66 encouragement and observing the effect it | He proceeds to suffer peculiar qualms about has upon him? Then the lover begins to those too positive assertions which he so assume those airs of special proprietorship innocently scribbled on note-paper and which appertain only to the husband; and posted to Sylvia. Perhaps he wonders if from the manner in which he comports him- she burnt them; and feels uncomfortable self in this new character the young lady on remembering how often she has talked may judge of what his developed conduct is of the exceeding care with which she hoards likely to be. If the prospect is not very every specimen of his beloved penmanship. enticing, she drops " her suitor; there is There are now two courses open to him. a bitter little quarrel, much denunciation, If he fulfils his written and spoken vows, she earns some experience, and the reputa- he must marry a woman whom he would tion, among illogical persons, of being a rather not marry; and such a marriage is dangerous flirt. This is a very pretty the- not likely to be productive of extraordinary ory indeed; only we do not see why it happiness. If, on the other hand, he reshould not work both ways. Why should solves to withdraw from the society of Sylnot male flirts have the same excuse offered via, that gentle creature is down upon him for them? The women of the present day, with a lawyer's letter, giving him notice far more than the men, cultivate a polished of an intended action. Alas! for the poor reticence, a graceful reserve, and apparent suitor. Those tender epistles which he indifference which almost defy an inquiry wrote in the gushing fulness of his affection into their real nature. But a man who en- are now read to a tittering court; they are gages in a little preparatory experimental put in a prominent position in the newslove-making with several young persons at papers by the inhuman sub-editors; they once, or in succession, is hooted and scorned. furnish food for godless levity in smart leadWe accord to our women the right of play- ing articles. Then the damages. Impertiing a little with the various offers held out to nent inquiries are made as to his income, them; but we expect that our young men his position in society, and what not; and, should go straight ahead, like a blinded while he is perhaps at bitter feud with his horse, and run his nose against the first tailor and jeweller, two or three years' inperson who comes in his way. He has no come is demanded from him in order to solbusiness to look to the right hand nor to ace the wounded spirits of Sylvia. He the left. Society expects him to make up gains experience, doubtless, but he has to his mind in the privacy of his own chamber, pay for it. Sylvia's friends look upon him and then come out and meet his doom like as a traitor and a villain; his own friends His business is not to consider, but regard him compassionately as a fool; he to marry. Let him be thankful for what he is made the butt of public ridicule; and has gets, and discover the character of his wife to yield up a larger sum of money, perhaps, in the impartial time which succeeds to the than he ever possessed at any one time in first blush of marriage. his life. Persons have been known to inNo mortal man, however, was ever able cur these penalties more than once in their to accommodate his life to a theory; and so career; but such cases are rare, and point we find men continually making those ex- to some congenital defect of intellect. Inperiments which are supposed to be the ex-deed, the wretched and imbecile figure cut clusive right of women. Unfortunately, by a man who is prosecuted for breach of also, they sometimes go a little too far; promise of marriage is almost enough to and not only in withdrawing incur the rep- deter all other men from ever writing to a robation of society, but also put themselves woman under any circumstances whatever. within the reach of the law. Perhaps the The legal penalty is nothing to the ridicule suitor is at first quite charmed with his which he incurs. Perhaps the unholy delight choice. He forgets those prudent maxims which every reader of a newspaper experiwhich the wisdom of previous generations ences on meeting with the publication in a has handed down to him. There is nothing law court of a series of love-letters, is in all the earth to compare with his Sylvia; partly due to his inward consciousness that and he does not mind in what form he utters he, too, has written as absurd rubbish, but the opinion. The mischief happens when he puts his opinion on paper, and records his unalterable intention of making Sylvia his wife. By-and-by he discovers certain flaws in Sylvia's temper, or family connections, or individual history, of which he was previously ignorant. He begins to reflect; and the affianced lover who hesitates is lost. a man. was too prudent or lucky to do so pro bono publico. The moral glaringly pointed out by all such cases is the intelligible one of caution on the part of the suitor. He ought to conduct his experimental research into the fair one's character without putting his first hasty estimate upon letter-paper. It does not at all follow that Sylvia looks merely to the acquisition of a certain sum of money when she institutes a suit against him on account of his faithlessness. If such be her character, he deserves to be mulcted in heavy damages for not having discovered it in time. It is far more likely that anger and resentment caused by the gross insult of his desertion are the moving causes. Perhaps he has already begun to pay attention to some other young person -or has even had time to marry her; in which case no one can wonder at any act of vengeance proceeding from the