heart out of his breast, and put in an earthen pot, to be baked to powder ; and then to put the powder in a handsome box, with that bracelet of hair he had worn long about on his left wrist, which was a lock of Mademoiselle Faiell's hair, and put it among the powder, together with a little note he had written with his own blood to her ; and after he had given him the rites of burial, to make all the speed he could to France, and deliver the box to Mademoiselle Faiell. The old servant did as his master had commanded him, and so went to France; and coming one day to Monsieur Faiell's house, he suddenly met with him, who examined him because he knew he was Captain Coucy's ser- vant, and finding him timorous and faltering in his ROMANCES WORKED IN TAPESTRY. 1/5 speech, he searched him, and found the said box in his pocket with the note, which expressed what was therein. He dismissed the bearer with menaces, that he should come no more near his house : Mon- sieur Faiell going in, sent for his cook, and delivered him the powder, charging him to make a little well- relished dish of it, without losing a jot of it, for it was a very costly thing; and commanded him to bring it in himself, after the last course at supper. The cook bringing in the dish accordingly, Mon- sieur Faiell commanded all to void the room, and began a serious discourse with his wife : However since he had married her, he observed she was always melancholy, and he feared she was inclining to a consumption ; therefore he had provided for her a very precious cordial, which he was well as- sured would cure her. Thereupon he made her eat up the whole dish ; and afterwards much importun- ing him to know what it was, he told her at last, she had eaten Coucy's heart, and so drew the box out of his pocket, and showed her the note and brace- let. In a sudden exultation of joy, she with a far- fetched sigh said, ( This is precious indeed,' and so licked the dish, saying, < It is so precious, that 'tis pity to put ever any meat wpont? So she went to to bed, and in the morning she was found stone dead." But a more national, a more inspiriting, and a more agreeable theme for the alert finger or the busy loom is found in the life and adventures of that prince of combatants, that hero of all heroes, Guy Earl of Warwick. Help me, shades of renowed * Epistolae Ho-Elianae. 176 ROMANCES WORKED IN TAPESTRY. slaughterers,, whilst I record his achievements ! Bear witness to his deed, ye grisly phantoms, ye bloody ghosts of infidel Paynims, whom his Christian sword mowed down, even as corn falls beneath the the reaper's sickle, till the redoubtable champion strode breast deep in bodies over fifteen acres co- vered with slaughtered foes ! * And all this from Christian zeal ! " In faith of Christ a Christian true The wicked laws of infidels, He sought by power to subdue. " So passed he the seas of Greece, To help the Emperour to his right, Against the mighty Soldan's host Of puissant Persians for to fight : Where he did slay of Sarazens And heathen Pagans many a man, And slew the Soldan's cousin dear, Who had to name, Doughty Colbron. " Ezkeldered that famous knight, To death likewise be did pursue, And Almain, king of Tyre also, Most terrible too in fight to view : He went into the Soldan's host, Being thither on ambassage sent, And brought away his head with him, He having slain him in his tent." Or passing by his <* Feats of arms In strange and sundry heathen lands," note his beneficent progress at home — * " Fifteen acres were covered with the bodies of slaughtered Saracens ; and so furious were the strokes of Sir Guy, that the pita of dead men, wherever his sword had reached, rose as high as his breast." — Ellis, vol. ii. ROMANCES WORKED IN TAPESTRY. 177 M In Windsor forest he did slay A boar of passing might and strength ; The like in England never was, For hugeness both in breadth and length. Some of his bones in Warwick yet, Within the castle there do lye ; One of his shield bones to this day Hangs in the city of Coventry. " On Dunsmore heath he also slew A monstrous wild and cruel beast, CallM the dun cow of Dunsmore heath, Which many people had opprest; Some of her bones in Warwick yet Still for a monument doth lie, Which unto every looker's view, As wondrous strange they may espy. "And the dragon in the land, He also did in flight destroy, Which did both men and beasts oppress, And all the country sore annoy :" Or look we at him all doughty as he was, as the pilgrim of love, as subdued by the influence of the tender passion, a suppliant to the gentle Phillis, and ready to compass the earth to fulfil her wishes, and to prove his devotion : " Was ever knight for lady's sake So tost in love, as I, Sir Guy ; For Phillis fair, that Lady bright, As ever man beheld with eye ; She gave me leave myself to try The valiant knight with shield and spear, Ere t4iat her love she would grant me, Who made me venture far and near." Or, afterwards view him as — "All clad in grey in Pilgrim sort, His voyage from her he did take, Unto that blessed, holy land, For Jesus Christ, his Saviour's sake." i3 178 ROMANCES WORKED IN TAPESTRY. Lastly, recal we the time when the fierce and ruth- less Danes were ravaging our land, and there was scarce a town or castle as far as Winchester, which they had not plundered or burnt, and a proposal was made, and per force acceded to by the English king to decide the struggle by single combat. But the odds were great : Colbrand the Danish cham- pion, was a giant, and ere he came to a combat he provided himself with a cart-load of Danish axes, great clubs with knobs of iron, squared barrs of steel lances and iron hooks wherewith to pull his adver- sary to him. On the other hand the English — and sleepless and unhappy, the king Athelstan pondered the circumstance as he lay on his couch, on St. John "Baptist's night — had no champion forthcoming, even though the county of Hants had been promised as a reward to the victor. Roland, the most valiant knight of a thousand, was dead ; Heraud, the pride of the nation, was abroad ; and the great and valiant Guy, Earl of Warwick, was gone on a pilgrimage. The monarch was perplexed and sorrowful ; but an angel appeared to him and comforted him. In conformity with the injunctions of this gracious messenger, the king, attended by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Chichester, placed himself at the north gate of the city (Winchester) at the hour of prime. Divers poor people and pil- grims entered thereat, and among the rest appeared a man of noble visage and stalwart frame, but wan withal, pale with abstinence, and macerated by rea- son of journeying barefoot. His beard was vene- rably long and he rested on a staff; he wore a ROMANCES WORKED IN TAPESTRY. 179 pilgrim's garb, and on his bare and venerable head was strung a chaplet of white roses. Bending low, he passed the gate, but the king warned by the vision, hastened to him, and entreated him " by his love for Jesus Christ, by the devotion of his pil- grimage, and for the preservation of all England, to do battle with the giant." The Palmer thus con- jured, underwent the combat, and was victorious. After a solemn procession to the Cathedral, and thanksgiving therein, when he offered his weapon to God and the patron of the Church, before the High Altar, the pilgrim withdrew, having revealed himself to none but the king, and that under a solemn pledge of secrecy. He bent his course towards Warwick, and unknown in his disguise, took alms at the hands of his own lady — for, reader, this meek and holy pil- grim, was none other than the wholesale slayer, whose deeds we have been contemplating — and then retired to a solitary place hard by — " Where with his hand he hew'd a house, Out of a craggy rock of stone ; And lived like a palmer poor, Within that cave himself alone." Nor was this at all an unusual conclusion to life of butchery ; all the heroes of romance turned her- mits; and as they all, at least all of Arthur's Eound Table, were gifted with a very striking development of the organ of combativeness, their profound piety at the end of their career might not improbably give rise to a very common adage of these days regarding sinners and saints. But here was a theme for Tapestry- workers ! a 180 ROMANCES WORKED IN TAPESTRY. real original, genuine English romance ; for though the only pieces now extant be, or may be, translated from the French, still there are many concurring circumstances to prove that the original, often quoted by Chaucer was an ancient metrical English one. That it is difficult to find who Sir Guy was, or in fact, to prove that there ever was a Sir Guy at all, is nothing to the purpose ; leave we that to antiquarians, and their musty folios. Guy of Warwick was well known from west to east, even as far as Jerusalem, where, in Henry the Fourth's time, Lord Beauchamp was kindly received by those in high stations, because he was descended from " A shadowy ancestor, so renowned as Guy." One tapestry on this attractive subject which was in Warwick Castle, before the year 1398, was so distinguished and valued a piece of furniture, that a special grant was made of it by King Richard II. conveying u that suit of arras hangings in Warwick Castle, which contained the story of Guy Earl of Warwick," together with the Castle of Warwick and other possessions, to Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent. And in the restoration of forfeited property to this lord after his imprisonment, these hangings are particularly specified in the patent of King Henry IV., dated 1399. And the Castle wherein the tapestry was hung was worthy of the heroes it had sheltered. The first building on the site was supposed to be coeval with our Saviour, and was called Caer-leon ; almost overthrown by the Picts and Scots, it lay in ruins ROMANCES WORKED IN TAPESTRY. 181 till Caractacus built himself a manor-house, and founded a church to the honour of St. John the Baptist. Here was afterwards a Roman fort, and here again was a Pictish devastation. A cousin of King Arthur rebuilt it, and then lived in it — Arth- gal, first Earl of Warwick, a Knight of the Round Table ; this British title was equivalent to Ursus in Latin, whence Arthgal took the Bear for his ensign : and a successor of his, a worthy progenitor of our valiant Sir Guy, slew a mighty giant in a duel ; and because this giant's delicate weapon was a tree pulled up by the roots, the boughs being snagged from it, the Earls of Warwick, successors of the victor, bore a ragged staff of silver in a sable shield for their cognisance. We are told that, — " When Arthur first in court began, And was approved king, By force of arms great victoryes wanne, And conquest home did bring. A Then into England straight he came With fifty good and able Knights, that resorted unto him, And were of his round table." Of these the most renowned were Syr Perceval, Syr Tristan, Syr Launcelot du Lac, Syr Ywain, Syr Gawain, Syr Galaas, Syr Meliadus of Leonnoys, Sir Ysaie, Syr Gyron, &c. &c, and their various and wondrous achievements were woven into a series of tales which are known as the " Romances of the Round Table." Of course the main subject of each tale is interrupted by ten thousand varied episodes, in which very often the original object 182 ROMANCES WORKED IN TAPESTRY. seems entirely lost sight of. Then the construction of many of these Romances, or rather their want of construction, is marvellous; their genealogies are interminable, and their geography miraculous. One of the most marvellous and scarce of these Romances, and one, the principal passages of which were frequently wrought into Tapestry, was the u Roman du Saint Greal," which is founded upon an incident, to say the least very peculiar, but which was perhaps once considered true as Holy Writ. St. Joseph of Arimathoea, a very important personage in many romances, having obtained the hanap, or cup from which our Saviour administered the wine to his disciples, caught in the same cup the blood which flowed from his wounds when on the Cross. After he had first achieved various ad- ventures, and undergone an imprisonment of forty- two years, St. Joseph arrives in England with the sacred cup, by means of which numerous miracles are performed ; he prepares the Round Table, and Arthur and his Knights all go in quest of the hanap, which by some, to us unaccountable, circumstance, had fallen into the hands of a sinner. All make the most solemn vow to devote their lives to its reco- very; and this they must indeed have done, and not short lives either, if all recorded of them be true. None, however, but two, ever see the sacred symbol ; though oftentimes a soft ray of light would stream across the lonesome wild, or the dark path- less forest, or unearthly strains would float on the air, or odours as of Paradise would entrance the senses, while the wandering and woeworn knight ROMANCES WORKED IN TAPESTRY. 183 would feel all fatigue, all sense of personal incon- venience, of pain, of sickness, or of sorrow, vanish on the instant ; and then would he renew his vows, and betake himself to prayer; for though all un- worthy to see the Holy Grayle, he would feel that it had been borne on viewless pinions through the air for his individual consolation and hope. And Syr Galahad and Syr Perceval, the two chaste and favoured knights who, " after the dedely flesshe had beheld the spiritual things," the holy St. Grael — never returned to converse with the world. The first departed to God, and "flights of angels sang him to his rest; 1 ' the other took religious clothing and retired to a hermitage, where, after living " a full holy life for a yere and two moneths, he passed out of this world." But wide as is the range of the Romances of the " Round Table," they form but a portion of those which solaced our ancestors. Charlemagne and his Paladins were, so to speak, the solar system round which another circle revolved ; Alexander furnished the radiating star for another, derived chiefly per- haps from the East, where numbers of fictitious tales were prevalent about him ; and many Romances were likewise woven around the mangled remains of classic heroes. " The mightiest chiefs of British song Scorn'd not such legends to prolong ; They gleam through Spenser's elfic dream, And mix in Milton's heavenly theme : And Dry den. in immortal strain, Had raised the * Table Round' again." The Stories of the Tapestry in the Royal Palaces 181 ROMANCES WORKED IN TAPESTRY. of Henry VIII. are preserved in the British Museum.* These are some of them re-copied from Warton : — In the tapestry of the Tower of London, the original and most ancient seat of our monarchs, there are recited, Godfrey of Bulloign ; the Three Kings of Cologne; the Emperor Constantine; St. George; King of Erkenwald; the History of Her- cules ; Fame and Honour ; the Triumph of Divinity ; Esther and Ahasueras ; Jupiter and Juno ; St. George ; the Eight Kings ; the Ten Kings of France ; the Birth of our Lord ; Duke Joshua ; the Riche History of King David ; the Seven Deadly Sins ; the Riche History of the Passion ; the Stem of Jesse ; Our Lady and Son ; King Solomon ; the Woman of Canony ; Meleager ; and the Dance of Maccabee. At Durham Place were the Citie of Ladies (a Frence allegorical Romance) ; the Tapestrie of Thebes and of Troy ; the City of Peace; the Pro- digal Son ; Esther, and other pieces of Scripture. At Windsor Castle the Siege of Jerusalem ; Aha- sueras ; Charlemagne ; the Siege of Troy ; and Hawking and Hunting. At Nottingham Castle, Amys and Amelion. At Woodstock Manor, the tapestrie of Charle- magne. At the More, a palace in Hertfordshire, King Arthur, Hercules, Astyages, and Cyrus. At Richmond, the arras of Sir Bevis, and Virtue and Vice fighting. Among the rest we have also Hannibal, Holofe- * Hail. MSS. 1419. ROMANCES WORKED IN TAPESTRY. 1S5 rnes, Romulus and Remus, .ZEneas, and Susan- nah. Many of these subjects were repeated at West- minster, Greenwich, Oatlands, Bedington in Surrey, and other royal seats,, some of which are now unknown as such. 186 CHAPTER XIII. NEEDLEWORK IN COSTUME.— PART I. " What neede these velvets, silkes, or lawne, Embrodery, feathers, fringe and lace." — Bp. Hall. " Time was, when clothing sumptuous or for use, Save their own painted skins, our Sires had none. As yet black breeches were not." — Cowper. Manifold indeed were the varieties in mode and material before that beau ideal of all that is graceful and becoming — the " black breeches" — were invented. For though in many parts of the globe costume is uniform, and the vest and the turban of a thousand years ago are of much the same make as now, this is not the case in the more polished parts of Europe, where that " turncoat whirligig maniac, yclept Fashion," is the pole-star and beacon of the multitude of men, from him who has the " last new cut from Stultz," to him who is magni- ficent and happy in the " reg'lar bang-up-go" from the eastern parts of the metropolis. It would seem that England is peculiarly cele- brated for her devotion at Fashion's shrine ; for we are told that " an Englishman, endevoring some- time to write of our attire, made sundrie platformes for his purpose, supposing by some of them to find out one stedfast ground whereon to build the summe NEEDLEWORK IN COSTUME. 187 of his discourse. But in the end (like an orator long without exercise) when he saw what a difficult peece of worke he had taken in hand, he gave over his travel!, and onely drue the picture of a naked man, unto whome he gave a paire of sheares in the one hand, and a piece of cloth in the other, to the end he should shape his apparell after such fashion as himselfe liked, sith he could find no kind of garment that could please him anie while together, and this he called an Englishman. Certes this writer shewed himself herein not to be altogether void of iudgement, sith the phantasticall follie of our nation, even from the courtier to the carter, is such, that no forme of apparell liketh vs longer than the first garment is in the wearing, if it continue so long and be not laid aside, to receive some other trinket newlie devised. " And as these fashions are diverse, so likewise it is a world to see the costlinesse and the curiositie ; the excesse and the vanitie; the pompe and the brauerie ; the change and the varietie ; and, finallie, the ficklenesse and the follie that is in all degrees ; insomuch that nothing is more constant in England than inconstancie of attire. " In women, also, it is most to be lamented, that they doo now far exceed the lightnesse of our men (who nevertheless are transformed from the cap even to the verie shoo) and such staring attire as in time past was supposed meet for none but light housewives onlie, is now become a habit for chast and sober matrons. M Thus it is now come to passe, that women are become men, and men transformed into monsters" 188 NEEDLEWORK IN COSTUME. This ever-revolving wheel is still turning ; and so all- important now is the mode that one half of the world is fully occupied in providing for the per- sonal embellishment of the other half and them- selves ; and could we contemplate the possibility of a return to the primitive simplicity of our ancient " sires," we must look in the same picture on one half of the world as useless — as a drug on the face of crea- tion. Why, what a desert would it be were all dyers, fullers, cleaners, spinners, weavers, printers, mercers and milliners, haberdashers and modistes, silk-men and manufacturers, cotton-lords and fustian- men, tailors and liabit makers, mantuamakers and corset professors, exploded ? We pass over pin and needle makers, comb and brush manufacturers, jewellers, &c. The ladies would have nothing to live for; (for on grave authority it has been said, that " woman is an animal that delights in the toi- lette;") the gentlemen nothing to solace them. ei The toilette" is the very zest of life with both ; and if ladies are more successful in the results of their devoirs to it, it is because " nous sommes faites pour embellir le monde," and not because gentlemen practice its duties with less zeal, devotion, or assi- duity — as many a valet can testify when contempla- ting his modish patron's daily heap of "failures." Indeed to put out of view the more obvious, weighty, and important cares attached to the due selection and arrangement of coats, waistcoats, and indispen- sables, the science of "Cravatiana" alone is one which makes heavy claims on the time, talents, and energies of the thorough-going gentleman of fashion. He should be thoroughly versed in all its NEEDLEWORK IN COSTUME. ISO varieties — The Royal George : The Plain Bow : The Military: The Ball Room: The Corsican : The Hibernian Tie: The Eastern Tie: The Hunt- ing Tie : The Yankee Tie : (the " alone original M one)— The Osbaldiston Tie : The Mail Coach Tie : The Indian Tie, &c. &c. &c. Though of these and their numberless offshoots, the Yankee Tie lays most claim to originality, the Ball Room one is considered the most exquisite, and requires the greatest practice. It is thus described by a " talented 1 ' professor : — "The cloth, of virgin white, well starched and folded to the proper depth, should be made to sit easy and graceful on the neck, neither too tight nor loose ; but with a gentle pressure, curving inwards from the further extension of the chin, down the throat to the centre dent in ths? middle of the neck. This should be the point for a slight dent, extending from under each ear, between which, more imme- diately under the chin, there should be another slight horizontal dent just above the former one. It has no tie; the ends, crossing each other in broad folds in front, are secured to the braces, or behind the back, by means of a piece of white tape. A bril- liant broach or pin is generally made use of to secure more effectually the crossing, as well as to give an additional effect to the neckcloth." What a world of wit and invention — what a fund of fancy and taste — what a mine of zeal and ability would be lost to the world, " if those troublesome disguises which we wear " were reduced to their old simplicity of form and material ! Industry and talent would be at discount, for want of materials 190 NEEDLEWORK IN COSTUME. whereon to display themselves ; and money would be such a drug, that politicians would declaim on the miseries of being without a national debt. Com- merce, in many of its most important branches, would be exploded; the "manufacturing districts" would be annihilated ; the ' e agricultural interest " would,, consequently and necessarily, be at a " very low ebb ;" and the " New World," the magnificent and imperial empress (that is to be) of the whole earth, might sink again to the embraces of those minute and wonderful artificers from whom, I suppose, she at first proceeded — the coral insects ; for who would want cotton ! No, no. Selfish preferences, individual wishes,, must merge in the general good of the human race ; and however u their own painted skins " might suffice our " sires," clothing, u sumptuous/' as well as " for use," must decorate ourselves. To whom, then, are the fullers, the dyers, the cleaners — to whom are the spinners and weavers, and printers and mercers, and milliners and haber- dashers, and modistes, and silk-men and manufac- turers, cotton lords and fustian men, mantua-makers and corset professors, indebted for that nameless grace, that exquisite finish and appropriateness,which gives to all their productions their charm and their utility? — To the Needlewoman, assuredly. For though the raw materials have been grown at Sea Island and shipped at New York, — have been con- signed to the Liverpool broker and sold to the Man- chester merchant, and turned over to the manufacturer, and spun and woven, and bleached and printed, and placed in the custody of the warehouseman, or on the shelf of the shopkeeper — of what good would it NEEDLEWORK IN COSTUME. 191 be that we had a fifty-yard length of calico to shade our oppressed limbs on a " dog-day," if we had not the means also to render that material agreeably available ? Yet not content with merely rendering it available, this beneficent fairy, the needlewoman., casts, "as if by the spell of enchantment, that in- effable grace over beauty which the choice and arrangement of dress is calculated to bestow." For the love of becoming ornament — we quote no less an authority than the historian of the ' State of Europe in the Middle Ages,' — u is not, perhaps, to be regarded in the light of vanity ; it is rather an instinct which woman has received from Nature to give effect to those charms which are her defence." And if it be necessary to woman with her charms, is it not tenfold necessary to those who — Heaven help them ! — have few charms whereof to boast ? For, as Harrison says, " it is now come to passe that men are transformed into monsters." " Better be out of the world than out of the fashion," is a proverb which, from the universal as- sent which has in all ages been given to it, has now the force of an axiom. It was this self evident pro- position which emboldened the beau of the four- teenth century, in spite of the prohibitions of popes and senators, — in spite of the more touching per- sonal inconvenience, and even risk and danger, at- tendant thereupon — to persist in wearing shoes of so preposterous a length, that the toes were obliged to be fastened with chains to the girdle ere the happy votary of fashion could walk across his own parlour ! Happy was the favourite of Croesus, who could display chain upon chain of massy gold wreathed 192 NEEDLEWORK IN COSTUME. and intertwined from the waistband to the shoe, until he seemed almost weighed dow T n by the burthen of his ow r n wealth. Wrought silver did excellently well for those who could not produce gold; and for those who possessed not either precious metal, and who yet felt they " might as well be out of the world as out of the fashion/' latteen chains, silken cords, aye, and cords of even less costly description, were pressed into service to tie up the crackoives, or piked shoes. For in that day, as in this, "the squire en- deavours to outshine the knight, the knight the baron, the baron the earl, the earl the king, in dress. 5 ' To complete the outrageous absurdity of these shoes, the upper parts of them were cut in imita- tion of a church-window, to which fashion Chaucer refers when describing the dress of Absalom, the Parish Clerk. He— * Had Paul 'is windowes corven on his shose." Despite the decrees of councils, the bulls of the Pope, and the declamations of the Clergy, this ridicu- lous fashion was in vogue near three centuries. And the party-coloured hose, which were worn about the same time, were a fitting accompaniment for the crackowes. We feel some difficulty in reali- sing the idea that gentlemen, only some half century ago, really dressed in the gay and showy habiliments which are now indicative only of a footman ; but it is more difficult to believe, what w r as nevertheless the fact, that the most absurd costume in which the " fool '* by profession can now be decked on the stage, can hardly compete in absurdity with the outre cos- tume of a beau or a belle of the fourteenth century. NEEDLEWORK IN COSTUME. ]93 The shoes we have referred to : the garments, male or female, were divided in the middle down the whole length of the person, and one half of the body was clothed in one colour, the other half in the most opposite one that could be selected. The men's garments fitted close to the shape ; and while one leg and thigh rejoiced in flaming yellow or sky-blue, the other blushed in deep crimson. John of Gaunt is portrayed in a habit, one half white, the other a dark blue; and Mr. Strutt has an engraving of a group assembled on a memorable occasion, where one of the figures has a boot on one leg and a shoe on the other. The Dauphiness of Auvergne, wife to Louis the Good, Duke of Bourbon, born 1360, is painted in a garb of which one half all the way down is blue, powdered with gold fleurs-de-lys, and the other half to the waist is gold, with a blue fish or dolphin (a cognizance, doubtless) on it, and from the waist to the feet is crimson, with white " fishy " or- naments ; one sleeve is blue and gold, the other crimson and gold. In addition to these absurd garments, the women dressed their heads so high that they were obliged to wear a sort of curved horn on each side, in order to support the enormous superstructure of feathers and furbelows. And these are what are meant by the "horned head-dresses" so often referred to in old authors. It is said that, when Isabel of Bavaria kept her court at Vincennes, a.d. 1416, it was ne- cessary to make all the doors of the palace both higher and wider, to admit the head-dresses of the queen and her ladies, which were all of this horned kind. 194 NEEDLEWORK IN COSTUME. This high bonnet had been worn, under various modifications, ever since the fashion was brought from the East in the time of the Crusades. Some were of a sugar-loaf form, three feet in height ; and some cylindrical, but still very high. The French modistes of that day called this formidable head-gear bonnet a la Syrienne. But our author says, if female vanity be violently restrained in one point, it is sure to break out in another ; and Romish anathemas having abolished curls from shading fair brows, so much the more attention was paid to head- gear, that the bonnets and caps increased every year most awfully in height and size, and were made in the form of crescents, pyramids, and horns of such tremendous dimensions, that the old chronicler Juvenal des Ursins makes this pathetic lamentation in his History of Charles VI. : — " Et avoient les dames et damoyselles de chacun coste, deux grandes oreilles si larges, que quand elles vouloient passer par l'huis dune chambre il fallait qu'elles se tournassent de coste et baisassent, ou elles n'eussent pu passer:" that is, "on every side old ladies and young ladies were seen with such high and monstrous ears (or horns), that when they wanted to enter a room they were obliged perforce to stoop and crouch sideways, or they could not pass." At last a regular attack was made on the high head-gear of the fifteenth century by a popular monk, in his sermons at Notre Dame, in which he so pathetically lamented the sinfulness and enormi- ties of such a fashion, that the ladies, to show their contrition, made auto dafes of their Syrian bonnets in the public squares and market-places; and as the NEEDLEWORK IN COSTUME. 195 Church fulminated against them all over Europe, the example of Paris was universally followed. Many attempts had previously been made by zealous preachers to effect this alteration. In the previous century a Carmelite in the province of Bretagne preached against this fashion, without the power to annihilate it: all that the ladies did was to change -the particular shape of the huge coiffures after every sermon. " No sooner/' says the chro- nicler, "had he departed from one district, than the dames and damoyselles, who,, like frightened snails, had drawn in their horns, shot them out again longer than ever ; for nowhere were the hennins (so called, abbreviated from cjchinnin, incommodious,) larger, more pompous or proud, than in the cities through which the Carmelite had passed. " All the world was totally reversed and disordered by these fashions, and above all things by the strange accoutrements on the heads of the ladies. It was a portentous time, for some carried huge towers on their foreheads an ell high ; others still higher caps, with sharp points, like staples, from the top of which streamed long crapes, fringed with gold, like ban- ners." Alas, alas ! ladies, dames, and demoiselles were of importance in those days ! When do we hear, in the present times^ of Church and State inter- fering to regulate the patterns of their bonnets?" * It is no wonder that fashions so very extreme and absurd should call forth animadversion from various quarters. Thus wrote Petrarch in 1366 : — "Who can see with patience the monstrous, fan- tastical inventions which the people of our times * Lady's Magazine. k2 196 NEEDLEWORK IN COSTUME. have invented to deform, rather than adorn, their persons? Who can behold without indignation their long pointed shoes ; their caps with feathers ; their hair twisted and hanging down like tails ; the foreheads of young men, as well as women, formed into a kind of furrows with ivory-headed pins ; their bellies so cruelly squeezed with cords, that they suffer as much pain from vanity as the martyrs suffered for religion ? Our ancestors would not have believed, and I know not if posterity will believe, that it was posssible for the wit of this vain generation of ours to invent so many base, barbarous, horrid, ridiculous fashions (besides those already mentioned) to dis- figure and disgrace itself, as we have the mortifica- tion to see every day." And thus Chaucer, a few years later : — " Alass ! may not a man see as in our daies the sinnefull costlew array of clothing, and namely in too much superfluite, or else in too disordinate scan- tinese : as to the first, not only the cost of embrau- dering, the disguysed indenting, or barring, ounding, play ting, wynding, or bending, and semblable waste of clothe in vanitie." The common people also "were besotted in excesse of apparell, in wide sur- coats reaching to their loines, some in a garment reaching to their heels, close before and strowting out on the sides, so that on the back they make men seem women, and this they called by a ridiculous name, gowne" &c. &c. Before this time the legislature had interfered, though with little success : they passed laws at West- minster, which were said to be made "to prevent that destruction and poverty with which the whole NEEDLEWORK IN COSTUME. 197 kingdom was threatened, by the outrageous, exces- sive expenses of many persons in their apparel, above their ranks and fortunes." Sumptuary edicts, however, are of little avail, if not supported in "influential quarters." King Richard II. affected the utmost splendour of attire, and he had one coat alone which was valued at 30,000 marks : it was richly embroidered and in- wrought with gold and precious stones. It is not in human nature, at least in human nature of the iC more honourable" gender, to be outdone, even by a king. Gorgeous and glittering w T as the raiment adopted by the satellites of the court, and, heedless of " that destruction and poverty with which the whole king- dom was threatened," they revelled in magnificence. Of one alone, Sir John Arundel, it is recorded, that he had at one time fifty-two suits of cloth of gold tissue. At this time, says the old Chronicle, " Cut werke was great bothe in court and tounes, Bothe in mens hoddes, and also in their gounes, Brouder and furres, and gold smith werke ay newe, In many a wyse, eche day they did renewe." Unaccountable as it may seem, this rage of ex- pense and show in apparel reached even the (then) poverty-stricken sister country Scotland ; and in 1457 laws were enacted to suppress it. It is told of William Rufus, that one morning while putting on his new boots he asked his chamber- lain what they cost; and when he replied "three shillings," indignantly and in a rage he cried out, " you — how long has the king worn boots of so paltry a price ? Go, and bring me a pair worth a mark of silver." He went, and bringing him a much 198 NEEDLEWORK IN COSTUME. « cheaper pair, told him falsely that they cost as much as he had ordered: " Ay/' said the king, "these are suitable to royal majesty." This is merely a specimen of the monarch's shallow- headed extravagance ; but the costume of his time and that immediately preceding it was infinitely superior in grace and dignity to that of the fantas- tical period we have been describing. The English at this period were admired by all other nations, and especially by the French, from whom in subsequent periods we have copied so servilely, for the richness and elegance of their attire. With a tunic simply confined at the waist, over this, when occasion re- quired, a full and flowing mantle, with a veil con- fined to the back of the head with a golden circlet, her aark hair simply braided over her beautiful and intelligent brow and waving on her fair throat, the wife of the Conqueror looked every inch a queen, and what was more, she looked a modest, a dig- nified, and a beautiful woman. The male attire was of the same flowing and majestic description : and the (i brutal " Anglo- Saxons and the rt barbarous " Normans had more delicacy than to display every division of limb or muscle which nature formed, and more taste than to invent divisions where, Heaven knows, nature never meant them to be. The simple coiffure re- quired little care and attendance, but if a fastening did happen to give way, the Anglo-Norman lady could raise her hand to fasten it if she chose. The arm was not pinioned by the fiat of a modiste. And the material of a dress of those days was as rich as the mode was elegant. Silk indeed was not NEEDLEWORK IN COSTUME. 