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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Art of Needle-work, from the Earliest
+Ages, 3rd ed., by Elizabeth Stone
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Art of Needle-work, from the Earliest Ages, 3rd ed.
+ Including Some Notices of the Ancient Historical Tapestries
+
+Author: Elizabeth Stone
+
+Editor: Mary Margaret Stanley Egerton Wilton
+
+Release Date: March 20, 2010 [EBook #31714]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ART OF NEEDLE-WORK ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Julia Miller, Sam W. and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was
+produced from scanned images of public domain material
+from the Google Print project.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note
+
+Words in {curly brackets} were abbreviated in the original text, and
+have been expanded for this etext. Greek is indicated with plus
+symbols, +like this+.
+
+
+
+
+ THE ART
+ OF
+ NEEDLE-WORK,
+ FROM THE EARLIEST AGES;
+
+ INCLUDING
+ SOME NOTICES OF THE
+ ANCIENT HISTORICAL TAPESTRIES
+
+
+ EDITED BY
+ THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
+ THE COUNTESS OF WILTON.
+
+
+ "I WRITE THE NEEDLE'S PRAYSE."
+
+ _THIRD EDITION._
+
+
+ LONDON:
+ HENRY COLBURN, PUBLISHER,
+ GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET.
+ 1841.
+
+
+
+
+ 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'S 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 sounding 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 putting an end to this
+false _prestige_ in favour of the "Destructive" weapon, and as rapidly
+raising the "Conservative" one in public estimation; and the time
+seems at length arrived when that triumph of female ingenuity and
+industry, "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 together 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 furnishing 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 III.
+
+ 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
+
+ CHAPTER VII.
+
+ 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 XI.
+
+ Tapestry 148
+
+ CHAPTER XII.
+
+ Romances worked in Tapestry 165
+
+ 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
+
+ CHAPTER XVII.
+
+ 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 Tapisseries." 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 sente ancor la fama non 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 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 characteristics which are her most becoming ornament,
+those gentle occupations which are her best employment, find no record
+on pages whose chief aim and end is the blazoning of manly heroism, of
+royal disputations, 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 component 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 existed _four_ of whom the
+mundane qualifications entitled them to any degree of approbation.
+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 supporters. "Des hommes
+tres sages ont ecrit que la Nature, dont l'intention et le dessein est
+toujours de tendre a la perfection, ne produirait s'il etait possible,
+jamais que des hommes, et que quand il nait une femme c'est un monstre
+dans l'ordre de ses productions, ne expressement contre sa volonte:
+ils ajoutent, que, comme on voit naitre un homme aveugle, boiteux, ou
+avec quelqu'autre defaut nature; et comme on voit a certains arbres
+des fruits qui ne murissent jamais; ainsi l'on peut dire que la femme
+est un animal produit par accident et par le hasard."[1]
+
+Without touching upon this extreme assertion that woman is but "un
+monstre," an animal produced by chance, we may observe briefly, that
+women have ever, with some few exceptions,[2] been considered as a
+degraded and humiliated race, until the promulgation of the Christian
+religion elevated them in society: and that this distinction still
+exists is evident from the difference at this moment exhibited between
+the countries professing Mohammedanism and those professing
+Christianity.
+
+Still, though in our happy country it is now pretty generally allowed
+that women are "des creatures humaines," it is no new remark that they
+are comparatively lightly thought of by the "nobler" gender. This is
+absolutely the case even in those countries 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 "lords of the
+creation" take care that it shall be understood. Their own
+pursuits--public, are the theme of the historian--private, of the
+biographer; nay, the every-day circumstances of life--their
+dinners--their speeches--their toasts--and their _post coenam_
+eloquence, are noted down for immortality: 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 pilgrimage 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 content 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 enthusiastic efforts. They are the effect
+of a course, of a system of minor actions and of occupations,
+_individually_ 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 results.
+
+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 insignificant 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
+refreshed by 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-handkerchief 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 comforts of the other
+half.
+
+How sings our own especial Bard?--
+
+ "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."
+
+'Tis 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 habitually 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 wilderness, might be reduced
+to necessities; and in that noble and exalted instance of high
+principle referred to by Mr. Wesley,[3] 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 neckcloth
+neatly hemmed; his coat and waistcoat and trousers would have
+undergone the usual mysteries of shaping and seaming; his hat would be
+neatly bound round the edge; his stockings woven or knitted; his
+shoes soled and stitched and tied; neither 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 required "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 reminiscences 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 necessity 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 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, begemmed with
+brilliants, bedropped with gold, she reigned supreme in hall and
+palace; or in silken tissue girt she adorned the high-born maiden's
+bower what time the "deeds of knighthood" were "in solemn canto" 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 unfurled she pointed to the device which
+sent its message 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 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 familiar 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 remained, 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 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 NEEDLEWORK 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,
+
+ "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.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] 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 tres 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.--_Amsterdam, 1744._
+
+[2] As, for instance, the ancient Germans, and their offshoots, the
+Saxons, &c.
+
+[3] Southey's Life; vol. ii.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+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
+ Went 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 that she did use such an instrument; most
+probably--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 _needle_work, 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 tenacity 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 commencement--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, born."
+
+Why thorns should spring up at the precise moment 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.
+"Avant l'invention des aiguilles d'acier, on a du se servir, a leur
+defaut, d'epines, 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 were 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
+celebrated Captain Cook first visited them.
+
+Proceed we 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 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 consider 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 villages 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, bedchambers, bath, kitchen, and
+every other accommodation, 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.
+
+ "Both together went
+ Into the thickest wood; there soon they chose
+ The fig-tree; not that tree for fruit renown'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.
+
+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 superintends 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 paternal affection to
+please a darling child, was probably the simple and somewhat clumsy
+original of those which were afterwards embroidered and subsequently
+woven in various colours, and which came to be regarded as garments of
+dignity and appropriated 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 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 faltering
+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 questionings of the little group by
+whom she was surrounded; 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 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 longings, a mother's hopes are quenched in
+the full enjoyment 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, who
+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:
+ And after us, distressed,
+ Should fame be dumb,
+ Thy very tomb
+ Would cry out, Thou art blessed!"
+
+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 chameleon-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, inwrought 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.
+
+This "raiment" descended from father to son, as a chased goblet and a
+massy wrought urn does now; and was naturally and necessarily
+inventoried as a portion of the property. The practice of making
+presents of garments is still quite usual amongst the eastern 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 hundred turbans.
+
+Horace, speaking of Lucullus (who had pillaged Asia, and first
+introduced Asiatic[4] refinements among the Romans), says that, some
+persons having 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 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 Ahasueras.
+
+We all remember what important effects are produced by splendid robes
+in "The Tale of the Wonderful 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 explicitly: "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 directions given for the embroidery of
+the priests' garments: 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
+astonishing 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 Tabernacle testify.
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[4] 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.
+
+
+
+
+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 convent 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 Emperor 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 between 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 Israelitish host encamped there. Weary and toilsome had been the
+pilgrimage from the base of the mountain 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 uniformity 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 distinct.
+
+And in the midst, extending from east to west, a length of fifty-five
+feet, was reared the splendid Tabernacle. For God had said, "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
+bracelets, 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
+incense."
+
+And all these materials, which the "willing-hearted" offered in such
+abundance that proclamation 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 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 constructed, 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 draperies 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
+pomegranates; 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
+demeanour was forgotten when you looked on the surpassing benignity of
+his countenance. Each accidental passer hushed his footstep 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 naturally engage the moments of an
+intelligent multitude 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 politics--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 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, however 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
+auditors 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 beautiful daughter, and seems to incite her to remain
+there; now a hoary priest enters, and in a few moments returns
+pondering; and anon a trio of more youthful Levites with pleased and
+animated countenances 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 majestic lawgiver, the meekest and the mightiest of all created
+beings--he likewise wends his way to these attractive tents. With him
+enters Aaron, a venerable 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 springtime 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 inmates 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 garments" 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; 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,
+"_Needlework Sublime_."
+
+Long, despite the advancing shades of evening, would the visitors have
+lingered untired to comment upon this beautiful production, but one
+said, "Behold!" 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 increases, and even while the eye is fixed it waxes
+stronger and brighter, and quickly though gradually 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 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 communion with his God; but
+silence is over the wilderness, and the children of Israel are at
+rest.
+
+
+
+
+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 displayed 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
+Egyptians. 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 without testimony that the practice of the
+lighter and more ornamental bore progress with that of the stupendous
+and magnificent. Of these lighter pursuits we at present refer only to
+the art of needlework.
+
+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 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, however, 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 appellation.
+For example: so delicate were the threads used for nets, that some of
+these nets would pass through a man's 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 composed 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 attained 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 material, was worked with
+a needle in figures of animals 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 covering for the body,
+made of rich stuff, and richly embroidered 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 selected 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," he says, as proof of the gorgeousness of her attire, "her
+clothing is of wrought gold." This is supposed to mean a garment
+richly 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 Moeris, from whom the lake derived its name, and who was
+supposed to have made the canal, had arranged the sluices for the
+introduction of the water, and established everything connected with
+it, he assigned 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 L70,700 a year; and when this
+formed only a portion of the pin-money of the Egyptian queens, to whom
+the revenues 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 occupied 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 offerings 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 embroidered veils,
+handkerchiefs, &c., were then, as now, passing from one fair hand to
+another, as pledges of affection; and as the last holy office of love,
+the bereaved 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
+enshroud 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 embroidered 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, according 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, which
+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.
+
+ 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, "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.
+
+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 embroidered 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 interfere 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
+the lively sally would be interspersed with the graver details of
+thoughtful and reflective conversation, or would give some point to
+the dull routine of mere womanish chatter. It seems almost impossible
+to have lived amidst the stupendous magnificence 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 conversation; and the numerous
+subjects they proposed are shown to have been examined with great
+animation. Among these the question of dress was not forgotten, and
+the patterns or the value of trinkets were discussed with
+proportionate interest. The 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 preferred her own; and women of every class vied with
+each other in the display of '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 interesting volumes to
+quarrel with him for his ungallant exposition of a very simple
+painting; but we beg to place in juxta-position 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. 'Il 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 l'eloge 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 reve qui m'inquiete;' et il me raconta
+son reve. Ensuite il me dit pesamment que la ville fourmillait
+d'etrangers; que les hommes 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
+demande le quantieme du mois, il se leva pour aller souper avec sa
+femme."
+
+
+
+
+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, spinning, weaving,
+needlework, and embroidery, formed the chief occupation of those whose
+rank exonerated 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 privileged days. The ancient Greeks were very
+magnificent--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.
+Consequently and necessarily their women were thrown to greater
+distance, till it happened, naturally enough, that they seemed to form
+a distinct community; and apartments the most distant and secluded
+that the mansion afforded were usually assigned to them. Of these, in
+large establishments, certain ones were always appropriated to the
+labours of the needle.
+
+"Je ne dirai" (says the sarcastic author of Anacharsis) "qu'un mot sur
+l'education des filles. Suivant la difference des etats, elles
+apprennent a lire, ecrire, coudre, filer, preparer la laine dont on
+fait les vetemens, et veiller aux soins du menage. En general, les
+meres exhortent leurs filles a se conduire avec sagesse; mais elles
+insistent beaucoup plus sur la necessite de se tenir droites,
+d'effacer leurs epaules, de serrer leur sein avec un large ruban,
+d'etre extremement 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 throughout his
+whole work names a female, Greek or Trojan, but as connected naturally
+and indissolubly 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--
+
+ "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--
+
+ "Andromache, the while,
+ Knew nought, nor even by report had learn'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."
+
+Though "Penelope's web" is become a proverb, it would be unpardonable
+here to omit specific mention of it. Antinoues 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 roll'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 task of grief, his ornaments of death.
+ Lest, when the Fates his royal ashes claim,
+ The Grecian matrons taint my spotless fame:
+ When 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 simplicity of hue, until at length the triumphant
+general considered even the royal purple too unpretending, 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 writeth that within the temple of Sangus there
+continued unto the time that he wrote his booke the wooll that lady
+Tanaquil, otherwise 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 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 Rome to use their gownes of cloth shorne, as also with a
+curled nap.--As for those robes which are called crebrae and
+papaveratae, wrought thicke with floure worke, resembling poppies, 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 praetextae, were
+devised first by the Tuscanes. The Trabeae were 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 embroderers
+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 wearing 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; 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."[5]
+
+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 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. Gold thread 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 ornamental embellishments with which they were afterwards
+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 Etruscans presented a
+tunic of purple enriched with gold, and a mantle of purple and other
+colours, "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 innovations.
+
+We have referred in a former chapter to the practice of sending
+garments as presents, as marks of respect and friendship, or as
+propitiatory or deprecatory 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 examples in Homer.
+
+When Priam wishes to redeem the body of Hector, after preparing other
+propitiatory gifts,
+
+ "----he open'd wide the sculptur'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--
+
+ "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 of Ulysses:--
+
+ "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 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 _embroider'd vests_."
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ "Give to the stranger guest a stranger's dues:
+ Bring gold, a pledge of love; a talent bring,
+ A _vest_, a _robe_."
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ "--------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 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.[6]
+
+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 Massagetae, whom Herodotus
+relates painted animals on their garments with the juice of herbs; we
+also read of these garments (though then considered very antiquated)
+being used under the Caesars of Rome.
+
+They say that Alcisthenes the Sybarite had a garment of such
+magnificence that when he exhibited it in the Temple of Juno at
+Lacinium, where all Italy was congregated, it attracted universal
+attention. It was purchased from the Carthaginians, by Dionysius the
+elder, for 120 talents. It was twenty-two feet in breadth, of a purple
+ground, 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 weaving 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 huntsmen; and, in a word, everything that can be
+thought of, all drawn to the life: for it was necessary, 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 subjects 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 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 have sent thee a palmated garment, in which the name of
+our divine parent Constantine is interwoven."
+
+In allusion to these lettered garments Ausonius celebrates Sabina
+(textrice simul ac poetria), whose name thus lives when those of more
+important personages are forgotten:--
+
+ They who both webs 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.[7]
+
+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.[8]
+
+It is imagined that the embroidered vestments worn in Homer's time
+bore a strong resemblance to those now worn by the Moguls; and the
+custom of making presents, so discernible through his work, still
+prevails throughout Asia. It is not (says Sir James Forbes) so much
+the custom in India to present dresses ready made to the visitors as
+to offer the materials, especially to Europeans. In Turkey, Persia,
+and Arabia, it is generally the reverse. We find in Chardin that the
+kings of Persia had great wardrobes, where there were always many
+hundred habits, sorted, ready for presents, and that more than forty
+tailors were always employed in this service.
+
+It is not improbable that this ancient custom of presenting a visitor
+with a new dress as a token of welcome, a symbol of rejoicing at his
+presence, may have led to many of the general customs which have
+prevailed, and do still, of having new clothes at any season of joy or
+festivity. New clothes are thought by the people of the East
+_requisite_ for the due solemnization of a time of rejoicing. The
+Turks, even the poorest of them, would submit to any privation rather
+than be without new clothes at the Bairam or Great Festival. There is
+an anecdote recorded of the Caliph Montanser Billah, that going one
+day to the upper roof of his palace he saw a number of clothes spread
+out on the flat roofs of the houses of Bagdat. He asked the reason,
+and was told that the inhabitants of Bagdat were drying their clothes,
+which they had newly washed, on account of the approach of the Bairam.
+The caliph was so concerned that any should be so poor as to be
+obliged to wash their old clothes for want of new ones with which to
+celebrate this festival, that he ordered a great quantity of gold to
+be instantly made into bullets, proper to be shot out of crossbows,
+which he and his courtiers threw, by this means, upon every terrace of
+the city where he saw garments spread to dry.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[5] Book viii. chap. 48.
+
+[6] Ciampini, Vetera Monimenta, cap. xiii.
+
+[7] "Licia qui texunt, et Carmina; Carmina Musis,
+ Licia contribuunt, casta Minerva, tibi.
+ Ast ego rem sociam non dissociabo, Sabina,
+ Versibus inscripsi, quae mea texta meis."
+
+[8] "Sive probas Tyrio textam sub tegmine vestem,
+ Seu placet inscripti commoditas tituli.
+ Ipsius haec Dominae concennat utrumque venustas:
+ Has geminas artes una Sabina colet."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE DARK AGES.--"SHEE-SCHOOLS."
+
+ "There was an auncient house not far away,
+ Renown'd throughout the world for sacred lore
+ And pure unspotted life: so well they say
+ It govern'd was, and guided evermore
+ Through wisedome of a matrone grave and hore,
+ Whose onely joy was to relieve the needes
+ Of wretched soules, and helpe the helplesse pore:
+ All night she spent in bidding of her bedes,
+ And all the day in doing good and godly dedes."
+
+ Faerie Queene.
+
+ "Meantime, whilst monks' _pens_ were thus employed, nuns
+ with their _needles_ wrote histories also: that of
+ _Christ his passion_ for their altar-clothes; and other
+ Scripture- (and more legend-) stories in hangings to
+ adorn their houses."--Fuller, Ch. Hist., B. 6.
+
+
+Needlework is an art so indissolubly connected with the convenience
+and comfort of mankind at large, that it is impossible to suppose any
+state of society in which it has not existed. Its modes varied, of
+course, according to the lesser or greater degrees of refinement in
+other matters with which it was connected; and when we find from
+Muratori that "nulla s'e detto fin qui dell'Arte del Tessere dopo la
+declinazione del Romano Imperio; e solo in fuggire s'e parlato di
+alcune vesti degli antichi," we may fairly infer that the _ornamental_
+needlework of the time was not extensively encouraged, although never
+entirely laid aside.
+
+The desolation that overran the world was found alike in its greatest
+or most insignificant concerns; and the same torrent that swept
+monarchs from their thrones and peers from their halls did away with
+the necessity for professors of the decorative arts. There needed not
+the embroiderer of gold and purple to blazon the triumph of a
+conqueror who disdained other habiliment than the skin of some
+slaughtered beast.[9]
+
+The matron who yet retained the principle of Roman virtue, or the fair
+and refined maiden of the eastern capital, far from seeking personal
+adornment, rather shunned any decoration which might attract the eyes
+and inflame the passions of untamed and ruthless conquerors. All usual
+habits were subverted, and for long years the history of the European
+world is but a bloody record of war and tumult, of bloodshed and
+strife. Few are the cases of peace and tranquillity in this desert of
+tumult and blood-guiltiness; but those few "isles of the blessed" in
+this ocean of discord, those few sunny spots in the gloomy landscape,
+are intimately connected with our theme. The use of the needle for the
+daily necessities of life could never, as we have remarked, be
+superseded; but the practice of ornamental needlework, in common with
+every ennobling science and improving art, was kept alive during this
+period of desolation by the church, and by the individual labours and
+collective zeal of the despised and contemned monks.
+
+Sharing that hallowed influence which hovered over and protected the
+church at this fearful season--for, from the carelessness or
+superstition of the barbarians, the ministers of religion were
+spared--nunneries, with some few exceptions, were now like refuges
+pointed out by Heaven itself. They were originally founded by the
+sister of St. Anthony, the hermit of the Egyptian desert, and in their
+primitive institution were meant solely for those who, abjuring the
+world for religious motives, were desirous to spend their whole time
+in devotional exercises. But their sphere of utility became afterwards
+widely extended. They became safe and peaceable asylums for all those
+to whom life's pilgrimage had been too thorny. The frail but repentant
+maiden was here sheltered from the scorn of an uncharitable world; the
+virtuous but suffering female, whose earthly hopes had, from whatever
+cause, been crushed, could here weep and pray in peace: while she to
+whom the more tangible trouble of poverty had descended might here,
+without the galling yoke of charity and dependence, look to a refuge
+for those evil days when the breaking of the golden bowl, the loosing
+of the silver cord, should disable her from the exertions necessary
+for her maintenance.
+
+Have we any--ay, with all their faults and imperfections on their
+heads--have we, in these days of enlightenment, any sort of substitute
+for the blessings they held out to dependent and suffering woman of
+whatever rank?
+
+Convents became also schools for the education of young women of rank,
+who here imbibed in early youth principles of religion which might
+enable them to endure with patience and fortitude those after-trials
+of life from which no station or wealth could exempt them; and they
+acquired here those accomplishments, and were taught here those
+lighter occupations, amongst which fine needlework and embroidery
+occupied a conspicuous position, which would qualify them to beguile
+in a becoming manner the many hours of leisure which their elevated
+rank would confer on them.
+
+"Nunneries," says Fuller, "also were good shee-schools, wherein the
+girles and maids of the neighbourhood were taught to read and work;
+and sometimes a little Latine was taught them therein. Yea, give me
+leave to say, if such feminine foundations had still continued,
+provided no _vow_ were obtruded upon them (virginity is least kept
+where it is most constrained), haply the weaker sex (besides the
+avoiding modern inconveniences) might be heightened to an higher
+perfection than hitherto hath been attained. That sharpnesse of their
+wits and suddenness of their conceits (which their enemies must allow
+unto them) might by education be improved into a judicious solidity,
+and that adorned with arts which now they want, not because they
+cannot learn, but are not taught them. I say, if such feminine
+foundations were extant now of dayes, haply some virgins of highest
+birth would be glad of such places, and I am sure their fathers and
+elder brothers would not be sorry for the same."
+
+Miss Lawrance gives a more detailed account of the duties taught in
+them. "In consequence of convents being considered as establishments
+exclusively belonging to the Latin church, Protestant writers, as by
+common consent, have joined in censuring them, forgetful of the many
+benefits which, without any reference to their peculiar creed, they
+were calculated to confer. Although providing instruction for the
+young, the convent was a large establishment for various orders of
+women. There were the nuns, the lay sisters, always a numerous class,
+and a large body of domestics; while in those higher convents, where
+the abbess exercised manorial jurisdiction, there were seneschal,
+esquires, gentlemen, yeomen, grooms, indeed the whole establishment of
+a baronial castle, except the men-at-arms and the archer-band. Thus
+within the convent walls the pupil saw nearly the same domestic
+arrangement to which she had been accustomed in her father's castle;
+while, instead of being constantly surrounded with children, well born
+and intelligent women might be her occasional companions. And then the
+most important functions were exercised by women. The abbess presided
+in her manorial court, the cellaress performed the extensive offices
+of steward, the praecentrix led the singing and superintended the
+library, and the infirmaress watched over the sick, affording them
+alike spiritual and medical aid. Thus, from her first admission, the
+pupil was taught to respect and to emulate the talents of women. But
+a yet more important peculiarity did the convent school present. It
+was a noble, a well-endowed, and an independent institution; and it
+proffered education as a boon. Here was no eager canvassing for
+scholars, no promises of unattainable advantages; for the convent
+school was not a mercantile establishment, nor was education a trade.
+The female teachers of the middle ages were looked up to alike by
+parent and child, and the instruction so willingly offered was
+willingly and gratefully received; the character of the teacher was
+elevated, and as a necessary consequence so was the character of the
+pupil."
+
+But in addition to those inmates who had dedicated their lives to
+religion, and those who were placed there specifically for education,
+convents afforded shelter to numbers who sought only temporary
+retirement from the world under the influence of sorrow, or temporary
+protection under the apprehension of danger. And this was the case not
+merely through the very dark era with which our chapter commences, but
+for centuries afterwards, and when the world was comparatively
+civilized. Our own "good Queen Maude" assumed the veil in the convent
+of Romsey, without however taking the vows, as the only means of
+escaping from a forced marriage; and in the subsequent reign, that of
+Stephen, so little regard was paid to law or decorum, that a convent
+was the only place where a maiden, even of gentle birth, if she had
+riches, could have a chance of shelter and safety from the
+machinations of those who resorted to any sort of brutality or
+violence to compel her to a marriage which would secure her
+possessions to her ravisher.
+
+It was then in the convents, and in them alone, that, during the
+barbarism and confusion consequent upon the overthrow of the ancient
+empire, and the irruption of the untamed hordes who overran southern
+Europe from the north and west,--it was in the convents that some
+remnants of the ancient art of embroidery were still preserved. The
+nuns considered it an acceptable service to employ their time and
+talents in the construction of vestments which, being intended for the
+service of the church, were rich and sumptuous even at the time when
+richness and elegance of apparel were unknown elsewhere.[10] It was no
+proof of either the ignorance or the bad taste or the irreligion of
+the "_dark_" ages, that the religious edifices were fitted up with a
+rich and gorgeous solemnity which are unheard of in these days of
+light and knowledge and economy. And besides the construction of rich
+and elaborately ornamented vestments for the priests, and hangings for
+the altars, shrines, &c., besides these being peculiarly the
+occupation of the professed sisters of religious houses, it was
+likewise the pride and the delight of ladies of rank to devote both
+their money to the purchase and their time to the embroidering of
+sacerdotal garments as offerings to the church. And whether
+temporarily sheltering within the walls of a convent, or happily
+presiding in her own lofty halls, it was oftentime the pride and
+pleasure of the high-born dame to embroider a splendid cope, a rich
+vest, or a gorgeous hanging, as a votive and grateful offering to that
+holy altar where perhaps she had prayed in sorrow, and found
+consolation and peace.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[9] "In the most inclement winter the hardy German was satisfied with
+a scanty garment made of the skin of some animal."--Gibbon.
+
+[10] Muratori (Diss. 25), speaking of the mean habiliments usual in
+Italy even so late as the 13th century, adds, "Ma non per questo
+s'hanno a credere cosi rozzi e nemici del Lusso que' Secoli. A buon
+conto anche in Italia qui non era cieco, sovente potea mirare i piu
+delicati lavori di Seta, che _servivano di ornamenti alle Chiese e
+alle sacre funzioni_."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+NEEDLEWORK OF THE DARK AGES.
+
+ "Last night I dreamt a dream; behold!
+ I saw a church was fret with gold,
+ With arras richly dight:
+ There saw I altar, pall, and pix,
+ Chalice, and font, and crucifix,
+ And tapers burning bright."
+
+ W. S. Rose.
+
+
+Over those memorials of the past which chance and mischance have left
+us, time hath drawn a thick curtain, obliterating all soft and gentle
+touches, which connected harmoniously the bolder features of the
+landscape, and leaving these but as landmarks to intimate what had
+been there. We would fain linger on those times, and call up the
+gentle spirits of the long departed to describe scenes of quiet but
+useful retirement at which we now only dimly guess. We would witness
+the hour of recreation in the convent, when the severer duties of the
+cloister gave place to the cheerful one of companionship; and the
+"pale votary" quitted the lonely cell and the solitary vigil, to
+instruct the blooming novice in the art of embroidery, or to ply her
+own accustomed and accomplished fingers in its fairy creations. The
+younger ones would be ecstatic in their commendations, and eager in
+their exertions to rival the fair sempstress; whilst a gratified
+though sad smile would brighten her own pale cheek as the lady abbess
+laid aside the richly illuminated volume by which her own attention
+had been engrossed, and from which she had from time to time read
+short and instructive passages aloud, commenting on and enforcing the
+principles they inculcated; and holding the work towards the casement,
+so that the bright slanting rays of the setting sun which fell through
+the richly carved lattice might illumine the varied tints of the
+stitchery, she would utter some kind and encouraging words of
+admiration and praise.
+
+Perhaps the work was a broidered scarf for some spiritual father, a
+testimony of gratitude and esteem from the convent at large; perhaps
+it was a tunic or a girdle which some high and wealthy lady had
+bespoken for an offering, and which the meek and pious sisterhood were
+happy to do for hire, bestowing the proceeds on the necessities of the
+convent; or, if those were provided, on charity. Perhaps it was a pair
+of sandals, so magnificently wrought as to be destined as a present by
+some lofty abbot to the pope himself, like those which Robert, Abbot
+of St. Alban's, sent to the Pope Adrian the Fourth; and which alone,
+out of a multitude of the richest offerings, the pope retained;[11]
+or if it were in England (for our domestic scene will apply to all the
+Christian world) it might be a magnificent covering for the high
+altar, with a scripture history embroidered in the centre, and the
+border, of regal purple, inwrought with gold and precious stones. We
+say, _if in England_, because so celebrated was the English work, the
+Opus Anglicum,[12] that other nations eagerly desired to possess it.
+The embroidered vestments of some English clergymen were so much
+admired at the Papal Court, that the Pope, asking where they had been
+made, and being told "in England," despatched bulls to several English
+abbots, commanding them to procure similar ones for him. Some of the
+vestments of these days were almost covered with gold and precious
+stones.
+
+Or it might be a magnificent pall, in the days in which this garment
+had lost its primitive character, that taxed the skill and the
+patience of the fair needlewoman. It was about the year A.D. 601 that
+Pope Gregory sent two archbishop's palls into England; the one for
+London, which see was afterwards removed to Canterbury, and the other
+to York. Fuller gives the following account of this garment
+primitively:--
+
+"The pall is a pontificall vestment, considerable for the matter,
+making, and mysteries thereof. For the matter, it is made of
+lamb's-wooll and superstition. I say, _of lamb's-wooll, as it comes
+from the sheep's back, without any other artificiall colour_, spun
+(say some) by a peculiar order of nunnes, _first cast into the tombe
+of St. Peter_, taken from his body (say others); surely most sacred if
+from both; and (superstitiously) adorned with little black crosses.
+For the form thereof, the _breadth exceeded not three fingers_ (one of
+our bachelor's lamb-skin hoods in Cambridge would make three of them),
+_having two labells hanging down before and behind_, which the
+archbishops onely, when going to the altar, put about their necks,
+above their other pontificall ornaments. Three mysteries were couched
+therein. First, humility, which beautifies the clergy above all their
+costly copes; secondly, innocency, to imitate lamb-like simplicitie;
+and thirdly, industry, to follow him who fetched his wandering sheep
+home on his shoulders. But to speak plainly, the mystery of mysteries
+in this pall was, that the archbishops receiving it showed therein
+their dependence on Rome; and a mote in this manner ceremoniously
+taken was a sufficient acknowledgment of their subjection. And, as it
+owned Rome's power, so in after ages it increased their profit. For,
+though now such palls were freely given to archbishops, whose places
+in Britain for the present were rather cumbersome than commodious,
+having little more than their paines for their labour; yet in after
+ages the archbishop of Canterburie's pall was sold for five thousand
+florenes:[13] so that the Pope might well have the Golden Fleece, if
+he could sell all his lamb's-wooll at that rate."[14]
+
+The accounts of the rich embroidered ecclesiastical vestments--robes,
+sandals, girdles, tunics, vests, palls, cloaks, altar-cloths, and
+veils or hangings of various descriptions, common in churches in the
+dark ages--would almost surpass belief, if the minuteness with which
+they are enumerated in some few ancient authors did not attest the
+fact. Still these in the most diffuse writers are a mere catalogue of
+church properties, and, as such, would, in the dry detail, be but
+little interesting to our readers. There is enough said of them,
+however, to attest their variety, their beauty, their magnificence;
+and to impress one with a very favourable idea of the female ingenuity
+and perseverance of those days. The cost of many of these garments was
+enormous, for pearls and precious jewels were literally interwrought,
+and the time and labour bestowed on them was almost incredible. It was
+no uncommon circumstance for three years to be spent even by these
+assiduous and indefatigable votaries of the needle on one garment. But
+it is only casually, in the pages of the antiquarian, that there is
+any record of them:--
+
+ "With their names
+ No bard embalms and sanctifies his song:
+ And history, so warm on meaner themes,
+ Is cold on this."
+
+"Noi" (says Muratori) "che ammiriamo, e con ragione, la belta e
+varieta di tante drapperie dei nostri tempi, abbiam nondimeno da
+confessare un obbligo non lieve agli antichi, che ci hanno prima
+spianata la via, e senza i lumi loro non potremmo oggidi vantare un si
+gran progresso nell'Arti."
+
+And that this was the case a few instances may suffice to show; and it
+may not be quite out of place here to refer to one out of a thousand
+articles of value and beauty which were lost in the great
+conflagration ("which so cruelly laid waste the habitations of the
+servants of God") of the doomed and often suffering, but always
+magnificent, Croyland Abbey. It was "that beautiful and costly sphere,
+most curiously constructed of different metals, according to the
+different planets. Saturn was of copper, Jupiter of gold, Mars of
+iron, the Sun of brass, Mercury of amber, Venus of tin, and the Moon
+of silver: the colours of all the signs of the Zodiac had their
+several figures and colours variously finished, and adorned with such
+a mixture of precious stones and metals as amused the eye, while it
+informed the mind of every beholder. Such another sphere was not known
+or heard of in England; and it was a present from the King of France."
+
+No insignificant proof this of the mechanical skill of the eleventh
+century.
+
+We are told that Pope Eutychianus, who lived in the reign of the
+Emperor Aurelian, buried in different places 342 martyrs with his own
+hands; and he ordained that a faithful martyr should on no account be
+interred without a dalmatic robe or a purple colobio. This is perhaps
+one of the earliest notices of ecclesiastical pomp or pride in
+vestments. But some forty years afterwards Pope Silvester was
+invested by the hands of his attendants with a Phrygian robe of snowy
+white, on which was traced in sparkling threads by busy female hands
+the resurrection of our Lord; and so magnificent was this garment
+considered that it was ordained to be worn by his successors on state
+occasions: and to pass at once to the seventh century, there are
+records of various church hangings which had become injured by old age
+being carefully repaired at considerable expense; which expense and
+trouble would not, we may fairly infer, have been incurred if the
+articles in question, even at this more advanced period, had not been
+considered of value and of beauty.
+
+Leo the Third, in the eighth century, was a magnificent benefactor to
+the church. With the vessels of rich plate and jewels of various
+descriptions which were in all ages offering to the church we have
+nothing to do: amongst various other vestments, Leo gave to the high
+altar of the blessed Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, a covering
+spangled with gold (_chrysoclabam_) and adorned with precious stones;
+having the histories both of our Saviour giving to the blessed Apostle
+Peter the power of binding and loosing, and also representing the
+suffering of Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, and Paul. It was of
+great size, and exhibited on St. Peter and St. Paul's days.[15]
+
+Pope Paschal, early in the ninth century, had some magnificent
+garments wrought, which he presented to different churches. One of
+these was an altar-cloth of Tyrian purple, having in the middle a
+picture of golden emblems, with the countenance of our Lord, and of
+the blessed martyrs Cosman and Damian, with three other brothers. The
+cross was wrought in gold, and had round it a border of olive-leaves
+most beautifully worked. Another had golden emblems, with our Saviour,
+surrounded with archangels and apostles, of wonderful beauty and
+richness, being ornamented with pearls.
+
+In these ages robes and hangings with crimson or purple borders,
+called _blatta_, from the name of the insect from which the dye was
+obtained, were much in use. An insect, supposed to be the one so often
+referred to by this name in the writings of the ancients, is found now
+on the coasts of Guayaquil and Guatima. The dye is very beautiful, and
+is easily transferred. The royal purple so much esteemed of old was of
+very different shades, for the terms purple, red, crimson, scarlet,
+are often used indiscriminately; and a pretty correct conception may
+be acquired of the value of this imperial tint formerly from the
+circumstance that, when Alexander took possession of the city of Susa
+and of its enormous treasures, among other things there were found
+five thousand quintals of Hermione purple, the finest in the world,
+which had been treasured up there during the space of 190 years;
+notwithstanding which, its beauty and lustre were no way diminished.
+Some idea may be formed of the prodigious value of this store from the
+fact that this purple was sold at the rate of 100 crowns a pound, and
+the quintal is a hundredweight of Paris.
+
+Pope Paschal had a robe worked with gold and gems, having the history
+of the Virgins with lighted torches beautifully related: he had
+another of Byzantine scarlet with a worked border of olive-leaves.
+This was a very usual decoration of ecclesiastical robes, and a very
+suitable one; for, from the time when in the beak of Noah's dove it
+was first an emblem of comfort, it has ever, in all ages, in all
+nations, at all times, been symbolical of plenty and peace. This pope
+had also a robe of woven gold, worn over a cassock of scarlet silk; a
+dress certainly worth the naming, though not so much as others
+indebted to our useful little implement which Cowper calls the
+"threaded steel." But he had another rich and peculiar garment, which
+was entirely indebted to the needlewoman for its varied and radiant
+hues. This was a robe of an amber colour,[16] _having peacocks_.
+
+Pope Leo the Fourth had a hanging worked with the needle, having the
+portrait of a man seated upon a peacock. Pope Stefano the Fifth had
+four magnificent hangings for the great altar, one of which was
+wrought in peacocks. We find in romance that there was a high
+emblematical value attached to peacocks; not so high, however, as to
+prevent our ancestors from eating them; but it is difficult to account
+for their being so frequently introduced in designs professedly
+religious. In romance and chivalry they were supereminent. "To mention
+the peacock (says M. Le Grand) is to write its panegyrick." Many noble
+families bore the peacock as their crest; and in the Provencal Courts
+of Love the successful poet was crowned with a wreath formed of them.
+The coronation present given to the Queen of our Henry the Third, by
+her sister, the Queen of France, was a large silver peacock, whose
+train was set with sapphires and pearls, and other precious jewels,
+wrought with silver. This elegant piece of jewellery was used as a
+reservoir for sweet waters, which were forced out of its beak into a
+basin of white silver chased.
+
+As the knights associated these birds with all their ideas of fame,
+and made their most solemn vows over them, the highest honours were
+conferred on them. Their flesh is celebrated as the "nutriment of
+lovers," and the "viand of worthies;" and a peacock was always the
+most distinguished dish at the solemn banquets of princes or nobles.
+On these occasions it was served up on a golden dish, and carried to
+table by a lady of rank, attended by a train of high-born dames and
+damsels, and accompanied by music. If it was on the occasion of a
+tournament, the successful knight always carved it, so regulating his
+portions that each individual, be the company ever so numerous, might
+taste. For the oath, the knight rising from his seat and extending his
+hand over the bird, vowed some daring enterprise of arms or love:--"I
+vow to God, to the blessed Virgin, to the dames, and to the _peacock_,
+&c. &c."
+
+In later and less imaginative times, the peacock, though still a
+favourite dish at a banquet, seems to have been regarded more from its
+affording "good eating" than from any more refined attribute.
+Massinger speaks of
+
+ "the carcases
+ Of three fat wethers bruised for gravy, to
+ Make sauce for a single peacock."
+
+In Shakspeare's time the bird was usually put into a pie, the head,
+richly gilt, being placed at one end of the dish, and the tail, spread
+out in its full circumference, at the other. And alas! for the
+degeneracy of those days. The solemn and knightly adjuration of former
+times had even then dwindled into the absurd oath which Shakspeare
+puts into the mouth of Justice Shallow:--
+
+ "By _cock_ and _pye_, Sir, you shall not away to night."
+
+In some of the French tapestries birds of all shapes, natural and
+unnatural, of all sizes and in all positions, form very important
+parts of the subjects themselves; though this remark is hardly in
+place here, as the tapestries are of later date, and not solely
+needlework. To return, however: mention is made in an old chronicle of
+_antiquitas Congregatio Ancilarum, quae opere plumario ornamenta
+ecclesiam laborabant_. It has been a subject of much discussion
+whether this Opus Plumarium signified some arrangement of real
+feathers, or merely fanciful embroidery in imitation of them.
+Lytlyngton, Abbot of Croyland, in Edward the Fourth's time, gave to
+his church nine copes of cloth of gold, exquisitely feathered.[17]
+This was perhaps embroidered imitation. A vestment which Cnute the
+Great presented to this abbey was made of silk embroidered with eagles
+of gold. Richard Upton, elected abbot in 1417, gave silk embroidered
+with falcons for copes; and about the same time John Freston gave a
+rich robe of Venetian blue embroidered with golden eagles. These were
+positively imitations merely; yet they evince the prevailing taste for
+feathered work, and, as we have shown, feathers themselves were much
+used. It is recorded that Pope Paul the Third sent King Pepin a
+present of a mantle interwoven with peacocks' feathers.
+
+And from whatever circumstance the reverence for peacocks' feathers
+originated,[18] it is not, even yet, quite exploded. There are some
+lingering remnants of a superstitious regard for them which may have
+had their origin in these very times and circumstances. For how
+surely, where they are rigidly traced, are our country customs, our
+vulgar ceremonies, our apparently absurd and senseless usages, found
+to emanate from some principle or superstition of general and
+prevailing adoption. In some counties we cannot enter a farm-house
+where the mantel-piece in the parlour is not decorated with a diadem
+of peacock feathers, which are carefully dusted and preserved. And in
+houses of more assuming pretensions the same custom frequently
+prevails; and we knew a lady who carefully preserved some peacock
+feathers in a drawer long after her association with people in a
+higher station than that to which she originally belonged had made her
+ashamed to display them in her parlour. _This_ could not be for _mere_
+ornament: there is some idea of _luck_ attached to them, which seems
+not improbably to have arisen from circumstances connected originally
+with the "Vow of the Peacock." At any rate, the religious care with
+which peacocks' feathers are preserved by many who care not for them
+as ornaments, is not a whit more ridiculous than to see people gravely
+turn over the money in their pockets when they first hear the cuckoo,
+or joyfully fasten a dropped horse-shoe on their threshold, or
+shudderingly turn aside if two straws lie across in their path, or
+thankfully seize an old shoe accidentally met with, heedless of the
+probable state of the beggared foot that may unconsciously have left
+it there, or any other of the million unaccountable customs which
+diversify and enliven country life, and which still prevail and
+flourish, notwithstanding the extensive travels and sweeping
+devastations of the modern "schoolmaster."
+
+Do not our readers recollect Cowper's thanksgiving "on finding the
+heel of a shoe?"--
+
+ "Fortune! I thank thee, gentle goddess! thanks!
+ Not that my muse, though bashful, shall deny
+ She would have thanked thee rather, hadst thou cast
+ A treasure in her way; for neither meed
+ Of early breakfast, to dispel the fumes
+ And bowel-raking pains of emptiness,
+ Nor noontide feast, nor ev'ning's cool repast,
+ Hopes she from this--presumptuous, though perhaps
+ The cobbler, leather-carving artist, might.
+ Nathless she thanks thee, and accepts thy boon,
+ Whatever; not as erst the fabled cock,
+ Vain-glorious fool! unknowing what he found,
+ Spurned the rich gem thou gavest him. Wherefore, ah!
+ Why not on me that favour, (worthier sure!)
+ Conferr'dst, goddess! thou art blind, thou sayest:
+ Enough! thy blindness shall excuse the deed."
+
+Return we to our needlework.
+
+We have clear proof that, before the end of the seventh century, our
+fair countrywomen were skilled not merely in the use of the needle as
+applied to necessary purposes, but also in its application to the
+varied and elegant embroidered garments to which we have so frequently
+alluded, as forming properties of value and consideration. They were
+chiefly executed by ladies of the highest rank and greatest
+piety--very frequently, indeed, by those of royal blood--and were
+usually (as we have before observed) devoted to the embellishment of
+the church, or the decoration of its ministers. It was not unusual to
+bequeath such properties. "I give," said the wife of the Conqueror, in
+her will, "to the Abbey of the Holy Trinity, my tunic worked at
+Winchester by Alderet's wife, and the mantle embroidered with gold,
+which is in my chamber, to make a cope. Of my two golden girdles, I
+give that which is ornamented with emblems for the purpose of
+suspending the lamp before the great altar."[19] Amongst some costly
+presents sent by Isabella, Queen of Edward the Second, to the Pope,
+was a magnificent cope, embroidered and studded with large white
+pearls, and purchased of the executors of Catherine Lincoln, for a sum
+equivalent to between two and three thousand pounds of present money.
+Another cope, thought worthy to accompany it, was also the work of an
+Englishwoman, Rose de Bureford, wife of John de Bureford, citizen and
+merchant of London.
+
+Anciently, banners, either from being made of some relic, or from the
+representation on them of holy things, were held sacred, and much
+superstitious faith placed in them; consequently the pious and
+industrious finger was much occupied in working them. King Arthur,
+when he fought the eighth battle against the Saxons, carried the
+"image of Christ and of the blessed Mary (always a virgin) upon his
+shoulders." Over the tomb of Oswald, the great Christian hero, was
+laid a banner of purple wrought with gold. When St. Augustine first
+came to preach to the Saxons, he had a cross borne before him, with a
+banner, on which was the image of our Saviour Christ. The celebrated
+standard of the Danes had the sacred raven worked on it; and the
+ill-fated Harold bore to the field of Hastings a banner with the
+figure of an armed man worked in gold thread: to the same field
+William bore a standard, a gift from the Pope, and blessed by his
+Holiness.
