,transcriber's ,notes ,a few words in relation to era_/dialect have been retained e4g4 tho1 possest1 stopt1 dropt1 slipt1 distrest4 ,the frontispiece spelling of the ,queen of ,belgium is ,elisabeth1 as shown in the photo with her signature4 ,throughout the main text however1 it has been spelt ,queen ,elizabeth4 ,these spellings have been left as printed4 ,in the ,appendix1 where there are two or more illustrations per page1 the words 7,top71 7,middle71 7,bottom7 have been used1 to indicate the link with the text and illustration4 p4#bib3 changed #d to d ,printer errors have silently been corrected4 ,,bobbins ,,of ,,belgium ,illustration3 ,h4,m4 ,,queen ,,elisabeth ,,of ,,belgium ,,bobbins ,,of ,,belgium ,a ,,book ,,of ,,belgian ,,lace1 ,,lace-,,workers1 ,,lace-,,schools ,,and ,,lace-,,villages ,,by ,,charlotte ,,kellogg ,of the ,commission for ,relief in ,belgium1 and ,author of 8,women of ,belgium0 ,,funk ,,wagnalls ,,company ,,new ,,york ,,and ,,london #aibj ,,copyright1 #aibj1 ,,by ,,funk ,,wagnalls ,,company ,printed in the ,united ,states of ,america ,published in ,february1 #aibj ,copyright ,under the ,articles of the ,copyright ,convention of the ,pan-,american ,republics and the ,united ,states1 ,august #aa1 #aiaj4 ,,dedication ,to the women of the ,brussels war-time lace committee--,madame ,allard1 the ,vicomtesse de ,beughem1 ,madame ,kefer-,mali1 and the ,comtesse ,elizabeth d',oultremont1 with admiration and gratitude4 ,,contents ,,chapter ,,page ,preface #ae ,introduction #be ,i4 ,turnhout #di ,,ii4 ,courtrai #gi ,,iii4 ,thourout-,thielt-,wynghene #ig ,,iv4 ,grammont #abg ,v4 ,bruges #adc ,,vi4 ,kerxken #afi ,,vii4 ,erembodeghem #ahi ,,viii4 ,opbrakel #bja ,,ix4 ,liedekerke #bae ,x4 ,herzele #bca ,,xi4 ,ghent #bdg ,,xii4 ,zele #bfe ,,xiii4 ,appendix #bge ,index #cjg ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations ,,facing ,,page ,h4,m4 ,,queen ,,elizabeth ,,of ,,belgium1 ,frontispiece ,,fifteenth ,,century ,,portrait #cb ,showing heavy brocade as yet unrelieved by linen or lace trimming4 ,,portrait ,,of ,,charles ,,ix 7#aegj7 #cc ,linen collar showing picot edge made with the needle4 ,,portrait ,,towards ,,end ,,of ,,sixteenth ,,century #dj ,showing collar ornamented with bobbin-made cluny4 ,,anne ,,of ,,austria ,,by ,,van ,,dyck #da ,about #afce1 cluny lace made with bobbins4 ,,abb ,,berraly ,,school1 ,,turnhout #ef ,general view4 ,,nine-,,year ,,children ,,making ,,point ,,de ,,paris #eg ,,point ,,de ,,paris ,,class #fd ,on dark days lamps are lighted behind bottles filled with water1 the rays passing through1 fall in spotlights on the cushions4 ,,winding ,,bobbins ,,for ,,the ,,children #fe ,,point ,,de ,,lille1 ,,or ,,point ,d',,hollande #gb ,mesh showing 8,esprits0 or dots characteristic of this bobbin lace4 ,,end ,,of ,a ,,point ,,de ,,paris ,,scarf ,,about #b ,,yards ,,long ,,on ,,which ,,colette ,,worked ,,one ,,year #gc ,,in ,,the ,,abb ,,berraly ,,school1 ,,colette1 #af-,,years ,,old1 ,,works ,,with #a1jjj ,,bobbins #gc ,,belgian ,,lace ,,meshes 7,plate ,i7 #hj ,after ,pierre ,verhagen in 8,la ,dentelle ,belge40 ,,belgian ,,lace ,,meshes 7,plate ,,ii7 #ha ,after ,pierre ,verhagen in 8,la ,dentelle ,belge40 ,,bobbin ,,laces #hh ,malines1 ,point de ,paris1 ,valenciennes4 ,,cushion ,,cover ,,representing ,,belgium',s ,,gratitude ,,to ,,america ,,for ,,bread #hi ,point de ,paris lace combined with linen4 ,the lower right-hand centerpiece shows the rose design1 emblem of ,queen ,elizabeth4 ,,bobbin ,,laces #ajd ,torchon1 ,cluny1 ,old ,flemish1 ,binche4 ,,table ,,cloth ,,showing ,,arms ,,of ,,the ,,allies #aje ,cut linen with squares of ,venise surrounded by filet and cluny2 ,venise made with the needle2 cluny with bobbins4 ,a 8,,marie ,,antoinette0 ,,in ,,chantilly ,,lace #abh ,made with bobbins1 near ,grammont4 ,,cushion ,,cover #abi ,center ,venise1 borders ,valenciennes1 lace executed by #ab workers in one month1 embroidery and mounting by four women in two months2 design by ,m4 de ,rudder4 ,,tea ,,cloth #abi ,point de ,paris1 cock design4 ,,lace ,,makers ,,of ,,bruges #add ,,bruges ,,and ,,similar ,,bobbin ,,laces #ade ,,lace ,,normal ,,school1 ,,bruges4 ,,beginner',s ,,class #aeb ,symbolic color pattern on left-hand easel2 demonstration bobbins attached to colored threads at right4 ,,bed ,,cover ,,in ,,duchesse ,,or ,,brussels ,,lace #aec ,made with bobbins2 executed in ,flanders by #cj women in three months2 design by the ,lace ,committee4 ,,rosaline1 ,,which ,,closely ,,resembles ,,bruges #afj ,,details ,,for ,,bruges ,,lace #afj ,made with bobbins on round cushion4 ,,doily ,,set ,,in ,,point ,,de ,,paris ,,in ,,the 8,,animals ,,of ,,the ,,allies0 ,,design1 ,,executed ,,at ,,turnhout #afa ,,point ,,de ,,flandres ,,or ,,flanders ,,lace #agf ,flowers made with bobbins1 mesh with needle2 designs by the ,lace ,committee4 ,,handkerchief ,,in ,,needle-,,point #agg ,made near ,alost4 ,both mesh and flowers made with needle4 ,,detail ,,showing ,,seven ,,different ,,filling-,,in ,,stitches #agg ,,venise ,,designs ,,by ,,the ,,brussels ,,lace ,,committee #ahj ,,handkerchief ,,and ,,jewel ,,boxes2 ,,flanders ,,and ,,venise ,,over ,,satin ,,and ,,velvet #aha ,,venise ,,banquet ,,cloth ,,presented ,,by ,,the ,,lace ,,committee ,,to ,h4,m4 ,,queen ,,elizabeth ,,on ,,her ,,return ,,from ,,exile #aib-aic ,design by ,m4 de ,rudder2 executed by #cj best ,venise-makers in ,belgium in six months4 ,,cushion ,,cover ,,in ,,venise #aif ,pekinese dog2 design by ,m4 ,allard4 ,,table ,,center ,,in ,,flanders ,,with ,,center ,,and ,,border ,,of ,,venise #aig ,design by ,lace ,committee2 executed in ,west ,flanders by five workers in #ae days4 8,,the ,,tourney0 ,,banquet ,,cloth #bjh ,design reproducing a medival painting in ,tournai1 executed in ,venise lace by #aj workers in one month1 mounting and embroidery by five workers in one month4 ,price in ,brussels1 #a1jjj francs4 8,,arms ,,of ,,allies0 ,,cushion ,,cover ,,in ,,venise1 ,,with ,,details ,,in ,,flanders #bji ,,needle-,,point ,,scarf ,,expressing ,,gratitude ,,of ,,belgium ,,to ,,holland4 ,,presented ,,to ,h4,m4 ,,queen ,,wilhelmina #baf-bag ,executed by #cj workers in eight months4 ,,bobbin ,,laces #bbd ,malines2 ,application1 flowers sewn on tulle2 ,duchesse1 with ,needle-,point insertion4 ,,application ,,details ,,to ,,be ,,sewed ,,on ,,tulle #bbe ,upper flower shows open spaces left by bobbin worker for needle worker2 lower flower shows both bobbin and needle work completed4 ,,wedding ,,gift ,,of ,,mr4 ,,hoover ,,to ,,mrs4 ,,page #bdj ,executed in ,venise and ,flanders lace by #cj women working three months4 ,american eagles with outspread wings1 protecting the ,belgian ,lion enchained in the four corners4 ,,flanders--,,needle ,,mesh1 ,,bobbin ,,flowers #bdj ,,venise ,,lace ,,center1 ,,border ,,of ,,valenciennes #bda ,lace executed in ,flanders by #dj women in two months2 embroidery and mounting in ,brussels by four women in three months4 ,,valenciennes1 ,,square ,,mesh #bda ,,fan ,,in ,,needle-,,point #bef ,executed by three women in six weeks4 8,shields of the ,allies10 design drawn by ,m4 ,knoff for the ,lace ,committee4 ,,eighteenth ,,century ,,marriage ,,veil ,,in ,,needle-,,point1 ,,belonging ,,to ,,the ,,comtesse ,,elizabeth ,d',,oultremont #beg ,it would take #dj workers about a half year to copy this veil4 ,,at ,,work ,,on ,,details ,,of ,a ,,needle-,,point ,,scarf ,,to ,,be ,,presented ,,to ,,queen ,,elizabeth #bfh ,,needle ,,lace ,,class-,,room ,,in ,,the ,,trade ,,union ,,lace ,,school ,,at ,,zele #bfh ,,needle-,,point ,,illustration ,,for ,,the ,,fable ,,of ,,the ,,fox ,,and ,,the ,,grapes #bfi ,,in ,,the ,,zele ,,lace ,,school4 ,,joining ,,details ,,of ,,the ,,needle-,,point ,,scarf ,,presented ,,to ,,queen ,,elizabeth #bfi ,,preface ,i entered the lace-world by the grim door of war4 ,for it was the war-time work of the women of the ,brussels ,lace ,committee that opened the way to me4 ,long before the war1 ,queen ,elizabeth in ,belgium1 like ,queen ,margharita in ,italy1 had sought means to protect the lace worker1 through centuries the victim of an economic injustice1 not to say crime1 and to rescue and develop an industry threatened from many sides4 ,in #aiaa she gave her royal encouragement to a group of prominent ,belgian women who organized as 8,amies de la ,dentelle10 ,friends of ,lace1 and began a lace-saving campaign by trying to remedy the deplorable condition of most of the lace schools1 the defective teaching1 long hours1 and pitiful pay4 ,they could insist in the schools1 as they could not elsewhere1 on the right to inspect1 to grant or refuse patronage4 ,they subsidized worthy institutions1 and advocated the establishment of a lace normal school and of a special school of design4 ,education they felt to be the main road leading out of the prevailing misery1 and they were making progress along this road1 when suddenly the ,invader poured over their borders4 ,while other women hurried to open refuges and hospitals and soup-kitchens1 a few of the ,friends of ,lace remembered first the lace-makers2 and by ,november #aiad1 had effected a war emergency organization1 known as the ,brussels ,lace ,committee1 with ,mrs4 ,whitlock as honorary president4 ,unfortunately most of the lace dealers failed to cooperate with them1 but they won the approval of the powerful ,belgian ,comit ,national1 which1 with the ,commission for ,relief in ,belgium1 carried on the relief of the occupied territory throughout the war4 ,and with an initial gift of #be1jjj from ,america to be converted into lace1 they were able to start their work4 ,it soon came to be directed altogether by four women2 ,the ,comtesse ,elizabeth d',oultremont1 ,lady-in-,waiting to ,queen ,elizabeth2 the ,vicomtesse de ,beughem1 an ,american2 ,madame ,josse ,allard1 and ,madame ,kefer-,mali4 ,at the same time the aid and protection of workers on filets and other commonly called 8imitation0 laces1 was assigned by the ,comit ,national to another group of women1 the 8,union ,patriotique des ,femmes ,belges40 ,the ,brussels ,lace ,committee employed1 as trusted business director of their offices1 ,m4 ,collart1 generously released to them by the ,allard ,bank1 and as technical expert1 ,madame ,sharlaecken1 before the war with the ,compagnie des ,indes1 one of the largest lace houses in ,belgium2 and as the work developed1 an increasing number of designers and aides necessary to a lace business were added4 ,during the first few months the situation seemed utterly hopeless2 thread was impossible to obtain2 and even if the thread were forthcoming1 no one could say who would buy the laces they might encourage the women to make2 the ,germans were cutting off successive sections of the lace-making areas where they had established sub-committees1 and were forbidding communication with them4 ,and yet these four women continued bravely to create the foundations of a great lace business--for an extraordinary commercial organization grew from their efforts4 ,however1 despite all their intelligence and devotion1 such a result would have been impossible but for a hard-won diplomatic victory4 ,in early #aiae ,mr4 ,hoover forced an international agreement which permitted the ,c4 ,r4 ,b4 to bring thread for the ,lace ,committee into ,belgium1 and to take out an equivalent weight in lace1 to be sold in the ,allied countries for the benefit of the workers4 ,england required a rigid control of the thread1 and that it be given only to establishments open to inspection by the ,c4 ,r4 ,b4 ,at one time these thread shipments were stopt--a period of cruel anxiety for the women--but happily after a re-adjustment they were continued4 ,and once these international guaranties were obtained1 the ,belgian ,comit ,national was able to arrange for the distribution of the thread to the various1 even remote1 lace centers1 and for the return of the finished laces to ,brussels4 ,they granted the women a subsidy of #aj1jjj and insured to each dentellire the chance to make at least three francs worth of lace a week--a small minimum1 to be sure1 but every one understood it might be increased later1 and that if each of the many thousands of workers was to have an equal opportunity1 it could not in the beginning be more4 ,after this the ,lace ,committee had at times as many as #de1jjj women on its lists4 ,the work in the schools and out of them began to bear fruit4 ,the sweating system1 and payment in kind 7in clothing and food7 were practically wiped out1 and inspection and control established4 ,everywhere the standard of design and of execution was raised2 old patterns were restored and improved1 and by the end of the war #b1bcg new designs had been added4 ,but this was not advance through open country4 ,there was constant danger that at any moment the way might be completely barred2 at any time the guaranties covering the thread importations might be withdrawn4 ,the ,germans early originated a 8,lace ,control0 of their own1 and tried in every possible way to win over the ,belgian workers1 and to buy up all the lace in the country4 ,they accused the ,brussels ,committee of being a political and patriotic body existing chiefly to defeat the occupying powers and the ,flemish activists4 ,then there were other courage-testing difficulties4 ,but despite all obstacles and perils1 the women persisted1 and continually the precious skeins of thread1 with their message of 8,carry ,on0 were flung out from ,brussels to the farthermost corners of the land1 binding all together in a firm and beautiful web of hope and confidence4 ,for the enemy was right in suspecting the ,committee of a purpose deeper than that of merely trying to save women from the soup-line2 they carried on a patriotic work of highest importance4 ,to them ,i owe a personal debt of gratitude1 for they permitted me to follow their devoted service closely1 and they opened the door for me to a new world of beauty and interest4 ,,introduction ,lace is a tissue composed of mesh and 8flowers0 7pattern71 or either one alone1 produced with a needle and single thread1 or with several threads manipulated by means of bobbins4 ,it is the product of a natural evolution from early embroideries and weaving4 ,we possess no contemporaneous history of the origins and development of the lace art1 partly1 perhaps1 because of the tradition1 strong among the initiated1 of hiding its secrets1 and of the consequent difficulty of an outsider to master them1 and partly because successive wars and world cataclysms have interrupted or destroyed its progress4 ,we have ample proof1 however1 that lace in some form existed in remote antiquity1--in early ,egypt1 in ,persia1 in ,bysance and ,syria1 where it was chiefly made by slaves2 the ,greeks and ,hebrews speak of needle lace as known throughout all time4 ,it was not1 in these oriental countries1 the delicate white mesh that we call lace1 which would have been most unbecoming to dark skin1 but included richly colored passementeries and filets and fringes1 woven of gold and silver thread1 of dyed wool and cotton1 and of the coarse linen fiber of the ,nile ,valley4 ,it was usually of hieratic and symbolic design1 and sometimes sown with gems--all capable of brilliantly enhancing the beauty of the ,east4 ,egyptian ladies of #f1jjj years ago trimmed their robes with elaborate lengths of filet1 and covered their dead with it4 ,in the ,cinquantenaire ,museum at ,brussels there is the photograph of a remarkable little woven linen bag1 similar to one we might carry to-day1 which was found in the tomb of a ,priestess of ,hathor1 bearing the mark of one of the earlier dynasties4 ,its mesh is almost identical with that of our modern ,valenciennes1 and it was undoubtedly made with bobbins4 ,between ancient and medival times1 the lace-gap is unbridged by written record2 we must gather what we can from the archeologist and from the works of the sculptor and painter4 ,occasionally we are thrilled by such a discovery as that of ,m4 ,bixio1 who in excavating at ,claterna1 an old ,roman ,city near ,bologna1 came upon a set of bone bobbins1 lying in pairs1 as we employ them in lace-making to-day4 ,but interesting discoveries are rare1 and the body of our knowledge of lace history so far is meager4 ,however1 we are interested primarily1 not in the ancient origins of the two great lace groups1 nor in early passementeries and filets and their processes1 but in the marvelous efflorescence of the lace art of the ,western ,europe of the #afth1 #agth and #ahth centuries1 and in its still lovely expression of to-day4 ,in medival painting1 before the appearance of linen and its use as trimming1 or as lingerie1 ,i know of no picture showing lace4 ,stuffs were stiff and heavy1 and ornamented with metal1 or with gold or silver thread4 ,as they became more supple1 we find1 as in the portrait of ,wenceslas of ,luxemburg 7about #acfj7 decoration introduced in the clipped cloth border of the collar and hood4 ,this serrated edge suggests the first simple ,cluny lace patterns that appeared later4 ,then we see the first linen showing through the slashed sleeve or above the corsage1--one of many paintings illustrating this development1 is that of the ,duke of ,cleves1 by ,memling 7second half of the #aeth century74 ,and shortly afterward the first lace edgings appear1 the beginning of our lace of the middle ages1 of its rebirth in ,western ,europe4 ,the search for these details of progress in the paintings of ,european galleries is a fascinating and rewarding game2 a ,belgian friend of mine has spent many years at it4 ,the flowering of the lace-art was part of the great ,renaissance 7lagging behind1 to be sure1 the major arts7 and now was no longer the work of slaves1 but regarded as an important1 independent mtier1 and happily it usually escaped the despotism of the medival corporations4 ,italy1 probably through her exploitation in the early part of the #aeth century of her ,greek ,colonies1 was its first western home1 and ,venice1 the center for the exquisite needle laces of which our museums fortunately still preserve specimens4 ,while laces made with the needle and single thread were flourishing under the ,doges1 bobbin laces1 twisted and braided with many threads1 were being made in ,sicily and in other sections of the country4 ,from ,venice1 the secrets of the art traveled easily in several directions1 and probably about the close of the #aeth century by way of the thriving port of ,antwerp1 to the industrious and beauty-loving ,flanders1 where the seed fell on most fertile soil4 ,flanders possest a multitude of workers already skilled in an allied art1 that of weaving1 and the necessary lace material in her valley of the ,lys1 the finest flax region of the world4 ,valenciennes1 ,lille1 ,malines1 ,ghent1 ,bruges1 turned to lace-making with a veritable passion2 it spread throughout wide districts of what are now ,northern ,france and ,belgium4 ,during the #afth and #agth centuries1 the lace industry made phenomenal progress1 both extensively and intensively4 ,holland and ,england sent continually larger orders to ,flanders4 ,as cloths grew finer and softer1 and the mode of wearing them more graceful1 and as daintier linens were increasingly employed1 lace became ever more filmy and exquisite4 ,a worker spent perhaps a whole year on a single meter of ,valenciennes1 one head-dress cost as much as #bjj1jjj livres4 ,every lace had its time1 its season4 ,during this epoch1 needle laces were supreme1 as bobbin laces were to be in the #ahth century4 ,under ,louis ,,xiv lace reached its climax of perfection and beauty4 ,colbert imported lace-women from each center where they had been conspicuously successful4 ,he encouraged the invention of new designs and technique2 he subsidized schools in many cities1 at ,reims1 ,alenon1 ,arras1 ,sedan1 and he threatened with the death penalty those who might attempt to carry lace secrets beyond the ,french borders1--in every way he sought to develop an art that should belong peculiarly to ,france4 ,thus directed and subsidized by the state1 and nurtured and stimulated by a beauty-seeking court1 whose love of luxury was still controlled by taste and refinement1 it is not surprizing that this lace-period surpassed any other known4 ,it was true of the ,court of ,louis ,,xiv as of that of ,louis ,,xiii that a seigneur was known by the number and quality of his lace points2 some of them possest several hundred garnitures4 ,unfortunately the workers did not profit by this brilliant development1--they seem from the beginning predestined to be the victims of a social and economic slavery4 ,but there were already evidences of an attempt to control a demand for luxury that threatened disaster4 ,with the #afth century1 heavy duties and excess taxes were levied upon lace4 ,an edict1 dated #agbi1 prohibited the wearing of it1 in the hope of checking over-extravagance in dress4 ,illustration3 ,,fifteenth ,,century ,,portrait ,showing heavy brocade as yet unrelieved by linen or lace trimming ,illustration3 ,,portrait ,,of ,,charles ,,ix 7#aegj7 ,linen collar showing picot edge made with the needle ,after its apoge under ,louis ,,xiv1 lace-making was caught1 along with the other arts1 in the tide of degeneracy4 ,its designs were marked by fantasy and grotesqueness1 rather than by the delicacy and beauty of the preceding period2 tho while it deteriorated in design1 its technique grew constantly finer and more complicated1 until1 from the point of view of the workmanship at least1 it seemed almost superhuman4 ,but in the second half of the #ahth century1 wearied of complications and extravagance1 people amused themselves by a return to simplicity4 ,the ,marquise de ,pompadour affected laces sown with simple 8flowers10 and ,marie ,antoinette went further in preferring a pattern of scattered 8points0 or peas4 ,with this return to the primitive in design1 the technique of lace reverted also4 ,in many quarters1 the sheer muslins of the ,indias gained favor over lace4 ,trade1 already burdened with the duties and imports that had grown up around the extravagant laces1 suffered further from the sudden popularity of the simple costume4 ,the death-blow of the industry in ,france was to follow close on the heels of this new fashion4 ,since lace had been the particular pride of the aristocrat1 the ,revolution made it a crime to appear in it4 ,in such one-time famous centers as ,valenciennes and ,lille1 the bobbins ceased1 tho the industry of that region sought refuge farther west1 in ,bailleul1--in ,bailleul1 dust and ashes to-day6 ,fortunately in ,belgium1 lace-making generally survived the crisis of the ,revolution1 tho it has suffered from succeeding disastrous influences4 ,at the opening of the #aith century and under the ,empire1 taste was heavy1 design rigid and military1 with nothing in common with true lace motifs4 ,during the opening years of #ahjj the invention of machine-made tulle1 brought from ,england to ,calais1 effected further sad changes in the lace-world2 scarfs1 veils1 entire robes of tulle1 ornamented with applications of needle or bobbin-made details--often palms and laurel wreaths--were all the mode4 ,people preferred these to the exquisite lace jabots and flounces of the preceding century4 ,in #ahcc cotton thread began to be used instead of the stronger linen of the best lace periods4 ,the delicate lace-art continued to suffer with all the others under the general decadence of the reign of ,louis ,philippe and the ,second ,empire4 ,industrial and commercial development was the note of the age2 the rich amused themselves in travel1 in new scenes and sports1 rather than in fostering the arts4 ,in fact1 during the thirty years following the war of #ahgj1 lace seemed almost forgotten except in ,america4 ,the number of workers in ,belgium fell from between #ajj and #aej1jjj1 to #ej1jjj or less4 ,but before the world was plunged into this last1 most destructive of wars1 there had been signs of a renaissance in the decorative arts4 ,people had begun to read and compare1 and refine their taste4 ,the rulers of ,italy and ,france and ,belgium were winning results in their attempts to rescue1 and to revive and develop the lace-art1 which had seemed threatened with extinction4 ,then came the war--and the devastation of entire lace regions1 like that of ,bailleul in ,france1 and of ,ypres in ,belgium4 ,it is true that many of the refugee lace-women have been employed and encouraged during the four years1 by certain committees in ,france and free ,belgium4 ,and in occupied ,belgium1 the unceasing efforts of the ,brussels ,lace ,committee have borne rich fruit4 ,whether the higher standards of lace design and technique1 and the improved condition of the lace workers--better education1 shorter hours1 higher pay--will be maintained under post-war conditions is yet to be proved4 ,over this difficult hour of reconstruction1 of transfer from war to what we fondly call normal conditions1 we can but hope to carry the hard-won gains of the testing period4 ,in this little book ,i make no attempt to present a history of lace1 or a detailed analysis of its processes4 ,i have wished merely to set down in simple form a few of my observations in the lace districts of ,belgium1 as the war has left her4 ,to follow them one does not need even an elementary knowledge of the important lace forms1 tho that is easily acquired4 ,for there are but two large groups2 the needle-lace group1 and the bobbin-lace group1 between which we learn quickly to distinguish4 ,we can not prove the time of their respective origins2 as we know them1 they seem to have existed side by side1 as they do in the ,belgium of to-day4 ,sometimes one was more popular1 sometimes the other4 ,to place a piece of lace1 we have first but to ask the question1 8,was it made with a needle1 and by looping and twisting and weaving a single thread2 or was it made by braiding and twisting and weaving several threads1 by means of bobbins and a round or a square cushion80 ,in general1 there is but one technique for all needle laces1 tho there is no limit to the variety of stitches the needle worker may employ4 ,i have seen a scarf1 made during the war for ,queen ,elizabeth1 in which there were many hundred different points4 ,one comes soon to recognize the important needle laces2 the exquisite ,french ,alenons and ,argentins of earlier days1 with their meshes made with a buttonhole loop1 and their flowers stiffened with horsehair2 the various ,venetian points1--,venise1 ,burano1 and ,rose point2 and the extremely popular ,brussels point1 with its gauze mesh and raised flowers4 ,it is characteristic of these needle laces1 that the flowers are thrown into relief1 sometimes high1 sometimes scarcely perceptible4 ,bobbin laces may be made with a dozen or with one hundred times as many threads1 according to the design and width of the lace4 ,they fall into two sub-groups1 the first including laces made with uncut threads1 in a single piece2 the second1 those made detail by detail1 in which the threads are cut as each is finished1 the completed lace piece being made by joining these separate parts4 ,this second method was not introduced until the latter half of the #agth century4 ,in the first group1 made with uncut threads1 are the early ,clunys and the common ,torchons1 ,old ,flanders1 the beautiful ,valenciennes1 ,point de ,paris1 ,point de ,lille1 ,malines and ,binche1 with their delicate round1 or square or hexagonal meshes1 from which the pattern blossoms4 ,their flowers are flat1 never lifted in relief1 tho a heavy outlining thread often sets them off brilliantly from the surrounding field4 ,the second bobbin group1 in which the final lace piece is composed of united details1 includes black and white ,chantilly1 ,blonde1 popular with ,spanish peoples1 ,brussels ,duchesse and ,bruges ,duchesse1 most frequently displayed in our ,american shops1 and the finer ,rosaline1 which was in great demand when the war broke out4 ,this group of bobbin laces admits a kind of relief4 ,illustration3 ,,portrait ,,toward ,,close ,,of ,,sixteenth ,,century ,showing collar ornamented with bobbin-made cluny ,some laces combine both needle and bobbin points4 ,in the lovely ,point d',angleterre1 increasingly difficult to obtain1 bobbin-made flowers are united by an airy needle mesh4 ,and the coarser ,flanders lace has the same composition4 ,illustration3 ,,anne ,,of ,,austria ,,by ,,van ,,dyck ,about #afce1 cluny lace made with bobbins ,there are1 besides1 the familiar and often beautiful ,applications1 in which either needle or bobbin-made flowers are stitched1 or appliqud on machine-made tulle1 or1 rarely1 on a tulle made by hand4 ,and various mixed laces1 fantasies and embroidered tulles1 as well as a whole company of cheaper tissues called lace1 but which can not honestly claim the name1 are trying always to crowd the true lace from the market4 ,naturally1 the technique of any given kind of lace has undergone various transformations through the centuries4 ,the ,valenciennes mesh1 for instance1 first had round spaces1 while square ones became more popular later4 ,during a certain period the introduction of jours1 or open-work effects1 added an airy lightness to many laces4 ,i had the pleasure recently of being with a friend of mine1 the sister of the ,belgian ,consul-,general at ,new ,york1 ,madame ,kefer-,mali1 who has devoted twenty years to the study of lace1 when she first examined a lace collection lately presented to the ,cinquantenaire ,museum4 ,with magnifying glass ,i followed from case to case1 as she placed each specimen in its country and century1 according to its design1 its mesh1 the manner of directing the threads1 the relief of