199 common ; the first that was seen in the country was in 780, when Charlemagne sent Offa, King of Mer- cia, a belt and two vests of that beautiful material ; but from the particular record made of silk mantles worn by two ladies at a ball at Kenilworth in 1286, we may fairly infer that till this period silk was not often used but as a robe pontifical) Ne'er seen but wonder'd at." Occasionally indeed it was used, but only by persons of the highest rank and wealth. But the woollens were of beautiful texture, and Britain was early famous in the art of producing the richest dyes. The Welsh are still remarkable for extracting beautiful tints from the commonest plants, such most probably as were used by the Britons anciently ; and it is worthy of note that the South Sea cloths, manu- factured from the inner bark of trees, have the same stripes and chequers, and indeed the identical patterns of the Welsh, and, as supposed, of the an- cient Britions. Linen was fine and beautiful ; and if it had not been so, the rich and varied embroidery with which it was decorated would have set off a coarser material. Furs of all sorts were in great request, and a mantle of regal hue, lined throughout with vair or sable, and decorated with bands of gold lace and flowers of the richest embroidery, interspersed with pearls, clasped on the shoulder with the most pre- cious gems, and looped, if requisite, with golden tassels, was a garment at which a nobleman, even of these days, need not look askance. 200 NEEDLEWORK IN COSTUME. Robert Bloet, second bishop of Lincoln, made a present to Henry I. of a cloak of exquisitely fine cloth, lined with black sables with white spots, which cost a sum equivalent to £1500 of our money. The robes of females of rank were always bordered with a belt of rich needlework ; their embroidered girdles were inlaid, or rather inwrought, with gold, pearls, and precious stones, and from them was usually suspended a large purse or pouch, on which the skill of the most accomplished needlewomen was usually expended. This rich and becoming mode of dress was grra- dually innovated upon until caprice reigned para- mount over the national wardrobe. For "fashion is essentially caprice; and fashion in dress the caprice of milliners and tailors, with whom recherche and exaggeration supply the place of education and principle." That this modern definition applied as accurately to former times as these, an instance may suffice to show. Richard I. had a cloak made, at enormous cost, with precious and shining metals inlaid in imitation of the heavenly bodies ; and Henry V. wore, on a very memorable occasion, when Prince of Wales, a mantle or gown of rich blue satin, full of small eylet-holes, as thickly as they could be put, and a needle hanging by a silk thread from every hole. The following incident, quoted from Miss Strick- land's Life of Berengaria, will show the esteem in which a rich, and especially a furred garment was held. Richard I. quarrelled with the virtuous St. Hugh, bishop of Lincoln, on the old ground of exact- ing a simoniacal tribute on the installation of the NEEDLEWORK IN COSTUME. 201 prelate into his see. Willing to evade the direct charge of selling the see, King Richard intimated that a present of a fur mantle worth a thousand marks might be a composition. St. Hugh said he was no judge of such gauds, and therefore sent the king a thousand marks, declaring, if he would devour the revenue devoted to the poor, he must have his wilful way. But as soon as Richard had pocketed the money he sent for the fur mantle. St. Hugh set out for Normandy to remonstrate with the king on this double extortion. His friends anticipated that he would be killed; but St. Hugh said, " I fear him not," and boldly entered the chapel where Richard was at mass, when the following scene took place : — " Give me the embrace of peace, my son," said St. Hugh. " That you have not deserved," replied the king. " Indeed I have," said St. Hugh, " for I have made a long journey on purpose to see my son." So saying, he took hold of the king's sleeve and drew him on one side. Richard smiled and em- braced the old man. They withdrew to the recess behind the altar and sate down. " In what state is your conscience?" asked the bishop. " Very easy," said the king. " How can that be, my son," said the bishop, " when you live apart from your virtuous queen, and are faithless to her; when you devour the provision of the poor, and load your people with heavy ex- actions ? Are those light transgressions, my son ?" The king owned his faults, and promised amend- ment ; and when he related this conversation to his k 3 202 NEEDLEWORK IN COSTUME. courtiers he added, " Were all our prelates like Hugh of Lincoln, both king and barons must submit to their righteous rebukes. '' Furs were much used now as coverings for beds; and they were considered a necessary part of dress for a very considerable period. In Sir John Cullum's Hawsted, mention is made that in 1281 Cecilia, widow of William Talmache, died, and, amongst other bequests, left c< to Thomas Battesford, for black coats for poor people, xxx^. in part." " To John Camp, of Bury St. Edmunds, furrier, for furs for the black coats, viijs. xjc/." On which the reverend and learned author remarks, " We should now indeed think that a black coat bestowed on a poor person wanted not the addition of fur : such, however, was the fashion of the time ; and a sumptuary law of Edward III. allows handi- craft and yeomen to wear no manner of furre, nor of bugg * but only lambe, coney, catte, and foxe." The distinction in rank was expressly shown by the kind of fur displayed on the dress, and these distinctions were regulated by law and rigidly en- forced. By a statute passed in 1455, for regulating the dress of the Scottish lords of parliament, the gowns of the earls are appointed to be furred with ermine, while those of the other lords are to be lined with u criestay, gray, griece, or purray." The more precious furs, as ermine and sable, were reserved exclusively for the principal nobility of both sexes. Persons of an inferior rank wore the vair or gris (probably the Hungarian squirrel) ; the * Bugg — buge, lamb's furr. — Dr. Jamieson. NEEDLEWORK IN COSTUME. 203 citizens and burgesses, the common squirrel and lamb skins ; and the peasants, cat and badger skins. The mantles of our kings and peers, and the furred robes of the several classes of our municipal officers, are the remains of this once universal fashion. Furs often formed an important part of the ran- som of a prisoner of rank : — " Sir," quoth Count Bongars, u war's disastrous hour Hath cast my lot within my foeman's power. Name ransome as you list ; gold, silver bright, Palfreys, or dogs, or falcons train'd to flight; Or choose you sumptuous furs, of v air or gray ; I plight my faith the destin'd price to pay. 1 ' * Certain German nobles who had slain a bishop were enjoined, amongst other acts of penance, " ut varium, griseum, ermelinum, et pannos coloratos, non portent," The skin of the wild cat was much used by the clergy. Bishop Wolfstan preferred lambskin ; say- ing in excuse, "Crede mihi, nunquam audivi, in ecclesia, cantari catus Dei, sed agnus Dei; ideo calefieri agno volo." The monk of Chaucer had ** his sleeves purfiled, at the hond, With gris, and that the finest of the lond." It is not till about the year 1204 that there is any specific enumeration of the royal apparel for festival occasions. The proper officers are appointed to bring for the king on this occasion " a golden crown, a red satin mantle adorned with sapphires and pearls, a robe of the same, a tunic of white damask; and slippers of red satin edged with goldsmith's Ancassin and Nicolette. 204 NEEDLEWORK IN COSTUME. work ; a balbrick set with gems ; two girdles enamelled and set with garnets and sapphires ; white gloves, one with a sapphire and one with an ame- thist; various clasps adorned with emeralds, tur- quois, pearls^ and topaz ; and sceptres set with twenty-eight diamonds." * So much for the king : — And for the queen — oh ! ye enlightened legislators of the earth, ye omnipotent and magisterial lords of creation, look on that picture— and on this. "For our lady the queen's use, sixty ells of fine linen cloth, forty ells of dark green cloth, a skin of minever, a small bi*a$s pan, and eight towels." But John, who in addition to his other amiable propensities was the greatest and most extravagant fop in Europe, was as parsimonious towards others as selfish and extravagant people usually are- Whilst even at the ceremony of her coronation he only af- forded his Queen " three cloaks of fine linen, one of scarlet cloth, and one grey pelisse, costing together 12/. 5 sheep. I'm fain abrode to dig and delve, in water, mire and clay, Sossing and possing in the dirt, still from day to day A hundred things that be abroad, I'm set to see them weel ; And four of you sit idle at home, and cannot keep a neele." Gammer. "My neele, alas, I lost, Hodge, what time»I me up hasted, To save milk set up for thee, which Gib our cat hath wasted." Hodge. " The devil he take both Gib and Tib, with all the rest; I'm always sure of the worst end, whoever have the best. Where ha you ben fidging abroad, since you your neele lost ?" Gammer. "Within the house, and at the door, sittiug by this same post ; Where I was looking a long hour, before these folke came here ; But, wel away ! all was in vain, my neele is never the near !" " Gammer Gurton's Needle," says Hazlitt, ft is a regular comedy, in five acts, built on the circum- stance of an old woman having lost her needle which throws the whole village into confusion, till it is at last providentially found sticking in an un- lucky part of Hodge's dress. This must evidently have happened at a time when the manufactures of 260 THE NEEDLE. Sheffield and Birmingham had not reached the height of perfection which they have at present done. Suppose that there is only one sewing needle in a village, that the owner, a diligent notable old dame, loses it, that a mischief- making wag sets it about that another old woman has stolen this valu- able instrument of household industry, that strict search is made every where in-doors for it in vain, and that then the incensed parties sally forth to scold it out in the open air, till words end in blows, and the affair is referred over to the higher autho- rities, and we shall have an exact idea (though, perhaps, not so lively a one) of what passes in this authentic document between Gammer Gurton and her gossip Dame Chat ; Dickon the Bedlam (the causer of these harms) ; Hodge, Gammer Gurton's servant; Tyb, her maid; Cocke, her 'prentice boy; Doll Scapethrift; Master Baillie, his master; Dr. Kat, the curate; and Gib, the cat, who may fairly be reckoned one of the dramatis personcz, and per- forms no mean part." From the needle itself the transition is easy to the needlework which was in vogue at the time when this little implement was so valuable and rare a commodity. We are told that the various kinds of needlework practised at this time would, if enume- rated, astonish even the most industrious of our modern ladies. The lover of Shakspeare will re- member that the term point device is often used by him, and that, indeed, it is a term frequently met with in the writers of that age with various appli- cations; and it is originally derived, according to Mr. Douce, from the fine stitchery of the ladies. THE NEEDLE. 261 It has been properly stated, that point device sig- nifies exact, nicely, finical; but nothing has been offered concerning the etymology, except that we got the expression from the French. It has, in fact, been supplied from the labours of the needle. Poind, in the French language, denotes a stitch ; devise any thing invented, disposed, or arranged. Point devise was, therefore, a particular sort of pat- terned lace worked with the needle ; and the term point lace is still familiar to every female. They had likewise their point-coupe, point- cornpte, dentelle an point devant V aiguille, &c. &c. But it is apparent, he adds, that the expression point devise became applicable, in a secondary sense, to whatever was uncommonly exact, or constructed with the nicety and precision of stitches made or devised with the needle. Various books of patterns of needlework for the assistance and encouragement of the fair stitchers were published in those days. Mr. Douce * enume- rates some of them, and the omission of any part of his notation would be unpardonable in the present work. The earliest on the list is an Italian book, under the title of " Esemplario di lavori: dove le tenere fanciulle et altre donne nobile potranno facilmente imparare il modo et ordine di lavorare, cusire, racca- mare, et finalment far tutte quelle gentillezze et lodevili opere, le quaii po fare una donna virtuosa con laco in mano, con li suoi compasse et misure. Vinegia, per Nicolo D'Aristotile detto Zoppino, mdxxix, 8vo." * Illustrations, vol. ii. p. 92. 262 THE NEEDLE. The next that occurs was likewise set forth by an Italian, and entitled,, " Les singuliers et nouveaux pourtraicts du Seigneur Federic de Vinciolo Veni- tien, pour toutes sortes d'ouvrages de lingerie. Paris, 1588. 4to." It is dedicated to the Queen of of France, and had been already twice published. In 1599 a second part came out, which is much more difficult to be met with than the former, and sometimes contains a neat portrait, by Gaultier, of Catherine de Bourbon, the sister of Henry the Fourth. The next is " Nouveaux pourtraicts de point coupe et dantelles en petite moyenne et grande forme, nouvellement inventez et mis en lumiere. Imprime a Montbeliard, 1598. 4to." It has an ad- dress to the ladies, and a poem exhorting young damsels to be industrious ; but the author's name does not appear. Vincentio's work was published in England, and printed by John Wolfe, under the title of " New and Singular Patternes and Workes of Linnen, serving for paternes to make all sortes of lace, edginges, and cutworkes. Newly invented for the profite and contentment of ladies, gentilwomen, and others that are desireous of this Art. 1591. 4to." He seems also to have printed it with a French title. We have then another English book, of which this is the title : " Here foloweth certaine Patternes of Cutworkes ; newly invented and never published before. Also, sundry sortes of spots, as flowers, birdes, and fishes, &c, and will fitly serve to be wrought, some with gould, some with silke, and some with crewell in coullers ; or otherwise at your THE NEEDLE. 263 pleasure. And never but once published before. Printed by Rich. Shorleyker." No date. In oblong quarto. And lastly, another oblong quarto, entitled, " The Needle's Excellency, a new booke, wherein are di- vers admirable workes wrought with the needle. Newly invented and cut in copper for the pleasure and profit of the industrious. " Printed for James Boler, &c, 1640. Beneath this title is a neat en- graving of three ladies in a flower garden, under the names of Wisdom, Industrie, and Follie. Pre- fixed to the patterns are sundry poems in commend- ation of the needle, and describing the characters of ladies who have been eminent for their skill in needlework, among whom are Que^n Elizabeth and the Countess of Pembroke. The poems were com- posed by John Taylor the water poet. It appears that the work had gone through twelve impressions, and yet a copy is now scarcely to be met with. This may be accounted for by supposing that such books were generally cut to pieces, and used by women to work upon or transfer to their samplers. From the dress of a lady and gentleman on one of the pat- terns in. the last mentioned book, it appears to have been originally published in the reign of James the First. All the others are embellished with a multitude of patterns elegantly cut in wood, several of which are eminently conspicuous for their taste and beauty. We are happy to add a little further information on some of these works, and on others preserved in the British Museum. " Les singuliers et nouveaux Pourtraicts du Sei- gneur Federic de Vinciolo Venitien, pour toute& 264 THE NEEDLE. sortes d'ouvrages de Lingerie. Dedie a la Reyne. A Paris, 1578."* The book opens with a sonnet to the fair, which announces to them an admirable motive for the work itself: — 11 Pour tromper vos ennuis, et Pesprit employer." Aux Dames et Damoiselles. r Sonnet. " L'un s'efforce a gaigner le coeur des grads Seigneurs Pour posseder en fin une exquise richesse ; L'autre aspire aux estats, pour monter en altesse, Et Pautre, par la guerre alleche les honneurs. rt Quand a moy, seulement pour chasser mes langueurs, Je me sen satisfaict de vivre en petitesse, Et de faire si bien, qu'aux Dames ie delaisse Un grand contentement en mes graves labeurs. " Prenez doncques en gre (mes Dames) ie vous prie, Ces pourtrais ouvragez lesquels ie vous dedie, Pour tromper vos ennuis, et Pesprit employer. " En ceste nouveaute, pourrez beaucoup apprendre, Et maistresses en fin en cest ceuvre vous rendre, Le travail est plaisant: Si grand est le loyer." Which, barring elegant diction and poetic rule, may be read thus : — Whilst one man worships lordly state As yielding all that he desires — This, fertile acres begs from fate ; Another, bloody laurels fires. To dissipate my devils blue, Trifles, I'm satisfied to do; For surely if the fair I please, My very labours smack of ease. * This seems to be a somewhat earlier edition of the second book in Mr. Douce's list. THE NEEDLE. 205 Take then, fair ladies. I you pray, The book which at your feet I lay, To make you happy, brisk and gay. There's much you here may learu anew, Which comme ilfaut will render you, And bring you joy and honour too. Proceed we to the — u Ouvrages de point Coupe," of which there are thirty-six. Some birds, animals,, and figures are introduced; but the patterns are chiefly arabesque, set off in white, on a thick black ground. Then, with a repetition of the ornamented title- page, come about fifty patterns, which are repre- sented much like the German patterns of the present day, in squares for stitches, but not so finely wrought as some which we shall presently notice. These patterns consist of arabesques, figures, birds, beasts, flowers, in every variety. To many the stitches are ready counted (as w T ell as pourtrayed), thus: — " Ce Pelican contient en longueur 70 mailles, et en hauteur 65." This pattern of maternity is repre- sented as pecking her breast, towards which three young ones are flying; their course being indicated by the three lines of white stitches, all converging to the living nest. " Ce Griffon cotient en hauteur 53 mailles, et en logueur 67." Small must be the skill of the needle- woman who docs not make this a very rampant animal indeed. " Ce Paon contient en longueur 65 mailles, et en hauteur 61." " La Licorne en hauteur cotiet 44 mailles, et en longueur 62, &c. &c." 266 THE NEEDLE. " La bordure contient 25 mailles." "La bordure dehaut cotiet 35 mailles." This is a very handsome one, resembling pine apples. " Ge quarre contient 65 mailles." There are se- veral of these squares, and borders appended, of very rich patterns. But the book contains far more ambitious designs. There are Sol, Luna, Mars, Mercury,. Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Neptune, and others, whose dignities and vocation must be inferred from the emblematical accompaniments. There is " La Deesse des fleurs representant le printemps." ft La Deesse des Bleds representant Teste." " Ce Baccus representant l'Autonne." " Ceste figure representant l'hiver," &c. &c. Appended is this " Extraict du Privilege." " Per grace et privelege du Roy, est permis a Jean le Clerc le jeune, tailleur d'histoires a Paris, d'im- primer ou faire imprimer vedre et distribuer un livre intitule livre de patrons de Lingerie, Dedie a la Royne, nouvellement invente par le Seigneur Fe- deric de Vinciolo Venitien, avec deftences a tous Libraires, Imprimeurs, ou autres, de quelque con- dition et qualite quilz soyent, de faire ny contrefaire,, aptisser ny agradir, ou pocher lesdits figures, ny exposer en vente ledict Livre sans le coge ou per- mission dudict le Clerc, et ce jusques au temps et terme de neuf ans finis et accomplis, sur peine de confiscation de tous les livres qui se trouveront im- primez, et damande arbitraire : comme plus a plein est declare en lettres patentes, donnees a Paris ce douziesme jour de Novembre, 1587." THE NEEDLE. 267 Another work, preserved in the British Museum, was published at Strasbourg, 1596, seemingly from designs of the same Vinciolo. These consist of about six-and-thirty plates, with patterns in white on a black ground, consisting of a few birds and figures, but chiefly of stars and wreaths pricked out in every possible variety; and at the end of the book a dozen richly wrought patterns, without any edging, were seemingly designed for what we should now call " insertion " work or lace. There is another, by the same author, printed at Basil in 1599, which varies but slightly from the foregoing. This Frederick de Vinciolo is doubtless the same person who was summoned to France, by Catherine de Medicis, to instruct the ladies of the court in the art of netting the lace of which the then fashionable ruffs were made. In another volume we have — " Corona delli Nobili et virtuose Donne, nel quale si dimostra in varij Dissegni tutte le sorti di Mostre di punti tagliati, punti in Aria, punti Fia- menghi, punti a Reticelle, e d' ogni altre sorte, cosi per Freggi, per Merli, e Rosette, che con 1' Aco si usano hoggidi per tutta Y Europa. <( E molte delle quali Mostre possono servire an- cora per opere a Mayzette. u Con le dichiarationi a le Mostre a Lavori fatti da Lugretia Romana. " In Venetia appresso Alessandro di Vecchi, 1620." The plates here are very similar to those in the above-mentioned works. Some are accompanied by n2 268 THE NEEDLE. short explanations, saying where they are most used and to whom they are best suited, as — " Hopera Bellissima, che per il-piu le Signore Duchese, et altre Signore si servono per li suoi lavori." " Queste bellissime Rosette usano anco le gentil- donne Venetiane da far traverse." But certainly the best work of the kind is, u The Needle's Excellency/' referred to in Mr. Douce's list. It contains a variety of plates, of which the patterns are all, or nearly all, arabesque. They are beautifully executed, many of them being very si- milar to, and equally fine with, the German patterns before the colouring is put on, which, though it guides the eye, defaces the work. These are seldom seen uncoloured, the Germans having a jealousy of sending them ; but we have seen, through the polite attention of Mr. Wilks, of Regent Street, one or two in this state, and we could not but admire the ex- treme delicacy and beauty of the work. Some few of the patterns in the book we are now referring to are so extremely similar, that we doubt not the mo- dern artists have borrowed the idea of their beauti- fully traced patterns from this or some similar work; thereby adding one more proof of the truth of the oft quoted proverb, " There is nothing new under the sun," As a fitting close to this chapter, we give the Needle's praises in full, as sung by the water poet, John Taylor, and prefixed to the last-mentioned work. THE NEEDLE. 269 The Praise of the Needle. " To all dispersed sorts of arts and trades, I write the needles prayse (that never fades) So long as children shall be got or borne, So long as garments shall be made or worne, So logg as hemp or flax, or sheep shall bear Their linnen wollen fleeces yeare by yeare: So long as silkwormes, with exhausted spoile, Of their own entrailes for man's gaine shall toyle : Yea till the world be quite dissolv'd and past, So long at least, the needles use shall last : And though from earth his being did begin, Yet through the fire he did his honour win : And unto those that doe his service lacke, He's true as Steele and mettle to the backe He hath indeed, I see, small single sight, Yet like a pigmy, Poliphcme in fight : As a stout captaine, bravely he leades on, (Not fearing colours) till the worke be done, Through thicke and thinne he is most sharpely set, With speed through stitch, he will the conquest get. And as a souldier (Frenchefyde with heat) Maim'd from the warres is forc'd to make retreat ; So when a needles point is broke, and gone, No point Mounsieur, he's maim'd, his worke is done, And more the needles honour to advance, It is a tailor's javelin, or his lance ; And for my countries quiet, I should like, That women kinde should use no other pike. It will increase their peace, enlarge their store, To use their tongues lesse, and their needles more. The needles sharpnesse, profit yields, and pleasure, But sharpnesse of the tongue, bites out of measure. A needle (though it be but small and slender) Yet it is both a maker and a mender : A grave Reformer of old rents decay'd, Stops holes and seames and desperate cuts display'd, And thus without the needle we may see We should without our bibs and biggins bee ; No shirts or smockes, our nakednesse to hide, No garments gay, to make us magninde : 270 THE NEEDLE. No shadowes, shapparoones, caules, bands, ruffs, kuffs, No kerchief es, quoyfes, chinclouts, or marry-mufles, No croscloaths, aprons, handkerchiefes, or falls, No table-cloathes, for parlours or for halls, No sheetes, no towels, napkins, pillow beares, Nor any garment man or woman v/eares. Thus is a needle prov'd an instrument Of profit, pleasure, and of ornament. Which mighty queenes have grac'd in hand to take, And high borne ladies such esteeme did make, That as their daughters daughters up did grow, The needles art, they to the children show. And as 'twas then an exercise of praise, So what deserves more honour in these dayes, Than this ? which daily doth itselfe expresse A mortall enemy to idlenesse. The use of sewing is exceeding old, As in the sacred text it is enrold : Our parents first in Paradise began, Who hath descended since from man to man : The mothers taught their daughters, sires their sons Thus in a line successively it runs For generall profit, and for recreation, From generation unto generation. With work like cherubims embroidered rare, The covers of the tabernacle were. And by the Almighties great command, we see, That Aaron's garments broidered worke should be ; And further, God did bid his vestments should Be made most gay, and glorious to behold. Thus plainly and most truly is declar'd The needles worke hath still bin in regard, For it doth art, so like to nature frame, As if it were her sister, or the same. Flowers, plants and fishes, beasts, birds, flyes, and bees, Hills, dales, plaines, pastures, skies, seas, rivers, trees ; There's nothing neere at hand, or farthest sought, But with the needle may be shap'd and wrought. In clothes of arras I have often seene, Men's flgur'd counterfeits so like have beene, That if the parties selfe had been in place, Yet art would vie with nature for the grace ; THE NEEDLE. 271 Moreover, posies rare, and anagrams, Signifique searching sentences from names, True history, or various pleasant fiction, In sundry colours mixt, with arts commixion, All in dimension, ovals, squares, and rounds, Arts life included within natures bounds : So that art seemeth merely naturall, In forming shapes so geometricall ; And though our country everywhere is fild With ladies, and with gentlewomen, skild In this rare art, yet here they may discerne Some things to teach them if they list to learne. And as this booke some cunning workes doth teach, (Too hard for meane capacities to reach) So for weake learners, other workes here be, As plaine and easie as are ABC. Thus skilful, or unskilful, each may take This booke, and of it each good use may make, All sortes of workes, almost that can be nam'd, Here are directions how they may be fram'd : And for this kingdomes good are hither come, From the remotest parts of Christendome, Collected with much paines and industrie, From scorching Spaine and freezing Muscovie, From fertill France, and pleasant Italy, From Poland, Sweden, Denmark , Germany, And some of these rare patternes have beene fet Beyond the bounds of faithlesse Mahomet: From spacious China, and those kingdomes East, And from great Mexico, the Indies West. Thus are these workes, far re/ etc ht and dearely bought, And consequently good for ladies thought. Nor doe I derogate (in any case) Or doe esteeme of other teachings base, For tent worke, raised worke, laid worke, frost worke, net worke, Most curious furies, or rare Italian cut worke, Fine feme stitch, finny stitch, new stitch, and chain stitch, Brave bred stitch, Fisher stitch, Irish stitch, and Queen stitch, The Spanish stitch, Rosemary stitch, and Mowse stitch The smarting whip stitch, back stitch, and the crosse stitch All these are good, and these we must allow, And these are everywhere in practise now.: 272 THE NEEDLE. And in this booke there are of these some store, With many others, never seene before. Here practise and invention may be free. And as a squirrel skips from tree to tree, So maids may (from their mistresse or their mother) Learne to leave one worke, and to learne another, For here they may make choice of which is which, And skip from worke to worke, fiom stitch to stitch, Until, in time, delightful practise shall (With profit) make them perfect in them all. Thus hoping that these workes may have this guide, To serve for ornament, and not for pride: To cherish vertue, banish idleness, For these ends, may this booke have good successe." 273 CHAPTER XVII. TAPESTRY FROxM THE CARTOONS. " For, round about, the walls yclothed were With goodly Arras of great majesty, Woven with gold and silk so close and nere, That the rich metal lurked privily, As faining to be hidd from envious eye; Yet here, and there, and every where uuwares It shew'd itselfe and shone unwillingly ; Like to' a discolour'd Snake, whose hidden snares Through the greene gras his long bright burnisM back declares." Faerie Queenk. Raphael,, whose name is familiar to all " as a house- hold word," seems to have been equally celebrated for a handsome person, an engaging address, an amiable disposition, and high talents. Lan- guage exhausts itself in his eulogy.* But the * For example : — (i Egli avea tenuto sempre un contegno da gua- dagnarsi il cuore di tutto. Rispettoso verso il maestro, otter* ne dal Papa che le sue pitture in una volta delle camere Vaticane rimanes- sero intatte; giusto verso i suoi emuli ringraziava Dio d 5 averlo fatto nascere a' tempi did Boaarruoti : grazioso verso i discepoli gl' istrui e gli amo come figli ; cortese anche verso gl' ignoti, a chiuuque ricorse a lui per consigiio presid liberaimente 1' opera sua, e per far disegni al altrui o dar gl' indirizzo lascio indietro talvolta i lavori propri, non sapendo non pure di negar grazia, ma dirlerirla." — Lanzi, vol. ii. Consequently when his bodv before interment lay in the room N 3 274 TAPESTRY FROM THE CARTOONS. extravagant encomiums of Lanzi and others must be taken in a very modified sense, ere we arrive at the rigid truth. The tone of morals in Italy " did not correspond with evangelical purity;" and Ra- phael's follies were not merely permitted, but en- couraged and fostered by those who sought eagerly for the creations of his pencil. His thousand en- gaging qualities were disfigured by a licentiousness which probably shortened his career, for he died at the early age of thirty-seven." Great and sincere was the grief expressed at Rome for his untimely death, and no testimony of sorrow could be more affecting, more simple, or more highly honourable to its object than the placing his picture of the Transfiguration over his mortal remains in the chamber wherein he died. which he was accustomed to paint, " Non v 5 ebbe si duro artefice che a quello spettacolo non lagrimasse." — " Ne pianse 1 Papa." Of his works: — (C Le sue figure veramente amano, languiscono, te- mono, sperano, ardiscono ; mostrano ira, placabilita, umilta, orgoglio, come mette bene alia storia : spesso chi mira que' volti, que' guardi, quelle mosse, non si ricorda che ha innanzi una immagine; si sente accendere, prende partito, crede di trovarsi in sul fatto. — Tutto parla nel silenzio ; ogni attore, 11 cor negli occhie nella front e hascritto; i piccioli movimenti degli ocehi, degli narici, della bocca, della dita corrispondono a' primi moti d' ogni passione ; i gesti phi animatie piu vivi ne descrivono la violenza; e cio ch' e piu, essi variano in cento modi senza uscir mai del naturale, e si attemperano a cento ca- ratteri senza uscir mai dalla propriety. L' eroe ha movimenti da eroe, il volgar da volgare ; e quel che non descriverebbe lingua ne penna, descrive in pochissimi trath 1' ingegno e V arte di Raffaello." p. 65. " II paese, gli elementi, gli animali, le fabbriche, le manifatture, ogni eta dell'uomo, ogni condizione, ogni afFetto, tutte comprese con la divinita del suo ingegno, tutto ridusce piu bello." — p. 71. I have thought this long extract pardonable as applied to one whose finest designs are now, through so many channels, rendered fa- miliar to us. TAPESTRY FROM THE CARTOONS. 275 It was probably within two years of the close of his short life when he was engaged by Pope Leo the Tenth to paint those cartoons which have more than all his works immortalised his name, and which render the brief hints we have given respecting him peculiarly appropriate to this work. The cartoons were designs, from Scripture chiefly, from which were to be woven han^ino's to ornament the apartments of the Vatican ; and their dimensions being of course proportioned to the spaces they were designed to till, the tapestries, though equal in height, differed extremely in breadth. The designs were, 1. The Nativity. 2. The Adoration of the Magi. 3 ) 4.>The Slaughter of the Innocents. 5.J 6. The Presentation in the Temple. 7. The Miraculous Draught of Fishes, 8. St. Peter receiving the Keys. 9. The Descent of Christ into Limbiu 10. The Resurrection. 11. Noli me tangere. 12. Christ at Emmaus. 13. The Ascension. 14. The Descent of the Holy Ghost. 15. The Martyrdom of St. Stephen 16. The Conversion of St. Paid. 17. Paul and Barnabas at Lystra. 18. Paul Preaching, 19. Death of Ananias. 20. Elymas the Sorcerer. 276 TAPESTRY FROM THE CARTOONS. 21. An earthquake ; showing the delivery of Paul and Silas from prison : named from the earthquake which shook the foundations of the building. The artist endeavours to render it ideally visible to the spectator by placing a gigantic figure, which appears to be raising the superincumbent weight on his shoulders ; but the result is not altoge- ther successful. 22. St. Peter healing the cripple. 23 — 24. Contain emblems alluding to Leo the Tenth. These are preserved in one of the privat eapartments of the Vatican palace. 25. Justice. In this subject the figures of Reli- gion, Charity, and Justice are seen above the papal armorial bearings. The last figure gives name to the whole. When the cartoons were finished thev were sent into Flanders to be woven (at the famous manufac- tory at Arras) under the superintendence of Barnard Van Orlay of Brussels, and Michael Coxis, artists who had been for some years pupils of Raphael at Rome. Two sets were executed with the utmost care and cost, but the death of Raphael, the murder of the Pope, and subsequent intestine troubles seem to have delayed their appropriation. They cost seventy thousand crowns, a sum which is said to have been defrayed by Francis the First of France, in consideration of Leo's having canonised St. Francis of Paola, the founder of the Minims. Adrian the Second was a man " alienissimo da ogni bell' arte;'' an indifference which may TAPESTRY FROM THE CARTOONS. 