+
+It is recorded of St. Dunstan, who, as our readers well know, excelled
+in many pursuits, and especially in painting, for which he frequently
+forsook his peculiar occupation of goldsmith, that on one occasion, at
+the earnest request of a lady, he _tinted_ a sacerdotal vestment for
+her, which she afterwards embroidered in gold thread in an exquisitely
+beautiful style. Most of these embroidered works were first tinted,
+very probably in the way in which they now are, or until the freer
+influx of the more beautiful German patterns, they lately were; and it
+is from this previous tinting that they are so frequently described in
+the old books as _painted_ garments, _pictured_ vestments, &c., this
+term by no means seeming usually to imply that the use of the needle
+had been neglected or superseded in them. The garments of Edward the
+Confessor, which he wore upon occasions of great solemnity, were
+sumptuously embroidered with gold by the hands of Edgitha, his Queen.
+The four princesses, daughters of King Edward the Elder, were most
+carefully educated: their early years were chiefly devoted to literary
+pursuits, but they were nevertheless most assiduously instructed in
+the use of the needle, and are highly celebrated by historians for
+their assiduity and skill in spinning, weaving, and needlework. This
+was so far, says the historian, from spoiling the fortunes of those
+royal spinsters, that it procured them the addresses of the greatest
+princes then in Europe, and one, "in whom the whole essence of beauty
+had centered, was demanded from her brother by Hugh, King of the
+Franks."
+
+Our fair readers may take some interest in knowing what were the
+propitiatory offerings of a noble suitor of those days.
+
+"Perfumes, such as never had been seen in England before; jewels, but
+more especially emeralds, the greenness of which, reflected by the
+sun, illumined the countenances of the bystanders with agreeable
+light; many fleet horses, with their trappings, and, as Virgil says,
+'champing their golden bits;' an alabaster vase, so exquisitely
+chased, that the corn-fields really seemed to wave, the vines to bud,
+the figures of men actually to move, and so clear and polished, that
+it reflected the features like a mirror; the sword of Constantine the
+Great, on which the name of its original possessor was read in golden
+letters; on the pommel, upon thick plates of gold, might be seen fixed
+an iron spike, one of the four which the Jewish faction prepared for
+the crucifixion of our Lord; the spear of Charles the Great, which,
+whenever that invincible Emperor hurled in his expeditions against the
+Saracens, he always came off conqueror; it was reported to be the same
+which, driven into the side of our Saviour by the hand of the
+centurion, opened, by that precious wound, the joys of paradise to
+wretched mortals; the banner of the most blessed martyr Maurice, chief
+of the Theban legion, with which the same King, in the Spanish war,
+used to break through the battalions of the enemy, however fierce and
+wedged together, and put them to flight; a diadem, precious from its
+quantity of gold, but more so for its jewels, the splendour of which
+threw the sparks of light so strongly on the beholders, that the more
+steadfastly any person endeavoured to gaze, so much the more dazzled
+he was--compelled to avert his eyes; part of the holy and adorable
+cross enclosed in crystal, where the eye, piercing through the
+substance of the stone, might discern the colour and size of the wood;
+a small portion of the crown of thorns enclosed in a similar manner,
+which, in derision of his government, the madness of the soldiers
+placed on Christ's sacred head.
+
+"The King (Athelstan), delighted with such great and exquisite
+presents, made an equal return of good offices, and gratified the soul
+of the longing suitor by a union with his sister. With some of these
+presents he enriched succeeding kings; but to Malmesbury he gave part
+of the cross and crown; by the support of which, I believe, that place
+even now flourishes, though it has suffered so many shipwrecks of its
+liberty, so many attacks of its enemies."[20]
+
+It is not to be supposed that at a time when the "whole island" was
+said to "blaze" with devotion, and when, moreover, her own fair
+daughters surpassed the whole world in needlework, that the English
+churches were deficient in its beautiful adornments. Far otherwise,
+indeed. We forbear to enumerate many, because our chapter has already
+exceeded its prescribed limits; but we may particularize a golden veil
+or hanging (vellum), embroidered with the destruction of Troy, which
+Witlaf, King of Mercia, gave to the abbey of Croyland; and the
+coronation mantle of Harold Harefoot, son of Cnute, which he gave to
+the same abbey, made of silk, and embroidered with "Hesperian apples."
+Richard, who was abbot of St. Alban's from 1088 to 1119, made a
+present to his monastery of a suit of hangings which contained the
+whole history of the primitive martyr of England, Alban.
+
+Croyland Abbey possessed many hangings for the altars, embroidered
+with golden birds; and a garment, which seems to have been a peculiar,
+and considered a valuable one, being a black gown wrought with gold
+letters, to officiate in at funerals. The enigmatical letters which
+were worked on ecclesiastical vestments in those days, were various
+and peculiar, and have given abundant scope for antiquarian research.
+We have heard it surmised that they took their rise in times of
+persecution, being indications (then, doubtless, slight and
+unostentatious ones) by which the Christians might know each other.
+But they came into more general use, not merely as symbolical
+characters, but individual names were wrought, and that not on
+personal garments alone, for Pope Leo the Fourth placed a cloth on the
+altar woven with gold, and spangled all over with pearls. It had on
+each side (right and left) a circle bounded with gold, within which
+the name of his Holiness was written in precious stones. In many old
+paintings a letter or letters have been noticed on the garment of the
+principal figure, and they have been taken for private marks of the
+painter, but it is more probable, says Ciampini,[21] that they are
+either copied from old garments, or are intended to denote the dignity
+of the character to which they are attached.
+
+We will conclude the present chapter by remarking that one of the most
+magnificent specimens of ancient needlework in existence, and which is
+in excellent preservation, is the State Pall belonging to the
+Fishmongers Company. The end pieces are similar, and consist of a
+picture, wrought in gold and silk, of the patron, St. Peter, in
+pontificial robes, seated on a superb throne, and crowned with the
+papal tiara. Holding in one hand the keys, the other is in the posture
+of giving the benediction, and on each side is an angel, bearing a
+golden vase, from which he scatters incense over the Saint. The
+angel's wings, according to old custom, are composed of peacocks'
+feathers in all their natural vivid colours; their outer robes are
+gold raised with crimson; their under vests white, shaded with sky
+blue; the faces are finely worked in satin, after nature, and they
+have long yellow hair.
+
+There are various designs on the side pieces; the most important and
+conspicuous is Christ delivering the keys to Peter. Among other
+decorations are, of course, the arms of the company, richly
+emblazoned, the supporters of which, the merman and mermaid, are
+beautifully worked, the merman in gold armour, the mermaid in white
+silk, with long tresses in golden thread.
+
+This magnificent piece of needlework has probably no parallel in this
+country.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[11] When Robert, Abbot of St. Alban's, visited his countryman Pope
+Adrian the Fourth, he made him several valuable presents, and amongst
+other things three mitres and a pair of sandals of most admirable
+workmanship. His holiness refused his other presents, but thankfully
+accepted of the mitres and sandals, being charmed with their exquisite
+beauty. These admired pieces of embroidery were the work of Christina,
+Abbess of Markgate.
+
+[12] "Anglicae nationis feminae multum acu et auri textura, egregie viri
+in omni valeant artificio. Pero fu renomato Opus Anglicum."--From
+Muratori.
+
+[13] A florene is 4_s._ 6_d._
+
+[14] "The pall was a bishop's vestment, going over the shoulders, made
+of sheep-skin, in memory of him who sought the lost sheep, and when he
+had found it laid it on his shoulders; and it was embroidered with
+crosses, and taken off the body or coffin of St. Peter."--Camden.
+
+[15] Anastasius Bibliothecarius. De Vitis Romanorum Pontificum.
+
+As this work is the fountain whence subsequent writers have chiefly
+obtained their information with regard to church vestments, that is to
+say, decorative ones, it may not be amiss to transcribe a passage,
+taken literally at random from scores of similar ones. It will give
+the reader some idea of the profusion with which the expensive
+garnitures were supplied:--
+
+"Sed et super altare majus fecit tetra vela holoserica alithina
+quatuor, cum astillis, et rosis chrysoclabis. Et in eodem altare fecit
+cum historiis crucifixi Domini vestem tyriam. Et in Ecclesia Doctoris
+Mundi beati Pauli Apostoli tetra vela holoserica alithyna quatuor, et
+vestem super altare albam chrysoclabam, habentem historiam Sanctae
+Resurrectionis, et aliam vestem chrysoclabam, habentem historiam
+nativitatis Domini, et Sanctorum Innocentium. Immo et aliam vestem
+tyriam, habentem historiam caeci illuminati, et Resurrectionem. Idem
+autem sanctissimus Praesul fecit in basilica beatae Mariae ad Praesepe
+vestem albam chrysoclabam, habentem historiam sanctae Resurrectionis.
+Sed et aliam vestem in orbiculis chrysoclabis, habentem historias
+Annunciationis, et sanctorum Joachim, et Annae. Fecit in Ecclesia beati
+Laurentii foris muros eidem Praesul vestem albam rosatam cum
+chrysoclabo. Sed et aliam vestem super sanctum corpus ejus albam de
+stauraci chrysoclabam, cum margaritis. Et in titulo Calixti vestem
+chrysoclabam ex blattin Byzanteo, habentem historiam nativitatis
+Domini, et sancti Simeonis. Item in Ecclesia sancti Pancratii vestem
+tyriam, habentem historiam Ascencionis Domini, seu et in sancta Maria
+ad Martyres fecit vestem tyriam ut supra. Et in basilica sanctorum
+Cosmae et Damiani fecit vestem de blatti Byzanteo, cum periclysin de
+chrysoclabo, et margaritis."--i. 285.
+
+[16] "De staurace."
+
+[17] "Opere plumario exquitissime praeparatas."
+
+[18] In the classical ages, they were in high repute. Juno's chariot
+is drawn by peacocks; and Olympian Jove himself invests his royal
+limbs with a mantle formed of their feathers.
+
+[19] The name of Dame Leviet has descended to posterity as an
+embroiderer to the Conqueror and his Queen.
+
+[20] Will. of Malmesbury, 156.
+
+[21] Vet. Mon. cap. 13.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY.--PART I.
+
+ "Needlework sublime."
+
+ Cowper.
+
+
+Great discussion has taken place amongst the learned with regard to
+the exact time at which the Bayeux tapestry was wrought. The question,
+except as a matter of curiosity, is, perhaps, of little account--fifty
+years earlier or later, nearly eight hundred years ago. It had always
+been considered as the work of Matilda, the wife of the conquering
+Duke of Normandy until a few years ago, when the Abbe de la Rue
+started and endeavoured to maintain the hypothesis that it was worked
+by or under the direction of the Empress Matilda, the daughter of
+Henry the First.[22] But his positions, as Dibdin observes,[23] are
+all of a _negative_ character, and, "according to the strict rules of
+logic, it must not be admitted, that because such and such writers
+have _not_ noticed a circumstance, therefore that circumstance or
+event cannot have taken place." Hudson Gurney, Charles A. Stothard,
+and Thos. Amyot, Esqrs. have all published essays on the subject,[24]
+which establish almost to certainty the fact of the production of this
+tapestry at the earlier of the two periods contended for, viz. from
+1066 to 1068.
+
+In this we rejoice, because this Herculean labour has a halo of deep
+interest thrown round it, from the circumstance of its being the proud
+tribute of a fond and affectionate wife, glorying in her husband's
+glory, and proud of emblazoning his deeds. As the work of the Empress
+Matilda it would still be a magnificent production of industry and of
+skill; as the work of "Duke William's" wife these qualities merge in
+others of a more interesting character.[25]
+
+This excellent and amiable princess was a most highly accomplished
+woman, and remarkable for her learning; she was the affectionate
+mother of a large family, the faithful wife of an enterprising
+monarch, with whom she lived for thirty-three years so harmoniously
+that her death had such an effect on her husband as to cause him to
+relinquish, never again to resume, his usual amusements.[26]
+
+Little did the affectionate wife think, whilst employed over this
+task, that her domestic tribute of regard should become an historical
+memento of her country, and blazon forth her illustrious husband's
+deeds, and her own unwearying affection, to ages upon ages hereafter
+to be born. For independently of the interest which may be attached to
+this tapestry as a pledge of feminine affection, a token of
+housewifely industry, and a specimen of ancient stitchery, it derives
+more historic value as the work of the Conqueror's wife, than if it
+were the production of a later time. For it holds good with these
+historical tapestries as with the written histories and romances of
+the middle ages;--authors wrote and ladies wrought (we mean no pun)
+their characters, _not_ in the costume of the times in which the
+action or event celebrated took place, but in that in which they were
+at the time engaged; and thus, had Matilda the Empress worked this
+tapestry, it is more than probable that she would have introduced the
+armorial bearings which were in her time becoming common, and
+especially the Norman leopards, of which in the tapestry there is not
+the slightest trace. In her time too the hair was worn so long as to
+excite the censures of the church, whilst at the time of the Conquest
+the Normans almost shaved their heads; and this circumstance, more
+than the want of beards, is supposed by Mr. Stothard[27] to have led
+to the surmise of the Anglo-Saxon spies that the Normans were all
+priests. This circumstance is faithfully depicted in the tapestry,
+where also the chief weapon seen is a lance, which was little used
+after the Conquest. These peculiarities, with several others which
+have been commented on by antiquarian writers, seem to establish the
+date of this production as coeval with the action which it represents,
+and therefore invaluable as an historical document.
+
+"It is, perhaps," says one of the learned writers on the Bayeux
+tapestry, "a characteristic of the literature of the present age to
+deduce history from sources of second-rate authority; from ballads and
+pictures rather than from graver and severer records. Unquestionably
+this is the preferable course, if amusement, not truth, be the object
+sought for. Nothing can be more delightful than to read the reigns of
+the Plantagenets in the dramas of Shakspeare, or the tales of later
+times in the ingenious fictions of the author of Waverley. But those
+who would draw historical facts from their hiding-places must be
+content to plod through many a ponderous worm-eaten folio, and many a
+half-legible and still less intelligible manuscript.
+
+"Yet," continues he, "if the Bayeux tapestry be not history of the
+first class, it is, perhaps, something better. It exhibits genuine
+traits, elsewhere sought in vain, of the costume and manners of that
+age which, of all others, if we except the period of the Reformation,
+ought to be the most interesting to us; that age which gave us a new
+race of monarchs, bringing with them new landholders, new laws, and
+almost a new language.
+
+"As in the magic pages of Froissart, we here behold our ancestors of
+each race in most of the occupations of life, in courts and camps, in
+pastime and in battle, at feasts and on the bed of sickness. These
+are characteristics which of themselves would call forth a lively
+interest; but their value is greatly enhanced by their connection with
+one of the most important events in history, the main subject of the
+whole design."
+
+This magnificent piece of work is 227 feet in length by 20 inches in
+width, is now usually kept at the Town-hall in Rouen, and is treasured
+as the most precious relic. It was formerly the theme of some long and
+learned dissertations of antiquarian historians, amongst whom
+Montfaucon, perhaps, ranks most conspicuous.
+
+Still so little _local_ interest does it excite, that Mr. Gurney, in
+1814, was nearly leaving Bayeux without seeing it because he did not
+happen to ask for it by the title of "Toile de St. Jean," and so his
+request was not understood; and Ducarel, in his "Tour," says, "The
+priests of this cathedral to whom we addressed ourselves for a sight
+of this remarkable piece of antiquity, knew nothing of it; the
+circumstance only of its being annually hung up in their church led
+them to understand what we wanted; no person there knowing that the
+object of our inquiry any ways related to William the Conqueror, whom
+to this day they call Duke William."
+
+During the French Revolution its surrender was demanded for the
+purpose of covering the guns; fortunately, however, a priest succeeded
+in concealing it until that storm was overpast.
+
+Bonaparte better knew its value. It was displayed for some time in
+Paris, and afterwards at some seaport towns. M. Denon had the charge
+of it committed to him by Bonaparte, but it was afterwards restored
+to Bayeux. It was at the time of the usurper's threatened invasion of
+our country that so much value was attached to, and so much pains
+taken to exhibit this roll. "Whether," says Dibdin, "at such a sight
+the soldiers shouted, and, drawing their glittering swords,
+
+ "Clashed on their sounding shields the din of war,--"
+
+confident of a second representation of the same subject by a second
+subjugation of our country--is a point which has not been exactly
+detailed to me! But the supposition may not be considered very violent
+when I inform you that I was told by a casual French visitor of the
+tapestry, that '_pour cela, si Bonaparte avait eu le courage, le
+resultat auroit ete comme autrefois_.' Matters, however, have taken
+_rather_ a different turn."
+
+The tapestry is coiled round a machine like that which lets down the
+buckets to a well, and a female unrols and explains it. It is worked
+in different coloured worsteds on white cloth, to which time has given
+the tinge of brown holland; the parts intended to represent flesh are
+left untouched by the needle. The colours are somewhat faded, and not
+very multitudinous. Perhaps it is the little variety of colours which
+Matilda and her ladies had at their disposal which has caused them to
+depict the horses of any colour--"blue, green, red, or yellow." The
+outline, too, is of course stiff and rude.[28] At the top and bottom
+of the main work is a narrow allegorical border; and each division or
+different action or event is marked by a branch or tree extending the
+whole depth of the tapestry; and most frequently each tableau is so
+arranged that the figures at the end of one and the beginning of the
+next are turned from each other, whilst above each the subject of the
+scene and the names of the principal actors are wrought in large
+letters. The subjects of the border vary; some of AEsop's fables are
+depicted on it, sometimes instruments of agriculture, sometimes
+fanciful and grotesque figures and borders; and during the heat of the
+battle of Hastings, when, as Montfaucon says, "le carnage est grand,"
+the appropriate device of the border is a _layer of dead men_.
+
+"From the fury of the Normans, good Lord deliver us," was, we are
+told, in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries a petition in the
+Litanies of all nations.[29] For long did England sorrow under their
+"fury," though _in time_ the Conquest produced advantageous results to
+the kingdom at large. Whether this Norman subjugation was in
+accordance with the will of the monarch Edward, or whether it was
+entirely the result of Duke William's ambition, must now ever remain
+in doubt. Harold asserted that Edward the Confessor appointed him his
+successor (of which, however, he could not produce proof); to this
+must be opposed the improbability of Edward thus ennobling a family of
+whom he felt, and with such abundant cause, so jealous.
+
+Probably the old chronicler (Fabyan) has hit the mark when he says,
+"This Edgarre (the rightful heir) was yonge, and specyally for
+Harolde was stronge of knyghtes and rychesse, he wanne the reygne." Be
+this as it may, however, Harold on the very day of Edward's interment,
+and that was only the day subsequent to his death, was crowned king in
+St. Paul's; apparently with the concurrence of all concerned, for he
+was powerful and popular. And his government during the chief part of
+his short kingly career was such as to increase his popularity: he was
+wise, and just, and gracious. "Anone as he was crowned, he began to
+fordoo euyll lawes and customes before vsed, and stablysshed the good
+lawes, and specyally whiche (suche) as were for the defence of holy
+churche, and punysshed the euyll doers, to the fere and example of
+other."[30]
+
+But uncontrolled authority early began to produce its wonted results.
+He "waxyd so prowd, and for couetouse wold not deuyde the prayes that
+he took to hys knyghtys, that had well deseruyd it, but kepte it to
+hymself, that he therby lost the fauour of many of his knyghtys and
+people."[31] This defection from his party doubtless made itself felt
+in the mortal struggle with the Norman duke which issued in Harold's
+discomfiture and death.
+
+Proceed we to the tapestry.
+
+The first scene which the needlewoman has depicted is a conference
+between a person who, from his white flowing beard and regal costume,
+is easily recognized as the "sainted Edward," and another, who, from
+his subsequent embarkation, is supposed to be Harold. The subject of
+the conference is, of course, only conjectured. Harold's visit to
+Normandy is well known; but whether, as some suppose, he was driven
+thither by a tempest when on a cruise of pleasure; whether he went as
+ambassador from Edward to communicate the intentions of the Confessor
+in William's behoof; or whether, as the tapestry is supposed more
+strongly to indicate, he obtained Edward's reluctant consent to his
+visit to reclaim his brother who, a hostage for his own good conduct,
+had been sent to William by Edward; these are points which now defy
+investigation, even if they were of sufficient importance to claim it.
+Harold is then seen on his journey attended by cavaliers on horseback,
+surrounded by dogs, and, an emblem of his own high dignity, a hawk on
+his fist.
+
+One great value of this tapestry is the scrupulous regard paid to
+points and circumstances which at first view might appear
+insignificant, but which, as correlative confirmations of usages and
+facts, are of considerable importance. Thus, it is known to
+antiquarians that great personages formerly had two only modes of
+equipment when proceeding on a journey, that of war or the chase.
+Harold is here fully equipped for the chase, and consequently the
+first glimpse obtained of his person would show that his errand was
+one of peace. The hawk on the fist was a mark of high nobility: no
+inferior person is represented with one: Harold and Guy Earl of
+Ponthieu alone bear them.
+
+In former times this bird was esteemed so sacred that it was
+prohibited in the ancient laws for any one to give his hawk even as a
+part of his ransom. In the reign of Edward the Third it was made
+felony to steal a hawk; and to take its eggs, even in a person's own
+ground, was punishable with imprisonment for a year and a day, besides
+a fine at the king's pleasure. Nay, more than this, by the laws of one
+part of the island, and probably of the whole,[32] the price of a
+hawk, or of a greyhound, was once the very same with the price of a
+man; and there was a time when the robbing of a hawk's nest was as
+great a crime in the eye of the law, and as severely punished, as the
+murder of a Christian. And of this high value they were long
+considered. "It is difficult," says Mr. Mills,[33] "to fancy the
+extravagant degree of estimation in which hawks were held during the
+chivalric ages. As symbols of high estate they were constantly carried
+about by the nobility of both sexes. There was even a usage of
+bringing them into places appropriated to public worship; a practice
+which, in the case of some individuals, appears to have been
+recognised as a right. The treasurer of the church of Auxerre enjoyed
+the distinction of assisting at divine service on solemn days with a
+falcon on his fist; and the Lord of Sassai held the privilege of
+perching his upon the altar. Nothing was thought more dishonourable to
+a man of rank than to give up his hawks; and if he were taken prisoner
+he would not resign them even for liberty."
+
+The different positions in which the hawk is placed in our needlework
+are worthy of remark. Here its head is raised, its wings fluttering,
+as if eager and ready for flight; afterwards, when Harold follows the
+Earl of Ponthieu as his captive, he is not, of course, deprived of his
+bird, but by a beautiful fiction the bird is represented depressed,
+and with its head turned towards its master's breast as if trying to
+nestle and shelter itself there. Could sympathy be more poetically
+expressed? Afterwards, on Harold's release, the bird is again depicted
+as fluttering to "soar elate."
+
+The practice very prevalent in these "barbarous times," as we somewhat
+too sweepingly term them, of entering on no expedition of war or
+pastime without imploring the protection of heaven, is intimated by a
+church which Harold is entering previously to his embarkation. That
+this observance might degenerate in many instances into mere form may
+be very true; and the "hunting masses" celebrated in song might, some
+of them, be more honoured in the breach than the observance:
+nevertheless in clearing away the dross of old times, we have, it is
+to be feared, removed some of the gold also; and the abolition of the
+custom of having the churches open at _all times_, so that at any
+moment the heart-prompted prayer might be offered up under the holy
+shelter of a consecrated roof, has tended very much, it is to be
+feared, to abolish the habit of frequent prayer. A habit in itself,
+and regarded even merely as a habit, fraught with inestimable good.
+
+We next see Harold and his companions refreshing themselves prior to
+their departure, pledging each other, and doubtless drinking to the
+success of their enterprise whatever it might be. The horns from which
+they are drinking have been the subject of critical remark. We find
+that horns were used for various purposes, and were of four sorts,
+drinking horns, hunting horns, horns for summoning the people, and of
+a mixed kind.
+
+They were used as modes of investiture, and this manner of endowing
+was usual amongst the Danes in England. King Cnute himself gave lands
+at Pusey in Berkshire to the family of that name, with a horn solemnly
+at that time delivered, as a confirmation of the grant. Edward the
+Confessor made a like donation to the family of Nigel. The celebrated
+horn of Alphus, kept in the sacristy in York Minster, was probably a
+drinking cup belonging to this prince, and was by him given together
+with all his lands and revenues to that church. "When he gave the horn
+that was to convey it (his estate) he filled it with wine, and on his
+knees before the altar, 'Deo et S. Petro omnes terras et redditus
+propinavit.' So that he drank it off, in testimony that thereby he
+gave them his lands."[34] Many instances might be adduced to show that
+this mode of investiture was common in England in the time of the
+Danes, the Anglo-Saxons, and at the close of the reign of the Norman
+conqueror.
+
+The drinking horns had frequently a screw at the end, which being
+taken off at once converted them into hunting horns, which
+circumstance will account for persons of distinction frequently
+carrying their own. Such doubtless were those used of old by the
+Breton hunters about Brecheliant, which is poetically described as a
+forest long and broad, much famed throughout Brittany. The fountain of
+Berenton rises from beneath a stone there. Thither the hunters are
+used to repair in sultry weather, and drawing up water with their
+horns (those horns which had just been used to sound the animated
+warnings of the chase), they sprinkle the stone for the purpose of
+having rain, which is then wont to fall throughout the whole forest
+around. There too fairies are to be seen, and many wonders happen. The
+ground is broken and precipitous, and deer in plenty roam there, but
+the husbandmen have forsaken it. Our author[35] goes on to say that he
+personally visited this enchanted region, but that, though he saw the
+forest and the land, no marvels presented themselves. The reason is
+obvious. He had, before the time, contracted some of the scepticism of
+these matter-of-fact "schoolmaster abroad" days. He wanted faith, and
+therefore he did not _deserve_ to see them.
+
+The use of drinking horns is very ancient. They were usually
+embellished or garnished with silver; they were in very common use
+among our Saxon ancestors, who frequently had them gilded and
+magnificently ornamented. One of those in use amongst Harold's party
+seems to be very richly decorated.
+
+The revellers are, however, obliged to dispatch, as their leader,
+Harold, is already wading through the water to his vessel. The
+character of Harold as displayed throughout this tapestry is a
+magnificent one, and does infinite credit to the generous and noble
+disposition of Matilda the queen, who disdained to depreciate the
+character of a fallen foe. He commences his expedition by an act of
+piety; here, on his embarkation at Bosham, he is kindly carrying his
+dog through the water. In crossing the sands of the river Cosno, which
+are dangerous, so very dangerous as most frequently to cause the
+destruction of those who attempt their transit, his whole concern
+seems to be to assist the passage of others, whose inferior natural
+powers do not enable them to compete with danger so successfully as
+himself; his character for undaunted bravery is such, that William
+condescends to supplicate his assistance in a feud then at issue
+between himself and another nobleman, and so nobly does he bear
+himself that the proud Norman with his own hands invests him with the
+emblems of honour (as seen in the tapestry); and, last scene of all,
+he disdained all submission, he repelled all the entreaties with which
+his brothers assailed him not personally to lead his troops to the
+encounter, and the corpses of 15,000 Normans on this field, and of
+even a greater number on the English monarch's side, told in bloody
+characters that Harold had not quailed in the last great encounter.
+
+Unpropitious winds drive him and his attendants from their intended
+course. Many historians accuse the people of Ponthieu of making
+prisoners all whose ill fortune threw them upon their coast, and of
+treating them with great barbarity, in order to extort the larger
+ransom. Be this as it may, Harold has scarcely set his foot on shore
+ere he is forcibly captured by the vassals of Guy of Ponthieu, who is
+there on horseback to witness the proceeding. The tapestry goes on to
+picture the progress of the captured troop and their captors to Belrem
+or Beurain, and a conference when there between the earl and his
+prisoner, where the fair embroideresses have given a delicate and
+expressive feature by depicting the conquering noble with his sword
+elevated, and the princely captive, wearing indeed his sword, but with
+the point depressed.
+
+It is said that a fisherman of Ponthieu, who had been often in England
+and knew Harold's person, was the cause of his capture. "He went
+privily to Guy, the Count of Pontif, and would speak to no other; and
+he told the Count how he could put a great prize in his way, if he
+would go with him; and that if he would give him only twenty livres he
+should gain a hundred by it, for he would deliver him such a prisoner
+as would pay a hundred livres or more for his ransome." The Count
+agreed to his terms, and then the fisherman showed him Harold.
+
+Hearing of Harold's captivity, William the Norman is anxious on all
+and every account to obtain possession of his person. He consequently
+sends ambassadors to Guy, who is represented on the tapestry as giving
+them audience. The person holding the horses is somewhat remarkable;
+he is a bearded dwarf. Dwarfs were formerly much sought after in the
+houses of great folks, and they were frequently sent as presents from
+one potentate to another. They were petted and indulged somewhat in
+the way of the more modern fool or jester. The custom is very old. The
+Romans were so fond of them, that they often used artificial methods
+to prevent the growth of children designed for dwarfs, by enclosing
+them in boxes, or by the use of tight bandages. The sister of one of
+the Roman emperors had a dwarf who was only two feet and a hand
+breadth in height. Many relations concerning dwarfs we may look upon
+as not less fabulous than those of giants. They are, like the latter,
+indispensable in romances, where their feats, far from being dwarfish,
+are absolutely gigantic, though these diminutive heroes seldom occupy
+any more ostensible post than that of humble attendant.
+
+ "Fill'd with these views th' _attendant dwarf_ she sends:
+ Before the knight the dwarf respectful bends;
+ Kind greetings bears as to his lady's guest,
+ And prays his presence to adorn her feast.
+ The knight delays not."
+
+ "A hugye giaunt stiffe and starke,
+ All foule of limbe and lere;
+ Two goggling eyen like fire farden,
+ A mouthe from eare to eare.
+ Before him came a dwarffe full lowe,
+ That _waited on his knee_."
+
+ Sir Cauline.
+
+ "Behind her farre away a dwarfe did lag
+ That lasie seem'd, in being ever last,
+ Or wearied with _bearing of her bag_
+ Of needments at his backe."
+
+ Faerie Queene.
+
+The dwarf worked in the tapestry has the name TVROLD placed above him,
+and seems to have been a dependant of Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, William
+the Conqueror's brother.[36]
+
+The first negotiations are unsuccessful; more urgent messages are
+forwarded, and in the end Duke William himself proceeds at the head of
+some troops to _compel_ the surrender of the prisoner. Count Guy is
+intimidated, and the object is attained; every stage of these
+proceedings is depicted on the canvas, as well as William's courteous
+reception of Harold at his palace.
+
+The portraiture of a female in a sort of porch, with a clergyman in
+the act of pronouncing a benediction on her, is supposed to have
+reference to the engagement between William and his guest, that the
+latter should marry the daughter of the former. Many other
+circumstances and conditions were tacked to this agreement, one of
+which was that Harold should guard the English throne for William;
+agreements which one and all--under the reasonable plea that they were
+enforced ones--the Anglo-Saxon nobleman broke through. It is said that
+his desertion so affected the mind of the pious young princess,[37]
+that her heart broke on her passage to Spain, whither they were
+conveying her to a forced union with a Spanish prince. As this young
+lady was a mere child at the time of Harold's visit to Normandy, the
+story, though exceedingly pretty, is probably very apocryphal. Ducarel
+gives an entirely different explanation of the scene, and says that it
+is probably meant to represent a secretary or officer coming to
+William's duchess, to acquaint her with the agreement just made
+relative to her daughter.
+
+The Earl of Bretagne is at this moment at war with Duke William, and
+the latter attaching Harold to his party, from whom indeed he receives
+effectual service, arrives at Mount St. Michel, passes the river Cosno
+(to which we have before alluded), and arrives at Dol in Brittany.
+Parties are seen flying towards Rennes. William and his followers
+attack Dinant, of which the keys are delivered up, and the Normans
+come peaceably to Bayeux; William having previously, with his own
+hands, invested Harold with a suit of armour.
+
+Harold shortly returns to England, but not before a very important
+circumstance had taken place. William and Harold had mutually entered
+into an agreement by which the latter had pledged himself to be true
+to William, to acknowledge him as Edward's successor on the English
+throne, and to do all in his power to obtain for him the peaceable
+possession of that throne; and as Harold was, the reigning monarch
+excepted, the first man in England, this promised support was of no
+trifling moment. William resolved therefore to have the oath repeated
+with all possible solemnity. His brother Odo, the Bishop of Bayeux,
+assisted him in this matter. Accordingly we see Harold standing
+between two altars covered with cloth of gold, a hand on each,
+uttering the solemn adjuration, of which William, seated on his
+throne, is a delighted auditor; for he well knew that the oath was
+more fearful than Harold was at all aware of. For "William sent for
+all the holy bodies thither, and put so many of them together as to
+fill a whole chest, and then covered them with a pall; but Harold
+neither saw them, nor knew of their being there, for nought was shown
+or told to him about it; and over all was a phylactery, the best that
+he could select. When Harold placed his hand upon it, the hand
+trembled and the flesh quivered; but he swore, and promised upon his
+oath, to take Ele to wife, and to deliver up England to the duke; and
+thereunto to do all in his power, according to his might and wit,
+after the death of Edward, if he should live, so help him God and the
+holy relics there! (meaning the Gospels, for he had none idea of any
+other). Many cried 'God grant it!' and when Harold had kissed the
+saints, and had risen upon his feet, the duke led him up to the chest,
+and made him stand near it; and took off the chest the pall that had
+covered it, and showed Harold upon what holy relics he had sworn, and
+he was sorely alarmed at the sight."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[22] Archaeologia, vol. xvii.
+
+[23] Biblio. Tour, vol. i., 138.
+
+[24] Archaeol. vols. xviii., xix.
+
+[25] One writer, Bolton Corney, Esq., maintains that this work was
+provided at the expense of the Chapter of Bayeux, under their
+superintendence, and from their designs. "If it had not (says he) been
+devised within the precincts of a church it could not have escaped
+female influence: it could not have contained such indications of
+_celibatic_ superintendence. It is not without its domestic and
+festive scenes; and comprises, exclusive of the borders, about 530
+figures; but in this number there are only three females."
+
+[26] Henry III., 25.
+
+[27] Archaeol. vol. xix.
+
+[28] The attempts to imitate the human figure were, at this period,
+stiff and rude: but arabesque patterns were now _chiefly_ worked; and
+they were rich and varied.
+
+[29] Henry III., 554.
+
+[30] Fabyan's Chron.
+
+[31] Rastell's Chron.
+
+[32] Henry II., 515.
+
+[33] Hist. Chiv.
+
+[34] Archaeol. 1 and 3.
+
+[35] Master Wace. Roman de Rou, &c., by Taylor.
+
+[36] Archaeologia, vol. xix.
+
+[37] "Her knees were like horn with constant kneeling."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY.--PART II.
+
+ "But bloody, bloody was the field,
+ Ere that lang day was done."
+
+ Hardyknute.
+
+ "King William bithought him alsoe of that
+ Folke that was forlorne,
+ And slayn also thoruz him
+ In the bataile biforne.
+ And ther as the bataile was,
+ An abbey he lite rere
+ Of Seint Martin, for the soules
+ That there slayn were.
+ And the monkes well ynoug
+ Feffed without fayle,
+ That is called in Englonde
+ Abbey of Bataile."
+
+
+Immediately after the solemn ceremony described in the foregoing
+chapter, Harold is depicted as returning to England and presenting
+himself before the king, Edward the Confessor. "But the day came that
+no man can escape, and King Edward drew near to die." His deathbed and
+his funeral procession are both wrought in the tapestry, but by some
+accident have been transposed. His remains are borne in splendid
+procession to the magnificent house which he had builded (_i.e._
+rebuilded), Westminster Abbey; over which, in the sky, a hand is seen
+to point as if in benediction. It is well known that the Abbey was
+barely finished at the time of the pious monarch's death, and this
+circumstance is intimated in an intelligible though homely manner in
+the tapestry by a person occupied in placing a weathercock on the
+summit of the building.
+
+The first pageant seen within its walls was the funeral array of the
+monarch who so beautifully rebuilt and so amply endowed it. Before the
+high altar, in a splendid shrine, where gems and jewelry flashed back
+the gleams of innumerable torches, and amid the solemn chant of the
+monks, whose "Miserere" echoed through the vaulted aisles, interrupted
+but by the subdued wail of the mourners, or the emphatic benediction
+of the poor whose friend he had been, were laid the remains of him who
+was called the Sainted Edward; whose tomb was considered so hallowed a
+spot that the very stones around it were worn down by the knees of the
+pilgrims who resorted thither for prayer; and the very dust of whose
+shrine was carefully swept and collected, exported to the continent,
+and bought by devotees at a high price.
+
+We next see in the tapestry the crown _offered_ to Harold (a
+circumstance to be peculiarly remarked, since thus depicted by his
+opponent's wife), and then Harold shows right royally receiving the
+homage and gratulations of those around.
+
+But the next scene forbodes a change of fortune: "ISTI MIRANT STELLA,"
+is the explanation wrought over it. For there appeared "a blasing
+starre, which was seene not onelie here in England, but also in other
+parts of the world, and continued the space of seven daies. This
+blasing starre might be a prediction of mischeefe imminent and hanging
+over Harold's head; for they never appeare but as prognosticats of
+afterclaps."
+
+Popular belief has generally invested these ill-omened bodies with
+peculiar terrors. "These blasing starres--dreadful to be seene, with
+bloudie haires, and all over rough and shagged at the top." They vary,
+however, in their appearance. Sometimes they are pale, and glitter
+like a sword, without any rays or beams. Such was the one which is
+said to have hung over Jerusalem for near a year before its
+destruction, filling the minds of all who beheld it with awe and
+superstitious dread. A comet resembling a horn appeared when the
+"whole manhood of Greece fought the battaile of Salamis." Comets
+foretold the war between Caesar and Pompey, the murder of Claudius, and
+the tyranny of Nero. Though _usually_, they were not _invariably_,
+considered as portents of evil omen: for the birth and accession of
+Alexander, of Mithridates, the birth of Charles Martel, and the
+accession of Charlemagne, and the commencement of the Tatar empire,
+were all notified by blazing stars. A very brilliant one which
+appeared for seven consecutive nights soon after the death of Julius
+Caesar was supposed to be conveying the soul of the murdered dictator
+to Olympus. An author who wrote on one which appeared in the reign of
+Elizabeth was most anxious, as in duty bound, to apply the phenomenon
+to the queen. But here was the puzzle. "To have foretold calamities
+might have been misprision of treason; and the only precedent for
+saying anything good of a comet was to be drawn from that which
+occurred after the death of Julius Caesar;" but it so happened that at
+this time Elizabeth was by no means either ripe or willing for her
+apotheosis.[38]
+
+Comets, one author writes, "were made to the end the etherial regions
+might not be more void of monsters than the ocean is of whales and
+other great thieving fishes, and that a gross fatness being gathered
+together as excrements into an imposthume, the celestial air might
+thereby be purged, lest the sun should be obscured." Another says,
+they "signifie corruption of the ayre. They are signes of earthquake,
+of warres, chaunging of kyngdomes, great dearth of corne, yea, a
+common death of man and beast." So a poet of the same age:--
+
+ "There with long bloody hair a blazing star
+ Threatens the world with famine, plague, and war;
+ To princes death, to kingdoms many crosses,
+ To all estates inevitable losses;
+ To herdsmen rot, to plowmen hapless seasons,
+ To sailors storms, to cities civil treasons."
+
+But a writer on comets in 1665 crowned all previous conjecture. "As if
+God and Nature intended by comets to ring the knells of princes;
+esteeming the bells of churches upon earth not sacred enough for such
+illustrious and eminent performances."
+
+No wonder that the comet in Harold's days was regarded with fearful
+misgivings.
+
+It did not, however, dismay him. Duke William, as may be supposed, did
+not tamely submit to a usurpation of what he considered, or affected
+to consider, his own dominions--a circumstance which we see an envoy,
+probably from his party in England, makes him acquainted with. He
+holds a council, seemingly an earnest and animated one, which
+evidently results in the immediate preparation of a fleet; of which
+the tapestry delineates the various stages and circumstances, from the
+felling of the timber in its native woods to the launching of the
+vessels, stored and fully equipped in arms, provisions, and heroes for
+invasion and conquest.
+
+William in this expedition received unusual assistance from his own
+tributary chiefs, and from various other allies, who joined his
+standard, and without whom, indeed, he could not, with any chance of
+success, have made his daring attempt. A summer and autumn were spent
+in fitting-up the fleet and collecting the forces, "and there was no
+knight in the land, no good serjeant, archer, nor peasant of stout
+heart, and of age for battle, that the duke did not summon to go with
+him to England; promising rents to the vavassors, and honours to the
+barons." Thus was an armament prepared of seven hundred ships, but the
+one which bore William, the hero of the expedition, shone proudly
+pre-eminent over the rest. It was the gift of his affectionate queen.
+It is represented in the canvas of larger size than the others: the
+mast, surmounted by a cross, bears the banner which was sent to
+William by the Pope as a testimony of his blessing and approbation. On
+this mast also a beacon-light nightly blazed as a _point d'approche_
+of the remainder of the fleet. On the poop was the figure of a boy
+(supposed to be meant for the conqueror's youngest son), gilded, and
+looking earnestly towards England, holding in one hand a banner, in
+the other an ivory horn, on which he is sounding a joyful reveillee.
+
+But long the fleet waited at St. Valeri for a fair wind, until the
+barons became weary and dispirited. Then they prayed the convent to
+bring out the shrine of St. Valeri and set it on a carpet in the
+plain; and all came praying the holy relics that they might be allowed
+to pass over sea. They offered so much money, that the relics were
+buried beneath it; and from that day forth they had good weather and a
+fair wind. "Than Willyam thanked God and Saynt Valary, and toke
+shortly after shyppynge, and helde his course towarde Englande."
+
+On the arrival of the fleet in England a banquet is prepared. The
+shape of the table at which William sits has been the theme of some
+curious remarks by Father Montfaucon, which have been copied by
+Ducarel and others. It is in form of a half-moon, and was called by
+the Romans _sigma_, from the Greek +s+. It was calculated only for
+seven persons; and a facetious emperor once invited eight, on purpose
+to raise a laugh against the person for whom there would be no place.
+
+"A knight in that country (Britain) heard the noise and cry made by
+the peasants and villains when they saw the great fleet arrive. He
+well knew that the Normans were come, and that their object was to
+seize the land. He posted himself behind a hill, so that they should
+not see him, and tarried there watching the arrival of the great
+fleet. He saw the archers come forward from the ships, and the knights
+follow. He saw the carpenters with their axes, and the host of people
+and troops. He saw the men throw the materials for the fort out of the
+ships. He saw them build up and enclose the fort, and dig the fosse
+around it. He saw them land the shields and armour. And as he beheld
+all this his spirit was troubled; and he girt his sword and took his
+lance, saying he would go straightway to King Harold and tell the
+news. Forthwith he set out on his way, resting late and rising early;
+and thus he journeyed on by night and by day to seek Harold his lord."
+And we see him in the tapestry speeding to his beloved master.
+
+Meanwhile Harold is not idle. But the fleet which, in expectation of
+his adversary's earlier arrival, he had stationed on the southern
+coast, had lately dispersed from want of provisions, and the King,
+occupied by the Norwegian invasion, had not been able to reinstate it;
+and "William came against him (says the Saxon chronicle) unawares ere
+his army was collected." Thus the enemy found nor opposition nor
+hinderance in obtaining a footing in the island.
+
+Taken at such disadvantage, Harold did all that a brave man could do
+to repel his formidable adversary. The tapestry depicts, as well as
+may be expected, the battle.
+
+"The priests had watched all night, and besought and called upon God,
+and prayed to him in their chapels, which were fitted up throughout
+the host. They offered and vowed fasts, penances, and orisons; they
+said psalms and misereres, litanies and kyriels; they cried on God,
+and for his mercy, and said paternosters and masses; some the SPIRITUS
+DOMINI, others SALUS POPULI, and many SALVE SANCTE PARENS, being
+suited to the season, as belonging to that day, which was Saturday.
+
+"AND NOW, BEHOLD! THAT BATTLE WAS GATHERED WHEREOF THE FAME IS YET
+MIGHTY.