the flowers1 the various stitches or the kind of thread employed4 ,as ,i listened to her1 it was easy to appreciate why lace may become an all-absorbing interest4 ,madame ,kefer-,mali's love for the lace itself is now subordinate to her passionate desire to secure justice for the lace-worker4 ,as she takes a filmy length in her hand1 her first thought is of the talent and patience of the girl or woman who made it1 of the eye-straining1 meticulous labor it represents1 and of the pittance still paid her for her gift to the world of art4 ,madame ,kefer-,mali has already won something for the dentellire and she will continue to fight for more4 ,tho there are lace sections in widely scattered parts of ,belgium1 none 7except ,turnhout7 is so important as those of the two ,flanders4 ,western and ,eastern ,flanders form an almost continuous and unrivalled lace region1 which breaks up irregularly into districts1 each celebrated for a particular kind1 or for several kinds of lace4 ,however1 it would be impossible to draw an accurate map illustrating the ,belgian lace situation1 either from the point of view of the varieties made and their quality1 or of the workers4 ,it seems1 indeed1 at times that lace was invented to defeat the statistician1 for he no sooner reaches a conclusion than it proves inexact2 a factory rises near a certain river and the lace women desert their cushions to accept its better wages2 in a village long devoted to ,needle ,point1 young girls discover that the bobbin-made ,clunys pay better1 or they marry and make no lace at all until their children are partly grown2 poor crops and resulting misery may send others who have not for some time been listed as workers back to their cushions4 ,for1 since despite the many schools and work-rooms1 the great majority of women still work at home1 lace-making is peculiarly sensitive to every change in family and community life4 ,we may say1 however1 that despite constantly shifting conditions1 ,western ,flanders forms a great bobbin-lace area1 unquestionably the most important in the world to-day1 while ,eastern ,flanders has been for centuries and still is1 famous for its needle points4 ,unfortunately1 too1 because of the miserable lace-wage 7in ,belgium1 before the war1 it averaged about a franc a day7 this industry has been regarded always as a supplementary occupation1 on which the family could not rely for its main support1 and which was not capable of organization and amelioration as other industries are4 ,the slavery conditions have undoubtedly been due chiefly to lack of good schools and constructive lace training1 and to the system by which a facteur1 or first buyer1 collects the laces1 to re-sell them to a fabricant1 or dealer1 who in turn may sell them to a larger fabricant--a system permitting any number of intermediaries--and also to the fact that the women1 scattered as they are throughout the agricultural regions1 have never protected themselves by forming syndicates4 ,the first step toward emancipation has been taken2 the new teaching is under way4 ,the fatal system of the many intermediaries remains to be dealt with--to be swept away4 ,and it is hoped that feeling the new power education will give them1 the dentellires will at last find ways either through unions or by other means1 of protecting themselves4 ,for the rest1 fixt data are difficult to obtain4 ,the lace industry can not be captured and subjected to cold analysis and tabulation4 ,it must be studied differently from other industries that can be localized4 ,as in learning to know the garden flowers of a country1 one must go from doorstep to doorstep1 so if one wishes to understand lace1 one should become familiar with its milieu1 the family and community life from which it springs4 ,in a sense1 then1 these little journeys to lace districts which are the subjects of my chapters1 may suggest more about what lace really is than a more technical and formidable volume4 ,i ,,turnhout ,lace ,children of the ,north ,lace is the flower of ,belgium2 the white blossom that springs from the teeming plains of the ,flanders1 from the agricultural districts1 and from the mournful ,campine of the ,north4 ,during the long and solitary winters1 when work in the fields is impossible1 thousands of women and girls and little children turn to their lace cushions1 and dreary rooms are enlivened by the music of the flying bobbins4 ,if the lace is ,needle ,point1 and lacks the accompanying click-clack of the shifting fuseaux1 it nevertheless gives purpose and value to the otherwise almost unsupportable winter days4 ,however1 despite the time that must be subtracted for weeding1 for gathering the all-important potato crop1 and for other farm duties1 summer with its bright light and long day1 is the true lace season2 it is only then that some of the finest varieties can be executed4 ,coarser pieces must be substituted for the dull1 eye-straining days4 ,to be sure1 some lace-making is still carried on in certain cities1 but very little4 ,this delicate mtier can not successfully combat the influences of the social and industrial groupings of the larger centers2 the living wage1 the shorter hours1 the distractions of cinma and caf4 ,the cities remain the logical centers for the normal and training-schools1 for assembling1 and display1 and sale2 but the age-old patience of the lace-maker is born of a certain ignorance and isolation4 ,this does not mean that the industry may not persist still on the fringes of some of the larger cities1 or flourish in nearby villages--it does2 and in three conspicuous instances1 until the war1 it remained the dominating activity of a city4 ,bruges1 ,ypres1 and ,turnhout1 could truly be called 8lace cities40 ,now there are but two2 for ,ypres1 the pearl of ,flanders1 is gone4 ,turnhout1 a town of #bd1jjj inhabitants1 in the ,northern ,campine district1 is not only a 8lace city10 counting #f1jjj workers1 but if one considers its long list of excellent lace-schools1 the fine varieties made there1 and the quality of the workmanship1 it appears sufficiently important to challenge the leadership of ,bruges4 ,however1 ,turnhout stands practically alone in the north1 while ,bruges is the center of western ,flanders1 one of the largest lace contributing areas in ,belgium1 and promises1 therefore1 to hold for a long time her title of first lace-city4 ,it is strange to think of ,turnhout as a remote town1 since it is scarcely two hours by motor from ,antwerp2 but the first glimpse of the intervening sand wastes of the ,campine region awakens at once a sensation of loneliness1 of isolation4 ,i made the journey in late ,november1 reaching ,turnhout about noon of a low gray day1 just as hundreds of golden-haired children--no mists could dull the bright gold of their hair--were clattering along the stone sidewalks in their wooden shoes1 on their way home from school4 ,as always1 ,i marveled at the way they could leap and run without losing their sabots4 ,they were 8lace children10 nearly all of them part of the little army of #a1hjj in the lace-schools1 and because of the intelligent work of the soup-kitchens and dining-rooms for debilitated children during the four years of war1 were probably1 many of them1 in better physical condition than they had been at its beginning4 ,the women of the ,brussels ,lace ,committee had succeeded1 too1 in augmenting their food ration from time to time4 ,their chief visible need was for stockings and shoes--and ,i knew from the teachers later that they sadly lacked underclothes4 ,mothers can patch and repatch1 and add in various ways to outer garments2 but after a certain number of washings1 undergarments simply disappear4 ,i went first to the convent of the ,abb ,berraly which1 during the war1 encouraged by the advice and support of the ,lace ,committee1 has developed into the model school of ,belgium4 ,it is situated in a crowded part of the town1 but its own fine brick buildings cluster about a spacious courtyard and vegetable gardens4 ,in summer the children work much out of doors1 tho when they are inside their class-rooms it seems still impossible for the teachers to break with the tradition of the closed window4 ,i began my visit in a little room at the right of the entrance hall1 where six older girls were still at work1 tho the #ejj other pupils had gone for their lunch4 ,dozens of rubbed carbon copies of lace patterns were pinned to the walls along with executed samples of the lace they represented4 ,this was a piqu class-room2 the young women seated at high1 narrow tables1 were carefully at work on pieces of glossy green cardboard on which the lace design had been drawn and which they were pricking with pins1 or covering with tiny holes1 that indicate the position of the pins that must hold the thread as it is twisted or looped or braided1 by the worker4 ,the cardboard piqu is in a sense both the beginning and the end of the lace course2 the beginning1 since no pupil can start his lace without the piqu1 or interpreted pattern1 and the end1 since it is the most difficult of all the processes in the technique of the lace4 ,the piqueuse must understand the design and its practical execution1 must interpret the picture to the worker in terms of pin-pricks marking the progress of her thread4 ,a good piqueuse knows immediately1 on looking at a drawing1 whether it is a true lace design1 or must be adapted1 and also in which kind of lace it can be best exprest4 ,as she shifts a pin-prick less than a hair's width to the left or to the right she varies appreciably the resulting mesh or flower4 ,she has considerable liberty in deciding which particular stitches will be most effective to fill in the jours1 or open-work spaces indicated in the pattern4 ,one of the great evils of the past has been the absence of training-schools1 and the consequent lack of piqueuses2 in each generation there have been but a few good ones1 who have1 in a sense1 held the lace industry in their hands4 ,before the war1 ,ypres had two famous piqueuses1 to whom patterns were sent from an entire region2 and in the town of ,turnhout to-day1 with its thousands of workers1 tho there are several less experienced piqueuses1 there is but one woman to whom the finest and most complicated drawings can be entrusted for interpretation4 ,she is the only person1 for example1 who could make the piqu for the beautiful scarf1 which ,i saw later being executed in the ,point de ,paris room--for that she received #ij francs4 ,it is a common saying that one must be born a piqueuse to succeed2 at least it remains true that in addition to her capacity for an intricate and most meticulous labor1 the piqueuse should possess a high sensitiveness to art values4 ,the little room in the ,abb ,berraly's school is one expression of the ,lace ,committee's conviction that the emancipation of the industry and of the lace-maker will come only through education4 ,illustration3 ,,abb ,,berraly ,,school1 ,,turnhout ,general view ,illustration3 ,,nine-,,year-,,old ,,children ,,making ,,point ,,de ,,paris ,in general the women of the past have sat dumbly before their cushions1 helpless to do anything but continue to execute1 year after year1 the particular cardboard pattern the facteur1 or lace agent1 placed before them4 ,they had little or no conception of the rich art world of which their flowered flounces were a part1 and no feeling at all of their power to influence that world by interpreting a design for themselves1 or by correcting or improving it1 or even perhaps by creating a new one4 ,not that all workers should become designers1 or even piqueuses--progress depends1 as it does in other industries1 on specialization2 but at least trained workers will enjoy the freedom to choose and the feeling of independence that comes from a thorough knowledge of their mtier4 ,in this room then was a class of specialists1 six smiling1 intelligent young women between #af and #ah equipping themselves as experts in interpretation4 ,the designs on which they worked1 many of them revivals of classic ones long forgotten1 or beautiful recent creations of ,belgian artists1 had been sent up to them from the ,committee's central room of design in ,brussels4 ,before the war1 they would have come from the particular lace dealer to whose agent their laces were sold4 ,opening from the little pattern room ,i found the office with its great oak armoire1 where the costly finished laces are stored until the day they are taken to ,brussels1 to be combined into beautiful confections for the salon or bedroom or dining-room1 or for personal adornment4 ,of course1 some are always resold by the meter1 but one of the chief successes of the ,lace ,committee has been the employment of motifs and yard laces in the production of cloths and spreads and innumerable articles of a loveliness hitherto unknown4 ,from the office and the little room where the pricked cardboard patterns are prepared for the cushions1 ,i went further along the hall1 and turned to the left1 where at the foot of a staircase were new wooden benches awaiting the sabots of the returning children4 ,these benches were new because the ,germans1 who1 here as elsewhere1 had driven the children from their school1 had burned their benches1 and not only the benches1 but all visible wood--they had torn casements from the windows and doorways1 as well as removing every knob and fixture4 ,this was disgusting1 but more or less understandable4 ,their country demanded more cannon1 therefore they took brass and copper2 they were cold1 so they ripped off the nearest available piece of wood4 ,but wood and metal failed to satisfy them2 upstairs at one end of the largest room there is a pretty stage arranged for school festivals1 with a painted forest background1 and side wing-drops picturing meadow-lands4 ,these fathers and brothers of ,german children slashed and ripped the painted canvas forest and ran their bayonets through the foreground meadows1 with no spur beyond that of the pleasure in the act2 for no inch of the canvas had been taken away--,i could have replaced the whole from the rags4 ,it was still only a little past one o'clock1 and the children had not yet returned4 ,i went into the beginners' room1 where large windows let in all the light there was on this gray day1 and saw the long1 even rows of low rush-seated1 high-backed chairs1 with the school-room sabots 7where the children were fortunate enough to possess this second pair7 hanging from the backs4 ,before each chair was a round or square work-cushion and over each cushion a white cloth carefully spread to protect the precious thread-bearing bobbins beneath4 ,the whole empty1 silent place seemed prepared for a ceremonial or religious rite2 and every snowy cushion a tiny altar awaiting its ministrant4 ,at last they were coming back1 the younger children clattering in ahead of the older girls1 to deposit their muddy street sabots on the benches4 ,such a rush of yellow-haired babies for their chairs--several of them were no more than seven years old2 many were between nine and ten4 ,little feet slipt into the clean sabots1 white cloths were carefully lifted and folded1 sisters and teachers began their rounds of inspection and instruction1 as tiny hands took their positions over the heaps of bobbins--one at the left1 one at the right--and the cadence of the clicking wood began4 ,it was impossible for me to follow these incredible little fingers as they twisted and braided from pin to pin4 ,i had seen scales so rapidly played that the successive motions were only a blur1 but these shiftings back and forth of the bobbins were even more bewildering4 ,more strangely moving than the picture of any great orchestra where gifted fingers wrung melody from a myriad of strings1 was this of the play of hundreds of baby hands over threads and bobbins1 as the flowers blossomed beneath them4 ,it is said that to become a good lace-maker one must begin1 as he would if he expected to become a distinguished pianist1 at latest at the age of seven or eight4 ,the greater number of these little girls were making ,point de ,paris edgings4 ,they had their pricked patterns pinned near the top of the square linen-covered cushions and were working the threads vertically toward them4 ,since the pins which hold the threads in place must be constantly moved along as the work proceeds1 it is very important that the cushion should be stuffed with something that the pins can easily penetrate4 ,these particular cushions were stuffed with wool1 some contain straw1 and the linen covering was blue1 tho it is often the natural color4 ,besides guiding the tiny brass pins 7which vary with the delicacy of the lace7 that hold the thread1 each child must know how to manipulate the long brass pins which separate the various groups of bobbins not in actual use4 ,she learns1 too1 to roll each finished section of her lace in blue paper and tuck it carefully away in the little drawer below the upper part of the cushion2 the true lace-maker prides herself on the snowy whiteness of her lace1 which she protects in every conceivable way4 ,while ,i was moving from one to another1 a sister had gathered a group of seven to ten year olds nearer the stove--a company of ,fra ,angelico angels they looked1 as ,i bent over them to watch their little hands4 ,they placed brass pins in the holes pricked in the pattern to hold the rather coarse thread1 twisted first two threads to the right1 then two to the left1 then braided them to form the familiar hexagon of the ,point de ,paris mesh4 ,when they reached the pattern1 a most simple conventional one1 other bobbins had to be brought into play4 ,they held the threads always from the top of the cushion vertically toward them1 with the seam edge of the lace to the left and the border to the right4 ,even these babies had from #ej to #bjj bobbins to keep in mind1 rather long beech-wood bobbins1 these for ,point de ,paris1 with the thread tightly wound at the top1 and a considerable pear-shaped bulge at the end4 ,each lace is supposed to require a particular bobbin1 especially suited to the weight of thread employed1 but workers often use them indifferently4 ,some fortunate ones pride themselves on their fine ebony or ivory sets4 ,of course1 bobbins must be constantly resupplied with thread1 and in a corner of the room ,i saw a white-haired grandmother with her dvidoir1 or spindle1 busily winding thread on the bobbins for the children4 ,she made a beautiful picture there at her wheel with a dozen little girls with their cushions crowding near her4 ,i asked if the beginners were able to earn something and found they were making about #aj and #ae cents a day4 ,illustration3 ,,point ,,de ,,paris ,,class ,on dark days lamps are lighted behind bottles filled with water1 the rays passing through fall in spotlights on the cushions ,illustration3 ,,winding ,,bobbins ,,for ,,the ,,children ,in this model school1 for all children under sixteen years of age the lace work alternates with regular lessons1 as it should of course1 in every school4 ,those above that age may give their entire day to the lace4 ,the hours for girls between nine and thirteen are3 from #h to #aa o'clock1 lessons2 from #a3cj to #d o'clock1 lessons again2 and from #d to #f3cj o'clock1 lace4 ,this is still a sadly long day for growing children1 but it nevertheless registers a most cheering improvement over the former cruelty of a far longer day4 ,it has been the ,committee's hope that such a system as this might be instituted throughout ,belgium1 and that from it they might advance to still better conditions4 ,children from thirteen to sixteen come at #g3cj o'clock1 make lace till #aa3cj1 and again from #a3cj to #d3de o'clock4 ,from #e until #f3cj o'clock they have regular school lessons--one wonders how much education can be crowded into one and a half hours at the end of a day that began at #g3cj o'clock6 ,the girls over sixteen years of age make lace from #g3cj until #f3cj o'clock4 ,one thing to remember always1 in looking at these distressing figures1 is the frequent number of holidays in ,belgium2 the children are saved by their numerous fte days4 ,it was not easy to leave the tragic and marvelous primary room2 the fairy-like fingers and the golden heads above the cushions4 ,but ,i had to go on to room number one on the ground floor where there was another ,point de ,paris class1 for girls about twelve years old4 ,in the ,abb ,berraly school the girls must pass through at least three classes in ,point de ,paris before they proceed to ,point de ,lille1 to go on from there to the 8spider-web10 or delicate and most difficult ,malines4 ,the first striking difference between this room and the primary1 was in the number of bobbins piled on the cushions--there were hundreds now instead of dozens4 ,the cushions were larger1 too1 and most of them were round1 for many of the pupils were working on collars and doily and handkerchief edgings4 ,the designs were already complicated1 one of them represented1 for instance1 the animal symbols of the allied nations4 ,this class promotes to the advanced class in ,point de ,paris1 where ,i found several cushions with over #ejj bobbins heaped upon them1 and girls of fourteen and fifteen years shifting that number with a swiftness not to be followed4 ,since the heavy rain was making seeing difficult1 the teachers moved a number of iron stands 7resembling umbrella stands7 to various points in the room1 placing on top of each stand1 in the middle1 a small kerosene lamp1 and1 near the edge1 a large globular carafe1 filled with water4 ,the light from the lamp passes through the bottle to fall with concentrated and magnifying effect directly on that spot on the cushion where the work is in progress4 ,the rack may be turned1 the bottle raised or lowered1 and usually four girls profit by the light from one lamp4 ,it is a picturesque and primitive system1 which many still prefer to the more modern and expensive electricity1 because it is an advantage to have the working spot on the cushion thrown into high relief1 while at the same time the bottle light is softer and less tiring to the eyes than electricity4 ,these iron stands and lamps were very practical and satisfactory1 but ,i have often seen1 in poor little rooms1 the bottle set on the table on a rough wooden block1 with a rude oil dip in a cup propped up on bits of stick or stone behind it to lift it to just the proper height2 as the work progresses1 the position of course must be altered4 ,while the girls were pulling their chairs closer to the bottles ,i talked with the teachers about the place of ,point de ,paris in the lace world4 ,there is no fine lace1 they told me1 which is so much in demand to-day as ,point de ,paris1 for no lace so successfully combines durability and beauty4 ,it is more used for dainty lingerie than any other variety4 ,paris buyers seem never to be able to secure sufficient ,point de ,paris1 which tho it was christened by that city and was largely produced there during the #agth century1 must now be supplied by ,belgium4 ,its strength depends on its solid hexagonal mesh1 always the test of lace1 which is made with eight cotton threads1 usually of fairly coarse quality4 ,from this substantial mesh may blossom a pattern of extreme grace and beauty1 the closely woven flat parts or toile1 being relieved by open-work spaces1 or jours1 and the whole design outlined and thus thrown into a kind of relief by a heavier thread4 ,the roses of the ,queen design1 drawn for the ,brussels ,committee by ,mlle4 ,brouhon 7who has since died71 is one of the loveliest of the recent ones4 ,i saw1 the other day1 a box scented with lavender and filled with rolls upon rolls of this rose pattern lace1 ready for the day when a chteau can be restored1 and fine linen sheets and pillow slips with their ,point de ,paris edgings can once again be spread on the beds4 ,point de ,lille could never be successfully used for either lingerie or table or bed linen for it is not sufficiently durable4 ,in room #c1 girls from fourteen to sixteen years were beginning to execute this more difficult lace4 ,its clear1 transparent mesh originated in the city from which it is named1 where in #aghh there were as many as #af1jjj women employed on it4 ,its fragility results from the fact that but four threads 7instead of the customary eight of ,point de ,paris and ,malines1 and of the mother of them all1 ,valenciennes7 are used in twisting and braiding the meshes4 ,on its light1 clear mesh1 the designs are now often very elegant and free1 tho the traditional ,point de ,lille edging has a straight border and rather rigid pattern4 ,they are always outlined by a heavier thread1 as are the flowers of the ,point de ,paris and ,malines1 but unlike these other laces1 the ,point de ,lille is characterized by little pois1 or peas or dots1 scattered through the mesh4 ,it is sometimes confused with ,malines because of the transparency of its mesh1 which1 however1 is not so delicate as that of ,malines1 nor so difficult to make1 nor1 because of its fewer threads1 so solid4 ,one of the most popular and more solid varieties of ,point de ,lille is better known as ,point d',hollande1 because it is chiefly sold to the well-to-do ,dutch peasants for their handsome bonnets4 ,it is wide and often of sumptuous design1 a sole branch or flower frequently furnishing the entire wing of a bonnet4 ,illustration3 ,,point ,,de ,,lille1 ,,or ,,point ,d',,hollande2 ,,mesh ,,showing 8,,esprits0 ,,or ,,dots ,,characteristic ,,of ,,this ,,bobbin ,,lace ,illustration3 ,,end ,,of ,a ,,point ,,de ,,paris ,,scarf ,,about #b ,,yards ,,long ,,on ,,which ,,colette ,,worked ,,one ,,year ,in the class-room1 ,i went directly to a dark-haired ,josephine1 whose cushion seemed to hold the largest mounds of bobbins--8,yes1 there are over a thousand10 she admitted shyly and smilingly4 ,the directress came to help her open the little drawer beneath her round cushion1 and to shake from the blue paper a most lovely wide scarf with a charming flower design4 8,i began it last ,january10 she added1 8and ,i hope to finish it this ,january of #aiai40 ,one year with a thousand bobbins1 and at best #ej cents a day for her work--which was so much more than she could have made before the war that she had no thought of complaining6 ,i wondered if the woman who would throw this filmy flower-sown veil over her shoulders would care to know about the dark-eyed ,josephine and her year with the #a1jjj bobbins4 ,illustration3 ,,in ,,the ,,abb ,,berraly ,,school1 ,,colette1 #af ,,years ,,old1 ,,works ,,with #a1jjj ,,bobbins ,but there is much more beautiful lace than either ,point de ,paris or ,point de ,lille taught in the ,turnhout school4 ,the girls pass from the ,lille room to ,malines1 known in the city of its birth as the 8spider-web of ,malines40 ,nothing could be more airy and exquisite than its delicate hexagonal mesh1 much more difficult to make than either of the preceding varieties because it must be worked without the aid of pins1 with only the eye to guide in securing the requisite uniformity and exactness4 ,no lace demands greater skill or greater patience2 since in addition to the difficulty of working without supporting pins1 is the difficulty of handling the extremely fine thread employed4 ,the patterns are usually of delicate flowers and leaves1 with open-work stitches introduced to add ever greater lightness to the whole4 ,the dentellires in the ,malines room work chiefly on insertions and flounces to be used for handkerchiefs or fichus or dainty blouses1 or perhaps for wedding gowns4 ,the ,committee has given them1 too1 many orders for inserts for table centers or doilies1 so exquisite that one feels they should be used only under glass4 ,scarcely an important family in ,belgium but treasures a bit of old ,malines4 ,among my rarest pleasures were those ,i enjoyed1 when the conversation turning upon lace1 a friend has said3 8,but would you care to see my mother's ,malines1 or my great1 great-grandmother's80--and she has brought from a brocade box a filmy1 ivory-colored collar or flounce1 or a scarf or bonnet1 all of a breath-taking loveliness and delicacy never to be reproduced4 ,i remember1 too1 a ,christmas mass and the marvelous flounce that fell from beneath the white and gold chasuble worn by ,cardinal ,mercier over the scarlet of his robe4 ,it is only in ,turnhout that any considerable quantity of ,malines is yet made1 and despite all the efforts of the ,committee and of other lovers of beautiful lace1 there is little hope that it will live much longer4 ,when the old artists1 for so they should be named1 die1 few young women are found willing still to sacrifice their years to the spider-web4 ,the women of the ,lace ,committee believe there is no future work more important than that of improving the #bjj and more lace schools of their country4 ,in the lace normal school at ,bruges1 in the national school of design at ,brussels1 the excellent ,needle ,point school at ,zele1 and in such schools as this one at ,turnhout1 they see the hope of the lace art2 they urge that the ,government increase its subsidies to these and other deserving institutions4 ,education and ever better education of the lace-woman is their watchword4 ,,ii ,,courtrai ,early ,home of ,valenciennes ,for years ,i had heard of the blue flax fields of the valley of the ,lys1 and of the season between ,april and ,september1 when along miles of its course1 the river is filled with boxes floating the finest linen fiber of the world1 the flax of ,belgium1 ,north ,france and ,holland1 which can be better prepared in its waters than