277 account for the cartoons not being sent with the tapestries to Rome, though some accounts say that the debt for their manufacture remained unliqui- dated, and that the paintings were kept in Flanders as security for it. They were carried away by the Spanish army in 1526-7 during the sack of Rome, but were restored by the zeal and spirit of Mont- morenci the French general, as set forth in the woven borders of the tapestries Nos. 6 and 9. Pope Paul the Fourth (1555) first introduced them to the gaze of the public by exhibiting them before the Basilica of St. Peter on the festival of Corpus Do- mini, and also at the solemn " function of Beatifi- cation." This use of them was continued through part of the last century, and is now resumed. In 1798 they were taken by the French from Rome and sold to a Jew at Leghorn, and one of them was burnt by him in order to extract the gold with which they were richly interwoven ; but happily they did not furnish so much spoil as the speculator hoped, and this devastation was arrested. The one that was destroyed represented Christ's Descent into Limbus; the rest were repurchased for one thou- sand three hundred crowns, and restored to the Vatican in 1814. We have alluded to two sets of these tapestries, and it is believed that there were two ; whether exactly counterparts has not been ascertained. We have traced the migrations of one set. The other was, according to some authorities, presented by Pope Leo the Tenth to our Henry the Eighth ; whilst others say that our king purchased it from the state of Venice. It was hung in the Banqueting 278 TAPESTRY FROM THE CARTOONS. House of Whitehall, and after the unhappy execu- tion of Charles the First, was put up, amongst other royal properties, to sale. Being purchased by the Spanish ambassador, it became the property of the house of Alva, and within a few years back was sold by the head of that illustrious house to Mr. Tupper, our consul in Spain, and by him sent back to this country. These tapestries were then exhibited for some time in the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, and were afterwards repurchased by a foreigner. Probably they have been making a " progress" throughout the kingdom, as within this twelvemonth we had the satisfaction of viewing them at the principal town in a northern county. The motto of our chapter might have been written expressly for these tapes- tries, so exquisitely accurate is the description as applied to them of the gold thread : — " As here and there, and every where unwares It shew'd itselfe and shone unwillingly; Like to' a discolour'd snake, whose hidden snares Through the greene gras his long bright burnisht back declares." The cartoons themselves, the beautiful originals of these magnificent works, remained in the Nether- lands, and were all, save seven, lost and destroyed through the ravages of time, and chance, and revo- lution. These seven, much injured by neglect, and almost pounced into holes by the weaver tracing his outlines, were purchased by King Charles the First, and are now justly considered a most valuable pos- session. It is supposed that the chief object of Charles in the purchase was to supply the then TAPESTRY FROM THE CARTOONS. 279 existing tapestry manufactory at Mortlake with superior designs for imitation. Five of them were certainly woven there, and it is far from improbable that the remaining ones were also.* There was also a project for weaving them by a person of the name of James Christopher Le Blon, and houses were built and looms erected at Chelsea expressly for that purpose, but the design failed. The " British Critic/' for January, this year, has the following spirited remarks with regard to the present situation of the cartoons. " The cartoons of RafFaelle are very unfairly seen in their present locale ; a long gallery built for the purpose by Wil- liam the Third, but in which the light enters through common chamber windows, and therefore is so much below the cartoons as to leave the greater part of them in shade. We venture to say there is no country in Europe in which such works as these — unique, and in their class invaluable — would be treated with so little honour. It has been decided by competent opinions, that their removal to London would be attended with great risk to their preser- vation, from the soot, damp, accumulation of dust, and other inconveniences, natural or incident to a crowded city. This, however, is no fair reason for their being shut up in their present ill-assorted apartment. There is not a petty state in Germany that would not erect a gallery on purpose for them ; * In a priced catalogue of His Majesty's collection of "Limnings," edited by Vertue, is the following entry. n Item, in a slit box-wooden case, some two cartoons of Raphael Urbinus for hangings to be made by, and the other five are by the King's appointment delivered to Mr. Francis Cleen at Mortlake, to make hangings by" Carton ens i a. 280 TAPESTRY FROM THE CARTOONS. and a few thousand pounds would be well bestowed in providing a fitting receptacle for some of the finest productions of human genius in art; and of the full value of which we alone, their possessors, seem to be comparatively insensible. Various portions of cartoons by Raffaelle, part of the same series or set, exist in England; and it is far from unlikely that, were there a proper place to preserve and ex- hibit the whole in, these would in time, by presenta- tion or purchase, become the property of the country, and we should then possess a monument of the greatest master of his art, only inferior to that which he has left on the walls of the Vatican." Of all these varied and beautiful paintings, that of the Adoration of the Magi, from the variety of cha- racter and expression, the splendor and oriental pomp of the whole, the multitude of persons, between forty and fifty, the various accessaries, elephants, horses, &c, with the variety of splendid and orna- mental illustrations, and the exquisite grouping, is considered as the most attractive and brilliant in tapestry, As a piece of general and varied interest it may be so; but we well remember being, not so suddenly struck, as attracted and fascinated by the figure of the Christ when, after his resurrection, he is recommending the care of his flock to St. Peter. The colours have faded gradually and equably — (an advantage not possessed by the others, where some tints which have stood the ravages of time better than those around them, are in places strikingly and painfully discordant) — but in this figure the colours, though greatly faded, have yet faded so harmo- niously as to add very much to the illusion, giving TAPESTRY FROM THE CARTOONS. 281 to the figure really the appearance of one risen from the dead. The outline is majestic; turn which way we would, we involuntarily returned to look again. At length we mentioned v our admiration to the superintendent, and the reply of the enthusiastic foreigner precluded all further remark — for nothing further could be said : — " Madam, I should have been astonished if you had not admired that figure : it is itself; it is pre cisely the finest thing in the world" 282 CHAPTER XVIII.. THE DAYS OF " GOOD QUEEN BESS." u A worthie woman judge, a woman sent for staie.' et When Fame resounds^with thundring trump, which rends the ratling skies, And pierceth to the hautie Heavens, and thence descending flies Through flickering ayre: and so conjoines the sea and shore togither, In admiration of thy grace, good Queene, thou'rt welcome hither." — The Receyving of the Queene' s Maiestie into Mr Citle of Norwich. " We may justly wonder what has hecome of the industry of the English ladies ; we hear no more of their rich embroiderings, and curious needlework. Is all the domestic simplicity of the former ages entirely vanished ?" — Aikin. The age of Elizabeth presents a never-failing* field of variety through which people of all tastes may delightedly rove, gathering flowers at will. The learned statesman, the acute politician, the subtle lawyer, will find in the measures of her Burleigh, her Walsingham, her Cecil, abundant food for ap- probation or for censure ; the heroic sailor will glory THE DAYS OF « GOOD QUEEN BESS." 283 over the achievements of her time ; the adventurous traveller will explore the Eldoradic regions with Raleigh, or plough the waves with Drake and Fro- bisher; the soldier will recal glorious visions oi Essex and Sidney, while poesy wreathes a bay round the memory of the last, which shines freshly and bright even in the age which produced a Ben Jon son, and him " who w r as born with a star on his forehead to last through all time" — Shakspeare. The age of Elizabeth was especially a learned age. The study of the dead languages had hitherto been confined almost exclusively to ecclesiastics and scholars by profession, but from the time of Henry the Seventh it had been gradually spreading amongst the higher classes. The great and good Sir Thomas More gave his daughters a learned education, and they did honour to it ; Henry the Eighth followed his example ; Lady Jane Grey made learning lovely; and Elizabeth's pedantry brought the habit into full fashion. If a queen were to talk Sanscrit, her court would endeavour to do so likewise. The example of learned studies was given by the queen herself, who translated from the Greek a play of Euripides, and parts of Isocrates, Xenophon, and Plutarch; from the Latin considerable portions of Cicero, Seneca, Sallust, Horace, &c. She wrote many Latin letters, and is said to have spoken five languages with facility. As a natural consequence the nobility and gentry, their wives and daughters, became enthu- siasts in the cause of letters. " The novelty which attended these studies, the eager desire to possess what had been so long studiously and jealously con 284 THE DAYS OF " GOOD QUEEN BESS." cealed, and the curiosity to explore and rifle the treasures of the Greek and Roman world, which mystery and imagination had swelled into the mar- vellous, contributed to excite an absolute passion for study and for books. The court, the ducal castle, and the baronial hall were suddenly con- verted into academies, and could boast of splendid tapestries. In the first of these, according to Ascham, might be seen the queen reading Ci more Greeke every day than some prebend arie of this church doth read Latin in a whole week ;" and while the was translating Isocrates or Seneca, it may be easily conceived that her maids of honour found it convenient to praise and to adopt the disposition of her time. In the second, observes Warton, t€ the daughter of a duchess was taught not only to distil strong waters, but to construe Greek; and in the third, every young lady who aspired to be fashion- able was compelled, in imitation of the greater world, to exhibit similar marks of erudition. " A contemporary writer says, that some of the ladies of the court employ themselves " in continuall reading either of the holie Scriptures, or histories of our owne or forren nations about us, and diverse in writing volumes of their owne, or translating of other mens into our English and Latine toongs. I might here (he adds) make a large discourse of such honorable and grave councellors, and noble person- ages, as give their dailie attendance upon the queene's majestic. I could in like sort set foorth a singular commendation of the vertuous beautie, or beautiful vertues of such ladies and gentlewomen as wait upon his person, betweene whose amiable THE DAYS OF " GOOD QUEEN BESS.*' 285 countenances and costlinesse of attire there seemeth to be such a dailie conflict and contention, as that it is verie difficult for me to gesse whether of the twaine shall beare awaie the preheminence. This further is not to be omitted, to the singular commendation of both sorts and sexes of our courtiers here in Eng- land, that there are verie few of them which have not the use and skill of sundrie speaches, beside an excellent veine of writing before-time not regarded. Would to God the rest of their lives and conversa- tions were correspondent to these gifts ! for as our common courtiers (for the most part) are the best lerned and endued with excellent gifts, so are manie of them the worst men when they come abroad, that anie man shall either heare or read of. Trulie it is a rare thing with us now to heare of a courtier which hath but his owne language. And to sale how many gentlewomen and ladies there are, that beside sound knowledge of the Greeke and Latine toongs, are thereto no lesse skilful in the Spanish, Italian, and French, or in some one of them, it resteth not in me. Sith I am persuaded, that as the noble- men and gentlemen doo surmount in this behalfe, so these come verie little or nothing at all behind them for their parts, which industrie God continue, and accomplish that which otherwise is wanting V* At this time the practice (derived from the chiv- alrous ages, when every baronial castle was the resort of young persons of gentle birth, of both sexes) was by no means discontinued of placing young women, of gentle birth, in the establishment * Harrison. 286 THE DAYS OF « GOOD QUEEN BESS." of ladies of rank, where, without performing any menial offices, they might be supposed to have their own understood duties in the household, and had in return the advantage of a liberal education, and constant association with the best company. Per- sons of rank and fortune often retained in their service many young people of both sexes of good birth, and bestowed on them the fashionable educa- tion of the time. Indeed their houses were the best, if not then the only schools of elegant learn- ing. The following letter, written in 1595, is from a young lady thus situated : " To my good mother Mrs. Pake, at Broumfield, deliver this. " Deare Mother, " My humble dutye remembred unto my father and you, &c. I received upon Weddensday last a letter from my father and you, whereby, I understand, it is your pleasures that I should certifie you what times I do take for my lute, and the rest of my exercises. I doe for the most part playe of my lute after supper, for then commonlie my lady heareth me; and in the morninges, after I am reddie, I play an hower; and my wrightinge and siferinge, after I have done my lute. For my draw- inge I take an hower in the afternowne, and my French at night before supper. My lady hath not bene well these tooe or three dayes : she telleth me, when she is well, that she will see if Hilliard will come and teche me; if she can by any means she will, &c. &c. — As touchinge my newe corse in ser- vice, I hope I shall performe my dutye to my lady THE DAYS OF " GOOD QUEEN BESS." 287 with all care and regard to please her, and to behave myselfe to everye one else as it shall become me. Mr. Harrisone was with me upone Fridaye ; he heard me playe, and brought me a dusson of trebles ; I had some of him when I came to London. Thus desiring pardone for my rude writinge, I leave you to the Almightie, desiringe him to increase in you all health and happines. " Your obedient daughter, " Rebecca Pake." Could any thing afford a stronger contrast to the grave and certainly severe study to which Elizabeth had habituated herself, than the vain and fantastic puerility of many of her recreations and habits, — the unintellectual brutality of the bearbaits which she admired, or the gaudy and glittering pageants in which she delighted ? She built a gallery at White- hall at immense expense, and so superficially, that it was in ruins in her successor's time ; but it was raised, in order to afford a magnificent reception to the ambassadors who, in 1581, came to treat of an alliance with the Duke of Anjou. It was framed of timber, covered with painted canvas, and decorated with the utmost gaudiness. Pendants of fruit of various kinds (amongst which cucumbers and even carrots are enumerated) were hung from festoons of flowers intermixed with evergreens, and the whole was powdered with gold spangles ; the ceiling was painted like a sky with stars, sunbeams, and clouds, intermixed with scutcheons of the royal arms; and glass lustres and ornaments were scattered all around. Here were enacted masques and pageants 288 THE DAYS OF « GOOD QUEEN BESS." chiefly remarkable for their pedantic prolixity of composition, and the fulsome and gross flattery towards the queen with which they were throughout invested. Everything, in accordance with the rage of the day, assumed an erudite, or, more truly speaking, a pedantic cast. When the queen (says War ton) paraded through a country town, almost every pageant was a pantheon. When she paid a visit at the house of any of her nobility, at entering the hall she was saluted by the Penates, and conducted to her privy chamber by Mercury. Even the pastry cooks were expert mythologists. At dinner, select transformations of Ovid's metamorphoses were ex- hibited in confectionary ; and the splendid iceing of an immense historic plum-cake was embossed with a delicious basso-relievo of the destruction of Troy. In the afternoon, when she condescended to walk in the garden, the lake w r as covered with Tritons and Nereids ; the pages of the family were converted into wood-nymphs, who peeped from every bower; and the footmen gambolled over the lawns in the figure of satyrs. Scarcely we think could even the effusions of Euphues — a fashion also of this period — be more wearisome to the spirit than a repetition of these dull delights. This predilection for learning, and the time per- force given to its acquisition, must necessarily have subtracted from those hours which might otherwise have been bestowed on the lighter labours and beguiling occupations of the needle. Nor does it appear that after her accession Elizabeth did much THE DAYS OF « GOOD QUEEN BESS." 289 patronise this gentle art. She was cast in a more stirring mould. In her father's court, under her sister's jealous eye/ within her prison's solitary walls, her needle might be a prudent disguise, a solacing occupation, " woman's pretty excuse for thought/' But after her own accession to the throne action was her characteristic. Nevertheless we are not to suppose that, because needlework was not " a rage," it was frowned upon and despised. By no means. It is perhaps for- tunate that Elizabeth did not especially patronise it ; for so dictatorial and absolute was she, that by virtue of the " right divine " she would have made her statesmen embroider their own robes, and her warriors lay aside the sword for the distaff. But as, happily, it now only held a secondary place in her esteem, we have Raleigh's poems instead of his sampler, and Bacon's learning instead of his stitch- ery. But it was not in her nature to suffer any thing in which she excelled to lie quite dormant. She was an accomplished needlewoman ; some ex- quisite proofs of her skill were then glowing in all their freshness, and her excellence in this art was sufficiently obvious to prevent the ladies of her court from entirely forsaking it. Many books, with patterns for needlework, were published about this time, and in a later one Queen Elizabeth is especially celebrated in a laudatory poem for her skill in it. That proficiency in ornamental needlework was an absolute requisite in the accomplishments of a country belle, may be inferred from the prominent place it holds in Drayton's description of the well- o 290 THE DAYS OF •« GOOD QUEEN BESS." educated daughter of a country knight in Elizabeth's days : " The silk well couth she twist and twine, And make the fine march pine, And with the needlework: And she couth help the priest to say His mattins on a holy day, And sing a psalm in kirk. 14 She wore a frock of frolic green, Might well become a maiden queen, Which seemly was to see ; A hood to that so neat and fine, In colour like the columbine, Ywrought full featously." The march pine or counterpanes here alluded to, taxed in these days to the fullest extent both the purse of the rich and the fingers of the fair. Eliza- beth had several most expensively trimmed with ermine as well as needlework; the finest and richest embroidery was lavished on them ; and it was no unusual circumstance for the counterpane for the " standing" or master's bed to be so lavishly adorned as to be worth a thousand marks. At no time was ornamental needlework more ad- mired, or in greater request in the everyday con- cerns of life, than now. Almost every article 'of dress,, male and female, was adorned with it. Even the boots, which at this time had immense tops turned down and fringed, and which were commonly made of russet cloth or leather, were worn by some exquisites of the day of very fine cloth (of which enough was used to make a shirt), and were em- broidered in gold or silver, or in various-coloured THE DAYS OF "GOOD QUEEN BESS." 291 silks, in the figures of birds, animals, or antiques ; and the ornamental needlework alone of a pair of these boots would cost from four to ten pounds. The making of a single shirt would frequently cost 10/., so richly were they ornamented with u needle- vvorke of silke, and so curiously stitched with other knackes." " Woman's triflings,'' too, their handkerchiefs, reticules, workbags, &c, were decorated richly. We have seen within these few days a workbag which would startle a modern fair one, for, as far as regards size, it has a most " industrious look," but which, despite the ravages of near three centuries, yet gives token of much original magnificence. It is made of net, lined with silk; the material, the net itself, (a sort of honeycomb pattern, like what we called a few years ago the Grecian lace,) was made by the fair workwoman in those days, and was a fashionable occupation both in France and England. This bag is wrought in broad stripes with gold thread, and between the stripes various flowers are embroidered in different coloured silks. The bag stands in a sort of card-board basket, covered in the same style ; it is. drawn with long cords and tassels, and is large enough perhaps, on emergency, to hold a good sized baby. It is more than probable that female skill was in request in various matters of household decoration. The Arras looms, indeed, had long superseded the painful fingers of notable dames in the construc- tion of hangings for walls, which were universally used, intermingled and varied in the palaces and nobler mansions by " painted cloth," and cloth of o2 292 THE DAYS OF « GOOD QUEEN BESS." gold and silver. Thus Shakspeare describes Imo- gen's chamber in Cymbeline : " Her bed-chamber was hanged With tapestry of silk and silver." We have remarked that Henry the Eighth's palaces were very splendid; Elizabeth's were equally so, and more consistently finished in minor conveniences, as it is particularly remarked that " easye quilted and lyned formes and stools for the lords and ladyes to sit on " had superseded the " great plank forms, that two yeomen can scant remove out of their places, and waynscot stooles so hard, that since great breeches were layd asyde men can skant indewr to sitt on." Her two pre- sence chambers at Hampton Court shone with tapestry of gold and silver, and silk of various colours ; her bed was covered with costly coverlids of silk, wrought in various patterns, by the needle ; and she had many " chusions," moveable articles of furniture of various shapes, answering to our large family of tabourets and ottomans, embroidered with gold and silver thread. But it was not merely in courts and palaces that arras was used ; it was now, of a coarser fabric, universally adopted in the houses of the country gentry. " The wals of our houses on the inner sides be either hanged with tapisterie, arras-work,* or painted cloths, wherein either diverse histories, or hearbes, beasts, knots, and such like are stained, * From this .separate mention of tapisterie and arras-work by so accurate a describer as Harrison, it would seem that tapestry of the needle alone was not, even yet, quite exploded. THE DAYS OF "GOOD QUEEN BESS." 293 or else they are seeled with oke of our owne, or wainescot brought hither out of the east countries." The tapestry was now suspended on frames, which, we may infer, were often at a considerable distance from the walls, since the portly Sir John Falstaff ensconced himself " behind the arras " on a me- morable occasion ; Polonius too met his death there ; and indeed Shakspeare presses it into the service on numerous occasions. The following quotation will give an accurate idea of properties thought most valuable at this time ; and it will be seen that ornamental needle- work cuts a very distinguished figure therein. It is a catalogue of his wealth given by Gremio when suing for Bianca to her father, who declares that the wealthiest lover will win her, in the Taming of the Shrew. Ch'emio. " First, as you know, my house within the city- Is richly furnished with plate and gold ; Basons and ewers, to lave her dainty hands; My hangings all of Tyrian tapestry ; In ivory coffers 1 have stuff' d my crowns ; In cypres chests my arras, counterpoints, Costly apparel, tents, and canopies, Fine linen, Turkey cushions boss'd with pearl, Valence of Venice gold, in needlework, Pewter and brass, and all things that belong To house or house-keeping." The age of Elizabeth was one which powerfully appeals to the imagination in various ways. The sera of warlike chivalry was past ; but many of its lighter observances remained, and added to the variety of life, and perhaps tended to polish it. We 294 THE DAYS OF " GOOD QUEEN BKSS." are told, for instance, that as the Earl of Cumberland stood before Elizabeth she dropped her glove; and on his picking it up graciously desired him to keep it. He caused the trophy to be encircled with diamonds ; and ever after, at all tilts and tourneys, bore it conspicuously placed in front of his high crowned hat. Jousting and tilting in honour of the ladies (by whom prizes were awarded) continued still to be a favourite diversion. There were annual contentions in the lists in honour of the sovereign, and twenty-five persons of the first rank established a society of arms for this purpose, of which the chivalric Sir Henry Lee was for some time pre- sident. The " romance of chivalry " was sinking to be suc- ceeded by the heavier tomes of Gomberville, Scudery, &c v but the extension of classical knowledge, the vast strides in acquirement of various kinds, the utter change, so to speak, in the system of literature, all contributed to the downfall of the chivalric romance. Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia introduced a rage for high-flown pastoral effusions ; and now too was re-born that taste for metaphorical effusion and spiritual romance, which was first exhibited in the fourth century in the Bishop of Tricca's romance of 6f Barlaam and Josaphat," and which now pervaded the fast-rising puritan party, and was afterwards fully developed in that unaccountably fascinating work, " The PilgrinTs Progress.'' Nevertheless, as yet " Courted and caress'd, High placed in hall, a welcome guest," THE DAYS OF " GOOD QUEEN BESS.' 295 the harper poured to lord and lady gay not indeed " his unpremeditated lay/' but a poetical abridg- ment (the precursor of a fast succeeding race of romantic ballads) of the doughty deeds of renowned knights, so amply expatiated upon in the time- honoured folios of the " olden time." The wander- ing harper, if fallen somewhat from his " high estate," was still a recognised and welcome guest; his " matter being for the most part stories of old time, as the tale of Sir Topas, the reportes of Bevis of Southampton, Guy of Warwicke, Adam Bell, and Clymme of the Clough, and such other old romances or historical rhimes." Though the character of the minstrel gradually lost respectability, yet for a con- siderable part of Elizabeth's reign it was one so fully acknowledged, that a peculiar garb was still attached to the office. (( Mongst these, some bards there were that in their sacred rage Recorded the descents and acts of everie age. Some with their nimbler joynts that strooke the warbling string; In fingering some unskild, but onelie vsed to sing Vnto the other's harpe : of which you both might find Great plentie, and of both excelling in their kind." The superstitions of various kinds, the omens, the warnings, the charms, the " potent spells' 1 of the wizard seer, which " Could hold in dreadful thrall the labouring moon, Or draw the fix'd stars from their eminence, And still the midnight tempest," — the supernatural agents, the goblins, the witches, 296 THE DAYS OF « GOOD QUEEN BES the fairies, the satyrs, the elves, the fauns, the " shapes that walk," the " Uncharnerd spectres, seen to glide Along the lone wood's unfrequented path" — the being and active existence of all these was con- sidered " true as holy writ" by our ancestors of the Elizabethan age. On this subject we will transcribe a beautifully illustrative passage from War ton : — « Every goblin of ignorance" (says he) " did not vanish at the first glimmerings of the morning of science. Reason suffered a few demons still to linger, which she chose to retain in her service under the guidance of poetry. Men believed, or were willing to believe, that spirits were yet hovering around, who brought with them airs from heaven, or blasts from hell; that the ghost was duly relieved from his prison of torment at the sound of the cur- few, and that fairies imprinted mysterious circles on the turf by moonlight. Much of this credulity was even consecrated by the name of science and pro- found speculation. Prospero had not yet broken and buried his staff, nor drowned his book deeper than did ever plummet sound. It was now that the alchemist and the judicial astrologer conducted his occult operations by the potent intercourse of some preternatural being, Vho came obsequious to his call, and was bound to accomplish his severest services, under certain conditions, and for a limited duration of time. It was actually one of the pretended feats of these fantastic philosophers to evoke the queen of the fairies in the solitude of a gloomy grove, who, THE DAYS OF « GOOD QUEEN BESS." 297 preceded by a sudden rustling of the leaves, appeared in robes of transcendant lustre. The Shakspeare of a more instructed and polished age would not have given us a magician darkening the sun at noon, the sabbath of the witches, and the cauldron of incantation." It were endless, and indeed out of place here, to attempt to specify the numberless minor supersti- tions to which this credulous tendency of the public mind gave birth or continuation ; or the marvels of travellers, — as the Anthropophagi, the Ethiops with four eyes, the Hippopodes with their nether parts like horses, the Arimaspi with one eye in the fore- head, and the Monopoli who have no head at all but a face in their breast — which were all devoutly credited. One potent charm, however, we are con- strained to particularise, since its infallibility was mainly dependent on the needlewoman's skill? It was a waistcoat which rendered its owner invulner- able : we believe that if duly prepared it would be found proof not only against a- -hores. t beta the hostile fleets, and also the subse the 3 iab Armada :A- whose so much ter, that in a runni i they had the adva: The sea is alive too with dolphins to _ ;_'ht at *• t: ves with fierce and grim ks to the ess of the Spanish flee v good ; and, where rna bay or h ar- il real Jcated js dimly defined in the n. andir. ad pea ti are much more accura* jineate J than was usual time : but remark ed an eminent :, and ~.e particular \e was the deli I dripping and na ertainly as a sei variety. In I f them the 4 shore is in- and the intermixture of fortifications, church ad anirna- vding to behold the 1 riling by. prod an (ring ar,d I the varied, lively, and appropriate colouring of the ta- would have a most striki _ But * man who, unmoved by the excitement about fa 308 TAPESTRY OF THE SPANISH ARMADA. calmly fishing under the walls, without even turning his head toward the scene of tumult, must be blessed with an apathy of disposition which the poor en- raged dolphins and porpoises might have envied. With these exceptions the tapestries are all sea pieces with only a distant view of the coast, and portray the two fleets in different stages of their progress, sometimes with engagements between single ships, but generally in an apparent state of truce, the English always the pursuers, and the Spaniards generally drawn up in form of a crescent. The last however shows the invading fleet hurriedly and in disorder sailing away, when bad weather, the Duke of Parma ? s delay, and a close engagement of fourteen hours, in which they " suffered griev- ously/' having " had to endure all the heavy cannon- ading of their triumphant opponents, while they were struggling to get clear of the shallows," con- vinced them of the impossibility of a successful close to their enterprise, and made them resolve to take advantage of a southern breeze to make their pas- sage up the North sea, and round Scotland home. " He that fights and runs away, May live to fight another day." So, however, did not the Spaniards. " About these north islands their mariners and soldiers died daily by multitudes, as by their bodies cast on land did appear. The Almighty ordered the winds to be so contrary to this proud navy, that it was, by force, dissevered on the high seas west upon Ireland; and so great a number of them driven into sundry dangerous bays, and upon rocks, and there cast TAPESTRY OF THE SPANISH ARMADA. 309 away ; some sunk, some broken,, some on the sands, and some burnt by the Spaniards themselves." Misfortune clung to them ; storm and tempest on the sea, and inhospitable and. cruel treatment when they were forced on shore so reduced them, that of this magnificent Armada only sixty shattered vessels found their home ; and their humbled commander, the Duke de Medina Sidonia, was led to understand that his presence was not desired at court, and that a private country residence would be the most suitable. It was on this occasion, when the instant danger was past but by no means entirely done away, as for some time it was supposed that the Armada, after recruiting in some northern station, would return, that Elizabeth with a general's truncheon in her hand rode through the ranks of her army at Til- bury, and addressed them in a style which caused them to break out into deafening and tumultuous shouts and cries of love, and honour, and obedience to death. Thus magnificently the English heroine spoke : " My loving People, — We have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety to take heed how we commit ourselves to armed Multitudes ; but I assure you I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving People. Let Tyrants fear ; I have always so behaved myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal Hearts and Goodwill of my Subjects ; and therefore I am come amongst you, as you see at this time, not for my Recreation and Disport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of the Battle, to live and die amongst 310 TAPESTRY OF THE SPANISH ARMADA. you all ; to lay down for my God, and for my kingdom, and for my People, my Honour, and my Blood, even in the dust. I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble Woman, but I have the Heart and Stomach of a King, and of a King of England too; and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any Prince of Europe should dare to invade the Borders of my Realm ; to which, rather than any Dishonour shall grow by me, I myself will take up Arms, I my- self will be your General, Judge, and Re warder of every one of your Virtues in the Field; I know already, for your forwardness, you have deserved Rewards and Crowns ; and we do assure you, in the word of a Prince, they shall be duly paid you. In the mean time my Lieutenant-general shall be in my stead, than whom never Prince commanded a more noble or worthy subject; not doubting but, by your obedience to my General, by your Concord in the camp, and your Valour in the Field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over those Enemies of my God, of my Kingdoms, and of my People." The tapestry, the magnificent memorial of this great event, was lost irreparably in the devastating fire of 1 834. Some fragments, it is said, were pre- served, but we have not been able to ascertain this fact. One portion still exists at Plymouth, though shorn of its pristine brilliancy, as some of the silver threads were drawn out by the economists of the time of the Commonwealth. This piece was cut out to make way for a gallery at the time of the trial of Queen Caroline, was secreted by a German servant of the Lord Chamberlain, and sold by him to a broker who offered it to Government for 500/. TAPESTRY OF THE SPANISH ARMADA. 