+
+"Then Taillefer, who sang right well, rode, mounted on a swift horse,
+before the duke.
+
+"Loud and far resounded the bray of the horns, and the shocks of the
+lances, the mighty strokes of clubs, and the quick clashing of swords.
+One while the Englishmen rushed on, another while they fell back; one
+while the men from over sea charged onwards, and again at other times
+retreated. When the English fall, the Normans shout. Each side taunts
+and defies the other, yet neither knoweth what the other saith; and
+the Normans say the English bark, because they understand not their
+speech.
+
+"Some wax strong, others weak; the brave exult, but the cowards
+tremble, as men who are sore dismayed. The Normans press on the
+assault, and the English defend their post well; they pierce the
+hauberks and cleave the shields; receive and return mighty blows.
+Again some press forwards, others yield, and thus in various ways the
+struggle proceeds."
+
+The death of Harold's two brothers is depicted, and, finally, his own.
+It is said that his mother offered the weight of the body in gold to
+have the melancholy satisfaction of interring it, and that the
+Conqueror refused the boon. But other writers affirm, and apparently
+with truth, that William immediately transmitted the body, unransomed,
+to the bereaved parent, who had it interred in the monastery of
+Waltham.
+
+With the death of Harold the tapestry now ends, though some writers
+think it probable that it once extended as far as the coronation of
+William. There can be little doubt of its having been intended to
+extend so far, though it is impossible now to ascertain whether the
+Queen was ever enabled quite to complete her Herculean task. Enough
+there is, however, to stamp it as one of the "most noble and
+interesting relics of antiquity;" and, as Dibdin calls it, "an
+exceedingly curious document of the conjugal attachment, and even
+enthusiastic veneration of Matilda, and a political record of more
+weight than may at first sight appear to belong to it." Taking it
+altogether, he adds, "none but itself could be its parallel."
+
+Almost all historians describe the Normans as advancing to the onset
+"singing the song of Roland," that is, a detail of the achievements
+of the slaughtered hero of Roncesvalles, which is well known to have
+been, for ages after the event to which it refers, a note of magical
+inspiration to deeds of "derring do". On this occasion it is recorded
+that the spirit note was sung by the minstrel Taillefer, who was,
+however, little contented to lead his countrymen by voice alone. It is
+not possible that our readers can be otherwise than pleased with the
+following animated account of his deeds:[39]--
+
+ THE ONSET OF TAILLEFER
+
+ "Foremost in the bands of France,
+ Arm'd with hauberk and with lance,
+ And helmet glittering in the air,
+ As if a warrior-knight he were,
+ Rushed forth the minstrel Taillefer--
+ Borne on his courser swift and strong,
+ He gaily bounded o'er the plain,
+ And raised the heart-inspiring song
+ (Loud echoed by the warlike throng)
+ Of Roland and of Charlemagne,
+ Of Oliver, brave peer of old,
+ Untaught to fly, unknown to yield,
+ And many a knight and vassal bold,
+ Whose hallowed blood, in crimson flood,
+ Dyed Roncesvalles' field.
+
+ "Harold's host he soon descried,
+ Clustering on the hill's steep side:
+ Then turned him back brave Taillefer,
+ And thus to William urged his prayer:
+ 'Great Sire, it fits me not to tell
+ How long I've served you, or how well;
+ Yet if reward my lays may claim,
+ Grant now the boon I dare to name;
+ Minstrel no more, be mine the blow
+ That first shall strike yon perjured foe.'
+ 'Thy suit is gained,' the Duke replied,
+ 'Our gallant minstrel be our guide.'
+ 'Enough,' he cried, 'with joy I speed,
+ Foremost to vanquish or to bleed.'
+
+ "And still of Roland's deeds he sung,
+ While Norman shouts responsive rung,
+ As high in air his lance he flung,
+ With well directed might;
+ Back came the lance into his hand,
+ Like urchin's ball, or juggler's wand,
+ And twice again, at his command,
+ Whirled its unerring flight.--
+ While doubting whether skill or charm
+ Had thus inspired the minstrel's arm,
+ The Saxons saw the wondrous dart
+ Fixed in their standard bearer's heart.
+
+ "Now thrice aloft his sword he threw,
+ 'Midst sparkling sunbeams dancing,
+ And downward thrice the weapon flew,
+ Like meteor o'er the evening dew,
+ From summer sky swift glancing:
+ And while amazement gasped for breath,
+ Another Saxon groaned in death.
+
+ "More wonders yet!--on signal made,
+ With mane erect, and eye-balls flashing,
+ The well taught courser rears his head,
+ His teeth in ravenous fury gnashing;
+ He snorts--he foams--and upward springs--
+ Plunging he fastens on the foe,
+ And down his writhing victim flings,
+ Crushed by the wily minstrel's blow.
+ Thus seems it to the hostile band
+ Enchantment all, and fairy land.
+
+ "Fain would I leave the rest unsung:--
+ The Saxon ranks, to madness stung,
+ Headlong rushed with frenzied start,
+ Hurling javelin, mace, and dart;
+ No shelter from the iron shower
+ Sought Taillefer in that sad hour;
+ Yet still he beckoned to the field,
+ 'Frenchman, come on--the Saxons yield--
+ Strike quick--strike home--in Roland's name--
+ For William's glory--Harold's shame.'
+ Then pierced with wounds, stretched side by side,
+ The minstrel and his courser died."
+
+We have dwelt on the details of the tapestry with a prolixity which
+some may deem tedious. Yet surely the subject is worthy of it; for, in
+the first place, it is the oldest piece of needlework in the
+world--the only piece of that era now existing; and this circumstance
+in itself suggests many interesting ideas, on which, did our space
+permit, we could readily dilate. Ages have rolled away; and the fair
+hands that wrought this work have mouldered away into dust; and the
+gentle and affectionate spirit that suggested this elaborate memorial
+has long since passed from the scene which it adorned and dignified.
+In no long period after the battle thus commemorated, an abbey,
+consecrated to praise and prayer, raised its stately walls on the very
+field that was ploughed with the strife and watered with the blood of
+fierce and evil men. The air that erst rang with the sounds of wrath,
+of strife, of warfare, the clangour of armour, the din of war, was now
+made musical with the chorus of praise, or was gently stirred by the
+breath of prayer or the sigh of penitence; and where contending hosts
+were marshalled in proud array, or the phalanx rushed impetuous to the
+battle, were seen the stoled monks in solemn procession, or the holy
+brother peacefully wending on his errand of charity.
+
+But the grey and time-honoured walls waxed aged as they beheld
+generation after generation consigned to dust beneath their shelter.
+Time and change have done their worst. A few scattered ruins, seen
+dimly through the mist of years, are all that remain to point to the
+inquiring wanderer the site of the stupendous struggle of which the
+results are felt even after the expiration of eight hundred years.
+
+These may be deemed trite reflections: still it is worthy of remark,
+that many of the turbulent spirits who then made earth echo with their
+fame would have been literally and altogether as though they never had
+been--for historians make little or no mention of them--were it not
+for the lasting monument raised to them in this tapestry by woman's
+industry and skill.
+
+Matilda the Queen's character is pictured in high terms by both
+English and Norman historians. "So very stern was her husband, and
+hot, that no man durst do anything against his will. He had earls in
+his custody who acted against his will. Bishops he hurled from their
+bishoprics, and abbots from their abbacies, and thanes into prison;"
+yet it is recorded that even his iron temper was not proof against the
+good sense, the gentleness, the piety, and the affection of a wife who
+never offended him but once; and on this occasion there was so much to
+palliate and excuse her fault, proceeding as it did from a mother's
+yearnings towards her eldest son when he was in disgrace and sorrow,
+that the usually unyielding King forgave her immediately. She lived
+beloved, and she died lamented; and, from the time of her death, the
+King, says William of Malmsbury, "refrained from every gratification."
+
+Independently of the value of this tapestry as an historical
+authority, and its interest as being projected, and in part executed,
+by a lady as excellent in character as she was noble in rank, and its
+high estimation as the oldest piece of needlework extant--independently
+of all these circumstances, it is impossible to study this memorial
+closely, "rude and skilless" as it at first appears, without becoming
+deeply interested in the task. The outline engravings of it in the
+"Tapisseries Anciennes Historiees" are beautifully executed, but are
+inferior in interest to Mr. Stothart's (published by the Society of
+Antiquarians), because these have the advantage of being coloured
+accurately from the original. In the study of these plates alone, days
+and weeks glided away, nor left us weary of our task.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[38] The Comet of 1618 carried dismay and horror in its course. Not
+only mighty monarchs, but the humblest private individuals seem to
+have considered the sign as sent to them, and to have set a double
+guard on all their actions. Thus Sir Symonds D'Ewes, the learned
+antiquary, having been in danger of an untimely end by entangling
+himself among some bell-ropes, makes a memorandum in his private diary
+never more to exercise himself in bell-ringing when there is a comet
+in the sky.--Aikin.
+
+[39] By Thomas Amyot, Esq., F.S.A.--Archaeol., vol. xix
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+NEEDLEWORK OF THE TIMES OF ROMANCE AND CHIVALRY.
+
+ "As ladies wont
+ To finger the fine needle and nyse thread."
+
+ Faerie Queene.
+
+
+Though, during bygone ages, the fingers of the fair and noble were
+often sedulously employed in the decoration and embellishment of the
+church, and of its ministers, they were by no means universally so.
+Marvellous indeed in quantity, as well as quality, must have been the
+stitchery done in those industrious days, for the "fine needle and
+nyse thread" were not merely visible but conspicuous in every
+department of life. If, happily, there were not proof to the contrary,
+we might be apt to imagine that the women of those days came into the
+world _only_ "to ply the distaff, broider, card, and sew." That this
+was not the case we, however, well know; but before we turn to those
+embroideries which are more especially the subject of this chapter, we
+will transcribe, from a recent work,[40] an interesting detail of the
+household responsibilities of the mistress of a family in the
+fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
+
+"While to play on the harp and citole (a species of lute), to execute
+various kinds of the most costly and delicate needle-work, and in some
+instances to 'pourtraye,' were, in addition to more literary pursuits,
+the accomplishments of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the
+functions which the mistress of an extensive household was expected to
+fulfil were never lost sight of.
+
+"Few readers are aware of the various qualifications requisite to form
+the 'good housewife' during the middle ages. In the present day, when
+household articles of every kind are obtainable in any country town,
+and, with few exceptions, throughout the year, we can know little of
+the judgment, the forethought, and the nice calculation which were
+required in the mistress of a household consisting probably of
+three-score, or even more persons, and who, in the autumn, had to
+provide almost a twelvemonth's stores. There was the fire-wood, the
+rushes to strew the rooms, the malt, the oatmeal, the honey (at this
+period the substitute for sugar), the salt (only sold in large
+quantities), and, if in the country, the wheat and the barley for the
+bread--all to be provided and stored away. The greater part of the
+meat used for the winter's provision was killed and salted down at
+Martinmas; and the mistress had to provide the necessary stock for the
+winter and spring consumption, together with the stockfish and
+'baconed herrings' for Lent. Then at the annual fair, the only
+opportunity was afforded for purchasing those more especial articles
+of housewifery which the careful housewife never omitted buying--the
+ginger, nutmegs, and cinnamon, for the Christmas posset, and
+Sheer-Monday furmety; the currants and almonds for the Twelfth-Night
+cake (an observance which dates almost as far back as the Conquest);
+the figs, with which our forefathers always celebrated Palm-Sunday;
+and the pepper, the saffron, and the cummin, so highly prized in
+ancient cookery. All these articles bore high prices, and therefore it
+was with great consideration and care that they were bought.
+
+"But the task of providing raiment for the family also devolved upon
+the mistress, and there were no dealers save for the richer articles
+of wearing apparel to be found. The wool that formed the chief
+clothing was the produce of the flock, or purchased in a raw state;
+and was carded, spun, and in some instances woven at home. Flax, also,
+was often spun for the coarser kinds of linen, and occasionally woven.
+Thus, the mistress of a household had most important duties to fulfil,
+for on her wise and prudent management depended not merely the
+comfort, but the actual well-being of her extensive household. If the
+winter's stores were insufficient, there were no markets from whence
+an additional supply could be obtained; and the lord of wide estates
+and numerous manors might be reduced to the most annoying privations
+through the mismanagement of the mistress of the family."
+
+The "costly and delicate needle-work" is here, as elsewhere, passed
+over with merely a mention. It is, naturally, too insignificant a
+subject to task the attention of those whose energies are devoted to
+describing the warfare and welfare of kingdoms and thrones. Thus did
+we look only to professed historians, though enough exists in their
+pages to evidence the existence of such productions as those which
+form the subject of our chapter, our evidence would be meagre indeed
+as to the minuter details: but as the "novel" now describes those
+minutiae of every day life which we should think it ridiculous to look
+for in the writings of the politician or historian, so the romances of
+the days of chivalry present us with descriptions which, if they be
+somewhat redundant in ornament, are still correct in groundwork; and
+the details gathered from romances have in, it may be, unimportant
+circumstances, that accidental corroboration from history which fairly
+stamps their faithfulness in more important particulars: and it has
+been shown, says the author of 'Godefridus,' by learned men, in the
+memoirs of the French Academy of Inscriptions, that they may be used
+in common with history, and as of equal authority whenever an inquiry
+takes place respecting the _spirit and manners of the ages_ in which
+they were composed. But we are writing a dissertation on romance
+instead of describing the "clodes ryche," to which we must now
+proceed.
+
+So highly was a facility in the use of the needle prized in these
+"ould ancient times," that a wandering damsel is not merely
+_tolerated_ but _cherished_ in a family in which she is a perfect
+stranger, solely from her skill in this much-loved art.
+
+After being exposed in an open boat, Emare was rescued by Syr Kadore,
+remained in his castle, and there--
+
+ "She tawghte hem to _sewe_ and _marke_
+ All _maner of sylkyn werke_,
+ Of her they wer ful fayne."[41]
+
+Syr Kadore says of her--
+
+ "She ys the konnyngest wommon,
+ I trowe, that be yn Crystendom,
+ Of _werk_ that y have sene."
+
+And again describing her--
+
+ "She _sewed sylke_ werk yn bour."
+
+This same accomplished and luckless lady had, princess though she was,
+every advantage of early tuition in this notable art, having been sent
+in her childhood to a lady called Abro, who not only taught her
+"curtesye and thewe" (virtue and good manners), but also
+
+ "Golde and sylke for to sewe,
+ Amonge maydenes moo:"
+
+evidently an old dame's school; where, however, we may infer from the
+arrangement of the accomplishments taught, and the special mention of
+needlework, that the extra expense would be for the _sewing_; whereas,
+in our time and country (or county), the routine has been, "REDING AND
+SOING, THREE-PENCE A WEEK: A PENY EXTRA FOR MANNERS."
+
+This expensive and troublesome acquirement--the art of sewing in
+"golde and silke"--was of general adoption: gorgeous must have been
+the appearance of the damsels and knights of those days, when their
+
+ "----Clothys wyth bestes & byrdes wer _bete_,[42]
+ All abowte for pryde."
+
+"By that light Amadis saw his lady, and she appeared more beautiful
+than man could fancy woman could be. She had on a robe of _Indian
+silk, thickly wrought with flowers of gold_; her hair was so beautiful
+that it was a wonder, and she had covered it only with a garland."[43]
+
+"Now when the fair Grasinda heard of the coming of the fleet, and of
+all that had befallen, she made ready to receive Oriana, whom of all
+persons in the world she most desired to see, because of her great
+renown that was everywhere spread abroad. She therefore wished to
+appear before her like a lady of such rank and such wealth as indeed
+she was: the robe which she put on was adorned with _roses of gold,
+wrought with marvellous skill, and bordered with pearls and precious
+stones_ of exceeding value."[44]
+
+ "His fine, soft garments, wove with cunning skill,
+ All over, ease and wantonness declare;
+ These with her hand, such subtle toil well taught,
+ For him, in silk and gold, Alcina wrought."[45]
+
+ "Mayde Elene, al so tyte.
+ In a robe of samyte,[46]
+ Anoon sche gan her tyre,
+ To do Lybeau's profyte
+ In kevechers whyt,
+ Arayde wyth golde wyre.
+ A velvwet mantyll gay,
+ Pelored[47] wyth grys and gray
+ Sche caste abowte her swyre;
+ A sercle upon her molde,
+ Of stones and of golde,
+ The best yn that empyre."[48]
+
+We read perpetually of "kercheves well schyre,[49]
+
+ "Arayde wyth ryche gold wyre."
+
+But the labours of those days were not confined to merely
+good-appearing garments: the skill of the needlewoman--for doubtless
+it was solely attributable to that--could imbue them with a value far
+beyond that of mere outward garnish.
+
+ "She seyde, Syr Knight, gentyl and hende,[50]
+ I wot thy stat, ord, and ende,
+ Be naught aschamed of me;
+ If thou wylt truly to me take,
+ And alle wemen for me forsake
+ Ryche i wyll make the.
+ I wyll the geve an alner,[51]
+ Imad of sylk and of gold cler,
+ Wyth fayr ymages thre;
+ As oft thou puttest the hond therinne
+ A mark of gold thou schalt wynne,
+ In wat place that thou be."[52]
+
+But infinitely more marvellous is the following:--"King Lisuarte was
+so content with the tidings of Amadis and Galaor, which the dwarf had
+brought him, that he determined to hold the most honourable court that
+ever had been held in Great Britain. Presently three knights came
+through the gate, two of them armed at all points, the third unarmed,
+of good stature and well proportioned, his hair grey, but of a green
+and comely old age. He held in his hand a coffer; and, having inquired
+which was the king, dismounted from his palfrey and kneeled before
+him, saying, 'God preserve you, Sir! for you have made the noblest
+promise that ever king did, if you hold it.' 'What promise was that?'
+quoth Lisuarte. 'To maintain chivalry in its highest honour and
+degree: few princes now-a-days labour to that end; therefore are you
+to be commended above all other.' 'Certes, knight, that promise shall
+hold while I live.' 'God grant you life to complete it!' quoth the old
+man: 'and because you have summoned a great court to London, I have
+brought something here which becomes such a person, for such an
+occasion.' Then he opened the coffer and took out a Crown of Gold, so
+curiously wrought and set with pearls and gems, that all were amazed
+at its beauty; and it well appeared that it was only fit for the brow
+of some mighty lord. 'Is it not a work which the most cunning artists
+would wonder at?' said the old knight. Lisuarte answered, 'In truth it
+is.' 'Yet,' said the knight, 'it hath a virtue more to be esteemed
+than its rare work and richness: whatever king hath it on his head
+shall always increase his honour; this it did for him for whom it was
+made till the day of his death: since then no king hath worn it. I
+will give it you, sir, for one boon.'----'You also, Lady,' said the
+knight, 'should purchase a rich mantle that I bring:' and he took from
+the coffer the richest and most beautiful mantle that ever was seen;
+for besides the pearls and precious stones with which it was
+beautified, there were figured on it all the birds and beasts in
+nature; so that it looked like a miracle. 'On my faith,' exclaimed the
+Queen, 'this cloth can only have been made by that Lord who can do
+everything.' 'It is the work of man,' said the old knight; 'but rarely
+will one be found to make its fellow: it should belong to wife rather
+than maiden, for she that weareth it _shall never have dispute with
+her husband_.' Britna answered, 'If that be true, it is above all
+price; I will give you for it whatsoever you ask.' And Lisuarte bade
+him demand what he would for the mantle and crown."[53]
+
+But the robe which occupied the busy fingers of the Saracen king's
+daughter for seven long years, and of which the jewelled ornaments
+inwrought in it--as was then very usual--were sought far and wide, has
+often been referred to (albeit wanting in fairy gifts) as a crowning
+proof of female industry and talent. We give the full description from
+the Romance of 'EMARE,' in Ritson's collection:--
+
+ "Sone aftur yu a whyle,
+ The ryche Kynge of Cesyle
+ To the Emperour gaun wende,
+ A ryche present wyth hym he browght,
+ A cloth that was wordylye wroght,
+ He wellcomed hym at the hende.[54]
+
+ "Syr Tergaunte, that nobyll knyghte hyghte,
+ He presented the Emperour ryght,
+ And sette hym on hys kne,
+ Wyth that cloth rychyly dyght.
+ Full of stones ther hit was pyght,
+ At thykke as hit myght be,
+ Off topaze and rubyes,
+ And other stones of myche prys,
+ That semely wer to se,
+ Of crapowtes and nakette,
+ As thykke ar they sette
+ For sothe as y say the.
+
+ "The cloth was displayed sone,
+ The Emperoer lokede therupone,
+ And myght hyt not se,
+ For glysteryng of the ryche ston
+ Redy syght had he non,
+ And sayde, How may thys be?
+ The Emperour sayde on hygh,
+ Sertes thys ys a fayry,
+ Or ellys a vanyte.
+ The Kyng of Cysyle answered than,
+ So ryche a jewell ys ther non
+ In all Crystyante.
+
+ "The amerayle[55] dowghter of hethennes
+ Made this cloth withouten lees,
+ And wrowghte hit all with pride,
+ And purtreyed hyt with gret honour,
+ Wyth ryche golde and asowr,[56]
+ And stones on ylke a side;
+ And, as the story telles in honde,
+ The stones that yn this cloth stonde
+ Sowghte they wer full wyde.
+ Seven wynter hit was yn makynge,
+ Or hit was browght to endynge,
+ In herte ys not to hyde.
+
+ "In that on korner made was
+ Idoyne and Amadas,
+ With love that was so trewe,
+ For they loveden hem wit honour,
+ Portrayed they wer with trewe-love flour,
+ Of stones bryght of hewe,
+ Wyth carbankull and safere,
+ Kasydonys and onyx so clere,
+ Sette in golde newe,
+ Deamondes and rubyes,
+ And other stones of mychyll pryse,
+ And menstrellys with her gle.
+
+ "In that other korner was dyght,
+ Trystram and Isowde so bryght,
+ That semely wer to se,
+ And for they loved hem ryght,
+ As full of stones ar they dyght,
+ As thykke as they may be,
+ Of topase and of rubyes,
+ And other stones of myche pryse,
+ That semely wer to se,
+ With crapawtes and nakette,
+ Thykke of stones ar they sette,
+ For sothe as y say the.
+
+ "In the thyrdde korner, with gret honour,
+ Was Florys and dame Blawncheflour,
+ As love was hem betwene,
+ For they loved wyth honour,
+ Purtrayed they wer with trewe-love-flower,
+ With stones bryght and shene.
+ Ther wer knyghtes and senatowres,
+ Emerawdes of gret vertues,
+ To wyte withouten wene,
+ Deamondes and koralle,
+ Perydotes and crystall,
+ And gode garnettes bytwene.
+
+ "In the fowrthe korner was oon
+ Of Babylone the sowdan sonne,
+ The amerayle's dowghter hym by,
+ For hys sake the cloth was wrowght,
+ She loved hym in hert and thowght,
+ As testy-moyeth thys storye.
+ The fayr mayden her byforn
+ Was purtrayed an unykorn,
+ With hys horn so hye,
+ Flowres and bryddes on ylke a syde,
+ Wyth stones that wer sowght wyde,
+ Stuffed wyth ymagerye.
+
+ "When the cloth to ende was wrought,
+ To the sowdan sone hit was browght,
+ That semely was of syghte:
+ 'My fadyr was a nobyll man,
+ Of the sowdan he hit wan,
+ Wyth maystrye and myghth;
+ For gret love he yaf hyt me,
+ I brynge hit the in specyalte,
+ Thys cloth ys rychely dyght.'
+ He yaf hit the Emperour,
+ He receyved hit wyth gret honour,
+ And thonkede hym fayr and ryght."
+
+We must not dismiss this subject without recording a species of mantle
+much celebrated in romance, and which must have tried the skill and
+patience of the fair votaries of the needle to the uttermost. We all
+have seen, perhaps we have some of us been foolish enough to
+manufacture, initials with hair, as tokens or souvenirs, or some other
+such fooleries. In our mothers' and grandmothers' days, when "fine
+marking" was the _sine qua non_ of a good education, whole sets of
+linen were thus elaborately marked; and often have we marvelled when
+these tokens of grandmotherly skill and industry were displayed to our
+wondering and aching eyes. What then should we have thought of King
+Ryence's mantle, of rich scarlet, bordered round with the beards of
+kings, sewed thereon full craftily by accomplished female hands. Thus
+runs the anecdote in the 'Morte Arthur:'--
+
+"Came a messenger hastely from King Ryence, of North Wales, saying,
+that King Ryence had discomfited and overcomen eleaven kings, and
+everiche of them did him homage, and that was thus: they gave him
+their beards cleane flayne off,--wherefore the messenger came for King
+Arthur's beard, for King Ryence had purfeled a mantell with king's
+beards, and there lacked for one a place of the mantell, wherefore he
+sent for his beard, or else he would enter into his lands, and brenn
+and slay, and never leave till he have thy head and thy beard. 'Well,'
+said King Arther, 'thou hast said thy message, which is the most
+villainous and lewdest message that ever man heard sent to a king.
+Also thou mayest see my beard is full young yet for to make a purfell
+of; but tell thou the king that--or it be long--he shall do to _me_
+homage on both his knees, or else he shall leese his head.'"
+
+In Queen Elizabeth's day, when they were beginning to skim the cream
+of the ponderous tomes of former times into those elaborate ditties
+from which the more modern ballad takes its rise, this incident was
+put into rhyme, and was sung before her majesty at the grand
+entertainment at Kenilworth Castle, 1575, thus:--
+
+ "As it fell out on a Pentecost day,
+ King Arthur at Camelot kept his Court royall,
+ With his faire queene dame Guenever the gay,
+ And many bold barons sitting in hall;
+ With ladies attired in purple and pall;
+ And heraults in hewkes,[57] hooting on high,
+ Cryed, _Largesse, largesse, Chevaliers tres hardie_.
+
+ "A doughty dwarfe to the uppermost deas
+ Right pertlye gan pricke, kneeling on knee;
+ With steven[58] fulle stoute amids all the preas,
+ Sayd, Nowe sir King Arthur, God save thee, and see!
+ Sir Ryence of Northgales greeteth well thee,
+ And bids thee thy beard anon to him send,
+ Or else from thy jaws he will it off rend.
+
+ "For his robe of state is a rich scarlet mantle,
+ With eleven kings beards bordered about,
+ And there is room lefte yet in a kantle,[59]
+ For thine to stande, to make the twelfth out:
+ This must be done, be thou never so stout;
+ This must be done, I tell thee no fable,
+ Maugre the teethe of all thy rounde table.
+
+ "When this mortal message from his mouthe past,
+ Great was the noyse bothe in hall and in bower,
+ The king fum'd; the queen screecht; ladies were aghast;
+ Princes puff'd; barons blustered; lords began lower;
+ Knights stormed; squires startled, like steeds in a stower;
+ Pages and yeomen yell'd out in the hall;
+ Then in came Sir Kay, the king's seneschal.
+
+ "Silence, my soveraignes, quoth this courteous knight,
+ And in that stound the stowre began still:
+ Then the dwarfe's dinner full deerely was dight;
+ Of wine and wassel he had his wille:
+ And when he had eaten and drunken his fill,
+ An hundred pieces of fine coyned gold
+ Were given this dwarfe for his message bold.
+
+ "But say to Sir Ryence, thou dwarfe, quoth the king,
+ That for his bold message I do him defye;
+ And shortly with basins and pans will him ring
+ Out of North Gales; where he and I
+ With swords, and not razors, quickly shall trye
+ Whether he or King Arthur will prove the best barbor:
+ And therewith he shook his good sword Excalabor."
+
+Drayton thus alludes to the same circumstance:--
+
+ "Then told they, how himselfe great Arthur did advance,
+ To meet (with his Allies) that puissant force in France,
+ By Lucius thither led; those Armies that while ere
+ Affrighted all the world, by him strooke dead with feare:
+ Th' report of his great Acts that over Europe ran,
+ In that most famous field he with the Emperor wan:
+ As how great Rython's selfe hee slew in his repaire,
+ Who ravisht Howell's Neece, young Helena the faire;
+ And for a trophy brought the Giant's coat away,
+ Made of the beards of kings."[60]----
+
+And Spenser is too uncourteous in his adoption of the incident; for he
+not only levels tolls on the gentlemen's beards, but even on the
+flowing and golden locks of the gentle sex:--
+
+ "Not farre from hence, upon yond rocky hill,
+ Hard by a streight there stands a castle strong,
+ Which doth observe a custom lewd and ill,
+ And it hath long mayntaind with mighty wrong:
+ For may no knight nor lady passe along
+ That way, (and yet they needs must passe that way,
+ By reason of the streight, and rocks among,)
+ But they that Ladies locks doe shave away,
+ And that knight's berd for toll, which they for passage pay.
+
+ "A shamefull use, as ever I did heare,
+ Said Calidore, and to be overthrowne.
+ But by what means did they at first it reare,
+ And for what cause, tell, if thou have it knowne.
+ Sayd then that Squire: The Lady which doth owne
+ This Castle is by name Briana hight;
+ Then which a prouder Lady liveth none;
+ She long time hath deare lov'd a doughty knight,
+ And sought to win his love by all the meanes she might.
+
+ "His name is Crudor, who through high disdaine
+ And proud despight of his selfe-pleasing mynd,
+ Refused hath to yeeld her love againe,
+ Untill a Mantle she for him doe fynd,
+ With beards of knights and locks of Ladies lynd,
+ Which to provide, she hath this Castle dight,
+ And therein hath a Seneschall assynd,
+ Cald Maleffort, a man of mickle might,
+ Who executes her wicked will, with worse despight."[61]
+
+"To pluck the beard" of another has ever been held the highest
+possible sign of scorn and contumely; but it was certainly a
+refinement on the matter, for which we are indebted to the Morte
+Arthur, or rather probably, according to Bishop Percy, to Geoffrey of
+Monmouth's history originally, for the unique and ornamental purpose
+to which these despoiled locks were applied. So particularly anxious
+was Charlemagne to shew this despite to an enemy that, as we read in
+Huon de Bordeaux, he despatched no less than fifteen successive
+messengers from France to Babylon to pull the beard of Admiral
+Gaudisse. And this, by no means pleasant operation, was to be
+accompanied by one even still less inviting.
+
+"Alors le duc Naymes, & tres tous les Barons, s'en retournerent au
+palais avec le Roy, lequel s'assist sur un banc dore de fin or, & les
+Barons tous autour de luy. Si commanda qu'on luy amenast Huon, lequel
+il vint, et se mist a genoux devant le roy, ou luy priant moult
+humblement que pitie & mercy voulsist avoir de luy. Alors le roy le
+voyant en sa presence luy dist: Huon puisque vers moy veux estre
+accorde, si convient que faciez ce que je vous or donneray. Sire, ce
+dist Huon, pour obeir a vous, il n'est aujourd'huy chose en ce monde
+mortel, que corps humain puisse porter, que hardiment n'osasse
+entreprendre, ne ia pour peur de mort ne le laisseray a faire, & fust
+a aller jusques a l'arbre sec, voire jusques aux portaux d'enfer
+combattre aux infernaux, comme fist le fort Hercule: avant qu'a vous
+ne fusse accorde. Huon, ce dist Charles, je cuide qu'en pire lieu vous
+envoyeray, car, de quinze messages qui de par moy y ont este envoyez,
+n'en est par revenu un seul homme. Si te diray ou tu iras, puis que tu
+veux qui de toy aye mercy, m'a volonte est, qu'il te convient aller en
+la cite de Babylonne, par devers diray, & gardes que sur ta vie ne
+face faute, quand la seras venu tu monteras en son palais, la ou tu
+attendras l'heure de son disner & que tu le verras assis a table. Si
+convient que tu sois arme de toutes armes, l'espee nue au poing, par
+tel si que le premier & le plus grand baron que tu verras manger a sa
+table tu luy trencheras le chef quel qu'il soit, soit Roy, ou Admiral.
+Et apres ce te convient tant faire que la belle Esclarmonde fille a
+l'Amiral Gaudisse tu fiances, & la baises trois fois en la presence de
+son pere, & de tous sous qui la seront presens, car je veux que tu
+scaches que c'est la plus belle pucelle qu'aujourd'huy soit en vie,
+puis apres diras de par moy a l'Admiral qu'il m'envoye mille
+espreuiers, mille ours, mille viautres, tous enchainez, & mille jeune
+valets, & mille des plus belles pucelles de son royaume, & avecques
+ce, convient _que tu me rapportes une poignee de sa barbe, et quatre
+de ses dents machoires_. Ha! Sire, dirent les Barons, bien desirez sa
+mort, quant de tel message faire luy enchargez, vous dites la verite
+ce dit le Roy, car si tant ne fait que j'aye la barbe & les dents
+machoires sans aucune tromperie ne mensonge, jamais ne retourne en
+France, ne devant moi ne se monstre. Car je le ferois pendre &
+trainer. Sire, ce dit Huon, m'avez vous dit & racompte tout ce que
+voulez que je face. Oui dist le Roy Charles ma volonte est telle, si
+vers moy veux avoir paix. Sire ce dit Huon, au plaisir de nostre
+Seigneur, je feray & fourniray vostre message."
+
+In what precise way the beards were sewed on the mantles we are not
+exactly informed. Whether this royal exuberance was left to shine in
+its own unborrowed lustre, its own naked magnificence, as too valuable
+to be intermixed with the grosser things of earth: whether it was
+thinly scattered over the surface of the "rich scarlet;" or whether it
+was gathered into locks, perhaps gemmed round with orient pearl, or
+clustered together with brilliant emeralds, sparkling diamonds, or
+rich rubies--"Sweets to the sweet:" whether it was exposed to the
+vulgar gaze on the mantle, or whether it was so arranged that only at
+the pleasure of the mighty wearer its radiant beauties were
+visible:--on all these deeply interesting particulars we should
+rejoice in having any information; but, alas! excepting what we have
+recorded, not one circumstance respecting them has "floated down the
+tide of years." But we may perhaps form a correct idea of them from
+viewing a shield of human hair in the museum of the United Service
+Club, which may be supposed to have been _compiled_ (so to speak)
+with the same benevolent feelings as that of the heroes to whom we
+have been alluding. It is from Borneo Island, and is formed of locks
+of hair placed at regular intervals on a ground of thin tough wood: a
+refined and elegant mode of displaying the scalps of slaughtered foes.
+These coincidences are curious, and may serve at any rate to show that
+King Ryence's mantle was not the _invention_ of the penman; but, in
+all probability, actually existed.
+
+The ladies of these days did not confine their handiwork merely to the
+adornment of the person. We have seen that among the Egyptians the
+couches that at night were beds were in the daytime adorned with
+richly wrought coverlets. So amongst the classical nations
+
+ "------the menial fair that round her wait,
+ At Helen's beck prepare the room of state;
+ Beneath an ample portico they spread
+ The downy fleece to form the slumberous bed;
+ And o'er soft palls of purple grain, unfold
+ _Rich tapestry, stiff with inwoven gold_."
+
+And during the middle ages the beds, not excluded from the day
+apartments, often gave gorgeous testimony of the skill of the
+needlewoman, and were among the richest ornaments of the sitting room,
+so much fancy and expense were lavished on them. The curtains were
+often made of very rich material, and usually adorned with embroidery.
+They were often also trimmed with expensive furs: Philippa of Hainault
+had a bed on which sea-syrens were embroidered. The coverlid was
+often very rich:
+
+ "The ladi lay in hire bed,
+ With riche clothes bespred,
+ Of gold and purpre palle."[62]
+
+ "Here beds are seen adorned with silk and gold."[63]
+
+ "------on a bed design'd
+ With gay magnificence the fair reclin'd;
+ High o'er her head, on silver columns rais'd,
+ With broidering gems her proud pavilion blaz'd."
+
+ "Thence pass'd into a bow'r, where stood a bed,
+ With milkwhite furs of Alexandria spread:
+ Beneath, a richly broider'd vallance hung;
+ The pillows were of silk; o'er all was flung
+ A rare wrought coverlet of phoenix plumes,
+ Which breathed, as warm with life, its rich perfumes."[64]
+
+The array of the knights of these days was gorgeous and beautiful; and
+though the materials might be in themselves, and frequently were
+costly, still were they entirely indebted to the female hand for the
+rich elegance of the _tout ensemble_. And the custom of disarming and
+robing knights anew after the conflict, whether of real or mimic war,
+to which we have alluded as a practice of classical antiquity, was as
+much or even more practised now, and afforded to the ladies an
+admirable opportunity of exhibiting alike their preference, their
+taste, and their liberality.
+
+"Amadis and Agrayes proceeded till they came to the castle of Torin,
+the dwelling of that fair young damsel, where they were disarmed and
+mantles given them, and they were conducted into the hall."[65]
+
+"Thus they arrived at the palace, and there was he (the Green Sword
+Knight) lodged in a rich chamber, and was disarmed, and his hands and
+face washed from the dust, and they gave him a rose-coloured
+mantle."[66]
+
+The romance of "Ywaine and Gawin" abounds in instances:
+
+ "A damisel come unto me,
+ The semeliest that ever I se,
+ Lufsumer lifed never in land,
+ Hendly scho toke me by the hand,
+ And sone that gentyl creature
+ Al unlaced myne armure;
+ Into a chamber scho me led,
+ And with a mantil scho me cled;
+ It was of purpur, fair and fine;
+ And the pane of ermyne."
+
+Again--
+
+ "The maiden redies hyr fal rath,[67]
+ Bilive sho gert syr Ywaine bath,
+ And cled him sethin[68] in gude scarlet,
+ Forord wele with gold fret,
+ A girdel ful riche for the nanes,
+ Of perry[69] and of precious stanes."
+
+And--
+
+ "The mayden was bowsom and bayne[70]
+ Forto unarme syr Ywayne,
+ Serk and breke both sho hym broght,
+ That ful craftily war wroght,
+ Of riche cloth soft als the sylk,
+ And tharto white als any mylk.
+ Sho broght hym ful riche wedes to wer."
+
+On the widely acknowledged principle of "Love me, love my dog," the
+steed of a favoured knight was often adorned by the willing fingers of
+the fair.
+
+ "Each damsel and each dame who her obeyed,
+ She task'd, together with herself, to sew,
+ With subtle toil; and with fine gold o'erlaid
+ A piece of silk of white and sable hue:
+ With this she trapt the horse."[71]
+
+The tabards or surcoats which knights wore over their armour was the
+article of dress in which they most delighted to display their
+magnificence. They varied in form, but were mostly made of rich silk,
+or of cloth of gold or silver, lined or trimmed with choice and
+expensive furs, and usually, also, having the armorial bearings of the
+family richly embroidered. Thus were women even the heralds of those
+times. Besides the acknowledged armorial bearings, devices were often
+wrought symbolical of some circumstance in the life of the wearer.
+Thus we are told in Amadis that the Emperor of Rome, on his black
+surcoat, had a golden chain-work woven, which device he swore never to
+lay aside till he had Amadis in chains. The same romance gives the
+following incident regarding a surcoat.
+
+"Then Amadis cried to Florestan and Agrayes, weeping as he spake, good
+kinsman, I fear we have lost Don Galaor, let us seek for him. They
+went to the spot where Amadis had smitten down King Cildadan, and seen
+his brother last on foot; but so many were the dead who lay there that
+they saw him not, till as they moved away the bodies, Florestan knew
+him by the sleeve of his _surcoat_, which was of azure, worked with
+silver flowers, and then they made great moan over him."
+
+The shape of them, as we have remarked, varied considerably; besides
+minor alterations they were at one time worn very short, at another so
+long as to trail on the ground. But this luxurious style was
+occasionally attended with direful effects. Froissart names a surcoat
+in which Sir John Chandos was attired, which was embroidered with his
+arms in white sarsnet, argent a field gules, one on his back and
+another on his breast. It was a long robe which swept the ground, and
+this circumstance, most probably, caused the untimely death of one of
+the most esteemed knights of chivalry.
+
+Sir John Chandos was one of the brightest of that chivalrous circle
+which sparkled in the reign of Edward the Third. He was gentle as well
+as valiant; he was in the van with the Black Prince at the battle of
+Cressy; and at the battle of Poictiers he never left his side. His
+death was unlooked for and sudden. Some disappointments had depressed
+his spirits, and his attendants in vain endeavoured to cheer them.
+
+"And so he stode in a kechyn, warmyng him by the fyre, and his
+servantes jangled with hym, to {thentent} to bring him out of his
+melancholy; his servantes had prepared for hym a place to rest hym:
+than he demanded if it were nere day, and {therewith} there {came} a
+man into the house, and came before hym, and sayd,
+
+'Sir, I have brought you tidynges.'
+
+'What be they, tell me?'
+
+'Sir, surely the {frenchmen} be rydinge abrode.'
+
+'How knowest thou that?'
+
+'Sir,' sayd he, 'I departed fro saynt Saluyn with them.'
+
+'What way be they ryden?'
+
+'Sir, I can nat tell you the certentie, but surely they take the
+highway to Poiters.'
+
+'What {Frenchmen} be they; canst thou tell me?'
+
+'Sir, it is Sir Loys of Saynt Julyan, and Carlovet the Breton.'
+
+'Well, quoth Sir Johan Chandos, I care nat, I have no lyst this night
+to ryde forthe: they may happe to be {encountred} though I be nat
+ther.'
+
+"And so he taryed there styll a certayne space in a gret study, and at
+last, when he had well aduysed hymselfe, he sayde, 'Whatsoever I have
+sayd here before, I trowe it be good that I ryde forthe; I must
+retourne to Poictiers, and anone it will be day.'
+
+'That is true sir,' quoth the knightes about hym.
+
+'Then,' he sayd, 'make redy, for I wyll ryde forthe.'
+
+"And so they dyd."
+
+The skirmish commenced; there had fallen a great dew in the morning,
+in consequence of which the ground was very slippery; the knight's
+foot slipped, and in trying to recover himself, it became entangled in
+the folds of his magnificent _surcoat_; thus the fall was rendered
+irretrievable, and whilst he was down he received his death blow.
+
+The barons and knights were sorely grieved. They "lamentably
+complayned, and sayd, 'A, Sir Johan Chandos, the floure of all
+chivalry, vnhappely was that glayue forged that thus hath {wounded}
+you, and brought you in parell of dethe:' they wept piteously that
+were about hym, and he herde and vnderstode them well, but he could
+speke no worde."--"For his dethe, his frendes, and also some of his
+enemyes, were right soroufull; the Englysshmen loued hym, bycause all
+noblenesse was founde in hym; the frenchmen hated him, because they
+doubted hym; yet I herde his dethe greatly complayned among right
+noble and valyant knightes of France[72]."
+
+Across this surcoat was worn the scarf, the indispensable appendage of
+a knight when fully equipped: it was usually the gift of his
+"ladye-love," and embroidered by her own fair hand.
+
+And a knight would encounter fifty deaths sooner than part with this
+cherished emblem. It is recorded of Garcia Perez de Vargas, a
+noble-minded Spanish knight of the thirteenth century, that he and a
+companion were once suddenly met by a party of seven Moors. His friend
+fled: but not so Perez; he at once prepared himself for the combat,
+and while keeping the Moors at bay, who hardly seemed inclined to
+fight, he found that his scarf had fallen from his shoulder.
+
+ "He look'd around, and saw the Scarf, for still the Moors were near,
+ And they had pick'd it from the sward, and loop'd it on a spear.
+ 'These Moors,' quoth Garci Perez, 'uncourteous Moors they be--
+ Now, by my soul, the scarf they stole, yet durst not question me!
+
+ "'Now, reach once more my helmet.' The Esquire said him, nay,
+ 'For a silken string why should you fling, perchance, your life away?'
+ 'I had it from my lady,' quoth Garci, 'long ago,
+ And never Moor that scarf, be sure, in proud Seville shall show.'
+
+ "But when the Moslems saw him, they stood in firm array:
+ He rode among their armed throng, he rode right furiously.
+ 'Stand, stand, ye thieves and robbers, lay down my lady's pledge,'
+ He cried, and ever as he cried, they felt his faulchion's edge.
+
+ "That day when the lord of Vargas came to the camp alone,
+ The scarf, his lady's largess, around his breast was thrown:
+ Bare was his head, his sword was red, and from his pommel strung
+ Seven turbans green, sore hack'd I ween, before Garci Perez hung."