forsaken Sylvia. It must be remembered, also, that it may be pure fickleness and inconstancy on the part of the suitor, and not his further experience of Sylvia's temper, which produces the catastrophe; and in that case, he only pays smartly for an inherent weakness of character. Other cases occur in which the defendant has been entrapped into promising marriage by a scheming woman whose sole object is money. Then the best course for the unhappy victim is simply to say to this person Very well, I will marry you, as I said. I won't give you any money for the return of my letters. I won't hear of any compromise. If you wish, I will marry you; and I promise you I will make your marriage so 'hot' for you that you will wish yourself dead, or in Pentonville Prison as a happy relief." In the simpler case of a man being compelled to choose between 66 From Good Words. THE CHILD-MARTYR. "A noble instance of self-sacrifice was witnessed at Newcastle on Sunday (May 31). While four children were playing on the railway near the station, an engine and tender came up. One little fellow ran for the platform, and his example was followed by his elder sister. Looking back, however, she saw that the other two children were in imminent danger. She returned to them, and drew them to her side, between the rails and the platform. As the engine passed, the connecting-rod struck her down, and she died in a few moments. The children she had so nobly protected escaped almost unhurt. The name of this heroic little maiden was Margaret Wilson, daughter of a miner."-Daily News, June 3, 1868. FOUR children at their little play Three, babies; and one, Margaret, The sky is blue; the sun is bright; marrying a woman with a bad temper (the existence of which he discovered when too late) and incurring an action for breach of promise of marriage, one hardly knows which of the two evils is the greater. There is always this to be said on behalf of the action, that, while its immediate effects are very sore indeed, and bitter to be borne, they are got over in time; while an eviltempered wife sticks to you with the pertinacity of a devil-fish. If the petty torments of thirty years' living with such a woman be added up, they will form an amount of agony compared with which the shame and ridicule of an action for breach of promise are very little indeed. In either case, we heartily commiserate the victim. It is difficult to say how much of this punishment he deserves in respect of the want of prudence he has displayed; though it seems sufficiently hard that he only of the two persons concerned should suffer. The " damage done to her feelings," which the young lady's counsel invariably dilates upon, is a mild sort of evil when contrasted with the frightful consequences which must fall upon the defendant, whatever course he may pursue. A contemplative man, regarding such a prospect, will be disposed to think that in the list of evils from which we pray every Sunday morning to be delivered there should be included "an action for breach of promise of marriage." The dreadful weight of giant wheels The other two that were forgot, Between the rails and platform side, - My little heroine! though I ne'er Yet thy true heart, and loving faith, E. T. PALGRAVE, From The Quarterly Review. | Democracy has no doubt much to answer History of Lace. By Mrs. Bury Palliser. Needlework or embroidery was practised in the earliest times of which we have any Exodus as the great embroiderer in blue; record. Aholiab receives special notice in and of the mother of Nausicaa, Homer tells the web of Penelope needs no mention, us • Η μὲν ἐπ' ἐσχάρῃ ἦστο, σὺν ἀμφιπόλοισι γυναιξίν ήλάκατα στρωφῶσ ̓ ἁλιπόρφυρα. 6 LACE may to unthinking persons seem but a gossamer subject for history; and the fairy fabric has indeed had a gossamer fate, having been unceasingly tossed up and down in the gusts and storms of political passion and religious revolution; yet trifles light as air acquire historically a grave significance, just as the foam of the sea may mark the track of a leviathan. Lace indeed exercises no longer the great empire which it once possessed, either over the In the middle ages no queen or lady of a male or female mind, and its loss of the great chief of feudalism disdained to train allegiance of one of the sexes appears to up her daughters in the dexterous use of be complete; so Mrs. Palliser has very apt- the needle. But lace is a modern invention, ly undertaken the function of becoming the and comprises the three divisions of cutGibbon of the decline and fall of lace, at work, lace, and guipure. Cut-work, or least as regards the male portion of the open-work embroidery, was the parent of community. Lace appears now, alas! to lace. Lace is defined to be a plain or orbe permanently banished from the necks of namental network, wrought of threads of judges, bishops, and kings, and the cravats gold, silver, silk, flax, or cotton interwovof fops and heroes, and its use is monopo- en; as for defining guipure' the thing aplized by that half of the species who enjoy pears to be impossible, the feminine mind also the exclusive prerogative of wearing having fluctuated very considerably as to gay feathers and bright colours. A good the distinctive qualities to be demanded of many smart things have been said about a well constituted guipure.' In its early fashion, but it is yet to be desired that some writer may arise and perform for the Physiologie du Goût,' as applied to dress, the service which Brillat-Savarin rendered in respect of the arts of the table. A common psychological condition no doubt underlies the countless avatars of fashion, and the political, metaphysical, and æsthetic ideas of the day. It is important, however, that