31 1 Some inquiry was made into the circumstances, which, however, do not seem to have excited very great interest, since the relic was ultimately bought by the Bishop of Landaff (Van Mildert) for 201. By him it was presented to the corporation of Ply- mouth, who still possess it. 312 CHAPTER XX. ON STITCHERY. M Here have I cause in men just blame to find, That in their proper praise too partial bee, And not indifferent to womankind, ******* Scarse do they spare to one, or two, or three, Rowme in their writtes ; yet the same writing small Does all their deedes deface, and dims their glories all.*' Faerie Queene. Christine, whiche understode these thynges of Dame Reason, re plyed upon that in this manere. Madame Ise wel y l ye myght fynde ynowe & of grete nombre of women praysed in scyences and in crafte ; but knowe ye ony that by y e vertue of their felynge & of subtylte of wytte haue found e of themselfe ony newe craftes and scyences necessary, good, & couenable that were neuer founde be- fore nor knowne ? for it is not so grete maystry to folowe and to leme after ony other scyence founde and comune before, as it is to fynde of theymselfe some newe thynge not accustomed before. Answere, — Ne doubte ye not y e contrary my dere frende but many craftes and scyences ryght notable hathe ben founde by the wytte and subtylte of women, as moche by speculacyon of understand- ynge, the whiche sheweth them by wrytynge, as in craftes, y sheweth theym in werkynge of handes & of laboure." The Boke of the Cyte of Ladyes. Again we must lament that the paucity of historical record lays us under the necessity of concluding, by inference, what we would fain have displayed by ON STITCIIERY 313 direct testimony. The respectable authority quoted above affirms that " many craftes and scyences ryght notable hathe ben founde by the wytte and subtylte of women/' and it specifies particularly Ci werkynge of handes," by which we suppose the " talented" author means needlework. That the necessity for this pretty art was first created by woman, no one, we think, will disallow ; and that it was first practised, as it has been subsequently j)erfected, by her, is a fact of which we feel the most perfect conviction. This conviction has been forced upon us by a train of reasoning which will so readily suggest itself to the mind of all our readers, that we content our- selves with naming the result, assured that it is unnecessary to trouble them with the intervening steps. One only link in the chain of u circumstantial evidence" will we adduce, and that is afforded by the ancient en^ravin^ to which we have before al- ts ?*> luded in our remarks upon Eve's needle and thread. There whilst our " general mother'' is stitching away at the fig-leaves in the most edifying manner possible, our u first father," far from trying to " put in a stitch for himself," is gazing upon her in the most utter amazement. And while she plies her busy task as if she had been born to stitchery, his eyes, not his fingers, " Follow the nimble fingers of the fair," with every indication of superlative wonder and ad- miration. In fact, it is no slight argument in favour of the original invention of sewing by women, that men very rarely have wit enough to learn it, even when p 314 ON STITCHERY. invented. There has been no lack of endeavour, even amongst the world's greatest and mightiest, but poor i( work" have they made of it. Hercules lost all the credit of his mighty labours from his insignificance at the spinning wheel, and the sceptre of Sardanapalus passed from his grasp as he was endeavouring to ? finger the fine needle and nyse thread." These love-stricken heroes might have said with Gower — had he then said it — u What things she bid me do, I do, And where she hid me go, I go. And where she likes to call, I come, I serve, I bow, I look, I lowte, My eye folio weth her about. What so she will, so will I, When she would set, I kneel by. And when she stands, then will I stand, And when she taketh her work in hand. Of wevyny or of embro'tdrie. Then can I only muse and prie, Upon her fingers long and small." Our modern Hercules, the Leviathan of litera- ture, was not more successful. Dr. Johnson. — ie Women have a great advantage that they may take up with little things, without disgracing themselves ; a man cannot, except with fiddling. Had I learnt to fiddle I should have done nothing else." BoswelL — " Pray, Sir, did you ever play on any musical instrument?" Br. Johnson. — " No, Sir; I once bought a flageo- let, but I never made out a tune." BoswelL — " A flageolet, Sir ! So small an instru- ment ? I should have liked to hear you play on the ON STITCHERY. 315 violoncello. That should have been your instru- ment." Dr. Johnson. — " Sir, I might as well have played on the violoncello as another ; but I should have done nothing else. No, Sir ; a man would never undertake great things could he be amused with small. I once tried knotting; Dempster's sister undertook to teach me, but I" could not learn it" BoswelL — " So, Sir ; it will be related in pompous narrative, c once for his amusement he tried knot- ting, nor did this Hercules disdain the distaff.'* " Dr. Johnson. — " Knitting of stockings is a good amusement As a freeman of Aberdeen, I should be a knitter of stockings." Nor was Dr. Johnson singular in his high appre- ciation of the value of some sort of stitchery to his own half of the human race, if their intellects un- fortunately had not been too obtuse for its acquisi- tion. The great censor of the public morals and manners a century ago, the Spectator, recommends the same thing, though with his usual policy he feigns merely to be the medium of another's advice. " Mr. Spectator, — You are always ready to re- ceive any useful hint or proposal, and such, I believe, you will think one that may put you in a way to employ the most idle part of the kingdom ; I mean that part of mankind who are known by the name of the women's men, beaux, &c. Mr. Spectator, you are sensible these pretty gentlemen are not made for any manly employments, and for want of business are often as much in the vapours as the ladies. Now what I propose is this, that since knot- p2 316 ON STITCHERY. ting is again in fashion, which has been found a very pretty amusement, that you will recommend it to these gentlemen as something that may make them useful to the ladies they admire. And since it is not inconsistent with any game or other diver- sion, for it may be done in the playhouse, in their coaches, at the tea-table, and, in short, in all places where they come for the sake of the ladies (except at church, be pleased to forbid it there to prevent mistakes), it will be easily complied with. It is besides an employment that allows, as we see by the fair sex, of many graces, which will make the beaux more readily come into it; and it shows a white hand and a diamond ring to great advantage ; it leaves the eyes at full liberty to be employed as before, as also the thoughts and the tongue. In short, it seems in every respect so proper that it is needless to urge it further, by speaking of the satis- faction these male knotters will find when they see their work mixed up in a fringe, and worn by the fair lady for whom, and with whom, it was done. Truly, Mr. Spectator, I cannot but be pleased I have hit upon something that these gentlemen are capable of; for it is sad so considerable a part of the kingdom (I mean for numbers) should be of no manner of use. I shall not trouble you further at this time, but only to say, that I am always your reader and generally your admirer. C. B. " P.S. — The sooner these fine gentlemen are set to work the better ; there being at this time several fringes that stay only for more hands." But, alsa ! the sanguine w r riter was mistaken in ON STITCH ERY. 317 supposing that at last gentlemen had found a some- thing i( of which they were capable." The days of knotting passed away before they had made any proficiency in it ; nor have we ever heard that they have adopted any other branch or stitch of this extensive art. There is variety enough to satisfy anybody, and there are gradations enough in the stitches to descend to any capacity but a man's. There are tambour stitch — satin — chain — finny — new — bred — feme — and queen-stitches ; there is slabbing — veining — and button stitch; seed- ing — roping — and open stitch : there is sockseam — herring-bone — long stitch — and cross stitch : there is rosemary stitch — Spanish stitch — and Irish stitch: there is back stitch — overcast — and seam stitch : hemming — felling — and basting: darning — grafting — and patching: there is whip stitch — and fisher stitch: there is fine drawing — gathering — mark- ing — trimming — and tucking. Truly all this does require some vovf, and the lords of the creation are more to be pitied than blamed for that paucity of intellect which deprives them of " woman's pretty excuse for thought." Raillery apart, sewing is in itself an agreeable occupation, it is essentially a useful one ; in many of its branches it is quite ornamental, and it is a gentle, a graceful, an elegant, and a truly feminine occupation. It causes the solitary hours of domestic life to glide more smoothly away, and in those social unpretending reunions which in country life and in secluded districts are yet not abolished, it takes away from the formality of sitting for conversation, abridges the necessity for scandal, or, to say the least 318 ON STITCHERY. of it, as we have heard even ungallant lordly man allow, it keeps us out of mischief. And there are frequent and oft occurring circum- stances which invest it with characteristics of a still higher order. How many of " the sweet solicitudes that life beguile" are connected with this interest- ing occupation ! either in preparing habiliments for those dependent on our care, and for love of whom many an unnecessary stitch which may tend to extra adornment is put in ; or in those numberless pretty and not unuseful tokens of remembrance, which, passing from friend to friend, soften our hearts by the intimation they convey, that we have been cared for in our absence, and that while the world looked dark and desolate about us, unforgetting hearts far, far away were holding us in remembrance, busy fingers were occupied in our behoof. Oh ! a reti- cule, a purse, a slipper, how valueless soever in it- self, is, when fraught with these home memories, worth that which the mines of Golconda could not purchase. And of such a nature would be the feel- ings which suggested these well-known but exqui- site lines : — " The twentieth year is well nigh past, Since first our sky was overcast, Ah, would that this might be the List ! My Mary ! ' Thy spirits have a fainter flow, I see thee daily weaker grow, 'Twas my distress that brought thee low, My Mary ! " Thy needles, once a shining store, For my sake restless heretofore, Now rust disused and shine no more, My Mary ! ON STITCHERY. 319 " For though thou gladly would'st fulfil The same kind office for me still, Thy sight now seconds not thy will, My Mary ! " But well thou play'dst the housewife's part, And all thy threads with magic art, Have wound themselves about this heart, My Mary P An interesting circumstance connected with needle- work is mentioned in the delightful memoir written by lady Murray, of her mother, the excellent and admirable Lady Grisell Baillie. The allusion itself is very slight, merely to the making of a frill or a collar ; but the circumstances connected with it are deeply interesting, and place before us a vivid pic- ture of the deprivations of a family of rank and consequence in " troublous times/' and moreover offer us a portrait from real life of true feminine excellence, of a young creature of rank and family, of cultivated and refined tastes and of high con- nexions, utterly forgetting all these in the cheerful and conscientious discharge, for years, of the most arduous and humble duties, and even of menial and revolting offices. It may be that my readers all are not so well acquainted with this little book as ourselves, and, if so, they will not consider the fol- lowing extract too long. " They lived three years and a half in Holland, and in that time she made a second voyage to Scot- land about business. Her father went by the bor- rowed name of Dr. Wallace, and did not stir out for fear of being discovered, though who he was, was no secret to the wellwishers of the revolution. Their 320 ON STITCHERY. great desire was to have a good house, as their greatest comfort was at home ; and all the people of the same way of thinking, of which there were great numbers, were continually with them. They paid for their house what was very extravagant for their income, nearly a fourth part ; they could not afford keeping any servant, but a little girl to wash the dishes. u All the time they were there, there was not a week that my mother did not sit up two nights, to do the business that was necessary. She went to market, went to the mill to have the corn ground, which it seems is the way with good managers there, dressed the linen, cleaned the house, made ready the dinner, mended the children's stockings and other clothes, made what she could for them, and, in short, did everything. " Her sister, Christian, who was a year or two younger, diverted her father and mother and the rest who were fond of music. Out of their small income they bought a harpsichord for little money, but is a R it car now in my custody, and most valu- able. My aunt played and sang well, and had a great deal of life and humour, but no turn to busi- ness. Though my mother had the same qualifica- tions, and liked it as well as she did, she was forced to drudge; and many jokes used to pass betwixt the sisters about their different occupations. Every morning before six my mother lighted her father's fire in his study, then waked him (she was ever a good sleeper, which blessing, among many others, she inherited from him) ; then got him, what he ON STITCHER Y. <^1 usually took as soon as lie got up, warm small beer with a spoonful of bitters in it, which he continued his whole life, and of which I have the receipt. " Then she took up the children and "brought them all to his room, where he taught them every- thing that was fit for their age; some Latin, others French, Dutch, geography, writing, reading, Eng- lish, &c. ; and my grandmother taught them what was necessary on her part. Thus he employed and diverted himself all the time he was there, not being able to afford putting them to school; and my mother, when she had a moment's time, took a lesson with the rest in French and Dutch, and also diverted herself with music. I have now a book of songs of her writing when there ; many of them interrupted, half-writ, some broke off in the middle of a sentence. She had no less a turn for mirth and society than any of the family, when she could come at it without neglecting what she thought more necessary. " Her eldest brother, Patrick, who was nearest her age, and bred up together, was her most dearly beloved. My father was there, forfeited and exiled, in the same situation with themselves. She had seen him for the first time in the prison with his father, not long before he suffered ;* and from that time their hearts were engaged. Her brother and my father were soon got in to ride in the Prince of Orange's Guards, till they were better provided for in the army, which they w^ere before the Revolution. They took their turn in standing sentry at the Prince's gate, but always contrived to do it together, * She was then a mere child, not more, if I remember rightly, than twelve years old. p3 322 ON STITCHERY. and the strict friendship and intimacy that then began, continued to the last. " Though their station was then low, they kept up their spirits ; the prince often dined in public, then all were admitted to see him : when any pretty girl wanted to go in they set their halberts across the door and would not let her pass till she gave each of them a kiss, which made them think and call them very pert soldiers. I could relate many stories on this subject ; my mother could talk for hours and never tire of it, always saying it was the happiest part of her life. Her constant attention ivas to have her brother appear right in his linen and dress ; they wore little point cravats and cuffs, which many a night she sat up to have in as good order for him as any in the place ; and one of their greatest expenses was in dressing him as he ought to be. " As their house was always full of the unfortu- nate people banished like themselves, they seldom went to dinner without three, four, or five of them to share it with them ; and many a hundred times I have heard her say she could never look back upon their manner of living there without thinking it a miracle. They had no want, but plenty of every- thing they desired, and much contentment, and always declared it the most pleasing part of her life, though they were not without their little distresses ; but to them they were rather jokes than grievances. The professors and men of learning in the place came often to see my grandfather ; the best enter- tainment he could give them was a glass of alabast beer, which was a better kind of ale than common. He sent his son Andrew, the late Lord Kimmerg- ON STITCHERY 323 hame, a boy, to draw some for them in the cellar, and he brought it up with great diligence, but in the other hand the spigot of the barrel. My grand- father said, f Andrew ! what is that in your hand ? When he saw it he ran down with speed, but the beer was all run out before he got there. This oc- casioned much mirth, though perhaps they did not well know where to get more. " It is the custom there to gather money for the poor from house to house, with a bell to warn people to give it. One night the bell came, and no money was there in the house but a orkey, which is a doit, the smallest of all coin ; everybody was so ashamed no one would go to give it, it was so little, and put it from one to the other : at last my grandfather said, "Well, then, I '11 go with it ; we can do no more than give all we have." They were often reduced to this by the delay of the ships coming from Scot- land with their small remittances ; then they put the little plate they had (all of which they carried with them) in the lumber, which is pawning it, till the ships came : and that very plate they brought with them again to Scotland, and left no debt be- hind them." This is a long but not an uninteresting digres- sion, and we were led to it from the recollection that Lady Grisell Baillie, when encompassed with heavy cares, not only sat up a night or two every week, but felt a satisfaction, a pleasure, in doing so, to execute the needlework required by her family. And when sewing with a view to the comfort and satisfaction of others, the needlewoman — insigni- ficant as the details of her employment may ap 324 ON STITCIIERY. pear — has much internal satisfaction ; she has a de- finite vocation, an important function. Nor few nor insignificant are her handmaidens, one or other of whom is ever at her side, inspiriting her to her task. Her most constant attendant is a matron of stayed and sober appearance, called Uti- lity. The needlewoman's productions are found to vary greatly, and this variation is ascribed with truth to the influencing suggestions of the attendant for the time being. Thus, for instance, when Utility is her companion all her labours are found to result in articles of which the material is unpretending, and the form simple; for however she may be led wandering by the vaga- ries of her other co-mates, it is always found that in moments of steady reflection she listens with the most implicit deference to the intimations of this her experienced and most respectable friend. But occasionally, indeed frequently, Utility brings with her a fair and interesting relative, called Taste ; a gentle being, of modest and retiring mien, of most unassuming deportment, but of exquisite grace ; and it is even observed that the needlewoman is more happy in her labours, and more universally approved when accompanied by these two friends, than by any other of the more eccentric ones who occasionally take upon themselves to direct her steps. Of these latter, Fashion is one of her most fre- quent visitors, and it is very often found that as she approaches Utility and Taste retire. This is not, however, invariably the case. Sometimes the three agree cordially together, and their united suffrages ON STITCHERY. 3*25 and support enhance the fame of the needlewoman to the very highest pitch ; but this happy cordiality is of infrequent occurrence, and usually of short duration. Fashion is fickle, varying, inconstant; given to sudden partialities and to disruptions un- loosed for, and as sudden. She laughs to scorn Utility's grave maxims, and exaggerates the grace- ful suggestions of Taste until they appear complete caricatures. Consequently they, offended, retire ; and Fashion, heedless, holds on her own course, keeping the needlewoman in complete subjection to her arbitrary rule, which is often enforced in her transient absence by her own peculiar friend and intimate — Caprice. This fantastic being has the greatest influence over Fashion, who having no staple character of her own, is easily led every way at the beck of this whimsical and absurd dictator. The productions which emanate from the hands of the needlewoman under their guidance are much sought for, much looked at, but soon fall into utter con- tempt. But there is another handmaiden created for the delight and solace of mankind in general, and who from the earliest days, even until now, has been the loving friend of the needlewoman ; ever whisper- ing suggestions in her ear, or tracing patterns on her work, or gently guiding her finger through the fantastic maze. She is of the most exquisite beauty : fragile in form as the gossamer that floats on a sum- mer's breath — brilliant in appearance as the colours that illumine the rainbow. So light, that she floats on an atom ; so powerful that she raises empires, nay, the whole earth by her might. Her habits 326 ON STITCHERY. are the most vagrant imaginable; she is indeed the veriest little gossip in creation, but her dispo- sition to roam is not more boundless than her power to gratify it. * One instant she is in the depths of the ocean, loitering upon coral beds; the next above the stars, revelling in the immensity of space ; one moment she tracks a comet in his course, the next hobnobs with the sea-king, or foots a measure with mermaids. A most skilful architect, she will build palaces on the clouds radiant with splendour and beautiful as herself; then, demolishing them with a breath, she flies to some moss-grown ruin of the earth, where a glimpse of her countenance drives away the bat and the owl ; the wallflower, the moss, and the ivy, are displaced by the rose, the lily, and the myrtle ; the damp building is clothed in freshness and splendour, the lofty halls resound with the melody of the lute and the harp, and the whole scene is vivid with light and life, with brilliancy and beauty. Again, in an instant, all is mute, and dim, and desolate, and the versatile sorceress is hunting the otter with an Es- quimaux ; or, pillowed on roses wdiose fragrance is wafted by softest zephyrs around, she listens to the strain which the Bulbul pours ; or, wrapped in deepest maze of philosophic thought, she " treads the long extent of backward time," by the gigantic sepulchres of Egyptian kings ; or else she flies " from the tempest-rocked Hebrides or the ice- bound Northern Ocean — from the red man's wilder- ness of the west — from the steppes of Central Asia — from the teeming swamps of the Amazon — from the sirocco deserts of Africa — from the tufted islands ON STITCHERY, 327 of the Pacific — from the heaving flanks of iEtna — or from the marbled shores of Greece;" — and draws the whole circle of her enchantments round the needlewoman's fingers, within the walls of an humble English cottage. But it were equally unnecessary and useless to dilate on her fairy wanderings. Suffice it to say that so great is the beneficent liberality of this fas- cinating being, that every corner of her rich domain is open to the highest or lowest of mortals without reserve ; and so lovely is she herself, and so bewitch- ing is her company, that few, few indeed, are they who do not cherish her as a bosom friend and as the dearest of companions. Bearing, however, her vagrant characteristics in mind, we shall not be surprised at the peculiar ideas some people entertain of her haunts, nor at the strange places in which they search for her person. One would hardly believe that hundreds of thou- sands have sought her through the smoke, din, and turmoil of those lines Ci where all antipathies to comfort dwell," — the railroads ; while others, more adventurous, plough the ocean deep, scale the mighty mountains, or soar amid the clouds for her ; or, strange to say, have sought her in the battle field 'mid scenes of bloody death. Like Hotspur, such would pluck her — " From the pale-faced moon ; or would " Dive into the bottom of the deep, Where fathom-line could never touch the ground" for her. But she is a lady before whom strength and pride 328 ON STITCHERY. fall nerveless and abased ; her gracious smiles are to be wooed, not commanded ; her bright presence may be won, not forced ; " For spotless, and holy, and gentle, and bright, She glides o'er the earth like an angel of light." Possessing all the gentleness of her mother — Taste, she shrinks from everything rude or abrupt; and when, as has frequently been the case, persons have attempted to lay violent hands upon her, she has invariably eluded their vigilance, by leaving in her place, tricked out in her superabundant orna- ments to blind them, her half-brother — Whim, who sprang from the same father — Wit, but by another mother — Humour. She herself, wanderer as she is, is not without her favourite haunts, in which she lingers as if even loath to quit them at all. Finally, wherever yet the accomplished needle- woman has been found, in the Jewish tabernacle of old — in the Grecian dome where the " Tale of Troy divine " glowed on the canvass — or in the bower of the high-born beauty of the " bright days of the sword and the lance" — in the cell of the pale re- cluse — or in the turretted prison of the royal cap- tive — there has Fakcy been her devoted friend, her inseparable companion. 329 CHAPTER XXL LES ANCIENNES TAPISSERIES f TAPESTRY OF ST. MARY'S HALL, COVENTRY ; TAPESTRY OF HAMP- TON COURT. tl There is a sanctity in the past." — Bulwer. All monuments of antiquity are so speedily passing away, all traces of those bygone generations on which the mind loves to linger, and which in their dim and indistinct memories exercise a spell, a holy often, and a purifying spell on the imagination are so fleeting, and when irrevocably gone will be so lamented — that all testimonies which throw certain light on the habits and manners of the past, how slight soever the testimonies they afford, how trivial soever the characteristics they display, are of the highest possible value to an enlightened people, who apply the experience of the past to its legitimate and noblest use, the guidance and improvement of the present. In this point of view the work which forms the subject of this chapter* assumes a value which its intrinsic worth — beautiful as is its execution — would * " Les AnciennesTapisseriesHistoriees, ou Collection desMonu- mens les plus remarquables, de ce genre, qui nous soient restes du moyen age." A Paris. 330 ANCIENT TAPESTRIES. not impart to it ; and it is thus rendered not less valuable as an historical record, than it is attractive as a work of taste. " La chez eux, (we quote from the preface to the work itself,) c'est un siege ou un tournoi ; ici un festin, plus loin une chasse ; et toujours, chasse, festin, tournoi, siege, tout cela est pourtraict an vif, comme aurait dit Montaigne, tout cela nous retrace au nature] la vie de nos peres, nous montre leurs chateaux, leurs eglises, leurs costumes, leurs armes et meme, grace aux legendes explicatives, leur langage a diverses epoques. II y a mieux. Si nous nous en rapportons a l'inventaire de Charles V., execute en 1379, toute la litterature francaise des siecles feconds qui precederent celui de ce sage monarque, aurait etc par ces ordres traduite en laine." This book consists of representations of all the existing ancient tapestries which activity and re- search can draw from the hiding-places of ages, copied in the finest outline engraving, with letter- press descriptions of each plate. They are pub- lished in numbers, and in a style worthy of the object. We do not despair of seeing this spirited example followed in our own country, where many a beautiful specimen of ancient tapestry, still capable of renovation by care — is mouldering unthought of in the lumber-rooms of our ancient mansipns. We have seen twenty-one numbers of this work, with which we shall deal freely : excepting, however, the eight parts which are entirely occupied by the Bayeux Tapestry. Our own chapters on the sub- ject were written before we were fortunate enough to obtain a sight of these, which include the whole ANCIENT TAPESTRIES. 331 of the correspondence on the tapestry to which we in our sketch alluded. La Tapisserie de Nancy — " aurait une illustre origine, et remonterait a une assez haute antiquite. Prise dans la tente de Charles le Temeraire,lors dela morte de ce prince, en 1477, devant la capitale de la Lorraine, qu'il assiegeait, elle serait devenue im meuble de la couronne, et aurait servi au palais des dues de ce pays, depuis Rene 2 jusqu'a Charles IV. C'estune de ces anciennes tapisseries flamandes dont le tissu, de laine tres fine, est eel aire par Tor et la soie. La soie et la laine subsistent encore, mais Tor ne s'apercoit plus que dans quelques en- droits et a la faveur d'un beau soleil. Nous ferons remarquer que le costume des divers personnages que figurent dans notre monument est tout a fait caracteristique. Ce sont bien la les vetements et les ornements en usage vers la moitie du quinzieme siecle, et la disposition artistique, le choix du sujet, ainsi que Texecution elle-meme portent bien l'em- preinte du style des oeuvres de 1450 environ. La maison de Bourgogne etait fort riche en joyaux, en vaisselle d'or ou d'argent et en tapis" The tapestry presents an allegorical history, of which the object is to depict the inconveniences con- sequent on what is called " good cheer." Later on this formed the subject of " a morality." Originally this tapestry was only one vast page, the requisite divisions being wrought in the form of ornamented columns. It was afterwards cut in pieces, and un- fortunately the natural divisions of the subject were not attended to in the severment. More unhappily still the pieces have since been rejoined in a wrong 332 ANCIENT TAPESTRIES, order; and after every possible endeavour to read them aright, the publishers are indebted to the " Morality " before referred to, which was taken from it, and was entitled "La Nef de Sante, avec le gouvernail du corps humain, et la condamnacion des bancquetz, a la louenge de Diepte et Sobriete, et la Traictie des Passions de Tame." Banquet, Bonnecompagnie, Souper, Gounnandise, Friandise, Passetemps, Je pleige d'autant, Je boy a vous, and other rare personifications, not forgetting that indispensable guest then in all courtly pastime, Le fol, "go it" to their hearts' content, until they are interrupted vi et armis by a ghastly phalanx in powerful array of Apoplexie, Ydropsie, Epilencie, Pleurisie, Esquinancie, Paralasie, Gravelle, Colicque, &c. Tapisserie de Dijon. — " On conviendra qu'il serait difficile de trouver un monument de ce genre plus fidele sur le rapport historique, plus interressant pour les arts, et plus digne d'etre reproduit par la gravure. Je ferai en outre remarquer combien cet immense tableau de laine, qui est unique, renferme de details precieux a la fois pour la panoplie, pour les costumes, et l'architecture du commencement du 16 siecle, ainsi que pour Thistoire monumentale de Dijon." This tapestry, judging by the engravings in the work we quote, must be very beautiful. The groups are spirited and well disposed ; and the counte- nances have so much nature and expression in them, as to lead us readily to credit the opinion of the writer that they were portraits. The buildings are well outlined ; and in the third piece an excellent ANCIENT TAPESTRIES* 333 effect is produced by exposing — by means of an open window, or some simple contrivance of the sort — part of the interior of the church of Notre Dame, and so displaying the brave leader of the French army, La Tremouille, as he offers thanks before the shrine of the Virgin. The tapestry was worked immediately after the siege of Dijon, (1513) and represents in three scenes the most important circumstances relating to it; the costumes, the arms, and the architecture of the time being displayed with fidelity and exactitude. The first represents the invading army before the walls; the second a solemn procession in honour of Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Espoir. In the midst is elevated the image of the Virgin, which is surrounded by the clergy in their festal vestments, by the re- ligious communities, by the nobility, the bourgeois, and the military, all bearing torches. To this solemn procession was attributed the truce which led to a more lasting peace, though there are some heterodox dissentients who attribute this sub- stantial advantage to the wisdom and policy of the able commander La Tremouille, who shared with Bayard the honourable distinction of being 6i sans peur et sans reproche." Tapisseries de Bayard. — A chateau which be- longed to this noted hero was despoiled at the Revolution, and it was doubtless only owing to an idea of its worthlessness that some of the ancient tapestry was eft there. These fragments, in a de- plorable state, were purchased in 1807, and there are yet sufficient of them to bear testimony to their former magnificence, and to decide the date of their 334 ANCIENT TAPESTRIES. creation at the close of the fourteenth or beginning of the fifteenth century. The subjects are taken from Homer's " Iliad," and " il est probable (says M. Jubinal) que ce poeme se trouvait originairement reproduit en laine presque tout entier, malgre sa longueur, car ce n'etait pas le travail qui effrayait nos aieux." Valenciennes was celebrated for the peculiar fine- ness and gloss of its tapestry, By the indefatigable industry of certain antiquarians, some pieces in good preservation representing a tournament, have lately been taken from a garret, dismantled of their triple panoply of dust, cleaned and hung up ; after being traced from their original abode in the state apart- ments of a prince through various gradations, to the damp walls of a registry office, where, from their apparent fragility alone, they escaped being cut into floor mats. Those of the Chateau D'Haroue, and of the Collection Dusommerard, are also named here; but there is little to say about them, as the subjects are more imaginary than historical. They are of the sixteenth century, representing scenes of the chase, and are enlivened with birds in every posi- tion, some of them being, in proportion to other figures, certainly larger than life, and " twice as natural." Tapisseries de la Chaise Dieu. — " L'Abbaye de la Chaise Dieu fut fondee en 1046 par Robert qu' Alexandre 2de canonisa plus tard en 1070 ; et dont Torigine se rattachait a la famille des comtes de Poitou. "Robert fut destinee de bonne heure aux fonctions ANCIENT TAPESTRIES. 