+
+It casts a redeeming trait on this butchering sort or bravery to find
+that when the hero returned to the camp he steadily refused to reveal
+the name of the person who had so cravenly deserted him.
+
+But the favours which ladies presented to a knight were various;
+consisting of "jewels, ensigns of noblesse, scarfs, hoods, sleeves,
+mantles, bracelets, knots of ribbon; in a word, some detached part of
+their dress." These he always placed conspicuously on his person, and
+defended, as he would have done his life. Sometimes a lock of his fair
+one's hair inspired the hero:
+
+ "Than did he her heere unfolde,
+ And on his helme it set on hye,
+ With rede thredes of ryche golde,
+ Whiche he had of his lady.
+ Full richely his shelde was wrought,
+ With asure stones and beten golde,
+ But on his lady was his thought,
+ The yelowe heere what he dyd beholde."[73]
+
+It is recorded in "Perceforest," that at the end of one tournament
+"the ladies were so stripped of their head attire, that the greatest
+part of them were quite bareheaded, and appeared with their hair
+spread over their shoulders yellower than the finest gold; their robes
+also were without sleeves; for all had been given to adorn the
+knights; hoods, cloaks, kerchiefs, stomachers, and mantuas. But when
+they beheld themselves in this woful plight, they were greatly
+abashed, till, perceiving every one was in the same condition, they
+joined in laughing at this adventure, and that they should have
+engaged with such vehemence in stripping themselves of their clothes
+from off their backs, as never to have perceived the loss of them."
+
+A sleeve (more easily detached than we should fancy those of the
+present day) was a very usual token.
+
+Elayne, the faire mayden of Astolat gave Syr Launcelot "a reed sleeve
+of scarlet wel embroudred with grete perlys," which he wore for a
+token on his helmet; and in real life it is recorded that in a
+serious, but not desperate battle, at the court of Burgundy, in 1445,
+one of the knights received from his lady a sleeve of delicate dove
+colour, elegantly embroidered; and he fastened this favour on his left
+arm.
+
+Chevalier Bayard being declared victor at the tournament of Carignan,
+in Piedmont, he refused, from extreme delicacy, to receive the reward
+assigned him, saying, "The honour he had gained was solely owing to
+the sleeve, which a lady had given him, adorned with a ruby worth a
+hundred ducats." The sleeve was brought back to the lady in the
+presence of her husband; who knowing the admirable character of the
+chevalier, conceived no jealousy on the occasion: "The ruby," said the
+lady, "shall be given to the knight who was the next in feats of arms
+to the chevalier; but since he does me so much honour as to ascribe
+his victory to my sleeve, for the love of him I will keep it all my
+life."
+
+Another important adjunct to the equipment of a knight was the pennon;
+an ensign or streamer formed of silk, linen, or stuff, and fixed to
+the top of the lance. If the expedition of the soldier had for its
+object the Holy Land, the sacred emblem of the cross was embroidered
+on the pennon, otherwise it usually bore the owner's crest, or, like
+the surcoat, an emblematic allusion to some circumstance in the
+owner's life. Thus, Chaucer, in the "Knighte's Tale," describes that
+of Duke Theseus:
+
+ "And by his banner borne is his _penon_
+ Of gold ful riche, in which ther was ybete
+ The Minotaure which that he slew in Crete."
+
+The account of the taking of Hotspur's pennon, and his attempt at its
+recapture, is abridged by Mr. Mills[74] from Froissart. It is
+interesting, as displaying the temper of the times about these
+comparatively trifling matters, and being the record of history, may
+tend to justify our quotations of a similar nature from romance.
+
+"In the reign of Richard the Second, the Scots commanded by James,
+Earl of Douglas, taking advantage of the troubles between the King and
+his Parliament, poured upon the south. When they were sated with
+plunder and destruction they rested at Newcastle, near the English
+force which the Earl of Northumberland and other border chieftains had
+hastily levied.
+
+"The Earl's two sons were young and lusty knights, and ever foremost
+at the barriers to skirmish. Many proper feats of arms were done and
+achieved. The fighting was hand to hand. The noblest encounter was
+that which occurred between the Earl Douglas and Sir Henry Percy,
+surnamed Hotspur. The Scot won the pennon of his foeman; and in the
+triumph of his victory he proclaimed that he would carry it to
+Scotland, and set it on high on his castle of Dalkeith, that it might
+be seen afar off.
+
+"Percy indignantly replied, that Douglas should not pass the border
+without being met in a manner which would give him no cause for
+boasting.
+
+"With equal spirit the Earl Douglas invited him that night to his
+lodging to seek for his pennon.
+
+"The Scots then retired and kept careful watch, lest the taunts of
+their leader should urge the Englishmen to make an attack. Percy's
+spirit burnt to efface his reproach, but he was counselled into
+calmness.
+
+"The Scots then dislodged, seemingly resolved to return with all haste
+to their own country. But Otterbourn arrested their steps. The castle
+resisted the assault; and the capture of it would have been of such
+little value to them that most of the Scotch knights wished that the
+enterprise should be abandoned.
+
+"Douglas commanded, however, that the assault should be persevered
+in, and he was entirely influenced by his chivalric feelings. He
+contended that the very difficulty of the enterprise was the reason of
+undertaking it; and he wished not to be too far from Sir Henry Percy,
+lest that gallant knight should not be able to do his devoir in
+redeeming his pledge of winning the pennon of his arms again.
+
+"Hotspur longed to follow Douglas and redeem his badge of honour; but
+the sage knights of the country, and such as were well expert in arms,
+spoke against his opinion, and said to him, 'Sir, there fortuneth in
+war oftentimes many losses. If the Earl Douglas has won your pennon,
+he bought it dear, for he came to the gate to seek it, and was well
+beaten: another day you shall win as much of him and more. Sir, we say
+this because we know well that all the power of Scotland is abroad in
+the fields; and if we issue forth and are not strong enough to fight
+with them (and perchance they have made this skirmish with us to draw
+us out of the town), they may soon enclose us, and do with us what
+they will. It is better to loose a pennon than two or three hundred
+knights and squires, and put all the country to adventure.'"
+
+By such words as these, Hotspur and his brother were refrained, but
+the coveted moment came.
+
+"The hostile banners waved in the night breeze, and the bright moon,
+which had been more wont to look upon the loves than the wars of
+chivalry, lighted up the Scottish camp. A battle ensued of as valiant
+a character as any recorded in the pages of history; for there was
+neither knight nor squire but what did his devoir and fought hand to
+hand."
+
+The Scots remained masters of the field: but the Douglas was slain,
+and this loss could not be recompensed even by the capture of the
+Percy.
+
+Little did the "gentle Kate" anticipate this catastrophe when her
+fairy fingers with proud and loving alacrity embroidered on the
+flowing pennon the inspiring watchword of her chivalric husband and
+his noble family--ESPERANCE.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[40] Historical Memoirs of Queens of England.--H. Lawrance.
+
+[41] Emare.
+
+[42] _Bete_--inlayed, embroidered.
+
+[43] Amadis of Gaul, bk. i. ch. xv.
+
+[44] Ibid. bk. iv. ch. iii.
+
+[45] Orl. Fur.: transl. by Rose.
+
+[46] _Samyte_--rich silk.
+
+[47] _Pelored_--furred.
+
+[48] Lybeaus Disconus.
+
+[49] _Schyre_--clear.
+
+[50] _Hende_--kind, obliging.
+
+[51] _Alner_--pouch, bag or purse.
+
+[52] Launfal.
+
+[53] Amadis of Gaul, bk. i. ch. xxx.
+
+[54] _Hende_--kind, civil, obliging.
+
+[55] Saracen king.
+
+[56] _Asowr_--azure.
+
+[57] _Hewke_--herald's coat.
+
+[58] _Steven_--voice, sound
+
+[59] _Kantle_--a corner.
+
+[60] Drayton's Polyolbion, Song 4.
+
+[61] Faerie Queene. Book vi.
+
+[62] The Kyng of Tars.
+
+[63] Orl. Fur.
+
+[64] Partenopex of Blois.
+
+[65] Amadis of Gaul.
+
+[66] Ibid.
+
+[67] _Rath_--speedily.
+
+[68] _Sethin_--afterward.
+
+[69] _Perry_--jewels.
+
+[70] _Bayne_--ready.
+
+[71] Orl. Fur., canto 23.
+
+[72] Froissart, by Lord Berners, vol. i. p. 270.
+
+[73] The Fair Lady of Faguell.
+
+[74] Hist. Chivalry.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+TAPESTRY.
+
+
+The term _tapestry_ or _tapistry_ (from _tapisser_, to line, from the
+Latin word _tapes_, a cover of a wall or bed), is now appropriated
+solely to woven hangings of wool and silk; but it has been applied to
+all sorts of hangings, whether wrought entirely with the needle (as
+originally indeed all were) or in the loom, whether composed of
+canvass and wool, or of painted cloth, leather, or even paper. This
+wide application of the term seems to be justified by the derivation
+quoted above, but its present use is much more limited.
+
+In the thirteenth century the decorative arts had attained a high
+perfection in England. The palace of Westminster received, under the
+fostering patronage of Henry III., a series of decorations, the
+remains of which, though long hidden, have recently excited the wonder
+and admiration of the curious.[75] "Near this monastery (says an
+ancient Itinerary) stands the most famous royal palace of England; in
+which is that celebrated chamber, on whose walls all the warlike
+histories of the whole Bible are painted with inexpressible skill, and
+explained by a regular and complete series of texts, beautifully
+written in French over each battle, to the no small admiration of the
+beholder, and the increase of royal magnificence."
+
+Round the walls of St. Stephen's chapel effigies of the Apostles were
+painted in oil; (which was thus used with perfectness and skill two
+centuries before its presumed discovery by John ab Eyck in 1410,) on
+the western side was a grand composition of the day of Judgment: St.
+Edward's or the "Painted Chamber," derived the latter name from the
+quality and profuseness of its embellishments, and the walls of the
+whole palace were decorated with portraits or ideal representations,
+and historical subjects. Nor was this the earliest period in which
+connected passages of history were painted on the wainscot of
+apartments, for the following order, still extant, refers to the
+_renovation_ of what must previously--and at some considerable
+interval of time probably, have been done.
+
+"Anno, 1233, 17 Hen. 3. Mandatum est Vicecomiti South'ton quod Cameram
+regis lambruscatam de castro Winton depingi faciat eisdem historiis
+quibus fuerat pri'us depicta."
+
+About 1312, Langton, Bishop of Litchfield, commanded the coronation,
+marriages, wars, and funeral of his patron King Edward I., to be
+painted in the great hall of his episcopal palace, which he had newly
+built.
+
+Chaucer frequently refers to this custom of painting the walls with
+historical or fanciful designs.
+
+ "And soth to faine my chambre was
+ Ful wel depainted----
+ And all the wals with colours fine
+ Were painted bothe texte and glose,
+ And all the Romaunt of the Rose."
+
+And again:--
+
+ "But when I woke all was ypast,
+ For ther nas lady ne creture,
+ Save on the wals old portraiture
+ Of horsemen, hawkis, and houndis,
+ And hurt dere all ful of woundis."
+
+Often emblematical devices were painted, which gave the artist
+opportunity to display his fancy and exercise his wit. Dr. Cullum, in
+his History of Hawsted, gives an account of an old mansion, having a
+closet, the panels of which were painted with various sentences,
+emblems, and mottos. One of these, intended doubtless as a hint to
+female vanity, is a painter, who having begun to sketch out a female
+portrait, writes "Dic mihi qualis eris."
+
+But comfort, or at least a degree of comfort, had progressed hand in
+hand with decoration. Tapestry, that is to say needlework tapestry,
+which, like the Bayeux tapestry of Matilda, had been used solely for
+the decoration of altars, or the embellishment of other parts of
+sacred edifices on occasions of festival, or the performance of solemn
+rites, had been of much more general application amongst the luxurious
+inhabitants of the South, and was introduced into England as furniture
+hanging by Eleanor of Castile. In Chaucer's time it was common. Among
+his pilgrims to Canterbury is a tapestry worker who is mentioned in
+the Prologue, in common with other "professors."
+
+ "An haberdasher and a carpenter,
+ A webbe, a dyer, and a tapiser."
+
+And, again:--
+
+ "I wol give him all that falles
+ To his chambre and to his halles,
+ I will do painte him with pure golde,
+ And _tapite_ hem ful many a folde."
+
+These modes of decorating the walls and chambers with paintings, and
+with tapestry, were indeed contemporaneous; though the greater
+difficulty of obtaining the latter--for as it was not made at Arras
+until the fourteenth century, all that we here refer to is the painful
+product of the needle alone--many have made it less usual and common
+than the former. Pithy sentences, and metrical stanzas were often
+wrought in tapestry: in Wresil Castle and other mansions, some of the
+apartments were adorned in the Oriental manner with metrical
+descriptions called Proverbs. And Warton mentions an ancient suit of
+tapestry, containing Ariosto's Orlando, and Angelica, where, at every
+group, the story was all along illustrated with short lines in
+Provencal or old French.
+
+It could only be from its superior comfort that an article so tedious
+in manufacture as needlework tapestry could be preferred to the more
+quickly-produced decorations of the pencil; it was also rude in
+design; and the following description of some tapestry in an old Manor
+House in King John's time, though taken from a work of fiction,
+probably presents a correct picture of the style of most of the pieces
+exhibited in the mansions of the middle ranks at that period.
+
+"In a corner of the apartment stood a bed, the tapestry of which was
+enwrought with gaudy colours representing Adam and Eve in the garden
+of Eden. Adam was presenting our first mother with a large yellow
+apple, gathered from a tree that scarcely reached his knee. Beneath
+the tree was an angel milking, and although the winged milkman sat on
+a stool, yet his head overtopped both cow and tree, and nearly
+covered a horse, which seemed standing on the highest branches. To the
+left of Eve appeared a church; and a dark robed gentleman holding
+something in his hand which looked like a pincushion, but doubtless
+was intended for a book: he seemed pointing to the holy edifice, as if
+reminding them that they were not yet married. On the ground lay the
+rib, out of which Eve (who stood the head higher than Adam) had been
+formed; both of them were very respectably clothed in the ancient
+Saxon costume; even the angel wore breeches, which, being blue,
+contrasted well with his flaming red wings."
+
+No one who has read the real blunders of artists and existing
+anachronisms in pictures detailed in "Percy Anecdotes," will think the
+above sketch at all too highly coloured; though doubtless the tapestry
+hangings introduced by Queen Eleanor which would be imitated and
+caricatured in ten thousand different forms, were in much superior
+style. The Moors had attained to the highest perfection in the
+decorative arts, and from them did the Spaniards borrow this fashion
+of hangings,[76] and "the coldness of our climate (says her
+accomplished biographer, Miss Agnes Strickland, speaking of Eleanor,)
+must have made it indispensable to the fair daughter of the South,
+chilled with the damp stone walls of English Gothic halls and
+chambers." Of the chillness of these walls we may form some idea,
+from a feeling description of a residence which was thought sufficient
+for a queen some centuries later. In the year 1586, Mary, the unhappy
+Queen of Scots, writes thus:--
+
+"In regard to my lodging, my residence is a place inclosed with walls,
+situated on an eminence, and consequently exposed to all the winds and
+storms of heaven. Within this inclosure there is, like as at
+Vincennes, a very old hunting seat, built of wood and plaister, with
+chinks on all sides, with the uprights; the intervals between which
+are not properly filled up, and the plaister dilapidated in the
+various places. The house is about six yards distant from the walls,
+and so low that the terrace on the other side is as high as the house
+itself, so that neither the sun nor the fresh air can penetrate it at
+that side. The damp, however, is so great there, that every article of
+furniture is covered with mouldiness in the space of four days.--In a
+word, the rooms for the most part are fit rather for a dungeon for the
+lowest and most abject criminals, than for a residence of a person of
+my rank, or even of a much inferior condition. I have for my own
+accommodation only wretched little rooms, and so cold, that were it
+not for the protection of the curtains and tapestries which I have had
+put up, I could not endure it by day, and still less by night."[77]
+
+The tapestries, whether wrought or woven, did not remain on the walls
+as do the hangings of modern days: it was the primitive office of the
+grooms of the chamber to hang up the tapestry which in a royal
+progress was sent forward with the purveyor and 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 Duc 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 imaginable
+honours. He had need of a person near the Pope, so powerful as this
+Cardinal, who afterwards 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 prevail 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 would not have failed to look upon such a mistake as a formed
+design to insult him, and to have represented 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."[78]
+
+In the sixteenth century[79] 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 "painted cloths." For instance, when Falstaff persuades Hostess
+Quickly, not only to withdraw 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, 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 England! 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 the _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 cloth, and in good preservation. They are by Andrea Mantegna, and
+were valued at 1000_l._ at the time, when, by some strange
+circumstance, the Cartoons of Raphael were estimated only at 300_l._
+
+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 grotesque 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 invention of Tapestry,
+passed from the East into Europe; but Guicciardini ascribes it to the
+Netherlanders; and assuredly the Bayeux Tapestry, the work of the
+Conqueror's Queen, shows that this art must have acquired much
+perfection in Europe before the time of the Crusades, which is the
+time assigned by many for its introduction there. Probably
+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 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 succeed 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 entangled in these matters somewhat
+more than he himself approved.
+
+1605. "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
+because they did not find profits equal to their hopes and
+expectations, or, that having advanced considerable sums themselves,
+they saw no great probability of getting them in again. The king got
+rid of their importunity by referring them to me."[80]
+
+1607. "It was a difficult matter to agree upon a price with these
+celebrated Flemish tapestry workers, which 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_l._ should be given them for their
+establishment. Henry was very solicitous about the payment of this
+sum; 'Having,' said he, 'a great desire to keep them, and not to lose
+the advances 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
+satisfying 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 imitation of Dutch Holland. This prince ordered a
+complete 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 excessive, 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."[81]
+
+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.
+
+It was called "Gobelins," because the house in the suburbs of Paris,
+where the manufacture is carried 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 "Gobelines' Folly,"
+changed its name into that of "Hotel 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 suitable 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 number of the
+best workmen bred up therein are incredible; and the present
+flourishing condition of the arts and manufactures of France is, in
+great measure, owing thereto.
+
+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 perfection.
+
+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 Raphael and Julio Romano, and
+other celebrated Italian painters. Not the least interesting 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 Sheldon, 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 this realm." At his
+house were four maps of Oxford, Worcester, Warwick, and
+Gloucestershires, executed in tapestry on a large scale, fragments of
+which are or were among the curiosities of Strawberry-hill. We meet
+with little further notice of this establishment.
+
+This beautiful art was, however, revived in the reign of James I., 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 L2000 to assist Sir Francis Crane in the
+establishment 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, was
+employed in forming designs for this institution, which had already
+attained great perfection. Charles allowed him L100 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 reputation, that on
+a small painting of him he is described as "Il famosissimo pittore
+Francesco Cleyn, miracolo 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 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 business, 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."[82]
+
+The most superb hangings were wrought here after the designs of
+distinguished painters; and Windsor Castle, Hampton Court, Whitehall,
+St. James's, Nonsuch, Greenwich, and other royal seats, and many noble
+mansions were enriched and adorned by its productions. In the first
+year of his reign, Charles was indebted L6000 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 L270. Rubens sketched
+eight pieces in Charles the First's reign for tapestry, to be woven
+here, of the history of Achilles, intended for one of the royal
+palaces. At Lord Ilchester's, at Redlinch, in Somersetshire, was a
+suit of hangings representing the twelve months in compartments; and
+there are several other sets of the same design. Williams, Archbishop
+of York, and Lord Keeper, paid Sir Francis Crane L2500 for the Four
+Seasons. At Knowl, in Kent, was a piece of the same tapestry wrought
+in silk, containing the portraits of Vandyck, and St. Francis himself.
+At Lord Shrewsbury's (Hoythorp, 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 beautiful 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 languishing, was not altogether extinct; for in Mr. Evelyn's
+very scarce tract intituled "Mundus Muliebris," printed in 1690, some
+of this manufacture is amongst the articles to be furnished by a
+gallant to his mistress.
+
+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 ornaments of the royal palaces. Cardinal Mazarine enriched
+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 repurchased at Brussels for L3000 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."[83]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[75] See Smith's History of the Ancient Palace of Westminster.
+
+[76] But not from them would be derived the art of painting with the
+needle the representation of the human figure. Hence, perhaps, the
+awkward and ungainly aspect of these, in comparison with the arabesque
+patterns. From a fear of its exciting a tendency to idolatry Mohammed
+prohibited his followers from delineating the form of men or animals
+in their pictorial embellishments of whatever sort.
+
+[77] Von Raumer's Contributions, 297.
+
+[78] Sully's Memoirs. We have, in a subsequent chapter, a more full
+account of this Tapestry.
+
+[79] Gent's Mag., 1830.
+
+[80] Sully's Memoirs, vol. ii.
+
+[81] Sully's Memoirs, vol. iii.
+
+[82] Miscellaneous State Papers, vol. i. No. 26.
+
+[83] "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
+L30,000. One piece of eight parts at Hampton Court was appraised at
+L8,260: this related to the History of Abraham. Another of ten parts,
+representing the History of Julius Caesar, was appraised at L5019."
+
+
+
+
+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 subjects 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 individuals 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 indeed 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 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
+representing the battles of Alexander the Great was the most
+conspicuous.
+
+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,
+ And 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 houses were covered with hangings,
+consisting of battles in tapestry-work.
+
+And in tournaments the lists were always decorated "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 ancestors so much
+delighted were not confined to _bona fide_ battles, and the
+matter-of-fact occurrences of every-day life. Oh no! The Lives of the
+Saints were frequently pourtrayed with all the legendary
+accompaniments which credulity and blind faith could invest them with.
+The "holy and solitary" St. Cuthbert 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 omnipotent 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 ridiculous result, with the superstitions of the time, there were
+others, numberless others, scripture pieces, as chaste and beautiful
+in design, as elaborate in execution. The loom and needle united
+indeed brought these pieces to the highest perfection, but many a
+meek and saintly Madonna, many a lofty and energetic St. Paul, many a
+subdued and touching Magdalene 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
+Mercians, there is an account "rather historical than legendary,"[84]
+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 royalte,
+ 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[85] 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,[86] was not them amonge,
+ But prayenge in her cell, as done all novice yonge.
+
+ "The story of Adam, there was goodly wrought,
+ And of his wyfe Eve, bytwene them the serpent,
+ How they were deceyved, and to theyr peynes brought;
+ There was Cayn and Abell, offerynge theyr present,
+ The sacryfyce of Abell, accepte full evydent:
+ Tuball and Tubalcain were purtrayed in that place,
+ The inventours of musyke and crafte by great grace.
+
+ "Noe and his shyppe was made there curyously
+ Sendynge forthe a raven, whiche never came again;
+ And how the dove returned, with a braunche 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 in 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 fyre,
+ And nothing thereof brent, lefe, tree, nor spyre.[87]
+
+ "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 pryde were full youre."[88]
+
+Then _Duke_ Joshua leading the Israelites: the division of the
+promised land; Kyng Saull and David, and "prudent Solomon;" Roboas
+succeeding;
+
+ "The good Kynge Esechyas and his generacyon,
+ And so to the Machabus, and dyvers other nacyon."
+
+All these
+
+ "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[89] hanged, as reason was,
+ Whereon were wrought the nine orders angelicall
+ Dyvyded in thre ierarchyses, not cessynge to call
+ _Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus_, blessed be the Trynite,
+ Dominius Deus Sabaoth, three persons in one deyte."
+
+Then followed in order our Blessed Lady, the twelve Apostles, "eche
+one in his figure," the four Evangelists "wrought most curyously," all
+the disciples
+
+ "Prechynge and techynge, unto every nacyon,
+ The faythtes[90] of holy chyrche, for their salvacyon."
+
+"Martyrs then followed, right manifolde;" Confessors "fressely
+embrodred in ryche tyshewe and fyne." Saintly virgins "were
+brothered[91] 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 needlewomen, and of many of
+the subsequent tapestry looms were devoted to giving permanence to
+those fables 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 perpetually 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 probably 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 myriads 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 romance with a halo of interest and of beauty which is perfectly
+fascinating; and it seems almost impossible 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
+was acknowledged; so he forthwith flew up into the air to bring the
+aerial potentates to his feet. But this experiment not answering, he
+descended to the depths of the waters with much better success; for
+immediately all their inhabitants, from the whale to the herring, the
+cannibal 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 "battles" these exploits, if
+not fully displayed, were intimated by symbols in the Tapestry.
+
+The Tale of Troy was a very favourite subject for 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 was 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,
+while yet the Flemish looms were in the zenith of their popularity.
+This subject formed part of the decoration of Holyrood House, on the
+occasion of the marriage of Henry the Seventh's daughter to James,
+King of Scotland in 1503. We are told in an ancient record, that the
+"hanginge of the queene's gret chammer represented the ystory of Troye
+toune, that the king's grett chammer had one table, wer was satt, hys
+chamerlayne, 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 wer satt in lyke 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 incident, a
+true one, on which it was founded, occurred about 1180; and was
+thus:--
+
+"Some hundred and odd years since, there was 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 discontent, 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 languished 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 servant, and finding him timorous and faltering in his
+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: Monsieur 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, Monsieur 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 assured would cure her. Thereupon
+he made her eat up the whole dish; and afterwards much importuning 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
+bracelet. 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 upon 't_.' So
+she went to bed, and in the morning she was found stone dead."[92]
+
+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 renowned 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
+covered with slaughtered foes![93] 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 he 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--
+
+ "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,
+ Call'd 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 that 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."
+
+Lastly, recal we the time when the fierce and ruthless 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 champion, 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 adversary 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 pilgrims entered thereat,
+and among the rest appeared a man of noble visage and stalwart frame,
+but wan withal, pale with abstinence, and macerated by reason of
+journeying barefoot. His beard was venerably long and he rested on a
+staff; he wore a 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 pilgrimage, and
+for the preservation of all England, to do battle with the giant." The
+Palmer thus conjured, 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 pilgrim, 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 a life of butchery; all
+the heroes of romance turned hermits; and as they all, at least all of
+Arthur's Round 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 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 "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 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--Arthgal, 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.
+ 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 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 "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 adventures, 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
+recovery; 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 pathless forest, or
+unearthly strains would float on the air, or odours as of Paradise
+would entrance the senses, while the wandering and woeworn knight
+would feel all fatigue, all sense of personal inconvenience, 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 unworthy
+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;" 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 perhaps 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 Dryden in immortal strain,
+ Had raised the 'Table Round' again."
+
+The Stories of the Tapestry in the Royal Palaces of Henry VIII. are
+preserved in the British Museum.[94]
+
+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 Hercules; 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 French allegorical
+Romance); the Tapestrie of Thebes and of Troy; the City of Peace; the
+Prodigal Son; Esther, and other pieces of Scripture.
+
+At Windsor Castle the Siege of Jerusalem; Ahasueras; Charlemagne; the
+Siege of Troy; and Hawking and Hunting.
+
+At Nottingham Castle, Amys and Amelion.
+
+At Woodstock Manor, the tapestrie of Charlemagne.
+
+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, Holofernes, Romulus and Remus,
+AEneas, and Susannah.
+
+Many of these subjects were repeated at Westminster, Greenwich,
+Oatlands, Bedington in Surrey, and other royal seats, some of which
+are now unknown as such.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[84] Warton.
+
+[85] Arras, a very common anachronism. After the production of the
+arras tapestries, arras became the common name for all tapestries:
+even for those which were wrought before the looms of Arras were in
+existence.
+
+[86] Moynes--nun. Lady Werburg
+
+[87] _Spyre_--twig, branch.
+
+[88] _Youre_--burnt.
+
+[89] _Hallynge_--Tapestry.
+
+[90] _Faythtes_--feats, facts.
+
+[91] _Brothered_--embroidered.
+
+[92] Epistolae Ho-Elianae.
+
+[93] "Fifteen acres were covered with the bodies of slaughtered
+Saracens; and so furious were the strokes of Sir Guy, that the pile of
+dead men, wherever his sword had reached, rose as high as his
+breast."--Ellis, vol. ii.
+
+[94] Harl. MSS. 1419.
+
+
+
+
+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
+magnificent and happy in the "reg'lar bang-up-go" from the eastern
+parts of the metropolis.
+
+It would seem that England is peculiarly celebrated for her devotion
+at Fashion's shrine; for we are told that "an Englishman, endevoring
+sometime 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 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 travell, 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 in 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.
+
+"Thus _it is now come to passe, that women are become men, and men
+transformed into monsters_."
+
+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 personal embellishment of the other half and themselves; 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 creation.
+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 habit 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 toilette;") the gentlemen nothing to
+solace them. "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
+assiduity--as many a valet can testify when contemplating 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 indispensables, 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 varieties--The Royal George:
+The Plain Bow: The Military: The Ball Room: The Corsican: The
+Hibernian Tie: The Eastern Tie: The Hunting Tie: The Yankee Tie: (the
+"alone original" 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" 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 the middle of the neck. This should be the point for a slight dent,
+extending from under each ear, between which, more immediately 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 brilliant 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 whereon to display themselves; and
+money would be such a drug, that politicians would declaim on the
+miseries of being _without_ a national debt. Commerce, in many of its
+most important branches, would be exploded; the "manufacturing
+districts" would be annihilated; the "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 "their own painted skins" might suffice our "sires,"
+clothing, "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
+haberdashers, and modistes, and silk-men and manufacturers, cotton
+lords and fustian men, mantuamakers 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
+consigned to the Liverpool broker and sold to the Manchester 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 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 ineffable 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,'--"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 assent which has in all ages been given to
+it, has now the force of an axiom. It was this self evident
+proposition which emboldened the beau of the fourteenth century, in
+spite of the prohibitions of popes and senators,--in spite of the more
+touching personal inconvenience, and even risk and danger, attendant
+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 and intertwined from the waistband to
+the shoe, until he seemed almost weighed down by the burthen of his
+own 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
+_crackowes_, or piked shoes. For in that day, as in this, "the squire
+endeavours to outshine the knight, the knight the baron, the baron the
+earl, the earl the king, in dress." To complete the outrageous
+absurdity of these shoes, the upper parts of them were cut in
+imitation 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 ridiculous 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
+realising 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 was
+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_ costume of a beau or a belle of
+the fourteenth century. 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" ornaments; 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 necessary 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.
+
+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 d'une
+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 enormities of such a fashion,
+that the ladies, to show their contrition, made _auto da fes_ of their
+Syrian bonnets in the public squares and market-places; and as the
+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
+chronicler, "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 _gehinnin_, 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 banners. Alas, alas! ladies, dames, and
+demoiselles were of importance in those days! When do we hear, in the
+present times, of Church and State interfering to regulate the
+patterns of their bonnets?"[95]
+
+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, fantastical inventions which
+the people of our times 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 possible for the
+wit of this vain generation of ours to invent so many base, barbarous,
+horrid, ridiculous fashions (besides those already mentioned) to
+disfigure and disgrace itself, as we have the mortification 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 scantinese: as to the first, not only the cost of
+embraudering, the disguysed indenting, or barring, ounding, playting,
+wynding, or bending, and semblable waste of clothe in vanitie." The
+common people also "were besotted in excesse of apparell, in wide
+surcoats 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 Westminster, which were said to be made
+"to prevent that destruction and poverty with which the whole kingdom
+was threatened, by the outrageous, excessive 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 inwrought with gold and precious stones.
+It is not in human nature, at least in human nature of the "more
+honourable" gender, to be outdone, even by a king. Gorgeous and
+glittering was the raiment adopted by the satellites of the court,
+and, heedless of "that destruction and poverty with which the whole
+kingdom 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 expense 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 chamberlain 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
+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 fantastical 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 required, a
+full and flowing mantle, with a veil confined to the back of the head
+with a golden circlet, her dark 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 dignified, and a beautiful woman.
+
+The male attire was of the same flowing and majestic description: and
+the "brutal" Anglo-Saxons and the "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_ required 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 common; the first that was seen in the
+country was in 780, when Charlemagne sent Offa, King of Mercia, 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,
+manufactured 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 ancient Britons. 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 precious gems, and looped, if
+requisite, with golden tassels, was a garment at which a nobleman,
+even of these days, need not look askance.
+
+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 L1500 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 gradually innovated upon
+until caprice reigned paramount 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
+eyelet-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 Strickland'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 exacting a simoniacal
+tribute on the installation of the 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 embraced 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 exactions? Are
+those light transgressions, my son?"
+
+The king owned his faults, and promised amendment; and when he related
+this conversation to his 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 "to
+Thomas Battesford, for black coats for poor people, xxx_s._ in part."
+"To John Camp, of Bury St. Edmunds, furrier, for furs for the black
+coats, viij_s._ xj_d._" 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
+handicraft and yeomen to wear no manner of furre, nor of bugg,[96] 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 enforced. 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 "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
+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 ransom of a prisoner of
+rank:--
+
+ "Sir," quoth Count Bongars, "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 vair or gray_;
+ I plight my faith the destin'd price to pay."[97]
+
+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; saying 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 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 amethist; various clasps adorned with
+emeralds, turquois, pearls, and topaz; and sceptres set with
+twenty-eight diamonds."[98]
+
+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 brass 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 afforded his Queen
+"three cloaks of fine linen, one of scarlet cloth, and one grey
+pelisse, costing together 12_l._ 5_s._ 4_d._;" he himself launched
+into all sorts of expenditure. He ordered the minutest articles for
+himself and the queen; but the wardrobe accounts of the sovereigns of
+the middle ages prove that they kept a royal warehouse of mercery,
+haberdashery, and linen, from whence their officers measured out
+velvets, brocades, sarcenets, tissue, gauzes, and trimmings, of all
+sorts. A queen, says Miss Strickland, had not the satisfaction of
+ordering her own gown when she obtained leave to have a new one; the
+warlike hand of her royal lord signed the order for the delivery of
+the materials from his stores, noting down with minute precision the
+exact quantity to a quarter of a yard of the cloth, velvet, or
+brocade, of which the garment was composed.
+
+"Blessed be the memory of King Edward III. and Philippa of Hainault
+his queen, who first invented clothes," was, we are told, the grateful
+adjuration of a monkish historian, who referred probably not to the
+first assumption of apparel, but to the charter which was granted
+first by that monarch to the "cutters and linen armourers,"
+subsequently known as the merchant-tailors, who at that period were
+usually the makers of all garments, silk, linen, or woollen. Female
+fingers had sufficient occupation in the finer parts of the work; in
+the "silke broiderie" with which every garment of fashion was
+embellished; in the tapestry; in the spinning of wool and flax, every
+thread of which was drawn by female hands, and in the weaving of which
+a great portion was also executed by them.
+
+In the forty-fourth year of this king, "as the book of Worcester
+reporteth, they began to use cappes of divers coloures, especially
+red, with costly lynings; and in the year 1372, the forty-seventh of
+the above prince, they first began to wanton it in a new round curtall
+weede, which they call a cloake, and in Latin _armilausa_, as only
+covering the shoulders, and this notwithstanding the king had
+endeavoured to restrain all these inordinances and expenses in
+clothing; as appears by the law by Parliament established in the
+thirty-sixth year of his reign. All ornaments of gold or silver,
+either on the daggers, girdles, necklaces, rings, or other ornaments
+for the body, were forbid to all that could not spend ten pounds
+a-year; and farther, that no furre or pretious and costly apparel,
+should be worne by any but men possessed of 100_l._ a year."
+
+Besides the rigid enactments of the law, and the anathemas of divines,
+other and gentler means were from time to time resorted to as warnings
+from that sin of dress which seems inherent in our nature, or as
+inducements to a more becoming one. We quote a specimen of both:--
+
+"There was a lady whiche had her lodgynge by the chirche. And she was
+alweye accustomed for to be longe to araye her, and to make her freshe
+and gay, insomuch that it annoyed and greued moche the parson of the
+chirche, and the parysshens. And it happed on a Sonday that she was so
+longe, that she sent to the preeste that he shod tarye for her, lyke
+as she had been accustomed. And it was thenne ferforthe on the day.
+And it annoyed the peple. And there were somme that said, How is hit?
+shall not this lady this day be pynned ne wel besene in a Myrroure?
+And somme said softely, God sende to her an evyll syght in her
+myrroure that causeth us this day and so oftymes to muse and to abyde
+for her. And thene as it plesyd God for an ensample, as she loked in
+the myrroure she sawe therein the Fende, whiche shewed hymselfe to her
+so fowle and horryble, that the lady wente oute of her wytte, and was
+al demonyak a long tyme. And after God sente to her helthe. And after
+she was not so longe in arayeng but thanked God that had so suffered
+her to be chastysed."[99]
+
+The 'Garment of Gude Ladyis' is a lecture of a most beguiling kind,
+and an exquisite picture.
+
+ "Wald my gud lady lufe me best,
+ And wirk after my will,
+ I suld ane garment gudliest
+ Gar mak hir body till.
+
+ "Of he honour suld be her hud,
+ Upoun hir heid to weir,
+ Garneist with governance so gud,
+ Na demyng[100] suld hir deir.[101]
+
+ "Hir kirtill suld be of clene constance,
+ Lasit with lesum lufe,
+ The mailyeis[102] of continwance
+ For nevir to remufe.
+
+ "Her gown suld be of gudliness,
+ Weill ribband with renowne,
+ Purfillit[103] with plesour in ilk place,
+ Furrit with fyne fassoun.[104]
+
+ "Her belt suld be of benignitie,
+ About hir middill meit;
+ Hir mantill of humilitie,
+ To tholl[105] bayth wind and weit.
+
+ "Hir hat suld be of fair having[106],
+ And her tepat of trewth,
+ Hir patelet[107] of gude pansing,
+ Hir hals-ribbane of rewth.
+
+ "Hir slevis suld be of esperance,
+ To keip hir fra dispair;
+ Hir gluvis of the gud govirnance,
+ To hyd hir fingearis fair.
+
+ "Hir schone suld be of sickernes[108]
+ In syne that scho nocht slyd;
+ Hir hois of honestie, I ges,
+ I suld for hir provyd.
+
+ "Wald scho put on this garmond gay,
+ I duret sweir by my seill,
+ That scho woir nevir grene nor gray
+ That set hir half so weill."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[95] Lady's Magazine.
+
+[96] Bugg--buge, lamb's furr.--Dr. Jamieson.
+
+[97] Ancassin and Nicolette.
+
+[98] The first instance in which the name of this stone is
+found.--Miss Lawrence.
+
+[99] The Knyght of the Toure.
+
+[100] _Demyng_--censure.
+
+[101] _Deir_--dismay.
+
+[102] _Mailyeis_--network.
+
+[103] _Purfillit_--furbelowed.
+
+[104] _Fassoun_--address, politeness.
+
+[105] _Tholl_--endure.
+
+[106] _Having_--behaviour.
+
+[107] _Patelet_--run.
+
+[108] _Sickernes_--steadfastness.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+NEEDLEWORK IN COSTUME.--PART II.
+
+ "And the short French breeches make such a comelie
+ vesture that, except it were a dog in a doublet, you
+ shall not see anie so disguised as are my countriemen of
+ England."
+
+ Holinshed.
+
+ "Out from the Gadis to the eastern morne,
+ Not one but holds his native state forlorne.
+ When comelie striplings wish it were their chance
+ For Cenis' distaffe to exchange their lance;
+ And weare curl'd periwigs, and chalk their face,
+ And still are poring on their pocket glasse;
+ Tyr'd with pinn'd ruffs, and fans, and partlet strips,
+ And buskes and verdingales about their hips:
+ And tread on corked stilts a prisoner's pace."
+
+ Bp. Joseph Hall.
+
+ "They brought in fashions strange and new,
+ With golden garments bright;
+ The farthingale and mighty ruff,
+ With gowns of rich delight."
+
+ A Warning-Piece to England.
+
+
+The queen (Anne Neville) of Richard III. seems to have been somewhat
+more regally accoutred than those of her royal predecessors to whom we
+referred in the last chapter. Among "the stuff delivered to the queen
+at her coronation are twenty-seven yards of white cloth of gold for a
+kirtle and train, and a mantle of the same, richly furred with
+ermine. This was the dress in which she rode in her litter from the
+Tower to the palace of Westminster. This was an age of long trains,
+and the length was regulated by the rank of the wearer; Anne, for her
+whole purple velvet suit, had fifty-six yards. From the entries of
+scarlet cloth given to the nobility for mantles on this occasion, we
+find that duchesses had thirteen yards, countesses ten, and baronesses
+eight."
+
+The costume of Henry VII.'s day differed little from that of Edward
+IV., except in the use of shirts bordered with lace and richly trimmed
+with ornamental needlework, which continued a long time in vogue
+amongst the nobility and gentry.
+
+A slight inspection of the inventories of Henry VIII.'s apparel will
+convince us of a truth which we should otherwise, readily have
+guessed, viz., that no expense and no splendour were spared in the
+"swashing costume" of his day. Its general aspect is too familiar to
+us to require much comment. We may remark, however, that four several
+acts were passed in his reign for the reformation of apparel, and that
+all but the royal family were prohibited from wearing "any cloth of
+gold of purpure colour, or silk of the same colour," upon pain of
+forfeiture of the same and L20 for every offence. Shirt bands and
+ruffles of gold were worn by the privileged, but none under the degree
+of knight were permitted to decorate their shirts with silk, gold, or
+silver. Henry VIII.'s "knitte gloves of silk" are particularly
+referred to, and also his "handkerchers" edged with gold, silver, or
+fine needlework. These handkerchiefs, wrought with gold and silver,
+were not uncommon in the after-times. In the ballad of George
+Barnwell, it is said of Milwood--
+
+ "A handkerchief she had,
+ All wrought with silk and gold,
+ Which she, to stay her trickling tears,
+ Before her eyes did hold."
+
+In the east these handkerchiefs are common, and it is still a
+favourite occupation of the Egyptian ladies to embroider them.
+
+We are surprised now to find to what minute particulars legal
+enactments descended. "No husbandman, shepherd, or common labourer to
+any artificer, out of cities or boroughs (having no goods of their own
+above the value of L10), shall use or wear any cloth the broad yard
+whereof passeth 2_s._ 4_d._, or any hose above the price of 12_d._ the
+yard, upon pain of imprisonment in the stocks for three days."
+
+It was in a subsequent reign, that of Mary, that a proclamation was
+issued that no man should "weare his shoes above sixe inches _square_
+at the toes." We have before seen that the attention of the grave and
+learned members of the Senate, the "Conscript Fathers" of England, was
+devoted to the due regulation of this interesting part of apparel,
+when the shoe-toes were worn so long that they were obliged to be tied
+up to the waist ere the happy and privileged wearer could set his foot
+on the ground. Now, however, "a change came o'er the spirit of the
+day," and it became the duty of those who exercised a paternal
+surveillance over the welfare of the community at large to legislate
+regarding the _breadth_ of the shoe-toes, that they should not be
+above "sixe inches square."
+
+"Great," was anciently the cry--"Great is Diana of the Ephesians;"
+but how immeasurably greater and mightier has been, through that and
+all succeeding ages, the supreme potentate who with a mesh of flimsy
+gauze or fragile silk has constrained nations as by a shackle of iron,
+that shadowy, unsubstantial, ever-fleeting, yet ever-exacting
+deity--FASHION! At her shrine worship all the nations of the earth.
+The savage who bores his nose or tattooes his tawny skin is impelled
+by the same power which robes the courtly Eastern in flowing garments;
+and the dark-hued beauty who smears herself with blubber is influenced
+by the selfsame motive which causes the fair-haired daughter of
+England to tint her delicate cheek with the mimic rose.
+
+And it is not merely in the shape and form of garments that this deity
+exercises her tyrannic sway, transforming "men into monsters," and
+women likewise--if it were possible: her vagaries are infinite and
+unaccountable; yet, how unaccountable soever, have ever numberless and
+willing votaries. It was once the _fashion_ for people who either were
+or fancied themselves to be in love to prove the sincerity of their
+passion by the fortitude with which they could bear those extremes of
+heat and cold from which unsophisticated _nature_ would shrink. These
+"penitents of love," for so the fraternity--and a pretty numerous one
+it was--was called, would clothe themselves in the dog-days in the
+thickest mantles lined throughout with the warmest fur: when the winds
+howled, the hail beat, and snow invested the earth with a freezing
+mantle, they wore the thinnest and most fragile garments. It was
+forbidden to wear fur on a day of the most piercing cold, or to appear
+with a hood, cloak, gloves, or muff. They supposed or pretended that
+the deity whom they thus propitiated was LOVE: we aver that the
+autocrat under whose irreversible decrees they thus succumbed--was
+FASHION.