anywhere else4 ,unfortunately ,i could see it only under a ,january rain1 but ,monsieur de ,stoop1 a prominent weaver of ,courtrai1 the town of #cf1jjj inhabitants which is the valley center1 made the ,flanders fields bloom again as he described to me the successive steps which lead from them to the woven linen his factory produces--,i should say1 produced1 for the ,germans left his plant1 along with seven others1 an utter ruin4 ,he was unable to explain and apparently no analysis has yet determined1 just why the waters of the ,lys river surpass all others in their power to rot the encasing straw and generally to cleanse the flax2 but one thing is clear1 they have established ,courtrai as a world market for fine raw linen4 ,sometimes the stalks need be floated only two or three days1 sometimes it requires very much longer to macerate them1 the period depending chiefly on the weather1 and particularly on the temperature4 ,illustration3 ,,belgian ,,lace ,,meshes 7,plate ,i7 ,after ,pierre ,verhagen in 8,la ,dentelle ,belge0 ,all meshes made with bobbins3 #a and #d1 ,valenciennes1 round mesh2 #b1 ,valenciennes1 square mesh2 #c1 ,valenciennes1 mesh almost round2 #e1 ,chantilly2 #f1 ,old ,flanders2 #g1 ,point de ,paris ,illustration3 ,,belgian ,,lace ,,meshes 7,plate ,,ii7 ,after ,pierre ,verhagen in 8,la ,dentelle ,belge0 ,meshes1 #h to #ab1 made with bobbins3 #h1 ,binche2 #i1 ,malines2 #aj1 ,point de ,lille1 made for ,france2 #aa1 ,point de ,lille1 destined for ,holland2 #ab1 ,gauze ,point1 made with needle1 used in ,point d',angleterre2 #ac1 ,brussels machine-made net2 #ad1 ,ordinary machine-made net4 ,after its soaking and cleansing1 the linen fiber starts again on its journey1 this time to the various countries where it is to be made into thread and woven into tissues4 ,much goes to ,england and to ,ireland1 to such firms as ,beth and ,cox4 ,from there it returns to ,belgium in the form of linen thread for fine laces1 quite a different variety1 of course1 from that employed in sewing4 ,lace thread1 both cotton and linen1 may be used for sewing1 but never sewing-thread for good lace4 ,an outsider can scarcely estimate the importance of the quality of the thread to the lace-maker4 ,of two skeins bearing the same number1 one may be supple and easily led1 while the other is brittle and wayward4 ,we hear many stories of how women used to spend their lives in damp cellars1 in order to keep their thread moist and soft4 ,i have been told several times1 for instance1 that a certain piece of lace had been made below ground1 because only there was its marvelous technique possible4 ,whatever the degree of truth or legend in these assertions1 it is known that the rarest laces require certain atmospheric conditions1 and are1 above all1 dependent on a superior fineness and pliability of the thread4 ,the ,english and ,irish spinneries lead the world2 they produce most of its lace thread4 ,one of them2 the ,coates firm of ,paisley1 has established in ,belgium branches in which ,belgian capital is interested1--at ,gent are the filteries1 which prepare thread for weaving1 and at ,alost and ,ninove are the filatures or spinneries which turn out the finished sewing and embroidery thread4 ,the cottons and linens of these mills are too coarse for the delicate laces2 however1 during a single war year1 the ,brussels ,committee was happy to be able to buy from ,alost as much as #fjj1jjj francs worth of thread4 ,by some miracle1 the ,ghent filteries escaped the practically universal ruin visited on mills and factories1 and should be operating before peace is signed1 but for the spinneries of ,alost and ,ninove1 the future is still dark4 ,during two years the enemy1 feeling they might one day run the mills where they stood1 left them intact1 tho they requisitioned their stocks of thread4 ,then as they saw they might not perhaps be able to continue their beneficent occupation of ,belgium1 even if they won the war1 they began to remove the mill machinery to ,germany4 ,they were especially ruthless when the mills were known to be of ,english or ,french ownership4 ,they stole the secrets of the factories and finally they deported the workmen4 ,these men are scattered everywhere4 ,even if the machines of the factories were not completely destroyed it would be impossible under a considerable time to reassemble the skilled workmen essential to the spinning industry4 ,the ,germans will undoubtedly try to capture the trade1 and to market their goods1 if they must1 through such neutral countries as ,denmark and ,switzerland4 ,when ,i arrived at ,courtrai1 ,monsieur and his family were just moving back into the house from which they had been ejected4 ,they apologized for the room they so hospitably offered me1 in which the original bed had been replaced by an iron one they recognized as having belonged to an ,english family of ,courtrai4 ,the brass trimmings were gone1 and the mattress had of course been removed1 but ,madame had been able to find one stuffed with sea-moss for me4 ,the curtains were slashed1 blocks of wood nailed to the once handsome walls1 there were no lights1 no metal knobs or fixtures of any kind1 no service wires left4 ,below1 the cellar had been almost filled with concrete to provide the conqueror a safe refuge during danger periods4 ,it requires a special kind of courage to take up life again in a place like this1 but these good people said3 8,we can not complain1 we are so much better off than others1 and at least we have saved our health2 with that we can be sure of being able to build again what they have destroyed40 ,from there ,i went to ,baron de ,bethune1 a connoisseur of laces1 who had before the war opened a lace museum in ,courtrai1 chiefly for ,valenciennes4 ,i found him ill in a little house in the town2 he had long before been driven from his chteau in the suburbs4 ,his sister1 who had with great difficulty made her way from ,louvain1 received me with apologies in the midst of a heterogeny of boxes and packages1 the few personal possessions they had gathered together in the hope of some day having a home again4 ,i was not to see the old ,valenciennes and other specimens of the famous lace days of ,courtrai2 fortunately for his museum1 ,monsieur had succeeded in getting them to ,brussels where they were still1 to my personal regret1 hidden away4 ,however1 ,i was not surprized1 for ,i had been unable before starting for ,flanders to see the celebrated collection of the ,cinquantenaire ,museum at ,brussels1 for that1 too1 had been successfully secreted4 ,museums are slow in rehanging their treasures4 ,even tho the presence of the three neutral ,ministers1 the ,spanish1 ,american and ,dutch1 in the capital1 was supposed to be a guaranty of protection to the national collections1 and undoubtedly it was only their presence that prevented in ,belgium what happened to the ,museums of ,northern ,france1 the ,belgians with unwearying ingenuity concealed what they could4 ,whenever ,i hear of hidden laces1 ,i am reminded of a morning at ,malines and a sad little basket containing a fine collection of old ,malines lace1 ,i saw exhumed4 ,it had been buried deep in a box1 along with the family silver1 and as the daughter of the mother who had worn it took its once lovely flowers and webs1 now gray and earth-stained1 between her fingers1 they powdered to dust4 ,monsieur suggested that ,i see ,mlle4 ,mullie1 a leading dealer of ,courtrai1 who still handles a large output of ,valenciennes2 tho ,courtrai1 which was once a brilliant production center1 is no longer of great importance4 ,after the ,french ,revolution1 which killed ,valenciennes-making in its original home1 it migrated to other parts of ,northern ,france1 and to the two ,flanders2 to ,ypres1 where it enjoyed an especially happy development1 to ,bruges1 ,ghent1 ,dixmude1 ,furnes1 ,menin1 ,nieuport1 ,poperinghe and elsewhere4 ,for a long time ,ghent led all these1 with over #e1jjj workers listed in #agef4 ,but starvation wages and successful imitations have told against this1 as against other laces4 ,nevertheless1 in the census of #ahif1 ,bruges was still credited with #b1jjj ,valenciennes workers1 and ,poperinghe with #ejj1 while there were scattered groups of considerable importance in a great number of the villages of ,western1 and some of ,eastern ,flanders4 ,courtrai and the nearby villages where the lace is actually made1 still stand1 tho many buildings have been destroyed1 but while her people were not forced to become refugees1 lace-making was seriously interrupted2 workers were evicted from their homes and their schools4 ,and they suffered further because there was scarcely any thread left1 the dealers often asking as much as #bj cents for of a yard of lace thread1 about the previous value of the same length in finished lace4 ,under these conditions it was especially easy to see the importance of the efforts of the ,brussels ,lace ,committee1 which furnished thread at the normal price1 and gave more for the lace than was ever offered before the war4 ,illustration3 ,,bobbin ,,laces ,first column3 ,malines1 ,malines1 ,point de ,paris1 ,point de ,paris1 ,valenciennes 7square mesh7 ,middle column3 ,point de ,paris ,third column3 ,first three1 ,valenciennes2 fourth1 ,point de ,paris ,illustration3 ,,cushion ,,cover ,,representing ,,belgium',s ,,gratitude ,,to ,,america ,,for ,,bread ,point de ,paris lace combined with linen4 ,the lower right-hand centerpiece shows the rose design1 emblem of ,queen ,elizabeth ,unfortunately the ,german facteurs 7agents for lace dealers7 worked cleverly here1 too1 as in other districts4 ,they had always plenty of requisitioned thread to offer1 and succeeded in buying considerable lace1 for which they offered high and varying prices4 ,the younger women of the ,courtrai region have been rapidly giving up ,valenciennes to make ,cluny1 which pays better4 ,a ,valenciennes beginner1 for example1 must work a year as an apprentice1 during which time she is able to earn scarcely more than five cents a day4 ,the wages of the good workers have advanced1 but unless they can be increased even more1 there are few who will continue to make this difficult lace4 ,after #fj years' experience in lace1 and latterly she has employed #a1jjj women1 ,mlle4 ,mullie says that one is fortunate1 among #e1jjj workers1 to find five who can execute a sample from a drawing not already interpreted or pricked for the worker4 ,before the war there were two good piqueuses in ,ypres to whom ,courtrai sent her difficult patterns1 but only one of these still lives4 ,in peace-time the greater part of this ,courtrai lace goes to ,paris 7some is sent to ,new ,york71 which is all one needs to say in tribute to its pattern and its quality4 ,paris knows lace better than any other city in the world2 she accepts only the best4 ,we were talking of the #fj per cent4 duty the ,united ,states ,government levies on imported laces1 and the harm it works to the ,belgian industry4 8,that is our greatest discouragement1 but there are other ,government stupidities10 ,mlle4 ,mullie smiled4 8,france1 for instance1 charges #aj francs on a kilo of ,valenciennes1 and the same amount on an equal weight of ,cluny2 the ,valenciennes may be worth several thousand1 and the ,cluny three or four francs60 ,the true old ,valenciennes mesh1 called 8,rond10 is still made at ,courtrai1 as well as at ,bruges2 the modern ,valenciennes commonly has a square mesh1 which is preferred by many connoisseurs1 since it is more transparent and sets the flowers off more strikingly4 8,whether or not you prefer it to the square1 you must see the traditional round ,valenciennes mesh10 ,mlle4 ,mullie said1 and we started off in the rain for a group of tiny brick houses1 the ,gottshuisen 7,god's houses7 which the city furnishes free to certain old people4 ,before we reached the first1 ,i saw two white heads near a window1 bending over cushions2 and once inside1 on those cushions1 lengths of snowy ,valenciennes of the old round mesh1 of an admirable regularity and loveliness4 ,these two women were both over #gj years old1 and they sat before their bobbins1 twisting and braiding the eight threads of the mesh as they had twisted and braided them for over a half century1 and still cheerfully hoping that they might some day win more than #ae or #bj cents a day for their work4 8,now we must have more10 they said gently1 8because thread and oil are so much more expensive than they were before the war40 ,in the next house1 the old woman whose sister was ill could afford no light at all2 when dusk fell she had to leave her bobbin mounds and her mesh and flowers and go to bed--what else could she do without coal or oil8 ,it was the last day of #aiah1 and ,i decided that ,mrs4 ,bayard ,henry of ,philadelphia1 who had sent me a little money to use as ,i chose1 would be happy to give to these sweet1 faithful women and their thirteen neighbors1 candles and oil as hope symbols for the ,new ,year4 ,i left her gift with ,mlle4 ,mullie4 ,it was already very late1 and ,i had not time to go to ,wevelghem and ,gulleghem1 two of the most important lace-villages contributing to ,courtrai4 ,mlle4 ,mullie was facing the future with courage4 8,i am sure10 she said1 8that ,peat1 from whom ,i have bought thread for forty years1 will not forget me1 and that ,i may be able to count on a shipment from ,england at a just price as soon as anything can come through4 ,that ,i have been cut off during four years will make no difference4 ,i shall write1 too1 to a friend in ,france1 and from ,puy ,i may have a few skeins4 ,the question of pins and bobbins is serious--they seem to have disappeared1 and one can not start a worker on less than a dozen bobbins4 ,those ,i have thus far succeeded in finding cost #ie centimes the dozen1 as against the #bh centimes of pre-war times4 ,there seem literally to be no pins4 ,however1 despite everything1 ,i1 at least1 hope to see my thousand women at some not too distant time again busy over their cushions4 ,a few have already sought me out to let me know they are ready1 waiting only for the precious thread4 ,i regret infinitely the passing of the fine #8,val1' but we shall continue to produce as much as we can1 and at any rate we shall try unceasingly to raise the standard of the ,clunys and ,torchons40 ,,iii ,,thourout-,,thielt-,,wynghene ,in the ,important ,bobbin ,lace ,area ,on a spring-like ,saturday in early ,january1 ,i left ,bruges by the ,thourout road for ,thielt4 ,as ,i turned beyond the ,porte1 ,i found myself speeding toward the great arms of one of those ,dutch windmills that so frequently1 in the lowlands1 close the long vista4 ,the farther ,i rode into the ,thourout region1 the more it seemed the loveliest bit of ,western ,flanders ,i had yet seen4 ,the gentle outlines of the low red brick farmhouses followed with satisfying harmony the landscape contours4 ,farm succeeded farm in swift succession1 small farms1 where every square foot of soil was green with sprouting grain or vegetables1 and in the morning sunlight the thickly sown cottages shone like jewels on the plain4 ,pink and white geraniums blossomed behind many of the quaint windows1 and ,i knew that near them grandmothers1 or mothers1 or daughters 7or possibly all three together7 were sitting before their cushions1 and from pin to pin were twisting and braiding ,cluny and ,duchesse1 the characteristic laces of this section4 ,this was an excellent day for lace-making with its sunshine of summer4 ,to the south and east of the badly shelled town of ,thourout1 ,i visited the districts of ,iseghem1 ,thielt and ,wynghene1 all celebrated for their guipures4 ,guipure1 a rather vague commercial term covering two widely different groups of lace1 may be loosely defined as bobbin lace without a mesh base4 ,one group of guipures includes the ,clunys 7named after the ,cluny museum in ,paris because they employ many old ,gothic designs7 which are made in one length or piece4 ,they closely resemble the more common ,torchons1 surpassing them1 however1 in fineness and firmness of execution1 and in brilliancy of design--the distinguishing connecting bars of ,cluny often throw the figures into conspicuous relief4 ,while this one-piece lace is usually made of the coarser threads1 fine linen or cotton1 or even silk thread1 is also employed4 ,in the second group of guipures are those made in separate small bits1 or details1 which are afterward joined to make the flounce or piece1 the most common of these varieties being ,flanders and ,duchesse4 ,in the schools of ,thielt and ,wynghene all the kinds are taught4 ,because they are made of coarser thread and therefore more quickly than such laces as ,valenciennes or ,needle ,point1 are less taxing to the eyes1 and pay better1 these guipures have gained ground in almost every lace center in ,belgium1 and often threaten the very existence of the finer laces4 ,if it had not been for the leadership of the 8,amies de la ,dentelle10 of a few of the more intelligent and disinterested dealers1 and above all of certain convents to whom ,belgium owes the preservation of many of her finest designs and varieties1 it is a question if any but the few remaining old women1 who for forty or fifty years have preferred to follow one pattern1 would still produce the old meshes and points4 ,much hope now centers in the corrective influence of the recently founded ,normal ,school at ,bruges and of the other schools of ,belgium1 but1 despite all the efforts of these combined groups1 delicate laces like the ,malines have been fast disappearing4 ,the little farmhouse1 if one can call two rooms a house1 ,i visited on the edge of ,thielt demonstrated clearly what is happening4 ,it was ,saturday afternoon and the mother of the large family of boys at play on the neat brick path outside1 was scrubbing the tiled floor1 moving the small baskets of potatoes and heaps of tobacco leaves and sabots and the winter sled from place to place as she proceeded4 ,the socks to be darned1 each already a fantastic patchwork1 were piled on the window-sill1 where there was room beside for a geranium and a fern4 ,the stove and the table were also crowded into this1 the general living-room1 which despite all attempts to arrange things1 boasted scarcely one unincumbered foot of floor space4 ,however1 over near the window with its two plants1 were the customary chair and the cushion1 and the girl of sixteen1 absorbed in her lace1 quite oblivious of the water her mother was splashing about her feet4 ,the adjoining room was similarly crowded2 it had to serve as bedroom for this large family4 ,there was the mantel-piece with the familiar row of bright plates and vases1--the place where the family's art sense finds concentrated expression4 ,fortunately1 this room1 too1 had a window with other plants1 and before it sat the grandmother in her black cap and shawl1 who1 as ,i entered1 was just slipping her battered eye-glasses into the little side drawer beneath her cushion4 ,she smiled a friendly greeting1 and uncovered her lace1 a filmy flounce of ,valenciennes about four inches wide1 firm and regular1 and of a good old design4 ,she had been making ,valenciennes all her life2 she would make it to the end4 ,she was delighted to show me how she twisted four threads to form one side of the hexagon of the mesh1 and four to form the opposite1 and the union points where the eight met4 ,then she held up a length of her lace and told us that a facteur 7neighborhood buyer for a large business house7 had been there just before we arrived1 to try to buy her flounce at nine francs the aune1 which would be roughly1 about #b4ej a meter4 ,the committee has been giving her #ai fr4 #ej c4 7#c4ij7 for the same amount1 and she asked anxiously1 tho still smilingly1 if she might not continue to hope for the committee price1 even tho the war had stopt4 ,it is pathetic1 day after day1 to hear that question repeated1 and not yet to be certain of the answer4 ,however1 one can always reply truthfully1 that the women of the 8,friends of the ,lace0 will work unceasingly not only to hold wages where they are1 but to advance them4 ,i turned from this delicate lace to the granddaughter's cushion--she was making guipure de ,cluny1 of coarse linen thread4 ,marie's pattern happened to be a good one and she was working swiftly and evenly1 sure of a fair day's wage4 ,here1 then1 was a suggestive contrast1 and however one may regret it1 it exists in the large majority of lace-making households in ,belgium1 and is only to be expected4 ,it is but the deserved penalty of a past and present economic blindness or callousness4 ,where they are not making ,cluny1 the younger women of this district give their time to ordinary varieties of guipure which they call ,bruges and ,milan1 or ,point de ,bruges1 and ,point de ,milan4 ,illustration3 ,,bobbin ,,laces 7#a7 ,torchon 7#b7 ,cluny 7#c7 ,old ,flemish 7#d7 ,binche ,illustration3 ,,table ,,cloth ,,showing ,,arms ,,of ,,the ,,allies ,cut linen with squares of ,venise surrounded by filet and cluny4 ,venise made with the needle1 cluny with bobbins ,while ,i had been watching the ,valenciennes and ,cluny1 the mother of the household1 who had the mop of fuzzy dark red hair often seen in this region1 had hurried her scrubbing to an end1 and wiping her hands on her blue apron1 was ready to uncover her own cushion4 ,i looked at the chapped1 rough skin and the hands used to pulling weeds and digging potatoes and scrubbing1 and realized that they could not possibly hold a piece of fine sewing--the thread would catch with every stitch--and yet that she could turn from her scrubbing-brush to the little wooden bobbins 7her fingers need not touch the thread7 and proceed without difficulty on a snowy bit of ,valenciennes--for happily she was following her mother in ,valenciennes4 ,there are three schools in ,thielt1 of which the convent schools de la ,charit and de l',esprance are the more important4 ,i went first to the ,convent de la ,charit1 with ,mlle4 van der ,graeht1 who has throughout the war been devoted to the workers and the lace4 ,tho ,thielt lay in the danger zone1 she refused to choose a safer city1 remaining to share the work of her father1 who added to his arduous duties as administrator of the arrondisement1 those of the representative of the ,brussels ,lace ,committee4 ,two weeks before the end1 however1 the ,germans drove these patriots from their house 7three bombs from ,allied aeroplanes had already fallen on it7 and they were denied the experience they had been waiting for throughout all the years1 that of seeing the ,allied soldiers march into ,thielt4 ,one of the ,germans was frank enough to tell them that they were being forced away chiefly to prevent their 8assisting0 at that deliverance4 ,immediately after the armistice they returned1 and installed themselves comfortably once more on the first floor of their almost roofless house4 ,when ,i arrived they had not yet come in from their first inspection trip of the communes just behind the lines1 and ,i was welcomed by pretty1 brown-haired ,flavia and her six-year-old ,albert4 ,flavia's husband had been killed at the front during the first months of the war1 and she had served in this household throughout all its terrible duration4 ,as ,i looked from the windows of the drawing-room1 still intact1 across the rear garden1 to the mass of wreckage that was once the neighboring house1 ,i understood the feeling of the impotence of all effort produced by the casualness of these bombs1 that spare here to strike there1 and why in the war one inevitably becomes a fatalist4 ,and as ,i looked across the garden1 ,flavia told me something of her experience with the thirteen ,germans who took over the house when they drove her master out and of how whenever the shelling was severe they ran to the cellars1 and several times tried to persuade her to go with them but she always refused4 8,i preferred10 she said1 8to die alone with my little boy in the open1 to risking being killed with them in the cellar40 ,on ,sunday1 ,october #ac1 between #aa and #b o'clock1 sixty shells fell on ,thielt1 and all day ,monday and the following days they continued to fall1 until on ,saturday the #aith1 the ,french marched into the town4 ,to add to the horror of this period1 people were dying in large numbers of influenza4 ,flavia told me of the street-sweeper who died at the corner with her broom in her hand4 ,by some miracle she and her little boy escaped both shell and pestilence1 and when ,monsieur and his daughter returned they found her scrubbing and restoring as best she could after the flight of the enemy4 ,this was one of the centers where during the four terror-years a bright beacon burned for all the surrounding territory1 for it was here that the people of the villages and the convents could bring their laces for the committee1 knowing they would be accepted and paid for4 ,in #aiaf1 the ,baron van der ,graeht was encouraging the work in no less than seventeen communes and of as many as #c1ejj lace-workers4 ,flavia smiled as she remembered something--8,what good luck1 there will be a sister coming this very day about #b o'clock1 with her laces40 ,as she said this1 the door opened--father and daughter were back from their pony-cart expedition to the front-lines4 ,monsieur was still visibly moved by what he had seen1 even after his own four years' experience4 8,madame10 he said1 8,i can not describe my emotion on going about in those little shattered villages just behind the lines1 where the women have insisted on remaining1 and where day by day1 and year after year1 they have sat calmly before their cushions making lace1 while the shells burst before and behind them4 ,after such a victory as theirs1 the lace industry of ,belgium must live40 ,mademoiselle gave me the list of the badly destroyed villages1 and then the names of those which had suffered less and that1 with ,thielt1 produced the most lace4 ,among them were ,pittham and ,ardois 7which specializes in old ,bruges72 ,ruysselede 7with an excellent school for ,valenciennes71 ,aerseele1 and ,maria ,loop4 ,thielt1 itself1 had at the beginning of #aiai about #cjj workers1 of whom a hundred were in the school of the convent de l',esprance1 and about #fj in the ,convent de la ,charit4 ,there had been times of great discouragement2 in one particularly dark hour in #aiag many of the workers had turned back to the old facteurs1 or village agents1 for help1 and unfortunately some of these sold to the ,germans1 who were constantly trying to win them by offering large sums for their laces4 ,since he was under no obligation to turn over a fixt wage to the workers1 the facteur might reap any profit he could secure4 ,we abandoned this unpleasant subject to talk of the schools1 the hope of the future1 and after lunch ,i went with ,mlle4 to visit one of these1 the ,convent de la ,charit1 on the edge of the town1 with its #fj girls1 who have supplied the committee with much old ,flanders and ,cluny4 ,even tho this was a ,saturday afternoon in winter1 #de of the #fj chairs were occupied by girls between #ab and #af4 ,one rarely finds a girl over #ah in the schools2 once she has learned her trade1 she prefers to work at home with the mother and grandmother4 ,unfortunately in this1 which is considered a 8good0 school for ,flanders1 ,i found the longest hours ,i had yet met1 that is1 summer hours4 ,in winter1 because of the poor light1 they are shorter4 ,it seems unbelievable1 but the sisters told me that in summer the children come at #e3cj o'clock and work until #h at night--with only three half-hours for recreation--one at #h3cj o'clock1 one at #ab1 and one at #d4 ,a day of #ac hours for growing children1 and girls who are maturing6 ,it is such cruel conditions as these that the ,committee have done their best to ameliorate4 ,in this case1 tho the hours are still criminal1 the wages have been improved4 ,however1 8improved wages0 leave much still to be fought for4 ,i talked with a girl of twelve in the front row1 an apprentice1 and found that she earns between #dj and #ej centimes a day1 or about #aj cents for her #ac hours' labor1 which tho it is almost double what she could have earned before the war1 is nevertheless only #aj cents per day4 ,the ,committee was able to add the war-time subsidy of #bj per cent4 to this4 ,naturally1 the learner can not yet make what is called good lace1 and unfortunately her parents are often only too content to have her bring home #aj cents a day4 ,the older1 more experienced girls1 were earning from one to two francs a day1 or from #bj to #dj cents1 that is1 on a summer's day or full day4 ,monsieur told me later that in his region if the wage of the good worker can be raised to #ej cents per day1 she will be able to live1 and will be content to remain at home before her lace cushion rather than to go to the shoe and cotton factories of ,thielt4 ,the advanced pupils were eager to uncover their treasure4 ,nearly all of them had protected their round cushions with a circular piece of thick blue glazed paper1 with a hole in the middle4 ,through the hole they worked with their rather heavy cherry wood bobbins1 on the meshless guipures of ,cluny and ,bruges and ,flanders1 which this school prefers4 ,several were finishing the collar and cuff sets of rather coarse but pretty ,bruges with its characteristic rose and trefoil1 seen so commonly in shop windows1 and which are especially effective when worn with cotton or linen frocks4 ,the ,guipure de ,flandres pupils were making square insets for table and tray-cloths of simple1 geometric designs4 ,two girls were at work on what they called ,guipure de ,milan1 of a wide spreading branch and flower pattern4 ,however1 the most interesting lace was not the guipure but the ,point de ,flandres or ,old ,flanders1 with its elaborate mesh base1 just now experiencing an interesting and encouraging revival1 in which the zealous ,baron van der ,graeht felt ,thielt should assist4 ,a half-dozen older girls were executing doily and table center rounds in this lace1 after the ,committee's very popular ,swan pattern4 ,they were using a fairly coarse linen thread1 and working the rich1 solid mesh with eight bobbins4 8,whoever would make the ,old ,flanders mesh must be willing to play a game of patience10 ,madame had once said to me4 ,the dull1 plain woven parts of the pattern are brilliantly outlined by a still coarser thread1 and in the 8jours0 or open-work spaces are the much loved snow-balls characteristic of ,binche lace4 ,because of its combined strength and beauty1 there could hardly be a more successful lace for general use than this ,old ,flanders1 sometimes called ,antik4 ,while it was once the most generally made and most celebrated of ,flemish bobbin laces 7it was known in every part of ,flanders in #aejj71 it had been almost forgotten for generations1 but even tho it has been little remembered for some time1 ,old ,flanders may be said never to have died4 ,in certain regions1 that of ,antwerp for instance1 it is found continuously on the garments of priests4 ,it is the lace that remained always at the base and from which the other bobbin laces1 from time to time1 sprang4 ,it is to be hoped that the ,committee's laudable effort to revive it will bear increasing rewards4 ,tho they could understand no ,french1 and ,i knew only a few words of ,flemish1 these little and big girls found much amusement in my visit1 and in my inability to follow their swift fingers4 ,these were fingers accustomed1 too1 to weed the fields and to dig potatoes1 for there is practically no lace made here during the weeks of ,august and ,september when the potato-crop is gathered4 ,the ,sisters of ,charity1 teachers in this school1 were poor themselves1 as their surroundings testified4 ,they had no fine carved oak armoire for their laces1 but brought from some safe place a tin box1 like an ordinary bread-box1 in which were the dainty white packets ready to be sent to the ,committee at ,brussels4 ,as they were exhibiting piece after lovely piece1 they unfolded the swan pattern doily rounds of ,old ,flanders1 and after a moment's hesitation1 ,sister ,a4 ventured1 8,there is one thing you might do for us1 ,madame2 when you return to ,brussels1 could you not tell the ,committee that while the small swan doily rounds are sufficiently paid1 this large centerpiece round is not8 ,it is our fault in estimating2 we did not realize how long it would take to make it40 ,i could not resist teasing them a little and replied that ,i should be delighted to carry the message were it not for the fact that it was precisely this set of swan doilies 7as it was7 that the ,committee had given me for ,christmas4 8,should you like me to tell them10 ,i asked1 8that they had not paid enough for my present80 ,they were covered with confusion1 as ,i expected they would be1 and then how they laughed1 those frail little sisters4 8,mais1 ,madame1 that would indeed be difficult2 we will write2 we had forgotten4 ,non1 ,madame1 you certainly could not tell them that6 ,but we can write letters now whenever we wish--can we not8 ,one loses the habit in four years40 ,and then they laughed again all together4 ,it was already late when ,i reached ,wynghene4 ,the shell-pitted roads of western ,flanders had made all my traveling difficult and ,i could not see ,mlle4 ,slock1 one of the rare lace dealers who has looked beyond her immediate purse and has taken time to revive old models and invent new ones1 seeking in every way to raise the standard of the present production in all her region1 which is chiefly devoted to ,cluny4 ,i had not time to stop in the village1 but hurried on beyond it to a cheerful red brick manor house set in a forest1 the home of the ,burgomaster of ,wynghene1 whose wife has been the untiringly devoted representative of the ,committee for this section4 ,as we sat at tea together1 near the conservatory windows1 where we could look through the naked garden trees across a meadow to the forest beyond1 the ,burgomaster told me of the morning when they stood at these windows1 after the shells had been falling for days all about them1 waiting and watching1 scarcely daring to breathe1 and of how as they watched1 he saw through the trees of the forest what looked like a brown shadow1 but the brown shadow moved1 and then running across the meadow1 where he had always believed they must break through1 came the ,belgian soldiers1 the soldiers of deliverance4 8,i know our hearts stopt beating2 we stood choking1 incapable of motion1 as we watched them come--still unable to believe after four years of waiting40 ,we were silent for a few minutes1 then we began to talk of the lace4 ,as his wife turned to get the list of her villages1 ,i asked if the ,germans had attempted to get her workers away from her4 8,they had their agents here1 as everywhere10 she answered1 8and ,i regret to admit that one of their most successful ones was a ,belgian woman1 who had been a facteur1 or lace gatherer for larger houses1 before the war4 ,when the ,germans offered her large prices1 she consented to serve them4 ,if she had been sacrificing herself for what she believed to be the good of the workers1 we might have forgiven her1 but it was obvious that she was not--she is pretty and likes pretty clothes--,voil tout6 ,along with several other disloyal citizens1 she was imprisoned the other day1 but unfortunately after only twenty-four hours1 succeeded in freeing herself4 ,however1 the people will never forget that she trafficked with the enemy40 ,i had known of the ,german lace organization first through seeing the huge sign1 8,allgemeine ,spitzen ,centrale0 7,central lace depot71 just across from our ,c4 ,r4 ,b4 offices4 ,and as soon as ,i got in touch with the loyal work of the women of the ,belgian ,lace ,committee1 ,i was daily hearing of this or that attempt of their oppressors to capture the designs and the output of the country4 ,they might succeed with the simpler1 more helpless workers1 who because of their great misery may be forgiven for selling to them--and with the deserters and activists--but they were daily defeated by the ,committee patriots4 ,i was thoroughly interested to hear1 now1 from one of the patriots1 that the idea of the ,german 8,lace ,control0 possibly had its birth in ,wynghene4 ,in ,february1 #aiae1 a certain ,freiherr ,von ,rippenhausen was stationed at ,wynghene4 ,he had with him his young ,american wife--they had been married but a short time1 and the people of the village were kind enough to say they believed she was not ,german by conviction6 ,however that may be1 the ,von ,rippenhausens requisitioned lodgings in the house of one of the lace buyers of ,wynghene1 and in this house they naturally discovered much regarding the lace situation1 the lack of thread1 and the distress of the workers1 and of the ,belgian system by which the facteur furnishes the thread to the worker and buys the finished products1 which he in turn sells to a big lace house1 reaping what profit he can as intermediary4 ,frau von ,rippenhausen1 in particular1 informed herself thoroughly1 and together she and her husband1 it is said1 organized the ,german 8,lace ,control10 with headquarters at ,brussels4 ,since the ,germans had requisitioned all the thread they could lay their hands on1 of which there were enormous stocks in ,belgium1 it was not difficult for them to offer it to the workers4 ,they sent ,german soldier facteurs into every corner of the country to offer large prices to native facteurs or to individual workers4 ,on receiving a piece of lace1 they supplied an equal weight of thread to the workers1 thus establishing a continuing chain of material and product4 ,and they claimed to be selling their lace in ,america6 ,they were clever enough to profit1 in #aiag1 by the ,committee's apparent inability to go on at that moment1 exercising every pressure they could1 and naturally they gained ground4 ,no one can say yet how much lace they were able to buy1 but the amount of inferior lace was considerable4 ,madame ,van der ,bruggen's records show that before #aiag there were in ,wynghene1 contributing to the ,committee1 #djj workers on ,cluny and ,duchesse1 about #bjj on ,cluny and ,valenciennes in ,beernem1 #bjj on ,valenciennes in ,oedelem1 and #cej in ,oostcamp1 all grateful to have the ,committee's fixt minimum of three francs' work a week insured to them4 ,some of these villages1 ,beernem and ,oostcamp for instance1 are usually included in the ,bruges district4 ,she praised the ,committee's method of raising the wage by standardizing the values of certain designs as executed by an average worker2 the poorer workers then gained less1 the superior ones1 more4 8,i thought ,i realized10 she said1 8how cruelly underpaid our women were1 but it was not until ,i saw their joy when the ,committee promised them that at least they should always have a minimum of ten centimes an hour for their work1 that ,i really understood4 ,ten centimes 7two cents71 just a postage stamp1 for a whole hour's straining effort2 and they were happy because that was so much more than they had been sure of winning before the war60 ,,iv ,,grammont ,belgian ,home of ,chantilly ,the ,committee was discouraging about ,grammont4 ,when ,i told ,madame de ,beughem of my plan to go there to see ,chantilly lace in the making1 she answered1 8,but that will be a futile journey2 the women have had practically no black or white silk thread since the war1 and the few who were still working in #aiad will have stopt2 that one-time important branch of the industry has almost ceased to exist40 ,i decided1 however1 to visit the tomb of ,chantilly1 the lace so closely identified with ,grammont that in ,belgium it takes its name from that city1 rather than from its original ,french home4 ,and ,grammont itself1 a town of #ac1jjj inhabitants1 was well worth the journey1 situated as it is in a lovely region of rolling hills1 and deriving its name from the steep slope 7,grand ,mont7 to which part of the city clings4 ,the surrounding undulating country is dotted with quaint1 clustered villages1 some with thatched1 some with tiled roofs1 and only twenty miles away is the charming town of ,audenarde--poor ,audenarde1 so cruelly wounded by the war6 ,i reached ,grammont about noon1 having lost an hour on the way through the difficulty of passing camions and artillery and marching companies of ,canadian soldiers4 ,between ,ninove and ,grammont1 too1 were many squads of ,german prisoners at work on the ruined road4 ,they were guarded by the ,french1 but it was a rather lenient surveillance1 at any rate the sullen groups in their trailing gray capes appeared to be casually tapping the mud with their spades instead of being genuinely at work4 ,illustration3 ,a 8,,marie ,,antoinette0 ,,in ,,chantilly ,,lace1 ,,made ,,with ,,bobbins1 ,,near ,,grammont ,illustration3 ,,cushion ,,cover ,center ,venise1 borders ,valenciennes1 lace executed by #ab workers in one month1 embroidery and mounting by four women in two months1 design by ,m4 de ,rudder ,illustration3 ,,tea ,,cloth ,point de ,paris1 cock design ,my ,belgian chauffeur1 whose health is broken after three years of forced labor in ,germany1 would have been delighted to run them down1 and at one point did succeed in splashing a group with mud1 as he called 8,boches0 and something ,i did not catch4 ,i began to understand the ruling that released ,belgian prisoners shall not be placed over ,germans still held here4 ,after lunch ,i started with ,madame ,cuseners to the little lace school whose director has courageously carried on during the four years4 ,we walked through a narrow arched passageway beside a brick building and into a large hall at the rear which was at one time the lace class-room4 ,instead of lace-workers1 however1 we found ,scotch and ,canadian soldiers busy tacking the ,union ,jack and ,belgian flags on the wall1 and hanging boughs and festoons of colored paper rings--they were making ready for a 8grand0 ,new ,year's ,eve dancing party4 ,in the courtyard still farther back a half-dozen ,scotchmen had built a campfire1 protecting it with a low canvas roof1 and it was burning brightly despite the dismal rain4 ,it shone on the windows of the long1 narrow room at the side of the court1 which looked like a conservatory1 but which had become the refuge of the lace-workers1 when because of lack of thread and fuel1 they could no longer occupy their hall4 ,i found fifty sweet-faced girls between thirteen and fifteen busy over their cushions1 a faithful1 tired-looking old ,abb and an enthusiastic young woman teacher4 ,they were not making black nor the less important white silk ,chantilly1 for they had long been entirely without silk thread4 ,nevertheless1 they were preserving the art of making it1 since they had been kept at work on ,chantilly designs executed with bobbins and the white cotton thread furnished by the ,committee4 ,they had some fine flounces1 which were not1 however1 to be compared with the traditional black silk ones of the great ,chantilly days4 ,for ,chantilly has seen great days4 ,it appeared first in ,france about #agdj1 where it achieved a phenomenal popularity1 which was unfortunately rudely ended by the ,revolution1 for since it was a favorite lace at court1 the ,revolutionists made it a crime to appear in ,chantilly4 ,later1 under the ,empire1 it enjoyed a revival1 the fabrication of the silk laces spread in ,france2 ,bayeux became a celebrated center2 and1 finally1 toward #ahce1 it crossed to ,belgium1 where ,grammont was early recognized as its home4 ,in #ahea all of the forty-nine schools of that province taught the technique of this lace4 ,then toward #ahgj true ,chantilly seemed doomed a second time to extinction by the success of the machine imitations of ,st4 ,pierre des ,calais1 and also because the vogue for black lace had passed4 ,but again the pendulum has swung back2 the imitations are now greatly in favor and there is a cheering increase in the demand for the true lace flounces4 ,the ,abb brought out from dusty drawers the school's stock of designs1 elegant groupings of bouquets and foliage1 with occasional striking geometrical details introduced1 all joined by a fine hexagonal mesh1 which resembled at first that of ,malines1 and later1 more closely1 the ,point d' ,alenon mesh4 ,the fact that this lace is often used for scarfs and gowns1 and that the customary flounce is of generous width1 has encouraged the development of elaborate patterns4 ,some of the sketches were divided by heavy pencil lines into the separate narrow strips on which the lace-maker actually works4 ,to achieve the wide flounce1 these strips are attached one to another by special workers who employ a joining stitch that defies detection4 ,the individual pattern strips include both mesh and flowers and follow irregular lines1 curving1 it may be1 to include a full-petaled rose4 ,when one examines the fineness of the clear hexagonal mesh that forms the base of ,chantilly1 it seems all the more remarkable that the division lines are not visible4 ,this ,chantilly mesh has differed during various periods and besides there are always almost as many varieties as there are workers1 for one weaves more closely or more firmly than another4 ,i came soon to realize how great a difference in effect results from a practically invisible variation in the thickness of the thread1 or in the manner of twisting or looping it or in the placing of the pins4 ,one of the distinguishing characteristics of ,chantilly is the relief produced by a heavier thread that outlines the pattern and forms the twigs and veins of the leaves4 ,in securing a brilliant relief1 the ,french have always succeeded better than the ,belgians4 ,these ,grammont pupils were also making ,blonde1 a favorite lace with the ,spanish people1 and introduced into ,belgium from ,france at the same time as ,chantilly4 ,its processes are very similar1 tho it is easily differentiated from its sister by the heavy glossy petals of its flowers and their conspicuous open-work centers in the ,point de ,paris stitch4 ,the name ,blonde is derived from the cru silk which was first employed in its making2 now it is made of white or of black silk1 and chiefly in the form of scarfs or mantillas4 ,the girls were making their war-time ,blonde of cotton1 the good ,peat cotton of ,nottingham1 brought in by the ,c4 ,r4 ,b4 for the ,lace ,committee4 ,it is practically only in the ,grammont and ,turnhout regions that ,blonde is still made4 ,the instructress showed me the little bundles of poor1 crooked brass pins that were all that remained after four years of the occupation1 explaining what harm poor pins can work in a fine mesh like that of ,chantilly4 ,then she asked if ,i could not tell them when they might expect new ones4 ,alas1 these disheartening months of the winter of #aiah-aiai when one hope after another has been deferred2 so many things to be done at once1 and all depending on the re-establishment of a system of transportation utterly destroyed4 ,i went from the school-room1 past the fire in the courtyard1 back to the large hall where the ,canadians were still decorating for their party1 and where we wished one another a ,happy ,new ,year--brave ,canadian boys well loved by the ,belgians--then on to the house of ,madame's mother1 who for a half-century has been a lace fabricant1 or dealer1 and whose front room served easily as combined salon and office4 ,precious laces need very little space2 they can be stored in a handsome carved oak armoire1 which is at once a safe and a beautiful article of furniture4 ,this old lady's hair was still dark and glossy1 as is so often the case with grandmothers in ,europe1 and her brown eyes were bright and keen4 ,she talked of the time when there were more than twenty dealers employing over #b1jjj workers on ,chantilly in the ,grammont region1 and of the gradual decline of the industry4 8,certain empty houses on the heights above the town tell the story4 ,long ago the lace-makers left the valley at the foot of the slope1 and seeking the brighter light on the hill1 formed a lace colony there2 but they have come down again1 the houses on the hill are deserted4 ,one by one the skilled old workers have died1 and their secrets with them4 ,there is only one really excellent piqueuse left and she is a baker-woman who exercises her talent of pricking patterns between baking6 ,and ,i believe that instead of the former thousands1 we have not more than eight hundred dentellires to-day4 ,here1 as elsewhere1 factories have come1 and the lace has fled4 ,with us it is the cigar and the match that have banished it1 they furnish better wages and our women follow4 ,however1 if we can win a higher pay for the lace1 and can but develop the little school you have just visited1 and continue to train our girls1 we shall yet be able to restore ,chantilly4 ,especially10 she added1 8if we can be helped by that fickle ,mistress ,fashion1 who last year smiled again on the black lace gown4 ,some of our patterns for robes can be made in a few weeks1 but the truly fine ones take months1 even a year to make4 ,all depends on the design and the number of threads4 ,we have had much to combat in the success of the marvelous ,calais machine imitations of ,chantilly1 but true lovers of lace will never be content with them1 however clever they are40 ,she shook out a folded triangular shawl4 8,there is no lace in the world more beautiful than this10 she said1 as she spread it on the white tablecloth1 the better to display the wealth of its black flower clusters and long fronds1 and then had me squeeze the delicate mesh in my hand to test its resiliency4 ,i could not but agree with her4 ,her daughter brought out an exquisite collar1 a tendril and flower pattern1 with long tabs that could be crossed in front and let fall like a sash behind1 a 8,marie ,antoinette0 of most tempting loveliness2 then a dainty parasol and a fan and a few filmy winged butterflies--all pieces made before the war1 before the ,germans set a wall of fire between the women of ,grammont and the silk thread 7,grenadine d',alays7 which meant their bread4 ,i was glad to have a few hours of sweeping hill country between these elegant black laces and the ,valenciennes ,i was next to see2 for the moment all white lace seemed negligible4 ,v ,,bruges ,queen of ,lace ,cities ,after a day beside the graves of ,nieuport and ,dixmude and ,ypres1 the first glimpse of the singing towers of ,bruges against the evening sky seems an unearthly vision4 ,during four years no one had known that ,bruges would not perish as her sisters had perished4 ,one must have come direct from the desolation of ,nieuport1 to her pignons and bridges1 from the skeleton of ,les ,halles of ,ypres to her ,htel de ,ville1 to estimate her incomparable beauty4 ,since ,ypres is dead1 only ,bruges and ,turnhout remain as true lace cities of ,belgium2 ,ghent1 the elegant neighbor of ,bruges1 and herself once a ,queen in the lace world1 has turned to her factories and no longer counts4 ,except ,turnhout1 then1 with its famous schools for fine laces1 no ,belgian city to-day challenges the leadership of ,bruges1 and beyond ,belgium1 she has but one great rival--,venice4 ,illustration3 ,,lace-,,makers ,,of ,,bruges ,this claim to leadership rests on a solid foundation4 ,bruges is of ancient lineage in the lace world2 she has preserved unbroken1 through at least four centuries1 the traditions of that world4 ,there are those even who believe that medival bobbin lace had its origin in her territory1 and they are at least supported by legend4 ,a pretty story tells of a poor and infirm widow1 who with her many children lived in a little street of ,bruges4 ,the entire family depended only on the work of ,serena1 the eldest1 who from dawn till dark turned her wheel4 ,she had long been loved by a neighbor1 ,arnold1 the son of a great merchant1 and she did not view him with disfavor4 ,but as winter and misery settled again on the poor little hut1 and ,serena saw that all her efforts appeared vain1 she vowed to the ,virgin never to marry unless her family could be rescued from their suffering4 ,then one day when near the ,minnewater1 as she was making sad thoughts1 suddenly she saw a light1 and from the ,virgin threads descended toward her1 which1 skipping the branches1 dropt in her lap1 where they by chance designed lovely patterns4 ,serena understood this to be the response to her prayer1 and she tried at once to reproduce the arabesques in linen thread4 ,she ended by attaching little woods to them and by aiding them with pins4 ,and thus to the great emotion of ,bruges bobbin-lace was born4 ,and all the rich seigneurs and bourgeois wished to possess it4 ,ease came and ,serena married ,arnold1 and they had many daughters1 all of whom she taught to make lace4 ,illustration3 ,,bruges ,,and ,,similar ,,bobbin ,,laces ,first column3 ,bruges ,middle column3 ,bruges1 ,bruges1 ,bruges1 ,rosaline ,third ,column3 ,rosaline1 ,old ,flanders1 ,old ,flanders1 ,duchesse ,the often quoted picture in the ,louvre ,gallery1 painted by ,hans ,memling 7#ad--to #adid7 and representing the ,virgin and the ,infant ,christ surrounded by gift-bearers1 among whom is a rich ,brugeois wearing a gray costume trimmed with a bobbin-lace edging1 certainly indicates that the industry existed in this epoch1 and possibly had its center at ,bruges1 then the principal city in ,flanders and the seat of the court4 ,furthermore1 records prove that already at the opening of the #afth century1 lace-making was included as a necessary part of the education of women4 ,the edicts of ,charles ,v requiring that it should be taught in all the schools and convents1 greatly stimulated its development in ,bruges1 as well as throughout the entire ,flanders and the provinces of ,hainaut1 ,brabant and ,antwerp4 ,it became so popular an occupation for women that ,charles's successor1 ,philip ,,ii1 required that the magistrates of ,ghent and ,bruges restrict the number of lace-workers in their cities1 in order that the rich might find some women left willing to serve them4 ,another enlightening document shows that in #aedd ,bruges counted #g1fif poor among her population1 and that the department of public charity required of the young women among them that they should cease to walk the streets and should learn the lace industry4 ,there were at that time many lace schools4 ,during the following centuries1 ,bruges maintained her position as a lace center and was able to survive the death-blow the ,french ,revolution dealt the industry4 ,for we find1 about the middle of the #aith century1 the city still counted seventy-nine schools1 attended by #b1gbb pupils1 while in ,valenciennes1 for example1 lace-making no longer existed4 ,there is1 then1 a rich and ancient past back of the clicking bobbins of the ,bruges of to-day4 ,after four years of ,german rule it is still difficult to give accurate statistics1 but generally speaking1 in this city of #ed1jjj inhabitants1 as many as #e1jjj women and girls make lace of some sort4 ,if you question the average woman1 she will probably look at you in surprize and say3 8,how many lace-makers8 ,why1 everybody2 there is hardly a house in ,bruges without its cushion and bobbins40 ,while if you put the same question to such a celebrated lace dealer as ,m4 ,gillemont de ,cock1 who counts gold and silver medals from many nations1 he will be very apt to answer3 8,madame1 before the war ,i knew of about thirty1 now ,i can not say60 ,the ,lace ,committee at ,brussels considers #e1jjj a fair estimate for ,bruges and her contributing villages1 which is the number given1 too1 by ,professor ,maertens of the ,normal ,school4 ,by the ,bruges district is meant chiefly ,bruges1 quite the contrary of the usual situation4 ,one hears of the ,alost region1 for instance1 and finds that while the villages of the surrounding area count thousands of workers1 in the city of ,alost itself very few are left4 ,however1 ,bruges1 too1 counts some few outlying villages4 ,madame ,ryeland1 representative during the war of the ,brussels ,lace ,committee1 told me that forty communes contributed to her committee1 the most important being ,syssele 7where ,valenciennes is the favorite lace71 ,maldeghem 7applications and filet71 ,saint ,andre 7,cluny and ,valenciennes71 ,oostcamp and ,lophem 7,valenciennes71 ,saint ,croix 7,cluny and other guipures71 and ,saint ,michele 7an unusually beautiful ,duchesse de ,bruges74 ,in ,bruges itself there are three important convent lace schools1 working largely for the shops1 but which also execute private commands2 the convent school of the ,apostolines1 typical of those where the children learn a little ,flemish1 a little ,french1 much catechism1 and for the rest make the laces of the region from morning till evening2 the school ,defoere1 and the well-known school ,josephine4 ,each has between #ajj and #bjj dentellires1 who make the popular ,torchons and ,clunys and ,valenciennes1 and also the more difficult ,binche1 with its mesh characterized by the airy 8boules de neige10 snow-balls4 ,they make1 too1 ,old ,flanders1 which has a particularly strong and elaborate mesh2 and of course the ,duchesse de ,bruges1 or ,bruges1 for which the city is famous4 ,in addition to the convent schools and a few other less important laique schools and some work-rooms1 one finds in the ,hospices1 or free homes for the old1 another goodly company working together4 ,in their picturesque retreats some #bjj old women pass their days making lace1 chiefly ,valenciennes4 ,there remain the individual households2 to the common statement that in each one1 some member makes some kind of lace1 one might add1 at some time during the year4 ,if the children from these homes do not go to the schools to learn1 they are taught by their mothers and grandmothers4 ,a favorite ,christmas gift to children is a cushion and set of bobbins1 with which they soon learn to produce simple patterns4 ,for example1 ,madame ,roose1 the daughter of the concierge of the ,groothuis ,museum1 which houses the marvelous ,baron ,liedts collection of old laces1 accustomed from childhood to see and hear of these laces1 became herself a lace-maker and later a successful dealer and now has five daughters of her own1 all of whom she has herself taught to ply their bobbins4 ,the ,lace ,committee told me that during the war the clothing committee had difficulty in finding young girls and women who could darn and sew even moderately well2 since childhood they had given all their time to lace-making4 ,conscious of the danger in this situation1 the ,lace ,normal ,school preaches that until she has learned other necessary things1 no young girl should be allowed to spend more than half a day over her cushion4 ,illustration3 ,,lace ,,normal ,,school1 ,,bruges1 ,,beginner',s ,,class ,symbolic color pattern on left-hand easel2 demonstration bobbins attached to colored threads at right ,by far the greater number working at home make ,torchon1 ,cluny and ,valenciennes1 tho the ,bruges district is celebrated1 too1 for ,rosaline and ,binche and ,old ,flanders1 and above all for the ,duchesse de ,bruges1 once so named because it was thought worthy to adorn a ,duchess4 ,bruges lace has always been made