335 du sacerdoce." He went on pilgrimage to the tombs of some of the Apostles,, and it was on his return thence that he was first struck with the idea of founding a ccenobitical establishment. tc Reuni a un soldat nomine Etienne, a un solitaire nomme Delmas, et a un chanoine nomme Arbert, il se retire* dans la solitude, et s'emparant du desert au profit de la religion, il planta la croix du Sauveur dans les lieux j usque-la converts de forets et de bruyeres incultes, et rassembla quelques disciples pour vivre aupres de lui sous la regie qu'un ange lui avait, disait il, apportee du ciel. " Bientot la reputation des cenobites s'etendit; Robert fut reconnu corame leur chef. De toutes parts on accourut les visiter. Des donations leur furent faites, et sur les mines d'une ancienne eglise une nouvelle basilique s'eleva. " Telle est a peu pres Thistoire primitive de Tabbaye de la Chaise-Dieu." The Chaise-Dieu tapestries are fourteen in num- ber, three of them are ten feet square, and the others are six feet high by eighteen long, excepting one which measures nearly twenty-six feet. Twelve are hung on the carved w 7 ood-work of the choir of the great church, and thus cover an immense space. Further off is the ancient choir of the monks, of which the wood-work of sculptured oak is surpris- ingly rich. Not even the cathedral of Rheims, of which the wood-work has long been regarded as the most beautiful in the kingdom, contains so great a number. Unhappily in times of intestine commo- tion this chef d'oeuvre has been horribly mutilated by the axes of modern iconoclasts, more ferocious 336 ANCIENT TAPESTRIES. than the barbarians of old. The two other tapes- tries are placed in the Church of the Penitents, an ancient refectory of the monks which now forms a dependent chapel to the great temple. These magnificent hangings are woven of wool and silk, and one yet perceives almost throughout, golden and silver threads which time has spared. When the artist prepared to copy them for the work we are quoting, no one dreamt of the richness buried beneath the accumulated dust and dirt of centuries. They were carefully cleaned, and then, says the artist, " Je suis ebloui de cette magnifi- cence que nous^ ne soupqonnions plus. C'est ad- mirable. Les Gobelins ne produisent pas aujourdhui de tissus plus riches et plus eclatans. Imaginez vous que les robes des femmes, les ornemens, les colonnettes sont emaillees, ruisselantes de milliers de pierres fines et de perles," &c. It would be tedious to attempt to describe indi- vidually the subjects of these tapestries. They interweave the histories of the Old and New Testa- ments ; the centre of the work generally represent- ing some passage in the life of our Saviour, whilst on each side is some correspondent typical incident from the Old Testament. Above are rhymed qua- trains, either legendary or scriptural ; and below and around are sentences drawn from the prophets or the psalms. These tapestries appear to have been the produc- tion of the close of the fifteenth and the beginning of the sixteenth centuries, denoting in the architec- ture and costumes more the reigns of Charles VIII. and Louis XI., than of Louis XII. and Francis I ANCIENT TAPESTRIES. 337 Such pieces were probably long in the loom, since the tapestry of Dijon, composed of a single hit of twenty-one feet, required not less, according to a competent judge, than ten years' labour. There are some most beautiful, even amongst these all-beautiful engravings, which we much regret to see there — engravings of the tapestry in the cathedral of Aix, which tapestry ought still to enrich our own country. Shame on those under whose barbarous rule these, amongst other valuable and cherished monuments, were, as relics of papistry, bartered for foreign gold. " L'histoire manuscrite de la ville d'Aix dit que cette tapisserie avait servi a l'eglise de St. Paul de Londres ou a toute autre eglise cathedrale d'Angleterre ; qu'a l'epoque de la Reformation, les tableaux et les tapisseries ayant ete exclus des temples, les Anglais chercherent a vendre dans les pays etrangers quelques unes des tapisseries qui ornaient leurs cathedrales, et quits en brulerent un plus grand nombre /" This tapestry represents the history of our Saviour, in twenty seven compartments, being in the whole about 187 feet long. It is supposed to have been woven about 1511, when William Warham was Archbishop of Canterbury, and Chancellor. War- ham had been previously Bishop of London ; and as his arms are on this tapestry, and also the arms of two prior bishops of London who are supposed to have left legacies to ornament the church which were applied towards defining the expenses of this ma- nufacture, it seems quite probable that its destina- tion was St. Paul's, and not any other cathedral church. The arms of the king are inwrought in two Q 338 ANCIENT TAPESTRIES. places ; for Henry contributed to the embellishment of this church. He loved the arts ; he decorated churches ; and though he seceded from the Roman communion, he maintained throughout his life mag- nificent decorations in his favourite churches as well as the worship of the ancient Catholic Church. It was first under Edward, and more decidedly under Elizabeth, that the ceremonies of the church were completely changed, and that those which had been considered only decent and becoming were stigma- tised as popish. Nor did this fantasy reach its height until the time of Cromwell. Lord Douglas, Earl of Buchan, who founded the Society of Antiquaries in Edinburgh, endeavoured during the interval of the Peace of Amiens, to treat with the Archbishop of Aix for the re-purchase of this tapestry. He would have placed it in a Gothic church belonging to an ancient Scotch Abbey on his domains. He had already ornamented this church with several beautiful monuments of anti- quity, and he wished to place this tapestry there as a national monument, but the treaty was broken off. The Tapestries of Aulhac, representing the" siege of Troy, and those of Beauvais, embracing a variety of subjects from history both sacred and pro- fane ; of the Louvre, representing the Miracle of St. Quentin, tapestry representing Alexander, King of Scotland; and those of St. Remi, at Rheims, are all engraven and described. Those of the magnificent cathedral church at Rheims, consisting of forty tapestries, forming dif- ferent collections, but all on religious subjects, will probably form the material for future numbers. ANCIENT TAPESTRIES. 339 That there are ancient tapestries existing in Eng- land fully equal to those in France is, we think, almost certain ; but of course they are not to be summoned from the '-vasty deep " of neglect and oblivion by the powerless voice of an obscure indi- vidual. Gladly would we, had it been in our power, have enriched our sketch by references to some of them. The following notice of a tapestry at Coventry is drawn from " Smith's Selections of the ancient Cos- tume of Britain ;" and the names of the tapestries at Hampton Court Palace from " Pyne's Royal Resi- dences. v We have recently visited Hampton Court for the express purpose of viewing the tapestries. There, we believe, they were, entirely (with the exception of a stray inch or two here and there) hung over with paintings. The splendid though neglected tapestry of St. Mary's Hall at Coventry offers a variety of ma- terials no less interesting on account of the sanctity and misfortunes of the prince (Henry YI.) who is there represented, than curious as specimens of the arts of drawing, dyeing, and embroidery of the time in which it was executed. It is thirty feet in length and ten in height ; and is divided into six compartments, three in the upper tier and three in the lower, containing in all up- wards of eighty figures or heads. The centre com- partment of the upper row, in its perfect and original state, represented the usual personification of the Trinity — (the Trinity Guild held its meetings in the hall of St. Mary) surrounded by angels bearing the various instruments of the Passion. But the 340 ANCIENT TAPESTRIES. zeal of our early reformers sacrificed this part of the work, and substituted in its stead a tasteless figure of Justice, which now holds the scales amidst the original group of surrounding angels. The right hand division of this tier is occupied with sundry figures of saints and martyrs, and the opposite side is filled with a group of female saints. In the centre compartment below is represented the Virgin Mary in the clouds, standing on the crescent, surrounded by the twelve Apostles and many cherubs. But the two remaining portions of this fine tapestry constitute its chief value and im- portance to the city of Coventry, as they represent the figures of Henry VL, his Queen,the ambitious, and crafty, and cruel, yet beautiful and eloquent and injured Margaret of Anjou, and many of their atten- dants. During all the misfortunes of Henry, the citizens of Coventry zealously supported him ; and their city is styled by historians C( Queen Margaret's secret bower." As the tapestry was purposely made for the hall, and probably placed there during the lives of the sovereigns, the figures may be consi- dered as authentic portraits. The first Presence Chamber in Hampton Court is (or was) hung with rich ancient tapestry, repre- senting a landscape, with the figures of Nymphs, Fawns, Satyrs, Nereides, &c. There is some fine ancient tapestry in the King's Audience Chamber, the subjects being, on one side, Abraham and Lot dividing their lands; and on the other, God appearing to Abraham purchasing ground for a burying-place. ANCIENT TAPESTRIES. 341 The tapestry on the walls of the King's Drawing- Room represents Abraham entertaining the three Angels ; also Abraham, Isaac, and Rebecca. The tapestry which covers three sides of the King's State Bedchamber represents the history of Joshua. The walls of the Queen's Audience Chamber are covered* with tapestry hangings, which represent the story of Abraham and Melchisedec, and Abraham and Rebecca. The Ball Room is called also the Tapestry Gal- lery, from the superb suite of hangings that orna- ment its walls, which was brought from Flanders by General Cadogan, and set up by order of George I. The series of seven compartments de- scribes the history of Alexander the Great, from the paintings of the celebrated Charles le Brun. The first represents the story of Alexander and his horse Bucephalus ; the second, the visit of Alexander to Diogenes ; the third, the passage of Alexander over the Granicus ; the fourth, Alexanders visit to the mother and wife of Darius, in their tent, after the battle of Arbela; the fifth, Alexander's triumphal entrance into Babylon ; the sixth, Alexander's battle with Porus ; the seventh, his second entrance into Babylon. — These magnificent hangings were wrought at the Gobelins. The tapestry hangings in the king's private bedchamber describe the naval battle of Solebay between the combined fleets of England and France and the Dutch fleet, in 1672. Of all the tapestries here recorded, the last only, representing the Battle of Solebay, are now visible. 342 CHAPTER XXII. EMBROIDERY. i( Flowers, Plants and Fishes, Beasts, Birds, Flyes, and Bees, Hils, Dales, Plaines, Pastures, Skies, Seas, Rivers, Trees, There's nothing neere at hand, or farthest sought, But with the Needle may be shap'd and wrought." John Taylor. Perhaps of all nations in very ancient times the Medes and Babylonians were most celebrated for the draperies of the apartments, about which they were even more anxious than about their attire. All their noted hangings with which their palaces were so gorgeously celebrated were wrought by the needle. And though now everywhere the loom is in request, still these and other eastern nations maintain great practice and unrivalled skill in needle embroidery. Sir John Chardin says of the Persians, " Their tailors certainly excel ours in their sewing. They make carpets, cushions, veils for doors, and other pieces of furniture of felt, in Mo- saic work, which represents just what they please. This is done so neatly, that a man might suppose the figures were painted instead of being a kind of inlaid work. Look as close as you will, the joining EMBROIDERY. 343 cannot be seen ;" and the Hall of Audience at Jeddo, we are told, is a sumptuous edifice ; the roof covered with gold and silver of exquisite workman- ship, the throne of massy gold enriched with pearls, diamonds, and other precious stones. The tapestry is of the finest silk, wrought by the most curious hands, and adorned with pearls, gold, and silver, and other costly embellishments. ; About the close of the ninth or beginning of the tenth century, the Caliph Moctadi's whole army, both horse and foot, (says Abulfeda) were under arms, which together made a body of 160,000 men. His state officers stood near him in the most splendid apparel, their belts shining with gold and gems. Near them were 7000 black and white eunuchs. The porters or door-keepers were in number 700. Barges and boats, with the most superb decorations, were swimming on the Tigris. Nor was the palace itself less splendid, in which were hung 38,000 pieces of tapestry, 12,500 of which were of silk em- broidered with gold. The carpets on the floor were 22,000. A hundred lions were brought out with a keeper to each lion. Among the other spectacles of rare and stupendous luxury, was a tree of gold and silver, which opened itself into eighteen larger branches, upon which, and the other less branches sate birds of every sort, made also of gold and silver. The tree glittered with leaves of the same metals, and while its branches, through machinery, appeared to move of themselves, the several birds upon them warbled their natural notes. The skill of the eastern embroiderer has always had a wide field for display in the decoration of the 344 EMBROIDERY. tents, which were in such request in hot countries, among Nomadic tribes, or on military excursions. The covering of tents among the Arabs is usually black goats' hair, so compactly woven as to be im- pervious to rain. But there is, besides this, always an inner one, on which the skill and industry of the fair artisan — for both outer and inner are woven and wrought by women — is displayed. This is often white woollen stuff, on which flowers are usually embroidered. Curious hangings too are frequently hung over the entrances, when the means of the possessors do not admit of more general decoration. Magnificent perdahs, or hangings of needlework, are always suspended in the tents of persons of rank and fashion, w T ho assume a more ambitious decora- tion ; and there are accounts in various travellers of tents which must have been gorgeous in the ex- treme. Nadir Shah, out of the abundance of his spoils, caused a tent or tabernacle to be made of such beauty and magnificence as were almost beyond de- scription. The outside w T as covered with fine scarlet broad cloth, the lining was of violet coloured satin, on which were representations of all the birds and beasts in the creation, with trees and flowers ; the whole made of pearls, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, amethysts, and other precious stones ; and the tent- poles were decorated in like manner. On both sides of the peacock throne was a screen, on which were the figures of two angels in precious stones. The roof of the tent consisted of seven pieces ; and when it was transported to any place, two of these pieces packed in cotton were put into a wooden chest, two EMBROIDKRY. of which chests were a sufficient load for an ele- phant : the screen filled another chest. The walls of the tent — tent-poles and tent-pins, which were of massy gold, loaded five more elephants : so that for the carriage of the whole were required seven ele- phants. This magnificent tent was displayed on all festivals in the public hall at Herat, during the remainder of Nadir Shah's reign. Sir J. Chardin tells us that the late King of Persia caused a tent to be made which cost % <)l. They called it the House of Gold, because gold glittered everywhere about it. He adds, that there was an inscription wrought upon the cornice of the antechamber, which gave it the appellation of the Throne of the second Solomon, and at the same time marked out the year of its construction. The following description of Antar's tent from the Bedouin romance of that name has been often quoted : — " When spread out it occupied half the land of Shurebah, for it was the load of forty camels ; and there was an awning at the door of the pavilion under which 4000 of the Absian horse could skir- mish. It was embroidered with burnished gold, studded with precious stones and diamonds, inter- spersed with rubies and emeralds, set with rows of pearls ; and there was painted thereon a specimen of every created thing, birds and trees, and towns, and cities, and seas, and continents, and beasts, and reptiles ; and whoever looked at it was confounded by the variety of the representations, and by the brilliancy of the silver and gold : and so magnificent was the whole, that when the pavilion was pitched, q 3 o 46 EMBROIDERY. the land of Shurebah and Mount Saadi were illu- minated by its splendour." Extravagant as seems this description, we are told that it is not so much exaggerated as we might imagine. " Poetical license " has indeed been in- dulged in to the fullest extent, especially as to the size of the pavilion ; yet Marco Polo in sober earnest describes one under which 10,000 soldiers might be drawn up icithout incommoding the nobles at the audience. It is well known that Mohammed forbade his followers to imitate any animal or insect in their embroideries or ornamental work of any sort. Hence the origin of the term arabesque, which we now use to express all odd combinations of patterns from which human and animal forms are excluded. That portion of the race which merged in the Moors of Spain were especially remarked for their magnifi- cent and beautiful decorative work ; and from them did we borrow, as before alluded to, the custom of using tapestry for curtains. At the present day none are perhaps more patient and laborious embroiderers than the Chinese ; their regularity and neatness are supposed to be unequal- led, and the extreme care with which they work pre- serves their shades bright and shining. The Indians excel in variety of embroidery. They embroider with cotton on muslin, but they employ on gauze, rushes, skins of insects, nails and claws of animals, of walnuts, and dry fruits, and above all, the feathers of birds. They mingle their colours without harmony as without taste ; it is only a species of wild mosaic, which announces no plan, EMBROIDERY. 347 and represents no object. The women of the wan- dering tribes of Persia weave those rich carpets which are called Turkey carpets, from the place of their immediate importation. But this country was formerly celebrated for magnificent embroideries, and also for tapestries composed of silk and wool embellished with gold. This latter beautiful art though not entirely lost, is nearly so for want of encouragement. But of all eastern nations the Moguls were the most celebrated for their splendid embroideries ; walls, couches, and even floors were covered with silk or cotton fabrics richly worked with gold, and often, as in ancient times, with gems inwrought. But this empire has ever been prover- bial for its splendour ; at one time the throne of the Mogul was estimated at 4,000,000/. sterling, made up by diamonds and other jewels, received in gifts during a long succession of ages. We have, in a former chapter, alluded to the cus- tom of embroidery in imitation of feathers, and also for using real feathers for ornamental work. This is much the custom in many countries. Some of the inhabitants of New Holland make artificial flowers with feathers, with consummate skill; and they are not uncommon, though vastly inferior, here. Various articles of dress are frequently seen made of them, as feather muffs, feather tippets, &c. ; and we have seen within the last few months a bonnet covered with jjeacoctis feathers. This, however, is certainly the extreme of fancy. The celebrated Mrs. Montague had hangings ornamented with feathers : the hangings doubtless are gone: the name of the accomplished lady who displayed them in her 348 EMBROIDERY. fashionable halls is sinking into oblivion, but the poet, who perchance merely glanced at them, lives for ever. ON MRS. MONTAGUE'S FEATHER HANGINGS. u The birds put off their ev'ry hue, To dress a room for Montague. The peacock sends his heavenly dyes, His rainbows and his starry eyes ; The pheasant plumes, which round infold His mantling neck with downy gold ; The cock his arch'd tail's azure shew ; And, river blanch'd, the swan his snow. AU tribes beside of Indian name, That glossy shine, or vivid flame. Where rises, and where sets the day, Whate'er they boast of rich and gay, Contribute to the gorgeous plan, Proud to advance it all they can. This plumage, neither dashing shower, Nor blasts that shape the dripping bow'r, Shall drench again or discompose — But screen' d from ev'ry storm that blows It boasts a splendour ever new, Safe with protecting Montague." Some Canadian women embroider with their own hair and that of animals; they copy beautifully the ramifications of moss-agates, and of several plants. They insinuate in their works skins of serpents and morsels of fur patiently smoothed. If their em- broidery is not so brilliant as that of the Chinese, it is not less industrious. The negresses of Senegal embroider the skin of different animals of flowers and figures of all colours. The Turks and Georgians embroider marvel- lously the lightest gauze or most delicate crape. EMBROIDERY. 349 They use gold thread with inconceivable delicacy ; they represent the most minute objects on morocco without varying the form, or fraying the finest gold, by a proceeding quite unknown to us. They fre- quently ornament their embroidery with pieces of money of different nations, and travellers who are aware of this circumstance often find in their old garments valuable and interesting coins. The Saxons imitate the designs of the most ac- complished work-people ; their embroidery with un- twisted thread on muslin is the most delicate and correct we are acquainted with of that kind. The embroidery of Venice and Milan has long been celebrated, but its excessive dearness prevents the use of it. There is also much beautiful em- broidery in France, but the palm for precedence is ably disputed by the Germans, especially those of Vienna. This progress and variations of this luxury amongst various nations would be a subject of curious research, but too intricate and lengthened for our pages. We have intimations of it at the earliest period, and there is no age in which it ap- pears to have been totally laid aside, no nation in which it was in utter disrepute. Some of its most beautiful patterns have been, as in architecture, the adaptation of the moment from natural objects, for one of the first ornaments in Roman embroidery, when they departed from their primitive simplicity in dress, was the imitation of the leaf of the acan- thus — the same leaf which imparted grace and ornament to the Corinthian capital. But it would be endless to enter into the subject 350 EMBROIDERY. of patterns, which doubtless were everywhere origi- nally simple enough, with " here and there a tuft of crimson yarn, Or scarlet crewel." And patient minds must often have planned, and assiduous fingers must long have wrought, ere such an achievement was perfected, as even the covering of the joint stool described by Cowper: — " At length a generation more refin'd Improved the simple plan ; made three legs four, Gave them a twisted form vermicular, And o'er the seat with plenteous wadding stuff' d, Induc'd a splendid cover, green and blue, Yellow and red, of tapestry richly wrought And woven close, or needlework sublime. There might ye see the piony spread wide, The full-blown rose, the shepherd and his lass, Lapdog and lambkin with black staring eyes, And parrots with twin cherries in their beak." But from the days of Elizabeth the practice of ornamental needlework, of embroidery, had gra- dually declined in England : the literary and scho- lastic pursuits which in her day had superseded the use of the needle, did not indeed continue the fashion of later times ; still the needle was not re- sumed, nor perhaps has embroidery and tapestry ever from the days of Elizabeth been so much prac- tised as it is now. Many individuals have indeed been celebrated, as one thus : — " She wrought all needleworks that women exercise, With pen, frame, or stoole ; all pictures artificial, Curious knots or trailes, what fancy could devise; Beasts, birds, or flowers, even as things natural." EMBROIDERY. 351 But still embroidery had ceased to be looked upon as a necessary accomplishment, or taught as an im- portant part of education. In the early part of the last century women had become so mischievous from the lack of this employment, that the " Spec- tator " seriously recommends it to the attention of the community at large. " Mr. Spectator, " I have a couple of nieces under my direction who so often run gadding abroad, that I do not know where to have them. Their dress, their tea, and their visits, take up all their time, and they go to bed as tired doing nothing, as I am often after quilting a whole under-petticoat. The only time they are not idle is while they read your Spectator, which being dedicated to the interests of virtue, I desire you to recommend the long-neglected art of needlework. Those hours which in this age are thrown away in dress, play, visits, and the like, were employed in my time in writing out receipts, or working beds, chairs, and hangings for the family, For my part I have plied my needle these fifty years, and by my good will would never have it out of my hand. It grieves my heart to see a couple of idle flirts sipping their tea, for a whole afternoon, in a room hung round with the industry of their great- grandmother. Pray, Sir, take the laudable mystery of embroidery into your serious consideration ; and as you have a great deal of the virtue of the last age in you, continue your endeavours to reform the present. " I am, &c, " 352 EMBROIDERY. ci In obedience to the commands of my venerable correspondent, I have duly weighed this important subject, and promise myself from the arguments here laid down, that all the fine ladies of England will be ready, as soon as the mourning is over (for Queen Anne) to appear covered with the work of their own hands. " What a delightful entertainment must it be to the fair sex whom their native modesty, and the tenderness of men towards them exempt from public business, to pass their hours in imitating fruits and flowers, and transplanting all the beauties of nature into their own dress, or raising a new creation in their closets and apartments ! How pleasing is the amusement of walking among the shades and groves planted by themselves, in surveying heroes slain by the needle, or little Cupids which they have brought into the world without pain ! " This is, methinks, the most proper way wherein a lady can show a fine genius ; and I cannot forbear wishing that several writers of that sex had chosen to apply themselves rather to tapestry than rhyme. Your pastoral poetesses may vent their fancy in great landscapes, and place despairing shepherds under silken willows, or drown them in a stream of mohair. The heroic writers may work of battles as successfully, and inflame them with gold, or stain them with crimson. Even those who have only a turn to a song or an epigram, may put many valu- able stitches into a purse, and crowd a thousand graces into a pair of garters. " If I may, without breach of good manners, ima- gine that any pretty creature is void of genius, and EMBROIDERY. 353 would perform her part herein but very awkwardly, I must nevertheless insist upon her working, if it be only to keep her out of harm's way. " Another argument for busying good women in works of fancy is, because it takes them off from scandal, the usual attendant of tea-tables and all other inactive scenes of life. While they are form- ing their birds and beasts, their neighbours will be allowed to be the fathers of their own children, and Whig and Tory will be but seldom mentioned where the great dispute is, whether blue or red is now the proper colour. How much greater glory would Sophronia do the general if she would choose rather to work the battle of Blenheim in tapestry than sig- nalise herself with so much vehemence against those who are Frenchmen in their hearts ! or with fine fleecy. The Foundation to be black. First Row, 10 dark blue, 1 1 black, 6 dark blue. Second Row, 9 blue, 1 black, 2 blue, 5 black, one blue, 3 black, 8 blue. Third Roiv, 2 yellow, 4 black, 2 yellow, 1 black, 2 yellow, 1 black, 2 yellow, 4 black, 6 yellow, 1 black, 2 yellow, 2 black, 2 yellow. Fourth Row, 2 yellow, 4 black, 3 yellow, 1 black, 3 yellow, 1 black, 2 yellow, 4 black, 5 yellow, 1 black, 1 yellow, 4 black, 2 yellow. Fifth Row, 1 pink, 6 black, 2 pink, 1 black, 3 pink, 2 black, 3 pink, 4 black, 3 pink, 5 black, 3 pink. Sixth Row, 2 crimson, 8 black, 4 crimson, 2 black, 1 crimson, 1 black, 2 crimson, 3 black, 4 crimson, 2 black, 1 crimson, 2 black, 2 crimson. Seventh Row, 1 pink, 4 black, 3 pink, 2 black, 4 pink, 4 black, 3 pink, 3 black, 6 pink, 28 NETTING, CROCHET, 2 black, 2 pink. Eighth Row, 1 yellow, 4 black, 3 yellow, 4 black, 2 yellow, 4 black, 3 yellow, 4 black, 4 yellow, 3 black, 2 yellow. Ninth Row, 1 yellow, 1 black, 3 yellow, 1 black, 3 yellow, 4 black, 2 yellow, 4 black, 4 yellow, 9 black, 2 yellow, 1 black. Tenth Row, 5 blue, 1 black, 3 blue, 2 black, 2 blue, 5 black, 1 blue, 1 black, 4 blue, 6 black, 2 blue, 1 black, 1 blue. Eleventh Row, 9 dark blue, 10 black, 11 dark blue. Last Row, black, to correspond with the Foundation. No. IV. Another pretty Pattern for a Table Cover or Pillow. It looks best in 8-thread German wool. The coloured print illustrating this pattern is given with a black ground, but white will be found to look extremely well. Foundation, black. First Row, 5 light scarlet. Second Row, 7* light scarlet, 7 black, 2 light scarlet, 1 black, 3 light scarlet. Third Row, 1 scarlet, 2 black, 4 scarlet, 2 black, 3 scarlet, 2 black, 6 scarlet, 1 black, 2 scarlet. Fourth Row, 2 dark scarlet, 1 black, 2 dark scarlet, 3 black, 1 scarlet, 2 black, 8 dark scarlet. Fifth Row, 2 claret, 6 black, 4 claret. Sixth Row, 1 dark blue, 7 black, 3 dark blue, 1 black, 6 dark blue. Seventh Row, 2 blue, 1 black, 1 blue, 1 black, 3 blue, 4 black, 2 blue, 1 black, 7 blue. Eighth Row, 1 blue, 1 black, 1 blue, 1 black, 5 blue, 2 black, 3 blue, 1 black, 8 blue. Ninth Row, 7 dark blue, 2 black, 4 dark blue, 1 black, 8 dark blue. Tenth Row, 1 claret, 2 black, 5 claret, 2 black, 2 claret, 1 black, 1 claret, 1 black, * For shades of colour see pattern. Plate V. KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY. 29 7 claret. Eleventh Row, 1 dark scarlet, 3 black, 5 dark scarlet, 8 black, 5 dark scarlet. Twelfth Row, 1 scarlet, 2 black, 6 scarlet, 9 black, 3 scarlet. Thirteenth Row, 2 ligbt scarlet, 1 1 black, 2 light scarlet, 7 black, 3 light scarlet, 1 black, 2 light scarlet. Fourteenth Row, 5 light scarlet. No. V. Suitable for a Bag, worked in fine German wool. Foundation Row, of black. First Row, 5 orange, 15 black, 1 orange. Second Row, 7 yellow, 13 black, 2 yellow. Third Row, 3 primrose, 2 black, 1 primrose, 1 black, 2 primrose, 1 1 black, 3 primrose. Fourth Row, 3 light lilac, 1 black, 3 light lilac, 1 black, 1 light lilac, 4 black, 2 light lilac, 4 black, 4 light lilac. Fifth Row, 4 lilac, 1 black, 1 lilac, 3 black, 2 lilac, 4 black, 4 lilac, 3 black, 4 lilac. Sixth Row, 5 dark lilac, 1 black, 1 dark lilac, 2 black, 3 dark lilac, 3 black, 5 dark lilac, 2 black, 3 dark lilac. Seventh Row, 4 dark drab, 1 black, 1 dark drab, 1 black, 2 dark drab, 1 black, 4 dark drab, 2 black, 5 dark drab, 2 black, 3 dark drab. Eighth Row, 5 drab, 2 black, 1 drab, 1 black, 2 drab, 1 black, 4 drab, 2 black, 4 drab, 3 black, 3 drab. Ninth Row, 6 light drab, 1 black, 1 light drab, 1 black, 1 light drab, 1 black, 2 light drab, 1 black, 4 light clrab, 2 black, 3 light drab, 2 black, 4 light drab. Tenth Rote, 2 drab, 1 black, 3 drab, 1 black, 3 drab, 1 black, 3 drab, 1 black, 4 drab, 2 black, 2 drab, 2 black, 4 drab. Eleventh Row, 1 dark drab, 7 black, 6 dark drab, 2 black, 3 dark 30 NETTING, CROCHET, drab, 2 black, 2 dark drab, 2 black, 3 dark drab. Twelfth Row, 3 dark lilac, 1 black, 2 dark lilac, 1 black, 4 dark lilac, 1 black, 2 dark lilac, 2 black, 3 dark lilac, 2 black, 4 dark lilac, 4 black, 2 dark lilac. Thirteenth Row, 6 lilac, 1 black, 3 lilac, 1 black, 2 lilac, 2 black, 3 lilac, 2 black, 2 lilac, 7 black, 2 lilac. Fourteenth Row, 5 light lilac, 1 black, 5 light lilac, 4 black, 2 light lilac, 2 black, 1 light lilac, 4 black, 5 light lilac. jF?