+
+And, after all, who is this all-powerful genius? What is her
+appearance? Whence does she arise? Did she alight from the skies,
+while rejoicing stars sang Paeans at her birth? Was she born of the
+Sunbeams while a glittering Rainbow cast a halo of glory around her?
+or did she spring from Ocean while Nereids revelled around, and
+Mermaids strung their Harps with their own golden locks, soft melodies
+the while floating along the glistering waves, and echoing from the
+Tritons' booming shells beneath? No. Alas, no! She is subtle as the
+air; she is evanescent as a sunbeam, and unsubstantial as the ocean's
+froth;--but she is none of these. She is--but we will lay aside our
+own definition in order that the reader may have the advantage of that
+of one of the greatest and wisest of statesmen.
+
+"Quelqu'un qui voudrait un peu etudier d'ou part en premiere source ce
+qu'on appelle LES MODES verrait, a notre honte, qu'un petit nombre de
+gens, de la plus meprisable espece qui soit dans une ville, laquelle
+renferme tout indifferemment dans son sein; pour qui, si nous les
+connaissions, nous n'aurions que le mepris qu'on a pour les gens sans
+moeurs, ou la pitie qu'on a pour les fous, disposent pourtant de nos
+bourses, et nous tiennent assujettis a tous leurs caprices."
+
+Can this indeed be that supereminent deity for whom so "many do
+shipwrack their credits," and make themselves "ridiculous apes, or at
+best but like the cynnamon-tree, whose bark is more worth than its
+body."
+
+"Clothes" writes a venerable historian, "are for necessity; warm
+clothes for health; cleanly for decency; lasting for thrift; and rich
+for magnificence. Now, there may be a fault in their number, if too
+various; making, if too vain; matter, if too costly; and mind of the
+wearer, if he takes pride therein.
+
+"_He that is proud of the russling of his silks, like a madman laughs
+at the rattling of his fetters._ For, indeed, clothes ought to be our
+remembrancers of our lost innocency. Besides, why should any brag of
+what's but borrowed? Should the Estrige snatch off the Gallant's
+feather, the Beaver his hat, the Goat his gloves, the Sheep his sute,
+the Silkworm his stockings, and Neat his shoes (to strip him no
+farther than modesty will give leave), he would be left in a cold
+condition. And yet 'tis more pardonable to be proud, even of cleanly
+rags, than (as many are) of affected slovennesse. The one is proud of
+a molehill, the other of a dunghill."
+
+But the worthy Fuller's ideal picture of suitable dress was the very
+antipodes of the reality of Elizabeth's day, when that rage for
+foreign fashions existed which has since frequently almost inundated
+the island, and our ancestors masked themselves
+
+ "------in garish gaudery
+ To suit a fool's far-fetched livery.
+ A French hood join'd to neck Italian,
+ The thighs from Germany and breast from Spain.
+ An Englishman in none, a fool in all,
+ Many in one, and one in several."
+
+And Shakspeare, who has perhaps suffered no peculiarity of his time
+to escape observation, makes Portia satirize this affectation in her
+English admirer:--"How oddly he is suited! I think he bought his
+doublet in Italy, his round hose in France, his bonnet in Germany, and
+his behaviour everywhere."
+
+A reverend critic thus remarks on the luxurious modes of his time:
+"These tender Parnels must have one gown for the day, another for the
+night; one long, another short; one for winter, another for summer.
+One furred through, another but faced; one for the workday, another
+for the holiday. One of this colour, another of that. One of cloth,
+another of silk or damask. Change of apparel; one afore dinner,
+another at after: one of Spanish fashion, another of Turkey. And to be
+brief, never content with enough, but always devising new fashions and
+strange. Yea, a ruffian will have more in his ruff and his hose than
+he should spend in a year. He which ought to go in a russet coat
+spends as much on apparel for him and his wife as his father would
+have kept a good house with."
+
+The following is of later date, and seems, somewhat unjustly we think,
+to satirize the fair sex alone.
+
+"Why do women array themselves in such fantastical dresses and quaint
+devices; with gold, with silver, with coronets, with pendants,
+bracelets, earrings, chains, rings, pins, spangles, embroideries,
+shadows, rebatoes, versicoloured ribbons, feathers, fans, masks, furs,
+laces, tiffanies, ruffs, falls, calls, cuffs, damasks, velvets,
+tassels, golden cloth, silver tissue, precious stones, stars,
+flowers, birds, beasts, fishes, crisped locks, wigs, painted faces,
+bodkins, setting sticks, cork, whalebone, sweet odours, and whatever
+else Africa, Asia, and America can produce; flaying their faces to
+produce the fresher complexion of a new skin, and using more time in
+dressing than Caesar took in marshalling his army,--but that, like
+cunning falconers, they wish to spread false lures to catch unwary
+larks, and lead by their gaudy baits and dazzling charms the minds of
+inexperienced youth into the traps of love?"
+
+Though the costume of Elizabeth's day, especially at the period of her
+coronation was, splendid, it had not attained to the ridiculous
+extravagance which at a later period elicited the above-quoted
+strictures; and we are told that her own taste at an early period of
+life was simple and unostentatious. Her dress and appearance are thus
+described by Aylmer, Lady Jane Grey's tutor, and afterwards Bishop of
+London.
+
+"The king (Henry VIII.) left her rich clothes and jewels; and I know
+it to be true, that, in seven years after her father's death, she
+never in all that time looked upon that rich attire and precious
+jewels but once, and that against her will. And that there never came
+gold or stone upon her head, till her sister forced her to lay off her
+former soberness, and bear her company in her glittering gayness. And
+then she so wore it as every man might see that her body carried that
+which her heart misliked. I am sure that her maidenly apparel, which
+she used in King Edward's time, made noblemen's daughters and wives to
+be ashamed to be dressed and painted like peacocks; being more moved
+with her most virtuous example than with all that ever Paul or Peter
+wrote touching that matter. Yea, this I know, that a great man's
+daughter (Lady Jane Grey) receiving from Lady Mary, before she was
+queen, good apparel of tinsel, cloth of gold and velvet, laid on with
+parchment-lace of gold, when she saw it, said, 'What shall I do with
+it?' 'Marry!' said a gentlewoman, 'wear it.' 'Nay,' quoth she, 'that
+were a shame, to follow my Lady Mary against God's Word, and leave my
+Lady Elizabeth, which followeth God's Word.' And when all the ladies,
+at the coming of the Scots' Queen Dowager, Mary of Guise, (she who
+visited England in Edward's time), went with their hair frownsed,
+curled, and double-curled, she altered nothing, but kept her old
+maidenly shame-facedness."
+
+And there is a print from a portrait of her when young, in which the
+hair is without a single ornament, and the whole dress remarkably
+simple.
+
+Yet this is the lady whose passion for dress in after life could not
+be sated; to whom, or at least before whom (and the Queen was not slow
+in appropriating and resenting the hint[109]), Latimer, Bishop of
+London, thought it necessary to preach on the vanity of decking the
+body too finely; and who finally left behind her a wardrobe containing
+three thousand dresses. A modern fair one may wonder how such a
+profusion of dresses could be accommodated at all, even in a royal
+wardrobe, with fitting respect to the integrity of puffs and
+furbelows. But clothes were not formerly kept in drawers, where but
+few can be laid with due regard to the safety of each, but were hung
+up on wooden pegs, in a room appropriated to the sole purpose of
+receiving them; and though such cast-off things as were composed of
+rich substances were occasionally _ripped_ for domestic uses (viz.,
+mantles for infants, vests for children, and counterpanes for beds),
+articles of inferior quality were suffered to _hang by the walls_ till
+age and moths had destroyed what pride would not permit to be worn by
+servants or poor relations. To this practice, also, does Shakspeare
+allude: Imogen exclaims, in 'Cymbeline,'--
+
+ "Poor I am stale, a garment out of fashion;
+ And, for I am richer than to hang by the walls,
+ I must be ripp'd--"
+
+The following regulations may be interesting; and the knowledge of
+them will doubtless excite feelings of joy and gratitude in our fair
+readers that they are born in an age where "will is free," and the
+dustman's wife may, if it so please her, outshine the duchess, without
+the terrors of Parliament before her eyes:--
+
+ "By the Queene.
+
+ "Whereas the Queene's Maiestie, for avoyding of the
+ great inconvenience that hath growen and dayly doeth
+ increase within this her Realme, by the inordinate
+ excesse in Apparel, hath in her Princely wisdome and
+ care for reformation thereof, by sundry former
+ Proclamations, straightly charged and commanded those in
+ Authoritie under her to see her Lawes provided in that
+ behalfe duely executed; Whereof notwithstanding, partly
+ through their negligence, and partly by the manifest
+ contempt and disobedience of the parties offending, no
+ reformation at all hath followed; Her Maiestie, finding
+ by experience that by Clemencie, whereunto she is most
+ inclinable, so long as there is any hope of redresse,
+ this increasing evill hath not beene cured, hath thought
+ fit to seeke to remedie the same by correction and
+ severitie, to be used against both these kindes of
+ offenders, in regard of the present difficulties of this
+ time; wherein the decay and lacke of hospitalitie
+ appeares in the better sort in all countreys,
+ principally occasioned by the immeasurable charges and
+ expenses which they are put to in superfluous
+ apparelling their wives, children, and families, the
+ confusion also of degrees in all places being great;
+ where the meanest are as richly apparelled as their
+ betters, and the pride that such inferior persons take
+ in their garments, driving many for their maintenance to
+ robbing and stealing by the hieway, &c. &c.
+
+ "Her Maiestie doth straightly charge and command--
+
+ "That none under the degree of a Countess wear:
+
+ Cloth of gold or silver tissued;
+
+ Silke of coulor purple.
+
+ "Under the degree of a Baronesse:--
+
+ Cloth of golde;
+
+ Cloth of silver;
+
+ Tinselled satten;
+
+ Sattens branched with silver or golde;
+
+ Sattens striped with silver or golde;
+
+ Taffaties brancht with silver or golde;
+
+ Cipresses flourisht with silver or golde;
+
+ Networks wrought in silver or golde;
+
+ Tabines brancht with silver or golde;
+
+ Or any other silke or cloth mixt or embroidered with
+ pearle, golde, or silver.
+
+ "Under the degree of a Baron's eldest sonne's wife:
+
+ Any embroideries of golde or silver;
+
+ Passemaine lace, or any other lace, mixed with golde,
+ silver, or silke;
+
+ Caules, attires, or other garnishings for the head
+ trimmed with pearle.
+
+ "Under the degree of a Knighte's wife:--
+
+ Velvet in gownes, cloakes, savegards, or other uppermost
+ garments;
+
+ Embroidery with silke.
+
+ "Under the degree of a Knighte's eldest sonne's wife:--
+
+ Velvet in kirtles and petticoates;
+
+ Sattens in gownes, cloakes, savegards, or other
+ uppermost garments.
+
+ "Under the degree of a Gentleman's wife, bearing armes:--
+
+ Satten in kirtles, }
+ Damaske, }
+ Tuft taffetie, } in gownes."
+ Plaine taffetie, }
+ Grograine }
+
+Venice and Paris seem to have been the chief sources of fashion; from
+these depots of taste were derived the flaunting head-dresses, the
+"shiptire," the "tire valiant," &c., which were commonly worn in these
+days of gorgeous finery, and which were rendered still more _outre_
+and unnatural by the _dyed_ locks which they surmounted. The custom of
+dyeing the hair is of great antiquity, and was very prevalent in the
+East. Mohammed dyed his hair red; Abu Bekr his successor did the same,
+and it is a custom among the Scenite Arabs even to this day.
+
+The ancients often mixed gold dust in their hair, and the Gauls used
+to wash the hair with a liquid which had a tendency to redden it. It
+was doubtless in personal compliment to Queen Elizabeth, that all the
+fashionables of her day dyed their locks of a hue which is generally
+considered the reverse of attraction. Periwigs, which were introduced
+into England about 1572, were to be had of _all colours_. It is in
+allusion to this absurd fashion that Benedick says of the lady whom he
+might chuse to marry:--"Her hair shall be of what colour it please
+God."
+
+Men first wore wigs in Charles the Second's time; and these were
+gradually increased in size, until they reached the acme of their
+magnificence in the reign of William and Mary, when not only men, but
+even young lads and children were disguised in enormous wigs. And
+though in the reign of Queen Anne this latter custom was not so
+common, yet the young men had the want of wigs supplied by artificial
+curlings, and dressing of the hair, which was then only performed by
+the women.
+
+One Bill preserved amongst the Harl. MSS. runs thus:--
+
+"Next door to the Golden Ball, in St. Bride's Lane, Fleet Street,
+Lyveth Lidia Beercraft. Who cutteth and curleth ladies, gentlemen, and
+children's hair. She sells a fine pomatum, which is mixed with
+ingredients of her own making, that if the hair be never so thin, it
+makes it grow thick; and if short, it makes it grow long. If any
+gentleman's or children's hair be never so lank, she makes it curle in
+a little time, and to look like a periwig."
+
+And this, indeed, the looking like a periwig, seems to have been then
+the very _beau ideal_ of all beauty and perfection, for another fair
+tonsoress advertises to cut and curl hair after the French fashion,
+"after so fine a manner, that _you shall not know it to be their own
+hair_."
+
+How applicable to these absurdities are the lines of an amiable censor
+of a later day!--
+
+ "We have run
+ Through ev'ry change, that Fancy, at the loom
+ Exhausted, has had genius to supply;
+ And, studious of mutation still, discard
+ A real elegance, a little us'd,
+ For monstrous novelty and strange disguise."
+
+To return to Elizabeth:--
+
+The best known, and most distinguishing characteristic of the costume
+of her day was the ruff; which was worn of such enormous size that a
+lady in full dress was obliged to feed herself with a spoon two feet
+long. In the year 1580, sumptuary laws were published by
+proclamation, and enforced with great exactness, by which the ruffs
+were reduced to legal dimensions. Extravagant prices were paid for
+them, and they were made at first of fine holland, but early in
+Elizabeth's reign they began to wear lawn and cambric, which were
+brought to England in very small quantities, and sold charily by the
+yard or half yard; for there was then hardly one shopkeeper in fifty
+who dared to speculate in a whole piece of either. So "strange and
+wonderful was this stuff," says Stowe, speaking of lawn, "that
+thereupon rose a general scoff or byeword, that shortly they would
+wear ruffs of a spider's web." And another difficulty arose; for when
+the Queen had ruffs made of this new and beautiful fabric, there was
+nobody in England who could starch or stiffen them; but happily Her
+Grace found a Dutchwoman possessed of that knowledge which England
+could not supply, and "Guillan's wife was the first starcher the Queen
+had, as Guillan himself was the first coachman."
+
+"Afterward, in 1564, (16th of Elizabeth), one Mistress Dinghen Vauden
+Plasse, born at Teenen in Flanders, daughter of a worshipful knight of
+that province, with her husband, came to London, and there professed
+herself a starcher, wherein she excelled; unto whom her own nation
+presently repaired and employed her, rewarding her very liberally for
+her work. Some of the curious ladies of that time, observing the
+neatness of the Dutch, and the nicety of their linen, made them
+cambric ruffs, and sent them to Mistress Dinghen to starch; soon after
+they began to send their daughters and kinswomen to Mistress Dinghen,
+to learn how to starch; her usual price was, at that time, 4_l._ or
+5_l._ to teach them to starch, and 20_s._ to learn them to see the
+starch. This Mrs. Dinghen was the first that ever taught starching in
+England."
+
+The RUFFS were adjusted by poking sticks of iron, steel, or silver,
+heated in the fire--(probably something answering to our Italian
+iron), and in May 1582 a lady of Antwerp, being invited to a wedding,
+could not, although she employed two celebrated laundresses, get her
+ruff plaited according to her taste, upon which "she fell to sweare
+and teare, to curse and ban, casting the ruffes under feete, and
+wishing that the devill might take her when shee did wear any
+neckerchers againe." This gentleman, whom it is said an invocation
+will always summon, now appeared in the likeness of a favoured suitor,
+and inquiring the cause of her agitation, he "took in hande the
+setting of her ruffes, which he performed to her great contentation
+and liking; insomuch, as she, looking herself in a glasse (as the
+devill bade her) became greatly enamoured with him. This done, the
+young man kissed her, in the doing whereof, he writhed her neck in
+sunder, so she died miserably."
+
+But here comes the marvel: four men tried in vain to lift her "fearful
+body" when coffined for interment; six were equally unsuccessful;
+"whereat the standers-by marvelling, caused the coffin to be opened to
+see the cause thereof: where they found the body to be taken away, and
+a blacke catte, very leane and deformed, sitting in the coffin,
+_setting of great ruffes and frizling of haire_, to the great feare
+and woonder of all the beholders."
+
+The large hoop farthingales were worn now, but they were said to be
+adopted by the ladies from a laudable spirit of emulation, a
+praiseworthy desire on their parts to be of equal standing with the
+"nobler sex," who now wore breeches, stuffed with rags or other
+materials to such an enormous size, that a bench of extraordinary
+dimension was placed round the parliament house, (of which the traces
+were visible at a very late period) solely for their accommodation.
+
+Strutt quotes an instance of a man whom the judges accused of wearing
+breeches contrary to the law (for a law was made against them): he,
+for his excuse, drew out of his slops the contents; at first a pair of
+sheets, two table-cloths, ten napkins, four shirts, a brush, a glass,
+and a comb; with nightcaps and other things of use, saying, "Your
+worship may understand, that because I have no safer a storehouse,
+these pockets do serve me for a room to lay up my goods in,--and,
+though it be a strait prison, yet it is big enough for them, for I
+have many things of value yet within it." His excuse was heartily
+laughed at and accepted.
+
+This ridiculous fashion was for a short time disused, but revived
+again in 1614. The breeches were then chiefly stuffed with hair. Many
+satirical rhymes were written upon them; amongst others, "A lamentable
+complaint of the poore Countrye Men agaynst great hose, for the loss
+of their cattelles tales." In which occur these:--
+
+ "What hurt, what damage doth ensue,
+ And fall upon the poore,
+ For want of wool and flaxe, of late,
+ Whych monstrous hose devoure.
+
+ "But haire hath so possess'd, of late,
+ The bryche of every knave,
+ That no one beast, nor horse can tell,
+ Whiche way his taile to save."
+
+Henry VIII. had received a few pairs of silk stockings from Spain, but
+knitted silk ones were not known until the second year of Elizabeth,
+when her silk-woman, Mrs. Montague, presented to Her Majesty a pair of
+black knit silk stockings, for a new-year's gift, with which she was
+so much pleased that she desired to know if the donor could not help
+her to any more, to which Mrs. Montague answered, "I made them
+carefully on purpose for your Majestie; and seeing they please you so
+well, I will presently set more in hand." "Do so (said the Queen), for
+I like silk stockings so well, that I will not henceforth wear any
+more cloth hose." These shortly became common; though even over so
+simple an article as a stocking, Fashion asserted her supremacy, and
+at a subsequent period they were two yards wide at the top, and made
+fast to the "petticoat breeches," by means of strings through eyelet
+holes.
+
+But Elizabeth's predilection for rich attire is well known, and if the
+costume of her day was fantastic, it was still magnificent. A suit
+trimmed with sables was considered the richest dress worn by men; and
+so expensive was this fur, that, it is said a thousand ducats were
+sometimes given for "a face of sables." It was towards the close of
+her reign that the celebrated Gabrielle d'Estrees wore on a festive
+occasion a dress of black satin, so ornamented with pearls and
+precious stones, that she could scarcely move under its weight. She
+had a handkerchief, for the embroidering of which she engaged to pay
+1900 crowns. And such it was said was the influence of her example in
+Paris, that the ladies ornamented even their shoes with jewels.
+
+Yet even this costly magnificence was afterwards surpassed by that of
+Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, with whom it was common, even at an
+ordinary dancing, to have his clothes trimmed with great diamond
+buttons, and to have diamond hatbands, cockades, and earrings, to be
+yoked with great and manifold ropes and knots of pearl; in short, to
+be manacled, fettered, and imprisoned in jewels: insomuch that at his
+going to Paris in 1625, he had twenty-seven suits of clothes made, the
+richest that embroidery, lace, silk, velvet, gold, and gems could
+contribute; one of which was a white uncut velvet set all over, both
+suit and cloak, with diamonds valued at fourscore thousand pounds,
+besides a great feather, stuck all over with diamonds, as were also
+his sword, girdle, hatband, and spurs.[110]
+
+It would but weary our readers were we to dwell on the well-known
+peculiarities of the "Cavalier and Roundhead" days; and tell how the
+steeple-crowned hat was replaced at the Restoration by the plumed and
+jewelled velvet; the forlorn, smooth, methodistical pate, by the
+curled ringlets and flowing lovelock; the sober, sombre, "sad"
+coloured garment, with its starched folds, by the gay, varied, flowing
+drapery of all hues. Then, how the plume of feathers gave way to the
+simpler band and buckle, and the thick large curling wig and full
+ruffle, to the bagwig, the tie, and stock.
+
+The dashing cloak and slashed sleeves were succeeded by the coat of
+ample dimensions, and the waistcoat with interminable pockets resting
+on the knees; the "breeches" were in universal use, though they were
+not of the universal "black" which Cowper immortalises; but "black
+breeches" and "powder" have had their reign, and are succeeded by the
+"inexpressible" costume of the present day. We will conclude a
+chapter, which we fear to have spun out tediously, by Lady Morgan's
+animated account of the introduction, in France, of that
+universally-coveted article of dress--a Cashmir shawl:--
+
+"While partaking of a sumptuous collation (at Rouen), the conversation
+naturally turned on the splendid views which the windows commanded,
+and on the subjects connected with their existence. The flocks, which
+were grazing before us had furnished the beautiful shawls which hung
+on the backs of the chairs occupied by our fair companions, and which
+might compete with the turbans of the Grand Signor. It would be
+difficult now to persuade a Parisian _petite maitresse_ that there was
+a time when French women of fashion could exist without a cashmir, or
+that such an indispensable article of the toilet and _sultan_ was
+unknown even to the most elegant. 'The first cashemir that appeared in
+France,' said Madame D'Aubespine, (for an educated French woman has
+always something worth hearing to say on all subjects,) 'was sent over
+by Baron de Tott, then in the service of the Porte, to Madame de
+Tesse. When they were produced in her society, every body thought them
+very fine, but nobody knew what use to make of them. It was determined
+that they would make pretty _couvre-pieds_ and veils for the cradle;
+but the fashion wore out with the shawls, and ladies returned to their
+eider-down quilts.'
+
+"Monsieur Ternaux observed that 'though the produce of the Cashmerian
+looms had long been known in Europe, they did not become a vogue until
+after Napoleon's expedition to Egypt; and that even then they took, in
+the first instance, but slowly.' The shawl was still a novelty in
+France, when Josephine, as yet but the wife of the First Consul, knew
+not how to drape its elegant folds, and stood indebted to the
+_brusque_ Rapp for the grace with which she afterwards wore it.
+
+"'Permettez que je vous fasse l'observation,' said Rapp, as they were
+setting off for the opera; 'que votre schall n'est pas mis avec cette
+grace qui vous est habituelle.'
+
+"Josephine laughingly let him arrange it in the manner of the Egyptian
+women. This impromptu toilette caused a little delay, and the infernal
+machine exploded in vain!
+
+"What destinies waited upon the arrangement of this cashemir! A moment
+sooner or later, and the shawl might have given another course to
+events, which would have changed the whole face of Europe."[111]
+
+The Empress Josephine (says her biographer) had quite a passion for
+shawls, and I question whether any collection of them was ever as
+valuable as hers. At Navarre she had one hundred and fifty, all
+extremely beautiful and high-priced. She sent designs to
+Constantinople, and the shawls made after these patterns were as
+beautiful as they were valuable. Every week M. Lenormant came to
+Navarre, and sold her whatever he could obtain that was curious in
+this way. I have seen white shawls covered with roses, bluebells,
+perroquets, peacocks, &c., which I believe were not to be met with any
+where else in Europe; they were valued at 15,000 and 20,000 francs
+each.
+
+The shawls were at length sold _by auction_ at Malmaison, at a rate
+much below their value. All Paris went to the sale.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[109] "Her Majesty told the ladies, that if the Bishop held more
+discourse on such matters, she would fit him for heaven; but he should
+walk thither without a staff, and leave his mantle behind him."
+
+[110] Life of Raleigh, by Oldys.
+
+[111] Lady Morgan's France in 1829-30.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+THE FIELD OF THE CLOTH OF GOLD.
+
+ "Where are the proud and lofty dames,
+ Their jewell'd crowns, their gay attire,
+ Their odours sweet?
+ Where are the love-enkindled flames,
+ The bursts of passionate desire
+ Laid at their feet?
+ Where are the songs, the troubadours,
+ The music which delighted then?--
+ It speaks no more.
+ Where is the dance that shook the floors,
+ And all the gay and laughing train,
+ And all they wore?
+
+ "The royal gifts profusely shed,
+ The palaces so proudly built,
+ With riches stor'd;
+ The roof with shining gold o'erspread,
+ The services of silver gilt,
+ The secret hoard,
+ The Arabian pards, the harness bright,
+ The bending plumes, the crowded mews,
+ The lacquey train,
+ Where are they?--where!--all lost in night,
+ And scatter'd as the early dews
+ Across the plain."
+
+ Bowring's Anc. Span. Romances.
+
+
+Romance and song have united to celebrate the splendours of the "Field
+of the Cloth of Gold." The most scrupulously minute and faithful of
+recorders has detailed day by day, and point by point, its varied and
+showy routine, and every subsequent historian has borrowed from the
+pages of the old chronicler; and these dry details have been so
+expanded by the breath of Fancy, and his skeleton frame has been so
+fleshed by the magical drapery of talent, that there seems little left
+on which the imagination can dilate, or the pen expatiate.
+
+The astonishing impulse which has in various ways within the last few
+years been given to the searching of ancient records, and the
+development of hitherto obscure and comparatively uninteresting
+details, and vesting them in an alluring garb, has made us as familiar
+with the domestic records of the eighth Henry, as in our school-days
+we were with the orthodox abstract of necessary historical
+information,--that "Henry the Eighth ascended the throne in the 18th
+year of his age;" that "he became extremely corpulent;" that "he
+married six wives, and beheaded two." Not even affording gratuitously
+the codicil which the talent of some writer hath educed--that "if
+Henry the Eighth had not beheaded his wives, there would have been no
+impeachment on his gallantry to the fair sex."
+
+But in describing this, according to some, "the most magnificent
+spectacle that Europe ever beheld," and to others, "a heavy mass of
+allegory and frippery," historians have been contented to pourtray the
+outward features of the gorgeous scene, and have slightly, if at all,
+touched on the contending feelings which were veiled beneath a broad
+though thin surface of concord and joy. Truly, it were a task of deep
+interest, even slightly to picture them, or to attempt to enter into
+the feelings of the chief actors on that field.
+
+First and foremost, as the guiding spirit of the whole, as the mighty
+artificer of that pageant on which, however gaudy in its particulars
+the fates of Europe were supposed to depend, and the earnest eyes of
+Europe were certainly fixed--comes WOLSEY.--Gorgeously habited
+himself, and the burnished gold of his saddle cloth only partially
+relieved by the more sombre crimson velvet; nay, his very shoes
+gleaming with brilliants, and himself withal so lofty in bearing, of
+so noble a presence, that this very magnificence seemed but a natural
+appendage, Wolsey took his lofty way from monarch to monarch; and so
+well did he become his dignity, that none but kings, and such kings as
+Henry and Francis, would have drawn the eyes of the myriad spectators
+from himself. And surely he was now happy; surely his ambition was now
+gratified to the uttermost; now, in the eyes of all Europe did the two
+proudest of her princes not merely associate with him almost as an
+equal, but openly yield to his suggestions--almost bow to his
+decisions. No--loftily as he bore himself, courtly as was his
+demeanour, rapid and commanding as was his eloquence, and influential
+as seemed his opinions on all and every one around--the cardinal had a
+mind ill at ease, as, despite his self-control, was occasionally
+testified by his contracted brow and thoughtful aspect. After exerting
+all the might of his mighty influence, and for his own aggrandisement,
+to procure this meeting between the two potentates, he had at the
+last moment seen fit to alter his policy. He had sold himself to a
+higher bidder; he had pledged himself to Charles in the very teeth of
+his solemn engagement to Francis. Even whilst celebrating this league
+of amity, he was turning in his own mind the means by which to rupture
+it; and was yet withal, nervously fearful of any accident which should
+prematurely break it, or lead to a discovery of his own
+faithlessness.--So much for his enjoyment!
+
+Our KING HENRY was all delight, and eager impetuous enjoyment. He had
+not outlived the good promise of his youth; nor had his foibles
+become, by indulgence, vices. He loved to see all around him happy; he
+loved, more especially, to make them so. He delighted in all the
+exercises of the field; he was unrivalled in the tilt and the
+tournament; and when engaged in them forgot kings and kingdoms. His
+vanity, outrageous as it was, hardly sat ungracefully on him, so much
+was it elevated then by buoyant good humour--so much was it softened
+at that time by his noble presence, his manly grace, his kingly
+accomplishments, and his regal munificence. The stern and selfish
+tyrant whom one shudders to think upon, was then only "bluff King
+Hal," loving and beloved, courted and caressed by an empire. He gave
+himself up to the gaieties of the time without a care for the present,
+a thought for the future. Could he have glanced dimly into that
+future! But he could not, and he was happy.
+
+FRANCIS was admirably qualified to grace this scene, and to enjoy it,
+as probably he did enjoy it, vividly. Yet was this gratification by no
+means unalloyed. His gentle manly nature was irritated at certain
+stipulations of Henry's advisers, by which their most trivial
+intercourse was subjected to specific regulations. There were recorded
+instances enough of treacherous advantages taken to justify fully this
+conduct on the part of Henry's ministers; but Francis felt its
+injustice, as applied to himself, and at that time, made use of a
+generous and well-known stratagem to convince others. But in the midst
+of his enjoyments he had misgivings on his mind of a more serious
+nature, caused by the Emperor's recent visit to Dover. These
+misgivings were increased by the meeting between Henry and Charles at
+Gravelines; and too surely confirmed by quickly-following
+circumstances.
+
+The gentle and good KATHARINE of England, and the equally amiable
+Queen CLAUDE, the carefully-trained stepdaughter of the noble and
+admirable Anne of Bretagne, probably derived their chief gratification
+here from the pleasure of seeing their husbands amicable and happy.
+For queens though they were, their happiness was in domestic life, and
+their chief empire was over the hearts of those domesticated with
+them.
+
+Not so the DOWAGER QUEEN of France--the lively, and graceful, and
+beautiful Duchess of Suffolk; for though very fond of her royal
+brother, and devoted to her gallant husband, she had yet an eye and an
+ear for all the revelries around, and had a radiant glance and a
+beaming smile for all who crowded to do homage to her charms. And yet
+her heart must have been somewhat hard--and that we know it was
+not--if she could have inhaled the air of France, or trod its sunny
+soil, without recollections which must have dimmed her eye at the
+thoughts of the past, even whilst breathing a thanksgiving for the
+present. Somewhat less than five years ago, she had been taken thither
+a weeping bride; youth, nature, inclination, nay, hope itself,
+sacrificed to that expediency by which the actions of monarchs are
+regulated. We are accustomed to read these things so much as mere
+historical memoranda, to look upon them in their cold unvarnished
+simplicity of detail, like the rigid outlines of stiff old portraits
+which we can scarcely suppose were ever meant to represent living
+flesh and blood--that it requires a strong effort to picture these
+circumstances to our eyes as actually occurring.
+
+In considering the state policy of the thing--and the apparent
+national advantage of the King of England's sister being married to
+the King of France--we forget that this King of England's sister was a
+fair young creature, with warm heart, gushing affections, and passions
+and feelings just opening in all the vividness of early womanhood; and
+that she was condemned to marry a sickly, querulous, elderly man, who
+began his loving rule by dismissing at once, even while she was "a
+stranger in a foreign land," every endeared friend and attendant who
+had accompanied her thither; and that, worse than all, her young
+affections had been sought and gained by a noble English gentleman,
+the favourite of the English king, and the pride of his Court.
+
+Surely her lot was hard; and well might she weepingly exclaim, "Where
+is now my hope?" Little could she suppose (for Louis, though infirm,
+was not aged) that three or four short months would see her not only
+at liberty from her enforced vows, but united to the man of her heart.
+
+Must there not, while watching the tilting of her graceful and gallant
+husband, must there not have been melancholy in her mirth?--must there
+not, in the keen encounter of wits during the banquet or the
+ball--must there not have mingled method with her madness?
+
+Who shall record, or even refer to the hopes, and feelings, and
+wishes, and thoughts, and reflections of the thousands congregated
+thither; each one with feelings as intense, with hopes as individually
+important as those which influenced the royal King of France, or the
+majestic monarch of England! The loftiest of Christendom's knights,
+the loveliest of Christendom's daughters were assembled here; and the
+courteous Bayard, the noble Tremouille, the lofty Bourbon, felt
+inspired more gallantly, if possible, than was even their wont, when
+contending in all love and amity with the proudest of England's
+champions, in presence of the fairest of her blue-eyed maidens,--the
+noblest of her courtly dames.
+
+Nor were the lofty and noble alone there congregated. After the
+magnificent structure for the king and court, after every thing in the
+shape of a tenement in, out, or about the little town of Guisnes, and
+the neighbouring hamlets, were occupied, two thousand eight hundred
+tents were set up on the side of the English alone. No noble or baron
+would be absent; but likewise knights, and squires, and yeomen flocked
+to the scene: citizens and city wives disported their richest silks
+and their heaviest chains; jews went for gain, pedlars for knavery,
+tradespeople for their craft, rogues for mischief. Then there were
+"vagaboundes, plowmen, laborers, wagoners, and beggers, that for
+drunkennes lay in routes and heapes, so great resorte thether came,
+that bothe knightes and ladies that wer come to see the noblenes, were
+faine to lye in haye and strawe, and hold theim thereof highly
+pleased."
+
+The accommodations provided for the king and privileged members of his
+court on this occasion were more than magnificent; a vast and splendid
+edifice that seemed to be endued with the magnificence, and to rise
+almost with the celerity of that prepared by the slaves of the lamp,
+where the richest tapestry and silk embroidery--the costliest produce
+of the most accomplished artisans, were almost unnoticed amid the gold
+and jewellery by which they were surrounded--where all that art could
+produce, or riches devise had been lavished--all this has been often
+described. And the tent itself, the nucleus of the show, the point
+where the "brother" kings were to confer, was hung round with cloth of
+gold: the posts, the cones, the cords, the tents, were all of the same
+precious metal, which glittered here in such excessive profusion as to
+give that title to the meeting which has superseded all others--"The
+Field of the Cloth of Gold."
+
+This gaudy pageant was the prelude to an era of great interest, for
+while dwelling on the "galanty shew" we cannot forget that now reigned
+Solyman the magnificent, and that this was the age of Leo the Tenth;
+that Charles the Fifth was now beginning his influential course; that
+a Sir Thomas More graced England; and that in Germany there was "one
+Martin Luther," who "belonged to an order of strolling friars." Under
+Leo's munificent encouragement, Rafaello produced those magnificent
+creations which have been the inspiration of subsequent ages; and at
+home, under Wolsey's enlightened patronage, colleges were founded,
+learning was encouraged, and the College of Physicians first
+instituted in 1518, found in him one of its warmest advocates and
+firmest supporters.
+
+A modern writer gives the following amusing picture of part of the
+bustle attendant on the event we are considering. "The palace (of
+Westminster) and all its precincts became the elysium of tailors,
+embroiderers, and sempstresses. There might you see many a shady form
+gliding about from apartment to apartment, with smiling looks and
+extended shears, or armed with ell-wands more potent than Mercury's
+rod, driving many a poor soul to perdition, and transforming his
+goodly acres into velvet suits, with tags of cloth of gold. So
+continual were the demands upon every kind of artisan, that the
+impossibility of executing them threw several into despair. One tailor
+who is reported to have undertaken to furnish fifty embroidered suits
+in three days, on beholding the mountain of gold and velvet that
+cumbered his shop-board, saw, like Brutus, the impossibility of
+victory, and, with Roman fortitude, fell on his own shears. Three
+armourers are said to have been completely melted with the heat of
+their furnaces; and an unfortunate goldsmith swallowed molten silver
+to escape the persecutions of the day.
+
+"The road from London to Canterbury was covered during one whole week
+with carts and waggons, mules, horses, and soldiers; and so great was
+the confusion, that marshals were at length stationed to keep the
+whole in order, which of course increased the said confusion a hundred
+fold. So many were the ships passing between Dover and Calais, that
+the historians affirm they jostled each other on the road like a herd
+of great black porkers.
+
+"The King went from station to station like a shepherd, driving all
+the better classes of the country before him, and leaving not a single
+straggler behind."
+
+Though we do not implicitly credit every point of this humorous
+statement, we think a small portion of description from the old
+chronicler Hall (we will really inflict _only_ a small portion on our
+readers) will justify a good deal of it; but more especially it will
+enlighten us as to some of the elaborate conceits of the day, in
+which, it seems, the needle was as fully occupied as the pen.
+
+Indeed, what would the "Field of the Cloth of Gold" have been without
+the skill of the needlewoman? _Would it have been at all?_
+
+"The Frenche kyng sette hymself on a courser barded, covered with
+purple sattin, broched with golde, and embraudered with corbyns
+fethers round and buckeled; the fether was blacke and hached with
+gold. Corbyn is a rauen, and the firste silable of corbyn is _Cor_,
+whiche is a harte, a penne in English, is a fether in Frenche, and
+signifieth pain, and so it stode; this fether round was endles, the
+buckels wherwith the fethers wer fastened, betokeneth sothfastnes,
+thus was the devise, _harte fastened in pain endles, or pain in harte
+fastened endles_.
+
+"Wednesdaie the 13 daie of June, the twoo hardie kynges armed at all
+peces, entered into the feld right nobly appareled, the Frenche kyng
+and all his parteners of chalenge were arraied in purple sattin,
+broched with golde and purple velvet, embrodered with litle rolles of
+white sattin wherein was written _quando_, all bardes and garmentes
+wer set full of the same, and all the residue where was no rolles,
+were poudered and set with the letter ell as thus, L, whiche in
+Frenche is she, which was interpreted to be _quando elle_, when she,
+and ensuyng the devise of the first daie it signifieth together,
+_harte fastened in pain endles, when she_.
+
+"The Frenche kyng likewise armed at al pointes mounted on a courser
+royal, all his apparel as wel bardes as garmentes were purple velvet,
+entred the one with the other, embrodred ful of litle bookes of white
+satten, and in the bokes were written _a me_; aboute the borders of
+the bardes and the borders of the garmentes, a chaine of blewe like
+iron, resemblyng the chayne of a well or prison chaine, whiche was
+enterpreted to be _liber_, a booke; within this boke was written as is
+sayed, _a me_, put these two together, and it maketh _libera me_; the
+chayne betokeneth prison or bondes, and so maketh together in
+Englishe, _deliver me of {bondes}_; put to {the} reason, the fyrst
+day, second day, and third day of chaunge, for he chaunged but the
+second day, and it is _hart fastened in paine endles, when she
+deliuereth me not of bondes_; thus was thinterpretation made, but
+whether it were so in all thinges or not I may not say."
+
+The following animated picture from an author already quoted, has been
+drawn of this spirit-stirring scene:--
+
+"Upon a large open green, that extended on the outside of the walls,
+was to be seen a multitude of tents of all kinds and colours, with a
+multitude of busy human beings, employed in raising fresh pavilions on
+every open space, or in decorating those already spread with
+streamers, pennons, and banners of all the bright hues under the sun.
+Long lines of horses and mules, loaded with armour or baggage, and
+ornamented with gay ribbons to put them in harmony with the scene,
+were winding about all over the plain, some proceeding towards the
+town, some seeking the tents of their several lords, while mingled
+amongst them, appeared various bands of soldiers, on horseback and on
+foot, with the rays of the declining sun catching upon the heads of
+their bills and lances; and together with the white cassock and broad
+red cross, marking them out from all the other objects. Here and
+there, too, might be seen a party of knights and gentlemen cantering
+over the plain, and enjoying the bustle of the scene, or standing in
+separate groups, issuing their orders for the erection and garnishing
+of their tents; while couriers, and poursuivants, and heralds, in all
+their gay dresses, mingled with mule drivers, lacqueys, and peasants,
+armourers, pages, and tent stretchers, made up the living part of the
+landscape.
+
+"The sounding of the trumpets to horse, the shouts of the various
+leaders, the loud cries of the marshals and heralds, and the roaring
+of artillery from the castle, as the king put his foot in the stirrup,
+all combined to make one general outcry rarely equalled. Gradually the
+tumult subsided, gradually also the confused assemblage assumed a
+regular form. Flags, and pennons, and banderols, embroidered banners,
+and scutcheons; silver pillars, and crosses, and crooks, ranged
+themselves in long line; and the bright procession, an interminable
+stream of living gold, began to wind across the plain. First came
+about five hundred of the gayest and wealthiest gentlemen of England,
+below the rank of baron; squires, knights, and bannerets, rivalling
+each other in the richness of their apparel and the beauty of their
+horses; while the pennons of the knights fluttered above their heads,
+marking the place of the English chivalry. Next appeared the proud
+barons of the realm, each with his banner borne before him, and
+followed by a custrel with the shield of his arms. To these again
+succeeded the bishops, not in the simple robes of the Protestant
+clergy, but in the more gorgeous habits of the Church of Rome; while
+close upon their steps rode the higher nobility, surrounding the
+immediate person of the king, and offering the most splendid mass of
+gold and jewels that the summer sun ever shone upon.
+
+"Slowly the procession moved forward to allow the line of those on
+foot to keep an equal pace. Nor did this band offer a less gay and
+pleasing sight than the cavalcade, for here might be seen the
+athletic forms of the sturdy English yeomanry, clothed in the various
+splendid liveries of their several lords, with the family cognisance
+embroidered on the bosom and arm, and the banners and banderols of
+their particular houses carried in the front of each company. Here
+also was to be seen the picked guard of the King of England,
+magnificently dressed for the occasion, with the royal banner carried
+in their centre by the deputy standard bearer, and the banner of their
+company by their own ancient. In the rear of all, marshalled by
+officers appointed for the purpose, came the band of those whose rank
+did not entitle them to take place in the cavalcade, but who had
+sufficient interest at court to be admitted to the meeting. Though of
+an inferior class, this company was not the least splendid in the
+field; for here were all the wealthy tradesmen of the court, habited
+in many a rich garment, furnished by the extravagance of those that
+rode before; and many a gold chain hung round their necks, that not
+long ago had lain in the purse of some prodigal customer."
+
+But we cease, being fully of opinion with the old chronicler that "to
+tell the apparel of the ladies, their riche attyres, their sumptuous
+juelles, their diversities of beauties, and their goodly behaviour
+from day to day sithe the fyrst metyng, I assure you ten mennes wittes
+can scarce declare it."
+
+And in a few days, a few short days, all was at an end; and the pomp
+and the pageantry, the mirth and the revelry, was but as a dream--a
+most bitter, indeed, and painful dream to hundreds who had bartered
+away their substance for the sake of a transient glitter:
+
+ "We seken fast after felicite
+ But we go wrong ful often trewely,
+ Thus may we sayen alle."