entirely with bobbins1 in separate flowers1 or details that are united not by mesh1 but by little picot-edged cords or bars4 ,there are many varieties of this familiar lace2 between the coarse1 much marketed modern ,bruges1 with its well-known roses and trefoils1 sometimes scarcely meriting the name of lace1 and the ,bruges of the robe presented in #aija to ,queen ,elizabeth1 then the ,princess ,elizabeth1 there is a deplorable distance4 ,the individual trefoils and arabesques and roses of the coarser kinds are made very quickly on the round cushion1 which can be readily turned1 and are produced in great quantities in many of the communes of the ,bruges region1 while fortunately in such a village as ,saint ,michel one can still see exquisite examples of the finer ,bruges in the making4 ,illustration3 ,,bed ,,cover ,,in ,,duchesse1 ,,or ,,brussel',s ,,lace ,made with bobbins2 executed in ,flanders by #cj women in three months2 design by ,the ,lace ,committee ,rather than be introduced to the lace-making of ,bruges by the younger workers in the schools1 or in one of the thousand homes given over to it1 ,i preferred to go first to the place where probably more strangers1 especially ,english and ,americans1 have been initiated into the mysteries of the cushion and its bobbins than anywhere else in the world4 ,there have been other famous ,bguinages in ,belgium--congeries of houses maintained by private endowment1 for women1 who1 while they object to taking the vows of the convent1 yet wish to live in a kind of partial retreat from the world and under the protection of the church--but none lovelier than this one of ,bruges1 with its sixteenth century buildings of pure ,flemish architecture1 grouped about a wide green court shaded by elm trees4 ,naturally the ,bguinage has not been a mecca for travelers and artists merely because several of the gentle old ladies in retreat there made beautiful lace2 they have come in search of its quaint pignons and doorways1 its inner gardens1 the bridges that span the surrounding canals where the swans paddle peacefully4 ,and they have been delighted to find included in the picture the white-capped women before their lace cushions1 intent 7doubtless unconsciously7 on perpetuating other beauties1 as old as those of the buildings encircling the court1 the designs of ,valenciennes that have been handed down by ,french and ,belgian mothers to their children through generations4 ,these ladies of the ,bguinage may keep their private fortunes and pay for the privileges of the retreat4 ,they are supposed1 however1 to live austerely2 their charming brick houses are white inside--wall-papers 7as being too gay7 are forbidden--while the floors are covered with a kind of pretty1 rude rush carpet4 ,they may not go on journeys1 and no man outside1 except the clergy1 may enter the sacred precincts of the court1 the gates of which are closed at #h o'clock4 ,can one imagine an atmosphere more encouraging to hours spent patiently in lace-making8 ,it is recorded that in the ,bguinage of ,ghent1 in #agef1 there were as many as #e1jjj women engaged in making the ,valenciennes for which that city was famous4 ,but the day of this particular kind of retreat has passed1 and even at ,bruges many of the houses are vacant2 when the old die1 there are few who wish to take their places4 ,and it is only because those few who remain preserve the best traditions of the lace that they count in the lace-world of to-day2 the quantity produced is negligible4 ,nevertheless1 ,i was delighted that my first knowledge of ,bruges lace should come through the few wide ,valenciennes flounces of exquisite flower and vine pattern and firm and even workmanship that ,i found still pinned to the cushions of the ,bguinage4 ,curiously enough1 in this retreat1 pervaded by the sadness that inevitably reigns where the old order changes1 ,i found the young and enthusiastic ,vicaire1 ,professor ,maertens1 assistant director of the new ,lace ,normal ,school of ,bruges4 ,he lives with his aunt1 who is the mother director of the ,bguinage and called 8,madame1 la ,grande ,dame10 tho she is still ,mademoiselle4 ,the ,bguinage may in one sense represent the despair of the lace1 since what is happening there is happening throughout ,belgium4 ,but in the person of ,professor ,maertens of the ,normal ,school1 the ,bguinage represents1 too1 the hope of the lace4 ,in the plain little room of his charming ,gothic house1 he explained with admirable clarity the necessity which led to the founding of this ,normal ,school by the ,state in #aiaa1 and the system which it has developed4 ,he then arranged that ,i should 8assist0 at the rouverture of the school the following morning4 ,there was to be a reopening because1 in common with so many schools of ,belgium1 the ,lace ,normal had been driven from its quarters by the ,germans1 and tho after their eviction the teachers had persisted in continuing their classes in a convent1 where their persecutors forced them to receive two ,austrian pupils 7from whom1 however1 they concealed much71 they were in the true sense to begin again on ,january #g1 #aiai4 ,that was fully four weeks after the invader had had to evacuate1 for eager as they were to commence1 with their best effort1 they had not been able before this to prepare three school-rooms and a few smaller ones on the ground floor for use4 ,we are accustomed to the pictures of the territories desolated by the ,germans1 but unless one goes from house to house in the districts supposed to be left unharmed1 he can have no conception of the state in which they were left4 ,however1 by ,thursday morning the few rooms on the ground floor had been disinfected and whitewashed1 and the ,lace ,normal ,school of ,belgium re-opened its doors at #h3cj o'clock4 ,poets have described the shining faces of children on their way to school--but after pupils and teachers have been ground under the heel of an implacable oppressor for four years there is still another light in their faces as they reassemble in a free school-room4 ,it was generous of them to allow me to share their first morning4 ,the teachers' course covers two years4 ,in order to insure careful individual training the directors prefer to have no more than eight or ten earnest students in each year's class2 they prefer1 too1 that these shall not have been lace-makers before entering1 and that they be between sixteen and thirty years of age4 ,there are1 then1 two class-rooms1 light and airy1 and equipped with blackboards and charts1 and the all-important large demonstration cushion with its gigantesque bobbins attached to heavy colored wool threads to aid the eye and brain4 ,each young woman records the steps of her progress in a series of copy-books so beautiful in their penmanship and their drawing as to recall at once the manuscripts of long ago4 ,what1 then1 is the instruction which they receive8 ,since there had never been a system of teaching lace-making in ,belgium1 the directors of the ,normal ,school were obliged to develop one1 and as it exists to-day1 logical1 comprehensive1 far-seeing1 it belongs exclusively to the ,school of ,bruges4 ,by the defective method employed before1 a pupil was taught to make one kind of lace1 then another1 and another1 but tho she might become proficient in the execution of thirty kinds1 she might still be incapable of executing a new thirty-first variety if it were presented to her1 because she had not been taught the underlying principles4 ,illustration3 ,,rosaline1 ,,which ,,closely ,,resembles ,,bruges ,illustration3 ,,details ,,for ,,bruges ,,lace ,made with bobbins on round cushion ,the ,bruges directors found1 after a long and careful analysis of the processes employed in all known laces1 that they depend on but between twenty and thirty major operations1 and that1 in the final analysis1 for the bobbin laces1 these reduce themselves always to the simple question1 8,does the thread pass from left to right1 or does it pass from right to left80 ,illustration3 ,,doily ,,set ,,in ,,point ,,de ,,paris ,,in ,,the 8,,animals ,,of ,,the ,,allies0 ,,design1 ,,executed ,,at ,,turnhout ,they chose specific colors1 red1 purple1 green and others1 to represent specific movements of the threads1 thus establishing a symbolic color system of design which enables the pupil to read a blackboard drawing as he would a written page4 ,and they realized that before the processes are portrayed by lines on the blackboard1 they should be executed with the gigantesque bobbins and the colored wool cords4 ,they then outlined the two years' work1 which they made to include classes in practical lace-making1 in design1 in commerce and ,english1 in the history of lace-making1 and religion4 ,because the two years' course was already over-crowded they did not attempt to teach the needle points1 which1 according to them1 do not demand a system of instruction in the same sense that the bobbin laces require it4 ,besides1 they look upon bobbin lace as more uniquely ,belgian and as therefore more necessary to develop4 ,dr4 ,rubbens of ,zele1 farther east1 plans soon to have a needle lace ,normal ,school in operation in that town4 ,in the first year class1 a demonstration of the use of the tools1 the winding-wheel1 the cushion and bobbins is followed at once by the study of the ,torchons1 which tho they are the commonest known laces1 yet in all their varieties employ all the more important lace processes4 ,the ,torchons once thoroughly mastered1 the student has traveled a considerable distance on the lace journey4 ,the study of ,torchon is succeeded by ,cluny in all its varieties and ,cluny is in turn followed by a kind of barbaric ,russian lace1 of baroque design1 which is1 like the ,torchons and ,clunys1 made of linen thread1 and resembles them closely in other ways4 ,the finer laces1 ,valenciennes1 ,duchesse1 ,flanders1 and others are taught only after these first three groups have been mastered4 ,along with the actual lace-making1 the students follow courses in design1 where they begin first with simple studies in geometry and in drawing4 ,they then execute geometric designs and adapt them to lace-making4 ,from these studies they proceed to drawing from nature1 and to what is more difficult1 the adaption of the drawings from nature to lace designs1 for it is one thing to create a beautiful flower and leaf arabesque1 and quite another thing to draw it so that it may be exprest in thread4 ,the important classes in commerce and ,english and those in history and religion run parallel with the studies in lace-making and design4 ,of great value to these future teachers of ,belgium is the model practise school across the court from the main rooms1 where at four o'clock each day the poorer children of the neighborhood come to be taught4 ,each has her cushion and bobbins and pins and thread furnished by the ,normal1 and enjoys all the advantages offered by its excellent system2 while the coming teachers find here the opportunity to perfect their methods4 ,i asked if these teachers could look confidently to finding positions4 ,since only the initial class had graduated before the ,germans were upon ,belgium and since that class was composed almost entirely of women sent from the already existing convent schools1 who sought to improve their methods1 it is as yet impossible to answer this question4 ,but as this is the single training-school in ,belgium 7the ,brussels ,school1 so capably directed by ,mme4 ,paulis1 being chiefly a school of design7 there seems to be every reason to hope that once the country has risen from the chaos into which it has been plunged1 the ,bruges graduates will have no difficulty in securing places4 ,teachers are as yet very poorly paid1 but as regards salaries1 too1 there is reason to hope4 ,the ideal plan for a school would seem to be that it should be in charge of a graduate of the ,normal ,school1 while a specialist in design from the ,brussels school should come once a week with her charts and drawings to give particular instruction in that branch4 ,the vital decision as to the part lace-making should have in the curriculum of the communal or free public schools is still in abeyance4 ,since factories have killed the lace industry in every other city in ,belgium except ,bruges and ,turnhout1 people often ask if it can persist much longer in ,bruges4 ,there seems to be good ground to believe it will4 ,under the ,germans the port of ,zeebrugge acquired a momentary prominence1 but with ,antwerp so near1 there seems little chance that it will ever become important1 or that ,bruges herself may look forward to any large industrial development4 ,lovely1 tranquil city guarding a beauty of long ago1 it is probable that ,bruges will maintain her right to the title 8,queen of ,lace ,cities40 8,yes10 ,m4 ,gillemont de ,cock would add1 seeing the patterns and quality of the ,valenciennes and the modern ,old ,flanders and ,bruges1 and ,binche1 pinned to her cushions to-day1 and remembering the exquisite delicate webs of a few decades ago1 8,une ,reine1 ,madame1 c'est vrai1 mais une ,reine bien malade0--8a ,queen1 ,madame1 it is true1 but a very sick ,queen40 ,the ,lace ,normal and other schools can help greatly to restore her4 ,,vi ,,kerxken ,sister ,robertine ,on a wet1 cheerless day between ,christmas and ,new ,year's1 ,i started with ,madame de ,beughem and ,madame ,allard for the most important lace district of ,eastern ,flanders4 ,the ,alost region1 which in #ahif counted #h1ejj workers1 is known throughout the lace world for its ,needle ,point and ,venise4 ,we went first to ,alost itself1 the center of the area1 where1 however1 modern industries have won their already oft-repeated victory over the lace4 ,it was in ,alost1 the #afth of ,november1 #aiah1 that my car had scarcely been able to push its way between the two lines of ,belgian soldiers of deliverance holding back the smiling1 tearful population1 and where1 too1 ,i passed ,burgomaster ,max free after four years in prison in ,germany1 on his way to ,king ,albert at the ,army ,headquarters near ,ghent4 ,a short distance south of ,alost we passed ,haltaert1 from which this lace section might more justly take its name1 since in ,haltaert there is scarcely a household without its needle or bobbin workers4 ,and but a little farther south lay ,kerxken1 which even in the rain1 looked a friendly village and where beside fully three-fourths of the windows women were plying their needles4 ,before the war companies of the men of this region went to ,france to work in the harvest1 as many as #dj1jjj migrating annually1 because even before the war1 ,france was short-handed agriculturally and the ,french fields offered higher wages than their own4 ,the women and girls helped those who remained to gather the crops1 and in the fall1 when the men came back and the season for working the farms had passed1 whole families turned to lace-making as a means of piecing out the gains of the summer4 ,sometimes the men cared for the children or assisted with the housework so that the women might sit uninterruptedly before their patterns1 and in certain instances they themselves made lace--the census of #ahif lists #aag men lace-workers in ,belgium4 ,in ,kerxken we found that thirty young men who had been silk weavers before the war had during the occupation been able to make lace--not true lace1 but such imitations as filet1 really a form of embroidery4 ,they made1 too1 ,application1 not genuine ,application where true lace details1 made either with the bobbin or needle1 are sewed upon the tulle base1 but tulle ornamented with machine-made lacets1 narrow braids of various sorts that come to the region from ,calais4 ,lacets usually have a strong thread along one edge1 which can be drawn so that the braid may be more swiftly fashioned into curving leaves or flowers4 ,these distressing imitations1 which unfortunately pay much better than the true laces1 since they can be made with great speed and find a ready market1 are a constant menace to them4 8,voil notre ennemie60 said ,madame ,allard1 as we looked into a work-room where the table showed little piles of lacet collars4 ,the only method of fighting this enemy is through higher wages for the genuine lace4 ,we could not see ,adele ,rulant1 once with hardly a peer in ,needle ,point1 to whom people from far and near had sent their old pieces1 even shreds of their family treasure1 for restoration1 knowing that almost certainly her artist's needle would recapture the lost mesh or flower4 ,adele ,rulant had died and we realized again how surely one by one the famous dentellires of the last half of the #aith century are dropping out4 ,we turned down a lane and were soon at the green door of the convent of the black-robed ,franciscaine ,sisters1 who dismayed1 but smiling1 hurried forward to greet us1 very fresh looking in their white lined coiffes and collars4 ,i say dismayed1 because through an error they had expected us the day before and had kept a fire burning for hours1 a supreme expression of hospitality in this bitter1 coalless winter2 this was ,saturday afternoon1 there was no fire1 and the lace-workers were at home scrubbing their tiled floors and doorsteps4 ,but they would light a fire at once1 and send a ,sister to the nearest houses to recall at least a few of the women2 they would prepare lunch for us1 a plate of little cakes and a bottle of wine had already been set on the table4 ,such an apologetic bustle of welcome was heart-warming on a cheerless day4 ,nothing less1 ,i am certain1 would have made it possible for me to drink an entire glass of sour red wine at #aj3cj o'clock in the morning4 ,i wished particularly to visit the convent because ,i had known during the four years of ,sur ,robertine's successive victories over the ,germans4 ,after they refused to let laces pass except through their hands1 which taxed and had frequently stolen from the parcels1 time and again she outwitted them1 crossing the forbidden village frontier and carrying the precious rolls herself to the office of the ,committee at ,brussels4 ,beneath the calm of that office there was always tense expectancy2 at any moment anything might happen1 even the worst thing4 ,one day after weeks of being entirely cut off from many of their lace sections1 when the women were more strained and anxious than ever before1 the door opened quietly and ,sur ,robertine1 of ,kerxken1 a prohibited district1 stood before them4 ,fear for her quite overcame their joy at seeing her2 they quickly turned the key and hurried her into a rear room4 8,but why have you come8 ,we did not send for you--we should never have allowed you to take such risks60 ,at first only ,sur ,robertine's twinkling1 keen gray eyes answered1 as she slowly threw off her long black cape and from beneath other garments began unwinding meter upon meter of lovely white lace1 till the billowy lengths covered all the table4 8,it was very simple--,i had to come4 ,for weeks our thread has been exhausted2 the women are suffering for need of their earnings4 ,i found a way1 and ,i'll find a way back1 never fear2 we'll all return safely to ,kerxken--the thread and the money and ,i--even tho we may have to slip in under the very nose of the ,boche60 ,she was still laughing and still producing lace1 little packets now of square insets and bouquets1 when ,i had to leave4 ,it was a delight to meet her again here freely directing her convent--she who had so bravely held her right to freedom4 ,her parents had been shop-keepers and she had brought to the ,order a goodly store of practical knowledge and a general alertness and good sense1 which added to her unselfishness and swift sympathy and ever-ready laugh1 easily explained the admiration and affection generally felt for her4 ,illustration3 ,,point ,,de ,,flandres1 ,,or ,,flanders ,,lace ,flowers made with bobbins1 mesh with the needle3 designs by ,the ,lace ,committee ,illustration3 ,,handkerchief ,,in ,,needle-,,point ,made near ,alost4 ,both mesh and flowers made with needle ,illustration3 ,,detail ,,showing ,,seven ,,different ,,filling-,,in ,,stitches ,while we were sitting in the large1 cold reception room1 waiting for the workers to reassemble1 ,i asked ,sur ,robertine about a painting over the door--a striking portrait which proved to be that of the ,cur ,van ,hoeimessen1 who1 in #aheg1 founded the convent in an attempt to relieve the misery of the village4 ,a short time before this1 greatly distrest by the idleness and poverty of his parishioners1 he had asked that a teacher be sent to ,kerxken to instruct a few girls in the art of lace-making1 and since there was no building in which to start a school1 he called the class of five or six girls together in his own house4 ,then1 later1 as the experiment succeeded1 he invited a group of sisters to come and founded for them the convent of the ,franciscaines1 which from that day has held unswervingly to the traditions of its foundation in teaching and executing the fine needle laces4 ,there are at present #ae sisters1 and about #aej true lace-workers in their lace school4 ,in addition1 #cjj makers of filet and 8imitation0 are connected with the convent4 ,from the salon we went to the work-room1 which looks on a deep walled-in garden1 a treasure-plot for potatoes and cabbage during the famine years4 ,about a dozen girls and women had dropt their brushes and brooms and hurried through the rain in their wooden shoes to take up their patterns and go on with the delicate traceries of ,needle ,point and ,venise4 ,it was easy to pick out their leader--a beautiful-faced1 white-haired woman wearing a black crochet cap1 at work on a ,venise insertion4 ,she was ,sidonie1 the best piqueuse1 or interpreter of design1 in the convent4 ,there were no cushions here1 as in the bobbin-lace classes1 and the workers held the small1 shining1 black cloth pattern in their hands1 following the pricked holes with their needles2 there were fewer of these guiding pin-pricks than in the bobbin-lace picqus4 ,the patterns for ,venise and ,needle ,point are usually small because most women object to large details1 as difficult to turn in the hand4 ,later in a neighboring convent ,i noticed that the patterns were considerably larger than those at ,kerxken1 and ,sur ,robertine1 pointing to them said1 8,i should have to cut those in two for my girls40 ,fortunately a detail can usually easily be separated and later rejoined4 ,to protect her lace1 the worker covers it with thick blue paper1 cutting a hole about the size of a twenty-five-cent piece through which the needle and thread may move freely4 ,here it was not the marvel of the flying fingers1 as in the bobbin-rooms at ,turnhout1 that most won our admiration1 but the skill in directing the fine threads in complicated designs of incredible delicacy4 ,i chose to sit beside fifteen-year-old ,colette who held the partly finished section of a handkerchief square beneath her needle4 ,she explained that it was ,point de ,gaze1 gauze point1 a name more recently given the old ,needle or ,brussels ,point4 ,and the fragile hexagonal mesh she was weaving between two beautiful full-blown roses1 whose raised petals curved outward from elaborately worked centers1 seemed most appropriately named4 ,her cotton1 for ,needle ,point is made with cotton thread1 was so fine that ,i could not1 despite her amused reiterations1 believe it did not break with every second stitch4 ,a heavier thread had been used to make the flat1 closely woven portions of the flowers1 and a still heavier one to outline each finished petal or leaf with the cordonnet 7cord7 or brode1 produced by an extremely firm and regular buttonhole stitch4 ,this cord throws the flowers into very brilliant relief4 ,illustration3 ,,venise ,,designs ,,by ,,the ,,brussels ,,lace ,,committee ,colette had not woven the roses1 for because of the difficulty in making it1 workers usually specialize on the various individual parts composing this extremely popular lace4 ,a second girl had made the flowers1 and a third the exquisite open-work details introduced to lighten the whole4 ,considerable freedom is allowed the lace-worker in the execution of these open-work stitches4 ,if she has talent she may obtain many interesting original results in filling in1 for there is apparently no limit to the number of stitches she may employ4 ,in ,colette's little handkerchief square1 ,i discovered miniature marguerites and stars and airy balls4 ,each group had been made by a specialist 7many women have spent their lives in making just tiny stars or wheels71 and sent to the convent to be bound together with the leaves and roses into a beautiful whole by the clear mesh that dropt hexagon by hexagon from ,colette's swift needle4 ,illustration3 ,,handkerchief ,,and ,,jewel ,,boxes1 ,,flanders ,,and ,,venise ,,over ,,satin ,,and ,,velvet ,colette's neighbor was making the same mesh1 but as a background for bobbin-made clusters1 sent here from a bobbin-lace village to make the rare ,point d',angleterre1 a small quantity of which ,kerxken still produces4 ,in the corner of this class-room were the shelves with the essential skeins of thread2 cotton for the ,needle ,point1 linen for the ,venise4 ,the linen is more and more difficult to obtain1 and since it is hard to handle and breaks easily1 has been largely supplanted by cotton thread4 ,there were large cardboard boxes for the drawings and the pricked working patterns2 others for the little bobbin-lace roses and leaves and vines that were to be worked into ,brussels ,point2 and still more boxes for the finished meters and insets ready to be sold to the ,committee1 and later to the dealer who will replace the ,committee4 ,while we were examining the boxes a pretty1 dark-haired dentellire of about sixteen came in1 with work she had finished at home1 two handkerchiefs with ,brussels ,point borders1 and two and a half meters of ,venise1 on which she had worked five and a half months and for which she asked #afj francs1 or #dj4jj4 ,in the 8imitation0 room we passed quickly by the lengths of inferior filet and the piles of cheap collars made by men2 there was little temptation to linger there4 ,the only defense against that room is more pay for the work across the hall4 ,we climbed the stairs shivering and looked into the neat little bedrooms with their white board floors1 and into the icy chapel where ,sur ,robertine declared she could be quite comfortable with only a small black woolen shawl over her shoulders4 ,we had brought our lunch1 but were not allowed to eat it4 ,sister ,a41 an excellent cook1 had prepared hot soup1 potatoes and meat1 and a dried apple mousse which we persuaded ,sur ,robertine to share with us4 ,and after lunch1 the orphan and refugee children came in to shake hands1 also ,janiken1 the poor 8idiote0 who is forty-nine years old1 but still a child1 with a strange1 animal-like expression on her face4 ,sur ,robertine held her hand for us to shake1 otherwise little ,janiken seemed able to direct her own movements4 ,she smiled and chatted in ,flemish1 then waddled off quite happy with the candies and cakes we had brought4 ,janiken spends her days making bead collars and bracelets for the sisters1 whom she loves1 and when her bead boxes are empty she places them at the foot of the statue at the end of the narrow corridor upstairs1 and prays the good ,saint ,anthony to refill them1 that she may weave more necklaces4 ,at night as the sisters pass silently by the statue1 they snap the threads of their former gifts1 letting the beads shower into the boxes1 and in the morning ,janiken is happy again4 ,sur ,robertine had never ridden in a motor1 and when we proposed that she accompany us to the ,franciscaine convent at ,erembodeghem1 not very far away1 her eyes shone4 ,and ,i shall not forget the faces of the others1 as after a further bustle of leave-takings and good wishes1 they leaned from the green doorway in the rain1 clasping their hands and laughing and nodding1 while we tucked their beloved sister into our car4 ,sur ,robertine herself sat silently and ecstatically in a corner1 determined to miss no part of this extraordinary experience4 ,,vii ,,erembodeghem ,the ,queen's ,cloth ,erembodeghem is a commune of about #f1jjj inhabitants1 tho the pretty winding street by which we entered1 with the picturesque1 red-tiled houses clustered irregularly along both sides of it1 suggests a smaller village4 ,nearly all the women in this town1 as in ,kerxken1 make lace1 and again it is chiefly ,needle ,point and ,venise4 ,the convent1 which furnishes the customary directing and stimulating center1 has no superior in the country for its particular laces1 unless one grants preference to its own mother house at ,opbrakel4 ,as we entered the courtyard1 a group of ,french soldiers were warming themselves before a fire they had lighted beneath a dripping canvas tent-roof stretched across a corner of the wall4 ,in the dreary rain the fire flaming against the brick wall1 and the horizon blue of the uniforms were a cheery greeting4 ,but inside the convent1 alas1 there was less cheer2 indeed1 there was the chill of the tomb1 no coal for the poor sisters1 who were for lack of it unable to conduct the regular school classes4 ,they told us of their distress over the idleness of the children1 who had been turned into the streets by the ,germans many weeks before1 and whom they were not yet able to reassemble4 8,their manners are already so bad10 ,sister ,a4 said1 8that we are ashamed to own them as our pupils40 ,the ,germans left the class-rooms in the familiar condition1 and the sisters had no sooner finished patching and disinfecting1 