/- teenth Row, 4 primrose, 3 black, 2 primrose, 4 black, 2 primrose, 1 black, 2 primrose, 3 black, 2 primrose, 4 black, 3 primrose. Sixteenth Row, 6 yellow, 3 black, 6 yellow, 2 black, 3 yellow, 5 black, 2 yellow, 2 black, 2 yellow. Seventeenth Row, 4 orange, 5 black, 8 orange, 7 black, 2 orange, 2 black, 2 orange. Zas£ Row, black. No. VI. As a Chair Cover this is extremely elegant. Foundation black. First Row, 4 white, 13 black, 1 white, 4 black, 3 white. Second Row, 8 stone colour, 11 black, 3 stone, 3 black, 2 stone, 1 black, 1 stone, 2 black, 1 stone, 3 black, 1 stone. Third Row, 2 dark stone, 2 black, 6 dark stone, 1 1 black, 3 dark stone, 1 black, 5 dark stone, 1 black, 3 dark stone, 1 black, 2 dark stone. Fourth Row, 1 dark crimson, 3 black, 3 dark crimson, 2 black, 2 dark crimson, 9 black, 6 dark crimson, 1 black, 4 dark crimsoD, 1 black, 6 dark crim- son. Fifth Row, 2 crimson, 3 black, 2 crimson, 4 black, 2 crimson, 7 black, 8 crimson, 1 black, 3 crimson, 1 black, 6 crimson. Sixth Row, 4 light crimson, 7 Plate VL KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY. 31 black, 4 light crimson, 2 black, 2 light crimson, 2 black, 1 light crimson, 1 black, 6 light crimson, 2 black, 1 light crimson, 1 black, 6 light crimson. Seventh Row, 4 yellow, 2 black, 5 yellow, 1 black, 3 yellow, I black, 3 yellow, 7 black, 3 yellow, 4 black, 5 yellow. Eighth Row, 5 light blue, 2 black, 5 light blue, 1 black, 2 light blue, 1 black, 2 light blue, 8 black, 3 light blue 3 2 black, 2 light blue, 1 black, 5 light blue. Ninth Row, 4 blue, 4 black, 5 blue, 1 black, 1 blue, 1 black, 2 blue, 4 black, 2 blue, 2 black, 2 blue, 2 black, 2 blue, 2 black, 4 blue. TV/^A Row, 4 dark blue, 6 black, 4 dark blue, 1 black, 1 dark blue, 4 black, 1 dark blue, 2 black, 1 dark blue, 1 black, 1 dark blue, 1 black, 6 dark blue. Eleventh Row, 3 blue, 8 black, 3 blue, 5 black, 2 blue, 1 black, 2 blue, 1 black, 1 blue, 3 black, 2 blue, 1 black, 5 blue. Twelfth Row, 1 blue, 4 black, 3 light blue, I black, 3 light blue, 8 black, 3 light blue, 6 black, 7 light blue. Thirteenth Row, 5 yellow, 1 black, 1 yellow, 2 black, 2 yellow, 3 black, 1 yellow, 1 black, 5 yellow, 3 black, 6 yellow. Fourteenth Row, 3 light crimson, 1 black, 2 light crimson, 7 black, 2 light crimson, 1 black, 3 light crimson, 1 black, 2 light crimson, 3 black, 5 light crimson, 3 black, 5 light crimson. Fifteenth Row, 5 crimson, 7 black, 5 crimson, 1 black, 1 crimson, 5 black, 6 crimson, 3 black, 3 crimson. Sixteenth Roto, 2 dark crimson, 2 black, 5 dark crimson, 6 black, 9 dark crimson, 3 black, 2 dark crimson, 1 black, 5 dark crimson, 3 black, 2 dark crimson. Seventeenth Roiv, 7 dark stone, 2 black, 3 dark stone, 1 black, 7 dark 32 NETTING, CROCHET, stone, 2 black, 1 dark stone, 6 black, 6 dark stone, 3 black, 1 dark stone. Eighteenth Row, 4 stone, 2 black, 9 stone, 13 black, 6 stone. Nineteenth Row, 7 white, 23 black, 4 white. Last Row to correspond with the Foundation. No. VII. This Pattern worked in silk, with two rows of open crochet between in blue, produces a very pleasing effect. The pattern here put in colours can also be worked in beads. Foundation black, or any other dark colour. First Row, 1 orange, 1 black, 5 orange. Second Row, 1 yel- low, 1 black, 6 yellow. Third Row, 1 scarlet, 1 black, 5 scarlet. Fourth Row, 2 yellow, 1 black, 4 yellow. Fifth Row, 7 orange. Last Row, to correspond with Foundation. No. VIII. Slippers in this style are much approved. A proper pattern should in the first instance be made the size and shape of the foot, to commence at the toe with about 30 stitches. It will be found easy to widen the pattern to the size of the paper shape by working 2 stitches into the first and last loops. Foundation should be in white, though Illustration is given in black, more fully to shew the colours. First Row, 3 dark green, 5 white, 3 dark green, 1 white, Plate VII. Plate VIII. Plate IX. KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY. 33 3 dark green. Second Row, 5 green, 5 white, 3 green, 1 white, 4 green. Third Row, 5 scarlet, 3 white, 3 scarlet, 2 white, 3 scarlet. Fourth Row, 6 darker scarlet, 2 white, 3 darker scarlet, 3 white, 4 darker scarlet. Fifth Row, 2 scarlet, 1 white, 5 scarlet, ^4 white, 3 scarlet, 2 white, 1 scarlet, 4 white. Sixth Row, 8 green, 4 white, 3 green, 1 white, 4 green. Seventh Row, 5 dark green, 5 white, 5 dark green, 2 white, 3 dark green. Last Row, same as Foundation. No. IX. Another Slipper Pattern. Foundation blue. i^>s£ ifow, 4 dark stone, 10 blue, 8 dark stone. Second Row, 2 stone, 7 blue, 6 stone, 8 blue, 3 stone. Third Row, 4 white, 1 blue, I white, 3 blue, 1 white, 3 blue, 4 white, 6 blue, 3 white. Fourth Roiv, 3 white, 2 blue, 1 white, 5 blue, 3 white, 5 blue, 1 white, 1 blue, 2 white. Fifth Row, 2 scarlet, 2 blue, 1 scarlet, 3 blue, 1 scarlet, 8 blue, 5 scarlet, 3 blue, 4 scarlet. Sixth Row, 2 light scarlet, 2 blue, 2 light scarlet, 1 blue, 2 light scarlet, 2 blue, 2 light scarlet, 3 blue, 2 light scarlet, 1 blue, 1 light scarlet, 1 blue, 1 light scarlet, 2 blue, 6 light scarlet. Seventh Row, 2 scarlet, 2 blue, 2 scarlet, 1 blue, 3 scarlet, 1 blue, 6 scarlet, 2 blue, 1 scarlet, 6 blue, 4 scarlet. Eighth Row, 2 white, 1 blue, 2 white, 1 blue, 3 white, 1 blue, 5 white, 3 blue, 1 white, 4 blue, 2 white, 1 blue, 3 white. Ninth Row, 5 white, 1 blue, 3 white, 1 blue, 3 white, 5 blue, 1 white, 3 blue, 7 white. Tenth Row, 10 stone, c 2 34 NETTING^ CROCHET, 7 blue, 11 stone. Eleventh Row, 6 dark stone, 10 blue, 7 dark stone, 2 blue, 1 dark stone. Last Roiv, plain blue. No. X. Sofa Cushion or Hassock Pattern. Foundation black. First Row, 1 light carnation, 6 black, 6 light carnation. Second Row, 1 carnation, 4 black, 4 carnation, 2 black, 2 carnation, 5 black, 3 car- nation. Third Row, 4 claret, 1 black, 4 claret, 1 black, 4 claret, 7 black, 1 claret. Fourth Row, 4 dark green, 1 black, 4 dark green, 7 black, 4 dark green, 1 black, 4 dark green. Fifth Row, 4 dark green, 1 black, 3 dark green, 1 black, 5 dark green, 5 black, 5 dark green. Sixth Row, 2 green, 1 black, 5 green, 1 black, 3 green, 5 black, 3 green, 2 black, 1 green. Seventh Row, 7 drab, 1 black, 1 drab, 6 black, 3 drab. Eighth Row, 3 light drab, 2 black, 4 light drab, 1 black, 3 light drab, 2 black, 4 light drab. Ninth Row, 2 light drab, 1 black, 6 light drab, 1 black, 4 light drab, 1 black, 5 light drab, 2 black, 1 light drab. Tenth Row, 2 drab, 1 black, 6 drab, 1 black, 3 drab, 2 black, 8 drab. Eleventh Row, 3 green, 1 black, 5 green, 1 black, 2 green, 3 black, 8 green. Twelfth Row, 2 dark green, 2 black, 3 dark green, 1 black, 5 dark green, 7 black, 4 dark green, 1 black, 2 dark green. Thirteenth Row, 3 darkest green, 2 black, 2 darkest green, 1 black, 5 darkest green, 3 black, 1 darkest green, 4 black, 5 darkest green. Four- teenth Row> 3 claret, 2 black, 2 claret, 1 black, 4 Plate X. Plate XI. Plate XII. Plate XIII. KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY. 35 claret, 4 black, 2 claret, 2 black, 6 claret. Fifteenth Row, 4 carnation, 2 black, 4 carnation, 5 black, 10 car- nation. Sixteenth Roiv, 8 light carnation, 7 black, 8 light carnation. Last Row, same as Foundation. XL A Scroll Pattern for a Border. The Foundation to be formed of black, then a plain row of black, the pattern then to commence. First Row, 2 black, 11 primrose, 2 black, 3 primrose, 14 black. Second Row, 1 black, 1 primrose, 7 black, 3 primrose, 2 black, 5 primrose, 12 black. Third Row, 5 yellow, 3 black, 3 yellow, 2 black, 6 yellow, 1 black, 1 yellow, 9 black. Fourth Row, 1 orange, 3 black, 2 orange, 2 black, 3 orange, 2 black, 3 orange, 3 black, 2 orange, 9 black. Fifth Roiv, 5 black, 2 dark olive, 2 black, 3 dark olive, 1 black, 4 dark blue, 1 black, 4 dark blue, 3 black, 2 dark blue, 3 black. Sixth Row, 5 black, 3 blue, 5 black, 3 blue, 1 black, 5 blue, 1 black, 2 blue, 1 black, 2 blue, 7 black. Seventh Row, 4 black, 2 blue, 1 black, 2 blue, 2 black, 1 blue, 1 black, 1 blue, 2 black, 6 blue, 1 black, 5 blue, 6 black. Eighth Roiv, 3 black, 4 dark blue, 2 black, 4 dark blue, 2 black, 8 dark blue, 4 black, 4 dark blue, 4 black. Ninth Row, 3 black, 3 orange, 2 black, 3 orange, 4 black, 5 orange, 2 black, 6 orange, 5 black. Tenth Row, 5 yellow, 4 black, 5 yellow, 2 black, 4 yellow, 1 black, 7 yellow, 2 black. Eleventh Row, 1 black, 3 primrose, 6 black, 5 primrose, 5 black, 7 primrose, 4 black. Twelfth Row, 36 NETTING, CROCHET, 14 black, 1 primrose, 6 black, 4 primrose, 18 black. The last 2 Rows plain, to correspond with, the Foun- dation. No. XII. This Pattern is suitable for a Purse worked as it is in the Pattern, but makes a very handsome one by substituting steel beads for the crimson shades, and gold for the green, with a few rows of open Crochet between, in a pretty light colour* When the Purse is the length desired, the two sides should be crocheted together, leaving a space in the centre; the ends should be gathered up, the tassel affixed to one end, and the other joined square and finished with a fringe of beads. Foundation black. First Row, 3 light crimson, 5 black, 2 light crimson, 2 black, 3 light crimson. Second Row, 4 crimson, 5 black, 3 crimson, 1 black, 4 crimson. Third Row, 3 dark crimson, 4 black, 2 dark crimson, 1 black, 1 dark crimson, 1 black, 2 dark crimson. Fourth Row, 4 bright green, 8 black, 3 bright green. Fifth Row, 5 bright green, 2 black, 2 bright green, 1 black, 2 bright green, 1 black, 2 bright green. Sixth Row, 7 dark crimson, 2 black, 4 dark crimson, 2 black, 2 dark crimson. Seventh Row, 3 crimson, 4 black, 4 crimson, 1 black, 3 crimson. Eighth Row, 2 light crimson, 4 black, 2 light crimson, 2 black, 2 light crimson. Last Row, same as Foundation. Plate XIV. KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY. 37 No. XIII. This Pattern is pretty for long or short Purses, and is particularly suitable for the introduction of beads. Foundation in black. First Row, 7 blue, 1 black, 7 blue. Second Row, 1 scarlet, 5 black, 1 scarlet, 1 black, 1 scarlet. Third Row, 3 light scarlet, 1 black, 3 light scarlet, 1 black. Fourth Row, 5 black, 1 scarlet, 1 black, 1 scarlet, 5 black. Fifth Row, 7 blue, 1 black, 7 blue. Last Row, plain black. No. XIV. A very handsome Pattern, suitable for Table Covers, Sofa Pillows, Chair Covers, &c. First Row, 8 light scarlet, 14 black, 7 light scarlet. Second Row, 10 scarlet, 12 black, 9 scarlet. Third Row, 5 dark scarlet, 2 black, 3 dark scarlet, 1 1 black, 5 dark scarlet, 2 black, 3 dark scarlet. Fourth Row, 5 dark blue, 2 black, 3 dark blue, 1 1 black, 5 dark blue, 2 black, 3 dark blue. Fifth Row, 6 dark blue, 2 black, 2 dark blue, 11 black, 6 dark blue, 2 black, 2 dark blue. Sixth Row, 6 blue, 15 black, 6 blue. Seventh Row, 3 light blue, 2 black, 2 light blue, 14 black, 3 light blue, 2 black, 2 light blue. Eighth Row, 2 light blue, 1 black, 2 light blue, 1 black, 1 light blue, 1 black, 2 light blue, 5 black, 4 light blue, 3 black, 2 light blue, 1 black, 2 light blue, 1 black, 1 light blue, 1 black, 2 light blue, 5 black, 4 light blue. Ninth Row, 2 white, 38 NETTING^ CROCHET^ 1 black, 3 white, 1 black, 2 white, 3 black, 6 white, 4 black, 2 white, 1 black, 3 white, 1 black, 2 white, 3 black, 6 white. Tenth Row, 2 drab, 1 black, 7 drab, 1 black, 7 drab, 4 black, 2 drab, 1 black, 7 drab, 1 black, 7 drab. Eleventh Row, 8 dark drab, 1 black, 6 dark drab, 7 black, 8 dark drab, 1 black, 6 dark drab. Twelfth Row, 9 orange, 1 black, 4 orange, 8 black, 8 orange, 1 black, 3 orange. Thirteenth Row, 7 prim- rose, 2 black, 5 primrose, 7 black, 7 primrose, 2 black, 4 primrose. Fourteenth Row, 5 primrose, 4 black, 2 primrose, 3 black, 1 orange, 7 black, 4 primrose, 4 black, 2 primrose, 3 black, 1 orange. Fifteenth Row, 2 orange, 3 black, 2 orange, 1 black, 1 orange, 1 1 black, 2 orange, 3 black, 2 orange, 1 black, 1 orange. Six- teenth Row, 10 dark drab, 12 black, 11 dark drab. Seventeenth Row, 2 light drab, 4 black, 3 light drab, 13 black, 2 light drab, 4 black, 3 light drab. Eigh- teenth Row, 2 white, 3 black, 3 white, 13 black, 1 white, 4 black, 3 white. Nineteenth Row, 5 light blue, 1 black, 3 light blue, 13 black, 5 light blue, 1 black, 3 light blue. Twentieth Row, 1 light blue, 2 black, 1 light blue, 1 black, 1 light blue, 1 black, 5 light blue, 10 black, 1 light blue, 2 black, 1 light blue, 1 black, 1 light blue, 1 black, 5 light blue. Twenty -first Row, 1 blue, 3 black, 2 blue, 1 black, 3 blue, 1 black, 2 blue, 9 black, 1 blue, 3 black, 2 blue, I black, 3 blue, 1 black, 2 blue. Tiventy- second Row, 1 dark blue, 5 black, 4 dark blue, 11 black, 1 dark blue, 5 black, 4 dark blue. Twenty-third Row, 3 dark blue, 18 black, 3 dark Plate XV. KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY. 39 blue. Twenty-fourth Row, 3 dark scarlet, 18 black, 3 dark scarlet. Twenty-fifth Row, 2 scarlet, 19 black, 2 scarlet. Twenty-sixth Row, 2 light scarlet, 18 black, 2 light scarlet. No. XV. An Elegant Pattern for a Table or Chair Cover, Sofa Pillow, Carriage Wrapper, &c. It will be found that about six hundred and fifty stitches, if worked in eight-thread German Wool, will form the average length of a Table Cover, and one hundred and fifty stitches for a full- sized Sofa Pillow. First Row, 5 black, 1 claret, 2 black, 3 claret, 6 black, 3 claret, 1 black, 3 claret, 1 black, 8 claret, 9 black, 10 claret, 4 black, 6 claret, 4 black, 2 claret, 2 black, 2 claret, 6 black, 3 claret, 1 black, 3 claret, 1 black, 8 claret, 6 black. Second Row, 2 dark scarlet, 4 black, 2 dark scarlet, 2 black, 1 dark scarlet, 4 black, 4 dark scarlet, 1 black, 1 1 dark scarlet, 8 black, 3 dark scarlet, 5 black, 4 dark scarlet, 2 black, 1 dark scarlet, 3 black, 1 dark scarlet, 2 black, 2 dark scarlet, 4 black, 2 dark scarlet, 2 black, 1 dark scarlet, 4 black, 4 dark scarlet, 1 black, 1 1 dark scarlet, 7 black. Third Row, 2 black, 2 dark scarlet, 5 black, 2 dark scarlet, 3 black, 5 dark scarlet, 1 black, 3 dark scarlet, 2 black, 4 dark scarlet, 10 black, 3 dark scarlet, 2 black, 6 dark scarlet, 1 black, 3 dark scarlet, 5 black, 2 dark scarlet, 2 black, 2 dark scarlet, 5 black, 2 dark scarlet, 3 black, 9 dark scarlet, 40 NETTING, CROCHET, 2 black, 4 dark scarlet, 9 black. Fourth Row, 1 dark scarlet, 2 black, 2 dark scarlet, 2 black, 2 dark scarlet, 5 black, 7 dark scarlet, 2 black, 4 dark scarlet, 10 black, 3 dark scarlet, 2 black, 5 dark scarlet, 2 black, 2 dark scarlet, 1 black, 2 dark scarlet, 5 black, 2 dark scarlet, 2 black, 2 dark scarlet, 2 black, 2 dark scarlet, 5 black, 6 dark scarlet, 3 black, 4 dark scarlet, 1 1 black. Fifth Row, 2 scarlet, 2 black, 3 scarlet, 7 black, 5 scarlet, 2 black, 7 scarlet, 8 black, 3 scarlet, 2 black, 4 scarlet, 2 black, 3 scarlet, 2 black, 2 scarlet, 1 black, 1 scarlet, 3 black, 2 scarlet, 3 black, 3 scarlet, 7 black, 5 scarlet, 1 black, 8 scarlet, 9 black, 1 scarlet. Sixth Row, 2 scarlet, 3 black, 1 scarlet, 1 black, 2 scarlet, 5 black, 4 scarlet, 1 black, 9 scarlet, 8 black, 3 scarlet, 1 black, 4 scarlet, 2 black, 4 scarlet, 2 black, 2 scarlet, 1 black, 1 scarlet, 4 black, 2 scarlet, 3 black, 1 scarlet, 1 black, 2 scarlet, 5 black, 4 scarlet, 1 black, 9 scarlet, 9 black, 1 scarlet. Seventh Row, 2 scarlet, 4 black, 1 scarlet, 2 black, 2 scarlet, 4 black, 2 scarlet, 1 black, 4 scarlet, 1 4 black, 3 scarlet, 1 black, 3 scarlet, 2 black, 4 scarlet, 3 black, 2 scarlet, 1 black, 2 scarlet, 3 black, 2 scarlet, 4 black, 1 scarlet, 2 black, 2 scarlet, 4 black, 2 scarlet, 1 black, 4 scarlet, 1 5 black, 1 scarlet. Eighth Row, 2 light scarlet, 4 black, 1 light scarlet, 4 black, 4 light scarlet, 2 black, 7 light scarlet, 12 black, 7 light scarlet, 1 black, 4 light scarlet, 3 black, 3 light scarlet, 1 black, 2 light scarlet, 3 black, 2 light scarlet, 4 black, 1 light scarlet, 4 black, 4 light scarlet, 2 black, 7 light scarlet, 1.3 black, 1 light scarlet. Ninth Row, 1 light scarlet, KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY. 41 6 black, 1 light scarlet, 7 black, 10 light scarlet, 10 black, 1 light scarlet, 1 black, 5 light scarlet, 2 black, 3 light scarlet, 3 black, 4 light scarlet, 1 black, 2 light scarlet, 3 black, 1 light scarlet, 6 black, 1 light scarlet, 7 black, 10 light scarlet, 10 black, 1 light scarlet, 1 black, 1 light scarlet. Tenth Row, 7 black, 1 light scarlet, 7 black, 3 light scarlet, 2 black, 6 light scarlet, 8 black, 2 light scarlet, 2 black, 3 light scarlet, 3 black, 3 light scarlet, 1 black, 5 light scarlet, 2 black, 2 light scarlet, 10 black, 1 light scarlet, 7 black, 3 light scarlet , 2 black, 6 light scarlet, 8 black, 2 light scarlet, 2 black. Eleventh Row, 3 black, 2 drab, 2 black, 1 drab, 7 black, 5 drab, 1 black, 4 drab, 9 black, 3 drab, 4 black, 2 drab, 1 black, 8 drab, 2 black, 3 drab, 6 black, 2 drab, 2 black, 1 drab, 7 black, 5 drab, 1 black, 4 drab, 9 black, 3 drab, 1 black. Twelfth Row, 2 black, 4 drab, 1 black, 1 drab, 1 black, 2 drab, 5 black, 5 drab, 13 black, 9 drab, 1 black, 7 drab, 2 black, 4 drab, 5 black, 4 drab, 1 black, 1 drab, 1 black, 2 drab, 4 black, 6 drab, 13 black, 4 drab. Thirteenth Row, 1 black, 6 drab, 1 black, 4 drab, 4 black, 5 drab, 14 black, 7 drab, 2 black, 4 drab, 4 black, 5 drab, 4 black, 6 drab, 1 black, 4 drab, 4 black, 5 drab, 14 black, 3 drab. Fourteenth Row, 7 light drab, 1 black, 4 light drab, 5 black, 4 light drab, 16 black, 3 light drab, 1 black, 3 light drab, 2 black, 1 drab, 3 black, 2 light drab, I black, 5 light drab, 3 black, 7 light drab, 1 black, 4 light drab, 5 black, 4 drab, 15 black, 2 light drab. Fifteenth Row, 6 light drab, 2 black, 5 light 42 NETTING, CROCHET, drab, 12 black, 4 light drab, 11 black, 3 light drab, 4 black, 3 light drab, 2 black, 5 light drab, 3 black, 6 light drab, 2 black, 5 light drab, 12 black, 4 light drab, 9 black. Sixteenth Row, 3 light drab, 3 black, 1 light drab, 2 black, 4 light drab, 1 1 black, 3 light drab, 12 black, 10 light drab, 2 black, 4 light drab, 4 black, 3 light drab, 3 black, 1 light drab, 3 black, 3 light drab, 1 1 black, 3 light drab, 1 black, 1 light drab, 9 black. Seventeenth Row, 3 black, 4 white, 1 black, 1 white, 14 black, 3 white, 1 black, 3 white, 4 black, 4 white, 2 black, 10 white, 2 black, 4 white, 8 black, 3 white, 1 black, 1 white, 14 black, 3 white, 1 black, 3 white, 4 black, 4 white. Eighteenth Row, J black, 5 white, 1 black, 4 white, 11 black, 3 white, 1 black, 5 white, 2 black, 6 white, 1 black, 1 1 white, 2 black, 2 white, 6 black, 5 white, 1 black, 4 white, 1 1 black, 3 white, 1 black, 5 white, 2 black, 5 white. Nineteenth Row, 5 white, 2 black, 6 white, 8 black, 3 white, 1 black, 4 white, 5 black, 5 white, 2 black, 5 white, 1 black, 4 white, 9 black, 5 white, 2 black, 6 white, 8 black, 3 white, 1 black, 4 white, 5 black, 4 white. Twentieth Row, 4 light drab, 4 black, 5 light drab, 8 black, 3 light drab, 1 black, 3 light drab, 8 black, 4 light drab, 1 black, 5 light drab, 1 black, 8 light drab, 5 black, 4 light drab, 2 black, 1 light drab, 1 black, 5 light drab, 8 black, 3 light drab, 1 black, 3 light drab, 7 black, 3 light drab. Twenty-Jirst Row, 4 black, 1 light drab, 1 black, 1 light drab, 1 black, 5 light drab, 8 black, 2 light drab, I black, 5 light drab, 4 black, KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY. 43 2 light drab, 2 black, 4 light drab, 5 black, 1 light drab, 1 black, 6 light drab, 10 black, 1 light drab, 1 black, 1 light drab, 1 black, o light drab, 8 black, 2 light drab, 1 black, 5 light drab, 4 black, 5 light drab. Twenty-second Row, 1 black, 4 light drab, 2 black, 2 light drab, 1 black, 3 light drab, 9 black, 2 light drab, 1 black, 6 light drab, 2 black, 4 light drab, 1 black, 10 light drab, 2 black, 4 light drab, 8 black, 3 light drab, 2 black, 2 light drab, 1 black, 3 light drab, 9 black, 2 light drab, 1 black, 6 light drab, 2 black, 6 light drab. Twenty-third Row, 3 drab, 1 black, I drab, 1 black, 2 drab, 13 black, 2 drab, 1 black, 6 drab, 2 black, 4 drab, 1 black, 8 drab, 1 black, 3 drab, II black, 3 drab, 1 black, 1 drab, 1 black, 2 drab, 13 black, 2 drab, 1 black, 6 drab, 2 black, 4 drab, 1 black, 1 drab. Twenty-fourth Row, 2 drab, 1 black, 2 drab, 1 black, 3 drab, 12 black, 2 drab, 1 black, 2 drab, 3 black, 1 drab, 2 black, 2 drab, 4 black, 6 drab, 2 black, 4 drab, 9 black, 3 drab, 1 black, 2 drab, 1 black, 3 drab, 12 black, 2 drab, 1 black, 2 drab, 3 black, 1 drab, 2 black, 2 drab, 4 black. Twenty -fifth Row, I drab, 1 black, 3 drab, 1 black, 3 drab, 13 black, 3 drab, 9 black, 3 drab, 1 black, 2 drab, 6 black, 5 drab, 8 black, 2 drab, 1 black, 3 drab, 1 black, 3 drab, 13 black, 3 drab, 9 black, 3 drab, 1 black. Twenty- sixth Row, 2 black, 3 light blue, 2 black, 1 light blue, 9 black, 1 light blue, 4 black, 3 light blue, 9 black, 3 light blue, 4 black, 4 light blue, 1 black, 5 light blue, I I black, 3 light blue, 2 black, 1 light blue, 9 black, 44 NETTING^ CROCHET^ 1 light blue, 4 black, 3 light blue, 9 black, 3 light blue, 1 black. Twenty-seventh Row, 1 light blue, 1 black, 3 light blue, 1 1 black, 2 light blue, 5 black, 3 light blue, 2 black, 3 light blue, 2 black, 4 light blue, 3 black, 6 light blue, 1 black, 3 light blue, 10 black, 1 light blue, 1 black, 3 light blue, 1 1 black, 2 light blue, 5 black, 3 light blue, 2 black, 3 light blue, 2 black, 4 light blue, 1 black. Twenty-eighth Row, 1 light blue, 1 black, 2 light blue, 1 2 black, 2 light blue, 6 black, 4 light blue, 1 black, 3 light blue, 2 black, 3 light blue, 3 black, 2 light blue, 1 black, 3 light blue, 13 black, 2 light blue, 1 black, 2 light blue, 12 black, 2 light blue, 6 black, 4 light blue, 1 black, 3 light blue, 1 black, 4 light blue, 1 black. Twenty-ninth Row, 1 blue, 10 black, 2 blue, 2 black, 2 blue, 10 black, 2 blue, 1 black, 3 blue, 2 black, 3 blue, 4 black, 4 blue, 9 black, 5 blue, 10 black, 2 blue, 2 black, 2 blue, 10 black, 2 blue, 1 black, 3 blue, 1 black, 4 blue. Thirtieth Row, 12 black, 2 blue, 1 black, 1 blue, 10 black, 18 blue, 1 black, 3 blue, 5 black, 7 blue, 12 black, 2 blue, 1 black, 1 blue, 10 black, 12 blue. Thirty-first Row, 12 black, 3 blue, 2 black, 4 blue, 5 black, 19 blue, 8 black, 6 blue, 15 black, 2 blue, 1 black, 4 blue, 5 black, 13 blue, Thirty-second Row, 13 black, 5 dark blue, 7 black, 3 dark blue, 2 black, 13 dark blue, 9 black, 2 dark blue, 19 black, 5 dark blue, 7 black, 3 dark blue, 2 black, 8 dark blue. Thirty-third Row, 14 black, 1 dark blue, 1 1 black, 1 dark blue, 6 black, 8 dark blue, 11 black, 1 dark blue, 21 black, 1 dark blue, 10 black, 2 dark blue, 6 black, 5 dark blue. Thirty-fourth Row, Plate XVI. KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY. 45 14 black, 1 dark blue, 11 black, 2 dark blue, 24 black, 1 dark blue, 22 black, 1 dark blue, 11 black, 2 dark blue, 11 black. Thirty -fifth Row, 12 black, 2 dark blue, 58 black, 2 dark blue, 24 black. Tbe next six rows plain black ; after which, commence another line of the pattern by First Row, 7 black, 9 claret, 4 black, 6 claret, 5 black, 2 claret, 1 black, 2 claret, 6 black, 3 claret, 1 black, 3 claret, 1 black, 8 claret, 9 black, 9 claret, 4 black, 6 claret, 5 black, 2 claret, 2 black, 2 claret, 2 black ; thus the pattern will be shifted a little, so as to corres- pond with the Coloured Illustration, — and so on alter- nately. No. XVI. A Corner Pattern. The Foundation and next row black. First Row, 2 black, 5 light scarlet, 3 black, 1 light scarlet, 4 dark scarlet, 5 scarlet, 1 light scarlet, 3 black, 1 light scarlet, 4 dark scarlet. Second Row, 2 black, 1 light scarlet, 3 scarlet, 1 light scarlet, 2 black, 2 light scarlet, 3 dark scarlet, 5 scarlet, 2 light scarlet, 2 black, 2 light scarlet, 3 dark scarlet. Third Row, 2 black, 1 light scarlet, 1 scarlet, 2 dark scarlet, 1 light scarlet, 1 black, 3 light scarlet, 2 dark scarlet. 5 scarlet, 3 light scarlet, 1 black, 3 light scarlet, 2 dark scarlet. Fourth Row, 2 black, 1 light scarlet, 1 scarlet, 1 dark scarlet, 2 scarlet, 1 black, 3 light scarlet, 7 black, 3 light scarlet, 1 black, 3 light scarlet, 7 black. Fifth Row, 2 black, 3 light scarlet, 2 scarlet, 1 black, 3 light scarlet, 1 black, 3 light scarlet, 46 NETTING, CROCHET, 3 dark scarlet, 3 scarlet, 1 black, 3 light scarlet, 3 black. Sixth Roiv, 8 black, 2 scarlet, 1 light scarlet, 1 black, 3 light scarlet, 2 dark scarlet, 3 scarlet, 2 black, 3 light scarlet, 2 black. Seventh Row, 4 black, 3 light scarlet, 1 scarlet, 1 dark scarlet, 2 scarlet, 1 black, 3 light scar- let, 1 dark scarlet, 3 scarlet, 3 black, 3 light scarlet, 1 black. Eighth Row, 3 black, 4 light scarlet, 2 scarlet, 2 dark scarlet, 1 black, 3 light scarlet, 7 black, 3 light scarlet, 1 black. Ninth Row, 2 black, 6 light scarlet, 1 scarlet, 2 dark scarlet, 1 black, 3 light scarlet, 3 dark scarlet, 7 scarlet, 1 black. Tenth Row, 2 black, 3 dark scarlet, 7 black, 2 light scarlet, 3 dark scarlet, 7 scarlet, 2 black. Eleventh Row, 2 black, 3 dark scarlet, 1 black, 7 light scarlet, 3 dark scarlet, 7 scarlet, 3 black. Twelfth Row, 2 black ,2 dark scarlet, 1 scarlet, 1 black, 6 light scarlet, 1 dark scarlet, continue plain black to the inside of the next corner. The pattern to be continued until sufficiently long to form the border for one side. Pro- ceed with the right hand side thus — Thirteenth Row, 2 black, 1 dark scarlet, 2 scarlet, 1 black, 5 light scarlet, 2 dark scarlet, continue a row of black to the opposite side. Fourteenth Row, 2 black, 3 scarlet, 1 black, 3 dark scarlet, 1 black, 3 dark scarlet, 2 black. Fifteenth Row, 2 black, 3 scarlet, 1 black, 2 dark scarlet, 1 scarlet, 1 black, 2 dark scarlet, 1 scarlet, 2 black. Sixteenth Row, 2 black, 3 scarlet, 1 black, 1 dark scarlet, 2 scarlet, 1 black, 1 dark scarlet, 2 scarlet, 2 black. Seventeenth Row, 2 black, 2 scarlet, 2 light scarlet, 3 scarlet, 1 black, 3 scarlet, 2 black. Eighteenth Row, 2 black, 1 scarlet, KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY. 47 3 light scarlet, 2 scarlet, 2 black, 5 scarlet, 2 black. Nineteenth Roiv, 2 black, 4 light scarlet, 1 scarlet, 3 black, 3 scarlet, 2 black. Twentieth Row, 10 black, 3 scarlet, 2 black. Twentij-first Row, 4 black, 6 light scarlet, 3 scarlet, 2 black. Twenty-second Row, 3 black, 7 light scarlet, 2 scarlet, 3 black. Twenty -third Row, 2 black, 8 light scarlet, 1 scarlet, 4 black. Twenty- fourth Row, 2 black, 3 dark scarlet, 10 black. Twenty- fifth Row, 2 black, 3 dark scarlet, 3 black, 4 light scar- let, 1 dark scarlet, 2 black. Twenty '-sixth Row, 2 black, 2 dark scarlet, 1 scarlet, 2 black, 4 light scarlet, 2 dark scarlet, 2 black. Twenty-seventh Row, 2 black, 1 dark scarlet, 2 scarlet, 1 black, 4 light scarlet, 3 dark scarlet, 2 black ; then repeat as from the thirteenth row. In this manner a corner may be turned from any Berlin pattern : those with the fewest colours are the most desirable for this purpose. As a ge- neral rule, the border should be worked first, as the middle can afterwards be fitted to the border to avoid an awkward join in the latter, which would probably occur if the border had to be ac- commodated to the exact size of the centre. A large needle should be used for this purpose. Scar- let and claret are very pretty worked in this styte for the border, the centre being white. A Cap in Chenille. Having begun at the top with a chain of eight stitches, 48 NETTING, CROCHET, join the ends and work in rows round and round until it be the requisite size. In doing this, a sufficient number of stitches must be increased in each row to keep your work flat. The sides may then be worked in open crochet, between each two rows of which, a few plain lines of blue and black may be introduced. Dark colours are the best, mixed with gold. A Sofa Pillow in Plain and Treble Open Crochet. Begin with a chain of one hundred and eighty stitches in black. Crochet a shaded stripe, composed of five rows, with three well contrasted shades of carnation, commencing with the darkest shade, leaving the lightest to form the centre. After this, another black row, then work a stripe of treble open crochet, which shall consist of six rows, namely— green, carnation, stone, yellow, lilac, and another of green. Work another black row ; make a stripe resembling the first in different shades of stone — a black row again. Work a second stripe of treble open crochet, then a black row and follow this with another shaded stripe of lilac. Another black row. Another stripe of treble open crochet. Again a black row. Now work a fourth shaded stripe in yellows, and add another black row : then a stripe of treble open crochet again, and repeat the black row and the shaded carnation stripe you began with. To complete the pil- low, reverse the arrangement of the coloured stripes. Double German wool or super fleecy may be used in working this pillow. KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY. 49 A Cradle Quilt. Chine wools would be found well adapted to the working of this pattern. Make the chain and first row black. The second row, alternate stitches of black and blue Chine wool. The ground of the first stripe to be in blue Chine wool, with the pattern in white. Let the dividing line be black. The ground of the next stripe may be worked in scarlet or crimson Chine wool, with the pattern in white, except the centre line, which is better black. A Crochet Silk Bag with Star-shaped Bottom. Having made a chain of ten stitches, in the colour selected, unite the two ends, and work a plain row all round. To keep the circle flat, let every other stitch in the next row be made a seam stitch ; to do which, pass the needle under both loops instead of one, and make two stitches in the same place, every alternate stitch being a plain one. In the following row make the seam -stitch in the same place, leaving two plain stitches between each instead of one. Let this circle be repeated twenty times, always taking care to keep the seam-stitch in the same place, increasing by degrees the number of plain stitches, when a moderate sized circle will be formed. After which continue the rows without widening until the bag is as large as desired — the first five rows of the circle should be in black, the other rows should be in three D 50 NETTING, CROCHET, good shades of scarlet, five of each. Stripes of shaded silk, interspersed with a few rows of plain colours, to form a good contrast, will be found to look extremely elegant. Beads may be introduced in this bag upon the plain colours, as in the Illustration at p. 49. A Crochet Bag with Beads. Form your star-bottom, as in the previous instance, and crochet round it, on a dark ground, one of the patterns in steel or gold beads. Work four plain rows in another colour, and repeat the first coloured stripe with beads. Work another four rows of the second colour in a lighter shade, and repeat the first and second colour stripes, alternately, until the bag be completed, making each successive stripe lighter than the preceding one. It will increase the effect when working stripes to vary the straight line, by crocheting two stitches of each colour to form the dividing line. Another Bag with Beads. Make your star-bottom as before, and, instead of stripes, crochet round it upon a suitable ground one of the above patterns io beads. Finish the pattern within six rows of the top, and work two or three plain rows, when the remainder may consist of beads to form a bor- der, working a bead upon every other stitch. A Star Bottom for a Bag with Beads. Commence with a chain of eighty stitches, then unite both ends together with the crochet, aud work a plain KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY. 51 row all round. Make every alternate stitch in the next row a seam-stitch, which is formed by inserting the hook under both loops instead of one, and making two stitches, in order to increase one. Every other stitch should be plain crochet, and a bead worked upon it. It is necessary to observe that the seam stitches are worked one above the other. In the second row, there will be two plain stitches instead of one, and the number will increase till the circle is completed. In the first nine rows work a bead upon every plain stitch, after which crochet nine more rows, omitting one bead in each division of the tenth row, two in each of the eleventh, three in each of the twelfth, and so on till at length no beads will be left, but the star will be formed. After this crochet a few plain rows, still adding the seam stitch. A Crochet Silk Cap. Form a chain of eight stitches, join the ends, and crochet one plain row. On the second row make every alternate stitch a seam stitch. You must continue in- creasing until the circle measures from six to seven inches across. Crochet round this in plain rows until the cap be of the required depth. Should it not be sufficiently large, increase a stitch. Finish the cap with a silk lining and gold braid. A Plain Crochet Purse. Provide yourself with the required quantity (according to the size of your purse) of middling sized netting silk, 52 NETTING, CROCHET, and after making a chain of one hundred-and twenty stitches, crochet two plain rows in the same colour. Then a stripe of six rows in shaded silk. Repeat these stripes as often as requisite, crochet up the side, and draw up the ends. A very Handsome Purse. Commence with a chain in rich green silk of eight stitches, join both ends, crochet one plain row, increase (that is by working two stitches into one) every other one. Continue the increase in each row till you have a circle of ninety stitches. Then crochet two plain rows (not increasing any), next work a row of two stitches of silk, and two of gold thread alternately, next row all gold, the following rows two green and two gold, then work two rows of light cherry colour. Next commence a pretty pattern in moderate size steel beads of about four- teen or fifteen rows deep. Repeat two plain rows in cherry colour. Repeat the pattern of gold and green as before, then two rows of green, one of gold, three rows of green, then commence the centre by doing one stitch, make a stitch, by drawing the silk through the loop already on your needle, slip the bead down, miss a stitch, which makes it equal. Repeat to the end of the row. In the next row the stitch you crochet must be over the stitch you made in the preceding row. Turn the back row, having no beads, work about twenty-eight rows and then reverse the pattern. No. 1 gold thread, and the third-sized netting silk should be used. knitting, and embroidery, 53 An Easy Purse for Beginners. Make a chain of 140 stitches, crochet backwards and forwards (with rather a large hook) about five rows, with a dark blue silk, then two rows of gold thread or twist, then repeat the plain rows of the dark blue silk, crochet it up, leaving sufficient space for the opening. A Short Crochet Purse. Begin with the foundation of twelve stitches, and having joined both ends, work ronnd and round, increasing with dividing lines until you have aflat circle about two inches across. Crochet plain rows on this until the purse is of sufficient length, when you must divide it exactly, and work each side backwards and forwards till you have N a sufficient number of rows for the depth of the purse bars. A moderate sized purse will take from about one hundred to one hundred and thirty stitches. A Short Crochet Purse with Beads. Make your chain of one hundred and ten stitches, and work four rows with steel beads for the first stripe of the pattern, supposing it to be in stripes. Having done this, crochet three plain rows with some good contrasting colour, and in the next row begin the second stripe with gold beads. Crochet another plain row of the second colour. Let the third stripe be the same colour you commenced with, and work the pattern in steel and gold beads. Work the fourth stripe in the second colour, and the pattern in steel beads, with a plain row of the second 54 NETTING, CROCHET, colour at top and bottom. After this begin again with the first colour, and having formed the four rows of the pattern with gold beads, conclude with fifteen plain rows of your first colour. A Plain Open Crochet Purse. Form a chain of one hundred and forty stitches, to the last stitch of which crochet a short chain of five stitches. The last stitch of this latter must then be crocheted to the fifth stitch of the main chain. This should be re- peated all along the foundation, and the row be returned in the same manner by linking every fifth stitch to the centre stitch of each loop of the last row. Continue the same process throughout the purse, using what colours you please until the purse is the size required. An elegant Crochet Purse w r iTH Steel Beads. First work a row of open crochet the length of the parse in the colour selected, and crochet the next row plain in alternate stitches of a different colour. You may then work your pattern in steel beads on the second colour ground, and after that four rows of open crochet in the colour commenced with. The pattern and open crochet must be repeated alternately. The top and bottom should be worked with a few plain stitches. Crochet Watch Guard. Commence with a chain of six stitches, join it, and then plain crochet round and round until you have it a sufficient length : use second size dark brown silk. KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY. 55 A Square Watch Guard. Commence in Union Cord with four stitches, crochet round and round — be particular not to twist it. It is unnecessary to multiply further the number of examples in this branch of our subject. Enough has been said to give as good an idea of the mode of working Crochet as it is possible to do, by merely verbal description. KNITTING, Less attractive, perhaps, but certainly not less useful than the art which has now been described, is the sister art of Knitting. Living as we do in an age which politicians frequently describe as utilitarian, and which is indeed marked by an increasing regard to utility in the selection of amusing occupations, it is perhaps quite unneces- sary to apologize for having devoted a considerable number of these pages to this really useful kind of work. Many ladies have asserted that Knitting is, more than any other sort of manual occupation in which a lady can engage, fitted to give the mind occupation enough to beguile it of its cares, without producing the fatigue which results from other pursuits. It is certainly a great recommendation of this valuable Art, that it does not require the same perfection of sight and delicacy of handling, the same study and attention, as are required by the various kinds of embroidery. It may be resorted to when indisposition unfits the most skilful em- KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY. 57 broiderer to continue her task, and when the want of occupation would produce a fit of ennui ; it may accompany the perusal of an interesting volume ; it may be, as indeed it often is, used when ad- vancing years remove the power of more skilful labour, and when habits of activity would render inaction really painful. Friendship, and filial love, will always accept with delight the various produce of the knitting needle, as mementos at once of the skill which wrought, and the affection that gave them. The Authoress hopes she will not be understood as implying that the Art of Knitting is suited only to the invalid or the aged, or that it will pre- maturely introduce the industrious lady into the latter class. It is a pursuit which is recommended by its adaptation to all ages, and all states > from the beautiful Royal young Lady who was its early patron, and indeed is said to have been its in- ventor, down to the enthusiastic knitting house- wife . who plies her needles in the wilds of Con- nemara. It is unnecessary to enter more minutely into the history of Knitting, which may be gathered from various sources, and must, indeed, be very gene- rally known. The main object of this little Volume is to make it a practical companion to the Work- D 2 58 NETTING^ CROCHET, Table ; and in furtherance of that view; we wish to give as many examples as our limits will permit. We shall therefore proceed at once to explain the meaning of the different terms employed in Knitting. DEFINITION OF TERMS EMPLOYED IN KNITTING. To form the Foundation for Knitting, usually called CASTING ON, Put the material twice round the thumb of the left hand; then place the knitting pin under the lowest of the two loops on the thumb, and knit it off, passing it over the other loop and drawing both off the thumb. The first stitch is thus formed on the needle, and the other stitches in the same way. CASTING OFF; OR FINISHING. Knit two stitches and form them into one, by drawing the first over the second; and so continue to the last stitch ; draw the material through it and tie a knot. CASTING OVER. Turn the material you are using round the needle. KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY. 59 NARROWING is knitting two stitches into one. WIDENING. This is done either by splitting the material so as to form two stitches into one, or in fancy patterns, by throwing the material round the needle, as described above in casting over. TO FORM THE SEAM-STITCH. Bring the material to the front of the needle, and put the needle into the next stitch, downwards ; knit the stitch, and turn the material back again. RIB-KNITTING is to knit two stitches, and pearl two, or to knit two rows, and pearl two. TO BRING THE MATERIAL FORWARD is bringing it to the front of the needle. PEARLING. This is done exactly as described, in the seam- stitch above. A SLIP-STITCH is passing a stitch from one needle to the other without knitting it. 60 NETTING, CROCHET, A LOOP-STITCH is formed by bringing the material to the front of the needle, and dropping it in the next row. TAKING UNDER is putting the needle at the back of the stitch in a downward direction. EXAMPLES. A Scarf, Shawl, or Cradle Quilt. Cast on any number of stitches with three-thread fleecy, using No. 16 needles. First row, make one; knit two together alternately till you have finished the row ; then proceed to the next, which is worked in the same manner, each successive row being but a repetition of the preceding one. You may introduce as many colours as fancy may direct, by working in stripes. The same stitch is well adapted for a purse if knitted with silk. A Comforter. On a middling sized pin cast on thirty-six stitches, and in knitting carry your material twice round the pin for every stitch. The comforter is to be done in double knitting, and if desired may have a fringe and border at the end. KNITTING^ AND EMBROIDERY. 