imitation
that a fine flounce of 4 yds. 32 in. wide was sold at a London
auction-room a few months ago, as "real old Limerick," for L60!

Ghent executes vast quantities of hand-made imitations of Valenciennes,
a good and durable lace, but much more expensive than the machine-made
varieties which flood the shops as "real Val."

[Illustration: MECHLIN LAPPET.

Eighteenth Century.

(_S.K.M. Collection._)]

Perhaps the only other lace worth mentioning in smaller and later
varieties is that known as "Duchesse point" or "Bruges," which while
being a showy, decorative, and cheap lace, is anything but satisfactory
either in design, manufacture, or wear. It is largely composed of
cotton, is heavy and cumbrous in design, and after washing becomes thick
and clumsy. It is pillow-made, the flowers being made on the cushion and
afterwards united by coarse and few brides.

Almost equal in favour with old Brussels lace was

MECHLIN,

which was aptly termed "the Queen of Laces." Old Mechlin was wondrously
fine, and transparent. It is often spoken of as "Point de Malines"
which, of course, is entirely wrong, as it is not Point at all--being
made entirely, all at one time, or in one piece, on the pillow. Much of
the lace known under the general name of Flemish Point is really Malines
or Mechlin, the only difference being the fine silvery thread which runs
all through the designs of real Mechlin. The earliest date of the
manufacture of Mechlin is unknown, but in 1681, it is recorded, that the
people of Malines busied themselves with making a white lace known as
Mechlin. It became a fashionable lace in England in 1699, Queen Mary
using it considerably and Queen Anne buying it largely, in one instance
purchasing 83 yards of it for L247.

It has always remained a favourite lace with English royalties, Queen
Charlotte almost exclusively using it. The other day I discovered in a
bric-a-brac shop about twenty yards of it, old and discoloured, it is
true, which came directly from Queen Caroline, the ill-used wife of
George IV. In the earlier Mechlin, although pillow-made, the
introduction of the "brides with picots," and also the may-flower
patterns of Brussels, helped to make it more decorative. The ground or
reseau was very similar to Brussels hand-made, but the hexagonal mesh is
shorter, as reference to the diagram of reseaux will show.

The exquisite "lightness" of Mechlin, so specially adapted to
"quillings" and "pleatings," a