+
+Homely indeed, after the paraphernalia of the "Field of the Cloth of
+Gold," would appear the homes of England on the return of their
+masters. For though the nobles had begun to remove the martial fronts
+of their castles, and endeavoured to render them more commodious, yet
+in architecture the nation participated neither the spirit nor the
+taste of its sovereign. The mansions of the gentlemen were, we are
+told, still sordid; the huts of the peasantry poor and wretched. The
+former were generally thatched buildings composed of timber, or, where
+wood was scarce, of large posts inserted in the earth, filled up in
+the interstices with rubbish, plastered within, and covered on the
+outside with coarse clay. The latter were light frames, prepared in
+the forest at small expense, and when erected, probably covered with
+mud. In cities the houses were constructed mostly of the same
+materials, for bricks were still too costly for general use; and the
+stories seem to have projected forward as they rose in height,
+intercepting sunshine and air from the streets beneath. The apartments
+were stifling, lighted by lattices, so contrived as to prohibit the
+occasional and salutary admission of external air. The floors were of
+clay, strewed with rushes, which often remained for years a receptacle
+of every pollution.[112]
+
+In an inventory of the goods and chattels of Sir Andrew Foskewe,
+Knight, dated in the 30th year of King Henry the Eighth, are the
+following furnitures. We select the hall and the best parlour, in
+which he entertained company, first premising that he possessed a
+large and noble service of rich plate worth an amazing sum, and so
+much land as proved him to be a wealthy man:--
+
+"The hall.--A hangin of greine say, bordered with darneng (or
+needlework); item a grete side table, with standinge tressels; item a
+small joyned cuberde, of waynscott, and a short piece of counterfett
+carpett upon it; item a square cuberde, and a large piece of
+counterfett wyndowe, and five formes, &c.
+
+"Perler.--Imprim., a hangynge of greene say and red, panede; item a
+table with two tressels, and a greyne verders carpet upon it; three
+greyne verders cushyns; a joyned cupberd, and a carpett upon it; a
+piece of verders carpet in one window, and a piece of counterfeit
+carpett in the other; one Flemishe chaire; four joyned stooles; a
+joyned forme; a wyker skryne; two large awndyerns, a fyer forke, a
+fyer pan, a payer of tonges; item a lowe joyned stole; two joyned
+foote-stoles; a rounde table of cipress; and a piece of counterfeitt
+carpett upon it; item a paynted table (or picture) of the Epiphany of
+our Lord."[113]
+
+But notwithstanding this apparent meagreness of accommodation, luxury
+in architecture was making rapid strides in the land. Wolsey was as
+magnificent in this taste as in others, as Hampton Court, "a
+residence," says Grotius, "befitting rather a god than a king," yet
+remains to attest. The walls of his chambers at York Place,
+(Whitehall,) were hung with cloth of gold, and tapestry still more
+precious, representing the most remarkable events in sacred
+history--for the easel was then subordinate to the loom.
+
+The subjects of the tapestry in York Place consisted, we are told, of
+triumphs, probably Roman; the story of Absalom, bordered with the
+cardinal's arms; the Petition of Esther, and the Honouring of
+Mordecai; the History of Sampson, bordered with the cardinal's arms;
+the History of Solomon; the History of Susannah and the Elders,
+bordered with the cardinal's arms; the History of Jacob, also
+bordered; Holofernes and Judith, bordered; the Story of Joseph, of
+David, of St. John the Baptist; the History of the Virgin; the Passion
+of Christ; the Worthies; the Story of Nebuchadnezzar; a Pilgrimage;
+all bordered.
+
+This place--Whitehall--Henry decorated magnificently; erected splendid
+gateways, and threw a gallery across to the Park, where he erected a
+tilt-yard, with all royal and courtly appurtenances, and converted the
+whole into a royal manor. This was not until after fire had ravaged
+the ancient, time-honoured, and kingly palace of Westminster, a place
+which perhaps was the most truly regal of any which England ever
+beheld. Recorded as a royal residence as early--almost--as there is
+record of the existence of our venerable abbey; inhabited by Knute the
+Dane; rebuilt by Edward the Confessor; remodelled by Henry the Third;
+receiving lustre from the residence, and ever-added splendour from
+the liberality of a long line of illustrious monarchs, it had obtained
+a hold on the mind which is even yet not passed away, although the
+ravages of time, and of fire, and the desecrations of subsequent ages,
+have scarcely left stone or token of the original structure.
+
+After the fire, however, Henry forsook it. He it was who first built
+St. James's Palace on the site of an hospital which had formerly stood
+there. He also possessed, amongst other royal retreats, Havering
+Bower, so called from the legend of St. Edward receiving a ring from
+St. John the Evangelist on this spot by the hands of a pilgrim from
+the Holy Land; which legend is represented at length in Westminster
+Abbey; Eltham, in Kent, where the king frequently passed his
+Christmas; Greenwich, where Elizabeth was born; and Woodstock,
+celebrated for
+
+ "the unhappy fate
+ Of Rosamond, who long ago
+ Prov'd most unfortunate."
+
+The ancient palace of the Savoy had changed its destination as a royal
+residence only in his father's time. With the single exception of
+Westminster--if indeed that--the most magnificent palace which the
+hand of liberality ever raised, which the finger of taste ever
+embellished. Various indeed have been the changes to which it has been
+doomed, and now not one stone remains on another to say that such
+things have been. Now--of the thousands who traverse the spot, scarce
+one, at long and far distant intervals, may glance at the dim memories
+of the past, to think of the plumed knights and high-born dames who
+revelled in its halls; the crowned and anointed kings who, monarch or
+captive, trod its lofty chambers; the gleaming warriors who paced its
+embattled courts; the gracious queen who caused its walls to echo the
+sounds of joy; the subtle heads which plodded beneath its gloomy
+shades; the unhappy exiles who found a refuge within its dim recesses;
+or[114] the lame, the sick, the impotent, who in the midst of
+suffering blessed the home that sheltered them, the hands that
+ministered to their woes.
+
+No. The majestic walls of the Savoy are in the dust, and not merely
+all trace, but all idea of its radiant gardens and sunny bowers, its
+sparkling fountains and verdant lawns, is lost even to the imagination
+in the matter-of-fact, business-like demeanour of the myriads of
+plodders who are ever traversing the dusty and bustling environs of
+Waterloo-bridge. In our closets we may perchance compel the unromantic
+realities of the present to yield beneath the brilliant imaginations
+of the past; but on the spot itself it is impossible.
+
+Who can stand in Wellington-street, on the verge of Waterloo-bridge,
+and fancy it a princely mansion from the lofty battlements of which a
+royal banner is flying, while numerous retainers keep watch below?
+Probably the sounds of harp and song may be heard as lofty nobles and
+courtly dames are seen to tread the verdant alleys and flower-bestrewn
+paths which lead to the bright and glancing river, where a costly
+barge (from which the sounds proceed) is waiting its distinguished
+freight. Ever and anon are these seen gliding along in the sunbeams,
+or resting at the avenue leading to one or other of the noble mansions
+with which the bright strand is sprinkled.
+
+Of these, perhaps, the most gorgeous is York-place, while farthest in
+the distance rise the fortified walls of the old palace of
+Westminster, inferior only to those of the ancient abbey, which are
+seen to rise, dimmed, yet distinct, in the soft but glowing haze cast
+around by the setting sun.
+
+And that building seen on the opposite side of the river? Strangely
+situated it seems, and in a swamp, and with none of the felicity of
+aspect appertaining to its loftier neighbour, the Savoy. Yet its lofty
+tower, its embattled gateway, seem to infer some important
+destination. And such it had. The unassuming and unattractively placed
+edifice has outlived its more aspiring neighbours; and while the
+stately palace of the Savoy is extinct, and the slight remains of
+Westminster are desecrated, the time-honoured walls of Lambeth yet
+shelter the head of learning and dignify the location in which they
+were reared.
+
+Eastward of our position the city looks dim and crowded; but, with the
+exception of the sprinkled mansions to which we have alluded, there is
+little to break the natural characteristics of the scene between
+Temple-bar and the West Minster. The hermitage and hospital on the
+site of Northumberland House harmonise well with the scene; the little
+cluster of cottages at Charing has a rural aspect; and that beautiful
+and touching memento of unfailing love and undiminished
+affection--that tribute to all that was good and excellent in
+woman--the Cross, which, formed of the purest and, as yet, unsoiled
+white marble, raised its emblem of faith and hope, gleaming like
+silver in the brilliant sky--that--would that we had it still!
+
+Somewhat nearer, the May-pole stands out in gay relief from the woods
+which envelop the hills northward, where yet the timid fawn could
+shelter, and the fearful hare forget its watch; where yet perchance
+the fairies held their revels when the moon shone bright; where they
+filled to the brim the "fairy-cups" and pledged each other in dew;
+where they played at "hide and seek" in the harebells, ran races in
+the branches of the trees, and nestled on the leaves, on which they
+glittered like diamonds; where they launched their tiny barks on the
+sparkling rivulets, breathing ere morning's dawn on the flowers to
+awaken them, tinting the gossamer's web with silver, and scattering
+pearls over the drops of dew.
+
+Closer around, among meadows and pastures, are all sounds and emblems
+of rural life; which as yet are but agreeably varied, not ruthlessly
+annihilated, by the encroachments of population and the increase of
+trade.
+
+Truly this is a difficult picture to realise on Waterloo-bridge, yet
+is it nevertheless a tolerably correct one of this portion of our
+metropolis at the time of "The Field of the Cloth of Gold."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[112] Henry.
+
+[113] Strutt's Manners and Customs.
+
+[114] It was at length converted into an hospital.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+THE NEEDLE.
+
+ "A grave Reformer of old Rents decay'd."
+
+ J. Taylor.
+
+ "His garment--
+ With thornes together pind and patched was."
+
+ Faerie Queene.
+
+ _Hodge._ "Tush, tush, her neele, her neele, her neele, man; neither
+ flesh nor fish,
+ A lytle thing with an hole in the ende, as bright as any
+ syller,
+ Small, long, sharp at the point, and straight as any piller."
+
+ _Diccon._ "I know not what it is thou menest, thou bringst me more in
+ doubt."
+
+ _Hodge._ "Knowest not what Tom tailor's man sits broching thro' a
+ clout?
+ A neele, a neele, a neele, my gammer's neele is gone."
+
+ Gammer Gurton's Needle.
+
+
+It is said in the old chronicles that previous to the arrival of Anne
+of Bohemia, Queen of Richard the Second, the English ladies fastened
+their robes with skewers; but as it is known that pins were in use
+among the early British, since in the barrows that have been opened
+numbers of "neat and efficient" ivory pins were found to have been
+used in arranging the grave-clothes, it is probable that this remark
+is unfounded.
+
+The pins of a later date than the above were made of boxwood, bone,
+ivory, and some few of silver. They were larger than those of the
+present day, which seem to have been unknown in England till about the
+middle of the fifteenth century. In 1543, however, the manufacture of
+brass pins had become sufficiently important to claim the attention of
+the legislature, an Act having been passed that year by which it was
+enacted, "That no person shall put to sale any pins, but only such as
+shall be double headed and have the head soldered fast to the shank,
+the pins well smoothed, and the shank well sharpened."
+
+Gloucestershire is noted for the number of its pin manufactories. They
+were first introduced in that county, in 1626, by John Tilsby; and it
+is said that at this time they employ 1,500 hands, and send up to the
+metropolis upwards of L20,000 of pins annually.
+
+Our motto says, however, that his garment
+
+ "With thornes together pind and _patched_ was;"
+
+and a French writer says, that before the invention of steel needles
+people were obliged to make use of thorns, fish bones, &c., but that
+since "l'etablissement des societes, ce petit outil est devenu d'un
+usage indispensable dans une infinite d'arts et d'occasions."
+
+He proceeds:--"De toutes les manieres d'attacher l'un a l'autre deux
+corps flexibles, celle qui se pratique avec l'aiguille est une des
+plus universellement repandues: aussi distingue-t-on un grand nombre
+d'aiguilles differentes. On a les aiguilles a coudre, ou de tailleur;
+les aiguilles de chirurgie, d'artillerie, de bonnetier, ou faiseur de
+bas au metier, d'horloger, de cirier, de drapier, de gainier, de
+perruquier, de coiffeuse, de faiseur de coiffe a perruques, de piqueur
+d'etuis, tabatieres, et autres semblables ouvrages; de sellier,
+d'ouvrier en soie, de brodeur, de tapissier, de chandelier,
+d'emballeur; a matelas, a empointer, a tricoter, a enfiler, a presser,
+a brocher, a relier, a natter, a boussole ou aimantee, &c. &c."
+
+Needles are said to have been first made in England by a native of
+India, in 1545, but the art was lost at his death; it was, however,
+recovered by Christopher Greening, in 1560, who was settled with his
+three children, Elizabeth, John, and Thomas, by Mr. Damar, ancestor of
+the present Lord Milton, at Long Crendon, in Bucks, where the
+manufactory has been carried on from that time to the present
+period.[115]
+
+Thus our readers will remark, that until far on in the sixteenth
+century, there was not a needle to be had but of foreign manufacture;
+and bearing this circumstance in mind, they will be able to enter more
+fully into the feelings of those who set such inestimable value on a
+needle. And, indeed, _if_ all we are told of them be true, needles
+could not be too highly esteemed. For instance, we were told of an
+old woman who had used one needle so long and so constantly for
+mending stockings, that at last the needle was able to do them of
+itself. At length, and while the needle was in the full perfection of
+its powers, the old woman died. A neighbour, whose numerous "olive
+branches" caused her to have a full share of matronly employment,
+hastened to possess herself of this domestic treasure, and gathered
+round her the weekly accumulation of sewing, not doubting but that
+with her new ally, the wonder-working needle, the unwieldy work-basket
+would be cleared, "in no time," of its overflowing contents. But even
+the all-powerful needle was of no avail without thread, and she
+forthwith proceeded to invest it with a long one. But thread it she
+could not; it resisted her most strenuous endeavours. In vain she
+turned and re-turned the needle, the eye was plain enough to be seen;
+in vain she cut and screwed the thread, she burnt it in the candle,
+she nipped it with the scissars, she rolled it with her lips, she
+twizled it between her finger and thumb: the pointed end was fine as
+fine could be, but enter the eye of the needle it would not. At
+length, determined not to relinquish her project whilst any hope
+remained of its accomplishment, she borrowed a magnifying glass to
+examine the "little weapon" more accurately. And there, "large as life
+and twice as natural," a pearly gem, a translucent drop, a crystal
+_tear_ stood right in the gap, and filled to overflowing the eye of
+the needle. It was weeping for the death of its old mistress; it
+refused consolation; it was never threaded again.
+
+We give this incident on the testimony of a gallant naval officer; an
+unquestionable authority, though we are fully aware that some of our
+readers may be ungenerously sceptical, and perhaps even rude enough to
+attempt some vile pun about the brave sailor's "drawing a long yarn."
+
+If, however, Gammer Gurton's needle resembled the one we have just
+referred to, and that, too, at a time when a needle, even not
+supernaturally endowed, was not to be had of English manufacture, and
+therefore could only be purchased probably at a high price, we cannot
+wonder at the aggrieved feelings of her domestic circle when the
+catastrophe occurred which is depicted as follows:--The parties
+interested were the Dame Gammer Gurton herself; Hodge, her farming
+man; Tib, her maid; Cocke, her boy; and Gib, her cat. The play from
+which our quotation is taken is not without some pretensions to wit,
+though of the coarsest kind: it is supposed to have been first
+performed at Christ's College, Cambridge, in 1566; and Warton observes
+on it, that while Latimer's sermons were in vogue at court, Gammer
+Gurton's needle might well be tolerated at the university.
+
+ Act I. Scene 3. Hodge and Tib.
+
+ _Hodge._ "I am agast, by the masse, I wot not what to do;
+ I had need blesse me well before I go them to:
+ Perchance, some felon spirit may haunt our house indeed,
+ And then I were but a noddy to venter where's no need."
+
+ _Tib._ "I'm worse than mad, by the masse, to be at this stay.
+ I'm chid, I'm blam'd, and beaten all th' hours on the day.
+ Lamed and hunger starved, pricked up all in jagges,
+ Having no patch to hide my backe, save a few rotten ragges."
+
+ _Hodge._ "I say, Tib, if thou be Tib, as I trow sure thou be,
+ What devil make ado is this between our dame and thee?"
+
+ _Tib._ "Truly, Hodge, thou had a good turn thou wart not here this
+ while;
+ It had been better for some of us to have been hence a mile:
+ My Gammer is so out of course, and frantike all at once,
+ That Cocke, our boy, and I poor wench, have felt it on our
+ bones."
+
+ _Hodge._ "What is the matter, say on, Tib, whereat she taketh so on?"
+
+ _Tib._ "She is undone, she saith (alas) her life and joy is gone:
+ If she hear not of some comfort, she is she saith but dead,
+ Shall never come within her lips, on inch of meat ne bread.
+ And heavy, heavy is her grief, as, Hodge, we all shall feel."
+
+ _Hodge._ "My conscience, Tib, my Gammer has never lost her neele?"
+
+ _Tib._ "Her neele."
+
+ _Hodge._ "Her neele?"
+
+ _Tib._ "Her neele, by him that made me!"
+
+ _Hodge._ "How a murrain came this chaunce (say Tib) unto her dame?"
+
+ _Tib._ "My Gammer sat her down on the pes, and bade me reach thy
+ breches,
+ And by and by, a vengeance on it, or she had take two
+ stitches
+ To clout upon the knee, by chaunce aside she lears,
+ And Gib our cat, in the milk pan, she spied over head
+ and ears.
+ Ah! out, out, theefe, she cried aloud, and swapt the
+ breeches down,
+ Up went her staffe, and out leapt Gib at doors into the town:
+ And since that time was never wight cold set their eyes
+ upon it.
+ God's malison she have Cocke and I bid twentie times light
+ on it."
+
+ _Hodge._ "And is not then my breches sewed up, to-morrow that I shuld
+ wear?"
+
+ _Tib._ "No, in faith, Hodge, thy breches lie, for all this never the
+ near."
+
+ _Hodge._ "Now a vengeance light on al the sort, that better shold
+ have kept it;
+ The cat, the house, and Tib our maid, that better should
+ have swept it.
+ Se, where she cometh crawling! Come on, come on thy
+ lagging way;
+ Ye have made a fair daies worke, have you not? pray you,
+ say."
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ Act I. Scene 4. Gammer, Hodge, Tib, Cocke.
+
+ _Gammer._ "Alas, alas, I may well curse and ban
+ This day, that ever I saw it, with Gib and the milke pan.
+ For these, and ill lucke together, as knoweth Cocke my boy,
+ Have stacke away my dear neele, and rob'd me of my joy,
+ My fair long straight neele, that was mine only treasure,
+ The first day of my sorrow is, and last of my pleasure."
+
+ _Hodge._ "Might ha kept it when ye had it; but fools will be fools
+ still:
+ Lose that is fast in your hands? ye need not, but ye will."
+
+ _Gammer._ "Go hie the, Tib, and run along, to th' end here of the town.
+ Didst carry out dust in thy lap? seek where thou porest
+ it down;
+ And as thou sawest me roking in the ashes where I morned,
+ So see in all the heap of dust thou leave no straw unturned."
+
+ _Hodge._ "Your neele lost? it is pitie you shold lacke care and
+ endles sorrow.
+ Tell me, how shall my breches be sewid? shall I go thus
+ to-morrow?"
+
+ _Gammer._ "Ah, Hodge, Hodge, if that I could find my neele, by the
+ reed,
+ I'd sew thy breches, I promise the, with full good double
+ threed,
+ And set a patch on either knee, shall last this months twain,
+ Now God, and Saint Sithe, I pray, to send it back again."
+
+ _Hodge._ "Whereto served your hands and eyes, but your neele keep?
+ What devil had you els to do? ye keep, I wot, no 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, sitting 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, "is a regular comedy, in five
+acts, built on the circumstance 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 unlucky part of Hodge's dress.
+This must evidently have happened at a time when the manufactures of
+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 valuable 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
+authorities, 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.
+Rat, the curate; and Gib, the cat, who may fairly be reckoned one of
+the _dramatis personae_, and performs 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 enumerated, astonish even the most
+industrious of our modern ladies. The lover of Shakspeare will
+remember 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 applications; and it is originally derived, according to
+Mr. Douce, from the fine stitchery of the ladies.
+
+It has been properly stated, that _point device_ signifies _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. _Poinct_, in
+the French language, denotes a _stitch_; _devise_ any thing
+_invented_, disposed, or _arranged_. _Point devise_ was, therefore, a
+particular sort of patterned lace worked with the needle; and the term
+_point lace_ is still familiar to every female. They had likewise
+their _point-coupe_, _point-compte_, _dentelle au point devant
+l'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[116] enumerates 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,
+raccamare, et finalmente far tutte quelle gentillezze et lodevili
+opere, le quali po fare una donna virtuosa con laco in mano, con li
+suoi compasse et misure. Vinegia, per Nicolo D'Aristotile detto
+Zoppino, MDXXIX. 8vo."
+
+The next that occurs was likewise set forth by an Italian, and
+entitled, "Les singuliers et nouveaux pourtraicts du Seigneur Federic
+de Vinciolo Venitien, pour toutes sortes d'ouvrages de lingerie.
+Paris, 1588. 4to." It is dedicated to the Queen 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 address 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 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 divers 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 engraving of three ladies in a flower garden, under
+the names of Wisdom, Industrie, and Follie. Prefixed to the patterns
+are sundry poems in commendation of the needle, and describing the
+characters of ladies who have been eminent for their skill in
+needlework, among whom are Queen Elizabeth and the Countess of
+Pembroke. The poems were composed 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 patterns 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 Seigneur Federic de
+Vinciolo Venitien, pour toutes sortes d'ouvrages de Lingerie. Dedie a
+la Reyne. A Paris, 1578."[117]
+
+The book opens with a sonnet to the fair, which announces to them an
+admirable motive for the work itself:--
+
+ "Pour tromper vos ennuis, et l'esprit employer."
+
+Aux Dames et Damoyselles.
+
+ SONNET.
+
+ "L'un s'efforce a gaigner le coeur des {grands} Seigneurs
+ Pour posseder en fin une exquise richesse;
+ L'autre aspire aux estats, pour monter en altesse,
+ Et l'autre, par la guerre alleche les honneurs.
+
+ "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 l'esprit employer.
+
+ "En ceste nouveaute, pourrez beaucoup apprendre,
+ Et maistresses en fin en cest oeuvre 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.
+
+ 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 learn anew,
+ Which _comme il faut_ will render you,
+ And bring you joy and honour too.
+
+Proceed we to the--
+
+"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 represented 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 well as pourtrayed), thus:--
+
+"Ce Pelican contient en longueur 70 mailles, et en hauteur 65." This
+pattern of maternity is represented 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 {contient} en hauteur 58 mailles, et en {longueur} 67."
+Small must be the skill of the needlewoman who does not make this a
+very rampant animal indeed.
+
+"Ce Paon contient en longueur 65 mailles, et en hauteur 61."
+
+"La Licorne en hauteur {contient} 44 mailles, et en longueur 62, &c.
+&c."
+
+"La bordure contient 25 mailles."
+
+"La bordure de haut {contient} 35 mailles." This is a very handsome
+one, resembling pine apples.
+
+"Ce quarre contient 65 mailles." There are several 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."
+
+"La Deesse des Bleds representant l'este."
+
+"Ce Bacchus 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'imprimer ou faire imprimer {vendre} et
+distribuer un livre intitule livre de patrons de Lingerie, DEDIE A LA
+ROYNE, nouvellement invente par le Seigneur Federic de Vinciolo
+Venitien, avec deffences a tous Libraires, Imprimeurs, ou autres, de
+quelque condition et qualite quilz soyent, de faire ny contrefaire,
+aptisser ny {agrandir}, ou pocher lesdits figures, ny exposer en vente
+ledict Livre sans le {conge} ou permission 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 imprimez, et damande
+arbitraire: comme plus a plein est declare en lettres patentes,
+donnees a Paris ce douziesme jour de Novembre, 1587."
+
+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 delle Nobili et virtuose Donne, nel quale si dimostra in varij
+Dissegni tutte le sorti di Mostre di punti tagliati, punti in Aria,
+punti Fiamenghi, punti a Reticelle, e d'ogni altre sorte, cosi per
+Freggi, per Merli, e Rosette, che con l'Aco si usano hoggidi per tutta
+l'Europa.
+
+"E molte delle quali Mostre possono servire ancora per opere a
+Mazzette.
+
+"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 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 gentildonne Venetiane da far
+traverse."
+
+But certainly the best work of the kind is, "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 similar 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 extreme 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
+modern artists have borrowed the _idea_ of their beautifully 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 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 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 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, _Polipheme_ 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 magnifide:
+ No shadowes, shapparoones, caules, bands, ruffs, kuffs,
+ No kerchiefes, quoyfes, chinclouts, or marry-muffes,
+ 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 weares.
+ 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 Almighti's 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 figur'd counterfeits so like have beene,
+ That if the parties selfe had been in place,
+ Yet art would vie with nature for the grace;
+ 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 A B C.
+ 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, _farrefetcht_ 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_, _rais'd worke_, _laid worke_, _frost works_,
+ _net worke_,
+ Most curious _purles_, or rare _Italian cut worke_,
+ Fine, _ferne 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:
+ 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, from 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 idlenesse,
+ For these ends, may this booke have good successe."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[115] It is worth while to remark the circumstance, that by a machine
+of the simplest construction, being nothing in fact but a tray, 20,000
+needles thrown promiscuously together, mixed and entangled in every
+way, are laid parallel, heads to heads, and points to points, in the
+course of three or four minutes.
+
+[116] Illustrations, vol. ii. p. 92.
+
+[117] This seems to be a somewhat earlier edition of the second book
+in Mr. Douce's list.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+TAPESTRY FROM 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 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."
+
+ Faerie Queene.
+
+
+Raphael, whose name is familiar to all "as a household word," seems to
+have been equally celebrated for a handsome person, an engaging
+address, an amiable disposition, and high talents. Language exhausts
+itself in his eulogy.[118] But the 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 Raphael's follies were not merely permitted,
+but encouraged and fostered by those who sought eagerly for the
+creations of his pencil. His thousand engaging 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.
+
+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 hangings to ornament the apartments of the Vatican; and their
+dimensions being of course proportioned to the spaces they were
+designed to fill, 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. }
+
+ 6. The Presentation in the Temple.
+
+ 7. The Miraculous Draught of Fishes.
+
+ 8. St. Peter receiving the Keys.
+
+ 9. The Descent of Christ into Limbus.
+
+ 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. Paul.
+
+ 17. Paul and Barnabas at Lystra.
+
+ 18. Paul Preaching.
+
+ 19. Death of Ananias.
+
+ 20. Elymas the Sorcerer.
+
+ 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 altogether successful.
+
+ 22. St. Peter healing the cripple.
+
+ 23-24. Contain emblems alluding to Leo the Tenth. These
+ are preserved in one of the private apartments of the
+ Vatican palace.
+
+ 25. Justice. In this subject the figures of Religion,
+ Charity, and Justice are seen above the papal armorial
+ bearings. The last figure gives name to the whole.
+
+When the cartoons were finished they were sent into Flanders to be
+woven (at the famous manufactory 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 account for the cartoons not being sent with
+the tapestries to Rome, though some accounts say that the debt for
+their manufacture remained unliquidated, 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 Montmorenci 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
+Domini, and also at the solemn "function of Beatification." 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 thousand 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 House of
+Whitehall, and after the unhappy execution 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 tapestries, 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 Netherlands, and were all, save seven, lost and
+destroyed through the ravages of time, and chance, and revolution.
+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 possession. It is
+supposed that the chief object of Charles in the purchase was to
+supply the then 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.[119]
+
+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 William 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
+preservation, 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; 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 exhibit the whole in, these would in time, by
+presentation 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 character 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 ornamental 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 harmoniously as to add very much to the illusion,
+giving 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 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 precisely _the finest thing in the
+world_."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[118] For example:--"Egli avea tenuto sempre un contegno da
+guadagnarsi il cuore di tutto. Rispettoso verso il maestro, ottenne
+dal Papa che le sue pitture in una volta delle camere Vaticane
+rimanessero intatte; giusto verso i suoi emuli ringraziava Dio
+d'averlo fatto nascere a' tempi del Bonarruoti; grazioso verso i
+discepoli gl'istrui e gli amo come figli; cortese anche verso
+gl'ignoti, a chiunque ricorse a lui per consiglio presto liberalmente
+l'opera sua, e per far disegni ad altrui o dar gl'indirizzo lascio
+indietro talvolta i lavori propri, non sapendo non pure di negar
+grazia, ma differirla."--Lanzi, vol. ii.
+
+Consequently when his body before interment lay in the room in which
+he was accustomed to paint, "Non v'ebbe si duro artefice che a quello
+spettacolo non lagrimasse."--"Ne pianse il Papa."
+
+Of his works:--"Le sue figure veramente amano, languiscono, temono,
+sperano, ardiscono; mostrano ira, placabilita, umilta, orgoglio, come
+mette bene alla 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, _Il cor negli occhi e nella fronte ha
+scritto_; i piccioli movimenti degli occhi, degli narici, della bocca,
+delle dita corrispondono a' primi moti d'ogni passione; i gesti piu
+animati e 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 caratteri senza uscir mai dalla proprieta. L'eroe ha movimenti
+da eroe, il volgar da volgare; e quel che non descriverebbe lingua ne
+penna, descrive in pochissimi tratti l'ingegno e l'arte di
+Raffaello."--p. 65.
+
+"Il 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 ridusse 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 familiar to
+us.
+
+[119] In a priced catalogue of His Majesty's collection of "Limnings,"
+edited by Vertue, is the following entry. "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_."--Cartonensia.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+THE DAYS OF "GOOD QUEEN BESS."
+
+ "A worthie woman judge, a woman sent for staie."
+
+ "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 hir Citie of Norwich._
+
+ "We may justly wonder what has become 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 approbation or for censure; the heroic sailor will
+glory over the achievements of her time; the adventurous traveller
+will explore the Eldoradic regions with Raleigh, or plough the waves
+with Drake and Frobisher; the soldier will recal glorious visions of
+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 Jonson, and him "who was 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 enthusiasts in the cause of letters. The novelty
+which attended these studies, the eager desire to possess what had
+been so long studiously and jealously concealed, and the curiosity to
+explore and rifle the treasures of the Greek and Roman world, which
+mystery and imagination had swelled into the marvellous, contributed
+to excite an absolute passion for study and for books. The court, the
+ducal castle, and the baronial hall were suddenly converted into
+academies, and could boast of splendid tapestries. In the first of
+these, according to Ascham, might be seen the queen reading "more
+Greeke every day than some prebendarie of this church doth read
+_Latin_ in a whole week;" and while she 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, "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 fashionable 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
+personages, as give their dailie attendance upon the queene's
+majestie. 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
+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 England, 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 conversations 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 saie 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 noblemen 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!"[120]
+
+At this time the practice (derived from the chivalrous 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 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. Persons of rank and fortune often retained in their
+service many young people of both sexes of good birth, and bestowed on
+them the fashionable education of the time. Indeed their houses were
+the best, if not then the only schools of elegant learning. 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 drawinge 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 service, I hope I shall performe my dutye to my
+ lady 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 Whitehall 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 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 Warton) 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 exhibited 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 was 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 perforce 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 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
+fortunate 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 stitchery.
+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
+exquisite 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-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.
+
+ "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. Elizabeth 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 admired, or in greater
+request in the every-day concerns 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 embroidered in gold or silver, or in
+various-coloured 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_l._, so richly were they ornamented with
+"needleworke 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 construction of
+hangings for walls, which were universally used, intermingled and
+varied in the palaces and nobler mansions by "painted cloth," and
+cloth of gold and silver. Thus Shakspeare describes Imogen'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
+presence 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,[121] or painted cloths, wherein
+either diverse histories, or hearbes, beasts, knots, and such like are
+stained, 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 memorable 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 needlework 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.
+
+ _Gremio._ "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 I 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 aera 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 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 president.
+
+The "romance of chivalry" was sinking to be succeeded by the heavier
+tomes of Gomberville, Scudery, &c., 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 "Barlaam and Josaphat," and which now pervaded the
+fast-rising puritan party, and was afterwards fully developed in that
+unaccountably fascinating work, "The Pilgrim's Progress."
+Nevertheless, as yet
+
+ "Courted and caress'd,
+ High placed in hall, a welcome guest,"
+
+the harper poured to lord and lady gay not indeed "his unpremeditated
+lay," but a poetical abridgment (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 wandering 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
+considerable 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" 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, the fairies, the
+satyrs, the elves, the fauns, the "shapes that walk," the
+
+ "Uncharnel'd spectres, seen to glide
+ Along the lone wood's unfrequented path"--
+
+the being and active existence of all these was considered "true as
+holy writ" by our ancestors of the Elizabethan age. On this subject we
+will transcribe a beautifully illustrative passage from Warton:--
+
+"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 curfew, and that fairies
+imprinted mysterious circles on the turf by moonlight. Much of this
+credulity was even consecrated by the name of science and profound
+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, who
+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, 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 superstitions 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 forehead, 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 constrained to particularise, since its
+infallibility was mainly dependent on the needlewoman's skill. It was
+a waistcoat which rendered its owner invulnerable: we believe that if
+duly prepared it would be found proof not only against "silver
+bullets," but also against even the "charmed bullet" of German
+notoriety. Thus runs the charm:--
+
+"On Christmas daie at night, a thread must be sponne of flax, by a
+little virgine girle, in the name of the divell; and it must be by hir
+woven, and also _wrought with the needle_. In the brest or forepart
+thereof must be made _with needleworke_ two heads; on the head at the
+right side must be a hat and a long beard, and the left head must have
+on a crowne, and it must be so horrible that it maie resemble
+Belzebub; and on each side of the wastcote must be _wrought_ a
+crosse."
+
+The newspaper, that now mighty political engine, that "thewe and
+sinew" of the fourth estate of the realm, took its rise in Elizabeth's
+day. How would her legislators have been overwhelmed with amazement
+could they have beheld, in dim perspective, this child of the press,
+scarcely less now the offspring of the imagination than those chimeras
+of their own time to which we have been alluding; and would not the
+wrinkled brow of the modern politician be unconsciously smoothened,
+would not the careworn and profound diplomatist "gather up his face
+into a smile before he was aware," if the FIRST NEWSPAPER were
+suddenly placed before him? It is not indeed in existence, but was
+published under the title of "_The English Mercurie_," in April, 1588,
+on the first appearance near the shores of England of the Spanish
+Armada, a crisis which caused this innovation on the usual public
+news-letter circulated in manuscript. No. 50, dated July 23, 1588, is
+the first now in existence; and as the publication only began in
+April, it shows they must have been issued frequently. We have seen
+this No. 50, which is preserved in the British Museum.[122]
+
+In it are no advertisements--no fashions--no law reports--no court
+circular--no fashionable arrivals--no fashionable intelligence--no
+murders--no robberies--no reviews--no crim. cons.--no elopements--no
+price of stocks--no mercantile intelligence--no police reports--no
+"leaders,"--no literary memoranda--no poets' corner--no spring
+meetings--no radical demonstrations--no conservative dinners--but
+
+ "The
+
+ "English Mercurie,
+
+ "Published by AUTHORITIE,
+
+ "For the Prevention of False Reportes,
+
+ "_Whitehall, July 23, 1588._"
+
+Contains three pages and a half, small quarto, of matter of fact
+information.
+
+Two pages respecting the Armada then seen "neare the Lizard, making
+for the entrance of the Channell," and appearing on the surface of the
+water "like floating castles."
+
+A page of news from Ostend, where "nothing was talked of but the
+intended invasion of England. His Highnesse the Prince of Parma having
+compleated his preparationes, of which the subjoined Accounte might be
+depended upon as _exacte and authentique_."
+
+Something to say--for a newspaper.
+
+And a few lines dated "London, July 13, of the lord mayor, aldermen,
+common councilmen, and lieutenancie of this great citie" waiting on
+Her Majesty with assurances of support, and receiving a gracious
+reception from her.
+
+Such was the newspaper of 1588.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The great events of Elizabeth's reign, in war, in politics, in
+legislation, belong to the historian; the great march of mind, the
+connecting link which that age formed between the darkness of the
+preceding ones (for during the period of the wars of the Roses all
+sorts of art and science retrograded), and the high cultivation of
+later days, it is the province of the metaphysician and philosopher to
+analyse; and even the lighter characteristics of the time have become
+so familiar through the medium of many modern and valuable works, that
+we have ventured only to touch very superficially on some few of the
+more prominent of them.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[120] Harrison.
+
+[121] 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.
+
+[122] Sloane MSS. No. 4106.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+TAPESTRY OF THE SPANISH ARMADA, BETTER KNOWN AS TAPESTRY OF THE HOUSE
+OF LORDS.
+
+ "He did blow with his wind, and they were scattered."
+
+ 'Inscription on the Medal.'
+
+
+The year 1588 had been foretold by astrologers to be a wonderful year,
+the "climacterical year of the world;" and the public mind of England
+was at that period sufficiently credulous and superstitious to be
+affected with vague presentiments, even if the preparation of an
+hostile armada so powerful as to be termed "invincible," had not
+seemed to engraft on these vague surmises too real and fearful a
+groundwork of truth.
+
+The preparations of Philip II. in Spain, combined with those of the
+Duke of Parma in the Low Countries, and furthered by the valued and
+effective benediction of the shaken and tottering, but still
+influential and powerful head of the Roman church, had produced a
+hostile array which, with but too much probability of success,
+threatened the conquest of England, and its subjugation to the papal
+yoke. Not since the Norman Conquest had any event occurred which, if
+successful, would be fraught with results so harassing and distressing
+to the established inhabitants of the island. Though the Norman
+Conquest had, undoubtedly, _in the course of time_, produced a
+beneficial and civilising and ennobling influence on the island, it
+was long and bitter years ere the groans of the subjugated and
+oppressed Anglo-Saxons had merged in the contented peacefulness of a
+united people.
+
+Yet William was certainly of a severe temper, and was incited by the
+unquenchable opposition of the English to a cruel and exterminating
+policy. Philip of Spain seemed not to promise milder measures. He was
+a bigot, and moreover hated the English with an utter hatred. During
+his union with Mary he had utterly failed to gain their good will, and
+his hatred to them increased in an exact ratio to the failure of his
+desired influence with them. Neither time, nor trouble, nor care, nor
+expense, was spared in this his decided invasion; and it is said that
+from Italy, Sicily, and even America, were drafted the most
+experienced captains and soldiers to aid his cause. Well, then, might
+England look with anxiety, and even with terror, to this threatened
+and fast approaching event.
+
+But her energies were fully equal to the emergency. Elizabeth, now in
+the full plenitude of her power, was at the acme of her influence over
+the wills, and in a great degree over the affections of her subjects,
+at least over by far the greater portion of them; one factious and
+discontented party there was, but too insufficient to be any effectual
+barrier to her designs. And the cause was a popular one: Protestants
+and Romanists joined in deprecating a foreign yoke. Her powerful and
+commanding energies did not forsake her. Her appeal to her subjects
+was replied to with heart-thrilling readiness, the city of London
+setting a noble example; for when ministers desired from it five
+thousand men and fifteen ships, the lord mayor, in behalf of the city,
+craved their sovereign to accept of ten thousand soldiers and thirty
+ships.
+
+This spirited precedent was followed all through the empire, all
+classes vied with each other in contributing their utmost quota of
+aid, by means and by personal service, and amongst many similar
+instances it is recorded of "that noble, vertuous, honourable man, the
+Viscount Montague, that he now came, though he was very sickly, and in
+age, with a full resolution to live and dye in defence of the queene,
+and of his countrie, against all invaders, whether it were pope, king,
+and potentate whatsoever, and in that quarrell he would hazard his
+life, his children, his landes and goods. And to shew his mynde
+agreeably thereto, he came personally himselfe before the queene, with
+his band of horsemen, being almost two hundred; the same being led by
+his owne sonnes, and with them a yong child, very comely, seated on
+horseback, being the heire of his house, that is, ye eldest sonne to
+his sonne and heire; a matter much noted of many, to see a
+grandfather, father, and sonne, at one time on horsebacks afore a
+queene for her service."
+
+For three years had Philip been preparing, in all parts of his
+dominions, for this overwhelming expedition, and his equipments were
+fully equal to his extensive preparations; and so popular was the
+project in Spain, and so ardent were its votaries, that there was not
+a family of any note which had not contributed some of its dearest and
+nearest members; there were also one hundred and eighty Capuchins,
+Dominicans, Jesuits, and Mendicant friars; and so great was the
+enthusiastic anticipation, that even females hired vessels to follow
+the fleet which contained those they loved; two or three of these were
+driven by the storm on the coast of France.
+
+This Armada consisted of about one hundred and fifty ships, most of
+which were of an uncommon size, strength, and thickness, more like
+floating castles than anything else; and to this unwieldy size may,
+probably, be attributed much of their discomfiture. For the greater
+holiness of their action, twelve were called the Twelve Apostles; and
+a pinnace of the Andalusian squadron, commanded by Don Pedro de
+Valdez, was called the "Holy Ghost." The fleet is said to have
+contained thirty-two thousand persons, and to have cost every day
+thirty thousand ducats.
+
+The Duke of Parma's contemporary preparations were also prodigious,
+and of a nature which plainly declared the full certainty and
+confidence in which the invaders indulged of making good their object.
+But the preparations were doomed not to be even tried. The finesse and
+manoeuvres of the shrewd Sir Francis Walsingham[123] had caused the
+invasion to be retarded for a whole year, and by this time England
+was fully prepared for her foes. The result is known. The hollow
+treaty of peace into which Parma had entered in order, when all
+preparations were completed, to take her by surprise, was entered into
+with an equal share of hypocritical policy by Elizabeth. "So (says an
+old historian) as they seemed on both sides to sew the foxe's skin to
+the lion's."
+
+So powerful was the effect on the public mind, not only of this
+projected enterprise, but of its almost unhoped for discomfiture, that
+all possible means were taken to commemorate the event. One method
+resorted to was the manufacture of tapestry representing a series of
+subjects connected with it. At that time Flanders excelled all others
+in the manufacture of tapestry, it was scarcely indeed introduced into
+England; and our ancestors had a series of ten charts, designed by
+Henry Cornelius Vroom, a celebrated painter of Haarlem, from which
+their Flemish neighbours worked beautiful draperies, which ornamented
+the walls of the House of Lords.
+
+At the time of the Union with Ireland, when considerable repairs and
+alterations were made here, these magnificent tapestries were taken
+down, cleaned, and replaced, with the addition of large frames of dark
+stained wood, which set off the work and colouring to advantage. They
+formed a series of ten pictures, round which portraits of the
+distinguished officers who commanded the fleet were wrought into a
+border.
+
+With a prescience, which might now almost seem prophetic, Mr. John
+Pine, engraver, published in 1739 a series of plates taken from these
+tapestries; and "because," says he, "time, or accident, or moths may
+deface these valuable shadows, we have endeavoured to preserve their
+likeness in the preceding prints, which, by being multiplied and
+dispersed in various hands, may meet with that security from the
+closets of the curious, which the originals must scarce always hope
+for, even from the sanctity of the place they are kept in."
+
+"On the 17th day of July, 1588, the English discovered the Spanish
+fleet with lofty turrets like castles, in front like a half moon, the
+wing thereof spreading out about the length of seven miles, sailing
+very slowly, though with full sails, the winds being as it were tired
+with carrying them, and the ocean groaning under the weight of them."
+
+This forms the subject of the first tableau. The English commanders
+suffered the Spaniards to pass them unmolested, in order that they
+might hang upon their rear, and harass them when they should be
+involved in the Channel; for the English navy were unable to confront
+such a power in direct and close action. The second piece represents
+them thus, near Fowey, the English coast displayed in the back-ground,
+diversified perhaps somewhat too elaborately into hill and dale, and
+the foliage scattered somewhat too regularly in lines over each hill,
+but very pretty nevertheless. A small village with its church and
+spire appears just at the water edge, Eddystone lighthouse lifts its
+head above the waters, and, fit emblem of the patriotism which now
+burned throughout the land, and even glowed on the waters, a huge sea
+monster uprears itself in threatening attitude against the invading
+host, and shows a countenance hideous enough to scare any but
+Spaniards from its native shores.
+
+No. 3 represents the first engagement between the hostile fleets, and
+also the subsequent sailing of the Spanish Armada up the channel,
+closely followed by the English, whose ships were so much lighter,
+that in a running warfare of this kind they had greatly the advantage.
+The sea is alive too with dolphins and other strange fish, with right
+British hearts, as it has been said that "they seemed to oppose
+themselves with fierce and grim looks to the progress of the Spanish
+fleet." The view of the coast here is very good; and, where it retires
+from Start Point so as to form a bay or harbour, the perspective is
+really admirably indicated by two vessels dimly defined in the
+horizon.