61 Another Comforter. Cast on thirty stitches, and knit plain sixty ribs, backwards and forwards : after that take twenty-two stitches from the middle of the side, and twenty-one will be found left from each end. Having done this, form a chest-piece, by knitting twenty -two ribs as before, and fasten off. You have now merely to sew up the end and your work is completed. A Knitted Purse. Begin by casting on any number of stitches that can be counted in threes, and use No. 19 needles. For the first row, bring the silk forward, and slip one, then knit two, passing the slip-stitch over them. Continue this process to the end of the row. The second row should be plain knitting. In the third row knit two before the pattern is commenced, to bring the holes on the bias. Repeat the same — the back rows always plain. Herringbone Purse. In this case the number of stitches must be counted in fours, and No. 18 needles used. In the first row bring the material forward and slip one, then knit one and pass the slip-stitch over it. After this knit one again, and bring the silk (which should be second sized) forward, then pearl one, and continue to the end of the row. The second, and every succeeding row, is worked the same. 62 netting, crochet, Open Stitch Purse with Beads. Use No. 18 needles, and middle-sized silk, cast on seventy stitches, then for the first row knit one, bring the silk forward, and knit two together. The silk must now be brought forward again, and a bead threaded, placing it behind the needle. Having done that, knit two together, and repeat the process till the row is finished, placing a bead every other pattern. The second row must be the same as the first, leaving out the beads ; and for the third knit one, bring the silk forward, pass on a bead, and continue as in the first row. Checked Patterns for Mats, Children's Socks, D'Oyleys, &c. After casting on any number of stitches that can be counted in eights, pearl four and knit four for the four first rows, and knit four and pearl four for the four suc- ceeding ones. The fineness or coarseness of your ma- terial depends upon the article you wish to make. A Night Cap. Five No. 16 needles will be necessary for this. You must then take four of them and cast two stitches on each. Knit two plain stitches into each of these for the first round. The second round, widen once upon each needle. For the third the centre stitch on each needle must be pearled ; and widen on each side of it every other round until you find the cap wide enough. After that, as many rounds must be knitted plain as will make KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY. 63 the cap about fourteen inches long. This half can then be repeated, if a double nightcap be wished, by decreas- ing at the other end in the same proportion as in- creased in the first instance ; or may be finished by ribbing six rounds to make it set close. Stitch of Brioche or Moorish Cushion. Bring the wool forward, slip a stitch, knit a stitch (by this you increase one,) again bring the wool forward, slip a stitch, knit a stitch, repeat these to the end of the row : this is the fi?*st row, after casting on the number of stitches you require. The next row, and every follow- ing row, thus : — bring the wool forward, slip one stitch, then knit the loop made last row with the next stitch, bring the wool forward again, slip one stitch, and knit the loop and next stitch together ; repeat these stitches to the end of the row. I have cast on sixty-six stitches, but these may be more or less as you like the size of the cushion. I always knit plain the first three and the last three stitches, this also is optional. Knit from the bottom to the top and back again the first rows, then knit to within seven stitches of the top, (that is, leave the four double and the three plain stitches unknitted) and back ; then knit and leave six double stitches unknitted, and back ; and so on till you have only twenty double stitches and the three plain at the bottom left ; then fasten on the next colour, and so on to the end. Twelve gores are wanted of different colours, besides the grounding between each gore. 64 NETTING, CROCHET, Raised Knitting. To accomplish this, use two No. 18 needles, and one No. 12; and having cast on as many stitches as you require, so that the number be equal, begin the first row with the small needle : first make one stitch, then knit two in one. The second row should consist of plain knitting with the large needle, and the third row the same with the small needle. Let the fourth row be pearl knitting with the small needle. Commence again as in the fourth row, and continue the pattern as before. This style of knitting may be employed in making various articles, and is especially suitable for muffs. Bonnet Cap. Having cast on ninety-four stitches in white German wool for the border, with No. 12 needles, knit the first two rows plain, and for the third row bring the wool forward, and knit two together. The three next rows should be plain knitting in blue ; and m the seventh row bring the wool forward, and knit two together. Then knit twenty -four rows, and finish with two plain rows to correspond with the commencement. This forms a piece to go over the head. Next commence the band for the back, by casting on forty- four stitches. Knit four plain rows. The fifth row, bring the wool forward, knit two together, finish with four plain rowsy This must then be sewn to the front piece. A ribbon must be run through it, to make it fit the head. KNITTING^ AND EMBROIDERY. 65 A Sable Muff. Use No. 6 needles, and four- thread fleecy. Cast on 84 stitches. Three good shades of brown, as nearly resembling sable as possible, should be used. Knit first three rows plain with the dark shade, next row with second shade ; knit one stitch, bring the wool forward, knit two together. Insert the needle downwards at the back, then bring the wool forward, and knit two together as before. Continue these two last stitches to the end of the row. Knit three plain rows again, and another row same as the fourth ; repeat this till the Muff is of the length desired, knitting an equal number of rows with each colour. It should then be filled w'th wool and lined with silk, and may be finished with cords and tassels at the ends. This pattern looks equally well knitted in stone colours to imitate Squirrel fur. Any other fancy-stitch may be introduced. Knitted Mat. Use No. 1 1 needles, cast on sixty-six stitches in fine cotton cord, and knit two plain rows. You must then cut some coarse fleecy into short pieces of about three inches long, and begin the second row by knitting two : jay a piece of fleecy between the needles, and knit a stitch ; pass the other end of the fleecy forward between the needles, and knit one again. Continue this through- out. Every alternate row should be in plain knitting, and for the fourth row same as at first. 66 NETTING^ CROCHET, A Scarf, After casting on ninety stitches with German wool, and No. 13 needles, bring the wool forward and slip a stitch, then knit one, and bring the slip-stitch over it, knit one again, and pearl one. Continue to the end of the row, and work all the following rows in the same manner. Brioche. This handsome cushion is composed of sixteen narrow, and as many broad stripes, the latter decreasing gradually as they near the top or centre. You can make it either of four- thread fleecy, or double German wool, and with No. 6 ivory or wooden pins. The stitch is worked by bringing the material forward, slipping one, and then knitting two together. Begin by casting on ninety stitches in black or dark claret, knit two turns, then two turns in gold colour, and two again in black : this finishes the narrow stripe. Work the coloured stripe by bringing the material forward, knitting two stitches together twice, and turning ; then knit these two and two more of the black, and turn ; repeat this, taking every time two additional stitches, until you come to within two stitches of the top, and then turn. The wool will now be found at the bottom of the stripe, which is the widest part. You must then begin another narrow stripe in black, as before, knitting the two black stitches at the top ; and so continue till the whole is finished. When you have finished the last wide or conical stripe, you must knit it to the first narrow stripe. knitting^ and embroidery. 67 Shetland Square Shawl. You will require 5 needles, very long, No. 2 or 3, and 2-thread fine fleecy. Cast on five stitches on each of four needles ; add one stitch at the beginning and one stitch at the end of each needle every alternate round, ribbing the centre stitch always, till you have eleven stitches on each ; now knit the first stitch, cast over and knit one stitch, repeat this, knit two stitches together, rib the centre stitch, knit two stitches together, knit one stitch and cast over, knit one stitch and cast over, knit the last stitch ; repeat this on each of the other needles ; knit the two next rounds plain, but remember to add one stitch at the beginning and end of each needle, and to rib the centre stitch of each round ; these two rounds thus increased will give you seventeen stitches on each needle. Now knit the first stitch, cast over and knit one stitch, repeat this twice, then knit two together, knit two toge- ther, rib the centre and knit two together, knit two together, knit one and cast over, repeat this twice, knit the last stitch ; repeat all this on the other three needles ; the next round add on the first and last stitch of each needle ; the rest plain, except the ribbed centre stitch ; knit another round plain, still ribbing the centre stitch ; you will have now twenty-one stitches on each needle. Now knit one, cast over and knit one, repeat this twice, cast over and knit two together, knit two together, knit two together, rib the centre stitch, and do the last ten stitches, the same as the first : repeat this on the 68 NETTING, CROCHET, other three needles; knit the next two rounds plain, remembering to add on the first and last stitches as before, and to rib the centre stitch ; these two rounds will give you twenty- seven stitches on each needle. You have now the number of stitches required for each pattern, — namely, twenty -jive, and two over; and as these two stitches must be regularly increased by adding one stitch at the beginning and one at the end of each needle every alternate round, in order to produce and enlarge the shape (square) of your work, you will have to count the stitches for your pattern from the centre stitch* twelve on each side of it, which in this stage of your work leaves you a spare stitch at each end of each needle. Proceed with the twenty-five centre stitches thus: — after adding on the first spare stitch, cast over, knit one stitch four times, knit two together four times, rib the centre stitch, knit two together four times, then knit one and cast over four times, and add one on the last spare stitch ; the next two rounds to be plain knitted, adding and ribbing as before. You will perceive that the pattern consists of twenty - five stitches, knitted as above, and two plain rounds, and that it is to form the square that you have to add as directed ; you must therefore always calculate your twenty-five stitches in the centre of each needle ; and when, by adding on the plain rounds, you have made five additional stitches on each side of your twenty-five pattern stitches, you must begin to form another pattern at each end of your needles : do this always on the same KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY. 69 round (the third) that you work the pattern in the centre, and remember to rib a centre stitch in each added pattern ; you must go on thus to any size you like. As this is a square Shawl, it requires to be at least a yard and three quarters, and should be finished with a fringe or scalloped edge, as preferred. Ruff for the Neck. Fine super fleecy or double German wool. Cast on fifty stitches with No. 11 needles, knit five plain rows, then a row of holes for ribbon or cord ; then knit five plain rows, change to No. 3 or 2 needles, and knit twenty rows of the following pattern : cast over, knit one stitch, cast over, knit two stitches together, knit two stitches together ; repeat these five stitches to the end, and rib the back row, cast off, take up fifty loops on the opposite side, knit just such another piece and cast off, sew these down at the edge of the part knitted with No. 1 1 needles, and run a ribbon or cord through the holes in the centre. When the ruff requires cleaning, if you draw out the thread which confines these pieces, it will wash well and look quite like new. Any light open pattern may be substituted for the above if preferred ; but this is a very pretty one, and quickly done. Shetland Scakf. Two thread fleecv. Needles No. 2. Cast on 147 stitches thus : forty-two on each of three needles, and 70 NETTING, CROCHET, twenty-one on a fourth needle ; you must have another needle to work with — five needles in all. Knit three or four plain rounds, then first round thus — knit five stitches, knit two together, knit one, cast over, knit two, knit two together, knit three, knit two together, knit one, cast over, knit one, cast over, knit two ; repeat these twenty-one stitches all round, then knit a plain round. Second round thus— knit two together, knit one, knit two together, knit one, cast over, knit three, cast over, knit one, knit two together, knit one, knit two together, knit one, cast over, knit three, cast over, knit two ; repeat all round, and then knit a plain round. Third round thus — slip one, knit two together, pull the slipped stitch over them, knit one, cast over, knit five, cast over, knit one, slip one, knit two together, pull the slipped- stitch over them, knit one, cast over, knit five, cast over, knit two; repeat all round, and then knit a plain round. Fourth round thus — knit two, cast over, knit one, cast over, knit one, knit two together, knit three, knit two together, knit one, cast over, knit one, cast over, knit one, knit two together, knit three, knit two together ; repeat this all round, and knit a plain round. Fifth round thus— knit two, cast over, knit three, cast over, knit one, knit two together, knit one, knit two to- gether, knit one, cast over, knit three, cast over, knit one, knit two together, knit one, knit two together ; repeat this all round, and knit a plain round. Sixth round thus— knit two, cast over, knit five, cast KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY. *Jl over, knit one, slip one, knit two together and pull the slipped one over them ; knit one, cast over, knit five, cast over, knit one, slip one, knit two together, pull the slipped one over them ; repeat all round, and knit a plain round, and hegin again at the first round. Each pattern requires twenty-one stitches, therefore if you require your scarf to be wider, you must add one x>r more patterns according to the width wanted ; if you wish it narrower than the number of stitches here named, (one hundred and forty-seven,) you must decrease twenty-one or forty- two, as you like. A Scarf of this width (one hundred and forty- seven stitches) should be at least a yard and half long ; and this width would answer very well for a scarf two yards in length. The pattern is very beautiful, and not common. Opera Cap. Fine fleecy or double German wool, No. 6 ivory needles, and very fine steel ones. Cast on the fine steel needle, twenty-four stitches in white wool, knit and rib alternately ten rows ; then take No. 6 needles and blue wool, and knit one plain row : then bring your wool before . your needle, slip one stitch, knit two, pull the s lipped one over them, cast over and knit three stitches ; repeat these six stitches to the end of the row, rib the back row. Bring your wool forward, knit two together, cast over again and knit two together, knit two, repeat to the end, rib the back row. Bring your wool forward, knit three, slip one, knit two together, pull the slipped 72 NETTING, CROCHET, one over them ; repeat to the end of the row, rib the back row. Repeat these six rows twice, that is three times in all, giving you eighteen rows besides the one plain row at the beginning ; then do a stripe of white on the fine needles as above, &c, and another nineteen rows of the fancy stitch ; repeat these two pieces on the two different sized needles till you have five of the white and six of the blue, cast off. Then with the white wool and the large needles take up one hundred loops on one side of the piece just done, so that it may roll inwards to the face ; knit five rows alternately plain and ribbed ; then with the blue wool rib two rows, do one row of holes for a cord or ribbon, and two ribbed rows, five rows with the white as at first. Now knit ten patterns, of two rows each, alternately blue and white, of the following fancy stitch : — First row, knit one stitch, knit two together to be taken un- derneath, and make a stitch by casting the wool quite over your needle ; repeat these three stitches to the end of the row. Second row, the back row is always knitted plain. You may substitute any light open stitch for this if you prefer it. Remember, to form the cap, you must decrease two stitches at each end of your needle every row, both front and back ; this will give you, after doing the ten patterns or twenty rows, only twenty stitches ; these twenty stitches must be knitted backwards and forwards nine times, that is eighteen rows, joining each side as you go on knitting, to the sloped sides of the cap ; when you KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY. 73 have knitted eighteen rows, which will bring your work even with the sloped sides, cast off. Now take up the loops from one end of the front piece, all along the back to the other end, and knit a row of holes for the ribbon ; and then knit a short border, or curtain, to fall over ; run in the ribbon or cord, and the cap is complete. Opera Hood. Two-thread fleecy or double German wool ; No. 3 needles. Cast on ninety stitches, knit twenty-four rows of any light open pattern, such as the following : slip the first stitch, turn the wool quite round the needle so as to bring it before it, then rib two stitches together ; repeat this to the end : the back row is the same. When you have done twenty -four rows, then knit only sixty-six stitches : in going back leave twenty-four stitches at the other end ; this will give you forty-two stitches, middle stitches, which continue to knit for fifty-six rows. Now knit on to the end of the twenty- fourth stitch first left, and in returning continue the pattern the whole length of your needle, including the other twenty-four stitches, knit twenty-four rows to make the front of the hood, and cast off loosely ; turn the front back, draw in the edges of the rows of the forty- two stitches for the crown, and run in a ribbon or cord at the back, to draw the hood in to the hinder part of the head. Fringe. This may be made of silk, cotton, or wool, as you E 74 NETTING^ CROCHET^ choose ; and your needles must be either large or small, according to the material used ; for wool, say one-thread fleecy, you will need No. 6 needles. Cast on ten stitches, knit two stitches, cast over, and knit two stitches to- gether, cast over, knit two together, cast over, knit two together, knit two ; when you have knitted the length you require, cast off four stitches and unravel six to form the fringe. This fringe looks well knitted in two colours wound together, or in stripes of each colour about three or four inches in length each. Babies' High Shoes or Boots. Fine two-thread fleecy and fine steel needles required. Set on twenty-seven stitches, knit one plain row, add one stitch, and knit seven stitches, turn back to the end ; then knit the next row throughout, adding one stitch on the last stitch ; knit eight stitches and return ; then do the entire back row. Now add regularly one stitch at each end on every third row till you have forty- five stitches ; now do twenty-two plain rows (that is without any more added stitches ;) now take on another needle sixteen stitches, and knit twenty-six rows ; then decrease every other row to ten stitches, and cast off ; do the sixteen stitches at the other end of your work just the same for the other side of your shoe, and cast off. You may knit the ankle either open with two needles, or raised with four needles, as you prefer ; take up twenty loops on each side, which, added to the thirteen middle stitches, will make fifty-three ; rib two rows, then make a row of holes for a ribbon, rib two more rows. KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY. 7 5 Knit the ankle at least four inches high, and add from three to five stitches at various intervals. These shoes, being all white, and high up the leg, are by many pre- ferred to more fanciful ones ; they are very warm and light, and wash perhaps better than those with any coloured wool in them. Neck Tie. To be knitted in nine shades of German wool ; and as its beauty much depends on its lightness, you must use large needles, No. 1 — better even than No. 2. Cast on one hundred and ten stitches with the lightest shade, and knit in plain knitting four rows of each shade in succession to the darkest, of which knit six rows ; return by four rows to the lightest. One set of these shades will make a pretty size ; you may repeat them if you prefer the Neck Tie larger. When done, you must cast off very loose, and join the cast-off edge and the cast-on edge together. A shaded Chenille Tassel for each end of the Neck Tie is required to finish it. This looks very well made in white only, or in white and some pretty colour. Netting Stirrup. This should be knitted with scarlet worsted, French braid, and No. 12 needles. Cast on eleven stitches, knit three or four plain rows, then slip one stitch ; knit one, cast over, knit two together to the last stitch, which knit plain, rib the back rows ; repeat these two rows thirty times, then knit three or four plain rows, and cast 76 NETTING^ CROCHET, off. This piece must be stretched and lined with ribbon to match the colour. Sew the ends to a thin piece of wood of the width of the knitting, and about three and half inches long ; this piece of wood must be covered with ribbon. Now you must cast on three stitches, and knit every row plain till you have made about a yard in length, of which you must sew the two ends to the top of the stirrup. Sofa Pillow Tidy, or Anti-Macassar. You will require three knitting needles— one pair No. 11, and one needle No. 3, and use knitting cotton No. 4. Cast on 110 stitches on No. 11 needles, knit three plain rows, then rib one row. Second row — cast the cotton over, and knit two stitches together to the end. Rib the third row. Fourth row — knit plain with the No. 3 needle, passing the cotton twice over it every stitch. These four rows must be repeated till you have knitted a square. Cast off; trim it round with a fringe. Fancy or Nervous D'Oyley. To be done in fine German wool, with No. 18 needles. Cast on twenty-two stitches, and knit one plain row, then the following fancy stitch throughout. Bring your wool before your needle, slip one stitch, and knit one stitch. The shape of this D'Oyley, which is round, is produced by gradually decreasing from the top by two stitches at a time, till you have only the two plain stitches left to knit ; then do the entire row of twenty-two stitches for one row, and decrease again. So on, thus forming KNITTING^ AND EMBROIDERY. 77 these stripes or Vandykes, till you have made a round piece pointed at the top ; then cast off by joining the first and last edges together. This pattern D'Oyley may be varied almost endlessly by introducing any number of colours, or by knitting it in shades. It must have a narrow fringe : white is generally preferred for this. These D'Oyleys are much used on highly polished tables, placed underneath flower vases, &c. and they are valuable to invalids to save noise. Dessert D'Oyleys. These are square, and are generally made in fine white cotton, though some persons prefer cotton, or German wool, or fine fleecy, of a bright claret colour. Needles, No. 6, The following pattern requires ten stitches, therefore you must calculate the number of stitches in determining the size of your D'Oyley. Fifty stitches will make a pretty useful size : if you wish it larger, add ten stitches ; less would spoil the pattern, which consists of the follow- ing two rows only, is very simple, easily done, and looks remarkably well for this purpose. First row thus— knit one stitch, cast over, knit three stitches, slip one, knit two stitches together, and pull the slipped one over them, knit three and cast over : these are repeated to the end of the row. Second or back row is to be knitted plain. 7B NETTING^ CROCHET^ Fancy Cuff. You will require four needles of No. 18, and fine Ger- man wool. The pattern includes sixteen stitches, there- fore you must cast on thirty-two on each of two needles, and sixteen more on the third needle, and proceed thus — a new and pretty stitch : First round, cast your wool over, knit two together, knit two together twice, cast over, knit one stitch ; repeat this twice more, then cast over and knit two together, knit two together, knit one, cast over, knit two together ; this forms the pattern, and must be repeated to the end of the round. Second and third rounds to be knitted plain. Begin again as at the first, by casting over and knitting two stitches together, &c. &c. These three rounds are to be repeated till the cuff is as deep as you wish, then cast off ; or it is an im- provement perhaps to knit ten or twelve rounds plain on rather larger needles, to turn up, forming a roll at the hand ; and if you like, you may take up the loops of the cast-on edge, and knit a similar piece. Baby's Hat. Four needles are wanted, No. 17, and fine German wool. Cast on three stitches on each of three needles, and knit three rounds ; increase one stitch at the back of every stitch in the next round ; rib two rounds ; increase again one stitch at the back of every stitch the next round, and knit one round plain, and rib two rounds ; the next round you are to add three stitches on each needle ; the following round plain ; rib two rounds ; after this you are KNITTING^ AND EMBROIDERY. 7^ to knit and rib alternate rounds, increasing three stitches on each needle of the first plain knitted round till you have seven ribs or welts ; then knit and rib two rounds alternately, without any increase, till you have fifteen ribs or welts ; in the next round, increase five stitches on each needle, and knit one plain round. Go on knit- ting and ribbing thus, adding five stitches on each needle in the first knitted round, till you have made the brim or verge of your hat as broad as you like— about eleven or thirteen welts will look well— and cast off. This must be made pretty stiff, and dried on a shape ; you can trim the hat with satin ribbon, and net a rosette in German wool and floss silk. Gentleman's Travelling Cap. Four needles No. 6, two-thread fleecy or double Ger- man wool. Cast on thirty stitches ; rib one row. The second row thus ; slip the first stitch, and then take two stitches together to the last stitch, which knit plain. Third row, slip the first stitch, then rib one, and knit the loop which is between this stitch and the next : these two stitches are to be repeated to the end of the row. Knit the fourth row plain. These four rows form the pattern, and are to be repeated thirty times, then cast off. If you prefer the cap in two colours, then you will repeat the pattern fifteen times in each colour. Now take up sixty loops on one side of the piece just knitted, and repeat the four rows as above till you have 80 NETTING^ CROCHET^ knitted them thirteen times — or seven stripes of one colour, and six of the other ; cast this off very loosely. This piece forms the front of the cap, and is to turn up. Proceed by taking up sixty loops on the opposite side to the one just done with three needles, and repeat the pattern all round to form the crown ; you must decrease one stitch in every fourth stitch on the fourth round — repeat this pattern. In the next or third round you must decrease every other stitch. (Remember, these rounds here referred to mean the whole pattern of four rounds.) In the next round, or last row of the fourth round, thread a rug needle with your wool, pass it through all the stitches, draw them together tightly, and fasten off. Complete the cap with a cord and tassel to match the wool you have knitted with. Fancy Stitch for a Shawl, &c. Having cast on any number of stitches which may be counted in threes, bring the wool forward, knit toge- ther, taking them at the back, and slip one. Repeat to the end of the row, and work every row the same. Use No. 10 needles. Broad Vandyke Border. To be made on large needles and fine fleecy, if for a Shawl or Scarf; in cotton and smaller needles for D'Oyleys, &c. Cast on five stitches, knit three plain rows. First front row, knit two stitches, cast over, KNITTING^ AND EMBROIDERY. 81 knit three stitches ; back row to be ribbed, excepting the first and last two stitches, which knit plain. Se- cond front row, knit to stitches, cast over, knit one, cast over, knit three. ^Back row, always as directed above. Third front row, knit two stitches, cast over, knit one ; repeat this ; cast over, knit two stitches to- gether, knit two. Back row as above. Fourth front row, knit two stitches, cast over, knit one ; repeat this ; cast over, knit two together twice, knit two stitches. Back row as above. Fifth front row, knit two stitches, cast over, knit one ; repeat this ; cast over, knit two together three times, knit two stitches. Back row as above. Sixth front row, knit two stitches, cast over, knit one stitch ; repeat this ; cast over, knit two to- gether four times, knit two stitches. Back row as above- This will give you sixteen stitches, and will be a good width; you may easily increase it to any width you prefer by continuing to add and knit one stitch twice, finishing the row by double stitches, as directed. To make the other half of the Vandyke, proceed thus : — knit one stitch, knit two together, cast over, knit two together, till you are within three stitches of the end, which always knit plain ; you will once or twice have four single stitches left, in which case take the first two together without casting over, and knit the other two plain ; continue knitting the front rows as above till you have only five stitches left ; then knit three and half rows and begin again. The back rows are to be ribbed as directed throughout the Vandykes, which you e 2 82 NETTING^ CROCHET^ may go on producing, by thus increasing and decreasing alternately, to any length you require. Trimming or Border of Escallops for the Ends of a Scarf, &c. As the pattern requires twenty-three stitches, you must be careful to cast on as many as will exactly cor- respond with the width of whatever article you wish to trim ; thus, if your Scarf is sixty-nine stitches wide, you must cast on sixty-nine stitches, which will take three patterns ; and so on. The pattern of the Escallop is done as follows : — cast on twenty -three stitches, knit two rows plain. Third row, knit one stitch, rib two stitches together, knit eight stitches, cast over, rib one ; cast over, knit eight stitches, rib two together, knit one ; you must repeat these to the end of as many twenty- three stitches as your required length gives you ; rib a back row, then repeat these two rows three times more, then rib one row, and knit one row ; then you are to cast over, knit two stitches together eleven times, and knit one stitch ; knit one row, rib two rows, and begin again at the third row, repeating these various rows in succession till your border is as deep as you require it to be ; cast off loosely. First Size for a Baby's Shoe. Use German wool and No. 16 needles. Cast on twenty-four stitches, knit three plain rows, adding one stitch at the end of the third row ; knit two more plain KNITTING^ AND EMBROIDERY. 83 rows, adding again at tbe end of the last row ; these five rows form the heel. Now knit nine ridges and cast off fourteen stitches ; knit the remaining stitches till you have seven more ridges, then set on fourteen stitches to correspond with those you have just cast off ; knit nine ridges, and then decrease to form the other side of the heel in the same way that you added before, and cast off. Take up fourteen loops on each side, and seven in the centre, all on one needle ; knit two plain rows, rib two rows, make one row of holes for a ribbon, knit one plain row, rib one row, knit one row ; after this you are to knit nine or ten ridges, according as you wish your shoe more or less high, cast off, sew the two edges together from the top of the ankle to the tie throughout, and put a ribbon in the holes. Baby's Boot to look like a Slipper and Stocking when on the Foot. You will require coloured German wool for the Slipper part, and white for the Stocking. Cast on sixteen stitches, knit sixteen ridges, set on fourteen more stitches on the same needle, thirty stitches on the second needle, and fourteen stitches on a third needle, and knit the sixteen loops on the cast-on side of your knitting ; this will give you ninety stitches on all your needles ; knit seven ridges, then decrease one stitch at the end of every row till you have eighty stitches ; now decrease two stitches in the middle row, knitting two plain stitches between ; continue to decrease these two stitches for 84 NETTING, CROCHET, the heel, and one stitch at the end for the toe, till you have sixty-eight stitches left ; now divide your work into two equal parts, this will give you thirty- four stitches for each of two needles ; join these together and cast them off. This will complete the Slipper : now for the Stocking. Take up sixteen loops for the instep, knit one plain row. (Remember, in knitting this piece, which makes the front or instep, you must, at the end of every row, take up a stitch from the side and knit it with the last stitch of your row.) Rib the back row, taking care to knit the last stitch and a stitch from the side together. The next front row thus: — bring the wool forward and knit two stitches together to the end ; rib the back row ; these two rows are to be repeated till you have fourteen rows of holes, remembering always to knit a side stitch with the last stitch of each row. After having thus knitted the front, take up twenty-two loops on each side of the centre piece just knitted, and continue knitting all these stitches together till you have made the ankle as high as you like. You may knit this in the same pattern as the instep ; or after, having knit a row of holes for a ribbon, you may knit the ankle in plain knitting, or thus : — three stitches plain and three stitches ribbed, changing one stitch every other row. Perhaps the holes continued like the instep look best. Make a little rosette of the same ribbon you run into the holes at the ankle, and sew it in the front of the shoe. KNITTING^ AND EMBROIDERY. 