than the ,italian soldiers were billeted there4 ,they were too loyal to criticise but ,i suspect that their experiences after the departure of the ,italians must have convinced them that1 after all1 a new army is just another army4 ,the ,french followed1 but they at least were occupying only four class-rooms1 and the sisters were trying to be optimistic4 8,we believe they must be better10 one of them said1 with a smile2 8however1 we shall not know until they are gone40 8,at any rate10 she continued1 8our lace-room has not been requisitioned2 we have had enough coal to keep a little fire there4 ,during all the four years that work has never stopt40 ,since it was ,saturday afternoon there were many vacant chairs in the class-room1 but still enough girls were present to enable us to judge of the kind of lace school this is4 ,little girls between nine and ten1 sitting up very straight in their high-backed chairs1 were working with swift1 steady fingers and already producing a good ,venise insertion of a simple leaf pattern4 ,several of the other girls were busy with the now well-known ,venetian ,point medallions representing the arms of the ,allied nations1 and the provinces of ,belgium2 still others were executing flower details for yard lace4 ,all this ,venise they were making with a needle and single linen thread1 for this convent works exclusively with linen thread4 ,they were handling the black cloth patterns1 eight to ten inches wide1 with apparent ease1 turning them with almost every stitch4 ,this mere mastery of the pattern is in itself impressive4 ,in a corner1 near one of the great windows overlooking the walled-in winter garden1 a slim1 darkly clad girl about sixteen was absorbed in pricking a complicated pattern4 ,sister ,a4 led me a little aside to explain that this was their feeble-minded girl and that tho they could not explain it1 she was able to interpret correctly very difficult drawings4 ,illustration3 ,,venise ,,banquet ,,cloth ,,presented ,,by ,,the ,,lace ,,committee ,,to ,h4,m4 ,,queen ,,elizabeth ,,on ,,her ,,return ,,from ,,exile ,design by ,m4 de ,rudder2 executed by the #cj best ,venise-makers in ,belgium in six months ,at the ,committee ,bureau ,i had seen many of the wonderful cloths made from ,venise details from this convent 7among them the cloth typifying the burning cities1 presented to ,mrs4 ,hoover71 but ,i had never imagined anything so lovely as the exhibit the sisters had been arranging on the long1 low table1 while we were passing from chair to chair following the magic needles4444 ,we turned to find the separate parts of a banquet cloth to be offered to ,queen ,elizabeth on her return from exile1 assembled for us4 ,two hundred and twenty details1 there were1 on which during the darkest days of the war1 women had worked with unfaltering faith and love4 ,m4 de ,rudder1 a well-known ,belgian artist1 had drawn the design for the ,lace ,committee4 ,the border1 edged with ivy1 the symbol of endurance1 is composed of ferns and wild flowers1 eels and sea-weed1 suggesting the forests and fields and waters of ,belgium4 ,adjoining them are the coats of arms of destroyed cities1 bordered by a band of lilies of the valley1 signifying the return of happiness4 ,in the center1 the four patron saints of ,brussels1 ,saints ,michel and ,george1 and ,saints ,elizabeth and ,gudule1 are enwreathed with olive branches4 ,saint ,elizabeth1 above the ,red ,cross1 represents the ,queen and her devoted service as nurse during the war1 while the eight medallions near her carry the names of the ,beatitudes4 ,opposite ,saint ,elizabeth is ,saint ,george1 who represents ,king ,albert4 ,below him is the ,belgian decoration for bravery1 and in the surrounding medallions are woven the names of battles won by him4 ,between ,saint ,elizabeth and ,saint ,george1 are the immortal words spoken by ,his ,majesty as he went from the ,chamber1 sword in hand1 on the #dth of ,august1 #aiad3 8,j'ai foi dans nos destines6 ,un pays qui se dfend s'impose au respect de tous1 ce pays ne prit pas60 ,it is one thing to mention a few of the two hundred and twenty details of this glorious cloth1 it is quite another to hold any one of them in one's hand and realize its perfection1 its incredible combination of softness and delicacy and firmness and regularity4 ,the twelve sisters gathered happily about us1 as we sat before the table quite breathless over the discovery of one new beauty after another in their truly royal gift4 ,and then they brought us something much less important1 but nevertheless exquisite1 the work of ,sister ,s41 which they show rarely1 a length of ,rose ,point about four inches wide1 and which even the women of the ,committee after their long years' constant experience in lace1 said they had never seen surpassed4 ,the linen thread ordinarily used in ,venise runs from ,number #bjj to ,number #cjj4 ,this lace1 whose base is formed by an ethereal interlacing of vines and tendrils1 is made with ,number #bjjj4 ,one can work on it scarcely more than two or three hours a day1 and then only under the best light4 ,sister ,s4 brought me the magnifying-glass1 without which ,i could not have followed the exquisitely varied points1 and lifted the infinitesimal petals of the tiny flowers incrusting the background of interwoven tendrils4 ,in some of these microscopic blooms were as many as four layers of petals4 ,it would be useless to attempt to describe the loveliness that results from the blending of the background of vines and lifted blossoms4 ,i asked what a meter of such lace would bring and learned that it will probably be sold in ,paris for #a1jjj francs1 tho these sisters would be happy to guard it as one of their convent treasures4 ,illustration3 ,,cushion ,,cover ,,in ,,venise ,pekinese dog design1 by ,m4 ,allard ,illustration3 ,,table ,,center ,,in ,,flanders ,,with ,,center ,,and ,,border ,,of ,,venise ,design by ,lace ,committee2 executed in ,west ,flanders by five workers in #ae days ,we had intended going into some of the neighborhood houses to watch the work of the older women1 but it seemed impossible to look at any other lace that day and we said good-by4 ,and while the chauffeur brushed away the small boys clinging to or crawling over the car1 we again tucked our sister in1 to carry her home to ,kerxken2 it had been a great day for ,sur ,robertine and for us4 ,,viii ,,opbrakel ,mother ,house of a ,famous ,lace-making ,order ,after ,kerxken and ,erembodeghem ,i was not surprized1 when inquiring about needle laces further south1 to learn that the only school whose work could dispute first place with them was that of the mother house of the same order at ,opbrakel4 ,i had come to know that the finest needle laces of ,belgium are made in these convents of the ,surs ,franciscaines4 ,it was a bitter day1 but ,i determined to reach ,opbrakel despite shell-pitted roads and rain4 ,i succeeded even in making a short stop on the way at ,cruyshautem ,convent1 famous1 too1 for its ,needle ,point1 where the sisters would have detained me longer to describe again and again the entry of the ,american soldiers at #i o'clock in the morning on ,all ,saints ,day--the wonderful ,american soldiers who had arrived to free them from their oppressors of four years1 and who had remained to buy every scrap of lace in the convent1 carrying away the address with the promise to send for more4 ,in my journeying ,i discovered a pretty way of learning whose army occupied a particular village--,i looked for the first small boy to see which soldier's cap he proudly wore4 ,thus at ,opbrakel1 tho it was late afternoon when ,i arrived1 there were children still playing in the street1 and the boys jauntily wearing the horizontal blue announced to me that the ,french were there4 ,these small boys1 and later the soldiers themselves1 examined my mud-splashed car with much curiosity1 as it drew up in front of the convent door4 ,my visit was quite unannounced1 but the sisters held out their hands in welcome1 and drew me in out of the rain1 speaking1 as they did so1 words ,i had almost forgotten1 8,hot milk2 you must drink a cup of hot milk at once1 ,madame1 and your chauffeur also2 this is a cruel day for journeying40 ,they led me to a little room1 where ,i found another unaccustomed comfort1 a tiny fire burning brightly4 ,as ,i sat before it1 sipping the sweet milk1 the first ,i had had since leaving ,america1 ,i remembered the gratitude of travelers in the middle ages toward the convents and abbeys whose doors they found open4 ,the war had brought a return of many of the difficulties and perils that beset them1 with the comfortable hostelries of pre-war days pillaged and ruined1 the little restaurants or cafs that could do business filled to overflowing with soldiers 7,i have spent hours in the wind and rain at night vainly trying to find a bed1 or a place for my car71 with roads wrecked1 neither post nor telegraph1 nor train1 and natural accompaniment of all this disorganization1 the necessity of being ever on guard against thieves--in the midst of conditions like these we can appreciate the meaning of the cheering hospitality the convent offers4 ,while we sat before the fire the ,mother ,superior had one of the sisters show me a treasure of the school1 a framed exhibit1 illustrating in miniature all the processes employed in the making of the needle laces1 which they had prepared for the last ,international ,exposition at ,brussels4 ,then she recounted for me a little of the history of her lace-making convent1 which celebrates its centenary this year1 this free year of #aiai4 ,i could imagine what it would have meant to try to be joyful over such an anniversary with the enemy heel still on one's back4 ,one hundred years ago the commune of ,opbrakel was in such a wretched state of poverty and misery that among its #b1jjj inhabitants1 #hjj were beggars2 and as often happened elsewhere during the period of suffering following the ,napoleonic wars1 the cur of the commune sought to relieve it by founding a convent which should teach the art of lace-making1 to furnish a means of earning bread4 ,he called the ,franciscaine ,sisters who soon had #ajj pupils in their lace-classes1 and among them a number of boys4 ,from those days to these1 lace-making in this convent has never ceased2 there are now not more than #abe pupils in the excellent school1 but in the homes of the entire region are those who have learned their art there4 ,the sisters taught first1 ,chantilly 7,opbrakel is very near ,grammont1 the ,belgian home of ,chantilly71 but about fifty years ago changed from bobbin to needle lace1 and since about twelve years ago1 they have specialized on the particular needle lace1 ,venetian ,point1 in which they are unexcelled4 ,few of the enraptured tourists in ,venise realize that the laces they are buying there were very probably made in ,flanders6 ,important lace schools and work-rooms have from time to time concentrated all their skill on the production of a masterpiece that might represent them to the world and awaken wide interest and approval4 ,we have a long list of such chefs-d'uvres from the lace-rooms of ,belgium1 of lovely scarfs and cloths and robes offered to sovereigns or distinguished patrons4 ,and happily during the war the ,committee could encourage this practise by giving orders or special 8commands0 to be executed as gifts for benefactors4 ,several of these presentation pieces will have enduring value historically as well as artistically4 ,more than one command fell to the share of ,opbrakel1 and among others that for a scarf offered to the ,queen of ,holland in appreciation of her country's generosity to ,belgians within ,dutch borders4 ,the dentellires1 each proud to be selected for the royal task1 worked many months on the countless exquisite needle points in this delicate veil4 ,on the scarf ends they united the arms of ,holland and ,belgium1 engarlanding them with hyacinths and tulips1 the ,dutch national flowers1 and about these in turn they wove lilies of the valley1 symbolizing the return of happiness4 ,below the medallion rest the ,belgian provinces1 enchained1 and above them they represented the children of ,holland showering flowers of abundance upon the martyred children of their sister kingdom4 ,it would have been pleasant to talk of other master-works1 but we had already sat too long before the fire and we hurried now to reach the large1 airy class-room across the court before dark4 ,when starting on my lace journey1 ,i had been warned that1 once ,i had visited the bobbin-lace work-room with all the picturesqueness of the cushion with its mounds of bobbins and clustered pins1 and of the flying fingers and the continuous cadences of the clinking wood1 ,i would find needle-lace classes uninteresting4 ,in the beginning this was true2 there was nothing particularly dramatic or stirring in a great room filled with girls and young women holding little black paper patterns in their hands and plying a needle above them4 ,but the more ,i watched these little patterns and the fingers directing the needle and thread1 the more marvelous the accomplishment appeared--cotton and linen so fine that it seemed impossible that any finger should control them--cobwebby1 diaphanous meshes1 richly petalled tiny flowers1 and delicately veined leaves growing beneath just a common needle and a single thread4 ,in the end ,i looked eagerly for the needle rooms4 ,illustration3 8,,the ,,tourney0 ,,banquet ,,cloth ,design reproducing a medival painting in ,tournai1 executed in ,venise lace by #aj workers in one month1 mounting and embroidery by five workers in one month4 ,price in ,brussels1 #a1jjj francs ,illustration3 8,,arms ,,of ,,ypres0 ,,cushion ,,cover ,,in ,,venise1 ,,with ,,details ,,in ,,flanders ,and this was the most rewarding one ,i had yet visited4 ,it happened that the majority of the pupils were busy on the details of a tablecloth recently designed by ,madame ,allard1 in which the linen center is encircled by a family of little beasts as gay as any ever gathered together to cheer a dinner company4 ,i laughed outright1 as a little girl1 herself laughing1 held up an exquisitely worked and most vividly real group of happy ducks floating on a pond4 ,the next showed her enchanting rabbits1 another her deer--all along the line they were chuckling over the success of their particular pets4 ,they had captured the sunshine and happy motion of a farm-yard world with just a needle and a single linen thread6 ,here1 as at ,erembodeghem1 only linen thread is used1 because tho it is more difficult to handle1 it produces a finer and stronger lace than cotton4 ,after several months 7it took six months to execute the first cloth of this design7 the details would be assembled and joined by special workers1 following the large paper pattern the sisters were now spreading across a table1 which had been sent down to ,opbrakel from the room of design at ,brussels4 ,and the finished cloth1 as delightful as an early naive tapestry with its smiling animals1 would be sent to the ,committee for sale4 ,opbrakel stands unquestionably first in ,belgium in the production of figures in ,point de ,venise4 ,during the war1 its workers have repeated several times for the ,committee their beautiful 8,fables de ,la ,fontaine0 series of medallions1 as well as those which represent so charmingly 8,little ,red ,riding-,hood10 8,puss in ,boots10 8,the ,sleeping ,beauty10 and other much loved fairy-tale figures4 ,these medallions have been sold separately as doilies1 or have been combined with ,flanders lace or linen in handsome cloths4 ,it was fast growing dark1 and the #abe girls began folding their patterns1 and carefully wrapping their delicately pictured little rabbits and ducks to keep them clean till the morrow2 maids appeared with dust-pans and brooms1 and we gathered up our skirts and stept out into the courtyard4 ,as we crossed it in the dark and the rain it was difficult to refuse the further hospitality of these sisters1 who would have kept me for the night4 ,,ix ,,liedekerke ,the ,last ,lace ,stronghold of ,brabant ,in the court in front of the big brick convent building with its odd little steeple1 two sisters1 skirts tucked up1 and pails swung over their shoulders1 ,chinese fashion1 were about to begin the ,saturday scrubbing4 ,madame ,kefer-,mali and ,i were on our way to ,liedekerke1 the principal remaining lace center in ,brabant1 and had stopt in this less important village of ,heckelgem for a look at the convent school opened nine years ago4 ,in the village itself we had found about #aej of the #b1jjj inhabitants busy with their needles1 for this is distinctly a needle-lace commune1 producing a fairly good quality of ,venise4 ,which means that there are as yet no local mills1 and tho an adjacent match factory has already attracted a number of ,heckelgem girls1 most of the women are still content to spend their time making ,venise1 which they take to the convent1 to be sold there to ,brussels or other agents4 ,the convent class-rooms were warm and cheery2 fern baskets hung from the ceilings and every window was gay with potted plants4 ,practically all the village children were gathered inside1 and since it was #aa o'clock when we arrived1 were happily engaged in drinking their daily ,comit ,national cup of cocoa and in eating the good white biscuit that goes with it4 ,saturday morning is mending time and on the girls' desks ,i saw more of those amazing patchwork socks and stockings1 the result of three or four years' weekly attempts to hold them together4 ,illustration3 ,,needle-,,point ,,scarf ,,expressing ,,gratitude ,,of ,,belgium ,,to ,,holland1 ,,presented ,,to ,h4,m4 ,,queen ,,wilhelmina ,executed by #cj workers in eight months ,in the advanced lace class-room1 thirty girls1 between thirteen and sixteen1 were working with cotton thread on ,venise insertions and on details for larger pieces4 ,they had come at #h o'clock that morning1 a more humane beginning hour than most schools allow1 and would remain as long as there was daylight--looping and weaving with a needle and single thread4 ,i stopt beside ,rosalie1 who was making a pretty flower detail for a cushion cover4 ,she had begun it five days before and hoped to finish1 and receive the seven francs she was allowed for it1 that night4 ,on the table was a pile of chairbacks in ,venise1 with figure centers and surrounding garlands of flowers all connected by the bars characterizing this lace--an order for a ,brussels dealer1 who had recently offered fifty-two francs each for them4 ,the sisters were excited and happy over this new price1 which was considerably more than anything ,heckelgem has hitherto been able to command1 one and a half francs a day having been the average wage of the best workers4 ,a little farther to the south and still in ,brabant1 tho it lies near the ,flanders border1 is the much better known convent of ,liedekerke1 which boasts an unbroken record of sixty years of lace-making1 and which before the war received a yearly subsidy of #hjj francs from the 8,amies de la ,dentelle40 ,as we walked beside the pretty orchard and vegetable garden1 bright with purple cabbages1 that form the entrance court1 toward the rather impressive red-brick buildings1 again with their odd miniature steeple1 ,i saw the great arms of a ,dutch windmill turning lazily somewhere in the rear4 ,and nearer the door1 off at the left in a side court1 a war-kitchen with tiled floor and uncertain roof1 where hundreds of the village poor still were coming for their daily pint of soup4 ,of the #d1jjj inhabitants as many as #b1ijj were forced on to the soup-line during the occupation4 ,this1 then1 was one of the important and successful convent schools of ,belgium2 but in ,january1 #aiai1 it was in a much sadder plight than the little neighboring school at ,heckelgem4 ,there was no coal1 not a class was in session1 not a child at work with her bobbins4 ,at #d o'clock in the afternoon1 on ,monday1 ,october #bh1 when there were between #hjj and #ijj children1 among them #ajj lace-workers1 gathered in the various class-rooms1 ,german officers had appeared to announce that by #g o'clock the rooms must be cleared of both teachers and children4 ,i had already had many demonstrations of what taking possession of school-rooms meant4 ,it was not necessary that the sisters should lead me from room to room1 pointing out this or that ruined wall1 or casement torn away1 or vacant space where the benches or chairs burned as firewood1 once stood2 but ,i followed them about for their own sakes4 ,there was at least a kind of comfort in being able to furnish proof of these outrages to somebody4 ,one small room was undisturbed1 but it was a sadder room than any of the others4 ,the primary lace-class had occupied it1 and several rows of little girls were learning to make their first flowers and leaves when the enemy drove them out4 ,the baby chairs and the cushions were just as they left them1 tho thick dust dulled the blue of the linen covers and the tiny unfinished white roses and tendrils held by the rusty pins4 ,one would have liked to bring the enemy mothers into this room with its baby chairs1 and its dust-covered unfinished roses4 ,in the large adjoining hall ,sister ,m4 kindly came to work at a table1 on ,application1 one of the laces for which ,liedekerke has been especially distinguished4 ,before the ,english invention1 early in #ahjj1 of machine-made tulle1 which had an incalculable influence on the development of the lace-industry1 all meshes had to be made either with the needle or with bobbins4 ,the factory substitute for these difficult processes won instant favor1 and with the general public the more swiftly made and cheaper tulle ,application1 supplanted the exquisite ,point d',angleterre1 which it imitated4 ,liedekerke1 for example1 had begun its lace career with ,point d',angleterre1 and in changing later to ,application1 was merely responding to popular demand4 ,its sixty years of lace-history reads3 ,point d',angleterre1 ,application1 ,rosaline4 ,these things ,madame ,kefer-,mali explained1 as ,sister ,m4 was placing her square of blue paper on the linen of the table cushion1 and then the bobbin-made bouquet1 wrong side up on the blue square1 pinning it carefully and smoothly through the paper to the cushion4 ,over this she stretched her scarf length of tulle4 ,i was surprized at the time and painstaking effort she gave to these simple operations1 until ,i saw later the effect of the slightest carelessness on the finished flounce4 ,almost any clever needlewoman can join a flower to a piece of tulle--but only an artist can produce a beautiful scarf or veil in ,application4 ,once the bouquet was properly placed and pinned1 ,sister ,m4 began to sew1 lifting the tulle lightly with each stitch1 and smoothly attaching all the edges1 for this bouquet was being appliqud on the body of the scarf4 ,had it formed the border one edge would have remained free4 ,liedekerke ,convent1 to which some #bjj of the villagers bring their laces and which once made little else than ,application 7many beautiful robes and flounces and scarfs have gone out from the commune and the school71 now makes comparatively little of it2 for during the last six years ,paris and other markets have asked for ,rosaline4 ,it is to be hoped that this small quantity may be continued1 and that the lace world may still win at least a few pieces yearly of the earlier1 more exquisite ,point d',angleterre4 ,point d',angleterre1 so named because of its great popularity in ,england1 reached its height in beauty and in favor during the seventeenth century1 when it occupied the talent and energy of all the lace-workers of ,brussels4 ,it differs from ,needle ,point1 in which both flowers and mesh are made with the needle4 ,it is one of the loveliest of all laces1 combining in rare beauty1 rich bouquets and arabesques and birds of finest bobbin work1 with a frail transparent needle mesh1 the flowers themselves becoming frequently more light and delicate through the introduction of charmingly varied needle-worked open spaces4 ,certain workers make the flowers1 and others the connecting mesh4 ,if one can imagine the softness of a kind of sublimated or diaphanous velvet1 added to the fragility of an airy and cobwebby lace1 one may have some idea of the effect of good ,point d',angleterre4 ,and if one would possess a collar or a flounce1 one should buy it quickly1 for ,point d',angleterre is going the way of the other difficult and exquisite points4 ,such villages as ,kerxken1 ,liedekerke1 ,destelbergen 7near ,ghent71 and those of the ,alost region still make occasional pieces4 ,illustration3 ,,bobbin ,,laces 7#a7 ,malines 7#b7 ,application1 flowers sewn on tulle 7#c7 ,duchesse1 with needle-point insertions ,illustration3 ,,application ,,details ,,to ,,be ,,sewed ,,on ,,tulle ,upper flower shows open spaces left by bobbin worker for needle worker2 lower flower shows both bobbin and needle work completed ,the more ordinary ,point de ,flandres1 or ,flanders1 so generally produced to-day1 has the same composition as ,point d',angleterre1 since in it bobbin-work flowers are joined by a needle-mesh4 ,and even tho coarser and less complicated than ,point d',angleterre1 ,point de ,flandres is also difficult to make1 and should be much better paid4 ,there are innumerable differences in quality1 and many ways in which this lace may be employed4 ,the ,committee has used it chiefly in elegant table centers and cloths1 in lamp-shades and in various articles to embellish a drawing-or dining-room4 ,and this summer of #aiai it is being used with much success by important ,french houses as trimming for dainty ninon underclothing4 ,nineteenth century ,point de ,flandres1 then1 is little more than a commercial name for a very coarse kind of ,point d',angleterre4 ,this ,point de ,flandres must not be confused with ,old ,flanders or ,antik1 the ancient bobbin-lace experiencing a happy revival at present4 ,old ,flanders is1 like ,cluny1 made entirely with bobbins and with uncut threads2 in other words1 in single lengths1 and not in separate or cut details4 ,liedekerke1 then1 first made ,point d',angleterre for which1 after a certain time1 it substituted ,application1 changing again about two years before the war to ,rosaline1 suddenly become a popular lace4 ,rosaline is not very different in appearance from the finer varieties of ,bruges2 in fact1 it employs much the same technique1 and is made as is ,bruges with bobbins1 in small pieces1 which are later joined by special workers4 ,a dentellire who can make fine ,bruges can usually make ,rosaline4 ,each small piece is composed of elaborately interlacing flowers and leaves and arabesques1 without a connecting mesh1 but joined by brides or bars1 with a picot edge4 ,sometimes the tiny incrustations called pearls1 common to ,burano lace1 are added1 to further ornament the richly covered ground4 ,i watched a ,rosaline cushion1 on which the pattern of an arabesque detail was pinned1 and ,sister ,a41 as she began to shift in pairs the fourteen bobbins needed to execute it2 one pair1 the voyageurs1 were continually traveling from right to left and back again as she wove the flat parts of the leaves and blossoms4 ,the ,rosaline technique is particularly difficult1 since the pins must be continually and rapidly changed as the worker1 with a crochet-hook1 lifts the thread to pass her bobbin through in the characteristic loop stitch4 ,this delicate operation1 constantly repeated1 strains both eyes and nerves4 ,the pins are placed along the outside edge of the flowers1 instead of inside1 as in ,bruges1 which produces the picot or looped-edge effect of ,rosaline4 ,in ,bruges the flower edges are even4 ,i turned from the arabesques just beginning to grow on the cushion1 to a lovely little finished detail1 about four inches square1 one of several in a box which was to hold them till they could be joined to make a scarf4 ,it had taken seven days of thirteen hours each to make this four by four piece1 which meant that the maximum a skilled worker could earn in executing it was about two francs a day4 ,the ,liedekerke convent school does not accept children under twelve for more than two complete afternoons a week and for more than one hour each of the other days1 these hours being lengthened gradually until the girl of sixteen gives her entire time to her lace4 ,the sisters hope that once they find coal and thread and can put their class-room in order1 they may again have #ajj pupils1 and that the village may continue to count at least #bjj good dentellires4 ,x ,,herzele ,a ,chteau of ,refuge ,there are certain chteaux in ,belgium that will be remembered throughout this century as harbors of refuge2 they dared not flare beacons from their roofs1 but during four dark years1 people of the nearby communes knew that day and night lights burned there for them4 ,the chteau of the ,comte du ,parc was such a one1 a property lying on the edge of the village of ,herzele1 south of ,alost1 which1 tho the house itself is unpretentious1 embraces a lovely park and wood1 and from which1 incidentally1 the ,germans cut #a1jjj trees4 ,it is no longer only the estate of the du ,parcs1 it is the loved shelter of every villager accustomed to hurry toward it in sad or perilous hours4 ,the morale of the entire region was sustained by the knowledge that the people of the chteau had not left1 as they easily might have1 for their safer ,brussels home1 in the zone of civil administration1 where if not free1 they would at least have been less imprisoned1 but had chosen to remain in the