+
+The views of the coast are varied and interesting; and the distances
+and perspective views are much more accurately delineated than was
+usual at the time; but, as we have remarked, they were designed by an
+eminent painter, and one whose particular _forte_ was the delineation
+of shipping and naval scenes.
+
+The pictures are certainly as a series devoid of variety. In two of
+them the Calais shore is introduced; and the intermixture of
+fortifications, churches, houses, and animated spectators, eagerly
+crowding to behold the fleets sailing by, produces an enlivening and
+busy scene, which, set off by the varied, lively, and appropriate
+colouring of the tapestry, would have a most striking effect. But the
+man who, unmoved by the excitement about him, is 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 enraged
+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
+grievously," having "had to endure all the heavy cannonading of their
+triumphant opponents, while they were struggling to get clear of the
+shallows," convinced 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 passage 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 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 Tilbury, 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 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 myself will be your
+General, Judge, and Rewarder 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 1834. Some fragments, it is
+said, were preserved, 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_l._
+
+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 20_l._ By
+him it was presented to the corporation of Plymouth, who still possess
+it.
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[123] He contrived, by means of a Venetian priest, his spy, to obtain
+a copy of a letter from Philip to the Pope; a gentleman of the
+bedchamber taking the keys of the cabinet from the pockets of his
+holiness as he slept. Upon intelligence thus obtained, Walsingham got
+those Spanish bills protested at Genoa which should have supplied
+money for the preparations.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+ON STITCHERY.
+
+ "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, replyed upon that in this manere. Madame Ise wel
+ {that} ye myght fynde ynowe & of grete nombre of women
+ praysed in scyences and in crafte; but knowe ye ony that
+ by {the} vertue of their felynge & of subtylte of wytte
+ _haue founde of themselfe_ ony newe craftes and scyences
+ necessary, good, & couenable that were neuer founde
+ before nor knowne? for it is not so grete maystry to
+ folowe and to lerne 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 {the} 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 understandynge, the whiche sheweth
+ them by wrytynge, as in craftes, {that} 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 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 "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 perfected, 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 ourselves with naming the result, assured that it is
+unnecessary to trouble them with the intervening steps. One only link
+in the chain of "circumstantial evidence" will we adduce, and that is
+afforded by the ancient engraving to which we have before alluded 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 "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 admiration.
+
+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 invented. There has been no lack of endeavour, even amongst
+the world's greatest and mightiest, but poor "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--
+
+ "What things she bid me do, I do,
+ And where she bid me go, I go.
+ And where she likes to call, I come,
+ I serve, I bow, I look, I lowte,
+ My eye followeth 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 _wevyng or of embroidrie_.
+ Then can I _only_ muse and prie,
+ Upon her fingers long and small."
+
+Our modern Hercules, the Leviathan of literature, was not more
+successful.
+
+_Dr. Johnson._--"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?"
+
+_Dr. Johnson._--"No, Sir; I once bought a flageolet, but I never made
+out a tune."
+
+_Boswell._--"A flageolet, Sir! So small an instrument? I should have
+liked to hear you play on the violoncello. _That_ should have been
+your instrument."
+
+_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, 'once
+for his amusement he tried knotting, 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 appreciation of the value of
+some sort of stitchery to his own half of the human race, if their
+intellects unfortunately had not been too obtuse for its acquisition.
+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 receive 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
+knotting 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 diversion, 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 satisfaction 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, alas! the sanguine writer was mistaken in supposing that at last
+gentlemen had found a something "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--
+ferne--and queen-stitches; there is slabbing--veining--and button stitch;
+seeding--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--
+marking--trimming--and tucking.
+
+Truly all this does require some +nous+, 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 of it, as we have
+heard even ungallant lordly man allow, it keeps us out of mischief.
+
+And there are frequent and oft occurring circumstances which invest it
+with characteristics of a still higher order. How many of "the sweet
+solicitudes that life beguile" are connected with this interesting
+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
+reticule, a purse, a slipper, how valueless soever in itself, 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
+feelings which suggested these well-known but exquisite lines:--
+
+ "The twentieth year is well nigh past,
+ Since first our sky was overcast,
+ Ah, would that this might be the last!
+ 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!
+
+ "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!"
+
+An interesting circumstance connected with needlework 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 picture 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
+connexions, 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 following extract
+too long.
+
+"They lived three years and a half in Holland, and in that time she
+made a second voyage to Scotland about business. Her father went by
+the borrowed 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 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.
+
+"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
+_Rucar_ now in my custody, and most valuable. My aunt played and sang
+well, and had a great deal of life and humour, but no turn to
+business. Though my mother had the same qualifications, 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 usually
+took as soon as he 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 everything that was fit for their age; some Latin,
+others French, Dutch, geography, writing, reading, English, &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;[124] 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 were before the Revolution. They took their turn in standing
+sentry at the Prince's gate, but always contrived to do it together,
+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 was 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 unfortunate 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
+everything 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 entertainment 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 Kimmerghame, 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 grandfather said, '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 occasioned 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'll 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 Scotland 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 behind
+them."
+
+This is a long but not an uninteresting digression, 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--insignificant as the details
+of her employment may appear--has much internal satisfaction; she has
+a definite 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 UTILITY.
+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 vagaries
+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 frequent 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 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 unlooked for, and as sudden. She laughs to scorn
+Utility's grave maxims, and exaggerates the graceful 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 contempt.
+
+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 whispering
+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
+summer'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 are
+the most vagrant imaginable; she is indeed the veriest little gossip
+in creation, but her disposition 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 Esquimaux; or, pillowed on
+roses whose 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 icebound Northern Ocean--from the red
+man's wilderness 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 of the Pacific--from the heaving
+flanks of AEtna--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 fascinating 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 bewitching 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 thousands have sought her
+through the smoke, din, and turmoil of those lines "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 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 ornaments 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_ needlewoman 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 recluse--or in the turretted prison of the royal
+captive--there has FANCY been her devoted friend, her inseparable
+companion.
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[124] She was then a mere child, not more, if I remember rightly, than
+twelve years old.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+"LES ANCIENNES TAPISSERIES;" TAPESTRY OF ST. MARY'S HALL, COVENTRY;
+TAPESTRY OF HAMPTON COURT.
+
+ "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[125] assumes a value which its intrinsic worth--beautiful as
+is its execution--would 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 au vif_,
+comme aurait dit Montaigne, tout cela nous retrace au naturel 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. Il 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 ete par ces ordres traduite en laine."
+
+This book consists of representations of all the existing ancient
+tapestries which activity and research can draw from the hiding-places
+of ages, copied in the finest outline engraving, with letter-press
+descriptions of each plate. They are published 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 mansions.
+
+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 subject were
+written before we were fortunate enough to obtain a sight of these,
+which include the whole 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 de la mort de ce prince, en 1477, devant la capitale
+de la Lorraine, qu'il assiegeait, elle serait devenue un meuble de la
+couronne, et aurait servi au palais des ducs de ce pays, depuis Rene 2
+jusqu'a Charles IV.----C'est une de ces anciennes tapisseries
+flamandes dont le tissu, de laine tres fine, est eclaire par l'or et
+la soie. La soie et la laine subsistent encore, mais l'or ne
+s'apercoit plus que dans quelques endroits 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 l'execution elle-meme portent bien l'empreinte 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 consequent 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 unfortunately 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 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 l'ame."
+
+Banquet, Bonnecompagnie, Souper, Gourmandise, 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
+interessant 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 l'histoire 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
+countenances 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 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 religious 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 substantial advantage to the wisdom and policy of the
+able commander La Tremouille, who shared with Bayard the honourable
+distinction of being "sans peur et sans reproche."
+
+TAPISSERIES DE BAYARD.--A chateau which belonged 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 left
+there. These fragments, in a deplorable 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 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 fineness 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 apartments 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 position, 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 l'origine se rattachait a la famille des comtes de Poitou.
+
+"Robert fut destine de bonne heure aux fonctions 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
+coenobitical establishment.
+
+"Reuni a un soldat nomme Etienne, a un solitaire nomme Delmas, et a un
+chanoine nomme Arbert, il se retira dans la solitude, et s'emparant du
+desert au profit de la religion, il planta la croix du Sauveur dans
+les lieux jusqu'a-la couverts de forets et de bruyeres incultes, et
+rassembla quelques disciples pour vivre aupres de lui sous la regle
+qu'un ange lui avait, disait il, apportee du ciel.
+
+"Bientot la reputation des cenobites s'etendit; Robert fut reconnu
+comme leur chef. De toutes parts on accourut les visiter. Des
+donations leur furent faites, et sur les ruines d'une ancienne eglise
+une nouvelle basilique s'eleva.
+
+"Telle est a peu pres l'histoire primitive de l'abbaye de la
+Chaise-Dieu."
+
+The Chaise-Dieu tapestries are fourteen in number, 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 wood-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 surprisingly 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 commotion this chef d'oeuvre
+has been horribly mutilated by the axes of modern iconoclasts, more
+ferocious than the barbarians of old. The two other tapestries 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 magnificence que nous ne
+soupconnions plus. C'est admirable. Les Gobelins ne produisent pas
+aujourd'hui de tissus plus riches et plus eclatans. Imaginez-vous que
+les robes des femmes, les ornemens, les colonnettes sont emailles,
+ruisselants de milliers de pierres fines et de perles," &c.
+
+It would be tedious to attempt to describe individually the subjects
+of these tapestries. They interweave the histories of the Old and New
+Testaments; the centre of the work generally representing some passage
+in the life of our Saviour, whilst on each side is some correspondent
+typical incident from the Old Testament. Above are rhymed quatrains,
+either legendary or scriptural; and below and around are sentences
+drawn from the prophets or the psalms.
+
+These tapestries appear to have been the production of the close of
+the fifteenth and the beginning of the sixteenth centuries, denoting
+in the architecture and costumes _more_ the reigns of Charles VIII.
+and Louis XI., than of Louis XII. and Francis I. Such pieces were
+probably long in the loom, since the tapestry of Dijon, composed of a
+single _lai_ 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 _qu'ils 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. Warham 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 defraying the expenses
+of this manufacture, it seems quite probable that its destination was
+St. Paul's, and not any other cathedral church. The arms of the king
+are inwrought in two 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 magnificent 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
+stigmatised 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 repurchase 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 antiquity, 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
+profane; 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 different collections, but all on religious
+subjects, will probably form the material for future numbers.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+That there are ancient tapestries existing in England 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 individual. 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 Costume of Britain;" and the names of the
+tapestries at Hampton Court Palace from "Pyne's Royal Residences." 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 materials no less interesting on account of the
+sanctity and misfortunes of the prince (Henry VI.) 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 upwards of eighty figures or heads. The centre
+compartment 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 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 importance to the city of Coventry, as
+they represent the figures of Henry VI., his Queen, the ambitious, and
+crafty, and cruel, yet beautiful and eloquent and injured Margaret of
+Anjou, and many of their attendants. During all the misfortunes of
+Henry, the citizens of Coventry zealously supported him; and their
+city is styled by historians "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 considered as
+authentic portraits.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The first Presence Chamber in Hampton Court is (or was) hung with rich
+ancient tapestry, representing 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.
+
+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 Gallery, from the superb
+suite of hangings that ornament its walls, which was brought from
+Flanders by General Cadogan, and set up by order of George I. The
+series of seven compartments describes 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, Alexander's 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.
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[125] "Les Anciennes Tapisseries Historiees, ou Collection des
+Monumens les plus remarquables, de ce genre, qui nous soient restes du
+moyen age." A Paris.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+EMBROIDERY.
+
+ "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 Mosaic 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 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 workmanship, 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 embroidered 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 _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 impervious 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, who
+assume a more ambitious decoration; and there are accounts in various
+travellers of tents which must have been gorgeous in the extreme.
+
+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 description. The outside was 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 of which chests were a sufficient load
+for an elephant: 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 elephants. 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 2,000,000_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 skirmish. It was
+embroidered with burnished gold, studded with precious stones and
+diamonds, interspersed 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, the land of Shurebah and Mount
+Saadi were illuminated 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 indulged 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 _without 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 magnificent 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 unequalled, and the extreme care with which they work
+preserves 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, and represents no object. The women of the wandering 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 proverbial for its splendour; at one time the
+throne of the Mogul was estimated at 4,000,000_l._ 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 custom 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 _peacock's_ 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
+fashionable halls is sinking into oblivion, but the poet, who
+perchance merely glanced at them, lives for ever.
+
+ ON MRS. MONTAGUE'S FEATHER HANGINGS.
+
+ "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.
+ All 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 embroidery 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 marvellously the lightest gauze or
+most delicate crape. 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 frequently 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 accomplished work-people;
+their embroidery with untwisted 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 embroidery 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 appears 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 acanthus--the same leaf
+which imparted grace and ornament to the Corinthian capital.
+
+But it would be endless to enter into the subject of patterns, which
+doubtless were everywhere originally 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 gradually declined in England: the literary and
+scholastic 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 resumed, nor perhaps has embroidery and tapestry ever
+from the days of Elizabeth been so much practised 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."
+
+But still embroidery had ceased to be looked upon as a necessary
+accomplishment, or taught as an important part of education. In the
+early part of the last century women had become so mischievous from
+the lack of this employment, that the "Spectator" 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., ------"
+
+ "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
+ valuable stitches into a purse, and crowd a thousand
+ graces into a pair of garters.
+
+ "If I may, without breach of good manners, imagine that
+ any pretty creature is void of genius, and 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 forming 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
+ signalise herself with so much vehemence against those
+ who are Frenchmen in their hearts!
+
+ "A third reason I shall mention is, the profit that is
+ brought to the family when these pretty arts are
+ encouraged. It is manifest that this way of life not
+ only keeps fair ladies from running out into expenses,
+ but is at the same time an actual improvement.
+
+ "How memorable would that matron be, who shall have it
+ subscribed upon her monument, 'She that wrought out the
+ whole Bible in tapestry, and died in a good old age,
+ after having covered 300 yards of wall in the Mansion
+ House!'
+
+ "The premises being considered, I humbly submit the
+ following proposals to all mothers in Great Britain:--
+
+ "1. That no young virgin whatsoever be allowed to
+ receive the addresses of her first lover, but in a suit
+ of her own embroidering.
+
+ "2. That before every fresh humble servant she shall be
+ obliged to appear with a new stomacher at the least.
+
+ "3. That no one be actually married until she hath the
+ child-bed pillows, &c., ready stitched, as likewise the
+ mantle for the boy quite finished.
+
+ "These laws, if I mistake not, would effectually restore
+ the decayed art of needlework, and make the virgins of
+ Great Britain exceedingly nimble-fingered in their
+ business."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+NEEDLEWORK ON BOOKS.
+
+ "And often did she look
+ On that which in her hand she bore,
+ In velvet bound and broider'd o'er--
+ Her breviary book."
+
+ Marmion.
+
+ "Books are ours,
+ Within whose silent chambers treasure lies
+ Preserved from age to age--
+ These hoards of truth we can unlock at will."
+
+ Wordsworth.
+
+
+Deep indeed are our obligations for those treasures which "we can
+unlock at will:" treasures of far more value than gold or gems, for
+they oftentimes bestow that which gold cannot purchase--even
+forgetfulness of sorrow and pain. Happy are those who have a taste for
+reading and leisure to indulge it. It is the most beguiling solace of
+life: it is its most ennobling pursuit. It is a magnificent thing to
+converse with the master spirits of past ages, to behold them as they
+were; to mingle thought with thought and mind with mind; to let the
+imagination rove--based however on the authentic record of the
+past--through dim and distant ages; to behold the fathers and prophets
+of the ancient earth; to hold communion with martyrs and prophets,
+and kings; to kneel at the feet of the mighty lawgiver; to bend at the
+shrine of the eternal poet; to imbibe inspiration from the eloquent,
+to gather instruction from the wise, and pleasure from the gifted; to
+behold, as in a glass, all the majesty and all the beauty of the
+mighty PAST, to revel in all the accumulated treasures of Time--and
+this, all this, we have by reading the privilege to do. Imagination
+indeed, the gift of heaven, may soar elate, unchecked, though
+untutored through time and space, through Time to Eternity, and may
+people worlds at will; but that truthful basis which can alone give
+permanence to her visions, that knowledge which ennobles and purifies
+and elevates them is acquired from books, whether
+
+ "Song of the Muses, says historic tale,
+ Science severe, or word of Holy Writ,
+ Announcing immortality and joy."
+
+The "word of Holy Writ," the BIBLE--we pass over its hopes, its
+promises, its consolations--these themes are too sacred even for
+reference on our light page--but here, we may remark, we see the world
+in its freshness, its prime, its glory. We converse truly with godlike
+men and angelic women. We see the mighty and majestic fathers of the
+human race ere sin had corrupted all their godlike seeming; ere
+sorrow--the bequeathed and inherited sorrows of ages--had quite seared
+the "human face divine;" ere sloth, and luxury, and corruption, and
+decay, had altered features formed in the similitude of heaven to the
+gross semblance of earth; and we walk step by step over the new fresh
+earth as yet untrodden by foot of man, and behold the ancient
+solitudes gradually invaded by his advancing steps.
+
+Most gentle, most soothing, most faithful companions are books. They
+afford amusement for the lonely hour; solace perchance for the
+sorrowful one: they offer recreation to the light-hearted; instruction
+to the inquiring; inspiration to the aspiring mind; food for the
+thirsty one. They are inexhaustible in extent as in variety: and oh!
+in the silent vigil by the suffering couch, or during the languor of
+indisposition, who can too highly praise those silent friends--silent
+indeed to the ear, but speaking eloquently to the heart--which
+beguile, even transiently, the mind from present depressing care,
+strengthen and elevate it by communion with the past, or solace it by
+hopes of the future!
+
+Listen how sweetly one of the first of modern men apostrophises his
+books:--
+
+ "My days among the dead are past;
+ Around me I behold,
+ Where'er these casual eyes are cast,
+ The mighty minds of old;
+ My never-failing friends are they,
+ With whom I converse day by day.
+
+ "With them I take delight in weal,
+ And seek relief in woe;
+ And while I understand and feel
+ How much to them I owe,
+ My cheeks have often been bedew'd,
+ With tears of thoughtful gratitude.
+
+ "My thoughts are with the dead; with them
+ I live in long past years;
+ Their virtues love, their faults condemn,
+ Partake their hopes and fears,
+ And from their lessons seek and find
+ Instruction with a humble mind.
+
+ "My hopes are with the dead; anon
+ My place with them will be,
+ And I with them shall travel on
+ Through all futurity;
+ Yet leaving here a name, I trust,
+ That will not perish in the dust."[126]
+
+Yet how little are we of the present day, who have books poured into
+our laps, able to estimate their real value! Nor is it possible that
+they can ever again be estimated as they once were. The universal
+diffusion of them, the incalculable multiplication of them, seems to
+render it impossible that the world can ever be deprived of them. No.
+We must call up some of the spirits of the "pious and painful"
+amanuenses of those days when the fourth estate of the realm, the
+public press--WAS NOT--to tell us the real value of the literary
+treasures we now esteem so lightly. He will tell us that in his day
+the donation of a single book to a religious house was thought to give
+the donor a claim to eternal salvation; and that an offering so
+valued, so cherished, would be laid on the high altar amid pomp and
+pageantry. He might perhaps personally remember the prior and convent
+of Rochester pronouncing an irrevocable sentence of damnation on him
+who should purloin or conceal their treasured Latin translation of
+Aristotle's physics. He would tell us that the holiest and wisest of
+men would forego ease and luxury and spend laborious years in
+transcribing books for the good of others; he will tell us that
+amongst many others, Osmond, Bishop of Salisbury, did this, and
+perchance he will name that Guido de Jars, in his fortieth year, began
+to copy the Bible on vellum, with rich and elegant decorations, and
+that the suns of half a century had risen and set, ere, with
+unintermitting labour and unwearied zeal, he finished it in his
+ninetieth. He will also tell us, that when a book was to be sold, it
+was customary to assemble all persons of consequence and character in
+the neighbourhood, and to make a formal record that they were present
+on this occasion. Thus, amongst the royal MSS. is a book thus
+described:--
+
+"This book of the Sentences belongs to Master Robert, archdeacon of
+Lincoln, which he bought of Geoffrey the chaplain, brother of Henry
+vicar of Northelkingston, in the presence of Master Robert de Lee,
+Master John of Lirling, Richard of Luda, clerk, Richard the Almoner,
+the said Henry the vicar and his clerk, and others: and the said
+archdeacon gave the said book to God and saint Oswald, and to Peter
+abbot of Barton, and the convent of Barden."
+
+These are a few, a very few of such instances as a spirit of the
+fourteenth century might allude to--to testify the value of books.
+Indeed, even so late as the reign of Henry the VI., when the invention
+of paper greatly facilitated the multiplication of MSS. the
+impediments to study, from the scarcity of books, must have been very
+great, for in the statutes of St. Mary's College, Oxford, is this
+order--"Let no scholar occupy a book in the library above one hour, or
+two hours at the most; lest others shall be hindered from the use of
+the same."
+
+The scarcity of parchment seems indeed at times to have been a greater
+hindrance to the promulgation of literature than even the laborious
+and tedious transcription of the books. About 1120, one Master Hugh,
+being appointed by the convent of St. Edmondsbury to write a copy of
+the Bible, for their library, could procure no parchment in England.
+The following particulars of the scarcity of books before the era of
+printing, gathered chiefly by Warton, are interesting.
+
+In 855, Lupus, abbot of Ferrieres in France, sent two of his monks to
+Pope Benedict the third, to beg a copy of Cicero de Oratore, and
+Quintilian's Institutes, and some other books: for, says the abbot,
+although we have part of these books, yet there is no whole or
+complete copy of them in all France.
+
+Albert, abbot of Gemblours, who with incredible labour and immense
+expense had collected a hundred volumes on theological, and fifty on
+general subjects, imagined he had formed a splendid library.
+
+About 790, Charlemagne granted an unlimited right to hunting to the
+abbot and monks of Sithin, for making their gloves and girdles of the
+skins of the deer they killed, and covers for their books.
+
+At the beginning of the tenth century, books were so scarce in Spain,
+that one and the same copy of the Bible, St. Jerome's Epistles, and
+some volumes of ecclesiastical offices and martyrologies, often served
+several different monasteries.
+
+Amongst the constitutions given to the monks of England by Archbishop
+Lanfranc, in 1072, the following injunction occurs: At the beginning
+of Lent, the librarian is ordered to deliver a book to each of the
+religious; a whole year was allowed for the perusal of this book! and
+at the returning Lent, those monks who had neglected to read the
+books they had respectively received, are commanded to prostrate
+themselves before the abbot to supplicate his indulgence. This
+regulation was partly occasioned by the low state of literature in
+which Lanfranc found the English monasteries to be; but at the same
+time it was a matter of necessity, and partly to be referred to the
+scarcity of copies of useful and suitable authors.
+
+John de Pontissara, Bishop of Winchester, borrowed of his cathedral
+convent of St. Swithin at Winchester, in 1299, BIBLIAM BENE GLOSSATAM,
+or the Bible, with marginal annotations, in two large folio volumes;
+but he gives a bond for due return of the loan, drawn up with great
+solemnity. This Bible had been bequeathed to the Convent the same year
+by his predecessor, Bishop Nicholas de Ely: and in consideration of so
+important a bequest, and 100 marks in money, the monks founded a daily
+mass for the soul of the donor.
+
+About 1225 Roger de Tusula, dean of York, gave several Latin Bibles to
+the University of Oxford, with a condition that the students who
+perused them should deposit a cautionary pledge.
+
+The Library of that University, before the year 1300, consisted only
+of a few tracts, chained or kept in chests in the choir of St. Mary's
+Church.
+
+Books often brought excessive prices in the middle ages. In 1174,
+Walter, Prior of St. Swithin's at Winchester, and afterwards abbot of
+Westminster, purchased of the monks of Dorchester in Oxfordshire
+Bede's Homilies and St. Austin's Psalter, for twelve measures of
+barley, and a pall on which was embroidered in silver the history of
+Birinus converting a Saxon king.
+
+About 1400, a copy of John de Meun's Roman de la Rose was sold before
+the palace-gate at Paris for forty crowns, or 33_l._ 6_s._ 6_d._
+
+In Edward the Third's reign, one hundred marks (equal to 1000_l._)
+were paid to Isabella de Lancaster, a nun of Ambresbury, for a book of
+romance, purchased from her for the king's use.
+
+Warton mentions a book of the Gospels, in the Cotton Library, as a
+fine specimen of Saxon calligraphy and decorations. It is written by
+Eadfrid, Bishop of Durham, in the most exquisite manner. Ethelwold his
+successor did the illuminations, the capital letters, the picture of
+the cross, and the Evangelists, with infinite labour and elegance; and
+Bilfred, the anchorite, covered the book, thus written and adorned,
+with silver plates and precious stones. It was finished about 720.
+
+The encouragement given in the English monasteries for transcribing
+books was very considerable. In every great abbey there was an
+apartment called "The Scriptorium;" where many writers were constantly
+busied in transcribing not only the Service Books for the choir, but
+books for the Library. The Scriptorium of St. Alban's Abbey was built
+by Abbot Paulin, a Norman, who ordered many volumes to be written
+there, about 1080. Archbishop Lanfranc furnished the copies. Estates
+were often granted for the support of the Scriptorium. That at St.
+Edmundsbury was endowed with two mills. The tithes of a rectory were
+appropriated to the Cathedral convent of St. Swithin, at Winchester,
+_ad libros transcribendos_, in the year 1171.
+
+Nigel in the year 1160 gave the monks of Ely two churches, ad libros
+faciendos.
+
+When the library at Croyland Abbey was burnt in 1091, seven hundred
+volumes were consumed which must have been thus laboriously produced.
+
+Fifty-eight volumes were transcribed at Glastonbury during the
+government of one Abbot, about the year 1300. And in the library of
+this monastery, the richest in England, there were upwards of four
+hundred volumes in the year 1248.
+
+But whilst there is sufficient cause to admire the penmen of former
+days, in the mere transcription of books, shall we not marvel at the
+beauty with which they were invested; the rich and brilliant
+illuminations, the finely tinted paintings, the magnificent and
+laborious ornament with which not merely every page, but in many
+manuscripts almost every line was decorated! They, such as have been
+preserved, form a valuable proportion of the riches of the principal
+European libraries: of the Vatican of Rome; the Imperial at Vienna;
+St. Mark's at Venice; the Escurial in Spain; and the principal public
+libraries in England.
+
+The art of thus illuminating MSS., now entirely lost, had attained the
+highest degree of perfection, and is, indeed, of ancient origin. In
+the remotest times the common colours of black and white have been
+varied by luxury and taste. Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus mention
+purple and yellow skins, on which MSS. were written in gold and
+silver; and amongst the eastern nations rolls of this kind (that is
+gold and silver on purple), exquisitely executed, are found in
+abundance, but of a later date. Still they appear to have been
+familiar with the practice at a much more remote period; and it is
+probable that the Greeks acquired this art from Egypt or India. From
+the Greeks it would naturally pass to the Latins, who appear to have
+been acquainted with it early in the second century. The earliest
+specimen of purple or rose-coloured vellum is recorded in the life of
+the Emperor Maximinus the younger, to whom, in the commencement of the
+third century, his mother made a present of the poems of Homer,
+written on purple vellum in gold letters. Such productions were,
+however, at this time very rare. The celebrated Codex Argenteus of
+Ulphilas, written in silver and gold letters on a purple ground, about
+360, is probably the most ancient existing specimen of this
+magnificent mode of calligraphy. In the fourth century it had become
+more common: many ecclesiastical writers allude to it, and St. Jerome
+especially does so; and the following spirited dialogue has reference
+to his somewhat condemnatory allusions.
+
+"Purple vellum Greek MSS.," says Breitinger, "if I remember rightly,
+are scarcer than white crows!"
+
+BELINDA. "Pray tell us 'all about them,' as the children say."
+
+PHILEMON. "Well, then, at your next court visit, let your gown rival
+the emblazoned aspect of these old purple vellums, and let stars of
+silver, thickly 'powdered' thereupon, emulate, if they dare, the
+silver capital Greek letters upon the purple membranaceous fragments
+which have survived the desolations of time! You see, I do not speak
+_coldly_ upon this picturesque subject!"
+
+ALIMANSA. "Nor do I feel precisely as if I were in the _frigid_ zone!
+But proceed and expatiate."
+
+PHILEMON. "The field for expatiating is unluckily very limited. The
+fact of the more ancient MSS. before noticed, the _Pentateuch_ at
+_Vienna_, the fragment of the Gospels in the British Museum, with a
+Psalter or two in a few libraries abroad, are all the MSS. which just
+now occur to me as being distinguished by a _purple tint_, for I
+apprehend little more than a _tint_ remains. Whether the white or the
+purple vellum be the more ancient, I cannot take upon me to determine;
+but it is right you should be informed that St. Jerom denounces as
+_coxcombs_, all those who, in his own time, were so violently attached
+to your favourite purple colour."
+
+LISARDO. "I have a great respect for the literary attainments of St.
+Jerom; and although in the absence of the old Italic version of the
+Greek Bible, I am willing to subscribe to the excellence of his own,
+or what is now called the _Vulgate_, yet in matters of taste,
+connected with the harmony of colour, you must excuse me if I choose
+to enter my protest against that venerable father's decision."
+
+PHILEMON. "You appear to mistake the matter St. Jerom imagined that
+this appetite for purple MSS. was rather artificial and voluptuous;
+requiring regulation and correction--and that, in the end, men would
+prefer the former colour to the intrinsic worth of their vellum
+treasures."
+
+ * * * * *
+
+We must not omit the note appended to this colloquy.
+
+"The general idea seems to be that PURPLE VELLUM MSS. were intended
+only for 'choice blades,' let us rather say, tasteful bibliomaniacs--in
+book collecting. St. Jerom, as Philemon above observes, is very biting
+in his sarcasm upon these 'purple leaves covered with letters of gold
+and silver.'--'For myself and my friends (adds that father), let us
+have lower priced books, and distinguished not so much for beauty as
+for accuracy.'
+
+"Mabillon remarks that these purple treasures were for the 'princes'
+and 'noblemen' of the times.
+
+"And we learn from the twelfth volume of the Specileginum of Theonas,
+that it is rather somewhat unseemly 'to write upon purple vellum in
+letters of gold and silver, unless at the particular desire of a
+prince.'"
+
+"The _subject_ also of MSS. frequently regulated the mode of executing
+it. Thus we learn from the 28th Epistle of Boniface (Bishop and
+Martyr) to the abbess Eadburga, that this latter is entreated 'to
+write the Epistles of St. Peter, the master and Apostle of Boniface,
+in letters of gold, for the greater reverence to be paid towards the
+Sacred Scriptures, when the Abbess preaches before her carnally-minded
+auditors.'"
+
+About the close of the seventh century the Archbishop of York procured
+for his church a copy of the Gospels thus adorned; and that this
+magnificent calligraphy was then new in England may be inferred from a
+remark made on it that "inauditam ante seculis nostris quoddam
+miraculam."
+
+This art, however, shortly after declined everywhere; and in England
+the art of writing in gold letters, even without the rich addition of
+the purple-tinted material, seems to have been but imperfectly
+understood. The only remarkable instance of it is said to be the
+charter of King Edgar, in the new Minster at Winchester, in 966. In
+the fourteenth century it seems to have been more customary than in
+those immediately preceding it.
+
+But we have been beguiled too long from that which alone is connected
+with our subject, viz., the _binding_ of books. Probably this was
+originally a plain and unadorned oaken cover; though as books were
+found only in monastic establishments, or in the mansions of the rich,
+even the cover soon became emblematic of its valuable contents.
+
+The early ornaments of the back were chiefly of a religious
+character--a representation of the Virgin, of the infant Saviour, of
+the Crucifixion. Dibdin mentions a Latin Psalter of the ninth century
+in this primitive and substantial binding, and on the oaken board was
+riveted a large brass crucifix, originally, probably, washed with
+silver; and also a MS. of the Latin Gospels of the twelfth or
+thirteenth century, in oaken covers, inlaid with pieces of carved
+ivory, representing our Saviour with an angel above him, and the
+Virgin and Child.
+
+The carved ivory may probably be a subsequent interpolation, but it
+does not the less exemplify the practice. But as the taste for luxury
+and ornament increased, and the bindings, even the clumsy wooden ones,
+became more gorgeously decorated--the most costly gems and precious
+stones being frequently inlaid with the golden ornaments--the shape
+and form of them was altogether altered. With a view to the
+preservation and the safety of the riches lavished on them, the
+bindings were made double, each side being perhaps two inches thick;
+and on a spring being touched, or a secret lock opened, it divided,
+almost like the opening of a cupboard-door, and displayed the rich
+ornament and treasure within; whilst, when closed, the outside had
+only the appearance of a plain, somewhat clumsy binding.
+
+At that time, too, books were ranged on shelves with the leaves in
+front; therefore great pains were taken, both in the decoration of the
+edges, and also in the rich and ornamental clasps and strings which
+united the wooden sides. These clasps were frequently of gold, inlaid
+with jewels.
+
+The wooden sides were afterwards covered with leather, with vellum,
+with velvet,--though probably there is no specimen of velvet binding
+before the fourteenth century; and, indeed, as time advanced, there is
+scarcely any substance which was not applied to this purpose. Queen
+Elizabeth had a little volume of prayers bound in solid gold, which at
+prayer-time she suspended by a gold chain at her side; and we saw, a
+few years ago, a small devotional book which belonged to the
+Martyr-King, Charles, and which was given by him to the ancestress of
+the friend who showed it to us, beautifully bound in tortoise-shell
+and finely-carved silver.
+
+But it was not to gold and precious stones alone that the bindings of
+former days were indebted for their beauty. The richest and rarest
+devices of the needlewoman were often wrought on the velvet, or
+brocade, which became more exclusively the fashionable material for
+binding. This seems to have been a favourite occupation of the
+high-born dames about Elizabeth's day; and, indeed, if we remember the
+new-born passion for books, which was at its height about that time,
+we shall not wonder at their industry being displayed on the covers as
+well as the insides[127]. But very probably this had been a favourite
+object for the needle long before this time, though unhappily the
+fragility of the work was equal to its beauty, and these needleworked
+covers have doubtless, in very many instances, been replaced by more
+substantial binding.
+
+The earliest specimen of this description of binding remaining in the
+British Museum is "Fichetus (Guil.) Rhetoricum, Libri tres. (Impr. in
+Membranis) 4to. Paris ad Sorbonae, 1471." It has an illuminated
+title-page, showing the author presenting, on his knees, his book to
+the Pope; and it is decorated throughout with illuminated letters and
+other ornaments; for long after the invention of printing, blank
+spaces were left, for the capitals and headings to be filled up by the
+pencil. Hence it is that we find some books quite incomplete; these
+spaces having been left, and not filled up.
+
+When the art of illuminating still more failed, the red ink was used
+as a substitute, and everybody is acquainted with books of this style.
+The binding of Fitchet's 'Rhetoric' is covered with crimson satin, on
+which is wrought with the needle a coat-of-arms: a lion rampant in
+gold thread, in a blue field, with a transverse badge in scarlet silk;
+the minor ornaments are all wrought in fine gold thread.
+
+The next in date which I have seen there is a description of the Holy
+Land, in French, written in Henry VII.'s time, and illuminated. It is
+bound in rich maroon velvet, with the royal arms: the garter and motto
+embroidered in blue; the ground crimson; and the fleurs-de-lys,
+leopards, and letters of the motto in gold thread. A coronet, or
+crown, of gold thread, is inwrought with pearls; the roses at the
+corners are in red silk and gold; and there is a narrow border round
+the whole in burnished gold thread.
+
+There is an edition of Petrarch's Sonnets, printed at Venice in 1544.
+It is in beautiful preservation. The back is of dark crimson velvet,
+and on each side is wrought a large royal coat-of-arms, in silk and
+gold, highly raised. The book belonged to Edward VI., but the arms are
+not his.
+
+Queen Mary's Psalter, containing also the history of the Old Testament
+in a series of small paintings, and the work richly illuminated
+throughout, had once an exterior worthy of it. The crimson velvet, of
+which only small particles remain to attest its pristine richness, is
+literally thread-bare; and the highly-raised embroidery of a massy
+fleur-de-lys is also worn to the canvas on which it was wrought. On
+one side scarcely a gold thread remains, which enables one, however,
+to perceive that the embroidery was done on fine canvas, or, perhaps,
+rather coarse linen, twofold: that then it was laid on the velvet,
+seamed to it, and the edges cut away, the stitches round the edge
+being covered with a kind of cordon, or golden thread, sewed
+over;--just, indeed, as we sew muslin on net.
+
+There are three, in the same depository, of the date of Queen
+Elizabeth. One a book of prayers, copied out by herself before she
+ascended the throne. The back is covered with canvas, wrought all over
+in a kind of tentstitch of rich crimson silk, and silver thread
+intermixed. This groundwork may or may not be the work of the needle,
+but there is little doubt that Elizabeth's own needle wrought the
+ornaments thereon, viz., H. K. intertwined in the middle; a smaller H.
+above and below, and roses in the corners; all raised high, and worked
+in blue silk and silver. This is the dedication of the book:
+"Illustrissimo ac potentissimo Henrico octavo, Angliae, Franciae,
+Hiberniaeq. regi, fidei defensori, et secundum Christum ecclesiae
+Anglicanae et Hibernicae supremo capiti. Elizabeta Majest. S. humillima
+filia omne felicitatem precatur, et benedictionem suam suplex petit."
+
+There is in the Bodleian library among the MSS. the epistles of St.
+Paul, printed in old black letter, the binding of which was also queen
+Elizabeth's work; and her handwriting appears at the beginning, viz.
+
+"August.--I walk many times into the pleasant fields of the Holy
+Scriptures, where I plucke up the goodliesome herbes of sentences by
+pruning: eate them by reading: chawe them by musing: and laie them up
+at length in the hie seate of memorie by gathering them together: that
+so having tasted thy sweeteness I may the less perceive the bitterness
+of this miserable life."
+
+The covering is done in needlework by the queen (then princess)
+herself: on one side an embroidered star, on the other a heart, and
+round each, as borders, Latin sentences are wrought, such as "Beatus
+qui Divitias scripturae legens verba vertit in opera."--"Vicit omnia
+pertinax virtus." &c., &c.[128]
+
+There is a book in the British Museum, very _petite_, a MS containing
+a French Pastoral--date 1587--of which the satin or brocade back is
+loaded with needlework in gold and silver, which now, however, looks
+heavy and tasteless.
+
+But the most beautiful is Archbishop Parker's, "De Antiquitate
+Britannicae Ecclesiae:" A.D. 1572.
+
+The material of the back is rich green velvet, but it is thickly
+covered with embroidery: there has not indeed, originally, been space
+to lay a fourpenny-piece. It is entirely covered with animals and
+flowers, in green, crimson, lilac, and yellow silk, and gold thread.
+Round the edge is a border about an inch broad, of gold thread.
+
+Of the date of 1624 is a book of magnificent penmanship, by the hand
+of a female, of emblems and inscriptions. It is bound in crimson silk,
+having in the centre a Prince's Feather worked in gold-thread, with
+the feathers bound together with large pearls, and round it a wreath
+of leaves and flowers. Round the edge there is a broader wreath, with
+corner sprigs all in gold thread, thickly interspersed with spangles
+and gold leaves.
+
+All these books, with the exception of the one quoted from Ballard's
+Memoirs, were most obligingly sought out and brought to me by the
+gentlemen at the British Museum. Probably there are more; but as,
+unfortunately for my purpose, the books there are catalogued according
+to their authors, their contents, or their intrinsic value, instead of
+their outward seeming, it is not easy, amidst three or four hundred
+thousand volumes, to pick out each insignificant book which may happen
+to be--
+
+ "In velvet bound and broider'd o'er."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[126] Southey.
+
+[127] We have seen cartouche-boxes embroidered precisely in the same
+style, and probably therefore of the same period as some of the
+embroidered books here referred to.
+
+[128] Ballard's Memoirs.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+NEEDLEWORK OF ROYAL LADIES.
+
+ "Thus is a Needle prov'd an Instrument
+ Of profit, pleasure, and of ornament,
+ Which mighty Queenes have grac'd in hand to take."
+
+ John Taylor.
+
+
+Needlework is an art so attractive in itself; it is capable of such
+infinite variety, and is such a beguiler of lonely, as of social
+hours, and offers such scope to the indulgence of fancy, and the
+display of taste; it is withal--in its lighter branches--accompanied
+with so little bodily exertion, not deranging the most _recherche_
+dress, nor incommoding the most elaborate and exquisite costume, that
+we cannot wonder that it has been practised with ardour even by those
+the farthest removed from any necessity for its exercise. Therefore
+has it been from the earliest ages a favourite employment of the high
+and nobly born.
+
+The father of song hardly refers at all to the noble dames of Greece
+and Troy but as occupied in "painting with the needle." Some, the
+heroic achievements of their countrymen on curtains and draperies,
+others various rich and rare devices on banners, on robes and mantles,
+destined for festival days, for costly presents to ambassadors, or for
+offerings to friends. And there are scattered notices at all periods
+of the prevalence of this custom. In all ages until this of
+
+ "inventions rare
+ Steam towns and towers."
+
+the preparation of apparel has fallen to woman's share, the spinning,
+the weaving, and the manufacture of the material itself from which
+garments were made. But, though we read frequently of high-born dames
+spinning in the midst of their maids, it is probable that this
+drudgery was performed by inferiors and menials, whilst enough, and
+more than enough of arduous employment was left for the ladies
+themselves in the rich tapestries and embroideries which have ever
+been coveted and valued, either as articles of furniture, or more
+usually for the decoration of the person.
+
+Rich and rare garments used to be infinitely more the attribute of
+high rank than they now are; and in more primitive times a princess
+was not ashamed to employ herself in the construction of her own
+apparel or that of her relatives. Of this we have an intimation in the
+old ballad of 'Hardyknute'--beginning
+
+ "Stately stept he east the wa',
+ And stately stept he west."
+
+ "Farewell, my dame, sae peerless good,
+ (And took her by the hand,)
+ Fairer to me in age you seem,
+ Than maids for beauty fam'd.
+ My youngest son shall here remain
+ To guard these lonely towers,
+ And shut the silver bolt that keeps
+ Sae fast your painted bowers.
+
+ "And first she wet her comely cheeks,
+ And then her boddice green,
+ Her silken cords of twisted twist,
+ Well plett with silver sheen;
+ And apron set with mony a dice
+ Of needlewark sae rare,
+ Wove by nae hand, as ye may guess,
+ Save that of Fairly fair."
+
+But it harmonises better with our ideas of high or royal life to hear
+of some trophy for the warrior, some ornament for the knightly bower,
+or some decorative offering for the church, emanating from the taper
+fingers of the courtly fair, than those kirtles and boddices which, be
+they ever so magnificent, seem to appertain more naturally to the
+"milliner's practice." Therefore, though we give the gentle Fairly
+fair all possible praise for notability in the
+
+ "Apron set with mony a dice
+ Of needlework sae rare,"
+
+we certainly look with more regard on such work as that of the Danish
+princesses who wrought a standard with the national device, the
+Raven,[129] on it, and which was long the emblem of terror to those
+opposed to it on the battle-field. Of a gentler character was the
+stupendous labour of Queen Matilda--the Bayeux tapestry--on which we
+have dwelt too long elsewhere to linger here, and which was wrought by
+her and under her superintendence.
+
+Queen Adelicia, the second wife of Henry I., was a lady of
+distinguished beauty and high talent: she was remarkable for her love
+of needlework, and the skill with which she executed it. One peculiar
+production of her needle has recently been described by her
+accomplished biographer; it was a standard which she embroidered in
+silk and gold for her father, during the memorable contest in which he
+was engaged for the recovery of his patrimony, and which was
+celebrated throughout Europe for the exquisite taste and skill
+displayed by the royal Adelicia in the design and execution of her
+patriotic achievement. This standard was unfortunately captured at a
+battle near the castle of Duras, in 1129, by the Bishop of Liege and
+the Earl of Limbourg, the old competitor of Godfrey for Lower
+Lorraine, and was by them placed as a memorial of their triumph in the
+great church of St. Lambert, at Liege, and was for centuries carried
+in procession on Rogation days through the streets of that city. The
+church of St. Lambert was destroyed during the French Revolution. The
+plain where this memorable trophy was taken is still called the "Field
+of the Standard."