85 Knee Caps — A Large Size. Three or four thread fleecy; needles, No. 11. Set on two stitches, knit them, add one stitch at one end of every row to tenth stitch, one plain row ; now add one stitch on the other end of every other row to twenty-first stitch, then add one stitch on the seventh stitch from each end every other row to forty-first stitch ; do the back row, then add one stitch on the seventh as before, on the broad side only, every other row to forty-sixth stitch ; do twenty-four plain rows, then decrease in the same way and same proportions as you have just added, till you have only two stitches left ; take up seventy-four loops on the broad side, and rib a piece (having joined your work with four needles) as deep as you like, not less than two inches ; take up about sixty-four loops the other side, and rib it the same, but not quite so deep. These knee caps, with leggings attached to them, are useful for delicate persons who surfer from cold knees and legs. They are also worn (knitted in coarse cotton) by gentlemen who ride much on horseback. Siberian Boddice. Three or four thread fleecy, No. 10 needles. Set on seventy-five stitches, knit one row plain. Second row, knit two stitches, cast over, knit two together, repeat these two last stitches to the end of the row. Third row, knit plain. Fourth row, knit four stitches plain, then double knitting to the end of the row, except the last four, which knit plain. Knit sixty-three more rows like 86 NETTING^ CROCHET, the last. The next row thus —take a third pin, because you will only have to knit a portion of the row ; with this third pin then knit to within nine stitches of the centre, and cast off eighteen in the centre, this will give you twenty-five stitches on each needle ; knit thirty- six rows on one of the needles, keeping the four stitches plain as before, and making one plain stitch at the other end — this part for the shoulder piece ; on the next row cast on twenty more stitches on the side where you have only one plain stitch, and knit the forty-five stitches now on your needle in double knitting, excepting your plain stitches at each end : sixty-eight more rows the same as the last will complete this part with three plain rows, and casting oif : this forms half the front. Knit on the other needle in the same way for the other half front. Take up the stitches all round the neck, and knit two plain rows ; make a row of holes, two more plain rows, and cast off. Comforter. Three-thread fleecy on Needles No. 9 or 10. Set on thirty-four stitches ; do about ninety-nine rows of any Pattern you like (feather stitch, double or single leaf pattern looks well,) then decrease one stitch at each end, and four plain rows to a point. Take up the thirty-four loops you began with, and knit just such another piece ; then take up the loops from one point to the other point all along one side, knit them and add one stitch after every two stitches ; do another plain row, then do eleven rows in some pretty stitch (brace stitch looks KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY. 87 well,) and cast off; take up the loops on the other side and do the same, add a narrow fringe for about a quartei of a yard deep round each end. Double Leaf Pattern. Every pattern takes fourteen stitches. First row, rib two, knit one, knit two together, rib four, knit two, rib two, cast over, knit one, cast over, repeat to the end of the row. Second row, rib three, knit two, rib two, knit three, rib two together, rib one, knit two, repeat, fyc. Third row, rib two, knit one, knit two together, rib two, knit two, rib two, knit one, cast over, knit one, cast over, knit one, repeat, fyc. Fourth row, rib five, knit two, rib two, knit one, rib two toge- ther, rib one, knit two, repeat, fyc. Fifth row, rib two, knit one, knit two together, knit two, rib two, knit two, cast over, knit one, cast over, knit two, repeat, fyc. Sixth row, rib seven, knit two, rib one, rib two together, rib one, knit two, repeat, fyc. Seventh row, rib two, knit one, knit two together, rib one, knit three, cast over, knit one, cast over, knit three, repeat, fyc. Eighth row, rib nine, knit two, rib two together, knit two, repeat, fyc. Ninth row, rib two, cast over one, cast over, rib two, knit one, knit two together, rib one, knit five, repeat, fyc. Tenth row, rib four, knit one, rib two together, rib one, knit two, rib three, knit two, repeat, fyc. Eleventh row, rib two, knit one, cast over, knit one, cast over, knit one, rib two, knit one, knit two together, rib one, knit three, repeat, fyc. Twelfth row, rib two, knit one, rib two to- gether, rib one, knit two, rib five, knit two, repeat, fyc. 88 NETTING, CROCHET, Thirteenth row, rib two, knit two, cast over, knit one* cast over, knit two, rib two, knit one, knit two together, knit two, repeat, fyc. Fourteenth row, rib one, rib two together, rib one, knit two, rib seven, knit two, repeat, fyc. Fifteenth row, rib two, knit three, cast over, knit one, cast over, knit three, rib two, knit one, knit two to- gether, repeat, fyc. Sixteenth row, rib two together, knit two, rib nine, knit, repeat to the end of the row. This pattern is very pretty, if done round for bags, purses, &c ; and open for comforters or sofa tidies, cushions, covers, &c. A pretty Ruff for the Neck. If wanted of a middling size, cast on eighty stitches, using either fine fleecy or German wool, two colours, or white and blue, &c, and No. 15 or 16 needles. Cast on eighty stitches with the white, do one plain row, then join the coloured wool, and rib and knit, alternately, seven blue rows ; then with the white rib and knit five rows ; doing this will form alternate ridges of blue and white. You must have in the whole seven blue ridges of seven rows each, and six white ridges of five rows each. Draw the stitches together at each end, attaching to each end a cord and tassel, or ribbon if preferred, to tie the ruff. Ladies' Carriage Boots. Made with four-thread fleecy, and No, 13 or 14 needles. Set on twenty- seven stitches, add one, and knit eight stitches, back again to the end ; return and KNITTING^ AND EMBROIDERY. 89 knit the entire row, adding one at the end, knit back eight stitches and return, then do the whole back row, returning to where you began. Now add one stitch at each end, and two plain rows, till you have thirty-nine stitches ; in the next row (a back one) begin the pattern for the centre, taking for this eleven stitches, (feather stitch looks well in the middle) ; go on adding as before at each end, and two plain rows, till you have seventeen stitches each side, which, with the eleven in the centre, will give you forty-five ; then do fourteen rows without any more increase : now omit doing double stitches in the feather-stitch centre, these stitches being taken single will give you thirteen stitches instead of eleven ; now do fourteen more plain rows ; then take off the first seven- teen stitches, for one side and heel ; do twenty- eight plain rows, and then decrease every other row till you have only twelve left : cast off. Do the last seventeen stitches exactly the same for the other side and heel. For the ankle, take up twenty-one loops each side, which with the thirteen centre stitches, will give you fifty- five ; knit the ankle in any stitches you prefer with four needles. Having closed your knitting behind, make the boots as high as you wish, and cast off. Babies' Boots are to be made on exactly the same plan and principle, only lessening the number of stitches at the beginning, and in the same proportion in every other part. About twenty-one stitches is a good number to begin with : 90 NETTING, CROCHET, these take more stitches in proportion, because the wool used, and the needles employed, are all much finer. Rurr for the Neck — large size. Bone with two-thread fleecy, or double German wool, and No. 11 or 12 needles. Set on fifty-six stitches, do eight rows : add one on every sixth stitch to sixty-seven and three plain rows ; add one on every third stitch to ninety-two, and five plain rows ; add one on every sixth stitch to one hundred and nine stitches, and one plain row ; add one on every sixth to one hundred and thirty stitches, and two plain rows ; now do some fancy stitches (feather-stitches, or German-wire stitches look well) for eighteen rows ; then one plain front row, one row of holes, and one plain row again, and cast off; do a similar piece, join them together, and run a ribbon through the holes. This is a comfortable ruff, washes well, and looks well for children. Berlin Boa. Set on seventy stitches, they must be cast on nearly one inch apart ; knit and rib, alternately, ten rows, the knitted rows must be taken underneath ; then turn your work, which is done by knitting two rows in succession ; do ten rows as at first, turn again and do ten more, turn again and do ten more, and turn once more and knit and rib ten rows more. Cast off very loosely, and draw up the end, to which put a tassel. This forms a pretty ruff for the neck, setting on only KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY. 91 about eighteen inches, drawing up the end with a cord or ribbon to tie. Bustle. Four or six-thread fleecy, and No. 10 or 11 needles. Set on eighty stitches, knit and rib alternately nine rows, the last row being knitted ; knit the next also, and do another ridge of nine rows ; go on doing these ridges till you have a piece as deep as you wish to have the bustle ; cast off, do another piece just two ridges less deep than the first, do a third piece one ridge less deep than the last ; take up the loops of these three pieces and knit them together ; knit two or three plain rows, then a row of holes to run in a ribbon, and knit two or three more plain rows, and cast off. Deep Cuffs to weak, over the Dress for walking out. Two-thread fleecy, No. 9 or 10 needles : four needles are required. Set on forty-eight stitches, rib twelve rows to form a ring at the top, then do three plain knitted rows, one ribbed, one knitted, one row of holes, one plain, one ribbed, and one plain row, then do any fancy stitch you like. Berlin Wire Stitch looks well done thus : knit one stitch, knit two together, and cast over, the next round plain. After you have done about two inches in length decrease one stitch every third round till you have only thirty-eight left for the hand, make it as long as you like (not less than a quarter of a yard) then finish with the plain and ribbed rounds, the 92 NETTING, CROCHET, holes and plain rounds as at first, and rib about two rounds to form a ring round the hand ; run a ribbon at each end where you have made the holes. Child's Spencer, rather large size. Two or three-thread fleecy, No. 14 needles, or 15. Set on one hundred and forty-one stitches to three plain rows, rib two, make a row of holes, rib two rows, and do another plain row ; then add one stitch on the twentieth stitch from the middle on each side, and three plain rows, till you have increased ten stitches ; then take off on a third needle thirty-four stitches for one side of the back, knit backwards and forwards, leaving two stitches unknitted, every other row twice ; then de- crease one stitch, and knit three plain rows, till you have only twenty- seven stitches ; knit twelve plain rows and decrease again one stitch, and do three plain rows to twenty-three stitches, then decrease and do only two plain rows to twenty-one ; then decrease, and do only one plain row to eighteen stitches. This forms one side of the back ; do the last thirty- four stitches the same for the other half of the back. Now you have the middle 95 stitches, do three plain rows, then decrease oue stitch at each end, and one plain row to sixty-nine stitches ; then take twenty stitches for one shoulder, do six rows plain, then decrease at the neck end, and add at the other end, knitting three plain rows between, about six times ; now add only, and do five plain rows ; repeat this three times, and cast off. Do the last twenty stitches exactly the same for the other shoulder. KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY. 93 Now you have the twenty-nine middle stitches left on your needle, aft^r joining the shoulder-pieces just done to the back already knitted ; you will have the eighteen stitches of each back, the twenty-nine in the middle, and you must take up the loops all along the top of the shoulder ; put all these stitches on one needle and knit two plain rows, rib two, make a row of holes, rib two rows, knit one row, and cast off: run a ribbon in the row of holes at the neck, and also round the waist. Spencer Sleeve. Set on twenty-four stitches, add one stitch at each end of every row, till you have seventy stitches, do twenty- six plain rows ; now join with four needles, decrease one stitch in every sixth, which will give you about fifty-four stitches ; then rib in twos about two and a half inches long, and add a cuff to turn up round the wrist, of some fancy stitch. Gentleman's Bosom Friend. Three or four- thread fleecy, No. 9 needles. Set on one hundred and thirty stitches, knit four plain rows ; always knit three or four plain stitches at each end of each row, and knit the others in double knitting ; or if this is thought too thick, knit it in brace-stitch till you have about twelve inches in length ; then cast on forty more stitches on one side, and knit the whole in alter- nate ribbed and plain knitting, two stitches and two stitches for twenty rows ; finish with two plain rows, 94 NETTING, CROCHET, ETC. and sew one end of this band to the other : the narrow piece is to go at the back of the neck, and the double knitting is to cover the chest. N.B. The narrow part being ribbed is very elastic, and will pass easily over the head, and fit pleasantly to the throat. Shawl Fringe. Hang on fourteen stitches, knit nine plain, put the worsted twice round the pin, pearl two together, hang the fringe on the right hand pin, and put the knitting worsted over it (as it was left in front after pearling, put it back again), knit one, bring the fringe forward, knit again, put the fringe back, then knit the last stitch. In returning knit three, which brings you to the fringe stitch, pearl it, and also the next, slip the worsted off the pin that you put round twice, and knit the remainder. EMBROIDERY, Or as it is more often called Berlin Wool Work, has been brought to such a high state of perfection — the works written upon the subject so numerous— the variety of patterns so great, and so well adapted to every purpose to which it can be applied — that we do not hope here to be able to throw much new light upon the subject. There will be found, how- ever, some new patterns and instructions for kinds of work which, in consequence of their novelty, elegance, and facility of execution, have to some extent superseded the Berlin prints. The first of these is Coloured Drawings upon Canvas, which answers extremely well for scrolls in a bold cha- racter where few colours are introduced, as in the Plate No. XVII. The advantage of them is, that they are quickly done, and with little trouble, as the worker is saved all reference to the paper pat- tern, and counting the stitches, which to inexpe- rienced hands is difficult and tedious. The next, and certainly one of the best additions to the cata- logue of Fancy Works, which serve to charm and amuse the minds of those ladies whose hours must be usefully as well as pleasantly occupied, and i)6 NETTING, CROCHET, which give the finishing touches to the elegant furniture of their drawing rooms, is the kind of work illustrated in Plate No. XVIII. In this drawing, the coloured stripes represent the cross stitch and the black stripes the velvet, which is laid on after the stripes of needlework, are finished. The advantage of this style of work is, that it saves about one third of the labour required by the ordinary patterns, while the effect produced is much more beautiful ; as it throws up the needle work better than the usual ground. We shall now proceed to what may be technically termed the Business of the Art, and hope by a careful analysis of the various Stitches, to render them easily practicable to the least experienced, 1. Tent Stitch. This is worked by passing the wool over one thread the cross way, and should be ^ : v^y done in a frame. In grounding, perform the work the bias way of the canvas, and work from left to right. Plate XVII. The accompanying pattern is scarcely sufficient to give an idea of this beautiful style of work, it forming but a small section of a much larger one, Plate XVII. Plate XVIII. KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY. 97 but it is hoped it will be sufficient to render the kind of work intelligible. In the first place sketch the black outline nearest to the white, with . single bright yellow wool, not crossing the stitches. You will require two shades of each colour used in the pattern. The painting on the canvas will shew how far the dark shade should extend. The remain- ing portion of the pattern has to be filled up with the lighter ones. The parts which are uncoloured are to be worked in white wool. The pattern is by these means completed, with the exception of covering the yellow wool with yellow silk. Plate XVIII. The pattern illustrated in this Plate may be ex- tended to any size. The yellow outlines are first worked in wool, and the remaining portions also, though in colours, according to those given in the pattern. The pattern being so far completed, you must then work over the yellow wool with yellow silk. The velvet should afterwards be placed on between the straight rows of yellow silk, and fixed at each of the edges. The above instructions it is hoped will be found sufficient to give the reader, or rather worker, the necessary clue to this rich and elegant description of work. F 98 NETTING, CROCHET, TTT 1 SB IS 2. Cross Stitch. Let the wool be put across two threads in a slanting direction, from right to left ; bring the needle up again two threads below where it was inserted in a straight line, then cross it over two threads in a slanting direction, from left to right ; this completes the stitch. 3. Straight Cross Stitch. i This stitch is the same as Cross Stitch, but is worked the straight way of the canvas ; and although on coarse canvas, has a very pleasing and finished appearance. 4. Windsor Stitch. Pass the wool over six threads straight, and six threads down, which will present a square when the second row is completed. The pattern A-la-Vandyck may be rendered very beautiful by a judicious choice of colours, and of gold and steel beads, forming central points in particular shades. In making Bags, a tasteful border should be added. !"!'!'(Tn ;-: ?| if! rrj-rj ' ' - " " T? IlZZlt-- -- t lZZl~!-~-ZZ II_- ~-i-- 2:i_3E:::::::::~:":"'":_:'"_::t_ ::::gc:: ;::::::::::::-:::::: x~ ::::!( p:::?|:::::-^:r— :tn 7'l"lF""l"I " ~"i-|- ♦I__3 L__ _LI ■___ X t- '-J* i_ . r 1 1 ... 1 1 -l t »iiiiiiii»Miiiii l s;s;sr ra ..^iii] "'iH+ftrn'tf-i+r-^ 5§i"I« !!!ii!| 'Si??!' |§ ====! !?*"":!" 11 ' ' ■• i H k 1 IV J In I ■ I ' L ' ]■ H--NW +H44 --U- 7 Hfhh-H, u t i ..liiiJL. M±U -44--. 4-1_ll.il n-T-HrliTf- Ti m *-H-r ■ttHrt- Hr KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY 99 D. ■■■■■ram HIRHB immiaiia ■iiaiiaiiaM n 14 II ■ 1 II H II 11 II 111" ■iiai m\ mm i»l III! ■■ami 1! in mi !■■■■ ■ 111 in •■■i! ■ ■ IB !■■■■ n ■ *■ !■■■* in Pavilion Stitch. Four threads having been taken straight down, bring the needle down one thread; after that take two threads, then four, as before, and finish the row. Commence the second row with a stitch in two threads, then take four, and so proceed. Gold beads tastefully introduced have a very pretty effect. 6. Josephine Stitch. This is a very pretty stitch for Bags with gold or silver braid, and is executed in stripes from the bottom to the top. Take six threads straight, and proceed to the end of the row ; after which, take three lengths of braid, and work one of them in Cross Stitch, diamond style. 7. Berlin Stitch. Work this stitch in a scollop, taking six threads straight down. Much of the beauty of it depends upon the contrast of colour (having an eye to harmony) in the threads. The effect should be ascertained before beginning to work. 100 NETTING^ CROCHET, 8. Czar Stitch. We have heard this called Economic Stitch. It is worked over from six or eight threads in depth and two in width, crossed from right to left. Gold thread should be interposed between each row. 7~ U\ Tg J 9. Irish Stitch. Four, six, or eight threads are to be taken straight, two threadsbeing left be- tween. The second row is to be begun four threads up,between the two threads left on the former row ; and in work- ing the third row, take care that the stitches meet the first row. This is a valuable stitch, easily worked into a variety of pretty forms. ffiffi HI 1 lUUUI II II lUUUI I II I i ii ii Innni ii ii innni 1th ( ULL.I II II lUUUI II it iuuu mm 10. Willow Stitch. This is sometimes called Basket Stitch, and is effected by placing the needle straight down six threads. l|j As you finish the sixth stitch, take out the needle at the third thread, and cross it over the centre. On doing other six stitches, cross over in the same manner, and so on. It is indifferent what colours are chosen. UUUI II II IU nnns w u inn. „ f II II lUUUI II II lUUUI II II iiiiiinnnniuinnn I II II lUUUI II h lUUUI 11 1 II It !■■■! II II I 'JUUmAHUUIJ knitting, and embroidery. 101 11. Long Plait. Begin by taking twelve threads straight ; work six stitches, slip the needle down- ward half-way, and then begin another stitch. If striped with gold or silver thread at intervals, where the stitches meet, the effect is very striking. 12. Feather Stitch. This is done over twelve threads, from left to right, in the same way as Tent Stitch, the next row being turned so as to represent the semblance of a feather. The centre is usually stitched up with gold, silver, or silk thread. 13. Stitch a la Vandyck. Twelve threads are taken across, and reduced two threads each stitch, till the width agrees with the required depth. ~s§ - z£ '1 vSiT * vL- 'I sNl ' ^ >l £&!<£ H^Mi £&,£ 9 *>U fcs?i? 'I^SI rg / ' sS V ^- - 102 NETTING, CROCHET, 14. Point Stitch. Ten threads must be taken straight down the canvas, and as many in the next stitch opposite. 15. Square Plait. The lengthway of the canvas take ten threads deep, and work ten stitches straight ; then work ten threads the width of the canvas, and so continue. For the full display of this stitch, bright colours should be placed in opposition. rei : -Q+ot S/DJ? 16. Gobelin Stitch. Take two threads in height, and one in width. This stitch formed over Card or Straw placed between two threads of the canvas, has a very pretty effect. Shades of the same co- lour in Vandykes, whether dark blue and gold, scarlet and green, azure and lilac, &c. have a charming effect in bags of different colours. KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY. 103 17 ■■■■■« \w 'sss .sc*?mnn ■ ■■■■ \ r S t •XV WOWYM ■ :sk ^S^^s nwryj> WSJ uwhSc vSSSS wuu iS?* ■fc.v<. ■nrs d'A'A'A'S. A Y/YA 1 1 j ' i 1 1 ' H 1 "i ! I . .1.1 -1-1 J_l. 1 I with silk. Perspective Stitch. Twelve threads having been counted the cross way, take the needle out with two threads at the top; proceeding after this fashion to take seven stitches and five stitches, finishing with any appropriate colour, and filling in 18. A Star. Six threads must be taken four oppo- site ways, and after that four stitches between a bead in the centre of each. The stars should be judiciously varied in colour, and worked in silk canvas. 19. Velvet Stitch. Three straight rows are to be worked down- wards of Cross Stitch, leaving four threads. Three rows more of Cross Stitch are then to be ex- ecuted ; and so proceed till it is finished. Over the space that is left, work (over strips of card board) with four threads, Economic Stitch double crossed at each end, and cut down the centre with a pen-knife. This has the effect of velvet in lines, and is very elegant. 104 NETTING, CROCHET, 20. Serpentine Stitch. This is sometimes called Spiral Stitch, and is executed by taking five threads straight; after that, five stitches on two ascending threads ; then one stitch one nine ascending threads, and five as before. In descendipg, take five stitches on two threads, one stitch on nine, five on two ascending, five descending, and so on to the end. The fifth stitch is the top stitch of each row. 21. Double Star. Stitch on two threads, cross- way, twenty-two stitches square, on silk canvas. Taking eight threads each way, commence the star in the centre. Bright colours are desirable, with a brilliant centre of silver, gold, or steel beads. 22. Crossed long Stitch. j--4tH-t"TT "ttti j^iiilB lllll j thread, cross throughout the pattern. Ten or twelve threads deep must be taken, and worked to the re- quired width of canvas. Con- tinue the next row in the same manner, and with gold or silver every eight or twelve stitches KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY. 105 The introduction of gold and silver thread has a surprisingly beautiful effect, provided the sub- strata of colour are such as to give it relief. Gold contrasts well with green ; silver, with blue and purple. The more vivid tints may be ap- proximated by the shades of colour introduced between them. 23. Fancy Stitch. Over any number of threads take five stitches, reverse the canvas, and work other five to meet them ; which leaves a space of canvas of diamond form, where rich coloured silk can be taste- fully filled in. KS3& 24. Lace Stitch. This is one of the most beauti- ful in the whole range of stitches, and is commonly executed in black Chantilly silk, both in Cross Stitch and in Straight Stitch, so as to arrive at a sort of dice pattern, and the edge is finished with wool in Cross Stitch. A resemblance to a pearl edge is given by taking two threads straight beyond the pattern. ■+- :::j "mm , 1 llil'M ' 1 1 1 1 L 1 JJlUM Mr - - Hit lilt IT 4 ill ill 1 1 1 i 1 I 106 netting, crochet^ 25. Princess Stitch. » You must begin with two threads, and increase two each way till four- teen threads are covered ; after which commence again on two threads, and increase to fourteen as before. A variety of colour should be alternately used. 26. HOHENLINDEN STITCH. Begin by taking eight threads down the canvas, and increase the stitches one thread each way up to twelve threads ; after which decrease to eight. Proceed thus : the second row being commenced with twelve threads which meet the long stitch in the first row. After this, the diamond space which remains must be worked in gold-coloured silk, in an opposite direction to the first row. To a German Princess, as remarkable for her beauty as for those amiable traits which captivated one of the bravest and most accomplished men of his day, we must refer the invention of this stitch. 27. Cane Pattern. Ten threads being taken across the canvas, leave one thread between each stitch to the end of the row. After this take four rows of Irish Stitch down the canvas in shaded colours, which may be varied throughout. fr mrm t KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY, 107 The rapidity with which this stitch can be worked, and the finish and neatness of its ge- neral effect, render it one of the most useful em- ployed. Its narrowness is suggestive of that kind of bordering which would interfere least with the bolder and more massive character of subjects forming the central portions of the work. 28. Sutherland Stitch, This Stitch has a very charming effect worked as plate, with beads in the spaces worked with gold or silver thread. Having taken twelve threads the width of your canvas, reduce a stitch one thread each way for six rows, the last being on one thread. Proceed thus, executing the next row in the same manner, the stitch being the long way of the canvas. Rsr.iiiiiir.sssffisniiiiiiPiass ■■i ii ij ini mi ■ fisni ii i! 1 if « m i A it ii ii it it inn n ii nuii ii.ii i ■ i n 1 1 ii n (■■nam 1 1 1 29. Darmstadt Pattern. Take one stitch straight over two threads, increasing two threads each way until six threads are covered : the needle must be taken out at the centre of the 108 NETTING, CROCHET, last stitch. Now take four threads, increase to six — decrease — form a diamond ; and work up the space in its centre with silver or gold thread, or steel beads. Tt is scarcely possible to form a conception of the effect produced by this pattern when the colours are skilfully selected, unless it be seen on a larger scale. 30. Palace Pattern. For this very pretty pattern, one stitch must be taken over two threads, the long way of the canvas, one thread being increased each way until eight threads are crossed, — then de- crease to two threads. Proceed in the same way for the next diamond, filling in the spaces with silk in bright colours. This is one of those designs which never wearies the eye, possessing within itself great variety of outline ; and so natural is its arrangement, that notwithstanding the angularity of its character, it never offends by the obtrusiveness of one portion over another. 31. Plaid Patterns. These should be worked in Cross Stitch, and may be copied from ribbons, or the new Berlin §§j|!|::j mmW Ww !l||l!|jJH ■1"|p KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY. 109 Patterns of the various Clan Plaids, which look extremely elegant, and are very correct. 32. Diamonds. Two threads are taken across the canvas, increasing one each way to fourteen, and decreasing similarly, so progressing through- out. For the next row two threads are to be taken down the canvas, increas- ing and decreasing alternately. Finish with steel, silver, or gold beads, or all three. Applique, and Braid Work. As this does not exactly come under any pre- ceding head, we will here give a brief account of it. The principle of Applique is that of placing^satin, velvet, or cloth, upon a foundation, and tacking them down — in a similar manner to Braiding. The patterns may be cut out in paper. The edges and fibres of leaves, flowers, &c. are to be braided, and the centres to be worked with purse-silk. Work the centres of flowers with French knots ; in order to effect which, the silk must be twisted round the needle. 110 netting, crochet, Grounding. Begin from the centre and work downwards, and you will thus avoid soiling the wool. In Cross Stitch work one way, and afterwards cross back. To prevent fastenings of wool from coming to- gether, leave off before you come to the fastenings of the row preceding. Take short needlesful of wool for light grounds, so as to preserve the colour free from soil. Draw the ends through, as you con- clude, on the wrong side, and cut them close off. In grounding in Tent Stitch on a dark ground, work straight across from right to left. Tent Stitch in single wool must not have more than fourteen threads canvas to the inch : Cross Stitch, twenty threads. General Instructions. When coarse canvas is chosen for working in Cross Stitch with double wool, it should be of eighteen threads or more to the inch. On ten- thread canvas, the pattern should be worked in single wool in Cross Stitch on one thread. Let the grounding be in Cross Stitch, on two threads. Silk canvas requires no grounding, and should be worked in Tent Stitch. In working Drawings on canvas, begin with the KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY. Ill dark shades, commencing with the darker portion of the flower or leaf. Soften these in the various shades, as in the original pattern. Silk should be introduced last for the lightest shades in the pat- tern. Landscapes require much care, particularly in the feathery character of trees, which should be varied in tint, and in depth or lightness. Avoid, by all means, the conventional bright green and blue patterns of many of the modern school, which resemble nothing in nature ; choose, on the contrary, those patterns which have the most ju- dicious admixture of colour, such as an artist would employ in a Water-Colour Painting — making, of course, some allowance for the greater force in the fore-ground which Berlin Work admits of. A sunset has a very beautiful effect, but it requires much skill to soften the hues from glowing red to pink, a greenish hue, purple, and deep blue. In figures, it is desirable to execute the face and hands in Tent Stitch, and the hair and drapery in Cross Stitch. A mixture of silk and wool adds to the effect by the greater brilliancy of the former. Silk is also appropriate for armorial bearings, to which it gives great relief, more particularly if the parts immediately surrounding the shield be done in worsted. 112 NETTING^ CROCHET^ The Movable Mesh Knife.* The invention represented has been introduced by a clever French artist who has devoted much time and atten- tion to the subject. It will be found to meet all the difficulties hitherto experienced in finish- ing Raised Work ; and we have no doubt will, by its facility of use, bring this beautiful species of Needlework into as much request as any other branch of the Art. Fig. 1 represents the Knife detached from the Mesh. Fig. 2 shews the Mesh with the Knife fitted into it; the knife being fastened on by a slit at each end of it, and also by a tooth in the centre, which drops into a corresponding notch in the Mesh. When the Mesh is full, the Knife is attached and the needle drawn through ; thus dividing the loop * The Mesh Knife, which has been registered, may be seen in use at No. 2, Upper Baker Street, Portman Square. KNITTING, AND EMBROIDERY, 113 with so beautifully even an edge, that the Raised Work requires neither combing nor trimming. The superiority of the newly invented Mesh Knife to the one formerly in use consists in the safety with w T hich it may be handled, there being no necessity to affix the knife until after the mesh is full ; whereas, by the former method, the knife being inseparable from the mesh, occasioned the continual risk of cutting the fingers. Many there are who complain of the difficulty of what is called Raised Work ; but this may be overcome in a great measure by working from Berlin patterns. It will be necessary to thread the same number of needles that you have shades in your pattern. Having taken two meshes, the pattern must be begun in the Gobelin Stitch over them, and worked across, bringing the needles through on the right side : do not take out a mesh until you have finished the next row across ; and so continue the work, — cutting across each row, and trimming the flower, &c. to its appropriate shape. For animals, you must have meshes of different widths. In silk work, that called " floss" is decidedly to be preferred when there is any complication of colours ; and the material to be worked upon may be velvet, cloth, &c. This must be framed, and the pattern carefully drawn. A very pretty effect is produced by working one 114 NETTING^ CROCHET, ETC. shade partly over another. In arabesque work, with gold twist for the edges, a greater degree of abruptness in the shades is admissible. Be careful to keep all Chenille work from pressure : in working it, take not too much in the needle at a time, and work as smoothly as possible, more particularly when the material on which you work is velvet. In Braid Work take only one stitch in the needle at once, and vein the leaves with twist. Embroidery in Wool should be shaded in the same manner as silk ; and the work should be preserved in a very even state, by bringing out the wool on the right side close to where it was passed. This kind of work must be ultimately damped and pressed. In Raised Embroidery the centre of the object must be worked much more thickly than the edges : there should be a mixture of Flat and Raised Embroideiy in the same piece of work. THE END. G. NORMAN, PRINTER, MAIDEN LANE, COVENT GARDEN. / NK9100 .S86 1847 sw^ Stone, ElizabethfThe illuminated book of 3 1962 00079 0406