military zone1 utterly cut off from their relatives and the rest of ,belgium4 ,they might have considered several reasons sufficiently important to call them away 7the ,bourgmestre of ,herzele had found at least one1 his ill-health72 among other things their chteau was as yet practically uninhabitable4 ,it had been begun only a short time before the war broke out1 and with the sounding of the first alarm the workmen had rushed out to report to their officers1 leaving electric cords dangling1 unmounted fixtures standing against the walls1 and neither hot water nor heating systems installed4 ,madame told me later of her desperate and amusing efforts to fasten locks on the most important doors4 ,as she and her husband were debating how they might arrange one large room in the left wing as their single general living-room they could already see the villagers coming anxiously along the tree-lined avenue and across the park to inquire if they were still there4 8,after the first troubled questions10 ,monsieur said1 8even if we had not already decided we must stay1 it would have been quite impossible to go away40 ,the soldiers of the village were leaving with scarcely time for good-bys2 ,madame understood the fears of the women who came to the chteau for comfort2 her only son1 too1 a brave1 handsome boy1 was off to join the colors--her brave1 handsome boy1 who now lies buried not far from the ,yser4 ,in ,october the victorious ,germans pushed southward1 and from the #adth to the #ahth1 shrapnel fell like rain on the park1 but the chteau escaped unharmed4 ,then three officers of the occupying army rode up on horseback1 revolvers in hand1 demanding that the ,comte present himself immediately4 ,madame followed her husband1 not knowing what to expect4 ,to their first threat1 ,monsieur replied calmly1 8,i do not like those objects10 and after a moment's hesitation the officers lowered their weapons4 ,then they demanded guaranties that they would be absolutely safe from attack by any person1 either of the chteau or the village4 8,i can1 of course1 speak for my chteau10 ,monsieur answered1 8but ,i can not be responsible for the villagers if they are pushed too far40 ,these villagers themselves told me later that they were convinced it was only the presence of the ,comte 7the bullies were frequently servile before titles and powerless before fearlessness7 that saved ,herzele from destruction4 8,we always expected the worst10 they said2 8in the early days1 when the ,boches lighted a great fire in the wood1 we rushed to the chteau1 believing it was burning40 ,from the beginning1 ,madame and her two daughters looked for some constructive aid they might give their women1 something more than the general relief furnished by the ,comit ,national4 ,of the #b1ejj inhabitants of the village1 #a1gjj were soon on the lists of the helpless or destitute2 among these were many tuberculosis victims4 ,the chteau living-room became first a clothing bureau1 where daily all sorts of garments1 sent from ,america1 were distributed4 ,madame engaged some of the women of the village to patch and re-fashion these1 and with certain sums of money that succeeded in reaching her from time to time from an ,american lady who had 8adopted0 ,herzele1 she was able to purchase new materials and offer further saving employment4 ,i do not know the ,american lady1 but if she could have seen ,madame's eyes as she told me of what it meant1 imprisoned as they were1 to receive these gifts from some one outside who remembered them1 ,i do not doubt she would have felt sufficiently rewarded4 ,in #aiaf1 when ,i was in ,belgium as a member of the ,commission for ,relief in ,belgium1 the ,germans prevented my going near ,herzele1 or any point in the zone of direct military preparation1 so ,i could follow the work of ,monsieur and ,madame only through the ,brussels ,lace ,committee1 which had itself great difficulty in keeping connected with them4 ,they made their judgments from the ever increasing quantities and improved quality of the laces that somehow came through4 ,the room in the chteau was the lace office not only for ,herzele1 but for eleven additional villages1 where between #b1ejj and #c1jjj girls and women1 encouraged by the ,committee support--its designs and thread and money--were busy with their needles and bobbins2 for while this is chiefly a needle-work district1 large quantities of bobbin laces are also made4 ,to be sure1 none of these laces is superior1 but they are good1 and marketable4 ,they include ,cluny1 ,duchesse de ,bruxelles1 a kind of coarse ,flanders 7where the flowers are made with bobbins and the mesh with the needle71 ,venise1 and ,rosaline2 and of these the ,flanders and ,venise are most important4 ,at times it was not difficult for the dentellires to take or send their finished lace to the chteau1 at others they were threatened with fines and imprisonment if they were discovered trying to get it there4 ,to refer to but one instance1 the facteur of the village three miles distant was fined seventy-five francs when caught on the way with his pieces4 ,the ,germans were doing their utmost always1 to attach lace-makers to their ,spitzen ,centrale1 and despite the international agreement which engaged their protection of the work of the ,brussels ,lace ,committee1 they interfered with and obstructed its work again and again4 ,at one point they insisted that all deliveries to the ,committee should be made through them1 and that they be paid #a per cent4 on the value1 in gold1 for transmission1 where transmission1 unfortunately1 only too often spelled for them retention4 ,in the village ,madame and her daughters went from house to house1 instructing and comforting4 ,the days of the deportations were more terrible than any others4 ,in remembering that first hideous deportation night in ,herzele1 one remembers1 too1 that early in the war ,cardinal ,mercier said that while there was once a time1 when to make people believe1 we felt we must heighten1 or embellish the cold facts1 that now in order that they should believe1 we must withhold part of the truth4 ,that first night1 men and boys were torn from their beds and herded into the school1 from there to be carried off in cattle-cars to ,germany4 ,there was neither light nor heat1 and in the cold and the darkness1 the tortured little village broke into a great cry of lamentation1 while the chteau was filled with wives and mothers seeking comfort4 ,later1 when the activist troubles became acute1 the two daughters held meetings even in the cabarets to urge loyalty to a united ,belgium4 ,they believe that not one person in their entire village can be said to have worked for the enemy1 except when deported bodily1 or otherwise coerced4 ,somehow the years passed1 and then one day1 the #afth of ,september1 #aiag1 bits of white paper fell like snow from the clouds4 ,the family rushed out to gather them and found ,lord ,northcliffe's celebrated posters1 8,the ,first ,million10 representing a vast multitude on the march1 the statue of liberty in the background1 the fields of ,france in the foreground1 and a continuous bridge of ships connecting them4 ,this snowfall was followed by others1 and each brought hope4 ,finally1 in ,october1 #aiah1 the ,germans1 knowing the ,allied ,army of ,liberation was almost upon them1 again pulled their guns up into the chteau grounds1 but in the final fighting1 as in the earliest1 the house somehow escaped4 ,illustration3 ,,wedding ,,gift ,,of ,,mr4 ,,hoover ,,to ,,mrs4 ,,page ,executed in ,venise and ,flanders lace by #cj women working three months4 ,american eagles with outspread wings1 protecting the ,belgian ,lion enchained in the four corners ,illustration3 ,,flanders--,,needle ,,mesh1 ,,bobbin ,,flowers ,when ,i reached ,herzele1 in ,january1 #aiai1 the wide park was beautiful and still1 green things were sprouting beneath the trees1 there were a few birds2 to a stranger there was little evidence of the terrible years4 ,but inside1 in the cold1 unfinished hall1 the electric cords still dangled2 everything was as the ,belgian workmen had left it four and a half years before4 ,and in the single living-room at the left1 rudely furnished1 but including through large windows the beauty of the park1 there were still the war-time desk and long table with the piles of trousers and shirts at one end1 and the rolls of white lace at the other4 ,i shook out a scarf of ,duchesse de ,bruxelles of flower and leaf pattern1 with insets in needle work1 and several wide flounces of ,flanders lace1 of the same pattern ,i had seen used in the charming lamp-shades on sale in the ,committee room at ,brussels4 ,there were also rolls of ,bruges1 and ,rosaline1 ,application1 and ,point d',angleterre4 ,illustration3 ,,venise ,,lace ,,center1 ,,border ,,of ,,valenciennes ,lace executed in ,flanders by #dj women in two months2 embroidery and mounting in ,brussels by four women in three months ,illustration3 ,,valenciennes1 ,,square ,,mesh ,as ,i examined them1 ,monsieur got out his records and discust the future of his lace-workers4 8,i am convinced they will be happy to continue in this district1 if only they can be sure of a living wage4 ,and apart from other determining factors1 to make that1 they must learn to execute laces of better quality4 ,we need1 above all1 a school which will offer along with its courses in practical lace-making1 training in design4 ,during the war we had many beautiful designs from the ,committee1 but each time we were cut off from them we realized our helplessness4 ,in one of the villages the patterns are drawn by a furniture-maker4 ,one reason for the wretched condition of the workers before the war was their entire dependence on the particular lace dealer who furnished them their patterns and their thread1 and who1 of course1 protected his models by copyright4 ,the old1 unprotected designs1 which may be copied by any one1 are little in demand1 and during the process of generations of recopying1 many of them have so greatly deteriorated as to become scarcely recognizable4 ,if our women were trained they could restore these1 and1 what is more important1 some of them1 at least1 could invent new ones40 ,i asked what it would cost to found a school and support it during its first year4 8,perhaps #bj1jjj or #be1jjj francs2 we might hope that the ,state would undertake such a work1 but with its present overwhelming burden1 it is a question if the ,government can occupy itself with lace needs4 ,if it could be started by private initiative1 and prove successful1 ,i believe there is no doubt that the ,government would be willing later to subsidize it40 ,madame brought a picture post-card from the mantel1 of three brothers who had been deported1 two of whom had not returned4 ,other men were drifting back from ,metz1 where most of the dports from ,herzele had been for over two and a half years1 but these two would not return1 for they had been frozen to death4 ,i understood at once1 for ,i remembered the sixty-five men with black arms and legs who had been 8returned0 to the ,brussels ,hospital in #aiag4 8,no02 ,madame looked at the portrait of her boy1 with the ,belgian colors above it and a vase of flowers in front1 and then again at the little post-card2 8,no10 she said simply1 8,i have no desire yet to go to ,brussels4 ,i prefer to remain here with my people1 where we may still1 from time to time1 weep together40 ,,xi ,,ghent ,a ,lace ,queen of ,long ,ago ,of the cities ,i visited during three months' continuous travel in ,belgium following the armistice1 ,ghent appeared to me to be attacking her problems with greatest speed and vigor4 ,brave old ,burgher city of canals and mellow buildings and bell-towers1 this ,flemish capital is at the same time an active1 modern1 commercial center2 which explains why ,bruges has been able to win from her the title she once proudly held of 8,queen of ,lace ,cities40 ,the lace history of ,ghent begins with the lace history of ,belgium1 in the sixteenth century2 but her great period dates from the seventeenth century and the introduction of the epoch-making mesh of ,valenciennes4 ,the activity of her women and girls1 following the appearance of this new lace1 surpassed anything she had hitherto known2 it was not long before the music of #a1jjj1jjj bobbins rose to meet the riotous pealing of her bells4 ,in the sixteenth century ,malines had undisputed first place in lace2 ,ghent now out-stript her4 ,one wonders if part of the fascination of this city for the men the ,united ,states sent there in #ahad1 to make peace with ,england1 and who1 after six months' lingering1 had to be urged to return home1 lay in its clicking bobbins and the joyous garlands that blossomed under them4 ,there is a portrait in the ,htel de ,ville1 where one may see the ,empress ,marie-,thrse1 wearing the marvelous ,valenciennes and the ,needle ,point robe presented to her by the ,canton de ,gand in #agdc4 ,and scarcely more than a century later1 in #ahec1 the city made its last gift of similar magnificence--another robe1 valued at #bj1jjj francs1 on which #hj1jjj bobbins were employed unceasingly during six months1 and this time offered to the ,duchess of ,brabant1 ,marie-,henriette4 ,there were no succeeding world-stirring gifts of lace because ,ghent had begun to think of other things1 of industrial and commercial development1 and as she advanced in these1 the art of lace-making declined1 until to-day it has ceased to exist4 ,however1 in the surrounding communes 7the region counts fifty7 there are still perhaps #b1jjj dentellires making most of the bobbin and needle varieties1 the best among them being ,valenciennes1 ,flanders1 ,duchesse1 ,needle ,point1 ,bruges and ,rosaline4 ,the ,comtesse de ,bousies1 chairman of the ,ghent ,lace ,committee during the war1 did her best to encourage the work in these outlying districts1 and was able to help1 in addition1 many needy women in the city itself4 ,in #aiag1 for instance1 ,celine appeared at the office to ask for thread4 ,she was twenty years old1 and before the war had been one of the #aj1jjj women employed in the linen spinning mills2 her mother was ill with tuberculosis1 her father without work1 and also ill2 there were five younger children4 8,i know ,i have not proper fingers10 she said1 as she held out her rough hands1 8but if you will only promise ,i may bring my lace1 ,i believe ,i can learn40 ,the ,committee believed this1 too1 and because she worked with intelligence and with almost feverish eagerness1 she was soon assured the minimum wage of three francs a week1 and later the larger sums made possible with the ,committee's success4 ,shortly before the armistice1 the mother died1 and only last week ,celine came again to the desk to ask anxiously if the ,committee could not somehow arrange1 that even after they had disbanded1 she might continue to make lace4 ,her father had found a little work2 she wanted to remain at home where she might at least direct the younger children1 and she could1 if only she were sure of her war-time wage4 ,could not the ,committee promise the sale of her laces8 ,often repeated question during these courage-testing days1 when emergency organizations are breaking up1 and poor women do not yet see what is to replace them4 ,among the more important communes on the ,ghent committee list1 ,i found ,oosterzele1 ,baelegem1 and ,landsanter1 all three producing a good quality of ,duchesse1 ,flanders1 ,needle ,point and ,venise1 and counting together about #afj lace-makers2 ,gysenzeele and ,destelbergen1 which make fine ,flanders1 and ,duchesse1 ,knesselars1 with #bej ,cluny workers2 ,asper with #fj in ,venise2 the convents of ,scheldewinkle and ,eecke1 the first occupied with ,venise1 the second with ,needle ,point and ,duchesse1 which it sells to an ,american house1 and finally1 the larger ,deynze district1 including ,vynck1 ,lootenhulle1 ,machelin1 the ,valenciennes convent school at ,ruysselede1 and ,bachte1 with perhaps #djj lace-makers in all4 ,i got my orientation for this last southern district from the ,comtesse d',alcantara1 who has been indefatigable in her double rle of chairman of ,deynze and vice-chairman of the regional committee4 ,constantly throughout the war1 she might have been seen starting from the handsome chteau at ,bachte--one of the most imposing in ,belgium--on bicycle or on foot on her way to one of the lace villages1 with thread and money for the workers1 or at night returning with the rolls of lace which she had then to get to ,ghent and from there to ,brussels4 ,the ,germans never succeeded in obstructing her work1 nor that of her father and mother1 for their villagers and for the orphans of the entire region4 ,women came between shells to bring laces4 ,it was a moral help just to be able to talk about their work4 ,as ,i crossed the moat and passed under the archway1 ,i saw the spot where the last ,allied shell exploded1 killing nineteen ,germans1 while the family and the #bjj villagers in the cellars1 where they had been for two weeks1 escaped unharmed4 ,in fact1 in all the ,deynze country ,i was in the midst of the destruction accompanying the final push of the liberating army1 and was vividly reminded of what would have happened to the rest of ,belgium had the armistice been further delayed4 ,but already in the partially wrecked villages many of the women had gone back to their cushions--their reason-saving cushions1 for they furnished practically the only employment to be had1 and however small the earnings1 they at least insured a few francs a week1 and best of all they proved that something of the past persisted4 ,in ,vynck1 a poor little town of #a1gjj people1 ,i found #dj ,valenciennes-makers1 and heard that #ajj young girls were being taught at home by their mothers4 ,i talked with two maiden sisters--one #fh1 the other #gb--whom ,i spied hidden behind a window-screen of potted plants1 working1 with #dej bobbins each1 on a kind of ,valenciennes one finds only on the cushions of the past generation4 ,they could not repeat often enough their gratitude to the ,committee1 which had been paying them #dd francs 7#h4hj7 a meter for their lace1 so much more than they had received before the war from the ,courtrai facteur to whom they had sold4 ,they counted on making about five meters during the winter 7#dd worth71 and they work from dawn sometimes till nine at night4 ,in a neighboring house was a grandmother of eighty-one and her granddaughter1 and on the grandmother's cushion such a covering and re-covering of bobbins and lace1 to keep them spotless4 ,over all she had spread a large towel1 beneath it a worn napkin1 then a piece of pink gingham1 and below that two remnants of white and blue cloth1 and it seemed appropriate that the snowy treasure1 ,valenciennes1 too1 should be revealed to me only after such a ceremony of unveiling as this bent old woman of ,vynck performed4 ,i passed quickly through ,lootenhulle with its #abe workers1 who make1 among other varieties1 good ,duchesse and ,rosaline2 and ,hansbeek1 which produces a superior ,valenciennes2 and ,ruysselede1 with its excellent school for ,valenciennes2 to cross from the south to ,destelbergen1 which lies almost directly east of ,ghent4 ,all the plain was white under the first deep snow of winter1 but to enjoy its loveliness one had to be able to forget the torn roofs and fireless hearths4 ,at ,destelbergen ,i went at once to the atelier of ,mme4 ,coppens1 to whom women of both ,france and ,belgium send their old ,applications and spider-web meshes1 for restoration4 ,before the war she employed seventy expert lace-makers in her school1 now she can depend on no more than twenty--tho there are some #ajj less skilful ones in the village4 ,on this particular ,january day the school was empty4 ,as ,mme4 ,coppens received me1 she said1 8,i regret1 ,madame1 but ,i am without coal1 and without thread2 ,i have been forced to close my work-room2 however10 she hesitated an instant1 8if ,madame does not object to coming into the kitchen1 she may yet see ,stphanie1 the first lace-maker of the village1 at work40 ,illustration3 ,,fan ,,in ,,needle-,,point ,executed by three women in six weeks4 8,shields of the ,allies10 design drawn by ,m4 ,knoff for the ,lace ,committee ,illustration3 ,,eighteenth ,,century ,,marriage ,,veil ,,in ,,needle-,,point1 ,,belonging ,,to ,,comtesse ,,elizabeth ,d',,oultremont ,it would take #dj workers about a half year to copy this veil ,remembering the glistening shelves and floors of other ,flemish kitchens1 ,i did not mind2 happily not1 for in the end ,stphanie was more to me than many villages4 ,she was bending over an immaculate cushion1 seventy-eight and unmarried1 and all her person as scrupulously neat as her cushion1 from her odd little peaked black crochet cap to the felt shoes she had made herself4 ,she was weaving the flat surfaces of a dainty ,french bouquet1 and as ,i stept toward her chair1 looked up1 delighted that some one was interested in what she was making4 ,when ,i picked up a ,bruges collar on the nearby table she tried in ejaculatory ,flemish to make me understand1 that even tho she had made parts of it1 she disowned the whole as unworthy the name of lace1 and she brought my eyes back to the delicate texture of the leaves and petals on her cushion4 ,i wished to know what ,stphanie was getting for a day's work on her fine bouquets4 ,she has been making lace for seventy years1 is intelligent and quick1 and her maximum wage is two cents an hour1 a franc for a day of ten hours4 ,i asked about the future--she has thought of that1 not without anxiety1 and is providing at seventy-eight for what she calls 8old age0 by trying hard to put by two cents a week4 ,madame ,c4 has been kind to her1 and gives her as much freedom and comfort as she can offer2 for instance1 when ,stphanie was ill for three days last week1 she did not deduct her wages4 ,she would gladly double her pay1 or triple it1 for she realizes there are few like ,stphanie left1 but the ,paris firm to whom she sells pays so little for her lace that she has never been able to offer more than a franc a day4 8,if ,i could give two francs1 ,i could quickly gather a company of #a1jjj contented lace-makers1 ,i am certain10 she said4 8,but when my old workers fall ill or die1 ,i find no young girls willing to come to me2 they prefer the twenty francs a week they can make picking wool4 ,when ,stphanie goes1 ,i shall have no single artist to replace her40 8,c'est un vrai cur de dentelle0 7she is a true heart of lace71 she said affectionately1 as she patted her on the shoulder4 ,and then she went to fetch a cardboard box and ,i took a chair by the table1 to watch her unfold what it might contain4 ,she spread three beautiful widths of ,application on blue paper so that ,i might better see the tiny bouquets and scattered buds and leaves that blossomed from the fine quality of machine-made tulle2 all these had come from ,stphanie's bobbins1 and she was having difficulty to continue at her cushion because of her eagerness to explain them4 ,they were ,french designs1 as their charming lines had made me suspect4 ,in the box with the ,application were two rolls of ,point d',angleterre1 the lace one finds rarely at present4 ,we held the first one1 a length of four meters1 six inches wide1 against the light1 and then ,stphanie could sit still no longer2 she knew something about this piece1 for she had made its first flower in #aiaa1 and not finished its last until the war was half over4 ,she pointed out the spaces where a special needle-worker had introduced almost microscopic open stitches into her leaves and blooms to give them even greater airiness1 and showed how almost impossible it would have been to execute these needle-stitches with bobbins2 and how difficult is the stitch made with a special crochet-hook required for the raised veins and outlines 7brodes7 of the petals and leaves1 since the hook must catch and attach the thread each time beneath the surface4 ,finally1 a needle-worker1 again1 as is always the case in ,point d',angleterre1 had spun the clear web between the flowers1 uniting them all into the finished flounce4 ,stphanie pointed to a single detail4 8,it took me five days to make that tiny bouquet1 and the needle-worker one and a half days more to add the open stitches40 ,since the snow-covered roads made traveling extremely hazardous1 ,i decided that ,i could not stop longer1 no matter how absorbing the ,applications and ,points d',angleterre1 or how endearing the personality and contagious the enthusiasm of ,stphanie4 ,i said 8,good-by10 explaining that ,i had yet that day to visit the needle-lace school at ,zele1 twenty kilometers away4 ,,xii ,,zele ,stphanie ,visits the ,trade ,union ,lace ,school ,but ,i was not to have to part with ,stphanie4 ,when her ,flemish ears gathered from my ,french that ,i was starting for ,zele and the school founded three years ago1 which had been the talk of the region ever since1 her eyes fairly spoke her eager desire4 ,seventy-eight and earning twenty cents a day1 and yet consumed by a love for her art 7for with her1 lace-making is a true art71 and a passion to learn more about it6 ,i asked ,mme4 ,coppens if ,stphanie might not come along in the car4 ,in answer she began bustling about1 tears in her eyes1 to help get her ready1 and ,stphanie in her odd little woolen cap could scarcely tie her long black-hooded cape because she was constantly throwing up her hands1 and exclaiming1 and pressing them together1 as she tried to make me understand that in all her seventy-eight years she had only twice ridden in a wagon and never had she dreamed of being in an automobile before she died4 ,what would the neighbors say8 ,we bundled her into the corner of the car and were off1 but she could not sit still1 leaning forward to exclaim over the beauty of the snow1 or a windmill1 or the children skating in their sabots1 or huddling down to cover her face with her hands in swift shyness if some one had seemed to see her2 no spirit was ever so bubbling and gay and eager and timid all at once as ,stphanie's as we rode through the snow toward ,zele4 ,nor so patient as hers after we arrived2 for instead of going to the school1 ,i had to leave her in the car while ,i went to the house of the director1 ,dr4 ,armand ,rubbens1 unfortunately ill with rheumatism1 who is not only the founder of the school but the inspiration of all the unusual accomplishments of the lace-workers of this town1 where his father is ,burgomaster4 ,after her long wait1 ,stphanie's only comment as she looked a little fearfully at the gathering dusk1 was3 8,it is not yet too late to see the school40 ,inside1 ,dr4 ,rubbens1 who since taking his university degree has not been strong enough to follow his profession1 and has devoted himself to the #hjj lace-workers of his district1 explained the organization of the ,zele 8,trade ,union ,lace ,school10 founded three years ago and the only one of its kind in ,belgium4 ,i felt1 as he talked1 that he was reproducing in miniature a ,henry ,ford plant1 and when ,i told him this1 he smiled4 8,i begin to think ,i should see one of ,mr4 ,ford's factories1 for in reading an account of his system in the ,paris ,matin last week1 ,i was astonished at the number of his ideas ,i had incorporated40 ,the fifty advanced workers in the atelier 7there are #adj apprentices7 share the profit of the lace sales in proportion to their wages1 and own part of the stock of the union4 ,the best workers of this group make twenty-five centimes an hour1 or two and a half francs 7fifty cents7 a day of eight hours1 the highest pay ,i know of1 so far1 gained by a lace-maker4 ,the girls may go four hours each week to a school of domestic science1 without losing pay2 there are illness and pension funds1 and other provisions for the health and protection of the members of the school4 ,dr4 ,rubbens has seemed to accept every opportunity as a privilege4 ,illustration3 ,,at ,,work ,,on ,,details ,,of ,a ,,needle-,,point ,,scarf ,,to ,,be ,,presented ,,to ,,queen ,,elizabeth ,illustration3 ,,needle ,,lace ,,class-,,room ,,in ,,the ,,trade ,,union ,,lace ,,school ,,at ,,zele ,i looked over the files and photographs and records1 for even tho ,zele is a remote town of but #f1jjj inhabitants1 this wide-awake director has made it provide for him a better set of records and announcement and advertising cards 7some of them in ,english7 than ,i have seen anywhere else in ,belgium4 ,while ,i was inspecting the books1 he opened a chest and spread on the table a finished model from his school--a ,needle ,point scarf or veil1 sown with marguerites and varied by a bewildering succession of open-work stitches1 each seemingly more exquisite than the preceding and some of them invented for this particular veil4 ,the needle-workers who had made it had given about #i1jjj hours to its flowers and gauze1 and it would bring #c1jjj francs to the ,trade ,union treasury4 ,illustration3 ,,needle-,,point ,,illustration ,,for ,,the ,,fable ,,of ,,the ,,fox ,,and ,,the ,,grapes ,illustration3 ,,in ,,the ,,zele ,,lace ,,school2 ,,joining ,,details ,,of ,,the ,,needle-,,point ,,scarf ,,presented ,,to ,,queen ,,elizabeth ,i felt that ,i must fetch ,stphanie to see this1 but ,dr4 ,rubbens advised hurrying now to the school1 where there was something still more beautiful to be seen--the scarf just completed that will be presented to ,queen ,elizabeth1 and so far the chef-d'uvre of the ,zele lace-makers4 ,i told ,stphanie about it on our way through the village4 ,once arrived1 we went directly to the most advanced class1 where ,stphanie might find most to interest