the subject should be not too lightly taken in hand, and by an investigator duly qualified. Some light surely would be thrown on human nature, on the course of events, and the difference of the sexes, if one could clearly understand why the female bonnet has dwindled, almost within the memory of man, from the size and shape of a colossal coal-scuttle to dimensions exceeded by the milliner's bill, while the male cylinder has altered but a few barleycorns in height or brim for the same period. As it is we say at present in vain Tell me, where is fashion' bred, And we are quite in the dark as to why the stage it was considered that it ought to be made of twisted silk and cartisane,' which latter was a little strip of vellum forming a raised pattern, but the nature of guipure has so changed that Mrs. Palliser herself asks in despair, How is the word now to be defined or circumscribed?' 6 The Italians, who invented forks, and who set the fashion for all Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, lay claim also to the invention of point or needlemade lace. Writers on lace are not, however, agreed as to whether the art of fine needlework is of Byzantine origin, and introduced into Italy by the Greeks of the Lower Empire, or whether it was learnt from the Saracens of Sicily, just as the Spaniards are said to have caught it from the Moors. Those who advocate the latter opinion rely on the fact that the verb for embroidery is of Moorish origin both in Italian and Spanish, Ricamare,' ‘Ricamar,' being the two forms of the word in question. Be this as it may, the lace fabric existed in Italy in the fifteenth century, as is proved by a document of the Sforza family, dated 1493. The Florentine poet, Firenzuola, who wrote between 1520 and 1530, composed an elegy upon a collar of laced point made by the fingers of his mistress: Questo collar scolpì la donna mia Di basso rilevar ch' Aracne mai The pictures also of Carpaccio and Bellini | declares that lace cornettes or caps were show evidence of the existence of white worn in that country as early as the fourlace or passament in 1500. teenth century. Pillow lace, at all events, Venice indeed, as in most other points was first made in the Low Countries. In a of fashion of that time, when all fine gen- side chapel of the choir of St. Peter's at tlemen thought it indispensable to have Louvain is an altar-piece by Quentin Mat'swum in a gondola,' took the lead. Ven- sys, of the date 1495, in which a girl is ice point, however, which must have formed an exasperating item for husbands among the expenses of a lady's toilette in the days of Queen Elizabeth, is manufactured no more. In Mrs. Palliser's book are to be found beautiful specimens of its rich texture, resembling elegantly carved marble or ivory, in patterns of a kaleidoscope and geometrical fashion, or of the elaborate tracery of the Renaissance period. Genoa also was famous for its point lace, and Saint Simon informs us that a certain Madame de Puissieux consumed Genoa point to the amount of 200,000 crowns (20,000l.) in one year, while Tallemant des Réaux, taking advantage of her reputation, says the same lady eat point coupe to an unlim ited extent. Spanish point was as famous in its day as that of Flanders or Italy. Thread lace was manufactured in Spain as early as 1492, for a lace alb in which the late Cardinal Wiseman once officiated, and valued at 10,000 crowns, is preserved in the Cathedral of Granada, memorable as being presented to the Church by Ferdinand and Isabella.* In the dissolution of the Spanish monasteries in 1830 an enormous quantity of Spanish point was thrown upon the market, the exquisite workmanship of nuns, who, regardless of time, would expend all the skill of their needles on vestments destined for pious uses. making lace with bobbins on a pillow similar to those of the present day. The lace manufacture of Flanders supported itself better amid the horrors of the atrocious religious persecutions of the Duke of Alva than any of the other noted fabrics of the Netherlands-the great cradle of modern industry. Every country in Northern Europe, France with the exception of Alençon, Germany, and England learned the art of lace-making from Flanders. For lace let Flanders bear away the belle,' says Sir Charles Hanbury Williams, and the line holds good still amid all the vicissitudes of commerce, and in spite of the close rivalry which now besets it in the Point d'Alençon. The government, however, took fright when the manufacture of Point de France was established by Colbert, and attracted numbers of lace-making emigrants to this country. An Act was passed, dated Brussels, in 1698, threatening with punishment all who should entice the lace-workers across the frontiers. Brussels lace, from the earliest days of the manufacture of the time, has, like the steel of Toledo, held a foremost reputation among its rivals. It has acquired the name of Point d'Angleterre, but this is a smuggled appellation. In 1662 the English Parliament, alarmed at the sums of money expended on foreign point, and desirous of The manufacture of silk lace or blonde protecting the English bone-lace manufacis now carried on principally at Almagro in ture, passed an Act prohibiting the imporLa Mancha, and occupies from 12,000 to tation of foreign lace. But the Court of 13,000 people. The principal article of Charles II., with its Buckinghams, Rochesmanufacture is, of course, the national ters, and its fine ladies like Lady Castle'mantilla,' which is held sacred by law, and maine, who wore the finest smocks and cannot be seized for debt. There are three linen petticoats laced with rich lace at the kinds of mantillas.' That of white blonde, bottom that ever Pepys saw,' so