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LACE. 27 The word point is sometimes incorrectly applied to pillow-lace, as “ point de Malines,” “ point de Yalencienne,” “ point de . Paris,” 18 “ point de neige,” 19 “ point a la reine.” “ Cette homme est bien en points ” was a phrase used to denote a person who wore rich lace. 20 The manner of making pillow lace 21 need hardly be described. The “ pillow ” 22 is a round or oval board, stuffed so as to form a cushion, and placed upon the knees of the workwoman. On this Pillow a stiff piece of parchment is fixed, with small holes pricked through to mark the pattern. Through these holes pins are stuck into the cushion. The threads with which the lace is formed are wound upon “bobbins,” small round pieces of wood, about the size of a pencil, haying round their upper ends a deep groove, so formed as to reduce the bobbin to a thin neck, on which the thread is wound, a separate bobbin being used for each thread. By the twisting and crossing of these threads the ground of the lace is formed. The pattern or figure, technically called “ gimp,” is made by interweaving a thread much thicker than that forming the groundwork, according to the design pricked out on the parchment. 23 Such has been the pillow, and the method of using it, with but slight variation, since its introduction. To avoid repetition, we propose giving a separate history of the manufacture in each country; but in order to furnish some general notion of the relative ages of lace, it may be as well to enumerate the kinds most in use when Colbert, by his establish ment of the Points de France, in 1665, caused a general develop- 18 “ Une chemisette de toile d’ Hollande garnye de point de Paris.”—Inv. d’Anne d Escoubleau, Haronne de Sourdis, veuve de I: raacoin de Simiane. 1681. Arch. Nat. M. M. 802. 1651. “ Huit aulnes de toile com mune garnies de neigo.”—Inv. des meubles de la, Sacristie de VOratoire de Je'sus, “ Paris. Bib. Nat. MSS. F. Fr. 8621. Nenf autres petites nappes ; les deux premieres de toile unie; la troisieme a entelle quallifie de neige.”—Ibid. Point de neige ” recalls the quarrel of Lros llene and Marinette:— Ton beau galant de neige, avec ta nonpareille, II n aura plus l’honneur d’etre sur mon orcille.” Mature, De'pit amuureux, 1656. Point also means a particular stitch, as “ point noue,” “ point d’esprit,” “ a clialnette.” 20 “Diet, d’Ant. Furetiere. Augmente par M. Basnage. La Haye, 1727.” 21 French, “ dentelle h fuseaux ; ” Italian, “ merli a piomhini; ” Dutch, “ gespoldewerkte kant; ” Old Flemish, “ spelle werk.” 22 French, “ carreau,” “ cousin,” “ oreil- ler;” Italian, “tombolo;” Venetian, “ ballon ; ” Spanish, “ mundillo.” 23 The number of bobbins is generally equal to 50 to each square inch. If the lace be one inch wide, it will have 625 meshes in each square inch, or 22,500 in a yard. The work, therefore, goes on very slowly, though generally performed with the greatest dexterity.