her4 ,the young women were at work on ,needle ,point collars and medallions1 a series of tableaux from the legend of the ,fox and the ,grapes1 and she was all eyes and ears as she went eagerly from chair to chair1 trying to see what these girls had been taught that she had missed learning1 and to add to her lore1 if she could4 ,i believe it is only in such a modern school as this that an outsider would have been allowed to examine1 as ,stphanie did1 the stitches and patterns1 for the tradition of the locked door and the carefully guarded secret still prevails in the lace word4 ,i was impatient to see the school's masterpiece1 the royal scarf1 and it was now brought from the safe and held before us by three young women1 as the directress led us from point to point in the airy mesh spun between its rose garlands and medallions4 ,on either side of the center medallion1 the arms of ,belgium1 were two others1 in which human figures symbolized cities the war has made immortal4 ,for ,nieuport a fisher-maiden stood on the shore with her basket1 and about her the net took up a cockleshell motif2 ,poperinghe had the graceful hop-vine as its device2 for ,furnes there was a dairy-maid with her churn in the midst of blossoming butter flowers2 while ,ypres was represented by a beautiful ,flamande sitting before a lace cushion heaped with bobbins--countless stitches1 occupying #ab1jjj hours1 and the entire weight #abe grammes6 ,and yet1 at the end1 ,stphanie tilted her dear old head and said3 8,nevertheless1 ,madame1 for the ,queen1 ,i should have made the mesh yet finer40 ,this ,trade ,union is in a sense a professional school1 since it teaches design1 but there is the weak spot in an otherwise remarkable achievement4 ,the designs executed by ,dr4 ,rubbens and the school are often the kind that have led foreign lace-buyers to order through ,paris1 which could furnish the drawings1 rather than direct from ,belgium4 ,they lack the lightness and grace that lace designs should unfailingly possess1 just the qualities which the ,friends of ,lace have done so much to encourage and cultivate4 ,if ,dr4 ,rubbens can see his way to follow their suggestions1 or to employing a ,french teacher1 there seems no limit to what he may accomplish4 ,he is now attempting to establish a true needle-lace ,normal ,school1 which will offer courses in commerce1 ,english1 history1 and all the branches necessary to a complete lace education4 ,this will supplement the instruction of the ,bruges bobbin-lace ,normal1 already well under way4 ,he holds that the teaching of the fine needle points is more tedious and difficult than the teaching of the bobbin points1 and that it takes more years to become expert in needle laces than in others4 ,on the way home1 ,stphanie asked what she might do for me4 8,you may pray for me1 if you wish1 ,stphanie40 ,she was silent a moment4 8,but1 ,madame1 should ,i not make a pilgrimage to ,lourdes for you8 ,on one of my trips in the wagon1 ,i saw the sea1 and for three years after that the sea was every day just before my eyes4 ,and to-day will remain until ,i die just in front of my eyes4 ,madame1 should ,i not go to ,lourdes for you80 ,,appendix ,illustration3 ,map showing important lace areas in #aiai1 especially prepared for this volume by the ,brussels ,lace ,committee4 ,the size of the circles indicates the approximate geographical extent of lace-making activity1 and has no reference to the quality produced4 ,the finest varieties are made in the areas indicated by circles #c 7noted for ,valenciennes1 ,bruges1 ,cluny71 #d 7,bruges1 ,valenciennes1 ,cluny71 #aa 7,duchesse1 ,application1 ,rosaline71 #ae 7,maline1 ,pt4 de ,paris1 ,pt4 de ,lille1 ,binche74 ,second quality1 circles #e 7,val41 ,cluny71 #f 7,val41 ,bruges1 ,cluny71 #g 7,duchesse1 ,needle ,point1 ,val41 ,cluny71 #i 7,point d',hollande1 ,val41 ,venise1 ,needle ,point1 ,cluny74 ,third quality1 circles #h 7,duchesse1 ,needle ,point71 #ab 7,venise ,needle ,point1 ,duchesse1 ,chantilly71 #aj 7,bruges1 ,duchesse1 ,val41 ,cluny71 #ad 7,needle ,point1 ,application71 #ac 7,cluny1 ,torchon71 #af 7,cluny74 ,the least important laces are found in regions #ag 7,venise1 filet71 #ah 7filet1 ,torchon71 #ai 7,point de ,paris1 ,chantilly74 ,illustration3 a4 ,pattern ,illustration3 b4 ,worker's piqure made from pattern ,,appendix ,with ,drawings by the ,directrice of the ,brussels ,school of ,design1 ,mme4 ,lucie ,paulis ,from the point of view of technique1 all laces are divided into two groups2 laces made with the needle1 and laces made with bobbins4 ,i4--,laces ,made with the ,needle ,all needle lace is executed in the same manner4 ,first1 the design of the whole is divided into details sufficiently small to allow of their being easily held and turned by the worker4 ,the design of each of these details is reproduced on a special kind of black paper by means of tiny pricked holes that follow all its lines4 ,the lace worker sews this pattern 7or piqure7 to a piece of double white cloth1 which gives it solidity4 ,she is then ready to begin the trac or outlining process4 ,a strand of two or three threads is appliqud along all the contours of the pattern by means of a very fine needle and very fine thread1 which catches the cloth below the black paper1 passing and repassing through each of the holes of the pattern1 thus holding the outlining strand in a sort of embrace4 ,when all the contours of the drawing have been traced1 the second part of the work begins1 the execution of the points that are to fill in the spaces4 ,illustration3 c4 ,the outlining or tracing cord ,all the points or stitches of needle lace are loops1 simple or twisted1 formed by a needle carrying a single thread4 7,the worker holds the needle with the base instead of the point1 forward47 ,the first row of loops is attached to the threads of the outlining strand4 ,arriving at the extremity of the space she is working1 the lace-maker begins a second row of loops running in the opposite direction1 attaching each loop to the corresponding loop of the first row4 ,at the end of this row she fastens it to the outlining strand by one or two stitches and starts on the third row1 repeating this operation until her space is completely covered4 ,the points or stitches most frequently employed are3 #a4 ,the plat 7sketch d71 or stitch which forms the flat woven parts1 which can be more or less tightly drawn1 and serves for all the opaque parts of the lace4 ,it is made by simple loops1 each row being consolidated by means of a stretched thread as illustrated in the sketch4 ,illustration3 d4 ,stitch for the plat or surface ,illustration3 e4 ,stitch one #b4 ,the jours or open-work stitches4 ,among the fantasy stitches employed in the jours are3 ,illustration3 f4 ,mirror stitch a4 ,the point one1 or stitch one1 7sketch e47 ,there exists also a stitch two1 and stitch three1 which differ in the number of loops forming the group4 b4 ,the mirror stitch 7sketch f47 and a kind of ball stitch 7sketch g471 and lastly the famous extremely transparent point de gaze1 or gauze stitch 7sketch h471 which constitutes the mesh of the popular ,brussels lace4 ,illustration3 g4 ,ball stitch ,all the surfaces having been covered1 the lace is further embellished by the confection of brodes1 or firm outlining cords around the filled-in spaces1 which produce a more or less striking effect of relief in needle laces4 ,this brode 7sketch i71 is made of a strand of fine or heavier threads1 appliqud as was the original strand outlining the pattern spaces1 and then beautifully covered by the buttonhole stitch4 ,when the brode is well made1 the buttonhole stitches follow closely1 touching side by side4 ,illustration3 h4 ,gauze mesh stitch ,many differing little details which help to give to needle lace its richness and brilliancy 7balls1 rings1 etc471 are also varieties of brodes1 and are made for the most part in the buttonhole stitch4 ,the bars forming the base of ,venise lace are made in this way4 ,the execution of the brodes is the final work in needle lace4 ,after they are finished1 the lace detail is detached from the underlying pattern by cutting the thread between the black paper and supporting cloth1 the fine thread which in the beginning attached the outlining strand4 ,there remains only to join the separate details of the pattern by a very fine stitch called the point invisible4 ,illustration3 i4 ,brode1 buttonhole stitch ,the varieties of needle laces are3 a4 ,venise 7fond or base composed of brides or bars74 b4 ,reticella 7,venise lace of geometric design and made without brodes or outlining relief cords74 c4 ,rose ,point 7,venise with a design of fine branches and tendrils74 d4 ,brussels ,point or ,needle ,point 7very fine lace in which a gauze mesh replaces the bars employed in ,venise74 ,,ii4--,bobbin ,lace ,bobbin laces fall under two groups3 7#a7 ,those made with cut threads1 and 7#b7 those made with continuous threads4 #a4 ,laces made with cut threads1 or of repeated details1 are executed on a round cushion1 which can be easily turned and they require but a limited number of bobbins 7generally not more than two dozen74 ,they may be said to be composed essentially of a braid which grows wider or narrower as it follows all the variations of the pattern1 and is interrupted as often as is necessary4 ,the parts in process of operation are attached to those already finished by veritable running knots made with the aid of a little crochet needle1 a tool absolutely indispensable to the making of this kind of lace4 ,the design of the whole is divided into portions so small that they cover only the middle of the cushion4 ,it is necessary to have all around the detail1 space for the bobbins1 each of which carries a thread about four inches long4 ,illustration3 j4 ,bobbins used in making ,belgian laces #a1 #b and #c ,valenciennes #d and #e ,malines ,illustration3 j4 ,bobbins used in making ,belgian laces #f ,malines #g ,point de ,paris #h ,application #i ,torchon #aj ,duchesse ,illustration3 k4 ,a pattern for bobbin lace1 with l1 m1 n1 the braids in which it must be executed ,each fragment is traced on a dark blue paper or patron on which the place for the pins is not indicated 7sketch k474 ,the lace-maker pins this blue paper to the middle of her cushion1 covering the whole with a piece of dark blue linen which has a hole in the middle large enough to leave free the part of the pattern actually being worked4 ,the lace already finished is thus protected4 ,she then places a pin on the spot where she decides to begin1 attaching the necessary number of bobbins and starts to weave as a weaver does1 first from right to left1 then from left to right1 carrying the two bobbins holding the threads forming the woof 7trame7 successively above and below the threads forming the warp 7chaine74 ,each time all of the threads of the warp have been crossed by the threads of the woof1 she places a pin1 and now the two woof threads caught by this pin lead back to the opposite side4 ,she turns her cushion according to the direction of the braid she is executing1 so that the threads forming the warp always fall vertically4 ,illustration3 l4 ,a braid which forms the toile ,illustration3 m4 ,a grill braid ,illustration3 n4 ,a braid of #d threads ,the fundamental stitch in these laces and that which forms the greatest part of the braids is the point de toile1 or toile 7sketch #a474 ,certain open stitches are also employed1 the most common being the grill or half-stitch 7sketch m474 ,the different varieties of bobbin laces made with cut threads1 or in repeated pieces are3 a4 ,bruges1 the flowers are united by brides or bars that are braided with four threads 7sketch n474 b4 ,duchesse 7made only with fine thread1 loosely worked and producing a not particularly pleasing result74 c4 ,rosaline 7an imitation with bobbins of ,rose ,point4 ,brodes1 or raised outlines made with the needle1 give it relief74 d4 ,flanders 7in this lace the base of brides or bars is replaced by a net mesh base executed with a needle74 e4 ,application 7the flowers1 executed like those of ,bruges are sewed upon tulle74 #b4 ,lace made with uncut or continuous threads4 ,laces of this group are executed on a stationary cushion4 ,the design1 before it can be used by the worker1 must pass through the hands of a piqueuse1 or interpreter1 who prepares what is called the patron or pattern 7sketch o71 that is to say1 determines in advance the places where the pins destined to hold the threads1 must be placed 7sketch of a piqure1 p474 ,this work of the piqueuse demands great skill and infinite patience4 ,upon her interpretation will depend the aspect of the lace1 for the worker follows her indications rigidly4 ,this pattern is pricked on a supple and resistant cardboard 7in olden times it was made on parchment7 and is pinned to the cushion with the selvage of the lace at the left4 ,the worker then attaches to a row of pins placed all across the top of the pattern1 the threads which she will need1 often many hundreds4 ,illustration3 o4 ,pattern from which piqure is made ,illustration3 p4 ,piqure ,now she commences her work1 braiding1 twisting1 intercrossing the threads in diverse ways1 and placing a pin each time the threads must be held in a position which they can not retain without the aid of a fixt support4 ,when she arrives at the bottom of her pattern1 with great care she takes out all the pins1 and lifts her work to the top of the pattern1 replacing the pins so that the lace will be kept absolutely regular4 ,she then recommences her work of braiding or weaving1 repeating the same operation till the length of lace she must make is finished4 ,the patterns are usually about a foot long4 ,illustration3 q4 ,valenciennes mesh ,the bobbin laces made with continuous thread comprise3 a4 ,cluny and b4 ,laces with a mesh base3 #a4 ,valenciennes1 #b4 ,binche1 #c4 ,malines1 #d4 ,point de ,paris1 #e4 ,point de ,lille1 #f4 ,chantilly4 ,the varieties in ,group b may truly be called woven lace1 because they contain a veritable tissue in which1 tho the threads are combined in such a way as to produce more or less open effects1 the opaque parts are woven regularly1 that is as linen is woven4 ,the pattern of the mesh of each of these laces is different4 ,valenciennes 7sketch q474 ,binche 7sketch r and s474 ,malines 7sketch t474 ,point de ,paris 7sketch u474 ,point de ,lille 7sketch v474 ,further1 ,malines1 ,chantilly1 ,point de ,lille1 and ,point de ,paris are characterized by the presence of the bourdon1 or heavy thread1 slightly twisted1 outlining all the details of the design4 ,grammont1 or ,chantilly lace1 is usually made of black silk thread4 ,the mesh is the same as that of ,point de ,lille4 ,in it the toile is replaced by the grill1 which adds greatly to the lightness of the effect4 ,illustration3 r4 ,binche mesh ,n4 ,b4--,to be understood technically1 all these laces made with continuous thread should be considered from the point of view of the place they occupy on the cushion of the worker3 ,they are held vertically with the selvage at the left4 ,illustration3 s4 ,mesh of 8snow-ball0 pattern1 used in ,binche ,it is necessary to mention with these laces1 ,torchon1 the most common of all1 which has little artistic value1 and has entered more and more into the domain of the machine4 ,torchon base 7sketch w474 ,illustration3 t4 ,malines mesh ,illustration3 u4 ,point de ,paris mesh ,illustration3 v4 ,point de ,lille mesh ,illustration3 w4 ,torchon base ,illustration3 x4 ,picot ,illustration3 y4 ,cluny pattern ,group ,a4--,cluny laces demand great ingenuity in execution4 ,the most simple are made entirely by braiding in such a way as to produce an effect of interlacing 7sketch y474 ,the braids are formed of four threads2 when the interlacing is more important they become more complicated4 ,at times the braids group themselves to form the flat surface or toile which later will resolve again into braids4 ,they unite and part1 sometimes dividing into strands 7brides7 of two threads according to the lines of the design4 ,this design should be absolutely precise4 ,and since in it the future employment of each thread must be constantly foreseen1 it is quite impossible to compose a ,cluny lace pattern without a knowledge of the technique of that lace 7sketch y74 ,illustration3 z4 ,interpreted ,torchon pattern ,illustration3 ,completed lace ,sometimes the general name guipure is given to ,cluny1 as well as to all laces made with continuous thread which have not a mesh base4 ,,index ,aerseele1 #aaj ,albert ,king1 #aid ,alcantara1 ,comtesse d'1 #beb ,alenon 7town71 #ca ,alenon lace1 #ch1 #acb ,allard1 ,mme4 ,josse1 #afi1 #agb1 #bji ,alost1 ,lace region of1 #adi1 #afi;ff1 #bbd ,spinneries of1 #hb ,america1 ,aid from1 #ag1 #bce1 #bcf ,lace buyer of1 #beb ,laces displayed in1 #dj ,americans in ,ghent1 #bdh ,amies de la ,dentelle1 ,convent subsidized by1 #bah ,lace quality conservation by1 #ajj1 #bgb ,prices under1 #ajc ,school reforms under1 #ae ,war committee1 see ,brussels ,lace ,committee ,antik lace1 see ,flanders1 ,old ,antwerp1 ,old ,flanders in1 #aae ,port of1 #cj1 #aff ,province of1 #adf ,application lace1 #bbf1 #bda ,areas producing1 #bgg ,bobbins for1 #bhi ,lacets for1 #aga ,method of making1 #bba;ff1 #bib ,restoration of1 #bef ,tulle base for1 #da1 #bei ,ardois1 #aji ,argentin lace1 #ch ,arras1 #ca ,asper1 #beb ,bachte1 #beb ,baelegem1 #bea ,bailleul1 #cd ,devastation of1 #cf ,bayeux1 #aca ,beernem1 #abc ,bguinage of ,bruges1 #aed;ff of ,ghent1 #aee ,berraly's convent1 ,abb1 #ec;ff ,beth1 ,thread firm of1 #ha ,bethune1 ,baron de1 #he ,beughem1 ,vicomtesse de1 #ag1 #abg1 #afi ,binche lace1 #aae1 #aej1 #aeb1 #aff ,areas producing1 #bgg ,mesh designs1 #big1 #bih ,method of making1 #dj1 #bif ,bixio1 ,m41 #bg ,blonde lace1 #dj ,method of making1 #acd ,bobbin lace1 #cg ,areas producing1 #ig;ff1 #add;ff ,method of making1 #ci1 #bhg;ff ,teaching1 #afa ,varieties of1 #ci1 #dj1 #bib1 #bif ,bousies1 ,comtesse de1 #bdi ,brabant1 ,lace area of1 #bae;ff ,province of1 #adf ,bruges 7town71 #cj1 #ea1 #hg1 #ia1 #abd1 #bdg ,lace region of1 #adc;ff ,lace ,normal ,school of1 #gf1 #ajj ,bruges lace1 #bda1 #bdi1 #beg ,areas producing1 #adc;ff1 #bgg ,collars and cuffs1 #aac ,duchesse1 #dj1 #adi1 #aej1 #aeb ,method of making1 #bib ,old1 #aji ,point de1 #ajd ,rosaline and1 #bbf;ff ,bruggen1 ,mme4 ,van der1 #abc ,brussels 7town71 #ai1 #ba1 #he1 #bjd1 #baj1 #baf1 #bag1 #bcb1 #bda1 #bec ,german 8,lace ,control0 in1 #abb ,museum1 #bf1 #db1 #hf ,point d',angleterre in1 #bbc ,school of ,design1 #gf1 #afe1 #bgi ,brussels lace1 ,duchesse1 #dj1 #bcg1 #bda ,point1 #ci1 #agi1 #ahb1 #bhc1 #bhf ,method of making ,brussels ,point1 #bhf ,brussels ,lace ,committee1 #abg1 #adh1 #aea1 #aie ,agency1 purchasing and sales1 #ajh1 #aaf1 #agd1 #ahb1 #bjf1 #baj1 #bbe1 #bcg1 #bda ,designs of1 #eh1 #aic1 #bdb ,educational aims of1 #ef1 #ge1 #aae ,german interference with1 #abc1 #bch ,improvements through1 #cf1 #ec1 #aba ,map of lace areas1 #bgf ,origin and purpose of1 #ae;ff ,personnel of1 #ag ,prices paid by1 #ajc1 #aab1 #abc1 #abd1 #bed ,representatives of1 #aje1 #aah1 #adi1 #bcf1 #beb ,thread supply for1 #hb1 #hh ,burano lace1 #ci ,bysance1 #bf ,calais1 #ce1 #agb ,celine1 #bej ,chantilly lace1 #dj1 #bje ,areas producing1 #abg;ff1 #bgg ,method of making1 #bif ,cinquantenaire ,museum1 #bf1 #db1 #hf ,claterna1 ,ancient bobbins of1 #bg ,cluny lace1 #bh1 #dd1 #hi1 #id1 #ih1 #aaa1 #aah1 #abc1 #adi1 #aej1 #aeb1 #afb1 #bbe1 #bcg1 #bea ,areas producing1 #bgg ,designs1 #cjb ,duty on1 #ij ,guipures of1 #ii1 #ajc1 #ajd1 #aac1 #adi ,method of making1 #ci1 #bif1 #cjb1 #cjd ,coates1 ,thread firm of1 #hb ,cock1 ,gillemont de1 #adh1 #aff ,colbert1 #ca ,colette1 #agi ,collart1 ,m41 #ag ,comit ,national1 ,cooperation of1 #af1 #ag1 #ai ,relief work of1 #baf1 #bce ,commission for ,relief in ,belgium1 #abj1 #bcf ,cooperation of1 #af1 #ai1 #ace ,compagnie des ,indes1 #ag ,convents1 ,lace-making ,bruges1 #adi ,cruyshautem1 #bjb ,eecke1 #beb ,erembodeghem1 #ahi;ff ,heckelgem1 #bae;ff ,kerxken1 #agc ,liedekerke1 #bah;ff ,opbrakel1 #bja;ff ,ruysselede1 #beb1 #bee ,scheldewinkle1 #beb ,thielt1 #aje1 #aaj ,turnhout1 #ec;ff ,coppens1 ,mme41 #bef;ff1 #bfe ,courtrai lace region1 #gi;ff ,cox1 ,thread firm of1 #ha ,cruyshautem convent1 #bjb ,cuseners1 ,mme41 #abi ,designs of various laces1 #bgh;ff ,destelbergen1 #bbd1 #bea1 #bef ,deynze district1 #beb1 #bec ,dixmude1 #hg1 #adc ,duchesse lace1 #ih1 #abc1 #afc1 #bdi1 #bea1 #beb1 #bee ,areas producing1 #bgg ,bobbins for1 #bhi ,bruges1 #dj1 #adi1 #aej1 #aeb ,brussels1 #dj1 #bcg1 #bda ,guipures1 #ii ,method of making1 #bib ,eecke convent1 #beb ,egypt1 #bf ,elizabeth1 ,queen1 #ag ,laces for1 #ch1 #aic;ff1 #bgj;ff ,patronage of1 #ae ,england1 #cj ,thread from1 #ai1 #hb ,tulle from1 #ce ,erembodeghem1 #ahe1 #baj ,lace region of1 #ahi;ff ,flanders 7district71 ,lace industry in #cj1 #dc;ff1 #adf ,flanders lace1 #da1 #ii1 #afc1 #bcg1 #bda1 #bea ,details of1 #bbd1 #aad;ff ,guipures of1 #aac ,method of making1 #bib ,old1 #dj1 #aaa1 #aad;ff1 #aej1 #aeb1 #aff1 #bbe ,france1 ,history of lace in1 #cj;ff ,franciscaine ,sisters1 #agc;ff1 #ahi;ff1 #bja;ff ,friends of ,lace1 see ,amies de la ,dentelle ,furnes1 #hg1 #bga ,gand1 ,canton de1 #bdh ,german depredations1 #ea1 #ei1 #hj1 #hb;ff1 #hh1 #bca facteurs1 #hh1 #aai interference with lace workers1 #ah1 #aje1 #aaj1 #aai1 #abj;ff1 #aeg;ff1 #agd1 #aij1 #bai1 #bcg;ff 8,lace ,control10 #bj1 #abj;ff ,ghent1 #cj1 #hg1 #adc1 #adg ,bguinage of1 #aee ,lace ,committee1 #bdi;ff ,lace region of1 #bdg;ff ,spinneries of1 #hb ,graeht1 ,baron van der1 #aje1 #ajh1 #aad ,mlle4 van der1 #aje ,grammont1 ,chantilly lace region1 #abg;ff1 #bjf1 #bif ,greeks1 #bf ,grenadine d',alays1 #aci ,groothuis museum1 #aea ,gulleghem1 #ib ,gysenzeele1 #bea ,hainaut1 ,province of1 #adf ,haltaert1 #agj ,hansbeek1 #bee ,hebrews1 #bf ,heckelgem convent1 #bae;ff ,henry1 ,mrs4 ,bayard1 #ib ,herzele lace region1 #bca;ff ,holland1 #cj ,lace for ,queen of1 #bjg ,hoover1 ,herbert ,c41 #ah ,mrs4 ,herbert ,c41 #aic ,hours of lace workers1 #fe;ff #aaa;ff #bag1 #bbh1 #bee1 #bfh ,imitations1 #ag1 #da1 #aga1 #ahc of ,chantilly1 #acb1 #ach of ,point d',angleterre1 #bba ,import duty on lace1 #ij ,ireland1 ,thread from1 #hb ,iseghem1 #ih ,italy1 #ae1 #cf ,ancient bobbins in1 #bg ,history of lace in1 #bi ,kefer-,mali1 ,mme41 #ag1 #db1 #bae1 #bba ,kerxken lace region1 #afi;ff1 #bbd ,knesselars1 #bea ,lace areas1 ,list and ,map of1 #bgf;ff ,history of1 #be;ff ,methods of making1 #bgi;ff ,schools1 #adf1 #adg1 #bdb;ff ,amies de la ,dentelle and1 #ae;ff1 #gf ,chantilly1 #abi1 #aca ,convent1 #ec;ff #aje1 #adi;ff1 #agg1 #aij;ff1 #bje;ff1 #bae1 #bah;ff1 #beb ,coppens'1 #bef ,normal1 #ajj1 #aaj;ff1 #aeb1 #aef;ff1 #bgc ,trade ,union1 #bfe;ff ,varieties of1 see ,bobbin lace and ,needle lace ,landsanter1 #bea ,liedekerke lace region1 #bae;ff ,liedt's collection1 ,baron1 #aea ,lille1 #cj1 #cd ,lootenhulle1 #beb1 #bee ,louis ,,xiii1 #cb ,louis ,,xiv1 #ca1 #cb1 #cc ,louis ,philippe1 #ce ,lys ,river valley flax1 #cj1 #gi;ff ,machelin1 #beb ,maertens1 ,professor1 #adh1 #aef ,maldeghem1 #adi ,malines 7town7 #cj1 #hf1 #bdh ,malines lace1 #dj1 #ajj ,areas producing1 #bgg ,bobbins for1 #bhh1 #bhi ,mesh design1 #bii ,method of making1 #gc;ff1 #bif ,old laces1 #hf ,point de ,lille and1 #ga1 #gb ,map of lace areas1 #bgf ,margharita of ,italy1 ,queen1 #ae ,maria ,loop1 #aaj ,marie ,antoinette1 #cc ,marie-,henriette1 ,duchess of ,brabant1 #bdi ,marie-,thrse1 ,empress1 #bdh ,menin1 #hg ,mercier1 ,cardinal1 #bci ,malines lace of1 #ge ,milan lace1 #ajd ,guipure of1 #aad ,mullie1 ,mlle41 #hg1 #hi1 #ij ,museum1 ,brussels1 #bf1 #db1 #hf ,courtrai1 #he ,groothuis1 #aea ,needle lace1 #cg;ff1 #bja1 #bjf1 #bjh;ff1 #bgc ,method of making1 #bgi;ff ,varieties of1 #ch;ff1 #bhf ,needle ,point lace1 #dd1 #ii1 #afb1 #afi1 #ahi1 #bjb1 #bbc1 #bdh1 #bdi1 #bea1 #beb1 #bfi1 #bgj ,areas producing1 #bgg ,method of making1 #agh;ff1 #bhf ,new ,york1 #ij ,nieuport1 #hg1 #adc1 #bga ,ninove1 #abh ,spinneries of1 #hb ,northcliffe's posters1 ,lord1 #bdj ,oedelem1 #abc ,oostcamp1 #abc1 #adi ,oosterzele1 #bea ,opbrakel convent1 #ahi1 #bja;ff ,oultremont1 ,comtesse ,elizabeth d'1 #ag ,paisley spinneries1 #hb ,parc1 ,comte du1 #bca;ff ,mme4 du1 #bca;ff ,paris lace market1 #fi1 #ij1 #aif1 #bbc ,paulis1 ,mme4 ,lucie1 #afe1 #bgi ,peat1 ,thread firm of1 #ic1 #acd ,persia1 #bf ,pittham1 #aji ,point d' ,alenon1 #acb d',angleterre1 #aha1 #bba1 #bda1 #bfj ,method of making1 #dj1 #bbc;ff de ,bruges1 #ajd de ,flanders1 #bbd;ff de ,gaze1 #agi1 #bhc d',hollande1 #gb ,areas producing1 #bgg de ,lille1 #dj ,areas producing1 #bgg ,mesh design1 #cjj ,method of making1 #ga1 #bif de ,milan1 #ajd de ,paris1 #dj1 #acd ,areas producing1 #bgg ,bobbins for1 #bhi ,mesh design1 #bii ,method of making1 #fb1 #bif ,various uses of1 #fi1 #ga de ,venise1 see ,venetian ,point ,pompadour1 ,marquise de1 #cc ,poperinghe1 #hg1 #bga ,prices paid for lace1 #hh1 #ajc1 #aag1 #ahc1 #aif1 #bag1 #bed ,prices paid for supplies1 #hh1 #ic ,priestess of ,hathor1 #bg ,puy1 ,thread firm of1 #ic ,reims1 #ca ,reticella1 #bhf ,retreats1 #aed;ff ,rippenhausen1 ,freiherr von1 #aba ,robertine1 ,sur1 #agd;ff1 #aig ,rond mesh1 #ia ,roose1 ,mme41 #aea ,rosalie1 #bag ,rosaline lace1 #dj1 #aeb1 #bba1 #bbc1 #bcg1 #bda1 #bdi1 #bee ,areas producing1 #bgg ,method of making1 #bbf;ff1 #bib ,rose point lace1 #ci1 #aie1 #bib ,method of making1 #bhf ,rubbens1 ,dr4 ,armand1 #afb1 #bfg;ff ,rudder1 ,m4 de1 #aic ,rulant1 ,adele1 #agb ,russian lace1 #afc ,ruysselede1 #aaj1 #beb1 #bee ,ryeland1 ,mme41 #adi ,st4 ,andre1 #adi ,st4 ,croix1 #adi ,st4 ,michel1 #adi1 #aec ,st4 ,pierre des ,calais1 #acb ,scheldewinkle convent1 #beb ,schools1 see ,lace schools ,sedan1 #ca ,sharlaecken1 ,mme41 #ag ,sicily1 #cj ,sidonie1 #agh ,sister ,a41 #aij;ff ,sister ,m41 #bbj;ff ,sister ,s41 #aie ,slock1 ,mlle41 #aah ,spain1 ,blonde lace for1 #dj1 #acd ,stphanie1 #beg;ff1 #bfe;ff ,stoop1 ,m4 de1 #gi1 #hd ,syria1 #bf ,syssele1 #adi ,thielt lace region1 #ig;ff ,thourout 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,wages paid lace workers1 #dd1 #fe1 #gc1 #hi1 #ib1 #aaj1 #aab;ff1 #abd1 #agb1 #bah1 #bbh1 #bej1 #beh1 #bfh ,wevelghem1 #ib ,whitlock1 ,mrs4 ,brand1 #af ,wynghene lace region1 #ig;ff ,burgomaster of1 #aah ,ypres1 #cf1 #hg1 #ij1 #adc1 #bga ,zele1 ,lace school at1 #gf1 #afb1 #bfe;ff ,,women of ,,belgium ,,turning ,,tragedy ,,to ,,triumph ,a ,book of ,gripping ,human ,interest ,by ,,charlotte ,,kellogg ,an absorbingly interesting narrative of personal experience by the only woman member of the ,relief ,commission1 who tells in moving language the story of the unbreakable spirit sustaining the ,belgians and the noble service the ,belgian women have rendered and inspired in a land made desolate by war4 ,introduction by ,,herbert ,c4 ,,hoover1 ,chairman1 ,commission for ,relief in ,belgium ,to quote from ,mr4 ,hoover's own foreword3 8,the soul of ,belgium received a grievous wound1 but the women of ,belgium are staunching the flow1 sustaining and leading this stricken nation to greater strength and greater life4 ,we of the ,relief have been proud of the privilege to place the tools in the hands of these women and have watched their skilful use and their improvement in method with hourly admiration4444 ,mrs4 ,kellogg has done more than record in simple terms passing impressions of the varied facts of the work of these women1 for she spent months in loving sympathy with them4 ,we offer her little book as our1 and ,mrs4 ,kellogg's tribute in admiration of them and the inspiration which they have contributed to this whole organization40 #abmo1 cloth1 #a4jj2 by mail1 #a4ab4 ,what ,leading ,periodicals ,say of ,,women of ,,belgium ,by ,,charlotte ,,kellogg 8,so impressed was ,mrs4 ,kellogg by the greatness and value of what the ,belgian women are doing to help save the ,belgian people that she has written this book1 in which each chapter describes some phase or tells some incident of what she saw4 ,the simplicity with which she writes makes the wonderful story of the devotion1 the unstinted service1 the utter self-abnegation with which many thousands of ,belgian women are giving themselves completely to this work stand out all the more grandly40--,times1 ,new ,york4 8,among the thousands of books that have been written on the war1 in this country and abroad1 the pen of a woman has given us the truest portrayal of the real heart of a heart-broken people40--,constitution1 ,atlanta1 ,ga4 8,the pages brim with information and with profoundest pathos4 ,as you read some of them you will feel a lump in your throat40--,knickerbocker ,press1 ,albany1 ,n4 ,y4 8,it is a book of tears1 heart-throbs1 and of devotion4444 ,we do not think that anyone who reads it will regret sending a son to redress the wrongs of humanity40--,inquirer1 ,philadelphia1 ,pa4 8,the farther you read the more you will wish to read1 so great is the charm1 so intense the interest40--,eastern ,argus1 ,portland1 ,me4 8,it is full of the kind of stuff that makes us proud of the part played by ,americans in the work of saving ,belgium from famine during the long1 sad months that ,germany had its iron heel on this stricken land40--,evening ,star1 ,poughkeepsie1 ,n4 ,y4 8,the only ,american woman member of that ,commission wrote the book--,mrs4 ,charlotte ,kellogg--after spending eight months on ,belgian soil2 and her strong sympathy1 her unfailing appreciation1 intensify the literary charm of its pages4 ,learning how these women have labored1 in their mothering of smitten millions1 we get from this book side-lights upon the effects of the war40--,richmond ,times ,despatch4 #abmo1 cloth1 #a4jj2 by mail1 #a4ab4 ,,funk ,,wagnalls ,,company1 ,publishers #ced-cfj ,fourth ,avenue1 ,new ,york