that it did suiting ill with the complexion of the olive-his heart' good to look at them,' must faced ladies of Spain, and only used on have its due supply of lace. Therefore the state occasions, birthdays, and bull-fights English lace-merchants first tried to set up on Easter Mondays. That of black blonde, manufactories of Brussels lace-workers in trimmed with deep lace, and the mantilla England; but failing in this through want de tiro,' for ordinary wear, made of black of the proper flax, they adopted the more silk trimmed with velvet. The black blonde simple expedient of buying up the choicest of Spain, however, does not equal that of laces of the Brussels mart and then smugChantilly. gling them over to England and selling them under the false title of Point d'An Flanders disputes with Italy the glory of the invention of lace. Baron Reiffenberg Catherine of Aragon, according to tradition, introduced the art of making lace into Bedfordshire during her sojourn at Ampthill in 1531-33. She was 6 a great adept in the arts of the needle. Until quite lately the lace-makers kept Cattern's-day' as the holiday of their craft, in memory of the good Queen Catherine. gleterre,' or English point, as though of home manufacture. Of the rate at which lace was consumed at that day an idea may be formed by the account of the seizure of a smuggling ship with a cargo of 744,953 ells of lace, without reckoning handkerchiefs, collars, fichus, aprons, petticoats, fans, gloves, &c., all of the same material. The title Point de Bruxelles' then went out of fashion altogether, and Point d'Angleterre' took its place both in England and France. The best Brussels lace is made only in Brussels: The thread used in Brussels lace is of extraordinary fineness. It is made of flax grown at Brabant, at Hal, and Rebecq Rognon. The finest quality is spun in dark underground rooms, for contact with the dry air causes the thread to break; so fine is it as almost to escape the sight. The feel of the thread as it passes through the fingers is the surest guide. The thread-spinner closely examines every inch drawn from her distaff; and when any inequality occurs, stops her wheel to repair the mischief. Every artificial help is given to the eye. A background of dark paper is placed to throw out the thread, and the room so arranged as to admit one single ray of light upon the work. The life, of a Flemish thread-spinner is unhealthy, and her work requires the greatest skill; her wages are therefore proportionately high. "It is the fineness of the thread which renders the real Brussels ground called vrai réseau so costly. The difficulty of procuring this fine thread at any cost prevented the art being es tablished in other countries.' in Brussels lace, the bride and the réseau. Angleterre à bride,' however, was discontinued a century back. Brussels lace had, nevertheless, one great fault from being so much manipulated in the manufacture by the hands of the workers it acquired a reddish-yellow hue. In order to obviate this defect the workwoman powders the flowers, previously to sewing them on, with white lead. However, even a taste for discoloured lace was prevalent in the last century, and our grandmothers, when not satisfied as to the richness of discolouration, rewashed their lace in coffee.' followed the fashion of the day. The most The pattern of Brussels lace has always ancient examples of Brussels lace are in the Gothic style of ornament, and changed from this to the flowing artificial style of the last century; after passing through the ' genre fleuri, of the First Empire, the patterns of Brussels lace now follow nature and become every year more truly artistic. Mechlin lace, however, to which Napoleon compared the spire of Antwerp Cathedral, is the prettiest of laces, as Brussels is the most beautiful. Its distinguishing feature is the flat thread which forms the flower and gives the lace the character of embroidery, hence sometimes called 'broderie de Malines.' The manufacture of it, however, has long been on the decline. Mechlin is essentially a summer lace, being charming when worn over colour. It was in great favour in the last century. George I. wore Mechlin cravats. Of the beau of 1727, we read In 1787, Lord Gordon, a Scotch Lord of Session, who was seized with the passionRight Macklin must twist round his bosom and of the day for improving all sorts of British manufactures, writes: This day I bought you ruffles, and some beautiful Brussels lace, the most light and costly of manufactures. I had entertained, as I now suspect, a vain ambition to attempt the introduction of it into my humble parish in Scotland; but on inquiry I was discouraged. The thread is of so exquisite a fineness they cannot make it in this country. It is brought from Cambray and Valenciennes, in French Flanders; and five or six different artists are employed to form the nice part of this fabric, so that it is a complicated art which cannot be transplanted without a passion as strong as mine for manufactures, and a purse much stronger. At Brussels, from one pound of flax alone they can manufacture to the value of 7001. sterling.' wrists.' Swift writes Lady Wortley Montague writes of an incipient lover "With eager beat his Mechlin cravat moves, He loves, I whisper to myself, he loves.' We pass over the other Flemish towns to arrive at France, which has since the de After this, one may, with Mrs. Palliser, cline of Venice always set the fashion in quote Spenser's line dress, and now, in the opinion of some, rivals Brussels in lace-manufacture. 'More subtle web Arachne cannot spin.' After its first period of servile Italian imThere were formerly two kinds of ground | itation, which lasted up to the time of the |