+
+Perhaps, second only to Queen Matilda's work, or indeed superior to
+it, as being entirely the production of her own hand, were the
+needlework pieces of Joan D'Albert, who ascended the throne of
+Navarre in 1555. Though her own career was varied and eventful, she is
+best known to posterity as the mother of the great Henry IV. She
+adopted the reformed religion, of which she became, not without some
+risk to her crown thereby, the zealous protectress, and on
+Christmas-day, 1562, she made a public profession of the Protestant
+faith; she prohibited the offices of the Catholic religion to be
+performed in her domains, and suffered in consequence many alarms from
+her Catholic subjects. But she possessed great courage and fortitude,
+and baffled all open attacks. Against concealed treachery she could
+not contend. She died suddenly at the court of France in 1572, as it
+was strongly suspected, by poison.
+
+This queen possessed a vigorous and cultivated understanding; was
+acquainted with several languages, and composed with facility both in
+prose and verse. Her needlework, the amusement and solace of her
+leisure hours, was designed by her as "a commemoration of her love
+for, and steadiness to, the reformed faith." It is thus described by
+Boyle: "She very much loved devices, and she wrought with her own hand
+fine and large pieces of tapestry, among which was a suit of hangings
+of a dozen or fifteen pieces, which were called THE PRISONS OPENED; by
+which she gave us to understand that she had broken the pope's bonds,
+and shook off his yoke of captivity. In the middle of every piece is a
+story of the Old Testament which savours of liberty--as the
+deliverance of Susannah; the departure of the children of Israel out
+of Egypt; the setting Joseph at liberty, &c. And at all the corners
+are broken chains, shackles, racks, and gibbets; and over them in
+great letters, these words of the third chapter of the second Epistle
+to the Corinthians, UBI SPIRITUS IBI LIBERTAS.
+
+"To show yet more fully the aversion she had conceived against the
+Catholic religion, and particularly against the sacrifice of the mass,
+having a fine and excellent piece of tapestry, made by her mother,
+Margaret, before she had suffered herself to be cajoled by the
+ministers, in which was perfectly well wrought the sacrifice of the
+mass, and a priest who held out the holy host to the people, she took
+out the square in which was this history, and, instead of the priest,
+with her own hand substituted a fox, who turning to the people, and
+making a horrible grimace with his paws and throat, delivered these
+words, DOMINUS VOBISCUM."
+
+We are told that Anne of Brittany, the good Queen of France, assembled
+three hundred of the children of the nobility at her court, where,
+under her personal superintendence, they were instructed in such
+accomplishments as became their rank and sex, but the girls, most
+especially, made accomplished needlewomen. Embroidery was their
+occupation during some specified hours of every day, and they wrought
+much tapestry, which was presented by their royal protectress to
+different churches.
+
+Her daughter Claude, the queen of Francis I., formed her court on the
+same model and maintained the same practice; Queen Anne Boleyn was
+educated in her court, and was doomed to consume a large portion of
+her time in the occupation of the needle. It was an employment little
+suited to her lively disposition and coquettish habits, and we do not
+hear, during her short occupation of the throne, that she resorted to
+it as an amusement.
+
+ "Ai lavori d'Aracne, all'ago, ai fusi
+ Inchinar non degno la man superba."
+
+The practice of devoting some hours to embroidery seems to have
+continued in the French court. When the young Queen of Scots was
+there, the French princesses assembled every afternoon in the queen's
+(Catherine of Medici's) private apartment, where "she usually spent
+two or three hours in embroidery with her female attendants."
+
+It is also said, that Katharine of Arragon was in the habit of
+employing the ladies of her court in needlework, in which she was
+herself extremely assiduous, working with them and encouraging them by
+her example. Burnet records, that when two legates requested once to
+speak with her, she came out to them with a skein of silk about her
+neck, and told them she had been within at work with her women. An
+anecdote, as far as regards the skein of silk, somewhat more
+housewifely than queenly.
+
+In this she differed much from her successor, Queen Catherine Parr,
+for having had her nativity cast when a child, and being told, from
+the disposition of the stars and planets in her house, that she was
+born to sit in the highest seat of imperial majesty; child as she was,
+she was so impressed by the prediction, that when her mother required
+her to work she would say, "My hands are ordained to touch crowns and
+sceptres, not needles and spindles."
+
+When the orphaned daughter of this lady, by the lord admiral, was
+consigned to the care of the Duchess of Suffolk, the furniture of "her
+former nursery" was to be sent with her. The list is rather curious,
+and we subjoin it.
+
+"Two pots, three goblets, one salt parcel gilt, a maser with a band of
+silver and parcel gilt, and eleven spoons; a quilt for the cradle,
+three pillows, three feather-beds, three quilts, a testor of scarlet
+embroidered with a counterpoint of silk say belonging to the same, and
+curtains of crimson taffeta; two counterpoints of imagery for the
+nurse's bed, six pair of sheets, six fair pieces of hangings within
+the inner chamber; four carpets for windows, ten pieces of hangings of
+the twelve months within the outer chamber, two quishions of cloth of
+gold, one chair of cloth of gold, two wrought stools, a bedstead gilt,
+with a testor and counterpoint, with curtains belonging to the same."
+
+Return we to Katharine of Arragon: her needlework labours have been
+celebrated both in Latin and English verse. The following sonnet
+refers to specimens in the Tower, which now indeed are swept away,
+having left not "a wreck behind."
+
+ "I read that in the seventh King Henrie's reigne,
+ Fair Katharine, daughter to the Castile king,
+ Came into England with a pompous traine
+ Of Spanish ladies which shee thence did bring.
+ She to the eighth King Henry married was,
+ And afterwards divorc'd, where virtuously
+ (Although a Queene), yet she her days did pass
+ In working with the _needle_ curiously,
+ As in the Tower, and places more beside,
+ Her excellent memorials may be seen;
+ Whereby the _needle's_ prayse is dignifide
+ By her faire ladies, and herselfe, a Queene.
+ Thus far her paines, here her reward is just,
+ Her works proclaim her prayse, though she be dust."
+
+The same pen also celebrated her daughter's skill in this feminine
+occupation.
+
+Mary was skilled in all sorts of embroidery; and when her mother's
+divorce consigned her to a private life, she beguiled the intervals of
+those severer studies in which she peaceably and laudably occupied her
+time in various branches of needlework. It is not unlikely the Psalter
+we have alluded to elsewhere was embroidered by herself; and a
+reference to the fashionable occupations of the day will bring to our
+minds various trifling articles, the embroidery of which beguiled her
+time, though they have long since passed away.
+
+ "Her daughter Mary here the sceptre swaid,
+ And though she were a Queene of mighty power,
+ Her memory will never be decaid,
+ Which by her works are likewise in the Tower,
+ In Windsor Castle, and in Hampton Court,
+ In that most pompous roome called Paradise;
+ Who ever pleaseth thither to resort,
+ May see some workes of hers, of wondrous price.
+ Her greatness held it no disreputation
+ To take the needle in her royal hand;
+ Which was a good example to our nation
+ To banish idleness from out her land:
+ And thus this Queene, in wisdom thought it fit,
+ The needle's worke pleas'd her, and she grac'd it."
+
+We extract the following notice of the gentle and excellent Lady Jane
+Grey, from the 'Court Magazine.'
+
+"Ten days' royalty! Alas, how deeply fraught with tragic interest is
+the historic page recording the events of that brief period! and how
+immeasurable the results proceeding therefrom. Love, beauty, religious
+constancy, genius, and learning, were seen in early womanhood
+intermingling their glorious halo with the dark shadowings of
+despotism, imprisonment, and violent death upon the scaffold!
+
+"In the most sequestered part of Leicestershire, backed by rude
+eminences, and skirted by lowly and romantic valleys, stands Bradgate,
+the birth-place and abode of Lady Jane Grey. The approach to Bradgate
+from the village of Cropston is striking. On the left stands a group
+of venerable trees, at the extremity of which rise the remains of the
+once magnificent mansion of the Greys of Groby. On the right is a
+hill, known by the name of 'The Coppice,' covered with slate, but so
+intermixed with fern and forest-flowers as to form a beautiful
+contrast to the deep shades of the surrounding woods. To add to the
+loveliness of the scene, a winding trout-stream finds its way from
+rock to rock, washing the walls of Bradgate until it reaches the
+fertile meadows of Swithland.
+
+"In the distance, situate upon a hill, is a tower, called by the
+country-people Old John, commanding a magnificent view of the
+adjoining country, including the distant castles of Nottingham and
+Belvoir. With the exception of the chapel and kitchen, the princely
+mansion has now become a ruin; but a tower still stands, which
+tradition points out as her birth-place. Traces of the tilt-yard are
+visible, with the garden-walls, and a noble terrace whereon Jane often
+walked and sported in her childhood; and the rose and lily still
+spring in favourable nooks of that wilderness, once the pleasance, or
+pleasure-garden of Bradgate. Near the brook is a beautiful group of
+old chestnut-trees.
+
+ "'This was thy home then, gentle Jane,
+ This thy green solitude; and here
+ At evening from the gleaming pane,
+ Thine eye oft watched the dappled deer
+ (While the soft sun was in its wane)
+ Browsing beside the brooklet clear;
+ The brook runs still, the sun sets now,
+ The deer yet browseth--where art thou?'
+
+"Instead of skill in drawing she cultivated the art of painting with
+the needle, and at Zurich is still to be seen, together with the
+original MS. of her Latin letters to the reformer Bullinger, a toilet
+beautifully ornamented by her own hands, which had been presented by
+her to her learned correspondent."
+
+In the court of Catherine de Medicis Mary Queen of Scots was
+habituated to the daily practice of needlework, and thus fostered her
+natural taste for the art which she had acquired in the
+convent--supposed to have been St. Germaine-en-Laye, where she was
+placed during the early part of her residence in France. She left this
+convent with the utmost regret, revisited it whenever she was
+permitted, and gladly employed her needle in embroidering an
+altarpiece for its church.
+
+This predilection for needlework never forsook her, but proved a
+beguilement and a solace during the weary years of her subsequent
+imprisonment, especially after she was separated from the female
+friends who at first accompanied her. During a part of her
+confinement, while she was still on comparatively friendly terms with
+Elizabeth, she transmitted several elegant pieces of her own
+needlework to this princess. She wrought a canopy, which was placed
+in the presence-chamber at Whitehall, consisting of an empalement of
+the arms of France and Scotland, embroidered under an imperial crown.
+It does not appear at what period of her life she worked it. During
+the early part of her confinement she was asked how, in unfavourable
+weather, she passed the time within. She said that all that day she
+wrought with her needle, and that the diversity of the colours made
+the work seem less tedious; and she continued so long at it till very
+pain made her to give over.
+
+"Upon this occasion she entered into a pretty disputable comparison
+between carving, painting, and working with the needle; affirming
+painting, in her own opinion, for the most commendable quality. No
+doubt it was during her confinement in England that she worked the bed
+still preserved at Chatsworth."
+
+The following notices from her own letters, though trifling, are
+interesting memorials of this melancholy part of her life:--
+
+"July 9, 1574.--I pray you send me some pigeons, red partridges, and
+Barbary fowls. I mean to try to rear them in this country, or keep
+them in cages: it is an amusement for a prisoner, and I do so with all
+the little birds I can obtain.
+
+"July 18, 1574.--Always bear in mind that my will in all things be
+strictly followed; and send me, if it be possible, some one with my
+accounts. He must bring me patterns of dresses and samples of cloths,
+gold and silver, stuffs and silks, the most costly and new now worn at
+court. Order for me at Poissy a couple of coifs, with gold and silver
+crowns, such as they have made for me before. Remind Breton of his
+promise to send me from Italy the newest kind of head-dress, veils,
+and ribands, wrought with gold and silver, and I will repay him.
+
+"September 22.--Deliver to my uncle the cardinal the two cushions of
+my work which I send herewith. Should he be gone to Lyons, he will
+doubtless send me a couple of beautiful little dogs; and you likewise
+may procure a couple for me; for, except in reading and working, I
+take pleasure solely in all the little animals I can obtain. You must
+send them hither very comfortably put up in baskets.
+
+"February 12, 1576.--I send the king of France some poodle-dogs
+(barbets), but can only answer for the beauty of the dogs, as I am not
+allowed either to hunt or to ride."[130]
+
+It is said that one of the articles which in its preparation beguiled
+her, perchance, of some melancholy thoughts, was a waistcoat which,
+having richly and beautifully embroidered, she sent to her son; and
+that this selfish prince was heartless enough to reject the offering
+because his mother (still surely Queen of Scotland in his eyes)
+addressed it to him as prince.
+
+The poet so often quoted wrote the subjoined sonnet in Queen
+Elizabeth's praise, whose skill with her needle was remarkable. She
+was especially an adept in the embroidering with gold and silver, and
+practised it much in the early part of her life, though perhaps few
+specimens of her notability now exist:--
+
+ "When this great queene, whose memory shall not
+ By any terme of time be overcast;
+ For when the world and all therein shall rot,
+ Yet shall her glorious fame for ever last.
+ When she a maid had many troubles past,
+ From jayle to jayle by Maries angry spleene:
+ And Woodstocke, and the Tower in prison fast,
+ And after all was England's peerelesse queene.
+ Yet howsoever sorrow came or went,
+ She made the needle her companion still,
+ And in that exercise her time she spent,
+ As many living yet doe know her skill.
+ Thus shee was still, a captive, or else crown'd,
+ A needlewoman royall and renown'd."
+
+Of Mary II., the wife of the Prince of Orange, Bishop Fowler writes
+thus:--"What an enemy she was to idleness! even in ladies, those who
+had the honour to serve her are living instances. It is well known how
+great a part of the day they were employed at their needles and
+several ingenuities; the queen herself, when more important business
+would give her leave, working with them. And, that their minds might
+be well employed at the same time, it was her custom to order one to
+read to them, while they were at work, either divinity or some
+profitable history."
+
+And Burnet thus:--"When her eyes were endangered by reading too much,
+she found out the amusement of work; and in all those hours that were
+not given to better employment she wrought with her own hands, and
+that sometimes with so constant a diligence as if she had been to earn
+her bread by it. It was a new thing, and looked like a sight, to see
+a queen working so many hours a day."
+
+Her taste and industry in embroidery are testified by chairs yet
+remaining at Hampton Court.
+
+The beautiful and unfortunate Marie Antoinette, lively as was her
+disposition, and fond as she was of gaiety, did not find either the
+duties or gaieties of a court inconsistent with the labours of the
+needle. She was extremely fond of needlework, and during her happiest
+and gayest years was daily to be found at her embroidery-frame. Her
+approach to this was a signal that other ladies might equally amuse
+themselves with their various occupations of embroidery, of knitting,
+or of _untwisting_--the profitable occupation of that day; and which
+was so fashionable, such a "rage," that the ladies of the court hardly
+stirred anywhere without two little workbags each--one filled with
+gold fringes, laces, tassels, or any _golden_ trumpery they could pick
+up, the other to contain the gold they unravelled, which they sold to
+Jews.
+
+It is said to be a fact that duchesses--nay, princesses--have been
+known to go about from Jew to Jew in order to obtain the highest price
+for their gold. Dolls and all sorts of toys were made and covered with
+gold brocades; and the gentlemen never failed rendering themselves
+agreeable to their fair acquaintance by presenting them with these
+toys!
+
+Every one knows that the court costume of the French noblemen at that
+period was most expensive; this absurd custom rendered it doubly,
+trebly so; and was carried to such an excess, that frequently the
+moment a gentleman appeared in a new coat the ladies crowded round him
+and soon divested it of all its gold ornaments.
+
+The following is an instance:--"The Duke de Coigny one night appeared
+in a new and most expensive coat: suddenly a lady in the company
+remarked that its gold bindings would be excellent for untwisting. In
+an instant he was surrounded--all the scissors in the room were at
+work; in short, in a few moments the coat was stripped of its laces,
+its galoons, its tassels, its fringes; and the poor duke,
+notwithstanding his vexation, was forced by _politeness_ to laugh and
+praise the dexterity of the fair hands that robbed him."
+
+But what a solace did that passion for needlework, which the queen
+indulged in herself and encouraged in others, become to her during her
+fearful captivity. This unhappy princess was born on the day of the
+Lisbon earthquake, which seemed to stamp a fatal mark on the era of
+her birth; and many circumstances occurred during her life which have
+since been considered as portentous.
+
+ "'Tis certain that the soul hath oft foretaste
+ Of matters which beyond its ken are placed."
+
+One circumstance, simple in itself and easily explained, is recorded
+by Madame Campan as having impressed Marie with shuddering
+anticipations of evil:--
+
+"One evening, about the latter end of May, she was sitting in the
+middle of her room, relating several remarkable occurrences of the
+day. Four wax candles were placed upon her toilet; the first went out
+of itself--I relighted it; shortly afterwards the second, and then the
+third, went out also: upon which the queen, squeezing my hand with an
+emotion of terror, said to me, 'Misfortune has power to make us
+superstitious; if the fourth taper go out like the first, nothing can
+prevent my looking upon it as a fatal omen!'--The fourth taper went
+out."
+
+At an earlier period Goethe seems, with somewhat of a poet's
+inspiration, to have read a melancholy fate for her. When young he was
+completing his studies at Strasburg. In an isle in the middle of the
+Rhine a pavilion had been erected, intended to receive Marie
+Antoinette and her suite, on her way to the French court.
+
+"I was admitted into it," says Goethe, in his Memoirs: "on my entrance
+I was struck with the subject depicted in the tapestry with which the
+principal pavilion was hung, in which were seen Jason, Creusa, and
+Medea; that is to say, a representation of the most fatal union
+commemorated in history. On the left of the throne the bride,
+surrounded by friends and distracted attendants, was struggling with a
+dreadful death; Jason, on the other side, was starting back, struck
+with horror at the sight of his murdered children; and the Fury was
+soaring into the air in her chariot drawn by dragons. Superstition
+apart, this strange coincidence was really striking. The husband, the
+bride, and the children, were victims in both cases: the fatal omen
+seemed accomplished in every point."
+
+The following notices of her imprisonment would but be spoiled by any
+alteration of language. We shall perceive that one of her greatest
+troubles in prison, before her separation from the king and the
+dauphin, was the being deprived of her sewing implements.
+
+"During the early part of Louis XVI.'s imprisonment, and while the
+treatment of him and his family was still human, his majesty employed
+himself in educating his son; while the queen, on her part, educated
+her daughter. Then they passed some time in needlework, knitting, or
+tapestry-work.
+
+"At this time the royal family were in great want of clothes, insomuch
+that the princesses were employed in mending them every day; and
+Madame Elizabeth was often obliged to wait till the king was gone to
+bed, in order to have his to repair. The linen they brought to the
+Tower had been lent them by friends, some by the Countess of
+Sutherland, who found means to convey linen and other things for the
+use of the dauphin. The queen wished to write a letter to the countess
+expressive of her thanks, and to return some of these articles, but
+her majesty was debarred from pen and ink; and the clothes she
+returned were stolen by her jailors, and never found their way to
+their right owner.
+
+"After many applications a little new linen was obtained; but the
+sempstress having marked it with crowns, the municipal officers
+insisted on the princesses picking the marks _out_, and they were
+forced to obey.
+
+"_Dec. 7._--An officer, at the head of a deputation from the commune,
+came to the king and read a decree, ordering that the persons in
+confinement should be deprived of all scissors, razors,
+knives--instruments usually taken from criminals; and that the
+strictest search should be made for the same, as well on their persons
+as in their apartments. The king took out of his pocket a knife and a
+small morocco pocket-book, from which he gave the pen-knife and
+scissors. The officer searched every corner of the apartments, and
+carried off the razors, the curling-irons, the powder-scraper,
+instruments for the teeth, and many articles of gold and silver. They
+took away from the princesses their knitting-needles and all the
+little articles they used for their embroidery. The unhappy queen and
+princesses were the more sensible of the loss of the little
+instruments taken from them, as they were in consequence forced to
+give up all the feminine handiworks which till then had served to
+beguile prison hours. At this time the king's coat became ragged, and
+as the Princess Elizabeth, his sister, was mending it, as she had no
+scissors, the king observed that she had to bite off the thread with
+her teeth--'What a reverse!' said the king, looking tenderly upon her;
+'you were in want of nothing at your pretty house at Montreuil.' 'Ah,
+brother!' she replied, 'can I feel a regret of any kind while I share
+your misfortunes?'"
+
+The Empress Josephine is said to have played and sung with exquisite
+feeling: her dancing is said to have been perfect. She exercised her
+pencil, and--though such be not now antiquated for an _elegante_--her
+needle and embroidery-frame, with beautiful address.
+
+Towards the close of her eventful career, when, after her divorce
+from Bonaparte, she kept a sort of domestic court at Navarre or
+Malmaison, she and her ladies worked daily at tapestry or
+embroidery--one reading aloud whilst the others were thus occupied;
+and the hangings of the saloon at Malmaison were entirely her own
+work. They must have been elegant; the material was white silk, the
+embroidery roses, in which at intervals were entwined her own
+initials.
+
+An interesting circumstance is related of a conversation between one
+of those ministering spirits a _soeur de la charite_ and Josephine,
+in a time of peculiar excitement and trouble. At the conclusion of it,
+the _soeur_, having discovered with whom she was conversing, added,
+"Since I am addressing the mother of the afflicted, I no longer fear
+my being indiscreet in any demand I may make for suffering humanity.
+We are in great want of lint; if your majesty would condescend"----"I
+promise you shall have some; we will make it ourselves."
+
+From that moment the evenings were employed at Malmaison in making
+lint, and the empress yielded to none in activity at this work.
+
+Few of my readers will have accompanied me to this point without
+anticipating the name with which these slight notices of royal
+needlewomen must conclude--a name which all know, and which, knowing,
+all reverence as that of a dignified princess, a noble and admirable
+matron--Adelaide, our Dowager Queen. It was hers to reform the morals
+of a court which, to our shame, had become licentious; it was hers to
+render its charmed circle as pure and virtuous as the domestic hearth
+of the most scrupulous British matron; it was hers to combine with
+the chilling etiquette of regal state the winning virtues of private
+life, and to weave a wreath of domestic virtues, social charities, and
+beguiling though simple occupations, round the stately majesty of
+England's throne.
+
+The days are past when it would be either pleasurable or profitable
+for the Queen of the British empire to spend her days, like Matilda or
+Katharine, "in poring over the interminable mazes of tapestry;" but it
+is well known that Queen Adelaide, and, in consequence of her
+Majesty's example, those around her, habitually occupied their leisure
+moments in ornamental needlework; and there have been, of late years,
+few Bazaars throughout the kingdom, for really beneficent purposes,
+which have not been enriched by the contributions of the Queen
+Dowager--contributions ever gladly purchased at a high price, not for
+their intrinsic worth, but because they had been wrought by a hand
+which every Englishwoman had learnt to respect and love.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[129] This sacred standard was taken by the Saxons in Devonshire, in a
+fortunate onset, in which they slew one of the Sea-kings with eight
+hundred of his followers. So superstitious a reverence was attached to
+this ensign that its loss is said to have broken the spirit of even
+these ruthless plunderers. It was woven by the sisters of Inguar and
+Ubba, who divined by it. If the Raven (which was worked on it) moved
+briskly in the wind, it was a sign of victory, but if it drooped and
+hung heavily, it was supposed to prognosticate discomfiture.
+
+[130] Von Raumer's Contributions.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+ON MODERN NEEDLEWORK.
+
+ "Our Country everywhere is fild
+ With Ladies, and with Gentlewomen, skild
+ In this rare Art."
+
+ Taylor.
+
+ "For here the needle plies its busy task,
+ The pattern grows, the well-depicted flower
+ Wrought patiently into the snowy lawn,
+ Unfolds its bosom; buds, and leaves, and sprigs,
+ And curling tendrils gracefully dispos'd,
+ Follow the nimble fingers of the fair;
+ A wreath that cannot fade."
+
+ Cowper.
+
+ "The great variety of needleworks which the ingenious
+ women of other countries, as well as of our own, have
+ invented, will furnish us with constant and amusing
+ employment; and though our labours may not equal a
+ Mineron's or an Aylesbury's, yet, if they unbend the
+ mind, by fixing its attention on the progress of any
+ elegant or imitative art, they answer the purpose of
+ domestic amusement; and, when the higher duties of our
+ station do not call forth our exertions, we may feel the
+ satisfaction of knowing that we are, at least,
+ innocently employed."--Mrs. Griffiths.
+
+
+The triumph of modern art in needlework is probably within our own
+shores, achieved by our own countrywoman,--Miss Linwood. "Miss
+Linwood's Exhibition" used to be one of the lions of London, and fully
+deserves to be so now. To women it must always be an interesting
+sight; and the "nobler gender" cannot but consider it as a curious
+one, and not unworthy even of their notice as an achievement of art.
+Many of these pictures are most beautiful; and it is not without great
+difficulty that you can assure yourself that they are _bona fide_
+needlework. Full demonstration, however, is given you by the facility
+of close approach to some of the pieces.
+
+Perhaps the most beautiful of the whole collection--a collection
+consisting of nearly a hundred pieces of all sizes--is the picture of
+Miss Linwood herself, copied from a painting by Russell, taken in
+about her nineteenth year. She must have been a beautiful creature;
+and as to this copy being done with a needle and worsted,--nobody
+would suppose such a thing. It is a perfect painting. In the catalogue
+which accompanies these works she refers to her own portrait with the
+somewhat touching expression, (from Shakspeare,)
+
+ "Have I lived thus long----"
+
+This lady is now in her eighty-fifth year. Her life has been devoted
+to the pursuit of which she has given so many beautiful testimonies.
+She had wrought two or three pieces before she reached her twentieth
+year; and her last piece, "The Judgment of Cain," which occupied her
+ten years, was finished in her seventy-fifth year; since when, the
+failure of her eyesight has put an end to her labours.
+
+The pieces are worked not on canvas, nor, we are told, on linen, but
+on some peculiar fabric made purposely for her. Her worsteds have all
+been dyed under her own superintendence, and it is said the only
+relief she has ever had in the manual labour was in having an
+assistant to thread her needles.
+
+Some of the pieces after Gainsborough are admirable; but perhaps Miss
+Linwood will consider her greatest triumph to be in her copy of Carlo
+Dolci's "Salvator Mundi," for which she has been offered, and has
+refused, three thousand guineas.
+
+The style of modern embroidery, now so fashionable, from the Berlin
+patterns, dates from the commencement of the present century. About
+the year 1804-5, a print-seller in Berlin, named Philipson, published
+the first coloured design, on checked paper, for needlework. In 1810,
+Madame Wittich, who, being a very accomplished embroideress, perceived
+the great extension of which this branch of trade was capable, induced
+her husband, a book and print-seller of Berlin, to engage in it with
+spirit. From that period the trade has gone on rapidly increasing,
+though within the last six years the progression has been infinitely
+more rapid than it had previously been, owing to the number of new
+publishers who have engaged in the trade. By leading houses up to the
+commencement of the year 1840, there have been no less than fourteen
+thousand copper-plate designs published.
+
+In the scale of consumption, and, consequently, by a fair inference in
+the quantity of needlework done, Germany stands first; then Russia,
+England, France, America, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, &c., the three
+first names on the list being by far the largest consumers. It is
+difficult to state with precision the number of persons employed to
+_colour_ these plates, but a principal manufacturer estimates them as
+upwards of twelve hundred, chiefly women.
+
+At first these patterns were chiefly copied in silk, then in beads,
+and lastly in dyed wools; the latter more especially, since the
+Germans have themselves succeeded in producing those beautiful
+"Zephyr" yarns known in this country as the "Berlin wools." These
+yarns, however, are only dyed in Berlin, being manufactured at Gotha.
+It is not many years since the Germans drew all their fine woollen
+yarns from this country: now they are the _exporters_, and probably
+will so remain, whatever be the _quality_ of the wool produced in
+England, until the art of _dyeing_ be as well understood and as
+scientifically practised.
+
+Of the fourteen thousand Berlin patterns which have been published,
+scarcely one-half are moderately good; and all the best which they
+have produced latterly are copied from English and French prints.
+Contemplating the improvement that will probably ere long take place
+in these patterns, needlework may be said to be yet in its infancy.
+
+The improvement, however, must not be confined to the Berlin
+designers: the taste of the consumer, the public taste must also
+advance before needlework shall assume that approximation to art which
+is so desirable, and not perhaps now, with modern facilities,
+difficult of attainment. Hitherto the chief anxiety seems to have been
+to produce a glare of colour rather than that subdued but beautiful
+effect which makes of every piece issuing from the Gobelins a perfect
+picture, wrought by different means, it is true, but with the very
+same materials.
+
+The Berlin publishers cannot be made to understand this; for, when
+they have a good design to copy from, they mar all by the introduction
+of some adventitious frippery, as in the "Bolton Abbey," where the
+repose and beautiful effect of the picture is destroyed by the
+introduction of a bright sky, and straggling bushes of lively green,
+just where the Artist had thought it necessary to depict the stillness
+of the inner court of the Monastery, with its solemn grey walls, as a
+relief to the figures in the foreground.
+
+Many ladies of rank in Germany add to their pin-money by executing
+needlework for the warehouses.
+
+France consumes comparatively but few Berlin patterns. The French
+ladies persevere in the practice of working on drawings previously
+traced on the canvas: the consequence is that, notwithstanding their
+general skill and assiduity, good work is often wasted on that which
+cannot produce an artist-like effect. They are, however, by far the
+best embroideresses in chenille,--silk and gold. By embroidery we mean
+that which is done on a solid ground, as silk or cloth.
+
+The tapestry or canvas-work is now thoroughly understood in this
+country; and by the help of the Berlin patterns more _good_ things are
+produced here as articles of furniture than in France.
+
+The present mode of furnishing houses is favourable to needlework. At
+a time when fashion enacted that all the sofas and chairs of an
+apartment should match, the completely furnishing it with needlework
+(as so many in France have been) was the constant occupation of a
+whole family--mother, daughters, cousins, and servants--for years, and
+must indeed have been completely wearisome; but a cushion, a screen,
+or an odd chair, is soon accomplished, and at once takes its place
+among the many odd-shaped articles of furniture which are now found in
+a fashionable saloon.
+
+Francfort-on-the-Maine is much busying itself just now with
+needlework. The commenced works imported from this city are made up
+partly from Berlin patterns, and partly from fanciful combinations;
+but although generally speaking _well worked_, they are too
+complicated to be easy of execution, and very few indeed of those
+brought to this country are ever _finished_ by the purchaser.
+
+The history of the progress of the modern tapestry-needlework in this
+country is brief. Until the year 1831, the Berlin patterns were known
+to very few persons, and used by fewer persons still. They had for
+some time been imported by Ackermann and some others, but in very
+small numbers indeed. In the year 1831, they, for the first time, fell
+under the notice of Mr. Wilks, Regent-street, (to whose kindness I am
+indebted for the valuable information on the Berlin patterns given
+above,) and he immediately purchased all the good designs he could
+procure, and also made large purchases both of patterns and working
+materials direct from Berlin, and thus laid the foundation of the
+trade in England. He also imported from Paris a large selection of
+their best examples in tapestry, and also an assortment of silks of
+those exquisite tints which, as yet, France only can produce; and by
+inducing French artists, educated for this peculiar branch of design,
+to accompany him to England, he succeeded in establishing in England
+this elegant art.
+
+This fashionable tapestry-work, certainly the most useful kind of
+ornamental needlework, seems quite to have usurped the place of the
+various other embroideries which have from time to time engrossed the
+leisure moments of the fair. It may be called mechanical, and so in a
+degree it certainly is; but there is infinitely more scope for fancy,
+taste, and even genius here, than in any other of the large family of
+"satin sketches" and embroideries.
+
+Yes, there is certainly room in worsted work for genius to exert
+itself--the genius of a painter--in the selection, arrangement, and
+combination of colours, of light and shade, &c.; we do not mean in
+glaring arabesques, but in the landscape and the portrait. There is an
+instance given by Pennant,[131] where the skill and taste of the
+needlewoman imparted a grace to her picture which was wanting in the
+original.
+
+"In one of the apartments of the palace (Lambeth) is a performance
+that does great honour to the ingenious wife of a modern dignitary--a
+copy in needlework of a Madonna and Child, after a most capital
+performance of the Spanish Murillo. There is most admirable grace in
+the original, which was sold last winter at the price of 800 guineas.
+It made me lament that this excellent master had wasted so much time
+on beggars and ragged boys. Beautiful as it is, the copy came improved
+out of the hand of our skilful countrywoman: a judicious change of
+colour of part of the drapery has had a most happy effect, and given
+new excellence to the admired original."
+
+Whilst recording the triumphs of modern needlework, we must not omit
+to mention a school for the education of the daughters of clergy and
+decayed tradesmen, in which the art of silk-embroidery was
+particularly cultivated. This school was under the especial patronage
+of Queen Charlotte; and a bed of lilac satin, which was there
+embroidered for her, is now exhibited at Hampton Court, and is really
+magnificent.
+
+Could we now take a more extended view of modern needlework, how wide
+the range to which we might refer,--from the jewelled and
+golden-wrought slippers of the East to the grass-embroidered mocassins
+of the West; from the gorgeous and glittering raiment of the courtly
+Persian, the voluptuous Turk, or the luxurious Indian, to the simple,
+unattractive, yet exquisitely wrought garment made by the Californian
+from the entrails of the whale: a range wide as the Antipodes asunder
+in every point except one! that is--the equal though very differently
+displayed skill, ingenuity, and industry of the needlewoman in almost
+every corner of the hearth from the burning equator to the freezing
+Pole. This we must now pass.
+
+Finally,--feeling as we do that though ornamental needlework may be a
+charming occupation for those ladies whose happy lot relieves them
+from the necessity of "darning hose" and "mending nightcaps," yet that
+a proficiency in plain sewing is the very life and being of the
+comfort and respectability of the poor man's wife,--we cannot close
+this book without one earnest remark on the systems of teaching
+needlework now in use in the Central, National, and other schools for
+the instruction of the poor. There, now, the art is reduced to regular
+rule, taught by regular system; and there are books of instruction in
+cutting, in shaping, in measuring,--one for the (late) Model School in
+Dublin, and another, somewhat similar, for that in the Sanctuary,
+Westminster, which would be a most valuable acquisition to the work
+table of many a needle-loving and industrious lady of the most
+respectable middle classes of society.
+
+Any of our readers who have been accustomed, as we have, to see the
+domestic hearths and homes of those who, brought up from infancy in
+factories, have married young, borne large families, and perhaps
+descended to the grave without ever having learned how to make a
+petticoat for themselves, or even a cap for their children,--any who
+know the reality of this picture, and have seen the misery consequent
+on it, will join us cordially in expressing the earnest and heartfelt
+hope that the extension of mental tuition amongst the lower classes
+may not supersede, in the smallest iota, that instruction and PRACTICE
+in sewing which next, the very next, to the knowledge of their
+catechism, is of vital importance to the future well-doing of girls
+in the lower stations of life.[132]
+
+ * * * * *
+
+And now my task is finished; and to you, my kind readers, who have had
+the courtesy to accompany me thus far, I would fain offer a few words
+of thanks, of farewell, and, if need be, of apology.
+
+This is, I believe, the first history of needlework ever published. I
+have met with no other; I have heard of no other; and I have
+experienced no trifling difficulties in obtaining material for this. I
+have spared no labour, no exertions, no research. I have toiled
+through many hundreds of volumes for the chance of finding even a line
+adaptable to my purpose: sometimes I have met with this trifling
+success, oftener not.
+
+I do not mention these circumstances with any view to exaggerate my
+own exertions, but merely to convince those ladies, who having read
+the book, may feel dissatisfied with the amount of information
+contained therein, that really no superabundance of material exists.
+The subject has in all ages been deemed too trifling to obtain more
+than a passing notice from the historical pen. To myself, my exertions
+have brought their own "exceeding rich reward;" for if perchance they
+were at times productive of fatigue, they yet have winged the flight
+of many lonely hours which might otherwise have induced weariness or
+even despondency in their lagging transit.
+
+To you, my countrywomen, I offer the book, not as what it _might_ be,
+but as the best which, under all circumstances, I could now produce.
+The triumphant general is oftentimes deeply indebted for success to
+the humble but industrious pioneer; and those who may hereafter pursue
+this subject with loftier aims, with more abundant leisure and greater
+facilities of research, may not disdain to tread the path which I have
+indicated. I offer to you my book in the hope that it will cause
+amusement to some, gratification perhaps of a higher order to others,
+and offence--as I trust and believe--to none.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[131] Some account of London.--1793.
+
+[132] It cannot be too generally known that within late years schools
+have been attached to the factories, where, for a fixed and certain
+proportion of their time, girls are instructed in sewing and reading.
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+London: Printed by W. Clowes and Sons, Stamford Street.
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note
+
+Archaic and variable spelling is preserved as printed. Minor
+punctuation errors have been repaired.
+
+Hyphenation and use of accents have been made consistent in the main
+text where there was a prevalence of one form over another. However,
+inconsistencies are preserved as printed where material originates
+from different authors.
+
+The title page contains the word 'needle-work.' The author's text, and
+a repeat of the title, uses 'needlework'. This has been preserved as
+printed.
+
+The following items were found:
+
+ Page viii--the page number for the chapter titled "The
+ Needle" was omitted from the table of contents.
+ Reference to the text shows it to be page 252, and this
+ has been added in the appropriate place.
+
+ Page 93--there is some obscured text at the end of the
+ page. Given the context and the amount of space, it seems
+ reasonable to assume that the missing words are 'he is'
+ and these have been added in this etext.
+
+ Page 123, third footnote--mentions the word Alner, but
+ doesn't define it. "An Illustrated Dictionary of Words
+ Used in Art and Archaeology" by J. W. Mollett defines it
+ as: "Aulmoniere. The Norman name for the pouch, bag, or
+ purse appended to the girdle of noble persons, and
+ derived from the same root as 'alms' and 'almoner'. It
+ was more or less ornamented and hung from long laces of
+ silk or gold; it was sometimes called Alner." The
+ transcriber has added 'pouch, bag or purse' as a
+ definition.
+
+ Page 129--There is an obscured word in the line, "With
+ steven f-ll- stoute". Comparison with other sources of
+ the same verse show the word to be fulle, which has been
+ used in this etext.
+
+ Page 175--the footnote marker in the text was missing.
+ The transcriber has checked the referenced text, and
+ inserted a marker in what appears to be the correct
+ place.
+
+ Page 257--the speaker of the line "Her neele" was
+ obscured. It appears that the speaker should be Tib, and
+ this has been inserted.
+
+The following amendments have been made:
+
+ Page 2--certain amended to certains and meurissent
+ amended to murissent--"... et comme on voit a certains
+ arbres des fruits qui ne murissent jamais; ..."
+
+ Page 27--footsep amended to footstep--"Each accidental
+ passer hushed his footstep ..."
+
+ Page 42--le amended to la--"Suivant la difference des
+ etats, elles apprennent a lire, ..."
+
+ Page 42--elle amended to elles--"... mais elles insistent
+ beaucoup plus sur la necessite
+..."
+
+ Page 83--supurb amended to superb--"... seated on a
+ superb throne, and crowned with the papal tiara."
+
+ Page 99, footnote--lvo. amended to vol.--"Archaeologia,
+ vol. xix."
+
+ Page 119--manngement amended to management--"... for on
+ her wise and prudent management depended not merely the
+ comfort, ..."
+
+ Page 134--macheloires amended to machoires--"... car si
+ tant ne fait que j'aye la barbe & les dents machoires
+ sans aucune tromperie ne mensonge, ..."
+
+ Page 155--sixteeenth amended to sixteenth--"In the
+ sixteenth century[79] a sort of hanging was introduced,
+ ..."
+
+ Page 175--repeated 'to' deleted--"So she went to bed,
+ and in the morning she was found stone dead."
+
+ Page 175--renowed amended to renowned--"Help me, shades
+ of renowned slaughterers, whilst I record his
+ achievements!"
+
+ Page 184--Frence amended to French--"At Durham Place
+ were the Citie of Ladies (a French allegorical Romance);
+ ..."
+
+ Page 199--Britions amended to Britons--"... and, as
+ supposed, of the ancient Britons."
+
+ Page 200--eylet-holes amended to eyelet-holes--"... full
+ of small eyelet-holes, as thickly as they could be put,
+ ..."
+
+ Page 207--His amended to Hir--"Hir hat suld be of fair
+ having ..."
+
+ Page 213--meurs amended to moeurs--"... nous n'aurions
+ que le mepris qu'on a pour les gens sans moeurs, ..."
+
+ Page 214--magnificience amended to magnificence--"...
+ lasting for thrift; and rich for magnificence."
+
+ Page 216--marshelling amended to marshalling--"... using
+ more time in dressing than Caesar took in marshalling his
+ army, ..."
+
+ Page 229--Permittez amended to Permettez--"Permettez que
+ je vous fasse l'observation, ..."
+
+ Page 234--bouyant amended to buoyant--"... so much was
+ it elevated then by buoyant good humour ..."
+
+ Page 242--wtth amended to with--"... mingled with mule
+ drivers, lacqueys, and peasants, ..."
+
+ Page 254--chandellier amended to chandelier--"... de
+ brodeur, de tapissier, de chandelier, d'emballeur; ..."
+
+ Page 261--finalment amended to finalmente--"... et
+ finalmente far tutte quelle gentillezze et lodevili
+ opere, ..."
+
+ Page 262--repeated 'of' deleted--"It is dedicated to the
+ Queen of France, ..."
+
+ Page 264--Damoiselles amended to Damoyselles--"Aux Dames
+ et Damoyselles."
+
+ Page 266--Baccus amended to Bacchus--"Ce Bacchus
+ representant l'Autonne."
+
+ Page 267--delli amended to delle--"Corona delle Nobili
+ et virtuose Donne, ..."
+
+ Page 267--Mayzette amended to Mazzette--"E molto delle
+ quali Mostre possono servire ancora per opere a
+ Mazzette."
+
+ Page 269--logg amended to long--"So long as hemp of
+ flax, or sheep shall bear ..."
+
+ Page 273, footnote--al amended to ad--"... e per far
+ disegni ad altrui o dar gl'indirizzo ..."
+
+ Page 273, footnote--della dita amended to delle
+ dita--"... degli narici, della bocca, delle dita
+ corrispondono a' primi moti d'ogni passione; ..."
+
+ Page 273, footnote--del amended to dal--"... e cio ch'e
+ piu, essi variano in cento modi senza uscir mai dal
+ naturale, ..."
+
+ Page 273, footnote--ridusce amended to ridusse--"...
+ tutte comprese con la divinita del suo ingegno, tutto
+ ridusse piu bello."
+
+ Page 276--privat eapartments amended to private
+ apartments--"These are preserved in one of the private
+ apartments of the Vatican palace."
+
+ Page 307--Closely amended to closely--"... the Spanish
+ Armada up the channel, closely followed by the English,
+ ..."
+
+ Page 331--morte amended to mort--"Prise dans la tente de
+ Charles le Temeraire, lors de la mort de ce prince, ..."
+
+ Page 332--interressant amended to interessant--"... plus
+ interessant pour les arts, et plus digne d'etre
+ reproduit par la gravure."
+
+ Page 334--destinee amended to destine--"Robert fut
+ destine de bonne heure aux fonctions du sacerdoce."
+
+ Page 335--jusque-la converts amended to jusqu'a-la
+ couverts--"... il planta la croix du Sauveur dans les
+ lieux jusqu'a-la couverts de forets et de bruyeres
+ incultes, ..."
+
+ Page 336--emaillees amended to emailles, and
+ ruisselantes amended to ruisselants--"... les
+ colonnettes sont emailles, ruisselants de milliers de
+ pierres fines et de perles, ..."
+
+ Page 363--libaries amended to libraries--"... and the
+ principal public libraries in England."
+
+ Page 369--illuminaitng amended to illuminating--"When
+ the art of illuminating still more failed, ..."
+
+ Page 398--scarely amended to scarcely--"... scarcely
+ one-half are moderately good; ..."
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Art of Needle-work, from the
+Earliest Ages, 3rd ed., by Elizabeth Stone
+
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