ith
four or five picots, but this ground is also seen in Venetian and French
laces.

2. A hand-made ground made of looped buttonhole stitches, which is the
finest and most gossamer-like of all; and

3. A woven ground made on the pillow with plaited thread, very like
Mechlin, but under the magnifying glass having two longer sides to its
hexagonal mesh, and therefore being more open and clear.

The hand, or rather needlepoint, ground was three times more expensive
than the woven, as it was stronger and more lasting. The special value
of the "vrai reseau" in our own day is that it can be imperceptibly
repaired, the broken stitches replaced, whereas in the woven ground the
point of junction must show.

The needle-made net is so fine that one piece in my possession, though
measuring 3/4 yard by 8 inches can easily, in its widest part, be
gathered and passed through a finger ring. At the present day this net
is not made, and even the fine woven ground is not used except for Royal
wedding orders or for exhibition purposes. A magnificent piece
belonging to Messrs. Haywards, of New Bond Street (which cannot be
photographed, unfortunately, as it is between two sheets of glass, and
might fall to pieces if taken out), was made for George IV., and not
delivered, owing no doubt to the usual depleted state of that monarch's
exchequer. Messrs. Haywards (whose courtesy is as boundless as their
reputation) are always pleased to show this and their other splendid
specimen collections to those interested in old lace.

Perhaps no lace is so diversified in style as Brussels. At first it was
purely Flemish, and almost indistinguishable from it. Then the Venetian
influence crept in, and elaboration of pattern and the Renaissance
scrolls and flower work showed itself. At the Louis Quatorze period the
introduction of the "fairy people," seen at its finest and best in Point
de France, marks a time of special beauty. Afterwards the influence of
Alencon was shown (though it never rivalled the exquisite lace of this
factory), and from that time to the present day these designs have
remained for use in its best work.

Some of the choicest specimens of old Brussels are shown in the now
discarded "lappets," which when a lace head-piece and lappets were part
of every gentlewoman's costume, were actually regulated by Sumptuary
Laws as to length. The longer the lappets the higher the rank.

[Illustration: BRUSSELS LAPPET.

Eighteenth Century.